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Mrs.  Eric  E.  Ryerson 


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THE   WIDE   WORLD    MAGAZE\E 

May.    1899,   TO   October,    1899 


THE 


WIDE   WORLD 


*n 


MAGAZINE 


AN  ILLUSTRATED 

MONTHLY 

OF 

TRUE  NARRATIVE: 

ADVENTURE 

"TRITII  IS 

TRAVEL 

CUSTOMS 

STRANGER 

AND 

SPORT 

THAN 

■  • 

FICTION" 

Vol.  III. 

MAY 

TO 

OCIOBKR, 

LONDON: 

1S99 

GEORGE  NEIVNES,    LTD 

SOUTHAMPTON  ST. 
STRAND 

fiOS21 3 


i.<^.  5-6" 


lilUl.l.  uu   JULU   UUCUKS  KOSt  Ul'  HEtURE  THE  FIRE." 

(bEE    I'AGE   8.) 


The  Wide  World  Magazine. 


Vol.  in. 


MAY.   1899. 


No.  13. 


The  Adventures   of  Louis  De  Rougemont. 


As  Told   by 
IX. 


Himself. 


THE  W.OK  WOKLO  is  a  Magazine  -rted  with  the^owed  inte. 

and  avoiding  fiction.  "The  Adventures  of  ^0"'^  De  Kov^emont  ^  '^'^^  ^^^^^  ,^  ^^^  ,,i,^  ,^  have  been  thirty  years 
the  true  account  of  the  life  of  the  author.     It  now  turns  -^"^  t^at  u  '\^^^V  ^,^^^j      ^^  ,,i^,^  ^i„^^  he 

Long  the  savages,  as  stated.  His  story  was  ^f  /L  uSnthed  v^e  wishU  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  we  do  not 
never  contradicted  himself  once      But   ^f^^^^^^^l^^^^'^' ^'■^"'f /^  ^C'^  leaving  it  to  the  members  of  the  public  to 

publish  it  as  a  true  narrative   but  only  as  X\f^;^^°^^l  ^^J^l^^Z^ ^^^  are  founded  on  his  experiences, 

believe  as  much  or  as  little  as  they  please.  It  is  ^,^™;^^^^/^J'  P™  details,  that  it  marks  its  author,  if  not  a  speaker 
In  any  case,  the  story  is  so  crowded  with  ^-^Y^;^' f^f^^^^^^/.^J  f  o\"  langiage  since  Defoe  ;  so  that,  even  if  the  story 
of  the  truth,  at  least  as  a  master  of  fiction  who  has  had  "«  equ^l ^^  "^[e rest  and  we  are  sure  that  our  readers  would  be 
is  an  invention,  it  is  one  which  cannot  fai  to  e^,<=^^^^,f^^..f^PJJ\^"'%he  extraordinary'  developments  and  termination 
keenly  disappointed  ^  ^^ ^1^^;^^^^:^^^^  lines  of  the  Pvorl,:- 

"  Truth  is  stranger  than   Fiction, 
But  De  Rougemont  is  stranger  than  both. 


FTER  the  funeral— and  funerals  are 
dealt  with  more  fully  in  my  anthropo- 
logical notes— his  wife  followed  out 
the  usual  custom  of  covering  herself 
with  pipeclay  for  about  one  month. 
She  also  mourned  and  howled  for  the  pre- 
scribed three  days,  and  gashed  her  head  with 
bones  and  stones.  Gibson's  body  was  not  buried 
in  the  earth,  but  embalmed  with  clay  and  leaves, 
and  laid  on  a  rock-shelf  in  a  cave. 

The    general    belief  was    that   Gibson    had 
merely   gone   back    to   the   Spirit    Land    from 
whence  he  had  come,  and  that  as  he  was   a 
great  and  good  man,  he  would  return  to  earth 
in  the  form  of  a  bird- perhaps  an  ibis.     I  must 
say  I  never  attached  very  much  importance  to 
what    he    said,    however,    even    in    his    sane 
moments,  because  he  was  obviously  a  man  ot 
low  intelligence  and  no  culture.     If  I  remember 
rightly,  he  told  me  that  the  expedition  to  which 
he  was  attached  left  Adelaide  with  the  object 
of    goin^    overland    to    Freemantle.      It    was 
thoroughly  well  equipped,  and  for  a  long  time 
everything  went  well  with  the  party.     One  day, 
whilst  some  of  them  were  off  exploring  on  their 
own  account,  he  lost  himself. 

He  rather  thought  that  the  sun  must 
Lost  in    have    affected    his    brain    even  then, 

the  Desert.  ^^^^^^^    ^^    ^.^^^,^   ^^^  ^^  ^^^^  j^j^  ^^^^_ 

panions  that  night,  but  went  to  sleep  quite 
contentedly  under  a  tree.  He  realized  the 
horror  of  his  position  keenly  enough  the  next 
morning,  however,  and  rode  mile  after  mile 
without  halting  and  without  stopping  for  tood 
or  water,  in  the  hope  of  quickly  regaining  his 
friends  at  the  chief  camp.  Night  stole  down 
upon  him  once  more,  and  he  was  still  a  lonely 


wanderer,  half  delirious  with  thirst,  the  supply 
he    had   carried   with    him   having   long   since 

given  out.  ir   u^ 

Next  morning,  when  he  roused  himself,  he 
found  that  his  horse  had  wandered  away  and 
aot  lost.     After  this  he  had  only  a  vague  recol- 
fection  of  what  happened.     Prompted  by  some 
strange,  unaccountable  impulse,  he  set  out  on 
a  hopeless  search  for  water,  and  went  walking 
on  and  on  until  all  recollection  faded  away,  and 
he  remembered  no  more.     How  long  he  had 
been  lost  when  I  found  him  he  could  not  say, 
because  he  knew  absolutely  nothing  whatever 
about  his  rescue.     So   far  as  I  remember,  he 
was    a    typical    specimen    of    the    Australian 
pioneer-a  man  of  fine  physique,  with   a  full 
beard    and    a    frank,    but    unintelligent,   coun- 
tenance.    He  was  perhaps   5ft.  4in.   in   height 
and  about  thirty  years  of  age.     \N  hen  I  told  h,m 
the  story  of  my  adventures  he  was  full  of  earnest 
sympathy  for  me,  and  told  me  that  .if  ever  I 
intended  leaving  those   regions  for  civilization 
a-ain,  my  best  plan  would  be  to  steer  more  S.h., 
as  it  was  in  this  direction  that  Adelaide  lay. 

He  also  informed  me  that  the  great 

Gibson's    trans-Continental    telegraph    wire  was 

Advice,    bein-'  constructed  from  north  to  south. 

This'' he    advised    me   to   strike   and 

follow  to  civilization.  . 

I  may  be  permitted  a  little  digression  here  to 
give  a  few  extracts  from  Ciiles's  book  ''Australia 
Twice  Traversed"  (Sampson  Low  and  Company), 
for  this  contains  the  version  of  the  leader  of  the 
expedition  himself  as  to  the  circumstances  under 
which  Gibson  was  lost.  In  all,  it  seems  Giles 
made  five  exploring  expeditions  into  and  through 
Central  South  Australia  and  Western  Australia 


Vol.  iii.— 1. 


Copyright,  X899.  in  the  United  States,  by  Louis  de  Rougemont. 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


MK.  ERNEST  r.M.ES,  I.EAIJKK 
OF  TIIK  KXPEDITIOV. 

from  a  I'hoto. 


from    1872  to    1876.     Speaking  of  his  second 

expedition,  Mr.  (iiles  says:    "I    had   informed 

my  friend,   Baron   \ox\   Mueller,   by  wire  from 

the  Charlottf  Waters   Telegraph  station   of  the 

failure  and  break-up  of  mv  first  expedition,  and 

he  set  to  work  and 

obtained  new  funds 

for  me    to  continue 

my  labours.  1  reached 

Adelaide   late    in 

January,    1873,   and 

got    my   party   to 

gether.      We    left 

early    in    March   of 

1873,  and  journeyed 

leisurely    upcountr\ 

to  Heltana,  then  past 

the  Finriis  Springs  to 

the     (Ircgory.       U  e 

then  journeyed  up  to 

the  Peake,  where  we 

were    welcomed    by 

Messrs.  Hagot  at  the 

Cattle    Station,   and 

Mr.    Hlood    of    the 

'I'elegraph  Department.     Here  we  fixed 

up  all  our  packs,  sold  Bagot  the  waggon, 

and  bought  horses   and   other  things. 

We  now  had   twenty  pack-horses  and 

four  riding  horses." 

We  now  come  to  the  introduction  of 
(libson. 

'■  Here   a    short    young    man 
'^o"""" accosted  me,  and  asked  me  if 

I  didn't  remember  him.     He  said  he 
was  '  Alf.'     I   thought   I   knew   his  face,  but  I 
\hought  it  was   at   the  Peake  that  I  had  seen 
nim  ;  but  he  said,  '  Oh,  no  I     Don't  you  remem 
ber  Alf,  with   Bagot's  sheep  at  the  north- 
west   bend    of   the    Murray?     My   name's 
Alf  Cibson,  and  I  want  to  go  out  with  you.' 
I   said,   'Well,   can  you   shoe?     Can    you 
ride?     ('an  you  .starve  ?     Can  you  go  with- 
out water  ?    And  how  would  you  like  to  be 
sjK-ared  by  the  blacks  ?  '     He  said  he  could 
do  everything    I    had    mentioned,    and  he 
wasn't  afraid  of  the  blacks.      He  was  not  a 
man  I  would  have  picked  out  of  a  mob, 
but  men  were  .scarce,  and.  he  seemed  so 
anxious  to  come,  so  I  agreed  to  take  him. 

"  Thus,  the  expedition  consisted  of  four 
persons  -^  myself  (Ernest  Giles),  Mr. 
William  Henry  'I'ietkins,  Alf  Gibson,  and 
James  Andrews,  with  twenty-four  horses 
and  two  little  dogs.  On  Monday,  4th 
August,  we  finally  left  the  encampment." 

Now  here  is  the  passage  in  which  Mr. 
(iiles  describes  his  dramatic  parting  with 
Gibson.     It  will  be  found  in   the  chapter 


marked,  '•20th  April  to  21st  May,  1874." 
"  Gibson  and  I  departed  for  the  west.  I  rode 
the  'Fair  Maid  of  Perth.'  I  gave  Gibson  the 
big  ambling  horse,  '  Badger,'  and  we  packed  the 
big  cob  with  a  pair  of  water-bags  that  contained 
twenty  gallons.  As  we  rode  away,  I  was  telling 
Gibson  about  various  exploring  expeditions  and 
their  fate,  and  he  said,  '  How  is  it  that,  in  all 
these  exploring  expeditions,  a  lot  of  people  go 
and  die?  '  He  said,  '  I  shouldn't  like  to  die  in 
this  part  of  the  country,  anyhow.' 

'•  \\'e  presently  had  a  meal  of  smoked  horse. 
It  was  late  when  we  encamped,  and  the  horses 
were  much  in  want  of  water,  especially  the  big 
cob,  who  kept  coming  up  to  the  camp  all  night 
and  tried  to  get  at  our  water- bags.  We  had 
one  small  water-bag  hung  in  a  tree. 

"I  didn't  think  of 
that  until  my  mare 
came  straight  up 
to  it  and  took  it  in 
her  teeth,  forcing  out  the 
cork,  and  sending  the  water 
up,  which  we  were  both 
dying  to  drink,  in  a  beau- 
tiful jet.  Gibson  was  now 
very  sorry  he  had  exchanged 
'  Badger'  for  the  cob,  as  he 
found  the  cob  very  dull  and 
heavy  to  get  along.  There 
had  been  a  hot  wind  from 
the  north  all  day,  and  the 
following  morning,  the  23rd 


A  Fountain 
in  the 
Desert. 


MR.    WILLIAM 

HENRV  TIETKINS, 

SECOND    IN 

COMMAND. 

From  a  Photo. 


^'J'- 


,4'«'- 


THE  MARE  TOOK  IT  IN  HER  TEETH,  AND  SENT  THE  WATER  Ul'  l\  A  JET." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  LOUIS  DE  ROUGEMONT, 


of  April,  there  was  a  most  strange  dampness  in 
the  air,  and  I  had  a  vague  feeling,  such  as  must 
have  been  felt  by  augurs  and  seers  of  old,  who 
trembled  as  they  told  events  to  come ;  for  this 
ivas  the  hxst  day  on  which  I  ever  saw  Gibson. 

"  As  Gibson  came  along  after  me,  he  called 
out  that  his  horse  was  going  to  die.  The  hills 
to  the  west  were  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  away, 
and  I  had  to  give  up  trying  to  reach  them. 
How  I  longed  for  a  camel  I  (Gibson's  horse 
was  now  so  bad  as  to  place  both  of  us  in  a  great 
dilemma.  We  turned  back  in  our  tracks,  when 
the  cob  refused  to  carry  his  rider  any  farther, 
and  tried  to  lie  down.  We  drove  him  another 
mile  on  foot,  and  down  he  fell  to  die.  My 
mare,  the   '  Fair   Maid  of  Perth,'  was  only  too 


Giles 

Regains 

His  Camp. 


glared  at 
the  dead. 


willing    to 


return,    but  she  had  now   to   carry 


Gibson's  saddle  and  things,  and  away  we  went, 
walking  and  riding  in  turns  of  one  half-hour 
each. 

"  ^^'hen  we  got  back  to  about  thirty  miles  from 
a  place  which  I  had  named  '  The  Kegs,'  I 
shouted  to  (ribson,  who  was  riding,  to  stop 
until  I  walked  up  to  him.  By  this  tinie  we 
had  hardly  a  pint  of  water  left  between  us. 

We  here  finished  the  supply,  and   I 


(( 


*  "^Fi"'"^  then  said,  as  I  could  not  speak  before, 
'  Look  here,  Gibson, 


here,  Ciibson,  you  see  we  are 
in  a  most  terrible  fix,  with  only  one  horse  :  so, 
only  one  can  ride,  and  one  must  remain  behind. 
I  shall  remain,  and  now  listen  to  me.  If  the 
mare  does  not  get  water  soon  she  will  die ; 
therefore,  ride  right  on  ;  get  to  the  Kegs,  if 
possible,  to-night,  and  give  her  water.  Now 
that  the  cob  is  dead,  there'll 
be  all  the  more  water  for  her. 
Early  to-morrow  you  will  sight 
the  Rawlinson,  at  twenty-five 
miles  from  the  Kegs.  Stick 
to  the  tracks  and  never  leave 
them.  Leave  as  much  water 
in  one  keg  for  me  as  you  can 
afford,  after  watering  the  mare 
and  filling  up  your  own  bags, 
and,  remember,  I  depend  upon 
you  to  bring  me  relief.' 

"Gibson  said  if  he  had  a 
compass  he  thought  he  could 
go  better  by  night.  I  knew 
he  didn't  understand  anything 
about  compasses  at  all,  as  I 
had  often  tried  to  explain  them 
to  him.  The  one  I  had  was 
a  Gregory's  Patent,  of  a  totally 
different  construction  from 
ordinary  instruments  of  the 
kind,  and  I  was  loth  to  part 
with  it,  as  it  was  the  only  one 
I  had.      However,  as  he  was 


so  anxious  for  it,  I  gave  it  to  him,  and  away  he 
went.  I  sent  one  final  shout  after  him  to  stick 
to  the  tracks,  and  he  .said,  '  All  right ! '  and  the 
mare  carried  him  out  of  sight  almost  instantly. 

"  All  the  food  I  had  was  eleven  sticks  of 
dirty,  sandy,  smoked  horse,  averaging  about 
an  ounce  and  a  half  each. 

"On  the  I  St  of  May,  as  I  afterwards 
found  out,  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, I  staggered  into  the  camp,  and 
awoke  Mr.  Tietkins  at  daylight.  He 
me  as  if  I  had  been  one  risen  from 
I  asked  him  if  he  had  seen  Gibson. 
It  was  eight  days  since  I  last  saw  him.  The 
next  thing  was  to  find  Gibson's  remains.  It 
was  the  6th  of  May  when  we  got  back  to  where 
Gibson  had  left  the  right  line.  As  long  as  he 
had  remained  on  the  other  horses'  tracks  it 
was  practicable  enough  to  follow  his  track, 
but  the  wretched  man  had  left  them  and  gone 
away  in  a  far  more  southerly  direction,  having 
the  most  difficult  sand-hills  to  cross  at  right 
angles.  We  found  he  had  burnt  a  patch  of 
spinifex  where  he  had  l-^ft  the  other  horses' 
tracks. 

"  Whether  he  had  made  any  mistake  in  steer- 
ing by  the  compass  or  not  it  is  impossible  to 
say ;  but  instead  of  going  east,  as  he  should 
have  done,  he  actually  went  south,  or  very 
near  it. 

"  I  was  sorry  to  think  that  the  unfortunate 
man's  last  sensible  moments  must  have  been 
embittered  by  the  thought  that,  as  he  had  lost 
himself   in  the   capacity  of   messenger  for  my 


THE    LAST    MK.    Oil.ES   EVER   SAW    OF   GIBSON. 

Frotn  "  Australia  Twice  Traversed."     By  kind  permission  of  Messrs.  Sampson  Lo^u  6^  Co. 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


rclid,   1,  too,  must  necessarily  fall  a  victim  to 
liis  mishap. 

"  I  called  this  terrible  region,  lying  between 
the  Rawlinson  Range  and  the  next  permanent 
water  that  may  eventually  be  found  to  the  north, 
'  Clibson's  Desert,'  after  this  first  white  \  ictim 
to  its  horrors. 

"  In  looking  over  Ciibson's  few  effects, 

EffSct..'    •'^''■-    Tit-tkins   and    I    found   an    old 
jxjcket-book,  a   drinking   song,  and  a 
certificate  of  his  marriage.     He  had  never  told 
us  he  was  married." 

And  now  to  resume  my  own  narrative. 
Now  that  (libson  was  dead  I  decided  to 
move  my  home  farther  north,  and  eventually  I 
.etlled  down  with  my  family  (two  children,  a 
boy  and  a  girl,  had  been  born  to  me  during  my 
residence  on  the  shores  of  the  lagoon)  in  a 
beautiful  mountainous  and  tropical  region  200 
or  300  miles  to  the  north.  It  was  my  intention 
'tily  to  have  made  a  temporary  stay  here,  but 
'■•!.'  r  ties  came,  and  my  little  ones  were  by  no 
iih  .ms  strong  enough  to  undertake  any  such 
formidable  journey  as  I  had  in  contemplation. 
I  also  made  the  fatal  mistake  of  trying  to  bring 
thtni  uj)  differently  from  the  other  savage 
(  liiliireii. 

I5ut  I  have  to  relate  here  an  incident 
that  hap|)ened  on  our  journey  north.  Yamba 
came  to  me  one  day  positively  (juivering  with 
excitement  and  terror,  and  said  she  had  found 
some  strange  tracks,  apparently  of  some  enormous 
IxMst  a  monster  so  fearful  as  to  be  quite 
[)'  yond  her  knowledge. 

She  took  me  to  the  spot  and  pointed 
"  tVIcLT?*  out  the  mysterious 
tracks,  which  I  saw  at 
•nee  were  those  of  camels.  I 
do  not  know  why  I  decided  to 
follow  them,  because  they  must 
have  been  some  months  old. 
Probably,  I  reflected,  I  might 
be  nl)le  to  pick  up  something 
on  the  tracks  which  would  be 
of  use  to  me.  At  any  rate,  we 
did  follow  the  tracks  for  several 
weeks  -perhaps  a  month— and 
found  on  the  way  many  old 
meat  -  tins,  which  afterwards 
<  .mie  in  useful  as  water  vessels. 
( )ne  day,  however,  I  pounced 
upon  an  illustrated  newspaper 
—  a  copy  of  the  Sydney  T(ru<n 
and  Country  Journal^  bearing 
.some  date,  I  think  in  1875  or 
iS-/6.  It  was  a  complete  copy 
with  the  outer  cover.  I  re- 
member it  contained  some 
pictures    of    horse  -  racing  —  I 


I  SHOWED  THE  PICTURES  TO  MV  CHILDREN, 


believe  at  Parramatta  ;  but  perhaps  the  "  Long 
Lost  Relative "  column  interested  me  most, 
for  the  very  moment  I  found  the  paper  I  sat 
down  in  the  bush  and  began  to  read  it  with 
great  eagerness,  and  as  Yamba  was  also  toler- 
ably familiar  with  the  language,  I  read  aloud  to 
her.  I  cannot  say  she  altogether  understood 
what  she  heard,  but  she  saw  that  I  was  intensely 
interested  and  delighted,  and  so  she  was  quite 
content  to  stay  there  and  listen.  You  will 
observe  that  in  all  cases  the  very  fact  that  /  was 
pleased  was  enough  for  Yamba,  who  never 
once  wavered  i^:  her  fidelity  and  affection. 
Altogether  we  spent  some  weeks  following  up 
these  tracks,  but,  of  course,  we  never  came  up 
with  the  caravan  of  camels,  which  must  have 
been  some  months  ahead  of  us.  Yamba  at 
length  appeared  to  be  a  good  deal  wearied  at 
my  persistency  in  following  up  the  tracks  in  this 
way,  but  after  all  was  it  not  merely  killing  time? 
— a  mild  sort  of  sensation  which  served  to 
break  the  eternal  monotony  that  sometimes 
threatened  to  crush  me. 

How  I  treasured  that  soiled  copy  of 
■possession*! the  TozvH  and  Country,  as  it  is 
familiarly  called  in  Sydney  !  I  read 
and  re-read  it,  and  then  read  it  all  over  again 
until  I  think  I  could  have  repeated  every  line  of 
it  by  heart,  even  to  the  advertisements.  Among 
the  latter,  by  the  way,  was  one  inserted 
apparently  by  an  anxious  mother  seeking  in- 
formation concerning  a  long-lost  son  ;  and  this 
pathetic  paragraph  set  me  wondering  about  my 
own  mother.  "Well,"  I  thought,  "she  at  least 
has  no  need  to  advertise,  and  I  have  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  she 
must  by  this  time  be  quite  re- 
conciled to  my  loss,  and  have 
given  me  up  as  dead  long  ago." 
Strangely  enough,  this  thought 
cjuite  reconciled  me  to  my  exile. 
In  fact,  I  thanked  Providence 
that  my  disappearance  had  been 
so  complete  and  so  prolonged 
as  to  leave  not  the  slightest 
cause  for  hope  on  the  part  of 
any  of  my  relatives.  Had  I  for 
a  moment  imagined  that  my 
mother  was  still  cherishing 
hopes  of  seeing  me  again  some 
day,  and  that  she  was  under- 
going agonies  of  mental  sus- 
pense and  worry  on  my  behalf, 
I  think  I  would  have  left  every- 
thing and  risked  everything  to 
reach  her.  But  I  knew  quite 
well  that  she  must  have  heard  of 
the  loss  of  the  Veiel/and,  and 
that  she  had  long  ago  resigned 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  LOUIS  DE  ROUGEMOXT. 


7 


herself  to  the  certainty  of  my  death.  I  can  never 
hope  to  describe  the  curious  delight  with  whii  h 
I  perused  my  precious  newspaper.  I  showed  the 
pictures  in  it  to  my  children  and  my  natives, 
and  they  were  more  than  delighted,  especially 
with  the  pictures  of  the  horses  in  the  races  at 
Parramatta.  In  the  course  of  time  the  sheets  of 
paper  began  to  get  torn,  and  then  I  made  a 
pretty  durable  cover  out  of  kangaroo  hide. 
Thus  the  whole  of  my  library  consisted  of  my 
Anglo-French  Testament  and  the  copy  of  the 
Tcnvn  and  Country  Journal. 

But  I  have  purposely  kept  until  the  end  the 
most  important  thing  in  connection  with  this 
strangely-found  periodical.  The  very  first  eager 
and  feverish  reading  gave  me  an  extraordinary 
shock,  which  actually  threatened  my  reason  ! 
In  a  prominent  place  in  the  journal  I  came 
across  the  following  passage  :  "  The  Deputies  of 
Alsace  and  Lorraine  have  refused  to  vote  in  the 
German  Reichstag." 

Now,  naturally  knowing  nothing  whatever  of 
the   sanguinary  war  of  1870,  or  of  the   altera- 
tions in  the  map  of  Europe  which  it  entailed, 
this  passage  filled  me  with   startled  amazement. 
I   read  it  over  and    over    again,    getting   more 
bewildered    each    time.       "The    Deputies    of 
Alsace  and  Lorraine  have  refused  to  vote  in  the 
German  Reichstag  !  "     "  But — good  heavens  !  " 
I  almost  screamed  to  myself,  "  zvhat 
were  the  Alsace  and  Lorraine  Depu- 
ties doing  in  the  German  Parliament 
at  all  ?  "     I  turned  the  matter  over 
and  over  in  my  mind,  and  at  last, 
finding  that  I  was  getting  worked 
up  into  a  state  of  dangerous  excite- 
ment, I  threw  the  paper  from  me 
and  walked  away.     I  thought  over 
the    matter   again,   and   so   utterly 
incomprehensible  did  it  appear  to 
me  that  I  thought  I  must  be  mis- 
taken —  that   my  eyes   must   have 
deceived   me.      Accordingly  I  ran 
back  and  picked  the  paper   up   a 
second  time,  and  there,  sure  enough, 
was  the  same  passage.     In  vain  did 
I  seek  for  any  sane  explanation,  and 
at  last  I  somehow  got  it  into  my 
head   that   the   appearance  of  the 
printed  characters  must  be  due  to  a 
kind  of  mental  obliquity  and  that  I 
myself  must  be  rapidly  going  mad  I 
Even  Yamba  could  not  sympathize 
with  me,  because  the  matter  was  one 
which  I  never  could  have  made  her  understand. 
I    tried  to  put    this    strange  puzzle  out    of  my 
head,  but  again   and   again   the  accursed   and 
torturing  passage  would  ring  in  my  ears  until  I 
nearly  went  crazy. 


It  is  not  an  exaggeration  to  describe 
pa^ldfs"  "ly  mountair.  home  in  the  centre  of 
the  continent  as  a  perfect  paradise. 
The  grasses  and  ferns  grew  10  a  prodigious 
height,  and  there  were  magnificent  forests  of 
while  gum  and  eucalyptus.  Down  in  the 
valley  I  built  a  spacious  house — the  largest 
the  natives  had  ever  seen.  It  was  perhaps 
20ft.  long,  1 6ft.  to  18ft.  wide,  and  about 
I  oft.  high.  The  interior  was  decorated  with 
ferns,  war  implements,  the  skins  of  various 
animals,  and  last — but  by  no  means  least  — 
the  "  sword  "  of  the  great  sawfish  I  had  killed 
in  the  haunted  lagoon.  This  house  contained 
no  fireplace,  because  all  the  cooking  w-as  done 
in  the  open  air.  The  walls  of  the  hut  were 
built  of  rough  logs,  the  crevices  being  filled  in 
with  earth  taken  from  ant-hills.  I  have  just 
said  /  built  the  house.  This  is,  perhaps,  not 
strictly  correct.  It  was  Yamba  and  the  other 
women-folk  who  actually  carried  out  the  work, 
under  my  supervision.  Here  it  is  necessary  to 
explain  that  I  did  not  dare  even  to  cut  down  a 
tree,  because  such  a  proceeding  would  have 
been  considered  undignified  on  my  part.  I 
really  did  not  want  the  house  ;  but,  strangely 
enough,  I  felt  much  more  comfortable  when  it 
was  built  and  furnished,  because,  after  all, 
it  was  a  source  of  infinite  satisfaction  to  me  to 


Ivfe' 


I   THREW   THE    PAPER    KRO.M    ME. 


feel  that  I  had  a  home  I  could  call  my  own. 
Gradually,  then,  I  settled  down  and  was  made 
absolute  chief  over  a  tribe  of  perhaps  five 
hundred  souls.  Besides  this,  my  fame  spread 
abroad  into   the    surrounding    country,    and    at 


THK    WIDE     WORLD    MACiAZINE. 


every  new  moop  ^  held  a  sort  of  informal 
reception,  which  v^is  attended  by  deputations  of 
tribesmen  from  hundreds  of  miles  aroiuid.  My 
own  tribe  already  possessed  a  chieftain  of  their 
own,  but  my  position  was  one  pf  greater  influ- 
ence even  than  his  ;  and  I  was  appointed  to  it 
without  having  to  undergo  the  painful  and 
degrading  ceremonies  that  initiation  entails.  My 
immunity  in  this  respect  was,  of  course,  owing 
t(j  my  supposed  great  powers.  I  was  always 
present  at  tribal  and  war  council-s,  and  also 
liad  some  authority  over  other  tribes. 

I  adopted  every  device  I  could  think 
^,™p\  of  to  make  my  dwelling  home-like, 
Failure,   ^-jj^  J  gyg„  joumeyed  many  miles  in  a 

N.N.E.  direction,  to  procure  cuttings 
(jf  grape  vines,  but  I  must  say  that  this  at  any 
rate  was  labour  in  vain, 
because  I  never  improved 
upon  the  quality  of  the  wild 
grapes,  which  had  a  sharp, 
acid  flavour  that  affected  the 
throat  somewhat  unpleasantly 
until  one  got  used  to  them. 

And   we  had   pets  ; 
coISatoo!'  '  remember  I  once 

caught  a  live  cocka- 
too, and  trained  him  to  help 
me  in  my  hunting  expeditions. 
!  taught  him  a  few  English 
|)hrases,  such  as  "Good  morn- 
ing," and  "  How  are  you  ?  " 
and  he  would  perch  himself 
on  a  tree  and  attract  great 
numbers  of  his  kind  around 
him  by  his  incessant  chatter- 
ing. I  would  then  knock  over 
as  many  as  I  wanted  by  means 
of  my  bow  and  arrows.  At 
this  time,  indeed,  I  had  quite 
a  menagerie  of  animals,  in- 
cluding a  tame  kangaroo. 
Naturally  enough,  I  had  ample 
leisure  to  study  the  ethnology 
of  my  people.  I  soon  made  "itaucui  m 
the  discovery  that  my  blacks 
were  intensely  spiritualistic,  and  that  once  a  year 
they  held  a  festival  which,  when  described,  will,  I 
am  afraid,  tax  the  credulity  of  my  readers.  The 
festival  I  refer  to  was  held  "  when  the  sun  was 
born  again,"  i.e.,  about  New  Year's  Day.  On 
these  occasions  the  adult  warriors  from  far  and 
near  assembled  at  a  certain  spot,  and  after  a 
rourse  of  festivities,  they  sat  down  to  an  extia- 
ordinary  siancc  conducted  by  women —very 
old,  wizened  witches— who  apparently  possessed 
occult  powers,  and  were  held  in  great  venera- 
tion. These  witches  are  usually  maintained  at 
the  expense  of  the  tribe.     The  office  of  witch. 


however,  does  not  necessarily  descend  from 
mother  to  daughter,  it  being  only  women 
credited  with  supernatural  powers  who  can 
claim  the  position. 

After  the  great  corroboree  the  people  would 
squat  on  the  ground,  the  old  men  and  warriors 
being  in  front,  the  women  behind,  and  the 
children  behind  them  ;  the  whole  congregation 
being  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  crescent,  in  the 
centre  of  which  a  large  fire  would  be  set  burning. 
Some  of  the  warriors  would  then  start  chanting, 
and  their  monotonous  sing-song  would  presently 
be  taken  up  by  the  rest  of  the  gathering,  to  the 
accompaniment  of  nmch  swaying  of  heads  and 
beating  of  hands  and  thighs.  The  young 
warriors  then  went  out  into  the  open  and 
commenced  to  dance. 

I  may  as  well  de- 
o?dTnary'  scribc  in  detail  the 
Festival,  j^^st  of  thcsc  extra- 
Ordinary  festivals 
which  I  witnessed.  The  men 
chanted  and  danced  them- 
selves into  a  perfect  frenzy, 
which  was  still  further  in- 
creased by  the  appearance  of 
three  or  four  witches  who 
suddenly  rose  up  before  the 
fire.  They  were  very  old  and 
haggard  -  looking  creatures, 
with  skins  like  shrivelled 
parchment ;  they  had  scanty, 
dishevelled  hair,  and  piercing, 
beady  eyes.  They  were  not 
ornamented  in  any  way,  and 
they  seemed  more  like  skele- 
tons from  a  tomb  than  human 
beings.  After  they  had  gyrated 
wildly  round  the  fire  for  a 
short  time,  the  chant  sud- 
denly ceased,  and  the  witches 
fell  prostrate  upon  the  ground, 
calling  out  as  they  did  so  the 
names  of  some  departed 
chiefs.  A  deathly  silence 
then  fell  on  the  assembled 
gathering,  and  all  eyes  were  turned  to  the 
wreaths  of  smoke  that  were  ascending  towards 
the  evening  sky.  The  witches  presently 
renewed  their  plaintive  cries  and  exhortations, 
and  at  length  I  was  amazed  to  see  strange 
shadowy  forms  shaping  themselves  in  the 
smoke.  At  first  they  were  not  very  distinct, 
but  gradually  they  assumed  the  form  of 
human  beings,  and  then  the  blacks  readily 
recognised  them  as  one  or  other  of  their  long- 
departed  chiefs  ■ —  estimable  men  always  and 
great  fighters. 

Now  the  first  two  or  three  times  I  saw  this 


A    I  i;\V    ENGLISH    PHRASES. 


I'HE  ADVENTURES  OF  LOUIS  DE  ROUGEMONT. 


weird   and  fantastic  ceremony,    I 


thought 


the 


in  too  great  a  state  of  terror  to  have  availed 


f 


apparitions  were  the  result  of  mere  trickery. 

But  when  I  saw  them  year  after 
'"^f''the°'"^year  for  almost  a  generation,  T  came 
••Ghosts."  jQ  [[.|g  conclusion   that  they  must   be 

placed  in  the  category  of  those  things 
which  are  beyond  the  ken  of  our  philosophy.  I 
might  .say  that  no  one  was  allowed  to  approach 
sufficiently  close  to  touch  the  "ghosts,"  if  such 
they  can  be  termed;  and  probably  even  if 
permission  had  been  granted,  the  blacks  would 
be 
themselves  of  it 

Each  of  these  seances  lasted  twenty  minutes 
or  half  an  hour,  and  were  mainly  conducted  in 
silence.  Whilst  the  apparitions  were  visible, 
the  witches  remained  prostrate,  and  the  people 
looked  on  quite  spellbound.  Gradually  the 
spirits  would  melt  away  again  in  the  smoke, 
and  vanish  from  sight,  after  which  the  assembly 
would  disperse  in  silence,  and  by  next  morning 
all  the  invited  blacks  would  have 
gone  off  to  their  respective  homes. 
The  witches,  as  I  afterwards  learnt, 
lived  alone  in  caves  ;  and  that  they 
possessed  wonderful  powers  of  pro- 
phecy was  evidenced  in  my  own 
case,  because  they  told  me  when  I 
came  among  them  that  I  would 
still  be  many  years  with  their  people, 
but  that  I  would  eventually  return 
to  my  own  kind.  The  warriors, 
too,  invariably  consulted  these 
oracles  before  departing  on  hunting 
or  fighting  expeditions,  and  reli- 
giously followed  their  advice. 

My  two  children  were  a  source 
of  great  delight  to  me  at  this  time, 
although  of  course  they  were  half- 
castes,  the  colour  of  their  skin 
being  very  little  different  from  that 
of  their  mother.  The  whiteness 
of  their  hands  and  finger-nails, 
however,  clearly  indicated  their 
origin.  They  were  not  christened 
in  the  Christian  way,  but  neither 
brought  up  exactly  in  the  same 
native  children. 

I  taught  them  English.     I  loved  them 
dearly,    and    used    to    make    for 

them  a  variety  of  gold  ornaments,  such 
as  bangles  and  armlets.  They  did  not  partici- 
pate in  all  the  rough  games  of  the  black 
children,  yet  they  were  very  popular,  having 
winning  manners,  and  being  very  quick  to 
learn.  I  often  told  them  about  my  life  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  but  whenever  I  spoke  of 
civilization,  I  classed  all  the  nations  of  the 
universe  together,  and  referred  to  them  as  "  my 

Vol.  iii.-2. 


home,'  or  "my  country."  1  did  not  attem])t 
to  distinguish  between  France  or  Switzerland, 
England  or  America.  Curiously  enough,  the 
subject  that  interested  them  most  was  the 
animal  kingdom,  and  when  I  told  them  that  I 
hoped  some  day  to  take  them  away  with  me 
to  see  my  great  country,  and  the  animals  it 
contained,  they  were  immensely  delighted. 
Particularly  they  wanted  to  see  the  horse,  the 
lion,  and  the  elephant.  Taking  a  yam-stick  as 
pointer,  I  would  often  draw  roughly  in  the 
sand  almost  every  animal  in  Nature.  But  even 
when  these  rough  designs  were  made  for  my 
admiring  audience,  I  found  it  extremely 
difficult  to  convey  an  idea  of  that  part  in 
the  economy  of  Nature  which  each  creature 
played.  I  would  tell  them,  however,  that  the 
horse  was  used  for  fighting  purposes  and  for 
travel,  that  the  cow  yielded  food  and  drink, 
and  that  the  dogs  drew  sledges.  It  was.  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  dwell  only  on  the  utilitarian 


1    WOULD   OFTEN     \>\<\\\ 


.Nl)    «  1  1  H 


were    they 
way   as    the 


A  Teacher  ,.orir 
of  English.  ''Cf) 


side  of  things.  Both  children  eventually  died 
from  a  kind  of  fever  about  the  year  1891 
or  1892.  Only  the  girl  was  initiated,  the 
boy  dying  before  his  initiation  ceremony  was 
due.  Both  of  my  children  were  very  proud 
of  my  position  among  and  influence  over  the 
blacks. 

And  really  I  looked  like  a  black 
a^lflc"  myself  at  this  time — not  so  much  on 
account  of  exposure,  as  because  my 
body  was  constantly  coated  with  the  charcoal 
and  grease  which  ser\e  as  a  protection  from 
the  weather  and  from  insects.  My  children, 
you  may  be  interested  to  learn,  never  grasped 


10 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


the   fact   that    my  exile   was    otht  r    than    quite 
voluntary  on  my  i)art. 

The  children  of  the  blacks,  by  the  way,  con- 
tinued to  interest  me  as  much  as  ever  (I  was 
always  fond  of  children),  and  I  never  grew  tired 
of  watching  them  at  their  quaint  little  games. 
I  think  they  all  loved  me  as  much  as  I  did 
them,  and  I  was  glad  to  see  that  their  lives  were 
one  long  dream  of  happiness.  They  had  no 
.school  to  attend,  no  work  to  perform,  and  no 
punishment  to  suffer.  'Inhere  are  no  children 
like  the  cliildrcn  of  the  bush  for  perfect 
contentment.  They  seldom  or  never  quar- 
relled, and  all  day  long  they  were  playing 
happily  about  the  camp,  practising  throwing 
their  reed  spears, 
climbing  the  trees 
after  the  honey-pods, 
and  indulging  in  a 
thousand  and  one 
merry  pranks.  Often 
and  often  I  looked 
at  these  robust  little 
rascals,  and  com- 
pared them  sadly 
with  my  own  chil- 
dren, who  were  so 
delicate  from  the 
very  first  and  who 
caused  me  so  much 
anxiety  and  heart- 
ache. 

When  the  com 
bination  of  circum- 
stances which  are 
now  well  known  to 
my  readers  caused 
me  to  settle  down 
in  my  mountain 
home,  two  or  three 
hundred  miles  to 
the  north  of  Gib- 
son's Desert,  I 
had  no  idea  that 
I  should  remain 
there  for  many 
years. 

I^ut    strangely  enough,  as   year  after 
c'ontVnt.  year  slipped  by,  the  desire  to  return  to 

civilization  seemed  to  leave  me,  and 
I  was  quite  content  with  my  lot.  Gradually  I 
began  to  feel  that  if  civilization — represented, 
say,  by  a  large  caravan— were  to  come  to  me, 
and  its  leader  was  willing  not  merely  to  take  me 
away,  but  my  wife  and  children  also,  then 
indeed  I  would  consent  to  go  ;  but  on  no  con- 
sideration could  I  be  induced  to  leave  those 
who  were  now  so  near  and  dear  to  me.  I  may 
as  well  mention  here  that  I  had  many  chances 


A   GKKAT    DAKKNESS   CA.MF.    0\EK    THE    KACE   OK    NATURE, 


of  returning  alone  to  civilization,  but  I  never 
availed  myself  of  them.  As  I  spent  the  greater 
part  of  twenty  years  in  my  mountain  home,  it 
stands  to  reason  that  it  is  this  part  of  my  career 
which  I  consult  for  curious  and  remarkable 
incidents. 

One  day  a  great  darkness  suddenly  came 
over  the  face  of  Nature.  The  sombre  gloom 
was  relieved  only  by  a  strange  lurid  glare,  that 

hung  on  the'  distant 
horizon  far  away 
across  that  weird 
land.  The  air  was 
soon  filled  with 
fine  ashes,  which 
descended  in  such 
quantities  as  to 
cover  all  vegetation, 
and  completely  hide 
all  exposed  water- 
holes  and  lagoons. 
Even  at  the  time  I 
attributed  the  phe- 
nomenon to  volcanic 
disturbance,  and  I 
have  since  found  by 
inquiries  that  it  was 
most  likely  due  to 
an  eruption  of  the 
volcano  of  Kra- 
katoa.  This  visita- 
tion occasioned  very 
great  consternation 
among  the  super- 
stitious blacks,  who 
concluded  that  the 
spirits  had  been 
angered  by  some  of 
their  own  misdeeds, 
and  were  manifest- 
ing their  wrath  in 
this  unpleasant  way. 
I  did  not  attempt 
to  enlighten  them 
as  to  its  true  cause, 
but  gave  them  to 
understand  vaguely 
that  I  had  something  to  do  with  it.  I  also  told 
them  that  the  great  spirit,  whose  representative 
I  was,  was  burning  up  the  land. 

Another     phenomenon     that     caused 

Unknown  much  mystification  and  terror  was  the 

Terror,    ^clipsc   of  the   sun.     Ncvcr,   I   think, 

have  I  seen  my  blacks  in  such  a  state 

of  excitement  and  terror  as  when  that  intense 

darkness    came    suddenly   over    the  world    at 

midday.     They  came  crowding  instinctively  to 

me,  and    I    stood    silent   among   the    cowering 

creatures,  not  thinking  it  politic  for  a  moment 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  LOUIS  DE  ROUGEMONT. 


II 


to  break  the  strange  and  appalling  stillness 
that  prevailed  on  every  hand,  and  which  extended 
even  to  the  animal  world.  The  trembling  blacks 
were  convinced  that  night  had  suddenly 
descended  upon  them,  and  they  had  no  explana- 
tion whatever  to  offer.  They  seemed  cjuite 
unfamiliar  with  the  phenomenon,  and  it  .was 
apparently  not  one  of  those  many  things  which 
their  forefothers  wove  superstitious  stories 
around,  to  hand  down  to  their  children.  As  the 
great  darkness  continued,  the  natives  retired  to 
rest,  without  even  holding  the  usual  evening 
chant.  I  did  not  attempt  to  explain  the  real 
reason  of  the  phenomenon  to  them,  but  as  I 
had  no  particular  end  to  serve  then,  I  did  not 
tell  them  that  it  was  due  to  my  power. 

Never  once,  you  see,  did  I  lose  an  opportunity 
of  impressing  the  savages,  among  whom  1 
dwelt.  On  several  occasions,  having  all  the 
ingredients  at  my  disposal,  I  attempted  to  make 
gunpowder,  but  truth  to  tell,  my  experiments 
were  not  attended  with  very  great  success.  I 
had  charcoal,  saltpetre,  and  sulphur  ready  to  my 
hand,  and  all  obtainable  from  natural  sources 
close  by ;  but  the  result  of  all  my  efforts — and 
I  tried  mixing  the  ingredients  in  every  conceiv- 
able way — was  a  very  coarse  kind  of  powder 
possessed  of  practically  no  explosive  force,  but 
which  would  go  off  with  an  absurd  "puff." 

I  was  very  anxious  to  make  an  explosive 

'"t'ur'i'of"  powder,  however,  not  merely  because 

Gunpowder,  jj-  ^yould  assist  me  in  impressing  the 

blacks,  but  also  be- 
cause I  proposed  carrying  out 
certain  blasting  operations  in 
order  to  obtain  minerals  and 
stones  which  I  thought  would 
be  useful.  The  net  result 
was  that  although  I  could  not 
manufacture  any  potent  ex- 
plosive, yet  I  did  succeed  in 
arousing  the  intense  curiosity 
of  the  blacks.  My  powder 
burnt  without  noise,  and  the 
natives  could  never  quite 
make  out  where  the  flame 
came  from. 

As  there  seemed  to  be  a 
never-ending  eagerness 
on  the  part  of  the 
blacks  to  witness  the 
wonders  of  the  white 
man,  I  even  tried  my 
hand  at  making  ice — a 
commodity  which  is,  of 
course,  absolutely  un- 
known in  these  regions. 
The  idea  came  to  me 
one  day  when  I  found 


myself  in  a  very  cool  cave,  in  which  there 
was  a  well  of  surprisingly  cold  water.  Accord- 
ingly, I  filled  some  opossum  skins  with  the 
refreshing  fluid,  placed  them  in  the  coolest 
part  of  the  cave,  and  then  covered  them  with 
saltpetre,  of  which  there  was  an  abundance. 
When  I  tell  you  that  the  experiment  was 
quite  fruitless,  you  will  readily  understand 
that  I  did  not  always  succeed  in  my  role 
of  wonder-worker.  \Vhenever  I  was  defeated, 
however,  it  only  had  the  effect  of  making  me 
set  my  wits  to  work  to  devise  something 
still  more  wonderful,  and  which  I  was  certain 
would  be  an  assured  success.  Whilst  taking  a 
stroll  in  the  region  of  my  mountain  home  one 
day,  my  eyes — which  were  by  this  time  almost 
as  highly  trained  as  those  of  the  blacks  them- 
selves— suddenly  fastened  upon  a  thin  stream 
of  some  greenish  fluid  which  was  apparently 
oozing  out  of  the  rocky  ground.  Closer  investi- 
gation proved  that  this  was  not  water.  I 
collected  a  quantity  of  it  in  a  kangaroo  skin, 
but  this  took  a  considerable  time,  because  the 
liquid  oozed  very  slowly. 

I  would  not  have  taken  this  trouble 
■'^F?nd°"°  \vere  it  not  that  I  was  pretty  certain 
I  had  discovered  a  spring  of  cnide  petro- 
leum. Immediately,  and  by  a  kind  of  instinct, 
it  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  make  use  of  this 
oil  as  yet  another  means  of  impressing  the  blacks 
with  my  magical  powers.  Of  course  I  told  no 
one  of  my  discovery,  not  even  \'amba.  First  of  all 

I  constructed  a 
sort  of  raft  from 
the  branches  of 
trees,  saturating 
each  branch 
with  the  oil.  I 
also  placed  a 
shallow  skin  re- 
servoir of  oil 
on    the   upper 


I    HAL)    DISCOVERED   A    SPRING  OF   CRUDE   PETROLEf.M. 


1  2 


THE    WIDE   WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


end  of  the  raft,  and  concealed  it  with  twigs 
and  leaves.  This  done,  I  launched  my  interest- 
ing craft  on  the  waters  of  the  lagoon,  having 
so  far  carried  out  all  my  preparations  in  the 
strictest  secrecy.  A\'hen  everything  was  ready 
I  sent  out  invitations  by  mail  men,  smoke-signals, 
and  message  sticks  to  the  tribes  far  and  near  tc 
come  and  see  me  set  fire  to  the  water !  In 
parentheses,  I  may  remark  that,  with  regard  to 
smoke-signals,  white  smoke  only  is  allowed  to 
ascend  in  wreaths  and  curls,  whilst  black  smoke 
is  sent  up  in  one  great  volume.  As  by  this  time 
my  fame  was  pretty  well  established,  the  wonder- 
loving  children  of  Nature  lost  no  time  in  re- 
sponding to  the  summons,  and  at  length,  when 
the  mystic  glow  of  a  Central  Australian  evening 
had  settled  over  the  scene,  a  great  gathering  had 
established  itself  on  the  shores  ot  the  lagoon. 
On  such  occasions,  however,  I  always  saw  to  it 
that  my  audience  were  not  too  pear.     At  the 


the  white  man  among  them  was  indeed  a  great 
and  powerful  spirit. 

But,  human  nature  being  fundamentally  the 
same  all  the  world  over,  it  was  natural  enough 
— and,  indeed,  the  wonder  is  how  I  escaped  so 
long — that  one  or  other  of  the  tribal  medicine 
men  should  get  jealous  of  my  power  and  seek 
to  overthrow  me.  Now,  the  medicine  man 
belonging  to  the  tribe  in  my  mountain  home 
presently  found  himself,  or  fancied  himself, 
under  a  cloud,  the  reason,  of  course,  being  that 
my  display  of  wonders  far  transcended  anything 
he  himself  could  do.  The  ultimate  result  of 
this  state  of  things  was  that  my  rival  commenced 
an  insidious  campaign  against  me,  trying  to 
explain  away  every  wonderful  thing  that  I 
did,  and  assuring  the  blacks  that  if  I  were 
a  spirit  at  all  it  was  certainly  a  spirit  of  evil. 
He  never  once  lost  an  opportunity  of  throwing 
discredit  and  ridicule  upon  me  and  my  powers, 


'  THF.V    DID   ACTIJAI.l.V    HEI.IEVE    I    HAr>    SET    fIRE   TO   THE    WATER    ITSELF. 


same  time  there  was  little  chance  of  failure, 
because  the  blacTcs  had  long  since  grown  to 
believe  in  me  blindly  and  implicitly. 

With  much  ceremony  I  set  fire  to  the 
"^^rIu.'^  raft,  hoisted  a  little  bark  sail  upon  it, 

and  pushed  it  off.  It  lay  very  low  in 
the  water,  and  as  the  amazed  onlookers  saw  it 
gliding  across  the  placid  waters  of  .the  lagoon 
enveloped  in  smoke  and  flames,  they  did 
actually  believe  that  I  had  set  fire  to  the  water 
itself.  They  remained  watching  the  blazing 
raft  till  the  fire  died  down,  when  they  retired  to 
their  own  homes,  more  convinced  than  ever  that 


and  at  length  I  discerned  symptoms  in  the  tribe 
which  rendered  it  imperatively  necessary  that  I 
should  take  immediate  and  drastic  steps  to 
overthrow  my  rival,  who,  by  the  way,  had 
commenced  trying  to  duplicate  every  one  of  my 
tricks  or  feats.  I  gave  the  matter  some  little 
thought,  and  one  day,  whilst  out  on  one  of  my 
usual  solitary  rambles,  I  came  across  a  curious 
natural  feature  which  suggested  to  me  a  novel 
and,  I  venture  to  say,  remarkable  solution  of  a 
very  serious  subject. 

I   suddenly   stood  on   the   brink  of  a 
o"  s'naktL^  peculiar  basin-like  depression,  which. 


THE    ADVENTURES    OF    LOUIS    I)E    ROUCIEMOXT. 


13 


from  its  obvious  dampness  and  profusion  uf 
bush  and  cover,  I  at  once  recognised  as  the 
ideal  abode  of  innumerable  snakes.  I  marked 
the  spot  in  my  mind  and  returned  home,  ponder- 
ing the  details  of  the  dramatic  victory  I  hoped 
to  win.  Dav  by  day  I  returned  to  this  depression 
and  caught  numerous  black  and  carpet  snakes. 
From    each   one   of  ' 

these  dangerous  and  .. 
poisonous  reptiles  I 
removed  the  poison 
fangs  only,  and 
then,  after  scoring  it 
with  a  cross  by 
means  of  my  stiletto, 
I  let  it  go,  knowinu 
full  well  that  it 
would  never  leave  a 
spot  so  ideal — from 
a  snake's  point  of 
view.  I  operated  on 
a  great  number  of 
the  deadly  reptiles' 
in  this  way,  but,  of 
course,  there  re- 
mained many  which 
were  not  so  treated, 
whilst  several  of  my 
queer  patients  died 
outright  under  the 
operation.  Needless 
to  say,  I  might  have 
met  my  own  death 
in  this  extraordinary 
business  had  I  not 
been  assisted  by  my 

devoted  wife.  When  we  had  finished  our  work, 
there  was  absolutely  nothing  in  the  appearance 
of  the  place  to  indicate  that  it  was  any  different 
from  what  it  was  when  I  first  cast  my  eyes 
upon  it. 

Then,  all  being  ready,  I  chose  a  specially 
dramatic  moment  at  a  corroboree  to  challenge 
my  rival  in  a  war  song,  this  challenge  being  sub- 
stantially as  follows  :  "  You  tell  the  people  that 
you  are  as  great  as  I  —  the  all-powerful  white 
spirit-man.  Well,  now,  I  offer  you  a  formal 
challenge  to  perform  the  feat  which  I  shall 
perform  on  a  certain  day  and  at  a  certain  spot." 
The  day  was  the  very  next  day,  and  the  spot, 
of  course,  the  scene  of  my  strange  surgical 
operations  upon  the  snakes.  The  effect  of  my 
challenge  was  magical. 

The  jealous  medicine  man,  boldly  and 
Dangerous  opeuly  challenged    before   the    whole 

Enemy,    ^^ibc,    had   no   time  to   make  up  an 

evasive  reply,  and  he  accepted   then 

and  there.     Urgent  messages  were  dispatched, 

by  the  fun-loving   blacks,  to  tribes   both  far  and 


1    REMOVED   THE    I'OISON    FANGS    AM)   SCORED    IT    WITH    A   CR 


near.  It  was  about  midday  when  the  ridge  was 
crowded  with  expectant  blacks,  every  one  of 
whom  dearly  loved  a  contest  or  competition  of 
any  kind.  I  was  brilliant  with  zebra-like  decora- 
tive markings  befitting  the  great  occasion.  I  lost 
no  time — for  in  love  or  war  shilly-shallying  is  un- 
known among    the   blacks — but   boldly  leaped 

down  into  the  hollow 
armed  only  with  a 
stick  and  a  reed 
whistle,  which  I  had 
made'  for  myself 
solely  with  the  view 
of  enticing  the 
snakes  from  their 
holes.  I  cast  a  tri- 
umphant glance  at 
my  impassive  rival, 
who,  up  to  this 
moment,  had  not 
the  faintest  idea 
what  the  proposed 
ordeal  was.  I  com- 
menced to  play  as 
lively  a  tune  as  the 
limited  number  of 
notes  in  the  whistle 
would  ,  allow,  and 
before  I  had  been 
„  .^  ,^  .-,-,—  -  playing  a  minute  the 

j|M|n^'  ^/  ^  '       "^    "  snakes  came  gliding 

*"  "^    ^*  out,    swinging    their 

heads  backwards 
and  forwards  and 
from  side  to  side  as 
though  they  were 
under  a  spell.  Selecting  a  huge  black  snake, 
who  bore  unobtrusively  my  safety  maik,  I 
pounced  down  upon  him  and  presented  my 
bare  arm.  After  teasing  the  reptile  two  or 
three  times  I  allowed  him  to  strike  his  teeth 
deep  into  my  flesh,  and  immediately  the 
blood  began  to  run.  I  also  permitted  several 
other  fangless  snakes  to  bite  me  until  mv  arms 
and  legs— and,  indeed,  most  of  my  body— were 
covered  with  blood.  Personally,  I  did  not  feel 
much  the  worse,  as  the  bites  were  mere  punc- 
tures, and  I  knew  the  selected  reptiles  to  be 
quite  innocuous.  Several  "  unmarked  '"  snakes, 
however,  manifested  an  eager  desire  to  join  in 
the  fun,  and  I  had  some  difificulty  in  escaping 
their  attentions.  I  had  to  wave  them  aside 
with  the  stick. 

All  this  time  the  blacks  above  me 
*"^ene.'"^ \^'ere  yelling  with  excitement,  and  I 
am  under  the  impression  that  several 
were  lamenting  my  madness,  whilst  others  were 
turning  ai;grily  upon  my  rival,  and  accusing  him 
of   having    brought    about    my    death.       At    a 


14 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


favourable  moment  I  rushed  up  the  ridge  of 
the  hollow  and  stood  before  the  horrified 
medicine  man,  who,  in  response  to  my 
triumphant  demand  to  go  and  do  likewise, 
returned  a  feeble  and  tremulous  negative.  Even 
he,  I  think,  was  now  sincerely  convinced  that  I 
was  possessed  of  superhuman  powers  ;  but  it 
would  have  been  awkward  had  he  come  along 


nominated  instead  a  youth  I  had  trained  for  the 
position.  It  may  be  necessary  here  to  remark 
that  the  blacks,  under  no  circumstances,  kill  a 
medicine  man.  My  defeated  rival  was  a  man 
of  very  considerable  power,  and  I  knew  quite 
well  that  if  I  did  not  get  the  best  of  him  he 
would  have  7ne  driven  out  of  the  tribe  and 
perhaps  speared. 


I    PERMITTED   SEVERAL   OTHER    KANGLESS   SNAKES   TO    BITE   ME. 


when  I  was  laboriously  and  surreptitiously 
extracting  the  poison  fangs  from  the  snakes  and 
placing  my  "hall  mark"  upon  them. 

His  refusal  cost  him  his  prestige,  and  he  was 
forthwith  driven  from  the  tribe  as  a  fraud,  whilst 
my  fame  rose  higher  than  ever.  The  blacks 
now  wished  me  to  take  over  the  office  of 
medicine  man,  but   I   declined   to  do  so,  and 


Mention  of  the  snake  incident  reminds 
^spoM.''    11^^  of  ^  ^'^''y  peculiar  and  interesting 

sport  which  the  blacks  indulge  in.  I 
refer  to  fights  between  snakes  and  iguanas. 
These  combats  certainly  afford  very  fine  sport. 
The  two  creatures  are  always  at  mortal  enmity 
with  one  another,  but  as  a  rule  the  iguana  com- 
mences the  attack,  no  matter  how  much  bigger 


THK    ADVF.XTl'R-KS    C)l'     LOUIS    \)V:     ROUCKMONT. 


15 


the  snake  may  be  than  himself,  or  whether  it  is 
poisonous  or  not.  I  have  seen  iguanas  attack 
black  snakes  from  6ft.  to  loft.  in  length,  whilst 
they  themselves  rarely  measured  more  than  3ft. 


then  advance  slowly  towards  its  opponent  and 
attempt  to  strike,  but,  as  a  rule,  the  big  one 
crushes  it  before  it  can  do  any  harm.  I  had 
often    heard   of  the  joke  about  two  snakes  of 


THE    BEGINNING   OF    THE   COMB.\T — SNAKE    V.    IGUAN.\. 


or  4ft.  As  a  rule  the  iguana  makes  a  snapping 
bite  at  the  snake  a  few  inches  below  its  head, 
and  the  latter  instandy  retaliates  by  striking  its 
enemy  with  its  poisonous  fangs.  Then  an 
extraordinary  thing  happens.  The  iguana  will 
let  go  his  hold  and  straightway  make  for  a  kind 
of  fern,  which  he  eats  in  considerable  quantities, 
the  object  of  this  being  to  counteract  the  effects 
of  the  poison.  When  he  thinks  he  has  had 
enough  of  the  antidote  he  rushes  back  to  the 
scene  of  the  encounter  and  resumes  the  attack  ; 
f/ie  snake  akvays  waiting  there  for  him.  Again 
and  again  the  snake  bites  the  iguana,  and  a 
often  the  latter  has  recourse  to  the  counteracting 
influences  of  the  antidote.  The  fight  may  last 
for  upwards  of  an  hour,  but  eventually  the  iguana 
conquers.  The  final  struggle  is  most  exciting. 
The  iguana  seizes  hold  of  the  snake  five  or  six 
inches  below  the  head,  and  this  time  refuses  to 
let  go  his  hold,  no  matter  how  much  the  snake 
may  struggle  and  enwrap  him  in  its  coils.  Over 
and  over  roll  the  combatants,  but  the  grip  of  the 
iguana  is  relentless ;  and  the  struggles  of  the 
snake  grow  weaker,  until  at  length  he  is  stretched 
out  dead.  Then  the  triumphant  iguana  steals 
slowly  away. 

The  spectators  would  never  dream  of 
thiv'ic'torf  l^i'-li'ig  him,  partly  on  account  of  their 

admiration  for  his  prowess,  but  more 
particularly  because  his  flesh  is  tainted  with  poison 
from  the  repeated  snake  bites.  These  curious 
fights  generally  take  place  near  water-holes. 

I  have  also  seen  remarkable  combats  between 
snakes  of  various  species  and  sizes.  A  small 
snake  will  always  .respond  to  the  challenge  of  a 
much  larger  one,  this  challenge  taking  the  form 
of  rearing  up  and  hissing.     The  little  snake  will 


equal  size  trying  to  swallow  one  another,  and 
was,  therefore,  the  more  interested  when  I  came 
across  this  identical  situation  in  real  life.  One 
day,  right  in  my  track,  lay  two  very  large  snakes 
which  had  evidently  been  engaged    in    a   very 


"  THE   GRIP   OF   THE   IGUANA    IS    RELENTLESS." 

serious  encounter,  and  the  victor  had  com- 
menced swallowing  his  exhausted  adversary. 
He  had  disposed  of  some  three  or  four  feet  of 
that  adversary's  length  when  I  arrived  on  the 
scene,  and  was  evidently  resting  before  taking 
in  the  rest.     I  easily  made  prisoners  of  both. 


(To  be  continued.) 


The  Holy    Week   Procession   in   Sevi//e. 


Bv    HEKiiiiRT    Vivian. 

A  vivid    and    striking    glimpse  of   religious    fervour  in  the  glowing  South.     All    about    the  remarkable 
Holy  Week  Procession  in  Seville,  with  impressive  photographs  from  our  own  commissioner. 


liri  HER  Puritanism  nor  iconoclasm 
arc  intended  when  I  say  that  Seville 
is  the  home  of  dramatic  religion,  on 
a  scale  no  less  striking  and  elaborate 
than  the  worship  of  the  old  classical 
dciiie.->,  which  depended  above  all  on  amusing 
and  interesting  the  masses.  The  piety  and 
fervour  of  Seville  are  altogether  amazing  to 
the  Protestant  mind  As  an  instance  of  the 
religious  zeal  which  obtains  at  Seville,  I  may 
mention  that  the  newspapers  there  devote  nearly 
half  a  column  every  day  to  the  various  ecclesi- 
astical functions.  Religion  in  Seville  is  not  a 
mere  outward  form,  but  a  vital  part  of  the  daily 
life  of  the  people. 

All  the  innumerable  feasts  of  the  Church  are 
zealously  observed  in  Spain,  but  the  Holy  Week 
processions  at  Seville  are  certainly  the  most 
elaborate  expression  of  Christian  ritual  to  be 
found  anywhere  in  the  world.  Therefore,  it  is 
easy   to   understand    that    they   should    attract 


countless  visitors  from  every  part  of  the  world 
year  after  year,  and  that  prices  should  be 
doubled  or  even  trebled,  and  that  the  whole 
population  should  abandon  itself  to  what  may 
almost  be  described  as  a  perfect  carnival  of 
religious  enthusiasm. 

The  processions  were  originally  started  in  the 
Middle  Ages  by  a  number  of  religious  confra- 
ternities. Like  political  and  other  societies, 
the  confraternities  stimulate  the  zeal  of  their 
members  by  allowing  them  to  dress  up  in  a 
striking  manner,  and  by  conferring  upon  them 
all  kinds  of  fine-sounding  titles.  They  appeal 
also  to  the  sense  of  mystery  as  well  as  to 
that  of  display.  In  old  times  the  show  was 
often  grotesque.  Christ  would  be  represented 
as  a  mediaeval  courtier  with  a  wig,  sword, 
and  knee  -  breeches,  or  the  Virgin  would 
appear  as  a  stage  marionette  of  the  rudest 
design— that  is,  of  course,  judged  from  our 
standpoint.     Now,  however,  ever)thing  is  artistic 


f'roiii  a\ 


THR  GREAT    PROCESSIO.N    I'ASSINi;   THROUGH    THE    ll.AZA    DE   SAN    FRANCISCO. 


{Photo. 


THE    HOLY    WEEK    PROCESSION    IN    SEVILLE. 


17 


and  decorous,  so  that  none  may  deny  his  tribute 
of  admiration. 

There  are  at  present  no  fewer  than  forty-four 
of  these  confraternities  in  Seville,  besides  twelve 
in  the  suburb  of  Triana.  Each  bears  a  name 
which  sounds  strangely  in  our  ears,  such  as  the 
Confraternity  of  Our  Father  Jesus  of  Great 
Power ;  the  Confraternity  of  the  Most  Holy 
!Mary  of  the  O.  ;  the  Confraternity  of  the  Con- 
version of  the  Good  Thief;  the  Confraternity  of 
the  Fifth  Agony  of  Mary  the  Most  Holy,  etc. 
Each  confraternity  has  a  chapel,  where  it  keeps 
the  various  paraphernalia  required  for  the 
procession. 

Among  these,  most  particular  attention  is 
devoted  to  the  groups  of  images  known  as 
pasos,  some  of  them  real  works  of  art— some  of 
them  quite  the  reverse.  Practically,  they  are 
georgeous  and  realistic  tableaux,  the  life-sized 
figures  wondrously  carved 
in  wood  and  clothed  in 
costly  robes.  They  are 
moved  along  the  streets 
on  huge  biers  borne  by 
men  concealed  beneath 
them  with  draperies,  so 
that  they  appear  to  be 
advancing  mysteriously 
by  themselves.  It  is  only 
on  the  occasion  of  the 
Holy  A\'eek  procession, 
at  times  of  plague  and 
pestilence,  or  the  rare 
festivals  of  the  various 
confraternities  that  the 
pasos  emerge  at  all. 
During  the  rest  of  the 
year  they  are  carefully 
warehoused,  with  all  their 
gorgeous  appliances. 

Our  first  illustration 
represents  a  part  of  the 
procession  passing 
through  the  Plaza  de 
San  Francisco,  one  of 
the  principal  squares  of 
Seville,  in  which  seats 
are  most  eagerly  coveted. 
A  good-humoured,  gossip- 
ing crowd  of  sightseers 
(very  characteristic  of 
Seville)  fills  the  whole 
square,  save  only  a  lane, 
which  is,  with  difficulty, 
preserved  for  the  proces- 
sion as  it  makes  its  way 
into  the  Sierpes,  a  very 
narrow  street,  which  has 
been    chosen    as     the 

Vol.  iii— 3. 


f;ishionable  lounge  of  the  town,  chiefly  because 
carriages  are  not  allowed  to  proceed  along 
it.  In  the  centre  of  the  picture,  escorted 
and  followed  by  priests  in  full  canonicals, 
may  be  discerned  the  paso  of  the  Con- 
fraternity of  the  Immaculate  Conception  with 
a  conspicuous  image  of  the  Virgin,  clad  in 
an  exceedingly  rich  cloak  of  purple  velvet, 
embroidered  with  gold.  The  word  paso  really 
signifies  a  group  or  figure  in  commemoration 
of  the  Passion  ;  but  it  has  come  to  be  applied 
to  any  group  or  figure  which  is  carried  in 
procession. 

The  next  illustration  is  the  most  elaborate 
and  complicated  paso  of  all.  It  represents  the 
meeting  of  Christ  with  St.  Veronica,  who  held 
out  a  handkerchief  to  Him,  upon  which  the 
imprint  of  His  face  remained.  In  the  centre 
of  the  group  He  is  carrying  His  cross,  aided  by 


THE    LARGEST    OF    THE    "  PASOS  " — CHRIST    MEETING   ST.    VERONICA.      ('NOTICE  THE 

From  a]  extraordinary  hooded  costu.mes  of  the  confraternity.)  [Pkoto. 


i8 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    >[AGAZINE. 


towards  all  images  of  Our  Lady,  but 
reserve  their  special  devotion  for  those 
which  are  credited  with  a  miraculous 
origin.  These  remind  one  of  the  Pagan 
idols  which  are  supposed  to  have  fallen 
from  Jupiter,  and  are  either  believed  to 
have  come  down  from  Heaven  or  else  to 
have  been  secreted  by  the  Goths  at  the 
time  of  the  Moorish  invasion.  This  image 
of  the  Virgin  of  Protection  was  found  some 
three  hundred  years'  ago  in  a  recess  of  a 
well,  where  the  Chapel  of  the  Confraternity 
was  erected  to  commemorate  the  event. 
Every  sort  of  miracle  is  said  to  have  been 
performed  by  it,  particularly  at  periods  of 
pestilence,  when  it  is  always  taken  out  in 
procession. 

It  is  borne  upon  a  platform  of  carved 
silver,  adorned  with  a  gorgeous  dais  and  a 
number  of  silver  figures  of  saints  and 
proi)hets,  and  is  illuminated  by  an  impos- 
ing array  of  tall  candles.  It  has  one  of  the 
richest  cloaks  of  any  sacred  image  extant, 
which  is  made  of  the  thickest  velvet,  pro- 
fusely embroidered  with  gold,  and  valued 
at  over  ;^2,ooo.  As  the  image  passes  every 
head    is  uncovered,   and    the    more    pious 


1111.    IHKCIOLS    IMAt.E   Ol-     THK    lil.ESSEO     VIRGIN. 
(tHK   cloak    I.S   worth    ;£2,000.) 

/■rout  a  I'hoto. 

Simon    of   Cyrene,   whose    bearded 
face  may  be  made  out  in  the  back- 
ground.    A    Jew,    holding   a    rope 
and  blowing  a  trumpet,  occupies  a 
far  too  conspicuous  position  in  front. 
On  one  side  .St.  Veronica  is  kneeling 
with  the  iiandkerchief ;  on  the  other 
are  three  "  daughters  of  Jerusalem," 
whom   Christ  forbade    to  weep  for 
Him.     One   of   the   two  thieves  is 
cons[)icuous  with   bared   chest,  but 
the   other  is  hidden  in  the  photo- 
graph.      At    the    back    are    three 
Roman     .soldiers,     the    senatus    or 
banner  and  eagle  of  the  third  being 
just     discernible.       The    individual 
figures   are  admirably   natural,   but 
they  are  far  too  numerous  for  the 
exigencies  of  space  on  the  platform. 
The  next   photograph   shows    us 
one  of    the  most   venerated  of  all 
the  images,  that  of  the   Most  Holy 
Mary  of  Protection,  which  belongs 
to    a    confraternity  in    Triana,    the 
gipsy    suburb    and    special    haunt 
of  all    the    cut  throats    of    Seville. 
Spaniards    display    great    reverence 


i-roiit  a\ 


CHRIST   C.\KRVINr,    IMS   CROSS. 


yi'itoto. 


THE    HOLY    WEEK    PROCESSION    IN    SEVILLE. 


19 


people  in  the  crowd  fall  on 
their  knees  to  chant  special 
hymns  in  its  honour. 

The  next  paso  is  that  of 
the  Confraternity  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth.  The  figure  is  one 
of  the  most  celebrated,  from 
the  artistic  point  of  view. 
The  attitude  of  the  Saviour 
has  aroused  much  contro- 
versy, but  the  general  oj)inion 
is  that  He  is  in  the  act  of 
blessing  the  Cross  as  He 
takes  it  up.  A  silver  cherub 
at  the  back  seems  to  be 
alleviating  the  burthen,  and 
there  are  two  others  in  front,, 
one  with  a  ladder  to  signify 
the  approaching  descent  from 
the  Cross.  The  Figure  is 
standing  upon  a  mound  to 
represent  Calvary,  amid  six 
handsome  gilt  candelabra. 
Along  the  sides  of  the  pedestal 
are  reliefs  of  various  scenes 
of  the  Passion. 

The   Confraternity   of   the 
Most    Holy    Christ    of    the 


From  a\        "  PASO  "    OF   THE    MOST    HOI.V   CHRIST   OK    I'HE   WATERS.         [  I'/loto. 


THE    I'ROCESSION    I'ASSI.NG    DOWN    A    NARROW     STREET 
OF    SEVILLE.      CnOTICE   THE   NAZARENES   AND 

From  a\  their  hood-masks.)  [Photo. 


Waters  at  Triana,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  one  of  the  most  modern  ones, 
dating  only  from  1750,  but  the  figure 
on  its  chief  paso  is  of  very  ancient 
origin.  In  front  of  the  crucifix  we 
see  an  angel  holding  a  chalice  to 
receive  the  water  and  blood  shed  from 
the  Saviour's  wounded  side ;  and  in 
the  foreground .  is  an  image  of  the 
Virgin,  wearing  a  crown  and  velvet 
cloak.  Her  image  is  often  detached 
and  carried  upon  a  separate  stand. 

The  accompanying  photograph  gives 
a  very  good  idea  of  the  passage  of 
the  procession  through  one  of  the 
narrower  streets  of  the  town,  with  the 
people  huddled  against  the  white  walls 
to  make  room  for  a  paso,  escorted  by 
gendarmes  and  preceded  by  wliite 
Nazarenes,  with  their  curious  old 
masked    costume    and    pointed   caps 


20 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    >L'\GAZINE. 


stiffened  with 
ca  rd  board. 
The/>aso  itself 
is  one  of  the 
more  modern 
ones  and 
needs  no  par- 
ticular descrip- 
tion, but  the 
Confraternity 
of  the  Seven 
\\'  o  r  d  s ,  to 
which  it  be 
longs,  is  one 
of  the  most 
ancient  in 
Seville.  It 
was  formed  in 
honour  of  an 
image  of  Our 
I-ndy  of  the 
I  lead  and  the 
Remedies, 
whit:h  was  re- 
vealed to  a 
shepherd  in 
the  Sierra 
Morcna  by 
the  tinkling  of 
a  bell  in  the 
year  1227. 
Among  the 
prodigies  per- 
formed by  the  image  was  the 
restoration  of  the  shepherd's 
hand,  which  he  had  lost  some 
}ears  before. 

Our  next  two  illustrations 
refer  to  the  Confraternity  of 
the  Prayer  in  the  Carden, 
one  of  the  richest  in  groups 
of  images  and  in  its  collec- 
tion of  chased  silver  insignia. 
It  was  founded  in  1560  by 
the  boatmen  of  the  C.uadal- 
f|uivir,  and  soon  obtained 
high  patronage,  which 
brought  in  much  wealth. 

The  />i7So  of  the  Trayer  in 
the  (iarden  is  one  of  the 
most  admired.  In  the  centre 
is  the  Saviour  on  His  knees, 
exhausted  by  His  bloody 
sweat  and  the  anticipation  of 
His  Passion.  The  attitude 
and  expression  of  the  face 
are  admirably  worked,  and 
constitute  one  of  the  triumphs 
of  that    art   of    wood  figure- 


IKAVIJ;    1\    TIIK    tiARDEN     —  ONK   or    THI-:     KICllKST    c  >I-    TMK    (UilHl 

From  a  Ph"to. 


COSTUME   OF    A    NAZARENE   OF    THE 

From  a\  in  the  garden." 


PRAYER 

{Photo. 


carving  in 
which  the 
Spaniards 
have  so  parti- 
cularly excell- 
ed. Facing 
Him  is  a  finely 
carved  angel, 
with  a  cup  in 
the  right  hand 
and  a  cross  in 
the  left,  and 
behind  Him 
the  Apostles, 
Peter,  James, 
and  John, 
plunged  in 
the  most  real- 
istic slumbers. 
It  might  be 
objected  at 
first  sight 
that  there  is  a 
great  similarity 
in  these  various 
groups,  but  in 
reality  they 
differ  in  their 
own  special 
points  of  excel- 
lence as  much 
as  the  treat- 
ment of  sacred 
subjects  by  the  old  masters. 
Moreover,  each  occupies  itself 
with  a  different  incident  of 
Christ's  Passion,  so  that  if 
we  watch  the  passage  of  all 
the  groups  we  are  enabled 
to  see  the  whole  story  enacted 
before  our  eyes,  almost  as 
dramatically  as  in  any  of  the 
old  mystery  plays.  The 
figures  being  dressed  and 
painted  in  natural  colours 
adds  much  to  the  realism  of 
the  scene. 

The  photograph  of  the 
Naznrene  of  the  Prayer  in  the 
(iarden  may  be  taken  as  an 
excellent  type  of  the  costume 
which  has  been  worn  at  the 
procession  ever  since  it  was 
instituted,  except  that  dainty 
shoes  have  now  superseded 
the  bare  feet  which  used  to 
be  considered  an  indispens- 
able proof  of  penitence.  The 
white  tunic  was  also,  doubt- 


THE    HOLY    WEEK    PROCESSION    IN    SEVILLE. 


21 


less,  far  less  spick  and 
span  in  times  when  the 
Nazarenes  flogged  them- 
selves publicly  through- 
out the  procession  until 
they  streamed  with  blood. 
The  cloak  and  hood 
cannot  have  differed  very 
greatly,  however.  During 
the  procession  a  Xazarene 
will  pick  up  the  tail  of 
his  cloak  and  carry  it 
over  his  arm.  Before  the 
start  you  may  see  him 
rolling  cigarettes  com- 
placently, with  the  flap  of 
his  hood  turned  back, 
but  presently  he  lets  it 
down  like  a  vizor,  and 
then  you  may  only 
descry  his  eyes  by  com- 
ing very  close  and  search- 
ing for  the  narrow  slits. 
Surely  no  costume  could 
afford    a    more    effective 


ANOTHER  XAZARENE — CONPRATERNITV  OF  OUR  FATHER 

From  a\  jEscs  OF  the  three  f.m.ls.  [Photo. 


disguise  at  carnival 
time. 

Ihe  next  photograph 
shows  us  a  Nazarene  of 
the  Confraternity  of  Our 
Father  Jesus  of  the  Three 
Falls.  He  is  carrying  one 
of  the  favourite  emblems, 
intended  to  proclaim  the 
Immaculate  Conception 
of  the  Virgin,  a  doctrine 
which  has  been  cherished 
at  Seville  with  fierce 
fervour  for  centuries. 
The  words  '^  sine  labe 
concepta "'  (conceived  with- 
out sin)  are  richly  em- 
broidered in  gold  upon 
a  velvet  banner  of  unique 
shape,  which  is  paraded 
upon  a  pole. 

-  iiC  origin  of  the 
name  of  Nazarene  is  not 
positively  known.  Some 
derive  it  from  the  name 


From  a] 


.\    PAUSE    IN    ORDER   THAT   THE    HIDDEN    BEARERS   OF    THt 


[Photo. 


22 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


applied  by  the  Jews  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ; 
others  identify  it  with  the  word  applied  to  con- 
templative hermits  in  Christ's  day.  The  different 
confraternities  wear  different  cloaks  and  hoods, 
and  are  distinguished  by  the  shields,  worked  in 
leather,  on  the  breast.  Those  of  the  Prayer  in 
the  (larden  are  a  chalice  upon  a  cross.  Nazar- 
enes  were  formerly  divided  into  Brethren  of  the 
Blood,  who  flogged  themselves,  and  Brethren 
of  the  Light,  who  carried  tapers.  Now  the 
flagellation  has  been  put  down,  at  least  in  public, 
and  all  carry  candles.  These  candles  are 
a  fruitful  source  of  revenue  to  the  confraternities, 
for  the  ends  are  greedily  bought  up  by  the 
faithful,  who  consider  them  a  potent  charm 
against  lightning,  and,  if  lighted  at  a  death-bed, 
a  sure  passport  to  heavenly  bliss. 

'I'he  illustration  shown  at  the  bottom  of 
the  previous  page  is  taken  from  a  picture 
by  the  artist  Bejarano,  painted   in   the  fifties,  as 


of  what  is  perhaps  the  most  realistic  paso  of 
all.  It  represents  Christ  bearing  the  Cross  on 
His  way  to  Calvary  ;  and  as  we  look  at  it  we 
seem  to  realize  the  immense  weight  of  the 
burthen.  He  appears  actually  to  stagger  beneath 
it,  and  the  attitude  of  the  feet,  with  the  right 
one  pressing  forward  upon  the  toes,  conveys 
an  impression  of  slow,  arduous  motion  better 
than  any  work  of  art  I  know.  I'he  face 
is  also  an  inspired  model  of  saintly  patience, 
and  the  only  criticism  which  suggests  itself 
is  that,  according  to  our  notions,  the  em- 
broidered robe  is  grotesquely  out  of  keeping. 
It  is  related  of  an  Archbishop  of  Seville  some 
years  ago  that,  after  admiring  the  image  for  a 
long  time  in  silence,  he  exclaimed,  "  It  has  but 
one  fault."  His  companions,  who  conceived 
the  figure  to  be  faultless,  expressed  the  utmost 
curiosity  to  learn  what  his  Grace's  criticism 
would    be,    whereupon    he    added,    "  The    one 


From  a\ 


'  l-.wSiJ       OF   CHRIST   ON    HIS    WAV   TO   CALVARV,    ASSISIEU    liV    sl.MUN    UK    CYJ<Ei\iC. 


{Photo. 


may  be  seen  from  the  dresses  of  the  bystanders. 
It  represents  one  of  the  frequent  pauses  in  the 
procession  that  the  bearers  may  take  breath  and 
the  candles  be  relighted.  The  paso  is  that  of  the 
Confraternity  of  Montserrat,  which  was  founded 
in  honour  of  a  famous  place  of  pilgrimage  in 
Catalonia,  and  represents  the  Prophet  Isaiah 
writing   his  inspired  volume. 

The  next  photograph  gives  a  very  good  idea 


thing  lacking  is  that  it  does  not  breathe!"  The 
figure  of  Simon  of  Cyrene  is  also  well  executed, 
and  the  gilded  stand  is  magnificent,  though  in 
quite  a  modern  way. 

It  is  curious  to  notice  how  carefully  the 
various  parts  of  the  body  have  been  moulded, 
though  they  are  all  to  be  covered  from  the 
public  gaze.  In  some  cases  the  figures  are 
mere  artists'   models,  excepting   only  the  parts 


THE    HOLY   WEEK    PROCESSION    IN   SEVILLE. 


'■3 


which  are  to  be  visible.  In  this  case  the  image  was 
probably  venerated  before  there  was  any  idea  of 
clothing  it  or  carrying  it  in  a  procession.  The 
arms  have,  however,  been  dislocated  to  facilitate 
the  dressing,  and  a  piece  of  iron  has  been 
attached  to  the  left  shoulder  in  order  to 
attach  the  cross.  The  care  of  the  wardrobe 
of  an  image  in  Spain  is  as  elaborate  as 
that  of  a  Sovereign,  and  all  sorts  of  cere- 
monies are  maintained  for  donning  and  dofifing 
the  clothes. 
It  is,  for 


instance,  a  very  strict  rule  that  no 


man  may  dress  or 
undress  an  image 
of  the  Virgin, 
such  as  that  of  Our 
Lady  of  Supreme 
Grief,  whose  mag- 
nificent mantle, 
although  only  pre- 
sented to  the  con- 
fraternity in  1873, 
is  probably  the 
richest  and  most 
admired  of  all  the 
wonderful  treasury 
of  vestments  to  be 
found  in  Seville.  It 
took  seven  years  to 
make,  and  cost  well 
over  ^4,000. 

The   J>cJso  of   the 
Confraternity  of  the 
Sacred  Descent  from 
the  Cross  and  Fifth 
Agony      of     Mary 
Most    Holy    is    the 
work  of  the  famous 
sculptor,     Roldan, 
and    enjoys    a    just 
reputation.     Nicode- 
mus   and  Joseph  of 
Arimathea     are 
letting     down      the 
Body  of  the  Saviour 
with    linen     bands  ; 
the    Virgin     and     St.     John     (who    is 
dressed    in    green)   stand    at    the   foot 
ladders,    while    St.    Mary    Magdalen    and 
other    Mary     are    kneeling    and    holding 
a    sheet    of    the    finest    linen   to    receive 
Body.      The  act   of   the  Descent  is  very 
rendered,    down     to    the     smallest 


THE    UF.SCENT 

Fiotn  d\ 


FKOM    THE   CROSS. 

KA.MilLS   SCU 

always 

of    the 

the 

out 

the 

well 

muscular 


detail.  The  stand,  on  which  the  group  is 
taken  out,  is  also  of  great  artistic  merit.  It 
is  of  cedar-wood,  adorned  with  the  various 
attributes  of  the  Passion  and  the  shields  of  the 
religious  orders,  which  have  been  incor[)oratcd 
in  the  Confraternity. 

Another  paso  belongs  to  the  Confraternity 
of  Our  Father  Jesus  of  the  Three  Falls,  and 
represents  Our  Lady  of  Loreto  enshrined  behind 
a  blaze  of  candles.  Her  image  is  a  very 
sympathetic  reproduction  of  the  best  type  of 
Andalusian     beauty,    with     its    combination    of 

dignity  and  charm. 
The  clothing  is 
enriched  with  a 
wealth  of  precious 
jewels,  and  the 
crown  alone  is  worth 

According  to  our 
notions  the  turmoil 
of  this  procession, 
with  its  armies  of 
masqueraders, 
Roman  soldiers, 
Nazarenes,  tipstaffs, 
military  bands, 
emblems,  torches, 
and  candles,  savours 
more  of  a  carnival 
than  of  the  cele- 
bration of  the  most 
sacred  of  the 
Christian  mysteries, 
but  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  a 
great  wave  of  en- 
thusiastic devotion 
is  inspired  through- 
out the  whole  native 
population,  and  there 
can  be  no  lover  of 
the  mediaeval  and 
the  picturesque — to 
put  it  on  the  lowest 
ground — but  would 
bewail  its  discontinuance  in  obedience  to  the 
spread  of  modern  utilitarian  ideas.  Far  from 
any  prospect  of  this,  however,  the  procession 
increases  every  year  in  grandeur  and  magnifi- 
cence, and  neither  national  calamities  nor  the 
spirit  of  the  age  have  yet  contrived  to  impair 
its  ancient  glory. 


(this  ■■  I'ASO        IS    I  HE  WORK   OF   THE 
l.l-TOK,    ROLDAN.)  [I'/lotO. 


15 V  John  H.  Jones. 

An    extraordinary  and    amusing    episode  of   life  in    the  Wild  West.     How  a    fiery  young  Texan  lover 
was  fooled    in    a    fashion    remarkable  alike    for    originality    and    daring.     The    incident    is  well    known 

and  remembered  locally. 


f?*^' 


Ill^  suiiiiiicr  of  1894  found  me 
teaching  a  subscription  school  at 
Rainbow,  on  Rainbow  C'leek,  in  the 
north  of  Hunt  County,  Texas.  If 
your  map  is  a  large  one,  you  will 
lind  Rambow  Creek  close  to  Hickory  Creek 
rost-otifice,  seven  miles  from  Wolfe  City,  and 
six  from  Celeste.  That  summer  was  very  hot, 
even  for  Texas,  and  the  school  dried  out  in 
about  six  weeks.  The  youngsters  used  to 
tuml'le  over  fast  asleep,  and  the  older  scholars 
(some  of  them  older  than  myself,  as  1  was  only 
twcnty-thrt-e  at  that  time)  found  it  exceedingly 
difficult  to  keep  from  nodding.  The  folding 
doors  were  kept  wide  open,  and  the  window- 
sashes  taken  out  of  their  frames,  but  still  the 
heat  was  intolerable.  And  when  a  hot  dry 
wind  swept  in  from  the  North-\\'est  plains  the 
school  came  to  grief  most  dolefully,  'i'he  ther- 
mometer was  I  iSdeg.  in  the  shade  ! 

.So  I  found  mvself  one  broiling  afternoon 
lazily  lolling  about  the  veranda  of  my  boarding- 
liouse,  and  when  a  lively  "  Halloa  !  "  came  from 
the  road  1  only  grunted.  It  was  Charley  Var- 
brough,  a  lanky  youth  of  eighteen  or  so,  and  as 
he  was  riding  a  new  horse  I  went  out  into  the 
glare  of  the  sunshine  to  look  at  it. 

"  Seen  Miss  Sally  lately  ?  "  asked  Charley. 
I  grinned  and  shook  my  head. 
Charley  chewed  his  finger-ends  restlessly  for 
a  while,  and  I  continued  examining  his  horse 
and    making    comments,    when    he    broke    out 


suddenly  :  "  Say,  J^ck  Jones,  are  you  in  for  a 
lark  ?  " 

"  What  lark  ?  "  I  asked. 

Charley  was  a  wildish  kind  of  scamp,  and 
Texas  is  a  wildish  kind  of  place,  where  a  little 
caution  is  not  always  lost.  After  a  little  fidget- 
ing, Charley  came  out  with  an  explanation 
something  like  this.  Most  of  it  I  knew  already, 
but  the  sequel  made  me  jump. 

Miss  Sally  Steddem  had  been  left  an  orphan 
when  a  few  years  old,  and  was  now  under  the 
guardianship  of  Mr.  Lem  Henslee,  the  son  of 
one  of  the  famous  Texan  Rangers,  who  made 
the  name  of  Henslee  known  all  along  the  Red 
River  counties  for  a  hundred  miles  or  more. 
Miss  Sally,  at  the  time  of  which  I  write,  had 
grown  into  a  tall,  splendid  girl  of  aVjout  nineteen, 
with  the  usual  consequences.  Lem  Henslee's 
house  was  never  free  from  such-like  lanky  youths 
as  the  one  I  was  speaking  to. 

There  was  one  of  them,  however,  who  believed 
himself  to  be  the  man  of  all  men — at  least,  in 
Miss  Sally's  eyes.  Nobody  else  thought  so, 
least  of  all  Miss  Sally,  but  Sam  Jumper's  ardour 
made  him  blind  to  palpable  facts.  Mr.  Lem 
Henslee  strongly  objected  to  Sam  Jumper's 
presence  in  his  house  (so  did  Miss  Sally,  but 
Sam  would  not  believe  that),  and  Lem  Henslee 
was  a  splendid  shot,  and  an  exceedingly  tough 
customer  all  round.  So  Sam  dodged  about 
very  carefully,  and  caught  occasional  glimpses 
of  Miss  Sally  on  the  sly,  and  sent  her  occasional 


mY    TEXAN    ELOPEMENT. 


25 


MR.  JoH.V    H.    JONES,   THE   AUTHOR,    WHO    I.MPKKbdN  A  I  tl 
MISS   SALLY  STEDDE.M. 

From  a  Photo,  by  II  'ill  S.  Thompson, 
Bonham,  Texas. 


love-letters,  over  which  Lem  Henslee 
roared  hi.s  ribs  out,  so  to  speak,  when 
Miss  Sally  showed  them  to  him. 

But  Lem  got  tired  of  it  and  so  did 
Miss  Sally,  and  Lem  gave  Sam  to 
understand  that  if  he  didn't  leave  the 
girl  alone  things  would  happen  which 
would  appal  him.  But  this  only  fanned 
the  flame  of  Sam's  passion,  as  might 
be  expected,  and  he  went  about  with  a  wild  glare 
in  his  eye  and  a  big  revolver  in  his  pocket.  But 
Lem  Henslee  had  the  reputation  of  being  "  as 


MISS    SALLY 
STEDDEM, 
WHOM    SA.M 
JU.MPEK 


wild  as  a  buck,"  and  was  riot  likely  to  stand 
much  nonsense  from  such  a  fellow  as  Sam 
Jumper,  who  was  about  as  good-looking  a  good- 
for-nothing  as  you  could  find.  So  Sam's  hanker- 
ing was  more  after  Miss  Sally  than  Lem,  and 
the  two  men  did  not  come  together.  But  there 
was  a  restless  feeling  among  the  parties  con- 
cerned, when  one  morning  Lem  had  a  visitor  in 
the  shape  of  Sam's  Mercury,  and  Lem  and  he 
had  some  conversation  together  which  ended  in 
a  great  deal  of  chuckling. 

Then  Sam  Taylor,  the  aforesaid  Mercury, 
issued  forth  and  hunted  up  Charley  Yarbrough, 
and  unfolded  to  him  a  scheme  which  set  their 
horses  in  a  long  lope  in  the  direction  of  Lem 
Henslee's  house.  Half  an  hour  afterwards  Lem 
Henslee  and  Sam  Taylor  were  shaking  their 
sides  with  laughing  at  the  ridiculous  figure 
of  Charley  Yarbrough,  half  a  yard  of  whose 
trouser-legs  were  sticking  out  of  one  of  Miss 

Sally's  old  gowns. 
.-.x  "  Boys,"  gasped  Lem,  when 

he    had 

won't  do. 


breath    enough,    '■  it 
Sam    Jumper    isn't 
such   a   dog  -  goned 
idiot  as  all  that." 

And  the  others 
were  fain  to  admit 
that  he  was  probably 
correct. 

Miss  Sally  was  a 
fine,  tall  girl,  but 
Charley  had  only 
just  finished  grow- 
ing, and  was  nearly, 
or  quite,  6ft.  high, 
and  the  foot  or  so 
of  lean  shanks  which 
the  gown  left  uncovered  would  have  undeceived 
the  most  ardent  lover  in  creation.  And  so  the 
plot  seemed  hkely  to  fall  through. 


THOUGHT 
HE  WAS 

ELOPING 
WITH. 


From  J.  Photo. 


X. 

■ 

U^_.,.r__v^^,:: '-^ ^, 

1 

1^ 

1 

M 

« 

^ 

r 

Aii*r*'4*^ 

t 

% 

■  «"* 

T, :., 

•    »,-      .' 

« 

•' 

-    ■      ■       '    " 

1  in  »Jv      \\  A^ 


RAINBOW    SCHOOL,     HUN  I     UUl  N  1  V,      ItAA'- — 1  11  h    Al 

From  a  Photo,  by  Rice,  Leottard,  Texas. 
Vol.  iii.— 4. 


■  diU"  )1..\1  AN  1   KK.      A.^I>     -MiN.--.     bALLV     A  i    1  K.N  Uh-tJ     AN     A 


26 


THE    WIDE    WORLD   MAGAZINE. 


"  If  wc  could  only  tie  a  knot  in  each  of 
Charley's  legs,  now " 

"Or  get  some  other  fellow " 

"  Not  many  of  the  boys  would  take  on.  It 
might  be  a  bit  rough  if  Sam  didn't  like  it ;  and 
it  isn't  likely  he  would.' 

And  when  that  scamp  Charley  Yarbrough  got 
thus  far  with  his  stor)',  he  began  to  shoot  side- 
long glances  at  me. 

"  Vou  ain't  very  tall,"  he  suggested,  slily. 

"  Dare  say  not,"  I  remarked,  pretty  drily.  I 
could  see,  of  course,  what  he  was  driving  at, 
and  I  began  to  turn  things  over  in  my  mind 
pretty  rapidly. 

It  was  a  delicate  siaiation.  There  was  my 
position  as  school  teacher  to  think  of,  and  to  be 
a  prime  mover  in  such  an  affair  would  be  sure  to 
compromi.se  me  in  the  eyes  of  the  more  sedate 
quarters  of  the  community.  Could  I  afford  to 
risk  it?  And  then,  there  were  other  risks.  There 
is  a  strong  vein  of  Spanish  blood  running  through 
the  Te.xans,  which  came  from  Mexico  and  which 
makes  them  hot  and  passionate  ;  and  if  a  man 
would  cut  up  rough  at  anything  on  earth,  it  would 
be  on  finding  that  he  had  eloped  with  the 
wrong  girl.  And  when  the  girl  turned  out  to 
be  an  athletic  young  man  of  about  his  own  age, 
it  would  perhaps  be  best  for  that  young 
man  to  get  very  quickly  out  of  the  road. 
.\i)d  then,  it  was  very  rough  on  Sam. 

"  Oh,  but,  you  know,"  said  Charley, 
eagerly,  "Sam  is  a  mighty  sorry  sort 
of  a  boy,  and  he  just 
worries  Miss  Sally's 
life  out.  She  just  hates 
him.  ICverybody knows 
what  an  ornery  cuss 
lie  is,  and  Miss 
Sally  doesn't  like  to 
have  him  fooling 
round  her  everywhere 
she  goes,  and " 

"What  does  Miss 
Sally  say  about  it  ?  " 

"Oh  !  she's  into  it 
all  right.  She's  mighty 
tired  of  Sam  Jumper 
fooling  round  her. 
Don't  let  it  fall 
through,  Jack,  for  I'm 
dog-goned  if  I  know 
a  ny  body  else  who " 

"  I  dare  say  not,"  quoth  I. 

"And  Sam  hasn't  much  grit  in  him,  you  know." 

"  All  very  well,  but  lliat  would  make  a  snake 
kick." 

"And,  of  course,  you  won't  be  by  yourself." 

'MVho'll  be  there?"  I  asked,  quickly. 

"  Oh  !     There's  Lem   Henslee,  and  Hubert, 


and  Sam  Taylor,  and  Bob  Blankenship,  and 
one  or  two  more ;  and  if  you  like  to  bring  a 
friend  or  two " 

"  All  right ;  I'm  on."  These  were  some  of 
the  wildest  spirits  in  the  country,  and  I  knew 
they  could  be  depended  on  at  a  push — especially 
the  Henslees. 

Charley's  face  was  a  picture.  Off  he  went  at 
full  gallop,  and  I  retired  to  cogitate. 

There  were  several  aspects  to  the  affair.  Of 
course,  if  Miss  Sally  wanted  to  get  rid  of  Sam, 
and  Sam  obstinately  refused  to  leave  her  in 
peace,  he  would  have  to  be  made  to  go  ;  and  if 
it  could  be  done  without  hurting  him,  so  much 
the  better.  Besides,  if  Sam  objected  to  the 
process,  and  turned  crusty  (according  to  the 
Texan  idea  of  crustiness),  there  would  be  some 
tough  boys  behind  me  if  it  got  too  hot.  Then 
came  another  thought :  Sam  would  be  sure  to 
have  a  friend  or  two  with  him,  and  my  party 
would,  of  course,  hold  aloof  until  the  last 
moment,  and  a  row  in  Texas  is  usually  over  in 
about  a  minute  and  a  half  And  it  is  customary 
to  have  a  funeral  shortly  afterwards. 

"  If  there  is  any  warm  blood  in  Sam's  veins 
at  all,  I  had  better  keep  a  quick  eye,"  I  thought ; 
"  but  I'll  be  hanged  if  I  back  out  now." 


■f^:>f4-\^-^ 


\VK    KOAKKU   Al     1'(>I>1<    (ll.l)   SAM    JU.MI'EK's   AKUE.NT    El'ISTLES. 


The  next 
few  days  were 
exciting. 
Several  letters 
were  passed, 
and  we  simply 
lay  down  and 
roared  at  poor  old  Sam  Jumper's  ardent  epistles, 
which  Sam  Taylor  faithfully  carried  to  us.  I 
began  to  get  sorry  for  Sam,  but  I  knew  what  he 
was,  and  very  easily  quieted  my  conscience. 

The  elopement,  it  seemed,  was  arranged  for 
the  beginning  of  August  ;  and  about  dusk  one 
warm  evening  I  found  myself  quietly  entering 


MY    TEXAN    ELOPEMENT. 


Lem  Henslee's  house,  which  was  situated  in  a 
clearing  close  by  the  creek.  My  horse  was  put 
up  and  fed,  and  I  joined  the  group  of  boys  in  a 
large  room  in  the  front  part  of  the  house.  The 
male  portion  of  the  genus  homo,  by  the  way,  are 
all  "  boys  "  in  Te.xas.  They  were  a  wild-looking 
lot  to  English  eyes,  in  coloured  shirts  and  long 
boots,  with  dark,  swarthy  faces,  and  deep-set, 
fierce-looking  eyes.  There  was  a  low  laugh  as 
I  softly  entered. 

"  Be  quiet,  boys,"  said  Lem,  "  Sam  is  sure  to 
be  hanging  about  in  the  brush.  Sam  Taylor 
says  he  is  as  hot  as  a  steam-engine." 

"  Where  is  Sam  Taylor  ?  " 

"Oh!  he's  coming  along  with  the  bridal  party, 
to  keep  Jack  out  when  Jumper  finds  him  out." 

"  Anybody     else 


Whereupon  Lem  lugged  out  some  gear  that 
made  me  tremble. 

It  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  perpetrated 
such  a  thing,  and  it  made  me  sweat ;  but  at  last 
I  got  into  a  light-coloured  gown  and  tied  a  red 
sash  round  my  waist.  Then  I  put  on  a  white 
poke  bonnet.  I  had  already  shaved  myself  as 
clean  as  possible,  but  the  bonnet  would  serve  to 
hide  my  features.  Meanwhile,  as  you  might 
expect,  the  onlookers  enjoyed  themselves. 

"  Purtiest  gal  in  Hunt  County." 

"  Whacking  big  shoulders,  though,  for  a 
gal." 

"  If  Lem  wasn't  looking,  I'd  be  a-hugging  of 
her." 

"  What  !    with    them    feet  ?— Charley's    stuck 


them  ? 


I 


with 

asked. 

"Why,     yes, 

there's     Joe    May- 

ness  coming  along. 

Sam  Taylor  says  he 

just   couldn't   keep 

Jumper  from  fetch- 
ing   him,    and    he 

was  afraid  to   kick 

against  it  too  much 

for     fear     Jumper 

should  smell  a  rat. 
He   tvas  getting  a 

bit     uneasy,     Sam 

says,    but   as   soon 

as  Sam  talks  about 
Sally  sorter  sweetly, 
he  just  does  pretty 
nearly  what  he's 
told,  and  quietens 
down  lovely." 

Whereat     we 
grinned  hugely. 

"Well,  it  will  be  two  to  two,  and  I  guess  ive 
won't  be  far  off,"  says  somebody. 

"  Now,  look  here,  boys,"  begins  Lem,  "  the 
thing  is  to  get  Sapi  well  scared  before  he  catches 
up  with  anything,  Jack  C^n't  do  anything  but 
run,  fastened  up  with  Sally's  long  clothes,  and 
he  can't  run  much  in  thevL  You  see,  we  would 
never  get  there  in  time  to  do  anything,  and  it 

would  be  all  over  with  Jack  before ,"  and  he 

grinned  so  broadly  that  the  others  laughed  out- 
right, and  I  broke  in  hastily  with  — 

"Let's  talk  about  something  else.  Where's 
that  blamed  gown  affair  ?  What  time  have  you 
fixed  to  starf;  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  "  was  ^he  reply,  "  Sam  Taylor  will  try 
{Q  sneak  jn  beforehand ;  we  reckoned  about 
nine  q'c}oc}c,  but  it  vvon't  hurt  to  keep  the  idiot 
waiting  an  hoiir  or  §Q." 


THE   ONLOOKERS    ENJOYED   THEMSELVES. 

out  about  half  a  yard,  and  a  good  slice  of  leg 
along  with  them." 

"  Dog-gone  it !  Put  some  gloves  on  to  hide 
yourself ;  Sam  knows  the  feel  of  a  gal's  hand 
better  than  that." 

The  gown  fitted  beautifully  ;  it  hung  loose 
from  the  shoulders,  which  were  jolly  tight,  and 
there  was  no  trouble  about  the  waist. 

"Here's  your  grip.  Miss  Sally,"  said  Lem's 
hired   hand,   as  he  handed   over  a  huge  port- 
manteau.     I   took    it,   but  it  fell   with  a  thud 
There  was  a  smothered  burst  of  laughter. 

"  I  tore  up  half  a  brick-path  to  ram  into  it  ; 
mind  you  make  Sam  tote  it." 

"You  bet,"  said  I,  laughing. 

Jpst  then  the  door  opened,  and  we  all  started. 
Sam  Taylor  put  in  an  excited  appearance. 

"  Lpni  !    Lein  !    there's   an  eternal   ciiss  of  a 


28 


THE    WIDE   WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


dog  sne.jcing  round  my  legs.     Call  him  in,  or 
he  will  give  the  show  away." 

"  Come  in  and  shut  the  door.    Where's  .Sam  ?  " 

"  Got  it  all  square  ?  " 

"  How's  he  take  it  ?  " 

"  Which  way  did  you  come  ?  " 

A  regular  volley  of  questions  struck  Sam 
Taylor,  but  he  had  caught  sight  of  me,  and 
couldn't  speak  for  laughing.  They  uncere- 
moniously turned  me  round  and  round  for  Sam's 
edification,  and  all  said  that  I  looked  more  lady- 
like than  they  should  have  thought  possible. 
Chiefly  they  noticed  that  I  had  grown  taller.  I 
didn't  cut  quite  such  a  graceful  figure  as  we 
should  have  liked,  though,  being  somewhat 
thick-set — "  chunkey,"  as  they  called  it ;  but  I 
made  "a  right  nice  girl  "  if  I  would  only  keep  m 
the  shade,  for  the  moon  was  getting  up.  After 
a  while,  when  we  quietened  down,  Sam  Taylor 
told  us  that  he  had  left  the  bride- 
groom-elect at  the  edge  of  the  big 
pasture  by  the  wire  gate,  whilst  he 
crept  forward  to  reconnoitre. 

"Joe  Mayness  with 
him?" 

"  Yes." 

"Got  any  guns?" — this 
from  myself,  as  the  party 
most  interested. 

"  No." 

"Thank  goodness  !  " 

"  But  Joe  has  a  knife  as 
long  as  your  arm,  and  Sam 
told  me  he  had  a  beautiful 
pair  of  brass  knucks." 

Whereat  the  other  idiots 
laughed  as  though  it  were 
funny. 

"Sam  allowed  that  a 
gun  wouldn't  be  much 
good  at  night  among  the 
brush,  and  anyway,  he 
didn't  reckon  he'd  get 
catched,  most  likely." 

"  Why  on  earth  didn't 
you  get  them  to  leave 
their  blessed  knuckle- 
dusters and  knives  at 
home  and  bring  six- 
shooters  ?  It  would  have 
been  ever  so  much  safer," 
growled  I. 

"  Look  here,  boys," 
went  on  Sam  Taylor,  the  messenger,  "  it  is  most 
too  bad.  There's  that  poor  boy  been  cleaning 
my  buggy  up  till  my  old  lady  didn't  know  it ; 
he  reckons  on  going  to  (ireenville  in  it  to-night, 
and  he  fixed  it  up  with  a  preacher  to  be  ready 
to  do  the  trick  to  morrow  morning." 


"  Has  he  got  the  Hcense  ?  " 
"  You  bet !     He  got  it  yesterday.     L[ 
hot  as   a  nigger  at  a  big  meeting.     Now 


e's 


as 

■=  ".— "o-    -— ■■  you 

had  better  get  ready.  I'll  sneak  back  first ; 
give  me  about  ten  minutes,  and  then  cross  over 
through  the  horse-lot,  and  stand  under  the  big 
bois  d\irc  in  front  of  the  gate." 

"Wait  a  bit,  Sam,"  said  Lem  Henslee,  "he 
won't  hurt.  You  didn't  come  in  the  buggy, 
did  you  ? " 

"  No.  Joe  and  I  came  on  horseback,  and 
Sam  came  on  his  old  mule.  We  are  to  go  to 
my  house,  and  my  old  lady  has  fixed  up  some 
supper,  and  Sam  reckons  to  light  out  to  Green- 
ville in  the  buggy." 

"  But  how  does  he  reckon  to  get  Sally  there, 
then  ?  "  asked  Lem.      Sam  began  to  laugh. 


Oh  ! 


as  we  were 


commg 


along  Joe  said  to 


Sam  :  '  That  old  mule  won't 

you,'  and  Sam  just  looked  bad 


tote  a  gal  behind 


So 

I  guessed  .Sally  could  ride  behind 

me,  but  Sam  swore  he'd  be  hanged 

if  she  did.     I  guessed  so  too,  but  I 

allowed    to     myself    that 

Jack    might,    if   ever    we 

got  that  far.     But  I  didn't 

let  on,   and   after   awhile 

Sam  came  down  a  bit,  and 

allowed  that   he  couldn't 

be    jealous    nohow.       '  I 

know  she  loves  me,'  says 

Sam  Jumper,  as  soft  as  a 

sick   calf,    and    he    fairly 

snivelled." 

Whereat  we  nearly 
choked  ourselves  trying  to 
keep  quiet,  and  Sam 
Taylor  slipped  out. 

After  awhile  I  tied  my 
bonnet  -  strings  closely, 
and,  taking  my  portman- 
teau, stole  softly  after 
him.  The  crescent  moon 
was  half  up,  and  it  flung 
long  black  shadows  across 
the  horse-lot.  I  went  cau- 
tiously, yet  hurriedly,  try- 
ing to  take  short,  quick 
steps  like  a  girl,  and  to 
swing  as  little  as  possible. 
The  portmanteau,  choke- 
full  of  bricks,  was  an  awful 
weight,  and  it  took  me 
all  my  time  to  keep  from  tripping.  It  never 
struck  me  till  then  how  helpless  I  was.  I  could 
only  see  straight  ahead,  because  of  the  long 
peak  of  the  poke  bonnet  \  and  the  gown  held 
my  shoulders  very  tightly.  I  wondered  what 
Miss  Sally — the  real  Miss  Sally — would  say  (or 


MY    TEXAN    ELOPEMENT. 


29 


think)  if  my  shoulders  should  burst  throus^h  her 
gown.  I  wondered,  too,  what  she  would  say  if 
she  could  see  me  just  then  ! 

Here  I  was  at  the  first  gate.  I  expect  I  cut 
rather  an  awkward  figure  getting  through,  what 
with  the  heavy  grip  and  the  clinging  skirts,  and 
the  consciousness  that  eager  eyes  were  watching 
my  every  motion.  But  1  got  through  the  horse- 
lot  and  shut  the  gate,  then  I  stole  quietly  into 
the  shadow  of  the  big  bois  d'arc. 

The  moon  was  brighter  than  1  had  anti(i[)ated, 
and  I  could  clearly  see  the  dark  clumps  of  trees 
and  their  heavy  shadows  around  me.  I  don't 
know  how  long  I  waited  ;  not  long,  I  suppose, 
but  it  seemed  a  very  long  time.  Every  moment 
I  expected  to  see  Sam  Jumper  and  his  con- 
federates dash  out  of  the  brush.  I  could  hear 
the  horses  stamping  in  their  stables  ;  one  was 
loose  in  the  lot,  and  was  snuffing  about  just  at 
the  other  side  of  the  fence.  It  was  a  beautiful 
quiet  night,  and  everything  was  still  and 
peaceful.  A  couple  of  cows  were  lying  close 
to  the  fence,  quietly  chewing  their  cud. 

Suddenly  1  heard  a  door  slam,  and  then  I 
heard  somebody  stamping  about  on  the  veranda. 
Then  I  heard  Lem  Henslee  calling  his  wife's 
name.  There  was  no  answer — Mrs.  Henslee 
and  Miss  Sally  were  at  the  big  camp  meeting  at 
Celeste,  with  some  friends.  Then  Lem  called 
out : — 

"  Where's  Sally  ?  " 

His  voice  rang  out  clearly  in  the  still  night 
air.     Then — 

"  Whar's  that  gal  got  to  ?  "  Then  he  called  to 
Mrs.  Henslee  again.  Again  no  answer.  Then 
— "  Whar  the  'tarnal  have  you  all  got  to  ? 
Sally  !  Sally  !  "  Then  a  long  pause,  and  I 
heard  him  quickly  pacing  the  veranda. 

Then  he  shouted  loudly  :  "  .Sally  !  Sally  ! 
VV^har's  that  gal  ?     By  the  Almighty  thunder,  if 

Sam  Jumper's  fooling  round  here Sally! 

Sally!  Where's  my  l)ridle?  Til  see  into  this. 
By  thunder  !  somebody's  stolen  mv  bridle  ! 
Sally  !      Sally  !      Hold    up    there  !     Hold    up  1 

By ,  I'll ."     And    I   thought    Lem    was 

doing  it  splendidly. 

"  Hang  it,  though,"  I  nmttered,  "  I  wish  Sam 
would  come.  If  Lem  has  frightened  him  clean 
off  it  will  be  a  sell."  But  Lem  was  bursting 
his  way  through  the  far  gate,  swearing  like  a 
fiend,  and  I  thought  he  had  started  too  soon 
and  spoiled  everything. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  rush  quite  close  to  me. 
Three  dark  figures  leapt  out  of  a  clump  of  trees 
only  a  few  yards  away.  I  had  been  fooling 
about  among  the  folds  of  my  gown  for  a  long 
time  trying  to  find  the  pocket,  and  just  as  the 
three  figures  sprang  out,  I  placed  Miss  Sally's 
pocket-handkerchief  before  my  face,  and  tried 


to  sob  into  it.  Sam  Taylor  was  first.  He 
grabbed  my  arm  and  pulled  me  along. 

"  Take  the  grip  !  Take  the  grip,  Sam ! 
Hang  it,  man,  be  quick  !  There's  Lem  Henslee 
raging  like  a  madman  I  " 

What  with  the  bonnet  and  the  handkerchief 
I  could  h.irdly  see  anything,  but  poor,  deluded 
Sam  Jumper  was  staggering  along  on  my  left 
side  with  the  heavy  portmanteau,  and  Joe 
Mayness  was  at  the  other  side  of  him.  Sam 
Taylor  was  on  my  right. 

just  then  Lem  gave  a  mighty  roar.  "There 
they  are  !  Hold  up  !  Hold  u[),  there  !  "  and 
the  sharp  sna|)  of  a  revolver  rang  out. 

"  By  Heaven  I  come  along,"  called  out  Taylor. 
"  Take  hold  of  her,  Sam  ;  help  her  along.  She's 
going  to  faint  !     She's  going  to  faint  ! '' 

In  an  instant  Sam  had  my  left  arm  and  Joe 
had  the  grip.  Poor  old  Sam  was  trembling  like 
a  leaf  and  saying,  "  Don't  cry  ;  don't  cry,  Sally  ! 
It's  all  right,  Sally,  dear  ;  don't  cry  ;  don't  cry  !  " 
while  Lem  was  banging  the  gate  about  and 
roaring  like  a  bull. 

"  Here,  Hubert !  Bob  I  There  !  There  they 
are!  Hold  up  there!  Hold  up!"  and  shot 
after  shot  rang  out,  whilst  a  wild  tumult  arose 
behind  us,  as  one  after  another  joined  in  the 
cluise. 

"  Uon't  shoot,  Lem  ;  don't  shoot ;  you'll  hit 
the  gal." 

"  I  hit  him  !  I  hit  him  !  There  they  are  ! 
IIub-:t,  where's  your  gun?  There  on  the  left! 
—  there  he  is!  'I'hat's  him  !"  and  the  air  was 
filled  with  imprecations  and  yells  and  the  sharp 
leoorts  of  the  revolvers. 

4. 

Sam  Taylor  acted  his  part  splendidly.  He 
had  his  arm  round  my  waist  helping  me  along, 
so  that  Sam  Jumper  could  only  take  my  arm. 
Joe  was  stumbling  along  with  that  awful  brick- 
filled  portmanteau,  talking  to  himself — swearing, 
I  suppose.  I  remember  holding  my  left  arm  as 
limply  as  possible  so  that  it  might  feel  soft. 

On  we  went,  Sam  comforting  me,  and  trem- 
bling as  each  shot  was  fired.  Over  rough  scrub, 
across  open  glades,  under  huge  trees,  keeping  in 
the  deep  shadows  as  much  as  possible  ;  panting, 
struggling,  out  of  breath  with  excitement  and 
e.xertion. 

How  I  felt,  I  can  hardly  tell  you.  Put  your- 
self in  my  place  for  an  instant— in  the  grasp  of 
a  fiery  young  Texan  lover,  tearing  through  the 
wild  thicket  in  the  bright  moonlight,  with  a 
yelling  mob  of  half  savage  cowboys  and  hir-d 
hands  shooting  and  swearing  behind  like  so 
many  fiends.  We  made  straight  for  the  creek 
bottom  ;  it  was  dry  at  this  time  of  the  year,  and 
there  a  party  of  "the  boys"  was  in  ambush. 
At  times  I  could  have  laughed,  but  I  had  to 
keep  as  alert  as   possible,  for  that   long    knife 


30 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


and  those  brass  knuckledusters  were  deeply 
impressed  on  my  mind,  and  I  didn't  want  them 
impressed  on  my  body. 

I  was  quivering  with  alertness,  for  I  might  be 
discovered     at     any  ^^^ 

moment,    and    then    it  ■  5^;* 

was  only   by   quickness 
that   I  expected  to   get 
safely  away.  Sud- 
il  e  n  1  y     S  a  m 
Jumper    stopped 


of  Hubert   Henslee  rose  out  of  a  clump  of  low 
brush  right  behind  Sam. 

"  Hold  up  there  ! "  he  fairly  roared. 
Sam  leaped  sideways  just  in  time  to  see  a 

sheet  of  flame  leap  out 

of  Hubert's  huge  Colt's 

forty  -  four,    and    before 

the  roar   came   he  had 

made  a  spring  of 

about     six    feet. 

Tucking   up    ray 


^■^■^^^V" 


'  \VK    MADE    STRAIGHT    FOR   THE   CREEK'    BOTTOM. 


ind  pushed  my  shoulder.  He  swung  round  in 
front  of  me,  and  I  knew  that  the  game  was  up. 
^\'e  stood  face  to  face  for  an  instant,  his  right 
hand  on  my  left  shoulder,  and  his  left  hand 
clenched  at  his  side. 

'' Thar s  not  her  !'' 

The  words  snapped  out  like  pistol-shots.  Joe 
Mayness  dropped  the  grip  and  made  a  leap 
forward  ;  then  stood  stock-still.  For  an  instant 
we  stood  like  four  statues  :  my  eyes  were  glued 
on  Sam  Jumjicr's.  I  could  see  quite  clearly  in  the 
moonlight  how  they  were  blazing  :  his  face  was 
flushed  and  set,  his  whole  figure  was  rigid  and 
motionless,  and  his  fingers  dug  deep  into  my 
shoulder. 

Like  a  flash  his  left  hand  went  to  his  pocket ; 
like  a  flash  I  had  twisted  and  sprung  back.  I 
dared  not  run.  I  was  too  much  hampered  by 
my  skirts,  and  he  would  have  been  on  me 
before  I  had  gone  five  steps.  I  set  myself  to 
receive  his  spring,  when   like  a  spectre  the  form 


skirts,  away  I  went  like  the  wind,  dodging 
Joe  Mayness  easily.  Sam  Jumper  was  off  in 
another  direction  ;  then  the  two  parties  of  pur- 
suers joined,  and  the  din  for  a  few  minutes  was 
frightful.  Half-a-dozen  pistol-shots  rattled  out 
in  as  many  seconds  ;  wild  Indian  shrieks  and 
savage  yells  made  the  night  hideous.  I  saw  no 
more  of  Sam  Jumper  that  night.  He  leapt  the 
wire  fence  like  a  deer  :  Joe  Mayness,  however, 
caught  his  foot  in  the  barbs  and  came  down 
heavily.  \\'hen  the  boys  came  up  with  them 
they  were  hurriedly  untying  their  horses. 

"Sam,"  said  Lem  Henslee,  quite  quietly,  "we 
boys  found  a  grip  out  there  in  the  thicket.  Did 
either  of  you  boys  drop  one  ?  "  Sam  glared  and 
panted. 

"  You  got  me  this  time,  but  I'll  see  the  inside 
of  Silas  Varbrough's  brains  for  it." 

He  cut  his  mule  across  the  loins  with  his 
quirk  as  he  spoke,  and  in  the  bright  moonlight 
a  horse  and  a  mule  loped  down  the  road  through 


MV    TEXAN    ELOPEMENT. 


31 


the  thicket,  and  in  a  few  minutes   were  hidden 
by  the  deep  shadow  of  the  woods. 

It  was  a  lively  party  that  sat  on  Lem  Henslee's 
veranda  that  night. 

"  One  of  you  boys  had  better  load  up  a  gun  ; 
he  might  take  a  notion  to  sneak  back  and  pull 
down    on    some- 
body." ,  #11?;:  > 

"Not  he;  he's  ^ 

had  enough  for 
one  night.  I 
never  saw  a 
worse  scared  boy. 
Shouldn't  wonder 
if  some  of  his 
teeth  fell  out. 
You  could  hear 
them  rattling  half 
a  mile  away." 

"Take  that 
white  frock  off, 
anyway,  Jack. 
He  thought  you 
were  Silas  Yar- 
brough.  I  reckon 
we  had  better 
put  Silas  up  to 
it,  for  fear  Sam 
tries  tricks  on 
him." 

For  myself,  I 
thought  it  would 
be  nicer  to  fool 
Sam  some  more 
and  let  him  go 
on  thinking  so, 
but  it  would 
hardly  have  been 
safe  for  Silas. 

"  I  reckon  we 
brought   down 

some   stars,"  chuckled  Hubert  Henslee  ;  "  the 
shots  went  pretty  high." 

"  The  small  of  Sam's  back  must  have  felt 
mighty  shivery  " ;  and  so  the  joking  went  on. 

We  arranged  to  keep  the  affair  quiet,  and 
separated  about  midnight. 

Next  morning  at  breakfast,  old  man  Henslee 
— Ixm's  father — looked  over  at  me  very  quietly, 
and  said,  in  a  contemplative  sort  of  voice  :  "  Let 


gentlemen," 


hOK   AN    INSTA.N  F   \\  E 


me  see,  isn't  it  3oodols.  that  the  fine  is,  under 
United  States  law,  for  wearing  women's  clothes 
in  public  ?  " 

"  Eh  ?  "  said  I,  blankly. 

However,  I  heard  nothing  more  of  it  in  that 
direction,    except   a   little   splutter   from    Sam, 

which  came  to 
nothing. 

That  morning 
I  went  down  to 
.  Hickory     Creek 

for  my  letters. 
A  crowd  of  men 
was  hanging 
about  the  post- 
ofiice. 

M  o  r  n  i  n  g, 
said 
I,  as    I    got    off 
my  horse. 

"Morning, 
Miss  Sally!" 
"  How  do.  Miss 
Sally."  "How 
are  ye.  Miss 
Sally  ?  " 

"I  thought 
those  boys  were 
going  to  keep  it 
quiet,"  said  L 

"Quiet!  It 
was  known  in 
Wolfe  City, 
Leonard,  and 
Celeste  before 
sun-up  ;  and  I'll 
bet  it  is  known 
in  Bonham  by 
now.  Keep  t/iaf 
([uiet?  I  would 
have  given  a 
Seen    any    marshals 


blOOD    LIKE   STATUES. 


horse 

yet  ?  " 


to   have   seen    it. 


"  Durn  the  marshals." 
"  Sam   is  tearing  about 


mornmg  ;  you'd 
your  old  man- 


like a  wild  hog  this 
better  look  out.  Miss  Sally,  or 


"  Durn  my  old  man." 
But  I  slept  with  something  hard  under  my 
pillow  for  some  time,  and  kept  the  door  shut. 


A   Naturalist  in   CannibahLand 

By  R.  H.  Mackellar. 

Being  a  brief  account  of  the  exciting  adventures  experienced  by  a  British  officer   in  the  little-known 
cannibal    islands    of    the    South    Seas.       Illustrated    with    photos,    taken    by    Captain    Cayley-Webster 

himself,  and  with  sketches  from   his  own  note-book. 


APTAIN  H.  CAYLEY-WEBSTER, 
who-se  photo,  appears  on  this  page, 
recently  accomplished  a  very  re- 
markable exploring  and  scientific 
journey     amongst      those      remote 

islands  of  the  South  Seas  where  for  the  most 

part  white  men  are  only  represented  by  a  rare 

occasional  trader  or  missionary.     The  whole  of 

Captain    Cayley-Webster's   absorbing    narrative 

is  published  by  Mr.  Fisher  Unwin.     The  object 

of  this  article  is  to  show  the  dangers  and  dififi- 

culties  attending  travel  in  these  islands. 
It  seems  that  when 

Captain   Cayl  ey- 

Webster  was  in  New 

Britain  the  few  white 

people     there     were 

experiencing  a  great 

deal  of  trouble  from 

the   natives,    and    it 

was    only    when     a 

man-o-war   appeared 

on    the    scene,    and 

some  bluejackets 

had    been    marched 

into   the   interior  to 

sma.sh  up  the  villages, 

that  the  whites  were 

left     unmolested. 

Now,    the    cause   of 

all  this   trouble  was 

very   curious.      It 

seems    that    one    of 

the  natives   had    in- 
duced his  people  to 

fight  by  offering  for 

sale    a    magic    sub- 
stance which  should 

render   their    bodies 

bullet-proof.     He 

pres.sed     his     wares 

assiduously,     saying, 

"Let    us   kill    the 

white  men    and  live; 

in    their    houses." 


CAPTAIN-    H.    CAYLEV-WEBSTER. 

From  a  Plwto.  by  Russell  i^  Sons. 


He  was  a  born  showman,  that  man.  "  To 
prove  that  his  stuff  was  genuine,"  says  Captain 
Cayley-Webster,  "  he  painted  someone  with  his 
mixture,  and  after  holding  up  a  bullet,  sub- 
stituted for  it  a  berry  not  unlike  it  in  appear- 
ance, and  inserting  it  into  the  muzzle  of  an 
old  gun,  fired  at  the  man,  of  course  without 
injuring  him.  By  this  means  he  collected 
many  hundreds  of  pounds'  worth  of  '  dewarra ' 
(native  money),  and  had  it  not  been  for  the 
timely  arrival  of  the  war-ship  he  might  still  be 
doing  a  good  trade." 

And  yet  in  this 
remote  region  there 
w  u  r  e  not  only 
English  men  to  be 
found,  but  English 
ladies  as  well. 

"  Mrs.  Parkinson 
took  me  for  many 
excursions  into  the 
interior,  and  on  one 
occasion  to  the 
village  of  a  very 
influential  chief,  a" 
hoary  -  headed  old 
scoundrel,  who  had 
the  deaths  of  many 
people  on  his  con- 
science —  if  he  had 
such  a  thing  —  and 
was  one  of  the  most 
ferocious  cannibals 
in  that  part  of  the 
country.  This  man 
was  holding  a  great 
festivity,  and  the 
village,  as  I  ap- 
proached it,  resem- 
bled somewhat  a 
large  country  fair. 
Huge  chains  of 
various  coloured 
crotons  and  flowers 
strung    together 


A    XATCRALIST    IN    CANNIBAL- LAND. 


33 


hung  from  tree  to  tree,  the  trunks  of  which  were 
encircled  by  garlands  of  beautiful  creepers. 
Upwards  of  3,000  natives  were  assembled  from 
all  parts,  and  many  hundreds  of  them  were 
covered  with  leaves,  which,  together  with  their 
paint  and  their  enormous  feather  head-dresses, 
imparted  to  them  a  most  imposing,  but  at  the 
same  time  wild,  appearance.  The  whole 
spectacle  was  quite  the  most  unique  1  had 
witnessed  in  the  country. 

"  The  performers  themselves  were  all  as- 
sembled, as  it  were,  behind  the  scenes  :  a  large 
screen  of  ferns  and  flowers  had  been  erected 
for  the  purpose.  At  the  sound  of  the  tom-tom 
each  tribe  in  its  turn  came  forward  and  per- 
formed its  dance,  and  with   their  fierce  noises 


ance  which  was  being  enacted  in  front  of  them. 
On  the  other  side  were  the  men,  chewing  their 
betel-nut  and  applauding  the  various  performers 
as  they  appeared  on  the  scene.  In  the  centre 
was  erected  an  enormous  screen,  about  40ft.  in 
height,  on  which  were  hung  countless  rolls  of 
'dewarra,'  each  coil  being  worth  ^^25  in  English 
money.  This  '  dewarra,'  which  is  the  native 
money  of  New  Britain,  is  comprised  of  a  par- 
ticular kind  of  small  shell,  resembling  the  cowrie. 
These  are  bored  and  strung  together  on  narrow 
strips  of  cane.  It  is  very  much  sought  after  by 
the  natives,  as  with  it  they  purchase  their  wives, 
their  slaves,  pigs,  and  in  fact  all  articles  of  trade. 
A  fathom  of  this  shell-money  is  worth  2s.,  and 
when   250  fathoms  are  gathered   together  they 


Front  d\ 


A    NATIVE    UANCE    IN    NEW    BRITAIN. 


{I'iiOtO. 


and  many  extraordinary  gyrations,  one  could 
not  help  but  experience  a  feeling  of  awe.  The 
dance  is  the  private  property  of  the  chief  of 
each  village,  who  either  designs  it  himself 
or  purchases  it  from  some  neighbouring 
warrior. 

"On  the  one  side  were  the  women  and 
children  of  the  many  different  villages,  squatting, 
as  none  but  natives  can  squat,  on  their  hams — 
indulging,  probably,  in  the  latest  village  gossip ; 
but  not  one  of  them,  as  far  as  I  could  see, 
exhibiting  the  slightest  interest  in  the  perform- 

Vol.  iiU— 5. 


are  formed  into  a  coil  very  skilfully  laced  up 
with  cane  or  rattan,  giving  it  the  appearance  of 
a  huge  lifebuoy.  On  the  screen  were  also  hung 
innumerable  ornaments  and  trophies,  such  as 
skulls  of  vanquished  enemies,  spears,  etc." 

Captain  Cayley  -  Webster  was  frequently 
cautioned  never  to  go  anywhere  without  his 
revolver  in  his  hand.  Head-hunting  raids 
were  constantly  being  organized,  and  the 
Captain  himself  was  an  eye-witness  of  one  great 
expedition  which  captured  more  than  sixty 
gruesome  trophies  in  the  shape  of  human  heads. 


34 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


These  were  immediately 
smoke-dried  and  preserved 
in  the  temple  or  Tambu- 
house. 

The  next  photo.  \vc  repro- 
duce shows  Captain  Cayley- 
Webster  and  his  native 
hunters.  We  will  let  him 
continue  his  story  : — 

"  The  day  before  we  left  1 
took  the  boat  and  one  or  two 
natives  with  me  to  an  island 
some  few  miles  distant  in  the 
hope  of  obtaining  particular 
species  of  lepidoptera,  which 
I  knew  to  exist  there.  On 
arriving  at  the  village,  which 
was  situated  a  few  yards  up 
from  the  beach  and  densely 
surrounded  by  cocoanut  trees, 
I  looked  in  vain  for  the  in- 
habitant.s,  who  had  not  put 
in  an  appearance,  as  they 
usually  do  on  the  landing  of 
a  stranger.  This  augured  of 
evil,  as  the  native  is  in  the 
habit  of  remaining  inside  his 
house  on  the  arrival  of  any 
person  he  does  not  wish  to 
see.  I  took  very  little  notice 
of  this,  as  I  had  a  g'jn  and 
revolver  with  me,  but  left 
two  boys  with  the  boat  with 
distinct  instructions  not  to 
leave  it  under  any  circum- 
stances. 

"  Returning  after  an  hour 
or  two  spent  in  the  forest  with 
the  object  of  my  visit  safely 
stowed  away,  I  found  all  the 
men  of  the  village  assem- 
bled together  in  the  council-house — at  least  a 
hundred  in  number — apparently  much  excited 
and  gesticulating  wildly.  On  perceiving  me 
they  all  pointed  at  me,  and  at  the  same  time 
cast  by  no  means  friendly  glances  in  my  direction. 
I  sauntered  directly  u[)  to  the  chief,  and,  slapping 
him  on  the  back,  offered  him  a  cigar,  and  at 
the  same  time  indicated  that  I  required  some 
cocoanuts  to  drink,  and  after  some  hesitation  and 
delay  they  were  brought.  Knowing  quite  well 
that  they  would  not  attack  me  from  the  front,  I 
placed  my  back  against  a  tree  before  quenching 
my  thirst,  apparently  quite  unconcerned, 
although  I  was  well  aware  of  the  dangerous 
position  in  which  I  was.  Again  walking  up  to 
the  chief  I  shook  him  by  the  hand,  and  turning 
away,  walked  slowly  down  to  the  beach  without 
turning  my  face  from  the  people,  and  I  was  by 


FroDi  a\ 


CAPTAIN   CAYLEY-WEIiSTER    WITH    HIS    NATIVE    HUNTERS. 


[t'/toto. 


no  means  sorry  to  find  myself  safe  in  the  boat 
once  more.  I  attributed  my  safety — and  I  can 
but  little  doubt  that  I  owed  my  life  on  this 
occasion — to  the  fact  that  I,  apparently  inadver- 
tently, displayed  a  large  revolver  as  well  as  the 
shot-gun  which  1  had  slung  over  my  shoulder." 

Our  explorer-naturalist  has  much  to  say  that 
is  interesting  about  Dutch  New  (Guinea,  where 
the  natives  informed  him  that  "a  long  way  off 
and  high  up  in  the  mountains  "  the  Arfours,  or 
wild  men,  were  to  be  found.  Accordingly  he 
sent  four  men  as  ambassadors  to  these  strange 
people  ;  but  his  messengers,  after  proceeding  a 
mile  or  so,  were  compelled  to  return  to  the 
coast  owing  to  the  terrible  man-traps  that  lay  in 
their  path  at  every  stride. 

"  These  traps,  which  are  set  by  the  Arfours  to 
prevent    enemies    approaching    their    mountain 


A    NATURALIST    IN    CANNIBAL- LAND. 


35 


iXt 


^- 


m 


ETNA    BAY,    THE   SCKNK   (IK    THE    FIGHT  WITH    THE   CANNIBALS. 

From  Captain  Cayley-Wehster's  cnun  Sketch-Book. 


that  all  the  natives  had 
their  teeth  sharpened, 
which  was  a  pretty  sure 
sign  of  cannibalism.  For 
a  time  these  natives  were 
collecting  natural  history 
specimens  for  our  ex- 
plorer in  the  most  inno- 
cent manner,  but  that 
the)''  had  had  their  eye 
upon  him  as  a  prospective 
dinner  will  be  evident 
from  the  determined  on- 
slaught they  made  on  the 
jith  of  August,  1895. 

"  My  early  fears,  which 
I  had  formed  owing  to 
their  sharpened  teeth, 
were  indeed  realized. 
Early  on  this  morning 
two  of  my  crew  went  on 
shore  as  usual  to  shoot, 
and  after  breakfast  the 
butterfly  collectors  were 
taken  in  the  whale-boat 
by  my  boatswain,  John- 
ston, and  one  of  the 
sailors,  round  a  point 
about  a  mile  distant, 
where  there  was  a  very 
good  river,  on  the  banks 
of    which    thev    told    me 


retreat,  consist  of  small 
spikes  of  iron -wood, 
about  loin.  long,  and 
steeped  in  the  juice  of 
some  poisonous  plant. 
They  are  firmly  embedded 
in  the  ground  with  the 
e.xception  of  two  or  three 
inches,  which  are  left  at 
an  angle  of  forty  -  five 
degrees  and  pointing 
towards  the  sea  -  coast. 
These  are  placed  in  the 
native  tracks  a  few  feet 
apart  and  expertly  hidden 
by  twigs  or  leaves,  but 
on  anyone  walking  upon 
them  they  penetrate  right 
through  the  foot,  being 
so  finely  pointed." 

It  was  at  Etna  Bav, 
New  Guinea,  that  Captain 
Cayley-Webster  met  with 
his  most  exciting  experi- 
ence.    Here   he   noticed 


£^j;; 


<>yjci 


\ .-. 


^c^.V—    ^u,,.^^„\ 


THE  HOME   OF   CAPTAIN    CAVI.EV-WEI'STEK  S    WOULU-BE   MURDEKEKS. 

From  /lis  own  Sketch-Book. 


36 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


they  had   seen    many   fine   butterflies  the   day 
before. 

"Shortly  after  they  started  a  very  large 
canoe,  containing  about  twenty-five  people, 
came  alongside,  and  all  its  occupants  came  on 
deck,  including  one  old  woman,  who  brought 
with  her  a  child,  which  she  was  very  anxious 
for  me  to  purchase.  Their  manner  was  even 
more  friendly  than  usual,  and  through  this  I 
then,  for  the  first  time,  suspected  hostile  inten- 
tions ;  and  so,  taking  a  large  knife,  with  a  blade 
about    i5in.   in   length,   from   a   man   who   was 


•A*. 


TIIK   SCr.MC   OF   THE   MLKDERS   OK   JOHNSTON    AND   SAM 

/■'rem  Captain  Cay/ey-lVebster s  mvn  Skelch-Book. 


sitting  on  the  taffrail  close  to  the  back  of  my 
chair,  I  told  the  captain  to  keep  a  good  look- 
out. 

"  It  is  my  firm  belief  that  this  act  saved 
my  life.  The  natives,  evidently  observing  my 
suspicions,  commenced  talking  very  excitedly 
among  themselves,  and  I  must  say  that  the  boat, 
which  by  now  had  had  ample  time  to  return, 
and  was  not  forthcoming,  caused  me  very  much 
anxiety— so  much  so,  that  I  was  on  the  point  of 
sending  someone  after  it,  when  I  observed  what 
I  at  first  took  to  be  the  boat,  but  afterwards 
found  was  a  large  canoe,  returning  from  round 
the  point;  and  had  I  known  then  that  its 
coming  heralded  the  accomplishment  of  their 
bloody  deed,  not  one  man,  woman,  or  child  of 
those   twenty  five   on    board    the  yacht   should 


have  lived  to  reach  the  shore.  Seeing,  then, 
that  their  own  mission,  which  had  evidently 
been  to  murder  us  and  seize  the  ship,  had 
proved  futile,  they  at  once  departed,  and  not  a 
m.oment  too  soon  for  them,  for  about  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  afterwards  'Jimmy,'  one  of  the  two 
hunters  who  had  started  at  daybreak  in  the 
morning,  was  observed  rushing  down  to  the 
beach  and  entering  the  water.  I  shouted  to 
him  to  knov/  the  reason,  when  he  called  out, 
'  Fire  the  big  gun  ;  Lennel  has  been  killed.' 
"  At   that    moment   showers   of   arrows   and 

spears  were  seen  whizzing 
through  the  air  over  his 
head  as  he  swam  out  to 
the  ship,  but,  fortunately, 
not  one   struck  him.      I 
then  brought  the  Krupp 
gun  I  had  mounted  on 
deck  to  bear  upon   the 
beach,  and  by  its  assist- 
ance   kept    back   the 
swarming    natives    from 
following  him,  and  a  few 
minutes    afterwards     he 
reached    the    ship    in 
safety.     He  told  me  that 
he  and  Lennel  were  just 
returning  from  the  bush 
with  a  number  of  Para- 
dise birds — the  result  of 
tlieir    morning's    work — 
and   were    sitting   down 
in  front   of  the   village, 
drinking   the    cocoanuls 
the    natives    had    given 
tliem,  when  he  suddenly 
saw  a  man  raise  a  native 
axe   and    strike    Lennel 
across    the    neck     from 
behind.     The  poor  man, 
he  said,   sank  without  a 
murmur.       He   then   ran   back    again    into    the 
forest,    but  was  so   hard   pressed    by   the  over- 
whelming numbers  tliat  he  doubled  back  to  the 
beach  and  swam  for  his  life. 

"  I  was  obliged  to  keep  up  a  continuous  and 
deadly  fire  for  about  ten  minutes,  to  prevent  the 
p"ople  from  hauling  up  their  canoes,  which  now 
began  to  float  off  the  shore  with  the  rising  tide. 
"  About  two  o'clock  Rangoon,  one  of  the 
butterfly  boys,  was  seen  to  run  out  of  the  forest 
and  push  a  canoe  into  the  water.  He  also 
reached  the  ship  without  any  injury.  Rangoon 
said  that  my  men,  who  had  taken  him  with  the 
others  in  the  boat  in  the  morning,  had  been 
attacked  by  swarms  of  natives,  but  he  had 
rushed  off  into  the  jungle  and  thus  escaped  ;  that 
there  were  hundreds  of  natives  running   back- 


A    NATURALIST    IN    CANNIBAL- LAND. 


37 


wards  and  forwards  in  the  forest  filled  with 
excitement.  About  an  hour  later  I  saw  two 
more  of  my  men  creeping  through  the  man- 
groves a  few  hundred  yards  north  of  the  village, 
and  making  for  a  canoe  which  was  tied  up 
close  by,  but  the  natives  discovered  them  a  few 
seconds  before  they  reached  it  and  attacked 
them  in  a  most  ferocious  manner,  only  running 
away  after  I  had  fired  several  rounds  of  the 
Krupp  gun  over  their  heads.  A  few  minutes 
later  these  two  men  were  safely  on  board, 
and  I  could  not  but  be  amused  at  the 
plucky  way  in  which  one  of  them  had 
stuck  to  his  butterfly  net  all  the  time, 
especially  when  he  told  me  that  he  could  have 
reached  the  canoe  much  quicker  had  he  not  had 
it  in  his  hand.  They  informed  me  that  when 
the  boat  was  attacked  they  ran  away,  as  they 
were  unarmed,  but  that  Johnston,  Sam,  and 
Abdullah,  the  Macassar  man,  were  all  together. 

"The  canoes  which  lined  the  beach  opposite 
the  village  had  by  this  lime  all  floated  off  with 
the  rising  tide,  the  natives  being  prevented  from 
securing  them  by  the  continuous  fire  from  the 
Krupp  gun.  I  therefore  sent  out  some  men 
with  axes,  who  scuttled  about  forty  canoes, 
which  were  to  be  seen  floating  in  the 
bay  in  every  direction.  This  act  enraged 
the  natives  to  such  an  extent  that  other 
canoes,  overcrowded  with  people,  sprang  out 
of  the  mangroves  from  every  point,  and 
simultaneously  made  a  desperate  attack 
upon  us.  These  canoes,  some  sixty  or 
seventy  in  number,  containing  in  all  about 
three  hundred  people,  were  kept  at  bay  for 
a  considerable  time,  and  finding  evidently 
that  it  was  an  impossibility  to  secure  the  prize 
they  so  much  coveted,  they  divided  and  disap- 
peared, doing  us  but  very  little  injury.  The 
bay  presented  by  this  time  a  gruesome  spectacle  : 
the  wreckage  of  destroyed  canoes,  bows  and 
arrows,  and  many  other  articles  of  the  enemy's 
paraphernalia  were  to  be  seen  floating  in  all 
directions.  The  noise  of  the  tom-toms  could  be 
heard  sending  out  their  weird  and  dismal  sounds 
from  range  to  range  ;  dusky  objects  could  be  seen 
skimming  across  a  little  open  patch  or  creeping 
through  the  undergrowth  near  the  water's  edge 
all  round  us ;  and  it  reflects  great  credit  upon 
the  remains  of  my  small  but  plucky  crew  that 
so  large  a  force  on  the  shore  was  unable  to 
approach  and  capture  the  ship. 

"  There  was  not  a  breath  of  air  to  enable  us  to 
move,  and  the  sun  had  nearly  set ;  nevertheless  I 
weighed  anchor  and  dropped  down  in  the 
direction  1  had  sent  the  boat  in  that  morning, 
to  endeavour  to  find  out  something  of  the  three 
missing  men.  I  fired  a  rifle  at  regular  intervals 
on  the  way  to  enable  them   to  know  the  ship's 


position,  although  I  had  but   little  nope  of  their 
being  then  alive. 

"At  lo  p.m.  we  again  let  go  the  anchor,  and 
about  half  an  hour  later  I  perceived,  by  the 
phosphorescent  disturbance  of  the  water,  that 
something  was  coming  towards  the  ship.  In 
response  to  my  incjuiry  I  heard  the  faint  word 
'Cowan  '  (Malay  for  friend),  and  knew  at  once 
it  must  be  Abdullah,  and  very  soon  managed 
to  get  him  on  board.  It  appeared  that  he  had 
hidden  in  the  jungle  until  long  after  dark,  and 
then  when  he  heard  the  chain  running  through 
the  hawse-pipe  he  knew  that  the  ship  was  again 
at  anchor.  So  making  his  way  some  mile  or 
two  to  windward  along  the  coast  he  had  cut  a 
spar,  taken  off  his  clothes,  and  struck  out  for 
the  centre  of  the  bay,  knowing  that  a  very 
strong  current  at  the  time  would  carry  him 
down  to  the  yacht.  Had  he  started  even  fifty 
yards  lower  down  the  current  would  have 
swept  him  past  the  ship  without  ever  reaching 
it,  and  we  should  never  have  seen  or  heard  of 


mm  agam. 


"  As  it  was  he  arrived  on  board  in  a  terribly 
exhausted  condition,  with  his  feet  all  cut  and 
bleeding,  and  his  body  scratched  to  pieces  from 
the  prickly  undergrowth  he  had  been  obliged  to 
penetrate,  as  the  natives  had  so  hotly  pursued 
him,  the  most  persistent  being  a  man  and  a 
boy,  both  of  whom  he  had  killed  with  his  kris. 

"  My  worst  fears  were  now  realized,  for  he  told 
me  Johnston  and  Sam  were  both  dead.  On 
landing  in  the  morning,  he  told  us,  the  boat 
had  been  hauled  up  on  the  beach,  and  they 
had  all  sat  under  a  cocoanut  tree.  Suddenly 
they  were  surprised  by  some  hundred  natives 
rushing  out  of  the  forest  and  attacking  them, 
whereupon  they  made  a  bolt  for  their  rifles, 
which  they  had  foolishly  left  in  the  boat,  when 
others  in  canoes  attacked  them  from  the 
sea.  He  just  had  time  to  see  that  Sam 
had  been  cut  in  the  back  and  pierced  witli 
arrows,  and  poor  Johnston,  my  boatswain,  had 
literally  been  pierced  through  and  through  when 
he  ran  off  to  save  himself. 

"  By  eleven  o'clock  that  night,  by  the  light  of 
their  fires,  I  could  see  that  the  village  was  full 
of  natives,  and  from  the  noise  of  their  drums 
and  tom-toms,  and  from  an  observation  one  of 
the  hunters  had  made  on  the  shore,  I  knew 
only  too  well  the  nature  of  their  horrible  and 
repulsive  festivity.  They  had  killed  three  of  my 
men,  had  captured  five  rifles  and  my  boat,  and 
I  was  powerless  to  avenge  these  dastardly 
murders.  All  through  that  night  and  many 
succeeding  ones  I  never  left  the  deck,  for  on 
several  occasions  these  natives,  who  were  the 
boldest  and  most  ferocious  I  had  ever  seen, 
made     desperate     attempts     to     capture     the 


38 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


vessel,  and  I  am  confident  that  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  quick-firing  Krupp  the  yacht 
would  have  passed  into  other  hands,  and  these 
words  never  have  been  written." 

Captain  Cayley-AVebster  soon  after  this  con- 
tinued liis  journey  past  Normandy  Island,  a  large 
island  belonging  to  the  D'Entrecasteaux  group, 
and  shortly  afterwards  sighted  Cape  St.  (jeorge, 
which  lies  at  the  extreme  south  of  New  Ireland. 

"  Beating  up  St.  George's  Channel  against 
considerable  head  winds  and  currents,  it  was 
not  until  a  week  later  that  I  arrived  at 
Herbertsoh,  which  is  the  seat  of  German 
Government  in  this  archipelago.  After  a  short 
halt  I  sailed  on  to  Ralum,  where  I  met  some 
old  friends.  A  few  days  after  my  arrival  I 
promised  the  natives  to  show  them  some 
conjuring  and  sleight-of-hand    tricks.      On  the 


'  taboran,'  who  came  in  a  ship  and  made  mango 
trees  grow  before  their  eyes  and  fire  come  out 
of  his  mouth,  will  be  talked  of  as  one  of  the 
wonders  of  their  country,  and  I  daresay  with 
much  exaggeration." 

By  the  way,  it  is  very  interesting  to  note  here 
that  many  explorers  learn  a  few  conjuring  tricks 
before  they  leave  home,  and  look  upon  this 
accomplishment  as  a  valuable  part  of  their 
outfit.  And  well  they  may.  An  ability  to 
"  astonish  the  natives  "  has  more  than  once 
saved  a  white  explorer's  Ijfe  in  the  wilds. 

One  of  the  most  curious  sights  that  Captain 
Cayley  -  Webster  witnessed  was  the  Duk-Duk 
dance,  which  is  represented  in  the  photo,  at 
the  top  of  the  next  page.  We  give  the  explorer's 
own  account  of  this  extraordinary  ceremony  : — 

"The    Duk-Duk,    for  that    is    the    name    it 


i-.ii   i.M.    i-A',  i,i-.v-\\ki;M  }  I;    (.P.Ls   a    CUNJLKI.XL.    EMEKTA1.\.MI;.NT    io   Till;   NATIVES, 


day  fi.xed,  from  daylight  in  the  morning  natives 
flocked  down  from  all  parts  of  the  interior  and 
from  many  miles  along  the  coast  to  witness  the 
performance,  and  I  was  afterwards  held  in  great 
awe  and  veneration  by  everyone  I  came  across. 
No  matter  how  simple  tlie  tricks,  the  natives 
were  open-mouthed  jn  their  wonder,  and  that 
day  earned  for  me  the  title  of  '  taboran '  (devil) 
throughout  the  whole  of  New  Britain,  and  with- 
out   a    doubt    a    hundred     years    hence    the 


goes  by,  is  an  interesting  institution,  originally 
emanating  from  this  group  of  i.slands.  Many 
hundreds  of  years  ago  it  was  invented  by  a 
celebrated  chief  here,  as  a  form  of  native  police. 
At  the  outset,  men  who  had  misbehaved  them- 
selves in  the  principal  village,  and  were  con- 
sequently debarred  from  getting  food  there,  used 
to  cover  themselves  with  leaves,  worked  into 
weird  and  strange  shapes,  and  repair  to  the 
neighbouring    villages,   and  on   their    terrifying 


A    NATURALIST    IN    CANNIliM,  -  LAN  1). 


39 


Front  a] 


THE   EXTRAORDINARY   UUK-DUK    DANCE. 


\Fhoto 


the  people  to  such  an  extent,  they  willingly  gave 
them  food  in  order  to  get  rid  of  them.  This 
costume  proved  so  successful  in  working  upon 
the  fears  and  superstitions  of  the  natives  that 
eventually  the  chiefs  arrogated  to  themselves 
the  right  of  clothing  a  kind  of  police  in  this 
manner,  and  any  of  their  enemies  were  thus 
hunted  down  by  the  Duk-Duk,  who  could  and 
did  kill  anyone  with  im[)unity.  Any  woman 
looking  upon  the  l)ukT)uk  was  immediately  put 
to  death,  and  even  down  to  the  present  day 
upon  the  faintest  sign  of  the  approach  of  this 
dreadful  apparition  the  women  all  fly  in  terror 
and  bury  themselves  in  the  densest  jungle 
possible." 

Quite  apart  from  the  greater  and  more  obvious 
perils  of  his  splendid  journey,  Captain  Cayley- 
Webster  frccjuently  encountered  unpleasant- 
nesses which  no  amount  of  care  and  foresight 
could  prevent.  The  following,  for  example,  is 
perhaps  one  of  the  explorer's  most  curious 
experiences. 

"  On  one  occasion  a  native  brought  me  a  small 
fish  on  his  spear  point,  saying  in  pidjin  English 


'That  fellar  he  savey  too  much— he  ki  ki  along 
o'  me  plenty,  me  die  finish";  meaning  thereby 
that  tne  fish  was  an  artful  customer,  and  if 
bitten  by  him  I  should  die.  Placing  it  in  a 
bottle  of  spirit  I  unfortunately  touchrd  one  of 
the  spiky  fins  while  pressing  in  the  cork. 
Immediately  I  felt  an  electric  shock  run  u[)  my 
arm  and  one  drop  of  blood  appeared  on  my 
finger.  Rushing  to  the  veranda  I  at  once 
procured  brandy  and  ammonia,  in  which 
I  bathed  my  injured  hand,  but  in  an  in- 
credibly short  space  of  time  I  became  in- 
sensible, and  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely 
arrival  of  the  captain  of  a  recruiting  schooner 
then  lying  off  the  island,  I  should  probably 
never  have  recovered.  The  captain  at  once 
proceeded  to  administer  brandy  in  enormous 
doses,  with  the  result  that  after  some  time  I 
recovered  consciousness.  He  then  walked  me 
up  and  down,  although  feeling  dead-beat,  for 
many  hours,  continually  dosing  me  with  brandy 
until  the  poison  was  conquered.  I  was,  how- 
ever, confined  to  my  bed  for  ten  days,  a  severe 
attack  of  fever  supervening." 


J  inkers    and   J  inhering. 


By  Ras  de  S.  Magnussen. 


A  curious    contribution    from    Western    New    South 
whole  houses,  public  buildings,  and  even  towns  are 

by  teams  of  oxe 

HE  illustrations  accompanying  this 
article  give  an  idea  of  how  house- 
shifting  is  carried  out  on  the  faraway 
JJarrier,  and  will  no  doubt  be  a 
I)erfect  revelation  to  the  ordinary 
person  to  whom  house-moving  is  a  wretchedly 
prosaic  business  involving  much  discomfort  and 
inconvenience.  The  Barrier  is  a  wide  stretch 
of  country  in  ^Vestern  New  South  Wales,  near 
the  South  Australian  border,  where  a  goodly 
portion  of  the  silver  of  the  world  comes  from. 
At  one  time  Silverton  was  the  head  centre  of 
the  district.  That  was  in  the  days  when  the 
mines  of  Day  Uream,  Thackaringa,  Purna- 
moota,  and  the  Apollyon  A^alley  were  in  active 
operation.  But  the  scene  of  work  shifted  in 
time  to  the  far-famed  Broken  Hill,  one  of  the 
wonders  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  there  it 
stayed — and  is  likely  to  remain  for  several 
generations  to  come.  One  of  the  mines  on 
the  field,  the  Broken  Hill  Proprietary,  has  dis- 
tributed among  its  shareholders  over  ;^9,ooo,ooo 


Wales,  showing  by  means  of  photographs  how 
moved  on  wheels  and  drawn  to  their  destination 
n  and  horses. 

imports  and  exports  are  second  only  in  annual 
value  to  those  of  Sydney  itself,  the  capital  ot 
the  Mother  Colony  of  ):he  Australias.  In  days 
gone  by,  of  course — in  the  days  of  "  rushes  " 
and  "  booms  " — house-removing  was  much  more 
frequent  than  to-day ;  and  maybe  a  few  years 
hence  will  see  the  "  jinker  "  regarded  as  a 
prehistoric  institution.  For  Broken  Hill  has 
proved  that  it  has  "  come  to  stay.'' 

Nearly  the  whole  of  the  now  almost  deserted 
town  of  Silverton,  once  a  remarkably  busy  city, 
was  jinkered  to  Broken  Hill,  a  distance  of 
eighteen  to  twenty  miles— a    unique  instance, 


I      should     s 


ay> 


of    a     town     bein"     shifted 


house  by  house.  And  the  remarkable  photo- 
graph reproduced  on  this  page  gives  an 
excellent  idea  of  how  this  town  removal  was 
conducted.  Here  we  see  a  large  general  store 
which  has  just  reached  the  famous  silver  city  of 
Broken  Hill,  after  having  been  transported  from 
Silverton  by  easy — very  easy — stages.  Observe 
the  great  stiing  of  fine  bullocks  hitched  on  to 


LAKCE  STOKE   REMOVED    BODILY   NEARLY   TWENTY    MILES    HY  A   TEAM    OF    BULLOCKS. 

From  a  Photo,  by  A.  F.  Pincowhe,  Broken  Hill. 


in  dividends  and  bonuses,  and  has  enough  ore 
/;/  si^ht  now  to  last  at  least  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  years. 

Broken  Hill  buildings  are — or  were — mainly 
of  wood  and  galvanized  iron,  so  constructed 
for  convenience  of  removal.  I  say  were — for 
Broken  Hill  is  rapidly  growing  out  of  the  wood 
and  iron  into  the  brick  and  stone  age.  How- 
ever, the  scenes  depicted  in  our  photographs 
are  common  enough  even  to-day,  although  the 
town  has  a  population  of  over  26,000,  and  its 


the  jinker  on  which  the  house  rests.  Mr.  A.  F. 
Pincombe,  we  note,  was  on  this  occasion  mover- 
in-ordinary  and  jinker  plenipotentiary. 

Both  horse  and  bullock  teams  are  utiHzed  as 
the  drawing-power  of  the  jinker.  Either  style 
of  team,  however,  provides  but  a  slow  method 
of  progression. 

The  store  seen  in  the  foregoing  photo,  measured 
42ft.  by  46ft.  by  20ft.  high,  and  there  were 
thirty-eight  head  of  bullocks  harnessed  to  the 
jinker.     Notwithstanding  this,  however,  it  took 


.TINKERS    AND    JINKERING. 


41 


three  weeks  to  a  day  to  travel  from  point  to 
point  of  the  twenty  miles.  The  roads,  it  is  true, 
were  heavy  and  boggy,  as  the  result  of  recent 
rains,  and  certain  stretches  of  ground  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  traverse.  On  more  than 
one  day  the  building  was  not  hauled  more 
than  a  hundred  yards  in  the  twenty  -  four 
hours.  Another  structure  I  wot  of — a  private 
residence  —  removed  from  one  part  of  Broken 
Hill  to  another,  only  a  distance  of  two 
miles,  was   on    the   road    for  three   days,   and 


well-bred  jinker.  Said  Mr.  A.  F.  Pincombe 
(the  chief  jinker-owner  of  Broken  Hill)  to  the 
writer  :  "  I  have  jinkered  for  fourteen  years,  and 
only  once  had  I  a  pane  of  glass  smashed  ;  and 
even  then  it  was  a  small  boy  who  threw  a  stone 
and  broke  the  pane  deliberately."  The  origin  of 
the  jinker  is  wrapped  in  Australian  mystery. 
Bendigo,  the  famous  Victorian  gold-field,  claims 
to  have  developed  the  inventor,  and  no  one  so 
far  has  troubled  to  dispute  the  claim.  So 
Bendigo  will  probably  go  down  to  posterity  (if 


-— ^"^      ^-i^:^  j>i-»-«.-.-^ 


'^^■-mra- 


HOUSE-MOVING    IN    BROKEN    HILL.      A    PRIVATE    RESIDENCE    IJEING   SHIKTED. 

Front  a  Photograph. 


during  transit  cost  the  jinker  four  new  sets  of 
wheels.  The  house  seen  in  our  second  photo- 
graph measured  36ft.  by  30ft.,  and  was  four  days 
being  drawn  from  Round  Hill  to  Broken  Hill,  a 
distance  of  five  and  a  half  miles. 

But  what  is  a  jinker?  Well,  it  is  an  ugly- 
looking,  bulky,  low,  triangular  conveyance^  very 
like  a  pair  of  shear-legs  on  wheels.  The  jinkers, 
like  all  other  vehicles,  run  in  various  sizes, 
proportionate  to  the  bulk  and  weight  of 
the  building  they  are  to  transport.  We  will 
suppose  a  house  is  to  be  removed.  Well, 
most  of  the  houses  are— or  were — built  on  a 
level  with  the  ground,  expressly  to  facilitate 
possible  shifting.  The  house  to  be  jinkered  is 
first  raised  from  its  foundation  usually  by  means 
of  what  are  known  as  "  German  timber-jacks." 
When  it  is  lifted  sufficiently  high,  say  from 
I  Bin.  to  3ft.  from  the  ground,  the  jinker  is 
backed  under  it,  and  the  hou.se  is  then  let 
down,  after  which  it  is  ready  for  transport  any- 
where— after,  of  course,  the  building  has  been 
braced  to  the  jinker.  The  great  advantage  of 
the  jinker  is  this  :  it  does  not  jolt  the  building. 
We  will  suppose  that  a  wheel  of  the  jinker 
falls  into  a  rut,  or  becomes  bogged.  In  that 
case  the  whole  affair  at  once  "  gives "  in  a 
tilt,  each  section  bearing  an  equal  strain.  A 
waggon  (although  used  sometimes  for  very  small 
shanties)  shakes  and  rolls,  and  is  apt  to  break 
every  pane  of  glass  in  the  windows.  There  is 
no  such   risk  with   a    properly  conducted    and 

Vol.  iii.— 6. 


history  worries  its  head  in  the  matter  at  all)  as 
the  birthplace  of  one  of  the  awkwardest  and  yet 
most  convenient  vehicles  in  Australian  use. 

The  township  of  Round  Hil!,  like  Silverton, 
was  moved  almost  bodily  into  the  newer  town, 
until  to-day  there  are  not  half-a-dozen  houses 
where  once  there  were  hundreds.  'I'he  locality 
was  prospected,  and  was  a  failure;  so  the  residents 
turned  in  the  direction  of  success,  taking  their 
houses  with  them  after  the  manner  of  snails. 
And  when  the  rate  of  progression  is  considered 
the  simile  becomes  peculiarly  apt. 

The  next  photograph  reproduced  shows  a 
public  school  which  was  shifted  bodily  to  the 
Silver  City,  when  the  children  of  Round  Hill 
were  too  few  to  warrant  its  retention  in  that 
deserted  town.  It  was  placed  in  position  at 
North  Broken  Hill,  and  is  to  this  day  one  of  the 
buildings  in  which  the  young  of  the  district 
receive  their  education.  Horses,  it  will  be 
observed,  are  the  motive  power  in  this  case. 
There  were  forty-five  fine  animals  harnessed  at 
a  time  to  this  temple  of  learning,  but  the  heavy 
roads  proved  such  a  strain  on  some  of  them 
that  they  "  knocked  under,"  so  that  altogether 
sixty-one  horses  were  necessary  to  do  the  haul- 
ing. And  these  sixty-one  took  seven  days  to 
do  their  work.  The  dimensions  of  the  school- 
house  were  (over  all)  45ft.  by  30ft.,  whilst  its 
weight  was  about  twenty-five  tons.  This  was, 
by  the  way,  the  heaviest  building  ever  shifted 
on  a  Broken  Hill  jinker. 


42 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


"the    progress   of    education" — A    PUBLIC   SCHOOL    BEING    "jli\t:fcKtl)'     (WtlGHi    25    To^.s). 

From  a  Photo,  by  Devon  Photo.  Company,  Bfoken  Hill. 


The  shifting  of  the  Salvation  Army  barracks 
shown  in  our  next  illustration  was  one  of  the 
most  ra[)id  acts  of  jinker  removal  on  Barrier 
record.  The  building,  an  awkward  structure  to 
handle  (dimensions,  56ft.  by  22ft.,  and  24ft. 
high),  was  at  Silverton  on  a  Saturday  afternoon. 
It  was  first  of  all  hoisted  on  to  a  vehicle  drawn 
by  thirty-eight  bullocks  (the  cattle  being  under 
the  control  of  four  drivers),  and  that  same  after- 
noon was  dropped  into  position  at  South 
Broken  Hill  in  good  time  to  allow  of  its  being 
repaired  and  used  for  celebration  purposes  on 
the  fuUowii.g  \Vednesday  evening. 

But  not  alone  are  empty  houses  and  public 
buildings  carried  from  place  to  place.  Often — 
and  this  is  where  much  of  the  convenience  of 
jinkering  comes  in — dwelling-houses  are  shifted 
/lolus  bolus — furniture  and  all,  the  confident 
haiisfraii  not  even  troubling  to  remove  the 
cups  and  jugs  from  the  dresser-pegs.  More 
than  a  few  times,  too,  when  folk  have  not  been 
pressed  for  time,  the  whole  family  of  the  owner 
has  remained  indoors  during  transport,  just  as 
if  the  building  were  {[uietly  resting  on  its  own 
foundations.  Certainly  a  novel  experience  this, 
and  a  pleasant,  but 
in  no  wise  an  exag- 
geration. Another 
remarkable  in- 
stance of  the  value 
of  the  jinker  is 
shown  when  a 
house  is  to  be  sold. 
Then  it  may  be 
jacked  on  to  the 
three  -  cornered 
skeleton  waggon 
and  carried  direct 
to  the  auction- 
mart,  where  it  is 
submitted  to  the 
hammer  in  exactly 


the  same  fashion  as  a  second-hand  table  or  a 
bale  of  dress-goods,  which  irresistibly  suggests 
Mahomet  and  the  mountain.  There  is  this 
advantage  in  such  a  method,  that  an  intending 
buyer  hasn't  to  walk  a  mile  and  a  half  on  a  day 
when  the  thermometer  is  1 1 6deg.  in  the  shade 
to  inspect  a  dwelling  that  may  not  suit  him  after 
all.  If  he  is  in  town,  this  prospective  landlord, 
he  merely  loafs  around  to  the  auction  and  takes 
his  choice  from  probably  half-a-dozen  more  or  less 
(generally  less)  beautiful  houses  that  have  been 
lugged  there  by  teams  over  miles  of  country. 

One  may  be  sarcastic  at  the  expense  of  some 
of  the  buildings  seen  in  these  pictures,  but  let 
the  sarcastically  inclined  remember  that  the  old 
order  of  things  is  fast  disappearing,  and  that 
the  latter-day  class  of  accommodation  is  much 
more  in  accordance  with  comfort  and  wealth 
Broken  Hill  of  the  present  day  holds  buildings 
as  fine  in  every  respect  as  the  ordinary  run  in 
the  capital  cities  of  the  island-continent. 

Some  of  the  jinker-pictures  are  loaned  to 
the  magazine  by  Mr.  Pincombe,  who  lays  claim 
to  having  shifted  two-thirds  of  the  townshijjs  of 
Silverton  and  Round  Hill  to  Ikoken  Hill. 


SALVAUuN    AkiMV    BAKKACKS    BEING    KEMDVEU    BY   THIKTY-EIGHT    BULLuCKS. 

From  a  P hotoi;raJ>h, 


My  Klondike   Mission. 

Bv    Mrs.    Lilian    Agnks    Oliver. 

How   a    plucky    Chicago    lady    braved    the    rigours    of    the    fearful    journey    to    Arctic    Klondike, 
solely    in    order   to   get    enough   money    to    place    her    invalid    husband    above     want.      She  went 
alone,  and  wrote  the  following  vivid    letters  home    to  her   husband.      With    portraits    and    photo- 
graphs of  the  places. 


HAD  often  asked  myself  during  my 
married  life,  why  was  it  I  was  so 
blessed  with  such  a  good  husband.  I 
never  felt  worthy  of  him,  and  on  look- 
ing around  me,  would  see  so  many 
wives,  better  than  I  ever  thought  I  could  be, 
suffering  from  blighted  lives  and  with  "marriage 
a  failure "  written  all  over  them.  For  twelve 
years  my  husband  had  been  a  great  sufferer  with 
his  head.  Pain  would  rack  and  torture  him, 
until  he  would  hardly  know  what  he  was  doing, 
and  it  caused  an  entire  loss  of  sleep.  The 
doctor  was  called,  and  he  pre- 
scribed a  mixture  of  bromide 
of  potassium  and  hydrate  of 
chloral.  Since  that  fatal  first 
dose  my  husband  has  not 
known  one  hour's  natural 
sleep,  having  to  take  from  one 
and  a  half  to,  in  bad  cases,  six 
tea-spoonfuls.  Added  to  this, 
he  became  aflflicted  with  loco- 
motor ataxy — a  form  of  creep- 
ing paralysis.  So  my  readers 
will  understand  that  my  poor 
husband's  lot  was  not  a  happy 
one. 

He  kept  right  along  at  work, 
though,  the  doctor  advising  it, 
and  saying  it  would  keep  him 
from  dwelling  on  his  condition. 
I  gave  up  all  society  and  [jlca- 
sures  to  stay  at  home  and 
minister  to  his  ha[){)iness  and 
comfort,  until  at  length  all  my 
friends  deserted  me,  thinking 
that,  because  we  did  not  return  their  calls,  they 
were  not  wanted.  I  was,  therefore,  left  alone  to 
care  for  my  sick  husband ;  and  a  lonely  life  it 
was.  Years  flew  by,  and  he  was  not  getting 
better,  giving  me  heartaches  to  watch  him  bravely 
bearing  his  suffering.  Once  or  twice  he  told 
me  he  would  end  his  misery  if  it  were  not  for 
leaving  me  alone  in  the  world  ;  for  I  am  the  last 
of  a  small  family,  with  not  even  a  remote  cousin. 
We  had  not  much  in  worldly  goods,  but  my 
husband  had  a  fair  salary  on  which  we  lived. 
The  future  looked  dark — so  dark  that  I  did  not 
dare  to  look  into  its  mysteries,  until  one  day  I 
was  seized  with  gold  fever,  brought  on  by  a  visit 
from   a   friend    who    had  been  connected  with 


.MK.S.     LII.I.-^.\    ACNIiS    lU.UKk. 

From  a  Photo,  by  IJettshel  Photo,  and 
Portrait  Co.,  Chicago. 


courageous 


milling  properties  all  his  life.  This  gentleman 
told  us,  as  he  and  my  husband  sat  smoking 
their  after-dinner  cigars — that  he  intended  to  go 
to  Klondike  next  year. 

That  night  I  got  no  sleep — thinking,  thinking 
— until  I  formed  a  plan  to  accompany  these 
people  (for  there  were  to  be  several  in  the  party) 
to  the  frozen  North.  I  fancied  I  saw  how  I  could 
save  a  precious  life.  I  dreamed  of  rich  finds ; 
and  bags  of  gold  haunted  me  all  day  and  at  night 
troubled  my  rest.  I  saw  in  my  mind's  eye  the 
vision  of  a  proud  wife  bearing  home  to  a  long- 
suffering  man  the  wherewithal 
to  take  him  away  from  dreary 
toil  and  give  his  tired  brain  a 
rest.  In  fancy  we  were  taking 
a  trip  around  the  world  ;  I  was 
watching  for  the  colour  to 
come  back  to  cheeks  that  had 
long  been  a  stranger  to  it ;  I 
saw  fire  come  to  the  eye  grown 
dim  ;  elasticity  to  steps  grown 
weak  ;  and  happiness  to  both 
of  us. 

I  could  not  keep  this  deter- 
mination to  myself  long,  but 
ere  I  spoke  I  resolved  to  write 
to  our  friend  asking  permission 
to  accompany  his  party  to  the 
gold-fields.  In  due  time  I 
received  a  letter  from  the 
gentleman  (he  was  evidently 
inclined  to  take  mine  as  a 
joke)  saying  that  as  he  knew 
me  to  be  a  woman  of  good 
health  —  cool  -  headed  and 
he  would  undertake  the  trust, 
promising  also  help  and  support  from  the  whole 
[)arty.  Armed  with  this  letter  I  told  my  husband 
of  my  intentions. 

He  looked  at  me  in  pity,  thinking  I  had  the 
gold  fever  so  badly  that  it  had  turned  my  brain. 
lUit  I  worked  on  him  from  August  until  the 
following  March  for  consent,  and  while  he  did 
not  give  it  in  words,  his  silence  gave  consent. 
He  fell  into  the  way  of  discussing  my  plans,  and 
thus  tacitly  consented.  The  one  thing  I  feared 
was  his  health,  and  that  he  might  not  be  able  to 
hold  his  position  for  two  years  more.  So,  going 
to  the  official  heads  of  the  company  he  worked 
for,  I  pleaded  for  him,  asking  them  to   be  kind 


44 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


to  my  husband  for  my  sake,  and  bear  with  him 
in  all  his  faults  (he  had  made  several  bad 
mistakes  through  his  head  troubles)  and  try  to 
retain  him  until  my  return. 

They  promised  to  do  what  I  asked.  Then  I 
went  to  our  family  doctor  and  gave  him  a  paper 
written  and  signed  by  us  both — giving  him 
power  of  attorney  to  administer  to  my  husband's 
comforts  in  my  absence,  making  over  certain 
money  to  be  spent  for  his  maintenance  until  I 
could  care  for  him  ;  this  in  case  of  a  breakdown 
whilst  I  was  away. 

I  had  got  together  a  fine  outfit,  and  felt  that, 
come  what  might,  I  would  not  suffer  from  the 
cold.      Everything  seemed 
to  work   smoothly.      The     • 
time   was   drawing  near —  /  ' 

only  two  weeks  more  — 
when  one  day  I  received 
a  letter  that  positively 
stunned  me.     Our   friend  Kt; 

had   written    that    he    had  i\ 

not  been  successful  in  dis- 
posing of  his  property,  and 
would  therefore  be  obliged 
to  give  up  his  trip  north. 
If  a   bolt  had   fallen  from  y^Li 

the  sky  I  could  not  have  J7» 

felt  more   crushed.      Here 
was   I,   with   all   my   outfit 
bought,  left,  after  all  these 
months  of  fever  and  work, 
either  to  give  up  the  dream 
of  my  life  or  go  alone  ;  for 
the  rest  of  the  party  lacked 
courage   after    our    leader 
backed  out.      "  I  will    not 
be  treated  this  way,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  but  I 
will  go  alone."     This  was  another  battle  to  be 
fought   with    my   husband,    and    I    came    out 
victor. 

The  night  of  parting  came.  I  had  braced 
myself  for  the  final  wrench.  Oh  !  how  often 
have  I  looked  back  on  that  night,  and  suffered 
again  the  pangs  of  loneliness  that  passed  over 
me.  Friends  had  come  to  the  depot  to  help 
to  cheer  up  my  husband  and  see  him  home 
after  I  had  gone. 

I  stood  on  the  platform  of  the  train  that  was 
to  bear  me  to  Seattle,  looking  down  on  my 
friends.  Even  now  tears  are  falling  as  I  com- 
pare the  going  to  the  home-coming.  My 
husband  is  the  last  to  bid  and  kiss  me  good- 
bye. Holding  me  in  his  arms,  he  calls  the 
blessings  of  Heaven  down  on  his  wife,  asking 
(lod  to  send  her  safely  back  again,  and  making 
me  promise  that,  successful  or  not,  I  would 
return  in  two  years,  for  that  was  the  limit.  One 
more  kiss,  one  more  "  God  bless  you,"  and  "  All 


aboard   "  was    sounded,    and     the    train    slowly 
pulled  out  of  the  depot. 

I  never  fully  realized  until  then  the  herculean 
task  I  had  undertaken.  In  the  feverish  time  of 
preparation,  I  had  no  time  for  thought,  and  I 
made  a  mental  resolve  that,  with  God's  blessing, 
I  would  come  back  a  successful  woman.  The 
awful  strain  I  had  lived  under  almost  prostrated 
me  for  more  reasons  than  one.  I  was  going 
into  this  terrible  country  without  sufficient 
means,  and  I  knew  it ;  but  a  brave  heart  can 
accomplish  much,  and  I  intended  to  share  half 
I  had  in  order  to  "  grub-stake "  some  honest 
man,   trusting   to   finding  a   rich   claim  ere   my 


■W 


From  d\ 


MRS.    OLIVER    IN    KLO.NDIKE   COSTUME. 


[Photo. 


small  stock  of  provisions  ga^e  out.  If  I  had 
to  go  short  a  little,  I  knew  my  constitution  could 
stand  it. 

I  will  now  explain  my  modus  operandi.  I 
knew  Seatde  to  be  the  gateway  to  the  gold- 
fields,  and  that  Klondike  parties  were  being 
made  up  there  every  day.  If  I  could  meet  with 
the  right  kind  of  people,  they  might  be  able  to 
place  me  with  a  party — perhaps  some  married 
couple  who  would  not  object  to  my  accompany- 
ing them. 

P2ventually  I  found  a  man  who  advertised 
himself  as  "Alaska  Guide,  and  Hunter."  Going 
to  him,  and  telling  him  what  I  wished,  he  told 
me  I  could  be  easily  suited,  or  "  fixed,"  as  he 
called  it,  but  to  "  place  me "  rightly  seemed 
a  hard  task.  This  guide,  however,  had  a  friend 
whom  he  thought  a  great  deal  of;  and  I  wish 
to  say,  in  parentheses,  that  he  deserved  all  the 
good  things  that  could  be  said  of  him.  After 
two  months'  observation  of  this  noble  character, 
and  knjwing  he  intended  to  go  in  to  Alaska,  I 


MY    KLONDIKE    MISSION. 


45 


asked  him  to  szuide  me  into  the  e;)unt:"v  and 
place  me  where  1  could  helj)  myself.  He  had 
been  all  through  it  a  year  before,  and  knew  the 
country  well.  He  agreed  to  do  it,  saying  1 
deserved  all  the  help  and  encouragement  to  be 
had  to  accomplish  the  noble  task  I  had  set  my- 
self. \Vell  and  faithfully  did  this  loyal  friend 
keep  his  word  when  he  said  he  would  be  a 
brother  to  me ;  and  the  world  would  be  a  better 
place  if  it  contained  more  men  like  Theodore 
Damstrom. 

On  comparing  our  financial  condition,  nt 
starting,  we  stood  thus  :  I  had  3oodols.,  or 
^6o  ;  he,  loodols.,  or  ;!{?20 — a  small  purse 
for  such  a  terrible  journey — besides  our  respec- 
tive outfits  of  tents,  etc.  On  the  27th  May, 
1898,  we  started  with  the  good  wishes  of  friends 
I  had  made  in  Seattle,  and  from  now  on  my 
readers  will  hear  from  me  in  letter  form. 

Our  first  stage  was  by  rail  to  Vancouver,  and 
from  there  on  we  proceeded  by  steamship. 

"  Steamship  Athenian,  June  3rd. 

"  My  Dear  Hub, — I  received  your  telegram 
10.15  ^'^'^^  night  ;  if  we  had  left  on  time,  I  should 
have  missed  it.  \\'e  were  to  have  left  at  5  p.m., 
but  did  not  until  3  a.m.  to-day.  The  telegram 
startled  me  — thinking  of  danger  to  yourself. 
Thank  you,  dear,  for  remembering  me  in  the 
final  good-bye.  We  are  running  south  to 
Victoria,  and  this  channel  reminds  me  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  River.  We  are  going  like  an 
ocean  greyhound,  and  the  work  of  managing 
the  ship  is  being  done  as  only  the  English 
can  do  it.  Have  a  cabin  to  myself,  and 
it  is  equal  to  any  first  -  class  we  have  ever 
travelled  on.  We  are  passing  islands  with 
mountains  on  each  side,  and  the  scenery  is 
grand.  There  are  forty  head  of  oxen  on  board 
that  are  going  in  to  Alaska  to  haul  freight 
over  the  dreadful  Dalton  trail,  and  I)e  killed  on 
arriving  at  Dawson,  for  beef.  They  are  so  tame. 
I've  been  rubbing  their  noses,  and  they  watch 
me  as  I  pass  from  one  to  the  other.  They  have 
comfortable  stalls  on  deck,  with  straw  beds  and 
plenty  of  hay  to  eat.  Poor  things  !  how  I  pity 
them  in  their  coming  suffering.  It's  blowing 
fresh,  and  when  on  deck  I  turn  up  my  cape- 
collar,  and  tie  my  cap  on  my  head,  .so  you  know 
just  how  I  look.  There  is  only  one  thing 
wanted,  and  that  is  yourself  to  enjoy  this  trip 
with  me ;  it  would  do  you  good,  for  I  know 
how  you  enjoy  being  on  a  fine  ship.  The 
steward  said  this  one  belongs  to  the  Union 
Line,  of  London,  and  used  to  sail  between 
Southampton  and  the  Cape.  That  will 
give  you  an  idea  of  its  size.  I  sent  you  a 
list  of  the  provisions  that  I  purchased  at  Van- 
couver, B.C.,  and  I  find  that  by  purchasing 
there  I  save  a  lot  in  duty  ;  it  will  all   be  bonded 


through  free.  I  paid  only  $3.50  for  freight  of 
provisions  on  board  here,  and  580II).  of 
personal  goods  passed  free.  The  British 
Customs  here  charged  $4.50  duty  on  my  tent 
and  stove  purchased  in  U.S.  So  far  it's  not 
bad.  Approaching  Victoria  ;  very  close.  Once 
more  take  care  of  yourself,  dear  hub,  and  be 
brave.  W'ifie  will  soon  be  back  and  come  with 
the  dust  (gold). — Your  Loving  Wife." 

"  On  the  Pacific,  June  4th. 

"  Left  Victoria  on  time;  lam  feeling  fine  — 
no  sign  of  sickness,  though  we  are  pitching 
pretty  freely.  Mountains  on  the  right,  and 
o[KMi  sea  on  ttie  left.  Sun  shines  brightly,  and 
porpoises  and  whales  are  playing  arouiul  us  on 
all  sides.  Stiff  breeze,  but  not  cold.  Half  of 
the  passengers  laid  up  for  repairs,  and  the  rest 
look  green  around  the  mouth.  As  I  passed  a 
group  of  men  on  the  poop-deck  I  heard  the 
remark,  'There  is  a  healthy  woman.'  My,  I 
wish  my  old  hul)  was  here  to  enjoy  this.  We 
shall  arrive  at  Wrangle  this  evening  and  stay 
awhile  ;  there  is  considerable  stuff  to  put  off,  and 
I  shall  get  a  chance  to  mail  one  more  letter  this 
side  of  Dyea.  AVe  are  now  on  Hcgate  Strait. 
(See  map)." 

"June  5th. 

"  A  little  foggy.  Did  not  reach  Wrangle  last 
night ;  soon  be  there  now.  As  we  near  the 
north  it  gets  lighter  at  night,  10.30  being  as 
light  as  day.  Very  rough  last  night,  and  more 
passengers  missing  this  morning  from  the  break- 
fast table.  Horses  and  cattle  were  sick  ;  even 
the  cabin  cat  forgot  to  'mew.'  I  won't  close, 
because  I  shall  hunt  for  another  flower  at 
Wrangle." 

"Wrangle,  7.30  p.m. 

"Just  arrived.  Going  up  town  to  see  the 
totem  poles  and  Indian  village.  Customs 
officers  on  board  examining  baggage.  I  am 
bonded  through,  and  am,  therefore,  exempt. 
All  well.     Good-bye." 

"June  7th. 

"  Left  on  time  this  morning,  and  expect  to 
reach  Dyea  in  the  morning.  I  mailed  paper 
from  Wrangle.  It's  published  only  once  a  week. 
U'rangle  is  an  awful  place,  'i'he  board  side- 
walks are  built  up  out  of  the  mud  about  5ft., 
and  you  can  almost  touch  the  shanties  on  botii 
sides.  The  Indians  are  a  frightfully  dirty  lot, 
and  they  crowd  round  to  sell  their  wares — 
baskets  and  carvings.  We  have  kept  the  passage 
on  the  inside  of  the  islands  after  leaving  the 
above,  and  will  do  so  until  we  reach  Dyea.  I 
shall  have  to  show  my  U.S.  purchase  papers 
at  Skagway.  We  leave  the  ship  on  a  lighter, 
from  thence  to  Dyea,  the  tide  flats  not 
permitting  so  large  a  boat  to  enter.  I  am, 
indeed,  thankful   I     changed    my  mind    about 


46 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


^»r 


mm 


.  ;>■    OF    WRANGLE,    ALASKA. 


iPhoto. 


going  the  Stickeen  route.  You  remember  that 
Wrangle  is  the  gateway  to  it ;  and  there  were 
500  disgusted  men  who  had  turned  back  from 
this  route,  telling  of  the  frightful  hardships  to 
man  and  beast.  These  men  are  going  in  over 
the  Chilcoot  Pass.  The  freighters  were  asking 
them  Soodols.  a  ton  to  carry  their  goods 
150  miles,  from  Glenora  to  Lake  Teslin.  They 
had  been  asking  loodols.  Think  of  this,  and 
then  you  will  see  that  my  guide  was  a  wise  man 
for  not  allowing  me  to  choose  that  route,  as  I 
had  originally  intended." 

"June  8th,  8.30  a.m. 

"Just  arrived  at  Skagway — a  wild  place  nest- 
ling at  the  foot  of  mountains  and  at  the  end  of 
water  navigation.  There  are  a  lot  of  poor  dead 
horses  lying  on  the  rocks,  thrown  up  by  the  tide. 
Only  a  few  of  many  (they  say  three  thousand) 
along  the  cruel  White  Pass.  I  am  finishing  this 
letter  on  the  wall  of  the  post-office.  Place 
belter  than  I  expected  and  everything  quiet, 
though  .said  to  be  run  by  gamblers  and  '  toughs.' 
Leave  at  12  p.m.  (Iiigh  tide)  on  lighter  for  Dyea." 
"Canyon  City  (seven  miles  from  Dyea), 

"June  nth. 

"  Here  I  am,  O.K.,  and  will  try  to  tell  you 
of  some  of  my  experiences.  It  seems  to  me 
like  a  dream.  The  last  two  days  at  Dyea 
were  something  awful  ;  hot  is  no  name  for 
it.  The  sand  burnt  our  feet  so  that  we 
could  not  venture  out.  We  took  to  the  trail 
(my  first  walk)  at  7  p.m.,  hoping  to  reach 
the  place  by  12.  I  am  not  gifted  enough 
to  tell  you  of  the  awful  grandeur  of  my  first 
day's  walk  on  the  bed  of  the  river,  between 
Dyea  and  this  place.  The  river  crossed  our 
paths  fourteen  times.  I  crossed  on  a  fallen 
tree  once,  waded  four  times,  and  was  carried 
across  nine  times.  We  walked  on  and  on, 
and  did  not  see  anything  of  the  above  camp, 
so  I  had  to  call  a  halt.  I  had  started  with 
the  determination  of  keeping  my  troubles  to 
myself,    but  I   reckoned  without  my  host. 


My  feet  were  too 
blistered  to  go  far- 
ther. "We  had  had 
a  terrible  walk  four 
miles  over  sharp 
rocks,  and  I  was  in 
great  pain  every  step 
^  I  took.  I  wanted 
to  lie  down  and  rest, 
but  was  afraid  of 
bears  ;  for  they  had 
been  seen  on  this 
part  of  the  trail.  At 
length,  becoming  too 
tired  to  resist,  I  lay 
down  by  the  side  of 
the  trail  and  took  in  the  situation.  Oh,  what  a 
night !  Twelve  o'clock,  and  as  light  as  noon. 
We  are  still  on  the  river  bottom.  On  one  side 
of  the  mountains  a  roaring,  fiery  furnace  has 
been  burning  for  days.  It  had  just  passed  over 
Can3'on  City,  burning  a  great  deal  of  it,  and 
devouring  all  the  timber  in  its  wake.  As  it 
burnt,  there  were  sounds  like  the  cracking  of 
artillery  caused  by  the  immense  heat  splitting 
the  huge  boulders  and  sending  them  rolling 
down  the  mountain  side  over  4,000ft.  Down 
the  mountain  on  the  left  came  tumbling 
and  roaring  a  great  waterfall,  caused  by 
the  melting  snow  and  ice  from  the  glaciers 
above.  I  could  not  help  wishing  that  these 
two  elements  might  be  brought  together — 
the  water  to  extinguish  the  fire.  Above  all 
this,  in  a  tree  near  me,  a  robin  sang  all  night. 
The  little  fellow  was  fooled  by  the  light,  and 
took  night  for  day.  After  a  while  tired  nature 
got  the  better  of  me  and  I  fell  asleep.  Don't 
know  how  long  I  had  slept,  when  I  was  startled 
by  a  noise  near  by,  and,  hearing  the  guide  jump 
up,   concluded  the   bears  had  come.     Without 


From  , 


THE    BROADWAY,    SKAGWAY, 


\Plwto. 


MY    KLONDIKE    MISSION. 


47 


waiting  to  ascertain,  I  set  up  a  yell  that  would 
have  wakened  the  dead  ;  and  on  jumping  up 
was  in  time  to  see  a  horse  shying  and  trying  to 
throw  its  rider.  No  wonder  :  I  had  tied  a  large 
towel  round  my  head  to  keep  those  dreadful 
mosquitoes  from  eating  me  up,  and  it  was  this 
white  thing  popping  up  out  of  the  bush,  accom- 
panied by  the  scream,  tliat  had  startled  the  poor 
horse  ;  and  after  he  had  taken  a  good  look  at  me 
he  felt  better.  I  hear  nothing  now  but  '  bears.' 
We  arose  soon  after,  and  were  surprised  to  find 
we  had  just  been  on  the  outskirts  of  Canyon 
City  all  the  while.  We  found  an  eating  and 
bunk-house,  and  rested  till  after  sundown  ;  then 
started  at  8  p.m.  for  Sheep  Camp,  seven  miles 
away.  I  will  finish  this  and  mail  at  next  stop. 
Will  also  inclose  expenses  and  cost  of  freight 
so  far.     By-bye." 

"Sheep  Camp,  June  12th. 
"  From  the  last  stopping-place  to  here  has 
been  over  a  terrible  trail — through  heavy  woods, 
along  steep,  rocky,  and  often  boggy  h'Msides, 
broken  by  several  deep  gullies.  The  ascent 
was  abrupt  in  places,  and  over  huge  masses  of 
fallen  rock,  or  steep,  slippery  surfaces  of  rock  in 
places.  A'^ery  tired,  we  arrived  here  at  11.30p.m., 
and  what  do  you  think?  I  s]ept  on  a /eaf/ier 
bed,  made  u[)  in  bunk  fashion — quite  a  surprise 
to  my  tired  limh.s.  This  is  called  Wisconsin 
House,  kept  by  a  lady  from  that  State.  This 
part  of  the  trail  I  cannot  fully  describe.  Our 
first  part  was  climbing  round  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  over  which  the  fire  I  wrote  of  had 
passed,  burning  away  all  the  trees  and  brush, 
making  it  hard  to  get  a  foothold,  especially  at 
an  angle  of  40  degrees.  At  our  feet  was 
flowing  a  fearful  river,  boiling  and  bubbling 
over  huge  boulders  that  had  tumbled  from  the 
mountains  above,  and  into  which  was  running 
the  melting  ice  and  snow.  We  crossed  this  on 
three  logs  thrown  over  for  a  bridge,  and  it 
trembled  as  we  touched  it.  We  then  commenced 
to  climb  up  an  abrupt  mountain  as  above,  once 
having  to  cross  a  narrow  plank  over  a  waterfall 
and  getting  drenched  with  spray.  The  saddest 
sight  yet  met  with  we  saw  here — a  man,  a  raving 
maniac,  whistling  for  imaginary  dogs  and  calling 
partners,  making  the  mountains  echo  and  re-echo 
with  his  awful  cry.  When  he  saw  us  he  ran  to 
the  edge  of  the  precipice  and  stood  over  the 
river  mentioned  above,  and  at  a  height  of 
3,000ft.  We  expected  to  see  him  dash  himself 
over,  and  I  guess,  if  we  had  followed,  he  would 
have  done  so.  Sometime  and  somewhere, 
periiaps,  a  wife  would  look  for  his  return  from 
the  gold-fields,  which  will,  ere  this  year  clo.ses, 
turn  into  graves  for  many  of  them.  We 
met  drivers  of  pack  teams  (horses)  and  told 
them  what  we  had   seen,   thinking  they  would 


report  it  at  the  camp,  and  that  search  parties 
would  come  after  the  maniac ;  but  they  said  : 
'  That's  nothing.  There's  lots  of  those  fellows 
around,  and  will  be  more  before  the  season  is 
ended.'  We  climbed  around,  up  and  down, 
stopping  now  and  then  to  admire  some  piece 
of  exquisite  scenery,  and  finally  ended  our 
journey  in  a  mud  flat.  For  that  is  all  Sheep 
Camp  is,  surrounded  by  mountains  that  are 
always  with  us.  In  front  of  the  window  where 
I  am  writing  is  a  waterfall,  tumbling  down 
in  a  huge  white  mass  from  a  glacier  in  the 
shape  of  a  cone  5,000ft.  above.  It  makes 
a  grand  picture  as  it  empties  into  the  river 
below  and  rushes  on  to  the  waters  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  Oh  !  who  would  live  in  civiliza- 
tion when  they  can  surround  themselves  with 
such  pictures?  I  step  out  and  breathe  this  pure, 
fresh  air,  fill  my  lungs,  and  it  makes  me  stronger, 
braver,  to  do  and  dare.  The  pure  ice  water  we 
drink  on  the  table  is  carried  in  in  buckets.  There 
was  a  big  surprise  awaiting  us  at  dinner  time. 
\\'e  had  the  first  decent  meal  since  leaving  the 
ship.  Here  is  the  bill  of  fare  :  Roast  beef,  steak 
and  onions,  macaroni,  potatoes,  pickles,  pudding, 
and  coffee — and  only  paid  50  cents.  My  bunk, 
with  feather  bed,  cost  another  5c  cents.  This 
is  the  cheapest  I've  met  with  yet.  I  forgot  to 
mention  that  after  leaving  Canyon  City  the 
Aerial  Railway  was  with  us  over  the  tops  of  the 
trees,  and  It  was  a  strange  sight  to  look  up  and 
see  a  cook-stove,  a  bale  of  hay,  a  canoe,  lumber, 
and  other  strange  things  flying  by  in  the  baskets 
in  mid-air.  They  are  first  carried  from  Dyea 
by  waggons  to  Canyon  City,  and  then  on  the 
Aerial  Railway  to  the  top  of  the  Pass — a 
distance  of  about  nine  miles.  The  cruelty  of 
man  shows  itself  all  along  the  line,  for  dead 
horses  lie  on  all  sides  of  us,  and  the  smell  is 
something  frightful.  One  of  our  party  in 
advance— for  now  we  are  seven — will  call  out 
to  those  in  the  rear,  '  Another  horse,'  and  we 
hold  our  noses  and  run  by.  Some  have  fallen 
down  the  mountain  side  a  little  way,  and 
broken  their  backs,  and  the  owners  had 
thrown  huge  boulders  on  their  heads  to  end 
their  misery  — others  lie  with  broken  and 
bleeding  legs,  with  a  bullet  hole  through  their 
heads,  and  so  on.  By  looking,  you  can  tell 
how  these  poor  things  died.  Nowhere  on  earth 
is  man's  selfishness  displayed  more  than  on  the 
trail  here.  They  lash  and  spur  their  poor  horses 
up  the  mountains  weighted  down  with  heavy 
packs,  and  if  they  stop  to  take  a  drink  they 
will  get  rocks  thrown  at  them,  accompanied 
by  curses.  Their  tired  dogs,  also  carrying 
perhaps  a  5olb.  pack,  they  kick  if  one  stops 
to  rest.  How  my  heart  ached  for  these 
noble    beasts ;   and   to   protect   them    was    but 


48 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


to  bring  down  abuse  on  my  own  head.  I  had 
to  shut  my  eyes  and  ears,  and  sadly  pass  on. 
Would  that  I  could  do  something  for  them  at 
Ottawa — I  would  plead  on  my  knees  for  them 
for  protection.  There  is  lying  at  my  feet  a 
beautiful  St  Bernard. 
He  is  looking  up  at  me 
with  his  liquid  eyes, 
pleading  for  my  friend- 
ship. I  could  write  whole 
chapters  in  this  strain, 
but  it  is,  to  me,  too  sad 
a  subject.  By-bye.  \\'\V. 
write  from  the  other  side 
of  the  Pass." 


/•  *('/;/  (( 


DKAIJ    ANIMALS    UN    THE    SKAliWAV    TRAIL. 


"  Lake  Lindermann,  June  13th. 
"  Here  I  am,  safe  and  sound  over  the  much- 
dreaded  Pass.  We  crossed  it  at  1.30  a.m.  Mon- 
day, and  it  was  as  light  as  day — our  party  being 
the  only  one  in  sight.  I  must  plead  guilty  to 
being  nervous,  and  was  afraid  to  look 
back  for  fear  I  would  fall  to  the  bottom. 
Imagine  a  mountain  near 
4,000ft.  high  at  an  angle 
of  45deg.,  covered  with 
snow  to  the  depth  of  about 
4ofl.,  and  which,  during 
the  day,  gets  soft,  making 
climbing  easier — but  at 
night  freezes  over,  making 
walking  not  only  hard 
but  fearfully  dangerous.  I 
could  not  get  a  foot-hold. 
My  rubber  boots  caused 
me  to  slip  backwards. 
The  guide  went  ahead  and 
dug  holes  with  his  heels 
in  the  ice  for  me  to  put 
my  feet  into  ;  I  taking 
hold  of  his  hand  and  with 
my  other  carrying  a  stick, 
vrhich  I  drove  down  into 
the  snow  and  held  on  to. 
Every   now    and    then    I 


got  so  nervous,  that  I  had  to  sit  down  on 
the  snow.  In  this  way,  after  hard  work,  I 
finally  reached  the  top,  and  although  it  was 
intensely  cold,  I  was  in  a  profuse  perspiration. 
I  then  took  my  first  look  back. 

"  The  picture  will  re- 
main with  me  when  all 
else  is  blotted  out. 
Below  me  I  see  the 
river  bed,  now  filled 
with  ice  and  snow, 
winding  like  a  serpent 
back  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  On  either 
side  mountain  after 
mountain,  snow  -  clad 
and  intermixed  with 
peculiar-shaped  glaciers. 
On  our  left  and  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  foot  of  the  Pass  is 
wliere  the  fatal  snow- 
slide  occurred  that 
killed  so  many  this 
spring.  The  stillness 
and  solitude  of  this  ice- 
hound  region  seem  to 
oppress  one,  and  make 
me  thankful  to  pass  on. 
The  Chilcoot  Pass  is 
difTficult  and  dangerous  to  those  not  possessed  of 
steady  nerves,  for  towards  the  summit  there  is  a 
sheer  ascent  of  i,oooft.,  where  a  slip  would  cer- 
tainly be  fatal  At  the  actual  summit,  which  for 
seven  or  eight  miles  is  bare  of  trees  or  bushes, 
the  trail  leads  through  a  narrow,  rocky  gap, 
and  the  whole  scene  is  one  of  the  most  com- 


{I'hoto. 


FroDi  a  Photo.  by\         block  .made  on  porcupine  hill,  skagway  trail. 


[£•.  Hegs. 


MY    KLONDIKE    MISSION. 


49 


J^viii  a  Photo,  by] 


SUMMIT   OK    THE    CHILCOOT    PASS 


plete  desolation.  Naked  granite  rocks  rise 
steeply  to  snow-cLid  mountains  on  either  side. 
Descending  the  inland  or  north  slopes  is  equally 
bad  travelling,  largely  over  wide  areas  of  shat- 
tered rocks,  where  the  trail  may  easily  be  lost. 
At  the  top  we  were  met  by  N.W.  policemen  to 
see  if  we  carried  anything  dutiable.  For  we 
are  now,  and  will  be  until  we  reach  Dawson,  in 
Her  Britannic  Majesty's 
domains.  At  the  foot  of  the 
summit  I  am  obliged  from 
sheer  exhaustion  to  take  my 
first  rest  in  an  objectionable 
bunk-house.  My  kind  friend 
watched  over  me  while  I  slept. 
The  sun  was  hot  as  we  started 
at  ID  a.m.,  and  now  I  met  a 
new  trouble.  The  sun  shining 
on  the  snow  hurt  my  eyes  ;  we 
had  travelled  at  night  heretofore 
and  rested  in  the  day.  For  fully 
six  miles  we  waded  through 
soft  snow  and  ice.  We  are 
now  walking  on  top  of  the  lake 
(Crater),  and  I  went  through 
several  times  up  to  my  waist. 
This  walk  was  very  trying — I 
had  to  raise  my  feet  so  high  out  of  the  snow 
ere  I  could  place  them  down  again.  After  this 
we  had  more  steep  climbing,  which  made  a 
rest  very  welcome,  on  seeing  a  little  green 
moss,  free  from  snow.  We  reached  here 
Monday  ii  p.m.,  and  here,  thank  God,  ends 
my  walking.  From  now  on  I  shall  write  from 
the  boat — that  is,  when  we  get  started.     Lots 

Vol.  lii.— 7. 


of  boat-building 
and  bustle  here. 
Meals  idol.,  and 
nothing  to  eat 
for  it.  Money's 
getting  scarce, 
and  we  must 
now  limit  our- 
selves. Just  paid 
I  2  odols.  f  o  r 
freight  from 
Dyea  to  Linder- 
mann,  at  the  rate 
of  lo  cents  a 
pound." 

"  1 8th,  Saturday. 

"  Been    here 

since       Monday 

waitiniT    for   our 

goods    to   arrive 

— they  came  last 

night.     Every- 

[/;■.  /Ai-i-.        thing  safe  but  a 

hatchet,  and  that 

we  were  allowed  for  when  we  paid  the  bill.     We 

leave  to-morrow,  if  the  wind  is  favourable.' 

"  Lake  Le  Barge,  June  22nd. 
"  After  writing  the  above  we  did  not  leave  for 
four  days — could  not  make  up  our  minds  about 
a  boat.  Thought  we  would  join  others  in  the 
purchase  of  one,  making  it  cheaper  for  us  all. 
We  have  found    a  party,  so  we  start  at  once. 


♦  1*^ 


wi^' 


SHOWING  MODE   OF   TRAVELLING   ON   THE   CHILCOOT  TRAIL. 

From  a  Photo,  by  E.  Hegg. 


5° 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


There  are  seven — three  women,  four  men — and 
two  dogs,  with  about  three  tons  of  freight. 
Our  boat  measures  27ft.  by  8ft.  ^^'e  shall 
be  packed  pretty  tight,  and  expect  to  land  at 
night  for  sleeping.  We  started  down  Lake 
Lindermann  in  a  stiff  breeze,  and  in  an  hour 
reached  the  end,  seven  miles,  where  we  made 
our  first  portage.  The  boat  being  emptied, 
the  goods  were  carried  around  by  waggons, 
while  experts  take  the  boat  through  the  rapids 
of  three-quarters  of  a  mile.  On  loading  up 
again  we  ne.xt  find  ourselves  on  Lake  Bennett. 


For   portaging  around    the   above    we   are 
charged  half  a  cent  per  pound.     The  wind 
staying  with  us  we  sail  along  in  fine  style, 
and   at    10.30   p.m.    land   for   .supper   and 
the    night.       A     tent    is    pitched    for    us      '"^v 
women,    and    the    men    roll    up    in    their 
Ijlankets    and    sleep    on    the    ground    in     the 
brush.     Arose   at    five,   cooked    breakfast,   and 
start   again,    still   on    Lake    Bennett,    which    is 
twenty-si.x   miles   long.      Now   we   reach  Lake 
Tagish,    and    this    place    holds    some    terrors 
for    our    little    craft    and    crew.       We    are    to 
pass    a     place    which    our    guide   tells   us    is 
called    '  Windy    Arm,'    and    has    upset    many 
boats.     The   peculiar   formation    is   caused   by 
the  opening  of  the  mountains  on  both  sides  of 
the    lake,    through    which    the    wind    is    always 
blowing,  causing  ripples  and  white  caps  on  the 
water,  and    making  it    necessary  sometimes  to 
'  lay  to '    for  days,  watching  and  waiting  for  a 
chance  to  get  through.     Camp  for  the  night." 

"  6.30  a.m. 
"  Passed  all  right.  Got  a  little  wet,  but 
nothing  more  unless  I  add  a  good  shake-u[). 
Wc  entered  a  river  with  a  swift  current,  and 
that  brought  us  into  Lake  Marsh.  This 
we  sailed  till  11  p.m.,  when  we  landed 
for  the  night.  Arose  at  3  a.m.,  had  break- 
fast, and  found  the  wind  had  left  us,  making 
rowing    a    necessity.       I    took    a   turn   at    the 


oars,  being  tired  of  sitting  still,  the  other  women 
following  suit ;  and  we  have  done  it  several 
times  since.  At  Lake  Tagish  we  stopped  at 
the  last  British  station,  and  had  a  trying  time. 
The  Customs  officer  came  on  oui  boat,  or 
rather  called  us  in  and  examined  eve\  'thing  on 
board,  looking  for  tobacco  and  whisky,  I  had  a 
pound  among  my  things,  but  he  did  not  find  it. 
They  marked  things  O.K.  and  numbered  our 
boat  13,951.  Think  of  it — that  number  of  boats 
had  passed  that  station  this  year  (and  it's  only 
June  yet)  ;  each   boat  containing  from  five  to 

twenty  -  five  per- 
r  sons.  Yesterday 
beat  the  record 
for  anxiety  for  us 
women.  At  the 
c  n  d  o  f  L  a  k  e 
Marsh  the  boat 
has  to  pass 
through  Grand 
Canyon,  a  mile 
long,  where  the 
water  dashes 
through  walls  of 
rocks  from  fifty 
to  a  hundred  feet 
high,  and  about 
the  same  in  width. 
Three  of  the  men 
took  the  boat, 
while  the  other 
walked  with  us 
women,  four  and 
a  half  miles,  to 
meet  it  at  the  other  end.  After  passing 
this,  we  portaged  again.  I'hen  there  was 
the  '  White  Horse  Rapids  '  to  pass — a  name 
which  many  fatal  accidents  have  converted 
into  the  'Miner's  Grave.'  Our  guide  was  a 
hero,  but  tlie  two  other  men  in  the  boat  'got 
rattled,'  and  worked  against  each  other,  while 
he  alone  brought  them  .safely  through.  We 
women  sat  on  the  rocks  waiting  for  them  to 
come,  one  crying  —  her  husband  was  in  the 
boat — and  presently  we  saw  flying  towards  us 
our  brave  guide,  standing  up  with  his  oar,  facing 
the  danger,  hat  and  coat  off,  and  working  like  a 
Trojan  to  keep  the  boat  in  the  comb  of  the 
falls.  With  one  bound  it  shot  over  and  flew 
among  the  rocks,  but  he  guided  it  into  safe 
water.  After  that  I  felt  perfectly  .safe  with  that 
man.  AVhile  the  others  were  white  with  fright, 
he  was  as  calm  as  a  summer  sea.  Nothing  but 
snags  and  rocks  are  everywhere,  a  fruitful  source 
of  danger  on  this  river ;  and  now,  from  the 
rapids  downward,  scarcely  a  day  passed  that  we 
did  not  see  some  cairn  or  wooden  cross  marking 
the  last  resting-place  of  some  drowned  pilgrim 


i\GK    I'.Kl  Ui:l-.N    l.AKts   l.I.N'DEKM ANN    AND 
■0»l  a]  BENNETT.  [Pho/o. 


MY    KLONDIKE     MISSION. 


From  a\ 


SHOOTING    JULES   CANYON,    WHITE    HORSE    KAI'IDS. 


[PJioto. 


to  the  land  of  gold.  Events  have  crowded  so 
thick  and  fast  upon  me  that  I've  lost  track  of 
time,  but  feeling  hungry,  I  think  it  must  be 
dinner-time.  All  our  watches  differ,  and  I  have 
forgotten  the  day  of  the  month.  Flags  are 
flying  on  the  little  boats  around  us,  getting 
ready  for  the  glorious  Fourth  of  July.  Some  are 
displaying  the  British  flags,  others  the  American, 
and  other  nationahties  are  also  represented. 
Some  men  are  trying  to  shoot  ducks,  others  are 
singing  and  hailing  each  other  as  they  pass. 
The  scene  is  a  lively  one. 

"  Fine  morning.  Left  Lake  Le  Barge  and 
enter  Thirty  Mile  River.  Been  saluted  by 
N.W.  police  on  bank,  to  tell  number  of  boat 
and  telling  us  to  look  out  for  rocks  ahead — 
about  seven  miles.  They  take  more  pains  to 
protect  life  than  they  do  on  the  American  side  ; 
there  is  simply  nothing  done  there.  If  a  boat 
gets  lost  between  Tagish  and  Le  Barge  it  is 
known  here,  as  all  numbers  are  taken  and  com- 
pared at  the  other  stations.  They  are  then 
able  to  tell  the  names  of  the  people  in  the 
missing  boats,  because  they  are  entered  in  a 
book  at  Tagish  with  their  number.  This 
river  is  beautiful,  with  a  swift  current  of 
eight  miles.  Sun  hot;  I  am  writing  under 
umbrella.  Left  all  snow  and  ice  behind.  Birds 
are  singing,  ducks  flying  around,  and  on  both 
sides  of  us  are  growing  wild  flowers.  The  sail 
is  down  and  we  are  going  with  the  current.  One 
man  is  steering,  and  the  rest  asleep.  Rocks 
ahead.  Just  passed  through  an  awful  time. 
Came  to  the  rocks  we  were  warned  of,  and  there 
are  wrecks  lying  all  along  the  shore.     A   few 


moments  before  we 
can)e  up,  a  boat -load 
went  to  pieces  on  the 
rocks.  Thank  Ocd,  we 
missed  it,  but  we  owe 
it  to  our  guide  again. 
He  had  been  here 
before.  As  we  fly  along, 
on  all  sides  are  wrecks. 
We  have  passed  seven 
in  a  mile.  Some  have 
saved  their  outfits  and 
are  drying  them  on  the 
bank,  and  some  are  try- 
ing to  repair  their  boats. 
They  hail  us  as  we  pass 
— asking  how  we  hap- 
pened to  miss  that  rock. 
Now  in  good  water 
again,  with  a  few  more 
rocks  ahead.  Passed 
again,  and  are  now 
drawing  to  the  end  of 
Thirty  Mile — the  worst 
piece  of  water  yet  encountered.  We  are  called 
in  again  by  police  at  the  Hootalinqua  River  to 
show  papers  and  again  give  number ;  and  they 
ask,  for  the  first  time,  if  we  lost  any  lives  in 
Thirty  Mile.  They  have  had  a  big  list  this 
season.  Thank  God,  we  had  none  to  report, 
but  we  had  passed  a  number  of  newly-made 
graves  that  told  their  own  story.  Reached 
'  Big  Salmon  '  River,  had  agam  to  report,  and 
had  the  following  added  to  cur  palmers  :  '  Big 
Salmon,  29/6/98,  A.  r.  Solly."  Fort  Selkirk  is 
the  next  stop,  and  \i  rney  V)n't  take  this  paper 
away  I  will  send  it  home  iVe  camp  to-night  at 
Little  Salmon,  but  there  is  no  station  to  report 
there.  Reached  above  1 1.30  p.m.  Up  at  four  this 
morning  and  got  started  by  five.  Lewis  River, 
we  pull  in.  There  has  been  a  stampede  from 
here,  and  there  is  a  camp  of  tents  of  about  500 
men,  up  the  Lewis  and  Little  Salmon  ;  these 
men  are  prospecting,  but  only  a  few  have  struck 
anything." 

"July  I  St. 
"  Had  to  run  about  eight  miles  farther  than 
we  intended  last  night,  because  fire  had  burnt 
all  the  timber,  and  we  got  into  trouble  landing. 
No  one  hurt,  only  got  wet.  The  mosquitoes 
are  awful,  and  the  veil  I  had  from  Mr.  Hickson 
saved  my  face,  but  my  hands  are  a  sight.  We  are 
now  looking  forward  to  'Five  Finger  Rapids,' one 
mile  from  here,  and  we  have  all  grown  serious. 
Its  another  bad  piece  of  water,  but  no  portage,  and 
we  will  all  have  to  stay  in  the  boat.  Five  rocks 
divide  the  river,  and  the  current  makes  it  dan- 
gerous to  get  through  them.  We  are  watching 
the  guide's  face.    It  is  calm,  and  he  smiles  on  us 


52 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


weak  women,  telling  us  it  is  nothing.  '  Here's 
the  Fingers  ! '  I  shut  my  eyes,  and  grip  the  first 
thing  I  lay  my  hand  on.  Passed  !  Oh,  that 
was  awful  —  we  were  tossed  up  like  a  cork. 
It  lasted  about  three  minutes,  but  seemed 
like  hours.  A  Peterborough  canoe  that  was 
following  us  got  swatffped ;  came  over  side- 
ways. One  more  bad  place,  '  Rink  Rapids,'  to 
pass,    and    I    think    that   is   the   last   of  them. 


slept  dry  and  warm  in  my  eiderdown  sleeping- 
bag.  The  rocks  stuck  in  my  back,  but  I  am 
getting  used  to  that.  This  morn  I  mixed  my 
fiour,  for  biscuits,  with  the  Yukon  water.  First 
I've  made  ;  been  eating  hard  tack.  We  had  a 
party  of  men  camping  on  the  same  beach  last 
night  who  dug  in  the  gravel  for  dust,  and. after 
digging  about  two  feet,  they  washed  the  gravel 


in  their 


pans 


and    showed  us   women    '  seven 


hroin  a\ 


FIVE    FINGER    KAl  II 


-GKNEKAL   VIEW. 


[P/wio. 


There  is  a  barge  alongside  with  about  thirty 
people  on,  and  some  donkeys.  One  of  our  men 
called  out,  '  You're  all  right.  You  have  horse 
power,' and  they  answered  '  Yes — mule  power.' 
Rink  Rapids;  passed  again;  all  safe.  \\"\\\ 
mail  this  at  Fort  Selkirk." 

"  Pelly  River,  July  2nd. 
"  I  mailed  letter  yesterday  at  Selkirk.  I  will 
catch  same  mail  at  Dawson  (i6th).  We  camped 
at  above  last  night,  but  before  retiring  looked 
over  this  old  place,  which  shows  the  first  sign  of 
civilization  in  the  old  ruins  of  Fort  Selkirk,  with 
such  recent  and  probably  temporary  occupa- 
tion as  circumstances  may  cause.  About  fifty 
years  ago  there  was  a  fight  between  the  white 
settlers  and  the  Indians,  and  there  are  two  bury- 
ing-places  where  the  victims  on  both  sides  were 
buried.  \\'e  have  passed  parties  of  prospectors, 
digging  by  the  river  side.  Our  men  called  out, 
'Found  anything?'  They  answer,  'A  little 
colour.'     8.30  p.m.,  going  to  camp;  looks  like 


rain. 


Poured   all   night. 


"  3rd. 

Kept   dry   in   tent,  and 


colours  ' — I  call  it  particles  of  gold.  They  did 
not  think  it  worth  working.  The  men  are  row- 
ing against  a  strong  wind,  and  there  is  a  doubt 
about  our  reaching  Dawson  to-morrow  (4th). 
We  are  about  130  miles  from  there.  Stopped 
at  the  mouth  of  Stewart  River  for  lunch.  There 
is  another  stampede  on.  The  men  have  '  cached  ' 
their  provisions  by  building  huts  up  in  trees  and 
covering  them  over  with  bark.  It  looks  strange 
as  we  pull  in — like  a  settlement  of  peculiar 
people  living  up  trees.  Had  a  hard  time  after 
leaving  the  above  ;  a  gale  sprung  up  and  nearly 
swamped  us.  Had  to  get  in,  and  it  was  a 
difficult  task." 

"July  5th. 

"  Rained  all  night ;  camped  early ;  had  a 
hard  time  finding  dry  wood  to  get  supper  and 
breakfast.  We  are  about  thirty  miles  from 
Dawson.     Will  reach  it  to-night." 

"4.20  p.m. 

"  \<\  sight  of  Dawson.  I  am  glad  of  it.  I 
am  cramped,  being  so  long  in  this  little  boat — 
thirteen  days.  Dawson  lies  at  the  foot  of  a 
mountain  on  swampy  ground.     Boats  all  along 


MV    KLONDIKE    MISSION. 


53 


the    shore,    looking    for  a   kinding-place  —  poor 
camping  ground  so  far.     Will  linish  to-morrow." 

"  6th. 

"  Landed  at  5.30  p.m.  last  night.  Beat  the 
first  boat  via  St.  Michael  by  four  hours.  This 
place  is  immense,  over  three  miles  long  and 
packed  with  men.  W'e  camped  on  a  rocky 
hillside  last  night,  and  I  am  sore  all  over,  trying 
to  find  a  soft  place  between  rocks  to  sleep. 
Just  heard  of  steamer  going  out  :  must  close  to 
catch  it." 

"Dawson,  July  13th. 

"  Three  letters  reached  me  to-day,  and  though 
I  have  been  here  a  week  I've  not  been  able  to 
get  my  mail.    Post-office  only  opens  a  few  hours 


they  send  out  a  '  grafter '  to  investigate, 
and  if  the  '  find  '  is  likely  to  turn  out  rich, 
the  unfortunate  prospector  loses  it.  Their 
answer  is,  '  I  am  sorry,  but  that  claim 
was  staked  before ' ;  and  the  poor  man  not 
being  allowed  to  see  the  books  at  the  re- 
corder's ofifice,  cannot  protect  himself.  These 
claims  are  being  sold  '  under  the  rose '  to 
someone  that  will  give  an  interest  in  them  to 
parties  in  power.  This  is  no  secret  in  Klon- 
dike, and,  therefore,  no  place  for  the  poor 
man.  They  charge  the  mine-owners  10  per 
cent,  on  all  outputs  from  mines,  and  then  they 
can  only  call  the  property  theirs  for  a  year. 
Their  license,  for  which  they  pay    lodols.,  only 


J' loiH  a  rhoto.  by 


TKYINli    TO    MAKE   A    LANDING   AT    DAWSON   CITV. 


\La  Roche,  Scattli:. 


a  day,  and  there  are  hundreds  waiting  outside. 
Ladies  are  being  let  in  by  a  side  door,  but  the 
mail-men  are  slow  in  sorting,  and  one  has  to 
wait  ten  days  or  two  weeks  ere  a  mail  can  be 
distributed,  after  arriving.  The  brutal  way 
these  men  at  the  post  office  speak  to  the  people 
would  cause  a  lynching  on  the  American  side. 
They  treat  the  men  like  dogs.  Everything  is 
grab  here,  people  having  to  pay  for  everything. 
The  miners  are  holding  a  meeting  to  protest 
against  the  way  they  are  being  treated.  If  a 
man  stakes  a  claim  he  must  first  take  a  license, 
for  which  he  pays  lodols.  ;  or  to  record  a 
claim,  i5dols.  That  is,  if  they  let  him  have 
it.  If  work  is  not  done  within  the  year,  he 
loses  it,  and  also  his  right  to  take  up  another 
claim  in  that  district.  On  recording  a  claim 
they  will  not  give  an  answer  to  a  man  for 
sometimes     six     weeks.       In    the     meantime, 


lasts  that  time.  They  pay  for  a  permit  to 
cut  wood,  for  building  or  burning;  i2dols. 
for  permission  to  cut  logs  to  build  a  cabin 
1 8ft.  by  20ft.  It  is  worked  out  how  many  logs 
are  required — say  sixty — and  the  miner  is  told 
not  to  take  any  more.  One  dollar  per  cord  is 
charged  for  green  wood,  and  50  cents  for  dry 
wood,  for  burning — that  is,  to  cut  yourself.  Hut 
if  one  waits  for  winter  and  buys  it,  they  will 
be  charged  6odols.  per  cord,  by  private  parties. 
All  wood  must  be  rafted  down  the  Yukon,  there 
being  none  at  Dawson.  Will  quote  a  few  prices. 
Doctor's  charge  from  10  to  20  dols.  a  visit  ;  a 
prescription  2ijdols.  A  neighbour  was  asked 
gdols.  for  putting  in  the  mainspring  of  a 
watch.  A  live  chicken  brought  in  on  a  boat  was 
sold  for  loodols.  Beef  idol,  to  idol.  50  cents 
per  lb.  \Vashtubs  i2dols.,  wash-boards  4,  flat- 
irons  4  ;  one  of  the  latter  brought  6  at  auction. 


54 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Butter  idol.  50  cents  lb.  Eggs  3dols.  per  dozen. 
Apples,  oranges,  lemons,  same.  Can  of  con- 
densed milk  75  cents  ;  potatoes  75  cents  per  lb., 
or  5odols.  sack  of  two  and  a  half  bushels ;  and 
so  on. 

"  20th. 

".Steamer  arrived  last  night,  caused  a  big 
commotion.  .Someone  started  the  cry  :  'Steam- 
boat,' and  it  was  taken  up  by  every  man  and 
passed  along  the  line,  waking  everyone  up.  All 
turned  out  to  see  it ;  full  of  passengers.  There 
liust  be  over  2,000  dogs  here,  and  they  fight 
night  and  day.  Their  owners  feed  them  hardly 
■it  all  in  the  summer,  and  the  poor  things  go 
around  stealing,  making  people's  life  a  burden  ; 
for  one  cannot  lay  a  thing  down  before  some 
starved  dog  comes  and  steals  it.  They  get  in 
under  the  tents  and  clean  them  out.  One  took 
a  steak  out  of  a  neighbour's  frying-pan  while 
cooking." 

"August  7th. 

■  1  have  not  done  much  writing,  for  two 
reasons  :  no  mail  in  and  sickness  in  our  camp. 
Three  weeks  ago  our  guide  was  taken  ill  with 
pneumonia  that  turned  into  haemorrhage  of  the 
lungs,  and  he  lies  almost  dying.  Four  or  five 
doctors  say  he  can't  live.  Our  noble  guide  and 
friend  ;  the  best  man  in  Dawson  !  All  the  rest 
of  our  party  have  pulled  out  and  left  me  alone 
to  take  care  of  the  sick.  I  am  writing  this 
outside  his  tent,  and  not  fifty  feet  away  are 
kneeling  twenty  old  men,  on  the  rocky  hillside 
outside  the  Catliolic  church,  with  bared  heads, 
listening  to  the  service,  for  this  is  Sunday. 
Tlie  scene  reminds  me  of  the  picture,  ''J'he 
Landing  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers.'  The  sacred 
music  brings  me  no  comfort,  for  my  heart 
is  heavy,  and  I  ask  myself:  'What  am  I  to 
do?'  I  tried  to  get  the  sick  man  into  the 
hospital  connected  with  this  church,  but  only 
those  willing  and  able  to  pay  5odols.  weekly  can 
hope  to  recover.  All  is  gold  dust  here.  So  I 
am  taking  care  of  him  alone.  I  have  to  carry 
the  water  about  two  blocks,  and  the  wood  I  am 
depending  upon  my  neighbours  for.  When  I 
tell  you  that  when  we  arrived  at  Dawson  I  had 
only  45  cents  left,  you  will  understand  I  have 
not  much  money  for  doctors  or  beef-tea,  but  am 
doing  my  best  with  the  stock  of  provisions  I 
/lave." 

"  September  4th. 

"  Friends  have  found  our  guide,  and  have 
come  to  me  after  seven  horrible  weeks  and  offer 


me  assistance.  Thank  God  !  The  winter  is 
coming,  and  we  have  no  place  to  live  in  but  our 
tents,  and  at  6odeg.  below  zero  a  tent  is  a  cold 
habitation.  These  friends  offer  to  send  him  out 
to  San  P>ancisco,  and  say  if  I  will  go  along  to 
care  for  him  they  will  buy  my  ticket.  He  is  still 
bleeding,  cannot  be  moved.  Nights  are  cold 
and  frosty ;  rains  during  the  day  ;  our  outlook 
is  poor.  The  cold  nights  make  the  sick  man 
suffer  fearfully.  Yet  I  have  no  way  of  keeping 
his  tent  warm.  The  wind  is  too  high  to  take 
the  stove  inside  ;  it  would  surely  burn  it  down, 
'i'hey  ask  aoodols.  pbr  month  for  a  log  cabin, 
and  I  have  quoted  the  price  of  firewood.  Oh  ! 
how  dreary  everything  looks.  I  get  drenched 
with  rain  trying  to  make  a  little  coffee,  for  the 
stove  is  outside  my  tent." 

"September  6th. 

"  I  am  terribly  afraid  that  we  will  be  caught 
in  here  for  the  winter,  and  that  means  death 
for  the  sick  man  and  hardships  for  me.  Poor 
fellow  cannot  be  moved  without  great  suffering. 
I  have  relieved  him  with  ergot  of  rye,  but 
each  haemorrhage  seems  to  last  longer  than  tlie 
former  one.  If  I  thought  this  poor  man  had  a 
chance  for  his  life,  I  would  not  go  out  after 
coming^  here.  He  was  my  help,  and  without 
him  I  am  useless." 

"September  i  ith. 

"Last  boat  leaves  here  to-morrow  for  this 
winter.  Friends  will  carry  my  helper  to  the 
boat  on  a  stretcher,  and  I  trust  he  will  live 
through  the  trying  time.  W^e  look  for  bad 
weather  in  the  Behring  Sea  after  we  leave  St. 
Michael's — that  is,  if  we  do  not  get  frozen  in  on 
the  Yukon.     It's  freezing  now." 

"Sept.  12th. 

"  Cam.e  on  board  last  night ;  no  ill  effects. 
Start  at  12  midnight,  and,  oh  !  how  glad  and 
grateful  I  am  to  leave  this  place,  where  I  have 
gone  through  so  much  trouble.  I  w-ant  to,  and 
will,  come  back  to  this  country  though — for 
there  is  gold  dust  for  all,  and  I  will  yet  get  some 
of  it.  But  I  never  w^ant  to  see  Dawson  again. 
Men  are  dying  here  like  sheep — and  no  wonder. 
I  feel  that  I  have  a  loving  husband  waiting  to 
welcome  me  home,  whether  I  am  successful  or 
not." 

"San  Francisco,  Oct.  27th. 

"Arrived  after  seven  weeks  on  the  way.  Mr. 
Damstrom  still  lives.  His  sister  met  and  is  taking 
care  of  him,  and  now  my  journey  to  and  from 
the  great  Klondike,  for  the  present,  is  ended." 


Through    Pygmy    Land. 


Kv  AbBERT  B.  Lloyd. 


I. 


We  here  present  to  our  readers  the    personal  narrative   of  a  record  journey  through  the    land  of  the 
Pygmy  and   Cannibal  Tribes  of  Central  Africa.     Mr.  Lloyd's  narrative  is  illustrated  with  a  remarkable 
set    of  photographs  taken  by  himself,  the  whole   being  published  for  the  first  time,  solely   and    exclu- 
sively in  "  The  Wide  World  Magazine." 


1'  had  often  occurred  to  mc  that  in 
spite  of  the  very  many  alarming 
stories  of  the  fierceness  of  the  Cen- 
tral African  Pygmies,  and  the  wild- 
ness  of  the  cannibals,  it  would  never- 
theless be  possible  to  accomplish  a  journey 
through  their  territory  with  reasonable  care,  and 
without  an  armed  escort.  At  any  rate,  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  attempt  it.     Having  lived  for  some 

Protec- 


the  Uganda 


four  and  a  half  years  in 
torato,  and  during  this 
period  having  acquired 
a  thorough  knowledge  of 
African  natives  and  their 
language,  1  was  not  alto- 
gether ignorant  as  to  the 
best  mode  of  procedure. 
Accordingly  on  the  19th 
September  last  year  I 
started  into  the  unknown, 
and  after  ten  week.s'  in- 
cessant travelling  reached 
the  coast  and  landed  in 
London  on  Christmas 
Day. 

Toro  is  a  large  country 
to  the  extreme  west  of 
the  Uganda  Protectorate, 
reaching  to  the  north 
almost  to  the  Albert 
I^ke  ;  to  the  south,  to 
the  Albert  Edward  Lake  ; 
and  to  the  west,  extend- 
ing to  those  most  wonder- 
ful of  all  Nature's  marvels, 
the  Mountains  of  the 
Moon. 

The  capital  of  Toro, 
Kavaroli,  is  a  good-sized 

town  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  mountains. 
The  two  chief  hills  upon  and  around  which  the 
capital  is  built  are  those  occupied  by  the  King 
Kasagama  and  by  the  Protestant  Mission  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society,  to  which  I 
belong. 

The  house  occupied  by  myself  was  built  in 
the  ordinary  African  style,  with  mud  walls  and 
grass  roof,  but  it  was  extremely  comfortable.  It 
contained    four    good-sized    rooms,    the   doors 

*  Copyright,  1899,  in  the  United  States  l.y  Albert  B.  Lloyd. 
rhe  complete  account  of  this  expedition,  illustrated  by  over  200  phutographs,  will  shortly  be  published  in  book  form  in  England  and  America. 


MR.    ALBERT   B.    I.LOYD. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Seville  i^  Co.,  Leicester. 


being  made  of  the  boards  of  old  chop  boxes. 
There  was  an  inner  mud  roof  as  a  safeguard 
against  fire,  the  ordinary  grass  roof,  of  course, 
being  very  inflammable.  A  few  weeks  before  I 
left  Toro,  a  very  fine  English  terrier,  belongiiijj 
to  the  gentleman  formerly  occupying  my  house, 
was  carried  off  by  a  venturesome  leopard, 
which  approached  so  near  to  the  house  as  to 
catch  the  dog  just  under  the  window.  It 
may  he  mentioned  here  that  lions  and  leopards 

of  the  man-eating  variety 
are  very  numerous  in 
this  district  of  Toro,  and 
constantly  the  news 
reached  us  that  some- 
one had  been  carried  off 
by  these  horrible  beasts. 
Even  in  the  middle  of 
the  day,  in  lonely  parts, 
lions  will  seize  their  prey  ; 
but  more  frequently  it 
happens  to  be  in  the 
evenings,  just  as  the  sun 
goes  down. 

In  the  next  photograph 
we  have  a  very  interesting 
view  cf  Bamutenda,  the 
head-quarters  of  the  Toro 
Protestant  Mission,  look- 
ing eastward  from    King 
Kasagama's  hill.      It  was 
on    a   beautiful    morning 
(Sept.  lyth  last)  that  I  left 
here  to    explore    Pygmy 
and  Cannibal  Land.  The 
mission  houses  shown  '\i 
this     photo,    were     buit. 
early    in  1897,  and  have 
been  occupied  since  then 
by  two  European  missionaries.     The  King  very 
graciously  gave  to  the  mission  a  large  garden, 
part  of  which  is  shown  in  the  illustration  to  the 
left  of  the  houses.  It  consists  chiefly  of  bananas, 
which    grow   in   great   profusion    in   Toro ;  and 
although  they   are  not  used,   as  in  Uganda,  as 
the  staple  food  of  the  natives,  yet  they  are  very 
much  in  demand  for  producing  the  native  htex^ 
which,  when  fermented  with  a  small  millet  seed, 
is  a  mild  and  much-appreciated  intoxicant. 


5^^ 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


BAMUIt.-.UA,    IN     ioKOl-ANU — .MK.    LLOVD  S   STARTINC-J'OINT.       I 

yrom  a\  UNDER  the  tree,  one  of  his 

The  church  shown  next  to  my  house  is  the 
largest  of  the  buildings  seen  in  the  photograph, 
and  the  dispensary  is  the  smallest.  As  many  as 
200  patients  a  day  came  to  me  for  treatment 
while  on  this  station,  and  even  with  a  very 
limited  supply  of  drugs,  and  an  even  more 
limited  knowledge  of  surgery,  I  was  enabled 
to  cure  many  poor  sufferers.  In  this  work  my 
boys  helped  me  very  considerably. 

In  the  next  illustration  I 
give  a  photograph  of  myself 
and  some  of  the  little  Uganda 
boys,  who  during  the  whole 
of  my  stay  in  the  Protec- 
torate have  been  most  faith- 
ful to  me  ;  two  of  them  even 
accompanying  me  all  the  way 
to  the  Congo. 

I  believe  there  is  that 
in  the  composition  of  an 
ordinary  Uganda  boy  which, 
when  he  is  treated  with  kind- 
ness and  justice,  is  seldom 
found  in  other  African  races. 
If  his  master  is  true  to  him, 
he  is  true  to  his  master.  All 
through  the  Soudanese 
rebellion  I  was  accom[)anied 
by  these  boys,  and  their  faith- 
fulness to  me  and  their  sterling 
pluck    on  the  battlefield  have        i;cma\ 


endeared*-  them 
to  me  in  a  way 
that  I  hardly 
thought  possible. 
In  addition  to 
the  boys  above 
mentioned,  who 
have  been  my 
faithful  followers 
in  Africa,  I  must 
not  omit  to  speak 
of  the  little 
poodle  dog  which 
has  accompanied 
me  in  all  my 
many  wanderings. 
"Sally  " —  shown 
in  thenextpicture 
— has  been  a 
great  attraction 
to  the  natives 
wherever  we  have 
gone,  and  in  the 
a  c  c  o  m  p  a  n  )•  i  n  g 
photo,  we  see 
what  form  of 
attraction  this  oc- 
casionally took. 
Passing  through  the  native  market-place  one  day 
in  Mengo,  Uganda,  "Sally"  evidently  thought  that 
demonstrations  of  delight  shown  by  her  admirers 
were  quite  unnecessary,  and  turning  sharply 
round  upon  the  crowd  that  was  following  us, 
she  made  a  dash  into  the  thick  of  them,  scatter- 
ing them  in  all  directions,  to  her  own  apparent 
satisfaction  and  to  the  discomfort  of  many. 
Hou.se-building  to  the  people  of  Toro  is  an 


N    THE    FOREGROUND    THE    KINGS    HII.I-. 
PAGES.  [Photo. 


MK.    I-LOVD    AND    HIS    UGANDA    BOYS. 


{Photo. 


THROUCiH    PVG.MV     LAND. 


57 


/•  V  out  a 


THE    MARKET-l'l.ACl- 


art  in  which  they  have  not  at  present  made 
much  progress.  The  native  dweUings  are  of  very 
primitive  construction,  and  generally  consist  of 
the  beehive -shaped  hut  of  the  lower  savage  ; 
but  in  the  next  photograph  we  have  a  snap-shot 
of  a  house  in  course  of  erection  belonging  to 
one  of  King  Kasagama's  more  enterprising 
young  chiefs.  It  will  here  be  seen  that  a  rough 
framework  of  reeds  is  first  put  up,  and  the  mud 
plastered  on  afterwards.  Brick  houses  have  not 
yet  been  taken  kindly  to  by  the  Watoro,  on 
account,  no  doubt,  of  the  increased  labour 
necessary  ;  for  laziness  is  the  complaint  from 
which  most  Africans  suffer. 

However,  we  missionaries  of 
Toro  have  done  what  we  can 
towards  teaching  the  people 
the  immense  advantage  of  a 
substantial  dwelling,  and  brick- 
making  has  become  quite  an 
industry  on  the  Protestant 
Mission.  Kasagama,  the  King, 
was  very  busy  when  I  left 
Toro,  constructing  for  himself 
a  fine  brick  house.  The  bricks, 
made  entirely  under  his  own 
direction  by  the  natives,  are 
sun-dried,  and  rather  larger 
than  the  ordinary  English  make. 

I  have  already  mentioned 
the  prevalence  in  Toro  of  the 
man  -  eating  lion,  and  in  the 
picture  on  next  page  is  the  dead 
body  of  one  of  these  awful 
brutes.     While   staying   in  one 


of  the  suburbs  of  the 
capital,  I  was  one  morning 
called  up  by  the  chief  to 
come  at  once  and  shoot  a 
lion  that  was  doing  great 
damage  in  the  district,  and 
had  just  then  killed  a  poor 
woman  while  culti\ating 
her  garden.  She  was 
stooping  down  {)ulling  up 
some  weeds,  when,  in  front 
of  her,  she  heard  the  horrid 
roar  of  a  lion.  Looking 
up  in  speechless  horror, 
she  saw  in  the  grass  a  few 
yards  away  a  huge  male 
lion  apparently  about  to 
spring  upon  her  ;  but  just 
at  that  moment  the  lioness, 
which  had  crept  up  behind 
her,  sprang  out,  and  with 
an  awful  stroke  of  the 
fore-paw  killed  her  where 
she  stood,  and  then 
carried  her  off  into  the  thicket. 

As  soon  as  I  heard  this  story  I  started  off 
with  a  couple  of  my  boys  to  hunt  the  lions,  but 
although  I  spent  the  whole  day  searching,  not  a 
lion  did  I  see.  The  mangled  remains  of  the 
poor  woman  we  discovered,  but  the  lions  kept 
out  of  our  way.  However,  a  few  days  after  this, 
a  party  of  native  hunters  returning  from  their 
day's  hunt  after  small  antelope,  were  attacked  by 
the  same  lions.  Walking  in  single  file  through 
the  long  grass  on  the  narrow  path,  the  man  at 
the  end  of  the  line  was  suddenly  seized  from 
behind   by  the  lioness,  and  instantly  killed  and 


Vol.  iii.— 8. 


HOUSE   BUILDING    IN    KING    KASAGAMA's   CAl'ITAI.. 


[Photn. 


58 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


BKINGINC    IN    THE   MAN-EATING   I.IOiNfcbS    KILLEU    BY   THE    BRAVF.   TORO   BOY. 

Front  a  Photo. 


carried  off.  The  rest  of  the  party  made  off  with 
all  haste  excepting  one  little  boy,  the  son  of  the 
man  killed,  and  he,  amazingly  plucky  little  fellow 
that  he  is,  actually  turned  back  and,  armed  with 
nothing  but  a  small  spear,  followed  the  blood- 
stained track  through  the  thicket.  After  a  little 
while  he  came  upon  the  lioness  in  the  act  of 
devouring  his  father.  Without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  this  brave  little  chap  rushed 
at  the  huge  beast,  and  the  lioness,  becom- 
ing aware  of  his  approach,  left  the  prey 
and  sprang  upon  tHe  boy.  By  a  merciful 
Providence  the  spear  which  the  boy  carried  en- 
tered the  breast  of  the  lioness,  and  by  the  brute's 
own  weight  was  forced  right  into  its  body, 
piercing  the  heart,  and  the  great  creature  rolled 
over  stone  dead.  The  boy  was  utterly  un- 
harmed. Rapidly  withdrawing  his  little  weapon, 
he  rushed  to  the  mangled  remains  of  his  father, 
and  while  bending  over  them,  the  male  lion 
came  roaring  through  the  thicket.  The  grief- 
stricken  lad  sprang  up,  and  with  almost  super- 
human courage  rushed  towards  the  second  lion, 
waving  aloft  his  blood-stained  spear,  and  shout- 
ing, "  Come  on,  come  on  ;  I'll  kill  you  also  !  " 
But  the  male  lion  was  so  discomfited  by  the 
unexpected  approach  of  the  lad  that  he  turned 
tail  and  fled,  leaving  his  spouse  dead  by  the 
side  of  her  mangled  prey. 

The  boy  then  went  home  to  his  village  and 
called  his  friends  to  come  and  bring  the  dead 
lioness  to  the  King,^  and  this  was  done.  The 
brave  little  fellow  was  suitably  rewarded  by 
Kasagama  for  his  wonderful  pluck,  and  he  made 
him  his  own  page.  I  photographed  him  with 
his  little  spear  all  blood-bespotted,  just  after  this 


noteworthy  act  of  bravery,  and  he  is  the 
subject  of  the  next  snap-shot. 

Mwanga,  the  rebel  King  of  Uganda, 
has  never  found  any  favour  with  the 
people  of  Toro.  In  the  earlier  days 
Toro  was  the  great  raiding-place  of  the 
Waganda,  and  when  the  King's  herds  of 
cattle  and  sheep  were  running  low,  or 
he  wanted  more  slaves  to  do  his  work, 
he  would  organize  a  raid  upon  the  unfor- 
tunate ^^"atoro  ;  so  there  is  naturally  no 
love  lost  between  these  two  tribes  at  the 
present  time.  Immediately  Mwanga  was 
outlawed,  however,  the  Watoro  showed 
their  willingness  to  do  all  in  their  power 
to  aid  the  British  Government,  and 
under  the  direction  of  the  British  Sub- 
Commissioner  at  Toro  they  gained 
several  very  successful  victories  over 
their  old  enemy.  At  one  time  they 
captured  the  women  of  Mwanga's  harem 
and  a  large  amount  of  loot  and  ammu- 
nition, loyally  bringing  in  to  the  British 
officer  all  the  spoil.  Mwanga's  army  made 
several  attempts  to  cross  Toro,  but  each  time 
was  repulsed  by  the  W^atoro  with  loss  of  life. 
In  September  last  the  war  -  drum  beat  again 
on  Kasagama's  hill  to  collect  an  army  to 
go  out  against  Gabrieli,  Mwanga's  com- 
mander-in-chief; and  the  next  photograph 
depicts  the  W'atoro  army  collecting  amid  great 


IHK     luKii    l.DV    WHO    KILLED     I  HE    .'iL- 

From  a\  small  spear. 


-l-.A  I  hk    U  M  H    HIS 

\Fhoi». 


THROUGH    rVG.MV    LAND. 


59 


THE    WATORll    AKMV    COI.I.KCTING    TO   CO    AGAINST    MWANGA, 

J-'rom  a]  rebel  king  of  lganua. 


excitement. 


THE 

[I'/ioto. 


In  less  than  a  day,  the  news  of  the 
King's  war  -  drum  having  been  beaten  had 
reached  the  most  remote  part  of  the  country, 
and  the  chiefs  from  all  quarters  were  making 
their  way  to  Kabaroli  with  their  followers. 
Some  600  chiefs  armed  with  guns  formed 
themselves  around  the  person  of  the  King, 
and  then  the  rank  and  file  armed  with 
spears  and  shields,  bows  and  arrows,  etc.,  took 
up  their  position  on  the  outside  of  the  ring. 
As  with  most  African  tribes,  their  style  of  fight- 
ing consists  of  sudden  rushes  upon  the  enemy, 
retreating  again  to  the  rear,  and  again  attacking 
from  a  different  point.  On  one  occasion  the 
Watoro  very  skilfully  entrapped  their  enemies  in  a 
little  defile,  and,  without 
losing  a  man,  killed  thirty 
of  the  fierce  ^^'aganda. 

During  the  Soudanese 
rebellion  I  was  eight  months 
with  Major  Macdonald's 
army,  accompanied  by  my 
faithful  Uganda  boys  as  a 
body-guard.  I  was  frequently 
in  the  forefront  of  the  battle, 
and  in  many  awkward  posi- 
tions, but  never  once  did  my 
little  bodyguard  leave  me  or 
hesitate  to  follow  me. 

In  one  of  the  fights,  while 
I  was  taking  the  place  of  an 
ofilicer  who,  through  sickness, 
was  unable  to  keep  his  post, 
a  rush  was  made  upon  us  by 
a  party  of  the  rebels,  and 
the  result  might  have  been 
serious,  had  it  not  been  for 
the   pluck  displayed  by    my 


lioys,  who  stood  th-eir  ground  around  me, 
prepared  to  fight  to  the  last.  As  it  was, 
the  rebels,  finding  so  determined  a  stand 
made,  withdrew.  Strange  to  say,  although 
the  losses  were  always  very  heavy  on  our 
side,  none  of  my  boys  were  even  wounded. 
I  myself  had  my  hat  struck  with  a  ball 
during  one  of  the  engagements,  and  once 
a  .bullet  struck  the  ground  only  3in.  from 
my  knee  as  I  knelt  in  the  grass.  But  1 
came  through  all  the  eight  months  without 
a  scratch,  and  there  were  very  few  engage- 
ments in  which  I  did  not  take  part. 

After  the  rebels  had  been  driven  from 
Uganda  proper,  I  was  enabled  to  proceed 
on  my  journey  towards  the  Congo,  but  on 
account  of  the  number  of  little  raiding  bands 
of  the  rebels  roaming  about  the  country,  it 
was  necessary  for  me  to  have  some  kind 
of  an  escort  through  the  Protectorate  (see 
accompanying  photograph).  It  was  a 
journey  full  of  adventure.  About  four  days' 
march  from  Mengo  we  received  a  most  alarm- 
ine;  warning  from  a  British  officer  who  was  at 
that  time  in  the  district,  telling  us  that  a  band 
of  500  natives  were  on  their  way  to  attack  one  of 
the  forts  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Some  of  the 
men  who  were  with  me,  sent  by  the  big  chief 
of  Uganda,  wanted  to  return,  but  I  told  them 
that  to  run  away  when  danger  was  near  was 
cowardly,  and  it  was  much  better  to  stand  our 
ground.  I  then  called  up  all  the  men  of  the 
escort  and  inquired  what  ammunition  they  had. 
I  found  to  my  horror  that  out  of  the  fifty  men 
only  fifteen  had  more  than  one  charge  of 
powder,  and  only  twelve  men  had  bullets  of  any 


Uc;.\NDA    escort    i'ARTV    LENT    BY   THE    GOVERNMENT   TO    ACCOMPANY    MR.    I.LOVD 

From  a]  through  the  protectorate.  \Photo. 


6o 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


/•'roiii  a] 


THE   START    FOK   THE   GREAT    I'YGMY    FOREST. 


description.  I  gave  out  to  them  what  little 
powder  I  had,  and  then  made  up  my  mind 
to  proceed  on  my  journey.  All  that  day  we 
pressed  forward,  keeping  a  good  look-out. 
We  were  passing  througli  the  most  wild  and 
uninhabited  country  to  be  found  anywhere  in 
Uganda,  and  then  at  night  we  camped  in  a  small, 
deserted  village.  The  Waganda  escort  kept 
watch  all  night  and  nothing  happened.  The 
next  day,  just  as  we  left  camp,  we  crossed  a 
path  tliat  had  been  traversed  in  the  night  by  a 
great  number  of  people,  and  upon  inquiring 
at  a  neighbouring  village  we  discovered  that 
they  were  INIwanga's  people,  who  had  gone  that 
way  in  the  night  towards  the  Province  of 
Bulimezi,  passing  within  a  mile  of  our  defence- 
less little  camp. 

'i'he  next  morning  we 
pushed  on,  accomplishing  a 
long  march  of  about  twenty- 
eight  miles  without  any  mis- 
hap, and  then  on  the  two 
following  days  we  found  our- 
selves traversing  an  uninhabited 
district.  One  night,  after  a 
very  long,  dreary  walk,  we 
arrived  at  a  place  called  Naka- 
bimba.  We  had  made  this 
long  march  so  as  to  get  to  a 
place  where  we  should  find 
food,  and  house  shelter  from 
the  rain,  which  was 
steadily. 

Alas,  when  we  arrived,  at 
about  eight  o'clock,  we  found 
nothing  remaining  of  the 
houses    but    blackened   ruins. 


The  gardens  were  all  des- 
troyed and  the  plantains 
cut  down.  IMwanga's  party 
had  been  here  only  a  few 
days  before,  and  had  burnt 
and  destroyed  the  whole 
district. 

There  was  not  a  soul  to 
be  seen  anywhere,  and  so 
we  had  to  make  the  best 
of  a  very  bad  job  by 
going  to  bed  with  empty 
stomachs.  The  next  day 
we  passed  through  the  very 
midst  of  an  enormous  herd 
of  elephants.  There  must 
have  been  at  least  200  of 
these  huge  creatures  ;  they 
seemed  quite  undisturbed 
by  our  presence,  and  we 
marched  on  without  inter- 
fering with  them.  I  arrived 
at  the  capital  of  Toro  about  fifteen  days  after 
the  start  from  Mengo,  and  found  all  quiet. 
After  a  short  stay  at  the  mission  I  prepared 
for  the  next  stage,  which  I  intended  should  be  a 
record  one — i.e.,  to  complete  the  journey  across 
Africa,  passing  through  Pygmy  and  Cannibal 
Land,  down  the  Congo  to  the  West  Coast. 

The  Waganda  escort  returned,  and  then  with 
my  ten  boys,  my  bicycle,  a  donkey,  and  about 
twenty  porters,  I  made  a  start  on  the  19th 
September.  The  snap-shot  here  given  shows 
us  all  ready  to  begin  the  great  journey.  We  were 
all  in  very  good  spirits,  and  I  felt  quite  sure  of 
success,  although  I  had  been  told  by  many 
(especially  by  my  native  friends)  that  I  should 
most  surely  be  either  killed  by  the  Pygmies  or 
eaten     by    the    cannibals.     The    boys    were    to 


[P/ioto. 


falling 


MV    FIHST   CAMl'  AFTER    LEAVING    TOKO — HERE    THE    EARTHI^IUAKE    WAS    I  El.T, 

Ft  0111  a  Photo. 


throuctH  rvc.Mv  land. 


6i 


J-  loin  a\ 


il-.i»ii---Al,     i  kL.\  1  .MKN  i  . 


return  to  Toro  after  accompanying  me  as  far  as 
the  Belgian  frontier  fort,  and  I  was  to  proceed 
with  two  only  of  my  ^^'aganda  boys,  and  as 
small  a  number  of  porters  as  I  could  possibly 
do  with. 

From  Toro  we  passed  along  the  eastern  ridge 
of  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon,  camping  each 
dav  on  the  hill-side.  I  shall  not  soon  forsiet 
the  first  night  in  camp  after  leaving  Toro. 
You  can  see  it  in  the  photograph.  I  was 
sitting  in  my  tent  at  about  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening  writing  up  my  diary,  when  a 
violent  earthquake  took  place.  The  things 
in  my  tent  shook  and  tumbled  about,  and 
although  I  suppose  it  only  lasted  a  few 
seconds,  it  was  most  alarming  in  character. 
It  was  of  the  undulating  order,  and  the  earth 
seemed  verily  to  form  into  waves  like  the  sea. 

All  my  people  were  much  alarmed,  for, 
although  we  have  often  had  earthquakes  in 
Toro,  this  one  was  far  more  violent  than  any 
we  had  previously  experienced. 

In  some  of  the  villages  that  we  passed 
through  great  numbers  of  the  natives  came 
to  me  for  medicine,  entirely  believing  in  the 
skill  of  the  European  to  cure  anything  from 
leprosy  to  stomach-ache.  The  type  of  people 
who  thus  came  to  make  their  supplications 
to  the  white  man  for  treatment  will  be  seen 
in  the  above  photo.  Not  a  bad  "practice," 
if  numbers  go  for  anything. 

On  the  mountain-sides  live  a  tribe  of  people 
called  the  Wakonjo,  a  very  harmless  kind  of 
folk,  who  live  at  peace  with  all  men.  Though 
a  few  in  the  photograph  above  wear  clothes,  yet 
this  tribe  have  not  the  ambition  for  clothing 
that  most  Africans  have,  but  prefer  to  remain  in 


Xalure's  own  garb.  Some  of 
their  villages  reach  an  altitude 
of  almost  10,000ft.  above  the 
sea  level,  and  only  a  few 
thousand  feet  from  the  eternal 
snows.  Once,  when  on  a  little 
trip  up  the  mountain,  I  took 
the  photograph  next  repro- 
duced of  one  of  their  villages. 
'Ilie  cold  was  intense,  but  these 
hardy  mountain  folk  seem  not 
to  notice  it,  as  for  hours  after 
sunset  they  sit  outside  their 
houses  before  huge  fires,  smok- 
ing their  rank  tobacco  or 
drinking  their  native  beer. 

Passing  round  the  Moun- 
tains of  the  IMoon  to  the  north 
of  Lake  Albert  Edward,  about 
five  days'  march  brought  us  to 
the  weird  and  wonderful  hot 
springs  of  Ruwenzori.  They 
are  situated  right  at  the  base  of  Mount 
Gordon  Bennett,  and  present  a  most  astonish- 
ing sight  to  the  traveller.  Nothing  could  be 
more  strange  and  fantastic  than  the  approach  to 
these  wonders  of  Central  Africa.  A\'hile  staying 
in  the  village  of  a  Bamba  chief,  I  was  told  about 


Ito»!  a  I'lu'to, 


62 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MA(;AZINE. 


J'roin  a\ 


THE   WONDERFUL    HOT   SPRINGS   OF    RUWENZORI 


the  springs.  I  had  read  of  them,  but  had  never 
known  quite  where  to  find  them,  and  now  at 
last  I  found  myself  only  about  an  hour's  journey 
from  the  very  spot.  I  asked  the  chief  to  give 
me  a  guide  and  direct  me  to  the  place.  About 
twenty  young  P.amba  warriors,  all  armed  with 
their  spears,  presented  themselves  to  me  as 
prepared  to  take  me  to  this  strange  place.  We 
first  climbed  the  mountain  some  hundreds  of 
feet,  and  then  one  of  the  men  pointed  out  to 
me  in  the  distance  what  looked  like  a  beautiful 
feathery  cloud  resting  just 
above  the  earth's  surface. 

This  I  was  told  was  the 
Hot  Springs.  We  made  our 
way  down  the  hill  again  and 
entered  a  thick  forest  which 
runs  all  along  the  western 
base  of  the  mountain.  A 
tiny  path  winding  in  and  out 
amongst  the  dense  under- 
growth was  followed  for 
about  three-quarters  of  an 
hour,  and  then  we  suddenly 
came  upon  a  large,  well 
made  road,  evidently  much 
used,  and  along  this  w„' 
tramped.  I  asked  what 
made  the  path  so  big,  and 
was  told  that  it  was  con- 
stantly traversed  by  numbers 
of  sick  folk  who  came  every 
day  from  the  districts  round 
to  bathe  in  the  springs. 
A  Central  African  watering- 


place  !  This  remarkable  sight 
is  shown  in  the  next  view. 
Suddenly  we  were  made  aware 
of  a  distinct  rise  of  tempera- 
ture, and  also  of  a  nasty,  sickly 
odour.  The  vegetation  very 
rapidly  became  ultra-tropical ; 
ferns  which  in  other  places 
were  small  and  stunted,  here 
were  huge  trees. 

The  whole  scene  was 
changed.  The  path  led  through 
this  most  beautiful  vegetation 
for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
when  \V3  immediately  found 
ourselves  entering  a  thick  cloud 
of  highly  odoriferous  steam  and 
then  into  a  wide,  open  space, 
all  over  which  were  little  bub- 
bling springs  of  boiling  water. 
Some  were  much  bigger  than 
others;  the  largest  was  throwing 
up  a  spout  of  water  to  about  a  foot  in  height. 
A  thick  deposit  incrusted  the  w'hole  area.  The 
water  tasted  of  sulphur  and  potash  and  was 
quite  undrinkable  —  to  me,  at  any  rate.  Into 
the  largest  of  these  springs  my  boys  threw  a 
bunch  of  plantains,  and  in  a  surprisingly  short 
time  they  were  cooked.  But  a  most  disagree- 
able flavour  permeated  them,  which,  however, 
did  not  deter  the  boys  from  eating  them.  All 
the  water  as  it  bubbles  up  passes  into  one  large 
stream,  and  this  is  again  lost  in  the  forest. 


Photo. 


■  1  KAl.    Al-  KIlAX    \S- 


From  a  Photo. 


{To  be  continued.) 


The  Heroes  of  Niagara. 


Bv  Orrin  E.    Dunlap,  of  Niagara  Falls,  N.V. 

The  author  may  be  said  to  live  on  the  spot  and  have  personal  knowledge  of  many  of  the  heroes.    He 
tells  a  series  of  graphic  narratives,  each  illustrated  by  a  photograph  of  the  hero  and  his  apparatus. 


L  newspaper  statements  to  the  con- 
trary, it  may  be  set  down  as  fact  by 
people  both  near  and  far  that  the 
Falls  of  Niagara  have  never  yet 
been  conquered  by  a  human  being 
who  has  lived  to  tell  the  story  of  his  feelings 
during  the  voyage  over  the  precipice.  It  is 
true,  however,  that  several  persons  have  caused 
to  be  spread  broadcast  the  statement  that  they 
had  made  the  trip  over  the  Horseshoe  Fall  in 
safety.  These  persons  have  told  marvellous 
stories  of  their  experiences,  all  of  which,  no 
doubt,  have  intensified  the  interest  in  many 
dime  museums  distant  from 
than  once  within  the  past 
locality  about  the  falls  has 
by  announcements  that  this 


the  falls.  More 
fifteen  years  the 
been  stirred 
one   or  that   one 


contemplated  a  trip  over  the  great  cataract 
in  order  to  determine  certain  scientific  possi- 
bilities— saying  nothing  about  a  desire  to 
gain  notoriety  in  order  that  they  might  become 
museum  "  freaks."  To  the  newspaper  men  of 
the  locality  these  desires  of  the  various  indi- 
viduals were  great  fruit,  for  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  attraction  the  stories  of  "  intention "  sold 
readily. 

To  one  who  has  watched  all  such  persons  for 
many  years  the  novelty  of  their  plans  has  been 
a  wonder,  and  it  was  evident  that  some  of  them 
must  have  esteemed  life  lightly  to  think  of  trust- 
ing themselves  to  their  conceptions  of  safe 
apparatus.  Several  had  ideas  that  they  could 
make  the  trip  in  barrels.  Others  have  conceived 
of  a  safe  passage  in  rubber  balls.  Then  another 
would  shoot  down  the  upper  Niagara,  over  the 
reefs  and  rapids,  in  a  boat,  leaping  from  it 
at  the  brink  of  the  fall,  and,  supported  by  a 
parachute,  drop  slowly  into  the  foaming  mass  at 
the  foot  of  the  fall,  there  to  float  down-stream 
to  a  boat  ready  to  capture  him.  But  they  were 
all  "  fakes."  That  man  has  not  presented  him- 
self at  the  falls  who  dared  try  and  conquer  the 
mighty  precipice  which  has  been  looked  upon 
and  admired  for  ages  by  more  people  than  ever 
viewed  a  falling  body  of  water  and  admired  its 
sublimity — a  sublimity  yet  untainted  by  such 
modern  "  heroism." 


There  is  no  doubt  that  the  desire  to  conquer 
the  Falls  of  Niagara  is  the  direct  outcome  of 
the  results  obtained  in  conquering  the  whirlpool 
rapids,  which  form  such  an  attraction  for 
visitors,  two  miles  below  the  cataract.  After 
the  passage  of  the  steamer  Maid  of  the  Mist 
(already  described  in  The  Wide  World)  through 
the  gorge  and  rapids  on  June  6th,  1861,  there 
was  a  period  covering  more  than  two  decades 
in  which  that  incident  was  told  and  retold, 
with  all  the  "horrors"  of  the  voyage  most 
carefully  pictured,  in  terms  that  made  the 
terrible  nature  of  the  waters  greatly  intensified 
in  the  minds  of  strangers.  High,  high  up  in 
the  air  the  foam-crested  waves  of  the  rapids 
dash  in  their  apparent  ambition  to  lick  the 
cliff  tops  and  bring  death  to  venturesome 
humanity  who  dare  breast  them.  The  story 
of  the  Maid  of  the  Mist  was  told  in  prose  and 
verse ;  it  was  painted  and  pictured  in  many 
ways  and  in  many  countries.  It  made  the 
circuit  of  the  globe  more  than  once,  each  time 
having  new  features.  Its  farewell  appearance 
has  not  yet  been  heralded,  for  it  was  truly  an 
accomplishment  worthy  of  being  transmitted 
from  age  to  age,  and  it  will  be  told  as  long  as 
the  Niagara  flows  onward  from  Lake  Erie  to 
Lake  Ontario. 

There  was  a  brave  Englishman  named 
Captain  Webb  who  had  faced  the  dangers 
of  the  English  Channel.  He  heard  of  the 
awfulness  of  the  whirlpool  rapids,  and  crossed 
the  Atlantic  to  conquer  them.  He  w^as  recog- 
nised as  the  greatest  swimmer  of  the  time,  and 
his  passage  from  country  to  country  to  display 
his  ability  created  intense  excitement  on  two 
continents.  No  man  had  ever  evinced  such  a 
disposition  to  battle  with  the  waters  of  the  Niagara 
gorge  between  the  great  railway  suspension 
bridge  of  those  days  and  the  whirlpool  rapids. 
He  would  do  it  unprotected  even  by  a  life- 
preserver.  He  was  praised  as  a  hero  by  many, 
while  others  said  he  was  a  fool.  He  reached 
Niagara.  He  viewed  the  gorge  and  waters.  He 
was  undaunted.  He  was  a  man  of  his  word, 
and  so  he  made  arrangements  to  carry  out  his 
announced  purpose. 


64 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


It  was  about  four  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of 
July  24th,  1.S.S3,  that  Webb  made  his  fatal  trip. 
He  descended  the  bank  by  means  of  a  roadway 
near  the  famous   old  Clifton    House,    recently 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  went  to  the  ferry  landing. 
He  entered  a  small  row-boat,  and  with  "Jack" 
McCloy,  a  well-known  guide,  at  the  oars,  was 
rowed  to  a  point  down  the  river  a  short  distance 
above  the  old  Maid  of  the  Mist  Landing.     At 
4.25  p.m.  he  leaped   into  tlie  water.     The  river 
banks    for   miles 
were    lined   with 
people.       On      the 
bridge  there  was  a 
great  surging  mass 
of  humanity.  Webb        , 
had  nothing  on  his 
body  but  a  pair  of 
plain,     bright  -  red 
trunks.     His  stroke 
as  he  pulled  away 
from  the  boat  and 
swam    towards   the 
rapids  that  were  to 
dash    his    life    out 
was  noble.     It  was 
a    beautiful    sight, 
and  as  he  rode  the 
first    wave    of    the 
rapids,  just  beneath 
the    old    railway 
suspension    bridge, 
the    gorge    echoed 
and  re-echoed  with 
the   cheers   of    the 
multitude.     This 
was    followed  by  a 
terrible     quiet,     as 
Webb    was     swept 
onward   down    the 
river,     into     the 
rapids,  by  the  cur- 
rent from  which 
there  was   now  no 

escape.  The  next  instant  the  white  -  capped 
waves  were  dashing  over  him.  Onward  he 
plunged,  and  the  next  moment  he  was  lost  to 
sight.  Thousands  of  eyes  searched  the  foamy 
waters  for  a  glimpse  of  the  man,  but  the  largest 
wave  in  the  gorge  had  been  his  conqueror. 
The  more  quiet  waters  of  the  whirlpool  were 
scanned  that  day  until  darkness  fell,  and  miles 
down  the  river  watchers  were  all  along  the 
banks. 

Then  followed  days  of  uncertainty.  People 
were  ready  to  swear  they  had  seen  him  emerge 
from  the  river  at  various  points.  It  was 
intimated  that  he  had  made  the  trip  in  .safety, 
and  was   being  concealed   so   that    his  friends 


might  win  their  wagers.  It  would  take  a  volume 
to  tell  of  the  strange  ideas  advanced  in  those 
few  days.  To  some  it  seemed  impossible  that 
Webb  should  die  in  the  river  after  his  accom- 
plishments in  other  waters.  But  Webb  did  die 
at  Niagara.  His  body  was  found  about  noon 
on  July  28th,  1883,  by  Richard  Turner,  the 
spot  being  about  a  mile  and  a  half  below  the 
village  of  Lewiston,  N.Y.  His  body  is  buried 
in  Oakwood  Cemetery,  Niagara  Falls,  N.Y., 
'  and  yearly  has  the 

attention  of  mem- 
bers of  a  society  to 
which  he  belonged, 
and  also  of  friends 
who  remember 
and  admire  his 
daring. 

Three  years 
passed  without  any 
further  attempts 
being  made  to 
swim  the  rapids, 
and  then,  in  1886, 
a  Philadelphia 
cooper  named  Car- 
lisle D.  Graham 
became  imbued 
with  the  idea  that 
he  would  risk  his 
life  in  the  rapids 
in  a  barrel  of  his 
own  construction. 
He  built  the  barrel 
and  travelled  to 
Niagara.  On 
Sunday  afternoon, 
July  nth,  1886, 
Graham  entered 
his  barrel  and 
made  the  trip  in 
safety,  going  right 
away  through  the 
gorge  to  Lewiston. 
His  success  was  applauded  all  over  the  world. 
His  confidence  in  his  own  handiwork  had  not 
been  misplaced.  He  was  about  thirty  -  five 
minutes  passing  down  the  river.  Graham  won 
great  popularity,  and  all  who  knew  him  said  he 
deserved  it. 

Then  Graham  became  more  daring,  and  on 
Thursday,  August  19th,  1886,  he  made  the  trip 
through  the  whirlpool  rapids  as  far  as  the  whirl- 
pool with  his  head  protruding  from  the  top  of 
the  barrel.  In  this,  as  well  as  in  the  first  trip, 
his  body  was  suspended  in  a  hammock  swung 
on  the  inside  of  the  barrel,  so  that  he  could  not 
strike  the  sides  with  any  great  force.  Graham's 
barrel  was  long  and  high.     Its   narrow  bottom 


THE   SPOT   WHERE    \ 

From  a  Photo. 


HIS    LIFE. 


THE    HEROES    OF    NIAGARA. 


65 


THii    1  liiLAUELlHlA    CiiulEK,    tAKUsl.t    D.    (.jJiAHA.M,    WllH    Hlb    IJAKKt-L. 

From  a  Plwto.  by  G.  E.  Curtis  &^  Co.,  Niagara  Falls,  N.Y. 


passed  through  the  gorge  to  l.ewislon.  He 
won  more  fame  for  his  trips  than  any  other 
person.  All  of  his  trips  were  witnessed  by 
immense  crowds,  and  it  may  be  said  of 
Graham  that  he  never  disappointed  a 
Niagara  audience.  He  was  always  to  time. 
Following  his  fourth  rapids  tri|),  Graham 
announced  his  intention  of  going  over  the 
falls.  He  sent  several  barrels  over  the 
cataract  to  study  the  currents,  and  all  but 
one  were  lost.  The  morning  papers  on 
Monday,  September  2nd,  1889,  told  how 
Graham  had  gone  over  the  falls  on  Sunday, 
September  ist,  but  it  was  a  journalistic 
"  fake."  Graham  afterwards  stated  that 
he  had  had  a  barrel  sent  over  the  falls 
that  morning,  while  he  watched  in  an  eddy 
below  the  cataract  for  its  coming.  'J'he 
barrel  was  smashed  into  small  pieces,  and, 
as  he  said  himself,  he  had  not  the  audacity 
to  claim  he  came  over  the  falls  in  any  one 
of  them.  But,  outside  of  this,  Graham  is 
deserving  of  much  credit  for  what  he  did 
do  at  the  falls,  or  rather  in  the  rapids. 

Following  Graham's  second  trip,  there 
came  on  the  scene  a  Boston,  Mass., 
policeman,  by  name  of  W.  J.  Kendall, 
who  took  all  the  glory  out  of  the  rapids 
iia\igation  by  going  through  them  as  far 
as  the  whirlpool  protected  only  by  a 
cork    life-preserver.       The    day    on    wliich 


was  well  weighted  so 
that  it  would  stand 
upright  in  the  water. 
Thus  Graham  virtually 
assumed  a  standing 
position  on  the  inside 
of  the  barrel.  His  trip 
through  the  rapids  with 
his  head  protruding  re- 
quired unlimited  nerve, 
for  then  he  could  see 
when  he  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  roughest 
waters,  and  had  his 
barrel  not  been  buoyant 
enough  to  keep  him 
above  the  waters  he  must 
have  drowned. 

Graham  made  a  third 
trip  on  June  15th,  1887, 
and  a  fourth  trip  on 
August  25th,  1889.  In 
this  last  trip  he  used 
a  much  smaller  barrel 
than  on  any  of  his 
previous     trips,     and 

Vol.  iii.— 9. 


T^ 

/ 


v..     I.    KKNUAI.L   AND    HIS   CdlJK    I.IFI,-.....  .... 

From  a  Photo,  by  C.  E.  Hendrickson,  Niagara  Falls,  N.Y. 


66 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


this  feat  was 
accomplished 
was  Sunday, 
August  22nd, 
1886.  The  trip 
was  quietly  per- 
formed, and  but 
few  witnessed  it. 
Many  have 
alleged  that 
Kendall's  trip 
was  a  "  fake," 
but  the  writer  has 
been  assured  by 
men  of  reputa- 
tion that  they  saw 
him  perform  the 
act  fairly  and 
squarely. 

The  only 
woman  who  ever 
made  the  trip 
through  the 
rapids  is  Miss 
Sadie  Allen.  The 
date  of  her  trip 
was  November 
28th,  1886,  and 
her  companion 
was  George 
Hazlett,  who,  on 
August  8th  of  the 
same  year,  had 
been  through  the  rapids  with  William  Potts. 
They  used  the  .same  barrel  used  by  Hazlett 
and  Potts.  Miss  Allen's  trip  ended  at  the 
wliirlpool. 

With  the  coming  of  the  summer  of  1887,  the 


GEORGE   HAZLETT   AND    MISS   SA15IE    ALLEN — THE   OM    .    I       :    ,     WHii 
•MADE   THE   TRII'   THROUGH    THE    KAllLo. 

Frotn  a  Photo,  by  F.  Burnett,  Niagai-a  Falls,  N.Y. 


barrel  business 
seemed  to  be 
overdone,  and  so 
Charles  Alexan- 
der Percy,  a 
waggon  -  maker, 
built  a  boat  1 7ft. 
long  and  4ft. 
loin.  beam,  with 
air-chambers  at 
either  end.  In 
this  craft  Percy 
made  the  trip 
through  the  whirl- 
pool rapids,  as 
far  as  the  whirl- 
pool, on  Sunday, 
August  28th, 
1887.  During 
the  voyage  he 
occupied  one  of 
the  air-chambers, 
but  on  arriving 
at  the  whirlpool 
he  came  out  and 
took  a  seat  in  the 
open  part  of  the 
boat,  which  was 
self-baling,  being 
built  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  life- 
saving  boats  now 
in  use  through- 
out the  United  States.  Percy  rowed  here  and 
there  about  the  current  of  the  great  river-pocket 
in  full  sight  of  thousands  of  people  on  the  banks 
and  at  the  water's  edge.  He  apj^eared  possessed 
of  great  nerve.     Finally,  he  pulled  to  the  shore 


HAS    EVEK 


-  ,    .  ,  .fc. 

PNc 

■  -  ■  I*-' 

From  d\ 


CHARLES   A.    I'KRCV    .-.Mj    Ifl^    A I  I;-CIL\M  l.i  1:1  U    l;i>AT. 


[Plwtr 


THE    HEROES    OF    NIAGARA. 


67 


and  landed.  For  more  than  a  month  he  allowed 
his  boat  to  lie  in  the  whirlpool  at  anchor,  and 
the  Press  intimated  that  he  was  afraid  to  enter 
the  waters  below  the  pool.  This  was  not  so,  as 
Percy  proved. 

On  Sunday,  September  25th,  1887,  accom- 
panied by  ^^'illiam  Dietrick,  he  entered  an  air- 
chamber,  after  the  boat  had  been  towed  around 
Thompson's  Point  at  the  outlet  of  the  pool,  and 
struck  out  for  Lewiston.  Percy  himself  occupied 
the  seat  in  the  open  part  of  the  boat,  and  pulled 
at  the  oars  to  get  free  from  the  eddy  currents. 
The  gorge  was  full  of  smoke  from  adjacent 
burning  woodlands,  and  in  the  west  the 
sun  was  setting  like  a  ball  of  fire.  The 
trip  had  not  been  announced,  so  very  few 
persons — not  over  eight  or  ten — were  present. 
It  was  an  inspiring  sight  which  the  writer 
will  never  forget.  It  is  probable  that  never 
before  had  a  white  man  sunk  his  oar 
blades  in  that  part  of  the  Niagara  River.     For 


The  air-chambers  filled,  and  Percy  and  his 
companion  held  on  to  the  keel  until  they 
reached  more  quiet  water  near  Lewiston.  The 
boat  was  lost.  Percy  built  a  second  boat,  and 
went  through  the  rapids  to  Lewiston  on 
September  16th,  1888. 

Percy's  experience  with  his  boat  on  his  first 
trip  inspired  others  to  give  thought  to  boat 
construction,  the  idea  prevailing  that  a  small 
boat  which  could  withstand  the  terrible  force 
of  the  rapids  ought  to  be  adopted  for  general 
use  in  the  life-saving  stations  of  the  country. 
'J'o  men  who  felt  this  way,  and  had  any  ideas 
of  boat  construction,  riches  were  in  sight.  One 
who  became  imbued  with  this  idea  was  Robert 
William  Flack,  of  Syracuse,  N.Y.,  and  the  story 
of  the  loss  of  this  man's  life  in  the  waters  of  the 
Niagara  is  one  of  the  saddest  connected  with 
the  tale  of  rapids  navigation. 

Flack  built  his  boat  at  his  home,  and  shipped 
it  on  to  the  falls.      He  arrived  there  surrounded 


.■^ 


ROBERT   W.    FLACK,    WHO    MKT   A    KEARFUI.    DEATH    BEFORE  THE   EYES   OK    A    I.AKGE   CROWD,    INCLUUI' 

From  a  Photo,  hy  R.  A.  Gooihvht,  Syracuse,  N.Y. 


men  who  were  desirous  of  being  swept  down 
stream  on  the  bosom  of  such  a  tumultuous  river 
as  that  of  the  Niagara,  they  had  hard  work  to 
get  within  the  current's  grasp.  More  than  once 
they  were  swung  back  into  the  eddy.  Finally, 
however,  they  got  well  within  the  current,  and 
then  were  off.  They  disappeared  from  the 
writer's  view  in  the  smoke  just  as  they  were 
entering  the  rapids  off  Foster's  Flats,  a  point 
described  by  old  fishermen  as  "  the  nastiest  bit 
of  water  between  the  two  lakes."  Had  human 
eyes  witnessed  the  doings  of  the  boat  in  that 
part  of  the  river,  the  details  of  an  interesting 
incident  might  be  recorded.  The  waves 
off  Foster's   Flats  overwhelmed  the  little  craft. 


by  much  mystery.  His  boat  was  of  the  common 
Clinker  pattern,  but  he  made  strong  claim  that  it 
was  filled  with  material  that  made  it  impossible 
for  it  either  to  capsize  or  sink.  He  positively 
refused  to  state  what  this  material  was,  alleging 
that  he  intended  to  patent  it  immediately  after 
he  had  demonstrated  its  merit.  Percy  and 
Flack  became  fast  friends.  'Phey  conceived 
that  it  would  attract  large  crowds  if  they  ran  a 
boat  race  through  the  rapids.  It  will  be  seen 
the  idea  was  novel.  As  Percy  had  demonstrated 
the  stability  of  his  craft,  it  was  decided  that 
Flack  should  now  make  a  trip  in  order  to  prove 
the  boat  that  he  had  built.  To  attract  public 
interest  Percy  issued  a  challenge,  through   the 


68 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


newspapers,    for    a    race    with    Flack.      Flack         rapids,   but  each  time  it 
accepted   this  challenge,  and  the  writer  of  this 
articledrew  up  the  following  articles  of  agreement, 
which  have  never  before  been  published  :— 

Articles  <jf  agreement  made  and  concluded  this  2ist 
day  of  June,  1888,  between  Charles  Alexander  Percy,  of 
.Suspension  Bridge,  N.V. ,  and  Robert  William  Flack,  of 
Syracuse,  N.  V. 

It  is  hereby  agreed  that,  whereas  Charles  Alexander 
Percy  has  issued  a  challenge  to  said  Robert  William 
Flacit  to  row  a  race  through  what  is  known  as  the  whirl- 
pool rapids  to  the  public  dock  at  Lewiston,  N.Y.,  antl 
such  challenge  issued  by  said  Percy  has  been  accepted  by 
said  Flack— that  within  six  weeks  Irom  this  date  Charles 
Alexander  Percy  and  Robert  William  Flack  shall  meet 
on  some  day  to  be  hereinafter  agreed  upon,  at  the  Maid 
of  the  Mist  Landing,  prepared  to  row  the  race.  It  is 
understood  that  the  race  is  to  be  for  foodol.  a  side, 
icxjdol.  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of as  stakeholder 


righted  itself. 


by  each   party,  the  remaining  400  to  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  — —  on  the  morning  of  the  race. 

In  witness  whereof  we  have  this  day  set  oar  hands  and 
seals. 

c.-         ,  TRoBT.  Wm.  Fl.ACK. 

S'g""l|cHAs.  A.  Percy. 

Flack  was  repeatedly  told  that  his  boat  had 
not  the  appearance  of 
being  safe ;  but,  despite 
all  warnings,  he  made 
the    trip    on   the  after- 
noon of  July  4th,  1888, 
and  lost  his  life.     All 
the     circumstances 
taken  together,  nothing 
so  pitiful  has  ever  been 
witnessed    at   Niagara. 
The  writer  and  J'ercy 
bade    Flack  good-bye 
at  the  top  of  the  path 
leading  to  the   water's 
edge,  where  his  boat  was 
moored,    and     wished 
him    (iod- speed.     He 
was  told  that  we  would 
drive     down     to     the 
whirlpool  on  the  New 
York   side    and    there 
await  his  coming.      If 
he  passed    out  of  the 
pool    and     down    the 
river,  we  were  to  drive 
to   Lewiston    to   greet 
him,  for  in  those  days 
Lewiston  and  Niagara 
Falls    were    not    con- 
nected   by    electric 
roads.      Flack  said  he 
would    start    at    three 
o'clock. 

He  was  true  to  his  promise.  At  3.2  p.m. 
he  passed  under  the  cantilever  bridge,  and  a 
moment  later  was  in  the  rapids.  Twice  did  the 
boat    with    its    hiuiian     freiglit    capsize    in    the 


WALTER   G.    CAMl'BELL   AND   HIS    DOG. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Barneit  &=  Co.,  Suspension  Bridge,  N.\ 


Flack 
was  harnessed  in  by  straps  about  his  waist. 
The  boat  approached  the  pool.  Flack  was 
seen  sitting  upright  on  the  seat.  His  oars  were 
useless  attachments  just  then.  Next  came  a 
heartrending  sight.  Two  more  big  waves  to  go 
by,  and  he  would  be  in  the  more  quiet  waters  of 
the  whirlpool.  But  in  the  last  of  these  waves 
death  was  lurking.  Flack's  boat  struck  the 
waves.  The  craft  was  sent  high  in  the  air.  It 
stood  on  end,  and  then  it  toppled  over.  It  was 
upside  down.  It  floated  off  across  the  pool. 
I'housands  of  anxious  eyes  kept  close  watch  in 
the  hope  that  Flack  would  loosen  himself  and 
climb  out  on  the  keel.  Round  and  round 
the  pool  it  floated — three  times  or  more. 
It  did  not  right  itself.  A  woman  standing 
in  the  little  summer-house  at  my  side  asked, 
"' )do  you  think  he  is  in  the  boat?"  I  said, 
"Yes."  "Do  you  think  he  is  alive?"  "No," 
was  the  answer  ;  "  he's  done  for,  I'm  afraid." 
It  was  Flack's  wife.     Her  little  boy  was  by 

her  side.  A  man  with 
her  was  an  undertaker 
from  Syracuse.  What 
a  strange  coincidence  ! 
Those  were  horrifying 
moments  as  the  boat 
floated  round  and 
round,  too  far  out  to 
be  reached  from  shore 
on  the  Canadian  side. 
The  sight  stirred  the 
heroism  of  Percy.  "  I 
will  save  him  if  he  is 
alive,  or  get  his  body  if 
he  is  dead,  or  die  my- 
self," said  he.  "  Be 
hopeful,"  he  said  to 
Flack's  wife.  We  leaped 
into  the  buggy  and 
drove  at  a  terrific  pace 
up  the  river  to  the 
old  railway  suspension 
bridge,  which  we 
crossed,  and  then  drove 
rapidly  to  the  whirlpool 
on  the  Canadian  side. 
We  were  shot  down  the 
inclined  railway,  then 
in  operation  there,  and 
hurried  along  the  path 
around  the  pool.  Percy 
tore  off  his  clothes, 
stringing  them  all  along, 
as  he  went.  The  boat  approached  closer  to  the 
shore.  Percy  leaped  into  the  current,  where 
under  other  circumstances  he  would  have  been 
afraid   to  venture,  or,  at  least,  would  have  been 


THE    HEROES    OF    NIAGARA. 


69 


foolish  to  do  so,  and  swam  out  across  the  rapid 
current  to  the  boat. 

As  he  grasped  it  the  banks  fairly  echoed  with 
the  cheers  of  the  multitude  on  both  sides  of  the 
river.     Oh,  what  a  tug  it  was  for  Percy  to  land 
that  boat  !     The  current  swept  him  along,  and 
it  seemed  as  though   he  must  let  go.     But  he 
had  decided  to  get  the  boat  or  die.     If  neces- 
sary he  would  have  gone   round  the  pool  on 
the  boat  before  he  would  have  let  it  get  away. 
It  was    his    fierce    determination    that    brought 
success.     He  landed  the  boat  at  a  point  where 
the  bank  was  steep  :  the  rocks  were  rough,   but 
a  few  men  managed  to  get  to  the  point  as  Percy 
shoved  the  boat  into   the  shore.      By  a  mighty 
effort  the  craft  was  righted.     Flack  hung  there, 
his  heels  and  head  down.     The  apparatus  he 
had  built  to  save  the    lives  of  others  had  cost 
him    his   own.     It   had   made   a    loving    little 
woman  on  the  far  bank  a  widow,  and  a  little  boy 
an  orphan.     The  Syracuse  undertaker  had  his 
work  cut  out  for  him.     Poor  Flack  I     A  hole 
in  the  side  of  his  boat 
showed  it  to  be  filled 
with    old    shavings, 
nothing  else.     All  this 
happened  in  one  hour 
and  ten  minutes.  Flack 
was    thirty  -  nine    years 
old. 

For  over  a  year  the 
rapids  were  left  free 
to  plunge  at  will,  but 
in  1889,  Walter  G. 
Campbell,  of  Youngs- 
town,  N.Y.,  decided  -^ 
to  make   a   display  of         ! 


nerve — and  foolishness.  He  made  his  trip  on 
Sunday,  September  15th,  1889.  He  rode  in 
a  Clinker  boat  until  it  capsized,  and  then  battled 
with  the  waves  protected  by  a  life-preserver  only. 
A  dog  that  Campbell  had  in  the  boat  was  lost, 
but  Campbell  himself  was  swept  into  the  pool 
and  landed  on  the  Canadian  side  just  twenty 
minutes  after  he  had  started. 

John  Lincoln  Soules  attempted  to  swim  the 
rapids  on  July  4th,  1890.  He  was  caught  in  an 
eddy  on  the  Canadian  side  and  tossed  upon  the 
rocks  by  the  waves,  receiving  a  severe  cut  in 
one  of  his  legs.  He  did  not  go  through  to 
the  whirlpool,  for  this  reason. 

In  the  summer  of  1898  Robert  Leach,  of 
Watertow,  N.Y.,  made  two  trips  through  the 
rapids.  One  trip  was  made  in  a  wooden  barrel, 
the  other  in  a  steel  barrel.  Both  barrels  -were 
lost. 

Had  the  waters  of  the  Niagara  gorge  been 
more  solid,  and  therefore  more  buoyant,  Webb 
would  have  undoubtedly  made  the  trip  in  safety, 

but  the  fact  is  the  water 
of  the  Niagara  gorge 
is  so  charged  with  air 
that  its  buoyant  quali- 
ties are  lost.  Webb 
was  suffocated  before 
he  could  pass  through 
this  light  water.  Ken- 
dall and  Campbell, 
both  of  whom  had  life- 
preservers  on,  reached 
the  whirlpool  and  were 
saved. 

Niagara    awaits    the 
next  sensation. 


-t 


air 


JOHN    I.INCdl.N 


l-l--'.    \^  H 


i-.     INJl    i.l    !l    "X      I  Ht    CANADIAN     M  DE. 

From  a  Photo,  by  F.  Barnett,  Suspension  Bridge,  N.  Y. 


"^  AS  O" 


PLE^JBUEV 


L-rm-^. 


*J'J'/' 


The  eminent  actor  tells  a  remarkable  incident  of  his  adventurous  career,  and   illustrates  it   by  means 
of  photographs  and  a  facsimile  of  his  own  "  miner's  right." 


USTRALlA  again  !  Well,  what  does 
it  matter  how  many  years  had 
j)assed  ? 

Sandy  Magee  (the  coach  driver), 
a  bit  greyer,  a  little  more  furrowed 

round  the  eyes,  petted  and  hustled  and  swore 

and  drove  a  four-horse  team   along  the  deep- 
rutted  bush  track  between  Grafton  and  Solferino. 

We  were  alone  :  I  on  the  box-seat  beside  him. 
Sandy  and  I  coached  that  track  once  before 

alone  together,   but  we   were  going   the   other 

way    then,    and     I    was 

pretty    well    broken    up, 

and  showed  the  raw  red 

of   healing  scars   I   shall 

always    carry    with     me. 

^Ve  crossed  the  old  ford 

on    the    Clarence    again, 

with   the  green  island  a 

few    yards    from     the 

bank,  and  the  broad,  flat 

shelf    of     rock     in     the 

middle  with  a  deep  drop 

into     a     dozen    feet    of 

water  a  few  inches  off  the 

near   wheels,    into  which 

my    mate    and    I     went 

headlong  —  pack  -  horse 

and   all  —  the  first   time 

we  ever  attempted  it.    liy 

the   way,    we    built    the 

first    punt     that    ever 

carried   a   dray  across  it 

in   flood    time — a   good 

punt;    it  floats  to-day — 

and   we   were   driving 

quietly     through     old 

paddocks  on  the  Yugiibar       ^v^,„  «  pi^i^_  ^^  '^^_  l^arnetl. 


—  Ogilvie's,  the  very  gum  trees  of  which  were 
familiar.  We  ring -barked  many  an  acre  of 
those  same  paddocks,  my  mate  and  I,  at  a 
price  which  was  never  paid  us ;  but  that  doesn't 
matter  now.  Presently  we  came  to  a  dip  where 
the  track  led  through  heavy  timber  down  a 
gorge  at  the  foot  of  the  ranges  in  which  the 
Solferino  diggings  lay. 

"  You  remember  Dago  ?  "  said  Sandy,  point- 
ing with  his  whip  to  a  little  grass -grown 
heap  of  mullock  about  a  dozen  yards  from  the 

track  on  our  right. 

"  Do  I  remember 
Dago?"  Yes,  I  remem- 
bered Dago  well.  ]\Iy 
hand  went  involuntarily 
to  a  heavy  scar  on  my 
chin.  "That's  Dago, 
Sandy,"  said  I,  pointing 
to  it. 

"  Well— that's  Dago — 
over  there,"  nodded 
Sandy,  with  his  head. 

I  looked  round  at  the 
mullock  heap,  and  as  I 
turned  my  companion 
flicked  at  a  blowfly  on 
the  off- leader's  rump, 
who,  suddenly  jump- 
ing forward,  jerked  the 
old  rattlctraj)  of  a 
coach  half  across  the 
track. 

"  Whoa,  mare  !  Whoa  ! 
Yes"  (as  we  swung  into 
line  again  at  a  gallop), 
"  that's  Dago  !  Whoa, 
can't  yer  ?  " 


■.i;i.i.K\v. 
Falk  Studios,  Melbourne. 


"  DACO." 


71 


But  they'd  all  four  got  the  fidgets,  and  we  flew 
along  the  next  few  hundred  yards  as  if  the  devil 
was  after  us. 

So  that  was  Dago  !  It  set  me  thinking — 
wandering  back  to  New  South  AVales  when  I 
was  a  lad — a  lad  on  the  tramp  for  gold.  Gold 
I  couldn't  win  in  coined  sovereigns  at  home, 
but  with  hope  in  my  heart  and  the  dreams  of 
youth  I  set  out  from  my  ship  to  dig  for  from  the 
hard  earth  of  a  strange  land. 

And  Sandy  told  me  his  memories  as  we  drove 
through  the  silent  bush.  I  told  Sandy  mine  in 
return  ;  and  some  of  the  terrible  minutes  of  our 
lives  came  back  to  us  both  out  of  the  past,  and 
we  lived  them  over  again. 

I  have  had  other  memorable  minutes,  but  I 
don't  remember  so  much  being  crammed  into 
one  of  them  as  into  that  one  which  flashed 
back  through  our  minds  when  Sandy  said, 
"  You  remember  Dago  ?  "  Yes,  I  remember 
the  city  of  Grafton, 
which  now  revels  in 
a  bishop,  a  cathe- 
dral, and  other 
appliances  of  civiliza- 
tion, when  it  was 
only  a  straggling 
bush  settlement 
consisting  of  one 
a  ceo  mm  oda  t  io  n 
house,  perhaps  a 
dozen  weatherboard 
shanties,  a  forge,  and 
a  few  tents  dotted 
about  at  irregular 
distances  from  one 
another  on  either 
side  of  one  long, 
straight,  grass-grown 
street. 

But  Grafton  was 
looked  upon  even  in 
those  days  as  quite 
a  "  place  "  —  for  it 
boasted  an  annual 
race-meeting,  and  a 
wharf  on  the  river 
bank  where  once  a 
fortnight  the  steamer 
from  Sydney  used 
to  call  —  an  occur- 
rence of  the  greatest 
importance  to  the 
gathered  regularly 
witness  it. 

Grafton  was  the  receiving  place  on  the 
Clarence  River  for  produce  coming  off  the 
stations  to  the  north  ;  and  it  suddenly  sprang 
into  importance  through  being  the  nearest  point 


^  H\VN\' - 


MR.    KYRLE   BELLEW   ON    HIS   WAY  TO   THE   DIGGINGS. 

entire     population,     who 
at      the      waterside      to 


of  debarkation  for  the  new  gold  rush  that  broke 
out  at  Solferino — a  point  in  the  Yugilbar  ranges, 
seventy-five  miles  away. 

It  was  on  a  scorching  hot  day  in  the  seventies 
that  I  and  my  mate,  a  young  Scotchman  who 
had  passed  for  the  Army,  and  who  while  wait- 
ing for  his  commission  had  come  out  to 
Australia  in  the  same  ship  with  myself,  first  set 
eyes  on  the  place. 

We  landed,  and  the  same  e\ening  left  for  the 
diggings  by  the  one  long  straggling  street  which 
gradually  dwindled  away  into  a  track,  and  soon 
lost  itself  in  the  depths  of  the  primeval  bush. 

We  steered  northward  by  the  compass. 
Besides  ourselves  there  were  our  dog,  a  shambl- 
ing, long-legged  yellow  kangaroo  hound,  we 
called  "Jack,"  and  one  pack-horse— a  raw- 
boned  Waler — christened  "  Rosinante." 

Somehow  or  other  we  soon  lost  the  blaze-tree- 
line — the  only  indication  of  a  way  to  the  gold- 
fields  ;  but  after 
many  hardships  and 
mishaps  we  re- 
covered the  track, 
made  Solferino  at 
last,  pitched  camp, 
and  then  settled 
down  to  the  life  of 
the  diggings  among 
some  hundreds  of 
others  attracted 
there  by  the  more 
or  less  exaggerated 
rey^orts  of  the  rich 
"finds"  on  the  reefs. 
I  still  possess  my 
miner's  right,  which 
I  treasure  as  a  relic 
of  past  days.  It  is 
reproduced  on  the 
following  page. 
There  was  little  or 
no  alluvial  gold  at 
Solferino,  however, 
the  work  being 
nearly  all  reefing  ; 
and  we  at  once 
started  out  to  pro- 
spect, soon  stum- 
bling on  a  blow-up 
of  gold  -  bearing 
quartz,  and  follow- 
ing it  down  to  a  reef  which  we  duly  registered 
as  the  "  Don  Juan."  There  were  six  of  us  in 
it  :  my  mate,  the  Army  officer ;  Sam  Devere, 
an  Irishman  and  a  barrister;  Abbott,  a  smart 
young  fellow  who  had  been  in  the  police  ; 
Harry  Allen,  a  Royal  Academy  of  Music 
man    from    London    who    played    divinely   on 


72 


THE   WIDE   AVORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Mr.  Kyrle  Bellew  writes:  '■  This  is  my  'humpy  '  on  the  Solferiiio  diggings.  The  barrel  with  the  net  over  it  was  my  meat  safe.  It  kept 
off  the  flies  and  wild  dogs.  The  apparatus  on  top  of  it  was  a  wind  tell-tale.  The  hut  was  built  by  myself  of  bark  stripped  from  the  red  gum 
trees.  The  big  tree  shows  how  we  used  to  strip  it.  The  group  is  examining  a  '  prospect'  of  gold,  washed  in  the  tin  dish,  or  'pan.'  The 
man  with  the  spade  next  to  me  was  Jack  Abbott,  the  representative  of  law  and  order  on  the  diggings  in  the  shape  of  the  mounted  police.  I 
was  a  sailor  in  those  days,  and,  as  you  see,  called  my  humpy  the  '  Main  Top.'  " 

From  a  Photo,  hy  Limit,  Melbourne. 


the    fiddle    and    the    concertina ;    "  Dago,"    a 
Spaniard  ;  and  myself. 

\\'e  picked  up  "  Dago  " — as  we  called  him — 
not  because  we  cared  about  him,  but  because 
we  wanted  an  extra  man  to  make  up  the  six 
necessary  to  enable  us  to  apply  for  a  twelve-acre 
claim  along  the  line  of  our  reef;  and  Dago  was 
loafing  around  doing  nothing.  That's  how  we 
roped  him  in.  He  was  rather  a  sullen  chap — 
dark,   handsome. 


Yugilbar  creek,  where  he  had  put  up  a  log 
humpy,  thatched  with  sheets  of  stringy  bark.  I 
strolled  down  there  one  Sunday,  but  he  didn't 
make  me  welcome,  so  I  never  went  near  him 
again.  Dago,  my  mate,  and  I  worked  in  the 
same  shift— two  of  us  down  the  hole  and  one 
on  top  to  wind  up. 

Dago  and  I  had  a  difference  of  opinion  one 
night ;    about     a     girl,    of     course  !      It    was 


with  a  black 
moustache,  verv 
white  teeth,  and 
a  trick  of  show- 
ing them  when 
he  smiled,  which 
wasn't  often.  He 
talked  a  little 
English  of  a  sort, 
not  unsparsely 
sprinkled  with 
deities  and  "  big- 
big-D.'s,"  and  lie 
camped  by  him- 
self about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile 
below  the  claim, 
on  a  bend  of  the 


J>utrhl  in  ^ 
which  i)»ueJ ' 


l^jhwitu  to 


!  Parliaiiieiit,  t^^  ivioiln,  ..Vo, 


>^- 


~  JJati 


laiQHT.  2 

under  the  PSrov^iis  of  the.  Act  of 
■i,"^  \Av^  force  ti^tiiais^ty^^ber,  lS7^-_  .  ' 


Mr.  K.  Bellew  writes  : 


MR.    KYRLE    BELI.EW  S    MINERS    RIGHT. 

'  It  was  necessary  to  have  one  of  these  before  you  could  take  up  any  land  for  gold  digging." 


"  DAGO." 


73 


Christmas,  and  they  had  been  having  a  jamboree 
in  the  camp  and  some  dancing.  The  girl — 
there  were  only  two  altogether  on  the  reefs — 
gave  me  a  dance,  and  Dago  didn't  like  it.  So 
we  quarrelled,  Dago  and  I,  and  he  gave  me 
some  of  his  special  brand  of  "  English."  I 
slipped  into  him,  and  hurt  him. 
of  my  forehead  there  is  a  scar- 
now —  where    the 


In  the  middle 
-you  can  see  it 


haft  of  Dago's  knife 
caught  me  in  the 
scrimmage.  There 
were  some  words, 
but  our  mates 
separated  us,  and 
we  went  our  ways. 
But  Dago  was  never 
friends  after  that, 
and  I  hated  being 
down  the  hole  with 
him.  Weeks  went 
by,  and  I  had  for- 
gotten all  about  it. 
I  thought  Dago  had 
too — but  he  hadn't ; 
and  this  is  what 
happened. 

We  had  sunk  on 
the  reef  about 
looft.,  when  we 
came  on  water, 
which  made  so  fast 
that  we  couldn't 
work  at  the  bottom 
of  the  shaft  at  all. 
There  was  nothing 
for  it  but  to  build 
a  floor  about  30ft. 
up  from  the  bottom, 

and  work  at  that  level  until  the  shaft  below  us 
was  filled  up.  Then  we  would  all  turn  to  and 
bale  out  the  water.     So  we  got  on. 

This  floor  was  simply  made  of  young  saplings 
with  the  bark  left  on,  laid  loosely  on  a  couple  of 
cross-pieces,  one  at  each  end  of  the  shaft, 
which  measured  the  usual  6ft.  by  3ft. 

The  country  we  were  going  through  was  as 
hard  as  iron,  and  we  could  do  nothing  with  it 
with  the  gads  and  hammers,  so  started  blasting. 
It  is  necessary,  in  order  to  understand  pro[)erly 
what  follows,  for  me  to  describe  our  work  and 
the  way  we  did  it. 

At  the  top  of  the  shaft  was  a  windlass,  by 
which  one  of  us  hauled  up  iron  buckets  from 
below,  whilst  the  other  two  filled  them  with 
stone  and  mullock  as  it  was  broken  out.  The 
buckets  simply  hooked  on  to  an  iron  hook, 
which  in  turn  was  spliced  on  to  the  end  of  a 
manila  rope  working  round  the  windlass  barrel. 

Vol.  iii.— 10. 


I    SLIPPED    INTO    lll.M,    ANU    HURT    HIM. 


It  was  our  custom  when  the  bucket  was  full 
and  hooked  on  to  shake  the  rope.  Then,  who- 
ever was  at  the  windlass  immediately  wound  up, 
and  when  the  bucket  reached  the  top  emptied 
the  contents  into  a  paddock  and  then  sent  it 
down  below  again. 

In  the  shaft  we  were  obliged  to  blast,  as  I 
said  before.     This  was  done   by  drilling   holes 

\in  the  rock,  which 
were  then  loaded 
with  blasting 
powder,  the  fuse 
inserted,  and  then 
the  whole  tamped 
down  hard  and 
fired.  The  firing 
was  done  by  light- 
ing a  bit  of  candle, 
over  the  flame  of 
which  we  bent  the 
fuse.  While  the 
casing  of  the  fuse 
was  burning 
through,  whoever 
fired  the  shot  would 
have  plenty  of  time 

to    put    his   foot   in 

/  ^^^\      ■  ^^IS^  ^'^^  hook,  shake  the 

"'  rope  and  be  hoisted 

up  out  of  danger. 
Then  off  would  go 
the  blast,  and  when 
the  smoke  cleared 
away  we  went  down 
the  hole  again  and 
sent  up  the  rock 
broken  out  by  the 
shot. 

After  we  put  in 
tlie  sapling  floor  over  the  water-hole,  we  began 
to  drive  along  the  face  of  the  reef,  and  had 
worked  in  about  a  foot  when  my  gold-mining 
days  were  almost  brought  to  a  sudden  stop. 

My  mate,  the  Army  man,  had  injured  his 
hand,  and  knocked  off  work  for  a  spell  to  get 
well.  So  Dago  and  I  had  to  shift  for  ourselves. 
It  was  my  turn  down  the  hole,  and  I  had 
succeeded  after  great  labour  in  putting  in  two 
shots  about  iSin.  deep,  one  each  side  of  the 
shaft  w'here  we  were  driving.  The  labour  of 
this  was  terrific,  as,  being  single-handed,  I  had 
to  swing  my  hammer — an  8-pounder — with  one 
hand  and  turn  my  drill  with  the  other.  How- 
ever, I  got  through,  loaded  up  the  two  holes, 
bent  my  fuses  over  two  pieces  of  candle  which 
I  lit,  and  then  shook  the  rope  as  the  signal  to 
hoist  away.  Just  as  I  put  my  foot  in  the  hook, 
however,  I  noticed  one  of  the  fuses  had  buckled 
up  with  the  heat  and  turned  out  of  the  candle 


74 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


flame,  so  I  stooped  down  to  bend  it  straight 
again.  The  casing  of  the  other  fuse  blazed  away 
merrily,  and  I  knew  that  in  a  few  seconds  the 
fuse  itself  would  catch.  There  was  no  time  to 
lose.  I  turned  to  grasp  the  rope, 
but  it  was  gone  / 

Looking  up  the  shaft  I  saw  it 
disappearing  high  above  my  head. 

I    shouted    to    Dago,   but    he 
didn't  seem  to  hear  me. 

The  hiss  of  the  fuses,  whicli   I 
had    timed  for   half    a    minute, 
attracted  me — fascinated  me 
remember      looking      help- 
lessly at  them,  and  thinking 
I  could,  perhaps,  drag  them 
out. 

I  tried  ;  but,  no.  I  had 
tamped  them  in  so  tight 
that  they  wouldn't  budge. 
My  God  !  What  was  I 
to  do? 

There  were  about 
twenty  seconds 
between  me  and 
eternity  ! 

I  heard  nothing 
but  the  infernal  hiss- 
ing of  the  fuses  ; 
and  it  seemed  to  get 
louder  and  louder. 

Suddenly,  an  idea 
struck  me.  If  I 
could  climb  up  the 
shaft  I  might  get 
above  the  worst  of 
the  blast. 

I  put  my  back 
ngainst  one  face  of 
the  shaft  and  my  feet 
against  the  other  and 
tried  to  work  up  that 
way. 

It  answered  at 
first.       I    had    got  a 

few  feet  above  the  level  of  the  drive,  when 
I  slipped  and  came  down  with  a  thud  on  the 
floor  of  the  shaft. 

I  heard  the  saplings  crack,  but  the  noise  was 
almost  drowned  by  the  awful  hissing  of  the 
fuses,  i  s  I  scrambled  to  my  feet,  a  sapling 
broke  under  me  and  my  leg  went  through  the 
floor. 

With  an  inspiration,  I  thought  of  the  well 
beneath. 


I    MADE   ONE   WILD    PLUNGE   AS   THE    BLASTS 
WENT   OFF   ABOVE   ME." 


Still  that  awful  hissing  ! 

I  knev/  I  had  only  a  few  seconds  now  between 
me  and  utter  annihilation.     I  tore  away  at  the 

saplings  like  a  mad- 
man. My  God!  how 
hard  they  had  been 
jammed  down  !  I 
saw  the  water  below 
me ;  the  bright  light 
from  the  top  of  the 
shaft  was  reflected 
in  it. 

^Vas  it  my  fancy, 
or  did  I  see 
Dago's  face,  reflected 
there,  or  was  it  my 
own  ? 

The    w-ater    was 
about  ten  feet  down 
below     me.        There 
was    no    time    to 
hesitate.      The    only 
chance  of  safety  lay  that  way. 
I    made   one   wild    plunge, 
and   as    I   fell   I   heard  the 
splitting,    hurtling,  thunder- 
ing roar  of  the  blasts  as  they 
both    went    off    above    me  : 
then  I  knew  no  more. 
They  told  me  it  was  days  after- 
wards when    I  woke   up.     I  was 
lying   in  my  humpy,  conscious  of 
great    pain.       My    head    was    all 
bound     up  :     my    left     arm     was 
strapped   to  a  piece  of   wood,  and  I 
felt  awful. 

Dago's  girl  was  sitting  on  a  wood- 
heap  in  the  big  chimney  of  the 
humpy,  heating  something  over  the 
fire. 

She  came  up  presently  beside  me, 
and  saw  I  was  awake. 

Dimly  the  remembrance  of    some- 
thing happening  in  the  mine  dawned 
on  me. 
"  What  has  happened  ?  "  I  murmured,  feebly. 
She  bent  down  over  me. 
"  Hush,  you  mustn't  talk." 
"  Where's  Dago  ?  "  I  wondered.    I  must  have 
said  it  aloud,  for  she  answered — 
"  Gone  ! " 
"  Where  ?  " 
"  God  knows  !  " 

The  tears  welled  u[)  in  her  eyes. 
Then  it  all  got  dark  again. 


The  Martyrs  of  Ku=Cheng. 

By  Henry  Mostyn. 

The  touching  story  of  a  band  of  missionaries  who  were  murdered  in  the  interior  of  China,  and  the 
vengeance  that  overtook  the  murderers.     With  a  complete  set  of  photographs. 


U-CHENG,  needless  to  say,  is  in 
China  ;  and  its  vicinity  was,  on 
August  ist,  i8y5,  the  scene  of  one 
of  the  most  terrible  massacres  of  mis- 
sionaries that  have  occurred  during 
recent  years.  No  one  can  contemplate  the  set 
of  portraits  of  the  martyrs  here  [)ub- 
lished  without  a  thrill  of  compassion 
and  pity  for  that  band  of  noble 
workers,  who  were  content  to  live  in 
that  far-away  land,  notwithstanding 
the  dangers  and  difficulties  they 
encountered  daily,  culminating  in 
the  sudden  and  violent  death  of 
one  and  all. 

The  Rev.  R.  W.  and  I\rrs.  Stewart 
arrived  at  Ku-cheng  city  in  Decem- 
ber, 1893.  The  Misses  H.  E.  and 
E.  M.  Saunders  were  awaiting  them 
at  Fuh-chow.  having  come  out  from 
Australia.  Quite  a  number  of 
C.E.Z.M.S.  ladies  were  also  on  the 
spot,  so  that  the  prospects  of  the 
Ku-cheng  and  Ping-nang  Missions  looked  very 
bright.  x\nd  they  continued  so  for  some 
months,  until  trouble  threatened  from  that 
revolutionary  sect  known  as  the  Vegetarians. 
(Fancy  a  revolutionary  Vegetarian  !) 

These,  it  seems,  had  been  a  source  of  anxiety 
since  August,  1894,  when  they  made  an  organ- 
ized attack  upon  the  native  Christians  of  a 
certain  village.  A  month  or  two  later,  owing  to 
the  characteristic  weakness  of  the  Chinese 
authorities,  they  assumed  control  over  the  city, 
and  only  consented  to  spare  the  public  buildings 


KOliERTWAKK'KN  '.  IKWART ,  C.  M.S. 

From  a  Photo. 


on  their  own  terms.  More  trouble 
March,  when  the  ladies  and  children 
the  British  Consul's  advice,  sent  for 
safety  to  Fuh-chow.  In  June,  how- 
ever, it  was  considered  safe  for  them 
to  return  to  Ku-cheng,  a  walled  city, 
containing  about  60,000  inhabitants 
and  lying  about  a  hundred  miles 
N.W.  of  Fuh-chow  by  the  usual 
route  up  the  River  Min. 

The  Mission  compound  was 
situated  outside  the  city  wall  about 
half  a  mile  away  across  a  river,  and 
contained,  besides  the  missionaries' 
houses,  schools  for  boys  and  girls, 
and  also  a  foundling  home,  for  the 
Chinese  have  a  habit  of  throwing 
away  their  girl-babies.      During  the 


came 
were. 


ni 
by 


LOUISA    K.    STEWART,    C.M.S. 

From  a  Photo. 


two  hottest  months  of  the  year,  July  and  August, 
the  schools  were  usually  closed  and  the  mission- 
aries went  to  live  at  a  small  cottage  at  a  place 
called  Hwa-sang,  or  Flowery  Hill,  some  twelve 
miles  distant,  and  about  2,000ft.  above  Ku- 
cheng.  Therefore,  very  shortly  after  the  return 
of  the  ladies  and  children  to  the 
city  the  time  arrived  for  the  annual 
move  to  Hwa-sang.  Tiie  party 
assembled  there  consisted  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Stewart,  and  their  five 
children  and  a  young  nurse  named 
Helena  Yellop ;  the  two  Misses 
Saunders  ;  and  five  C.E.Z.M.S. 
ladies,  viz.,  the  Misses  Codrington, 
Gordon,  Marshall,  Hessie  New- 
combe,  and  Flora  Stewart. 

I'hat  the  Vegetarians  had  been 
threatening  the  districts  about  this 
time  is  evident  from  a  letter  of 
Miss  H.  E.  Saunders  dated  June 
6th  :  "  The  Vegetarians  have  caused 
us  a  good  bit  of  inconvenience, 
nasty  old  things.  We  had  only  been  back 
(from  Hwa-sang)  one  day,  when  a  report  of 
an  indefinite  number  of  armed  Vegetarians 
meditating  a  raid  on  Ku-cheng  reached  the 
eais  of  the  Mandarin,  who  ordered  the  city 
gates  to  be  immediately  blocked.  He  was  in 
a  terrible  fright,  poor  old  fellow  I  It  was 
quite  late  at  night  when  he  heard  this  report, 
and  the  gates  were  being  blocked  up  about 
midnight  with  the  materials  that  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Yamen  officials — namely,  coffin 
boards.  They  went  and  robbed  the  poor 
coffin-man's  shop  to  block  up  the  city  gates  1  " 
Here  is  the  personal  narrative  of  Miss  Hart- 
ford, of  the  American  Mission,  who 
had,  herself,  the  narrowest  escape 
from  death  : — 

"  On  August  1st,  at  half-jjast  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  heard 
shouts  and  screams  for  the  servants 
to  get  up,  as  the  Vegetarians  were 
coming,  and  were  tearing  down  the 
houses  on  the  hill  belonging  to  the 
English  Mission.  Soon  afterwards  I 
met  a  man  with  a  trident  s()ear. 
He  yelled  out,  '  Here  is  a  foreign 
woman,'  and  pointed  his  spear  at  my 
chest.  I  twisted  it  to  one  side.  It 
just  grazed  my  head  and  ear.  He 
then  threw  me  on  the  ground,  and 


76 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


SAUNDERS, 

From  a  Photo. 


and   told   me   to 
ladies   belonging 


beat  me  with  the  wooden  end 
of  the  spear.  I  afterwards 
jumped  down  a;i  embank- 
ment, and  ran  till  I  reached 
the  hill,  when  I  stopped  to 
recover  my  breath.  The 
yells  continued,  and  I  saw 
two  houses  being  burned  to 
the  ground. 

"  Subsequently  all  was 
quiet,  and,  supposing  that 
the  Vegetarians  had  gone,  I 
sent  a  servant  to  inquire  what 
had  happened.  He  returned 
come  home,  stating  that  five 
to  the  English  Mission  had 
been  killed  and  others  wounded,  but  that  my 
house  had  not  been  troubled.  I  went  home 
and  there  found  Miss  Codrington,  much  cut 
about  the  head  and  beaten  all  over  ;  Mildred 
Stewart,  twelve  years  of 
age,  with  her  knee  cut, 
and  bleeding  very  much; 
Herbert  Stewart,  six 
years  of  age,  with  his 
head  cut,  and  almost 
dead  ;  while  the  baby  of 
the  Stewart  family  had 
one  eye  black  and 
swollen,  and  the  second 
Stewart  girl,  Kathleen, 
eleven  years  of  age,  to- 
gether with  the  second 
boy,  Evan,  three  years 
of  age,  had  been  beaten 
and  stal)bed  with  a  spear, 
but  not  seriously  injured. 

"The  Rev.  H.  S.  Phillips,  of  the  English 
Mission,  who  lived  in  a  native  house  some 
distance  away,  escaped  injury,  only  arriving  in 
time  to  see  the  bodies  of  the  dead  and  hear  the 
Vegetarians     say,     '  We    have    killed    all     the 

foreigners.'  At  first  we 
heard  that  some  of  the 
foreigners  had  escaped 
and  were  in  hiding,  but 
Mr.  Stewart  did  not 
come,  and  we  began  to 
fear  the  worst.  Mr. 
rhillips  went  to  the  ruins 
of  the  burned  houses, 
and  there  found  eight 
l)odies,  five  of  them 
un burned  and  three  so 
terribly  scorched  as  to 
be  unrecognisable. 

"  Dr.   Gregory  arrived 

''''""' c':^.'^'^^™^''''         ''ifte'"  darkness  had  set  in, 
i-rom  a  Photo.  and  drcssed  the  wounds 


HESSIE  NEWCO.MHK,  C.E.Z.M.S. 

Prom  a  Photo. 


HAkRIKTlE    ELINOR 
SAUNDERS,    C.M.S. 

From  a  Photo. 


of  the  surviving  patients. 
Coffins  were  made,  and  in 
these  the  bodies  of  the  dead 
were  placed,  while  the  bones 
of  those  who  had  been  burned 
were  put  into  boxes.  Sub- 
sequently, another  burned 
body  was  found,  making 
nine  in  all.  The  grown-up 
people  massacred  were  Mr. 
Stewart  and  his  wife;  the 
nurse,  Lena,  who  came  from 
Ireland;  Nellie  Saunders  and 
Topsy  Saunders,  of  Austra- 
lia, who  lived  at  Mr.  Stewart's  house ;  Miss 
Hessie  Newcombe,  from  Ireland  ;  Elsie 
Marshall  and  Flora  Stewart,  from  England ; 
and  Annie  Gordon,  from  Australia.  The  four 
first  mentioned  were  burned  beyond  recognition. 
"  Topsy  Saunders  ran  out  of  the  house  and 

was  killed  outside.  Hessie 
Newcombe  was  thrown 
down  an  embankment, 
her  head  having  been 
almost  severed  from  her 
body,  while  Annie  Gor- 
don's head  was  also 
almost  severed.  When 
the  bodies  had  been 
coffined  we  left  Hwa- 
sang  for  Chiu-kow  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
on  August  2nd.  Herbert 
Stewart  died  three  hours 
later,  just  below  Coiong. 
We  carried  the  body  in 
a  chair,  and  had  a  coffin 
made  for  it  at  Chiu-kow,  which  we  reached  at 
eight  o'clock  on  the  following  morning. 

"  We    then    telegraphed    to    Fuh-chow   for   a 
steam   launch.      We    left   Chiu-kow   in    native 
boats  at   three   in   the   afternoon,  and  on   the 
following  morning  (Sun- 
day)   we    met    a    steam 
launch  conveying  soldiers 
going  towards  Chiu-kow. 
We  engaged  it  to  tow  us 
to  Fuh-chow,  and   soon 
afterwards     we     met     a 
rescue  party  in  a  launch. 
The   party   consisted   of 
the  United  States  Mar- 
shal   and    two    English 
missionaries,     and    they 
were    bringing    full    sup- 
plies for  the  sufferers. 
"  Uong,  the  Ku-cheng 

•     .     „.  ,         4.„    U       „  MARY   ANN    CHRISTINA 

magistrate,  came  to  Hwa-  oordon,  c.e.z.m.s. 

sang  on  the  afternoon  of  /,>,,,„  „  photo. 


ELSIE    MARSHALL,    C.E.Z.M.S 

From  a  Photo. 


THE    MARTYR?;    OF    KUCHENG. 


77 


.^.    t^ 


^      (* 


VIKUING    THE   SCENE   OK   THE    MASSACRE. 


Friday,  August  2nd,  with  a  hundred  soldiers. 
He  viewed  the  bodies  of  those  who  had  been 
killed,  saw  the  injured,  and  made  inquiries  as  to 
the  names  and  places  of  origin  of  the  surviving 
victims.  He  drew  up  a  report,  and  did  what  he 
could  to  help  us  to  get  off  to  Chiu-kow." 

According  to  the  statement  of  Dr.  J.  J- 
Gregory,  of  those  who  were  killed  outright  ^Ir. 
and  Mrs.  Stewart,  Miss  Nellie  Saunders,  and 
Lena,  the  faithful  nurse,  were  almost  incinerated 
in  one  of  the  burned  houses. 

A  lurid  light  is  cast  upon  Chinese  ways  when 
we  learn  that  the  very  soldiers  who  were  sent  to 
guard  the  mission  property  at  Ku-cheng  actually 
broke  open  the  house  of  the  late  Mr.  Stewart, 


forced  all  his 
trunks  and  boxes, 
and  [)lundered 
tliem  of  whatever 
valuables  they 
contained. 

As  will  be  seen, 
however,  from 
the  photographs 
reproduced  in 
this  article, 
speedy  vengeance 
overtook  the  mur- 
derous  Vege- 
tarians. The 
place  of  the 
massacre  was 
promptly  visited 
by  responsible 
persons,  and  the 
remains  of  the 
massacred 
brought  to  the 
coast  for  inter- 
ment. Steps  were  taken  to  appoint  a  Commis- 
sion to  investigate  the  affair  and  examine  the 
persons  charged  with  taking  part  in  the  crimes. 
On  Friday  evening,  August  1 6th,  the  party  (includ- 
ing the  British  and  American  Consuls)  arrived 
at  Ku-cheng.  It  was  proposed  to  institute  a 
joint  investigation,  the  foreign  Commissioners 
sitting  with  the  Chinese  officials.  The  Prefect, 
however,  objected,  and  it  was  useless  to  argue 
with  him.  By  the  way,  in  the  course  of  one  of 
the  interviews  a  Mandarin  inquired  how  many 
lives  were  wanted  by  way  of  compensation  ! 
Human  lives  are  always  "  on  tap  "  in  China,  and 
even  a  condemned  felon  can  buy  a  substitute. 
The  formal  investigation  began  on  August  21st. 


From  a  J 


THE  COMMISSION-  OF   INQUIRY   ARRIVES   AT   KU-CHENG. 


[Photo. 


78 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


I' I  0111  (I 


rs 


^ 


The   prisoners   were   led    in    one    by  one  and 

placed  in  the  centre  of  the  court.     The  Consuls, 

the  American  interpreter,  and  Dr.  J.  J.  Gregory 

sat  on  one  side,  whilst  Mr.  Allen,  Mr.  Banister, 

and    Lieutenant    Evans,    U.S.N.,    sat    on    the 

other.     The  Prefect  and  the  Chinese  interpreter 

sat  at  the  end  of  the 

room,  and  the  Citv 

Deputy  -  Magistrati.'s 

just    in   front,   close 

to  the  dock.     In  ten 

days  thirty  prisoners 

were  examined  inthe 

magistrates'  Yamen. 

Among    the     thirty 

were    some    ten    or 

fifteen  of  the  actual 

murderers. 

The  Vegetarians 
seem  to  have 
acquired  power  and 
i  n  f  I  u  e  n  c  e  v  e  r  y 
rapidly.  About  two 
weeks  before  the 
foul  crime  was 
committed,  there 
appeared  among  the 
Vegetarians  a  for- 
tune -  teller  named 
Tang  -  Hwai,  other- 
w  i  s  e    known    a  s 


seen  in  the  accomj^anying  group  of  ptisoners,  he 
being  the  second  from  the  left.  They  are  cer- 
tainly a  pretty  villainous  quartet.  Tang  gained 
an  immense  influence  over  his  fellows,  and  the 
general  testimony  of  the  prisoners  was  that  he 
persuaded  them  that  the  only  way  out  of  their 


^S^^ 


1 


Long 


1'an 


finger-nails.' 


g  s     purtrait 


IS 


(lUE  si-a: 


J' loin  a\ 


WllU    CALStU    I  HE    AlASSACKE. 


]  A.\G-HU  Al. 

[r/ioio. 


THE  MARTYRS  OF  RU-CHENCi. 


79 


h'ront  a\ 


I:iE    CJ-'.Lil  MM;I>    \  1:1,1:  I  AIMANS     IN    CAi;i:>    WAITING 


difficulties  was  to  do  some  deed  of  violence  and 
resist  the  soldiers  and  magistrates.  They  then 
cast  lots  as  to  which  of  three  plans  they  should 
adopt.  The  first  of  these  was  to  attack  the 
city  ;  secondly,  to  attack  a  rich  man's  house  at 
Tang  Teuk  ;  and  the  third,  to  go  to  Hwa-sang 
to  wipe  out  the  "  foreign  devil "  prevailing 
there. 

Strangely  enough,  three  nights  in  succes- 
sion the  lot  fell  upon  Hwa-sang  and  its 
missionaries.  This  was  kept  very  secret, 
and  the  murderous  attack  began  on  the 
night  of  July  31st.  About  2S0  men  started, 
but  some  deserted  on  the  way,  and  only 
about  120  reached  the  mountains  and 
actually  took  part  in  the  terrible  work.  A 
band  of  thirty  or  forty  attacked  and  did  the 
killing,  whilst  the  rest  took  part  in  the  plun- 
derinu  and  firing  of  the  houses.  The  death 
warrants  were  signed  by  the  Consuls  and 
Prefect,  and  very  soon  the  first  instalment 
of  victims  was  ready. 

It  was  stated  in  private  letters  from 
missionaries  that  after  the  massacre  the 
murderers  returned  to  Ku-cheng,  threw  off 
all  disguise  and  pretence  of  belonging  to 
the  Vegetarian  sect,  and  partook  of  a  gor- 
geous feast  of  pork  and  chicken.  Then  they 
took  a  new  name  as  a  rebel  society. 

It  was  rumoured  that  there  was  some 
hitch  in  the  Commission  of  Inquiry,  and 
that  the  British  Minister  at  Pekin,  Sir 
Nicholas  O'Conor,  was  to  be  appealed  to, 
but  according  to  a  telegram  from  Hong- 
Kong,  dated  October  15th,  it  was  announced 
that  eighteen  of  the  prisoners  who  had 
been  convicted  were  about  to  be  executed. 

Our  next  photographs  show  the  dramatic 


vriioto. 


closing  scenes  of  the  massacre  of  Ku-cheng. 
In  the  accompanying  illustration  we  see  a 
number  of  cages,  each  provided  with  a  pole  so 
that  it  could  be  carried  by  two  men.  Curled 
up  in  each  cage  is  one  of  the  unhappy  wretches 
who  is  about  to  be  beheaded. 


THE   TWu   i.XECUT10:»i.Ki   AND   THEIR    KtSftC  1  r.  1-,    utAn 

From  a  Photo. 


8o 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


liJ-.^  m 


]''rotn  a\ 

Next  we  have  a 
photograpli  of  the  two 
executioners.  Each 
man  seems  to  have  a 
fancy  for  a  different 
kind  of  \vea{)on,  for 
whilst  the  mild-looking 
youth  on  the  left  prefers 
a  long,  thin  sword  for 
slicing  off  the  victims' 
heads,  his  sinister-look- 
ing colleague  prefers  a 
heavy  "  cleaver."  The 
photograph  showing 
the  last  moments  of  a 
row  of  the  murderers 
(they  were  worked  off 
in  batches)  is  extremely 
striking.  It  is  an  im- 
pressive thought  that 
the  moment  the  photo- 
grapher had  done  his 
work  the  executioner 
began  his,  starting  at 
one  end  of  the  line, 
and  slicing  off  the 
heads  as  he  goes.  You 
will  observe  that  the 
victims  are  in  a  kneel- 
ing posture,  with  their 
hands  tied  behind  their 
backs.  There  are 
guards  standing  on  the 
right,  and  a  consider- 
able crowd  at  a  respect- 


.v^ 


T.jissidi*xtr  ■  vimm, 


Jf 


TIIK  lltsAUS  IN  BASKETS  IIUNli  OX  A  T  REE  AS  A  WARNIM 
J'/Olll  a  Photo. 


ii;  1)  ]  in-.i;s. 


ful  distance  in  the 
background. 

Last  of  all  comes 
what  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  impressive  photo- 
graph of  all,  and  one 
showing  that  the  Chi- 
nese never  miss  an 
opportunity  of  convey- 
ing an  object-lesson. 
The  curious  -  looking 
little  canisters  sus- 
pended on  the  trunk 
of  a  tree  each  contain 
one  of  the  heads  of  the 
executed  Vegetarians  ; 
and,  needless  to  remark, 
the  exhibition  of  the 
heads  in  this  way  is 
meant  to  be  a  "  horrible 
example  "  to  potential 
evil-doers. 

AVe  desire  to  acknow- 
ledge our  indebtedness 
for  the  foregoing  notes 
to  that  great  and  truly 
world-wide  institution, 
the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  which  suffered 
great  loss  in  the  Ku- 
cheng  affairs,  and  whose 
able  management  is 
only  excelled  by  the 
magnitudeof  itsGospel- 
spreading  operations. 


Short   Stones. 


1. — A    Slip    on   Snow. 

15  V    F.    B.    OLDFIEt.l). 

Returning  from  a   specially  advantageous  point  of  view  which  he  had  successfully  reached,  the  author 
slipped    on    a  wall  of  snow,  and  went  hurtling   down  towards   the  jagged    rocks    and    the  lake  below. 

His  sensations  and  wonderful  escape  described  by  himself. 


()  those  w  h  o 
know  the  coun- 
try, it  is  unneces- 
sary and  even 
presumptuous 
to  attempt  a  description  of 
the  unique  beauty  of  Nor- 
way—  of  her  rugged,  precipi- 
tous rocks  rising  several 
hundreds  of  feet  above  the 
woods  of  sweet-scented  pine 
in  which  their  base  is  clad  ; 
or  of  the  waters  of  her 
famous  fjords,  deep  beyond 
knowledge,  and  bearing  on 
their  face  the  reflection  of 
the  grandeur  around  them. 
But  the  mere  recollection 
of  the  Eikisdal  Valley  com- 
pels a  brief  description  of 
its  glories,  of  its  winding 
lake,  and  ever  -  changinii 
scenery. 

A  day's  journey  from 
Molde,  six  hours  in  a 
steamer,  and  then  a  five-mile  drive  in  a  stolk- 
JDerre,  the  "  dog-cart "  of  the  country,  bring  us 
to  the  northern  end  of  the  Eikisdal  Lake, 
where,  from  a  steamer  of  Liliputian  proportions, 
which  has  never  yet  and  is  never  likely  to  pay 
a  dividend,  the  real  beauty  of  the  valley  is 
unfolded  before  our  view.  Throughout  the 
twelve-mile  length 
of  the  lake  there 
is  a  constant  suc- 
cession of  gor- 
geous scenes,  each 
of  which  would 
compel  the  admi- 
ration even  of 
those  who  are  least 
susceptible  to 
Nature's  charms. 
In  some  places 
rocky  crags  rising 
2,oooft.  or  3,oooft. 
sheer  out  of  the 
lake  ;  in  others  a 
more  gradual 
ascent,  with  the 
little  saeters,  or 
farms,  nestling  on 

Vol.  iii.— 11. 


MR.    F.    B.    OI.DFIEI.D. 

Fro}>i  a  Photo,  by  Russell  <5r=  Sons. 


VIF.W    ON    THE   EIKISDAL    LAKE,    INTO    WHICH    THE   AUTHOR    FELL. 

From  a  Photo. 


the  shore  amidst  the  pine- 
woods  ;  then  the  lofty  cliffs, 
and  yet  above  them  a  snowy 
peak  with  perhaps  a  wreath 
of  cloud  to  enhance  its 
beauty.  And  yet,  again,  a 
deep  ravine  extending  far 
from  the  shore  of  the  lake, 
and  from  the  crest  of  the 
cliff  behind  it  a  waterfall, 
jKjuring  its  unceasing  mass 
of  water  in  one  tremendous 
volume  a  distance  of  several 
hundred  feet  unbroken  and 
unimpeded. 

A  fall  with  a  peculiar 
charm  is  this  Mahdal  Foss, 
as  it  is  named,  for  not 
only  does  it  descend  many 
hundred  feet  in  mid  -  air 
without  touching  the  cliff, 
but  also  from  the  glacial 
caldron  into  which  it  pours 
it  branches  right  and  left, 
and  its  two  streams,  joining 
each  other  once  again  some  500ft.  below,  thence 
dash  downwards  in  another  immense  uninter- 
rupted drop,  until  they  lose  themselves  in  spray 
amongst  the  rocks  and  pine-woods  beneath 
them.  But  beautiful  as  the  Foss  is  from  below, 
from  above  it  is  even  more  magnificent,  so 
one  day  we   decided   to  climb  the  mountains 

and  view  it  from 
the  point  where, 
some  3,ocoft.  in 
height,  it  bursts 
from  the  lake 
which  feeds  it  and 
roars  in  torrents 
over  the  cliff. 

It  seldom  hap- 
pens in  this  j)art 
of  Norway  that 
snow  lies  on  the 
lower  slopes  of  the 
mountains  after 
summer  has  well 
set  in,  but  owing 
to  the  weather 
having  been  extra- 
ordinarily cold  last 
year  in   May  and 


82 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


J'roiii  rt) 


VIEW   IN    THE   EIKISDAL   VALLEY. 


June,  it  had  not  melted  in  many  places, 
and  bade  fair  to  remain  there  till  the  follow- 
ing spring.  This  we  found  when,  after  a 
two-hours'  climb,  we  had  attained  the  level 
of  the  Mahdal  Foss  Lake.  To  reach  the 
outlet  of  the  Foss  at  the  north-eastern  end 
of  the  lake,  we  had  to  make  a  detour  to  the 
left  around  its  south-western  side.  Here  we 
found  the  winter's  snow,  protected  as  it  was 
from  the  midday  rays  of  the  sun,  not  only 
unmelted,  but  frozen  hard,  and  sloping  at  an 
angle  considerably  steeper  than  the  roof  of  a 
house,  and  in  parts  not  very  many  degrees  out 
of  the  perpendicular,  down  to  the  lake,  around 
which  was  a  broad  fringe  of  rocks  and  boulders 
rising  well  above  the  level  of  the  snow.  With 
ordinary  wooden  sticks,  somewhat  longer  than 
walking-sticks,  we  had  to  climb  across  the  snow- 
slope  round  the  lake,  and  step  by  step,  taking 
a  line  some  6oft.  above  its  base,  we  cautiously 
made  our  way,  planting  each  foot  firmly 
before  moving  the  other,  as  a  fall  of  that  dis- 
tance on  to  the  rocks  beneath  appeared  almost 
certain  death,  so  large  were  they  and  so  closely 
ranged  together. 

We  reached  the  other  side  without  mishap, 
and  were  well  rewarded  for  our  trouble,  for  a 
few  yards  more  brought  us  to  the  top  of  the 
Foss,  which  rushed  from  the  lake  over  the  cliff 
with  a  roar  like  thunder.  Crawling  round  its 
edge  under  a  half-melted  wall  of  snow  which 
extended  to  within  about  a  foot  of  the  brink  of 
the  precipice,  we  were  able  to  look  over  and  see 
the  enormous  mass  of  water  descending  its 
700ft.  into  the  caldron  of  ice  which  it  had 
hollowed  for  itself  out  of  the  glacier,  and  there 
surrounded  as  with  a  halo  by  clouds  of  spray. 

Deafened  by  its  roar,  and  intoxicated  by  its 
grandeur,  back  we  crawled  round  the  edge  of 
the  cliff,  and  once  more  essayed  our  climb 
across  the  snow-slope. 


Perhaps  it  was  carelessness,  perhaps 
it  was  that  my  thoughts  were  still 
with  the  INIahdal  Foss ;  but  almost  at 
the  steepest  part  my  right  foot  slipped 
before  I  had  my  left  firmly  planted  in 
the  frozen  snow.  A  desperate  effort 
to  recover  myself,  a  frantic  attempt  to 
dig  my  stick  into  the  snow,  a  wild 
clutch  at  its  ice-hard  surface,  which 
seemed  to  elude  my  grasp  as  I  touched 
it,  and  down  I  went  —  down,  down, 
down.  The  greater  efforts  I  made  to 
stop  myself  the  faster  I  seemed  to  go, 
though  I  tried  to  dig  in  my  heels  and 
scored  the  snow  with  my  hands  ;  so 
with  ever-increasing  speed,  turning  over 


[Pkoto.         ^nd    over,    without   a    cry,    without    a 


sound  but  the  swish  of  my  body  over 
the  snow,  I  rushed  helplessly  at  a  terrific  pace 
towards  the  rocks  beneath. 

And  yet  I  felt  no  fear;  there  was  nothing 
present  to  my  mind  but  a  feeling  of  wonder- 
ment, of  curiosity,  as  to  what  the  rocks  would 
feel  like.  I  did  not  even  contemplate  the 
possibility  of  being  killed — no  such  thought 
entered  my  mind.  The  sensation  of  that  down- 
ward rush  was  exciting,  even  exhilarating,  but 
in  no  way  terrifying. 

And  so  I  rushed  on  unconscious  of  danger, 
for  ages  it  seemed  to  me,  towards  the  jagged 
rocks  and  the  icy-cold  lake  beyond  them.  Then 
suddenly,  abruptly  as  it  seemed  to  my  wandering 
mind,  my  back  touched  something  hard,  very 
hard,  and  I  felt  myself  lifted  upwards  and 
hurled  through  space  into  the  lake. 

I  must  have  struck  the  water  at  a  tremendous 
pace,  for  when  I  came  to  the  surface  I  found 
myself  well  out  of  my  depth  and  several  yards 
from  the  shore.  It  was  at  this  moment  that  my 
friend  who  was  climbing  the  snow-slope  some 
way  in  front  of  me  first  knew  that  anything  was 
wrong,  for  the  swish  of  my  body  as  I  went  down 
the  snow  was  the  first  sound  that  reached  him. 
By  the  time  he  was  able  to  turn  round,  I  was  in 
the  water,  and  his  first  impression  of  my  accident 
was  my  head  apj)earing  at  the  surface  of  the 
lake — for  all  the  world,  as  he  .said  afterwards, 
like  a  big  fish  in  his  rise ;  and  then,  after  a 
moment  of  suspense,  he  saw  me  to  his 
immense  relief  strike  out  and  swim  towards 
the  shore. 

It  seems  incredible  to  me  now  that  I  realize 
the  great  distance  I  fell,  and  the  many  rocks, 
and  big  ones  too,  around  the  edge  of  the  lake, 
that  I  should  have  escaped  with  nothing  worse 
than  a  bad  bruise  ;  and  yet  that  is  the  fact — no 
bones  broken,  my  head  untouched,  and  only  a 
bruise,  certainly  a  large  one,  but  still  nothing 
more,  on  my  thigh.     It  was,  I  think,  the  provi- 


SHORT    STORIES. 


83 


h)  L'tu  a\ 


S.tTEK       OR   FARM   ON    THE    KIKISUAL    LAKE. 


[Photo. 


dential  fact  of  the  rock  I  struck  being  a  small 

one  (for,  of  course,  had  it  been  a  large  one  I 

should  have  been  killed  instantly),  coupled  with 

the    terrific     pace 

at    which    I     was 

travelling,    that 

saved     me,      for, 

being    a    light 

weight,   the   small 

rock  lifted  me  up, 

and     the     great 

momentum  I  had 

attained  flung  me 

clear  of  the  others 

between  it  and  the 

lake. 

A  few  strokes 
brought  me  to  tlie 
shore  ;  mechani- 
cally I  missed  my 
hat  from  my  head,         j.,om  a\ 


IHK  AUTHOR  ANO  A  NORWEGIA.V  KARMEK. 


and  fished  it  out  of  the  lake 
with  my  stick,  which  I  seemed 
to  find  in  my  hand  ;  and  then 
suddenly,  as  I  stood  there  look- 
ing at  the  wall  of  snow  and  the 
rocks,  came  the  reaction.  Thank- 
fulness at  my  escape,  horror  at 
the  danger  past ;  thoughts  of 
the  only  two  real  possibilities, 
crowded  hurriedly  in  blurred, 
uncertain  succession  upon  my 
mind,  as  I  stood  up  to  my  waist 
in  water,  shivering,  nerveless, 
entirely  unmanned.  The  snow- 
slope  above  me  seemed  an  un- 
scalable wall  of  whiteness, 
and,  shaken  as  I  was,  climb- 
ing it  was  out  of  the  question  ; 
so  round  the  edge  of  the  lake, 
which  now  felt  colder  at  every 
step,  I  made  my  way,  shivering. 
Fortunately,  it  was  only  about 
a  hundred  yards  to  the  end  of 
the  snow,  where,  after  climbing  over  some  rocks, 
I  reached  my  friend,  and  together  we  started 
back.   It  took  us  over  three  hours  to  get  home,  as 

my  right  leg  was 
badly  bruised  and 
dragged  painfully 
at  every  step, 
especially  when 
descending  the 
hill.  But  at  last 
we  reached  the 
valley  and  the 
farmhouse  in 
which  we  were 
staying,  where, 
after  a  few  days' 
stiffness,  a  fast-dis- 
appearing bruise 
was  the  only  sou- 
venir of  my  in- 
[I'lioto.         voluntary  slide. 


II. — My  First  Leopard. 

By  Walter  H.  Bone. 
The  well-known   Sydney  traveller  relates  one  of  his  most  exciting  experiences  in  Central  Africa. 


Any  man  who  takes  weapons  in  his  hands 
and  sets  forth  in  search  of  excitement  amongst 
wild  beasts  and  savage  men  generally  finds  it. 
As  a  rule  it  is  really  enjoyable,  but  occasionally 
the  luxury  is  a  trifle  too  strong  to  be  whole- 
some when  taken  neat,  and  of  all  the  countries 
I  have  visited  I  fancy  Central  Africa  can  supply 
the  greatest  variety  of  that  kind  of  entertainment. 

As  usual,  the  first  e.xperience  one  has  of  that 


description  is  the  most  indelibly  impressed  upon 
the  mind,  to  say  nothing  of  the  diary,  and 
perhaps  the  genuine  scare  I  received  from  a 
leopard  when  almost  a  novice  among  dangerous 
beasts  may  serve  as  an  illustration.  It  hai)pened 
while  I  was  in  charge  of  a  station  called  Jomvu, 
a  day's  march  inland  from  Mombassa,  East 
Central  Africa. 

At  the  time  of  my  advent  the  station  was  the 


84 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


happy  hunting-ground  of 
a  number  of  leopards  ; 
people,  particularly  the 
younger  members  of  the 
community,  disappeared 
with  alarming  frequency, 
and  any  night  leopards 
could  be  heard  grunting 
among  the  huts.  Here  I 
may  mention  that  leopards 
and  tigers  do  not  roar  and 
moan  like  lions,  the  note 
being  a  guttural,  throaty 
grunt,  unless  wounded, 
when  they  both  roar  and 
scream  —  particularly 
scream.  I  had  been  ke[)t 
awake  several  nights  by  the 
brutes  patrolling  out  of 
shot  beneath  my  wmdow, 
and  had  actually  fired  at 
a  yellow  face  that  peeped 
between  the  bars  as  I  sat 
over  my  book  at  the  table, 
ill  with  fever.  Adjacent  to  my  station  was  a 
Suahiii  town  of  the  same  name,  presided  over 
by  a  chief  named  Mwynyi  Avi ;  this  man,  at 
the  time  I  took  charge,  was  very  ill  mdeed,  and 
finding  the  7uaganga  (medicine  men)  of  his 
tribe  did  him  no  good,  he  applied  to  me.  I  cured 
him  in  a  few  days,  and  he,  as  usual,  accepted 
my  good  offices  without  a  word  of  acknowledg- 
ment. 

A  fortnight  later  a  favourite  son  of  his,  a  boy 
about  twelve  years  of  age,  was  killed  and  eaten 
by  a  leopard,  and  the  chief  came  up  to  the 
station  and  asked  me  to  shoot  the  animal.  I 
consented,  and  walked 
down  with  him  to  "  spy 
out  the  land  "  and  make 
arrangements  for  the 
shooting. 

It  appeared  from  his 
explanation  that  during 
the  previous  afternoon 
the  lad  had  been  play- 
ing with  some  other 
children  about  the  edge  , 
of  the  jungle  which  ran  % 
up  to  the  back  of  the 
huts,  and  had  taken  off 
or  dropped  a  silver 
bangle  from  his  arm. 
Soon  after  sunset,  at 
which  time  all  doors  are 
barred  against  the  entry 
of  wild  beasts,  he  recol- 
lected the  article,  and, 
as    there   was    a 


1 

1 

9  "^  p 

\ 

)0 

1^1 -» 

j^B^ 

MK.    WALTER    H.     HONE. 

Front  a  Phcto.  by  Freiinan  &r=  Co.,  Sydney,  N.S.  //'. 


\^ 


bright 


THERE   WAS   A   SNARLING    ROAR  AND   A   MUFFLED   SHRIEK. 


young  moon,  the  chief 
allowed  him  to  go  out  to 
fetch  the  ornament. 

He  stepped  outside.  A 
few  seconds  later  there 
was  a  snarling  roar  and 
a  muffled  shriek,  and  when 
the  men,  snatching  up  their 
weapons,  rushed  out,  the 
child  had  been  carried  off. 
Nothing  could  be  done 
that  night,  so  the  father 
waited  for  daylight,  and 
then  sought  the  avenging 
aid  of  the  white  man's  rifle. 
My  companion  led  me 
down  to  the  place  where 
the  tragedy  had  been  en- 
acted. Immediately  behind 
the  hut,  which  was  built 
of  wattled  poles,  plastered 
with  red  clay,  and  roofed 
with  palm -leaf  thatch 
(makuti),  a  fine  tree  had 
grown  up  on  the  edge  of  the  jungle,  and 
huge  thick  masses  of  climbing  plants  after- 
wards growing  up  and  around  it  had  choked 
and  killed  it,  and  then,  the  branches  decaying 
off,  had  left  the  interior  of  the  foliage  in  the 
form  of  a  perfect  arbour, 

Pushing  through  the  back  of  the  arbour,  we 
took  up  the  broad  spoor  left  by  the  animal  in 
its  retreat.  For  a  time  we  had  nothing  to  do 
but  follow  the  route  marked  by  gouts  of  blood 
splashed  profusely  against  the  tree-stems  and 
bushes  as  the  brute  forced  its  way  through  ; 
then  we  crossed  the  bed  of  a  dry  creek,  where 

a  dragging  heel  had  left 

a  furrow  in  the  soft  sand  ; 

then  up  a  rocky  incline 

to    a     patch    of    grass 

jungle   on    the   edge  of 

the  forest,  and  here  we 

suddenly    stumbled    on 

what  was  left  of  the  boy. 

Now  for  my  share  of 

the  performance.   It  was 

evident  that  to  look  for 

the  leopard  by  daylight 

would  be  labour  thrown 

away  ;  the  most  certain 

way  to  get  within  range 

^        of  the  animal  would  be 

\^i^     to  wait  for  it  on  the  spot, 

^'«"^^^and  my  idea  was  to  have 

^^'//r^  ^  few  short  poles  fixed 

'     in  a  fork  of  a  tree.     It 


would   be    somewhat 
dangerous,  of  course,  as 


SHORT    STORIES. 


SS 


the  moon  would  set  an  hour  or  two  after 
sundown,  and  even  with  a  bright  moon  it 
would  be  pitch  dark  amongst  the  trees,  so  that 
in  all  probability  the  brute  would  be  upon  me 
before  I  could  see  it.  However,  I  decided  to 
take  the  risk,  and  turning  to  the  bereaved  parent 
(who  owned  numerous  slaves)  explained  my 
plan,  and  desired  him  to  have  the  seat  fixed  up 
for  mc. 


depicted    in    every 
me,  and   in  accents 


Poor  fellow,  grief  was 
feature  as  he  turned  to 
which  showed  how  his 
heart-chords  were  wrung, 
remarked:  "Ndio, 
Bwana  ;  Nipe  Reali  Wa 
Nusu  !  "  (Jay  zvell, 
Bivana  ;  t/iat  will  cost 
you  a  dollar  and  a  half.) 

Experience  makes  you 
philosophical,  so  I  just 
swore  at  him  and  left, 
intending  to  defer  my 
leopard  shooting  indefi- 
nitely ;  but  a  week  later 
my  determination  to  try 
and  clear  the  village  of 
leopards  was  revived  by 
an  incident  that  caused 
some  amusement  in  the 
village,  though  the  tragic 
element  at  first  pre- 
dominated. 

For  various  sufificient 
reasons  a  rule  obtained 
at  the  station  that  at 
y  p.m.  the  people  must 
be  indoors,  the  villagers 
amusing  themselves  until  that  hour 
fires  lighted  in  the  broad  streets 
between  the  rows  of  huts.  But  this  rule  was 
more  honoured  in  the  breach  than  in  the 
observance  whenever  it  was  known  that  the 
Bwana  was  safely  inside  his  hut  and  the  light  out. 
On  this  particular  evening  I  had  gone  to  bed 
early,  and  about  midnight  was  roused  by  a 
succession  of  piercing  screams.  Springing  out 
of  bed  I  seized  my  rifle,  and  was  rushing  off 
down  the  moonlit  village  when  the  cries  were 
drowned  by  prolonged  shouts  of  laughter,  and  I 
returned  to  bed  vowing  to  make  somebody  "  sit 
up  "  in  the  morning  for  this  flagrant  infraction 
of  the  rules.  At  daylight,  however,  the  matter 
was  explained. 

It  seems  that,  knowing  from  my  "  boys  "  that 
I  had  retired,  the  villagers  continued  their  open- 
air  conversazione  until  they  were  suddenly 
brought  to  a  sense  of  duty  by  the  grunting  of  a 
leopard.  Instantly  a  rush  was  made  for  the 
huts,  and  all  got  safely  inside  with  the  exception 


WHIPPED   OFF    Hi;U    WAIST-CLDTH    ANO    HEAT  THE    lEOPAKD. 


around 


of  one  lad,  son  of  a  Mnyika,  named  Kupata, 
whose  parents  slammed  and  barred  the  flimsy 
door  in  his  face,  under  the  impression  that  he 
w\is  already  within,  and  before  they  realized 
what  had  happened  the  boy  was  seized  by  the 
mate  of  the  leopard  which  had  scattered  them. 
Hearing  the  shrieks,  a  woman  dashed  out  of  a 
hut  opposite,  and  seeing  the  boy  being  carried 
off,  whi})ped  off  her  waist-cloth  and  beat  the 
leopard  about  the  face  until,  confused  by  the 
thrashing  of  the  cloth   in  his   eyes,   he  actually 

dropped  his  prey  and 
retreated.  I  rewarded 
the  heroic  woman  and 
doctored  the  boy,  who 
had  been  seized  by  the 
shoulder  close  to  the 
neck  ;  he  had  several 
ghastly  wounds  inflicted 
by  the  leojjard's  claws 
along  his  back  and  ribs, 
and  the  flesh  of  his  right 
leg  from  thigh  to  ankle 
was  fearfully  lacerated  ; 
but  thanks  to  sim])le 
treatment —  carbolic 
acid,  I  to  40  of  water — 
he  completely  recovered. 
I  sent  down  to  the 
Suahili  village  and  pur- 
chased a  goat,  "  Mtu- 
Mbusi" — a  "man-goat" 
my  boy  called  him,  an 
animal  whose  aroma  was 
powerful  enough  to  at- 
tract —  or  repel  —  any- 
thing within  a  range  of 
Selecting  a  young  tree 
the  village,  just  on  the 
edge  of  a  jungly  ravine,  I  had  a  small  stage 
erected  upon  it  about  8ft.  from  the  ground, 
not  too  high,  yet  enough  so  to  prevent  any 
animal  from  standing  up  and  clawing  me  off 
when  I  wasn't  looking.  Around  the  tree  the 
scrub  and  long  grass  had  been  cleared  for  a 
radius  of  perhaps  15ft.,  and  Billy  was  picketed 
between  the  tree  and  the  village  side  of  the 
clearing. 

At  dusk  I  went  out  and  took  my  seat  upon 
the  stage.  It  was  a  perfect  night;  the  moon, 
almost  full,  rose  in  a  cloudless  sky  as  the  sun 
disappeared,  and  when  the  sounds  died  away  in 
the  village,  the  most  absolute  silence  reigned, 
broken  only  by  the  crop-crop  of  my  odorous 
William  below,  as  he  tugged  at  the  short  herb- 
age. When  the  night  deepened,  however,  there 
arose  at  intervals  a  most  peculiar  chorus.  It 
was  preluded  by  a  faint  restless  flutter  among 
the  trees,  then  here  and  there  monkeys  began 


a    hundred    yards, 
on    the   outskirts   of 


86 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


to  chatter  and  bark,  boughs  clashed,  birds 
screamed,  hyenas  cooeeyed,  leopards  grunted, 
until  the  uproar  was  something  amazing,  then 
above  it  all  would  rise  the  thunderous  rorl  of  a 
lion's  roar,  dominating  all  other  sounds,  and 
instantly — silence,  until  the  concert  began  again. 
It  was  very  weird  to  one  sitting  alone  in  the 
midst  of  it  all. 

When  starting  out  from  my  house  I  found 
that  my  hea\  y  rifle  was  temporarily  useless,  from 
the  fact  that  it  had  been  left  with  the  breech 
open,  and  though  in  use  only  a  day  or  two 
previously,  an  industrious  hornet  had  built 
a  clay  nest  as  hard  as  stone  in  the  barrel,  and 
there  being  no  time  to  clear  it  I  had  brought  a 
light  sporting  rifle,  together  with  the  usual  "450 
revolver  and  long  hunting-knife.  The  knife  I 
drew  from  its  sheath 
and  laid  at  my  left 
hand  on  the  stage 
beside  me,  placing  the 
revolver  on  my  riglit 
(it  is  to  the  latter  I 
owe  my  life),  and  sat 
cross-legged  with  my 
rifle  lying  across  my 
knees  watching  every 
movement  of  the  goat, 
on  whose  actions  I 
principally  relied  to 
indicate  from  which 
direction  danger  was 
to  be  ai)prehended. 
In  this  way  the  night 
wore  on  ;  occasionally 
Billy  would  cease  feed- 
ing and  stare  intently 
into  the  jungle,  but 
nothing  occurred  till 
about  3  a.m.  At  that 
hour     he     was    lying 

quietly  beside  his  peg,  when  suddenly  he 
sprang  up  and  looked  beyond  me  towards 
the  ravine.  I  turned  my  head  slowly  round, 
and  saw  what  made  my  fingers  grip  my 
rifle-stock  very  tighdy  indeed.  Immediately 
behind  me,  and  within  easy  leaping  distance, 
thrust  as  far  out  of  the  jungle  as  his  neck 
would  allow,  was  the  big  head  of  a  leopard 
— a  pair  of  round,  green,  translucent  eyes,  and 
a  display  of  teeth  that  was  simply  shocking. 
He  wasn't  looking  at  the  goat  at  all — his  whole 
attention  seemed  confined  to  me.  How  I  did 
pray  that  he  might  not  spring  till  I  got  my  rifle 
up !.  But  as  my  shoulders  slued  round  the 
head  was  noiselessly  withdrawn,  and  I  spent 
the  next  half-hour  trying  to  look  fifteen  different 
ways  at  once.  At  the  end  of  that  period  my 
chance  came. 


Almost  beside  my  tree,  which  was  bare  of 
foliage,  grew  a  smaller  one,  whose  thick  crown 
cast  a  dense,  black  shadow  round  its  foot. 
Billy  snorted  with  terror,  rushed  to  the  end  of 
his  rope,  and  strained  desperately  to  break 
away  as  out  from  the  shadow  of  the  tree  beside 
me  stole  a  long,  grey  form  that  went  crouching 
towards  him.  I  almost  laughed  at  the  softness 
of  the  shot  ;  in  my  innocence  I  imagined  that 
the  leopard  had  failed  to  observe  me,  and  with 
the  object  of  crippling  the  brute  and  allowing 
the  villagers  the  satisfaction  of  finishing  him, 
fired  at  the  base  of  the  spine.  Then  I  was 
sharply  undeceived. 

Simultaneously  with  the  report  of  the 
rifle  the  leopard  emitted  a  screaming  roar, 
flung    his   forequarter    round,    and   sprang   up 

at    me.        My     bullet 
had     damasked     his 


HE   LANDED   WITH    HIS    FOREARMS    BETWEEN    MY    LEGS. 


pelvis,  and  he  leapt 
short.  As  he  came  I 
threw  myself  back 
upon  the  stage  in 
mortal  fear,  and  my 
outspread  hand  pro- 
videntially touched 
and  instantly  closed 
round  the  butt  of  my 
revolver.  He  landed 
with  his  forearms  be- 
tween my  legs  —  I 
shall  never  forget  the 
fiendish  expression  of 
his  face  —  while  his 
hind  legs  grappled 
and  tore  at  the  trunk 
of  the  tree,  and,  as 
he  thrust  forward  his 
ga[)ing  jaws  to  seize 
my  side,  I  threw  the 
muzzle  of  the  revolver 
over  my  hip  and  fired  blindly.  The  bullet 
struck  him  in  the  vicinity  of  the  ear  and  threw 
him  off  the  stage,  and,  as  he  again  attempted 
to  leap  up,  I  fired  down  into  his  chest  and 
stopped  him. 

Scream  !  I  never  heard  such  a  demoniacal 
noise  in  my  life.  He  struggled  and  squirmed 
to  the  edge  of  the  ravine  and  disappeared,  while 
I  sat  and  watched  him  go,  utterly  dazed  with 
nervous  shock.  It  was  some  days  before  I 
quite  recovered,  though  my  only  injury  was  a 
trivial  scratch  on  the  thigh,  and  it  was  other 
days  before  we  found  what  remained  of  the 
carcass,  which  had  been  pretty  well  devoured 
by  hyenas. 

I  have  had  some  unpleasant  experiences,  but 
I  think  the  Jomvu  incident  will  live  longest  in 
my  memory. 


SHORT    STORIES.  8^ 

III. — Round  the   World  in  a  Home=made  Boat. 

Bv    W.    S.     (llI.I.AKI). 

Telling  all  about  the  perilous  venture  of    an    American  skipper,    and  the  daily  incidents  of  his 

journey.     With  photographs  of  his  boat. 

all  kinds  of  devices  to 
make  believe  he  had  com- 
pany. Firstly  he  would 
call  out  the  name  of  the 
boy  who  had  sailed  with 
him  in  his  last  ship  ;  then 
he  would  sing  out  the 
number  of  bells  struck, 
and  during  the  night 
watches  he  would  even 
address  himself  to  the 
moon.  Eventually,  how- 
ever, he  got  accustomed 
to  the  appalling  silence  of 
the  limitless  sea. 

In  twenty-nine  days  the 
adventurer  reached  Gib- 
raltar, where  he  met  with 
such  a  reception  as  made 
him  proud  of  his  English 
cousins  ;  and  even  after 
his  long  absence  he  still 
remembers  with  kindly 
feelings  the  many  services 

rendered  him  to  make  his  stay  pleasant. 

From   thence  he   sailed    for   South  America 

where,  off  the  coast  of  Terra  del    Fucgo,  the 


IHE    VACHT 


AT   CAPE   TOWN— CAPTAIN    SLOCUM    IS   STANDING   ON    THE    liOu.M. 

From  a  Photo. 


Perhaps  no  more  interesting  record  of  the 
sea  will  be  handed  down  from  the  nineteenth 
century  than  that  of  the  voyage  round  the  world 
which  has  just  been  completed  by  Captain 
Joshua  Slocum,  who  formed  the  sole  occupant 
of  a  small  yacht  named  the  Spray.  In  the 
accompanying  photograph  Captain  Slocum  is 
seen  standing  out  on  the  jibboom  of  his  little 
craft. 

Captain  Slocum,  who  is  an  American,  and 
hails  from  Boston,  has  been  a  ship-master  for 
many  years,  and  he  conceived  the  idea  a  few 
years  ago  of  making  a  voyage  single-handed 
around  the  world.  \Vith  this  intention,  there- 
fore, he  set  himself  to  cut  down  an  oak  tree, 
and  with  this  he  built  the  Spray  entirely  with 
his  own  hands  :  every  nail  in  her  was  driven 
by  himself,  and  seeing  that  she  has  sailed 
some  40,000  miles  safely  in  rough  and  smooth 
seas,  he  may  well  be  proud  of  his  handiwork. 

The  little  vessel  is  yawl-rigged  and  of  nine 
tons.  She  is  40ft.  long,  with  a  beam  of  14ft., 
and  she  draws  5ft.  of  water. 

Everything  being  ready,  Captain  Slocum  left 
Cape  Sable,  Nova  Scotia,  in  April,  1895,  and  in 
eight  days  was  1,200  miles  across  the  Atlantic, 
being  a  record  for  the  litt'e  craft  of  150  miles  a 
day. 

It  took  Captain  Slocum  some  time  to  get 
used  to  the  solitude  of  the  cruise,  and  he  tried 


spray"    ENTERING   SYDNEY    HARCOUK.  [I'-'loto. 


88 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


natives  tried  to  board  him,  but  on  being  fired 
at  they  made  off.  The  following  ruse  had 
something  to  do  with  keeping  them  at  a  safe 
distance.  Sticking  his  hat  on  a  projection,  so 
that  it  would  show  above  the  hatchway,  near  the 
tiller,  the  captain  ran  forward  through  the  hold 
to  the  fore-hatch,  changing  his  coat  in  the  mean- 
time, and  placing  another  hat  on  a  log  of  wood 
on  the  hatchway.  He  then  emerged  up  the 
main  hatchway,  and  walked  the  deck  a  bit, 
finally  going  below  and  taking  his  old  place  by 
the  tiller,  so  that  these  movements  gave  the 
natives  the  impression  that  there  were  at  least 
three  men  on  board. 

Slocum  was  about  thirty  days  getting  through 
the  Straits  of  Magellan,  always  with  a  head  wind 
and  sometimes  with  rain.  Returning  through 
the  straits  some  time  after,  he  was  followed  by 
canoes,  and  as  it  was  almost  calm  the  natives 
soon  gained  upon  him.  The  captain  had, 
therefore,  to  prepare  for  a  possible  fight.  He 
first  sprinkled  the  deck  with  tin-tacks,  with  the 
points  upward,  and  concealed  a  revolver  up  his 
sleeve,  after  which  he  merely  awaited  their 
approach  ready  for  any  emergency.  He  had 
also  placed  a  repeating  rifle  conveniently 
near.  On  the  arrival  of  the  first  canoe, 
which   contained  a  chief,  the  captain  was  asked 


IHE    CHIEF    ASKKL)    1 


where  the  remainder  of  the  crew  were, 
because  when  the  Spray  passed  that  way  before 
there  were  three  men  on  board.  Slocum's 
reply  was  that  "  they  were  sleeping,  and 
that  they  (the  natives)  had  better  not  make 
a  row,  or  the  men  would  be  very  angry  and 
make  trouble  when  thev  awoke."  Seeing  the 
rifle,  which  he  was  itching  to  possess,  the  chief 
asked  "  how  ma'ny  times  would  it  shoot?";  to 
which  Captain  Slocum  replied,  "  As  many  times 
as  there  are  natives  in  sight."  Eventually  the 
gallant  skipper  got  rid  of  his  unwelcome  visitors 
without  allowing  them  on  board,  and  he  pro- 
ceeded on  his  way  unmolested.  In  the  chief 
the  captain  recognised  a  regular  cut-throat,  from 
the  description  given  him  by  a  master  of  a 
vessel,  a  friend  of  his,  who  warned  him  not  to 
give  him  half  a  chance  to  get  on  board,  but  to 
shoot  him  down  at  sight.  Happily  bloodshed 
was  avoided  ;  the  natives,  no  doubt,  thinking 
the  crew  were  lying  hidden  and  ready  to  fire  on 
them  at  the  least  sign  of  treachery.  Had  the 
savages  even  dreamed  that  this  remarkable  man 
was  quite  alone  on  the  ocean,  he  would  infallibly 
have  been  killed. 

When  bringing  off  some  firewood  at  Terra 
del  Fuego,  the  captain  happened  to  bring  off  a 
spider  with  it,  and  on  board  he  was  intensely 

interested  in  a  fierce 
fight  which  took  place 
between  it  and  another 
spider  that  had  taken  up 
its  quarters  in  his  cabin. 
The  ultimate  result  was 
that  the  intruder  was 
killed. 

Off  Cape  Horn,  the 
Spray  fell  in  with  a 
regular  gale  of  wind,  but 
she  rode  snugly  through 
it,  with  two  cables  out, 
and  a  little  reefed  fore 
staysail  to  keep  her  before 
the  wind  ;  the  wheel  was 
lashed  amidships,  and 
the  whole  arrangement 
spoke  volumes  as  to  the 
man's  ability  as  a  sea- 
man. The  little  vessel 
suffered  no  mishap,  nor 
did  she  take  in  a  danger- 
ous sea,  but  the  captain 
learnt  afterwards  that  the 
crews  of  two  larger  vessels 
that  had  encountered  the 
same  gale  had  come  to 
utter  grief,  their  ships 
being  both  destroyed. 
One  night  the  skipper 


SHOR'I"    STORIES. 


89 


■  THE      Sl'RAV      WAS   TOWEU    INTO   A   SAFE   ANXHORAGE    HY   SOME    NATIVE   GIRLS. 


was  .Startled  by  a  whale  which  came  up  close 
to  the  S/rav.  This  was  the  only  incident  that 
occurred  for  sixty  days,  during  which  time  the 
captain  did   not  even  sight  a  ship. 

He  at  length  arrived  off  Apia,  Samoa,  where 
one  of  his  first  visitors  was  Mrs.  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson.  He  railed  at  several  islands  in  that 
part  of  the  world,  and  noted  the  customs  of  the 
natives.  He  also  brought  away  some  very 
interesting  curios  for  his  friends  in  America. 
At  one  island  the  little  Spray  was  towed  into  a 
safe  anchorage  by  some  native  girls,  who  came 
out  in  a  canoe  to  welcome  Captain  Slocum,  an 
honour  which  the  skipper  of  the  little  vessel 
keenly  appreciated. 

His  ne.xt  port  was  Newcastle,  New  South 
Wales,  and  after  visiting  and  being  feted  at  all 
the  Australian  Colonics,  the  Spray's  bow  was 
pointed  towards  South  Africa,  arriving  off  Cape 
Agulhas  on  Christmas  Day,  1897,  where  she 
did  her  best  to  stand  on  her  head,  the  sea  being 
so  terribly  rough.  On  the  night  of  the  28th 
December  the  man  who  had  braved  so  many 
perils  of  the  sea  passed  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
and  entered  Table  Bay  with  a  fair  wind. 

Here  the  tiny  vessel  was  hauled  on  the  slip 

and  cleared  of  the  weeds  and  barnacles  of  many 

seas,  and  she  also  received  a  thorough  overhaul 

preparatory    to    her    run    home.      She    was,    of 

course,  the  object  of  much  curiosity,  and  many 

thousands  of  sightseers,  both   black  and  white, 

wended  their  way  down  to  the  Alfred  Docks'  to 

inspect  the  strange  and  wonderful  craft.    Admiral 

Sir  Harry  H.  Rawson  paid  a  visit  to  the  Spray 

one  day,  and  expressed  himself  amazed  at  the 
Vol.  iii.— 12. 


captain's  all  but 
incredible  voy- 
age. The  gallant 
voyager  made  a 
host  of  friends 
in  South  Africa, 
who  will  be  glad 
to  welcome  him 
back  to  this  part 
of  the  world.  He 
told  the  writer 
that  probably  he 
would  come  out 
this  way  shortly 
in  command  of 
a  clipper  ship  om 
another  voyage 
around  the 
world  with  some 
American  stu- 
dents. 

Here  is  the 
adventurous 
captain's  own 
estimate  of  his  journey:  "It  was  a  pleasant 
voyage  all  through.  In  the  most  arduous  part 
of  the  voyage  I  never  felt  taxed  beyond  my  own 
small  resources,  and  never  once  regretted  having 
undertaken  the  enterprise.  Some  uneasiness 
was  expressed  for  me  in  consequence  of  war, 
but  I  was  loaded,  and  had  a  Spaniard  come  I 
would  have  fired  one  of  my  lectures  into  him. 
That  would  have  settled  him.  The  first  intima- 
tion I  heard  of  war  was  from  the  U.S.S.  Oregon 
off  the  Amazon.  The  great  battleship  came  up 
astern  like  a  citadel  out  of  the  sea.  climbing  the 
horizon,  for  the  world  is  round.  '  Have  you 
seen  any  Spanish  men-of-war  about?'  was 
signalled  before  he  was  hull  up.  I  had  not 
seen  any.  My  signal,  '  Let  us  keep  together  for 
mutual  protection  '  did  not  seem  to  strike 
(!aptain  Clark  as  necessary,  for  he  steamed  on 
with  a  rush,  looking  for  Spanish  men-of-war.  I 
hadn't  lost  any  Spaniards.  They  probably 
couldn't  liave  hit  the  Spray  anyhow,  even  had  I 
run  in  among  them,  I  e\[)ect,  unless  they  aimed 
at  .something  else.  Nothing  has  occurred  to 
me  to  make  me  feel  that  I  stayed  a  day  too 
long  in  the  Garden  Colony :  indeed,  amazing 
liospitality  both  at  Natal  and  at  the  Cape  gave 
me  strength  of  soul  to  treat  all  reverses,  real  or 
imaginary,  with  just  contempt.'' 

During  his  stay  in  Cape  Town  Captain 
Slocum  gave  several  lectures  in  different  parts 
of  the  Colony  illustrative  of  his  voyage.  He 
also  paid  a  visit  to  his  Honour  the  President  of 
the  Transvaal,  who,  in  the  course  of  conversa- 
tion, wanted  to  prove  that  the  world  was  flat .' 
Poor  old  Kruger ! 


90 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


After  a  four  months'  stay  the  S/ror  left  Table 
Bay  for  St.  Helena,  and  from  thence  across 
home  to  America,  where  I  have  heard  the 
gallant  captain  arrived  saR^  and  sound.  Before 
leaving  he  told  the  writer  that  he  had  enjoyed 
his  voyage  very  much,  and  felt  much  stronger 
and  better  than  when  he  started.  AMicrever  he 
had  been,  he  added,  people  had  been  most  kind 
to  him. 

He  considered  he  would  lose  nothing  in 
pocket  by  his  voyage,  as  the  Spray  carried  cargo 
sufficient  to  j)ay  him  master's  wages  for  the  trip, 
and  besides,  when  he  arrived  home,  he  considered 


the  vessel  would  be  worth  ten  times  as  much 
as  when  he  started.  Accoidingly  he  intended 
to  take  her  up  some  river  and  convert  her,  with 
true  American  enterprise,  into  a  kind  of  dime 
museum  for  sightseers. 

The  gallant  skipper  was  half  afraid  after 
leaving  South  Africa  that  he  would  be  captured 
by  some  Spanish  cruiser,  and  so  have  his  nearly- 
completed  task'  frustrated,  but  happily  no  such 
bad  luck  attended  him,  and  he  was  allowed  to 
finish  his  self-appointed  task  in  peace,  and  with 
credit  to  himself  and  his  great  country,  of  which 
lie  was  such  a  brave  representative. 


I\'. —  With   Wolves  in  a  Blizzard. 

Bv  Mrs.  E.  Howard. 

Mrs.  Howard's  sleigh  misses  the  prairie  track  in  a  blizzard.     Her  husband  goes  for  assistance,  and 

returns  to  find  her  frost-bitten  and  unconscious. 


Last  winter  I  spent  in  the  Xorth- 
West  Territory  of  Canada,  and  it 
was  while  staying  in  the  province 
of  Assiniboia  that  I  had  my  experi- 
ence of  a  night  on  the  prairie  with 
wolves.  My  husband  and  I  started 
in  our  sleigh  with  our  team  of 
bronchos  the  evening  of  December 
loth,  1897,  to  drive  to  the  house 
of  a  friend  of  ours  living  at  Moose 
Jaw  ;  we  ourselves  had  a  ranch 
not  far  from  'J'he  Elbow.  It 
was  a  glorious  evening  when  we 
started  ;  we  had  been  so  busy 
all  day,  that  we  were  not  able  to 
leave  our  ranch  till  four  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  but  as  our  friend's  ranch  was 
only  fifteen  miles  from  us,  that  did  not  matter. 

'I'he   cold   was    intense — 40    degrees    below 
zero — but   we   were   well  wrapped 
uj)  in  long  buffalo  robes,  fur  boots, 
large  fur  storm  collars   and   caps, 
etc.,    so.  we  really  did   not  feel  it 
much.  The  vast  prairie  was  covered 
with    snow,    which    was  crisp  and 
hard.      The  sky  was  cloudless,  the 
air  very  clear.      The   stars   shone 
down  upon  us  with  a  clearness  and 
l)rilliancy    unknown     in    lands    of 
mists  and  fogs,  and  the  Northern 
Lights  were  gloriously  brilliant.    At 
times    meteors    blazed    along    the 
star-decked  vault  of  heaven,  leaving 
behind    them    for   a    few    seconds 
lines  of  silvery  light.    The  Northern 
Lights  flashed    and    danced  with    a 
magnificence    I     have    never    seen     surpassed. 
Sometimes,   too,  the   wondrous   auroras  blazed 
out,    flashing  with  an   indescribable  splendour, 


-MKS.    U".    IIDUAHIJ. 

From  a  Photo. 


MK.    E.    HOWAKIJ. 
From  a  PJioio. 


glory  and 


and   the    whole    heavens    seemed 
aglow  with  their  beauty. 

Often  have  I  seen  a  cloud  of 
light  flit  swiftly  across  these  ever- 
changing  bars,  with  a  i-esemblance 
so  natural  to  that  of  a  hand  across 
the  strings  of  a  harj),  that  I  have 
often  suddenly  stopped  and  listened 
for  that  rustling  sound  of  celestial 
harmony  which  some  Arctic  travel- 
lers have  affirmed  they  have  heard. 
But  though  I  have  watched  and 
listened  amidst  the  deathly  stillness 
of  the  snowy  prairie,  no  sounds 
have  I  ever  heard. 

Only    myself   and   my    husband 

were  in  the  sleigh,  and  with  our  splendid  team 

of  bronchos,  and  the  trail  in  good  condition,  we 

glided  easily  and  quickly  over  the  firm,   crisp 

snow.      The    bells   on    the  horses 

made  a  pleasant  jingle,  and  all  was 

exhilarating  to  a  degree. 

'We  reached  our  friend's  ranch, 
slept  the  night,  and  stayed  for  the 
dance  next  day — which  was  great 
fun,  and  was  kept  up  with  much 
spirit  till  3  a.m.  \\t  then  wished 
to  get  home  that  day,  and  so  we 
started  on  the  return  journey,  not 
heeding  the  warnings  of  our  friends 
who  advised  us  not  to  go,  as  the 
sky,  which  the  evening  before  had 
been  a  brilliant,  clear  blue,  was 
now  heavy  and  dull,  and  a  few 
small  snow  -  flakes  were  falling. 
However,  we  fondly  hoped  we  should  reach 
home  before  the  storm  came,  and  got  into  our 
sleigh  and  whipped  up  the  spirited  bronchos. 
But  we  had  only  gone  about  three  miles  when 


SHORT    STORIES. 


91 


the  blizzard  broke.  To  persons  who  have  not 
actually  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  blizzard 
storms  of  the  North-West  Territories  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  give  a  satisfactory  description.  One 
peculiarity  about  them,  causing  them  to  differ 
from  other  storms,  is  that  the  wind  seems  to  be 
ever  coming  in  little  whirls  or  eddies,  which 
keep  the  air  full  of  snow  and  make  it 
impossible  to  tell  the  direction  •  from  which 
the  wind  really  comes.  With  it  apparently 
striking  you  in  the  face,  you  turn  your  back  to 
it,  and  are  amazed  at  linding  that  it  still   fiices 


of  anyone,  as  he  had  an  idea  we  could 
not  be  far  from  a  ranch  he  knew.  So  he  dis- 
appeared into  the  darkness,  leaving  me  seated 
in  the  sleigh.  How  still  and  how  lonely  it 
was  !  Not  a  sound  was  to  be  heard,  and  the 
thought  was  not  pleasant  that  I  was  alone  on 
the  vast  ])rairie  in  a  blinding  blizzard.  Pre- 
sently 1  heard,  not  far  from  me-^in  fact,  as  I 
afterwards  discovered,  from  a  neighbouring 
bluff — the  dreaded  howl  of  wolves,  which  was 
anything  but  a  cheering  sound.  I  was  power- 
less to  do  anything,  however.     I  had  a  revolver 


THE   NEAR   HORSE   TUMBLED   DOWN. 


you.  ^'ery  few,  indeed,  are  they  who  can  steer 
their  course  correctly  in  a  blizzard  storm. 

Down  whirled  the  snow  in  all  directions, 
seeming  to  come  from  the  north,  east,  west,  and 
south  all  at  once.  So  dry  and  cold  was  the 
atmosphere  that  the  vast  clouds  of  snow  were 
like  fine  dry  ashes,  almost  blinding  us  by  the 
pitiless  way  they  beat  upon  us,  filling  eyes,  nose, 
and  even  ears  and  mouth  if  left  exposed.  On  we 
drove,  however,  the  poor  horses  being  now  only 
able  to  go  at  a  slow  trot,  as  the  ground  was 
heavy  with  snow,  and  we  made  but  very  slow 
progress. 

Finally,  the  near  horse  tumbled  down,  and 
was  only  with  great  labour  whipped  up  again. 
On  we  plodded  again  for  another  five  minutes, 
and  then  we  discovered  that  every  vestige  of 
the  well-defined  trail  was  obliterated,  and  the 
snow  was  so  blinding  that  we  could  not  see 
five  feet  around  or  above  us.  After  holding  a 
council  of  war,  my  husband  decided  that  the 
best  thing  he  could  do  was  to  get  out  and  see 
if  he  could  by  a  loud  whoop  attract  the  notice 


sleigh, 


in     the 
I    could    not 
7"  he    weary 
brutes   came 
louder    than 
of    my   voice 


but    in    that    fearful    blizzard 

have   taken  aim  at    the   wolves. 

horses    moved    uneasily    as    the 

nearer   and   howled   and    yelped 

before.      I    shouted   at    the    top 

in    the   hope   of    driving    them 


away,  but  it  had  little  effect.  They  went  away 
for  a  few  minutes,  but  only  to  return  with 
renewed  vigour.  I  then  fired  the  revolver  at 
random  twice  into  the  black  darkness,  and  I 
think  the  last  shot  must  have  hit  one  of  the 
wolves,  for  I  heard  several  howls  of  pain,  and 
the  creatures  apparently  retired  a  little  farther 
off  The  cold  was  now  intense,  and  I  could 
not  keep  warm.  Soon  my  whole  body  was 
shivering,  and  I  got  so  cold  that  I  could  have 
cried  out  in  my  agony.  Then  a  strange  sensation 
began  to  steal  over  me.  It  began  by  a  singing 
in  my  ears,  which  sound  presently  seemed  to 
change  to  the  most  exquisite  music  that  ever  fell 
on  mortal  ears — I  was  entranced  by  it.  Next 
there  flitted  before  my  eyes  the  most  delightful 
forms     and     colours.        On    the    sleigh    and 


9^ 


THE    WIDK    WOKI.I)     MACAZTXE. 


■1 


-'¥■ 


I    FIKED   THE    I;E\'0LVER    AT    RANDOM. 


the  ground  close  by  gathered  all  the 
hues  of  the  rainbow.  It  seemed  as  though 
great  numbers  of  prisnis  were  before  me, 
and  everything  visible  danced  and  flitted  in 
ever-changing  yet  gorgeous  beauty.  Then  my 
eyes  glanced  down  at  the  snowy  ground,  and  as 
far  as  I  could  see  it  seemed  like  the  most 
lu.xurious  couches  and  divans,  which  seemed  to 
have  a  \oice  that  .said,  "  (iet  out  of  your  cramped 
position  in  the  sleigh  and  come  and  rest  a  while 
and  lie  down  here."  Every  pang  of  suffering, 
every  twinge  of  pain  had  now  left  me,  and  a 
strange,  sweet  languor  seemed  to  take  possession 
of  me,  whilst  in  my  ears  sounded  the  most 
ravishing  music.  .My  senses  left  me  then,  I 
think.     At  any  rate,  I  remembered  no  more. 

How  many  minutes  I  was  in  this  state  I  know 
not,  but  I  am  certain  they  could  not  have  been 
very  many,  for  I  suppose  my  experience  was  like 
that  of  a  drowning  person,  through  whose 
mind  sensations  pass  with  marvellous  rapidity. 
I'"or  the  next  thing  I  remembered  was  awaking, 
and  in  a  dazed  and  semi-conscious  condi- 
tifjn  I  found  myself  tugging  and  pulling  at 
what  I  thought  in  my  dreamy  condition  was  the 
end  of  my  revolver.  The  vague  impression  on 
my  mind  was  that  I  must  have  left  the  revolver 
behind  my  head  and  it  had  fallen  across  my 
face  while  I  slept,  and  I  had  now  got  hold  of 
the  end  of  it.  1  next  felt  violent,  vigorous 
blows   being   showered    on   my   back.      I    was 


being  shaken  and  jjounded,  and  told  in  rough 
tones  to  get  up. 

Slowly  I  came  to  myself,  and  realized  that  it 
was  my  anxious  husband  shaking  me.  I  was 
now  conscious  of  most  painful  sensations.  The 
prickings  felt  when  a  foot  is  said  to  have  "  gone 
asleep"  were  felt  by  me  all  over  my  body,  but 
magnified  a  thousandfold.  It  was  more  like 
being  pierced  by  awls  than  tickled  with  needles. 
This  lasted  for  several  minutes.  A  cold  per- 
spiration then  seemed  to  burst  out  upon  me, 
followed  by  shivering,  and  then  I  felt  I  was  again 
gettmg  chilled  to  the  bone.  Now  full  conscious- 
ness had  returned  ;  I  awoke  to  the  fact  that 
what  I  had  imagined  to  be  the  end  of  the  re- 
volver 7vas  7iiy  ozvn  tiosc,  and  a  badly  frozen  one  at 
that.  Roth  of  my  ears  were  in  the  same  condition. 

My  husband,  I  afterwards  learnt,  had  by 
yelling  and  shouting  managed  to  attract  the 
attention  of  some  men  who  lived  on  a  ranch, 
which  next  day  we  discovered  was  but  five 
minutes'  walk  from  the  sleigh.  They  came  to 
his  help,  and  after  an  hour's  hard  search  found 
the  sleigh,  which  in  the  dense  darkness  and 
blinding  snow  vyas  a  great  wonder.  I  was 
dragged  to  the  ranch,  and  my  nose  and  hands 
wrapped  in  paraffin  rags,  the  pain  being  some- 
thing terrible  as  they  slowly  unfroze. 

We  had  to  stay  at  the  ranch  three  days,  till 
the  blizzard  passed  over.  But  otherwise  we 
were  none  the  worse  for  our  adventure. 


My    Cycle    Ride    to    Khiva.^' 

Bv  Robert  L.  Jefferson,  F.  K.C.S. 

n. 

An  account  of  a  remarkable  bicycle  ride  across  the  deserts  of  Kara-kum  and  Kizil-kum  to  Khiva. 
Mr.  Jefferson  is  the  first  Englishman  to  follow  the  route  of  the  late  Colonel  Fred  Burnaby,  whose  ride 
to  Khiva  made  him  famous  twenty-five  years  ago.  Mr.  Jefferson  accomplished  practically  the  whole  of 
his  journey  on  a  bicycle,  passing  through  France,  Belgium,  Germany,  Bavaria,  Austria,  Hungary,  Galicia, 
and  European  Russia.  The  following  story  of  his  further  ride  across  the  steppes  and  deserts  points 
conclusively  to  the  fact  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  achievements  ever  accomplished  by  a  cyclist. 


r 


■■  ir    \\.\S    .\    \  EKIT.\BLE  JUNGLE.' 

From  a  Photo,    ly   R.    L.  Jefferson. 

OON  after  mid-day  our  caravan  lined 
up.  I  mounted  my  liorse,  gave  a 
final  handshake  to  the  good  fellow.s 
who  had  done  so  much  for  me, 
and  then  we  were  off.  For  the 
first  mile  or  two  our  way  lay  over  a  sandy  plain, 
but  presently  we  came  to  a  depres- 
sion and  entered  the  swamp.  Reeds 
grew  in  every  direction,  while  at 
times  we  were  so  deep  that  nothing 
could  be  .seen  on  either  hand.  It 
was  a  veritable  jungle  of  bulrushes, 
and  occasionally,  owing  to  thercstive- 
ness  of  my  horse,  the  caravan  was 
completely  hidden  from  me.  We 
only  kept  near  each  other  by  shouts 
and  counter-shouts.  \\'c  next  struck 
due  south  for  a  little  while,  coming 
eventually  to  the  bank  of  a  tributary 
of  the  river.  Here  a  large  boat, 
which  had  been  sent  down  for  the 
purpose, _was  awaiting  us.  We  em- 
barked the  caravan,  and  twelve 
towers  set  to  work  to  drag  us  up  the 
tributary  as  far  as  the  water  was 
sufificiently  deep.    Never  have  I  seen 


men  work  like  tho.se  Khirghi/.  A 
long  thick  rope  stretched  from  the 
boat,  and  ])assed  over  each  mans 
shoulder.  The  towers  were  most  of 
the  time  uj)  to  their  waists  in  water, 
and  sometimes  up  to  their  chins  ;  they 
strained  and  hauled  and  exhorted 
and  fumed  in  the  most  extraordinary 
manner.  I'cr  three  hours  we  went 
on  like  this,  when  suddenly  the  boat 
grounded  and  we  had  to  get  out. 

Night  came  on,  but  found  us  still 
in  the  swamp.  It  was  the  greatest 
difficulty  imaginable  to  get  the 
camels  along.  The  jigitas  were 
repeatedly  lashing  them  for  faster 
pace,  and  now  that  darkness  was 
upon  us,  the  leading-strings  from 
camel  to  camel  and  horse  to  horse 
were  put  up,  in  order  that  no  one 
should  go  astray.  At  last,  how- 
ever, we  touched  dry  land — a  hard, 
sand)'  stretch  over  which  our  horses  frisked 
merrily.  My  dragoman  told  me  that  our  first 
night  would  be  spent  in  a  Khirghiz  encam[)- 
ment,  and  I  should  be  the  guest  of  one  of  the 
headmen  of  the  middle  horde  of  Khirghiz.  He 
sent  one  of    the   jigitas   in   advance   to   inform 


From  a  Photo.  by\  "we  e.muakked  the  c.\kavak." 

CopjTight  in  the  United  States  by  Robert  L.  Jefferson,  F.R.G.S.,  1899. 


[A'.  L.  Jefferson. 


94 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    :^IAGAZINE. 


'".NEVER   HAVE   I   SEEN    -MEN    UOKK    LIKE    1  HOSE    KHIRGHIZ. 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 

the  headman  of  our  coming,  and  I  was  promised 
that  in  another  couple  of  hours  we  should  reach 
our  destination  for  the  day. 

It    is   almost    impossible   to    describe    one's 
feelings  on  a  desert  march.     The  soft  crunch  of 
the  sand  beneath  the  camels'  feet,  the  buzz  and 
ping   of   numl)erless    mosquitoes,   the  laboured 
breathing  of  the  horses,  the  rattling  of  boot-heels 
in    the    stirrups,    the    occasional    clatter    of   a 
scabbard,  the  voices  of  the  men   urging  on  the 
beasts,  the  frequent  shrill  cry  or  snort 
of    the    camels,    and    the    big     stars 
gleaming  down  upon    that  waste  of 
white  sand — all  made  up  an  environ- 
ment,   not    exactly    exhilarating,   but 
awe-inspiring. 

Soon  we  saw  lights  gleaming 
ahead.  Shouts  were  wafted  on  the 
warm  breeze,  and  presently  we  saw 
several  brush-fires  burning  brilliantly, 
and  in  their  light  the  round,  dome- 
like tents,  or  kibitkas.  AVilling  natives 
rushed  towards  us,  and  helped  us  \ 
out  of  our  saddles  with  cries  of 
"  Yakshee  !  Yakshee  1  "  ("  good  ! 
good  ! ").  I  was  stiff  and  sore  from 
my  unaccustomed  equestrian  exer- 
cise, and  was  glad,  indeed,  that  the 
journey  was  over.  A  tall,  handsome 
Khirghiz  presented  himself  to  me. 
He  was  attired  in  Sart  costume, 
consisting  of  a  long  cloak  reaching 
to  his  heels.  On  his  head  he  wore 
a  skull  cap  made  of  gold  and  silver 
fibres ;  around  his   waist,  and  bind- 


ing his  cloak,  he  wore  a  huge  silver 
belt,  in  which  he  carried  his  whip 
and  long  native  pistol.  He  was  the 
chief  of  the  tribe,  and,  bowing, 
grasped  both  my  hands  in  his  own, 
and  gutturally  uttered  the  word 
''  Salaam." 

I  was  conducted  to  the  chief 
Idbitka,  a  really  sumptuously  decor- 
ated tent.  Rich  carpets  covered 
the  sand :  pillows  and  cushions 
were  everywhere,  while  the  walls  of 
the  tent  were  decorated  with  trellis- 
work  done  in  the  most  brilliant 
colours.  1'here  was,  however,  no 
]igln,  e.xcept  that  which  entered 
through  the  narrow  entrance  by  the 
fires  :  and  so  I  instructed  the 
dragoman  to  bring  a  few  candles 
from  our  pack.  The  place  of  honour, 
of  course,  was  given  to  me — a  bunch 
of  [lillows  and  cushions  at  the  head 
of  the  kibitka.  Then  the  chief  intro- 
duced his  principal  wife,  a  tall,  hand- 
some woman,  who  (although  the  Khirghiz  are 
Mohammedans)  had  her  face  uncovered.  She 
was  quite  black,  but  her  features,  although  of 
the  Mongolian  type,  were  much  more  prepossess- 
ing than  those  of  a  more  lowly  order.  A  small 
boy  came  forward  with  a  gourd  containing  water, 
which  he  poured  over  my  hands,  and  presently 
a  steaming  samovar,  or  Russian  water-urn,  was 
brought  in  and  placed  in  front  of  me. 

In  Russia,  as  my  readers  are  probably  aware. 


THE    CHIEK   I.SIKOUUCED    )11S    l'KINCU'.\L    WUE. 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


MY    CYCLE     RIDE    TO    KHIVA. 


95 


the  samovar  is  a  national  institution.  Tea- 
drinking  in  the  land  of  the  Muscovite  is  in 
every  respect  the  most  important  function  of 
the  day.  The  average  Russian  will  consume 
twenty  or  thirty  glasses  of  tea  at  a  sitting. 
Beyond  vodki,  into.xicating  liquors  are  almost 
unknown  ;  beer  is  seldom  or  never  heard  of 
except  in  the  largest  towns,  and  then  it  is 
mainly  consumed  by  the  foreign  population. 
For  hundreds  of  years  tea-drinking  a  la  samovar 
has  gone  on,  and  the  system  has  even  crept 
into  remote  Turkestan.  The  Khirghi/  who 
possesses  a  samovar  is  thought  to  be  a  rich 
man. 

A  metal  teapot  was  next  brought,  and,  acting 
under  the  instructions  of  my  dragoman,  1 
ordered  my  own  tea  to  be  put  in  the  pot — a 
compliment  to  my  Khirghi/.  host.  There  was 
no  sugar  or  milk,  and  we  drank  from  china 
bowls  without  handles,  instead  of  glasses  or  cups. 
It  was  extremely  awkward  for  me  to  fall  into 
the  customs  of  a  chief  of  Khirghiz,  inasmuch 
as,  being  the  guest,  I  was  compelled  to  say 
*'  Yakshee  "  to  everything  that  was  given  to  me  ; 
nor  would  anyone  attempt  to  eat  or  drink  until 
1  had  first  tasted  the  viands  or  liquids. 

I  drank  a  bowl  of  tea  and,  still  acting  under 
instructions,  said  "  Yakshee,"  whereat  my  host 
nodded,  smiled,  poured  out  a  bowl  for  himself, 
and  drank  it.  We  drank  the  whole  contents  of 
the  samovar  before  food  was  brought.  I  under- 
stood that  one  of  our  sheep  had  been  killed  and 
the  fiesh  was  being  cooked.  Presently,  a 
rough,  wooden  dish  was  brought  and  laid 
before  me.  On  it  were  the  heart,  liver, 
kidneys,  and  other  tit-bits,  which  had  been 
spitted  and  roasted  over  the  sage- 
brush fire.  Once  again  the  small 
boy  came  along  and  washed  my 
hands.  I  tucked  up  my  sleeves,  and, 
seizing  the  heart,  gnawed  at  it  in 
what  I  considered  to  be  the  true 
Khirghiz  style.  I  ate  to  repletion, 
for  I  was  hungry,  then  passed  the 
dish  to  my  dragoman,  who  imme- 
diately handed  it  to  the  chief,  who  so 
far  had  watched  me  with  eyes  danc- 
ing with  delight  at  my  appetite.  The 
chief  ate,  and  the  dish  was  then 
handed  to  the  dragoman,  and  so  it 
went  on  until  all  was  finished. 

A  little  later  a  huge  bowl  of  broth, 
made  by  boiling  the  other  parts  of 
the  sheep,  was  brought  in.  I  drank 
from  it  first,  and  then  it  was  passed 
round  in  orthodox  manner. 

Then  the  remainder  of  the  sheep, 
boiled  to  a  nicety,  was  brought  in 
and  placed,  just   as  it  was,   on  the 


mat.  I  had  already  eaten  enough,  but  rather 
tlian  appear  anything  except  accustomed  to 
Khirghiz  etiquette,  I  picked  various  pieces  of 
flesh  and  ate  them,  and  so  the  whole  sheep  dis- 
api)eared,  being  handed  from  one  to  the  other 
according  to  rank  and  distinction,  until  the 
residue  fell  to  the  lowliest  of  the  crowd,  and  the 
scramble  which  I  have  previously  described 
took  place. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  courtesy  and 
attention  which  were  paid  to  me.  ]My  slightest 
wish  was  interpreted  from  a  look,  and  when  after 
the  feast  was  over  more  tea  was  brought,  and  I 
broached  a  bottle  of  vodki  (of  which,  however, 
I  could  not  induce  any  of  the  Khirghiz  to  par- 
take, since  they  are  Mohammedans),  I  felt  that 
if  this  was  the  frightful  discomfort  of  travelling 
across  the  desert,  exaggeration  should  be  laid  to 
the  credit  of  someone. 

I  did  not  know,  however,  that  this  little  orgie 
had  been  previously  arranged  by  my  friends  at 
Fort  No.  I,  and  I  certainly  did  not  know  what 
lay  before  me  on  the  desert  of  Ki/il-kum. 

A  Khirghiz,  attired  in  the  usual  flowing  robe 
and  furry  hat,  next  came  in  and  sat  cross-legged 
in  front  of  me.  He  had  with  him  a  guitar- 
shaped  instrument  with  two  strings,  from  which 
he  strummed  a  weird  and  unearthly  air.  Then 
his  voice  went  out  in  a  wailing  song,  altogether 
indescribable,  but.  nevertheless,  not  unpleasing. 
W'e  smoked  papiros  and  listened  to  him  for 
some  minutes,  when  he  rose  and  with  many 
salaams  backed  out  of  the  doorway. 

Then  came  the  ablutions  and  the  devotions 
of  the  Khirghiz,  and  throughout  the  small 
encampment  the  wail  of  "Allah,  Allah,  Akbar," 


Front  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


96 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MACiAZINE. 


resounded    on    the    still    air, 

mingled  with  the   shrill  cries 

and   sneeze-like  sounds  of  the 

camels,     the     neigh     of     the 

horses,    and    the    yelping    of 

dogs. 

Osman,    my    dragoman, 

awakened  me  at  sunrise,  and 

by  the  time  I  had  consumed 

a  couple  of  bowls  of  tea  the 

camels  had  been  packed  and 

the  cara\an    made  ready   for 

the  start.    I  was  told  that  with 

ordinary  luck  we  ought  to  do 

at   least  sixty  versts,   or  forty 

miles,  that  day,  as  there  was 

very  little  deep  .sand.  .         <       .  .  

Having  got  my  bicycle  ready,  Osman  mounted        There  was  not  a  trace  of  loose  sand  anywhere  > 

his   hor.se,   and  we  set  off   in    advance  of  the         the  whole   surface   was  as   hard   as   concrete — 

this,  I  understand,  being  a  kind  of 
crust  left  by  the  rains  of  the  last 
wet  season.  Underneath  this  crust,, 
which  was  about  an  inch  thick,  the 
soft  sand  lay  to  a  depth  of  several 
feet.  It  was  a  most  extraordinary- 
sensation  to  ride  on  this  surface,  as 
the  wheels  crackled  over  it,  and  I 
could  see  it  waving  here  and  there 
just  as  thin  ice  does  under  a  skater. 
It  was,  in  fact,  the  smoothest  surface 
I  had  ever  ridden  on,  being  levelled 
by  Nature,  and  without  the  slightest 
sign  of  rise. 

Poor  Osman  and  his  horse  were 
soon  completely  out  -  distanced, 
although  they  strove  might  and 
main  to  keep  up  with  the  "devil's 
tarantass,"  as  Osman  himself  face- 
tiously called  my  bicycle.  The 
astonishment   of  my   escort   at  the 

caravan,  preceded  by  one  of  the  Khirghiz,  who        machine  may  be  well  imagined  when  it   is   ex- 
was  to  show  us  the  way  for  a  few  versts.  plained  that  not  only  had  they  never  seen  such 
Leaving  the 

encampment   we 

passed    a     few 

women  who  were 

milking     the 

mares     in    order 

to  make  koumiss. 

And  I  was  aston- 
ished and  de- 
lighted    to    find 

most   excellent 

going  soon  after 

we    got    off  the 

little   plateau    of 

stubble-grass  sur- 
rounding    the 

e  n  ca  m  pment. 


ONE   OF   THE    ; 

From 


a  I'hott. 


-HOW    IS    THE    \V.\V. 

iy  K.  L.  Jcffoson. 


WE    PASSED   A   FEW  WOMEN   MILKING   MARES   FOR    KOfMIS^ 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


MV    CYCLE    RlUE    TO    KHIVA. 


97 


an  instrument  before,  but  had  never  even  heard 
of  it ;  and  after  we  had  gone  some  five  or 
six  miles  and  waited  for  the  caravan  to  come 
up,  I  feel  sure  that  the  members  of  my  party 
looked  upon  me  as  a  sort  of  magician.  It  was 
impossible  to  explain  to  them  how  I  kept  my 
equilibrium,    and   when  one  of  them  tried    the 


GATHEKINti   A    KEW   DRIED    ROOTS   OF   SAGE-BKLSH    FOR   A    f  IK 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 

machine  and  came  off  with  a  sounding  thumj) 
on  the  hard  ground,  it  was  generally  voted  an 
instrument  which  no  true  Mohammedan  ought 
to  have  anything  to  do  with. 

We  progressed  steadily  until  mid-day,  when 
the  heat  became  so  unbearable  that  I  called  a 
halt.  The  little  tent  which  we  carried  with  us 
was  rigged  up,  and  in  this  I  sought  shelter, 
whilst  the  two  guides  searched  for  a  few  dried 
roots  of  sage-brush  to  make  a  fire  and  prepare 
some  tea.  It  had  been  my  plan 
when  I  left  Kasalinsk  to  share  and 
share  alike  in  evervthins;  with  resard 
to  food,  and  I  had  given  instructions 
to  Osman  to  see  that  everybody  had 
his  fair  share.  If  I  had  known  what 
complications  would  ensue  through 
this  arrangement  I  would  never 
have  made  it,  but  I  knew  nothintr 
then  of  the  various  grades  in  which 
these  men  hold  themselves.  For 
instance,  none  of  the  Cossacks  would 
collect  wood  for  the  fire.  Neither 
would  they  help  in  the  unpacking  of 
the  camels,  as  there  happened  to  be 
with  them  two  Khirghiz  of  lower  caste 
(the  guides) :  and  upon  these  two 
poor  fellows  it  seemed  that  the  whole 
work,  of  the  caravan  was  devolving. 

Vol.  iii.— 13. 


Osman,  too,  in  spite  of  the  alacrity  which  he 
had  displayed  at  the  beginning  of  the  journey, 
turned  out  to  be  an  insufferably  lazy  fellow. 
Moreover,  once  out  of  sight  of  the  last  traces 
of  civilization,  he  became  too  friendly  for  my 
liking.  However,  I  suffered  all  this  without 
demur,  wailing  for  my  opportunity  to  assert  my 
mastery  over  the  cara\an. 

As  soon  as  the  sun  had  declined 
a  little  we  set  off  once  more,  and 
through  the  whole  afternoon  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  riding  over  an 
excellent  surface,  while  here  and 
there  it  was  possible  to  trace  the 
track  of  previous  passing  caravans 
in  a  shallow  depression  of  the  con- 
crete-like surface. 

Night  came  almost  as  soon  as 
the  sun  went  down.  The  tent  was 
pitched  when  the  caravan  arrived, 
tea  was  made,  the  camels  turned 
adrift  to  grub  for  themselves  for 
food,  and  the  horses  fed  and 
watered ;  there  being  adjacent  a 
fairly  large  well  of  water,  which, 
although  too  strongly  impregnated 
with  alkali  for  human  consumption, 
was  good  enough  for  tbe  animals. 
Our  meal  that  day  was  much  the 
same  as  we  had  had  on  the  previous 
day,  namely,  mutton.  I  had,  however,  grown 
tired  of  the  mutton,  and  asked  for  the  flour,  so 
that  I  could  make  a  hot  cake,  or  "damper,"'  as 
the  Australians  call  it.  Judge  of  my  suri^rise 
when  it  was  announced  that  the  flour  could  not 
be  found  anywhere.  It  had  either  been  lost  on 
the  road  or  stolen  by  the  "  friendly  "  Khirghiz 
with  whom  we  had  spent  the  previous  night. 

The  bread  which  we  had  brought  with  us  was 
very  hard,  and  although  we   had   been  only  two 


TEXT   WAS    PITCHED    WHEN    TH?  CARAVAN    ARRIVED. 

From  a  Pkoto.  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


98 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


■    .IILiaO    1;EIN(.    AIjJAcK.N  r    A    FAIKLY   LARGE   WELL. 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 

days  on  the  march,  I  was  concerned  to  find 
that  it  was  already  getting  mouldy — this,  no 
doubt,  on  account  of  the  slack  baking  and  the 
heat  which  wc  had  been  passing  through. 

It  was  after  the  meal  was  concluded  that 
I  went  outside  the  tent  for  a  breath  of  air, 
leaving  Osman  and  the  three  Cossacks 
in  possession  of  the  remainder  of  the  feast. 
Lifting  up  the  flap  of  the  tent,  I  nearly  fell 
headlong  over  someone  who  was  lying 
across  the  doorway.  Looking  down,  I  i)er- 
ceived  him  to  be  one  of  the  guides.  The 
poor  fellow  crouched  out  of  my  way  in  a  su]> 
plicating  attitude,  and  then,  raising  himself  upon 
his  knees,  said  something  to  me  in  a  half- 
whisper,  which,  of  course,  I  could  not  under- 
stand. He  perceived  this,  and  shook  his  head 
in  a  .sorrowful  manner.  His  companion  then 
joining  him,  pointed  to  his  mouth  and  rubbed 
his  stomach,  signifying  that  he  was  hungry — a 
pantomime  which  I  easily  understood.  Of 
course,  I  thought  they  were  simply  hungry  for 
the  remainder  of  the  mutton  which  my  escort 
was  now  busily  engaged  ui)on  ;  but  one  of  the 
guides  pointed  to  the  sky  and  swept  his 
arm  around  in  a  circle  until  the  digit-finger 
came  to  the  sky  again.  Then  round  went 
his  arm  again  until  the  finger  again  fixed  itself 
in  the  direction  of  the  sky.  It  took  me  a 
second  or  two  to  puzzle  this  out,  but  at  length 
the  idea  flaslied  upon  me — the  poor  wretches 
had  had  nothing  to  eat  for  two  days. 

I  was  furious  with  anger,  and,  going  back 
into  the  tent,  upbraided  Osman  in  no  measured 


terms.  He  admitted  that  it  was 
probable  the  guides  had  had  nothing 
to  eat,  Ijut  it  was  nothing  to  do  with 
liim  how  two  dirty  Khirghiz  got 
their  food.  The  Cossacks  should 
have  seen  to  this.  The  Cossacks 
denied  the  responsibility,  asserting 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  jigitas 
to  see  that  the  guides  were  fed.  In 
their  turn,  the  jigitas  knew  nothing 
about  the  matter,  and  looked  in 
open-mouthed  astonishment  at  me 
as  I  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  tent, 
speaking  in  my  broken  Russian  to 
Osman. 

Seeing  that  it  was  necessary  to 
lake  the  bull  by  the  horns  at  this 
juncture,  else  I  should  never  have 
my  way  at  all  for  the  remainder  of 
the  journey,  I  took  the  whole  of 
the  remaining  portions  of  the  meat 
from  the  Cossacks,  who  had  been 
gorging  like  wolves,  and  taking  out 
my  knife,  divided  it  into  equal  parts. 
I  then  called  in  the  two  guides  and 
gave  them  their  share.  Never  have  I  seen  fellows 
so  grateful  as  they.  Osman  and  the  Cossacks 
looked  black  and  sullen,  but  it  was  clear  that 
even  if  I  had  made  myself  a  little  unpopular,  I 
had  at  least  asserted  my  authority  in  the  matter. 
From  that  day  forth,  however,  I  found  that 
not  only  had  I  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  heat 
and  sand  to  contend  with,  but  on  my  shoulders, 
also,  devolved  the  responsibility  of  keeping  my 
caravan  in  working  order.  Fortunately.  I  had 
good  maps  w-ith  me,  but,  excellent  as  they  were, 
they  were  very  •unrelial)le,  and  although  I  took 
frequent  observations  for  my  latitude  and  longi- 
tude, I  could  not  make  them  agree  with  the  trail 
marked  upon  the  Russian  map. 

I  found,  too,  that  the  Cossacks  were  beginning 
to  deceive  me  in  regard  to  distances — not  that 
I  believe  they  knew  much  about  the  journey. 
\\q  calculated  that  on  the  third  day  out  we 
ought  to  do  at  least  sixty  versts,  or  forty  mile.s, 
and,  on  measuring  up  the  map  and  allowing 
lo  per  cent,  for  wandering  off  the  track,  I 
calculated  that  this  should  bring  us  to  the  first 
well  in  the  desert.  I  mentioned  the  matter  to 
Osman,  but  he  said  that  would  be  an  impossi- 
bility, as  the  well  was  two  days'  journey  off. 

"  Then,"  I  said,  "  we  v/ill  do  sixty  versts  to- 
day, whatever  comes,  and  at  midday  will  rest 
only  half  an  hour  for  tea." 

"But,  Barin"  (one  of  noble  birth),  "we  cannot 
go  on  all  day  with  only  one  drink  of  tea !  '' 

"  You  have  water  with  you,"  I  said,  "  and 
that  is  enough  ;  that  is  all  I  take,  and  I  have  to 
ride  a  velocipede.     We  start  at  sunrise. " 


MV    CVCl.E    RIDE    TO    KHIVA. 


99 


Since  grumbling  had  started  in  the  camp,  I 
fully  determined  to  hold  my  own,  knowing  how 
vital  was  the  necessity  of  getting  forward,  for  we 
had  only  provisions  and  water  enough  for  six- 
teen days.  If  it  took  more  than  that,  starvation 
would  stare  us  in  the  face,  unless  we  should  fall 
in  with  some  friendly  tribes  to  replenish  our 
larder. 

On  the  next  day,  however,  the  good  surface 
ended,  and  long  before  mid-day  I  found  myself 
plunging  blindly  along  through  sand  knee- 
deep,  with  scorpions  darting  About  in  all 
directions,  and  Osman  riding  by  my  side  with  a 
half-jeer,  half-smile  on  his  face  at  my  strenuous 
efforts.  Several  times  I  was  forced  to  rest,  and 
on  one  occasion  I  got  stuck  so  deeply  in  the 
sand  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  move.  I 
had  to  be  lifted  almost  bodily  out  of  it,  and  for 
another  five  or  six  ve»"Sts  rode  on  the  top  of  a 
camel  with  my  bicycle  dangling  at  my  side. 

The  work  of  getting  the  telega  through  this 
stuff  was  stupendous.      The  sand  came   right 
over  the  tops  of  the  wheels,  and  the  whole  of 
the  caravan  had  to  be  harnessed  to  the  little 
cart,  dragging  it  through  the  sand,  sometimes  on 
its   side    and 
sometimes  on  its 
wheels.  It  looked 
like    nothing    so 
much  as  a  snow-      i. 
plough     in      full 
swing. 

Hard  ground 
w.s  reached  again 
soon  after  mid- 
day, and  here  we 
pitched  our  camp 
and  consumed  a 
few  bowls  of  tea. 
It  was  delightful 
once  more  to  feel 
the  wheels  spinn- 
ing smoothly  be- 
neath me,  for  my 
first  experience  ot 
camel  riding  was 
far  from  ple;i.sant, 
as  all  those  who 
have  tried  this 
method  of  loco- 
motion will  readily  understand. 

That  night— the  third  on  the  desert — the 
announcement  was  made  that  the  bread  had 
gone  entirely  rotten,  and  would  have  to  be 
thrown  away.  I  fancied,  too,  that  the  tea 
tasted  somewhat  peculiar,  and,  going  to  one  of 
the  water-tubs,  was  convinced  that  the  water 
had  begun  to  smell.  Osman,  who  was  a  little 
brighter   and    more  cheerful  since    yesterday's 


From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


episode,  endeavoured  to  put  the  best  face  on 
the  matter,  saying  that  at  the  well  of  Bia-Murat, 
four  days  hence,  we  should  be  able  to  replenish 
our  stock.  I  was  even  thus  early  in  the  march 
feeling  Iax  from  well.  The  terrific  exertions, 
combined  with  the  great  heat,  were  beginning  to 
tell  upon  me.  I  was  not  sleepy,  but  I  became 
hysterical,  and  only  by  liberal  doses  of  quinine 
could  I  that  night  compose  myself  to  sleep. 

The  fourth  day  went  by  without  any  incident, 
except  that  we  fell  in  with  a  band  of  roving 
Khirghiz,  who  swept  down  upon  us  and  were  all 
around  us  in  a  moment,  just  as  if  they  had 
dropped  from  the  skies.  They  came  to  beg 
tobacco  and  tea,  but  we  had  none  to  give  them, 
and  they  went  away  disconsolate,  hurling  shouts 
at  us  as  they  went.  Here  Osman  came  out  in 
his  right  capacity.  To  be  insulted  by  dirty, 
wandering  Khirghiz  was  not  to  be  suffered  with- 
out resentment.  He  ordered  up  the  three 
Cossacks  with  stentorian  cries  of  "  Skoro, 
skoro,"  and  bade  them  pursue  the  Khirghiz  and 
inflict  chastisement. 

The  Cossacks  went  off  like  shots  from  a  gun, 
the  horses  scattering   the  sand  right  and    left, 

and  their  riders' 
fiices  low  down 
to  escape  the 
wind.  They  went 
across  the  inter- 
ver.ing  distance 
between  them- 
selves and  the 
Khirghiz  like 
meteors,  their 
long  knouts 
cracking  in  the 
air  as  they  swept 
along.  Then 
came  one  of  the 
most  surprising 
things  I  have 
ever  seen.  Per- 
ceiving the  Cos- 
sacks after  them, 
the  Khirghiz 
turned  tail  and 
fled.  They  made 
their  horses 
double  and  re- 
double, endeavouring  to  elude  their  pursuers, 
but  the  Cossacks  were  too  smart  for  them.  They 
singled  them  out  one  by  one,  and  gave  them  a 
sound  trouncing  with  their  whips,  and  in  one 
instance  a  Cossack  plucked  one  of  the  offending 
Khirghiz  from  his  saddle,  and,  holding  him  by 
the  neck-band  of  his  long  coat,  dragged  him  along 
in  the  sand  until,  with  a  gesture  of  disgust,  he 
flung  him  with  his  face  to  the  earth.   Not  for  one 


::!y*^ 


lOO 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    ^L\GAZINE. 


THR    URADMAX   AM)    HIS   SL '.M  ill  f  iLS    KTBITKA. 

fioin  a  Photo.  l<y  R.  L.  Jefferson. 

moment  di  1  the  Khirghiz  endeavour  to  resent  this 
onslaught ;  the  big  brass  plates  on  the  breasts 
of  the  Cossacks  prohibited  any  retaliation. 

The  next  two  days  passed  without  incident, 
and  I  was  look- 
i  n  g  forward 
eagerly  to  the 
well  of  Bia- 
Murat,  which 
marked  t  h  e 
h  alf -distance 
stage  across  the 
great  desert.  The 
first  half,  I  was 
told,  was  the 
easiest,  as  beyond 
Bia  -  Murat  the 
sand  lay  deeper, 
and  there  was 
little  sage-brush 
with  which  to 
kindle  a  fire. 
We  came  one 
night  upon  a 
Khirghiz  en- 
campment, where 
the      headman 

■'  THE    BEST   SHEEP   WAS    KI 

From  a  Photo. 


gave  US  the  shelter  of  a  sumptuous 
kibitka,  and  where  the  best  sheep 
was  killed  to  mark  the  occasion. 

Our  commissariat  was  now  dwindl- 
ing considerably,  and  I  began  to  see 
the  force  of  husbanding  some  of  the 
luxuries,  such  as  the  melons  and  the 
tea.  The  order  announcing  this  was 
received  sullenly  enough  by  my 
escort,  whom  I  firmly  believe  would 
have  eaten  everything  we  had  in  a 
day  if  they  had  had  the  chance.  Each 
day,  too,  1  took  upon  myself  the  duty 
of  seeing  that  everybody  had  a  fair 
and  equal  share  of  everything  on  the 
board — guides,  jigitas,  Cossacks,  and 
"  ourselves "  —  in  which  I  include 
Osman  and  myself.  The  work  of 
getting  across  was  equally  hard  for 
everybody,  and  it  was  not  the  sort  of 
environment,  so  at  least  it  seemed 
to  me,  to  stand  upon  ceremony  or 
questions  of  caste. 

I  am  firmly  of  opinion  that  had  I 
not  adopted  this  course  we  should 
never  have  got  across  the  desert  in  the  time 
we  did.  One  day  when  I  had  been  riding 
with  Osman  over  a  flat  stretch,  we  waited 
for     hours     and     hours     for    the     caravan    to 

come  up.  Osman 
began  to  fear 
that  we  had  got 
off  the  track, 
and  that  the 
c  a  r  a  \"  a  n  w  a  s 
ahead  of  us.  1 
was  of  a  differ- 
ent opinion,  how- 
ever, as.  accord- 
ing to  calcula- 
tions, I  knew 
we  had  come  in 
an  exact  south- 
south-east  direc- 
tion, and  as  we 
could  see  for  at 
least  three  miles 
on  either  hand, 
there  was  no 
question  of  our 
being  off  the 
track. 


LI.ED   TO   MARK   THE   OCCASION. 

by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


(To  he  coniiiiued.) 


Attacked  by   Leeches: 


Bv  \V.   Harcourt-Bath. 

A  traveller  in  the  Himalayas  suddenly  strikes  a  country  where  the  jungle  is  literally  alive  with  leeches, 
which  seem  to  hang  from  every  leaf  and  twig.     He  describes  his  sufferings  and  his  frantic  endeavours 

to  take  his  party  beyond  the  leech-infested  zone. 


MK.    W.    HAKCOLKT-BATH. 

From  a  Photo.  l>y  E.  B.  Moduli,  Birmiiighatn. 

HAD  climbed  many  a  high  mountain 
in  other  part.s  ot"  the  world,  both  for 
pleasure  and  for  scientific 
purposes,   when   at   last  I 
resolved    to   cross   the 
mighty  Himalayas  and  ascend  the  high  _  , 

plateau  of  Tibet.  My  object  in  this 
case  was  to  investigate  and  collect 
specimens  of  the  interesting  entomo- 
logical fauna  of  those  elevated  regions  ; 
but  I  shall  not  trouble  the  reader  with 
a  technical  account  of  my  collections. 
It  will  suffice  to  chronicle  the  most 
extraordinary  episode  of  that  expedi- 
tion. 

We  set  out  from  Darjeeling  with 
a  party  consisting  of  myself,  ten  Bhutia 
and  Lepcha  servants,  and  a  Tibetan 
interpreter  —  twelve  in  all.  After 
several  days  of  weary  climbing  we 
reached  the  Donkia  La  Pass  at  an 
altitude  of  18,500ft.,  i.e.,  some  3,000ft. 


'  Major  I,.  A.  Waddell,  IX. D.,  etc.,  the  latest 
traveller  in  the  regions  referred  to  in  this  narrative, 
also  has  something  to  say  about  the  sufferings  of 
himself  and  his  party  from  leeches  in  the  Hipialayan 
forests.  Readers  should  consult  Major  Waddells 
recently  published  hook,  ".Among  the  Himalayas" 
(Constable)  Mr.  H.-B.  himself  will  shortly  publish 
an  account  of  his  travels  in  the  Himalayas  dealing 
specially  with  the  Fauna  and  Flora. 


higher  than  the  summit  of  Mont  Blanc  !  Then 
imagine  our  mortification  when  we  learnt  that 
the  Tibetan  authorities  permitted  no  European 
traveller  to  enter  their  territory  through  that  pass. 
There  was  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  retrace  our 
steps  to  Guntak,  the  capital  of  Sikkim,  a  semi- 
independent  State  under  the  protection  of  the 
Indian  (iovernment.  Here  I  interviewed  the 
Rajah  of  Sikkim,  who  most  graciously  ordered 
his  Dewan  to  afford  us  every  facility  in  our 
enterprise,  and  provide  me  with  a  letter  com- 
manding chiefs  everywhere  to  assist  me  with 
coolies,  ponies,  etc.  This  letter  I  still  possess. 
It  is  written  in  Tibetan  and  has  the  Dewan's 
seal  attached. 

There  now  lay  before  us  two  passes — opened 
lO  all  European  travellers,  under  certain  condi- 
tions, by  the  late  treaty  between  the  British 
Government  and  the  Tibetan  authorities.  These 
were  the  Zelap  La  Pass,  the  principal  trade 
route,  and  the  Nathni  La  Pass,  which  was  far 
more  difficult  to  cross  owing  to  its  being  almost 
impassable  for  beasts  of  burden.  As  our  object 
was  to  explore  as  many  new  regions  as  possible, 
and  as  it  was  more  judicious  to  reserve  the 
easier  route  for  the  return  journey,  I  resolved 


"we  set  out  FRO.M   DAKIEELING. 


lo: 


THE    WIi:)E    WORLD    .MACIAZINE. 


to  go  by  the  latter  pass  and  return  to  British 
territory  by  the  former,  limiting,  through  neces- 
sity, our  beasts  of  burden  to  a  single  mule. 

The  scenery  was  magnificent  when  we  started. 
Dense  forests  of  dark  conifers  mantled  the 
mountain  side  ;  rhododendrons,  junipers,  and 
willows  dotted  the  slopes  here  and  there ; 
flowers  of  glorious  hue  entwined  themselves  in 
graceful  curves  round  and  round  the  shrubs  ; 
while  luxuriant  creepers  hung  in  festoons  from 
bough  to  bough,  and  even  from  tree  to  tree. 
We  drank  in  the  sweet  fragrance,  the  dazzling 
sunshine,  in  deep,  intoxicating  draughts.  Thus 
we  commenced  to  climb  down  the  slope  to  the 
Rungpu  rapids  that  lay  some  4,000ft.  beneath. 

Then  the  scenery  changed.  The  Alpine 
verdure  had  given  place  to  the  densest  tropical 
vegetation.  Tall  willowy  bamboos  waved  their 
long  stems  in  all  directions  from  the  central 
clump;  dwarf  palms,  cotton  trees,  and  plantains 
— the  characteristics  of  the  hottest  and  most 
humid  regions  of  the  earth — covered  the  valley 
in  dense  jungles.  The  atmosphere 
was  nKjist  and  trojjical.  Not  a 
breath  of  wind  stirred  a  leaf : 
it  became  intolerably  hot  and 
stifling.  To  complete  our  dis- 
comfiture— but,  no,  that  was  still 
in  store  for  us  ;  at  all  events,  it 
came  on  to  rain  —  a  blinding, 
drenching,  tropical  downpour.  The 
darkness  was  sudden  and  almost 
startling.  Wearily  we  plodded  on. 
The  bed  of  the  stee[),  stony  water- 
course, that  had  been  dry  but  an 
hour  ago,  was  now  occupied  b\- 
a  rushing,  roaring  stream.  We 
waded  through  it,  knee-deep,  to 
the  oi)posite  side  of  the  valley. 
It  was  a  den.se  jungle  without  a 
single  pathway  through  !  What 
were  we  to  do  ?  The  summit  of 
the  slojje  was  some  7,000ft.  above 
us,  and  there  was  no  shelter 
before  that. 

We  started  through  the  jungle, 
cutting  our  way  almost  at  every 
step.  The  shrubs  on  either  side 
brushed  and  scraped  us,  and  the 
long  bamboo  stems  overhead 
dripped  the  rain-water  down  our 
necks  with  malicious  persistence. 
I  presently  noticed  round, 
brownish  things,  two  to  four 
inches  in  length,  hanging  from 
every  shrub  and  thicket  before  us 
like  so  many  fruits.  They  clung 
to  the  barks  of  trees,  hung  from 
boughs  and  leaves,  and  grouped 


themselves  in  bunches  round  everything  that 
could  bear  their  weight.  Two  parallel  lines  of  a 
lighter  hue  ran  longitudinally  throughout  the 
whole  length  of  their  dark-brown  bodies,  and 
gave  them  a  not  unpicturestiue  appearance  amid 
the  dense  foliage.  I  knew  the  hanging  things 
to  be  leeches,  having  had  many  previous 
experiences  of  them  in  various  parts  of  Sikkim. 
But  little  did  I  dream  what  I  was  about  to  go 
through  on  this  occasion.  We  continued  the 
ascent,  forcing'  our  way  through  the  jungle  that 
tore  our  clothes  on  either  side,  and  hitting  up 
the  bamboos  overhead  that  threatened  to  poke 
out  our  eyes  or  knock  out  our  brains  at  every 
step.  Thus  we  proceeded — wearily,  miserably, 
drenched  and  hungry. 

Suddenly  I  felt  a  tickling  sensation  all  down 
my  calves  and  ankles,  as  if  I  had  been  bitten  by 
a  dozen  mosquitoes.  I  thrust  my  hand  down 
my  leather  leggings.  Horror  1 — cold,  clammy 
things  touched  my  fingers  !  I  hastily  withdrew 
my  hand  and   held    it   up — it  was  covered  with 


■■  FOKCIMJ   A    WAY   TlUIOLijll    Till;.   J1_.\GLE, 


ATTACKED    liV    LEECHES. 


103 


blood.  At  that  instant  the  tickUng  sensation 
broke  out  all  over  me — arms,  legs,  breast,  and 
back.  I  looked  down  my  body,  and  then 
realized  the  horrible  truth.  Scores  of  leeches 
were  hanging  on  to  me  and  sucking  my 
blood  !  Yes  1  they  were  the  dark-brown 
things  I  had  seen  but  a  moment  ago  :  They 
had  swarmed  round  me  as  I  had  passed  through 
the  jungle,  and  were  now  hanging  on  to  me  as 
they  had  done  from  the  shrubs  and  trees. 
With  mingled  horror  and 
disgust  I  scraped  off  the 
loathsome  creatures  with 
my  fingers.  It  was  in  vain, 
however  :  fresh  swarms 
fastened  themselves  upon 
me  at  every  step ;  nay, 
instinctively  cognizant  as 
they  were  of  the  approach 
of  their  victim,  some  of 
them  actually  leapt  down 
upon  me  from  their  rest- 
ing -  place  as  I  brushed 
past,  and  hung  on  to  every 
available  space  on  my  body. 
To  Stan,  still  for  a  single 
moment  was  to  bring  fresh 
hordes  upon  me  ;  I  rushed 
on  furiously,  stamping, 
jumping,  scraping,  like  a 
madman. 

Were  my  clothes  any 
protection  ?  Not  in  the  least 
little  brutes  hung  on  to  them  in 
lumps  over  every  inch  of  my  body 
and  sucked  my  blood  through. 
Nay,  some  had  worked  themselves  in 
beneath  the  folds,  and  lay  with  their 
cold,  clammy  bodies  against,  my  very  skin  ! 
With  a  thrill  of  disgust  I  plunged  my  hands 
in  to  tear  them  off,  but  they  dropped 
from  one  position  to  another  and  eluded 
my  grasp.  In  frantic  irritation — -for  now 
the  tickling  had  become  maddening  in  its 
intensity — I  shook  myself  fiercely,  tearing  off 
the  clothes  where  these  horrible  things  had 
grouped  themselves,  and  scraping  them  off  with 
my  fingers,  against  rocks,  trees,  anything — all  in 
vain.  Fresh  hordes  came  on  faster  and  faster. 
Every  tree  and  shrub,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  was  dotted  with  thousands  of  these 
awful  creatures.  I  stood  in  despair.  My  entire 
body  was  now  streaming  with  blood  ;  I  felt  a 
coming  weakness.  With  a  wild  recklessness  I 
rushed  on  helter-skelter  through  the  jungle  to 
get  out  of  that  terrible  zone  of  blood-suckers 
before  I  fell  exhausted  upon  the  ground. 

How  the  other  members  of  the  party  fared  I 
knew   not.     A\"e  had  been  moving  through  the 


jungle  in  single  file,  and  had  straggled  into  a 
long,  disjointed  line  ;  the  leeches  scattered  us 
farther  apart,  and  we  knew  little  of  one  another's 
misfortunes.  But  now  a  short  open  space,  a 
few  yards  wide,  enabled  us  to  come  together. 
What  a  sight  met  my  gaze  I  The  bare  legs  of 
my  servants  were  one  mass  of  raw  wounds,  from 
which  poured  innumerable  streams  of  blood, 
dyeing  the  ground  at  every  step.  Having  heavy 
loads  to  carry,  the  poor  fellows  had  little  chance 


'•  WHA T   A    SIGHT    MET    MY   G.AZE  !  ' 


of  reaching  down  to  the  myriads  of  leeches 
that  dropped  off  ever  and  anon  satiated  with 
the  blood  of  their  victims — only,  however,  to  be 
instantly  replaced  by  fresh  hordes  thirsting  to 
have  tJieir  fill. 

Good  heavens  !  \\\'is  that  my  mule  ?  There  it 
stood  trembling  in  every  limb,  unable  to  combat 
its  merciless  foes.  1-eeches  clung  to  its  legs  and 
sides  in  serried  ranks  ;  leeches  hung  on  to  its 
eyes,  ears,  nostrils,  like  bunches  of  grapes  ;  while 
dark  circles  of  clotted  blood  marked  the  spots 
from  which  had  fallen  satiated  leeches.  I 
remembered  terrible  tales  of  whole  herds  of 
cattle  being  attacked  by  these  dread  scourges 
and  suffering  wholesale  destruction  because  of 
their  utter  impotence.  But  what  could  we  do 
for  the  poor  mule  ?  Its  appearance  was  sicken- 
ing.    The  patient  beast  cried  out  piteously  and 


I04 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


tremblcj  from  fright  and  weakness.  We  did 
the  only  thing  possible — scraped  off  the  leeches, 
and  thus  relieved  the  pain  for  a  time. 

But  to  encamp  there  was  im[)ossihle.  We 
should  be  smothered  by  the  leeches  during  the 
night ;  besides,  the  rain  still  came  down  in 
torrents.  There  remained  a  little  daylight, 
and  we  must  press  on  as  best  we  could.  So 
again,  in  single  file,  we  started,  climbing  up  and 
up  every  step,  the  drenching  rain  washing  our 
bodies  in  pale  reddish  streams.  Then,  as  the 
darkness  came  on,  and  we  climbed  higher  up 
the  mountain,  it  grew  colder  and  colder.  Many 
a  mile  we  trudged  along,  weary,  footsore,  and 
faint  from  hunger  and  ihe  loss  of  blood,  but  the 
wretched  leeches  gave  us  no  rest.  They 
attacked  us  again  and  again,  till  at  times  we 
were  compelled  to  stay  our  progress  and  face 
them  on  the  offensive.  We  attacked  with  our 
hatchets  every  bush  and  thicket  —  cutting, 
breaking,  tearing,  rending  —  but  all  to  little 
purpose.  It  was  easy  enough  to  clear  a  little 
open  space  for  a  while,  but  that  would  not  take 
us  much  forward  ;  and  it  was  getting  darker 
and  darker  every  instant.  \\'ell-nigh  frantic 
with  despair  we  pushed  on  through  the  jungle, 
permitting  our  relentless  foes  to  have  their  fill 
for  a  time. 

At  last  to  our  intense  relief  we  reached  a 
large  open  plot  of  ground ;  we  could  go  no 
farther.  Something  was  looming  in  the  dark, 
Thank  God  !  it  was  a  hut ;  nay,  only  a  roof 
supported  on  four  u{)right  posts,  the  remains  of 
a  hut,  erected  by  some  previous  traveller  in  that 
inhos[)itable  region.  Into  it  we  clambered  and 
fell  exhausted. 

And  now  my  men  had  made  a  blazing  fire  of 
loose  bamboos.  Fortunately  my  wardrobe, 
carried  by  one  of  the  coolies,  was  still  dry, 
and  I  was  enabled  to  change  my  wet  clothes. 
The  coolies  dried  themselves  by  the  fire,  and  I 
handed  round  a  good  dose  of  brandy  to  all  to 
keep  up  their  spirits  and  warm  them  up  that 
cold  and  chilly  night.  The  fire  blazed  and 
roared  with  short,  sharp  detonations  as  the 
coolies  threw  fresh  bamboos  on.  Its  lurid  glare 
lit  up  the  open  space  in  front,  where  dripped  the 
rain  in  incessant  patter.  Indeed,  we  were 
thankful  for  this  shelter  after  the  day's  hardships, 
and  with  a  light  meal  we  prepared  to  turn  in  for 
the  night,  when,  gradually,  almost  imperceptibly, 
it  came  on  again — that  horrible  itching  I  All 
over  the  body — arms,  legs,  back,  and  chest — a 
continuous,  insufferable  itching. 

Alas !  I  had  forgotten.  The  innumerable 
punctures  made  by  the  leeches  had  now  dried. 
I  looked  down — they  were  swollen  hideously  ! 
The  itching  became  unbearable ;  an  almost 
irresistible  desire  seized  me  to  rub  the  wounds 


to  allay  the  irritation.  But,  no  I— the  con- 
sequences might  be  serious.  For  I  remembered 
that  to  do  so  would  but  serve  to  make  them 
break  out  in  frightful  sores — perhaps  poisonous. 
The  feeling  was  horrible  ;  little  actual  pain,  it  is 
true,  but  that  terrible,  incessant  itching  was 
almost  beyond  human  endurance.  I  had  read 
of  people  being  tortured  to  death  in  the  Dark 
Ages  by  incessant  tickling  on  the  soles  of  their 
feet,  but  this  horrible  itching  became  so  intense, 
relentless,  and  prolonged,  that  it  was  nothing 
short  of  maddening.  There  was,  however, 
nothing  for  me  to  do  but  clench  my  teeth  and 
bear  the  torture.  At  that  moment  I  felt  that  I 
could  well  spare  half  my  worldly  goods  even 
for  some  little  ointment  to  rub  over  the  wounds, 
but  none  was  to  be  had  in  that  silent  wilderness. 
No  sleep  was  possible,  so  I  sat  by  the  fire 
waiting  for  dawn  to  appear. 

And  well  it  was  tliat  I  did  so.  Suddenly  I 
espied  in  the  deep  gloom  outside  some  fitful 
shadows  crossing  the  glare  of  the  open  space. 
One,  two,  five,  ten — about  a  score  of  them.  I 
sprang  up  with  my  revolver  in  my  hand,  and 
awoke  the  Tibetan  interpreter,  who  lay  snoring 
by  the  fire,  as  if  leeches  had  had  no  thirst  for 
his  blood.  He  went  out  to  reconnoitre.  In  a 
few  minutes  he  returned  to  say  that  they  were 
a  band  of  Tibetan  traders  returning  from 
Sikkim.  I  didn't  quite  believe  the  tale,  for  1 
knew  that  those  passes  were  notorious  for 
marauding  thieves  and  cut-throats.  So  I  awoke 
a  few  of  the  men  and  ordered  them  to  pile  more 
bamboos  on  the  fire  and  keep  a  sharp  look-out. 

The  Tibetans  pitched  their  tents  not  far  off,, 
and  were  quite  visible  in  the  glare  of  our  fire, 
which  now  blazed  away  furiously.  The  smoke 
rose  up  in  thick  columns,  and  then  slowly  and 
gradually  trickled  through  the  thin  roof  and 
passed  out  into  the  air  above.  I  sat  watching 
by  the  fire,  wondering  how  long  it  would  be 
before  the  blessed  dawn  appeared. 

Suddenly  a  horrible  thrill  shot  through  my 
entire  frame.  At  first  I  thought  it  was  but  a 
momentary  clima.x  of  that  dreadful  itching — for 
it  was  a  tickling,  such  as  I  had  experienced 
when  the  leeches  first  attacked  me.  I  dared 
not  try  to  allay  the  irritation  by  rubbing.  I 
cursed  the  day  I  had  thought  of  visiting  this 
infernal  region.  Suddenly  I  looked  down  over 
my  body.  Good  heavens  !  it  was  covered  all 
over  with  leeches  again  !  Was  I  dreaming,  and 
was  this  a  mere  horrible  nightmare  of  what  I  had 
actually  gone  through  that  terrible  day  ?  No, 
the  tickling  broke  out  all  over  me.  I  sprang; 
up  with  a  curse  :  they  were  real,  live  leeches — 
sucking,  sucking  my  life-blood  at  every  pore. 
I  jumped,  scraped,  hit  out  frantically  in  the 
maddening  irritation  that  beset  me. 


ATTACKED    BV    LEECHES. 


T05 


Whence  had  they  conic  into  tlial  luit  ?  Surely 
they  had  not  cliased  us  along  the  ground  ?  A 
sudden  thought  struck  me.  I  snatched  up  a 
flaming  bamboo  from  the  fire  and  held  it  over 
my  head.  Yes  !  there,  clinging  to  the  roof, 
every  inch  of  it,  were  bunches  of  leeches  as 
thick  and  close  as  they  had  hung  from  the 
bushes  we  had  passed  that  day.  Ah  !  that 
unfortunate  smoke.  Passing  through  every 
crevice  in  that  dilapidated  roof,  it  had  dis- 
turbed them  from  their  places,  and  they  had 
fallen  on  me  as  I  sat  by  the  fire. 

A\'hat  was  I  to  do  ?  Put  out  the  fire  and  sit 
in  that  bitter  cold?  What  about  the  foes  out- 
side? \\ould  they  not  seize  the  op[)ortunity  to 
attack  us  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  and  per- 
haps murder  us  for 
the  sake  of  our 
goods  ?  What  was 
I  to  do?  Let  the 
fire  be,  and  go  out 
into  the  cold,  bitter 
wind  outside,  and  sit 
out  the  night  in  the 
drenching  rain  ? 

That  seemed  to 
be  the  only  alterna- 
tive ;  for  stay  inside 
the  hut  with  those 
leeches  on  my  back 
I  could  not.  I  took 
a  stiff  dose  of  brandy 
to  warm  my  blood 
(what  little  of  it  was 
still  left  in  me),  and 
walked  out  into  the 
cold  rain  and  biting 
wind.  Once  I  tried 
to  sit  down  on  the 
ground  with  my  back 
against  a  post  of  the 
hut,  but  a  couj)Ie  of 
leeches  instantly  fell 
upon  my  head  from 
the  projecting  cor- 
nice above.     ^Vith  a 

shudder  I  sprang  up  into  the  open  space  again, 
frantic,  reckless  of  wind  and  rain,  so  long  as  I 
was  far  from  those  horrible  leeches. 

There  in  the  full  glare  of  the  fire  I  walked 
up  and  down  to  take  the  chill  off  my  weary 
limbs  and  cause  the  remnant  of  my  blood  to 
flow.  The  Tibetans  lay  asleep,  or  seemed  to 
be,  in  their  tents  in  front.  I  gripped  my 
revolver  fiercely  as  some  light  sleeper  moved  in 
his  dreams. 

Thus  passed  that  terrible  night.  Next  morning 
I  was  cold,  weary,  and  utterly  exhausted  from 
the  want  of  sleep  and  the  loss  of  blood.     But  I 

Vol.  iii.— 'i4. 


I    GRlI'l'ED    MY    KEVOLVEK    FIERCELY. 


swore  to  escape  from  that  God-forsaken  region 
even  if  I  had  to  crawl  on  my  hands  and  knees. 
I  gulped  down  a  hasty  meal  and  pressed  reck- 
lessly on  into  the  jungle  beyond.  As  before, 
we  climbed  in  single  file.  As  before,  the  leeches 
were  there.  Up  and  up  that  slope  we  climbed 
wearily,  now  regardless  of  the  leeches  around. 
We  had  grown  resigned  to  our  lot ;  and  a 
faint  hope  spurred  us  on  that  we  might  gain 
a  higher  altitude,  beyond  the  reach  of  our 
merciless  and  literally  bloodthirsty  foes. 

Thank  (lod  !  the  leeches  now  were  not  so 
thick  on  the  shrubs  and  bushes  as  they  were 
before.  I  looked  at  my  pocket  aneroid  :  we 
were  at  a  height  of  8,500ft.  Spurred  on  by 
this    new-born    hope    we    rushed   on  furiously, 

caring  not  to  stop 
and  fight  our  foes  ; 
our  sole  anxiety  now 
was  to  get  beyond 
their  reach.  One 
hundred,  200ft., 
300ft.  more  we 
climbed,  and  noted 
with  increasing  joy 
that  the  leeches 
grew  scarcer  and 
-•scarcer.  With  a 
joyous  rush  we 
bounded  on — 400ft., 
500ft.,  600ft.  —  yes, 
at  an  altitude  of 
9,  IOC  ft.  we  left  our 
foes  behind  ! 

We  went  no  more 
that  day  ;  a  long 
rest  was  needed.  We 
pitched  our  tents 
there  and  stayed  two 
whole  days.  Thence- 
forth our  progress 
was  rapid  and  even 
pleasurable,  because 
of  the  increasing 
grandeur  of  the 
scenery  and  the 
beauty  of  the  foliage.  We  reached  the  Nathni 
La  Pass,  at  a  height  of  14,500ft.,  and  were 
received  by  the  Chinese  Commissioner  of 
Customs  with  every  hospitality.  We  needed  it. 
After  a  week's  rest  we  continued  our  explora- 
tions according  to  the  purpose  of  our  expedition. 
I  returned  to  P>ritish  territory  by  the  other 
pass,  viz.,  the  Zelap  La,  at  an  altitude  of 
14,400ft.  In  future — that  is,  if  I  ever  go  to 
those  regions  again — I  shall  choose  this  pass  for 
both  journeys.  The  other— well,  I  shall  leave 
it  alone.  The  very  thought  of  it  still  gives  me 
a  shudder. 


Odds    and    Ends. 

Little  photographic  glimpses   of  all    that    is    curious    or    extraordinary  in  lands  both  civilized  and 
uncivilized.       Photos,  selected  from    among  thousands    submitted  by  travellers,  and  accompanied 

by  full  descriptive  notes. 


J' to  III  a] 


(iUJANTlC    FIGURKS   OF    WOOD   AND    LEATHER   USED   IN    A   CEVLON    FESTIVAI 


1 1 E  two  photos,  we  reproduce  here 
show  an  extremely  interesting 
festival,  which  takes  place  annually 
in  the  North -West  Provinces  of 
India.  This  is  known  as  the 
Ramlila,  or  play  of  Rama.  The  festival 
celebrates  the  victory  of  the  god  Rama 
over  the  great  demon  Ravana,  king  of 
Ceylon,  who,  according  to  tradition,  once 
carried  off  a  fair  princess  from  Rama  and 
lodged  her  in  a  fortress,  whence  she  was  rescued 


by    the    aid    of    Hanuman,    the 


king    of 


the 


monkeys.  Gigan- 
tic figures,  as 
seen  in  our  first 
photo.,  are  set  up 
to  represent  the 
two  enemies  and 
their  attendants. 
Amid  much  dis- 
charging of  fire- 
works and  minia- 
ture bombs,  a 
mimic  battle  is 
enacted,  which 
ends  in  the  com- 
plete overthrow 
of  the  wicked 
Ravana  and  all 
his  satellites,  who 
are  forthwith 
burnt  amid  great 
rejoicings.  These 
celebrations 
usually  take  place 
in  October,  in  the 
Hindu  month  of  Koar  or  Asin.  The  figures 
are  made  of  wood  and  leather,  stretched  over 
wicker  frames,  and  they  are  bombarded  with 
paper  cannon-balls  and  fire-crackers. 

The  Moors  are  a  very  excitable,  fanatical 
nation,  and  even  in  their  games  they  delight  in 
working  themselves  up  into  a  frenzy  of  excite- 
ment to  the  accompaniment  of  much  yelling  and 
gun-firing.  For  example,  there  are  the  loawies, 
a  sect  of  fanatics  who  dance  without  stopping  for 
hours,  lashing  themselves  up  to  such  a  pitch  of 
nervous  exaltation,  that  they  foam  at  the  mouth 


[/  /una. 


J  roin  a\ 


O.NE   OF   THE    ITCLKES    KEING    liOMBAKi,L.,     ..  1  1  H    CKACKEKS. 


[Photo. 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


107 


is  always  played  on  the  occasion  of  a 
visit  from  some  notable  chief. 

The  charming  little  snap-shot  we 
next  reproduce  shows  a  Singalese 
mother  giving  her  little  son  his  morn- 
ing bath.  Behind  her  is  the  well, 
from  which  she  has  just  drawn  a 
bucket  of  ice-cold  water  to  pour  over 
the  baby,  whose  scanty  wardrobe 
hangs  on  the  post  on  the  right  of 
the  photo.  The  little  fellow  is  as 
"good  as  gold  " — in  striking  contrast 
to  the  behaviour  of  some  European 
babies  we  have  seen — and  appa- 
rently enjoys  his  alfresco  toilet. 

Of  all  the  primitive  craft  ever 
designed    for     use    on     the    watery 


THE      ■  POWDER    FI.AY    — AN    HVSTKKICAI- 
J'ERFOR.MANCE  OF  THE   MOORS. 

From  a  Photo. 

and  often  fall  into  convulsions. 
The  accompanying  photo,  re- 
presents an  institution  which 
appeals  strongly  to  the  excitable 
nature  of  the  Saracens.  This 
is  the  "  Powder  Play  "  —  the 
Moorish  national  game.  The 
players  dance  frantically  round 
a  man  in  the  centre,  who  juggles 
with  a  dagger  or  gun.  At  a 
given  word  all  the  dancers  dis- 
charge their  firearms  into  the 
air,  meanwhile  shouting  and 
shrieking  to  their  hearts'  con- 
tent. Very  often  accidents 
happen  in  this  game,  which  is 
nevertheless  very  popular,   and 


BOAT   M 

From  a] 


INVERTED   HORSE-SHOES. 


BABV  b  .MUK.MNC   1..M11    I.N    CL,VLO.\. 

From  a  Photo. 

element,  the  canoe  next 
reproduced  is  surely  the 
strangest,  surpassing  even 
the  old  tub  and  caulked 
egg-box  of  our  childhood. 
It  is  made  out  of  a  miner's 
puddling-trough,  which  in 
turn  was  fashioned  from 
a  hollowed  log.  The 
stern  is  boarded  in,  while 
the  bow — of  correct  tor- 
pedo-boat-destroyer shape 
is  constructed  of  sheet- 
iron,  roughly  bolted  on. 
The  outriggers  are  bent 
tree-branches,  while  the 
rowlocks  are  nothing 
more  or  less  than  inverted 


xo8 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


horse-shoes.  One  is  not  at  all  surprised  to  hear 
that  this  crazy  craft  was  liable  to  capsize,  but 
even  here  the  ingenious  designer  had  triumphed 
over  difficulties  by  fastening  rolling  chocks  to 
the  hull.  Shovels  for  oars  completed  the 
equipment  of  this  unique  vessel,  which  was 
photographed  on  the  banks  of  the  Macquarie 
River,  X.S.W'.,  Australia. 

The  whole  machinery  of  the  enormous  prison 
at  Rangoon — the  largest  in  the  East— is  worked 
by  human  power  generated  by  the  treadmill 
seen    in  our  photo.,  which   will   accommodate 


any  other  work.  It  was  the  custom  a  few  years 
ago,  when  executions  took  place,  to  erect  the 
gallows  just  inside  the  main  gates  of  the  prison, 
which,  when  all  was  ready,  were  thrown  open 
to  the  people,  who  flocked  in  to  see  the  carry- 
ing out  of  the  death  sentence.  This  custom 
has  now  been  abolished,  the  gallows  being 
erected  as  a  permanent  structure  in  the  centre 
of  the  garden  of  the  prison,  which  is  kept  in 
beautiful  trim  by  the  good-conduct  prisoners. 

Next   comes  a    remarkably  interesting  snap- 
shot of  vast  numbers  of  the  sooty  tern,  taken 


HKISONERS  ON  THE  TREADMILL  IN  THE  GREAT  PRISON  OF  RANGOON.      (tHE  WHOLE  MACHINERY  OF  THE   PRISON  IS  WORKED  IN   THIS  WAY.) 

From  a  Photo. 


over  a  hundred  men  at  one  time.  The  wrists  of 
the  prisoners  are  chained  to  a  bar,  so  that  they 
cannot  leave  the  mill  until  allowed  to  do  so.  If 
a  convict  is  refractory,  and  will  not  "  tread,"  he 
simply  falls  down  as  far  as  his  wrist-irons  will  let 
him,  while  the  ever-moving  wheel  barks  his  shins 
at  each  revolution.  At  a  given  word  every  man 
on  the  "  mill "  changes  step  and  turns  his  body. 
All  prisoners  admitted  to  the  gaol — European 
or  native — have  to  serve  a  certain  number  of 
weeks  on  the  treadmill  before  they  are  put  to 


on  the  Island  of  Ascension  during  the  nesting 
season.  On  Ascension  Island  these  birds 
breed  in  enormous  numbers,  the  exact  locality 
being  a  vast  volcanic  cinder-heap.  The  "  sooty  " 
is  one  of  the  rarest  of  the  terns,  so  far  as  Great 
Britain  is  concerned,  it  being  only  an  occasional 
visitor  to  these  shores.  The  female  is  said  to 
lay  but  one  egg,  in  a  slight  hollow  in  the  ground, 
which  serves  as  a  nest ;  but  on  Ascension 
Island  the  birds  are  present  in  such  enormous 
numbers   that   as    many    as    200    dozen   eggs 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


109 


IIK.NS    SWAKMlNi;    liX     I  HI-:    IM.ANI)    1  iK    ASCENSION. 


are    gathered    in     one 


morning. 


Many    of 


the  eggs  are  gathered   for   eating   purposes,  but 
great  numbers   find  their  way  into  private  eol- 
lections  and  museums.    Some  of  the  specimens 
are  most  beautifully  marked,   the  ground-colour 
being    cream  or 
bluish  -  white, 
and  the  blotches 
and      spots      in 
tints  of  lavender, 
purple,  chest- 
nut, and  brown 
madder. 

The  belief  in 
the  horse-shoe 
as  an  emblem 
of  luck  is  very 
widespread.  In 
the  October 
number  of  this 
Magazine  we 
reproduced  a 
photo,  of  a 
charm  which 
showed  that  the 
Arabs  regard  it 


horoscope    and    indicates   a 
lucky  day  for  the  interment. 
A    site     has     also     to     be 
chosen,  and  with  this  certain 
heavenly   influences,    known 
as  the  Fung'dmr  (\Vind  and 
^\■ater),   have   much    to  do. 
Even  when    this    has    been 
decided    upon,    it    is   often 
years    before    the    coffin    is 
actually  buried.    As  the  sites 
are   chosen  indiscriminately, 
China    is    nothing    more    or 
less    than    one    vast    burial- 
ground.        Hence    much 
opposition  has   been  shown 
to   the   construction   of   the 
railways  across  the  country,  to 
the  disturbance  of  the  dead 
and  the  wrath  of  their  spirits. 
The  photos,  that  next  appear  were  sent  from 
Egypt  in  1880  by  Charles  Berghoff,  who  in  1882 
was  stationed  at  Fashoda,  on  the  White  Nile,  as 
an   inspector  for  the  supi)ression    of   the  slave 
trade.      He  is  reported  to  have  lost  his  life  as  a 


YPIioto. 


as    a   harbinger 


From  a\ 


of  prosperity, 
and     from     the 

annexed  photograph  it  will  be  observed  that 
the  Chinese  are  also  strong  believers  in 
the  significant  shape.  This  is  a  Chinese 
burial-ground,  and  each  of  the  "horse-shoes" 
seen  dotted  about  the  hillside  contains 
the  body  of  some  departed  Celestial.  The 
"  horse  -  shoes  "  are  built  of  concrete,  and 
generally  face  south.  After  the  dead  man 
has  been  hermetically  sealed  up  in  his 
coffin  a  fortune-teller  is  called  in,  who  casts  his 


.lAL-GKDLMi 


{I'lwto. 


prisoner  of  the  Mahdi.  At  any  rate,  he  was 
never  again  heard  of.  The  photos,  have  been 
lent  to  us  for  reproduction,  being  remarkable 
for  their  extraordinary  clearness  and  good 
preservation. 

The  first  shows  in  the  background,  along 
some  sandhills,  a  caravan  traversing  the  Nubian 
desert,  called  Bachrhela  Ma,  or  the  "  Sea  without 
water."  It  gives  a  magnificent  idea  of  a  scene 
we  have  all  read  about,  but  which  comparative! 


110 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


From  a\ 


A    CARAVAN    TRAVERSING    THE   NUlilAN    DESER I . 


{Photo. 


few  of  us  have  had  an  opportunity  of  beholding 
for  ourselves.  We  quote  from  Mr.  Berghoff's 
papers:  "The  desert  road  is  marked  here 
and  there  by  stones  placed  upright,  indicating 
the  last  resting-place  of  some  traveller  who 
has  succumbed  to  thirst  and  heat.  The 
dazzling  yellow  sand  contrasts  strangely  with 
the  thousands  of  white  bleached  bones  and 
skeletons  of  fallen  camels.  If  a  camel  during 
the  desert  voyage  falls  ill  or  becomes  ex- 
hausted, it  throws  itself  on  the  ground  and 
cannot  be  induced  to  rise  again.  The  caravan 
leader  is  then  forced  to  distribute  the  load  of 
the  dying  camel  upon  the  other  animals,  and 
leave  the  poor  brute  to  its  fate.  Q)uietly  it 
awaits  death,  sometimes  for  days,  as  there  are 
no  carnivorous  wild  animals  in  the  Atmur  ;  and 
the  vultures  will  not  ven- 
ture to  attack  a  creature 
not  quite  lifeless." 

Tiie  second  photo, 
shows  one  of  these 
skeletons,  remarkable  by 
reason  of  the  circum- 
stance that  every  bone 
has  remained  in  the  exact 
position  in  which  it  was 
when  the  camel  met  its 
death. 

In  the  year  1896  there 
existed  near  Samsoun  in 
Asia  Minor  a  small  village, 
peopled  almost  entirely 
by  Armenians.  They 
were  a  peaceable  folk, 
rather  prosperous,  since 
they  lived  in  a  corner  of 
the  country  literally  over- 


of  Nature.  The  country-side  was  well  peopled, 
Armenian  and  Turkish  villages  alternating. 

One  autumn  day  news  arrived  from  Stamboul 
of  the  Armenian  rising  in  the  Angora  country,  and 
in  the  particular  village  we  name  discussion  was 
rife  as  to  what  next  would  be  done.  A  wander- 
ing Mussulman  carried  tales  to  the  resident 
pasha  of  the  vilayet  of  Samsoun,  and  two  days 
later  Turkish  soldiers  were  marched  througli  the 
one  street  of  the  village,  having  in  their  wake 
a  motley  crowd  of  men  armed  with  sta\es  at  least 
live  feet  long,  three  or  four  inches  in  diameter, 
and  pointed  at  either  end. 

How  the  trouble  started  no  one  in  Samsoun 
could  tell,  but  sure  it  is  that  there  was  firing,  and 
people  —  men,  women  and  children  —  were 
slaughtered  right  and  left.     The  Armenians,  as 


flowing  with  the  bounties 


J'yom  a] 


■  FALLEN    JiV   THE    WAV 


-A    CU.^LMON    SIGHT    IN    THE    DESERT. 


{/'hoio. 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


Ill 


much  to  blame  probably  as  the  Turks,  fout^ht 
valiantly.  They  had  secreted  arms  and  had 
barricaded  various  houses,  but  they  were  over- 
powered by  numbers,  and  those  who  remained 
of  the  villagers  fled  towards  the  mountains.  The 
soldiers  and  the  camp-followers  pursued  them, 
and  slaughtered  them,  with  the  exception  of  two 
brothers,  who,  more  nimble  than  their  com- 
patriots, were  able  to  seek  safety  in  the  high  hills 
behmd  Samsoun. 

This  is  but  a  side-light  thrown  on  the  Ar- 
menian and  Turkish  atrocities  in  Asia  Minor 
during  the  period  when  Abdul  Hamid  was 
described  by  Mr.  Gladstone  as  "  the  great 
as.sassin."  But  more  is  to  follow.  It  became 
known  to  the  authorities  at  Samsoun  that 
respectable  Turks  had  been  found  shot  dead 
in  remote  passes  and  on  roads  in  the  moun- 
tains. Not  only  that,  but  in  the  Turkish 
villages  adjacent  to  the  seaport  murders  were 
also  frequent.  No  one  knew  the  perpetrators 
of  the  crimes,  but  certain  it  was  that  one  or 
more  desperate  men  had  set  themselves  the  task 
of  waging  an  irregular  warfare  against  the  Turks. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  catch  the  so-called 
miscreants,  but  many  months  passed  by  before 


they  were  sighted.  Then  intelligence  drifted 
down  to  the  coast  that  in  the  hills  were  two 
brothers,  who,  living  on  the  scanty  provisions 
provided  them  by  sympathetic  compatriots, 
spent  their  existence  only  in  the  hope  of  putting 
an  end  to  as  many  Mussulmans  as  possible. 
Their  depredations  in  the  district  became  more 
and  more  acute.  At  last  the  district  became 
thoroughly  terror-stricken,  and  in  consequence  of 
the  repeated  raids  many  atrocities  were  com- 
mitted by  the  terrified  Turks  upon  perfectly 
innocent  Armenians.  At  last  the  Ciovernment 
sent  out  an  organized  band,  and  for  days  these 
regulars  chased  the  fugitive  brothers  in  the 
mountains.  The  band  consisted  of  close  upon 
fifty  men,  and  after  nearly  ten  days'  hunt  they 
succeeded  in  cornering  their  quarry.  The 
brothers,  at  the  face  of  a  rock,  fought  to  the 
death.  They  were  pistolled,  rifled,  and 
bayoneted  a  dozen  times  before  they  fell. 
They  were  then  stripped  of  their  clothing  and 
stabbed  again  and  again,  and  so  elated  was 
the  ofificer  in  command  of  the  expedition,  that 
he  sent  down  to  a  photographer  and  ordered 
a  photograph  to  be  taken — the  one  which  is 
reproduced   herewith. 


^  IVIll  (jj 


i  111,11,  uu:.' ' .  '-i. 


H'lwto, 


112 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


From  a  Photo.  by\ 


A    DUTCH    CHEESE-MARKET. 


\A.  M.  Macdone. 


The  Dutch  cheese  is  a  famihar  object  in  this 
country,  and  accordingly  the  photo,  of  a  Dutch 
cheese- market  here  reproduced  should  be  of 
interest.  This  market  is  situated  at  Alkmar, 
some  twenty  or  so  miles  from  Amsterdam,  and  is 
one  of  the  busiest  of  the  cheese-fairs.  Here 
the  peasants  assemble 
.week  by  week  to  dispose 
of  their  cheese  to  the 
dealers.  It  is  said  that 
upwards  of  5,000  tons 
■ — half  the  product  of 
the  province  —  are 
annually  weighed  in 
the  weighing-house  at 
this  place.  The  centre 
iof  ^the  market-place  is 
covered  with  piles  of 
■little  red  and  yellow 
cheeses,  in  appearance 
, like  cannon-balls,  and 
shining  like  varnish. 
;When  a  purchase  is 
made  you  see  fifty 
cheeses  or  so  carried 
on  a  sort  of  wooden 
litter  strapped  to  the 
shoulders  of  two  men 
dressed  in  white. 
These  wear  different 
coloured  straw  hats 
and  ribbons  to  indicate 
the  district  for  which 
they  act.    'J'he  method       camfokman-  cakkiage-dkivi 

of  bargaining  is  not  by  From  a  Photo^'by'^MrrH. 


writing,  but  by  striking  the  hand,  after  the 
fashion  in  vogue  at  a  Yorkshire  cattle  fair. 
Similar  cheese-markets  are  to  be  found  at 
Edam,  whence  come  the  little  red  cheeses  which 
are  to  be  seen  in  every  grocer's  shop ;  also  at 
Hoorn,    and    in    the    Island    of    Te.xel,    where 

34,000  sheep  arui  kept 
to  supply  the  milk  for 
a  certain  kind  of  green 
cheese. 

In  this  country, 
where  apricots  are 
costly  luxuries,  only  to 
be  found  on  the  tables 
of  the  rich,  it  comes  to 
one  with  quite  a  s-hock 
to  hear  of  a  carriage- 
drive  paved  with 
apricot  stones  instead 
of  gravel.  The 
millions  of  delicious 
juicy  apricots  which 
must  have  yielded  up 
their  stones  to  make 
the  broad  road  (it  is 
over  half  a  mile  long) 
seen  in  our  illustration, 
make  one's  mouth 
water.  This  remarkable 
thoroughfare  is  to  be 
found  on  a  ranch  in 
Southern  California. 
By  the  aid  of  a  magnify- 
,  K  HALF  A  Mii.E  i.iNG,  FAVED       ing-glass  thc  stoncs  can 

or    STONES.  00.  1      •      1 

stiles,  Cah/ornia,  U.S.A.  06  SeCH  qUlte  plaUlly. 


I    PRON'IDLD    THE    DISTRESSED    HIKDS    AJND   ANIMALS    WITH    MEANS    OE 
(^UENCIIINO   THEIR    IXSin'PORTABLE   THIRST." 

(SEK    1'A(;K    121.) 


Till:  Wini:  World  Magazine 


\'ol.    III. 


JL'NE,   1S99. 


Xo.   14. 


The   Adventures   of  Louis   De   Rougemont. 


A>     To 


\.\     Hl.MStLh. 

X. 


TllK  \Vll)F.  World  is  a   .Magazine   started  wi'li  the  avowed  intention  of  puhlishing   true  stories  of  actual  experiences 

and  avoitiing  fiction.      "The  Adventures  of  Louis  De  Rougemont"  were  commenced  under  the  l)elief  that  tliey  were 

the  true  account  of  the  life  of  the  author.      It  now  turns  out  that  it   is  not  possible  for  him  to  have  been  thirty  years 

among  the  savages,  as  stated.      His  story  was  told  in  these  offices  over  a  period  of  several  months,  during  which  lime  he 

never  contradicted  himself  once.      But,  after  what  has  transpired,  we  wish  it  to  he  distinctly  understood  that  we  do  not 

publish  it  as  a  true  narrative,  i^ut  only  as  it  is  given  to  us  by  the  author,  leaving  it  to  the  members  of  the  public  to 

believe  as  much  or  as  little  as  they  please.     It  is  admitted  that  portions  ofr  the  story  are  founded  on  his  experiences. 

In  any  case,  the  story  is  so  crowded  with  vivid,  graphic,  and  consistent  details,  that  it  marks  its  author,  if  not  a  speaker 

of  the  truth,  at  least  as  a  master  of  fiction  who  has  had  no  equal  in  our  language  since  Defoe  ;  so  that,  even  if  the  story 

is  an  invention,  it  is  one  which  cannot  fail  to  excite   the  deepest  interest,  and  we  are  sure  that  our  readers  would  lie 

keenly  disappointed  if  they  were  not  allowed  the  opportunity  of  hearing  the  extraordinarj'  developments  ami  termina'ion 

of  the  narrative.     We  may  conclude,  in  the  witty  lines  of  the  IVor/d : — 

"  Truth  is  stranger  than   Fiction,'     " 
But  De  Rougemont  is  stranger  than  both. 


*H^pe"     nieans  of  returning  to  civilization, 
can  only   reach   these  creatures- 


OT  long  after  this  incident  a  delusive 
hope  was  held  out  to  me  that  I 
might  be  able  to  return  to  civiliza- 
tion. News  was  brought  one  day 
that  the  tracks  of  some  strange  and 
iiitlierto  unknown  animals  had  been  found  to 
the  north,  and,  accompanied  by  Vamba,  I  went 
off  to  inspect  them.  I  found  that  they  were 
camel  tracks  for  the  second  time,  and  as  Vamba 
informed  me  that,  from  the  appearance  of  the 
trail,  there  was  no  one  with  them,  I  concluded 
that  in  all  probability  the  creatures  were  wild, 
having  long  ago  belonged  to  some  exploring 
party  which  had  come  to  grief. 

"Here  at  length,"  I  thought,  "is  the 

If  I 
-and 

why  should  I  not  with  so  much  assistance  at  my 
disposal  ? — I  will  break  them  in  and  then  strike 
south  across  the  deserts  with  my  wife  and  family." 
I  returned  to  the 
camp,  and  taking 
with  me  a  party 
of  the  most  in- 
telligent tribesmen 
I  set  off  again 
after  the  wild 
camels ;  and  when 
we  had  been 
several  days  con- 
tinuously tracking 
we  came  up  with 
the  beasts.  There- 
were  four  of  them 
altogether,  and 
right  wild  and 
vicious-looking 
brutes  they  were. 

Vol.  iii.— 1j. 


They  marched  close  together  in  a  band,  and 
never  parted  company.  The  moment  I  and 
my  men  tried  to  separate  them  and  head  them 
off,  the  leader  would  swoop  down  upon  us 
with  open  mouth,  and  the  result  of  this 
appalling  apparition  was  that  my  black  assis- 
tants fled  precipitately.  Alone  I  followed 
these  camels  for  several  days  in  the  hope  of 
being  able  ultimately  to  drive  them  into  some 
ravine,  where  I  thought  I  might  possibly  bring 
them  to  a  state  of  subjection  by  systematic 
starvation.  But  it  was  a  vain  effort  on  my  part. 
The  camels  kept-  in  the  track  of  the  water- 
holes,  and  wandered  on  from  one  to  the  other 
at  considerable  speed. 

At    length    I    abandoned    hope    alto- 
int.gether,    though  not  without  a   feeling 
of  sore  disappointment  as  I  watched 
the   curious,    ungainly   creatures    dis- 
appearing  over   the  brow   of  a  sand-hill.      Of 


Sore 

Disappoi 

meni 


*THK    ii--.-\m-K    v\<i^i.i>   >v\*K>r    Ln»\\N    (.r<»\    i  >    wii.M    i»i'K.% 
Copyright,  1S99,  in  the  United  States,  by  Louis  de  RougemonL 


ii6 


THE    WIDi:    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


course  I  took  good  care  not  to  tell  any  of  the 
natives  the  real  reason  of  my  desire  to  possess  a 
camel,  though  I  did  try  to  explain  to  them  some 
of  the  uses  to  which  the  people  in  other  parts 
of  the  world  put  these  wonderful  anUnals. 

A  very  strange  experience  befell  Yamba  not 
long  after  I  had  settled  down  among  the  blacks 
in  my  mountain  home,  and  it  serves  to  illustrate 
the  strictness  with  which  the  laws  against  poach- 
ing are  observed.  You  may  have  noticed,  by 
the  way,  that  I  have  not  dealt  at  any  great 
length  with  details  referring  to  laws,  manners, 
customs,  and  tribal  observances,  for  the.se  will 
ultimately  appear  in  an  appendix  to  my  book.  But 
the  incident  I  am  about  to  relate  concerned  me 
very  nearly,  and  might  have  cost  me  my  life  as 
well  as  my  wife.  Well,  it  happened  that  Yamba 
and  I  were  returning  from  one  of  the  many 
"  walk-abouts  "  which  we  were  constantly  under- 
taking together  and  with  natives,  and  which 
sometimes  extended  over  several  weeks  and  even 
month.s.  W'g  had  pitched  our  camp  for  the 
afternoon,  and  Yamba  went  off,  as  usual,  in  search 
of  roots  and  game  for  the  evening  meal.  She 
had  been  gone  some  little  time  when  suddenly 
I  heard  her  well-known  cooey,  and  knowing 
that  she  must  be  in  trouble  of  some  kind  I 
immediately  grasped  my  weapons  and  went  off 
to  her  rescue,  guiding  myself  by  her  tracks. 

A  quarter  of  a  mile  away  I  came  upon 
a  scene  that  filled  me  with  amazement. 
There  was  Yamba — surely  the  most 
devoted  wife  a  man,  civilized  or  savage, 
ever  had — struggling  in  the  midst  of  quite  a 
crowd  of  blacks,  who  were  yelling  and  trying 
forcibly  to  drag  her 
away.  At  once  I  saw 
what  had  happened. 
Yamba  had  been 
hunting  for  roots  over 
the  boundary  of  terri- 
tory belonging  to  a 
tribe  with  whom  we 
had  not  yet  made 
friends,  and  as  she 
had  plainly  been 
guilty  of  the  great 
crime  of  trespass  she 
was,  according  to 
inviolable  native  law, 
confiscated  by  those 
who  had  detected 
her.  I  rushed  up 
to  the  blacks  and 
began  to  remons- 
trate with  them  in 
their  own  tongue, 
but  they  were  both 
truculent    and 


A  Remark-  T 

able  ^ 

Person 


An 

Amazing 
Scene. 


1  IiKi;K    WAS    VA  MllA. 


obstinate,  and  refused  to  release  my  now 
weeping  and  terrified  Yamba.  At  last  we 
effected  a  compromise,  I  agreeing  to  accompany 
the  party  back  to  their  encampment  with  their 
captive  and  have  the  matter  settled  there  by  the 
chief.  Fortunately  we  had  not  many  miles  to 
march,  but,  as  I  anticipated,  the  chief  took  the 
side  of  his  own  warriors,  and  promptly  declared 
that  he  would  appropriate  Yamba  for  himself. 
I  explained  to  him,  Imt  in  vain,  that  my  wife's 
trespass  was  committed  all  unknowingly,  and 
that  had  I  known  his  tribe  were  encamped  in 
that  district  I  would  have  come  immediately 
and  stayed  with  them  a  few  nights. 

As  showing  what  a  remarkable  person 
was,  I  went  through  part  of  my 
acrobatic  repertoire ;  and  even  m.y 
poor  eager  Bruno,  who  evidently 
scented  trouble,  began  on  his  own  account  to 
give  a  hurried  and  imperfect  show.  He  stood 
on  his  head  and  tumbled  backwards  and  for- 
wards in  a  very  loose  and  unscientific  manner, 
barking  and  yelling  all  the  while. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  wily  chief  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  see  more  of  us  or  not ;  but 
at  any  rate  he  looked  at  me  very  fiercely  as 
though  determined  to  carry  his  point,  and  then 
replied  that  there  was  but  one  law,  which  was 
that  Yamba  should  be  confiscated  for  poaching, 
whether  the  crime  was  intentional  or  not  on  her 
part.  So  emphatically  was  this  said  that  I 
began  to  think  I  had  really  lost  my  faithful  com- 
panion for  ever.  As  this  awful  thought  grew 
upon  me,  and  as  I  pondered  over  the  terrible 
past,   I   made  up  my  mind  that  if  necessary  I 

would  lose  my  own 
life  in  her  defence, 
and  to  this  end  I 
adopted  a  very 
haughty  attitude, 
which  caused  the 
chief  suddenly  to  dis- 
cover a  kind  of  by- 
law to  the  effect  that 
in  such  events  as 
these  the  nearest 
relative  of  the  pri- 
soner may  win  her 
back  by  fighting  for 
her.  This,  of  course, 
was  above  all  things 
what  I  wanted,  par- 
ticularly as  the  old 
chief  had  not  seen 
me  use  my  wonder- 
ful weapons.  And 
as  I  felt  certain  he 
would  choose  throw- 
ing  spears,    I    knew 


.(.I.IM.    IN      IHK    Mlli^l 
OK    BLACKS." 


lU  I  IK   A   CIMW  II 


THE  ADVENTURES  01  LOUIS  \)K    ROUGEMONT. 


1 1 


that  victory  was  mine.  He  selected,  with  a 
critical  eye,  three  well-made  spears,  whilst  I 
chose  three  of  my  arrows,  which  1  purposely 
brandished  aloft,  so  as  to  give  my  opponent  the 
impression  that  they  were  actually  small  spears, 
and  were  to  be  thrown,  as  such,  javelin-fashion. 
The  old  chief  and  his  blacks  laughed  heartily 
and  pityingly  at  this  exhibition,  and  ridiculed 
the  idea  that  I  could  do  any  damage  with  such 
toy  weapons. 

The  demeanour  of  the  chief  himself 
*  Duei"^^  ^\"'is   eloquent    of   the  good-humoured 

contempt  in  which  he  held  his 
antagonist ;  and  a  distance  of  twenty  paces 
ha\ing  been  measured  out,  we  took  our  places 
and  prepared  for  the  dramatic  encounter,  upon 
which  depended  something  more  precious  to  me 
even  than  my  own  life.  Although  outwardly 
cool  and  even  haughty,  I  was  really  in  a  state  of 
most  terrible  anxiety.  I  fixed  my  eyes  intently 
upon  the  spare  but  sinewy  chief,  and  without 
moving  a  muscle  I  allowed 
him  to  throw  his  spears  first. 
'l"he  formidable  weapons  came 
whizzing  through  the  air  with 
extraordinary  rapidity  one  after 
the  other,  but  long  experience 
of  the  weapon  and  my  own 
nimbleness  enabled  me  to 
avoid  all  three,  notwithstand- 
ing the  precision  and  rapidity 
with  which  thev  followed  one 
another.  But  no  sooner  had  1 
stepped  back  into  position  for 
the  third  time  than,  with  light- 
ning dexterity,  I  unslung  my 
bow  and  let  fly  at  my  antagonist 
an  arrow  which  I  had  inn- 
posely  made  heavier  than  usual 
by  weighting  it  with  fully  an 
ounce  of  gold.  Naturally  he 
failed  to  see  the  little  feathered 
shaft  approach,  and  it  pierced 
him  right  in  the  fleshy  part 
of  the  left  thigh,  exactly 
where  I  intended.  The  chief  leapt  from  the 
ground  more  in  surprise  than  pain,  as  though 
suddenly  possessed  by  an  evil  spirit.  His 
warriors,  too,  were  vastly  impressed.  As  blood 
was  drawn  in  this  way,  honour  and  the  law 
were  alike  supposed  to  be  satisfied.  Vamba  was 
immediately  restored  to  me,  trembling  and  half 
afraid  to  credit  her  own  joyful  senses.  My 
readers  will,  perhaps,  wonder  why  these  cannibal 
savages  did  not  go  back  on  their  bargain  and 
refuse  to  give  Yamba  up,  even  after  I  had 
vanquished  their  chief  in  fair  fight :  but  the 
honourable  course  they  adopted  is  attributable 
solely    to    their    own   innate    sense  of  fair  play 


and  their  admiration   for  superior  prowess  and 


sku 


Why,  when  the  chief  had  recovered 
opp'Snent  ^'"'11  '^'s  astonishmcnt  he  came  up  to 
Greets  Me.  ^y^^^   ^^^^^  greeted  me  warmly  without 

even  taking  the  trouble  to  remove  my 
arrow  from  his  bleeding  thigh  !  W'a  became 
the  very  best  of  friends,  and  Vamba  and  I 
stayed  with  him  for  some  days  as  his  guests. 
When  at  length  we  were  obliged  to  leave  he 
gave  me  quite  an  imposing  escort,  as  though  I 
were  a  powerful  friendly  chief,  who  had  done 
him  a  great  service. 

The  question  may  be  asked  .^whether  I  ever 
tried  to  tell  my  cannibals  about  the  outside 
world.  My  answer  is  that  I  only  told  them 
just  so  much  as  I  thought  their  childish 
imaginations  would  grasp.  Had  I  told  them 
more,  I  would  simply  have-  puzzled  them, 
and  what  they  do  not  understand  they  are 
apt  to  suspect. 


TIIK    FF.ATHERF.n   SIIAKT    IMEKCrU    IIIM    1\    TIIF.    F.I.KSHY    rARTOFTHi;    LKl  T    TIIIC.Il. 


Thus,  when  I  showed  them  pictures  of 
putuiti?  horse-races    and    sheep   farms    in    the 

copy  of  the  Sydney  To7V//  and 
Country  Journal  which  I  had  picked  up,  I  was 
obliged  to  tell  them  that  horses  were  used  only 
in  warfare,  whilst  sheep  were  used  only  as  food. 
Had  I  spoken  about  horses  as  beasts  of  burden, 
and  told  them  what  was  done  with  the  wool  of 
the  sheep,  they  would  have  been  quite  unable 
to  .grasp  my  meaning,  and  so  I  should  have 
done  more  harm  than  good.  They  had  ideas  of 
their  own  about  astronomy,  the  fundamental 
"fact"  being  that  the  earth  was  perfectly  flat, 
the  sky  being   propped   up  by  poles  placed  at 


ii8 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


the  edges,  and  kepi  upright  by  the  spirits  of  the 
departed,  who,  so  the  medicine  man  said,  were 
constantly  being  sent  offerings  of  food  and 
drink,  'i'he  Milky  Way  was  a  kind  of  Paradise 
of  souls,  whilst  the  sun  was  all  m  all  to  the 
whole  creation. 

I  had  often  i)u/,zled  my  brain  for  some 
method  whereby  I  could  convey  to  these 
savages  some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
British  I-^mpire.  I  always  had  the  British 
Empire  in  my  mintl,  not  only  because  my 
sympathies  inclined  that  way,  but  also  because 
I  knew  that  the  first  friends  to  receive  me  on 
my  return  to  civilization  must  necessarily  be 
British.  Over  and  over  again  did  I  tell  the 
childish  savages  grouped  around  me  what  a 
mighty  ruler  was  the  Sovereign  of  the  British 
Empire,  which  covered  the 
whole  world.  Also  how  that 
Sovereign  had  sent  me  as  a 
special  ambassador  to  them- 
selves to  describe  to  them 
the  greatness  of  the  nation 
of  which  they  formed  part. 
Thus  you  will  observe  I 
never  let  my  blacks  suspect 
I  was  a  mere  unfortunate 
cast  into  their  midst  by  a 
series  of  strange  chances. 
I  mentioned  the  whole 
world  because  nothing  less 
than  this  would  have  done. 
Had  I  endeavoured  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  British 
Empire  and,  sa}',  the  Ger- 
man, I  should  have  again 
got  beyond  my  hearers' 
depth,  so  to  speak,  and  in- 
volved myself  in  difficulties. 
Half   instinc- 

Awkward  f  '  \'tily,        but 
Admission,  ^vithout       mO- 

tive,  I  re- 
frained from  mention- 
ing that  the  ruler  of 
the  British  Empire  was 
a  woman,  but  this 
admission  dropped 
from  me  accidentally 
one  day,  and  then — 
what  a  falling  off  was 
there!  I  instantly  re- 
cognised the  mistake  I 
had  made  from  the  con- 
temptuous glances  of  my  blacks,  and  although  I 
hastened  to  say  that  she  was  a  mightychieftainess, 
upon  whose  dominions  the  sun  never  sets,  and 
that  she  was  actually  the  direct  ruler  of  the  blacks 
themselves,  they  repudiated  her  witli  scorn,  and 


THE    MOST    KXTKAONUINAKV    PORTUAIT    OP    QUEEN    VICIOKIA 
ON    RECORD." 


contemned  me  for  singing  the  praises  of  a  mere 
woman.  I  had  to  let  this  unfortunate  matter 
drop  for  a  time,  but  ihe  subject  was  ever  present 
in  my  mind,  and  I  wondered  how  1  could 
retrieve  my  position  without  eating  my  words. 
At  length  one  day  Yamba  and  I  came  across  a 
curious  rugged  limestone  region,  which  was  full 
of  caves.  Whilst  exploring  these  we  came  upon 
a  huge,  flat,  precipitous  surface  of  rock,  and 
then — how  or  iwhy,  1  know  not — the  idea  sud- 
denly occurred  to  me  to  draw  a  gigantic  portrait 
of  Her  Most  Gracious  Majesty  Queen  Victoria. 
At  this  period,  I  should  mention,  I  was  a 
recognised  chief,  and  periodically  — -  once 
every  new  moon  —  I  would  give  a  kind  of 
reception  to  my  people,  and  also  to  the  neigh- 
bouring   tribes.       At    this   interesting    function 

I  would  always  contrive  to 
have  some  new  wonder  to 
unfold.  My  visitors  never 
outstayed  their  welcome, 
and  1  always  managed  to 
have  an  abundance  of  food 
f(;r  them. 

Well,  I  came  upon 
portrauf  the  cavc  rcglon  a 
few  weeks  after 
my  unfortunate  blunder 
about  the  Queen,  and  I 
determined  to  have  my 
great  portrait  ready  for  the 
next  reception  day.  Taking 
some  blocks  of  stone  of 
handy  size,  I  first  wetted 
the  surface  of  the  rock  and 
then  commenced  to  rub  it, 
until  I  had  a  pretty  smooth 
face  to  work  upon.  This 
took  some  time,  but  whilst 
I  was  doing  it  Yamba  got 
ready  the  necessary  charcoal 
sticks  and  pigments  such  as 
the  blacks  decorate  them- 
selves with  at  corroborees.  I 
had  a  slight  knowledge  of 
drawing,  and  climbing  up 
on  some  projecting  stones 
I  commenced  to  draw  in 
bold,  sweeping  outline  what 
1  venture  to  describe  as  the 
most  extraordinary  portrait 
of  Queen  Victoria  on 
record.  The  figure,  which 
was  in  profile,  was  perhaps 
7ft.  or  8ft.  high,  and  of  more  than  equally 
extravagant  proportions  in  other  respects.  Of 
course,  the  figure  had  to  be  represented  entirely 
without  clothing,  otherwise  the  blacks  would 
simply    have    been   puzzled.     Now  to  describe 


THi-:  advrnturp:s  of  louis   dr   roucrmont 


I  TO 


the  portrait  as  miuh  in  detail  as  I  dare.  The 
crown  was  composed  of  rare  feathers  such  as 
only  a  redoubtable  and  cunning  hunter  could 
obtain  :  and  it  included  feathers  of  the  lyre  bird 
and  emu.  The  sceptre  was  a  stupendous 
gnarled  waddy  or  club,  such  as  could  be  used 
with  fearful  execution  amongst  one's  enemies. 
I'he  nose  was  very  large,  because  this  among 
tlie  blacks  indicates  great  endurance  ;  whilst 
the  biceps  were  abnormally  developed.  In  fact, 
I  gave  Her  Majesty  as  much  muscle  as  would 
serve  for  half-a-dozen  professional  pugilists  or 
strong  men.  The  stomach  was  much  distended, 
and  when  I  state  this  fact  I  am  sure  it  will 
excite  much  curiosity  as  to  the  reason  why. 

Well,  as  the  stomach  is  practically  the 

siomlch  greatest  deity  these  savages  know,  and 

as  a  Deity,  j^g  j-qqJ  jg  oftcu  vcry  hard  to   obtain, 

they  argue  that  a  person  with  a  very 
full  stomach  must  necessarily  be  a  daring  and 
skilful  hunter,  otherwise  he  would  not  be  able 
to  get  much  food  to  put  into  it. 

This  extraordinary  portrait  was  finally  daubed 
and  decorated  with  brilliant  pigments  and 
glaring  splashes  of  yellow,  red,  and  blue.  I 
also  used  a  kind  of  vivid  red  dye  obtained  from 
the  .sap  of  a  certain  creeper  which  was  bruised 
between  heavy  stones.  I  spent  perhaps  a  week 
or  a  fortnight  on  this  drawing  (I  could  not  give 
all  day  to  it,  of  course),  and  the  only  persons 
who  knew  of  its  existence  were  Yamba,  my  own 
children,  and  their  friends.  After  the  completion 
of  the  portrait  I  went  away  from  that  place  and 
waited  impatiently  for  my  next  reception 
day.  When  the  wonder-loving  blacks  were  again 
before  me  I  told  them  that  I  had  a  remarkable 
picture  of  the  great  British  Queen  to  show  them, 
and  then,  full  of  anticipation  and  childish  delight, 
they  trooped  after  me  to  the  spot  where  I  had 
drawn  the  great  picture  on  the  rocks.  It  is  no 
exaggeration  to  say  that  the  crowd  of  cannibals 
stood  and  squatted  in  front  of  my  handiwork 
simply  speechless  v.ith  amazement.  Rventually 
they  burst  out  into  cries  of  wonderment  and 
astonishment,  making  curious  guttural  sounds 
with  their  lips  and  smacking  their  thighs  in 
token  of  their  appreciation.  I  pointed  out 
every  detail  — the  immense  size  of  the  great 
(^ueen,  the  various  emblems  of  her  power,  and 
at  last,  stepping  back  from  the  rock,  I  sang 
"  (lod  save  the  Queen,"  the  beautiful  national 
hymn  of  Great  Britain  which  I  had  learned  from 
the  two  ill-fated  girls,  and  which,  you  will 
remember,  has  the  same  air  as  that  of  the 
French  song,  "  Frere  Jacques.' 

The  general  effect  was  not  merely  to 
^a  su?cesl!*  take  away  any    bad    impression    that 

might  have   been  created  with  regard 
to    my   damaging   admission   about  the  sex  of 


the  great  ruler,  Init  it  more  than  re-established 
me  in  my  old  position,  and  1  followed  it  up  by 
assuring  them  that  Her  Majesty  included  in  her 
retinue  of  servants  a  greater  number  of  i)ersons 
than  was  represented  in  the  whole  tribe  before 
me.  I'urthermore,  I  assured  them  that  whilst 
the  mountain  home  I  had  built  was  very  large, 
judged  by  their  standard,  the  house  of  Queen 
\'ic-toria  was  big  enough  to  hold  a  whole 
nation  of  blacks. 

And  in  order  to  give  you  some  idea  of  the 
nervous  horror  I  had  of  losing  prestige,  I  may 
tell  you  that,  far  from  being  satisfied  with  what  I 
had  done  to  vindicate  the  great  Sovereign  whose 
special  ambassador  I  was  supposed  to  be,  I 
soon  decided  to  give  yet  another  demonstration 
which  should  impress  even  those  who  were 
inclined  to  cavil — if  any  such  existed.  I 
pointed  out  that  whilst  the  Queen,  great  and 
powerful  and  beloved  ruler  though  she  was, 
could  not  lead  on  her  warriors  in  person  into 
L'attle,  yet  she  was  represented  in  wars  by  her 
eldest  son,  who  was  a  most  redoubtable  warrior 
and  spear-thrower,  and  acted  on  behalf  of  his 
illustrious  mother  on  all  occasions  where  she 
could  not  appear.  But  as  mention  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  called  for  a  demonstration  of 
/lis  personality  also,  I  determined  to  make 
another  experiment  in  portraiture,  but  this  time 
in  the  direction  of  sculpture.  I  think  it  was 
having  come  across  a  very  damp  country, 
abounding  in  plastic  clay,  that  put  this  idea  into 
my  head.  First  of  all,  then,  I  cut  down  a  stout 
young  sapling,  which,  propped  up  in  the  ground, 
served  as  the  mainstay  of  my  statue  ;  and  from 
it  I  fastened  projecting  branches  for  the  arms 
and  legs. 

Round     this    framework     I     built    up 
*  tatu°e  o?'  "ly  figure  with  blocks  of  clay,  and  at 

H.R.H. :  length,  after,  perhaps,  three  or  four 
weeks'  industrious  modelling,  I  com- 
pleted a  statue  of  His  Royal  Highness  which 
measured  about  7ft.  6in.  in  height,  and 
with  body  and  limbs  of  abnormal  develop- 
ment, much  on  the  lines  of  my  representation 
of  his  august  mother.  Fuller  details  would  be 
interesting,  but  hardly  edifying.  This  statue  I 
"unveiled"  at  another  of  my  monthly  recep- 
tions, and,  judged  by  its  effect,  it  was  even  a 
greater  success  than  the  colossal  portrait.  A 
monster  corroboree  was  actually  held  alongside 
the  Prince  of  Wales's  statue,  but,  unfortunately, 
my  handiwork  went  to  pieces  in  a  day  or  two, 
for  when  the  fierce  sun  beat  down  upon  the 
clay  it  cracked,  and  incontinently  fell  away  in 
pieces.  This  gradual  disintegration  of  the 
great  ruler's  deputy  vastly  amused  the  blacks, 
and  I  eventually  had  to  hasten  -its  end,  lest 
their  mirth  should  compromise  my  dignity. 


I20 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    AL^GAZINE. 


"  I    COMPLETED   A   STATUE   OF    IIIS    1M\  AL    HU, M.NKsS    IN    Cl.A\.' 

If  I  have  omitted  to  mention  Bruno  in  con- 
nection with  every  incident,  it  must  not  be 
supposed  that  my  faithful  companion  did  not 
play  an  important  part  in  everything. 

He  was  always  with  me,  but  it  must 
Refle^tfon.  be  remembered  that  he  was  now  grow- 
ing old,  and  the  natives  around  me 
were  by  no  means  so  keen  to  possess  him  as  the 
tribes  of  Car[>entaria  had  been  in  the  days 
gone  by.  Talking  about  dogs,  it  is  an  extra- 
ordinary fact  that  the 
savage    womenfolk  f 

often      su 


puppy  out  of  a  litter,  under  the  impression  that 
the  dog  so  treated  will  grow  up  possessing 
almost  human  intelligence,  and  will  therefore 
be  of  inestimable  value  when  hunting  kangaroo 
and  other  game. 

All  kinds  of  extraordinary  incidents  befell  me 
whilst  on  the  "  walk-about."  Many  a  time  have  I 
been  deceived  by  mirage.  One  most  complete 
deception  I  can  recall  befell  me  one  day  whilst 
Yamba  and  I  were  tramping  over  a  stretch 
of  low,  sandy  country.  Suddenly  I  fancied  I 
descried  the  boundless  ocean  in  the  distance, 
and  with  my  usual  impetuosity  I  rushed  franti- 
cally forward  in  the  firm  belief  that  at  last  we 
had  reached  the  coast.  Yamba  explained  that 
it  was  only  a  mirage,  but  I  would  not  stay 
to  listen,  and  I  must  have  gone  miles  before  I 
gave  up  in  disgust  and  returned  to  my  patient 
wife.  This  brings  me  to  another  and  perhaps  still 
more  extraordinary  illusion.  One  day  whilst 
Yamba  and  I  were  passing  through  one  of  those 
eternal  regions  of  sand-hills  and  spinifex  which 
are  the  despair  of  the  Australian  explorer,  I 
suddenly  saw  in  the  distance  what  I  was  certain 
was  2i  flock  of  sheep.  There  they  were,  hundreds 
of  them  apparently  browsing  calmly  in  a  depres- 
sion in  a  fertile  patch  where  most  probably 
water  existed. 

In  an  instant  the  old   desire  to  return 
■*iifusfo"if.^  to    civilization    once    more    reasserted 

itself,  and  I  dashed  forward  at  full 
speed  yelling  back  to  Yamba,  "Sheep,  sheep 
—  where  sheep  are,  men  are.  Civilization 
at  last  I "  When  at  length  I  had  got  near 
enough  for  the  creatures  to  notice  me  you 
may  imagine  my  disgust  and  disappointment 
when  hundreds  of  tall  heads  went  high 
into   the   air,    and   a  flock   of   etuus   made   off 

across  the  country  at 
full  speed.  These  huge 
birds   had    had    their 


"sheep!  sheep  I— civn.izATifiN'  AT  last!' 


THE    ADVENTURES    OF    LOUIS    DE    ROUGEMONT. 


121 


heads  down  feeding,  and  not  unnaturally,  in  the 
distance,  I  had  mistaken  thcni  for  sheep. 

I  think  everyone  is  aware  that  prolonged 
droughts  are  of  very  common  occurrence  in 
Central  Australia,  and  are  largely  responsible  for 
the  migratory  habits  of  the  aborigines,  particu- 
larly those  of  the  remote  deserts  in  the  interior. 
The  most  terrible  drought  I  myself  experienced 
whilst  in  my  mountain  home  was  one  that  ex- 
tended over  three  years,  when  even  the  lagoon 
in  front  of  my  dwelling,  which  I  had  thought  to 
be  practically  inexhaustible,  dried  up,  with  the 
most  appalling  results.  Just  think^never  a  drop 
of  rain  falling  for  over  three  long  years,  with  a 
scorching  sun  darting  down  its  rays  almost 
every  day  I  During  this  terrible  period  the  only 
moisture  the  parched  earth  ever  received  was  in 
the  form  of  the  heavy  dews  that  descended  in 
the  night.  Even  these,  however,  only  bene- 
fited the  vegetation  where  any  continued  to 
exist,  and  did  not  contribute  in  the  slightest 
degree  to  the  natural  water  supply  so  neces- 
sary for  the  sustenance  of  human  and  animal 
life.  The  resulting  symptoms  were  terrible  to 
witness.  Kangaroos  and  snakes,  emus  and 
cockatoos,  lizards  and  rats  —  all  lay  about 
either  dead  or  dying ;  and  in  the  case  of 
animals  who  had  survived,  they  seemed  no 
longer  to  fear  their  natural  enemy,  man. 

Day    by   day   as    I    saw    my    lagoon 
D^n#e^?   gradually   grow    smaller,    I    felt    that 

unless  I  took  some  steps  to  insure  a 
more  permanent  supply,  my  people  must  in- 
evitably perish  and  I  with  them.  Naturally 
enough,  too,  they  looked  to  me  to  do  something 
for  them,  and  provide  them  with  some  relief 
from  the  effects  of  the  most  terrible  drought 
which  even  they  had  ever  experienced.  Almost 
daily  discouraging  reports  were  brought  to  me 
regarding  the  drying  up  of  all  the  better-known 
water-holes  all  round  the  country,  and  I  was 
at  length  obliged  to  invite  all  and  sundry  to 
use  m)  own  all  but  exhausted  lagoon.  At 
length  things  became  so  threatening  that  I 
decided  to  .sink  a  well.  Choosing  a  likely 
spot  near  the  foot  of  a  precipitious  mountain 
I  set  to  svork  with  only  Yamba  as  my  assistant. 
Confidently  anticipating  the  best  results,  I 
erected  a  crude  kind  of  windlass,  and  fitted  it 
with  a  green  hide  rope  and  a  bucket  made 
by  scooping  out  a  section  of  a  tree.  I\Iy 
digging  implements  consisted  solely  of  a  home- 
made'wooden  spade  and  stone  pick.  Yamba 
manipulated  the  windlass,  lowering  and  raising 
the  bucket  and  disposing  of  the  gravel  I  sent 
to  the  surface  with  the  dexterity  of  a  practised 
navvy.  What  with  the  heat,  the  scarcity  of 
water,  and  the  fact  that  not  one  of  the  natives 
could  be  relied  upon  to  do  an   hour's   work,    it 

Vol.  iii.-1G. 


was  a  terribly  slow  and  wearying  business,  but 
\'amba  and  I  stuck  to  it  doggedly  day  after 
day. 

At   the   end  of  a  week    I    had  sunk  a 
^wSn.*    narrow    shaft    to    the   depth    of    12ft. 

or  14ft.,  and  then  to  my  infinite 
satisfaction  I  saw  every  indication  that  water 
was  to  be  found  a  little  lower  down.  In  the 
course  of  the  following  week  I  hit  upon  a  spring, 
and  then  I  felt  amply  rewarded  for  all  the  trouble 
I  had  taken.  Even  when  the  lagoon  was  per- 
fectly dry,  and  only  its  parched  sandy  bed  was 
to  be  seen,  the  supply  of  water  from  our  little 
well  continued  undiminished,  and  proved  more 
than  ample  for  our  wants  during  the  whole  of  the 
drought.  I  even  ventured  to  provide  the  dis- 
tressed birds  and  animals  with  some  means  of 
quenching  their  insupportable  thirst.  A  few 
yards  from  the  well  I  constructed  a  large  wooden 
trough,  which  I  kept  filled  with  water,  and  each 
day  it  was  visited  by  the  most  extraordinary 
flocks  of  birds  of  every  size  and  variety  of 
plumage,  from  emus  down  to  what  looked  like 
humming-birds.  Huge  snakes,  loft.  and  15ft. 
long,  hustled  the  kangaroos  away  from  the  life- 
giving  trough,  and  occasionally  the  crowd  would 
be  so  excessive  that  some  of  the  poor  creatures 
would  have  to  wait  hours  before  their  thirst  was 
satisfied,  and  even  die  on  the  outer  fringe  of 
the  waiting  throng.  I  remember  that  even  at 
the  time  the  scene  struck  me  as  an  amazing 
and  unprecedented  one,  for  there  was  I  doing  my 
best  to  regulate  the  traffic,  so  to  speak,  sending 
away  the  birds  and  animals  and  reptiles  whose 
wants  had  been  satisfied,  and  even  bringing 
skins  full  of  water  to  those  who  had  fallen  down 
from  exhaustion,  and  were  in  a  fair  way  to  die. 
As  a  rule,  the  creatures  took  no  notice  whatever 
of  me,  but  seemed  to  realize  in  some  instinctive 
way  that  I  was  their  benefactor.  Of  course  I 
had  to  cover  over  the  top  of  the  well  itself, 
otherwise  it  would  simply  have  been  swamped 
with  the  carcasses  of  the  eager  animals  and 
birds. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  why  did  I  take 
"p'ro'v'ider!'"  the  trouble  to   supply  everything  that 

walked  and  flew  and  crawled  with 
water  when  water  was  so  precious?  A  moment's 
thought  will  furnish  the  answer,  which  is  that  if  I 
suffered  all  the  animals,  birds,  and  reptiles  to  die, 
I  myself  would  be  without  food,  and  then  my  last 
stage  might  be  considerably  worse  than  the  first. 
I  think  the  snakes  were  the  most  ungrateful 
creatures  of  all.  Sometimes  they  would 
deliberately- coil  themselves  up  in  the  trough 
itself,  and  so  prevent  the  birds  from  approach- 
ing. I  always  knew  when  something  of  this 
kind  had  happened,  because  of  the  frightful 
screeching    and    general     uproar     set     up     by 


122 


THE    WIDE    \\CJRLn    MAGAZINE. 


the  indignant  birds— ^that  is  to  say,  such  as 
had  the  power  to  screech  left.  1  would  then 
hurry  to  the  spot  and  drag  out  the  cause  of  the 
trouble  with  a  forked  stick.  I  never  killed  him, 
because  there  were  already  enough  of  his  kind 
dead  on  every  side.  The  very  trees  and  grass 
died,  and  in  this  originated  another  almost 
equally  terrible  peril — the  bush  fires. 

Talking  about  bush  fires,  we  often  saw  them 
raging  madly  and  sublimely  in  the  mountains. 
They  would  burn  for  weeks  at  a  stretch,  and 
devastate  hundreds  of  miles  of  country.  For  our- 
selves, we  always  prepared  for  such  emergencies 
by  "ringing  "our  dwelling — that  is  to  say,  laying 
bare  a  certain  stretch  of  country  in  a  perfect 


with  much  mysterious  whisperings.  The  dear, 
sagacious  brute  always  understood  what  I 
w'anted  him  to  do,  and  in  the  course  of  perhaps 
an  hour  or  two  he  would  come  and  lay  the 
article  at  my  feet,  and  then  accept  the  flattering 
adulation  of  my  black  companions  with  the 
utmost  calmness  and  indifTerence.  Bruno  never 
forgot  what  was  required  of  him  when  we 
encountered  a  new  tribe  of  blacks.  He  would 
always  look  to  me  for  his  cue,  and  when  he  saw 
me  commence  my  acrobatic  feats  he,  too,  would 
go  through  his  little  repertoire,  barking  and  tum- 
bling and  rolling  about  with  wonderful  energy. 

His  quaint  little  ways  had  so  endeared  him 
to  me  that  I  could  not  bear  to  think  of  any- 


HOW    \VK    KOUC'.HT    THE    liL'SH    FIRES. 


circle  around  us.  Often,  however,  we  were 
almost  choked  by  the  intense  heat  which  the 
wind  occasionally  wafted  to  us,  and  which,  com- 
bined with  the  blazing  sun  and  scarcity  of  water, 
rendered  life  positively  intolerable. 

I  now  wish  to  say  a  few  words  about  Bruno — 
a  few  last  sorrowful  words — because  at  this 
period  he  was  growing  feeble,  and,  indeed,  had 
never  been  the  .same  since  the  death  of  Gibson. 
Still,  I  was  constantly  making  use  of  his 
sagacity  to  impress  the  blacks.  My  usual  custom 
was  to  hide  some  article  such  as  my  tomahawk 
near  the  house  in  Bruno's  presence,  and  then 
start  off  on  a  tramp  accompanied  by  the  blacks. 

After  we  had  gone  a  few  miles  I  would 
Afcompuce.suddenly  call  a    halt,   pretend  to  my 

companions  that  I  had  forgotten  some- 
thing, and  order  Bruno  to  go  back  and  fetch  it, 


thing  happening  to  him.  On  one  occasion,  when 
going  through  a  burning,  .sandy  desert,  both  he 
and  I  suffered  terribly  from  the  hot,  loose  sand 
which  poured  up  between  our  toes  and  caused 
us  great  suffering.  Poor  ]5runo  protested  in  the 
only  way  he  could,  which  was  by  stopping  from 
time  to  time  and  giving  vent  to  the  most  mourn- 
ful howls.  Besides,  I  could  tell  from  the  gingerly 
way  he  put  his  feet  down  that  the  burning  hot 
sand  would  soon  make  it  impossible  for  him  to 
go  any  farther.  I,  therefore,  made  him  a  set  of 
moccasins  out  of  kangaroo  skin,  and  then  tied 
them  on  his  feet.  These  he  always  wore  after- 
wards when  traversing  similar  deserts,  and 
eventually  he  became  so  accustomed  to  them 
that  as  soon  as  we  reached  the  sand  he  would 
come  to  me  and  put  up  his  paws  appealingly  to 
have  his  "  boots  "  put  on. 


THK  AnVENTURES  OF  LOUIS  DE  ROUOEMONt. 


ti^ 


But  now  age  began  to  tell  upon  him  ;  he  was 
getting  stiff  in  his  limbs,  and  he  seldom  accom- 
panied me  on  hunting  expeditions.  He  seemed 
only  to  want  to 
sleep  and  drowse 
away  the  day.  He 
had  been  a  splen- 
did kangaroo 
hunter,  and  took 
quite  an  extra- 
ordinary   amount 


dismay  and  horror  (notwithstanding  that  I  was 
prepared  for  the  event),  I  beheld  my  poor 
Bruno  laid  out  stiff  and  stark  on  the  little  skin 

rug  that  Gibson  had  origin- 
ally made  for  him.  I  do 
not  think  I  knew  how 
much  I  loved  him  until 
he  was  gone.  As  I  stood 
there,  with  the  tears  cours- 
ing down  my  cheeks,  all 
the  strange  events  of  my 
wondrous  career  seemed 
to  rise  before  my  mind — 
events  in  which  poor  dead 
Bruno  always  took  an 
active  part.  He  was  with 
me  on  the  wreck  ;  he  was 
with  me  on  the  island  ; 
he  was  with  me  in  all   my 


bruno  would  put  up  his  paws  al'l'l- a i  im  .1  ^    i<>  havi- 
'  boots'  put  on. 

of  pleasure  in  this  pursuit.  He  would  run  down 
the  biggest  kangaroo  and  bail  him  up  unerringly 
under  a  tree  :  and  whenever  the  big  animal  tried 
to  get  away  Bruno  would  immediately  go  for  his 
tail,  and  compel  him  to  stand  at  bay  once  more 
until  I  came  up  to  give  the  couj)  de  grace.  Of 
course,  Bruno  received  a  nasty  kick  sometimes 
and  occasionally  a 
bite  from  a  snake, 
poisonous  and  other- 
wise. He  was  not  a 
young  dog  when  I 
had  him  first,  and 
I  had  now  made  up 
my  mind  that  he 
could  not  live  much 
longer.  He  paid  but 
little  attention  in 
these  days  to  either 
Yamba  or  myself, 
and  in  this  condi- 
tion he  lingered  on 
for  a  year  or  more. 
One  morn- 

Br^JSo     ing  I  went 

^^^''^  into  the 
second  hut 
—  which  we  still 
called  Gibson's,  by 
the  way,  although 
he  had  never  lived 
there — when    to  my 


I    BKHH.I)    POOR    BRUNO   LAID   OUT   Sll, 


wanderings  and  through  all  my  sufferings  and 
triumphs.  He  got  me  out  of  many  a  scrape, 
and  his  curious  little  eccentricities,  likes,  and 
dislikes  afforded  me  never-ending  delight.  But 
now  he  was  gone  the  way  of  all  flesh,  and 
although  I  had  expected  this  blow  for 
many  months  I  do  not  think  this  miti- 
gated my  poignant  grief  Yamba,  too, 
was  terribly  grieved  at  his  death,  for  she 
had  become  most  devotedly  attached  to 
him  and  he  to  her.  I  rolled  the  body 
of  the  faithful  creature  in  a  kind  of 
preservative  earth  and  then  in  an  outer 
covering  of  bark.  This  done  I  laid  him 
on  a  shelf  in  one  of  the  caves  where 
the  wild  dogs  could  not  get  at  him,  and 
where  the  body  of  Gibson,  similarly 
treated,  had  also 
been  placed. 

Sometimes,  when 
all  the  tribe  was 
gathered  together,  I 
would  bring  up  the 
subject  of  cannibal- 
ism, and  tell  them 
that  the  Great  Spirit 
they  feared  so  much 
had  left  with  me  a 
written  message  for- 
bidding all    feasting 


124 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


"  THE    '  UKITl  1 


off  the  bodies  of  huniai 
beings.      The   "  written 
message "   I  referred  to 
on  these    occasions  was 
my  old  Bible.    Of  course 
the     blacks      failed     to 
understand    its    purport 
as  a  book,  hav- 
ing no  written 
language    of 
their  own ;  but 
my     manner 
and    words 
served    to   im- 
press them. 

-  My  natives 
always  seem- 
ed to  manifest 
the  keenest 
interest  in  the 
accounts  I 
gave  them  of 
the  wonderful 
resources  of 
civilization  ; 

but  experience  showed  that  I  must  adapt  my 
descriptions  to  the  intellects  of  my  hearers. 
For  example,  I  used  to  tell  them  that  in  the 
great  cities  ("camps"  I  called  them)  there  was 
never  any  real  darkness  if  men  chose,  because 
there  were  other  lights  at  command  which  could 
be  turned  off  and  on  at  will.  The  most  effective 
analogy  in  this  respect  was  the  twinkling  of  the 
stars  in  the  heavens,  but  my  hearers  were 
greatly  amazed  to  think  that  such  lights  could 
be  under  the  command  of  man. 

On    one  occasion   I  actually  made  a 

pe"ambu^  perambulator 
lator.      {-Qj.  jj^^  convey-  -  • 

ance  of  chil- 
dren !  It  was  the  very  i 
first  time  that  these 
primitive  savages  had 
seen  the  principle  of  the 
wheel  applied  to  locomo- 
tion, and  it  passed  their 
comprehension  alto- 
gether. With  childish 
delight  and  an  uproar 
that  baffles  all  description 
both  men  and  women 
almost  fought  with  one 
another  for  the  honour 
of  pushing  this  crude 
little  conveyance  about. 
The  perambulator  was 
made  out  of  logs,  and 
was  a  four-wheeled 
vehicle,   the  rims  of  the 


wheels  being  cut  trom 
a  hollow  tree.  My  blacks 
were  also  much  amazed 
at  the  great  size  of  my 
mountain  home,  but 
their  wonderment  in- 
creased greatly  when  I 
explained  to  them  that 
some  of  the  buildings 
in  the  great  "  camps  " 
of  the  white  man  were 
as  large  as  the  hills  and 
much  more  numerous. 
Elsewhere  I 
whitls.  have  spoken 
of  the  extra- 
ordinary system  of  tele- 
graphy that  exists  among 
the  blacks.  AVell,  in  the 
early  eighties  news  began 
to  reach  me  that  num- 
bers of  white  men  had 
appeared  in  the  north, 
and  in  one  of  my  many 
long  tramps  I  one  day 
came  upon  a  party  of  white  men  engaged  in 
prospecting.  I  speak  of  this  remarkable  meet- 
ing thus  abruptly  because  the  sight  of  their  tent 
met  my  gaze  in  the  most  abrupt  manner  possible. 
It  is  ever  so  in  the  Australian  bush.  I  found 
that  this  party  was  by  no  means  an  isolated  one, 
and  I  actually  stayed  in  various  camps  for  a  few 
days,  and  then  returned  to  my  mountain  home. 
I  need  hardly  remark  that  the  white  men  were 
far  more  astonished  to  see  me  than  I  was  at 
meeting  them.  Of  course,  I  could  have  joined 
them  and  gone  back  to  civilization,  but  this  I 


II. D   i.iiiLi:, 


THE    PERAMBULATDK    WAS    MAUE   OUT   OF    I.OGS, 


THE    ADVENTURES    OF    LOUIS    1)E    ROUGEMONT. 


125 


would  not  do  without  my  native  wife  and  family. 
It  was  in  the  Kimberley  district  that  I  met  these 
j)arties  of  prospectors  ;  and  I  may  here  remark 
that  I  had  for  some  time  been  aware  of  the 
existence  of  this  auriferous  region.  I  learned 
afterwards  that  the  Kimberley  was  geographically 
the  nearest  point  I  should  make  for  in  order  to 
reach  civilization. 

As  I  was  always  very  fond  of  children, 
*  R'abit!"'  I  decided  to  try  and  put  a  stop  to  the 
dreadful  habit  of  child  murder,  so  I 
made  it  known  far  and  wide  that  parents  could 
pass  their  girl-babies  on  to  me,  and  that  I  would 
rear  them  and  look  after  them.  The  result  of 
this  widely-advertised  offer  was  that  I  soon  had 
quite  an  orphan  asylum  established — an  institu- 
tion which  was  valuable  to  me  in  many  ways. 
Quite  apart  from  the  satisfaction  I  derived  from 
knowing  that  I  had  saved  these  children  from  a 
terrible  death,  I  was  looked  upon  as  a  kind  of 
prospective  father-in-law  on  a  gigantic  scale,  and 
young  men  came  from  all  parts  to  treat  with  me 
for  wives. 

As  I  have  said  before,  my  regular  reception 
days  were  held  at  the  new  moon. 

My  visitors,  as  well  as  my  own  people, 
gradually  grew  to  have  quite  a  reverence  for  the 
Bible,  but  I  am  afraid  it  was  not  on  account  of 
the  sacredness  of  the  book,  but  rather  owing  to 
the  wonderful  things  it  contained,  and  which  were 
interpreted  by  me  in  such  a  way  as  would  appeal 
directly  to  the  primitive  minds  of  these  people. 

Oftentimes  I  made  mistakes.  For 
''^SfMosel'.*  instance,  what  seemed  to  interest 
them  enormously  was  the  story  of  how 
Moses  struck  the  rock  and  obtained  a  miraculous 
supply  of  water.  Anything  in  the  way  of  fresh 
water  procured  in  the  desert  interested  them 
keenly.  Only,  unfortunately,  they  floored  me  by 
asking  me  to  accomplish  a  similar  miracle  ! 

Another  Bible  story  which  brought  me 
some  discomfiture  was  about  Balaam  and 
his  ass.  Now,  when  I  decided  to  tell  the 
story  of  Balaam,  I  knew  from  experience  that 
if  I  mentioned  an  "ass,"  that  animal  would 
require  all  kinds  of  tedious  explanation  which 
would  probably  result  in  needless  mystification 
and  consequent  suspicion  ;  so  I  boldly  plunged 
into  the  story  of  Balaam  and  his  kangaroo ! 
But  what  staggered  the  blacks  altogether  was 
that  Balaam's  kangaroo  should  be  able  to  speak. 
Now,  it  seems  that  a  talking  animal  is  the 
greatest  possible  joke  known  to  the  blacks,  and 
so  my  narrative  was  greeted  with  uproarious 
mirth,  and  it  even  spread  from  tribe  to  tribe. 
I  found  it  was  no  use  telling  my  blacks  anything 
they  could  not  readily  comprehend. 

One  day  I  told  them  about  the  destruction 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  by  fire  and  brimstone, 


and  this  again  landed  me  in  disaster,  for  I  was 
promptly  asked  how  could  anyone,  Great  Spirit 
or  other,  burn  up  the  stones  of  which  the 
houses  were  composed  ?  And,  of  course,  each 
instance  of  this  kind  would  be  pounced  upon 
by  a  tribal  medicine  man  or  some  other  jealous 
enemy  of  mine,  and  used  to  discredit  me.  A 
few  days  after  telling  the  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
story,  I  was  on  a  walk-about  with  Yamba  in  my 
mountain  region,  when  I  suddenly  discovered 
that  shale  existed  in  very  considerable  quantities, 
and  I  thereupon  conceived  the  idea  of  demon- 
strating to  the  blacks  that,  not  only  was  the 
Bible  narrative  a  true  one,  but  that  it  was  quite 
possible  to  ignite  stone;  and  I  ivould  even  shoiv 
tJieni  how  it  was  done  ! 

Aided  by  Yamba  and  other  members 
ioemon-  "f  h^)'  family,  I  coustructcd  an 
stration.  i,i5,-,-,(^.,-,se  shaft-like  cairn,  mainly  com- 
posed of  loose  pieces  of  shale  inter- 
mixed with  sandstone.  I  put  in  the  sandstone 
and  other  stones,  partly  in  order  that  the  blacks 
might  not  notice  the  uniform  construction  of  the 
cairn,  and  partly  also  because  I  knew  that  when 
the  ordinary  stones  were  heated  they  would 
probably  burst  or  explode  with  a  loud  sound, 
and  so  terrify  the  superstitious  onlookers. 
The  cairn  was  about  15ft.  high,  with  an 
opening  at  the  summit  and  other  small  open- 
ings at  the  sides  in  order  to  insure  a  good 
draught.  At  the  base  I  left  an  opening 
sufficiently  large  for  me  to  crawl  throufih. 
Then  I  placed 
material  —  such 
inside,    and    as    all 


a    quantity    of    inflammable 
as    wood    and    dry    bark  — 
preparations    went 


these 


forward  in  a  very  leisurely  manner,  my  monthly 
reception  was  quite  due  when  everything  was 
ready.  Wishing  to  have  an  exceptionally  large 
gathering,  I  sent  out  invitations  to  all  the  sur- 
rounding tribes  to  come  and  see  my  wonderful 
performance  at  which  "  I  would  set  fire  to  the 
rocks  and  stones." 

A  perfectly  enormous  crowd  assembled  at  the 
time  appointed,  for  my  previous  achievements 
had  led  them  to  believe  I  had  some  marvellous 
manifestation  of  my  powers  in  store  for  them. 
Never  can  I  forget  the  keenness  with  which  that 
great  assembly  anticipated  the  entertainment  I 
had  promised  them.  And,  remember,  they  were 
growing  pretty  blase  by  this  time,  having 
witnessed  so  many  miracles. 

In  the  twilight  of  the  evening,  when 
the  murmur  of  the  multitude  was 
hushed,  I  crawled  cautiously  into  the 
cairn  (I  should  have  been  buried 
alive  had  it  collapsed),  and  at  once  commenced 
operations  with  the  flint  and  steel  and  tinder 
which  I  had  taken  care  to  leave  there.  In 
another  minute  I  had  set  fire  to  the  wood  and 


An 
Expectant 
Audience. 


126 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


other  dry  material  tluit  filled  the  bottom  of  the 
shaft.  When  I  was  satisfied  that  it  was  thoroughly 
alight,  I  discreetly  withdrew  and  joined  the 
wondering  crowd,  which  I  had  forbidden  to 
approach  too  close.  Dense  clouds  of  smoke 
were  soon  rolling  from  the  apertures  of  the 
great  cairn,  and  in  a  short  time  the  shaft  was 
a  fierce  and  raging  furnace,  with  the  ordinary 
stones  red  hot  and  occasionally   bursting  with 


Yamba 

Growing 

Feeble. 


UKNSK   Cl.OUDS   OF    SMOKE   WERE   SOON    ROLLING    KKOM    THE   GREAT    CAIRN 


loud  explosions,  which  threw  showers  of  glow- 
ing slag  high  into  the  air. 

The  blacks  were  almost  paralyzed  with  fear, 
and  many  of  them  threw  themselves  prostrate  on 
the  ground,  ignoring  the  showers  of  stones  that 
fell  upon  their  naked  bodies.  I  stalked  about 
among  them,  exulting  in  my  power  and  the  suc- 
cess of  my  manifestation.  This  huge  shale  cairn 
burnt  for  many  days  more  fiercely  than  even  a 
stack  of  coal  would  do,  and  I  never  ceased  to 
wonder  that  the  blacks  had  not  before  found  out 
the  inflammable  nature  of  the  "  stone." 


In  general  appearance  I  was  now  absolutely 
like  a  black,  and  wore  only  an  apron  of  emu 
skin  as  a  protection  against  the  scrub  I  encoun- 
tered when  on  the  walk-about.  In  the  ordinary 
way  I  never  had  any  marks  upon  me  with  the 
exception  of  these  scratches.  Of  course,  on 
festive  occasions  I  was  gaily  painted  and  decor- 
ated, and  no  doubt  I  would  have  been  initiated 
into  manhood,  and  borne  the  tribal  marks, 
were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  I  was  a 
man  when  I  came  among  the  blacks. 
It  is  obviously  impossible  for  me 
to  record  minutely  the  happenings 
of  every  day,  mainly  because  only 
the  salient  incidents  stand  out  in 
my  mind.  Besides,  I  have  already 
dealt  with  the  daily  routine,  and 
have  probably  repeated  myself  in 
minor  details. 

A  constant  source  of  grief  to  me 
was  the  weakly  condition  of  my  two 
children,  whom  I  knew  could  never 
attain  mature  age.  And  knowing 
they  were  doomed,  I  think  I  loved 
them  all  the  more. 

Yet  so   incomprehensible 
is    human  nature   that   I 
often  found  myself  specu- 
lating on  what    I  should 
do  after  they- — and  Yamba — were 
gone  ;    because   by   this    time   my 
faithful  helpmeet  was  growing  omin- 
ously feeble.     You  must  remember 
that  when   I  first  met  her  on  the 
desert    island    she    was   an    oldish 
woman,     judged     by     the     native 
standard  ;  that  is   to   say,  she   was 
about  thirty. 

The  death-bed  of  my  boy  is  a 
scene  I  can  never  forget.  He  called 
me  to  him,  and  said  he  was  very 
glad  he  was  dying,  because  he  felt 
he  would  never  have  been  strong 
enough  to  fight  his  way  through 
life,  and  endure  what  the  other 
black  boys  endured.  Therefore,  he 
argued  wistfully,  and  half  inquir- 
ingly, he  would  only  be  a  burden  to  me.  He 
was  a  very  affectionate  and  considerate  little 
fellow,  with  an  intelligence  far  beyond  that  of 
the  ordinary  aboriginal  child.  He  spoke  in 
English,  because  I  had  taught  both  him  and  his 
sister  that  language.  At  the  last  I  learned — for 
the  first  time — that  it  was  always  worrying  him, 
and  almost  breaking  his  little  heart,  that  he 
could  never  compete  with  the  black  boys  in  their 
games  of  strength  and  skill ;  and  no  doubt  he 
would  have  become  an  outcast  were  it  not  that 
he  was  my  son. 


THE    ADVFA'rCRF.S    OF    I.OUIS    1)E    ROrC'.KNroXT. 


12' 


Almost  his  last  whispered  words  to  me  were 
that  he  would  be  able  to  assist  me  more  in  the 
Spirit-land  than  ever  he  could  hope  to  do  in  the 
flesh.  He  was  perfectly  conscious  to  the  last, 
and  as  I  knelt  down  by  his  couch,  of  fragrant 
eucalyptus  leaves,  and  stooped  low  to  catch  his 
whispered  message,  he  told  me  he  seemed  to  be 
entering  a  beautiful  new  country,  where  the  birds 
always  sang  and  the  flowers  bloomed  for  ever. 
Spirit  voices  kept  calling  him,  he  said,  and  he 
felt  himself  being  irresistibly  drawn  away  from 
me. 

Upon   my  own  feelings  I  do  not  wish 

°nl%pid.  tt)  dwell.     All  I  will  say  is  I  kissed  my 
boy  on  the  eyes  and  mouth,  and  then, 
with  a  soft  "  Good-bye,  they  have  come  for  me," 
he  closed  his  eyes  for  ever. 

I  felt  it  was  to  be.  A  few  days  afterwards 
the  little  girl,  my  remaining  child,  was 
taken  ill,  and  so  feeble  was  she,  that  she  soon 
joined  her  brother  in  the  better  land.  I 
seemed  to  be  overwhelmed  with  misfortunes, 
but  the  greatest  of  all  was  yet  to  come.  I  have 
hinted  that  Yamba  was  beginning  to  show 
signs  of  infirmity  through  advancing  years.  I 
could  not  help  noticing,  with  a  vague  feeling  of 
helpless  horror  and  sickening  foreboding,  that 
she  had  lost  her  high  spirits  and  keen  percep- 
tion, to  say  nothing  about  the  elasticity  of  her 
tread  and  her  wonderful  physical  endurance 
generally.      She   was 


no 


longer 


able 


to 
accompany  me  on 
the  long  and  interest- 
ing tramps  which  we 
had  now  taken  to- 
gether for  so  many 
years.  Her  skin 
began  to  wither  and 
wrinkle,  and  she 
gradually  took  on  the 
appearance  of  a  very 
old  woman.  The 
result  of  this  was  I 
began  to  have  fits  , 
of  frightful  depres- 
sion and  acute 
misery.  I  stayed 
at  home  a  good 
deal  now,  partly 
because  I  knew 
the  country  tho- 
roughly and  no 
longer  cared  to  explore,  and  partly  also 
because  I  missed  the  companionship  and 
invaluable  assistance  of  my  devoted  wife. 
I  constantly  buoyed  myself  up  with  the  hope 
that  Yamba  was  only  ailing  temporarily,  and 
that  her  enfeebled  condition   had  been   brought 


SHE  WOULD  KUN  AM)  JU.MI'  TO  SHOW  bHE  WAS  AS  VOU.SG  AS  t;\liK. 


on  mainly  by  the  misfortunes  that  had  befallen 
us  of  late.  But  she  grew  more  and  more  feeble, 
and  both  she  and  I  knew  that  the  end  was  not 
far  off.  Never  once,  however,  did  we  allude  to 
such  a  catastrophe,  and  whenever  I  fixed  my 
eyes  earnestly  upon  her  in  the  vain  hope  of  dis- 
cerning some  more  favourable  symptom,  she 
would  pretend  not  to  notice  me. 

I  would  sometimes  take  her  for  a  long 

pathati'c   walk,   which  was  really  much  beyond 

BfTortB.    j^gj.  strength,    solely  in  order  that   we 

might    delude     ourselves     with    vain 

hopes.       And    she,    poor   creature,    would    tax 

herself  far  beyond  her  strength  in  order  to  afford 

me  happiness  which  the  real  state  of  things  did 

not  justify. 

For  instance,  she  would  run  and  leai>  and 
jump  in  order  to  show  that  she  was  as  young 
as  ever,  and  after  these  strange  and  pathetic 
demonstrations  she  would  endeavour  to  conceal 
her  great  exhaustion. 

But  very  soon  my  poor  Yamba  was  obliged 
to  remain  at  home  altogether,  and  as  she  grew 
more  and  more  infirm  she  plucked  up  courage 
to  tell  me  that  she  knew  she  was  going  to  die, 
and  was  rather  glad  than  otherwise,  because 
then  I  would  be  able  to  return  to  civilization — 
that  goal  for  which  I  had  yearned  through  so 
many  years.  She  poin,ted  out  to  me  that  it 
would  not  be  so  difficult  now,  as  I  had  already 

been  brought  into 
contact  with  parties 
of  white  men ;  and, 
besides,  we  had  long 
ago  had  news  brought 
to  us  about  the  con- 
struction of  the 
Trans-Continental 
Telegraph  Line  from 
Adelaide  to  Port 
Darwin.  No  sooner 
had  she  spoken  of 
death  than  I  broke 
down  again  alto- 
gether. The  thought 
that  she  should  be 
taken  from  me  was 
so  cruel  that  its 
contemplation  was 
quite  insupport- 
able, and  I  threw 
myself  down  beside 
her  in  a  perfect 
agony   of    grief   and   dread. 

I  told  her  I  did  not  mind  how  long  I 

Ho^es,    remained  among  the  blacks  so  long  as 

she  was  with  me,  and  I  tried  to  persuade 

her,  with  all  the  eloquence  I  could  muster,  that, 

far  from  dying,  she  would  return  to  civilization 


128 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


with  me,  so  that  I  might  spread  abroad  to  the 
whole  world  the  story  of  her  devotion  and  her 
virtues.  As  she  continued  merely  to  smile  pity- 
ingly, I  changed  my  tone  and  dwelt  upon  the  past. 
I  went  through  the  whole  story  of  my  life,  from 
the  time  she  was  cast  upon  the  desert  island  in 
the  Sea  of 
Timor,  and  at  ' 
the  recital  of  all  \ 

the  hardships 
and  dangers 
and  joys  and 
troubles  we  had 
I)assed  through 
together,  she 
broke  down 
also,  and  we 
wept  long  and 
bitterly  in  one 
another's  arms. 

By   this    time 
she  had  become 


a  convert  to 
Christianity, 
but  this  was  entirely  a  matter  of  her  own 
seeking.  She  had  such  implicit  belief  in  my 
wisdom  and  knowledge,  that  she  begged  of 
me  to  tell  her  all  about  my  religion  in  order 
that  she  might  adopt  it  as  her  own.  Like 
most  converts,  she  was  filled  with  fiery  zeal 
and  enthusiasm,  and  she  tried  to  soften  the 
approaching  terror  by  telling  me  that  she  was 
quite  happy  that  she  was  going,  because  she 
would  be  able  to  look  after  me  even  more  than 
of  old.  "  How  different  it  would  have  been 
with  me,"  she  used  to  say,  *'had  I  remained 
with  my  old  tribe.  I  should  still  be  under  the 
belief  that  when  I  died  my  highest  state  would 
be  to  be  turned  into  an  animal;  but  now  I  know 
that  a  glorious  future  awaits  us,  and  that  in  due 
time  you  will  join  me  in  Heaven." 

Yamba  did  not  suffer  any  physical  pain,  nor 
was  she  actually  corffined  to  her  bed  until  four 
days  before  her  death.  As  the  various  tribes 
knew  the  love  and  admiration  I  had  for  her, 
the  fact  that  she  lay  dying  spread  rapidly,  and 
crowds  of  natives  flocked  to  my  mountain  home. 
^^'idespread   sympathy  was   expressed 

DyTrlg^    with    me,    and    all    kinds   of    tender 
consideration   was    evinced    by   these 
savages.     All   day  long  an  incessant  stream  of 
women-folk  kept  coming  to  the  hut  and  inquir- 
ing after  my  dying  wife. 

It  seemed  to  be  Yamba's  sole  anxiety  that  I 
should  be  well  equipped  for  the  journey  back  to 
civilization.  She  would  rehearse  with  me  for 
hours  the  various  methods  adopted  by  the  black 
fellows  to  find  water,  and  she  reminded  me 
that  my  course  at  first  was  to  be  in  a  southerly 


GOOD-BYE,    MY    HUSBAND — 1    AM    GOING." 


direction  until  I  came  to  a  region  where  the 
trees  were  blazed,  and  then  I  was  to  follow  the 
track  that  went  westward. 

These  last  days  seemed  to  pass  ver)-  quickly, 
and  one  night  the  dying  woman  had  a  serious 
relapse.     Hitherto    she    had    always   addressed 

me  as  "Master," 
but  now  that 
she  stood  in  the 
valley  of  the 
shadow  she 
would  throw 
her  arms  about 
my  neck  and 
whisper  softly, 
"  Good-bye,  my 
husband.  Good- 
bye, I  am  going 
—going— going. 
I  will  wait  for 
you — there." 

For  myself  I 
could  not  seem 
to  realize  it. 
Sometimes  I  would  rise  up  with  the  sole  inten- 
tion of  finding  out  whether  this  frightful  thing 
was  or  was  not  a  ghastly  dream.  Then  my 
memory  would  go  back  over  the  years,  and  e\"ery 
little  instance  of  unselfishness  and  devotion 
would  rise  before  my  mental  vision.  As  I 
looked  at  the  prostrate  and  attenuated  form 
that  lay  silent  on  the  couch  of  eucalyptus 
leaves,  I  felt  that  life  was  merely  the  acutest 
agony,  and  that  I  must  immediately  seek 
oblivion  in  some  form  or  other  or  lose  my 
reason.  It  seemed,  I  say,  impossible  that 
Yamba  could  cease  to  be.  It  seemed  the 
cruellest  and  most  preposterous  thing  that  she 
could  be  taken  from  me. 

Frantically  I  put  my  arms  around  her 
thl^End.  aiid  actually  tried  to  lift  her  on  to  her 
feet,  begging  of  her  to  show  how 
robust  she  was  as  in  the  days  of  yore.  I 
whispered  into  her  ears  all  the  memories  of  the 
past,  and  the  poor  creature  would  endeavour  to 
respond  with  a  series  of  feeble  efforts,  after 
which  she  sank  back  suddenly  and  breathed  her 
last. 

Language  is  utterly  futile  to  describe  my 
horror,  my  distraction.  I  felt  as  I  imagined  a 
man  would  feel  after  amputation  of  all  his 
members,  leaving  only  the  seared  and  bleeding 
trunk.  I  felt  that  life  held  no  more  joy,  no 
more  hope  ;  and  gladly  would  I  have  welcomed 
death  itself  as  a  happy  release  from  the  wretched- 
ness of  living.  In  my  delirium  of  grief  I  often 
besought  the  repulsive  savages  about  me  to 
spear  me  where  I  stood. 

Upon    this    subject    I    can    dwell    no    more, 


THE   Anvi:NrLRi-:s  ov   i.olis   de   rou(;emont. 


129 


because  of  what  followed  I  have  only  ihe 
vaguest  lecollertion.  I'or  days  I  seemed  to 
live  ill  a  kind  of  dream,  and  was  not  even  sure 
that  the  i^eople  I  met  day  by  day  were  real 
beings.  As  to  rny  awful  loss,  1  am  sure  I  did 
not  realize  it.  What  I  did  realize,  however, 
was  the  necessity  for  immediate  action.  Like 
a  dream  to  me  also  is  the  memory  of  the 
sincere  grief  of  my  blacks  and  their  well-meant 
endeavours  to  console  me.  The  women  kept 
up  a  mournful  howl, 
which  nearly  drove 
me  crazy,  and  only 
strengthened  my  re- 
solve to  get  away 
from  that  frightful 
place.  So  dazed  did 
I  become,  that  the 
blacks  concluded 
some  strange  spirit 
must  have  entered 
into  me. 

They  seemed 
"oesl^e?  to  t'^ke  it  for 

granted  that 
I  left  all  arrange- 
ments  for  the 
funeral  to  them,  the 
sole  idea  that  pos- 
sessed me  being  to 
complete  my  arrange- 
ments for  the  great 
journey  I  had  before 
me.  I  told  the 
natives  frankly  of 
my  intention,  and 
immediately  forty  of 
them  volunteered  to 
accompany  me  on 
my  travels  as  far  as 
I  chose  to  permit 
them  to  come.  I 
readily  accepted  the 

kindly  offer,  partly  because  I  knew  that  alone  I 
should  have  gone  mad,  and  partly  because  I 
instinctively  realized  that  with  such  a  body- 
guard I  should  have  nothing  to  fear  either  from 
human  foes  or  the  tortures  of  thirst. 

I  left  everything.  I  cut  off  my  long  hair  with 
my  stiletto  and  distributed  it  among  the  natives 
to  be  made  into  bracelets,  necklaces,  and  other 
souvenirs;  and  then  I  departed  with  little 
ceremony  from  the  place  where  I  had  spent  .so 
many  years  of  weird  and  strange  exile.  Most  of 
my  belongings  I  gave  away,  and  I  think  I  turned 
my  back  upon  my  mountain  home  with  little  or 
no  regret.  My  dress  consisted  solely  of  the 
usual  covering  of  emu  skin,  whilst  attached  to  a 
belt  round   mv   waist  were   mv   tomahawk  and 

Vol.  iii.— 17. 


BESOUGHT   THE   SAVAGES   TO    Sl'EAK    ME    WHERE   I    STOOD. 


Stiletto,  my  bow  and  arrcjws  being  slung  over  my 
shoulder.  1  )ay  after  day  we  marched  steadily 
on,  jneci.selyas  though  we  were  on  a  walk-about. 
The  conditions  of  the  country  were  constantly 
changing,  and  I  came  across  many  evidences  of 
its  natural  richness  in  minerals— more  particu- 
larly gold. 

One  day  as  we  were  all  resting  near  the 
*fGoi"  base  of  a  rock,  which  was  a  kind  of 
huge  outcrop  from  the  plain,  1  began 
idly  to  chip  the  stone 
with  my  tomahawk, 
when  the  edge  sud- 
denly glanced  aside 
revealing  a  bright, 
shining,  yellow 
metal.  I  sprang  to 
my  feet  in  astonish- 
ment, and  realized 
in  a  moment  that 
this  great  mass  of 
rock  was  auriferous 
to  an  enormous 
degree,  and  there 
was  one  gigantic 
nugget  in  it  which 
if  removed  would,  I 
am  sure,  be  as  much 
as  a  couple  of  men 
could  carry. 

Week  after  week 
passed  by,  and  still 
we  continued  our 
southward  march. 
In  time,  of  course, 
my  companions 
returned  to  their 
own  country,  but  so 
leisurely  had  our 
progress  been  that 
I  had  ample  time 
thoroughly  to  in- 
gratiate myself  with 
other  tribes,  so  that,  as  usual,  I  went  from 
tribe  to  tribe  practically  armed  only  with  my 
(jwn  knowledge  of  the  savages  and  my 
invaluable  repertoire  of  tricks.  In  the  course 
of  months  I  came  upon  the  blazed  or  marked 
trees,  and  then  I  struck  due  west. 

^^ery  few  incidents  worth  recording  befell  me, 
and  I  kept  steadily  on  my  way  for  eight  or  nine 
months.  At  last — at  last — I  came  upon  unmis- 
takable signs  of  the  proximity  of  "  civilization," 
for  strewn  along  the  track  we  were  now  follow- 
ing were  such  things  as  rusty  meat-tins,  old 
papers,  discarded  and  very  much  ant-eaten 
clothing,  tent  pegs,  and  numerous  other  evidences 
of  pioneer  life.  One  day,  about  noon,  I  espied  an 
encampment  of  tents  500yds.  or  600yds.  ahead 


13° 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


of  nif,  and  I  [)i()inptly  brou^lit  my  men  to  a  halt 
whilst  I  went  roiward  a  little  to  reconnoitre. 
Curiously  enough,  the  sight  of  these  tents  did  not 
cause  me  any  great  emotion.  Vou  see,  I  liad 
met  prospectors  before  in  the  Kimberley  region, 
and  besides,  I  had  been  looking  for  these  tents 
so  long  from  the  time  I  first  came  across  the 
evidences  of  civilization  aforesaid,  that  my  only 
surprise  was  I  had  not  reached  them  before. 
Walking  about  were  Europeans  in  the  dress 
generally  affected  by  the  Australian  prospector. 
Suddenly  a  strange  feeling  of  shyness  and 
hesitancy  came  over  me.  Almost  stark  naked 
and  darkened  as  I  was — a  veritable  savage, 
in  fact — I  realized  I  could  not  go  and 
introduce  myself  to  the.se  men  without 
proper  clothing.  I  knew  the  value  of  caution 
in  approaching  .so-called  civilized  men,  having 
had  bitter  experience  with  the  (jiles  expedition. 
Returning  to  my  blacks,  I"  told  them  that  at 
last  I  had  come  up  with  my  own  people,  but 
did  not  want  to  join  them  for  some  little  time 
yet.  Then  I  .selected  a  couple  of  my  com- 
panions, and  explained  to  them  that  I  wanted 
some  white  man's  cloth inir. 

I  instructed  them  to  creep  quietly  into 
Tro^^sers  tbe  camp,  remove  a  pair  of  trousers 
and  Shirt.  ^^,^j   j.|^j^^   ^^^^^   ^^.^^^   hanging    outside 

one  of  the  tents,  and  bring  back  these 
articles  to  me.  They  undertook  the  commission 
with  evident  delight,  but  when  they  returned 
in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes  they  brought  only 
the  shirt  with  them,  the  trousers,  it 
seemed,  having  been  removed  by 
the  owner  a  few  minutes  before 
they  arrived.  My  blacks  were 
intensely  amused  when  I  donned 
the  shirt,  and  considering  that  this 
was  practically  the  only  article  of 
wearing  apparel  I  pos.sessed,  I 
have  no  doubt  I  did  cut  a  very 
ludicrous  figure.  Then  came  an- 
other difficulty.  I  reflected  I 
could  not  possibly  go  and  show 
my.self  among  these  w-hite  men 
wearing  one  of  their  own  shirts, 
so  I  decided  to  bid  farewell  then 
and  there  to  my  black  e.scort,  and 
continue  my  march  alone  until 
I  reached  another  encampment. 
In  the  course  of  another  day 
or  so  I  reached  a  .second  camp. 
Into  this  I  decided  to  venture 
and  explain  who  I  was.  Be- 
fore taking  this  ste[),  however, 
I  rubbed  off  all  the  clayey 
coating  on  my  skin,  trimmed  my 
hair  and  beard  to  a  respectable 
length  by  means  of  a  fire-stick. 


threw  away  my  bow,  which   was    now  my   only 

remaining  weapon,  and  then  marched  boldly  into 

the  camp.    Some  five  or  six  bronzed  Englishmen 

were  seated   near  the  fire   in  front  of  the  tent 

having  supper  as  I  approached,  and  when  they 

caught  sight  of  me  they  stared,  astounded  for 

the    moment,    and     then     burst    into    laughter, 

under  the  impression    that   I    was   one  of  their 

black  servants   playing   some  joke  upon   them. 

When  I  was  but  a  few  yards  away,  however,  I 

called  out  in  English  : — 

"  Halloa,    boys !    have    you    room    for 
An         ,„     >  » 

Interesting  ""-  • 

Greeting.  '1  hey  werc  too  much  taken  aback  to 
reply  immediately,  and  then  one  of 
them  said  :  — 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  come  and  sit  down.'" 

As  I  seated  myself  among  them  they  asked  : — 

"  Have  you  been  out  prospecting  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  said,  quietly,  "  and  I  have  been  away 
a  very  long  time." 

"And  where  did  you  leave  your  mates?" 
was  the  next  question. 

"  I  had  no  mates,"  I  told  them.  "  I  undertook 
my  wanderings  practically  alone." 

They  looked  at  one  another,  winked,  and 
smiled  incredulously  at  this.  Then  one  of  them 
asked  me  if  I  had  found  any  gold. 

I  said,  "  Oh,  yes,  plenty  of  gold,"  and  then  the 
next  query — a  most  natural  one — was,  "  Well, 
why  have  you  not  brought  some  of  the  stuff 
back  with  you  ?     How  far  have  you  travelled  ?" 


MAI.I.UA,    Bl^VS  ;       HAVli   YOU    ROOM    KOU    ME: 


vwK  Ai)\'i:x'rL'RKs  oi   i.uL'is   \)i:   rolci.moxi". 


I II 


A  Startling 
Question. 


I  told  thcni  I  had  been  tramping  through  the 
heart  of  the  Continent  for  eight  or  nine  months, 
and  that  I  had  no  means  of  carrying  nuggets 
and  quartz  about  wiili  me.  ISut  this  explanation 
only  served  to  renew  their  merriment,  which 
reached  its  clima.x  when,  in  an  unguarded 
moment,  I  put  a  question  which  I  had  been 
burning  to  ask  : — 

"What  year  is  this?" 
"'J'his  is  liellamy's  '  Looking  Back- 
ward ■  with  a  vengeance,"  cried  one  of 
the  prospectors  —  a  sally  that  was  heartily 
appreciated  by  the  whole  of  the  company,  with 
the  exception  of  myself,  who  began  to  think  that 
if  this  indeed  was  the  reception  civilization  had 
for  me,  I  might  well  have  remained  with  my 
faithful  savages. 

But  in  a  few  minutes  the  men's  demeanour 
changed,  and  it  was  obvious  that  they 
looked  upon  me  as  a  harmless  lunatic  just 
emerged  from  the  bush.  I  was  assured 
that  this  conclusion  was  correct  when  I  saw 
the  diggers  looking  at  one  another  signifi- 
cantly and  tapping  their  foreheads.  I  re- 
solved to  tell  them  nothing  further  about 
myself,  knowing  full  well  that  the  Hiiore  I 
told  them  the  more  convinced  they  would 
be  that  I  was  a  wandering  lunatic.  I 
learned  that  the  men  I  found  myself  among 
were  a  party  of  decent  young  fellows  from 
Coolgardie.  They  offered  me  a  meal  of  tea 
and  damper,  and  pressed  me  to  stay  the 
night  with  them,  but  I  declined  their 
hospitality.  I  gratefully  accepted  a  pair  of 
trousers,  but  declined  the  offer  of  a  pair  of 
boots,  feeling  certain  that  I  could  not  yet 
bear  these  on  my  feet.  My  rough  bene- 
factors told  me  that  I  should  find  many 
other  camps  to  the  south  and  west,  so  I 
wandered  off  into  the  bush  again  and  spent 
the  night  alone. 

My  next  move  was  in  the  direc- 
'^Moun?^   tion  of    ^Slount  Margaret,  and 

Margaret.    ^^^^^     ^^^^     ,.q.^(-J     ^^.l^j-^,]-,     J     ^^^^ 

versed  I  came  across  an  interest- 
ing variety  of  picks,  shovels,  and  other 
mining  tools  which  had  evidently  been 
discarded  by  disappointed  prospectors. 
I  decided  not  to  enter  this  town  but  to  go 
round  it,  and  then  I  continued  my  tramp  alone 
towards  Southern  Cross  and  thence  toCoolgardie. 

After  working    for   some   time   in   the 
\o*'perth^  l-'^st  -  named    town,    I    made   my    way 

to  Perth,  the  ca[)ital  of  Western 
Australia.  In  Perth  I  was  advised  that  it 
would  be  better  to  go  to  Melbourne,  as  I  would 
stand  a  much  better  chance  there  of  getting  a 
ship   on    which    I    might   work    my   i)assage   to 

THE 


Europe.  Accordingly  1  [)rocccded  to  Mel- 
bourne as  soon  as  I  could,  and  the  only  note- 
worthy incident  there  was  my  humorous  inter- 
view with  the  French  Consul.  I  addressed  that 
dignified  functionary  in  execrable  French,  telling 
him  that  I  was  a  French  subject  and  wanted  to 
be  sent  back  to  Europe.  I  bungled  a  great  deal, 
and  when  my  French  failed  I  hel[)ed  my.self  out 
with  English.  The  Consul  waited  patiently  till 
I  had  finished,  stroking  his  beard  the  while,  and 
looking  at  me  in  the  most  suspicious  manner. 
"  Youclaim  this  because  youareaFrenchman?" 
"  That  is  so,"  I  replied,  involuntarily  relapsing 
into  English  once  more. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  coldly,  as  he  turned 

^^co^sln?^  '^'^''^y,  "  the  next  time  you  say  you  are 

a  Frenchman  you  had  better  not  use 

any    English    at    all,    because    you    speak    that 

language  better  than  I  do." 

1  tried  to  argue  the  point  with  him  and  told 

him    1    had    been    ship- 
wrecked, but  when  I  went 


1    .■MJDKKSSEU    rilAT    DIG.\irif;i)    I-U.NCTIOXARV    IN    EXECKAIII.K    HKHNCll. 


on  to  explain  how  long  ago  that  shipwreck  was, 
he  smiled  in  spite  of  himself,  and  I  came  away. 
From  Melbourne  I  went  to  Sydney  and  from 
Sydney  to  f5risbane. 

About  May,  1897,  I  found  myself  in  Welling- 
ton, New  Zealand,  where  T  was  advised  I  stood 
an  excellent  chance  of  getting  a  ship  to  take 
me  to  England.  I  .sailed  in  the  New  Zealand 
Shipping  Company's  IVaikafo,  and  landed  in 
London  in  March,  i8g8. 

END. 


An    Interesting    Announcement. 


WE  liavc  grent  plcasurs  in  being  able  to 
announce  that  in  our  next  number  (Jul\-, 
published  about  the  middle  of  June)  we  shall 
commence,  under  the  title  of  "  In  the  Khalifa's 
Clutches  ;  or,  My  Twelve  Years  in  Chains 
at  Omdurman,"  the  astounding  narrative  of  the 
unfortunate  gentleman  whose  portrait  appears 
on  this  page.  This  is  Mr.  Charles  Neufeld,  who 
for  twelve  awful  years  was  a  prisoner  in  Omdur- 
man groaning  under  the  frightful  tyranny  of 
the  Mahdi's  successor,  khalifa  Abdullah,  whose 
reign  of  inconceivable  cruelty  and  oppression 
was  only  brought 
to  an  end  by  Lord 
Kitchener's  victory  at 
O  m  d  u  r  m  an.  Sir 
Rudolph  Slatin,  C.B., 
K.C.M.G.,  Father 
Joseph  Ohrwalder, 
and  other  white  cap- 
tives of  the  Khalifa 
have  borne  testimony 
to  the  terrible  suffer- 
ings undergone  by 
Mr.  Neufeld  in  prison. 
The  whole  civilized 
world  is  agreed  that 
the  narrative  of  these 
men  will  probably 
never  again  be 
equalled  for  "  colour," 
for  "glow,"  for 
"thrill,"  and  for 
romance  —  thanks  to 
the  rapid  progress  of 
civilization  and  the 
elimination  of  the 
"dark  spots"  of  the 
earth. 

Sir  Ceorge  Newnes, 
Bart.,  met  Mr.  Charles 
Neufeld  in  Cairo,  and 
he  will  preface  the 
story  by  an  extremely 
interesting  "  personal 
impression "  of  the 
unhappy  captive  who, 
in  great  physical  and 
mental  distress,  sought 
his  assistance  and 
advice. 

Mr.  Neufeld  tells 
in  plain  and  simple 
style  how  his  ^veil- 
equipped  caravan  set 
out ;  how  he  was  be- 
trayed   in    the   desert         jK-,„,„  „] 


MR.    CII.\RLES    NEUFEI.D. 


by  his  treacherous  "  guide  "  ;  and  how  the  fierce 
Dervishes  descended  upon  the  party.  He  then 
passes  on  to  his  first  entry  into  Omdurman,  and 
dwells  graphically  upon  his  terrible  reception  in 
that  weird  city — how  the  populace  played  at 
cutting  him  to  pieces ;  how  he  was  led  out  to  be 
crucified,  and  how  finally  the  sentence  was  com- 
muted to  a  kind  of  perpetual  imprisonment,  in 
which  the  grotesque  and  farcical  alternated  with 
the  horrible  and  awe-inspiring.  Then  comes  Mr. 
Neufeld's  daily  life  in  the  prison  ;  and  here  all 
the  world  will  see  that  the  descriptions — modest 

and  unsensational 
though  they  are — well 
merit  the  power  of  a 
Dante  adequately  to 
describe  their  terror. 

The  extraordinary 
incidents  of  Mr.  Neu- 
feld's daily  life  are 
recounted  at  length — 
how,  through  the  re- 
presentations of  a 
white  lunatic,  he  was 
called  upon  to  make 
inferior  powder  for  the 
Khalifa's  army  ;  how 
he  was  scourged  with 
the  dread  kourbash, 
or  hippopotamus-hide 
whip  ;  how  elaborate 
plans  (which  never 
came  to  anything) 
were  laid  for  his  escape 
across  the  desert,  etc. 
And  so  this  astonish- 
ing narrative  is  brought 
right  down  to  the 
very  day  when  the 
1  o  n  g  -  t  h  o  u  g  h  t  -  o  u  t 
tactics  and  brilliant 
strategy  of  Lord 
Kitchener  of  Khar- 
toum culminated  in 
the  Battle  of  Omdur- 
man, and  the  striking 
off  of  Mr.  Neufeld's 
chains. 

The  narrative  will 
be  copiously  illus- 
trated by  the  well- 
known  war  artist,  Mr. 
Charles  M.  Sheldon, 
who  is  well  acquainted 
with  the  Soudan,  and 
spent  many  months  in 
Dervish  haunts. 


VPhoto. 


My    Baby    Leopards. 


I^v  R.   H.  Summers. 


A  Central  African  traveller  relates  how,   having  shot  a  large  leopardess  at  close  quarters,  he  adopted 

her   cubs    and    brought    them    up.     The  difficulties    of   rearing   and   the    general  "  cussedness  "    of  the 

cubs  humorously  described  and  illustrated  with  photographs. 


r  was  the  dry  season  of  1896.  I 
was  shooting  and  prospecting  in 
the  Zambesi  Valley,  not  /ar  from 
the  ancient  Portuguese  town  of 
Senna,  and  had  my  head-quarters  in 

a  fairly  decent  house  of  sun-dried  brick  and  iron 

built  by  an  engineer 


K 


pre- 


a  few    years 
viously. 

One  morning  after 
a  cup  of  coffee  we 
started  out— myself, 
two  gun -bearers,  and 
a  boy  with  water, 
etc.  I  carried  a 
twelve  -  bore  ham- 
merless,  the  right 
barrel  loaded  with 
No.  4  cartridge,  and 
the  left  with  buck- 
shot. One  boy  had 
my  double  "303  and 
the  other  a  double 
•577  express.  Thus 
equipped  I  felt 
ready  for  anything 
from  an  elephant  to 
a  d  i  u  k  e  r.  T  h  e 
ground  was  covered 
with  spoor.  Soon 
we  approached  with- 
in a  few  hundred 
yards  of  the  forest 
pool,  and  patiently 
waited.  Oh,  how 
tedious  that  waiting 
is,  with  every  nerve, 
every  sense,  on  the 
alert — not  daring  to 
make  a  sound,  and 
hardly  daring  to 
breathe.  And  how 
strange  it  is  that  at  such  times  one  always  wants 
to  sneeze  or  cough.  Once  some  wild  pig  rushed 
by,  but  I  did  not  fire.  However,  about  daybreak 
a   fine  eland  bull   was  seen   rubbing   his   body 


1  IIR   AUTHOR   wnn 
From  a  Photo. 


against  the  stem  of  a  tree  about  thirty  yards 
away.  I'aking  a  steady  aim  I  fired,  and  before 
the  beast  could  rise  again,  I  let  him  have  a 
second  from  the  "303  in  the  same  place — the 
shoulder.  To  my  surprise,  however,  he  got  up 
and   went   off.      1   followed    quickly,   and  easily 

traced  the  wounded 
bull  by  means  of 
the  blood.  For  two 
hours  we  continued 
on  the  trail,  expect- 
ing every  minute  to 
see  the  quarry,  and 
keeping  a  sharp 
k)ok-out  in  case  we 
came  up  with  him 
suddenly  and  he 
charged. 

The  sun  was 
now  beginning  to 
make  itself  felt, 
and  the  fast  pace 
at  which  I  had  been 
going  began  to  tell, 
when  suddenly, 
passing  through  a 
thick  piece  of  bush, 
I  almost  stepped 
on  three 
little  cubs, 
back  and, 
an  angry  growl, 
looked  a  little  to  the 
right,  from  whence  it 
proceeded.  There, 
within  two  yards,  I 
saw  a  huge  leopard 
lying  on  the  ground, 
its  head  on  its  paws 
and  its  eyes  blazing. 
This  sort  of  thing 
is  not  pleasant,  how- 
ever used  one  may  be  to  the  bush,  and  therefore 
I  have  not  the  least  hesitation  in  saying  that  it 
was  a  most  unpleasant  surprise.  More  by  in- 
stinct, I  think,  I  raised  my  rifle  and  fired.     Next 


helpless 
I  drew 
hearing 


ONF,    OF    HIS    I'.Ar.IF.N. 

by  the  Author. 


134 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    AIACIAZINE. 


THE    BABIES   TAKE    LI'    THEIR    NEW   yUAUTEKS — "JUST   ABLE    TO   CRAWL.' 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


moment  I  fired  ngain  with  the  left  barrel,  when, 
to  my  dismay,  I  saw  that  apparently  neither 
bullet  had  taken  effect  and  that  the  brute  was 
rising.  Here  my  boy  behaved  very  well,  for, 
thrusting  the  twelve-bore  into  my  hands,  he  said, 
"  Ikickshot."  I  handed  him  the  "303,  and 
putting  up  the  safety-catch  of  the  twelve-bore, 
I  tlirust  it  forward  until  the  muzzle  touched  the 
brute's  head  as  she  rose.  I  fired.  Of  course 
the  result  was  instant  death,  and  the  leopard's 
skull  was  nearly  blown  to  pieces.  On  examina- 
tion I  found  that  the  two  shots  from  the  rifle 
had  missed  the  skull  and  gone  through  the 
right  and  left  legs  respectively,  breaking  the 
bone  in  both  cases. 

Having  disposed  of  the  mother,  I  now 
turned  i)iy  attention  to  the  cubs.  There 
were  three,  perhaps  a  week  or  so  old,  and 
about  the  size  of  a  three-months'  kitten. 
They  were  just  able  to  crawl  over  each 
other.  I  noticed  that  one  was  deformed 
or  injured  in  its  back  and  hind-quarters, 
so  I  sent  it  to  keep  its  mother  company. 
The  other  two  I  determined  to  try  and 
rear.  Just  then  a  shout  from  one  of  the 
boys  drew  my  attention,  and  going  in  his 
direction  I  found  not  twenty  yards  away 
the  dead  body  of  the  eland  bull— and  a 
very  fine  beast  it  was,  too  ;  fat  as  butter, 
and  with  the  best  head  I've  seen  on  any 
eland.  I  decided  to  skin  both  eland  and 
panther  at  once,  and  sent  back  to  camp 
one  of  the  boys  to  bring  along  all  the 
niggers  he  could.  The  other  two  and  myself 
made  a  fire  and  grilled  some  meat  off  the 
eland,  and  had  a  good  meal,  washed  down 
with  water.     This  finished,  we  skinned   the     /.> 


panther  and  cut  off  the  head  and 
neck  of  the  eland.  Just  as  we 
finished  the  boys  turned  up,  so, 
loading  them  with  the  panther  skin 
and  as  much  meat  as  possible,  besides 
the  buck's  head  and  neck,  we  set 
off  for  camp,  carrying  the  two  cubs 
in  a  basket.  On  arrival  I  thought 
that  the  cubs  would  want  something 
to  keep  them  going,  so  I  got  a  milch 
goat  and,  telling  two  boys  to  hold  her 
legs  and  head,  I  took  one  of  the  cubs 
and  put  his  mouth  to  the  goat's  teat. 
He  speedily  understood  and  began 
to  suck  vigorously,  pushing  the  udder 
with  his  paws  in  fine  style.  The  goat 
strongly  objected,  bleating  piteously 
and  struggling  to  get  away.  Still, 
cub  No.  I  had  a  good  meal.  Then 
came  the  turn  of  No.  2,  and  the 
same  performance  was  gone  through. 
The  goat's  teat,  however,  was  rather 
large  for  my  babies'  mouths,  and  I  found 
out  afterwards  that  they  had  small  teeth, 
which  were  very  sharp,  and  accounted  in  great 
part  for  the  uproar  made  by  their  unwilling 
foster-mother.  The  nanny-goat  evidently  had 
an  instinctive  dislike  to  the  smell  of  the  poor 
motherless  little  beasts.  I  was  greatly  puzzled 
where  to  put  them  at  night,  but  I  finally  solved 
the  question  by  taking  them  to  bed  with  me, 
thinking  that  they  needed  a  good  deal  of  warmth. 
The  next  day,  more  goat's  milk.  This  time,  how- 
ever, we  put  the  goat  on  the  ground  and  held  her 
there,  but  the  poor  thing  went  as  near  hysterics  as 
a  goat  can  go  ;  and  I  am  sure  if  an  officer  of  the 


THE    LITTLE    LEOPARDS'    FOSTER-MOTHER — A    HALF-BRED    ABERDEEN 

■0)ti  n  Photo.  by\  ,      TERRIER.  {the  Author. 


MV     r.AT.V     I.I'.OI'ARDS. 


•35 


suckle  them  !  She  was  a  cross  Ijclwceii 
a  dachshund  and  an  Aberdeen  terrier — a 
splendid  little  creature.  She  had  already 
taken  an  interest  in  the  cubs,  and  I  was 
sure  that  she  would  not  mind  gi\ing  a 
mother's  fostering  care  to  two  pets  of  mine. 
So  I  tried.  No,  she  did  not  mind,  except 
that  she  speedily  taught  them  not  to  use 
their  claws  upon  her  ;  and  at  first  she  was 
rather  inclined  to  push  them  away  and  let 
her  own  pups  have  first  chance  at  the  milk. 
I  sacrificed  two  of  the  pups  in  order  not  to 
overstrain  the  mother  ;  and  to  make  sure 
that  the  cubs  should  have  every  chance  of 
getting  on,  I  engaged  a  youngster  specially 
to  look  after  them  and  be  their  nurse. 

At  the  age  of  about  four  weeks  the  cubs 
were    droll,     playful    creatures  —  just    like 


THK    NATUkK    "K     1  H  E    I'.KAST — F.l'T    IT    IS    CIM.N'    IN     I'l.AV. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  A  ut/ior. 

R.S.P.C.A.  had  seen  her,  he  would  certainly  ha\e 
summoned  me.  I  saw  that  this  could  not  go 
on,  especially  as  the  youngsters  had  claws,  and, 
what  is  more,  could  scratch.  The  udder  of  the 
poor  goat  was  already  badly  mauled.  I  thought 
of  and  tried  all  kinds  of  things.  I  [)ut  the  cubs 
in  a  box  with  the  goat's  kid,  in  the  hopes  that 
they  would  acquire  the  same  smell,  and  the 
mother  be  unable  to  tell  the  difference,  but  it 
was  no  use  ;  their  own  natural  odour  was  too 
strong,  and  terrified  all  ordinary  beasts.  I  then 
put  a  quill  through  the  cork  of  a  bottle  and  fed 
them  in  that  way  for  a  day  or  two.  At  last  a 
grand  idea  struck  me.  I  had  a  bitch  at  the 
time  with  pups  about  ten  days  old  :   she  should 


r^-Mm, 


I^^^WB^^f 


/ 


ON'E   OK    THi;    1  I  1  ~ 


A    RE.\L    NAUGHTY   FIT — "  WHY  CANT    I    KILL   THE    CHI- 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


1  '    LING    WITH    THE    SURVIVING   LEOl'ARD 
ON    THE    LOSS    OF    HIS    BROTHER. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  .4uthor. 

kittens  running  about  all 
over  the  place,  and  a  great 
source  of  trouble  to  their 
little  black  nurse.  They 
slept  at  night,  after  the  first 
fortnight,  with  their  foster- 
brothers,  the  pups.  They 
climbed  on  to  my  bed  and 
pulled  a  blanket  to  pieces ; 
they  drank  the  cat's  milk  in 
the  saucer,  frightened  the 
life  out  of  my  tame  monkey; 
scared  the  fowls  (who 
nearly  died  at  the  sight  of 
them),  and  prevented  the 
hens  from  laying  for  a 
whole  week.  Also,  they 
nearly  suffered  death  at  the 
hands,  or  rather  horns, 
of  my  patriarchal  old  ram, 


136 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


HIS    MASTKR    WOULDN  T   GIVE    HIM    MEAT,    SO    HE   LAY   IN    WAIT    FOR 

Front  a  Photo.  by\  the  lizards.  {the  Autlior. 


because  they  ivould  insist  on  biting  his  legs 
to  see  what  they  were  made  of.  But,  alas  ! 
there's  an  end  to  everything  ;  and  one  day  the 
end  came,  for  cub  No.  2  died  !  Yes,  he  died, 
after  suffering  for  three  hours  from  acute  con- 
vulsions. Poor  little  chap.  I  took  his  skin 
home  and  had  it  stuffed,  but  it  was  rather 
damaged  by  his  brother  a  few  days  after  it  was 
dried.  You  see,  he  mistook  it  for  a  new  play- 
thing or  for  one  of  my 
socks,  and  so  he  did  his 
best  to  tear  it  to  pieces. 
After  the  serious  lo.ss  of 
his  brother,  \\z  consoled 
himself  with  the  pups,  but 
he  was  getting  big  now, 
and  was  more  than  a 
match  for  them.  I  now 
gave  him  a  name — "Cats" 
— 'which  he  very  soon 
learnt.  Me  presently  de- 
cided that  the  pups  were 
beneath  him, and  so  started 
on  a  six-months'-old  fox- 
terrier,  who  had  previously 
treated  him  with  con- 
tempt. Flirt,  the  terrier 
aforesaid,  ignored  his  irri- 
tating attentions,  but  this 
was  nothing.  A  sudden 
spring  on  her  back  and  a 


sharp  nip  made  her  take  pained  notice  of 
this  bold  young  thing.  At  the  age  of  six 
weeks  "  Cats  "  made  his  first  kill.  One  after- 
noon I  was  smoking  under  the  shade  of  a 
tree,  and  I  noticed  him  doing  a  quiet  stalk 
after  a  fowl.  A  sudden  spring,  and  he  was 
on  its  back,  and  the  excited  and  terrified 
fowl  actually  carried  Master  Cats  round  the 
yard  before  its  neck  was  bitten  through  and 
it  died  !  "Cats," however,  was  not  allowed  to 
taste  the  spoils  of  victory.  I  thought  a  milk 
diet  was  still  quite  suited  to  him.  But  when 
I  found  that  he  was  humbly,  yet  slyly,  catch- 
ing lizards  and  eating  them,  I  thought  that 
a  little  cooked  meat  might  be  advantageous. 
So  young  "  Cats  "  started  on  cooked  meat. 

Jjut  he  was  pining  for  something  to  kill  ; 
and  as  my  chief  idea  was  to  bring  him  to 
England,  I  decided  that  to  allow  him  to 
follow  his  natural  instinct  and  diet  was  the 
best  thing.  Therefore  he  had  a  fowl  every 
three  days.  He  killed  and  plucked  it  all  by 
himself,  tearing  out  the  feathers  with  his 
mouth  and  quickly  getting  the  fowl  ready  for 
consumption.  He  would  growl  and  snarl 
over  his  meal  and  look  ever  so  fierce;  and  if 
anyone  went  within  a  yard  of  him  he  would 
take  his  prey  in  his  mouth  and  strike  out 
savagely  on  either  side  with  his  wicked  little  paws. 
\Mien  he  liad  finished,  he  would  come  to  me  and 
I  would  wash  his  paws  with  strong  disinfectant, 
as  I  did  not  want  to  get  a  nasty  v/ound  from 
any  little  scratch  I  might  receive  from  my  baby. 
I  managed  to  take  him  to  Europe  safely,  and 
he  is  now  in  one  of  the  big  collections  on  the 
Continent— I  believe,  about  to  make  his  bow  to 
the  public  as  a  performer  of  most  wonderful  feats. 


HIS   FIRST    KILL   AT   LAST — A    POOR   OLD   FOWL^"  NOW    I    DO    HOPE   I    SHa'n't    BE   DISTUKCED." 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


The    Peril    of    Seaman    Diver    Young. 

By  Major  Charlton  Anne. 

Going  down  as   a  diver  to  retrieve  a  lost  torpedo  belonging  to   the   first-class  battle-ship  "Hood"  he 
fouled   his  lines,  got  turned    completely    upside  down,   and    remained    in    this  fearful  position   in  total 

darkness  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  off  Crete  for  five  hours. 


OWARDS  the  latter  end  of  the 
month  of  September,  in  the  year 
1896,  Her  Majesty's  first-class  battle- 
ship Hood  (Captain  Drury)  was 
lying  in  Suda  Bay,  looking  after 
British  interests  in  Crete — Crete  the  perturbed 
and  lurid.  This  was  before  the  recent  row  broke 
out,  however,  and  previous  to  the  Greek  land- 
ing. A  photograph  of  the  Hood  is  reproduced 
herewith.      The  great  battle-ship  had  only  just 


up  with  the  usual  service  routine  and  strict 
discipline,  which,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Hood, 
is  doubly  severe  on  all  newly-commissioned 
shipsj  until  such  time  as  the  crew  have  got 
thoroughly  knocked  into  shape.  And,  of  course, 
strict  discipline,  combined  with  hard  work,  and 
plenty  of  it,  is  the  surest  way  of  arriving  at  this 
much-desired  consummation  on  board  a  British 
man-of-war. 

Despite  the  fact  that  the  month  of  September 


H.ll.S.    "hood  "    TO    WHICH   SEA.M.\N   GUNNER   AND    DIVER  JOH.S'    VOL'NG    BELONGED. 

Front  a  Photo,  by  Symonds,  Portsmouth. 


previously  been  re-commissioned,  and  had  but 
recently  arrived  from  Malta  with  an  entirely 
new  crew. 

Whilst  in  Suda  Bay  the  officers  of  the  Hood 
amused  themselves  by  organizing  shooting 
expeditions  to  the  neighbouring  marshes,  where 
duck  and  snipe  abound.  There  was  also  a 
certain  amount  of  e.xercise  to  be  got  in  the  shape 
of  walking  and  riding — -under  somewhat 
stringent  rules,  however.  For,  needless  to  say, 
at  that  period  the  island  was  in  a  most  un- 
settled condition. 

Officers'  bathing  parties  also  took  advantage 
of  the  many  small  coves  lying  around  the 
Akrotiri  peninsula,  which  was  destined  shortly 
to  become  famous  as  the  principal  stronghold 
of  the  Christian  insurgents  in  Crete.  The 
ordinary  seamen,  however,  were  on  no  account 
whatever   allowed  to  land.      They  had  to  put 

Vol.  iii.— 18. 


is  the  hottest  month  of  the  year  in  the 
Mediterranean,  drills  and  gun-practice  (with 
greater  or  lesser  quick-firers)  were  the  order 
throughout  each  day  of  the  Hood's  sojourn  in 
Suda  Bay.  And  when  the  sea  was  smooth 
enough  there  would  be  torpedo  practice  with 
those  small  torpedoes  which  are  usually  in  vogue 
on  these  occasions.  These  are  only  about  12ft. 
long,  so  the  sailc/s  affectionately  call  them 
"  babies." 

Now,  a  torpedo  is  a  thing  with  apparently  as 
capricious  a  temper  as  that  of  a  spoiled  child  at 
times.  And  so  it  happened  that  one  of  these 
infants,  when  fired  from  the  Hood  one  morning, 
instead  of  pursuing  an  even  and  horizontal  course 
in  the  direction  of  the  target  which  it  was  in- 
tended to  hit,  suddenly  took  a  turn,  and  tossing 
its  tail  upwards  in  derision  in  the  face  of  the 
whole  ship's  company,  ran  down  vertically  at  full 


138 


THE    WIDE   WORLD    .MAGAZINE. 


speed.  The  result  was  that 
"nose"  as  it  is  called,  became 
6ft.  or  7ft.  in  the  stiff  clay 
which  lines  the  bottom  of 
Suda  13ay.  It  was  afterwards 
found  that  one  small  split  pin 
had  come  out  of  a  rod,  caus- 
ing the  torpedo  to  run  verti- 
cally instead  of  horizontally. 

At  that  time  the  Hood  was 
anchored  in  about  thirteen 
fathoms  of  water.  A  merciful 
Providence  has  apparently 
decreed  (doubtless  with  a 
view  to  economizing  much 
time,  bad  temper,  and  scarlet 
language  on  the  part  of  ships' 
officers)  that  an  escaped  tor- 
pedo shall  always  let  those 
above  know  its  whereabouts 
by  the  bubbles  which  the 
compressed  air,  which  works 
the  mechanism  inside  it,  dis- 
charges to  the  surface.  Thus, 
a  lost  torpedo  will  some- 
times continue  to  give  off 
bubbles    for    days    after    it 

In  this  instance  the  truant  w 
through  its  boiling  up  like  a 
veritable  geyser  in  miniature, 
some  fifty  yards  from  the 
ship.  Even  a  "  baby  "  tor- 
pedo is  too  costly  a  thing 
to  be  lost  without  the  utmost 
being  done  for  its  recovery, 
so  preparations  were  at  once 
made  on  board  the  Hood  to 
do  so  in  this  case. 

The  ship's  divers,  of  whom 
there  were  three,  were  im- 
mediately warned  to  get 
ready.  The  launch  was 
manned  and  lowered  along- 
side, furnished  with  all  the 
apparatus  necessary  for  diving 
operations.  .She  carried  one 
of  Siebe  and  Gorman's  patent 
three  -  cylinder  air  -  pumps. 
These  pumps  are  capable  Oi 
supplying  ample  air  to  two 
divers  simultaneously,  at  the 
depth  of  twelve  fathoms. 
Beyond  that  depth,  it  is  safe 
only  to  allow  the  pump  to 
supply  air  to  one  diver  at  a 
time.  In  this  instance,  the 
lost  torpedo  being  about 
thirteen  fathoms  down,  it 
was    not  thought    advisable 


its  other  end,  or        to  send  down  more  than  one  diver  at   a  time 
embedded  some         during  the  subsequent  operations. 

In  the  course  of  the  after- 
noon which  followed,  two 
divers  had  descended  and 
found  the  torpedo.  They  had 
attached  three-and-a-half-inch 
grass  ropes  to  it,  but  these 
had  broken  at  every  attempt 
to  drag  the  torpedo  out  of 
the  mud  in  which  it  was  so 
firmly  embedded.  At  5.45 
p.m.  it  fell  to  the  lot  of 
No.  148,127,  Seaman  Gunner 
and  Diver  John  Young 
(whose  portrait,  specially 
taken  for  this  article,  is  here 
reproduced),  to  descend  and 
make  a  final  attempt  for  that 
day. 

On  this  occasion  the  tor- 
pedo was  (it  was  hoped)  to 
be  raised  by  attaching  a  five- 
inch  hemp  hawser  to  it. 

It  was  rapidly  growing 
dusk.  The  sea  was  smooth, 
has  disappeared.  with  an  occasional  ripple  on  its  surface,  raised 
as  quickly  located        by  the  soft  evening  breeze.     The  temperature 

on    the    surface    was   about 


SEAMAN  GUNNER  AND  DIVER  JOHN  YOUNG, 

THE  HERO  OF  THE  TERRIBLE  ADVENTURE 

RELATED  HEREIN. 

From  a  Photo,  hy  Arthur  Bitrgess,  Folkestone. 


LIEUTENANT   (nOW   C():\IMANDEr)   E.    CHARLTON 

WHO     HAD     CHARGE     OF    THE     DIVING 

OPERATION'S. 

From  a  Photo,  hy  G.  II  'est  <5r=  So>i,  Souihsca. 


85deg.  Fahrenheit,  and  that 
of  the  waters  underneath 
from  7deg.  to  lodeg.  lower. 
A  few  yards  beneath  the  sur- 
face it  was  practically  dark, 
and  it  is  necessary  to  bear 
in  mind  all  these  conditions 
and  circumstances,  they 
being  essential  to  a  right 
appreciation  of  the  narrative. 
Diver  Young  had  donned  a 
brand-new  dress  for  the  occa- 
sion. Before  the  helmet  was 
screwed  home  he  assured  his 
assistants  that  he  would 
"have  the  blessed  thing  up 
in  half  a  mo'."  Only  Seaman 
(iunner  and  Diver  John 
Young  did  noi  say  "blessed." 
He  went  over  the  side,  his 
weights  were  put  on  over  his 
shoulders,  the  cranks  of  the 
pumps  began  to  revolve,  and 
with  the  signal  "All  right," 
given  by  two  pats  on  the  top 
of  his  helmet,  John  Young 
gently  sank  beneath  the  waves, 
easing  himself  down  his  shot- 
rope  as  he  went,  as  seen  in 
the  first  diagram  reproduced. 


THK     PERIL    OF    SEAMAN     DIVER    YOUNG. 


'39 


NO.  I.— 5.45  r.M. 
Sea  moderate.     Depth,  78ft.     Diver  Voung  descending. 

It  may  be  here  mentioned  that  the  shot-rope 
is  an  inch  hne.  to  which  a  half-hundredweight 
"  sinker  "  is  attached.  This  is  always  the  first 
thing  to  he  lowered  from  a  diver's  boat,  and  is 
a  guide  to  the  diver  himself  both  in  descending 
and  ascending.  Besides  the  shot  line — to  which 
he  is  not  attached— the  diver  is  also  connected 
with  ihe  boat  by  a  breast-line  which  is  fastened 
to  his  shoulders,  and,  of  course,  there  is  likewise 
the  air-[)ipe,  which  is  screwed  into  the  side  of 
his  helmet,  and  then  connected  with  the  air 
cylinders  above. 

A  pressure  gauge  on  the  pump  indicates 
through  a  dial  the  exact  depth  at  which  the 
diver  below  is  working.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  adventures  of  John  Young  after 
he  became  submerged  could  only  be  subse- 
quently guessed  after  unravelling  the  incredible 
tangle  of  his  various  ropes  and  the  air-tube  after 
his  rescue.  But  a  careful  note  of  the  time  of 
all  his  signals  from  below,  and  of  every  effort 
made  above  towards  his  aid,  was  kept  on  the 


spot  by  the  officer  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
diving  operations  ;  this  was  Lieutenant  (now 
Commander)  11  Charlton,  of  the  Hood  (his 
portrait  is  reproduced  on  the  previous  page). 
■|'h(j  admirable  diagrams  help  us  to  realize  the 
tlifferent  stages  of  the  diver's  fearful  position. 
These  diagrams  were  originally  drawn  on  the 
spot  whilst  the  diver  was  below.  It  would  appear 
that  in  Suda  Bay  there  must  have  been  a  sub- 
marine current,  probably  only  very  slight,  but 
nevertheless  sufficiently  strong  when  Young 
descended  to  turn  him  gradually,  but  com- 
pletely, round,  so  that  ere  he  touched  the 
bottom  he  had  unknowingly  already  got  foul. 
Diagram  No.  2  shows  the  position  at  this 
moment. 


4  /f  rih-c     = 


NO.    2.— 5.50   P.M. 

IHver  sees  torpedo  and  signals  for  hawser.     He  has  unconsciously 
taken  a  turn  round  his  shot  rope  and  is  already  foul. 


Utterly  unaware  of  this,  and  finding  the 
torpedo  immediately.  Young  gave  the  signal  — 
a  pull  on  his  life-line — which  had  already  been 
agreed  upon,  and  which  meant  that  he  was 
ready  for  the  5in.  hawser  to  be  lowered  to  him. 


140 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


This  being  done,  and  catching  hold  of  the 
end  of  the  hawser,  he  groped  his  way  to  the 
torpedo,  wading  through  the  heavy  bottom  mud, 
which  was  nearly  up  co  his  knees.  Making  the 
hawser  fast  to  the  tail  of  the  torpedo  he  must 
have  moved  completely  round  the  submerged 
weapon  from  left  to  right,  thus  making  another 
foul.     (See  Diagram  3.) 


NO.  3. — 6  r.M. 
Making  fast.     The  diver  here  walks  completely  round  the  torpedo. 


The  hawser  being  made  fast,  Young  now 
started  to  ascend  up  the  shot-rope,  quite  un- 
aware that  he  had  made  a  hitch  round  both  it 
and  the  torpedo  with  both  his  air-pipe  and 
breast-line.  The  muddle  so  far  can  be  realized 
by  a  glance  at  Diagram  4. 

But  to  return  to  the  surface.  It  was  now 
6.30  p.m.  The  wind,  which  had  been  hitherto 
blowing  gently  from  the  westward,  suddenly 
increased  and,  with  the  sunset,  veered  round  to 
the  north. 

The  huge  battle-ship  swinging  to  it  threatened 
to  carry  away  both  the  launch  and  the  whole 
diving  apparatus.  This  would,  of  course,  have 
meant  instant  death  to  the  diver  below.   Happily, 


such  a  terrible  catastrophe  was  averted  by  a 
kedge  anchor  and  line  being  promptly  laid  out 
from  the  off-quarter  of  the  Hood.  The  next 
diagram  (No.  5)  explains  this  situation. 

By  this  time  Young  must  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  was  fouled,  for  he  had 
ascended  a  short  distance  and  then  found  he 
could  not  move.  Therefore,  like  a  wise  man, 
he  went  down  again  and  tried  to  find  out  where 
the  trouble  Avas ;  but  owing  to  its  being  pitch 
dark  where  he  was,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  he  failed  to  do  so. 

Almost  despairing  of  being  able  to  free  him- 
self, and  dreading  to  resort  to  the  last  resource 
(that  of  cutting  himself  clear  with  his  knife),  lest 
he  should  get  foul  again  whilst  going  up,  the 
unfortunate  man  gave  four  pulls  on  his  air- 
pipe.  This  is  the  most  urgent  signal  that  a 
diver  can  send  to  his  friends  above.  It  means, 
"  Pull  me  up  at  once  by  my  Hfe-line."  (See 
Diagram  6.) 

At  first  the  operators  hesitated  to  act  on  this. 


■  4 


NO.    4. — 6.15    P.M. 

Diver  tries  to  ascend  on  shot-rope,  having  got  a  hitch  round  it  and 
also  round  the  torpedo  with  air-pipe  and  breast-line. 


THE    PERIL    OF    SEAMAX    UI\ER    YOUNG. 


141 


ff 


/ 


<^ 


o 


:k 


\ 


M rfs  Hood 

i         0, 

C 


o 


..'SOI 


NO.  5. — 5.30  F.M. 

The  wind  shifts,  and  the  battle-ship  threatens  to  swing 
over  the  fouled  diver.     A  kedge  anchor  averts  this. 


but  on  the  urgent  repetition  of  the  signal,  the 
order  was  given  on  the  launch  to  haul  in  the 
lifeline.  But  on  commencing  to  do  this  the 
operators  found  it  was  impossible  to  bring  up 
more  than  a  fathom  of  the  line.  Worse  still, 
the  only  result  of  this  operation  was  to  turfi 
Young  completely  vpside  doivii  I  The  very  first 
pull  on  the  line^entangled  as  it  was  round  the 
torpedo — must  have  done  this. 

Now,  once  a  diver  loses  his  perpendicul 
and  gets  horizontal,  the  air  gets  into  the  legs  o* 
his  dress — up  they  go,  and  then  nothing  that  he 
can  do  will  ever  bring  them  down  again.  He  is 
a  mere  helpless  wind-bag,  quite  incapable  of 
reversing  himself.  This  is  precisely  what  must 
have  happened  to  Young.  The  loop  of  his  life- 
line round  the  torpedo  pulled  him  on  to  his 
chest ;  the  hapless  man's  legs  immediately  went 
up,  buoyed  with  air,  and  so  he  remained, 
bumping  about  on  his  head  in  total  dark- 
ness, 78ft.  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  The 
accompanying  diagram  (No.  7)  shows  at  a 
glance  the  effect  of  trying  to  haul  up  poor 
Seaman  Diver  Young,  who  was  now  hopelessly 
entangled.  Of  course,  those  above  could  not 
tell  what  had  happened,  although  they  may  have 
fairly  well  guessed.  E'nable  to  bring  the  diver 
up,  and  getting  no  more  signals  from  him,  a 
fifty  candle-power  electric  submarine  lamp  was 
lowered  down  to  him  at  7.30  p.m.  To  this  was 
attached  a  slate  and  pencil,  so  that  the  helpless 


T    To  If  TED 
^     S'MAWSEfi 

— --  Air  Tube 

—  UntAJTUNE/ 


man  could  write  on  the  slate 
and  inform  those  above  pre- 
cisely what  his  dilemma  was. 
(See  Plate  8.) 

After  his  rescue  Young 
said  he  remembered  seeing 
the  light,  but  he  never  had 
any  recollection  of  the  slate. 
All  this  time  he  was  float- 
'^  ing    at   the    bottom  of    the 

sea,  heels  uppermost,  the 
monotony  being  varied  by 
his  occasionally  thumping  his  heat! 
into  the  mud.  During  the  next  hour 
all  other  expedients  to  communicate 
with  him  were  tried,  but  all  proved 
equally  fruitless.  And  now  another 
grave  danger  entered  upon  the  extra- 
ordinary scene.  The  cylinders  of  the 
air-pump,  which  had  been  working  con- 
tinuously for  some  eight  hours,  showed 
signs  of  over-work,  and  were  rapidly, 
getting  red-hot.    In  this  case  they  would 


j/f  /-//if 

fffor  Vorc 


NO.    6.-6.55    P.M. 

Descending  again,  Di%'er  Young  concludes  he  is  foul.    It  is  now 
pitch  dark.     He  signals  "  Pull  up  at  once.' 


142 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


^^^^1 


tfe^ 


At  9  p.m.  all  lines  attached  to  Young, 
which  had  previously  been  kept  taut,  as 
well  as  the  hawser  which  he  had  fastened 
to  the  torpedo,  and  the  shot-line  —  all 
were  simultaneously  eased.  The  result  of 
this  was  that  the  unfortunate  man  gradually 
ascended — though  of  course  he  was  still 
head  downward.  At  9.45  p.m.  the  second 
diver  from  the  Dolphin  descended,  and  by 
the  aid  of  the  electric  light  he  found  Young 
bobbing  about  in  a  perfectly  helpless  con- 
dition. He  shook  the  luckless  diver  by 
the  hand,  and  tried  in  other  ways  to 
attract  his  attention.  Getting  no  response 
to  his  efforts,  he  came  up  and  reported 
Young  quite  dead.  The  next  diagram 
(No.  9)  depicts  for  us  this  remarkable 
greeting.  The  unfortunate  man  was  now 
actually  sighted  from  the  launch,  legs  up 
and  head  down,  about  24ft.  below  the 
surface   of    the   translucent   water.      There 


NO.    7. — 7    P.M. 

The  result  of  hauling  up  the  fouled  diver.      People  alxjve 

(Jo  not  know.     Diver  now  helpless  and  upside  down. 

Dress  leaks  and  water  accumulates  in  helmet. 


have  to  be  stopped  altogether.  How- 
ever, luckily  there  was  a  plentiful 
supply  of  ice  on  board  the  Hood, 
and  by  packing  this  continually  round 
the  pump  it  was  kept  cool  enough  to 
work. 

W'hile  these  operations  were  going 
on.  Her  Majesty's  sloop  Dolphin  hove 
in  sight,  and  joined  her  huge  consort 
in  Suda  Bay.  A  signal  was  at  once 
made  to  her  from  the  flag -ship  to 
send  immediately  a  boat,  with  diver 
and  apparatus.  The  Dolphin^s  boat 
brought  at  once  a  couple  of  divers 
and  a  one-man  pump.  One  of  the 
divers  went  down  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible in  search  of  Young,  but  he  was 
a  new  hand  at  the  work,  and  speedily 
returned  to  the  surface,  having  failed 
to  see  anyone  or   anything  ! 


Jnar  foPC 


NO.  8.— 7.30  r.M. 

A  ^o  candle-power  submarine  lamp  is  lowered  ;  also  a  slate  for  messages. 

Diver  floats,  but  often  bumps  his  head  against  the  bottom. 


THE    PERIL    OF    SEAMAN     DIVER    YOUXG. 


143 


remained  only  one  thing  to  be  done — namely, 
to  pull  up  the  torpedo  by  main  force  by  means 
of  the  hawser  attached  to  it.  li  was  a  desperate 
and  last  resource. 

In  a  letter  written  home  the  next  day, 
Lieutenant  Charlton — who  has  already  been 
referred  to — said,  "  1  had  to  decide  and  take 
the  risk  of  the  hawser  beinc;  round  the  diver. 


When  all  was  in  readiness  the  signal  was 
given,  "Full  steam  ahead.''  This  was  done 
twice,  each  time  in  a  diflerent  direction,  but 
without  any  apparent  result.  The  torpedo 
firmly  wedged  in  the  clay  would  not  budge  1 
Then  again  once  more — this  time  spurt  at  right 
angles  to  previous  pulls  and  at  full  speed. 
Again  eighty  brawny  arms  in  the  launch  heaved 


^/^  f-/re 


\/)a'    i''"~' 


'^^ 


S^f  ^1 '   y"^   *^  fftnr/:-^ 


NO.    9.-9.45    P-M- 

Another  Diver  from  H.M.S.  Dolfihin  goes  down.     On  coming  up  he  reports 
John  Young  dead  hours  ago. 


when  we  put  the  launch  and  steam  pinnace  on 
her.  Had  the  diver  got  the  strain  he  must 
have  been  torn  to  pieces."  The  launch  was 
now  manned  by  a  picked  boat's  crew  of  forty 
men,  who  laid  hold  of  the  hawser.  The  launch 
was  in  her  turn  taken  in  tow  by  the  ship's 
steam  pinnace,  the  latter's  furnace  burning 
for  all  it  was  worth,  and  her  boilers  carrying 
the  fullest  head  of  steam  possible.  (See 
Diagram  No.  10.) 


and  hauled  with  a  will  :  the  steam  pinnace 
panted  and  puffed,  her  screw  beating  the  cairn 
waters  into  a  milky  foam.  Both  boats  were  at 
a  standstill,  quivering  with  the  immense  strain 
put  upon  them  from  stern  to  bow. 

Then,  suddenly,  and  without  any  apparent 
warning,  the  torpedo,  having  given  way  at  last, 
the  helpless  diver  came  shooting  out  of  the 
water  feet  foremost,  with  an  impetus  that  almost 
landed  him  into  the  arms  of  the   crew  of  the 


144 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


launch.       The    lo.st    torpedo     came    alongside 
almost  at  the  same  moment. 

The  shot -line  was  found  twisted  round 
Young's  right  arm,  and  the  limb  was  apparently 
broken.  The  face-plate  was  quickly  removed 
from  the  poor  fellow's  helmet,  which  was 
found  three-quarters  full  of  water.      The    new- 


supposed  dead  man  opened,  and  a  very  sepul- 
chral voice  murmured,  in  feeble  protest :  "  Don't 
cut  the  blankety  dress  ;  it's  a  new  'un  !  "  An 
immense  cheer — such  a  one  as  only  British 
tars  can  give  —  rent  the  air  from  the  boats, 
and  was  quickly  taken  up  on  board  the 
war-ship.     The    whole   vicinity    was  filled  with 


"fe  ,'.■ 


NO.    lO.  — 10.25  f"-^'- 

The  last  desperate  course  :  Main  force.     Full  steam  ahead  and  forty  men  pulling, 
Diver  and  torpedo  come  up  with  a  run. 


dress  had  evidently  leaked  slightly,  and  all  the 
while  that  Young  had  been  bumping  about 
on  his  head  the  sea  had  been  slowly  oozing 
through  and  accumulating  in  his  helmet.  // 
had  reached  his  eyebroivs  when  he  shot  violently 
to  the  surface.  Another  quarter  of  an  hour 
and  his  mouth  and  nostrils  would  have  been 
covered. 

The  shot-rope  was  cut  away.  Every  soul  in 
the  boat  thought  that  the  man  had  been  dead 
some  hours.  They  were  beginning  to  cut  away 
the  sleeve  of  the  indiarubber  dress,  so  as  to 
free  his  arm,  when  suddenly,  and  to  the  utter 
amazement    of    all    present,    the    eyes   of   the 


the  joyous  sound,  which 
told  of  the  diver's  marvel- 
lous survival. 

Beyond  the  fact  that  his 
arm  was  severely  contused 
and  painful.  Young  ap- 
peared to  be  none  the 
worse  at  the  time ;  and 
after  a  good  night's  rest 
he  was  going  about  his 
duties  as  usual  next  day. 
When  we  consider  that  he 
was  under  the  water,  78ft.  deep,  for  over  five  hours 
in  total  darkness,  most  of  the  time  upside  down 
and  hopelessly  entangled  with  two  ropes  and 
the  torpedo,  we  can  safely  say  that  his  experience 
was  unique,  and  in  all  the  records  of  diving  his 
escape  may  be  taken  as  the  most  wonderful 
known. 

Young  evidently  kept  his  head  with  great 
coolness  from  first  to  last,  especially  when  he 
found  he  was  foul.  But  it  is  surmised  that  for 
some  time  before  his  rescue  he  was  probably 
almost  unconscious,  since  he  said,  when  asked 
about  it,  "that  the  time  had  passed  very 
quickly  ! " 


My    Cycle    Ride    to    Khiva. 


By  Robert  L.  Jefferson,   I'.  R.G.S. 
111. 

Mr.  Jefferson  here  concludes  his  personal    narrative  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  cycling  feats  ever 
accomplished.     The  text  illustrated  with  Mr.  Jefferson's  own  photographs  taken  en  route. 


TOLD  O.sman  to  wait  where  he 
was,  and  without  reluctance  he  con- 
sented to  do  so,  while  I  sped  back 
in  the  direction  I  had  come.  ^Vhat 
was  my  astonishment,  after  a  ride  of 
about  five  miles,  to  see  my  caravan  "  in  laager," 
so  to  speak  !  The  tent  was  up,  a  fire  was  blazing, 
and,  lo  and  behold !  there  were  my  faithful 
Cossacks,  jigitas,  and  guides  indulging  in  an 
orgie  of  melons  and  the  only  bottle  of  brandy 
I  had  with  me.  I  came  upon  them  with  a 
silence  and  suddenness  that  nearly  paralyzed 
them.  Jumping  from  my  machine,  I  was 
amongst  them  in  a  moment,  the  bottle  of 
brandy  was  snatched  from  the  hands  of  one 
of  the  Cossacks,  a  piece  of  melon  was  knocked 
out  of  the  fist  of  another  fellow,  and  a  hearty 
kick  given  to  one 
of  the  lazy  guides 
before  a  word  had 
been  uttered  on 
either  side. 

Not  a  man,  of 
course,  could  under- 
stand what  I  said, 
but  my  looks  were 
enough.  T  h  e  )• 
slunk  away  utterly 
abashed  and  dis- 
comfited at  my 
appearance.  The 
camels  were  re- 
packed, the  tent 
brought  down,  and 
off  the  whole  lot 
plodded  again  until  we  reached  Osman  who 
was  comfortably  asleep  on  the  hot  sand. 

That  night  melons  were  out  of  the  bill  of 
fare.  One  of  the  Cossacks  brought  a  melon 
and  placed  it  before  me  with  a  smirk,  and, 
after  spitting  on  the  knife  and  rubbing  it  on 
his  sleeve,  handed  me  that  instrument  also.  I 
carefully  cut  up  all  the  mutton  that  was  brought 
in  and  shared  it  out,  and  after  it  had  all  been 
eaten  covetous  eyes  were  cast  upon  the  melon. 

"Tell  them,"  I  said  to  Osman,  "to  take  it 
back  and  put  it  in  the  bag." 

Osman  looked  at  me  as  if  thunderstruck. 

"Tell  them,"  I  repeated,  "to  take  it  back 
and  put  it  in  the  bag." 

Vol.  iii.— 19. 


INDULGING    IN   AN   ORGIE  OF    MELONS. 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  [efferson. 


He  gave  the  order,  and  the  melon  was 
replaced.  I  began  to  feel  now  that  I  was 
getting  my  little  company  in  something  like 
order,  for  ne.Kt  day  they  were  ostentatiously 
polite  in  everything  they  did. 

I  felt  so  queer  at  our  evening  meal  on  the 
seventh  day  out,  that  I  could  eat  nothing, 
although  it  had  been  twenty-four  hours  since 
food  passed  my  lips.  None  of  my  escort,  how- 
ever, would  deign  to  touch  a  morsel  until  I  had 
eaten  something.  I  protested  that  I  was  not 
well  and  could  not  eat,  and  bade  them  go  on. 
They  waited  for  quite  an  hour  before  they 
would  touch  anything,  and  at  last  one  of  them 
came  to  me  with  the  suggestion  that  they  were 
all  very  hungry,  and  if  I  would  only  eat  a  piece 
of  salt,  they  would  gladly  fall  to  according  to 

my  permission. 

On  the  eighth 
day  a  long  caravan 
hove  in  sight,  as 
well  as  a  party  of 
Khivans  riding  on 
donkeys.  These 
were  the  most  ex- 
traordinary people 
I  had  ever  seen. 
They  were  fine  men 
—  tall,  muscular, 
and  as  black  as 
negroes.  Their  cos- 
tume was  savage 
in  the  extreme. 
Each  man  was 
armed  vvith  knives 
and  pistols,  but  their  headgear,  consisting  as  it 
did  of  an  enormous  black  sheepskin  bonnet  or 
shako  bigger  than  a  grenadier's  busby,  gave  them 
a  most  ludicrous  appearance — more  especially  as 
they  rode  donkeys  so  extremely  small  that  the 
men  had  to  curl  their  legs  up  under  the  bellies 
of  the  beasts  to  prevent  them  dragging  in  the 
sand.  The  Khivans  informed  us  that  the  well 
of  Bia-Murat  was  now  only  half  a  day's  journey, 
and  if  we  pressed  forward  we  should  reach  it 
that  night.  They  wound  up  their  information 
with  supplications  for  tobacco  and  tea,  which  I 
was  forced  to  refuse,  in  spite  of  the  munificent 
ofifers  of  snuff  which  were  made  on  the  part  of 


the  donkey-riders. 

Copyriglit  in  the  United  States  by  Robert  L.  Jeflerson,  F.R.G.S.,  1899. 


146 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MACiAZINE. 


'the    KHIRGHIZ    WOMEN    SUI'EKI ..  1  1    .  iJl  I  j     .i.i.    uLi.l    ... 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


Osman  and  the  Cossacks  were  for  making 
Bia-Murat  on  the  next  day,  suggesting  that  the 
horses  were  played  out,  and,  poor  beasts,  there 
was  no  question  about  that,  for  they  hung  their 
heads  and  dragged  their  steps  in  the  most 
miserable  manner.  As  for  the  camels,  they 
seemed  to  be  as  blithe  and  springy  as  they  were 
when  they  started,  though  they  had  had  nothing 
to  drink  for  five  days,  the  last  time  being  on  the 
morning  when  we  left  our  first  desert  encamp- 
ment. I  would  not,-  however,  consent  to 
another  night  without  fresh  water,  for  ours 
had  become  positively  awful.  It  was  so  bad, 
indeed,  that 
when  we  made 
tea,  the  com- 
pound turned 
almost  as  black 
as  ink,  and  the 
sugar  which  I 
was  wont  to  put 
in  the  concoc- 
tion would  not 
sink  to  the 
bottom  until  it 
had  become 
completely  satur- 
ated. What  was 
the  matter  with 
the  water  I  could 
not  tell.  It  was 
not  salt,  nor  did 
it  exactly  stink, 
but  there  was  a 
musty,  earthy 
flavour  about  it  which  I  had  never  experienced 
before. 

There  were  shouts  of  gladness  late  that  same 
afternoon  when  away  in  the  distance  we  saw 
fires  blinking  on  the  desert,  and  knew  that  in 
an  hour  or  so  we  should  have  reached  the  half- 
way stage.  The  Cossacks  and  jigitas  spurred 
forward  their  jaded  horses,  and  I,  having  a  clear 


HANDS    TOOK    THE    HoKSKS 
I'fojit  a  Photo.  I'y 


run  on  hard  sand,  made  a  race  of  it. 
Queer  as  I  was  I  easily  got  in  first, 
to  the  profound  astonishment,  not 
to  say  terror,  of  the  half  hundred 
or  more  Khirghiz  who  were  en- 
camped  around    the  well. 

Our  caravan,  it  seemed,  was  ex- 
pected, and  I  was  astonished  at  this 
until  Osman  made  the  revelation 
that  the  commander  of  Fort  No.  i 
had  telegraphed  to  Fort  Petro- 
Alexandrovsk  by  way  of  Tashkent, 
Samarcand,  and  Bokhara,  to  send 
,,i  , ,,  out    someone   to    see   me  over  the 

remaining  stages  of  the  journey. 
That  night  was  one  almost  of 
revelry,  for  here  not  only  were  we  able  to 
replenish  our  water-tubs  and  skins,  but  we  were 
also  able  to  purchase  a  few  more  sheep.  The 
Khirghiz  women  superintended  the  culinary 
arrangements,  while  willing  hands  took  the 
horses  and  camels  down  to  the  well. 

Bia-Murat,  it  seemed,  was  a  sort  of  permanent 
station,  for  here  were  several  families  who  lived 
the  whole  year  round  on  this  spot.  Some 
possessed  splendid  kibitkas,  but  others  only 
had  the  shelter  of  primitive  rush  and  reed  huts. 
I  was  astonished  to  learn  that  Osman  and  the 
escort  were  going  back  from  this  point,  and  that 

forward  to  Khiva 
I  should  be  ac- 
companied by 
one  Khalibi 
Bekel,  a  Bok- 
haran  in  the 
service  of  the 
Russian  authori- 
ties at  Petro- 
Alexandrovsk. 
This  picturesque 
individual,  who 
was  a  man  of 
about  sixty  years 
of  age,  spoke  not 
a  word  of  Rus- 
sian, and  he 
had  with  him 
four  truculent- 
looking  Khirg- 
hiz, who  were  to 
act  as  my  escort 
in  place  of  those  who  were  to  return  to  Fort 
No.  I.  Remembering  the  trouble  which  I  had 
had  with  my  original  bodyguard,  I  looked  upon 
my  new  companions  with  no  sort  of  favour. 
They  were  a  dirty-looking  lot  of  desperadoes, 
armed  to  the  teeth,  and  with  a  demeanour  sullen 
and  uninviting.  There  was  no  help  for  it,  how- 
ever, so  I  had  to  make  the  best  of  the  situation. 


AND    CA.MEl.S    noWX    'lO   THE    WEl.l.. 

A'.  L.  Jcffei'soii. 


.M\     CYCLE     RIDI-:    'I'O     KTITVA. 


M7 


OTHERS   ONLV    HAD   THE    SHELTER   OK    PRIMITIVE    i 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jeffeyson. 

I  was  glad  that  we  had  been  able  to  replenish 
our  stock  of  provisions,  and  I  learned  with  some 
degree  of  satisfaction  that,  all  being  well,  we 
ought  to  reach  the  oasis  of  Petro-Alexandrovsk 
in  six  to  seven  days,  or  one  or  two  days  earlier 
than  I  had  ever  hoped. 

It  was  at  the  well  of  Bia-Murat  that  I  saw  an 
extraordinary  Khirghiz  ceremony,  namely,  the 
method  of  curing  the  sick  amongst  the  nomads. 
Osman  brought  me  from  my  tent  and  took  me 
along  to  one  of  the  kibitkas  of  the  Khirghiz. 
An  extraordinary  spectacle  then  presented  itself 
to  nie.  Outside  the  doorway  of  the  kibitka 
lay  a  man  writhing  in 
agony.  Behind  him,  and 
sitting  on  his  haunches, 
was  one  of  the  ugliest 
and  most  repulsive  indi- 
viduals I  have  ever  seen. 
Osman  described  him  as 
the  doctor.  This  fellow 
had  a  huge  instrument 
with  two  strings,  upon 
which  he  continually 
strummed,  chanting  all 
the  time  in  a  doleful 
manner,  and  winding  up 
the  end  of  each  verse  of 
his  song  with  a  piercing 
shriek. 

The  man  on  the  ground 
was  attacked  by  dysen- 
tery, and  this  I  was  in- 
formed was  the  method 
by  which  the  Khirghiz 
were  cured.  \\'hen  the 
doctor  had  got  half-way 
through  his  song,  a  couple 


of  Khirghiz  approached,  carrying 
two  sheep.  One  was  placed  at  the 
head  and  the  other  at  the  feet  of 
the  patient,  and  at  a  given  signal 
each  Khirghiz  whipped  out  his  knife 
and  cut  the  throat  of  the  animal,  so 
that  the  blood  should  fall  on  the 
head  and  feet  of  the  man  to  be 
cured.  Whether  it  cured  him  or 
not,  I  do  not  know  ;  but,  disgusted 
with  the  spectacle,  and  partly  feaiing 
that  the  man  was  suffering  from  an 
infectious  disease,  I  went  back  to  my 
tent. 

Osman   informed  me  that  this  was 

tlie  sole  method  of  cure   which  the 

Khirghiz  adopt.     They  have  no  idea 

of    medicine,   and   it   was  quaint   to 

hear  my  dragoman's  answer  to  my 

([uery  as  to  what  happened  when  a 

man  fell  ill. 

"  He  dies,"  said  he — "simply  dies." 

Next  morning  my  caravan,  sadly  travel-stained, 

was    got    ready.     Osman    and    his    companions 

brought  forth  their  horses,  and,  hard  as  I   had 

been  on   them  during  the   journey  forward,    I 

could  not  help  feeling  a  little  sentimental   regret 

for  them  in  their  journey  back  across  the  Kizil- 

kum.       I    gave   each    man   a  present,    and    to 

Osman  himself   a  gold-embroidered  skull   cap, 

at  which  he   was   more   than   pleased,  and   after 

hand-shaking    in     the    peculiar     Mohammedan 

fashion,  we  parted,  they  going  to  the  east  and 

we  to  the  west. 


k'    ON    A    SICK    MAN. 

1- )-oin  a  I'lioto.  by  A'.  L.  Jefferson. 


148 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


For  the  first  lime  I  was  now  unable  to  con- 
verse with  anyone.  Bekel  was  a  decent  old 
fellow,  trotting  by  my  side  and  looking  with 
profound  awe  upon  my  bicycle.  The  four 
men  forming  the  escort  accompanied  the  caravan 
to  shield  it  from  any  raid  on  the  part  of  wander- 
ing Khirgiiiz  or  Turcomans ;  for  I  now  learned 
that  we  had  passed  over  the  zone  of  the  Turco- 
man tribes,  and  should  have  to  be  very  wary. 
Although  Bekel  knew  not  a  word  of  Russian,  it 
is  strange  how  two  men  in  such  a  condition  as 
he  and  I  were  able  to  understand  each  other  ; 
and  although  the  first  day  passed  without  any 
incident  v/orth  recording,  it  cemented  our 
friendship,  while  I  was  gratified  to  find  that  my 
Mohammedan  bodyguard  were  my  abject  slaves, 
refusing  not  only  to  eat  with  me,  but  also 
refusing  to  share  the  tent  at  night,  preferring, 
probably  out  of  respect  to  myself,  the  sands 
outside. 

I  now  began  to  find  the  way  extremely  difficult. 
Again  and  again  I  was  compelle'd  to  take  to  the 
camels.  I  frequently  plunged  on  through  the 
deep  sand  as  far  as  was  possible,  and  that  was 
as  far  as  Nature  would  allow  me.  I  began  to 
realize  also  that  I  was  getting  extremely  w'eak, 
since  I  could  not  walk  through  the  sand  with 
the  same  vigour  which  I  had  felt  at  the  start  of 
the  desert  march.  The  least  bit  of  sand  dis- 
couraged me  terribly,  and  I  got  into  fits  of 
despondency  which  it  was  difficult  to  recover 
from. 

On  the  second  day  from  the  well  of  Bia- 
Murat  we  entered  a  country  composed  of  huge 
hillocks  of  sand,  some  of  them  twenty  or  thirty 
feet  high.  I  can  compare  the  sight  to  nothing  so 
much  as  a  swelling  sea  suddenly  petrified.  The 
hillocks  were  all  wave-shaped,  with  ripples  of 
sand  all  over  them.  On  every  hand  not  a 
shrub  or  bush  was  to  be  seen  —  nothing  but 
this  blinding  white  sand,  scorching  hot,  and 
into  which  one  sank  over  the  knees.  It  was 
difficult,  too,  for  our  guides  to  find  their  way, 
and  one  used  to  go  forward  in  advance  of  the 
caravan  and  pilot  us  along  by  his  shouts.  He 
was  very  frequently  at  fault  himself,  however, 
and  on  several  occasions  we  made  long  detours 
before  the  right  direction  could  be  ascertained. 

On  that  day,  too,  an  incident  occurred  which 
might  have  terminated  in  a  far  more  tragic 
manner  than  it  did.  I  had  got  ahead,  not  only 
of  the  caravan,  but  of  Bekel,  and,  wearied  with 
my  exertions,  lay  down  on  the  sand.  I  think  I 
must  ha\e  fallen  asleep,  but  I  certainly  do 
remember  picking  from  my  face  what  looked 
like  an  enormous  spider.  I  thought  nothing 
of  it  until  I  began  to  feel  a  pain  underneath 
my  left  eye  similar  to  that  left  by  a  mosquito 
sting.     In  ten   minutes  my  cheek  had  become 


enormously  swollen,  and  it  was  clear  to  me 
that  I  had  been  stung  by  some  reptile* or  other. 
By  the  time  Bekel  came  up  my  face  was 
swollen  so  much  that  I  could  not  even  see  out 
of  the  left  eye.  As  soon  as  Bekel  saw  me  and 
no*;!ced  my  face  he  seemed  stricken  with  terror. 
He  leapt  from  his  horse,  knocked  rather  than 
pushed  me  down,  and  with  the  fingers  of  both 
hands  commenced  pressing  the  protuberance 
which  had  grown  under  my  eye.  The  pain  was 
terrible,  and  I  yelled  in  ihy  agony,  until  I  think 
I  must  have  fainted— although  I  well  remember 
one  of  the  Khirghiz  coming  with  a  long  knife, 
when  at  once  the  idea  entered  my  brain  that 
they  intended  to  "  do  "  for  me. 

The  knife,  however,  was  only  used  to  extract 
the  sting  of  a  tarantula  which  had  bitten  me. 
It  was  not  until  I  reached  Petro-Alexandrovsk 
and  related  the  incident  to  the  doctor  of  the 
lazaret  there  that  I  understood  it  was  to  the 
promptitude  of  Bekel  and  the  Khirghiz  that  I 
owed  my  life.  Another  hour,  and  it  would  have 
been  too  late. 

Our  first  encounter  with  the  Turcomans 
occurred  on  the  fourth  day  from  Bia-Murat.  I 
was  now  in  such  a  weak  condition  that  bicycling 
was  completely  out  of  the  question,  especially  as 
we  were  passing  over  sand  so  deep  and  hot  that 
to  venture  the  foot  upon  it  meant  raising  blisters 
all  over  the  skin.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
in  this  particular  part  of  the  desert  the  sand 
gets  so  hot  that  eggs  can  be  roasted  in  it  in 
less  than  two  minutes.  How  the  horses  and 
the  camels  stood  it  is  beyond  my  comprehension, 
but  stand  it  they  did,  with  never  a  whimper. 

Our  halts  became  much  too  frequent  for  my 
liking.  The  slightest  excuse  was  taken  advantage 
of  for  tea-drinking  on  the  part  of  my  escort,  and 
considering  the  heat  this  was  not  to  be  wondered 
at.  Nevertheless,  it  was  a  dull,  monotonous 
plod,  plod,  plod,  every  man  of  us  realizing  that 
our  only  hope  lay  in  getting  forward,  and  that 
every  step  made  was  one  nearer  to  the  goal.  It 
was  about  midday,  and  I  was  sitting  in  the 
little  tent,  drinking  some  wine,  for  I  had  now 
abandoned  tea  entirely,  when  one  of  the 
Khirghiz  came  in  with  a  shout,  "Turkmen, 
Turkmen."  Vp  jumped  Bekel,  and  I  after 
him.  I  heard  shouts  and  cries,  and  the  loud 
cracking  of  whips,  but  for  a  moment  could  see 
nothing  but  a  blinding  cloud  of  sand.  In  a  few 
seconds,  however,  I  perceived  a  band  of  horse- 
men swooping  down  upon  us,  and  before  I 
knew  exactly  what  was  the  matter  we  were 
surrounded.  Bekel  and  his  men  were  already 
on  horseback,  and  a  lively  time  then  set  in.  The 
Turcomans,  attired  in  the  Bokharan  costume  of 
huge  turbans  and  long  cloaks,  were  armed  to  the 
teeth,  and  the  chief  of  them,  a  black,  villainous- 


>n"    CYCLE    RIDE    TO    KHIVA. 


149 


Tiil-     -III  ,!{  1  FST    l-'.XC 

From  a  Photo. 


looking  fellow,  rode  straight  for  the  tent.  Bekcl, 
however  (plucky  old  man),  went  for  him  without 
any  ado.  He  slashed  his  whip  in  the  air,  and 
at  the  same  time  caught  hold  of  the  chain 
around  his  neck  which  supported  his  breast- 
plate. The  Turcomans  drew  near  and  inspected 
the  plate ;  there 
was  a  hurried 
consultation,  and 
then,  with  a  shout 
and  a  confused 
scattering  of  sand, 
they  careered  out 
of  sight. 

The  all-power- 
ful influence  of 
Nicholas  II., 
Emperor  of  All 
the  Russias,  then 
came  home  to 
me :  that  these 
savages  should 
respect  and  bow 
to  the  brazen 
emblem  of  his 
authority  was  to 
me  an  object- 
lesson  not  easily 
to    be    forgotten. 

The  next  day  occurred  an  a«_  enture  which  I 
look  upon  as  being  the  most  serious  of  the 
whole  arduous  journey  across  the  desert.  Soon 
after  midday  we  got  clear  of  the  deep  sand,  and 
I  was  overjoyed  to  find  a  hard  surface  upon 
which  I  could  ride.  The  bicycle  was  taken 
down,  and  I  was  soon  speeding  merrily  over 
the  crackling  ground,  accompanied  by  Bekel, 
who  cantered  on  his  horse  at  my  side.  We 
paused  at  intervals  in  order  to  allow  the 
caravan  to  catch  up,  and  now  that  the  road  was 
so  good  I  suggested,  in  pantomime,  to  Bekel 
that  we  might  do  at  least  another  ten  versts 
that  day,  for  I  realized  that  every  verst  less  was 
something  to  be  thankful  for. 

Night  came  on  and  found  us  still  on  the 
march.  Bekel  and  I  had  got  considerably 
ahead  of  the  caravan,  but  I  was  assured  that 
he  knew  the  way.  By  the  time  that  the  moon, 
now  in  its  last  quarter,  rose,  I  calculated  that 
we  were  at  least  five  miles  ahead,  and  suggested 
a  halt,  but  my  companion  shook  his  head  and 
still  cantered  on.  Feeling  sure  that  he  knew 
his  road,  I  made  no  demur  and  kept  on.  W'e 
ultimately  pulled  up  at  what  looked  like  a 
deep  gulch,  rendered  all  the  more  forbidding 
by  the  uncertain  light  of  the  moon.  Bekel 
dismounted,  crept  down  this  seemingly  deep 
chasm,  and  I  followed,  carrying  the  bicycle 
on  my  shoulder. 


rSE    FOR   TKA-UKI\K1.\( 

by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


Reaching  the  other  side  we  set  off  once  more 
but  in  about  fi\e  minutes'  time  Bekel  called  a 
halt,  and  said  something  which  will  for  ever 
remain  a  mystery.  Anyway,  he  dismounted 
from  his  horse  and  began  searching  the  ground, 
which  was  now  completely  lighted  by  the  moon. 

The  conviction 
came  home  to 
me  then  that  he 
had  missed  the 
trail  and  was 
searching  for  it. 
Presently  he 
waved  his  hand 
to  me,  and, 
remounting  his 
horse,  set  off  in 
an  entirely  differ- 
ent direction  from 
that  which  we 
had  been  follow- 
ing, going  straight 
in  the  direction 
of  the  moon.  I 
followed  him,  and 
for  at  least  half 
an  hour  we  kept 
on  a  straight 
course,  with  no 
interruptions  except  small  patches  of  sand  and 
occasionally  thickets  of  sage-brush.  At  the  end 
of  this  half-hour  my  dragoman  once  more  dis- 
mounted, waved  his  hands  in  pantomime,  and 
gave  me  to  understand  that  we  were  off  the 
trail. 

Not  unnaturally,  I  was  furious  at  this ;  but 
what  was  to  be  done  ?  We  had  arrived  at  the 
edge  of  a  sand-drift,  and  I  knew  how  impossible 
it  was  to  get  through  that  with  my  bicycle. 
Still,  Bekel  was  quite  unconcerned.  He  got  his 
saddle-cloth  off  his  horse,  spread  it  on  the 
ground,  and  knelt  down  to  pray.  Meanwhile  I 
stood  over  him,  praying  in  a  very  different  kind 
of  way.  His  invocations  to  Allah  being  finished, 
he  contentedly  curled  himself  up  on  his  mat 
and  in  a  few  moments  was  wrapped  in  slumber. 
This  was,  indeed,  a  nice  predicament,  more 
especially  as  I  was  famished,  having  had  nothing 
to  eat  for  over  twenty-four  hours.  The  pain  of 
my  eye,  too,  was  excruciating,  and  I  was  utterly 
wearied  in  body  and  mind.  I  sat  down  on  the 
edge  of  the  saddle-cloth  to  survey  the  scene. 
Nothing  but  a  boundless  wilderness  on  every 
hand,  the  only  object  in  this  sterile  plain  being 
the  horse,  which  sent  out  its  long,  black  shadow 
on  the  dazzling  white  sands.  The  only  sounds 
that  broke  the  awful  stillness  were  the  crunching 
noise  of  the  horse's  hoofs,  the  heavy  breathing 
of    my   companion,    and   the   scuttling   of  the 


15° 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


.  .iJ.    ...1,1     ;W,1.1.    I.l.l  Ki.t    I'KTRO-ALEXANDROVSK. 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 

lizard-like  reptiles  that  seemed   to  be  in  their 
millions  in  the  sand. 

I  strove  hard  to  keep  awake,  but  could  not, 
and  slept  as  I  sat — how  long  I  do  not  know ; 
but  I  awoke  with  a  start  under  the  impression 
that  I  had  heard  something.  It  sounded  like  a 
bell,  but  when  I  was  fully  awake  I  could  hear 
nothing.  I  was  preparing  to  doze  again  when 
I  again  heard  the  sound  of  the  bell,  and,  getting 
up,  looked  eagerly  in  every  direction.  For 
many  minutes  I  could  see  nothing,  but  pre- 
sently, silhouetted  against  the  sky-line,  I  saw  a 
long  train  of  camels  creeping  slowly  forward. 

I   roused  my  companion   with  a 
kick.     He  grumbled   and   grunted 


but, 


running 


for    his    horse,    soon 


mounted,  and  we  commenced  to 
struggle  in  the  direction  of  the  cara- 
van, shouting  as  we  went.  I  fired 
a  couple  of  shots  in  the  air  to  attract 
the  attention  of  the  camel-drivers, 
and  was  gratified  to  see  that  the 
train  was  brought  to  a  halt.  It  was 
our  own  caravan,  sure  enough,  and 
whatever  might  have  been  the  grati- 
fication of  Bekel,  I  know  that  mine 
was  intense.  Out  there  in  that 
wilderness  it  seemed  like 'coming 
upon  a  town  to  see  our  train  of 
horses  and  camels  and  the  poor, 
battered  telega  once  more. 

Whether  it  was  owing  to  this  up- 
set or  to  the  exposure  I  do  not 
know,  but  that  night  I  was  in  a  high 
fever  and  became  delirious.  I  under- 
stood afterwards  that  our  caravan 
had  fallen  in  with  some  Bokharans, 
who  were  making  their  way  to  Fort 


No.  I,  but  I  have  no  clear  recollec- 
tion of  anything  until  the  next  day, 
when  I  found  myself  on  a  camel 
and  within  sight  of  the  last  well 
before  Petro-Alexandrovsk. 

It  was  not  until  that  night,  when 
I  had  somewhat  recovered  from  my 
fever  —  a  recovery  due  solely  to 
liber-al  doses  of  quinine — that  I 
found  I  had  been  robbed  of  my 
pocket-book,  while  several  of  the 
little  luxuries  I  had  brought  with 
me  were  lost  for  ever.  In  my  con- 
dition, and  realizing  that  we  were  so 
neai'  succour,  I  made  no  complaint, 
as  the  last  thing  I  now  desired  was 
to  rouse  the  ire  of  my  escort.  I  was 
in  no  fit  state  even  to  endeavour  to 
assume  the  mastery  of  the  whole 
arrangements  as  I  had  been  earlier 
on  the  desert  march,  but  allowed 
things  to  drift  on.  Indeed,  until  we  came  in 
sight  of  the  oasis  of  Petro-Alexandrovsk,  which 
occurred  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  journey, 
I  have  no  clear  recollection  of  what  happened. 
I  was  in  a  high  state  of  fever,  my  clothing  in 
rags,  and,  so  far  as  my  memory  goes,  I  must 
have  been  delirious.  The  Khirghiz,  although 
inured  to  the  desert  life,  were,  if  not  quite  so 
bad,  at  least  sullen,  dogged,  and  unwilling  to  do 
more  than  they  could  possibly  help. 

The  last  day  was  a  frantic  scramble.  We  had 
only  forty  versts  to  do,  and  I  felt  strong  enough 
to  ride  the  bicycle.     I  noticed  now  that  we  were 


WE    HALTKD    o.'.     lilt.    liUGt    OF     I  HE    OASIS. 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson, 


MV    CYCLE     Rini-      lO     KH1\A. 


'5i 


Tin;    llEAU- 


From  a  Photo,  by 


gradually  leaving  the  sand,  lor  here  and  there 
patches  of  green,  instead  of  grey,  sage-brush 
appeared,  indicating  the  proximity  ol  earth. 
\Ve  halted  for  a  brief  space  on  the  edge  of  the 
oasis,  and  erected  our  tent  in  the  quickest  way 
possible,  so  anxious  were  we  all  to  get  forward. 
\V'e  were  awa\- 
again,  and  pre- 
sently the  trees 
near  Petro-Alex- 
androvsk  were 
sighted,  and  soon 
we  left  the  last 
of  the  burning 
sands  of  the 
Kizil  -  kum  and 
entered  the  oasis. 
My  escort,  in- 
deed, seemed  to 
appreciate  their 
arrival  even  more 
than  I  did  ;  in 
fact,  they  were 
frantic  with  de- 
light, and  capered 
like  monkeys 
when  we  touched 
the  first  grass. 

Peculiar  mud  huts  next  made  their  appear- 
ance. Swarthy  Khivans,  dressed  in  their  extra- 
ordinary costumes  and  wearing  great  sheepskin 
bonnets,  came  down  to  us,  and  a  long  palaver 
was  held. 

Melons,  figs,  and  other  semi-lropical  fruits 
were  brought  down  in  abundance,  and  a 
"  Beg,"  or  head-man  of  a  section  of  Khivans, 
beseeched  me  to  partake  of  the  hospitality  of 
his  house,  which  was  adjacent.  I  was,  how- 
ever, very  anxious  to  get  on  to  the 
fort ;  but,  rather  than  disappoint  the 
hospitable  Khivan,  we  entered  his 
mud  -  built  house,  which  seemed, 
after  fourteen  days'  wandering  on 
the  desert,  a  veritable  mansion  to 
me.  Tea  was  made  and  some  flat 
cakes  of  bread,  something  like  oat- 
cake, were  given  us.  The  Beg  him- 
self was  profoundly  astonished  at 
the  bicycle,  and  could  not  take  his 
eyes  off  it. 

Later  in  the  day  we  continued 
our  journey  to  the  fort,  a  distance 
now  of  only  ten  versts.  We  passed 
many  fields  under  active  cultivation, 
whilst  I  was  astonished  to  see  the 
number  of  irrigatiner  ditches  stretch- 
ing  in  every  direction. 

Let  it  be  understood  that,  although 
the  oasis  of   Petro-Alexandrovsk    is 


ricii  with  fruit  and  cereals  (there  is  scarcely  a 
foot  of  ground  uncultivated),  it  is  all  owing  to 
an  irrigating  system  commenced  centuries  ago 
by  the  primes al  inhabitants  of  Khiva.  For 
nine  months  of  the  year  not  a  spot  of  rain  falls, 
not  a  cloud  is  to  be  seen,  and  it  is  clear  to  me 

that  the  right 
bank  of  the  Oxus 
River  was  a 
desert  right  up 
to  the  delta,  but 
that  the  ground 
now  occu[)ied  by 
Petro  -  Alexan- 
drovsk  has  been 
reclaimed  from 
the  sands  by  a 
system  of  irriga- 
tion, which  is  as 
complete  as  it  is 
marvellous,  con- 
sidering the  state 
of  the  country 
and  the  condi- 
tion of  its  inhab- 
itants. 
'  ■-"'-—  ■'■  "'^  ..  ..^.., '\l\\q.  ten  versts 

R.  L.  Jefferson.  .1.1        r     .. 

■"  to  the  fort   were 

soon  reeled  off.  I  presently  heard  the  cheerful 
blare  of  bugles  in  the  distance,  and  it  was  a  glad 
sight  indeed  to  see  a  battalion  of  white-coated 
Russian  infantry  swinging  along  the  road  to  a 
stirring  bugle  march.  Crossing  litde  bridges  over 
the  irrigating  ditches  we  ultimately  reached  the 
vicinity  of  the  fort,  around  which  quite  a 
respectable  number  of  houses  had  been  erected. 
I  immediately  made  my  way  to  the  house  of  the 
police-master,  to  whom  I  had  a  letter   of  intro- 


PROFOUNDLY   ASTONISHED    AT   THE    BICYCLE. 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


152 


THE    WID^    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


.    ESPIED   THE    BATTLEMENTS   OF    KHIVA  s     

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  J  coffer  son. 

duction,  and  was  welcomed  most  cordially. 
Quarters  were  found  for  me  in  the  fort,  and  I 
shall  not  easily  forget  the  luxury  of  the  wash  and 
change  of  clothing  which  (especially  the  latter)  I 
so  much  required. 

My  journey  across  the  Kizil-kum  desert  was 
now  finished,  and  no  one  could  have  been  more 
satisfied  than  myself  at  its  termination. 
Certainly,  towards  the  end  I  began  to  have 
serious  fears  that  I  should  not  last  it  out ;  and 
when  it  is  considered  that  the  number  of 
Europeans  who  have  crossed  by  that  particular 
route  can  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand, 
the  task  is  not  to  be  belittled. 

I  was  received  in  the  fort  by  M.  Galkin,  a 
gentleman  of  culture,  who  acts  as  Administrator 
of  the  Khivan  province  so  far  as  it  affects 
Russia.  M.  Galkin  spoke  a  little  English.  He 
is  one  of  those  who  acted  for  the  Russian 
Government  in  the  delimitation  of  the  Pamirs 
some  years  ago,  and  it  was  while  undertaking 
this  work  that  he  fell  in  with  many  English 
officers,  and  so  acquired  some  know- 
ledge of  our  language.  He  recei\'^d 
me  very  hospitably,  and  gave  me 
every  facility  for  getting  to  Khiva,  now 
only  a  matter  of  forty  versts  away. 

I  elected,  however,  to  remain  in 
Petro-Alexandrovsk  for  three  days,  as 
I  was  still  far  from  well  and  utterly 
wearied  of  the  whole  thing.  Informa- 
tion was  sent  on  to  Khiva  of  my 
arrival,  and  the  Khan  himself  sent 
out  one  of  his  dragomen  to  pilot  me 
to  the  city.  In  addition  to  this.  His 
Excellency  M.  Galkin  gave  me  the 
assistance  of  his  own  interpreter,  as 
I  should  find  nobody  who  spoke 
Russian  in  Khiva. 

After  remaining  in  the  fort  three 
days  I  set  out  once  more.     It  was  a 


difficult  task  crossing  the  swiftly-rush- 
ing Oxus  River.  Big  flat-bottomed 
boats,  drawn  by  towers,  were  there  to 
take  our  little  party  across,  and  here 
it  should  be  mentioned  that  the 
Oxus  River  is  in  places  three  or  four 
miles  wide.  It  is  a  perfect  delta,  and 
])rogress  across  is  only  made  by 
dodging  from  one  island  to  another. 
It  took  us  five  hours  to  cross,  and  in 
another  three  (after  passing  through 
long  lanes  on  either  side  of  which 
grew  in  rank  luxuriance  vegetation  of 
all  descriptions)  I  espied  the  battle- 
ments of  Khiva's  walls. 

I  was  not  destined,  however,  to 
enter  the  city  without  an  adventure. 
The  Khivans,  it  should  be  men- 
tioned, have  an  extraordinary  vehicle,  which 
they  call  an  araba.  This  is  a  two  -  wheeled 
affair,  the  wheels  of  which  are  12ft.,  15ft.,  and 
sometimes  20ft.  high.  It  is  used  in  order  to 
get  easily  through  the  sandy  stretches  and 
through  the  morasses.  On  the  axle  of  this 
vehicle  a  platform  is  fitted,  upon  which  at  least 
twenty  men  can  find  sitting  room. 

It  was  while  entering  Khiva  that  an  araba 
approached  us,  and  the  men,  seeing  me,  yelled 
with  laughter,  for  although  I  had  taken  the 
precaution  to  adopt  a  semi-Oriental  costume, 
it  was  easy  for  them  to  perceive  that  I  was  a 
white  man.  The  emissary  of  the  Khan  who 
accompanied  me  was  furious  at  their  raillery, 
and  instantly  ordered  his  two  jigitas  to  turn 
back  and  punish  the  occupants  of  the  araba. 
No  sooner  said  than  done.  The  two  horsemen 
turned  and  went  for  the  araba  like  fiends.  One 
by  one  they  dragged  the  men  from  the  vehicle, 
kicking  at  them  and  lashing  them  with  their 
long  whipS;  the  wretched  fellows  doing  nothing 


I'rom  a  Photo. 


"   I  UK    CITY    OF    MV   DESTINATION 


lA'.  L.  Jeffeison. 


MY    CYCLE    RIDE    TO    KHIVA. 


153 


to  protect  tlK-ni- 
selves,  but,  in 
stead,  burying 
their  faces  in  the 
ground  and  obvi- 
ously  imploring 
mercy.  'I'hedrago- 
m  a  n  ordered 
more  and  more 
punishment,  and 
it  was  a  sight  to 
see  the  unfortu- 
nate  K  hi  vans 
sprawling  in  the 
thick  dust,  while, 
witli  a  regularit}' 
that  b  e  c  a  m  e 
monotonous,  the 
long  whip-thongs 
hissed  down  upon 
them,  whilst  1 
stood  an  amazed 
spectator  of  this 
e  X  t  raor  dinary 
scene. 

"Let  them  be  thankful,"  said  the  Russian 
dragoman  to  me,  "  that  they  get  nothing  more. 
It  is  quite  within  the  power  of  the  Khan's 
dragoman  to  take  them  into  Khiva,  where  they 
would  be  thrown  into  prison." 

Soon  we  passed  under  the  crumbling  gateway 
of  the  city  of  my  destination.  Ruin  and  dis- 
order spread  in  every  direction.  The  great  walls, 
in  places  40ft.  or  50ft.  thick,  were  in  a  state  of 


I...-.    A.M)     DIXikUKI;    M'KKAL.     1  .n     rii 
DIRECTION." 

F>0)!i  a  P/ioio.  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


decay.  Huge  gaps 
appeared  here  and 
there,  and  it 
struck  me  that 
perhaps  these 
were  caused  by 
General  Kauf- 
mann's  bombard- 
ment when  Khiva 
was  taken  ;  but  1 
was  informed  that 
{.  ^.  .  ^^^^^^^^^^1  only  three  shots 
\\jri\  ^^^^^^^^1  ^vere  fired 

^^^^^^^^™      at  the  city  before 
it  capitulated. 

Entering  the 
narrow,     dusty 
streets  of  the  town, 
it  was  easy   for   me  to  perceive  that  I  was 
in  a  city  which  was  rapidly  going  to  decay. 
On  every  hand  buildings  were  in  a  state  of 
extreme    collapse.       Down    the    centre    of 
each  alley  like  street  ran  a  narrow  canal  of 
water,  the   stench   of  which    was   terrible. 
We  passed   by  a   bazaar,  which  was  roofed 
over  with  boughs  and   branches   of   trees,  but 
here  filth  reigned  supreme.      Dogs  barked  and 
snapped    at    the    heels    of    our    horses  ;    .old 
men,    blind    or    covered    with    horrible    sores, 
clustered  at  every  corner,  begging  for  alms.     It 
was  a  strange  scene,  more  truly  Oriental  than 
anything  I  had  ever  witnessed  before.     Rotten- 
ness was  on  every  hand,   and   I   was   not   sorry 
when  at  length  our  little  cavalcade  plunged  up 


Front  a] 
Vol.  iU.— 20, 


lA    SED    BY  A   BAZAAR. 


[P/u>io. 


154 


THE   WIDE   WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


a  dark  and  narrow 
entry  near  the 
famous  tower  of 
Khiva,  and  I  found 
myself  in  the 
palace  of  the  Prime 
Minister  and  rich- 
est man  in  the  city, 
Mohammed  Mat 
Murat,  who  had 
consented  to  give 
me  quarters  during 
my  short  stay. 

I  have  little  to 
add  to  what  other 
writers  have  said 
regarding  Khiva, 
except  that  on 
comparing  my 
notes  with  the  des- 
criptions of  Vam- 
bery,  Dr.  Lans- 
dell,  Colonel  Burnaby,  and  Edward  Moser, 
I  am  convinced  that  I  found  Khiva  in  a 
much  farther  advanced  state  of  decrepitude 
than  they  witnessed.  I  was  informed,  too, 
that  the  population  is  declining  very  rapidly. 
The  Khan,  it  should  be  mentioned,  exercises 
absolute  control  over  the  province,  and  at 
the  present  time  is  the  only  ruler  of  the 
Central  Asian  tnbes  who  has  the  right  to 
demand  exemption  from  Russian  administration. 
No  Christians  are  allowed  in  the  city  without 
the  Khan's  written  per- 
mission, and  such  is  the 
fanatical  order  of  things 
there,  that  although  the 
present  Emperor  of  Russia 
offered  the  services  of  a 
doctor  to  the  Khan,  in 
order  to  stay  if  possible  the 
terrible  mortality  of  Khiva's 
inhabitants,  the  offer  was 
bluntly  declined.  Cholera, 
small-pox,  fever,  and  dysen- 
tery are  rampant  through- 
out the  whole  of  the  year, 
and  it  is  clear  that  in  ten 
years'  time,  if  Khiva  exists 
at  all,  it  will  be  but  a  huddle 
of  mud  huts,  and  with  but 
a  moiety  of  even  its  present 
dwindling  population. 

Since  the  all-victorious 
troops  of  the  Great  White 
Czar  penetrated  the  barren 
deserts  of  Centra  Asia,  and 
pushed  their  way  right  down 


;Nt.iK     int     r  .1.>|._...  -^     i.jVVEK    OF     KHIVA. 

From  a  Photo,  by  R.  L.  Jefferson. 


HIS   HIGHNESS   THE   KHAN   OF   KHIVA,   WHO   GRACIOUSLY 
RECEIVED   MR.    JEFFERSON. 

From  a  Photo. 


to  the  Afghan 
frontier,  erecting 
as  they  went  great 
strongholds,  t  h  e 
seal  of  doom  was 
placed  upon 
Khiva.  Before 
then  huge  cara- 
vans from  Chinese 
Turkestan,  from 
Bokhara,  Samar- 
cand,  and  Afghan- 
istan, bearing 
woollen  goods  and 
camel-hair  for  con- 
sumption  in 
Europe,  passed  on 
the  Oxus  route 
through  Khiva  ; 
but  now  the  trans- 
Caspian  railroad, 
built  originally  for 
strategical  purposes,  has  absorbed  all  this  trade. 
Nothing  now  passes  through  Khiva,  and  it  is 
certain  that  the  Russian  Government  is  not 
anxious  to  promote  any  development  of  the  oasis. 
I  stayed  three  days  in  this  strange  city, 
during  which  time  I  saw  many  quaint  and 
curious  sights.  I  had  a  short  interview  with 
the  Khan  himself  and  with  his  son,  the  latter 
a  rather  bright  young  man,  but  who,  like  most 
Mohammedans,  was  exceedingly  ignorant  of  the 
outside  world.  The  Khan  himself  is  also  densely 

ignorant.  He  cannot  read, 
and  possesses  but  a  very 
vague  idea  of  anything 
beyond  his  own  little  land. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  knew 
scarcely  anything  about 
European  States,  and  con- 
founded  England  with 
America,  so  that  our  inter- 
\iew  was  by  no  means  an 
easy  one.  He  could  not  con- 
ceive,  however,  why  I  had 
undertaken  such  a  journey 
or  for  what  purpose.  Still, 
he  was  gracious  enough  to 
present  me  with  a  signed 
photograph  of  himself,  one 
which  had  been  taken  some 
years  ago  when  he  visited 
the  late  Czar  of  Russia. 
This  photograph  is  here 
reproduced,  and  forms  a 
fitting  conclusion  to  the 
story  of  my  journey  across 
the   Kizil-kum  desert. 


Our  Baboon    Hunt. 

Bv  Charles  W'isbey. 


How  the    South    African  farmers    battle  with    a  serious   pest.     A    remarkable  Battue,    illustrated  with 
actual  photographs.     The  author's  personal  experience,  containing  much  curious  information. 

who  entered  bringing  the  everlasting  "  morning 
coffee,"  which  everyone  has  brought  to  him  just 
before  he  gets  up.  Jumping  out  of  bed,  I  made 
a  hasty  toilet,  and  then,  snatching  up  my  camera 
and  stuffing  every  available  pocket  with  cart- 
ridges, I  took  up  my  gun  and  stepped  outside. 
There  was  no  moon ;  the  sky  was  cloudy  and 
overcast,  and  darkness  reigned  supreme.  For 
some  time  I  could  make  out  nothing,  but  as  my 
eyes  became  accustomed  to  the  darkness,  I 
could  just  perceive  some  shadowy  forms  grouped 
together,  which  on  approaching  I  found  to  con- 
sist of  the  farmers  and  their  sons,  come  to  take 
part  in  the  hunt.  These  had  arrived  the  pre- 
ceding night,  after  I  had  gone  to  bed.  There  were 
about  eighteen  of  us  whites,  attended  by  half-a- 
dozen  "  boy.s,"  or  natives.  All  were  thickly 
wrapped  up,  for  the  nights  and  early  mornings 
here  are  c^^'Xq  chilly. 

Suddenly,  as  we  made  for  the  scene  of  ^le  hunt, 
without  the  slightest  warning  whatever,  I  found 
I  was  making  a  desperate  effort  to  decapitate 
myself  through  colliding  with  taut  wire  stretched 
some  5ft.  from  the  ground.  With  much 
difficulty  I  extricated  myself  and  continued  my 
way.  But  it  was  only  a  few  minutes  more  before 
I  became  again  hopelessly  entangled — this  time 
in  a  huge  prickly-pear  bush  armed  with  extra- 
ordinary sharp  thorns  2in.  long.  After  frantic 
efforts  I  at  length  got  disentangled,  and  emerged 
looking  like  a  human  porcupine  or  a  gigantic 
walking  pincushion.  I  peered  around  me  for 
the  others,  but  they  were  nowhere  to  be-  seen, 
and  I  dared  not  call  out  for  fear  of  alarming  the 
baboons.     Yes,  I  was  quite  alone,  and  I   had 


nil      ALTHiiR,    MR.    CHARLES   WISBEY. 

f-rovt  a  Photo,  by  C.  F.  Jones  i^  Co.,  Kiiissto>t-on-Thaines. 

SUPPOSE  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  in  all  South  Africa  a  place 
better  adapted  for  baboons  than 
Graaff  Reinet.  In  no  other  part  are 
they  so  numerous.  So  quickly  do 
they  increase,  and  such  mischief  do  they  do — 
destroying  crops,  stealing  fruit  and  ostrich  eggs, 
and  killing  lambs  and  kids — that  the  farmers,  to 
prevent  themselves  being  quite  "  eaten  out  of 
house  and  home,"  frequently  set  apart  one  day 
for  a  terrible  slaughter.  I  had  not  been  there 
three  months  before  I  was  asked  to  participate. 

Throughout  my  travels  I  have  made  it  a 
rule  never  to  lose  a  chance  of  acquiring  an 
experience,  so  I  readily 
consented  to  take  part 
in  the  hunt,  which  was 
to  be  hjld  early  next 
day. 

It  was  then  about 
sun-down,  and  bearing 
in  mind  the  fact  that  I 
was  to  be  routed  out 
somewhere  about  2 
a.m.,  I  made  prepara- 
tions for  an  early  retire- 
ment to  rest.  After  look- 
ing to  my  gun,  and 
placing  it  in  readiness, 
I  filled  my  little  hand- 
camera  with  dry  plates, 
and  then  went  to  sleep. 

At  1.30  I  was  roused 
by  the  Hottentot  "boy,"      Frol^T^lTir''' 


""^^^m^ 


mr^      ff      ^ 


GRAAl  1      ....    THE    HOMESTE.\D    FROM    WHICH    WE   .STARTED   ON 

"UK  BABOON   HUNT.  [the  Axtthor. 


156 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


THIS   SHOWS   THE    KIM)    OF    COUNTRY   IN   WHICH   WE    FOUND   THE   TROOPS   OF    BAHDONs. 

•  From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


only  a  vague  idea  of  where  the  hunt  was  to  be 
held. 

As  for  the  way  to  it,  I  was  entirely  ignorant. 
However,  I  decided  it  would  be  no  good  stand- 
ing still,  so,  making  use  of  whatever  common 
sense  I  possess,  I  marched  boldly  forward.  My 
next  sensation  was  that  of  getting  very  wet.  I 
was  aware  that  my  feet  were  soaked  a  minute  or 
so  before,  but,  thinking  I  was  only  going  through 
some  furrow  or  other,  I  took  little  notice  of  it 
and  went  on,  until  I  discovered  to  my  horror 
that  I  was  now  immersed  almost  up  to  the  waist 
in  a  vain  endeavour  to  walk  through  a  pond  as 
big  as  the  one  in  Kensington  Gardens.  I 
retraced  my  steps,  feeling  anything  but  cheerful ; 
but  still  went  on,  and  was  overjoyed  to  find  that 
at  length,  by  some  wonderful  chance,  I  had 
arrived  at  the  scene  of  the  hunt. 

On  telling  the  hunters  there  of  my  adventures 
they  assured  me  that  I  had  taken  a  short  cut. 
I  believed  them.  However,  I  inwardly  vowed  to 
have  no  further  dealings  with  short  cuts  in 
general  and  this  one  in  particular. 

The  faintest  indication  of  dawn  revealed  a 
mountain  directly  in  front  of  us — one  of  those 
that  have  tops  like  a  cottage  loaf.  It  is  called  a 
"krantz."  Well,  in  this  krantz,  about  200yds. 
above  us,  I  was  given  to  understand  the  baboons 
were  sleeping,  and  as  the  dawn  drew  on  I 
could  distinguish  among  the  usual  nocturnal 
sounds  low  grunts  and  little  yells.  These 
sounds  are  caused  by  the  mother  baboons 
spanking  and  pinching  their  little  ones  when 
they  will  not   lie  quietly.     Most  extraordinary 


noises  issue  from  the  krantz 
during  this  performance,  not 
the  least  amusing  being  the 
growls  of  remonstrance  on  the 
part  of  the  male  baboons,  who 
strongly  protest  against  being 
disturbed.  I  stretched  myself 
out  close  to  the  others  of  the 
party  and  dozed.  Presently  I 
was  startled  by  the  report  of  a 
rifle  shot,  and  then  everyone 
was  on  the  alert.  The  niggers 
yelled  and  hooted,  and  every- 
one made  as  much  noise  as 
possible  in  order  to  rouse  the 
baboons.  I  was  sent  to  the 
right  wing  of  the  mountain, 
and  looking  up  I  saw  that  the 
krantz  was  half  surrounded  by 
the  rest  of  the  party,  who 
during  the  early  morning  had 
kindled  small  fires  all  round. 
The  only  side  of  the  krantz 
left  unprotected  was  that 
which  faced  the  hunters  be- 
This  was  to  give  the  baboons  an  oppor- 
of  running  down.  By-and-by  the  noise 
made  by  the  hunters  aroused  the  attention  of 
the  baboons,  and  their  curiosity  to  know  what 
it  was  all  about  could  not  be  restrained.  Soon 
the  head  and  shoulders  of  one  of  the  creatures 
was  discerned  looming  out  from  a  cave  in  the 
krantz.  Immediately  three  or  four  guns  are 
levelled  at  him,  and,  should  he  escape  ihese, 
in  utter  bewilderment,  and  perhaps  wounded, 
he  runs,   leaps,  and   springs  at  headlong  speed 


low. 
tunity 


from    rock    to    rock   and 


crag 


clambering  up  some  steep  ascent,  then 


to    crag,    now 


hurling 
the 


ail 


himself  down   some  giddy    height,  and 
time  going  at  a  terrific  speed. 

His  example  is  followed  by  all  the  other 
baboons  in  the  troop,  of  which  the  probable 
number  would  be  about  fifty.  Sometimes  they 
rush  out  in  threes  and  fours,  but,  generally  speak- 
ing, only  one  ventures  at  a  time  ;  and  when 
those  he  has  left  behind  find  that  he  does  not 
return  they  are  impelled  to  go  and  see  why,  and 
they  in  turn  get  shot.  There  are  very  strict  rules 
about  shooting  at  these  hunts.  For  example, 
those  who  surround  the  krantz  are  allowed  to 
shoot  in  no  other  direction  but  against  it  or  into 
it — they  cannot  shoot  over  it;  while  those  posted 
at  the  base  of  the  mountain  are  only  allowed  to 
shoot  those  baboons  who  are  coming  down  and 
are  below  the  krantz.  I  soon  found  that  it 
required  not  only  an  accurate  shot,  but  a  mar- 
vellously quick  one,  to  stand  a  chance  of  hitting 
one  of  them.  Of  course,  I  blazed  away,  but  I 
was  as  hkely  to  hit  a  streak  of  forked  lightning 


OUR    BABOON    HUNT. 


^^7 


J-'rom  a  Photo.  /'}■] 


OUK    BABOON    I 


(///t:  Aut'':<'>-. 


as  a  baboon.  Two  of  the  creatures  actually  ran 
right  past  me  at  a  distance  of  only  a  yard,  and 
I  verily  believe  that  if  one  had  essayed  to  run 
between  my  legs  he  would  have  succeeded. 
They  are,  without  exception,  the  quickest 
animals  I  have  ever  seen.  They  range  from 
4ft.  to  4ft.  Qin.  in  height,  and  have  a  bluish 
face — very  human-looking — and  they  have  teeth 
like  a  dog. 

In  the  meantime  reports  of  rifles  kept  coming 
to  my  ears,  and  I  trusted  that  the  persons  who 
were  firing  were  doing  some  execution.  I  had 
as  yet  done  nothing  but  waste  good  powder 
and  shot.  Getting  someone  to  take  my  post,  I 
took  only  my  camera  and  went  to  a  central  posi- 
tion. I  found  that  the  niggers  were  being  sent 
into  the  bush  to  rout  out  any  baboons  that 
had  taken  refuge  there.  There  were  just  one 
or  two  more  stray  shots,  and  then  the  hunt, 
which,  counting  from  the  time  I  had  been 
called,  had  lasted  for  seven  hours,  ended.  Each 
hunter  collected  the  tails  of  the  baboons  he 
himself  had  shot,  and  the  party,  after  .slaughter- 
ing some  fifty  or  sixty  of  the  simians,  broke  up, 
and  each  went  home.  For  each  baboon  tail  the 
Government  pays  3s.  6d.  Whatever  amount 
his  tails  may  reach,  the  hunter  nearly  always 
invests  the  proceeds  in  more  powder  and  shot. 
I  suppose  that,  on  an  average,  thirty  or  forty 
would  be  considered  a  fair  number  of 
baboons   to  kill  at  one  hunt,   though    I  know 


of  hunts  where  several  more  have  been 
killed.  At  a  neighbouring  farm,  a  short  while 
ago,  there  were  no  fewer  than  seventy-six  shot 
in  one  hunt,  and  when  I  tell  you  that  on 
this  and  the  neighbouring  farm  the  enormous 
number  of  120  were  shot  during  a  fortnight  (in 
which  there  were  three  hunts),  you  will  be  able 
to  gather  how  numerous  the  creatures  are,  and 
how  great  is  the  amount  of  mischief  and  harm 
they  would  do,  were  they  not  kept  down. 

Isn't  there  a  chance  of  one  of  these  baboons 
attacking  you  ?  \\'cll,  I  think  that  a  baboon 
would  seldom  attack  an  unarmed  man,  and 
never  if  he  had  a  gun  ;  the  animal  would  have 
to  be  aggravated  very,  very  much,  and  the  man 
would  have  to  be  without  a  gun  before  he 
tackled  him.  I've  only  heard  of  one  case.  But 
I  don't  think  these  remarks  would  apply  to 
women  and  children.  It  is  quite  a  common 
thing,  when  passing  along  the  road,  to  have  the 
baboons  peeping  at  you  from  the  bushes  on 
each  side.  They  first  see  if  you  have  a  gun,  and 
if  you  have  not,  they  won't  budge. 

"  Why  not  pick  up  a  stick  and  point  it  at 
them  as  a  gun?"  someone  may  suggest.  It's 
not  a  bit  of  good.  I've  tried  it,  and  they  took 
absolutely  no  notice  of  it ;  they  appear  to  con- 
sider it  an  insult  to  their  intelligence.  Thii 
may  seem  incredible,  but  it's  a  solid  fact :  no 
animal  knows  what  a  gun  is  so  well  as  c. 
baboon. 


A   Night  to  Remember. 

By  Mrs.  Fred.  Maturix,   nee  Miss  Edith  Money. 

Being  a  personal  narrative  of  the  awful  plight  into  which  two  high-spirited  and  mischievous  English 
girls  got  themselves  in  one  of  the  wildest    parts    of    India.     Lost  in  the  jungle  ;    the  jungle    on    fire  ; 

and  a   terrible    man-eating  tiger  known    to  be  abroad. 


HE  bosh,"  said  papa,  "  that  vou  girls 
talk  :  " 

"  It's  not  bosh  at  all,"  said  I,  eat- 
ing hot  chupatties  outside  the 
manager's  bungalow  one  lovely 
morning  in  December  some  years  ago,  before  I 
married. 

I    remember   this    little  conversation  so  dis- 
tinctly, because  of  all  that  it  led  to. 

My  father,  Colonel 
Money,  had  just  brought 
me  and  my  sister  Leila 
out  to  India,  the  land 
of  our  dreams  !  All 
through  the  dreary  years 
of  education  and  deport- 
ment in  our  grand- 
mother's dignified  home 
in  a  quiet  part  of  Eng- 
land we  had  talked,  and 
planned,  and  dreamt  of 
the  day  when  our  father 
would  fetch  us  and  take 
us  back  to  India.  While 
grandmamma,  an  aunt, 
and  our  governess  con- 
versed to  us  of  morals, 
accomplishments,  and 
eternity,  7t'e  pondered  on 
hair-breadth  escapes, 
perilous  adventures,  and 
the  conquest  of  male 
hearts  bv  the  score,  when 
the  day  should  come  to 
spread  our  wings  towards 
the  East. 

In  the  French  con- 
vent   that    followed,    we 

kept  the  nuns  entranced  with  tales  o.  all  we 
had  already  gone  through,  and  the  valour  dis- 
I)layed  during  our  extreme  infancy  out  in  India  ; 
and  we  so  horrified  them,  that  seventeen  special 
masses  were  put  up  for  our  preservation  when 
we  finally  quitted  the  peaceful  cloister  for  the 
rolling  deep  over  which  we  were  to  be  borne  to 


COLONEL    MONEY,  NEAR    WHOSE   TEA    PLANTA1  ION    THE 
From  a}  INXIDENT   OCCURRED.  [Fhoto. 


that  land   in   which,   according   to   us,  life   was 
not  worth  an  hour's  purchase. 

Well,  and  here  we  were  :  landed  safely  in  the 
Great  Dooars — in  those  days,  and  even  now, 
one  of  the  most  "  tigerish  "  districts  in  all 
India.  We  had  been  here  five  weeks,  daily 
longing  to  see  a  tiger  or  some  other  murderous 
animal,  but  so  far  hadn't  caught  a  glimpse  of 
even  the  tip  of  a  speckled  tail  ! 

Papa    had    come   out 
to    India    to    look   after 
his  tea-gardens,  and  was 
very     busy     walking    or 
riding     about     all     day 
from    one   to   the   other, 
with   his  manager,  dilat- 
ing    on     "greenfly," 
"  cricket,"  and    "  grub  "  ; 
while  Leila  and  I — who 
considered  both  him  and 
the    manager    miserably 
slow — galloped  on  horse- 
back   about    the    dense 
jungles   that  surrounded 
the  tea  estate,  seeking  in 
vain  the  savage  creatures 
we  longed  to  encounter. 
In    the    cool    of    the 
evenings   we  entertained 
tlie     young    bachelor 
planters,    who   rode  into 
Phoolbarry    from     all 
I)oints    of    the    compass 
"  to    see    the    Colonel's 
daughters  "  ;  for  no  fresh 
female    white    face    had 
been  seen  there  then  for 
years,  and  the  conquests 
we  had  dreamt  of  now  took  place  thick  and  fast. 
We  also  beguiled  the  time  writing  letters  home 
to  the  convent,  describing  combats  with    man- 
eaters  and  tussles  with  boa-constrictors,   which 
we  knew  would  .send  a  thrill  through  all,  from  the 
fat  little  reverend  mother  down  to  the  rosy-faced 
lay-sister  who  presided  over  the  cloister  kitchen, 


A    NIGHT    TO    REMEMBER. 


159 


and  who  would  shudder  and  pray,  as  she  stirred 
her  eggs,  that  our  innocent  young  Hves  might 
be  spared  a  Httle  longer. 

Meanwhile,  we  complained  daily  to  our  father  of 
the  pitiful  scarcity  of  man-eaters 
and  poisonous  reptiles  in  his 
jungles,  and,  in  return,  he  would 
reply  drily  that  he  was  sorry  for 
our  disappointment,  but  hoped 
luck  might  still  come  in  our 
path  :  and,  when  \i  if/J come,  that 
our  valour  would  not  ooze  quite 
away,  but  that  we  should  prove 
ourselves  ttie  heroines  we  evi- 
dently imagined  we  were. 

"  Oh,  of  course,  you  don't 
believe  it,  papa,"  said  I,  nettled 
at  the  wink  he  bestowed  upon 
the  manager,  who  stood  by  on 
this  particular  December  morn- 
ing, putting  a  huge  plantain 
leaf  into  the  crown  of  his 
mushroom-topee,  for  he  had  a 
long,  hot  ride  before  him.  The 
manager  smiled  —  to  him  we 
were  just  a  pair  of  silly  children 
<^but  I  continued  : — 

"All  I  can  say  is,  if  I  came  upon  a  tiger  in 
the  jungle — as  we  might  any  day — I  should  get 
off  my  pony,  and  stand  and  stare  him  out  of 
countenance — wouldn't  you,  Leila  ?  I  shouldn't 
even  feel  tempted  to  run  away  !  " 
''  Very  praiseworthy,"  said 
papa.  "  Well,"  he  went  on,  "  I 
didn't  mean  to  tell  you,  fearing 
to  make  you  nervous,  but  your 
chance  may  be  near,  at  last." 

*'  A  man  -  eater,"  said  the 
manager,  gravely,  "  is  reported 
to  be  devastating  the  native 
villages  round  about  Money's 
Hope  and  farther  on.  The 
villagers  came  in  a  body  this 
morning  before  you  were  up, 
young  ladies,  to  ask  the  Colonel 
to  get  up  a  shoot ;  so  you  can 
see  the  fun  from  the  howdah.'' 

"  Howdah,  indeed!"  said  I, 
indignantly  ;  "  my  own  pony, 
and  nothing  else,  please  !  " 
Whereupon  papa  gave  it  as  his 
opinion  that  we  were  talking 
"  bosh." 

This  litde    parley   happened 
at  seven  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing  of    December    28th,    at    a    time    of    our 
lives    when    we    were    both    very    young    and 
very  foolish.     Leila    and    I    little    dreamt    that 
before  that  time  next  day  we  should  be  able  to 


MISS     EDITH     MONEY, 

From  a  Photo, 


F^oiii  a  Photo,  by  A    W.  Crigson, 
Colovtbo,  Ceylon. 


relate   a   really  true   story  of  e.vtreme    personal 
peril  for  the  first  time  in  our  existence. 

The  tiger-shoot  would  take  a  day  or  f,vo  to 
get    uf),   and,    meanwhile,   we  were  burning  to 
get  a  glimpse  of  the  doomed 
monster. 

"  \\'e'll  have  our  ponies  round," 
said  we,  "  and  be  off  for  a  long 
ride  at  once.  Any  message  for 
Money's  Hope,  papa?" 

"  There'll  be  no  danger, 
Colonel,"  said  the  manager,  re- 
assuringly, "  if  they  take  care  to 
be  back  before  sundown." 

"  I  forbid  you,"  said  papa, 
severely,  "to  be  in  the  jungle 
after  sunset.  You  hear,  girls  ?" 
Leila  was  about  to  protest  at 
this  inhuman  order,  when  I 
nudged  her  under  the  table, 
and  we  both  chimed  meekly, 
"  Very  well,  papa,"  then  sighed, 
and  completely  took  him  in. 
So  much  so,  that  he  added, 
apologetically : — 

"  I  never  like  to  check  your 

fun,  but  in  this  instance  I  must 

be  obeyed.     Come  to  me  before  you  start.     I 

shall   have  a  letter  for    Jones  "    (the  manager 

of  Money's  Hope,  one  of  papa's  gardens). 

Our  ponies  came  round  and  we  mounted,  our 

hearts  beating  high. 

Papa  came  out  to  see  we 
hadn't  left  off  our  solar-topees, 
which  we  considered  very  un- 
becoming, and  were  always  try- 
ing to  avoid  wearing. 

We  had  no  side-saddles  ;  and 
papa — who  always  objected  to 
unnecessary  expense  —  had  re- 
fused to  get  us  any,  so,  being 
passionately  fond  of  the  exer- 
cise, and  quite  fearless,  we  had 
learnt  to  ride  with  ease  side- 
ways on  men's  saddles,  the 
riglit  fcjot  in  the  off-stirrup 
turned  over. 

It  was  at  best  a  mere  question 
of  balance,  and  I  couldn't  do 
it  now  ;  but  in  those  days  we 
could  tear  full  gallo[)  for  miles 
like  this,  and  it  certainly  made 
capital  horsewomen  of  us. 

"  Good  -  bye,"  said  papa, 
when  he  had  arranged  our 
habits,  seen  that  all  was  proper,  and  given  me 
the  note  for  Mr.  Jones ;  "  you'll  tiffin  with 
Jones,  and  Lve  told  him  you're  to  leave  Money's 
Hope  at  two." 


(6o 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Click — smack  !  Whips  waved,  and  away  we 
cantered,  our  half-naked  syces  flying  along 
behind  us  between  the  tea-bushes.  As  we 
entered  the  jungle,  we  saw  papa  stoop  his  tall 
figure  and  re-enter  the  tea  factory,  inside 
which  a  rumbling  noise  and  a  strong  smell 
denoted  that  some  nrocess  of  tea-making  was 
going  on. 

We  arrived  at  Money's  Hope  at  midday, 
tiffined  on  moorgie  and  plantains  with  the 
manager,  and  had  great  fun  whilst  tidying  our 
hair  in  his  bedroom,  preparing  surprises  for 
him  in  the  shape  of  half  a  red  ants'  nest,  which 
we  found  growing  to  his  wall.  This  we  trans- 
ferred into  his  bed,  and  then  wrote  on  his 
pillow,  with  phosphorus  matches,  "  You  shall 
die  to-night."  At  two  precisely  he  sent  for 
our  ponies,  lifted  us  on  to  our  saddles,  and  saw 
us  off,  returning  into  his  bungalow 
blissfully  unconscious  of  the  fact  that 
before  morning  he  would  probably  be 
swollen  to  double  his  size  with  ant- 
stings. 

Blissfully  unconscious,  too,  of  what 
awaited  us,  we  trotted  along  laughing 
and  talking,  and  then  when  we  reached 
the  jungle  we  put  our  ponies  into  a 
hard  gallop,  and  kept  it  up  till  we  had 
left  the  syces  far  behind.  When  we 
reached  a  point  in  the  now  dense  forest 
where  two  paths  went  in  opposite 
directions,  we  chose  the  one  leading 
from  Phoolbarry,  and  when  we  had 
cantered  another  half-hour  or  so,  we 
drew  rein  and  looked,  laughing  and 
delighted,  at  each  other,  for  we  were 
now  in  the  heart  of  the  Great  Dooar 
Jungle,  far,  far  from  any  plantation  or 
European  dwelling  ;  and  the  nearest 
native  village  would  be  the  one  from 
which  only  the  previous  night  a  poor 
old  man  had  been  carried  off  by  the 
dreaded  man-eater. 

l,ooking  back  now,  I  can't  help 
feeling  what  babies  we  must  have  been 
to  do  such  a  thing.  And  yet  we  were 
grown-up  girls  of  a  marriageable  age, 
and  considered — by  the  nuns,  at  any 
rate — almost  too  clever  for  this  miser- 
able world. 

"  Now,"   said   I,    who   was  generally 
ringleader,    "  we    must    lose    ourselves, 
Leila.     Up  to  this  I  could  find  my  way 
couldn't  you  ?  " 

"I'm  afraid  I  could," said  Leila  ;  so  the  draw- 
back was  quickly  remedied  by  trotting  down 
one  path,  up  another,  then  back  again,  and  off 
at  right  angles,  purposely  never  looking  back. 


In  another  half-hour  we  were  as  completely  lost 
in  the  jungle  as  anyone  could  be. 

All  this  had  taken  a  couple  of  hours,  and  it 
must  now  have  been  about  four  in  the  after- 
noon ;  and  the  air,  which  had  been  very  hot  all 
day,  should  have  been  growing  cooler. 

"  But  it's  funny,"  said  I,  "  that  it  doesn't. 
Isn't  the  heat  stifling,  Leila  ?" 

"  And,"  said  my  sister,  "  look,  Edith,  at  the 
sky.      It's  burning  red  like  brick-dust." 

We  drew  our  ponies  in,  sat  still,  and  looked 
up.  The  dark-blue,  cloudless  firmament  over- 
head was  indeed  to  be  seen  only  through  a 
blood-red  haze  which  momentarily  deepened. 
Then  from  a  long  way  off  came  a  sound  which 
caused  us  to  start  and  stare  breathlessly  at  each 
other. 

It  was  only  a  vast,  crackling,  hissing  sound, 
but  we  knew  in  a  minute  what  it  meant.      Papa 


back, 


'the  jungle  around  us  was  on  fire!' 


had  often  told  us  about  it.      The  jungle  aroufid 
us  was  ofi  fire .' 

Some  careless  native  had  done  it,  leaving  his 
fire  alight  after  a  meal,  perhaps;  or  the  long,  bone- 
dry  grass,  growing  thickly  around  us  as  high  as 
the  trees,  and  scorched  with  many  suns  to  the 


A    NIGHT    TO    REMEMBER. 


i6i 


colour  of  straw,  had  ignited  of  itself  as  it  often 
does,  carrying  death,  terror,  and  devastation  for 
miles  and  miles. 

It  must  be  understood  that  a  Dooar  jungle  is 
composed  mainly  of  this  monster  grass,  wide  as 
half  your  wrist,  saw-edged,  and  tall  as  the  forest 
trees,  which  also  grow  here  and  there  amongst 
it.  And  it  grows  so  thickly  you  can  see  nothing 
a  few  yards  off.     Vou  can  cut  yourself  very  badly 


and  once  more  stared  aghast  at  each  other,  then 
we  both  burst  into  tears. 

One  more  path  lay  before  us  through  which 
to  flee.  If,  as  we  now  feared,  the  rapidly 
increasing  flames  had  met  in  a  huge  circle  in 
the  jungle,  we  knew,  of  course,  that  we  were 
doomed  to  a  horrible  death. 

I  can  never  forget  my  feelings  as  we  urged 
our  terrified  ponies  down  that  narrow  path. 


WE    URGED   OUR   TEPRIFIED    PONIES    DOWN    THAT    NARROW    I'ATH. 


with  this  grass,  loo,  by  plunging,  for  instance, 
through  the  jungle.  Papa  knew  of  a  native  who 
bled  to  death  through  a  severed  artery,  caused 
by  the  knife-like  edge  of  a  blade  of  this  rank 
stuff  ripping  open  his  naked  arm. 

So  a  more  fearful  death-trap  than  this  kind  of 
jungle  when  burning  can  hardly  be  imagined. 
Leila  and  I  caught  each  other's  hands  as  if  for 
mutual  help  when  the  full  significance  of  the 
blood-red  sky  and  crackling  noise  dawned 
upon  us. 

Then,  wheeling  our  ponies  round,  we  put  them 
into  a  hard  gallop,  away  from  that  terrible  heat, 
and  glow,  and  hissing  ;  but  though  at  first  it 
seemed  as  if  we  were  to  escape,  we  gradually 
became  aware  that  we  were  once  more  ap- 
proaching a  heated  atmosphere  and  a  reddened 
sky.  Presently,  every  moment  convinced  us 
that  we  were  but  galloping  towards  another 
point  of  the  encircling  fire.     We  drew  rein  again, 

Vol.  iii.-21. 


led  the  way,  and  fell  the  tears  whisk  off  my  face 
as  we  tore  along.  All  the  time  I  could  hear 
Leila  on  her  pony  behind  me  moaning,  "  Oh, 
help  us — help  us  I     Oh,  no,  no,  no  !  " 

Vou  can  all,  no  doubt,  realize  our  sensations 
when,  after  apparently  riding  away  from  that  red 
death  for  over  half  an  hour,  while  renewed  hope 
sprang  to  life  in  our  breasts,  the  air,  which  had 
been  iiiiich  cooler,  gradually — very  gradually — 
grew  hotter  and  hotter  again. 

I  felt  it  distinctly  sting  and  burn  my  face  as 
we  rode  along.  I  wondered  did  Leila  notice  it. 
I  hoped  not,  for  then,  oh,  then  !  it  might  be  my 
fancy. 

No  doubt  I  was  flushed  and  hot.  ...   It  was 

nothing My    sister    behind    had    said 

nothing.  .  .  .  ^^'e  had  now  ridden  some 
miles  without  a  word  passing  between  us,  and 
the  rapid  Indian  twilight  had  fallen,  and  was 
quickly  giving  place  to  night. 


t62 


THE  WIDE   WORLD   MAGAZINE. 


Night  in  an  Indian  jungle  on  fire  !  A  man- 
eater  abroad,  driven  probably  from  tiis  lair  by 
the  flames  !  Could  a  more  fearful  position  be 
imagined  for  two  young  girls  ? 

At  last  I  drew  in  my  pony  and  Leila  drew  up 
behind  me.  I  said  nothing,  but  turned  and 
looked  at  her  in  the  fast-deepening  gloom.  Our 
eyes  met. 

"  Do  you  feel  it  ?"  I  whispered.  "  Leila,  say 
you  don't." 

She  sobbed  in  reply,  leaning  over  from  her 
saddle,  and  catching  my  hand. 

"Such  a  terrible,  cruel  death,"  she  whispered. 
"  Couldn't  we  strangle  each  other,  or  get  the 
loonies  to  kick  our  brains  out,  or  some- 
thing ?  " 

"  We'll  hang  ourselves,"  said  I,  "  to  a  tree ; 
or  cut  our  throats  with  the  grass.  We  wonH  be 
burnt.     Cheer  up^  Leila." 

We  talked  it  over  and  decided  we'd  try  and 
cut  an  artery  in  our  arms  (remembering  papa's 
story).  I  told  Leila  that  1  knew  it  was  a  very 
painless  death. 

We  settled,  however,  to  ride  on  a  little  farther, 
and  see  if  any  escape  were  still  possible  before 
we  took  this  course. 

We  cantered  on  again,  and  could  now  dis- 
tinctly see  the  burning  jungle  ahead  of  us. 
We  noted,  with  a  shudder,  the  sparks  fly  up 
towards  the  star-studded  sky. 

I  suggested  we  should  stop,  ride  back  some 
distance,  and  quickly  end  our  sufierings,  but 
I,eila  pointed  ahead. 

"  I  believe  there  is  a  break  in  the  fire,"  she 
said ;  "  it  hasn't  met  yet.  The  circle  isn't  com- 
plete. Oh,  Edith,  I  know  I'm  right — quick, 
it's  our  last  chance." 

What  a  ride  for  life  that  was  !  And  oh,  what 
joy  when,  as  we  a[)proached  the  great  furnace 
(the  grass  being  burnt,  the  thick  low  scrub 
blazed  on),  we  saw  that  fully  a  half  mile  of  the 
jungle  yet  remained  u:iignited. 

The  path,  however,  was  already  enveloped  in 
flames,  which  were  licking  across  it ;  but  by 
plunging  into  the  jungle  itself,  escape  was  pos- 
sible, and  we  urged  our  shivering  little  steeds 
through.  The  heat  was  terrific — the  ponies 
stopped,  reared,  and  jibbed  with  terror.  It  was 
all  we  could  do,  with  no  pommels,  to  keep  on. 
Their  flanks  were  cut  every  minute  ;  nor  did 
our  own  faces  escape,  though  we  got  no  bad 
gashes,  for  with  our  riding-whips  we  were  able, 
more  or  less,  to  bend  back  the  tall,  saw-like 
grass  in  front  of  us  as  we  proceeded. 

At  last  we  were  safe  !  The  flames  closed  in 
soon  after  we  once  more  regained  the  path-way. 
What  breeze  there  was  swept  the  fire  away  from 
us  ;  but,  terrified  lest  the  jungle  might  begin  to 
ignite  towards  us,  we  pelted   along   that   dim, 


lonely  jungle-path  as   never  we  had   ridden   in 
our  lives  before  ! 

But,  alas,  our  troubles  were  not  over. 

It  seemed  too  cruel,  just  as  one  danger  had 
been  left  behind,  that  another  mishap  should 
so  soon  befall  us.  As  we  were  cantering  along, 
obliged  to  slacken  speed  because  it  was  hardly 
possible  any  longer  to  see  the  track,  Leila's  pony 
shied  violently  at  a  sudden  rustling  in  the  jungle, 
threw  her  heavily,  and  then  tore  away  into  the 
darkness  ahead. 

I  knew  from  the  shriek  she  gave  that  she  was 
badly  hurt.  Of  course,  I  jumped  off"  my  pony 
at  once,  and  tying  the  bridle  as  best  I  could  to 
a  tree,  I  groped  my  way  to  where  she  lay  moan- 
ing.    She  tried  to  stand  up,  but  fell  back  again. 

Her  ankle  was  sprained,  and  it  rapidly  swelled 
up  ;  the  mere  idea  of  moving  made  her  cry  out. 

I  knelt  beside  her,  appalled  at  this  fresh 
disaster.  True,  the  jungle  fire  was  burning 
away  from  us,  and  not  towards  us,  and  a  belt 
of  burnt,  black  jungle  afforded  a  certain  pro- 
tection across  a  given  area.  But  these  jungle 
fires  circle  round  such  vast  distances  that  it  was 
impossible  to  say  that  the  slightest  shift  of  wind 
would  not  change  its  course  back  in  our  direc- 
tion, when,  in  a  more  roundabout  way,  it  would 
eventually  meet  us  again. 

Then  came  another  fearful  thought — the 
man-eater  !  All  my  courage  was  gone.  The 
terror  I  had  gone  through ;  the  darkness,  lit 
certainly  by  the  distant  flames;  the  stars,  and 
a  moon  in  her  second  quarter,  but  all  the  more 
eerie  on  that  account ;  and  the  vast,  mysterious, 
whispering  wilderness  around  us — all  these  had 
sapped  my  heart  of  what  heroism  I  possessed. 
As  for  Leila,  I  really  thought  she  was  going  to 
die  of  fright.  She  clung  to  my  neck,  giving  a 
shriek  now  and  then  which  I  felt  certain  would 
either  attract  wild  animals  or  scare  them  away  ; 
so  one  minute  I  said  "■  Uus/i"  and  the  next  I 
screamed  myself.  In  fact,  we  were  both  almost 
off  our  heads,  I  think.  Thus  we  remained  till 
I  suppose  about  eleven  o'clock. 

^Ve  had,  of  course,  no  idea  what  part  of  the 
jungle  we  were  in,  or  where  our  father's  planta- 
tion was  ;  but  as  we  sat  there,  clinging  to  each 
other,  and  our  eyes  grew  accustomed  to  the 
dim  light,  we  noticed  a  tree  a  short  way 
off,  struck  by  lightning  in  rather  a  peculiar 
manner,  and  we  remembered  noticing  it  that 
morning  as  we  rode  from  Phoolbarry  to  Money's 
Hope. 

Unless  there  were  two  trees  very  much  alike, 
we  were,  therefore,  on  the  jungle  path  between 
the  two  plantations,  and  after  a  fearful  scene 
with  my  sister,  who  at  first  implored  me  not  to 
leave  her,  I  persuaded  her  to  let  me  mount  my 
pony  and  try  and  ride  to   Phoolbarry  for  help. 


A   NIGHT    TO    REMEMBER. 


ib3 


Before  she  agreed,  I  assured  her  that  I  could, 
and  would,  lift  her  somehow  into  the  split  trunk 
of  the  lightning-struck  tree,  where  she  would  be 
comparatively  safe  from  wild  animals. 

This  was  easier  said  than  done,  however,  and 
it  took  me  half  an  hour  to  get  her  up  into  it  ; 
for  first  of  all  she  had  to  be  got  to  the  tree,  and 
was  in  such  pain  that  she  fainted  once,  and  I 
thought  she  had  died.  I  blew  into  her  face, 
and  when  she  opened  her  eyes  we  began  again ; 
but  the  most  awful  part  was  getting  her  up  the 
trunk.  She  slid  down  each  time  before  she 
reached  the  fork  caused  by  the  lightning,  and 
falling  heavily  on  her  ankle,  screamed  with  the 
pain.  At  last  I  got  up  myself,  and  she  stood  on 
one  foot,  whilst  I  leaned  over  and  pulled  her 
slowly  up,  almost  dropping  her  once. 


\. 


I    LEANED   OVER   A.ND    ILl.LED   HER    SLOWLY   VI: 

Then  I  kissed  her,  telling  her  to  pray  that  all 
would  still  be  well.  Descending,  I  mounted 
my  pony  and  rode  away,  she  calling  out  at  the 
last,  "Oh,  Edie!  come'back!" 

I  can't  understand  a  bit  now  how  I  ever  had 


the  nerve  to  take  this  ste[".  It's  like  hearing  of 
someone  else  doing  it.  Leila  always  says  that 
hers  was  the  worst  position,  left  alone  and 
inactive  in  that  vast,  silent,  dark  jungle  ;  but  I 
venture  to  say  mine  was  as  bad — perhaps 
worse  ;  for  the  man-eater,  of  whom  I  could  not 
now  even  endure  to  think,  could  demolish  me 
and  my  pony  with  one  spring  and  blow  of  his 
giant  paw ;  whereas  if  Leila  .sat  silent,  she 
would  perhaps  pass  unobserved  in  the  darkness. 

My  one  hope  of  not  losing  my  head  with 
terror  was  to  put  my  pony  into  a  fast  canter, 
trusting  to  his  instinct  to  take  the  right  path 
home.  But,  oh,  that  awful,  awful,  lonely  night 
ride ! 

It  was  now  quite  midnight,  and  the  jungle  on 
each  side  of  me  seemed  full  of  strange  sounds. 
Once  I   distinctly  heard  some  large, 

«  heavy    animal    bounding    through    the 

high  dry  grass  on  my  right.  I  urged 
the  pony  on,  my  heart  in  my  very 
mouth  !  Oh,  how  it  beat !  My  brain 
seemed  to  thicken  with  terror,  and 
my  tongue  stuck  to  my  palate. 

I  was  so  tired,  so  trembling, 
that  I  no  longer  felt  able  to  keep 
my  balance  on  the  man's  saddle, 
which  I  sat  sidewavs,  and  I  had 
to  hold  my  pony's  mane  to  keep 
on  at  all. 

I've  often  wondered  how  it  was 
I  never  thought  of  riding  like  a 
boy,  but  it  never  even  entered 
my  head,  though  I  was  in  momen- 
tary peril  of  being  thrown  off. 

When  the  crashing  sound  in 
the  jungle  had  continued  for 
some  time,  it  ceased,  and  I  have 
never  known  what  creature  it  was 
that  kept  pace  with  me  so  long. 

It  lasted  ten  minutes,  and 
when  it  died  away,  I  remember 
that  I  put  my  hand  to  my  head, 
pulled  a  long  lock  of  my  hair 
from  under  my  hat,  and  looked 
,  at  it  in  the  moonlight  to  see  had 

it  gone  white  !     But  it  hadn't  ! 

No    words    can    describe    my 
gratitude    when    after    fully   two 
hours  I   began  to  realize  that  the 
instinct    of   my   little   steed    was 
bringing  me    to    Phoolbarry  tea- 
plantation  at  last.     I   saw,  ahead 
of   me,    the   native    mud    village 
built  on   the  outskirts  of  the  plantation,  and   I 
tore  through  it  about  two  in  the  morning.    Most 
of  the  inhabitants  were  my  fathers  coolies,  and 
they  were  all  buzzing  about,  our  disappearance 
having  evidently  raised  a  terrible  "tomasha." 


i64 


•     THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


"There  is  the  Missee  Baha,"  they  cried,  and, 
with  sounds  of  joy,  raced  ahead  of  me  towards 
the  spot  where,  in  front  of  the  manager's 
bungalow,  a  torch-lit  crowd  was  gathered  in  the 
moonlight. 

Papa,  Mr.  Jones,  the  manager,  the  manager's 
wife,  and  all  oui  servants  were  there. 

They  had   been  hunting   for  us  in  all  direc- 


proaching  her  tree,  and  that  now  and  then  the 
two  spots  would  cease  moving  and  descend 
close  to  the  ground,  proving  that  they  were  the 
eyes  of  some  large  animal,  who  now  and  then 
paused  and  crouched.  As  this  is  the  manner 
of  the  tiger  tribe,  her  terror  may  be  imagined. 

That  the  creature  smelt  a  human  being  is  pretty 
certain.     The  poor  girl  never  stirred,  however, 


A   TOKCH-LII    CKOWU    WAS   GATHERED    IN    THE    .MOONLIGHT. 


tions,  and  must  have  passed  the  very  place 
where  Leila  got  thrown  about  an  hour  before  we 
reached  it. 

They  had  then  returned  to  the  plantation  for 
guns,  a  doolie,  and  brandy  ;  but  pa])a  told  me 
he  had  given  us  up  when  he  saw  the  jungle  fire. 

We  started  at  once  for  Leila.  Papa  wished 
me  to  go  to  bed  and  take  (luinine,  for  the  Dooar 
jungles  by  night  are  deadly  fever-traps,  but  I 
insisted  on  returning  with  them.  I  fell  into  a 
heavy  sleep  in  the  doolie,  however,  only  waking 
when  I  heard  papa  shouting. 

"  Leila,  dear  child  !  It's  all  right !  Here  we 
are  ! " 

A  shriek  from  Leila— and  "  Oh,  papa  !  Oh, 
Edie !  The  man-eater !  The  man-eater  has 
been  here!  Take  care,  take  care— have  you 
guns  ?  " 

We  have  never  known  whether  the  man-eater 
was  there  or  not.  Lying  beside  me  in  the  doolie, 
as  we  were  carried  home,  just  as  the  Indian  dawn 
reddened  the  sky,  Leila  told  me  and  papa,  who 
walked  beside  us,  that  about  an  hour  after  I  left 
her,  she  saw  two  great,  red,  shining  spots  ap- 


and  [)robably,  thanks  to  this,  the  animal  left 
her  unmolested.  It  never  came  near  enough 
to  her  tree  for  her  to  see  what  it  was,  and  when 
our  torches  and  shouts  were  seen  and  heard 
approaching  it  vanished  into  the  jungle. 

Papa,  who  was  an  experienced  shikaree,  said 
he  did  not  think  it  2vas  the  man-eater,  for  if  it  had 
been,  nothing  could  have  saved  my  sister.  It 
was  probably  an  ordinary  tiger  or  panther,  the 
difference  being  that  the  man-eater,  having  once 
tasted  human  blood,  cares  for  nothing  else, 
whilst  other  tigers,  unless  molested,  will  gener- 
ally leave  you  alone.  We  reached  Phoolbarry 
at  last. 

We  have  both  spent  many  years  in  India  and 
Ceylon  since,  and  had  many  adventures,  but 
certainly  none  to  beat  this  one. 

It  was  months  before  papa  dared  joke  us 
about  our  man-eater,  or  call  us  "  his  heroines  "  ; 
and  when  he  did,  we  generally  told  the  story  to 
someone,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing 
that,  in  f/iei'r  humble  opinion,  we  had  at  any 
rate  shown  that  we  had  "plenty  of  grit." 

\\' hat  do  YOU  think  ? 


The  Jumping  Procession  at  Ectiternacli. 

Bv  Mrs.   Lily  Bridgman. 

All  about   a  very  peculiar  Whit-Tuesday  procession  which  makes  its  way  through  the  streets  of  a 
quaint    little    town    in    the    Grand    Duchy  of   Luxemburg.      With    a    complete   set    of  photographs 

illustratins:  the  festival. 


XE  would  scarcely  think  it  possible 
that  such  a  ceremony  as  the  accom- 
panying photos,  illustrate  could,  in 
these  days  of  modern  civilization, 
continue  to  be  of  regular  annual 
occurrence.  That  it  is  so,  however,  you  can 
prove  by  going  in  person  any  Whit-Tuesday  to 
the  quaint  abbey  town  of  Echternach,  in  the 
Grand  Duchy  of  Luxemburg,  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal places  of  interest  in  what  is  termed  "  La 
Petite  Suisse  Luxembourgeoise."  There  you 
will  witness  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  sights 
it  has  ever  been  my  lot  to  behold. 

Imagine  to  yourself  the  early  dawn  of  a 
Wliit-Tuesday  —  a  morning,  say,  towards  the 
end  of  May.  On  the  occasion  I  am  about  to 
describe  the  clerk  of  the  weather  was  evidently 
in  an  amiable  frame  of  mind,  for  the  dawn  was 
beautiful  and  clear,  and  gave  good  promise  of 
a  fair  day  to  come.  I,  with  others,  had  started 
at  an  early  hour  from  \'ianden,  a  lovely  village 
among  the  hills  farther  up  the  River  Our,  the 
course  cf  which  we  followed,  right  down  the 
valley  as  far  as  Wallendorf,  where  the  Our  meets 
the  Sure.  At  this  point 
the  scenery,  a  constant 
delight  the  whole  way, 
becomes  wilder  and  more 
diversified,  with  huge 
boulders  standing  up 
boldly  out  of  the  bed  of 
the  river  ;  these  were 
once  portions  of  the  rocky 
heights  above  us. 

But  we  were  not  the 
sole  occupants  of  that 
ordinarily  quiet  country 
highway.  There  were 
pilgrims  perched  aloft 
in  queer,  clumsy,  hood- 
covered  carriages,  drawn 
by  great,  sturdy  plough- 
horses,  the  property  of 
well-to-do  "  bauers,"  or 
peasant-farmers. 


crowded  into  the  badly-built  waggons  of  the 
country,  and  again  pilgrims  on  foot  (and  these 
last  preponderated  by  far  in  number).  All 
were  bound  for  the  same  goal  as  ourselves — a 
motley  crowd  of  various  nationalities,  praying 
devoutly  as  they  went  for  a  blessing  on  their 
pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  the  great  St. 
Willibrord,  the  patron  saint  of  the  Echternach 
Leaping  Procession.  Mere  sightseers  there 
were  also  on  bicycles  and  in  traps  of  every  sort 
and  description. 

V\'e  had  driven  through  the  old  monastery 
town  of  Bollendorf,  past  innumerable  quiet, 
red-roofed  hamlets,  when,  suddenly  turning  a 
sharp  corner  of  the  winding  road,  the  town  of 
Echternach  lay  before  us,  washed  by  the  waters 
of  the  lower  Siire,  situated  in  the  midst  of  a 
fertile  plain,  and  surrounded  by  high,  wood-clad 
hills. 

The  accompanying  photograph  shows  the 
quaint  old  walls  which  surround  the  town — a 
remnant  of  former  days — just  as  we  saw  it  on 
that  interesting  Whit-Tuesday  morning. 

Toni,  our  jovial-faced  Jehu,  drove  us  straight 


Pilgrims 


I- 1  i.:::  u\ 


THE   A.NCIENT   WALLS   OF    ECHTERNACH. 


[J'/ioio. 


i66 


THE    \VIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


to  the  starting-point — a  stone  cross,  lying  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  vSure  opposite  the  ancient 
bridge,  which  spans  the  river  and  leads  into 
the  town.  This  cross  has  been  the  starting- 
point  of  the  procession  from  time  immemorial. 

Here  we  alighted,  our  intention  being  to 
follow  the  whole  line  of  march  from  start  to 
finish.  We  were  none  too  early,  however. 
Already  the  bells  on  the  opposite  bank  were  in 
full  swing,  announcing  the  near  advent  of  the 
parish  clergy  ;  and  all  around  us  was  an  inces- 
sant hubbub  of  preparation  amongst  the 
numerous  bands  of  pilgrims  collected  near  the 
old  wayside  cross,  ^^'e  were  told  that  most 
of  these  poor  people,  in  many  cases  footsore 
and  weary  before  the  real  day's  work  began, 
had  tramped  unceasingly  all  through  the  night, 
bent  on  reaching  St.  Willibrord's  shrine. 

The  crowd  was  not  formed  of  Luxemburgers 
alone :  French,  Germans,  and  Belgians  were 
there    also,    the    frontiers    of    their    countries 


the  fourth  century.  Those  who  had  come  to  lead 
the  immense  throng  were  waiting  patiently  on 
the  other  side,  and  when  the  gorgeously  apparelled 
priests  were  within  fifty  yards  of  the  foremost 
amongst  them  they  stopped. 

As  the  chief  prelate  stopped  he  raised  his  hand, 
and,  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  the  enormous  nmlti- 
tude  fell  on  their  knees,  bowing  their  heads  and 
crossing  themselves  reverently  as  they  received 
his  blessing.  He  addressed  them  in  a  few  well- 
chosen  words- — first  in  French  and  then  in 
German.  The  bishop  enjoined  courage  on  his 
hearers,  saying  that  God's  blessing  rested  on 
every  one  of  them,  and  that  the  holy  Willibrord, 
whose  saintly  protection  so  many  amongst  them 
had  come  from  so  far  to  seek,  would  of  a  surety 
listen  to  their  prayers.  His  final  words  ran  as 
follows :  "  Remember  as  you  go,  the  Divine 
words,  '  According  to  your  faith,  be  it  unto  you  ! ' 
Let  us  begin  :  Holy  Willibrord,  pray  for  us  !  In 
the  name  of  the  Father,"  etc. 


I'roni  a 


GENERAL    VIEW    OF   THE   TOWN,    SHOWING   THE    LKIDGE   OVEK    WHICH    THE    I'KOCESSION    PASSES. 


[P/wto. 


forming  the  independent  little  duchy's  boun- 
daries. As  we  stood  gazing  interestedly  at  the 
village  "cures"  doing  their  best  to  reduce 
order  amongst  their  various  flocks,  a  voice 
was  heard,  raised  above  the  turmoil :  — 

"  Ruhe  da.  Kinder !  Sie  Kommen,  Sie 
Kommen  !  "  ("Silence,  children!  they  come, 
they  come  !  ")  An  aln\ost  miraculous  quiet 
fell  upon  the  great  mob,  and  every  eye  was 
strained  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  banners  which 
heralded  the  approach  of  fifty  to  seventy  white- 
surpliced,  black-cassocked  priests,  accompanied 
by  the  town  band,  on  whose  instruments  the 
morning  sun  glinted  brightly,  lending  added 
lustre  to  the  banners'  gay  colour.?,  and  to  the 
gold  embroidered  and  jewelled  •  copes  worn 
by  the  three  foremost  priests. 

On  they  came  towards  the  eager  thousands 
collected  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  then  over  the 
moss-grown  bridge,  the  work  of  men's  hands  in 


Again  crossing  themselves,  the  vast  assembly 
rose  from  their  knees,  the  cure  of  each  parish 
formed  his  party  into  the  order  in  which  it  was 
to  go,  and  the  small  knot  of  musicians  who,  in 
nearly  every  case,  accompanied  each  parish 
represented,  and  often  consisted  of  merely 
a  drummer,  a  flageolet  ])layer,  and  a  piper, 
stationed  themselves,  with  great  tuning  of 
instruments,  at  the  head  of  their  own  special 
parties ;  and  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of 
time,  the  apparently  endless  procession  was 
ready  to  start.  The  bells,  which  had  been  still 
for  a  time,  now  clanged  out  a  merry  peal  from 
the  church  and  abbey  towers  ;  the  music  struck 
up,  and  the  enormous  body  of  people  began  to 
move,  away  from  the  old  stone  cross,  over  the 
bridge,  which  our  second  photo,  illustrates,  and 
on  which  stands  the  statue  of  the  good  abbot 
and  historian,  Jean  Dertels,  who  lived  in  the 
sixteenth  century. 


The  jumping  procession  ai    echpernach. 


167 


v;y. 

From  a  Photo. 

The  melody  which  the  bands  played,  and  of 
which  our  third  photo,  forms  the  subject,  is  the 
same  to  which  the  feet  of  countless  thousands 
of  pious  pilgrims,  have,  jear  after  year,  kept 
measure  for  ages  past.  It  has  such  an  electrical 
effect  on  the  listener,  that  I  myself 
really  felt  almost  impelled  to  join 
the  throng  and  "go  dancing  along"! 
Had  it  not  been  for  a  lurking  fear  of 
being  unmercifully  chaffed  by  my 
companions,  St.  Willibrord  might 
possibly  have  counted  me  amongst 
his  followers  on  that  extraordinary 
Whit-'Puesday. 

Away  they  went  in  the  morning  sun. 
First,  the  bearer  of  a  huge  crucifix  ; 
behind  him  a  group  of  banners  flutter- 
ing in  the  breeze,  and  a  hundred  and 
fifty  to  three  hundred  singers  came 
next,  chanting  the  praises  of  the  holy 
Saint  Willibrord  as  they  passed  us. 
They  were  followed  by  double  lines 
of  priests,  some  bare-headed,  others 
with  birettas,  and  all  telling  their 
rosaries  or  reading  their  breviaries 
with  earnest  fervour.  After  these 
came  the  Archbishop  and  the  cure- 
doyen  of  Echternach  (equivalent  to 
our  dean-rector).  Behind  these  two 
pillars  of  Mother  Church  walked  the 
town  band  and  some  fifty  to  sixty 
boys  of  about  fourteen  to  sixteen 
years  of  age,  hatless,  and  all  dancing 
hard,    in    their    shirt  -  sleeves.      From 


inquiry  made  afterwards  I  ascertained  that  these 
lads  were  paid  to  join  in  the  "  Spring  Proces- 
sion," being  proxies  for  those  who  were  pre- 
vented, from  illness  or  other  reasons,  from 
personal  attendance.  As  the  music  waxed 
faster  and  louder,  these  boys  leaped  higher  and 
higher,'  evidently  bent  on  earning  religiously 
every  centime  of  the  small  wage  they  had  been 
paid  for  their  energy. 

After  these  dancing  deputies  came  the 
pilgrims.  Some  told  their  rosaries  as  they 
walked  quietly  along,  but  the  majority  joined 
in  the  marvellous,  springy  dance  which  St. 
Willibrord  instituted  whilst  on  earth.  Three 
steps  forward,  two  steps  back,  and  then  a  high 
jump  into  the  air.  On,  on,  always  the  same, 
eight  or  ten  abreast,  holding  hands,  never 
ceasing,  save  when  an  occasional  halt  was 
called.  This  continues  for  i/iree  or  four  hours 
under  the  often  almost  unbearable  heat  of  a 
hot  May  or  June  day  I  Strong  men  have 
been  known  to  faint  under  the  strain.  I  was 
told  that  on  one  stiflingly  hot  Whit-Tuesday,  two 
men  fell  down  dead  whilst  they  were  taking  part 
in  this  procession,  having  been  overcome  by 
the  heat.  I  observed  white-haired  men  and 
women,  bent  with  the  weight  of  years,  dancing 
and  leaping  with  their  youngers,  as  fast  and  as 
high  as  any  of  them,  their  faces  perfect  studies 
of  religious  enthusiasm. 


THUEE 
From  a\ 


STEl'S   FORWARD,    TWO   STEPS    BACK,    AND   THEN   A    HIGH   JUMP 

INTO   THE   AIK."  [PlwtO. 


i68 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


WE 

From  a\ 


I'EKCEIVEL)    THE    JKOCESSION    IN       FULL  Sl'RING 
TOWARDS    US   ONCE   MOKE." 


.MAKING 

\,Photo. 


We  watched  that  great  ma.ss  of  humanity  go  by, 
and  following  over  the  bridge  in  their  wake,  we 
cut  up  a  side  street  into  what  proved  to  be  the 
principal  street  of  the  town.  Looking  up  it,  on 
emerging  from  the  narrow  alley,  we  perceived  tlie 
procession  in  "full  spring,'  so  to  speak,  making 
towards  us  once  more.  Again  we  took  up  our 
stand  at  a  favourable  point,  in  order  to  have  a 
second  undisturbed  view  of  all  the  participants 
in  this  astonishing  festival. 

Crowds  of  curious  onlookers  filled  every 
window,  every  vantage  point,  and  lined  every 
street  on  either  side  all  along  the  route,  eager 
spectators  of  what  is,  looking  at  it  from  both 
the  religious  and  physical  points  of  view,  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  sights  in  the  world  : 
a  sight  once  seen,  never  to  be  forgotten. 
To  gaze  on  the  almost  ecstatic  faces  of  those 
numberless  old  men  and  women,  many  of 
whom  verged  on  four-score  years  ;  of  men  and 
their  wives,  side  by  side,  and  then  from  them 
to  glance  at  the  young  men  and  maidens,  all 
alike    imbued  with    an    intense    desire  to    pro- 


pitiate, by  their  frantic  leaps  and  dancing,  the 
patron  saint  of  the  "  Spring  Procession." 

I  saw  epileptic  children  with  no  power  in 
either  arn)S  or  legs,  and  in  most  cases  with 
idiotic  smiles  on  their  white,  wan  faces,  borne 
in  strong  arms,  the  owners  of  which,  whilst 
clasping  their  precious  burdens,  danced  and 
jumped  over  Echternach's  cobble  stones.  Here 
and  there,  a  big,  burly  village  cure  in  surplice 
and  cassock  headed  his  little  flock,  playing 
."^t.  Willibrord's  melody  on  his  fiddle  for  his 
parishioners  to  keep  time  to,  as  he  strode 
along. 

One  small  group  among  the  crowd  especially 
attracted  our  attention,  because  of  a  huge  blue 
cotton  umbrella,  which  a  man  carried  open  in 
its  centre,  and  which  protected  all  those  dancing 
beneath  its  shade  from  the  fierce  sun.  Now 
and  then  I  noticed  a  woman  being  carried  out 
of  the  line  of  march  by  "  Pompiers  "  (the  local 
fire  brigade)  deputed  to  attend  to  such  weak- 
lings, incapacitated  through  faintness  from 
carrying  out  their  self-allotted  task. 


DANCED   AND   JU.MIED   OVER    ECHTERNACH  S    COBBLE    STONES. 

From  a  Photo. 


THE    lUMl^INCi    PROCESSION    AT    ECHTERNACH. 


169 


■  THK    ur.vol' 1"  JUMHEUS    AI 


;ED  VNUtR   rilEIK  U.M  bRELL.AS. 


I  10 Hi  a.  I  '/tot a. 

Almost  invariably  the  famous  procession  takes 
place  in  fierce  sunshine  ;  but  there  are  excep- 
tions, as  witness  the  accompanying  photograph. 
Here  we  see  the  devout  jumpers  all  sheltered 
under  their  umbrellas,  for  Whit-Tuesday  has 
come  on  a  hopelessly  wet  day. 

After  a  rest  in  the  Market  Place  the  word  was 
given  all  along  the  line  to  start  off  again.  So, 
with  banners  flying,  choristers  chanting  mono- 
tonously, bands  all  playing  the  same  spirited  air, 
and  in  the  far  distance  the  sound  of  voices 
counting  their  beads  in  a  sort  of  dull  drone,  the 
huge  concourse  resembling,  in  its  constantly 
advancing  and  receding  movements,  the  waves 
of  the  sea,  surged  on  again.  We,  too,  hurried 
on  alongside  the  crowd,  so  as  to  get  into  the 
church  before  they  all  poured  in. 

The  parish  church  is  dedicated  to  SS.  Peter 
and  Paul,  and  dates  from  the  eleventh  century. 
It  has  been  so  frequently  restored,  that  it  differs 
almost  completely  from  its  original  form.  At  the 
foot  of  the  flight  of  old  stone  steps  which  leads 
up  into  the  sacred  edifice  the  music  stopped 
playing,  the  procession  ceased  dancing,  and  the 
pilgrims  climbed  wearily  up  to  the  principal  door. 

They  were  no  sooner  inside,  however,  than 
the  town  band  struck  up  once  more,  and  then, 
followed  by  the  again  dancing  and  leaping  multi- 

Vol.  ui.-22. 


tude,  the  musicians  led  the  way  round  one  side 
of  the  church,  behind  the  altar,  where,  protected 
by  an  iron  railing,  lies  the  tomb  of  St.  Willi- 
brord.  The  procession  then  passed  down  the 
other  side  and  so  out  by  another  door  into  what 
was  in  bygone  days  the  Ood's  acre  of  Echternach 
—transformed  in  these  modern  days  into  a  quiet 
grassy  spot,  planted  with  shady  trees.  Here  the 
final  step  was  danced,  the  final  leap  made,  the 
Archbishop's  final  blessing  given,  and  the 
pilgrimage  was  at  an  end. 

As  we  stood  just  inside  the  church,  watching 
the  wonderful  scene,  I  saw  the  children  I  had 
observed  in  the  street,  carried  by  their  elders, 
put  down  on  their  feet,  and  then,  su[)ported  on 
each  side,  they  were  made  to  keep  time  to  the 
music  and  go  through  the  dancing  and  leaping 
movements  as  well  as  they  could,  all  round  the 
church.  It  made  one"s  heart  ache  to  see  such  a 
pitiful  thing. 

\\'ithin  the  church's  walls  the  chief  virtue  of 
the  pilgrimage  is  supposed  to  lie,  and  the  weary 
but  indefatigable  pilgrim,  whilst  dancing  and 
leaping,  calls  aloud  on  the  blessed  W'illibrord  to 
renew  his  faith  and  to  cure  him  of  his  ills,  or 
those  of  the  person  for  whom  he  has  perhaps 


.^iiuma 


THK   P.\R1SH    CHURCH    WHICH    IS   THE   GOAL   OF   THE    PROCESSION. 

From  a  Photo. 


lyo 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


INTERIOR"-  !i     ..i^rl.        "N^K    lN>ILiK,    llil:.    l^AllillLL 

CONTINUE   l.EAllNG    AND   JUMPING   TO   THE    MUSIC. 

From  a  Photo. 

travelled  many  miles  on  foot  as  proxy.  The 
men's  deep  and  the  women's  shrill  voices 
shrieking :  "  Heilige  Willibrord,  bitt'  fiir 
uns  ! "  or  "  Saint  Willibrord,  priez  pour 
nous  ! "  created  a  perfect  pandemonium 
of  sound,  which  nearly  deafened  us  all. 

As  the  last  pilgrims  danced  out  of  the 
church  we  walked  up  behind  the  altar  to 
have  a  peep  at  the  good  bishop's  tomb. 
We  found  his  recumbent  stone  effigy,  repre- 
senting him  with  his  hands  piously  folded, 
and,  to  our  astonishment,  inside  the  railing, 
in  front  of  the  tomb,  on  the  tessellated 
pavement  lay  piles  of  coins,  from  the  golden 
napoleon  to  the  modest  centime.  We  learnt 
afterwards  that  these  were  the  pilgrims'  offer- 
ings to  the  Church  in  return  for  the  benefits 
they  had  received,  or  trusted  they  might  be 
about  to  receive,  as  the  result  of  their  visit 
to  this  Christian  Mecca.  Not  far  from  the 
tomb  stood  a  small  side  altar,  dedicated  to 
Saint  Barbara,  and  near  it  hung  a  picture 
(which  is  represented  in  our  next  photo.) 
painted  in  1605  by  the  famous  Belgian 
painter,  Antoine  Stevens,  of  Malines,  by 
order  of  Abbot  Jean  Bertels.  It  depicts 
the  Saint  calling  down  Heaven's  benedic- 
tion    on     the     dancing    pilgrims.      And 


now  that  I  have  described  every  detail  of  the 
"  Spring  Procession "  of  Echternach  to  the 
readers  of  The  Wide  World  ^Magazine,  I  will 
explain  its  origin. 

It  is  an  institution  handed  down  to  devout 
believers  in  its  efficacy  for  the  cure  of  epilepsy 
and  kindred  complaints,  and  for  the  curing  of 
various  diseases  amongst  cattle,  by  one  of  our 
own  compatriots  I  He  was  named  Willibrord, 
and  was  a  holy  Northumbrian  missionary,  who 
introduced  Christianity  into  the  picturesque 
little  Duchy  in  the  year  698. 

So  great  was  the  good  man's  virtue,  that  he 
possessed  the  p(jwer  of  working  miraculous 
cures,  and  tradition  hands  down  memories  of 
many  wonders  he  worked  among  those  who 
were  victims  to  epilepsy  and  similar  diseases. 
We  were  told  that  the  great  Napoleon  tried  to 
put  a  stop  to  the  procession — that  he  was  in 
Echternach  one  Whit-Tuesday,  whilst  it  was 
taking  place,  and  commanded  his  troops  to  fire 
on  "  ces  fous,"  as  he  termed  them.  But  the 
pilgrims  took  no  heed  of  either  the  Emperor  or 
his  '^oldier^.  and  danred  on  as  usual. 


THE   SAINT   CALLING    DOWN     HEAVEN  S    BENEDICTION    O.N'    THE    DANCING 

PILGRIMS. 

From  a  Painting  by  Antoine  Stevens,  oj  Malines  (/Ooj). 


Short   Stones. 


I. — Overcome   by  Mosquitoes. 

Bv  \\.  M.   Elkington. 

How  the  obstinacy  of  a  French  Canadian  pioneer  nearly  cost  him  his  life  in  the  dreaded 

mosquito  swamp. 


OR  such  a  small  creature  the  mos- 
quito has  earned  its  fair  share  of 
importance  in  the  world.  Travellers 
unanimously  vote  it  the  "peskiest 
little  wretch  in  Christendom  —  or 
savagedom  "  ;  and  even  natives  of  the  countries 
it  affects  generally  condemn  it  as  the  one  curse 
of  their  existence. 
Though  it  is  a  fact 
that  the  mosquito 
usually  hunts  in 
hundreds  and  thou- 
sands, it  by  no 
means  goes  to 
prove  that  a  single 
specimen  lacks  con- 
centrative  power  : 
f o  r  anyone  w  h  o 
has  passed  a  night 
beneath  a  net  into 
which  a  mosquito 
has  made  its  way 
will  bear  me  out 
when  I  say  that  its 
presence  is  as  ob- 
jectionable as  that 
of  a  mob  of  howl- 
ing Indians,  and  its 
attacks  only  a  trifle 
less  severe.  In 
turn  the  mosquito 
has  figured  as  a 
nuisance  and  a 
thing  capable  of 
driving  one  to  mad- 
ness ;  but  on  one 
remarkable  occa- 
sion he  only  nar- 
rowly escaped 
becoming  a  mur- 
derer. 

Travellers  who 
have  crossed  the 
continent  by  the 
magnificent  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway  will  probably  have  noticed 
the  large  Sunbeam  Farm  promoted  by  Lord 
Brassey  and  other  English  gentlemen,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  line  at  Indian  Head  Station, 
in  the  district  of  Assiniboia.      Nowadays,   the 


one  of  the  largest  and  the  best  culti- 


evenmg, 


the 


sittmg 


LOUIS   TOLD    HIS   TERRIliLE   EXI'F.RIENCK. 


farm  is 

vated  in  the  country,  but  six  years  ago  it  was 
only  newly  laid  out,  and  I  was  among  the  first 
who  turned  a  furrow  of  the  ground.  In  the 
little  frame  shanty  on  the  hill  we  took  our 
three  meals  a  day  of  bacon  and  beans,  and  in 
the  same  place  we  laid  our  bunks  round  the 

walls  and  passed 
our  nights  in  whole- 
some jleep.  But 
it  was  one  beau- 
tiful s  u  m  m  e  r 
when  all 
teamsters  were 
round  the 
••smudge"  or 
smoke  -  fire  with 
their  short  pipes, 
and  setting  at  de- 
fiance the  hordes 
of  mosquitoes  that 
buzzed  overhead, 
that  Louis  told  the 
following  terrible 
experience.  Louis 
was  a  half  -  bred 
French  Canadian, 
and  the  biggest 
fellow  in  the  camp  ; 
he  had  arms  of 
iron  strength,  and 
was  as  fit  to  go  in 
a  plough  and  break 
l)rairie  land  as  many 
of  the  poor  horstrs 
thus  employed, 
which  probably 
accounts  for  his 
having  survived.  I 
am  not  aware  that 
he  had  any  other 
name  ;  at  any  rate, 
he  did  not  use  it, 
for  as  Louis  he 
came,  and  as 
Louis  he  remains  in  my  memory. 

We  were  talking  about  mosquitoes,  though  in 
no  very  complimentary  terms,  and  the  boys  were 
vainly  endeavouring  to  make  another  English- 
man and  myself  believe  that  the  pernicious  pests 


ffi 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


preferred  British  blood  to  any  other.  My 
fellow-countryman  retorted  that  the  reason  of 
the  Canadian's  boasted  immunity  from  attack 
lay  in  the  abominable  quality  of  his  tobacco ; 
and  then  Louis  began  to  tell  us  how  he  came  so 
nearly  being  eaten  alive  in  one  of  the  swamps 
of  Eastern  Canada. 

Louis  was  residing  at  the  time  in  a  small 
village  not  many  miles  from  the  town  of  Parry 
Sound,  Ontario,  and  one  of  his  pleasures  on 
Sundays  was  to  walk  to  another  village  situated 
at  a  distance  of  two  miles  east  of  his  own.  On 
this  particular  Sunday,  during  the  month  of 
June,  he  had  delayed  his  return  until  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  night  was  delight- 
fully calm  and  warm,  and  out  in  the  bush 
beyond  the  village  could  be  heard  the  croaking 
of  bull-frogs  and  the  buzzing  of  insects ;  while 
from  among  the  pretty  little  farmsteads  came 
the  constant  jingling  of  bells,  as  the  poor,  tortured 
cattle  pushed  and  fought  their  way  into  the 
smoke  to  escape  their  winged  tormentors.  The 
sun  had  just  gone  down  behind  the  fringe  of 
pine  trees  to  the  west,  and  Nature  seemed  to 
have  gone  to  rest,  while  the  insect  creation 
took  possession  of  the  earth. 

Louis  had  evidently  some  strong  attraction  in 
the  village  he  visited,  though  I  am  not  able  to 
state  exactly  what  it  was.  At  all  events,  if  that 
had  not  been  the  case  he  would  never  have 
postponed  his  walk  until  so  late,  for  he  knew 
very  well  the  perils  of  the  pine  swamp  on 
such  a  night.  This  swamp,  through  which  the 
road  ran  for  nearly  half  a  mile,  was  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  tamarak  trees  ;  and 
people  were  wont  to  say  that  every  mosquito  in 
Ontario  could  trace  its  origin  to  that  place.  The 
swamp,  as  it  was  called,  was  not  so  much  a 
marshy  plot  of  ground,  but  it  lay  low,  and  being 
damp  in  the  evening  it  was  a  perfect  paradise 
for  myriads  of  insects.  At  eight  o'clock,  or 
some  few  minutes  after,  Louis  prepared  to  take 
his  departure.  In  vain  his  friends,  knowing 
the  condition  of  the  swamp  through  which 
he  had  to  pass,  begged  him  to  wear  a 
net  over  his  face.  No ;  Louis  would  have 
none  of  it.  Men  do  not  wear  such  things  in 
Canada,  for  dignity  comes  a  long  way  before 
personal  comfort.  Louis  said  his  good-byes, 
lit  his  pipe,  and  then  started  down  the  village 
street.  At  the  last  house  the  farmer  was 
standing  at  the  door. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ? "  he  cried,  as  the 
other  passed. 

"  Home,"  said  Louis,  walking  on  quickly. 

"  Not  through  the  swamp  !  "  the  other  cried 
after  him.     "Here,  come  back." 

Louis  stopped  impatiently  and  turned  on  his 
heel. 


"  Well,  and  I  guess  I've  been  through  before, 
and  I  know  the  way,"  he  said. 

"You'll  never  get  through  that  swamp 
to-night,  boy,"  exclaimed  the  farmer,  earnestly. 
"  Hark !  can't  you  hear  them  now  ?  It's  as 
much  as  a  man's  life's  worth  to  try  and  rescue 
a  cow  out  of  it !  " 

Louis  stood  still  and  listened.  From  far 
away  among  the  pines  came  a  subdued  buzzing, 
that  rose  and  fell  on  the  gentle  breeze,  and  gave 
a  terrible  warning  to  the  foolhardy  fellow. 

"  'Skities  I  "  he  exclaimed,  contemptuously. 
"  Let  'em.  There  ain't  enough  'skities  in 
Ontario  to  stop  me  to-night  I " 

And  away  he  went,  puffing  the  smoke  from 
his  pipe,  while  the  farmer  stood  staring  after 
him,  amazed  at  his  indifference  and  uncertain 
what  to  do. 

Less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  house 
the  road  entered  the  bush,  and  here  the 
mosquitoes,  which  had  hitherto  been  just  suffi- 
ciently busy  to  make  their  presence  felt,  seemed 
to  rise  up  from  the  grass  on  all  sides  and 
hover  buzzing  round  the  obstinate  man. 
Louis  puffed  away  at  his  pipe,  and  waved 
his  arms  and  slapped  and  rubbed  with  the 
vigour  of  a  giant,  but  still  the  persistent  crea- 
tures seemed  to  get  the  better  of  the  fight.  As 
he  swept  his  hand  across  his  face  and  rubbed 
away  a  cloud  of  mangled  bodies,  another  horde 
would  come  buzzing  viciously  to  take  their 
place,  until  his  hands  and  face  were  literally 
streaming  all  over  with  blood.  Then  another 
misfortune  occurred.  The  pipe,  which  had 
been  used  so  perse veringly,  at  last  gave  out,  and 
the  flying  masses  that  had  hitherto  been  kept  at 
bay  by  the  smoke  swooped  nearer  and  nearer, 
and  buzzed  before  and  around  the  bewildered 
man  until  he  could  scarcely  see  his  way. 
Then,  as  the  grass  all  round  seemed  con- 
tinually to  give  its  contribution  to  the  already 
countless  millions,  Louis  began  to  run, 
and  for  the  moment  he  seemed  to  distance 
his  overwhelming  pursuers.  But  it  was  only 
temporary  relief.  The  man  had  scarcely  time  to 
see  that  he  was  still  several  hundred  yards  from 
the  edge  of  the  swamp  before  the  clouds  over- 
took him,  and  enveloped  him  until  all  was  dark 
and  blurred,  and  the  buzzing  of  the  hosts  and 
myriads  sounded  in  his  ears  like  the  hopeless 
groans  of  the  dying.  The  poor,  fellow 
gasped  and  spat,  and  as  he  opened  his  mouth 
the  creatures  swarmed  into  the  cavity ;  while 
his  ears,  eyes,  and  nostrils  became  full  of  the 
deadly  pests.  He  waved  his  arms  as  a  last 
frantic  effort,  while  the  blood  streamed  from 
them.  He  tried  to  cry  out,  and  choked  as  the 
creatures  got -down  his  throat.  Then,  in  a  state 
of  suffocation,  he  threw  himself,  maddened  and 


SHORT    StORIES. 


173 


"  HE    WAVED    HIS   ARMS   AS   A    LAS  r    FRANTIC   EFFORT. 


almost  asphyxiated,  on  the  ground,  and  rolled 
and  fought  until  at  last  his  strength  was 
exhausted  and  he  lay  quite  still,  while  the  dense, 
black  crowd  buzzed  over  him  in  triumph. 

The  farmer  at  the  end  of  the  village  was 
considerably  nonplussed  by  the  man's  hardihood 
in  venturing  through  the  swamp  at  such  a  time. 
He  himself  remembered  several  occasions  on 
which  he  had  attempted  the  feat  on  much  more 
favourable  nights  than  this,  and  he  could  not 
imagine  anyone  else  being  successful  where  he 
had  failed.  Therefore,  after  thinking  the  matter 
over  for  some  minutes,  he  suddenly  conceived  a 
resolve,  and  started  up  the  village  to  question 
Louis's  friends  on  the  point.  Strange  to  say, 
since  the  unfortunate  fellow's  departure, 
they  too  had  grown  uneasy,  and  it  needed 
only  a  few  remarks  from  the  farmer  to  paint 
the  horrors  of  the  swamp  to  raise  their 
anxiety  to  a  high  pitch.  They  immediately 
planned  a  relief  expedition,  and  armed  with 
nets  and  plenty  of  matches  and  wood  for  light- 
ing a  "  smudge,"  they  set  out  for  the  bush. 
Louis  was  a  fast  walker,  and  they  realized  that 
unless  he  had  succeeded  in  getting  through  (and 
that  was  very  unlikely),  he  must  be  in  sorry 
straits  by  this  time.  So  they  quickened  their 
pace  and  broke  into  a  run,  which  soon  brought 
them  to  the  swamp.  Clouds  of  mosquitoes  kept 
pace  with  them  and  harmlessly  buzzed  outside 
the  nets ;  and  at  last,  when  they  were  beginning 
to  think  the  man  had  passed  through  after  all, 
or  had  wandered  from  the  road,  they  espied  an 


immense  cloud  of  insects,  and  benrath  it  the 
body  of  a  man,  lying  perfectly  sti'il,  and  appar- 
ently dead. 

Li  an  instant  a  "  smudge  "  was  lighted,  and 
as  the  dense  smoke  began  to  pour  upwards  the 
body  was  dragged  to  the  refuge  and  examined. 
The  heart  was  still  beating,  though  f;iintly,  and 
restoratives  were  applied  quickly  and  wisely  by 
the  village  doctor,  who  was  one  of  the  party. 
The  nostrils,  mouth,  and  ears  were  cleared  of 
their  horrible  clogged  masses,  and  at  last,  after 
some  hours,  the  unfortunate  man  regained 
consciousness. 

But  the  horrors  of  that  night  were  not  to  be 
dissipated  at  once.  Lor  weeks  Louis  lay  on  a 
bed  of  sickness,  contracted  from  loss  of  blood 
and  exhaustion,  while  the  terrible  swelling  of 
face  and  hands  caused  by  the  bites  made  his 
appearance  hideous.  He  says  that  until  he  lost 
consciousness  his  fight  with  the  mosquitoes  was 
frightful  in  the  extrenie.  The  excruciating  pain 
was  intensified  by  a  sensation  something  akin  to 
that  of  drowning  or  choking. 

After  this  experience  Louis  was  the  only  man 
in  the  Sunbeam  Camp  who  could  sit  in  a  dense 
smoke  without  gasping.  He  told  us  that  the 
bite  of  a  single  mosquito  sent  a  cold  shiver 
through  his  frame;  and  after  such  an  ordeal 
it  is  little  wonder  that  he  never  attempted  to 
pass  through  that  swamp  again  under  similar 
circumstances.  He  even  agrees  with  the  farmer 
that  no  man  could  ever  come  alive  tlirough 
such  an  ordeal. 


174 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


II. — In    a    Madman's    Embrace. 

Bv  H.   Kemble. 

An    old  West    Indian    planter  relates    his    most    thrilling  experience,  and  provides  actual  photographs 
to  illustrate  the  narrative.     The  alarm,  the  headlong  pursuit   down  the   line   on    a  truck,  the  discovery 

of  the  madman,   and  the  deadly  struggle. 

hill,  with  the  outer  rail,  in  many  places,  not  a 
foot  from  the  side,  where  there  was  a  sheer  clroj) 
of  6oft.  It  crossed  another  river,  whicli  emptied 
itself  into  the  first,  by  a  trestle  bridge,  and 
spanned  several  gullies  by  small  bridges  with 
unprotected  sides.  The  remains  of  trucks  which 
had  jumped  the  rails  at  these  places  were  usually 
found  somewhere  about  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

Trucks  ran  backwards  and  forwards  on  this 
line,  bringing  down  sugar-cane,  fruit,  lumber, 
etc.,  and,  for  the  most  part,  they  went  up 
empty.  They  were  drawn  up  by  mules,  and 
were  fitted  with  powerful  brakes,  as  the  decline 
was  pretty  steep,  and  a  truc;k  set  going  from  the 
top  came  down  the  line  at  a  truly  terrific  rate. 

Soon  after  I  had  established  my  cultivation  of 
a  hundred  acres  of  bananas,  and  had  a  slack 
time  on  my  hands,  the  overseer  met  with  a 
nasty  accident  on  the  line  which,  when  he 
became  convalescent,  necessitated  his  being 
sent  home  for  a  change.  Mr.  Espent  being  at  a 
loss  for  someone  to  take  his  place,  I  volunteered 
my  services  and,  the  better  to  look  after  the  work, 
I  moved  into  the  overseer's  house.  This  house 
was  also  tenanted  by  a  Canadian  sawyer,  whose 
name  I  must  give  here  as  Eaing,  and  his  wife 
and  children,  as  well  as  an  American  who  was  a 
cooper  by  trade,  and  Carter  by  name.  The  two 
men  worked  for  Mr.  Espent,  and  Mrs.  Eaing  did 


Mk.    H.    KK.MULE. 

h'yniu  a  Photo,  hy  Ernest  Ravastro,  Kingston. 

So-MF,  years  ago   I   was   engaged    in    banana 
planting  on  an  estate  in  one  of  the  West  Indian 
Islands — Portland,  Jamaica,  to  be  precise.     The 
owner  of  this  and  other  properties,  a  Mr.  Espent, 
had   just    laid    down    a    tramway    from    Sfjring 
Garden,  the  property  on  which  he  lived  on  the 
sea-shore,  to  Chepstow,  another  estate  lately  put 
under    cultivation    seven 
miles  inland.      It   was   a 
wonderful  piece  of  engi- 
neering   work,    and    few 
men   would    have    under- 
taken   it    in    face   of   the 
difficulties  that  were  to  be 
contended  against. 

The  line  started  from 
a  wharf  on  Spring  Garden 
and  ran  for  about  a  mile 
through  fields  of  sugar- 
cane, when  it  came  to  a 
river,  which  it  followed  for 
the  rest  of  the  distance 
(about  si.x  miles),  some- 
times along  an  embank- 
ment which  had  to  be 
built  up,  and  sometimes 
on  solid  rock,  which  had 
to  be  cut  down  some 
90ft.  At  other  times  the 
line  ran  on  an  earthy  bed 
cut  out  of  the  side  of  the 


^1 

r 

\ 

A' 

'Is 

-1^, 

--^jJiM 

\^;--x^;:^c-.yite.. 

- 

P^,. 

^ 

^^m 

r  ■  • 

Pvikfcw.-,^ 

W- 

g^v 

^ 

i^^P^^ 

\v 

;.:<*r^^- 

/■'roi'i  a] 


A    CUTTING    THROUGH    THE    KOCK. 


{Photo. 


SHORT    STORIES. 


175 


the  housekeeping  for  us.  This  house  was  the 
only  one  on  the  property,  with  the  exception 
of  the  negro  huts  and  the  indentured  coolie 
barracks,  and  the  saw-mills  were  quite  near  to 
the  house. 

We  all  had  plenty  of  hard  work,  mine  being 
nearly  all  on  horseback,  and  we  were  always 
ready  to  turn  in  early.  I,  however,  found  time 
every  morning  for  a  swim  in  a  deep  pool  in 
the  river,  which  considerably  improved  my 
swimming  and  diving  powers.  This  was  ex- 
tremely lucky  for  me,  as  it  proved  later  on. 

Laing  was  a  queer-tempered  man,  and  very 
difficult  to  understand.  He  could  not  get  on 
with  the  negroes  at  all — he  simply  hated  them  ; 
and  I  often  feared  he  would  fall  foul  of  some  of 
them,  in  which  case  there  would  not  have  been 
much  chance  for  the  nigger,  as  Laing  was  an 
immensely  powerful  man. 

One  evening  during  my  usual  talk  with  him 
he  suddenly  said  he  must  go  down  to  the  saw- 
mills for  something.  He  went  out  of  the  room 
in  his  shirt -sleeves  and  stockinged  feet— his 
usual  dress  in  the  evenings.  I  then  turned  in, 
and  was  asleep  in  a  couple  of  minutes. 

I  was  suddenly  awakened  by  a  loud  knocking 
at  my  door,  and  a  voice,  which  I  distinguished 
as  Mrs.  Laing's,  calling  me.  Slipping  on  some 
flannels  I  went  out,  and  noticed  by  the  light  of 
the  candle  she  held  that  she  looked  terribly 
frightened.  "Oh,  'Sir.  Kenible,"'  she  said,  "my 
husband  has  not  come  in,  and  he  isn't  at  the 
saw-mills,  for  I  have  been  to  look." 


"Well,  111  go 
and  have  a  look," 
I  said  ;  "  I  expect 
lie  has  gone  to 
see  one  of  the 
men  about  some 
work  to  be  done 
to-morrow." 

I  went  to  the 
negro  houses  and 
the  coolie  bar- 
racks, but  he  had 
not  been  there. 
Carter  then  joined 
me,  and  together 
we  searched  in 
every  place  where 
he  could  possibly 
have  been,  but 
without  success. 

Returning  to 
the      house      we 
were      met      by 
Mrs.    Laing,  who 
1         I  .  ,.''^:.'ii>.        looked      very 

white,  and  was 
clutching  a  piece  of  paper  in  her  hand.  She 
handed  it  to  me,  and  I  read  : — 

"  Deare.st  Wife, — I  cannot  stand  this  life  any 
longer.  By  the  time  you  get  this  I  shall  be  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea.  God  bless  you  and  the 
children,  and  forgive  me. — ^Edwaru." 

"  Where  did  you  find  this  ? "  I  asked,  in 
astonishment. 

"On  my  dressing-table,  partly  under  the 
looking-glass,"  she  replied,  bursting  into  tears. 

"  Bear  up,  Mrs.  Laing,"  I  said,  reassuringly  ; 
"  we  will  overtake  him  ;  meanwhile,  you  get  in- 
doors, and  we  will  soon  bring  him  back.  Come 
on.  Carter,  help  me  to  get  a  truck." 

The  only  way  to  the  sea,  except  by  going 
miles  round,  was  by  the  tram-line,  so  that  I  had 
every  hope  of  being  in  time  by  using  a  truck, 
which  I  knew  he  liad  not  done.  \Ve  had  to 
take  a  small  iron  trolly,  with  no  brake,  as  the 
large  trucks  were  switched  off  some  distance 
from  the  house,  and  were  all  loaded  up  ready 
for  going  down  in  the  morning.  Creasing  the 
wheels  well,  we  shoved  off  into  the  darkness. 

Never  shall  I  forget  that  headlong  ride. 
Down  we  rushed  through  pitch  darkness,  with 
the  river  roaring  below  on  the  cruel  rocks  which 
we  could  imagine,  although  we  could  not  see. 
No  brake  had  we  to  stop  the  truck  with  should 
anything  come  in  our  way,  such  as  a  stone,  or  a 
stray  animal,  or  one  of  the  many  obstacles 
which  we  knew  often  slipped  down  on  to  the 
line.  Indeed,  we  could  not  have  seen  it  if  any- 
thing had  been  there.      Eancying  every  second 


176 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


J- rem  a\ 


•IHli   bAW-.\llLL&.  —  IHE    MAN    ON    THE   RIGHT   WITH    THE    LONG   BEARU    IS    THE    MADMAN. 


[r/.oio. 


we  were  into  something,  our  hearts  were  in  our 
mouths  when,  every  now  and  then,  the  wheels 
of  the  truck  struck  a  stone  and  the  whole  crazy 
flying  conveyance  jumped — luckily  back  on  to 
the  rails  again.  It  was  a  terrible  ride,  indeed, 
but  fortunately  did  not  last  long.  We  were 
down  in  fifteen  minutes,  though  it  had  seemed 
an  hour.  The  last  mile  being  on  the  level, 
we  had  slowed  down  considerably  by  the  time 
we  reached  the  overseer's  house  at  Spring 
Garden,  where  we  managed  to  jump  off  safely. 
The  overseer  was  staying  at  the  time  in  what 
we  called  the  "Great  House,"  where  Mr.  Espent 
himself  lived,  but  the  latter  was  away  in  the 
hills  with  his  family.  On  making  inquiries  at 
the  overseer's  house  I  found  that  Laing  /lad 
been  there  some  minutes  before— halless,  coat- 
less,  and  bootless,  but  he  seemed  quite  natural 
in  his  manner.  He  had  asked  for  paper  and 
written  a  letter  to  Mr.  Garnett,  the  overseer,  to 
be  given  him  in  the  morning,  and  had  then 
gone  out  again.  Seizing  the  letter,  I  rushed  up 
to  the  Great  House  and  found  Mr.  Garnett 
on  the  steps.  He  had  heard  the  noise  made 
by  our  truck  coming  down,  and  had  come  out  to 
see  what  was  the  matter.  Opening  the  letter,  he 
read:  "Dear  Garnett, — I  have  made  up  my 
mind  to  drown  myself      I  shall  have  done  it 


before  you  get  this.  Will  you  see  after  the  wife 
and  children,  and  do  all  that  is  necessary  to  get 
them  back  home  ? — Laing." 

Garnett,  Carter,  and  I,  with  some  coolies  to 
help  us,  were  soon  at  work  searching  along  the 
sea-shore.  Carter  and  I  went  to  the  left  and 
followed  the  shore  as  far  as  we  could  get ;  then 
we  joined  Garnett  and  the  coolies,  who  had 
worked  towards  the  mouth  of  the  river  on  the 
right. 

When  we  reached  the  river  we  stopped  to 
hold  a  consultation  on  the  bank,  which  was  here 
steep,  with  a  deep  pool  below.  I  thought  I 
heard  a  noise  in  some  bushes  near,  and  stooped 
down  to  peer  into  them.  Suddenly  a  dark  form 
started  up  before  me.  Without  a  word  the 
mysterious  and  startling  figure  seized  me  round 
the  body  in  a  grip  of  iron.  Then  a  jump  and 
a  splash,  and  we  were  both  in  the  river. 

I  realized  in  a  minute  that  I  w'as  in  the 
hands  of  a  madman,  who  meant  to  drown  me. 
For  the  fust  second  I  struggled.  Then  I  re- 
mained calm,  thinking  that  I  should  require  all 
my  breath.  I  began  wondering  who  would  hold 
out  longest,  and,  if  he  lost  consciousness  first, 
would  he  let  go  his  grip  ?  I  knew  he  did  not 
swim  ;  I,  on  the  other  hand,  was  an  adept  at 
the  art.     This  gave  me  reason  to  hope  that  I 


SHORT    STORIES. 


177 


should  be  able  to  hold  out  longer  than  he. 
But  I  was  only  too  well  aware  that  one  cannot 
take  measures  against  all  that  a  madman  is 
capable  of.  I  was  so  far  entirely  in  his  power. 
He  held  me  very  tight,  and  for  some  minutes 
we  rolled  o\er  and  over  in  ^his  fashion  in  the 
water.  Once  we  touched  bottom,  and  1 
struggled  to  keep  my  presence  of  mind  and  to 
resist  the  sickening  feeling  of  being  lost.  The 
madman's  grip  did  not  relax,  and  we  rose 
together  again.  I  felt  lighter  in  heart  and 
began  to  hope.  Would  he  get  tired  and  let  me 
go  ?  Over  and  over  we  rolled  again  ;  then  we 
brushed  against  a  rock  with  a  dull  thud  and  a 
thrill  of  pain.  Next  moment  all  became  dark. 
I  had  lost  consciousness. 

^Vhen  I  came  to  myself,  I  was  lying  on  the 
bank,  with  Garneit  and  Carter  hanging  over  me. 
Laing  himself  was  lying  next  to  me. 

"  How  do  you  feel  ?  "  asked  Garnett. 

"Oh,  I  dunno,"  I  m.urmured. 

A  minute  later,  up  drove  the  doctor  with  the 
coolie  who  had  been  sent  for  him.  After  a 
brief  examination  of  me  he  gave  me  a  sip  of 
brandy  and  said  I  would  do  all  right.  Then 
he  turned  his  attention  to  Laing.  Having  ex- 
amined him,  he  said  to  Garnett,  "You  had  better 
take  Kemble  to  your  house  in  my  trap  and  get 
him  to  bed,  and  by  the  time  you  return  I  think 
I  shall  have  Laing  brought  round."  I  was 
accordingly  helped  into  the  buggy  and  driven 
off.  On  arriving  at  the  house  I  was  put  to  bed, 
and  was  asleep  in  no  time. 

Next  morning  I  was  not  much  the  worse 
for   my   nocturnal   struggle    with   my  would-be 


murderer.  Laing,  however,  was  very  ill  with 
brain  fever.  He  was  unconscious  for  three 
weeks,  and  had  to  be  carefully  watched  and 
attended  to  all  tlic  time.  However,  careful 
nursing  by  his  wife  and  the  skilful  treatment  of 
the  doctor  brought  him  round  again. 

It  was  decided  that  the  sawyer  had  better 
return  to  his  home  in  Canada,  and  just  before 
he  and  his  family  started  he  alluded  to  that 
dreadful  night. 

He  said  he  hardly  remembered  going  down 
to  Spring  Garden,  although  it  must  have  been  a 
very  painful  walk  in  his  bootless  state  ;  but  he 
remembered  wading  into  the  sea  up  to  his  waist, 
when  he  heard  his  children  calling  him  distinctly. 
He  turned  back  and  was  wandering  along  the 
bank,  when  he  heard  voices,  and  then  a  forn> 
peered  into  the  bush  behind  which  he  was 
crouching.  Thinking  it  was  a  nigger,  in  the 
darkness,  a  sudden  frenzy  seized  him,  and  he 
clasped  his  supposed  assailant  round  the  body 
and  jumped  into  the  river,  hoping  to  drown  the 
detested  darkie  and  himself  too.  He  remem- 
bered no  more. 

I  learnt  that  Garnett  and  Carter  had  run  down 
below  the  pool  where  it  got  shallow,  and  had 
caught  us  as  we  were  brought  down  by  the  stream. 

Li  comparing  notes  afterwards,  Mrs.  Laing 
said  the  children  had  awakened  and  called  out 
for  their  father  just  about  the  time  that  Laing 
had  fancied  he  heard  them. 

What  I  could  never  make  out  was  why  Laing 
chose  the  sea,  when  he  could  have  ended  his 
existence  at  dozens  of  places  he  passed  on  his 
way  down  the  tram-line. 


lll.^My  Short   Cut    Up   the   Cliffs. 

By  B.  de  S.\les  La  Terriere,  C.vpt.mx  late  iSth  Hussars. 

A    sprightly   and    amusing   narrative  of  the    serio-comic    dilemma    in    which    Captain  La    Terriere 
found  himself.     Landing  at  the  cliff  foot  to  escape  mal-de-mer,  he  found  he  could  get  neither  up 

nor  down.     His  frantic  efforts  and  exciting  rescue. 


The  spring  of  the  Jubilee  Year,  1887,  found 
me  quartered  at  that  delightfully  clean  and 
sweet-smelling  "  port  of  pigs,"  the  gay  city  of 
Waterford. 

I  was  in  command  of  a  squadron  of  my 
regiment.  Her  Majesty's  i8th  Hussars,  and 
after  a  particularly  sleety,  sloppy  winter,  in 
which  nothing  much  in  the  way  of  soldiering 
could  be  done  (except  keeping  the  old  troop 
horses  in  exercise),  the  time  came  for  the  usual 
annual  course  of  musketry  to  be  got  through. 

I'm  afraid  we — the  fraternity  of  "  the  jaunty 
cap  and  the  jingling  spur" — only  looked  upon 
the    musketry    course    as    a    thing    to  be    "  got 

Vol  iii— 23. 


through,"  and  that  as  quickly  as  possible,  as  the 
present  and  most  proper  interest  in  that  branch 
of  a  cavalryman's  duties  was  then  scarcely  felt. 

However,  this  particular  course  was  destined 
to  impress  itself  pretty  considerably  upon  my 
memory  before  I'd  done  with  it.  There  were 
no  rifle  ranges  at  Waterford,  and  the  custom 
was  for  one  of  the  two  troops  quartered  there  to 
be  sent  temporarily  to  Duncannon  Fort,  some 
ten  or  twelve  miles  down  the  river  on  the 
Wexford  side,  there  to  complete  its  course  of 
firing,  and  then  to  be  succeeded  by  the  other 
troop  for  the  same  purpose. 

I  myself,  as  commanding  the  detachment  at 


178 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    .MACIAZIXE. 


Waterford,  had  a  certain  amount  of  business 
and  routine  work  at  \V'^aterford,  while  at  the 
same  time  I  had  to  superintend  the  firing  at 
Duncannon.  Or,  in  other  words,  I  had  to  per- 
form the  trick  of  that  good  old  bird  of  Sir  Boyle 
Roche's,  and  be  in  two  places  at  once. 

Quite  easy  when  you  try  !  I  did  it  in  this 
way.  I  used  to  ride  down  in  the  morning  to  a 
village  on  the  Waterford  side  of  the  river,  a  mile 
or  two  above  Duncannon,  where,  by  arrangement 
with  the  most  obliging  of  Coastguard  officers,  a 
boat,  manned  by  three  bluejackets,  met  me,  and 
took  me  down  the  river  and  across  to  the  little 
jetty  of  the  fort.  When  the  firing  was  finished, 
there  was  nothing  to  keep  me  at  Duncannon, 
and  so  I  returned  the  same  way  I  had  come, 
and  finished  my  day's  work  at  Waterford. 

Now,  the  estuary  at  Passage,  as  the  village  on 
the  Waterford  side  is  called,  was  about  two 
miles  wide,  and  capable  of  holding  a  tidy  "sea  ' 
on  occasions  ;  but,  luckily  for  me  and  my 
journeys  to  and  fro,  the  weather  up  till  now  had 
been  very  calm. 

One  morning,  however,  on  arrival,  I  found  a 
dead  head-wind  blowing  up  the  river,  and  a 
five-knot  tide  doing  all  it  knew  to  help  out  the 
wind.  I  happened  to  be  very  late  that  morning, 
having  been  kept  at  Waterford  over  some 
business  or  other,  and  didn't  at  all  reli.sh  being 
further  delayed  by  the  long  beat  which  we 
should  have  to  make  against  wind  and  tide  to 
reach  the  fort. 

I  should  say  that  while  the  shore  on  the 
^\'^aterford  side  slopes  down  to  the 
estuary,  that  on  the  Wexford  side 
rises  sheer  from  the  water  in  dull  red 
cliffs  20oft.  or  300ft.  high,  with  here 
and  there  falls  of  shale  and  earth 
reaching  in  rugged  steps  to  the  top. 
\\'e  had  madu  about  two  beats  across 
the  river,  and  made  very  little  pro- 
gress ;  the  time  for  my  musketry 
parade  was  already  past,  and  (tell  it 
not  I)  the  "  popple  "  of  the  .sea  was 
beginning  to  make  me  feel  it  was 
quite  time  I  was  landed  somewhere. 

As  we  neared  the  shore  I  had  a 
good  look  at  it,  and  it  seemed  to  me 
that  in  places  where  the  rubbish  and 
shale  reached  from  the  top  of  the 
cliffs  to  the  bottom,  in  more  or  less 
of  a  slope,  steep  though  it  might  be, 
there  oughtn't  to  be  anything  to 
prevent  a  man  of  ordinary  activity 
from  climbing  up  to  the  top. 

Anyhow,  1  determined  to  have  a 
try.  I  soon  spied  a  place  that  seemed 
just  the  spot  I  wanted,  where  the 
shale,    lookiiii:;  up   at   it,    seemed   to 


reach  right  to  the  top  ;  and  beyond  a  stiff. climb 
it  seemed  to  present  no  difficulties.  Concealing 
my  growing  "qualms,''  I  told  the  "sailor-men  " 
that,  as  I  was  in  a  great  hurry  and  late  for  my 
parade,  I  thought  that  if  they  would  land  me  on 
the  spot  I  had  selected,  I  could  make  my  way 
to  the  top,  and  reach  Duncannon  quicker  than 
I  could  by  beating  down  the  river. 

Delighted  to  get  their  morning's  work  done 
and  back  to  their  comfortable  quarters,  they 
landed  me  on  some  slippery  rocks  at  the  bottom 
of  the  cliff,  and  then,  with  a  "good  morning," 
they  shoved  off,  and  trimmed  their  lug-sail  for  a 
run  home. 
.  Down  to  the  water's  edge  came  the  shale, 
pretty  steep,  certainly,  but  nothing  to  be  afraid 
of,  though  I  found  that  a  tight  frock-coat,  gold- 
laced  pantaloons,  and  jack-boots  and  spurs  was 
hardly  a  first-class  cliff-climbing  kit. 

I  started  away,  and  by  zig-zagging  a  bit  now 
and  then,  I  was  getting  on  finely.  The  top  of  the 
cliff  seemed  close  at  hand  when,  good  heavens  ! 
the  slope  of  the  shale  suddenly  gave  out,  and  I 
found  myself  confronted  with,  not  even  a 
smooth  face  to  the  cliff,  but  an  absolute  over- 
haui^  of  some  6ft.  or  7ft.  sheer  ! 

A  very  few  moments'  examination  sliowed  me 
that  to  reach  the  top  that  way  was  just  an 
impossibility,   and    I   decided    to  go  down   tlie 


%*-. 


KD    MY    HANDKERCHIEF. 


SHORT  .sroRii:s. 


179 


way  I  came  up  and  start  at  a  fresh  place. 
Quite  easy  to  settle,  but — loose  shale  to  climb 
7ip  is  one  thing,  and  loose  shale  to  climb  down 
is  another  thing. 

I  hadn't  gone  three  steps  in  a  downward 
direction  before  I  felt  the  whole  slope  was  on 
I  he  move .' 

I  was  perfectly  powerless  to  stop  it,  and 
before  you  could  say  "knife,"'  I  was  dashing 
down  with  the  rubbish,  and  only  too  glad  when 
I  found  myself  brought  up  against  a  very  nasty. 
prickly  blackthorn  bush,  that  had  managed  to 
establish  itself  on  the  face  of  the  cliff. 

Here  was  a  jolly  predicament !  I  couldivt 
possibly  reach  the  top,  and  to  embark  on  the 
slippery,  shifting  shale  again  meant  arriving  on 
the  ragged  rocks  below  at  a  pace  that  would 
mean  ''pieces,"  and  no  more  parades  for  me  I 
What  was  I  to  do  ?  On  that  wild  bit  of  coast 
it  was  no  good  expecting  ''someone"  to  come 
and  help  me  out  of  the  mess,  and  I  was  at 
least  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  fort,  which 
was  the  nearest  inhabited  house.  I  supposed 
I  must  get  down.  I  tried.  Result :  a  rattle 
of  stones,  and  "wump,"  I'm  brought  up  again 
by  a  big  projecting  stone  1 

Then  I  gave  up  the  idea  of 
trying  to  climb  either  up  or  down, 
and  concentrated  my  energies  in 
an  effort  to  attract  the  notice  of 
the  coastguardsmen,  who  had  just 
hauled  up  their  boat  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river.  I  began  to  shout 
(Lord,  how  I  did  yell !)  and  waved 
my  handkerchief  in  the  hope  of 
being  seen.  I've  got  pretty  good 
lungs,  and  after  a  bit  I  saw  one 
of  the  men  come  out  of  their 
station-house,  and  then  the  other 
two;  and  a  minute  later  the  boat 
had  started  "  to  the  rescue." 

I  wasn't  feeling  at  all  comfort- 
able, and  every  minute  expected 
to  feel  myself  "  on  the  run  "  again, 
with  the  rocks  below  to  bring  me 
up.  I  tell  you  1  watched  that 
boat's  proceedings  with  consider- 
able attention. 

They  had  to  beat  down  to  me,  and 
it  seemed  a  very  long  time  before  the\ 
arrived.  But  at  last  they  ran  down 
their  sail  and  shot  in  just  below  me.  I 
shouted  down  and  told  them  the  fix  I  was 
in,  and  also  that  as  I  couldn't  get  dozen 
they'd  have  to  haul  me  up. 

They  moved  off  to  a  place  where  the 
ascent  was  really  practicable,  and  a  few 
minutes  after  I  heard  a  voice  above  me  on 
the  cliff  top.     I  suppose  it  was  about  an 


hour  from  the  lime  Td  started  to  go  up,  and  as 
for  most  of  this  time  I'd  been  clinging  to  my 
stone  like  a  fly  to  a  wall,  you  may  imagine  that 
I  was  beginning  to  feel  rather  cramped. 

The  only  available  rope  was  the  boat's  painter, 
and  this  was  looped  and  let  down  towards  me 
from  above.  I  say  toivards  me  advisedly,  for  it 
didn't  reach  the  place  I  was  stuck  at  by  several 
yards.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  climb 
up  to  the  rope,  and  this  I  did,  with  several  slips 
on  the  shifting  rubbish,  now  thoroughly  loosened, 
till  I  had  the  end  of  the  loop  in  my  grasp.  I 
wasn't  quite  out  of  the  wood  yet,  though  ! 

A  loop  had  been  made  at  the  end  of  the  rope, 
which  I  passed  under  my  arms,  and  very  thin 
that  rope  looked,  too,  to  support  a  man  over 
some  200ft.  of  space.  Anyhow,  it  was  that  or 
nothing. 

As  I  mentioned  before,  the  top  of  the  cliff, 
which  was  principally  gravel,  and  none  too  firm, 
overhung  several  feet  out  of  the  perpendicular, 
so  I  had  to  let  myself  go  from  my  foothold  and 
allow  myself  to  be  hauled  up  sheer  and  clear. 

Very  odd  it  felt,  I  can  assure  you,  spinning 
round  in  space,  and  I  didn't  seem  to  go  up  over 


SPIXNISG   A.VD    BUMPING   .-VGAIXST   THE   CLIFF. 


i8o 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


fast,  but  I  was  congratulating  myself  on  having 
nearly  got  to  the  end  of  my  difficulties.  Any- 
how, I  had  perfect  confidence  in  the  ability  of 
the  bluejackets  to  see  me  through. 

I  was,  I  su[)pose,  about  a  yard  from  the  top, 
when  I  heard  a  shout,  "  Look  out,  sir,  for  God's 
sake  !  The  clifTs  cracking  ! ''  and  in  an  instant 
there  was  a  deluge  of  mud,  shale,  and  gravel, 
filling  my  eyes  and  mouth  with  stones,  and 
knocking  me  half  silly,  as  with  a  rush  like  an 
avalanche  a  great  mass  of  earth  and  stones 
dashed  away  beneath  me,  and  fell  with  a 
mighty  crash  upon  the  rocks  below,  leaving 
me   spinning   and    bumping    against    the     cliff 


I  neared  the  top.  It  was  probably  to  this  plan 
that  we  all  owed  our  lives. 

The  weight  and  exertions  of  the  foremost  man, 
added  to  my  weight  on  the  rope,  had  cracked  the 
edge  of  the  chff  where  it  overhung,  and  when 
the  crash  came,  as  it  did  without  a  moment's 
warning,  he  had  only  just  time  to  shout  out  to 
me,  and  throw  himself  back  to  avoid  being 
carried  down. 

Certainly  half  of  his  weight  and  all  mine 
was  thus  thrown  on  the  third  man^then  luckily 
some  yards  from  the  edge— and  the  odds  are 
that  if  the  rope  had  not  been  made  fast  round 
his  body,  certainly  two  of  us   must  have  gone 


"  HE   THREW    HIMSELF    HACK   TO   AVOID    BEING   CAI<Kn;U    DOWN." 


like  a  sparrow  roasting  on  the  end  of  a  bit 
of  worsted  I 

Till  I  had  collected  my  wits  a  bit  I  quite 
thought  that  I  was  falling  too  ;  but  I  found  that 
the  rope  was  still  round  me,  and  I  remember 
seeing  a  scared  face  peering  down  at  me  and 
hearing  a  shout,  "  Hurrah,  boys  ;  he's  all  right ! 
Haul  away  on  him."  I  was  being  drawn  up  the 
steep  incline  that  now  appeared  where  the  over- 
hang had  broken  away.  A  moment  or  two 
later  I  was  seized  by  the  arms,  and  at  last  stood 
in  safety. 

It  appeared  that  of  the  three  men  who  had 
come  to  my  rescue,  one  had  stayed  with  the 
boat,  and  of  the  two  who  had  scaled  the  cliff, 
one  had  made  the  rope  fast  round  his  body, 
and  while  his  mate  hauled  on  the  rope,  he 
"  took  in  the  slack  "  by  crawling  farther  away  as 


down  with  the  falling  earth.  If  the  two  men 
had  both  been  standing  hauling  together  close  to 
the  edge  when  the  slip  occurred,  we  should  all 
have  gone  to  kingdom  come  for  a  dead  cer- 
tainty I 

But  what,  you  may  ask,  were  my  feelings  on 
finding  myself  panting,  and  very  dirty,  but  safe, 
on  the  top  ? 

Well,  I  suppose  I  ought  to  say  that  I  felt 
bursting  with  thankfulness  and  all  sorts  of  nice 
sentiments ;  but  in  point  of  fact  I  can  only 
confess  to  feeling  much  as  I  recollect  doing 
after  smoking  my  first  cigar !  There  you 
have  it  ! 

The  next  time  I  attended  musketry  parade 
at  Duncannon  Fort,  I  chanced  delay  and 
7ijalde-me>;  and  landed  at  the  jetty  like  other 
folks. 


SHORT    S  I  OR ii:s. 


101 


IV. — A    Masai   Massacre. 

Bv   ^\■AITl:K    H.   Bonk. 

With    portraits  of  the  murdered  missionary  and  his  wife.     The    author,  who  is  a  well-known  traveller 
and  explorer,  was  invited    to    investigate    the   affair,    and   he  tells    herein  in  able  style  all  he  saw  and 

gathered  on  the  spot. 


Thk  methods  of  the  Central  African  savage 
cannot   even   by   his   most   hopeful    student   be 
termed  humane.     To  one  who  has  lived  with 
him,    who    knows    him    and    his    works,    it    is 
difficult    to    believe    that    the 
African  occupies  a  niche  in  the 
same  scale  of  creation  as  the 
civilized     being  ;     but     among 
many  inhuman  barbarities  per- 
petrated through  what  appears 
sheer  lust  of  blood,  so  far  as 
my     experience    extends,     the 
murder     of    the     Rev.    James 
Houghton    and     liis     wife    by 
Masai  warriors  at  (lolbanti  in 
the  Galla  country,  on  the  3rd 
May,  1885,  stands  pre-eminent. 

The     slaughter    of     Bishop 
Hannington  and  his  pagazi  by 
the   King  of  Uganda  was  bad 
enough   in   all  conscience,   but 
that  affair  may  have  had  some 
faint  shadow  of  excuse  in  the 
fact  that  it  was  looked  upon  by 
ihe  King  and  his  tribe  more  in 
the  light  of  an  execution  than  a 
murder.     The  Bishop,  as  I  was  informed  at  the 
time  by  members  of  different  tribes,  had  been 
warned  by   messengers  from   his  quasi-majesty 
that  the   King  was  willing  to  receive  him  pro- 
vided he  came  by  the  ordinary  route,  but  he 
must  not  enter  Uganda  by  the 
"  back    door."       The    Bi.shop 
persisted,   was  captured,    stood 
in   a   row   with  the  rest  of  his 
caravan,  and  speared.     l>ut  in 
Houghton's    case     the     Masai 
simply  carried  out  in  the  most 
heartless,  unprovoked,  inhuman 
manner  their  tribal  boast  that 
"  nothing    lives    where    the    I'^l 
Moran  have  passed." 

Golbanti,  the  scene  of  the 
tragedy,  is  a  station  on  the 
Tana  River,  belonging  to  the 
United  Methodist  Free  Church 
Mission  Society,  and  was 
founded  little  more  than  two 
years  previously  by  the  Re\. 
Thomas  Wakefield,  F.R.S., 
F.R.G.S.,  etc.,  the  eminent 
missionary  and  explorer,  at  the 
express     wish    of     the     Galla 


I  ill-;    Kli\'.    JA.MKS    HkK.HIoN. 

From  a  Phofo.  l>y  George  Had/ey,  Lincoln. 


King  (l)ardi)   and    his   principal   chiefs.       The 

station   was  the  only  one  at  that  time  on  the 

Tana  River,  and,   by  what  is  more,  or  perhaps 

less,  than  a  coincidence,  considering  the  fact 

that  the  author's    brother  was 

(he    believes)    Vice-Consul    at 

Laniu,    the    attack    by    Masai 

forms  a  telling  incident  in  Mr. 

Rider  Haggard's  excellent  book, 

"  Allan  Quatermain." 

Having  been  invited  by  my 
friend  Mr.  Wakefield  to  accom- 
pany him  on  an  expedition  to 
investigate  the  circumstances 
surrounding  the  massacre,  it 
was  arranged  that  I  should  join 
him  at  Lamu,  whence  we  were 
to  make  the  first  stage  of  the 
trip  by  dhow  to  Kipini,  an 
Arab  town  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Ozi  River.  But  I  arrived 
at  the  rendezvous  completely 
prostrated  by  a  severe  attack  of 
jungle  fever,  contracted  while 
shooting  farther  south,  and  this 
delayed  our  departure  for 
several  days,  by  which  time,  thanks  to  the  more 
than  brotherly  care  bestowed  upon  me  by  my 
companion  and  Mr.  W.  H.  During,  a  coloured 
missionary,  who  accompanied  us,  I  was  suffi- 
ciently recovered  to  proceed.  The  itinerary, 
however,  was  changed,  and, 
instead  of  voyaging  to  Kipini, 
we  disembarked  on  the  main- 
land and  marched  to  a  village 
called  Kiongwe,  where  we 
camped  for  the  night  in  the 
goat-pound  attached  to  one  of 
the  huts.  Mr.  Wakefield  being 
l)rovided  with  documents  from 
the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar,  com- 
manding the  chiefs  to  afford 
us  every  assistance,  we  were 
next  morning  escorted  to  the 
confines  of  the  village  by  the 
7va-zee  (chief  men),  who  pre- 
sented us  on  parting  with  some 
fowls  and  eggs. 

Another  day's  march  brought 
us  to  Mpekatoni,  whose  inhabi- 
tants,   on   our    starting    again, 
n,  !'"!'  -^'""'""/T:./     /  •    /        g^ive  us  a  goat  and  more  fowls. 

hroiii  a  Photo,  by  George  Iladley,  Lrncoln.         JL,,  ,        "  u  •  u 

(Both  were  slaughtered  by  the  Masai.)  Ihe       long      marcheS       m       the 


l82 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


blazing  sun  brought  on  a  recurrence  of  my 
fever,  and  towards  midday  I  collapsed  beside 
a  small,  marshy  pool.  A  halt  was  called  and 
a  hammock  rigged,  into  which  I  was  lifted, 
and  the  march  resumed.  I  did  not  enjoy  that 
ride.  The  sky  was  like  polished  brass,  whose 
fiery  heat  literally  seared  the  flesh :  I  was 
mad  with  thirst :  tormented  by  mosquitoes  and 
flies  :  my  skin  .scratched  and  torn  by  the  thorn- 
jungle  through  which  in  places  the  trail  led ;  my 
blood  boiled  with  fever,  and  as  a  consequence  of 
the  disease  I  felt  utterly  despondent.  It  was 
very  unpleasant.  Through  all  the  remainder  of 
that  hideously  long  day  we  marched,  until, 
towards  sunset,  we  reached  Kipini.  Here  we 
took  up  our  quarters  in  the  barazza  of  a  native 
hut  (our  pagazi  being  billeted  elsewhere),  and  for 
three  days  I  was  hardly  able  to  move,  indifferent 
to  everything  but  the  self-abnegation  of  my  two 
friends,  who,  though  suffering  slightly  from  fever 
them.selves,  did  all  in  their  power  to  set  me  on 
my  feet. 

The  remainder  of  the  journey  was  to  be 
performed  by  water,  via  the  Ozi  and  Tana 
rivers,  for  which  pur{)Ose  nihows  (long  canoes) 
were  procured,  and  in  these  we  paddled  up  the 
0/i  as  far  as  Kao,  and  as  I  was  now  strong 
enough  to  hold  a  rifle  again,  I  paid  a  good  deal 
of  attention  to  the  hippopotami  which  blew  and 
snorted  around  us.  I  remember  shooting,  too, 
a  black  monkey,  which  I  fetched  out  of  a  tree 
across  the  river  at  the  third  shot  from  my 
revolver. 

Starting  from  Kao  shortly  after  sunrise  next 
day,  by  noon  we  reached  the  Belazoni,  a 
peculiar  narrow  canal  connecting  the  Ozi  with 
the  Tana.  This  canal,  the  origin  of  which 
we  were  not  able  to  discover,  runs  through 
flat  country  covered  with  grass  jungle.  It  is 
about  two  miles  long,  and  from  3ft.  to  12ft. 
wide,  its  course  being  exceedingly  sinuous  and 
erratic.  The  water,  though  shallow  in  parts, 
harbours  numberless  crocodiles,  which  lie  in 
the  shadow  of  the  rank  vegetation  overhanging 
its  banks.  But  mosquitoes  1  We  Australians 
know  something  of  the  pest,  from  the  "Little 
P.lack  "  to  the  "  Scotch  Grey,"  but  never  in  my 
wanderings  have  I  struck  such  awful  swarms ; 
they  were  simply  indescribable.  Our  mosquito- 
net  puggeries  were  no  protection  whatever  ; 
they  stung  through  our  clothing  with  as  much 
ease  as  if  it  were  the  bare  skin.  The  men 
suffered  terribly  as  they  marched  in  single  file 
along  the  bank  towing  the  canoes,  each  man 
with  a  palm  leaf  in  his  hand  brushing  the 
mosquitoes  off  the  man  in  front,  and  the  last 
man  giving  one  for  his  leader  and  two  for  him- 
self. The  air  was  thick  with  them :  one  absolutely 
breathed  mosquitoes.     I  killed   a  match-boxful 


in  a  few  minutes  (During  will  remember  it,  for 
that  night  I  handed  the  box  to  him  when  he 
asked  for  tobacco,  and  in  the  dark  he  filled  his 
pipe  from  it ;  he  only  took  two  puffs,  however) 
before  I  was  driven,  weak  as  I  was,  to  get  out 
and  march  with  the  men.  However,  I  had  not 
travelled  a  hundred  yards  before  I  stumbled  and 
pitched  into  the  water,  from  which  I  was  mstantly 
hauled  out  by  the  men,  much  to  the  annoyance 
of  sundry  crocodiles. 

Half-way  through  the  Belazoni  some  little 
excitement  was  caused  by  a  party  of  Galla 
warriors  who  suddenly  appeared,  and  seizing  the 
first  canoe  in  which  ^Ir.  W^akefield  was  sitting, 
ordered  us  all  to  land.  Their  object  was  hongo 
(blackmail),  and  we  presented  a  strange  picture 
while  the  matter  w-as  being  discussed  :  Mr. 
Wakefield  seated  upon  a  camp-stool,  with  myself 
and  During  standing  on  either  side,  our  men 
squatting  in  a  wide  semi-circle  behind  us  with 
their  backs  to  the  canal,  each  man  with  his  rifle 
between  his  knees,  while  opposite  us  crouched 
the  Galla  warriors,  their  number  being  added  to 
every  moment  by  fresh  arrivals,  their  spears 
stuck  erect  in  the  ground,  looking  like  a  small 
forest  of  slender  saplings  with  glittering  points. 
It  seemed  we  were  in  for  a  very  pretty  fight,  as 
both  parties  glared  savagely  at  each  other  over 
their  weapons,  but  my  companion  being  a  past- 
master  in  the  art  of  African  di[)lomacy,  we  were 
at  length  conditionally  allowed  to  proceed  with- 
out molestation,  it  having  been  arranged  that 
the  matter  should  be  settled  at  the  next  village 
the  following  morning. 

Halting  at  a  '\Va-Pocomo  hamlet  on  the  bank 
of  the  Tana,  we  had  another  wretched  night, 
and  in  the  morning,  after  settling  with  the  Galla 
chiefs,  we  resumed  our  way.  Apart  from  the 
usual  incidents  of  African  travel,  the  remainder 
of  our  journey  was  performed  without  adventure, 
and  when  at  last  we  arrived  at  our  destination, 
we  found  that  such  of  the  mission  people  as 
had  escaped  the  massacre  had  built  temporary 
dwellings  in  the  usual  beehive  form,  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river. 

The  account  of  the  massacre  as  resulting  from 
our  investigations  on  the  s[)ot  was  supplemented 
by  details  supplied  by  a  tribesman  named  ^Ibaji 
(afterwards  my  personal  attendant),  who  wit- 
nessed the  whole  affair  from  his  concealment  in 
the  jungle,  and  is  as  follows  : — 

The  station  consisted  of  two  houses,  each 
surrounded  by  a  boma  or  stockade  some  12ft.  in 
height,  inclosing  about  an  acre  of  ground  ;  the 
buildings  being  at  opposite  ends  of  the  village 
and  distant  from  each  other  perhaps  300yds. 
The  house  nearest  the  batidari  (landing-place), 
in  which  we  quartered  ourselves,  was  built  of 
corrugated    iron,  and  consisted  of  two  rooms ; 


SHuRr    blORlE-S. 


'^^3 


the    other,    lately    occupied    by    the    murdered 
missionaries,  was  situated  on  the  edge  of  the 
jungle,  and  was    of   more  recent  construction, 
built  of  timber  with  thatched  roof,  and  possess- 
ing much  larger  accom- 
modation.      Midway 
between  the  two  houses, 
on    the    well-keiK   path 
which  formed  the  main 
street    of   the  village,  a 
large  building  had  been 
erected     to     serve     the 
purpose  of  a  church  and 
council-house. 

Some  three  months 
previously  there  had 
been  an  alarm  of  Masai, 
but  no  attack  was  made, 
and  as  there  had  been 
no  previous  instance  of 
a  white  man  being  done 
to  death  by  this  ferocious 
tribe,  all  apprehension 
quickly  subsided.  It 
was  afterwards  seen 
that  they  were  merely 
a  scouting  part  v. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  3rd  May,  Mr. 
Houghton,  totally  unarmed  as  usual,  was  down 
the  village  building  a  clay  platform  in  the 
church  already  mentioned,  and  his  wife  was 
sitting  on  the  veranda  of  their  house,  sewing. 
She  had  not  been  long  at  work  when  a  large 
party  of  strange  warriors  was  observed  debouch- 
ing from  the  jungle  and  marching  round  the 
stockade,  carrying  huge  elliptical  painted  shields 
of  buffalo  hide,  great  broad- bladed  spears, 
spatulate-shaped  swords,  and  clubs  ;  while  to 
add  to  their  terrifying  aspect  each  man  wore  a 
face-circlet  of  black  feathers  from  which  over 
each  ear  sprouted  a  large  ostrich  feather. 

Startled  ai  the  appearance  of  the  strange  men, 
Mrs.  Houghton  asked  a  (ialla  servant  what  tribe 
they  belonged  to,  but  the  woman  did  not  know, 
and  called  to  a  boy  who  was  at  work  inside. 
The  moment  the  lad  sTiw  them  he  yelled 
"  Masai  !  "  and  fled  for  his  life.  Terrified  by  the 
fearful  meaning  conveyed  in  that  one  word  the 
poor  lady  rushed  outside,  leaving  the  comparative 
security  of  the  stockade,  and  ran  shrieking  down 
the  path  towards  her  husband,  pursued  by  a 
number  of  the  savages.  Hearing  his  wife's  cries, 
Houghton  left  his  work  and  ran  towards  her, 
meeting  her  at  the  moment  when  one  of  the 
Masai  overtook  her  and  plunged  his  spear  into 
her  right  side.  She  staggered  round,  holding 
out  her  arms  towards  her  husband,  when  another 
warrior  leaping  between  them  stabbed  her  again. 
Frantic  with  horror  and  grief.  Houghton  dragged 


HOL'GHillN     UKAClil.U    OKi-      HIS    lltLMKl"    .\  N  U    UAblil-U    U     IN      .  !■  t,     h  AC  i-.    IJI-     A     UANNIDK. 


off  his  helmet  and  dashed  it  in  the  face  of  a 
warrior  whose  threatening  spear  was  within  an 
inch  of  his  own  breast. 

Suddenly  one  of  the  Masai,  thrusting  him 
backward  with  his  shield,  stabbed  him  in  the 
left  side  below  the  heart,  and  then,  when  he 
stumbled  forward  upon  his  face,  finished  the 
work  by  spearing  him  between  the  shoulder- 
blades.  The  Masai  then  mutilated  their  victims 
in  a  horrible  manner  with  their  spears  and 
swords,  and  clubbed  them  all  over  till  their 
poor  bodies  were  battered  almost  out  of  the 
semblance  of  humanity,  meanwhile  dancing 
their  war-dance  around  them.  .So  died  these 
heroic  and  devoted  servants  of  Christ. 

'J'hey  then  dispersed  about  the  village,  mur- 
dering men,  women,  and  children  as  they  found 
them,  and  generally  acting  the  part  of  fiends 
incarnate.  'I'aken  by  surprise,  very  few  of  the 
Mission  (iallas  made  a  stand — as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  very  name  of  Masai  is  enough  to  take 
the  heart  out  of  a  warrior  of  another  tribe — 
but  such  few  as  did  raise  their  weapons  in 
defence  of  their  women  or  themselves  went 
down  like  slaughtered  sheep. 

At  the  bandari  were  two  canoes  belonging  to 
the  mission,  into  which  the  people  crowded, 
knowing  that  once  across  deej)  water,  even 
were  it  merely  too  wide  to  be  sprung  over,  they 
were  safe.  One  canoe  load  got  safely  across, 
but  the  other  being  overloaded,  and  probably 
ill-managed  in  the  terror  and  excitement  of  the 


i84 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


moment,  capsized,  and  such  of  its  occupants  as 
were  not  at  once  drowned  were  swept  by  the 
rush  of  the  water  into  an  eddy  in  the  river 
close  to  the  landing-place  they  had  just  left. 
Here  the  bank  v/as  lined  by  a  swarm  of  laugh- 
ing, howling  Masai,  who  extended  the  shafts  of 
their  spears  to  the  struggling  fugitives  as  if  to 
assist  them  to  land,  and  then,  seizing  them  one 
by  one,  stabbed  them  to  the  heart  and  threw 
their  bodies  back  to 
feed  the  crocodiles 
with  which  the  river 
swarms. 

When  no  more 
victims  could  be 
found,  the  warriors 
returned  to  the  mis- 
sion-house, secured 
all  the  knives  and 
implements  of  steel 
they  could  lay  their 
hands  upon,  but 
scattered  about  the 
place  a  large  sum 
of  money  in  Mexican 
dollars,  with  the  use 
of  which  they  were 
unacquainted  ;  and, 
out  of  pure  wan- 
tonness, they  actu- 
ally speared  the 
bedding,  pillows,  ' 
curtains,  furniture,  j 
doors,  etc.,  and  then 
departed. 

On  our  arrival  at 
the  scene  the  place 
was  pretty  much  as 
it  had  been  left  by 
the  raiders.  With  the 
exception  of  the 
knives  already  mentioned,  wc  luund  the  stores 
intact,  and  by  degrees,  emboldened  by  our 
presence,  the  refugees  musterL-d  up  sufficient 
courage  to  return  to  the  station. 

Though  the  stern  realities  of  our  position 
were  hardly  conducive  to  the  appreciation  of 
humour,  I  cannot  refrain  from  mentioning  in 
conclusion  two  little  incidents  wliich  gave  us  a 
wide  smile  during  our  work.  C)f  course,  wt- 
were  liable  at  any  moment  to  an  attack,  and,  as 
the  militant  member  of  the  expedition,  it  was  my 
duty  to  inspect  the  pickets  detailed  at  intervals 
around  the  station  to  guard  against  surprise. 
On  my  very  first  patrol  I  discovered  one  of  the 
men  squatting  in  the  centre  of  the  track,  fifty 
yards  from  where  he  had  placed  his  weapons 
against  a  tree,  and  industriously  setting  snares 
for  a    kind    of  partridge    called  Kiringenzi.     I 


I    CKEl'T    I'.EHINU    lll.M    AM)    1  IKEIJ    MY   PISTOL, 


crept  behind  him,  yelled,  and  fired  my  pistol. 
It  was  comical  to  see  him  leap  into  the  air  and 
run  for  his  life  without  ever  looking  behind  him. 
The  next  two  were  comfortably  snoring  behind 
bushes,  and  the  last  man  I  visited  nearly  shot 
me  by  mistake.  They  kept  better  watch  after- 
wards. 

The  other  case  happened  while  I  was  taking 
an  inventory  of  the  drugs  and  chemicals.     Many 

of  the  bottles  were 
without  labels,  and  I 
had  to  judge  the 
contents  by  taste  or 
smell.  ^ly  proceed- 
ings were  watched 
with  great  interest 
by  a  gaunt,  long- 
legged,  grim-looking 
Galla,  who  presently 
stole  softly  into  the 
room,  and,  believing 
himself  unobserved, 
began  to  imitate  my 
example.  Amongst 
the  chemicals  was  a 
very  large  bottle  of 
liquid  ammonia,  and 
gently  removing  the 
stopper  he  applied 
his  wide  nostrils  and 
took  a  heavy  sniff. 
His  first  impulse, 
when  he  could  get 
his  mouth  shut,  was 
to  jump  for  his  spear ; 
but,  as  I  took  no 
notice  of  him,  he 
presently  quieted 
down  and  crept  out 
of  the  place,  return- 
ing shortly  with 
another  warrior,  whom  he  led  cautiously  up  to 
the  ammonia,  and  by  mysterious  signs  and 
mutterings  induced  to  repeat  the  experiment.  A 
moment  after,  the  second  man  was  staggering 
back  with  jaws  agape,  his  eyes  rolling,  and  an 
expression  of  the  most  horrified  dismay  on  his 
countenance.  He,  too,  grasped  his  spear  and 
turned  threateningly  towards  the  white  man, 
but  seeing  his  comrade  rubbing  his  stomach 
with  one  hand,  and  cramming  the  other  into  his 
mouth  —  literally  doubled  up  with  suppressed 
laughter  —  a  grin  gradually  spread  over  his 
features  as  he  took  in  the  joke,  and  together 
they  quickly  left  the  house.  My  work  com- 
pleted, I  locked  the  door  and  left,  but  on  my 
way  to  our  quarters  met  them  returning  with 
half-a-dozen  others,  upon  whom  they  evidently 
intended  to  play  off  the  same  trick. 


Through    Pygmy    Land.* 


\\\   Albl-kt  B.   Llovd. 
II. 

Completing    the    narrative   of    Mr.    Lloyd's   extraordinary  journey  through   the   Pygmy  and    cannibal 
districts  of  Central  Africa.     Copiously  illustrated    by  photographs  taken  by  himself.     Published  solely 

and  exclusively  in  ••  The  Wide  World  Magazine." 


.MV    LAM    IjLI.MFSt   fh    Kl,  U  t.\/.ni.l    (^Mi.il.  .\  1  .^l.N.S    u\r     lllh,    .MOON/ 

Frotn  a  Photo. 


ROM  the  hot  springs,  in  a  westerly 
direction,  it  is  about  two  days'  march 
to  Mbeni,  the  frontier  fort  of  the 
Congo  Free  Stale,  and 
here  we  bade  fare- 
well    to     Ruwenzori.        Crossing 

several    beautiful     mountain 

streams  en  roiife  (the   next   snap- 
shot was  taken  at  this  point),  the 

current  of    some   of   these   small 

rivers  is  very  strong,  and  on  two 

occasions    we    had    the    greatest 

difficulty   in    getting    across ;    for, 

although  the  water  did  not  reach 

the    waist,    still    the    swiftness    of 

the   stream    made   it   dangerously 

difficult    for    the    porters.       The 

ne.xt    photo,    shows    one   of    the 

worst  of  these  rivers.     My  little 

dog,  Sally,  who  had  accompanied 

me  so  long,  very  nearly  lost  her 

life  here.     Jumping  into  the  water 

to  get   out   of    the  hot    sun.    .she 

was  swe[n  away  before  we  had  the 

least  chance  of  getting  her  out.    I 


ran  along  the  bank  for  some  distance,  antl 
then,  reaching  a  place  where  the  current 
was  less  violent,  I  waded  into  the  middle 
of  the  stream  and  awaited  with  breathless 
anxiety  the  advent  of  my  poor  little  pet. 

Presently  I  heard  someone  on  the  bank 
calling  to  me,  and  turning  round  to  see 
who  it  was,  to  my  intense  joy,  there  stood 
one  of  my  boys  with  the  best  of  all  doggies 
by  his  side.  She  was  looking  at  me  with 
her  head  on  one  side  in  ever  so  cheeky  a 
manner,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  \\'ell,  you 
must  think  I'm  a  fool  if  you  have  the 
notion  that  a  paltry  thing  like  this  river 
can  make  an  end  of  wf— after  all  I've 
passed  through  I "  She  had  scrambled  up 
the  bank  about  fifty  yards  farther  back, 
and  had  come  to  look  for  me. 

From  Toro  to  the  Congo  Free  State 
frontier  I  took  with  me  a  few  cows,  so 
as  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  fresh  milk  as 
long  as  it  was  possible  ;  these  had  to 
return  to  Toro  from  this  point,  as  the 
herbage  of  the  forest  is  fatal  to  cattle. 
The  picture  at  the  top  of  the  next  page 

shows  my  cattle  on  the  borders  of  the  Congo 

State. 

"\Mien  only  half  an  hour's  walk  from  Mbeni,  I 


1H1-;    UANGEKOLS    KIVEK    WHERE   MV    LITTLE    DOG   SALLV   NEAKLY    LOSI 

From  a  Photo. 


*  Copyright,  1899,  in  th-  United  States  by  Albert  B.  Lloyd. 
The  complete  account  of  this  expedition,  illustrated  by  over  200  paotographs,  will  shortly  be  published  in  book  form  in  England  and  America. 
Vol.  iii.— 24 


1 86 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


arrivea  at  the  border  of  the  great  forest,  and  very 
soon  we  were  forcing  our  way  along  in  eternal 
twilight.  During  part  of  tiie  first  day  in  the  Pygmy 
forest,  however,  we  were  in  more  or  less  open  coun- 


dense  undergrowth.  I  always  marched  at  the 
head  of  my  little  caravan,  keeping  a  good  look- 
out, and  one  of  my  boys  marched  at  the  rear  of 
the  porters  to  keep  them  well  together.     One 


I'  roiii  rt] 


CONGO    STATE. 


[/Vtoio. 


try,  and  the  next  snap-shot  from  a  hillside  shows 
my  caravan  threading  its  way  through  the  thick 
bush  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley ;  a 
rushing  river  being  at  the  bottom.  Some  of  the 
porters  carried  the  loads  on  their  heads,  whilst 
others  carried  them  suspended  from  the  fore- 
head by  a  piece  of  tough  bark,  the  load  itself 
resting  against  the  back.  When  carried  on  the 
head  a  soft  j)ad  of  bark  cloth  is 
used,  and  when  resting  on  the 
back  large  forest  leaves  were  used 
as  a  protection  against  chafing. 
None  of  my  loads  weighed  over 
55II). ;  the  men,  therefore,  were 
not  too  heavily  laden,  as  the 
usual  load  for  an  African  porter 
is  651b. 

At  each  village  I  came  to  I 
obtained  fresh  porters,  sometimes 
paying  big  presents  of  cloth  to 
the  chief,  and  never  accepting 
porters  who  did  not  willingly  give 
their  services  in  return  for  reason- 
able pay.  I  also  obtained  in 
this  way  native  guides,  who  re- 
mained with  me  for  one  or  two 
days.  Generally  speaking  we 
were  able  to  follow  small  tracks, 
but  not  infrequently  were  obliged 
to  literally  cut  our  way  through  the         prZt  a]"*^""^" 


thing  I  must 
not 


mention 
on    one 


with  reference  to  these 
sinule   occasion    did    I 


porters 

have  to  use  the  stick,  either  for  idleness  or 
rebellion  ;  and  all  through  the  forest  they 
marched  quite  willingly,  bearing  their  heavy 
burdens  in  silence.  Frequently  by  the  side  of 
the  track  we  would  come  upon  human  remains 
— miserable  wanderers  lost  in  the  forest  who  had 


MAKING  ITS 


VHOU    A    HILl.). 


AT    i'YGMY   FOREST    (lAKKN 

[P/iOtO. 


Through  pvgmv  laxd. 


187 


died  of  starvation.  One  day  we  found  a  poor 
woman  reclining  against  a  tree  in  a  most 
desperate  condition.  She  had  been  left  in  the 
forest  by  her  cruel  master,  an  Arab,  there  to 
die  of  starvation.  Three  days  before  this  Arab 
had  passed  that  way  with  slaves,  and  had  left 
this  destitute  creature  behind,  she  being  unable 
to  walk  farther.  She  had  had  no  food  for  two 
days,  and  when  I  came  up  with  her  she  was 
chewing  a  kind  of  hard  tree-bean  that  exists  in 
great  quantities  in  the  forest.  Directly  she 
saw  us  she  cried  out  for  water,  and  I  gave  to 
her  the    bottle  of  cocoa  that  I  always  carried 


fish  for  my  supper.  I  was 
generally  pretty  successful— 
notwithstanding  the  primitive 
implements  I  used. 

One  day,  when  walking  along 
in  a  very  dark  part  of  the 
forest,  I  suddenly  heard  a  great 
noise  not  far  from  the  path  as 
of  a  lot  of  men  talking  together 
in  anger,  and  I  thought  we 
had  arrived  at  a  large  village ; 
but  when  I  asked  the  men 
who  were  with  me  what  it  was, 
they  said  it  was  the  uproar 
made  by  the  huge  monkeys 
that  live  in  the  trees.  I  subse- 
(juently  found  that  it  was  a 
large  troop  of  gorillas.  All 
this  added  much  to  the  wild- 
ness  of  the  primeval  forest. 
My  camp  in  the  forest — the 
subject  of  the  next  illus- 
tration— was  always  pitched  in  as  clear  a 
spot  as  could  be  found ;  but  usually  I  was 
obliged  to  fix  my  tent  ropes  to  the  surrounding 
trees,  and  then  make  a  rough  zareba  round  the 
v.hole.  The  photograph  which  is  here  repro- 
duced was  taken  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  and 
with  a  very  long  exposure,  for  the  place  was  all 
but  in  darkness,  so  dense  were  the  trees  and 
undergrowth.  The  men  who  appear  in  the 
foreground  had  very  strict  instructions  from  me 
to  keep  perfectly  still,  and  I  think  that  they  did 
not  do  badly  on  the  whole. 

We  always   kept  big  camp-fires  going — that 


[Photo. 


with  me — this  she  drank  with  great  eagerness.  is,  until  we  retired  to  rest,  for  as  we  never  kept 
We  then  gave  h^r  food  and 
carried  her  on  with  some  of  my 
spare  porters  to  a  point  near 
to  the  next  village,  when  she 
was  able  to  proceed  by  walking, 
having  so  far  recovered  her 
strengtli.  In  the  great  Pygmy 
forest  are  many  beautiful  run- 
ning streams,  and  although  the 
water  is  not  very  palatable,  I 
think  when  boiled  it  is  harm- 
less enough. 

The  next  j^hoto.  we  have  to 
consider  shows  my  caravan 
crossing  one  of  these  rivers. 
My  donkey  is  standing  in  the 
middle  of  the  stream  looking 
towards  me  as  I  took  the 
photograph.  Nearly  all  the 
rivers  swarm  with  fish  of  various 
kinds,  and  frequently,  when 
getting  into  camp,  I  would  go 
down    to    the    ri\er    bank    and         F,oma] 


MV   CA.Ml-    IN    THE    HE.^RT   OF   THE    PYGMY   FOREST. 


Yi'lwto. 


[88 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    M.'^GAZlNE. 


a  watch  at  night,  they  always  went  out  before 
morning.  The  first  few  nights  it  was  hard  for 
anyone  to  sleep,  so  strange  and  unearthly  were 
the  sounds  from  animals,  birds,  falling  trees, 
and  the  like.  As  the  rainy  season  was  at  its 
height,  frightful  storms  raged  nearly  every  night, 
and  the  wind  was  sometimes  positively  terrifying. 

At  twelve  o'clock  one  night  I  was  suddenly 
aroused  from  sleep  by  a  frightful  sensation  of 
pricking  all  over  my  body.  It  was  as  if  pins 
were  being  thrust  into  me  in  every  part.  Then 
I  heard  my  dog  Sally  racing  about  the  tent  in  a 
most  excited  manner,  knocking  everything  over, 
including  my  washing  basin,  which  was  full  of 
water.  I  struck  a  light  when  I  had  at  last,  after 
a  great  search,  found  the  matches,  and  then 
beheld  the  tent  simply  full  of  red  ants,  the  real 
biting  sort.  I  did  not  take  long  to  rush  out  of 
the  tent  and  call  for  the  boys  and  porters. 
They  all  brought  fire,  and,  surrounding  the 
tent,  commenced  killing  the  myriads  of  pests 
that  were  inside ;  whilst  I,  shivering  outside  in 
the  rain,  picked  dozens  of  dangerous  vermin 
off  my  poor  aching  body.  It  was  not  till  2  a.m. 
that  tlie  place  was  tolerably  cleared,  and  even 
in  the  morning  when  dressing  I  found  many 
ants  on  my  clothes.  And  they  do  bite  ! 
^Vhile  dressing  in  the  early  morning  on  another 
occasion,  I  happened  to  look  out  at  my  tent 
door  to  wake  up  the  porters,  when  to  my 
immense  astonishment  I  beheld  a  great  elephant 
looking  over  the  zareba  of  our 
camp,  mildly  contemplating 
the  peaceful  scene.  He  soon 
ran  away,  however,  when  he 
found  himself  observed.  I 
mention  these  incidents  to 
show  what  one  has  to  ex- 
pect when  tramping  through 
Pygmy-land. 

It  has  been  said  that  the 
Pygmies  have  no  kind  of 
religion.  I  have,  however, 
proved  this  to  be  incorrect, 
for  not  only  do  they  wear  a 
kind  of  charm,  or  fetish,  but 
they  have,  apparently,  some 
.sort  of  superstitious  idea  with 
reference  to  certain  trees.  In 
the  accompanying  photograph 
will  be  seen  a  series  of  little 
"  devil  "-houses  at  the  foot 
of  a  very  large  tree — evidently  held  sacred  by 
the  Pygmies,  because  I  found  these  in  a  clear- 
ing in  the  forest,  right  in  the  centre  of  the 
Pygmy  zone.  I  take  it  that  they  were  un- 
doubtedly put  there  by  the  Pygmies  them.selves. 
Frequently  in  my  little  hunting  expeditions  I 
came  across  small  offerings  placed  at  the  foot 


of  trees — sometimes  a  little  parcel  of  different 
kinds  of  food.  At  other  times  the  offering 
would  take  the  form  of  a  little  pot  of  honey. 
Close  by  a  small  encampment  that  I  discovered 
I  found  several  more  of  these  curious  little 
temples.     Some  were  very  neatly  built. 

I  did  not  meet  with  the  Pygmies  until  I  had 
spent  several  days  in  the  forest,  nor  did  I  see 
anything  to  lead  me  to  suppose  that  there  were 
any  human  beings  there  at  all.  But  one  day 
(about  the  sixth  day  in  the  forest)  what  was 
called  by  my  boy  a  "man-monkey"  was  pointed 
out  to  me,  and  I  was  in  the  act  of  taking 
deliberate  aim  at  the  creature,  thinking  it  must 
be  a  gorilla,  when  the  boy  stopped  me,  exclaim- 
ing, "It  is  a  man."  I  then  saw  my  mistake:  it  was 
a  pygmy — a  very  short,  sturdy  little  fellow,  with 
massively  developed  limbs,  hairy  chest,  and 
scrubby  beard  half-way  down  the  body.  He 
carried  a  bow  and  arrows,  and  upon  seeing  me 
he  ran  nimbly  along  the  branch  on  which  he 
stood,  and,  jumping  from  tree  to  tree  like  a 
monkey,  disappeared.  At  the  close  of  the 
day  the  little  people,  with  great  shyness,  came 
into  my  camp  to  see  me.  I  asked  one  of  the 
men  to  give  me  the  bow  and  arrows  he  was 
carrying,  and  he  did  so  ;  also  a  horn  made  of 
ivory.  Their  chief  procured  me  some  fresh  meat, 
and  a  large  earthenware  pot  of  honey. 

I  took  the  precaution  of  asking  my  little 
friend  to  taste  some  of  the  honey  himself  first. 


From  a\ 


SACRED    DEVIL-HOUSES   IN   THE    PYGMY   FOREST. 


[Photo. 


for  fear  his  people  wanted  to  do  me  an  injury 
in  a  sly  way.  But  he  readily  acceded  to  my 
request,  and  took  a  good  long  pull  at  the  pot. 
I  was  then  satisfied.  I  thanked  him  very 
heartily,  and  made  him  a  suitable  present.  The 
next  photo,  reproduced  shows  a  small  settle- 
ment we  came  across  in  tlie  great  Pygmy  forest. 


THROUGH    PYGMY    LAND. 


189 


J'loin  a] 


A   sL  i  1  LtMtM     I.\     lilt,    i-ui<L.i>T. 


For  several  days,  owing  to  the  great  downpour 
of  rain,  we  had  to  tramp  through  water  some- 
times to  the  waist,  sometimes  even  io  o/ie's  iteck. 
The  greatest  difficulty  was  to  select  a  dry  place 
on  which  to  camp.  On  one  occasion  I  remember 
we  were  quite  unable  to  do  this,  and  my  tent 
was  actually  pitched  in  the  water,  consequently 
we  were  obliged  to  do  without  fires.  There  are 
not  a  great  many  swamps  in  the  Pygmy  forest, 
but  there  is  one  nearly  a  mile  in  length  which  I 
shall  not  easily  forget.  To  cross  it  oneself  was 
hard  work  enough,  but  to  have  to  get  a 
donkey  across  also  was  terrible  work.     We  were 


nothing  would  move  her,  and  I, 
leeling  that  all  hope  of  getting 
my  poor  donkey  out  again  was 
gone,  was  about  to  shoot  her, 
when  the  poor  thing  made  a 
supreme  effort,  and  by  our  help- 
ing her,  she  finally  got  clear 
and  once  more  reached  solid 
earth.  The  photograph  here 
reproduced  was  taken  by  one  of 
my  boys.  It  depicts  the  writer 
in  one  of  these  terrible  swamps. 
After  twenty  days'  marching 
through  the  forest  we  came  to 
Avakubi,  a  Belgian  station  on 
the  borders  of  the  Pygmy  forest. 
Here  I  was  kindly  received  by 
the  official  in  charge. 

As  in  most  Belgian  posts, 
rubber  is  the  sole  object  of 
life  to  the  official.  He  must  have  rubber, 
at  any  cost  to  himself  or  to  the  natives — yes, 
and  he  gets  the  rubber  ;  but  it  might  well  be 
said,  as  it  has  been  said  of  ivory,  that  almost 
every  few  pounds  of  rubber  collected  represents 
a  human  life.  At  this  place  (Avakubi)  I 
saw  the  first  coffee  plantation  of  the  Congo  Free 
State.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the  crop  was  a 
successful  one,  as  the  trees  seemed  swarming 
with  some  kind  of  blight.  The  European 
potatoes  at  this  place  surprised  me.  Not  only 
were  they  a  fine  size,  but  the  flavour  was  as  good 
as  one   gets    at   home.     The    seed    had   been 


[rhoto. 


^;   ^*^fi^i 


:SjM 


'.A.>V,t-,  IVV. 


{J  hi/ to. 


the  greater  part  of  the  day  crossing  this  awful 
swamp  of  thick,  black  mud,  with  6in.  of  water 
on  the  top.  In  places  the  mud  was  up  to  my 
thighs.  The  donkey  constantly  got  stuck  fast, 
and  had  to  be  literally  carried  out.  At  one 
place   she    seemed    so    absolutely    stuck    that 


imported,  of  course,  and  under  the  Europeans' 
special  care  it  had  proved  very  fruitful. 

Here  at  Avakubi  my  weary  marches  ceased, 
for  although  it  seems  almost  incredible,  from 
tliis  place  to  the  coast— no  less  than  1,500  miles 
— I  journeyed  the  whole  way  l>y  boat,  canoeing 


190 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


J'rojn  a\ 


TRAVELLING    PAST   THE   CANNIBAL    VILLAGES. 


on  the  Aruwinii  and  travelling  by  steamer  down 
the  Contro. 

The  officer  in  charge  of  the  station  kindly 
procured  for  me  three  good-sized  canoes  of  the 
dug-out  order  and  sent  with  me  a  native  guide 
who  could  speak  the  language  of  the  boatmen 
and  also  Swahili.  In  this  way  I  was  enabled 
to  use  him  as  an  interpreter.  Every  day  as  we 
sped  along  the  river  fresh  sights  of  wonder  met 
my  gaze.  Each  night  I  camped  in  a  village  by 
the  river  side  or  a  clearing  in  the  forest.  The 
villages  occupied  by  the  notorious  cannibal 
tribe,  the  l^angwa,  are  most  curiously  con- 
structed, and  the  houses  look  for  all  the  world 
l.ke  huge  pine  cones,  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
photo.  They  are  not  more  than  loft.  in  diameter 
at  the  base,  but  are  at  least  i5ri.  or  20ft.  high. 
Unlike  the  Pygmies,  these 
c.innibals  are  physically  fine, 
being  tall,  stalwart  fellows, 
v/arlike  and  fierce,  and  in  all 
of  them  there  was  the  bold 
and  fearless  look  of  the  war- 
rior. I'hey  always  crowded 
around  me  on  my  arrival  at 
their  village,  and  the  chief 
and  his  head  men  shook 
hands  with  me  in  the  proper 
orthodox  fashion.  I  noticed 
that  they  always  carried  al»out 
with  them  very  beautifully- 
made  knives  and  spears.  There 
is  an  abundance  of  iron  found 
in  the  forest,  and  this  they 
work  up  most  cleverly.  F'our 
of  these  cannibal  chiefs  are 
seen  in  the  accompanying 
photograph.        These     people 


make  for  themselves  bright  spiral 
wire  anklets  and  bracelets.  Round 
the  waist  most  of  the  men  (chiefly 
the  big  men  of  the  village)  coil 
a  strip  of  thick  hippopotamus 
hide,  which  is  ornamented  with 
certain  designs,  and  tied  in  a 
rough  knot  at  the  front.  Into 
this  belt  is  slipped  their  awful 
knives,  some  with  a  blade  2ft. 
long,  and  made  of  bright  burnished 
iron,  with  an  edge  such  as  one 
might  almost  shave  with.  They 
seldom  wear  these  knives  in 
sheaths.  Usually  they  hang  against 
the  bare  body  of  the  warrior. 
They  also  make  a  great  study  of 
their  head-dressing.  The  hair  is 
;;llowed  to  grow,  and  is  constantly 
saturated  with  palm  oil,  and  some- 
times a  monkey-skin  cap  is  worn. 
When  in  full  war  paint  the  Bangwa  looks  a 
most  alarming  savage  —  one  that  might  be 
capable  of  any  atrocious  act  of  cruelty. 
Often  I  have  seen  them  drinking  a  concoc- 
tion made  from  the  kola-nut  and  working 
themselves  up  into  a  fury,  after  which  they 
smeared  themselves  all  over  with  a  red,  blood- 
like paint.  Still  I  have  found,  wherever  I 
have  travelled  in  Africa,  that  the  native,  when 
treated  as  a  man,  and  not  as  an  animal,  is  to 
be  trusted,  and  will  prove  himself  a  man.  The 
African  savage  knows  how  to  act  honourably 
towards  his  visitor.  There  is  nothing  he  hates 
so  much  as  being  suspected.  This  is,  of  course, 
sometimes  necessary,  but  to  show  suspicion 
of  his  every  act,  and  to  do  as  I  have  known 
many   men — i.e.^   never  sleep  at  night  without 


[Photo. 


HOUR    CANNU5AI,   CHIEI'S. 


[r/ioto. 


THROUCIH    I'VGMV    i.AND. 


UJI 


first  fortifying  the  camp  and  keeping  a  watch  all 
through  the  hours  of  darkness  — is  to  give  your- 
self away,  and  show  to  the  natives  that  you  fear 
and  suspect  them.  In  such  case  you  must 
not  be  surprised  if  they  attack  you.  All  through 
the  great  forest,  and  through  the  whole  of  the 
cannibal  countries,  I  never  once  kept  a  watch 
at  night  of  any  sort.  I  ])itched  my  tent  right  in 
the  middle  of  the  cannibal  villages,  and  have 
come  through  without  firing  a  shot  in  self- 
defence,  or  even  speaking  angrily  to  a  single 
native  of  the  country. 

I'he  four  chiefs  shown  in  the  preceding  photo- 
graph are  amongst  the  most  influential  of  the 
cannibal  warriors ;  and,  althougli  spoken  very 
roughly  to  by  the  Belgian  ofticer  in  my  hearing, 
on  account  of  the  small  supply  of  rubber 
brought  in  by  their  people,  I  was  surprised  to 
find  how  quiet  and  docile  these  fellows  were.  But 
they  are  only  cowed  for  a  time,  and  there  will  be 
severe  trouble  with  them  before  very  long.  Of  this 
I  am  quite  persuaded,  ^^'hile  talking  privately 
to  the  biggest  of  these  chiefs,  I  was  catechized 
most  closely  by  him  as  to  my  nationality,  etc. 
I  told  him  that  I  was  an  Englishman,  and  he 
asked  me  if  the  English  ruled  anywhere  over 
the  black  people.  I  told  him  about  the  Uganda 
Protectorate,  and  he  then  asked  me,  "  Is  there 
rubber  in  Uganda  ?  " 
and  when  I  told  him 
"  No,"  he  then  said, 
"Then  why  do  the 
English  rule  the 
black  people  ?  "  I 
said,  "  To  do  the 
black  man  good, 
and  to  make  peace 
in  his  country."  He 
was  greatly  inter- 
ested, and  asked  me 
several  cjuestions 
about  the  Govern- 
ment of  Uganda  by 
the  English,  finibh- 
ing  up  by  saying 
that  he  wished  his 
country  were  gov- 
erned by  the  English 
also. 

I  was  thirteen  days 
on  the  A r u w i m i , 
passing  through  the 
cannibal  districts, 
and  then  arrived  at 
Basoko,  the  convict 
station  of  the  Congo 
— a  beautifully-built 
station  with  the  river 
frontage  strongly 


fortified.  The  houses  of  the  Europeans  were 
all  built  of  burnt  bricks.  On  the  opposite 
bank  of  the  Congo  is  Barumbu,  the  house  of 
Captain  Guy  Burrows,  and  it  was  with  this 
gentleman  that  I  had  the  honour  of  staying 
some  ten  days. 

Captain  Burrows  is  an  Englishman,  and  for 
some  years  served  in  Her  Majesty's  Army. 
He  is  now  serving  under  the  Belgian  flag  as 
officer  commanding  the  Aruwimi  district. 

The  station  of  Barumbu  is  beautifully  situated 
on  the  river  side  some  200ft.  above  the 
water  level.  The  houses  are  built  right  in  tlie 
centre  of  a  charming  palm  grove.  The  coffee 
plantations  and  the  rubber  claim,  of  course, 
the  first  attention  of  an  officer  of  the  Belgian 
State,  each  man  having  an  interest  in  the  profits. 
He  is  given  so  much  for  every  plant  of  coffee 
over  a  certain  height,  and  a  percentage  on  every 
pound  of  ivory  or  rubber.  It  is  therefore  an 
inducement  to  the  officer  to  get  as  much  work 
out  of  the  natives  as  possible,  for  by  doing  so  he 
increases  his  own  earnings,  and  therefore  it  is 
only  natural  that  a  certain  class  of  men,  of  whom 
there  are  not  a  few  on  the  Congo,  grind  the 
natives  down,  and  practise  dreadful  cruelties 
to  enforce  labour  from  them.  Happily  the 
Belgian  Government  has  now  sent  out  a  band 

of  Englishmen,  such 
as  Captain  Burrows 
and  others,  whose 
conduct  and  ex- 
ample will,  I  trust, 
do  much  towards 
rectifying  the  mis- 
government  that 
one  hears  so  much 
about.  Erom  this 
place  I  was  enabled, 
by  the  kindness  of 
my  friend,  to  get  a 
passage  on  one  of 
the  State  steamers 
which  was  going 
down  the  river  to 
Leopoldville  with  a 
full  cargo  of  rubber, 
coffee,  etc. 

These  steamers 
form  a  starding  con- 
trast to  the  very 
wild  state  of  affairs 
in  Central  Africa. 
They  are  well  built 
and  finished,  with 
about  eight  small 
cabins  for  the  use 
of  Europeans,  be- 
■K  THE  CONGO  STEAMERS.    [I'/ioto.      sidcs  .spacious  com- 


IC)- 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


partmciUs  for  ine  engineer  and  the  captain.  I 
took  my  meals  each  day  in  the  captain's  private 
cabin— a  concession  obtained  for  me  by  Captain 
Burrows.  'l~he  captain  spoke  English,  and  as 
my  French  is  of  a  very  indifferent  order,  I  was 
glad  to  be  removed  from  the  company  of  the 
eight  or  nine  Belgian  officers  on  board. 

Wood  is  the  fuel  used  on  these  steamers,  as 
no  coal  has  yet  been  discovered — although  hope 
is  still  entertained  in  the  minds  of  some  that 
coal  will  be  eventually  found  on  or  near  the 
Congo. 

The  wood  supply  is,  of  course,  unlimited,  and 
many  little  stations  here  have  been  built  at  inter- 
vals along  the  river  bank,  where  a  good  supply 
of  wood  is  always  found  already  chopped  up. 

The  photograph  reproduced  at  the  bottom  of 
the  preceding  page  shows  one  of  these  stations 
— the  third,  1  believe,  from  Leopoldville.  There 
r.:e  on  each  steamer  aboT.it  twenty  men,  whose 
\vork  is  to  carry  fuel  on  board,  or  to  chop  it  up 
if  the  supply  of  cut  wood  has  run  short. 

We  accomplished  the  journey  from  Basoko  to 
Leopoldville    in    thirteen    days  —  a   creditable 

journey  considering  that  no  travelling  is  done  at 

night.     From  Leopoldville  by  train  to   Matadi 

takes  two  days,  through  glorious  country. 

At  Matadi  the  ocean  steamers  can  be  taken 

and   a    through    journey     made     to     Brussels. 

During  all  my  wanderings  my  little  dog  Sally 

has  accompanied  me,  and  it  would  be  hardly 

right  to  close  this  article  without  a  photograph 

of  this  remarkable  little  dog,  who  has  established 

something  of  a  record  among  canine  explorers. 

It  is  generally  the  case  that  a  long-haired  dog 

cannot  live  in   Africa  :  but  no  dog  could  have 

been       more 

healthy  than  she 

lias    been.      She 

was   never    once 

sick,    and    never 

once  carried ;  she 

has  tramped  with 

her  master  from 

east   to    west    of 

the    great    Dark 

Continent.  Often 

she  has  cheered 


me  in  loneliness  as  only  a  dog  can,  and  on 
more  than  one  occasion  she  has  actually  .saved 
my  life.  She  is  of  poodle  extraction,  but  not 
of  good  breed  ;  but,  after  all,  a  mongrel  dog 
is  often  the  most  affectionate  creature  on  earth. 
Certainly  this  has  been  true  in  Sally's  case. 
I  think  it  can  safely  be  said  that  she  is  the  first 
dog  to  cross  the  continent — certainly  the  first 
of  her  kind.  All  across  Africa  she  has  been 
the  greatest  wonder  to  the  natives,  some  going 
so  far  as  to  speak  of  her  as  the  devil.  She 
always  inspired  respect  and  even  fear  when  she 
commenced  to  bark.  I  remember  when  I  first 
reached  Uganda,  Mwanga,  the  now  rebel  King, 
sent  a  deputation  to  me,  offering  me  two  cows 
for  my  dog ;  but  I  told  him  that  she  was  worth 
much  more  than  that  to  me.  The  next  photo- 
graph of  Sally  with  the  black  baby  is  one  I 
took  whilst  in  Toro.  These  two  were  very  great 
friends  ;  the  poor  little  boy,  being  a  cripple, 
used  to  lie  all  day  long  in  that  reclining  position, 
and  it  was  Sally's  delight  to  go  and  play  with  the 
little  chap.  Her  love  for  this  little  black  baby 
was  extraordinary,  for,  as  a  general  rule,  she 
hated  the  black.  Alas  !  I  was  obliged  to  leave 
her  behind  me  on  the  West  Coast,  as  the  law  of 
England  forbids  the  entrance  of  dogs  into  the 
British  Isles  from  a  foreign  country. 

And  now  I  am  once  again  in  England,  and 
as  I  look  back  upon  the  journey  I  have  just 
completed,  it  all  seems  like  a  dream.  I  think 
of  the  forest  of  the  Pygmies,  and  the  cannibals, 
and  the  many  other  strange  sights  that  I  beheld, 
and  I  can  scarcely  realize  that,  in  the  un- 
protected state  in  which  I  journeyed,  I  have 
come  through   quite   safely  and  well.     I   hope 

before  long  to  go 
back  again  to  this 
land,  seeking 
fresh  adventure 
and  fresh  spheres 
of  usefulness 
with  an  intense 
desire  to  do 
something  at 
least  for  the  re- 
demption of 
Darkest  Africa. 


JPrmn  a\ 


SALLY   AND   THE    LITTLE    BLACK    CRU'l'LE 
(this    is  the   only   dug    who    has   ever    CROSSED    AFRICA). 


vrhoto. 


Entombed    in    a     **  Drive.'' 


By  Louis  Anson. 

It  would  be  hard  to  imagine  a  more  appalling  situation  than  the  one  in  which    this  young  Australian 
found  himself  owing  to  a  combination  of  terrifying  circumstances.     The  incident  is  well  known  locally. 


■"S    a    boy    I     had 

many  terrible  e.\- 

periences    in    the 

"bush."  At  fifteen 

I  was  "  gaining 
Colonial  experience  "  on  the 
Coralbinna  run — the  property 
of  Sir  Henry  Fowler,  M.P. — 
in  the  far  interior  of  South 
Australia.  An  exciting  kind  of 
life  it  was  at  times.  Boundary- 
riding,  bullock  driving,  dam- 
making,  fencing  (I  was  a  crack 
"lacer"),  tank-building,  quarry- 
ing, and  well-sinking  were 
kinds  of  work  which  fell  to 
my  lot  in  turn.  The  alarming 
occurrence  which  I  am  about 
to  relate  took  place  while  I 
was  engaged  in  the  last-named 
hazardous  pursuit  far  out  on 
the  wild  run.  My  mate — or 
rather  my  "boss" — by  name  Jordan  (if  memory 
serves  me  aright),  was  an  experienced  well- 
sinker,  and  had  been  intrusted  with  most  of 
the  deep  -  shaft  contracts  on  the  Coralbinna 
and  other  runs  in  the  North-West.  Our  tent 
had  been  pitched  close  beside  our  work,  and 
faced  a  huge  round  concrete  tank, 
standing  7ft.  or  8ft.  high,  which  had 
been  only  recently  built.  The  well 
was  to  provide  water  for  the  stock 
in  the  immediate  district,  a  track- 
less expanse  of  salt-bush,  sand- 
ridges,  and  porcupine  hills.  The 
tank,  with  a  holding  capacity  ecjual, 
perhaps,  to  that  of  two  ordinary 
swimming-baths,  was  used  to  store 
the  water  in  ;  for  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  have  kept  the  troughs 
filled  while  ten  or  fifteen  thousand 
sheep  were  being  watered,  no  matter 
what  the  drawing  capacity  of  a  well 
might  have  been. 

Jordan  had  sunk  a  shaft  some 
400ft.  or  500ft.  in  depth  before  I 
joined  him  ;  but  the  quantity  of 
water  it  gave  out  in  the  twenty-four 
hours  proving  to  be  insufficient  to 
maintain  an  adequate  supply  in  the 
tank,  we  had  to  cut  a  drive  for 
fre^h  springs.  A  drive,  it  may  be 
explained,  is  a  horizontal  or  slightly 
inclined  tunnel  or  passage,  extend- 
ing from  within  a  yard  or  so  of  the 


THE   AUTHOR — MR.    LOUIS   ANSON. 

From  a  Photo,  by  A  tnerican  Photo.  Company, 
Dunedin. 


Vol.  iii.— 25. 


'  SLOWLY    DESCENDING, 


bottom  of  the  shaft  for  some 
hundreds  of  feet  under  the 
earth. 

Having  emptied  the  well  of 
a  morning,  both  of  water  and 
snakes  (for  we  used  to  find  a 
snake  or  two  coiled  round  the 
buckets  nearly  every  day), 
we  would  descend.  'J"o  be 
lowered  down  the  shaft  of  a 
mid-Australian  well  400ft.  or 
500ft.  deep,  and  barely  3ft. 
wide,  is  not  the  pleasantest  of 
experiences,  even  when  you 
get  used  to  it.  You  seize  the 
rope  with  one  or  both  hands, 
put  your  right  leg  in  the 
bucket  (made  out  of  an  old 
oil  drum),  leaving  your  left  to 
dangle,  sing  out  to  the  top- 
man,  who  is  holding  the 
handle  of  the  windlass, 
"  Lower  away,"  and  then  you  slowly  descend  into 
the  dampness  and  darkness,  mist  and  vapour,  of 
the  bowels  of  the  earth.  It  is  necessary  in  so 
narrow  a  space  to  keep  your  arms  well  in  to 
your  side,  or  you  may  come  to  grief  before  you 
reach  the  bottom.  Besides,  you  will  probably 
pass  a  snake  or  two  en  roii/e,  cling- 
ing to  or  journeying  along  the 
timbers  (or  walls)  of  the  shaft, 
which  you  repeatedly  brush  against 
in  your  descent. 

Barring  a  pair  of  canvas  pants, 
not  much  longer  than  swimming 
drawers,  and  a  belt,  work  below 
was  done  in  a  state  of  nudity.  I 
usually  descended  first.  Then  the 
boss  would  affix  a  block  and  tackle 
to  the  windlass,  send  down  the  end 
of  the  rope  for  me  to  hold,  and 
descend  himself  We  had  no  top- 
man.  We  two  were  now  quite  alone 
mider  the  earth  in  that  desolate 
wilderness,  far  from  human  habita- 
tion of  any  sort. 

Having  lit  a  candle,  we  would 
climb  out  of  2ft.  or  so  of  rising 
water  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft 
into  the  close,  dark,  steaming, 
dripping  drive,  and  crawl  or  slip 
along  its  winding  course  to  the 
"  face  "  at  the  end.  It  had  been 
expressly  stipulated  in  the  contract 
agreement    that    both    shaft     and 


194 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


drive  should  be  timbered.  This  had  been  done 
in  the  case  of  the  shaft.  But  only  half  of  the 
300ft.  of  drive  we  had  cut  had  as  yet  been 
timbered,  and  pieces  of  the  roof  were,  in  conse- 
quence, constantly  falling  down,  or  the  sides 
caving  in. 

One  day,  quite  unexpectedly,  a  rather  large 
boulder  fell  from  the  roof  upon  my  leg,  nearly 
laming  me,  whereupon  I  ventured  to  remark 
that  it  would  be  wiser  to  complete  the  timbering 
of  the  drive  before  proceeding  any  further  with 
the  work  of  excavation.  But  I  was  laughed  at 
for  my  pains,  and  jeeringly  reminded,  at  all 
events  in  effect,  if  not  in  words,  that  little  boys 
should  be  seen  and  not  heard.  Notwithstand- 
ing, young  as  I  was,  I  never  felt  safe  in  that 
abominable  hole.  We  were  usually  bathed  in  a 
clammy  perspiration,  and  our  bare  backs  were 
always  wet  and  sticky  with  the  water  and  slimy 
clay  that  constantly  fell  upon  us. 

My  work  was  to  wheel  away  to  the  mouth  of 
the  drive  the  boulders  and  clay,  while  the  boss 
worked  at  the  face  with  miner's  pick  and  shovel. 
When  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  was  almost 
choke-full  of  refuse  or  tailings,  I  had  to  com- 
municate the  fact  to  Jordan,  who  would  then  go 
above  and  haul  it  up  in  the  buckets,  while  I 
remained  below  to  fill  them.  The  only  light 
we  had  was  that  from  a  home-made  tallow 
candle,  stuck  in  the 
clayey  wall.     As  a  rule,  '  ^ 

the  steam  and  vapours 
which  hung  about  the 
drive  were  so  thick  and 
heavy  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  see  one  another 
a  couple  of  yards  off; 
and  when  I  tell  you  that 
Jordan  worked  on  his 
knees,  this  circumstance 
itself  should  convey  some 
idea  of  the  height  of  the 
drain. 

One  afternoon  I  had 
just  returned  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  the 
shaft  with  my  em[)ty 
miner's  barrow.  In  order 
to  remove  some  huge 
boulders  out  of  Jordan's 
way,  I  placed  it  against 
the  wall,  on  its  side.  As 
I  rolled  them  away  from 
his  feet  and  legs  I  told 
him  that  the  head  of 
the  drive  was  now 
choke-full  to  the  roof, 
that  the  water  there 
was  ankle-high,  and  that, 


as  it  was,  it  would   be  difficult  to  squeeze  our 
way   through    to  the  shaft.        "All   right,    lad, 
we'll    lift    it    direcdy,"    he    answered.        Not- 
withstanding,     he     went     on     picking     away 
round     a    prodigious     erratic  -  block     in     the 
roof     I    suppose    it    must    have    weighed    at 
least  three  or  four  hundredweight.      Try  as  he 
might,  he  could  not  loosen  it.      I  was  standing 
just   behind  a  row  of  large   boulders,  amusedly 
noting  the  disappointed  look  on  his  counten- 
ance as  each  attempt  to  dislodge  the  boulder 
failed,  when   I    noticed   a   great   crack   in   the 
dripping    roof.        I    drew   his   attention    to   it, 
but   he   paid  no  heed  to  the  observation,  and 
went  on  working  with  the  same  stubborn  indiffer- 
ence  to   danger   and    the  same  obstinate  per- 
severance as  before.     I  was   on    the   point   of 
reminding  him  that  the  lower  part  of  the  drive 
was  fast  filling  with  water,  and  that  if  we  did 
not  get  out  quickly,  we  might  be  drowned  like 
rats  in  a  trap,  when,  to  our  indescribable  horror, 
the  roof  suddenly  opened,  the  light  went  out, 
the   earth   rumbled    and    quaked ;    there    was 
a    violent    rush    of    hot    air,    a    dull,    heavy, 
thunderous    crash,    resembling    somewhat    the 
sound  of   muffled   artillery,    and   at   the   same 
moment  we  were  dashed  violently  down   upon 
our  backs.      T/ie  tiamel  had  fallen  in  upon  us! 
We  lay  buried  beneath  400ft.  or  500ft.  of  earth 
and  rocks,  entombed  in  a  low, 
narrow,  winding  passage  in  the 
„       \  bowels  of  the  earth,  deep  down 

"'-       "     .  below   a  lonely,   un- 

\^i.  inhabited,  desolate 


THE   TUNNEL    HAD    KALLE.N    IN    Ul'ON    US. 


ENTOMBED    IN    A    "DRIVE." 


195 


•wilderness,  and  a  two  days'  stage  from  human 
aid  of  any  sort.  For  there  were  no  blacks  any- 
where about  that  we  knew  of.  And  even  if  a 
wild  tribe  had  come  along,  they  might  have 
made  our  sepulchre  more  secure  by  hauling  up 
the  ropes  in  the  shaft  and  making  off  with 
them,  or  by  doing  worse  even  than  that. 

Yet  I  lived,  and  with  difficulty  breathed, 
though  my  mouth  was  stuffed  with  clay,  while 
my  nose  had  been  driven  into  a  slab  of  the 
same  substance.  Still,  as  I  have  said,  I  was 
alive,  and  where  there  is  life  there  is  hope. 
Fortunately,  I  had  been  knocked  down  just 
behind  a  pile  of  boulders  and  alongside  the 
iron-bound  barrow,  which,  as  luck  would  have 
it,  had  not  only  broken  the  fall  of  the  earth  and 
stones,  but  prevented  their  full  weight  from 
crushing  the  life  out  of  me  altogether.  As  for 
Jordan,  he  had  uttered  but  one  brief  piercing 
shriek  as  the  thunderous  crash  came,  and  then 
all  was  sepulchral  silence.  Cimmerian  darkness 
reigned  all  round  .  .  .  The  shock  had  been 
dreadful.  The  hinder  part  of  the  crown  of  my 
head  was  pressed  back  deep  in  the  clayey  bed 
of  the  drive,  a  position  which  gave  my  chin  an 
upward  inclination.  My  head  ached  dread- 
fully, and  there  was  a  feeling  as  of  blood 
oozing  from  the  occiput.  A  dreadful  throb- 
bing and  a  roaring  were  going  on  in  my  ears ; 
my  arms  were  pinned  down  to  the  ground 
bv  the  prodigious  weight  upon  them,  and 
were  fast  becoming  numb,  'iliough  I  could 
breathe  only  with  extreme  difficulty,  the  power 
to  think  remained.  I  had  heard  it  said  that  a 
drowning  man  very  often  sees  his  whole  life  pass 
vividly  before  him  like  a  panorama,  as  he  goes 
down  into  eternity.  As  scene  after  scene,  face 
after  face — schoolboy  days,  the  green  fields  and 
country  lanes  of  Old  England,  the  faces  of  rela- 
tives and  friends  afar — flitted  through  my 
feverish  brain  in  rapid  succession,  I  bethought 
me  of  the  visions  of  a  drowning  man.  "  Surely," 
I  thought,  "these  scenes,  these  faces,  could  only 
come  at  a  time  like  this— surely  my  time  has 
come  !  But  what  an  ignominious  death  to  die  ! 
Is  there  no  escape — no  straw  to  clutch  at?" 
— I  asked  myself.  The  thought  aroused  me 
from  my  reverie,  and  stirred  me  to  energy. 

The  water  had  by  this  risen  considerably  ;  it 
was  lapping  against  the  back  of  my  neck.  In 
less  than  half  an  hour  it  would  have  risen  above 
my  mouth  and  chin.  I  struggled  hard  to  free 
a  hand,  but  all  my  exertions  were  in  vain  :  the 
weight  upon  the  limbs  was  immovable.  Undis- 
mayed, I  made  repeated  attempts  to  turn  my 
feet  sideways,  and  was  just  beginning  to  despair, 
as  much  from  exhaustion  as  from  failure,  when 
I  succeeded  in  turning  my  left  foot  outwards. 
My  success  overjoyed  me,  for  I  could  feel  from 


my  situation  that  I  should  have  greater  purchas- 
ing power  were  the  position  of  my  feet 
altered.  Eventually,  after  almost  superhuman 
exertion,  I  succeeded  in  twisting  round  the 
right  foot.  Then,  using  my  head  and  back  as 
a  lever,  and  with  my  feet  pressed  hard  against 
a  boulder,  I  at  length  managed  to  extricate 
myself  from  the  debris.  As  may  be  imagined, 
it  was  some  minutes  before  I  could  do  any- 
thing. My  limbs  were  cramped,  and  I  was 
utterly  exhausted.  INIoreover,  there  was  a  dull 
pain  at  the  back  of  my  head,  which  I  afterwards 
found  to  be  bleeding  freely.  I  must  have 
struck  it  on  the  barrow  as  I  fell.  The  first 
thing  I  did  was  to  spit  out  the  clay  :  the  next, 
to  sing  out  to  Jordan.  My  voice  had  an  awful 
sound  in  the  death-like  stillness  of  the  living 
tomb.  Utter  darkness  prevailed.  There  was 
no  reply.  Each  movement  I  made,  the  swish 
at  my  feet  reminded  me  that  the  water  was 
rising  in  the  drive  every  minute.  I  put  my  hand 
to  my  pouch,  and  took  out  a  box  of  tandstickers. 
Thank  Heaven  !  they  were  not  damp.  Having 
struck  one,  a  spectacle  of  terrifying  chaos  met 
my  gaze.  There  was  a  big  hole  in  the  roof,  at 
the  side  of  the  huge  boulder  at  which  my  mate 
had  been  working.  The  boulder  itself  had  not 
fallen,  strange  to  say.  Jordan  lay  entombed 
behind  the  pile  of  stones  to  which  I  have  before 
referred.  I  could  just  see  his  face.  "  Mr. 
Jordan  !  Speak  !  Speak,  man  ! — are  you  alive  ?  " 
I  shouted,  excitedly,  bending  low  and  peering 
in  at  him  through  the  narrow  aperture.  He 
heard  me  this  time  :  he  spoke.  Then  he  was 
not  dead  !  It  was  only  a  whisper,  but  he  said 
audibly,  distinctly :  "  I'm  dying ;  for  dod's 
sake  !  get  me  out — don't  let  me  die  in  this 
'orrible  'ole." 

The  drive  was  higher  just  here,  so  that 
there  was  no  immediate  danger  of  his  being 
drowned.  I  therefore  groped  my  way  along  the 
slimy  walls  to  a  bend  at  the  extreme  end  of  the 
drain,  near  the  shaft.  Here  I  found,  above  the 
rubbish  heap,  the  candle  I  had  left  burning.  It 
was  stuck  in  the  clay,  high  up  on  the  wall.  The 
water  had  not  yet  reached  it,  though  it  was  nearly 
waist- high  in  this  straight  {14ft.  or  15ft.  in 
length),  which  opened  into  the  shaft.  Seizing 
a  piece  of  timber  and  the  candle,  I  waded  back 
to  the  rescue  of  Jordan.  First  I  tried  to  raise  the 
load  of  hard  clay  and  slate  that  was  u[)on  him, 
by  inserting  my  lever  of  timber  in  an  aperture 
between  the  wall  of  boulders  and  the  fallen  debris, 
but  all  attempts  to  do  so  proved  abortive.  It  was 
a  dangerous  proceeding,  too;  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  weight  of  the  debris  was  upon  the  row  of 
boulders,  not  upon  my  mate.  By  disturbing 
it,  I  might  have  unwittingly  thrown  the  full 
burden  on   him.     I  therefore  adopted  another 


ig6 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


method.  I  worked  away  at  the  supporting 
boulders,  finally  making  a  large  enough  hole 
through  which  to  drag  him  out,  meanwhile 
employing  the  piece  of  timber  as  a  temporary 
bridge  on  which  to  support  the  weight  of  the 
debris* 

For  some  little  time  after  I  had  dragged  him 
out  he  could  neither  stand  nor  speak  above  a 
whisper.  There  was  a  great  gash  in  his  fore- 
head and  a  hole  at  the  back  of  his  head  from 
which  the  blood  oozed  freely.  He  complained, 
too,  of  his  back  and  one  of  his  legs.  Seeing 
the  water  rising 
round  us,  how- 
ever, he  pulled 


■  UK  LUULD  NKITHEU  STAND  NOR  Sl'EAl. 

himself  together,  and,  with  my  assistance,  had 
just  risen  from  a  boulder  on  which  he  had  been 
sitting,  when  suddenly  and  without  a  second's 
warning,  a  terrific  gust  of  wind  blew  out  our 
candle.  Simultaneously  there  was  another  dull, 
heavy,  crashing  sound,  accompanied  by  a  violent 
quaking  of  the  earth,  as  before.  Great  heavens! 
what  new  disaster  had  befallen  us?  We 
were  both  of  us  too  terrified  to  speak 
for   a  few    moments.     The   awful    silence  was 

*  Jordan,  poor  fellow,  had  encouraged  my  efforts  throughout, 
and  promised  me  all  sorts  of  things  if  I  should  get  him  out  alive.  I 
really  don't  know  what  he  was  not  going  to  give  me.  In  justice 
to  myself,  however,  I  must  say  that  these  promises  in  no  wise 
mtluenced  my  exertions  to  save  his  life.  Nor  did  I  ever  receive  a 
present  from  the  man,  though  he  often  referred  to  his  promise 
afterwards,  and  used  to  say,  "  Ah,  lad,  I  can  never  forget  that  I 
should  ne  er  be  'ere  but  for  thee."  Should  he  read  these  lines— and  it 
IS  highly  probable  he  will,  for  every  man  on  that  run  heard  the  story 
of  our  adventure  from  either  his  lips  or  mine— he  (or  somebody  for 
him)  will,  I  am  sure,  write  to  the  Editor  bearing  me  out  in  this 
statement. 


broken  by  a  faint  moan  from  Jordan.  Again 
we  had  been  plunged  in  utter  darkness.  A 
clammy  perspiration  rapidly  overspread  me.  1 
was  voiceless  :  try  as  I  might  I  could  not  speak — 
it  was  as  though  I  had  been  struck  dumb.  The 
air  was  suffocating  :  every  drop  of  blood  in  my 
body  seemed  to  be  slowly  rising  into  my  head, 
the  veins  in  my  neck  to  be  swelling  to  bursting 
point.  The  sensation  in  my  head  resembled 
the  roar  of  distant  breakers.  .  .  .  When  at 
length  I  struck  a  match  and  lit  the  candle 
anew,  our  horrible  predicament  was  appallingly 
evident.  We  were  buried  alive!  The  drive 
had  fallen  in  some  15ft.  lower  down.  There 
was  no  escape  now,  apparently.  Our  retreat 
had  been  cut  off  completely  this 
time.  We  found  ourselves  entombed 
in  a  chamber  perhaps  20ft.  in 
length,  enveloped  in  suffocat- 
ing vapours,  and  with  the 
water — now  over  our  ankles 
at  this  end  — slowly  but 
steadily  rising  around  us. 
The  candle  gave  out  but  a 
faint  glimmer,  the  air  was 
so  bad. 

Jordan  crawled  to  the 
spot  and  examined  the 
barrier  of  debris.  An  ex- 
pression of  abject  hope- 
lessness overspread  his 
countenance.  "  We're  lost, 
lad,  I'm  afeared,"  he 
sighed,  mournfully.  "  It's 
nine  or  ten  feet  through 
—  that  is,"  he  added,  with 
a  despairing  look,  alter 
tapping  the  barrier  at 
places  with  a  pick.  "  Afore 
we  can  work  through  it, 
this  'ere  place'll  be  chock- 
full  of  water— and  then  there's  gettin'  to  the 
shaft  after  that.  Th'  water'll  be  roof  'igh  at 
tother  side  by  th'  time  we've  workt  through." 
He  looked  very  pale  and  ill  in  that  poor  light, 
and  his  heaving  chest  was  covered  with  blood 
from  the  gash  in  his  forehead,  over  which  a 
lump  of  clay  had  been  plastered  to  stop  the 
bleeding. 

Dejectedly  flinging  the  pick  from  him,  he  sat 
down,  buried  his  face  in  his  hands,  and  wept 
like  a  child,  moaning  piteously  the  while. 
Presently,  all  of  a  sudden,  he  looked  up  and 
around  him  in  a  strange,  dazed,  absent-minded 
way.  Then  he  fixed  his  wild,  glaring  eyes  on 
the  barrier  in  a  vacant  gaze.  I  must  confess  to 
have  been  frightened  more  by  his  terrible  look 
than  by  the  dreadful  doom  impending  over  our 
heads,  which  was  awful  and  demoralizing  enough, 


ENTOMBED    IN    A    "DRIVE." 


197 


in  all  conscience,  without  the  additional  horror 
of  being  imprisoned  in  that  damp,  dread  vault 
with  a  raving  madman.  He  tore  at  his  hair, 
dashed  his  head  against  the  wall,  and  shouted  as 
one  bereft  of  his  senses.  Then,  with  a  sudden 
bound,  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  seized  the  pick, 
and  rushed  furiously  at  the  barrier.  He  drove  his 
pick  in  with  a  fury  and  jerked  at  the  boulders 
with  a  vengeance  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  describe.  At  length,  he  fell  back  from  sheer 
exhaustion,  frothing  and  foaming  at  the  mouth. 
The  candle  wns  nearly  out  from  lack  of  air  ;  the 
water  was  well-nigh  up  to  our  knees.  How 
high  it  was  at  the  other  side  I  did  not  know  ; 
indeed,  I  dreaded  to  give  it  a  thought. 

Jordan  had  done  good  work  ;  he  had  made 
a  hole  at  tlie  top  of  the  barrier  fully  a  yard 
through.  What  thickness  there  was  yet  to 
penetrate  I  had  not  the  remotest  idea.  I 
tapped  the  debris  with  the  pick,  as  he  had 
done,  but  the  leaden  sounds  which  the  knocks 
made  conveyed  but  little  information  to  my 
inexperienced  mind. 

"Goat  it,  me  lad,"  said  Jordan,  encouragingly, 
and  in  a  calmer  tone.  "  There's  only  another 
foot  or  so.  Prise  that  boulder  out  with  the 
piece  of  timber  yonder." 

After  these  encouraging  words,  I  tore  away  at 
the  di'bris  with  as  much  renewed  energy  as  I 
could  throw  into  the  work— for  breathing  was 
difificult,  and  my  head  was  bursting,  my  ears 
singing,  added  to  which  I  would  every  now  and 
then  be  stized  with  a  fit  of  vomiting.  Presently — 
I  don't  know  how  long, 
for  minutes  seemed  as 
years  —  a  splashing  of 
falling  clay  on  the  other 
side,  and  a  sudden  in- 
rush of  air  and  water, 
told  us  that  the  wall  was 
pierced.  For  a  few 
moments,  though  over- 
joyed at  the  reward  of 
our  patience  and  indus- 
try, the  reaction  was  too 
much  for  us.  We  reeled 
and  fell  about  helplessly 
in  the  water.  P>ut  I  had 
caught  just  a  glimpse  of 
the  long  black  line  of 
higher  water  on  the  other 
side,  and  this  recollec- 
tion, together  with  the 
gurgling  sound  of  water 
settling  around  us, 
aroused  us  to  a  sense 
of  our  position  and  to 
activity.  The  hole  I 
had    made    was    only   a 


comparatively  small  one,  but  it  had  now 
become  bigger  by  the  inrush  of  water,  which 
was  flooding  our  end  of  the  drift  in  its  levelling 
process. 

While  yet  the  water  was  rushing  through  we 
made  our  way — feet  first — through  the  hole  into 
that  long  black  stretch  of  inky-looking  water. 
We  were  possibly  280ft.  from  the  shaft — a  dark, 
crooked,  flooded  drain  (3ft.  wide  by  4ft.  deep) 
before  us.  To  swim  was,  of  course,  out  of  the 
question.  We  walked,  floated,  dived,  groped, 
and  stumbled  down  it  as  best  we  could.  At 
places  where  the  roof  bulged  in  the  water 
touched  the  top,  making  it  necessary  for  us  to 
dive  headlong.  The  water  was,  of  course, 
higher  in  the  drive  the  lower  down  we  went. 
As  we  neared  the  bend  in  the  straight  leading 
to  the  shaft,  the  level  of  the  water,  stooping 
forward  as  we  necessarily  had  to  do  in  a  4ft. 
height,  was  higher  than  our  mouths.  To  get 
along  here  we  had  to  twist  our  necks,  press  our 
heads  back  and  downwards,  and  rub  our  noses 
along  the  roof  in  order  to  breathe. 

When  the  shaft  was  reached  there  were  fresh 
difficulties  in  store  for  us.  The  bottom  of  the 
shaft— barely  3ft.  in  width — was  a  foot  or  two 
deeper  than  the  drift.  Consequently,  slipping, 
I  found  myself  "treading"  water.  But  stretching 
my  legs  across  the  well,  and  planting  my  toes 
firmly  in  the  cracks  between  the  timber  of  its 
walls,  I  succeeded,  after  various  mishaps,  which 
it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  prolong  my  narrative 
by  describing,   in    hauling  Joroan   up.     It  was 

late  in  the  night  when  we 
found  ourselves  on  our 
stretchers  in  the  tent.  We 
must  have  been  down  in 
that  ever-to-be-remem- 
bered drain  quite  twelve 
hours.  We  were  both  of 
us  laid  up  for  days  after- 
wards.  Jordan  was 
crippled  in  one  leg  in 
consequence  of  injuries 
he  received  —  I  believe 
for  life.  At  any  rate, 
he  was  lame  months 
afterwards  when  I  parted 
from  him.* 


I    FOUND   MVSELF    'TREADING*    WATER," 


*  This  experience  will  be  remem- 
bered by  hundreds  of  persons  west 
and  north-west  of  Port  Augusta,  to 
whom,  however,  I  was  better  known 
by  the  sobriquet  of  "  Lancashire 
Dick  "  than  by  my  own  name.  Dan 
McGuinness  (or  Guinness),  a  black- 
smith on  the  run,  it  was  who  nick- 
named me  first,  "  The  Lancashire 
Lad,"  and  then  "Lancashire  Dick," 
which  was  subsequently  abbreviated 
to  "Lanky  Dick,"  or  simply 
"Lanky"— a  sobriquet  that  stuck 
to  me  throughout  my  wanderings. 


Venomous  Snakes  and  Their  Ways, 

By  C.  E.  Benson. 


A  budget  of  interesting  gossip  about  the   more  familiar  of  the  venomous  serpents,  interspersed  with 
thrilling  anecdotes  and  examples,  and  illustrated  with  photographs  that  have  been  specially  taken  for 

this  paper. 


HAVE  applied  the  term  "  familiar  " 
to  the  serpents  which  will  be  treated 
of  in  this  paper,  because  a  great 
many  of  us  have  seen  them,  and 
any  of  us  can  go  and  look  at  them 
provided  that  we  can  find  the  time  and  the 
necessary  shilling  wherewithal  to  pay  our 
entrance  to  the  Zoological  Gardens. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Reptile  House  there 
attracts  at  least  as  many  visitors  as  any  other 
department,  which  is  quite  as  it  should  be,  for 
the  establishment  is,  I  believe,  the  best- 
ap[)ointed  of  its  kind  in  the  world  ;  but  it  is 
also  probable  that  90  per  cent,  of  the  visitors 
leave  the  house  absolutely  as  ignorant  as  when 
they  came  in,  which  is  not  at  all  as  it  should  be. 
The  best  remedy  would,  I  think,  be  to  pro- 
vide the  keepers  with  pamphlets  giving  a  short, 
popular  account  of  the  animals  under  their 
charge,  so  that  people  who  were  even  tem- 
porarily interested  might  be  able  to  get  infor- 
mation easily  and  cheaply.  The  handbook  sold 
at  the  entrances  is  not  sufficiently  exhaustive. 

Someone,  indeed,  might  guess  that  the  water 
viper  eats  fish,  because  it  is  described  as  And- 
strodon  Piscivorus  ;  but  who  could  possibly  know 
that  Hallowell's  tree  snake  (the  man  who  coined 
that  name  ought  to  be  fined)  was  the  dreaded 
green  mamba,  or  that  the  shielded  death  adder 
was  the  Australian  tiger  snake?  How- 
ever, I  will  do  my  best  to  remedy  the 
deficiencies  of  the  Society  and  of  the 
public  by  relating  a  few  incidents  about 
the  serpents  now  on  view.  Of  the 
truth  of  these  inci- 
dents I  am  myself 
convinced,  though 
in  many  instances 
it  is  quite  impossi- 
ble for  me  to  pro- 
duce anything  like 
conclusive  evi- 
dence in  support 
of  them.  As  is 
natural  in  such 
cases,  I  have  had 
to  accept  the 
unsupported  state- 
m  e  n  t  s    of    m  y 


friends,  just  as  I  must  ask  the  public  to  believe 
me  when  I  say  that  I  was  once  rather  badly 
squeezed  on  the  arm  by  a  boa,  and  bitten  on 
the  wrist  by  a  diamond  snake. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  vast  majority  of 
serf)ents,  poisonous  and  otherwise,  are  of  a 
timid  disposition,  and  the  present  collection  at 
the  Zoo  is  remarkable  for  containing  no  fewer 
than  four  venomous  serpents  belonging  to 
species  which  are  distinctly  vicious.  Two  of 
them,  at  least,  are  even  aggressive.  The  collec- 
tion also  contains  some  seventy  odd  yards  of 
python,  in  sections  varying  from  12ft.  to 
23ft.  in  length,  a  class  of  serpent  which 
is  always  more  or  less  fierce,  principally 
more  (the  very  first  thing  the  big  one  did  was 
to  lay  into  the  keeper's  leg  ;  luckily  for  him,  it 
had  its  head  in  a  bag  at  the  time),  and  the  funny- 
tempered  South  American  rat  snakes,  which 
are  quite  gentle  when  handled,  but  bite  like 
furies  when  free. 

On  this  occasion,  however,  I 
speak  at  any  length  about  the 
species. 

The  green  mamba  now  on  view  was  very 
nearly  the  cause  of  a  tragedy  at  the  Reptile 
House ,  there  has  been  one,  as  it  is,  but  I  will 
come  to  that  in  its  proper  place. 

"  Good  morning,  sir,"  said  the  keeper  who  is 


propose  only  to 
four  venomous 


THE    DEADLY   GREEN    MAMBA.      (w 


WAS   A   MA.Ml;.>. 

a  Photo,  by  Gcort^e  Naones, 


il.LED    COLO.NEI,    MONIGuMiaa.) 

Limited. 


VENOMOUS    SNAKES     AND    THEIR    WAYS. 


199 


are  long, 


my  very  good  friend.     "  W^e've  got  a  new  snake 
here." 

"  Indeed  !     What  is  it  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  but  it  is  poisonous.  I  looked 
into  its  mouth  and  saw  the  fangs."  This  with 
the  air  of  a  man  who  had  picked  up  a  strange 
beetle  or  a  rare  flower. 

I  can  assure  you  that  when  I  found  it  was  a 
mamba  that  he  had  been  indulging  in  such 
familiarity  with,  I  felt  quite  faint ;  but,  then,  I 
have  not  associated  daily  with  cobras  and  rattle- 
snakes for  fourteen  years. 

The  mambas  are  found  pretty. well  all  over 
Africa,  except  in  the  north.  They 
slender  snakes  —  the 
longest  I  have  seen 
must  have  measured 
quite  I  oft.,  and  yet  was 
no  thicker  than  my 
wrist ;  and  they  are 
probably  the  most 
venomous  and  vicious 
serpents  in  creation. 
There  seems  to  be  no 
reasonable  doubt  that 
on  occasions,  especially 
at  pairing  time,  they 
will  attack  without 
provocation,  and,  what 
is  worse  still,  follow 
you  up.  In  addition 
to  these  delightful 
qualities,  they  are 
arboreal  (which  pre- 
sumably accounts  for 
that  strange  name, 
Hallowell's  tree  snake), 
and,  like  Alice,  when 
she  was  mistaken  for 
a  serpent  in  \Vonder- 
land,  come  wriggling 
down  from  the  sky.  A 
friend  of  mine  saw  a 
man  he  was  out  shoot- 
ing with  struck  on  the 
shoulder  under  such 
circumstances  by  one 
of    these    brutes,    but 


of  the  Continent.  It  is  popularly  divided  into 
two  kinds,  the  green  and  the  black  ;  but,  like 
many  popular  distinctions,  this  is  entirely 
unreliable.  Individuals  of  the  same  species 
may  be  either  green  or  black. 

It  is  to  this  serpent  that  the  melancholy 
death  of  Colonel  ^lontgomery,  of  the  Welsh 
Regiment,  is  generally  attributed  :  and  as 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Harvie  Scott,  Royal  Army 
Medical  Corps  (to  whose  courtesy  I  ani  indebted 
for  the  following  details),  justly  observes,  this  is 
probably  correct ;  although  some  people  think 
that  the  mischief  was  done  by  a  puff  adder. 
Colonel    Scott    gives    sound    reasons    for    the 

faith  that  is  in  him. 
"Colonel  Mont- 
gomery," he  says, 
"  had  very  long  legs, 
and  the  wound  was 
higher  than  one  an 
adder  would  inflict." 
As  the  wound  was  in 
the  upper  and  inner 
third  of  the  leg,  this 
effectually  disposes  of 
the  puff  adder,  which 
anyone  can  see  for 
himself  —  there  are 
always  three  or  four 
at  the  Zoo — is  a  slug- 
gish, bloated  brute, 
and  could  only  with 
great  difficulty  strike 
much  above  the  ankle. 
But  it  may  have  been 
a  cobra. 

I  will  nov/  give 
Colonel  Scott's 
account,  almost  ver- 
Imiiin. 


"  On    looking   over 


LIKUT.-COLONEI.    HARVIE   SCOTT  ('rOYAL   ARMY   MEDICAL    CORPS),    WHO 
TELLS   THE   STORY   OF   COLONEl.    MONTGOMERY'S   TERRIBLE   DEATH. 

From  a  Photo,  hy  G.  Schroeder,   Dublin. 


fortunately    the 


fangs 
did  not  penetrate.  The  next  manoeuvre  was 
necessarily  an  expeditious  retreat  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  tree,  and  as  the  enemy 
started  in  pursuit,  the  dispute  was  settled  by  a 
charge  of  shot. 

I  have  spoken  to  many  other  "  South 
Africans "  on  the  subject,  and  they  all  confirm 
the  idea  that  the  mamba  is  of  a  distinctly 
aggressive  disposition. 

The  most  familiar  species  is  the  narrow-headed 
mamba,  which  is  common  in  the  southern  part 


my  notes  of  the  case," 
he  writes,  "  I  find  we 
had  crossed  the  Tugela 
River  to  the  Zululand 
side.  After  luncheon 
Colonel  Montgomery 
and  his  adjutant  (Captain  Rcid)  went  out 
to  shoot  quail.  When  they  were  some  short 
distance  from  camp  they  dismounted,  and 
threw  the  saddles  over  the  ponies'  heads,  as  is 
the  custom  in  South  Africa,  and  then  went 
into  some  long  grass."  (I  have  read  elsewhere 
that  it  was  a  patch  of  mealies.)  "  Soon  after 
Colonel  Montgomery  felt  something  prick  his 
leg,  which  he  took  to  be  a  thorn,  but  in  a 
few  seconds  he  felt  a  great  shock  to  his 
system,  and  called  out  to  his  adjutant  that 
he   had   been  bitten    by  a  snake  and  that  he 


200 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


LIEUT.-COI.ONEL   N.    MONTGOMERY,    LATE    OF    THE    WELSH     REGLMENT,    WHO 
MET  A   DREADFUL   DEATH    IN   ZULULAND  THROUGH   A    BITE    FROM  A  MAMBA. 

From  a  Photo,  by  />.  Kisch,  Pia-hnii,  Nnfnl. 


for  me.  As  soon  as 
what  had  happened,  I 
mounted  at  the  time) 


was  to  ride  into  camp 
Captain  Reid  told  me 
turned  my  pony  (I  was 

towards  the  place  indicated,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
I  saw  Colonel  Montgomery  riding  towards 
camp  at  a  canter.  He  at  the  time  looked  like  a 
drunken  man  on  a  horse,  as  he  was  swaying  from 
side  to  side  to  such  an  extent  that  I  momentarily 
thought  he  would  fall  off.  When  I  got  to  him,  I 
and  others  helped  him  to  dismount.  His  legs 
immediately  collapsed  (the  result  of  paralysis), 
by  which  it  may  be  seen  that  he  rode  in  by 
balance  only.  The  injury  was  sustained  at 
4  p.m.,  and  we  helped  him  off  his  horse  at  4.10 
p.m.  On  admission  he  was  pale,  nervous,  very 
sick  (vomited  profusely),  had  cramps,  and  a 
feeling  that  he  was  going  to  die.  The  wound, 
which  was  in  the  inner  and  upper  third  of  the 
leg,  had  the  appearance  of  being  pricked  with 
something  sharp.  A  very  tight  ligature  was  put 
around  the  leg  above  the  wound,  which  latter 
was  encouraged  to  bleed  by  incisions,  sucking, 


etc.  Stimulants  were  abundantly  given  by 
mouth  and  subcutaneously.  Permanganate 
of  potash  was  used  locally."  (It  was 
evidently  not  Colonel  Scott's  fault  that 
fatal  results  supervened.)  "  The  restless- 
ness somewhat  abated,  but  now  and  then 
he  would  start  up  in  bed  and  sa}',  '  It's 
no  use ;  I'm  done.'  For  some  time  he 
appeared  to  improve  and  to  become  more 
hopeful,  but  at  about  9  p.m.  his  sight  began 
to  fail,  and  he  was  unable  to  recognise 
articles  in  his  tent.  There  was  at  the  same 
time  difficulty  of  breathing  and  of  swallow- 
ing, and  paralysis  of  the  tongue  and  soft 
palate.  Chronic  convulsions  of  the  upper 
extremities  were  frequent.  Towards  the 
end  he  got  more  quiet,  and  death  ended 
this  trying  scene,  when  I  was  alone  with 
him,  at  2  a.m.,  on  the  22nd  September, 
1883,  ten  hours  after  the  accident.  A 
post-mortein  examination  was  held,  and  it 
was  found  that  the  fang  had  punctured  the 
long  saphena  vein,  and  that  the  blood  was 
in  a  fluid  state.  We  estimated  that  the 
fang,  before  it  touched  the  leg,  passed 
through  a  cloth  Colonial  gaiter,  Colonial 
riding  breeches,  and  drawers.  Colonel 
Montgomery  was  buried  in  Zululand  at  the 
Mission  Station.' 


^'j^^'i 


ti-;Li_IL-U    Tu    TIllC    .ME.MiJj;V    wl     nJLuNEL  MONTGU.MEKY 
BY   HIS    BROTHER   OFFICERS. 


From  a  Photo. 


VENO^iOUS    SNAKES    AND    THEIR    WAYS. 


201 


In  speaking  of  the  maniba  I  said  that  a  man 
was  struck  by  one  on  the  shoulder,  but  that  the 
fangs  did  not  penetrate.  Now,  in  view  of  the 
material  that  the  fang  passed  through  in  the 
case  of  Colonel  Montgomery,  this  may  seem  to 
require  some  explanation.  The  reason  probably 
is  that  the  snake  struck  him  with  the  mouth 
either  wholly  or  partially    closed,   or   that  the 


fangs   did   not    reach    him   "piDint   on. 
understand  this  will  require  a  slight 
study  of  the  dentition   of  venomous 
serpents. 

Leaving  out  the  back  -  fanged 
snakes,  as  their  poison  is  not  suffi- 
ciently virulent  to  endanger  human 
life,  and  the  sea  snakes,  which  are 
about  the  most  deadly  of  the  whole 
lot,  as  they  will  not  live  in  captivity, 
venomous  serpents  are  divided  into 
two   families  —  the   poisonous   colu- 

brines 
b 


To 


FIG.    I. 

Maxillar>- (a)  and  fangs  (b)  of 
an  Indian  cobra,  reproduced 
as  being  typical,  the  maxillary 
of  the  mamba  being  highly 
specialized. 


FIG.    2. 

Fangs  (a),  maxillary  (b),  and  trans- 
palatine  (c)  of  rattlesnake.  The  arrow 
shows  the  direction  in  which  the  trans- 
palatine  is  moved  in  order  to  erect  the 
fang.  The  dotted  line  shows  the  curve 
taken  by  the  fang  during  the  process 
of  erection. 


(which, 
however,  include 
the  sea  snakes)  or 
elapines  (which  do 
not),  and  the 
vipers. 

The  fangs  of 
the  elapines  are 
attached  to  the 
fore  end  of  a 
longish  bone  (the 
maxillary),  which 
lies  parallel  to  the 
palate,  and  is  prac- 
tically immovable, 
so  that  they  are 
to  all  intents  and 

purposes  permanently   erect   (Fig.    i),  whereas 

the  fangs  of  vipers  are  attached  to  the  posterior 

end  of  a  maxillary  that  stands  perpendicularly  to 

the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and 

normally  lie  flat    back  on 

the  palate  (Fig.  2).     When 

the  snake  strikes,  however, 

certain    muscles   are    con- 
tracted, and  the  transpala- 

tine  bone  (Fig.  2)  is  pulled 

forward   against   the   lower 

end  of  the  maxillary,  which 

is    thus    made    to   revolve 

through  about  a  quarter  of 

a  circle,  of  course  carrying 

the  fangs  with  it,  until  they 

are  erected  at  right  angles 

to  the  upper  jaw.     I  may 

here  say  that  the  erection 

of  the  fangs  is  not  a  neces- 
sary   consequence    of    the 

opening     of     the     mouth, 


although   it  is  frequently  so   stated   by  people 
who  write  as  having  authority. 

The  elapines  include  the  cobras,  craits,  coral 
snakes,  mambas,  all  the  Australian  poisonous 
snakes,  etc.  The  vipers  best  known  to  the  "  man 
in  the  street "  are  the  little  English  viper  or 
adder,  the  puff  adder,  the  rattlesnakes,  and  all 
the  other  American  poisonous  snakes,  with  the 
exception  of  the  corals  mentioned  above. 

Now,  when  an  elapine  strikes,  it 
darts  its  head,  usually  in  a  more  or 
less  pronounced  curve,  at  the  object 
of  attack  and  snaps  at  it ;  and 
unless  this  snap  is  made  precisely 
at  the  right  moment,  the  points  of 
the  fangs  will  not  tell  and  no  poison 
will  be  injected.  Neither  is  this 
contingency  a  very  remote  one,  for 
not  only  are  snakes  shocking  bad 
shots,  but  the  intended  victim  may 
stroke  coming  and  start  away, 
thereby  disconcerting  the  serpent's  judgment. 
A  cobra  once  struck  at  my  hand  on  the  other 
side  of  the  glass  at  the  Zoo,  and,  glass  or 
no  glass,  would  have  missed  it ;  besides  which, 
fortunately  for  itself,  it  made  its  snap  much  too 
early  and  got  off  with  a  bang  on  the  nose, 
whereas  otherwise  it  would  have  struck  the  glass 
with  its  open  jaws  and  might  have  injured  its 
mouth.  My  excuse  for  putting  my  hand  so  close 
is  that  I  was  endeavouring  to  explain  some  in- 
teresting technical  point,  and  that  I  never 
thought  the  snake  would  strike. 

The  snapping  of  the  lower  jaw  is  common 
to  both  families,  and  is  essential  to  the  injection 
of  the  venom,  for  the  chief  muscle  that  com- 
presses the  poison  gland  is  inserted  on  the 
lower  jaw,  and  its  contraction  necessarily  closes 
the  mouth.  Sometimes  this  action  is  performed 
with  such  violence  that  the  recurved   teeth    of 


see     the 


Vol.  iii.— 26. 


INDI.\N"    Ci>i  )    \ 

Ft  out  a  Photo.  by\ 


liACK    IS   TOWARDS    THE   SPECTATOR,    HIS    HuoU    DII.ATF.D,    A.SD 

"  SPECTACLES  "  SHOWING.  \George  Newties,  Limited. 


202 


THE   WIDE   WORLD   MAGAZINE. 


the  lower  jaw  get  entangled  in  the  skin  of  the 
victim,  and  the  snake  has  to  shake  its  head 
vigorously  from  side  to  side  in  order  to  extricate 
them. 

We  have  next  to  consider  the  fer-de-lance, 
which,  though  not  the  most  venomous  of  ser- 
pents, is  probably  the  most  dangerous.  The 
question  of  the  comparative  virulence  of  its 
poison  need  not,  however,  be  discussed  :  a  fair 
bite  means  death,  and  the  question  of  an  hour 
or  two  makes  very  little  difference  under  the 
circumstances. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  is 
of  a  most  vicious  disposition  ;  I  have  indeed 
high  authority  for  saying  that  on  occasions  it 
follows  up  its  attack,  but  I  have  been  unable  to 


I  do  not  believe  that  any  snake  can  strike 
more  than  two-thirds  of  its  length,  some  idea 
of  the  force  with  which  this  thrust  is  delivered 
may  be  gathered  from  the  following  anecdote 
in  connection  with  an  officer  in  the  West  Indies 
(St.  Lucia). 

He  had  entered  his  hut,  the  door  of  which 
was  made  in  two  parts,  like  an  ordinary  stable 
door,  the  upper -half  being  left  open  for  purposes 
of  ventilation,  and  the  lower  being  kept  closed 
for  perfectly  obvious  reasons,  and  had  just 
turned  to  attend  to  the  bolt,  when  a  fer-de-lance 
that  had  by  some  means  got  inside,  and  had 
perched  itself  on  a  transverse  rafter,  let  go 
at  him  with  such  vigour  that  it  shot  clean  over 
his  shoulder  and  fell  outside  the  door.     It  was 


THE    FER-DE-I-ANCE  (PROBABLY  THE  MOST  DANGEROUS   OF    SERPENTS). 

From  a  Photo,  by  George  Newnes,  Limit cd. 


trace  any  instance  of  a  man  being  pursued  by 
one,  sufficiently  authenticated  to  warrant  my 
stating  that  this  is  actually  the  case. 

In  the  second  place,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  it  is  a  viper,  and  as  such  has  erectile  fangs, 
and  this  fact,  coupled  with  its  method  of  striking, 
is  in  itself  a  most  fearful  element  of  danger. 

In  its  fighting  attitude — that  is  to  say,  its 
normal  attitude  when  seen  by  man — the  snake 
lies  in  coil,  using  its  tail,  as  it  were,  as  a  point 
d'appui,  and  with  the  fore  part  of  its  body  bent 
back  upon  itself  in  several  curves.  Suddenly 
it  shoots  forward  its  head  with  extreme  velocity, 
throwing  open  its  jaws  to  an  angle  of  iSodeg. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  fangs,  which 
are  erected  till  they  are  at  right  angles  to 
the  jaw,  must  point  straight  at  the  object  of 
attack,  and  that  if  this  object  lies  anywhere  in 
the  line  between  the  commencement  and  com- 
pletion of  the  thrust,  it  is  bound  to  be  struck 
fairly  by  the  points,  especially  as  the  venom- 
injecting  snap  is  not  made  until  the  victim  is 
struck  or  the  thrust  completed.     Now,  although 


an  extremely  narrow  shave,  and  it  is  probable 
that  some  sudden  movement,  providentially 
made  at  the  precise  moment  of  attack,  saved 
the  life  of  the  man,  with  disastrous  results  to 
the  reptile. 

This  awful  serpent  is  common  all  over  Tropical 
America,  but  it  is  as  an  inhabitant  of  St.  Lucia 
and  Martinique  that  it  is  most  familiar  to  us. 
In  these  islands  efforts  have  naturally  been 
made  to  exterminate  it,  but  the  commission 
does  not  seem  good  enough  to  tackle,  and  a 
short  sketch  of  the  means  adopted  and  the 
results  achieved  may  explain  why  I  consider 
this  snake  so  extremely  dangerous. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  plan  was  to  offer 
a  money  reward  for  every  snake  brought  in. 
Result :  No  sensible  diminution  in  the  numbers 
of  the  fcr-de-lance,  and  (it  is  darkly  whispered) 
a  slight  increase  in  the  death-roll  of  the  popula- 
tion. Next  came  the  hog,  the  mighty  hog, 
that  wipes  out  whole  districts  of  rattlesnakes. 
Accordingly  he  was  introduced  to  the  doomed 
serpent.     Result :  Great  mortality  among  hog^. 


VENOMOUS    SNAKES    AND    THEIR    WAYS. 


20' 


KEEPER   WITH    .\iu.N(;u()SK. 

from  a  Photo,  by  George  Ncwncs,  Limited. 

Last  came  the  mongoose,  a  specially  imported 
article.  Now,  Mr.  Ghosh,  in  his  interesting  paper 
on  the  cobra  in  The  Wide  World  ISIagazine 
seven  months  ago,  very  properly  points  out  that 
the  mongoose  depends 
solely  on  its  quickness 
for  its  victory  over  the 
cobra,  and  not  any 
fancied  antidote.  But, 
as  I  have  endeavoured 
to  show,  the  attack  of 
the  cobra  is  one  thing, 
and  that  of  the  fer-de- 
lance  — ■  which  wastes 
no  time  fooling  about 
on  end,  but  lets  out  at 
once  quite  another ; 
and,  as  Mr.  Froude 
remarks,  the  mongoose 
very  soon  found  out 
the  kind  of  creature  it 
had  to  deal  with,  and 
has  taken  no  active 
steps  towards  its  exter- 
mination. 

Next  we  turn  to  the 
cotton  mouth,    water 


viper,  or  water  moccasin,  which  is  said  to  be 
one  of  those  creatures,  naturally  of  a  savage 
disposition,  that  become  tame  and  even 
amiable  in  captivity.  That  it  is  naturally 
savage  I  will  "  presindy  dimonstrate,"  as 
Private  Mulvaney  would  say ;  but  the  speci- 
men at  the  Zoo  displays  its  tameness  and 
amiability  by  striking  at  everything  that  is 
put  into  its  case,  sometimes  even,  in  the 
excess  of  its  rage,  biting  itself,  which,  how- 
ever, has  not  the  slightest  ill  effect  on  its 
health. 

It  was  found  impossible  to  obtain  a  satis- 
factory photograi)h  of  the  water  moccasin, 
notwithstanding  that  the  otificials  of  the  Reptile 
House  most  kindly  afforded  us  every  facility. 
\\  hen  an  attemj)t  was  made  to  move  it  into 
a  favourable  position  for  photographing,  it 
attacked  the  keeper's  rod  with  the  utmost 
ferocity,  striking  at  it  again  and  again.  We 
desisted  from  further  efforts  for  fear  the  snake 
should  injure  its  mouth  in  its  fury.  A\'hen  the 
rod  was  withdrawn,  it  was  found  that  the  top, 
where  the  snake  had  seized  it,  was  bespattered 
with  venom.  The  rod  was  immediately 
cleansed. 

The  water  moccasin,  as  may  be  judged  from 
its  name,  comes  from  North  America,  and  is 
fairly    plentiful   all    over    the    South  -  Eastern 
States.     It    must    not    be    confused   with    the 
true  moccasin,  an  innocuous  snake  which   it 
somewhat  resembles,  which  is  principally  dis- 
tinguished by  the  trouble  it  gives  keepers,  owing 
to  its  propensity  to  eat  not  only  its  companion's 
food,    but   the   companion   itself,    should    both 
happen  to  fancy  the  same  morsel. 


« 


-.fc 


.      .      v\  ATEK    MOCCASIN. 

From  a  Cast  in  the  United  States  National  Museum. 


204 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Although  all  is  fish  that  comes  to  the  water 
moccasin's  net,  it  is  properly  described  as 
"  fish-eating "  {Fiscivonts),  and  seems  to  con- 
sider that  it  is  privileged  to  exercise  a  right  of 
free  fishery  over  all  streams,  and  violently  resents 
any  intrusion  on  its  assumed  rights,  especially 
at  night ;  and  to  this  peculiar  temper  a  sad 
story  is  attached. 

An  English  gentleman,  who  was  out  shooting 
in  Florida,  discovered,  after  pitching  his  tent 
and  making  ready  for  the  night,  that  he  had 
left  something  he  wanted  in  the  boat.  He  then 
desired  his  servant  to  fetch  it.  The  man,  how- 
ever, was  native  to  the  place,  and  his  trained 
hearing  enabled  him  to  distinguish  sounds  which, 
he  said,  were  caused  by  a  moccasin  fishing, 
and  so  he  objected  to  going  on  the  score  of 
danger.  His  master,  whose  senses  were  less 
acute,  laughed  at  his  fears  and  insisted  on  his 
going.  The  poor  fellow  reluctantly  obeyed,  and 
a  few  minutes  afterwards  was  attacked  and 
struck,  the  bite  proving  fatal  in  a  few  hours. 


snake,  now  on  view,  for  instance,  has  eaten 
nothing  but  snakes  since  its  arrival. 

The  hamadryad  is  probably  the  largest 
venomous  serpent  in  existence,  sometimes 
reaching  a  length  of  14ft.  A  possible  exception 
is  the  bush  master  of  Tropical  America,  which 
is  said  to  attain  the  same  length  ;  if  it  does,  it 
must  be  considerably  heavier,  for  it  is  a  vepy 
bulky  snake.  Of  the  others  I  have  mentioned, 
the  mamba  is,  as  I  have  said,  a  lengthy  serpent, 
but  slender ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  fer-de-lance, 
some  7ft.,  and  the  cottonmouth,  some  4ft.,  are 
very  burly  and  powerful. 

A  cousin  of  mine,  an  officer  in  the  Royal 
Navy,  once  routed  a  hamadryad  out  of  a  wood- 
stack  with  an  iron  bar,  and  then,  having  knocked 
it  on  the  head,  sent  it  on  board,  dead  as  he 
thought,  as  a  present  to  the  doctor.  When  he 
returned  to  the  ship  he  found  the  crew  in  the 
rigging — it  was  before  the  days  of  universal 
steam  and  iron — and  the  festive  hamadryad  in 
possession  of    the  deck.     This  time,  when  he 


THE  HAMADRYAD,    PROBABLY   THE    LARGEST   OF   THE  VENOMOUS   SNAKES. 

From  a  Photo,  by  George  Neiunes,  Limited. 


The  hamadryad,  which  is  ne.xt  on  our  list,  is 
o.mply  a  great  big  overgrown  cannibal  cobra. 
For  a  long  time,  indeed,  the  fact  that  it  lived 
chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  on  other  snakes  was 
considered  a  sufficient  reason  to  make  a 
separate  species  of  it,  viz.,  the  snake-eating  elaps 
{Ophiophagus  Elaps) ;  and  a  very  bad  classifica- 
tion it  was  too,  considering  that  the  typical 
genus  elaps,  the  coral  snakes,  live  almost 
exclusively  on  other  serpents,  and  many  others 
are    occasional    cannibals.       The     plumbeous 


did  get  in  at  it,   he  made  no  mistake  about  its 
death. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  serpent  does 
attack  without  provocation,  and  does  pursue 
with  the  most  vicious  determination.  I  know 
of  two  cases  in  point,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  I 
cannot  give  the  names  of  the  men.  The  one 
was  pursued  for  more  than  a  mile,  but  as  he 
was  on  horseback  there  was  no  danger  ;  the  only 
regrettable  part  of  the  business  was  that  he  was 
unable  to  kill  the  snake.     The  other  man  was 


VENOMOUS    SNAKES    AND    THEIR    WAYS. 


205 


chased  across  a  paddy-field,  which  was  not  so 
amusing,  as  he  had  nothing  with  him,  not  even 
a  cane,  and  a  paddy-field  is  httle  better  than  a 
marsh.  In  foct,  there  is  httle  doubt  that  he 
would  have  been  caught  had  not  the  serpent 
most  providentially  run  into  a  charge  of  shot 
that  was  dispatched  to  meet  it. 

It  is  possible  that  some  people  may  be  un- 
accjuainted  with  the  story  of  the  native  and  the 
hamadryad,  repeated  by  Sir  Joseph  Fayrer,  the 
eminent  surgeon.  Apparently  the  man  dis- 
turbed the  snake,  which  got  up  on  end  and 
looked  at  him.  The  man,  not  unnaturally, 
bolted  ;  but,  to  his  horror,  the  snake — most  un- 
naturally in  the  opinion  of  a  person  whose 
previous  experience  only  extended  to  the  com- 
mon cobra  —  came  after  him,  and  showed  no 
disposition  to  give  up  the  pursuit.  At  length 
the  despairing  fugitive  plunged  into  a  river, 
and,  having  swum  across,  was  just  beginning  to 
congratulate  himself  on  his  escape,  when  out  of 
the  water  came  his  enemy,  head  up  and  hood 
dilated.  With  much  presence  of  mind  the  man 
hurled  his  turban  in  the  serpent's  face,  and  now 
comes  the  pretty  rounding-off  of  the  story. 
That  the  action  saved  the  man's  life  is  certain, 
and  that  the  serpent  vented  its  rage  on  the 
turban  is  very  probable,  but  that  there  is  any 
evidence  of  the  latter  I  simply  do  not  believe : 
I  shall  never  be  converted  to  the  belief  that  the 
man  waited  to  see  what  happened. 

According  to  Sir  J.  Fayrer,  the  poison  of  the 
hamadryad  is  less  virulent  in  proportion  than 
that  of  the  cobra,  or  even  the  Russell  snake,  a 
very  deadly  viper,  but  its  great  size  and  the 
length  of  its  fangs  would  probably  make  its 
bite  as  fatal  as  that  of  either. 

I  have  said  that  there  has  been  a  tragedy  at 
the  Zoo  in  connection  with  the  snakes,  and 
although  the  case  was  fully  reported  at  the  time, 
it  is  possible  that,  as  it  occurred  six-and-forty 
years  ago,  many  who  then  read  the  details  have 
forgotten  them,  and  it  is  proba'ole  that  the 
majority  of  the  present  generation  of  readers 
have  never  heard  of  it. 

Briefly,  the  facts  are  as  follows  :  Edward 
Horatio  Gurling,*  keeper,  went  into  the 
Reptile  House  one  morning  in  October,  1852, 
and  commenced  "  playing  the  fool  "  (it  is  really 
the  most  appropriate  expression)  with  the 
snakes.     Eventually  he  got  bitten  on  the  nose 

*  Also  reported  as  John  Girling,  and  Edward  Curling. 


for  his  pains,  and  that  by  an  Indian  cobra.  He 
shouted  for  help  and,  whilst  waiting,  with  great 
presence  of  mind  replaced  the  snake  in  its  case. 
I  fear  that  it  is  only  too  probable  that  the  con- 
clusion of  the  coroner's  jury  that  he  was 
intoxicated  at  the  time  of  the  accident  was  cor- 
rect. Poor  fellow,  he  paid  dearly  enough  for 
his  self-indulgence. 

There  are  some  discrepancies  as  to  the  time 
that  elapsed  before  death,  one  report  giving  less 
than  an  hour,  and  another  as  much  as  two  hours 
and  a  quarter.  Also,  there  was  a  remarkable 
amount  of  rubbish  written  in  the  papers  as  to 
what  ought  to  have  been  done,  and  the  remedies 
that  ought  to  have  been  employed.  Personally 
I  do  not  believe  that  if  the  most  skilled  medical 
aid  had  been  immediately  available,  it  would 
have  been  of  the  slightest  use,  except  to  prolong 
life  for  a  few  miserable  hours.  It  is  not  easy  to 
amputate  a  man's  head  or  to  stop  the  circulation 
in  his  throat  without  producing  fatal  results.  I 
do  not  think  these  correspondents  can  have 
had  any  idea  of  the  rapidity  of  the  action  and  the 
frightful  virulence  of  cobra  venom. 

As  to  the  rapidity  of  the  action,  it  is  a  fact 
that  a  cobra  has  been  made  to  close  its  jaws  on 
a  dog's  tail  at  a  certain  distance  from  the  root, 
and  that  unless  the  tail  were  cut  off  short  within 
four  seconds,  the  bite  proved  fatal. 

As  to  the  virulence,  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  conclude  with  the  story  of  Mr.  Buck- 
land's  escape.  He  was  examining  a  rat  that 
had  recently  been  killed  by  a  cobra,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  investigations  he  removed  the 
skin,  and  scratched  the  flesh  round  the 
punctures  with  his  finger-nails.  Unfortunately, 
just  a  short  time  before  he  had  been  paring 
his  nails,  and  had  made  a  very  slight  abrasion 
on  the  top  of  one  of  his  fingers.  Into  this  a 
minute  portion  of  the  poison  found  its  way,  with 
the  result  that  ]\Ir.  Buckland  was  seriously  ill 
for  some  time  :  indeed,  it  is  possible  that  but 
for  his  own  presence  of  mind,  and  the  fact  that 
there  was  a  chemist's  shop  handy,  fatal  con- 
sequences might  have  ensued.  Mr.  Buckland 
is  of  opinion  that  the  poison  had  circulated 
through  the  body  of  the  rat,  but  I  think  it  far 
more  probable  that  it  was  a  drop  that  had 
not  entered  the  wound.  Examination  shows 
that  when  an  animal  is  struck,  it  almost  always 
happens  that  a  certain  portion  of  the  venom  is 
thrown  on  to  the  skin  about  the  bitten  part. 


Where   Women  Never  Speak 

By  Mrs.  Herbert  Vivian. 

Being   a  description  of  a  remarkable  community — a  nunnery  whose  members  are  under  a  vow  never 
to  speak.   Small  wonder  that  they  die  young    after    so    unnatural  a  life.     In   Italy  they    are    known    "- 

"  Sepolte  Vive"   (the  Buried  Alive). 


as 


Sepolte 

AR  down    in    the 

south  -  western 

corner  of  France, 

on  the  borders  of 

Spain  and  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Pyrenees, 
there  dwells  the  strangest  and 
most  austere  order  of  nuns 
in  the  world.  These  are  the 
Bernardines  of  Anglet,  sisters 
of  Saint  Bernard,  the  almost 
incredible  severity  of  whose 
rule  most  resembles  that  of 
the  famous  Trappist  monks. 
Indeed,  they  appear  even 
more  meritorious  when  one 
remembers  that  weak  women 
cannot  bear  the  same  hard- 
ships or  sufferings  that  men 
can.  These  devoted  nuns 
abandon  themselves  to  a  life 
of  solitude  and  take  a  vosv 
of  perpetual  silence,  which 
everyone  must  allow  is  far 
more  praiseworthy  in  a  woman 
than  in  one  of  the  sterner 
sex.  AVhen  I  was  staying  at 
Biarritz  recently  I  heard  so  much  about  these 
nuns,  and  such  interesting  tales  about  their 
lives,  that  I  determined  to  go  over  to  the 
nunnery  of  Anglet,  and  visit  them  in  their 
hermitage  among  the  beautiful  pine  forests. 

I  drove  through  sandy  dunes  and  pine 
woods,  and  at  last  found  myself  before  a  wicket- 
gate,  opening  upon 
a  long  avenue  of 
pine  and  poplar 
trees.  Here  the 
sense  of  monastic 
seclusion  came  over 
me  at  once,  for  on 
a  sign  -  board  near 
the  gate  I  read  the 
words,  "  Frilre  de 
parkr  a  voix  basset 
As  the  Bernardines 
themselves  may 
never  speak  or  even 
look  at  anyone, 
it  was  no  use  ad- 
dressing myself  to 
them,    but    I    soon 

■       1         1    •        1         1  NOTICE   AT   THE   GATE,    PRAYING 

espied  a  kind,  cheer-  prom 


rHE   AliLE    CEbTAC,    \VH 

Frojn 


o    FuUNDED    THE   OKDEK 

a  Photo. 


ful-looking  Sceur  de  Marie, 
belonging  to  an  adjoining 
convent,  reading  some  holy 
book  beside  alittle  shrine.  She 
put  the  work  aside  at  once,  and 
volunteered  in  a  whisper  to 
take  me  over  the  Bernardine 
quarter.  She  led  me  through 
a  high  wooden  gateway,  and 
then  I  found  myself  in  a 
garden  shut  in  on  every  side 
by  low  white  buildings. 

Here   were    a    number  of 
white  figures  not  unlike  bales 
of  coarse  flannel.     Over  their 
heads,    and   arranged    so   as 
almost  to  conceal  their  faces, 
were     long     black     woollen 
hoods,   which  were  rendered 
the    more     striking    by    the 
great  w^hite  crosses  that  were 
affixed  to   the  backs.     Each 
nun     wore     rough     wooden 
sabots,  and  round  her   neck 
a   chain,    to    which    was    at- 
tached a  large  cross.     There 
was  little  of  the  appearance 
of    the   ordinary  nun   about  their  attire,   which 
contrasted    strikingly    with    the    flowing    dark 
blue  robes  and  snow-white  coifs  of  the    Sa'urs 
de  Marie. 

All  the  silent  Bernardines  seemed  very  busy 
— raking,  hoeing,  and  weeding ;  and  I  noticed 
that   none  of   them  lifted    their  eyes  from  the 

ground,  or  seemed 
aware  of  our  pre- 
sence. My  com- 
panion told  me 
that,  according  to 
the  rules,  all  curi- 
osity of  the  eyes 
must  be  mortified. 
\\'hen  the  Emperor 
of  the  French 
visited  the  convent 
in  1854,  he  asked 
to  be  allowed  to 
see  the  interior  of 
a  cell.  The  Abbe 
Gestae,  founder  of 
I  h  e  monastery, 
threw  open  the  door 
Tpfotl?  "■''^''  "  ^  ''°"'  '"''''■  of  one,  disclosing  a 


WHERE    WOMEN    NEVER    SPEAK. 


207 


From  a\ 


TllK    liEKNARDlNES   AT   THEIK    RECREATION. 


[F/wio. 


nun  seated  on  a  wooden  stool  at  needle- 
work, her  back  turned  to  the  door.  She  did 
not  move,  but  went  on  working  quietly. 

"  May  we  not  see  her  face  ? "  asked 
the  Emperor. 

"  My  child,"  said  the  Abbe,  "  the 
Emperor  and  Empress  are  at  the  door  of 
your  cell  and  wish  to  see  you." 

The  nun  turned  at  once  towards  them 
and  threw  back  her  hood,  showing  the 
most  exquisite  face  of  a  girl  of  eighteen. 
A  murmur  of  admiration  and  pity  escaped 
from  everyone.  I'he  Bernardine,  however, 
remained  absolutely  unconcerned,  with  her 
hands  crossed  on  her  breast  and  her  eyes 
cast  on  the  ground.  She  did  not  seem  to 
be  aware  of  their  presence. 

"  Your  Majesty  sees,"  said  the  courtly 
Abb^,  "  how  implicitly  the  Bernardines 
obey  their  rules.  Not  even  for  the  privi- 
lege of  beholding  an  Emperor  will  they 
raise  their  eyes  from  the  ground." 

Scattered  about  in  the  garden  are  various 
shrines,  containing  images  of  the  Virgin  and 
the  Saints,  and  on  summer  days  the  Sisters 
come  and  sit  near  these  with  their  needle- 
work. The  Bernardines,  by  the  way,  are 
famous   for  their    exquisite  sewing.     They 


From  a]     •'they  ark  kamuls  1  or  their  exquisite  seutng. 


[Photo. 


2o8 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


FioDt  a\ 


i  HE   GKOUP   OF        NOTRE   DAME    UE    PiTIE        UNDER    ITS   THATCHED   SHELTER 


{Photo. 


make  a  great  many  trous- 
seaux', and  I  was  shown  a 
large  stock  of  fairy-like  em- 
broideries for  church  linen, 
and  handkerchiefs  which 
must  have  taken  many  weeks 
or  months  to  make. 

Under  a  thatched  shelter 
stands  a  beautiful  group  of 
Notre  Dame  de  Pi  fie,  which 
was  presented  by  a  lady  who 
had  lost  everyone  she  loved. 
Here  the  Bernardines  often 
come  to  pray  for  the  souls 
of  the  departed,  while  others 
saunter  along  the  neighbour- 
ing footpatlis  wrapped  in 
pious  meditation,  utterly 
oblivious  of  the  great  world 
outside. 

My  blue-robed  guide  next 
took  me  into  the  chapel, 
which  serves  as  a  place  of 
worship  for  the  Soeurs  de 
Marie  as  well  as  for  the 
Bernardines  themselves,  who, 
faithful  to  their  vow  of  soli- 
tude, have  their  portion 
divided  off  by  a  curtain, 
behind  which  they  listen  to 
the  Mass.     The   only   occa- 


1 A     l^^H^ 

wm 

-  '        •                 — — 

•'.^t^  N?5  ^'^H 

THE    IMAGE   OF   OUR    LADY   OF   SORROWS,    WHICH 

J<'roni  a]       has  a  romantic  history.        iPhoto. 


sion  on  which  the  nuns  open 
their  lips  to  speak  is  when 
they  join  in  the  prayers.  If 
it  were  not  for  this  they 
would  probably  almost  forget 
how  to  talk  ! 

On  the  altar  of  the  chapel 
stands  an  image  of  Our  Lady 
of  Sorrows,  draped  in  crape, 
and  wearing  an  expression  of 
infinite  sadness.  In  her  hand 
she  holds  a  crown  of  thorns, 
and  on  her  breast  is  a  heart 
pierced  by  seven  swords. 
There  is  a  strange  story  as 
to  how  the  image  came  to 
Anglet.  Many  years  ago, 
during  the  first  Carlist  war, 
a  number  of  Spanish  refugees 
took  up  their  abode  near 
Bayonne,  and  the  Convent 
of  the  Bernardines  was  one 
of  their  favourite  places  of 
pilgrimage.  Amongst  them 
was  a  lady  of  most  distin- 
guished appearance,  who  was 
remarked  for  her  piety.  One 
day,  after  she  had  been  pray- 
ing for  many  hours  in  the 
chapel,  she  came  to  the  Abb^ 
and  said  to  him  :   "Father,  I 


WHERE    WOMEN    NEVER    SPEAK. 


209 


will  send  you  a  statue  worthy  of  the  Solitude." 
Some  months  afterwards  the  image  arrived,  but 
no  one  knew  whence  it  came  or  who  was  the 
donor.  Long  afterwards,  wlien  the  Abbe  was 
in  Madrid,  being  overtaken  by  a  storm  one  day, 
he  sought  refuge  in  a  convent.  On  being 
asked  his  name,  iie  replied  that  he  was  the 
Abbe  Gestae  of  Anglct.  The  Prioress  suddenly 
became  very  much  interested  and  welcomed 
him  warmly,  saying,  "Ah,  it  is  you  then  who 
have  Our  Plessed  Lady  of  Sorrows.  Shall  I  tell 
why  we  sent  her  to  you?  At  that  time  our 
abbess,  the  Royal  head  of  the  convent,  was  for  a 
long  while  exiled  in  France.  Suddenly  she 
came  back  to  us  one  day,  but  although  we  were 
in  transports  of  joy  at  the  sight  of  her,  she 
seemed  strangely  sad  and  i.-.eoccupied.  At  last 
she  said,  '  Daughters,  it  is  true  that  I  have  been 
restored  to  you 
again,  but,  alas  ! 
we  have  a  heavy 
price  to  pay  for 
my  return.  During 
my  stay  in  France 
I  made  many  a 
pilgrimage  to  a 
convent  near 
Bayonne.  One 
day,  as  I  was 
praying,  a  LMvine 
voice  whispered 
to  me,  "  You 
shall  no  longer 
be  persecuted — 
you  shall  return 
again  to  your  own 
land,  but  in  re- 
turn for  this  you 
too  must  make  a 
sacrifice.  You 
must  offer  up  the 
beloved  statue  of 
Our  Lady  of  Sor- 
rows." '  The  Sis- 
ters were  over- 
whelmed   with 

grief,  for  our  Abbess  could  not  have  demanded 
a  greater  sacrifice.  However,  for  her  sake  we 
yielded,  and  you,  my  father,  now  possess  our 
most  sacred  treasure." 

It  was  the  Abbe  Gestae,  a  saintly  priest  of 
Bayonne,  who  founded  the  conveiU  at  Anglet 
in  1839.  His  portrait  appears  on  the  first 
page.  At  first,  owing  to  lack  of  funds,  the 
nuns  went  through  every  sort  of  suffering,  often 
having  absolutely  nothing  to  eat  and  no  pros- 
pect of  obtaining  anything.  However,  by  sheer 
pluck  and  hard  work  these  courageous  women 
overcame   every  difificultv,    and    now,   although 

Vol  iii.-  27. 


they  are  not  rich,  they  can  at  least  provide  them- 
selves with  the  necessaries  of  life.  Their  needs, 
after  all,  are  very  small.  They  fast  constantly, 
and  when  they  do  eat,  their  food  consists  of 
vegetables,  dry  bread,  and,  three  times  a  week, 
a  little — a  very  little — meat.  The  refectory  is 
a  long,  narrow,  v.'hitewashed  room  with  a 
thatched  roof  and  no  artificial  flooring, 
merely  the  deep  sand  of  the  dunes,  which,  how- 
ever, provides  the  most  comfortable  of  carpets. 
Each  nun  has  her  earthenware  pitcher  of  water 
and  a  little  drawer  in  the  rough  deal  table 
where  she  keeps  her  wooden  spoon,  fork,  and 
platter.  On  Fridays  the  Bernardines  take  their 
meals  kneeling  on  the  sand.  At  the  appointed 
hour  they  make  their  way  in  single  file  to  the 
refectory. 

Every  hour  of  the  day  is  carefully  mapped 


yPhoto. 


out,  for  the  rules  of  the  Order  insist  that  not  a 
moment  shall  be  wasted.  There  are  constant 
prayers  on  every  occasion.  Each  time  the 
big  clock  of  the  monastery  chimes  the  hour, 
every  nun  falls  on  her  knees  and  spends  a  few 
moments  in  prayer.  Out  in  the  fields  it  is 
marvellous  to  see  how  well  the  oxen  know 
those  chimes.  Directly  they  hear  them  they 
stop  instinctively,  starting  on  their  way  again 
the  instant  the  Sisters  rise  from  their  knees. 

These  wonderful  women  have  actually  built 
their  own  houses,  workmen  being  only  called  in 
to  put  on   tlie   roof!     At  first  these  were  most 


2IO 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


THE   LlTTLt;   THATCHED   CIIAl'EI.,    BUILT   BY    lilt    iNij 

curious  little  huts,  made  (walls  and  all)  entirely 
of  thatch.  They  were  but  7ft.  high  by  7ft. 
broad,  and  had  no  window.  Underfoot  was 
sand,  and  the  furniture  consisted  merely  of  a 
wooden  chair  and  a  bed  made  of  branches,  on 
which  was  piled  a  layer  of  straw  or  dry  leaves. 
A  rough  woollen  coverlet  and  a  little  hard 
pillow  completed  the  bedclothes.  I'hese  huts 
were  used  for 
many  years,  but 
at  last  they  were 
obliged  to  be 
discarded,  as 
the  number  of 
deaths  caused 
by  the  cold  and 
wet  was  appal- 
ling. My  cicer- 
one, the  courte- 
ous Sceur  de 
Marie,  took  me 
to  see  one  of 
these  little  huts, 
which  is  still 
kept  as  a  relic 
of  the  past. 
She  told  me  that 
even  now  the 
Bernardines  are 
but  short-lived. 
Hardly  one  of 
them  reaches 
middle  age,  and 
even    in    the 


prime  of  life  they  look 
like  aged  women.  The 
accompanying  photograph 
of  the  thatched  chapel 
gives  an  idea  of  what 
these  huts  were  like.  How- 
ever, though  the  original 
plan  may  have  been 
modified,  the  result  is 
just  the  same,  and  the 
Sister  impressed  upon 
me  that  the  bed"  were 
not  a  whit  less  haiv  and 
uncomfortable  than  Liey 
used  to  be. 

The  next  photograph 
shows  a  number  of  nuns, 
each  sitting  by  the  door 
of  her  little  cell  in  the 
long  white  corridor  out- 
side. It  is  their  hour  of 
recreation,  and  a  !Sa'iir  de 
Marie  is  reading  aloud 
to  them  from  a  work  of 
devotion.  But  even 
during  recreation  they  are  not  allowed  to 
rest,  but  are  always  busy  with  their  needles. 
This  corridor  is  their  only  sitting-room,  and 
a  very  cold  one  it  must  be  in  the  winter,  for 
there  are  no  fires  whatsoever  at  Anglet.  Round 
the  walls  are  a  few  pictures  and  sacred  images, 
and  everywhere  one  reads  admonitory  texts  and 
verses,  such  as  :  "  If  you  remember  your  sins, 


HEMStLV  I 


From  a\ 


SiEUK    I)K    .MA|.;1E"    is    UEAUINCi   TO    THEM    AS   THEY   SIT   AT   THEIR    CELL    DOOHS. 


[P/ioto. 


WHERE    WOMEN    NEVER    SPEAK. 


211 


God  will  forget  them  ;  if  you  forget  them,  He 
will  remember  them." 

The  thatched  chapel  is  a  very  quaint  little 
structure.  The  floor  is,  as  usual,  of  sand,  and 
tiny  windows,  set  in  the  thatch  walls,  give  a  very 
dim,  religious  light.  On  the  altar  is  a  statue  of 
the  Virgin,  and  below  it  another  of  Our  Lord, 
stretched  on  a  couch.  An  inscription  at  the 
door  relates  how  Queen  Victoria  visited  the 
chapel  and  prayed  there,  when  she  was  staying 
at  Biarritz,  in  18S9.  Prayers  have  been  granted 
in  the  most  miraculous  way,  said  the  Sister.  The 
Empress  Eugenie  came  here  to  beg  for  a  son, 
and  remained  a  long  time,  praying  with  much 
fervour.     As  she  was  leaving,  the  Abbe  Gestae 


the  souls  of  the  dead,  sometimes  at  the  grave  of 
the  Abbe  Cestac's  father,  a  holy  man  who  is 
buried  here  ;  and  sometimes  in  the  tiny  thatched 
chapel  which  they  have  erected.  In  the  photo- 
graph at  the  top  of  the  next  page  we  see  one  of 
the  little  shrines  in  the  garden,  and  before  it  a 
nun  is  praying. 

The  Bernardines  have  no  fear  of  death. 
Indeed,  on  the  contrary,  they  long  for  it. 
\\'hen  the  first  Superior  of  their  Order  lay 
a-dying  she  had  an  interview  with  one  of 
the  nuns,  who  implored  her  to  intercede  on 
her  behalf  in  Heaven  that  she  too  might  die 
soon.  The  Superior  smiled,  and  in  an  inspired 
voice  said  that  in  a  month  her  request  should 


From  a\ 


)T10NS    IN    THE  CE.MKIKK'i'. 


\r!uiio. 


said  to  her,  "  Madam,  the  most  Holy  Virgin 
has  vouchsafed  to  me  the  knowledge  that  your 
request  will  be  granted.  Do  not  fear,  for 
assuredly  your  prayer  has  been  heard." 

And,  strange  to  say,  some  months  later  a 
little  Prince  Imperial  came  into  the  world. 

The  cemetery  is  as  austere-looking  as  the 
rest  of  the  nunnery.  The  graves  are  the 
simplest  little  sandy  mounds  huddled  close 
together  in  the  most  pathetic  way,  with  a  rude 
cross  traced  in  cockle-shells  ui)on  them.  At 
the  head  of  each  is  a  little  bush,  while  firs  and 
gloomy  cypress  trees  are  dotted  around.  Here 
the  nuns  spend  much  of  their  time,  praying  for 


be  granted.  On  the  day  of  burial,  just  as  the 
coffin  was  to  be  closed,  the  nun  drew  near  to 
the  body,  whispered  in  its  ear,  and  slipped  a 
note  into  the  dead  hand,  im[)loring  the  Superior 
not  to  forget  her  promise.  Just  a  month  from 
that  date  the  nun,  too,  passed  away,  and  so  the 
promise  was  fulfilled. 

Although  it  seems  hard  to  believe  it,  the 
Bernardines  do  sometimes  have  their  feast  days. 
In  the  photograph  on  the  next  page  we  see  them 
in  single  file  as  usual,  celebrating  All  Saints'  Day, 
which  in  the  Pyrenean  provinces  is  counted  as 
one  of  the  greatest  of  religious  festivals.  An  altar 
is  erected  and  beautifully  decorated  at  tlie  end  of 


212 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


NUN    1'KA\1NG    IN    A    LITTLE   GARDEN    SHRINE. 


[Photo. 


the  long  avenue  of  poplar  trees,  and  here  the 
nuns  assemble  with  banners  and  crosses.  Even 
then,  however,  everything  is  so  subdued  and 
noiseless  that  it  seems  hard  to  believe  that  they 
can  be  rejoicing. 

Perhaps  the  following  story  will  illustrate  better 
than  any  mere  description  how  minutely  the 
penitential  rules  of  this  extraordinary  Order  are 


gave 


face   than  she 

back   in  a   swoon 

her  dearest  friend 

had  parted  with  the  deepest 


obeyed.  TwoBernardines 
lived  side  by  side  for  five 
years  in  two  adjoining 
cells,  and  so  thin  a  par- 
tition divided  them  that 
they  could  even  hear  the 
sound  of  each  other's 
breathing.  All  this  time 
they  ate  at  the  same  table 
and  prayed  in  the  same 
chapel.  At  last  one  of 
them  died,  and,  according 
to  the  rule  of  the  Order, 
the  dead  nun  was  laid  in 
the  chapel,  her  face  un- 
covered, and  the  Bernar- 
dines  filed  past,  throwing 
holy  water  upon  the  re- 
mains as  they  went.  When 
it  came  to  the  turn  of 
the  next-door  neighbour, 
no  sooner  did  she  catch 
sight  of  the  dead  nun's 
a  piercing  shriek  and  fell 
She  had  just  recognised 
in  the  world,  from  whom  she 
pain   many   years 


before  to  enter  the  convent.  For  five  years 
the  two  friends  had  lived  side  by  side  without 
ever  havirvg  seen  each  other's  fiice  or  heard  the 
sound  of  one  another's  voice. 


From  a\ 


ALL   SAINTS     DAY — THE   ALTAR    AT 


[/'//,-/,). 


A   Fight   with   Wolves  on   the  Altar. 

B\   Louis  H.  Eisenmann,  of  Vienna. 

The  attention  of  "Wide  World"  readers  is  specially  drawn  to  the  following  narrative,  which 
surely  merits  the  description  of  "  unique."  The  sacristan  of  a  remote  village  chapel  in  Galicia, 
going  to  prepare  the  interior  for  Christmas,  is  attacked  on  the  very  altar  by  three  huge  wolves. 
The     amazing    fight     that    ensued,    the    sacristan    using    a    candlestick    as  a  weapon  ;    and    his  weird 

ruse  in  the  end  which  led  to  his  victory. 


LTHOUGH  ill  most  provinces  of 
Austria  wolves  have  been  nearly 
e.\terniinatx3d,  yet  in  Hungary- — in 
the  ISukovina  and  Eastern  (ialicia — 
they  are  still  common  enough,  de- 
spite the  fact  that  there  also  every  effort  is  made 
to  get  rid  of  the  brutes,  and  they  are  eagerly 
hunted.  In  the  dense  forests  of  the  Carpathians, 
in  particular,  many  wolves  are  to  be  found,  and 
they  do  the  peasants  great  damage,  especially 
in  winter.  Driven  by  hunger,  whole  packs  of 
them  leave  the  forests  and  wander  about  search- 
ing desperately  for  prey,  when  they  often  attack 
lonely  homesteads,  carrying  off  sheep  and  other 
domestic  animals,  and  at  times  even  venturing 
into  the  middle  of  the  villages.  As  a  rule,  how- 
ever, they  undertake  their  i)re- 
datory  expeditions  only  at  night, 
but  still  occasionally  hunger  will 
urge  them  out  into  the  open  to 
get  a  pig,  their  favourite  food,  or  a 
sheep  for  their  next  meal.  For 
when  the  wolf's  belly  is  empty,  no. 
beast  surpasses  it  in  boldness  and 
thirst  tor  blood.  In  the  Carpa 
thians  every  year  a  considerable 
number  of  persons  are  killed  by 
wolves,  particularly  peasants'  chil- 
dren on  the  way  to  or  from  school. 
But  grown-up  persons  also,  who 
are  so  imprudent  as  to  go  out 
without  arms,  f.ill  a  prey  to  them. 
Before  now  it  has  happened  that 
a  stout  stick  has  saved  a  man's 
life ;  but  mostly  when  a  lonely 
wanderer  is  attacked  by  a  pack  of 
wolves  he  is  lost,  even  though  he  have  firearms 
about  him,  for  not  even  the  cleverest  and  most 
skilful  shot  can  successfully  withstand  a  simul- 
taneous attack  by  ravening  wolves  from  several 
sides  at  once. 

Last  December  it  was  the  lot  of  Stanislaus 
Bruhs,  sacristan  at  the  (ialician  village  of 
Drobycze,  to  have  an  encounter  which  may  be 
declared  to  be  unique,  both  on  account  of  its 
issue  and  of  the  spot  where  it  took  place. 

Stanislaus  Bruhs  is  a  man  of  about  thirty, 
who  besides  being  sacristan  at  the  Drobycze 
parish  church,  has  also  the  duty  of  attending  to  a 
little  church,  or  more  properly  speaking  a  chapel, 
about  two  English  miles  from  the  village.  'I'he 
cha{)el  is  an   interesting   building,  erected   two 


STANISLAL'S    BRUHS,    THE   SACRISTAN 
WHO    FOUGHT    THE   WOLVES. 

From  a  Photo. 


hundred  years  ago  by  a  noble  family  in  the 
neighbourhood,  in  fulfilment  of  a  vow.  It  is 
situated  on  a  hill,  whence  there  is  a  good  view 
to  the  north,  but  in  the  other  directions  the 
forest  shuts  out  all  sight  of  the  country.  The 
Forest  Chapel,  as  the  villagers  call  it,  is  seldom 
used  nowadays,  though  on  certain  days  in  the 
year  masses  for  the  repose  of  the  founder's 
soul  are  read,  and  at  the  great  church  festivals 
service  is  held  there.  In  summer  also  many 
pilgrims  resort  to  the  chapel  from  the  sur- 
rounding villages,  as  its  image  of  the  Virgin  is 
held  in  great  veneration.  In  winter,  however, 
when  the  narrow  forest  paths  are  covered 
with  snow,  several  feet  deep,  the  little  sanc- 
tuary is  left  desolate  and  unvisited,  except  for 
the  service  at  Christmas,  to  attend 
which  none  of  the  pious  peasants 
near  omit,  however  severe  the 
cold,  however  deep  the  snow,  or 
however  violent  the  storm  that 
may  be  raging. 

Well,  in  that  chapel  Bruhs  the 
sacristan  had  a  fight  for  life  and 
death  with  three  wolves,  of  which 
he  gives  the  following  account : — - 

"  On  the  Wednesday  before 
Christmas,  immediately  after 
dinner,  I  set  out  for  the  chapel, 
intending  to  get  it  ready  for  the 
approaching  service.  For  the  sake 
of  company  I  took  my  dog  with 
me.  The  weather  was  very  bad. 
It  was  snowing  hard,  and  the 
snow  in  places  already  reached 
more  than  half-way  up  my 
thighs.  I  felt  inclined  to  turn  back,  and  post- 
pone the  work  in  the  chapel  till  another  day  ; 
but  the  recollection  that  the  next  day  I  should 
be  unable  to  leave  home  determined  me  to 
proceed.  Soon  I  got  into  the  forest,  and  to 
my  satisfiiction  found  that  it  greatly  protected 
me  from  the  fury  of  the  storm.  Not  long  after 
I  entered  it  my  dog  started  a  hare,  and  ran  after 
it,  and  although  I  called  and  whistled  to  her 
she  would  not  return,  and  .soon  disappeared 
from  my  sight.  To  my  dog's  love  of  hunting 
I  owe  the  acquaintance  of  tliree  wolves,  which, 
as  you  may  well  imagine,  I  would  very  gladly 
have  done  without.     It  happened  in  this  way. 

"  When  I  reached  the  summit  on  which  the 
chapel  stands,   the  snow  was  again  driving  with 


214 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


such  violence  that  I  could  hardly  see  ten  paces 
before  me,  and  there  was  not  the  least  sign  of 
my  dog.  In  order  to  show  her,  if  she  did  follow, 
that  I  was  in  the  chapel,  I  left  the  door  open, 
which  I  could  the  better  do,  as  the  large  roof  of 
the  porch  prevented  the  snow  from  being  driven 
in. 

"  Then  I  immediately  set  to  work,  for,  if  I 
wanted  to  reach  home  again  before  nightfall, 
there  was  no  time  to  lose.  In  two  hours  I 
finished  the  greater  part  of  my  task,  and  had  at 
length  only  to  clean  the  altar,  put  candles  in 
the  candlesticks,  and  trim  the  lamps  before 
leaving.  It  was  already  beginning  to  grow  dusk. 
The  lamps  which  I  had  to  fill  were  standing 
on  the  stone  flags  near  the  front  pew,  and  I 
had  knelt  down  on  one  knee  to  prevent  spilling 
the  oil.  While  in  that  attitude,  holding 
the  oil-can  in  my  left  hand  and  a  lamp  in  my 
fight,  I  suddenly  felt  something  pulling  at  me 
on  the  right.  '  Oh  ! '  thought  I,  '  my  good-for- 
nothing  dog  has  found  me  out  at  last ' ;  and  so, 
without  turning,  as  I  had  to  keep  my  eye  on  the 
lamp  I  was  filling,  I  cried:  'Ah!  you  have 
come  now,  Diana,  have  you?  Wait  a  bit,  you 
truant,  I  will  teach  .  .  .  .'  At  that  moment  I 
felt  something  bite  my  right  calf,  and,  though 
my  leg  was  somewhat  protected  by  my  jack-boot, 
the  pain  was  considerable.  Leaping  up  with  a  cry, 
I  looked  round.  Conceive  my  horror  if  you  can 
when,  instead  of  the  dog  I  expected  to  see,  my  eye 
fell  upon  a  huge,  shaggy,  hungry-eyed  wolf  stand- 
ing close  in  front  of  me,  showing  its  teeth  and 
ready  to  spring  upon    me.     My    heart    almost 


I   FELT    BO.METllI.NG    I;ITE   MY    KIGUT  CALF. 


stopped  with  terror.  I  wanted  to  cry  for  help,  but 
could  not  utter  a  sound.  And,  besides,  who  would 
have  heard  me  in  that  solitary  spot  ?  The  next 
moment  I  had  collected  myself,  and,  stepping 
back,  I  hurled  the  oil-bottle  I  had  in  my  hand 
at  the  beast's  head,  where  it  broke,  but  did  not 
seern  to  hurt  the  creature  in  the  least.  Still,  it 
had  the  effect  of  astonishing  my  assailant  for  a 
moment,  and  this  brief  respite  I  used  in  order  to 
leap  with  lightning-like  rapidity  on  to  the  altar. 
The  wolf,  however,  almost  equally  quick,  sprang 
after  me,  but  fortunately  a  kick  I  gave  it  struck 
its  nose  with  such  violence  that  it  tumbled 
backwards.  Then,  standing  on  the  altar,  and 
holding  fast  to  the  Virgin's  image  upon  it,  I 
looked  round  for  my  enemy,  and  perceived 
two  other  snarling  wolves,  which  had  till  then 
escaped  my  attention.  One  of  them  was  as 
large  as  the  first,  but  the  other  was  a  little 
smaller.  They  had  stopped  in  the  middle  aisle 
near  the  door,  and  were  closely  observing  me 
and  the  first  wolf,  wi::ch  now,  after  a  short 
pause,  renewed  the  attacic.  I  had  made  use  of 
the  brief  interval  to  get  out  and  open  my 
pocket-knife,  the  only  weapon  I  had  with  me ; 
and  when  the  wolf  was  about  to  spring  on  to 
the  altar,  I  lunged  out  and  hacked  at  its  head. 
With  a  loud  snarl  the  brute  retreated  a  pace  or 
two,  but  in  a  couple  of  seconds  it  returned, 
stood  up  on  its  hind  legs,  and  resting  its  lean, 
black-striped  fore-legs  on  the  altar,  tried  to  tear 
my  leg  with  its  sharp  teeth.  Once  more  I 
struck  out  at  the  dreadful  creature  with  my 
knife — this  time,  as  it  seemed,  with  greater  dis- 
comfort to  it  than 
before,  for  instantly  it 
quitted  its  place  with 
a  loud  howl,  shook 
its  head  like  a  dog 
on  coming  out  of  the 
water,  and  joined  its 
comrades.  Then  I 
think  the  amazing 
nature  of  my  position 
dawned  upon  me. 
Here  was  I  fighting 
with  wolves  on  the 
very  altar  of  a  lonely 
church,  the  only 
sounds  audible  be- 
sides the  blood-curd- 
ling snarlings  of  the 
wolves  being  the 
mournful  howl  of  the 
blizzard  outside. 

"  I  had  successfully 
warded  off  and  re- 
pulsed the  first  attack, 
but  was  the  struggle 


A    FIGHT    WITH    WOLVES    ON    THE    ALTAR. 


215 


at  an  end  ?  I  already  began  to  hope  and  think 
the  beasts  would  now  leave  the  church.  Yet, 
no,  they  did  not ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  all 
three  of  them  slowly,  and  with  deliberate  steps, 
approached  the  altar,  cautiously  snuffing  as 
they  came.    They  were  famishing  and  desperate. 

"In  the  e.xpectation  of  another  and  more 
violent  attack,  I  had  altered  my  position  and 
placed  one  foot  on  the  tabernacle  used  for  the 
Sacred  Host,  while  a  large  altar  candlestick  sup- 
ported the  other.  But  as  the  frame  of  the  altar 
picture  was  too  broad  to  admit  of  my  grasping 
it  firmly,  I  was  in  danger  of  losing  my  balance 
and  tumbling  down  amidst  the  beasts  that  were 
thirsting  for  my  blood  and  waiting  to  tear  me  to 
pieces.  My  situation  was  a  desperate  one, 
indeed.  Suddenly,  however,  the  wolves,  instead 
of  rushing  at  me,  turned  and  fled  out  at  the  door. 
Some  sound  inaudible  to  me  must  have 
frightened  them  and  caused  their  flight.  I 
waited  a  while,  and  then  changed  my  uncom- 
fortable position  a  little.  Could  I  venture  to 
get  off  the  altar,  I  wondered.  At  last  I  decided 
to  do  so  ;  but,  alas  !  at  that  very  moment  one  of 
the  wolves  reappeared  in  the  doorway,  and  soon 
after  another  entered  the  chapel,  whilst  the  third 
stayed  on  the  threshold,  probably  to  warn  the 
others  of  any  approaching  danger. 

"  For  a  time,  while  the  fearful  beasts  were 
crouching  before  me,  I  was  racking  my  brain  to 
find  some  means  of  escape,  and  was  wondering 
if  I  might  venture  the  attempt  to  reach  the 
vestry  door,  which  was  but  a  few  steps  to  the 
left  of  the  altar.  If,  I  calculated,  I  could  get 
into  the  vestry,  I  should  be  safe,  as  the  door  was 
strong  enough  to  resist  the  wolves.  Well,  then, 
there  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  Slowly  I  crept  to 
the  extreme  end  of  the  altar,  and  gradually  got 
down,  keeping  my  eye  on  the  beasts  the  while. 
Then  came  the  question,  should  I  make  a  dash 
for  it,  or  rather  steal  (juietly  along?  I  decided 
on  the  former  plan.  The  wolves  did  not  move. 
I  rushed  to  the  door,  seized  the  handle  to  open 
it,  but  to  my  uiiutterable  horror  the  door  remained 
fast  shut  !  Unfortunate  man  that  I  was,  a  little 
while  before  I  had  myself  locked  it,  but  in  my 
excitement  had  forgotten  the  fact  altogether. 
To  turn  the  key  I  had  not  time,  for  a  hasty 
glance  behind  me  showed  that  the  wolves  were 
hurrying  towards  me  with  rapid  strides. 

"  I  rushed  back  towards  the  altar,  but  before 
I  reached  it  I  stepped  on  a  spot  on  the  stone 
floor  where  the  oil  was  spilt  when  I  hurled  the 
bottle  at  the  wolf,  and  I  slipped  and  fell.  I 
breathed  a  prayer  and  gave  myself  up  for  lost. 
I  actually  believed  I  could  feel  the  wolves' 
fangs  in  my  neck  already.  Cold  perspiration 
ran  down  my  face.  But  a  fortunate  accident 
saved     me     for    the     moment.     In     falling,    I 


struck  the  ministrant's  bell,  which  then 
rolled  down  the  altar  steps  and  rang 
out  loudly  as  it  struck  the  stone  flags.  The 
strange  shrill  sound  awed  the  beasts  for  an 
instant,  which  was  sufficient  to  enable  me  to 
climb  on  to  the  altar  once  more.  But  the  next 
moment,  recovering  from  their  temporary  fright, 
the  wolves,  growling  horribly,  the  hair  on  their 
necks  bristling  with  hideous  rage,  and  an  almost 
supernatural  fire  in  their  shining  eyes,  rushed 
simultaneously  towards  the  altar  trying  to  get 
up  on  to  it.  I  kicked  at  them  with  all  my 
might ;  but  in  my  fall  I  had  lost  my  knife. 
"  How  long,  I  speculated,  sick  with  despair, 
should  I  be  able  to  defend  myself  without  a 
weapon?  A  man's  wits  work  with  lightning 
rapidity  at  such  times.  Stay  !  Close  at  hand  I 
had  such  a  weapon  as  I  wanted.  With  one  of 
the  massive  metal  candlesticks  from  the  altar  I 
could  at  least  offer  a  desperate  resistance  and  sell 
my  life  dearly.  Instantly  I  took  hold  of  one  of 
them  and  struck  frantically  at  the  foremost 
wolf.  I  noticed  I  had  succeeded  in  making 
the  head  of  the  smallest  wolf  bleed  freely.  His 
boldness  and  thirst  for  my  blood  had  exceeded 
that  of  the  other  two.  Nor  did  its  companions 
escape  scot-free,  for  I  managed  to  give,  them 
some  severe  blows.  You  would  have  thought 
each  blow  with  that  terrible  weapon  sufficient  to 
smash  the  skull  of  any  animal  but  an  elephant. 
But  each  time  that  I  thought  they  had  had 
enough  they  renewed  the  attack  after  a  short 
pause,  and,  as  I  noticed  with  horror,  it  was  with 
increasing  savageness.  My  situation  became  par- 
ticularly critical  when,  as  if  by  agreement,  they 
all  three  attacked  me  at  once,  one  on  the  left, 
one  on  the  right,  and  the  third  in  front.  While 
I  was  trying  to  keep  two  of  them  off  the  other 
bit  my  leg  through  my  boot  so  violently  that, 
in  spite  of  my  excitement,  I  immediately  felt 
most  severe  pain.  Only  with  great  difficulty 
did  I  succeed  in  freeing  my  foot  from  that  wolf's 
fangs.  When  the  enraged  creature  came  at  me 
again,  I  collected  all  my  strength,  and  dealt  it 
such  a  blow  on  its  head  with  the  heavy  candle- 
stick that,  without  uttering  a  sound,  it  dropped 
down  stunned  or  killed.  At  once  the  others 
withdrew  from  the  strange  fight,  their  whole 
attention  being  obviously  taken  up  by  their 
prostrate  comrade,  whom  they  snuffed  at  on  all 
sides,  only  from  time  to  time  casting  a  suspicious 
glance  at  me.  As  the  wolf  had  fallen  just  at 
the  foot  of  the  altar,  my  enemies  were  close 
enough  to  me,  but  yet  I  could  not  deal 
either  of  them  a  blow  with  the  candle- 
stick, because  they  kept  just  out  of  piy  reach. 
Once,  however,  when  one  of  them  seemed 
to  have  a  great  mind  to  fall  upon  his  prostrate 
brother   and    make   a   meal   off    him,    and   so 


2l6 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


ON'E   OF    THEM    IIP    M  \'    m:(;    THROUGH    MY 

perhaps  became  incautious,  and  got  too  near 
me,  I  made  such  good  use  of  my  candlestick 
that  the  beast  staggered  backwards  and  im- 
mediately made  for  the  door,  followed  by  its 
companion.  They  did  not  seem  to  relish  the 
affair  any  more. 

"  Then  I  got  a  moment's  breathing  space. 
Might  I,  I  wondered,  rejoice  in  victory?  And 
was  this  awful  nightmare  past  ?  Evidently, 
however,  the  wolves  had  no  intention  of  quit- 
ting the  field  of  battle,  for  instead  of  leaving 
the  chapel,  as  I  had  hoped  they  would,  they 
crept  up  and  down  stealthily  between  the  pews, 
obviously  only  waiting  for  a  better  opportunity 
of  getting  me  into  their  power;  or  at  least  of 


satisfying  their  hunger  by 
devouring  their  comrade, 
who  really  seemed  dead, 
as  he  never  stirred. 

"  Meanwhile,  it  had 
grown  so  dark  in  the 
chapel  that  I  was  no  longer 
able  distinctly  to  see  the 
wolves  standing  in  the 
nave;  only  their  glistening 
eyes  were  still  plainly 
visible,  glowing  like  coals, 
and  never  taken  off  me. 
In  another  half- hour  it 
would  be  quite  dark,  and 
then,  thought  I  to  myself, 
they  will  creep  up  unheard, 
the  fight  will  begin  again, 
and  continue  until  at  last 
they  pull  me  down  and 
tear  me  to  pieces.  Minute 
after  minute  went  by.  My 
heart  beat  so  loudly  that 
I  could  hear  it.  Was 
there,  then,  no  escape  for 
me?  Should  I  again  try 
and  get  into  the  vestry  ? 
Before,  however,  I  could 
turn  the  key,  the  wolves, 
I  felt  certain,  would  have 
me  by  the  throat.  What 
else,  then,  was  there  to  be 
done?  I  could  not  endure 
the  fearful  tension  much 
longer.  The  horrible 
luminous  eyes,  constantly 
fixed  upon  me,  were 
positively  hypnotizing  me. 
I  felt  my  fate  must  be 
decided,  and  that  very 
soon  :  the  awful  uncer- 
tainty was  rapidly  growing 
intolerable.  For  one 
reckless  moment  I  felt 
very  much  inclined  to  spring  from  the  altar  and 
attack  the  beasts  with  my  candlestick.  The 
next  minute,  however,  I  saw  that  such  a  course 
would  be  sheer  madness,  for  if  at  the  best  I 
succeeded  in  mastering  one — knocking  it  down, 
and  even  killing  it  —  the  other,  while  I  was 
doing  that,  would  have  the  best  possible  oppor- 
tunity of  seizing  me  from  behind. 

"  Suddenly  it  occurred  to  me  that  wild  beasts 
dread  the  sight  of  fire.  Could  I  not  make  a  fire, 
or  at  least  some  sort  of  torch  ?  Oh,  that  I  had 
thought  of  it  before  !  Perhaps  it  would  be 
possible  with  it  to  make  my  way  out  of  the 
chapel,  or  scare  away  the  wolves  themselves. 
Instantly  I  set  about  carrying  out  my  plan.     In 


i^^HiC'^'. 


A    FIGHT    WITH     WOLVES    OX    THE    ALTAR. 


317 


my  coat-pocket  I  had  the  cloth  with  which  I 
cleaned  the  lamps  :  it  was,  of  course,  saturated 
with  oil,  and  so  must  burn  finely.  But  such  a  little 
thing  would  be  consumed  in  a  few  seconds,  I 
reflected,  so  I  must  have  more  fuel.  I  cautiously 
took  off  my  coat  and  carefully  wound  it  round 
one  of  the  altar  candlesticks,  tying  it  on  with 
my  scarf.  Next  I  fastened 
the  oily  cloth  over  that.  Then, 
indeed,  I  had  such  a  torch  as 
I  needed.  I  then  put  it 
behind  my  back,  and  there 
struck  a  match,  keeping  the 
flame  hidden  from  the  wolves 
as  long  as  it  was  feeble,  in 
order  the  more  to  astonish 
them  when  it  should  burn 
brightly.  It  was  the  des- 
perate remedy  of  a  desperate 
case. 

"Suddenly  I  leapt  from  the 
altar,  with  one  hand  flourish- 
ing my  torch,  and  with  the 
other  another  candlestick  as 
weapon,  and,  yelling  with  all 
my  might,  I  rushed  straight  at 
the  astonished  wolves.  They, 
instead  of  facing  me,  turned 
tail  and  ran  out  at  the  door, 
evidently  terrified  by  the  sight 
of  the  fire,  so  that  on  reach- 
ing the  threshold  I  could  see 
no  more  of  them.  With  my 
hands  trembling  with  excite- 
ment, I  plucked  the  door-key 
from  the  outer  side,  and,  put- 
ting it  into  the  lock  on  the 
inner  side,  slammed  the  door, 
and  for  greater  security  locked 
it  too.  Then  I  ran  back  to 
the  altar ;  the  third  wolf  was 
still  where  it  had  fallen,  and 
surely  must  be  dead.  How- 
ever, I  did  not  venture  to 
touch  it,  but  with  all  my 
might  beat  its  head  with  the 
candlestick  as  long  as  my 
arms  held  out.  On  looking 
at  it  afterwards  by  candle- 
light I  found  I  had  smashed  its  head  to  a  pulp. 
This  much  was  certain :  I  had  no  more  to 
I'ear  from  tfiaf  beast. 

"  It  was  some  time  before  my  excitement 
sufficiently  subsided  to  allow  me  to  look  to  my 
N'ounds.  My  legs  had  suffered  considerably, 
and  when  I  fell  down  with  the  open  knife  in  my 
hand  I  had  given  myself  a  long  and  severe  cut. 
After  binding  up  my  hurts  as  well  as  I  could,  I 
felt   anxious   to  know  whether   the   two   other 

VoL  iiL— 28. 


wolves  were  still  just  outside  the  chapel,  but 
did  not,  of  course,  venture  to  open  the  door. 
Accordingly,  I  resolved  to  spend  the  night  in 
the  chapel  and  wait  till  someone  should  come 
to  look  after  me,  for  at  home  my  long  absence 
must  be  noticed. 

"  My  release,  however,   came  sooner  than  I 


>a'^lt>^^^ 


THEY  TURNED  TAIL  AND  RAN  OUT  AT  THE  DOOR. 

expected,  for  in  a  few  hours'  time  I  heard 
human  voices  and  the  barking  of  a  dog  at  the 
door.  When  my  dog  had  returned  home  alone, 
my  brother-in-law  and  two  friends  became  so 
uneasy  that  they  started  to  seek  me,  fearing  I 
had  been  lost  in  the  snow,  and  might  be  frozen 
to  death. 

"  Such  was  my  adventure  with  the  wolves  in 
the  Forest  Chapel,  which  to  the  end  of  my  days 
I  shall  remember  with  trembling  horror." 


Odds    and    Ends. 


A  collection  of  photographs  one  cannot  possibly  help  looking  at.     And  the    letterpress   is    even   more 
interesting.     These   photographs  are   the  pick  of  thousands   from   all   parts   of  the  world. 

Lynch  in  the  very 
middle  of  his  merci- 
less work.  People  in 
Great  Britain  are  apt 
to  think  that  lynching 
is  a  thing  of  the  past, 
Ijut  this  is  a  fallacy. 
Not  long  ago  the 
Chicago  Herald  stated 
that  in  1897,  during  a 
period  of  eleven 
months,  no  fewer  than 
113  cases  of  lynching 
occurred.  Our  photo, 
shows  a  negro,  con- 
victed of  some  heinous 
crime,  in  the  hands  of 
his  judges.  The  halter 
round  his  neck  and 
the  desperate  look  in 
his  eyes  tell  all  too 
plainly  that  he  is  on 
the  very  threshold  of 
Around  him  are  his  captors — soon  to 


From  a\    I'.\  TCHING    a   torn    HIKCH-BARK    canoe   after    passing   through    ROCKV    KAl'lDS.      {Phuto. 


AVIGATION  on  the  rapid-flowing, 
rock-studded  rivers  of  British  North 
America  is  a  somewhat  dangerous 
operation  :  at  any  moment  the  frail 
canoe  may  be  dashed  headlong  over 
foaming  rapids  or  impaled  on  a  jagged  rock.  This 
latter  accident  has  happened  to  the  birch-bark 
canoe  seen  in  the  accompanying  snap-shot, 
which  was  taken  on  the  Moose  River,  James 
Bay.  The  men  engaged  in  patching  the  little 
craft  are  Indians, 
and  they  are 
deftly  applying 
patches  of  bark 
to  the  torn  keel 
of  their  canoe. 
Mishaps  of  this 
kind  are  of  fre- 
quent occurrence, 
and  the  only 
thing  to  be  done 
when  a  nasty  leak 
develops  is  to  pad- 
dle swiftly  to  the 
bank,  bundle  out 
all  the  cargo,  and 
patch  up  the  rent. 
The  subject  of 
our  next  repro- 
duction is  i)ro- 
bablv  unique  in 
the  rmnals  of  the 
photographic  art. 
Here  we  see  Judge 


doomed    man's   ears, 
a  very   few    minutes 


death. 

be  his  brutal  executioners — while  on  all  hands 
frenzied    cries    of    fury    and    rage    reach    the 

The  trial  was  over  in 
the  criminal  being  con- 
demned to  be  hanged  by  the  neck.  Next  day  a 
coroner's  inquest  was  held,  and  the  farcical 
verdict  of  "  r)eath  at  the  hands  of  some  person 
or  persons  unknown  "  solemnly  recorded.  One 
of  the  jurymen  had  actually  taken  a  prominent 


A    '.VNCillNc. 


[Photo. 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


219 


part  in  the  affair  !  Tliis  particular  lynching 
took  place  at  Texarkansas,  a  town  on  the 
borders  of  Texas. 

The  photogra])h  we  reproduce  here  gives  an 
excellent  idea  of  the  way  in  which  transport  is 
conducted  in  Central  Africa.  It  represents  a 
caravan  of  African  porters  starting  on  a 
journey  up  country  from  the  head-quarters 
of  the  African  Lakes  Trading  Company,  at 
Mandala,  British  Central  Africa.  They  are 
carrying  bales  of  calico,  cloth,  beads,  etc.,  which 
the  agents  of  the  company  barter  to  the  natives 
at  certain  trading  stations  established  by  them 
throughout  Nyassaland.  The  weight  carried  by 
each  man  is  limited  by  Government  regulation, 
and  should  a  bale  exceed  the  maximum 
it  is  slung  on  a  pole  and  carried  across  the 
shoulders  of  two  men.  As  far  as  possible, 
however,  everything  is  carried  African  fashion, 
that  is  to  say,  on  the  head.  Both  styles 
are  illustrated  in  our  photograph.  The  man 
in   charge  of  a  caravan  walks  last,  carrying   a 


stick  with  a  letter 
stuck  on  top  of  it 
containing  the 
names  of  each 
carrier,  the  weight 
of  the  bale  he 
carries,  and  what 
it  contains.  No 
native  will  start 
on  a  journey  un- 
less he  is  posi- 
tively certain  that 
his  name  is  writ- 
ten in  the  letter  ; 
nor  is  this  to  be 
wondered  at,  see- 
ing that  unless 
his  name  is  so 
recorded  he  re- 
ceives no  wages 
when  he  delivers  his  bale  at  its  destination. 
The  gentleman  owning  the  caravan  seen  in 
our  photo,  paid  his  men  at  the  rate  of 
eight  yards  of  calico  for  carrying  goods  100 
miles,  and  he  never  experienced  any  difficulty 
in  getting  all  the  porters  he  required,  for  in  one 
week  they  earned  as  much  cloth  as  they  would 
receive  for  a  whole  month's  work  on  the 
plantations.  It  very  seldom  happened  that 
any  of  the  goods  were  stolen,  the  most 
frequent  cause  of  loss  being  a  river  swollen 
by  heavy  rains.  Perhaps  in  crossing  this  the 
strong  current  would  sweep  the  carrier  clean  off 
his  feet  into  the  water,  goods  and  all. 

Amongst  the  most  remarkable  statues  in  the 
world  the  great  recumbent  figure  of  Buddha, 
near  Pegu,  in  Burma,  shown  in  our  next  photo- 
graph, holds  front  place  for  size.  It  is  curious 
not  only  on  account  of  its  gigantic  proportions — 
which  may  be  feebly  judged  by  comparison  with 
the  standing  figures  beside  it — but  also  as  a 
marvellous  natural  formation  of  rock,  assisted 
into  its  present  shape,  so  far  as  the  head  is 
concerned,  by  native  art.  The  famous  Dai 
lUitsu  to  be  seen  at  Nara,  the  oldest  capital  of 


From  d] 


COLOSSAL    RECUMBENT    FIGURE   OF    CUDDllA,    HEWN    OUT   OF    THE    LIVING    ROCK. 


[/// 


220 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Japan,  is  also  a  colossal  statue  of  Buddha,  which, 
after  eight  failures,  was  finally  cast   and  com- 
pleted by    a   Corean    artist,  Takusho,    in   749. 
But    Dai    Butsu,    after  all,    is    only    55ft.   high, 
and      sinks     into     insignificance     beside     the 
great     figure     at     Pegu,     which    is     i8ift.     in 
length    and  46ft.  in  height,    measured    at    the 
shoulders.       Very    little    is    known     respecting 
the    history  of  this    huge   recumbent    Buddha, 
although  its  antiquity  is   beyond   question.     It 
has  been   lost  to  sight  for  ages,  and  was  only 
brought  to  light  from  out  of  a  dense  mass  of 
jungle  growth  by  an   enterprising  railway  con- 
tractor so  recently  as   1881.     To  the  generality 
of  Europeans,    perhaps,   these   massive   statues 
and   the  gigantic   temples  of   Buddha  scattered 
throughout    the    East    mean    little,   but   to    the 
Buddhist    they  mean    much.     These    so-called 
"pagans  and   heretics,"  with  their  sins  of  the 
body,  sins  of  the  mouth,  and  sins  of  the  mind, 
have  a  religion  that  aims  as  high,  and  has  as 
high  ideals,  perhaps,  as  any.    The  great  Gautama 
is    reported  to  have  laid  down    eleven    of    the 
"  greatest  blessings  "  which,  taken  as  a  rule  of 
life,   would  lead  anyone  pretty  near  the  mark 
aimed  at  by  all  religions.      And  as  the  "  cruci- 
fixes"  of   the  West    signify   to 
Christians     the     doctrines     of 
Christ,  so  in  the  East  do  these 
huge    figures    of    Buddha   sym- 
bolize to  450  millions  of  people 
the   Buddhist  way  of  salvation. 
It  is  the  Persian  method  of 
treating  a  case  of  poison   from 
oi)ium   that  is  seen  in  our  next 
photograph.  The  scene  is  Tehe- 
ran,   the     picturesque    Persian 
capital.    I'he  i)erson  seen  in  the 
illustration     administering     the 
bowl   to   the   patient   is  not,  as 
one  would  naturally  suppose,  a 
physician.        He    is    a    grocer, 
keeping  a  small  shop  hard  by 
the     parade     grounds.         The 
patient,     conveniently    fastened 
to    a    rope    hanging    from    the 
framework  of  the   gate,   is   now 
enticed   iti  caressing  terms,  now 
threatened,    in    order    to    make 
him    gulp    down   a   quantity    of 
milk  from  the  bowl.    This  done, 
he    is    twisted    round    until    he 
vomits.        Then     come     more 
draughts   of  milk,   followed    by 
further   twisting,   which    sulifices 
to  force  out  the  unusually  large 
dose  of  opium  from  his  stomach. 
To  restore  him  completely,  how- 
ever, the  process  was  continued 


until  he  came  to  his  senses,  when  he  was  un- 
fastened and  assisted  to  his  usual  haunt — a  nook 
in  the  gateway.  On  the  following  day,  being 
asked  by  the  writer  for  an  explanation  of  his 
senseless  act,  the  patient,  still  somewhat  stupefied, 
gave  the  following  justification  :  — 

"  I  am  a  stranger  in  this  city,  having  come  here 
in  search  of  work  only  a  year  ago.  I  was  getting 
on  very  well,  when  a  swelling  appeared  on  my 
right  thigh,  and  I  lost  the  use  of  my  leg.  I  tried 
many  Persian  doctors,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  I 
was  then  admitted  to  the  American  Mission 
Hospital,  from  whence  I  was  discharged  after  a 
week,  owing  to  the  closing  of  the  hospital  for  the 
summer.  I  was  unable  to  scour  the  city  for 
alms,  as  one  must  do  in  order  to  get  enough  to 
live  upon,  and  I  therefore  resolved  to  put  an  end 
to  myself  in  as  pleasant  a  way  as  possible." 

The  policeman  standing  next  to  the  grocer  is 
not  on  the  scene  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the 
would-be  suicide  into  custody.  The  police  of 
Teheran  do  not  bother  themselves  about  people 
who  wish  to  put  an  end  to  their  lives.  The 
representative  of  the  law,  in  fact,  is  there  by 
mere  chance.  Nor  is  he  a  wholly  disinterested 
spectator,  since  he  hopes  to  obtain  a  share  of 


HOW   THEY   CURE   OPIUM    POISONING    IN    PERSIA.      THEY   OAVE   THE    PATIENT    MILK,  THEN 
STRUNG    HIM    UP   AND    LET    HIM    TWIST. 

From   a    Photo,    by  Sloru^utn,    Teheran. 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


221 


THIS    I.IFE-BELT   W...     . it    NORTH   SEA,    AND    IT 

Front  a\  CONTAINED   A   SAILOR.  [PhotO. 

the  money  which  he  knows  will  be  collected  for 
the  patient. 

The  accompanying  photograph  represents  one 
of  the  tragedies  which  are  so  common  on  the 
North  Sea  in  the  winter  months.  The  sailing- 
ship  Cito  left  Goteburg  two  years  ago.  In  the 
North  Sea  she  encountered  terrific  weather, 
and  became  a  wreck.  One  poor  fellow  managed 
to  get  into  the  lifebuoy  shown,  and  to  secure 
himself  to  it.  Four  days  later  a  smack  from 
the  Yorkshire  coast  saw  the  floating  buoy  and 
managed  to  haul  it  in.  The  crew,  to  their  horror, 
found  that  it  con- 
tained a  corpse, 
but  the  dead  sea- 
man slipped  out 
on  the  buoy  being 
got  on  board. 
They  brought  the 
buoy  home,  and 
it  was  sold  in  the 
usual  way  as  sal- 
vage. As  the 
photograph  shows, 
the  canvas  and 
cork  were  con- 
siderably worn  by 
the  unfortunate 
sailor's  armpits. 

Next  we  have 
what  is  called  a 
Thot  Kathin  boat. 
Once  each  year, 
in  accordance 
witli  immemorial 
custom,  the  whole 
population  of 
Siam     makes    an 

ostentatious        dis-  Froma  Jho-c.  iy\ 


play  of  religious  charity.  Everybody  visits  the 
nearest  temple  to  present  to  the  priests 
ecclesiastical  robes  of  yellow  cloth  or  silk. 
These  gifts  are  regarded  by  the  people  as 
a  profitable  investment,  which  will  purchase 
a  certain,  and  in  some  cases  a  definite, 
amount  of  happiness  in  some  indefinite  future 
existence.  The  donors,  accompanied  by  bands 
and  banners,  join  together  to  form  long  pro- 
cessions. The  most  interesting  of  these  pro- 
cessions are  those  by  water.  The  people  exhibit 
considerable  ingenuity  in  the  decoration  of  their 
curious  craft.  Bits  of  coloured  cloth,  wreaths  of 
flowers,  and  "  umbrellas  "  of  paper  are  every- 
where conspicuous.  In  the  capital  the  King 
himself  proceeds  to  each  of  the  Royal  temples 
in  an  enormous  State  barge,  propelled  by  sixty 
or  seventy  paddlers.  The  river  is  crowded  with 
brightly-dressed  natives.  The  ships  have  all 
their  flags  flying.  Guns  boom,  bands  play,  and 
the  crowd  chatters  and  laughs  and  enjoys  itself 
as  if  this  were  the  only  holiday  in  the  year. 
The  accompanying  photo.,  taken  many  miles 
away  from  Bangkok,  represents  a  rustic  attempt 
to  celebrate  the  holiday  with  becoming  display. 
The  central  pagoda-like  portion  is  the  place  in 
which  the  priests'  robes  were  deposited  as  they 
were  carried  from  the  \inage  to  the  temple. 
The  occupants  of  the  boat  had  never  seen  a 
camera  before,  and  they  threatened  the  photo- 
grapher with  all  kinds  of  vengeance  if  he  did 
not  speedily  remove  himself     The  "  Captain," 


A   1  i;.-.  I  i\"Ai.  i;u.\  1    i:,   .nia.m. 


[E.  J  'ouit^. 


222 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


IN    WINTER   IN   EASTERN    RUSSIA   THE   WORKMEN    HAVE   SPIRITS 

From  a  Photo. 

however,  on  learning  the  nature  of  the  strange- 
looking  apparatus,  and  being  the  only  one  in  the 
whole  crowd  who  possessed  a  coat,  agreed  that  a 
picture  might  be  taken.  When  the  photographer 
exclaimed,  "It's  all  over,"  he  made  a  frantic  rush 
to  see  the  result.  When  he  discovered  that 
there  were  other  operations  to  be  performed 
before  the  picture  could  be  seen,  he  expressed 
his  disgust  in  so  forcible  a  manner,  that  the 
artist  hastily  betook  himself  to  the  shelter  of  his 
boat  and  the  protection  of  his  crew. 

A  curious  Russian  custom  figures  next  in  our 
Odds  and  Ends.  There  is  a  strange  custom  in 
Eastern  Russia,  the  origin  of  which,  like  many 
other  things  in  connection  v^ith  that  inscrutable 
country,  is  wrapped  in  mystery.  This  is  the  law 
which  requires  in  certain  provinces  the  free  dis- 
tribution of  vodki  to  workmen  in  the  winter 
months.  As  is  well  known,  the  winter  in  Russia 
and  Siberia  is  exceptionally  severe,  and  it  is  a 
fact  that  very  many  of  the  poor  inonjiks  are 
frozen  to  death  annually.  Vodki  is  a  fiery 
spirit,  of  which  the  humble  members  of  the  Czar's 
dominions  are  very  fond.  It  is  very  heating, 
and  during  the  winter  is  consumed  by  those 
who  can  afford  it  in  large  quantities.  By  law, 
an  employer  of  labour  is  required  during  the  time 
of  frost  and  snow  to  give  to  his  labourers  a 
quarter  of  a  pint  of  neat  vodki  twice  a  day,  and 
our  illustration  shows  the  foreman  or  overseer  of 
a  gang  of  men  doling  out  the  rations.  At  the 
back  will  be  seen  the  overseer's  assistant,  who  is 
calling  out  the  names  of  those  entitled  to  their 
supply.  The  omission  of  any  man  to  come 
forward  is  duly  noted,  so  that  he  can  have  the 
amount  credited  to  him  next  time. 


The  framed 
proclamation  seen 
in  the  next  snap- 
shot is  known  as 
the  "  Czar's  pre- 
sence."  The 
empire  of  Russia 
is  so  vast  and  the 
administration  of 
it  so  difficult,  if 
not  impossible, 
from  one  centre, 
that  the  general 
governors  of  the 
various  provinces 
possess  powers 
equal  in  all  re- 
spects to  that  of 
their  Imperial 
master  himself. 
This  power,  how- 
ever, is  only  ex- 
ercised in  cases  of 
grave  emergency,  but  the  general  governor  has 
the  right  of  life  and  death  in  his  hands  in  exactly 
the  same  way  as  the  Czar.  When  occasions  arise 
which  necessitate  the  exercise  of  this  power,  the 
trophy  of  the  Emperor  must  be  in  the  same  room 
as  those  about  to  administer  justice.  Without 
it,  the  proceedings  are  of  no  great  value,  and  the 
decisions  can  be  appealed  against.  The  trophy, 
as  shown  in  the  photograph  herewith,  is  a  huge 
frame  in  which  is  a  proclamation  signed  by 
the  Czar,  and  giving  all  his  personal  autocratic 
rights  and  powers  to  the  general  governor  for 
the  purpose  in  hand.  The  trophy  actually 
symbolizes  the  presence  of  the  Emperor,  and 


DOLED   OUT   TO   THEM    TWICE   A    DAY. 


THE    FKAMEO    PROCLAMATION    YOU    SEE    IS    CALLni)    THE   CZAR  S 
PRESENCE,    AND   MAKES    A    DEAL   OF    DIFFERENCE   TO    PRISONERS. 

From  a  Photo. 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


223 


any  act  performed  in  its  presence  carries  the 
greatest  weight  and  importance.  Prisoners  are 
punished  much  more  severely  when  sentenced 
in  its  presence. 

Next  we  have  a  view  of  the  interior  of  the 
city  gaol  of  Manila.  The  photo,  was  taken  on 
the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the  Feast  of 
the  Rosary,  the  greatest  religious  event  of  the 
year  after  Corpus  Christi  and  Christmas.  The 
scene  resembles  a  Bank  Holiday  fair  in  England  : 
discordant  music  is  being  played,  everybody  is 
in  high  good  humour,  and  aniseed  liquors,  gin. 


attended  by  hundreds  of  "  pigtails,"  decked  out 
in  all  their  silken  finery,  and  devoutly  carrying 
lighted  candles.  In  the  evening  a  banquet  and 
ball  are  given  by  the  Chinese  Chief  Mayor, 
which  all  the  white  residents  are  free  to  attend ; 
whilst  in  the  streets  the  public  animation  is 
sustained  by  illuminations  and  bands  of  music. 

The  good  people  of  the  Island  of  Sark 
must  be  law-abiding  citizens  indeed,  for  the 
edifice  seen  in  the  photograph  at  the  top 
of  the  next  page  is  the  prison  of  the  island. 
It    contains    four     cells,    but     the     weeds    at 


J-roiii  a\ 


\KV    I  K  I  K    IS     rilK    CllV    IjAOl.,    MAMI.A. 


[I  'lioto. 


treacle,  cakes,  ragouts,  hard-boiled  cgi^s  (with 
the  chick  inside  haU-halched),  and  otiitrr  native 
delicacies  are  bemg  vended  on  all  sides. 
Thus  the  prison  is  a  very  nicely-managed 
institution — from  the  inmates'  point  of  view  — 
and  its  attractions  are  such  that  European 
seamen  often  commit  petty  offences  in  order 
to  be  able  to  spend  a  term  in  this  desirable 
retreat.  The  Rosary  is  the  special  festival  of  the 
Chinese  residents  of  Manila.  It  extends  over 
several  days,  during  which  the  Celestials  keep 
open  house,  bestowing  unstinted  hospitality 
upon  their  friends  and  business  acquaintances. 
On  the  last  day  there  is  a  gorgeous  procession, 


the  door  [)io\c  conclusively  that  it  is  seldom 
used.  Indeed,  the  chief  magistrate  of  the 
island  —  who  also  fulfils  the  functions  of 
constable  and  warder — says  that  it  has  only 
been  occupied  three  times  in  five  years.  In 
connection  with  this  queer  little  i)lace  a  delight- 
ful story  is  told.  A  girl  was  once  incarcerated 
in  the  prison  for  the  awful  crime  of  stealing  a 
handkerchief.  It  was  with  great  difiiculty  that 
the  door  was  opened  to  admit  her,  and  once 
open  it  could  not  be  shut.  Accordingly,  the 
prisoner  was  put  inside  and  requested  to  stop 
there.  This  dread  sentence  apparently  pros- 
trated her,   for  she  set  up  a  dreadful  howling, 


224 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


F7Vin  a] 


AiVOTHER   QUEER   GAOL  ;    THE    I'KISON    IN    THE   ISLAND   OF    SARK. 


which  promptly  brought  together  all  the  sym- 
pathizing women-folk  of  the  island,  who  sat 
around  the  open  door  and  told  her  stories  to 
pass  the  time  away.  Next  morning  she  walked 
out  to  the  magistrate's  house,  and  asked  whether 
he  would  release  her  if  she  promised  to  be  good 
and  not  steal  any  more  handkerchiefs.  As 
magistrate  the  worthy  official  said  she  might 
go,  as  warder  he  formally  released  her  from 
further  detention  in  the  open-doored  prison 
house,  and  as  constable  he  offered  no  obstacle 
to  her  immediate  departure. 

The   best  place  to  see  a  camel  race  is  the 
south    of    Algeria,    where   valuable    prizes    are 


offered  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  breed  of 
racers,  and  as  much 
interest  is  taken  in  their 
preparation  and  perform- 
ances as  in  that  of  race- 
horses at  Newmarket.  The 
racing  camels  are  the  re- 
sult of  very  careful  breed- 
ing through  many  genera- 
tions, and  in  size,  temper, 
and  appearance  they  are 
so  different  from  the  ordi- 
nary 'beast  of  burden,  that 
they  might  almost  be  con- 
sidered a  different  race 
of  animals.  Perhaps  the 
most  conspicuous  charac- 
teristic of  the  ordinary 
camel  is  its  extreme  slow- 
ness. Nothing  on  earth 
will  ever  induce  it  to 
hurry,  and  if  you  can  per- 
suade it  to  cover  more  than  two  miles  an  hour 
you  can  congratulate  yourself  on  a  meritorious 
performance.  A  ^5  note  will  buy  a  very  fair 
specimen,  but  for  a  mehari^  or  racing  camel, 
you  must  be  prepared  to  pay  five  or  ten  times 
that  sum.  The  racer,  however,  may  be  counted 
on  for  nine  or  ten  miles  an  hour,  kept  up  for 
sixteen  or  seventeen  hours  almost  without  a 
stop.  The  pace  in  a  camel  race  is  generally 
fast  and  furious  at  the  beginning,  when  all  the 
animals  are  together,  and  seem  to  realize  dimly 
that  a  contest  is  in  progress.  It  is  quite 
impossible  to  hold  them  in,  however  much  the 
rider  may  be  anxious  to  play  a  waiting  game. 


{Photo. 


rroin  aj 


A    CAiMEL   RACE    IN    SOUTH    ALGERIA. 


\_l-'lioto. 


"I    RAISED    THE    ALARM,    AND    ISMAIL    GAVE    THE    CALL    TO    ARMS." 

(see  page  239.) 


The  Wide  World  Magazine. 


Vol.  III. 


JULY,    1899. 


No.   15. 


In  the  Khalifa's  Clutches;    or.  My  Twelve  Years'  Captivity  in 

Chains  in  Omdurman. 

\->y  Ch.vrles  Neukeld. 
Personal  Impressions  of  the  Author,  by  Sir  George   Newnes,  Bart. 


IT  gives  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  write  a 
short  preface  to  the  wonderful  story  which 
commences  in  this  number  of  The  \\'ii>e 
World  Magazine.  I  do  it  because  of  the 
I)eculiar  circumstances  of  my  acquaintance  with 
Mr.  Charles  Neufeld,  the  author. 

I  was  staying  in  Cairo  with  a  party  of  friends 
preparatory  to  going  up  the  Nile.  I  heard  that 
Neufeld  was  in  Cairo,  and  the  clergyman  of 
the  place  where  his  wife  had  been  employed 
as  a  nurse  in  England  during  his  captivity 
happened  to  be  also  staying  at  Shepheard's 
Hotel.  Curiously  enough,  one  member  of 
my  party  was  also  an  English  clergyman, 
and  a  friend  of  Mrs.  Neufeld's  rector.  This 
gentleman  said  that  the  poor  fellow  was  in  great 
distress,  and  his  wife  had  a.sked  him  to  come 
and  call  upon  me,  because  he  had  been  told 
that  he  would  not  be  allowed  to  publish  the 
book  containing  the  account  of  his  life  at 
Omdurman.  He  had  substantial  offers  for  the 
work,  and  was  relying  on  the  proceeds  of  it 
for  a  livelihood.  Someone  in  the  War  Office 
had  declared  that  he  was  not  to  be  allowed  to 
publish  his  story,  except  through  certain  people 
who  had  subscribed  to  the  fund  for  the  relief  of 
the  prisoners  at  Omdurman. 

Neufeld,  accustomed  for  so  many  years  to  be 
crushed  by  authority,  bowed  down  before  this 
improper  and  illegal  threat,  and  his  wife's  clergy- 
man friend  asked  me  whether,  having  experience 
in  these  matters,  I  would  see  him  and  give  him 
the  best  advice  I  could.  This,  of  course,  I  readily 
agreed  to  do,  and  an  interview  was  arranged. 

I  never  saw  a  man  look  so  broken  and 
dejected  as  poor  Neufeld  did  when  he  came  to 
see  me  at  Shepheard's  Hotel,  along  with  Mr. 
Crossland,  who  was  very  kindly  helping  him  in 
the  work  of  his  book.  Neufeld  said  that  this 
intimation  from  the  authorities  had  prevented 
him  from  being  able  to  settle  down  to  the  work, 
and  he  was  afraid  to  go  on.  The  worry  of  it 
all  prevented  the  improvement  in  his  health 
which  better  nourishment  than  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  would  have  brought  about. 

Vol.  iii.— 29. 


Having  heard  the  whole  story  and  ascertained 
the  full  facts  of  the  case,  I  advised  him  to  take 
no  notice  of  this  edict  from  someone  in  the 
public  offices.  It  was  obviously  one  which 
ought  never  to  have  been  made,  as  they 
had  no  power  whatever  to  prevent  him  doing 
what  he  chose  with  his  own.  The  most  that 
highly  sensitive  honour  could  demand  in  the 
matter  was  that  he  should  out  of  the  proceeds 
of  his  book  pay  back  the  small  sum — I  believe, 
twenty  or  thirty  pounds — which  he  had  received 
from  this  relief  fund. 

Fortunately  I  was  able  to  obtain  sufficient 
influence  with  him  to  make  his  mind  thoroughly 
at  ease  over  the  matter,  and  advised  him  to 
accept  Messrs.  Chapman  and  Hall's  offer  of  a 
contract  with  them  for  the  book,  and  to  proceed 
with  the  writing  of  the  same  as  quickly  as 
possible.  When  he  rose  to  leave,  it  was  with  a 
smile  upon  his  brightened  countenance,  and  as 
he  shook  me  warmly  by  the  hand  he  said  that 
I  had  made  a  new  man  of  him. 

The  next  day  I  went  up  the  Nile,  and  did  not 
see  him  again  for  two  months.  On  returning  to 
Cairo  I  was  glad  to  find  him  a  changed  man. 
His  book  had  progressed  well.  His  health  was 
improving  day  by  day.  The  colour  had  come 
back  to  his  cheeks.  Instead  of  an  emaciated 
and  worn-out  wreck  he  looked  a  well-nourished 
and  healthy  man. 

I  had  many  hours  of  interesting  talk 
with  him,  or  rather  from  him,  about  that 
eventful  period  of  his  life  at  Omdurman.  How 
enthralling  it  was  to  listen  to,  and  how  his  eyes 
glistened  as  he  told  of  the  sufferings  he  had 
gone  through,  and  realized  that  he  is  now  free 
from  them  all  ! 

There  are  few  who  could  have  ever  survived 
his  experiences.  Most  men's  nerves  would  have 
been  shattered  and  their  hearts  broken  ;  yet  he 
is  restored  to  health,  comfort,  and  civilization. 
He  now  in  the  following  pages  makes  his  bow 
to  the  British  public,  and  asks  them  to  listen  to 
him  whilst  he  tells  the  weird  story  of  his 
terrible  twelve  years  in  chains. 


228 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Mr.  Neufeld's  Explanatory  Introduction— Preparations  for  the  Journey     The  start  from  Wadi  Haifa- 
Serious  Disputes— A  Sandstorm— "  Treachery  "—Lost  in  the  Desert— The  Attack. 

INTRODUCTION. 


ITHIN  seventy-two  nouis  of  my 
arrival  in  Cairo  from  the  Soudan 
I  commenced  to  dictate  my  experi- 
ences for  the  present  narrative,  and 
liad  dictated  them  from  the  time  I 
left  Egypt,  in  1887,  until  I  had  reached  the 
incidents  connected  with  my  arrival  at  Omdur- 
man  as  the  Khalifa's  captive.  But,  having  got 
so  far,  I  suddenly  became  the  recipient  of  a 
veritable  sheaf  of  Press-cuttings,  extracts,  letters 
— private  and  ofificial,  new  and  old — which 
collection  was  still 
further  added  to  on 
the  arrival  of  my 
wife  in  Egypt,  on 
the  13th  of  October 
of  last  year. 

My  first  feelings 
after  reading  the 
bulk  of  these,  and 
when  the  sensation 
of  walking  about  free 
and  unshackled  had 
worn  off  a  little,  was 
that  I  had  but 
escaped  the  savage 
barbarism  of  the 
Soudan  to  become 
the  victim  of  the 
refined  cruelty  of 
civilization.  Fortu- 
nately, maybe,  my 
rapid  change  from 
chains  and  starvation 
to  freedom  and  the 
luxuries  I  might 
allow  myself  to 
indulge  in  brought 
about   its   inevitable 

result  —  a  reaction,  and  then  collapse ;  and 
while  ill  in  bed  I  could,  when  the  delirium 
of  fever  had  left  me,  and  I  was  no  longer 
struggling  for  breath  and  standing  room  in  that 
Black  Hole  of  Omdurman,  the  Saier,  find  it  in 
my  heart  to  forgive  my  critics,  and  say,  "  I 
might  have  said  the  same  of  them,  had  they 
been  in  my  place  and  I  in  theirs." 

But  the  inaccuracies  written  and  published 
in  respect  to  my  nationality,  biography,  and, 
above  all,  the  astounding  stories  published  in 
connection  with  my  capture  and  the  circum- 
stances attending  it,  necessitate  my  offering  a 
few  words  to  rny  readers  by  way  of  intro- 
duction ;  but  I  shall  be  as  brief  and  concise 
as  possible 


False 
Accusa- 
tions. 


.M1<.    CHAHLES    .NEUFEl.D    WRITl.NG    IN    PRlhu..,    ....    l.:.l 
FOUND    HIM    ON    ENTERING   OMDUR.MAN. 


First  of  all,  then,  I  have,  both  directly 
and  indirectly,  been  blamed  for,  or 
accused  of,  the  loss  of  arms,  ammu- 
nition, and  moneys  sent  by  the 
Government  to  the  loyal  sheik  of  the  Kab- 
babish,  Saleh  Bey  Wad  Salem.  Some  have 
gone  so  far  as  to  accuse  me  of  betraying  the 
party  I  accompanied  into  the  hands  of  the 
Dervishes  ;  a  betrayal  which  led  eventually  to 
the  virtual  extermination  of  the  tribe  and  the 
death  of  its  brave   chief.      The  betrayal  of  the 

caravan  I  accom- 
panied did  lead  to 
this  result ;  //  also 
led  me  into  chains 
and  slavery. 

According  to  one 
account,  I  arrived  at 
Omdurman  on  the 
1st  or  7th  of  March 
(both  dates  are  given 
.  in  the  same  book), 
1887  ;  yet,  at  this 
time,  to  the  best  of 
my  recollection,  the 
general  commanding 
the  Army  of  Occu- 
pation in  Egypt, 
General  Stephenson, 
was  trying  in  Cairo 
to  persuade  me  to 
abandon  my  pro- 
jected journey  mto 
Kordofan.  In  a  very 
recent  publication, 
in  the  preface  to 
which  the  authors 
ask  their  readers  to 
point  out  any  inac- 
curacies, I  am  credited  with  arriving  as  a 
captive  at  Omdurman  in  1885,  when  at  this 
time  I  was  attached  as  interpreter  to  the  Gordon 
Relief  Expedition,  and  stood  within  a  few 
yards  of  General  Earle  at  the  Battle  of  Kir- 
bekan  when  he  was  killed.  It  is  probable  I 
was  the  last  man  he  ever  sjjoke  to. 

The  guide  and  spy  who  reported  my  capture 
and  death  on  the  13th  or  14th  of  April,  1887, 
only  reported  what  he  thought,  as  a  possible 
result  of  arrangements  he  had  made,  had 
actually  happened. 

Then  again,   the  refugee  Wakih  Idris, 
who  reported  in  August,   1890,  that  I 
was  conducting  a  large  drapery  estab- 
lishment   in    Omdurman,    must    have    been   a 


KITCHENER 


I  as  a 
Draper. 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


229 


Soudanese  humorist,  and  was,  doubtless,  hugely 
amused  at  liis  tale  heini;  believed  in  the  face  of 
the  iMadhi's  and  Khalifa's  crusade  against  fmery 
and  luxuries  (allliough  the  tenets  may  have 
stopped  short  at  the  entrance  to  their  hareems) ; 
and  when  everyone,  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest,  had  to  wear  the  roughest  and  commonest 
of  woven  fabrics.  A  drapery  establishment  is 
generally  associated  with  fine  clothing,  silks, 
ribbons,  and  laces ;  in  Omdurman,  such  an 
establishment,  if  opened,  would  have  been  con- 
signed to  the  flames,  or  the  Beit  el  Mai 
(Treasury),  and  its  proprietor  to  the  dreaded 
Saier,  or  prison. 

Vet  again,  when  I  am  more  heavily  weighted 
with  chains,  and  my  gaoler,  to  evidence  his 
detestation  of  the  Kaffir  (unbeliever)  intrusted 
to  his  charge,  goes  out  of  his  way  to  invent  an 
excuse  for  giving  me  the  lash,  I  am  reported  as 
being  at  liberty,  my  release  having  been  granted 
on  the  representations  of  some  imaginary  Emir, 
who  claimed  it  on  the  grounds  that  I  had 
arranged  the  betrayal  of  Sheik  Saleh's  caravan  ! 

There  is  one  other  subject  I  must  touch 
upon — a  subject  which  has  made  the  life 
of  my  wife  and  child  as  much  of  a  hell  upon 
earth  during  my  captivity  as  that  captivity  was 
to  me ;  and  a  subject  which  has  caused  the 
most  poignant  grief  and  pain  to  my  near  rela- 
tives. I  refer  to  my  Abyssinian  female  servant, 
Hasseena.  The  mere  fact  of  her  accompanying 
the  oiravan  opened  up  a  quarry  for  quidnuncs 
to  delve  in,  and  they  delved  for  twelve  long 
years.  It  is  needless  to  dilate  upon  the  subject 
here ;  suffice  to  say  if,  when  my  critics  have 
read  through  my  plain  narrative,  they  have 
conscience  enough  left  to  admit  to  themselves 
that  they  have  more  injured  a  woman  and  child 
than  the  helpless,  and  in  this  particular  connec- 
tion, ignorant  captive,  who  has  returned  to  life 
to  confront  them,  and  to  try  in  future  to  be  as 
charitable  to  their  own  flesh  and  blood  as  some 
of  the  savage  fanatics  were  to  me  in  the  Soudan, 
I  shall  rest  content. 

My  narrative — and  here  I  wish  to  say  that  it 
is  presented  as  I  first  dictated  it,  notwithstanding 
my  being  confronted  with,  as  it  was  put  to  me, 
"  contradictions  "  based  upon  official  and  semi- 
official records  and  reports— may  be  depended 
upon  as  being  as  correct  a  record  as  memory 
can  be  expected  to  give  of  the  events  of  my 
twelve  years'  existence. 

This    period    begins   with    All    Fools' 
Wd".^     l>'iyj  1887,  when,  in  spite  of  all  warn- 
ings,    I    rode     away    from     life    and 
civilization  to  years  of  barbarism  and  slavery. 

At  the  beginning  of  1887,  Hogal  Dufa'allah, 
a  brother  of  Elias  Pasha,  a  former  Oovernor  of 
Kordofan,  came  to  me  at  Assouan  and  suggested 


my  accompanying  him  to  Kordofan,  where  large 
quantities  of  gum  were  lying  awaiting  a  favour- 
able opportunity  to  be  brought  down,  he  possess- 
ing a  thousand  cantars  (cwts.).  The  owners  of 
the  gum,  it  appeared,  were  afraid  to  bring  it  to 
the  lilgyptian  frontier,  believing  that  the  (lOvern- 
ment  would  confiscate  it.  Hogal  was  of  opinion 
that,  if  I  accompanied  him,  we  should  be  able  to 
induce  the  people  to  organize  a  series  of  caravans 
for  the  transport  of  the  gum,  he  and  I  signing 
contracts  to  buy  it  on  arrival  at  W'adi  Haifa,  and 
guaranteeing  the  owners  against  confiscation  by 
the  Ciovernment.  Letters  and  messages,  he  said, 
would  be  of  no  avail ;  the  people  would  believe 
they  were  mere  traps  set  for  them  by  the 
Government;  and  it  was  out  of  the  question  our 
attempting  to  take  with  us  the  large  amount  of 
money  required  to  purchase  the  gum  on  the 
spot.  I  being  looked  upon  as  an  ICnglishman, 
and  an  Englishman's  word  then  being  con- 
sidered as  good  as  his  bond,  Hogal  was  sure 
of  a  successful  journey,  so  it  was  finally  agreed 
that  Hogal  and  I  should  make  up  a  small 
caravan,  and  get  away  as  early  as  possible.  At 
this  time — February,  1887 — the  loyal  sheik, 
Saleh  Bey  Wad  Salem,  of  the  Kabbabish  tribe, 
was  holding  his  own  against  the  Mahdists,  and 
had  succeeded  in  keeping  open  the  caravan 
routes  of  the  Western  Soudan. 

Hogal  and  I  came  to  Cairo  to  make 

'unde'l-^   various    business    arrangements,    and 

taking,    ^vhile    here     I     called    upon     (ieneral 

Stephenson  and  Colonel  Ardagh,  and 
asked  permission  to  proceed.  They  tried 
to  persuade  me  to  abandon  what  appeared 
to  them  a  very  risky  expedition,  but,  telling 
them  that  I  was  bent  upon  undertaking  it, 
permission  or  no  permission,  I  was  asked  if 
I  would  mind  delivering  some  letters  to  Sheik 
Saleh,  as  my  visit  to  him  was  necessary  to  pro- 
cure guides  for  the  later  stages  of  the  journey. 
I  was  also  to  inform  him  verbally  that  his 
request  for  arms  and  ammunition  had  been 
granted.  Also  that  he  should  send  men  at 
once  to  Wadi  Haifa  to  receive  them  :  and  that 
a  number  of  mes.sages  to  this  effect  had  already 
been  sent  him.  General  Stephenson  evidently 
gave  the  matter  further  consideration,  for,  on 
calling  for  the  letters,  they  were  not  forthcoming. 
He  said  he  would  write  to  me  to  Assouan  ;  but, 
he  continued,  he  would  be  glad  if  I  would  en- 
courage Saleh,  or  any  of  the  loyal  sheiks  I  met,  to 
continue  to  harass  the  Dervishes,  and  let  him 
have  what  information  I  could  on  my  return 
respecting  the  country  and  the  people.  The 
precise  circumstances  under  which  I  received 
his  letter  I  have  forgotten  ;  but  my  former  busi- 
ness manager  tells  me  that,  one  evening  at 
Assouan,  he  found  lying  on  the  desk  an  official 


230 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


'St  /ijA 


kSI  Taw^ish 


fo^a 


c^lah  ^nemnq  proposed  Jku 
taken  /y__  Larai  an  -(A^mei'/iom  yifixnuid 

fy  antJfox,  f 

Stn£; 

<    ■  ^  <'  *  ^ 


MAP   SHOWING    PROPOSED    ROUTE   AND    ROUTE   ACTUALLY   TAKEN    BY   CARAVAN   (PREPARED    FROM    INFORMATION    SUPPLIED    BV   AUTHOR). 


IX     lilE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


envelope,  unaddressed.  Tliis  he  opened,  and 
was  still  reading  the  letter  it  contained  when  I 
walked  in,  and  exhibited  great  annoyance  at  his 
having  seen  it.  This  was  the  letter  from 
General  Stephenson  to  me,  referred  to  by  Slatiii 
and  Ohrwalder.  I  remember  it  but  as  a  sort  of 
l)rivate  communication,  not  in  any  way  official ; 
and  I  think  it  well,  at  an  early  moment,  to  state 
so,  as  it  has  been  borne  upon  me  that  there  is 
an  impression  in  certain  quarters  that  I  might, 
on  the  strength  of  references  made  to  it  in 
Father  Ohrwalder's  and  Slatin  Pasha's  books, 
make  some  claim  against  the  British  Govern- 
ment. I  consider  it  advisable,  however,  to  say  at 
once  that  no  such  idea  ever  occurred  to  me. 

Completing  our  arrangements  in  Cairo,  Hogal 
and  I  started  south,  Hogal  going  to  Derawi  to 
buy  camels  for  the  journey  to  Kordofiin,  and  I 
going  to  Assouan  and  Wadi  Haifa  to  make  final 
arrangements,  and  prepare  food  for  the  desert 
journey.  

CHAPTER  L 

Before  leaving  Assouan  for  Cairo,  I 
'g^"I^.*  l^^d  made  an  agreement  with  Hassib 

el  Gabou,  of  the  Dar  Hamad 
section  of  the  Kabbabish  tribe,  and 
AH  el  Amin,  from  Wadi  el  Kab,  to  act 
as  guides  for  us  as  far  as  Gebel  Ain,  • 
where  we  hoped  to  find  Sheik  Saleh.  ' 
Gabou  was  in  the  employ  of  the  mili- 
tary authorities  as  spy,  receiving  a 
monthly  gratuity  or  pay.  He  and  Ali 
el  Amin  were  to  each  receive  three 
hundred  dollars  for  the  journey  — a 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  each  to  be 
paid  in  advance,  and  the  remainder  at 
the  end  of  the  journey.  On  arrival  at 
Gebel  Ain,  they  were  to  arrange  for 
guides  for  us  from  amongst  Saleh's  own 
men.  The  route  we  had  chosen  is 
shown  on  the  accompanying  plan,  taken 
from  a  map  pul)lished  by  Kauffmann, 
a  copy  of  which  I  had  with  me,  and 
another  copy  of  which  I  have  been  fortu- 
nate enough  to  find  since  my  return. 

On  arriving  at  Derawi,  Hogal  at 
once  set  about  buying  camels.  Our 
party  was  to  consist  of  Hogal,  Hassib 
el  Gabou,  Ali  el  Amin,  my  Arabic  clerk 
Elias,  my  female  servant  Hasseena, 
myself,  and  four  men  whom  Hogal  was 
to  engage,  to  bring  up  our  party  to 
ten  people,  so  that  we  might  be  pre- 
pared to  deal  with  any  small  band  of 
maiauding  Dervishes.  Hogal  was  to 
purchase  camels  from  the  Abab-deh, 
who  possessed,  and  probably  still  do,  the 
best  camels  for  the  kind  of  journey  we 


were  undertaking.  He  was  also  to  take  them  into 
the  desert  to  test  their  powers  of  endurance,  as, 
from  the  route  chosen,  they  might  have  to 
travel  fifteen  days  without  water.  He  was  also 
to  purchase  extra  camels  to  carry  water ;  so  that 
if  the  necessity  arose,  we  could  strike  farther 
west  into  the  desert  than  arranged  for,  and  be 
able  to  keep  away  from  the  wells  for  as  long  as 
thirty  days.  We  were  to  take  with  us  only 
such  articles  as  were  essential  for  the  journey  ; 
such  as  food,  arms,  and  ammunition ;  three 
hundred  dollars  in  cash  ;  and  our  presents  of 
watches,  silks,  jewellery,  pipes,  and  ornaments 
for  the  sheiks  we  met. 

Hogal  was  to  leave  Derawi  on  or  about  the 
2oth  of  March,  and,  bringing  the  camels 
through  the  desert  on  the  west  of  the  Nile,  was 
so  to  time  his  last  stage  as  to  reach  \\'adi  Haifa 
at  sunset  on  the  26th  or  27th.  The  guides,  my 
clerk,  servant,  and  myself  were  to  slip  over  by 
boat,  and  our  caravan  was  then  to  strike  off 
west  at  once.  Our  departure  was  to  be  kept  as 
secret  as  possible. 

A  Friendly  On  my  rcachipg  Shellal,  after  leaving 
Warning.   ^Qgal    at    Dcrawi,    I    was    overtaken 


y 


y 


I  ii.A  i     't.Aiii'L    WAS    A\_  I  i '■ 
AND    FOE." 


232 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


IX     THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


233 


!))•  an  old  friend,  Mohammad  Abdel  Gader  Gem- 
niarccyeh,  who,  having  learned  in  confidence 
from  Hogal  the  reason  for  his  purchasing  the 
camels,  hurried  after  me  to  warn  me  against 
employing  Gabou  as  guide,  as  he  knew  the  man 
was  not  to  be  trusted.  Mohammad  told  me  that 
Gabou  was  acting  as  spy  for  friend  and  foe,  and 
was  being  paid  by  both  ;  but  this  I  did  not  then 
credit.  I  laughed  at  the  man's  expressed  fears, 
and  telling  him  that  as  Hogal  and  I  were  to 
direct  the  caravan,  and  Gabou  was  to  accompany 
us  as  guide,  I  had  no  intention  of  abandoning  a 
journey  at  the  end  of  which  a  small  fortune 
awaited  me.  I  knew  \ery  well  that  not  a  single 
person  was  to  be  trusted  out  of  sight  and  hear- 
ing, but  as  there  was  no  reason  why  Gabou 
should  not  be  kept  within  both,  there  was 
equally  no  reason  why  I  should  ha\e  any  fears. 
Besides  this,  I  was  vain  enough  to  believe  that 
perhaps  I  might,  as  a  result  of  my  journey,  be 
able  to  hand  to  the  military  authorities  a  report 
of  some  value  ;  and  lastly,  the  halo  of  romance 
which  still  hung  over  everything  Soudanese  was 
in  itself  no  little  attraction.  I  reached  Wadi 
Haifa  about  March  23rd,  and  set  to  work  quietly 
on  the  final  arrangements.  Hasseena,  my  female 
Abyssinian  servant,  had  elected  to  accompany 
us,  and  this  on  the  suggestion  of  Hogal, 
his  reasons  being  firstly  that,  being  accom- 
panied by  a  woman,  the  peaceful  intentions 
of  our  little  caravan  would  be  evidenced ; 
secondly,  that  Hasseena,  when  she  was  the 
slave  of  her  old  master  of  the  Alighat  Arabs, 
had  on  many  occasions  made  the  journey 
between  El  Obeid,  Dongola,  and  Derawi,  and 
would  therefore  be  of  great  use  to  us  in  hareems 
in  very  much  the  same  way  that  a  lady  in 
civilized  countries,  having  the  en/ree  to  a  salon, 
is  occasionally  able  to  further  the  interests  of 
her  male  relatives  or  friends.  And  in  the  East, 
ali  women  have  the  entree  to  hareems. 

The  morning  after  my  arrival  at  Wadi  Haifa  I 
heard  that  forty  of  Sheik  Saleh's  men,  led  by 
one  of  his  slaves,  Ismail,  had  already  arrived  to 
take  over  the  arms  and  ammunition.  Gabou  came 
to  me  the  same  day,  and  suggested  our  abandon- 
ing the  proposed  expedition,  as  he  was  afraid 
that  the  Dervishes  might  hear  of  Saleh's  men 
coming  in,  and  send  out  bands  to  intercept  the 
caravan  on  its  return  ;  and  he  said  we  might 
easily  fall  into  the  hands  of  one  of  them. 
Believing  that  Gabou  was  simply  trying  to 
induce  me  to  add  to  his  reward  for  extra  risks, 
I  told  him  I  should  hold  him  strictly  to  his 
agreement. 

A  day  or  two  later,  seeing  that  I  was 
s*  uYd^ei.  determined  to  go  on,  he  suggested  that 

we  should,  for  safety,  accompany  Saleh's 
men,  but  to  this  I  objected.  The  Kabbabish  were 

Vol.  iii.-30. 


fighting  the  Dervishes,  and  lost  no  opportunity  of 
pouncing  down  upon  any  small  bands,  and  I  had 
no  particular  wish  to  look  for  more  adventures 
than  my  expedition  was  likely  to  provide 
in  itself,  'inhere  was  also  the  question  of  time  ; 
Sheik  Saleh's  baggage  camels  would  only  move 
at  the  rate  of  about  a  mile  an  hour,  whilst  ours 
would  cover  two  and  a  half  to  three  miles  easily. 
On  March  24th  I  received  a  telegram  from 
Hogal,  who  was  then  at  Assouan,  announcing 
his  arrival  there  with  the  cameKs,  and  his  inten- 
tion to  come  on  at  once ;  so  that  he  should 
have  reached  Wadi  Haifa  on  the  28th  or  29th 
of  the  month.  Gabou  now  exhibited  particular 
anxiety  that  we  should  join  Saleh's  party,  and 
took  upon  himself  to  make  an  arrangement 
with  them.  On  my  remonstrating  with  him, 
he  said  that,  if  the  1  )ervishes  iverc  on  the  road, 
they  would  certainly  be  met  w.  1  between 
Wadi  Haifa  and  the  Selima  Wells,  or,  maybe, 
at  the  wells  themselves ;  and  this  was  the 
only  part  of  our  route  where  "there  was  any 
likelihood  of  our  coming  into  contact  with  them, 
our  road,  after  Selima,  being  well  to  the  west. 
"  Now,"  said  Gabou,  the  guide,  "  if  Saleh's 
caravan  goes  off,  and  the  Dervishes  on  the  road 
are  not  strong  enough  to  attack,  they  will  allow 
the  caravan  to  pass,  but  wait  about  the  roads 
either  in  the  hope  of  getting  reinforcements  in 
time  to  attack,  or  with  the  hope  of  attacking 
smaller  parties."  He  believed  the  Dervishes 
might  go  on  to  the  wells,  and  encamp  there,  so 
that  in  either  case  we  would  fall  into  their 
clutches.  It  was  also  Gabou's  opinion  that 
Sheik  Saleh's  caravan  was  strong  enough  to 
annihilate  the  Dervish  bands,  which  he  notv  said 
he  had  heard  were  actually  on  the  road.  This 
decided  me.  I  asked  him  why  he  had  not  told 
me  of  this  before.  He  had  forgotten  to  do  so  ! 
The  28th,  29th,  30th,  and  31st  of  the  month 
passed,  and  still  no  sign  of  Hogal  and  the 
camels.  Ismail  was  impatient  to  be  off,  and 
(iabou  suggested  that,  as  my  camels  must  be 
close  at  hand,  Hasseena,  Elias,  El  Amin,  and  I 
should  start  with  Saleh's  caravan,  he  following 
us  as  soon  as  our  camels  arrived.  My  camels 
being  in  good  condition,  and  unloaded,  would, 
he  said,  overtake  the  caravan  in  a  few  hours, 
and  he  was  very  anxious  to  test  them  for  trot- 
ting speed  whilst  overtaking  us. 

We   were   joined    at   W^adi   Haifa  by 

im^sing  about  twenty  Arabs  of  different  tribes. 

Caravan,  {ji-jnging  our  caravau  up  to  sixty-four 

men  and  about  a  hundred  and  sixty 

camels.     Gabou  gave  us  as  guide  for  Selima  a 

man  named   Hassan,  also  of  the  Dar  Hamads. 

Crossing  to  the  western  bank  of  the  Nile  early 

on    the    morning   of  April    ist,    1887,    by   ten 

o'clock  we  had  loaded  up  and  started  on  that 


234 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


journey  to  the  Soudan  which  was  to  take  me 
twelve  long  and  frightful  years  to  complete. 

When  we  had  been  two  days  on  the  road  I 
began  to  feel  a  little  uneasy  at  the  non-appear- 
ance of  my  camels  ;  but  thinking  that  maybe 
Gabou  had  purposely  delayed  starting  so  as  to 
give  them  a  stiff  test  in  hard  trotting,  I  com- 
forted myself  with  this  reflection.  As  day  after 
day  passed,  however,  my  anxiety  became  very 
real.  On  the  night  of  April  7  we  judged  we 
must  be  close  to  Selima  Wells,  and  sent  out 
scouts  to  reconnoitre  ;  they  reached  the  wells, 
and  returned  saying  they  could  find  no  traces  of 
anyone  having  been  there  for  some  time.  Our 
caravan  reached  the  wells  between  nine  and  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning ;  and  about  midday, 
while  we  were  occupied  in  watering  the  camels 
and  prepar'ng  food,  we  heard  a  shot  fired  from 
the  south  ast.  Shortly  afterwards  one  of  our 
scouts  came  in  saying  that  he  had  been  sighted 
by  a  party  of  about  twenty  men  on  camels ; 
one  of  the  men  had  fired  at  him  at  long  range, 


was  not  to  be  thought  of;  and  the  only  other 
alternative  w-as  to  push  on  with  the  caravan. 

I  told  Elias  to  write  out  short  notes 
suggestfon.  for  Hogal  and  Gabou,   which   I   had 

intended  to  leave  at  the  wells  ;  but 
as  Ismail  pointed  out,  I  should  have  to 
leave  them  conspicuously  marked  in  some 
way  so  as  to  attract  attention,  and,  if  the 
Dervishes  got  to  the  wells  first,  or  if  those  we 
had  seen  returned  with  others,  they  would  be 
the  first  to  get  the  notes,  which  would  endanger 
our  caravan,  as  well  as  the  little  party  I  was  so 
anxiously  expecting.  There  was  nothing  for  it, 
then,  but  to  go  on  and  hope  for  the  best.  If 
the  worst  came  to  the  worst,  it  meant  only  that 
my  gum  expedition  was  temporarily  delayed, 
and  that  I  should,  after  reaching  Sheik  Saleh, 
take  my  first  opportunity  of  getting  north  again. 


l^ki^^J^i 


HE    HAD    HEEN    SIGHTED    BY   A    I'AKTY   OF   AliOUT  TWENTY   MEN 


and  the  whole  party  had  then  hurried  off  to  the 
south. 

A  hurried  conference  was  held  ;  it  was  the 
general  opinion  that  this  party  must  be  the 
scouts  of  a  larger  one,  and  that  they  had  gone  off 
for  the  purpose  of  apprising  their  main  body. 
Ismail  decided  upon  pushing  on  at  once.  There 
was  little  time  for  me  to  consider  what  to  do ; 
to  return  to  Wadi  Haifa  was  out  of  the  question, 
as  Ismail  could  not  spare  any  of  his  men  as  a 
bodyguard.     Then,   again,   to  wait  at  the  wells 


CHAPTER  II. 

Now,  there  are  five  caravan  routes  running  from 
Selima  Wells.     The  one  farthest  west  leads  to 

El  Kiyeh,  the  next  to  El 
Agia,  and  the  one  in  the 
centre  to  the  Nile,  near 
Hannak,  with  a  branch 
running  to  W^adi  el  Kab. 
Our  objective  being  to 
meet  Sheik  Saleh  at  Jebel 
Ain,  we  should  have  taken 
y^  the   route   leading   to    El 

''^  Agia,    and    this    we    had 

selected,  as,  being  well 
out  in  the  desert,  there 
was  little  likelihood  of  our 
encountering  any  roving 
bands  of  Dervish  robbers. 
AMien  we  had  been  on 
the  road  a  few  hours,  I 
ventured  the  opinion  that 
we  had  taken  the  wrong 
route,  and  a  halt  was 
called  while  I  examined 
the  map  I  had  with  me. 
After  this  examination  I 
felt  certain  we  were  march- 
ing in  the  wrong  direction. 
The  guide  Hassan  was 
equally  certain  we  were  on  the  El  Agia  road. 
A  discussion  ensued,  which,  was  ended  by 
Hassan  telling  me,  with  what  he  intended  to  be 
withering  sarcasm — "I  never  walked  on  paper" 
(meaning  the  map) ;  "  I  have  always  walked  on 
the  desert.  I  am  the  guide,  and  am  responsible. 
The  road  you  want  us  to  go  by  leads  to  El 
Etroun  (Natron  district),  sixty  marches  distant. 
If  we  take  your  road  and  we  all  die  of  thirst  in 
the  desert,  I  should  be  held  responsible  for  the 
loss   of  the   lives,    and   your  paper  could  not 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


235 


speak  to  defend  me."  Hassan's  dramatic 
description  of  the  scene  of  his  being  blamed 
by  the  Prophet  for  losing  all  these  valuable 
lives  if  iie  trusted  to  a  "  pa|)er  "  had  more  to  do 
with  his  gaining  his  point  than  pure  conviction 
as  to  whetlier  we  were  on  the  right  road  or  not. 
From  El  Agia,  as  Saleh's  men  said,  they  knew 
every  stone  on  the  desert,  but  in  this  part  they 
had  to  trust  entirely  to  Hassan. 

During  the  whole  of  this  first  day  we 
Day'ouV  furccd  the  baggage  camels  on  at  their 

best  pace,  travelling  by  my  compass 
in  a  south  and  south-easterly  direction.  The 
arrangement  I  had  made  with  Gabou  for  my 
own  caravan,  and  which  arrangement  Ismail 
had  agreed  to  when  Gabou  suggested  our 
travelling  with  them,  was  that  we  should 
travel  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  El  Agia 
camel  tracks,  but  keep  parallel  to  them. 
When  we  halted  that  night  I  spoke  to  Ismail 
about  this,  and  asked  him  to  keep  to  this  part 
of  the  agreement— that  is  to  say,  to  travel 
parallel  to,  and  not  on,  the  track.  Hassan 
objected,  as  it  meant  slower  travelling.  Still 
pressing  on  after  a  short  rest,  Hassan  zig-zagged 
the  caravan  over  stony  ground  with  the  object 
of  losing  our  trail,  as  our  caravan,  consisting 
of  about  160  cameLs,  was  an  easy  one  to 
track  up.  We  travelled  fast  until  midday 
of  the  loth,  when  we  were  obliged  to  take 
a  rest  owing  to  the  extreme  heat.  We  were 
in  an  arid  waste  ;  not  the  slightest  sign  of 
vegetation  or  anything  living  but  ourselves  to 
be  seen  anywhere.  Off  again  at  sunset, 
we  travelled  the  whole  night  through,  my 
compass  at  midnight  showing  me  that  we  were, 
if  anything,  travelling  towards  the  east,  whereas 
our  direction  should  certainly  have  been  south- 
west. At  our  next  halt  I  spoke  to  Ismail  again, 
but  Hassan  convinced  him  of  his  infallibility  in 
desert  routes.  'I'he  following  morning — the  nth 
— there  was  no  disguising  the  fact  about  our 
direction  :  the  regular  guides  travel  by  the  stars 
at  night-time,  but  they  laugh  at  the  little  niceties 
between  the  cardinal  points,  much  as  Hassan 
laughed  at  me  when  I  tried  to  get  him  to  believe 
in  the  sand  diagram  I  drew  for  him,  with  the 
object  of  proving  to  him  that  a  divergence 
increases  the  farther  you  get  away  from  the 
starting-point. 

El    Amin    now  joined    me   in   saying 

TrS'Jbies  that    he    thought    we    were    on    the 

Begin,     ^vrong  road,  but  Hassan  was  prepared. 

He  had,  he  said,  during  the  night, 
led  us  further  into  the  desert,  with  the 
object  of  again  breaking  our  trail ;  and  he 
was  now  leading  us  to  the  regular  road.  El 
Amin  replied  that  in  his  opinion  Hassan  had 
lost  the  road  in  the  night,  and  now  was  trying 


to  find  it.  This  led  to  a  lively  disc\ission  and 
an  exchange  of  compliments,  which  almost 
ended  in  a  nasty  scuffle,  as  some  were  siding 
with  Hassan  and  others  with  El  Amin.  Acting 
upon  my  advice,  men  were  sent  out  east  and  west 
to  pick  up  the  regular  caravan  route.  Hassan 
declared  that  a  branch  of  the  regular  road  would 
be  found  to  the  east ;  but  Amin  and  I  declared 
for  the  west.  Hassan  took  two  men  east,  and 
Amin,  accompanied  by  two  others,  went  west. 
About  an  hour  after  sunset  both  parties  re- 
turned :  El  Amin  arrived  first,  and  reported  that 
they  had  failed  to  find  any  trace  of  the  road. 
Hassan  came  shortly  afterwards,  and,  having 
heard  before  reaching  Ismail  of  the  failure  of 
the  others,  came  up  to  us  jubilant  and  trium[)hant, 
as  a  road  had  been  picked  up  just  where  he  said 
it  would.  They  had  not  only  picked  up  the 
road,  it  seemed,  but  had  also  come  to  the  rest- 
ing-place of  a  caravan  of  fifteen  to  twenty 
camels,  which  could  only  be  a  few  hours  ahead 
of  us,  as  the  embers  of  the  cara\an's  fire-places 
were  still  hot.  I  judged  it  best  to  be  silent  on 
the  subject  of  the  route  now,  though  Amin, 
jibed  and  scoffed  at  by  the  victorious  Hassan, 
was  loud  and  persistent  in  declaring  that  we 
were  on  the  wrong  route,  and  that  Hassan  had 
lost  his  way.  This  again  nearly  led  to  trouble 
between  him  and  the  two  men  who  had  accom- 
panied Hassan,  as  they  considered  their  word 
doubted.  We  travelled  east  during  the  night, 
and  crossed  the  road  which  Hassan  had 
during  the  day  picked  up.  But  there  was  a 
feeling  of  uncertainty  and  unrest  in  the  caravan. 
One  after  another  appealed  to  me,  and  I  could 
but  say  that  I  was  still  convinced  my  "  paper " 
was  right  and  Hassan  wrong. 

El  Amin,  pricked  to  the  quick,  spread 

p*cion^of  through  the  caravan  his  oi)inion  that 

Treachery.  Hassao  had  not  lost  his  way,  but  was 

delil'urately  kadin_i^  i/s  in  the  ivrong 
direction  !  When  we  halted  on  the  12th,  Ismail, 
noticing  the  gossiping  going  on,  and  the  manner 
of  his  men,  decided  upon  sending  out  scouts  to 
the  east  to  see  if  they  could  pick  up  anything  at 
all  in  the  way  of  landmarks.  El  Amin  joined 
the  scouts,  who  were  absent  the  whole  day 
long.  They  returned  at  night  with  the  news 
that  we  were  nearer  the  river  than  El  Agia 
Wells ;  and  on  this,  our  fourth  day  out  from 
Selima,  we  should  have  been  close  to  El  Agia. 
This  report,  coming  not  from  El  Amin  only,  but 
from  Saleh's  own  people  who  knew  the  district, 
created  positive  consternation.  Again  the 
"  paper  "  was  called  for,  and  on  this  occasion 
Hassan  was  told  it  knew  better  than  he  did. 
That  night  scene  of  betrayed  men,  desperate, 
and  with  death  from  thirst  or  Dervish  swords 
apparently  a  certainty,  can  be   better  imagined 


236 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


than  described.  There  had  been  no  husbanding 
of  the  drinking-water,  and  now  it  was  ahnost 
out.  Many  of  the  men,  in  the  luury  of  de- 
parture from  SeHma,  had  not  filled  their  water- 
skins.  There  was  no  doubt  now  that  we  were, 
as  I  had  said  from  the  beginning,  on  the  road 
to  Wadi  el  Kab,  and  travelling  in  the  enemy's 
country.  But  Hassan,  threatened  as  he  was, 
had  still  one  more  card  to  play.  He  ack- 
nowledged that  he  had  lost  his  way,  but  said 
this  was  not  altogether  his  fault.  He  said  we 
had  been  traveUing  hard,  and,  feeling  sure  he 
was  on  the  right  track,  he 
had,  perhaps,  been  careless, 
or  had  neglected  to  look  out 
for  the  usual  marks  ;  and  this 
was  in  consequence  of  Amin 
and  myself  having  annoyed 
him  about  the  road  at  the 
beginning  of  the  march.  He 
now  said  we  were  well  to  the 
west  of  El  Kab,  and  that  on 
its  extreme  limits,  where  the 
Wadi  disappeared  into  the 
desert,  water  could  be  found. 
He  also  stated  that,  being  so 
far  west,  it  was  most  im- 
probable that  we  should  find 
any  Dervishes  there.  Another 
council  was  held.  Hassan  was 
for  continuing  in  an  easterly 
direction  ;  I  proposed  the  west, 
believing  now  that  the  Wadi 
would  be  found  in  that  direc- 
tion. But  Ismail,  advised  by 
Amin,  elected  for  a  southerly 
direction.  At  last  it  was  agreed 
that  Ismail,  Hassan,  and  some 
of  the  men  should  ride  hard 
in  a  south-westerly  direction, 
in  the  hope  of  picking  up  some 
branch  caravan  route  leading 
to  El  Agia.  The  remainder  of 
the  caravan,  with  myself  and 
Amin,  were  to  travel  easily  in 
a  southerly  direction  for  five 
hours,  and  then  halt  and  await 
the  return  of  Ismail. 

We    halted    between 
and     four    in 

the  afternoon,  but  no 

sooner  had  we  done 
so,  than  a  heavy  sandstorm 
burst  upon  us.  There  are 
varieties  of  sandstorms  as  there  are  of  most 
other  things,  but  this  was  one  of  the  worst 
kinds.  The  air  became  thick  with  the  finest 
particles,  which  gave  one  more  the  idea  of 
a    yellow    fog    in   the    north    than    of  anything 


Overtaken  fl,r,.<-» 
by  a  Sand-  mrCL 
storm. 


else  I  might  liken  it  to.  We  were  obliged  to  wrap 
our  own  and  the  camels'  heads  in  cloths  and 
blankets  to  protect  ourselves,  if  not  from  suffo- 
cation, at  least  from  something  very  near  it.  The 
storm  lasted  until  after  sunset,  and  as  it  must 
have  obliterated  all  traces  of  our  tracks,  scouts 
were  sent  out  to  sight  Ismail.  Up  to  midnight  no 
signs  of  him  were  forthcoming,  however.  Break- 
ing up  what  camel  saddles  we  could  spare,  we 
lit  fires  to  attract  his  attention  to  our  position, 
and  as  these  burned  low,  shots  were  fired  at 
intervals  of  five  minutes.     After  ten  or  twelve 


SHOTS    were:   fired    AT    INTERVALS   OF    FIVE    MINUTES.' 


shots  had  been  fired,  I  recommended  that  volleys 
of  five  should  be  fired  at  the  same  intervals  ;  and 
when  I  believe  six  had  been  fired,  we  heard 
Ismail  calling  to  us  from  the  darkness.  He  had 
encountered  the  sandstorm,  but  had  evidently 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


237 


had  a  far  worse  time  of  it  than  we  had.  I  Ic  had 
heard  our  volleys,  and  had  rephed  with  single 
shots,  but  these  we  had  not  heard. 

On  reaching  the  caravan,  Ismail  ordered  the 
fires  to  be  put  out  and  the  camels  at  once 
loaded  and  their  fastenings  well  looked  to.  The 
rifles,  too,  were  cleared  of  the  sand  which  had 
accumulated  on  them,  and  Ismail  went  round 
inspecting  everything  for  himself.  I  called  him 
aside  and  asked  him  what  he  had  discovered. 
He  whispered  one  word,  "  Treachery"  and  then 
returned  to  his  inspection  of  the  animals.  When 
he  had  satisfied  himself  of  the  arms  being  in 
readiness,  and  the  cases  and  packs  so  secured 
that  even  if  the  camels  bolted  they  would  not 
be  able  to  throw  off  their  load  very  easily,  h*e 
gave  the  order  to  march.  Ignoring  Hassan 
completely,  he  led  us  west,  sending  out  as 
scouts,  on  fast  camels,  Darb  es  Safai  and  El 
Amin,  my  guide ;  but  at  sunrise  they  came 
back  to  us,  saying  that  not  a  trace  of  road  could 
be  found. 

I  cannot  weary  my  readers  with  a 
^°Deiert.''^  day-to-day  record  of  our  hopeless 
zig-zagging  in  the  desert — one  day 
with  Hassan  in  the  ascendant  as  guide  ;  another 
day.  El  Amin.  Nor  from  this  time  can  I 
pretend  to  remember  the  exact  day  on  which 
particular  incidents  happened.  There  were  far 
too  many  incidents  to  attempt  a  complete 
record — even  with  a  diary,  had  I  kept  one. 

El  Amin  had  confided  to  me  and  Ismail  his 
firm  conviction  that  Hassan  was  doing  all  this 
purposely,  and  that  he  knew  precisely  where- 
abouts we  were,  as  he  (El  Amin)  had  noticed 
him  making  some  sort  of  calculations,  and 
drawing  lines  with  his  camel-stick  in  the  sand. 

Perhaps  it  was  because  I  did  not  wish  to, 
that  I  could  not  credit  the  implied  treachery, 
(iabou  and  Has.san  belonged  to  the  Kabbabish 
tribe ;  and  as  the  rifles  and  ammunition  we 
were  carrying  were  to  assist  Sheik  Saleh  to 
fight  the  common  enemy,  what  object  could 
there  possibly  be  in  betraying  us?  Saleh's  men 
would  certainly  fight  to  the  death  ;  betrayer  and 
betrayed  would  run  equal  risks  of  being  killed 
— indeed,  the  betrayer  would  almost  certainly 
be  killed  instantly  by  those  he  was  leading.  I 
therefore  dismissed  the  idea  from  my  head,  and 
took  it  for  granted  that  the  man  had  actually  lost 
his  way.  I  absolutely  declined  to  fall  in  with 
El  Amin's  suggestion  to  say  "good-bye"  to  the 
caravan,  make  straight  for  the  Nile,  and  take  our 
chances  of  passing  clear  as  merchants,  should 
we  meet  any  people  on  the  road.  On,  I  believe, 
our  sixth  day  out  from  Selima,  we  crossed  a 
caravan  route  running  east  aqd  west,  and,  refer- 
ring to  my  map,  I  had  no  hesitation  in  telling 
Ismail    that   this    must    be    the    caravan    route 


between  ICl  Kab  and  El  Agia,  but  on  which 
part  of  the  road  we  were  I  could  not  imagine. 
I  wanted  to  attempt  travelling  along  this  road, 
but  Hassan  declared  it  led  to  ICl  Kiych.  That 
we  must  now  be  close  to  W'adi  el  Kab  every 
one  of  us  knew.  A  "council  of  war"  was 
at  once  held,  at  which  it  was  decided  to  risk 
going  on,  as  we  must  be  travelling  towards  the 
wells  on  the  extreme  edge  of  the  W'adi.  AVe 
were  to  try  and  pick  up  the  wells,  water  the 
camels  and  fill  our  skins  there,  and  then  strike 
direct  west  and  encamp  at  night-time,  so  as  not 
to  remain  near  the  wells. 

While   we  were  discussing  the  situa- 

^councli*  tio")  some  men   had  been  sent  along 

of  War.    j.pjg  xo^ad,  to   try  to  discover  anything 

ill  the  way  of  marks  or  tracks  which 
would  give  an  idea  as  to  our  exact  position.  They 
soon  reported  that  there  could  be  little  doubt  of 
this  being  the  El  Kiyeh  road,  and  that  El  Kiyeh 
must  be  six  days  distant.  This  news  decided 
us.  Our  water-supply  was  out.  A  si.x-days' 
inarch  over  that  desert  under  such  conditions 
meant  perishing  of  thirst,  and  there  was,  again, 
the  uncertaintv  as  to  whether  we  would  be,  after 
all,  on  the  road  to  El  Kiyeh  or  El  Elroun. 

One  of  the  camels  ailing,  it  was  decided  to 
kill  it,  and  let  the  men  have  a  good  meal  of 
meat.  Early  the  next  day — I  believe  our  eighth 
or  ninth  day  from  Selima— an  Alighat  Arab  was 
sent  scouting  to  the  west ;  but  he  never  re- 
turned. We  halted  and  waited  for  his  return, 
as  arranged,  and  lost  the  night's  travel  in  con- 
sequence. On  the  following  day,  unmistak- 
able landmarks  were  picked  up,  which  proved 
we  were  but  a  few  hours  distant  from  the  Wadi 
el  Kab  ;  and  it  was  believed  we  could  reach  the 
wells  by  sunset.  Unloading  the  camels,  and  leav- 
ing four  men  in  charge  of  the  baggage,  we  started 
off  for  the  wells,  expecting  to  return  the  same 
night.  We  travelled  without  incident  until  about 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  reached 
the  broken  ground  skirting  the  Wadi  proper. 
My  guide,  El  Amin,  and  two  men  had  been  sent 
on  ahead  to  reconnoitre.  The  place  is  dotted 
with  sand-dunes  and  hillocks  from  50ft.  to  looft. 
high,  and  on  nearing  the  first  hillock,  and  when 
approximately  at  "A,"  a  shot  rang  sharply  out. 
El  Amin  and  his  companions  had  then  reached 
the  spot  marked  "O"  on  the  accompanying 
plan.  We  believed  the  shot  to  be  a  signal  that 
they  had  found  water,  and  so  pressed  on  until 
we  reached  "  B,"  when  shot  after  shot  was  fired, 
^  the  bullets  whistling  over  our  heads — greatly  to 
our  amazement  and  perplexity.  At  this  moment 
we  saw  Amin  and  his  companions  hurrying  back 
to  us.  Next  came  some  broken  volleys,  but 
all  the  shots  were  high.  Up  to  now  we  had 
not  seen  our  assailants,  but    the    smoke    from 


238 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


^       .\^ 


Ir**^ 


<i)A  MsUion  of£araran  on. 
1   ^  tiearinq  Juzl  shot 


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CD 


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o' 


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t 

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Ul 
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^rketch  accomparujlaa  cudnoi  j  <^ 
cucourvt  ofcabtltXC  -  (jt^m.  ' 


m 


Cai/vo  Jjc 


-iM 


PLAN    OF    THE   ATTACK    AND    BETKAVAL   OK    MR.    NELFELDS   CARAVAN    IN    THE   DESERT. 


the  rifles  now  discovered  their  whereabouts — 
the  hillock  marked  "  C  "  on  the  plan. 

I  was  slightly  ahead  of  the  main  body, 

*  *Go1.d^    ^vith   Hassan,  the  guide,   some  yards 

Target.    ^\y^y  gn    my   right.      Being    mounted 

on  a  large  and  well  caparisoned 
white  camel,  and  wearing  a  bright  silk 
kaffiyeh  on  my  head,  I  offered  an  excellent 
mark,  and  shot  after  shot  whistled  over  and 
around  me.  I  was  turning  my  camel  round  to 
hurry  back  to  the  main  body,  when  I  saw 
Hassan  fall  to  the  ground.  Calling  to  my  clerk 
Elias,  who  was  nearest  to  him,  to  help  him  back 
on  the  camel,  or  make  the  camel  kneel  to  cover 
him,  I  tried  to  get  mine  to  kneel  also  so  that 
I  could  dismount,  but  the  brute  was  startled 
and  restive.  Elias  called  out  that  Hassan 
was     tnayat     khaalass     (stone     dead).       Our 


men  were  now  quickly  dismounting  and 
loading  their  rifles.  Bullet  after  bullet  and 
volley  after  volley  came,  but  no  one  was 
struck  as  yet,  except  Hassan.  Making  the 
camels  kneel,  as  a  precaution  against  their 
bolting,  we  advanced  in  open  order  towards 
the  hillock  from  whence  the  shots  came — I  on 
the  extreme  left,  Ismail  in  the  centre,  and 
Darb  es  Safai  on  the  right.  Rounding  the  hillock 
"  C  "  we  caught  the  first  glimpse  of  the  enemy, 
about  fifty  strong ;  they  were  then  rapidly 
retiring.  We  fired  a  volley  into  them,  on 
which  they  turned  and  replied,  and  a  pretty 
hot  fusillade  was  kept  up  for  some  minutes,  but 
the  firing  was  wild  on  both  sides.  I  saw  two 
of  our  men  fall,  and  about  eight  to  ten  of 
the  Dervishes.  Picking  up  their  dead  or 
wounded,   they  hurried  off  again,   leaving  two 


IN   THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


239 


camels     behind. 


leading  the 


right, 


Darb  es  Safai,  who  was 
and  was  now  well  in  advance, 
was  the  first  to  reach  the  camels,  and  dis- 
covered they  were  loaded  with  filled  water- 
skins.  Calling  out,  "  Moyia  HI  atshan  ;  Allah 
kereein  1  "  ("Water  for  the  thirsty;  God  is 
generous!")  he  commenced  to  unfasten  the 
neck  of  one  of  the  skins.  A  mad  rush  was 
made  for  the  water.  Arms  were  thrown  down 
frantically  and  the  men  struggled  riotously 
around  the  camels  for  a  drink.  I  tried  for  a 
few  seconds,  when  I  reached  them,  to  counsel 
moderation,  knowing  the  effect  of  a  copious 
draught  on  the  system  under  the  circumstances 
and  condition  they  were  in.  Some  of  the  men 
had  been  three  days 
without  water,  and  the 
camel  flesh  they  had 
eaten  had  not  im- 
proved matters. 

While    the 
^st^uggie?  struggle  was 

still  in  pro- 
gress, the  girl  Has- 
seena,  who  with  Elias 
had  followed  us  up, 
ran  to  me  saying  the 
Dervishes  were  return- 
ing, and,  looking  in 
the  direction  of  "  E  " 
(see  plan),  I  saw  about 
a  hundred  and  fifty 
men  advancing  at  a 
rapid  pace.  I  raised 
the  alarm,  and  Ismail 
gave  the  call  to  arms  ; 
but  few  heard  his 
voice  in  the  din. 
Those  few  fired  a  few 
shots,  but  it  was  now 
too  late.  In  a  moment 
the  Dervishes  were 
upon  us,  friend  and 
foe  involved  in  one 
struggling  mass. 
Above  the  uproar 
could  be  heard  the 
voice  of  the  Dervish 
leader  reminding  his 
men  of  some  orders 
they  had  received,  and 
to  "  secure  their  men 
alive."  Even  in  that 
moment  it  flashed 
upon  me  that  we  had 
been  led  into  an 
ambush,  else  why  the 
reference  to  "our 
master's  orders  "  given 


by  their  leader?  Elias,  Hasseena,  and. I  ran 
towards  the  point  marked  "  F "  to  take  cover. 
It  was  useless,  I  reflected,  using  my  fowling- 
piece  on  that  struggling,  yelling  mass  of  human 
beings,  as  I  should  have  struck  friend  and  foe. 
Just  as  we  reached  the  base  of  the  hillock, 
Elias  was  captured,  and  the  five  or  six  Der- 
vishes who  had  pursued  us  occupied  themselves 
with  examining  the  contents  of  the  bag  he  was 
carrying,  and  which  contained  my  three  hundred 
dollars,  the  jewellery,  etc.  They  gave  a  mere 
glance  towards  me,  and  then  moved  off.  Push- 
ing a  few  stones  together,  I  laid  out  my  cart- 
ridges, reloaded  my  revolvers,  and  prepared  to 
die  fighting.     Ismail,  the  leader  of  our  caravan, 


I    SAW    HASSAN    FALL   TO   THE   GROUND. 


240 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MACiAZINE. 


from    between    the 


Hasseena  again  called 


A  Perilous  fonntirnl 
Moment.   lanaucai 


MADE   A    MOTION    AS   IF   TO   STRIKE    AT    MY    HEAD   WITH    HIS    SWORO 


had  by  some  means  managed  to  get  clear  of  the 
mass,  and,  reaching  my  camel,  mounted  it  and 
rode  off,  riding  hard  to  the  right  of  "  F  "  in  the 
plan.  Seeing  Hasseena  and  me,  he  called  to  us 
to  try  and  secure  camels  and  follow  him  up. 
Hasseena  on  this  ran  down  the  hillock;  I  had  not 
noticed  her  disappearance  from  the  immediate 
vicinity,  as  I  was  too  much  occupied  in  hurriedly 
constructing  my  diminutive  zareeba  of  stones. 
Glancing  over  the  stones  later,  I  was  astonished 
to  see  her  walking  at  the  head  of  the  Dervishes 
who  had  secured  Elias,  they  following  in  Indian 
file.  Hasseena  called  out  that  I  was  given 
quarter,  and  that  I  was  to  stand  up  unarmed. 
This  I  refused  to  do,  and  as  the  Dervishes 
continued  to  advance,  I  kept    my  gun  pointed 


at    them 
stones. 

out,  saying  that  they  had 
orders  not  to  hurt  me,  in 
evidence  of  which  they  fired 
their  rifles  into  the  air,  and 
then  laid  them  on  the  sand. 
By  this  time  I  could  see  our 
men  were  bound,  and  grouped 
together  on  the  plain.  I  there- 
fore left  my  cover,  descended 
the  hillock,  and  advanced  to 
the  Dervishes,  when  I  was 
saluted  with  yells  and  cries 
of  "El  Kaffir,  El  Kaffir" 
("  the  unbeliever.") 

One,  maybe  more 
than  the 
rest,  after  vituperat- 
ing me,  made  a  motion  as  if 
to  strike  at  my  head  with  his 
sword.  Looking  him  in  the 
eyes,  I  asked,  "  Is  this  the 
word  of  honour  (meaning 
quarter)  of  your  Prophet  and 
master  ?  You  liar  !  You  son 
of  a  dog  !  Strike — unclean 
thing  !  "  While,  as  is  only  to 
be  expected,  I  was  at  that 
moment  trembling  with  fear 
and  excitement,  1  had  lived 
too  long  in  the  East  to  forget 
that  a  bold  front  and  fearless 
manner  command  respect,  if 
not  awe.  My  words  and 
manner  had  the  desired  effect, 
for  one  of  the  Dervishes,  turn- 
ing to  my  would-be  assailant, 
asked,  "  What  are  you  doing  ? 
Have  you  forgotten  our 
master's  orders?"  This  was  the  second  time 
something  had  been  said  about  "orders."  I 
put  a  few  questions  to  my  captors,  but  they 
declined  to  reply  to  them,  saying  I  could  speak 
to  the  Emirs  Hamza  and  Farag,  and  with  this 
they  hurried  me  towards  them.  The  Emir  whom 
later  I  knew  to  be  Farag  asked  my  name,  and 
w'hat  I  wanted  in  his  country ;  then,  turning  to 
his  followers  without  waiting  for  a  reply,  he 
called  out,  "  This  is  the  Pasha  our  master  Wad 
en  Nejoumi  sent  us  to  capture — thanks  be  to 
God  we  have  taken  him  unhurt."  The  latter 
remark  was  made  as  a  reproof  to  the  man  who 
had  threatened  to  strike  me,  the  incident  having 
been  reported  ;  it  was  also  intended  as  a  warn- 
ing to  the  others. 


{To  be  contmued.) 


The  Lady  Bull=Fighters  of  Barcelona. 


Bv    Hkrdkkt   \ivi.\n. 

The   only    lady    bull-fighters    in    the  world.       Snap-shotted    whilst  rehearsing   with    dummies    in    the 

Barcelona  bull-ring.      An  interview  with  their  manager    and    their  leader,   the   fair  Lolita.      How    the 

Spaniards  have  solved  the  knotty  problem  of  "What  to  do  with  our  daughters." 


Fioin  a\ 

HE  great  attraction  during  the  off 
season  in  Spain,  when  serious  bull- 
fighting is  out  of  the  question,  is 
either  the  baiting  of  young  bulls, 
known  as  fioviUos,  or  sometimes  a 
fight  between  a  bull  and  a  lion  or  an  elephant. 
Or,  failing  these — and  most  popular  of  all  —there 
is  a  performance  by  the  cuadi-illa  de  sehoritas 
toreras,  or  company  of  lady  bull-fighters.  On 
such  occasions  every  seat  is  sure  to  be  taken, 
and,  apart  from  the  originality  of  the  idea, 
thoroughly  good  sport  may  be  relied  upon  in 
spite  of  the  sex  of  the  perform.ers. 

New  women  have  invaded  so  many  professions 
which  were  regarded  as  the  special  preserve  of 
the  stronger  sex,  that  the  existence  of  lady 
bull-fighters  will  scarcely  come  as  a  surprise  ; 
but,  nevertheless,  some  account  of  their  methods 
and  training  may  not  be  found  altogether  devoid 
of  interest,  even  in  this  blase  age. 

I   first  made   their  acquaintance   one  winter 

Vol.  iii.-31. 


afternoon  in  the  bull-ring  at  Barcelona,  when 
they  were  going  through  a  rehearsal.  Their 
•  manager,  a  very -stout  man  with  the  delightfully 
inappropriate  name  of  Totti,  received  me  very 
graciously,  and  carried  me  off  to  his  private 
apartments— a  succession  of  long  narrow  rooms 
in  the  outer  shell  of  the  bull-ring.  These  apart- 
ments contained  an  incredible  number  of  silent 
parrots  of  every  shade  of  green  and  grey,  and 
were  adorned  with  innumerable  coloured 
photographs  of  his  troupe,  in  every  variety  of 
gorgeous  costume  and  picturesque  pose.  On 
the  wall  there  was  also  the  stuffed  head  of  a 
black  bull,  which  had  been  killed  by  the  chief 
maiadora. 

He  told  me  that  his  was  the  only  cuadrilla  of 
female  bull-fighters  there  had  ever  been  ;  that 
they  had  now  been  at  work  for  four  years,  with 
constantly  increasing  success  ;  that  they  had 
performed  not  only  all  over  Spain,  but  also  in 
France  and  South  America ;    that  at  first  the 


242 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


patrons  of  the  l)ull  ring 
had  been  disposed  to 
show  jealousy  of  this  in- 
vasion by  the  fair  sex, 
and  had  sought  to  put  it 
down  with  ridicule,  but 
that  now  everyone  had 
been  overcome  by  the 
neatness  and  real  prowess 
of  the  fascinating  per- 
formers. 

After  some  further  con- 
versation he  took  me  into 
the  ring,  where  the  young 
ladies  were  at  work. 
Lolita,  the  first  of  the 
two  iiiafadoras,  was  caper- 
ing about  and  trying  to 
dart  the  regulation  sword 
into  a  dummy  bull,  com- 
posed of  a  large  pair  of 
real  bull's  horns  sur- 
mounting a  wooden  face 
roughly  painted  with  tar 
and  adorned  with  two 
ferocious  white  eyes.  His 
back  was  a  wooden 
plank,    and    contained    a 

square    hole,    some    2in.    across,    situated    just 
where  the   most   vulnerable  point  would  be  in 


l.iilllA    AND    1  liK    liL'.M.MN-        HULL       USED  IN   I'KACTISING, 
front  a  Photo,  by  Mrs.  Herbert  I'ivian. 


by  no  means  an  easy  feat, 
but  she  certainly  exhibited 
great  dexterity,    thrusting 

)her  weapon  home  again 
and  again.  It  will  l)e 
noticed  that  here  the 
se/iora  is  wearing  skirts 
like  an  ordinary  woman, 
but  then,  we  must  re- 
member, she  is  merely 
practising  or  rehearsing. 
When  in  the  arena  before 
a  large  audience  Lolita 
and  her  fair  comrades  don 
the  gorgeous  regulation 
dress  of  the  male  buil- 
Hghtcr. 

I  asked  Senor  Totti 
whether  accidents  were 
frequent,  for  it  was  ob- 
viously a  very  different 
business  playing  with  a 
pair  of  horns  attached  to 
a  perambulator  and  facing 
a  powerful,  vicious,  and 
infuriated  bull,  engaged  in 
his  death  -  struggle.  He 
replied  that  there  had  only 
been  one  bad  accident  since  the  formation  of 
the  a/adrilla,  or  troupe.     Beckoning  Lolita,  he 


the   real   animal,    and    where   a  good   matador        took  her  playfully  by  the  nose  and  held  her  face 


From  a  Photo,  by] 


LOLITA    MAKES    A    FINK    HO.ME-THRUST. 


[;1/;-^.  Herbert  I'ivian. 


always  endeavour^  to  strike.  This  "  bull  "  was 
mounted  on  a  kind  of  go-cart,  and  was  trundled 
about  rapidly  and  in  as  realistic  a  manner  as 
possible  by  a  youth,  while  Lolita  did  her  best  to 
drive  her  sword  straight  into  the  hole.     It  was 


to  the  sunlight  so  that  I  might  see  a  long,  white 
scar,  which  bore  traces  of  having  been  sewn  up ; 
it  stretched  from  her  mouth  to  her  ear.  It  was 
not  worse  than  a  German  student's  duello-slash, 
and  Lolita  evidently  made  very  light  of  it. 


THE    LADY    BULL-FIGHTERS    OF    BARCELONA. 


243 


"The  bull  did  that  with  his  horns,"  she  said, 
with  a  merry  smile  ;  "  hut  it  was  my  fault,  for  I 
let  my  capa  fall  just  when  1  most  needed  it. 
But  1  have  never  had  any  other  hurt.  Nor 
have  any  of  us." 

"Are  you  not  sometimes  frightened?"  I 
asked. 

^'Caramba  I  I  should  hope  not,"  she  replied  : 
"  if  I  were,  it 
would  soon  be 
all  up  with  me. 
I  need  all  my 
nerve  to  give  a 
good  clean  blow, 
and  my  greatest 
safeguard  lies  in 
always  keeping 
as  cool  as  possi- 
ble." 

"But  how 
came  you  to 
take  up  so  dan- 
gerous a  pro- 
fession —  one 
which  had  pre- 
viously been 
reserved  for  the 
pluckiest  of 
your  men  ?" 

"Well,  you 
know,  nowadays 
women  like  to 
attempt  most 
things,  and  the 
men  don't  have 
it  so  much  their 
own  way  as  they 
used  to  do.  I 
suppose  most  of 
us  took  to  it 
chiefly  because 
we  felt  sure  that 
the  public  would 
appreciate  the 
novelty.  Li  this 
we  have  been 
right,  and  we 
have   made    a 

great  deal  more  money,  not  to  speak  of  fame 
(which  is  always  dear  to  our  sex),  than  we  should 
have  done  on  the  stage,  say,  or  in  a  milliner's 
shop.  However,  please  understand  that  we  have 
all  taken  up  bull-fighting  entirely  of  our  own  free 
will.  No  one  has  brought  any  pressure  to  bear 
upon  us  to  do  it,  and  in  every  case  our  parents 
are  in  easy  circumstances.  My  father,  for 
instance,  is  a  well-known  Catalonian  gymnast, 
so  you  can  understand  that  I  inherit  a  certain 
amount  of  agility  from  him.  He  was  sufficiently 


From  a] 


LOLITA   AND    ANGELITA 


well  off  to  send  me  to  a  good  school,  and  I 
need  not  have  taken  up  any  profession  unless  I 
liked.  Angelita  there,  our  other  matadora,  is 
in  much  the  same  position.  Her  father  has 
long  owned  one  of  the  best  beer-houses  in 
Catalonia.  Like  most  Spanish  girls,  we  have 
been  brought  up  to  enthusiasm  about  the  bull- 
ring  from    our   earliest   childhood ;    and,    long 

before  this 
chance  pre- 
sented itself,  we 
used  often  to 
sigh  that  we 
were  not  boys, 
and  were,  there- 
fore, apparently 
precluded  from 
taking  up  the 
national  s[)ort 
as  a  i)rofession. 
That  girl  there, 
whom  you  will 
see  jumping 
with  a  pole  over 
the  bull's  back 
if  you  come  to 
one  of  our  per- 
formances, 
comes  of  a 
family  o{  toreros. 
Her  brother  is 
a  very  expert 
performer,  and 
she  used  often 
to  play  about 
with  the  bulls 
when  she  was  a 
girl." 

"You  look 
very  young  to 
be  engaged  in 
such  a  serious 
undertaking  !  " 

"Oh!  as  to 
that,  it  is  a  pro- 
fession which 
must  be  taken 
up  quite  young, 
while  the  joints  are  still  supple.  All  the  men 
who  are  going  to  be  any  good  at  it  show 
what  they  are  made  of  by  the  time  they 
are. twenty.  I  am  only  just  twenty  now.  I 
began  at  sixteen.  Several  of  the  girls  are  still 
scarcely  turned  sixteen.  Time  alone  will  show 
whether  we  can  ever  hope  to  rival  any  of 
the  great  masters.  At  present  we  content 
ourselves  with  killing  two-year-old  bulls,  but 
we  may  go  on  to  tackle  the  full-grown  ones 
of  five  or  six  years.     As  it  is,  we  do   several 


FULL    REGULATION    DRESS. 


[Photo. 


244 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MACiAZINE. 


"¥ 


things  which 
have  generally 
been  aban- 
doned by  the 
men.  There 
is,  for  instance, 
the  business  of 
jumping  with 
a  pole  over 
the  bull's  back. 
That  requires 
quite  as  much 
nerve  as  any 
other  part  of 
the   perform- 


advanced  and  took  up  their  positions  in  various 
parts  of  the  ring,  while  a  young  man  ran 
about  and  attacked  them  with  a  pair  of 
horns  affixed  to  the  end  of  two  poles.  He 
would  dart  wildly  at  one  girl,  and  she  would 
promptly  make  all  the  regulation  passes  at  the 
horns  with  her  cloak,  stepping  lightly  aside  in 
the  most  approved  manner.  If  he  ever 
perceived  that  a  girl  was  not  attending  to  the 
performance,  he  would  instantly  set  upon  her 
and  tax  her  energies  to  the  utmost,  while  her 
neighbours  would  begin  throwing  out  their 
cloaks  to  attract  him  away.  It  seemed  quite 
a  fascinating  game,  which  everybody  enjoyed 
thoroughly,  and  though  the  performers  were  in 


LOI.ITA    AliOUT   TO   TACKLE    THE     I'-l  ].l. 

From  a\    with  thf  lon(;  i.akce.     [Photo. 

ance.  Then  I  tackle  the  bull 
on  horseback  with  a  long  lance 
in  my  hand.  You  must  not 
confuse  that  with  the  business 
of  the  picador,  who  uses  quite 
a  different  instrument,  and  con- 
tents himself  with  gashing  the 


liAHLING    A    lUKIOUS   CHARGE    WITH 
THE    "  CAl'A." 

Front  a  Photo,  hy  Mrs.  Herbert  Vivian. 

their  everyday  dress,  they  made 
up  quite  a  picturesque  scene 
in  the  brilliant  sunlight. 

After  this  had  gone  on  for 
some  time,  the  genial  Totti 
called  for  a  pole-jumping  exhi- 
bition, whereupon  the  torero's 
sister,  a  tall,  sun-burnt  girl,  with 
a    pleasing,    open    expression. 


A.NoT.IE.i    HJKM    ui-    DUMMY  l.UI.I. — ONE 

OF    THE   CUAnRlI.L'V   PRACTISING  Wn  H 

THE    "CATA." 

From  a  Photo,  by  Mrs.  Herbert  Vivian. 

bull's  flanks  and  exposing  the 
wretched  old  horse  he  rides 
to  be  gored.  I  ride  quite  a 
decent  little  nag,  and  have 
always  managed  to  give  a  good 
account  of  myself  with  his 
assistance." 

But  Sehor  Totti  began  to 
grow  impatient  at  the  length 
of  this  catechism,  and  now 
gave  the  signal  for  the  rehearsal 
to  proceed.  The  whole  cua- 
dril/a,  holding  long  bright 
cloaks    in    their   hands,    then 


PRACTISING   THE    POLE   JUMP    RIGHT   OVER    THE    BULL. 

Fronx  a  Photo,  by  Mrs.  Herbert  Vivian, 


THE    LADY    BULL-FIGHTERS    OF    BARCELONA. 


245 


step|)L'cl  into  the  middle  of 
the  ring  and  proceeded  to 
throw  off  her  skirt,  reveal- 
ing to  our  astonished  gaze 
a  pair  of  bright  chintz 
pantaloons.  She  retired 
with  her  pole  to  one  side 
of  the  ring,  while  two  men 
held  out  a  thick  blue  cord 
at  the  other  side.  Then 
she  and  they  ran  towards 
each  other,  meeting  in  the 
middle,  where  she  vaulted 
gracefully  over  the  obstacle. 
This  was  repeated  a 
number  of  times,  the  rope 
being  raised  higher  and 
higher  every  time. 

Then  Angelita,  the 
second  mafadora,  pro- 
ceeded to  practise  with 
another  dummy  bull. 
This  was  a"  much  finer 
specimen  than  its  com- 
panion, being  entirely  covered  with  black  hide. 
The  expression  of  its  face  was  intensely  comical. 
The  idea  of  taking  its  photograph  was  welcomed 
with  roars  of  delighted  laughter  from  the  whole 
ciiadrilla,  but  Totti  required  much  firm  persua- 
sion  before  he  v/ould  allow  the  first  dummy  to 


.\    MORE   ELABORATE    DU.M-MV    HULL. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Mrs    Herbert  I  'nuan. 


be  similarly  honoured,  vow- 
ing that  it  was  really  too 
ugly. 

My  next  illustrations 
represent  a  performance 
given  by  the  lady  bull- 
fighters at  Barcelona  on 
the  31st  July,  1898.  The 
ring  affords  a  striking  con- 
trast with  its  appearance 
in  the  previous  illustra- 
tions, where  we  have  had 
rows  of  empty  benches, 
relieved  only  by  an  occa- 
sional string  of  clothes 
hung  out  to  dry.  Now 
there  is  not  a  nook  or 
corner  unoccupied,  and 
all  are  on  tenterhooks  of 
excited  admiration.  The 
public  interest  is  especially 
noteworthy  in  the  first 
photograph.  The  seats  in 
a  bull-ring  are  divided  into 
those  on  the  shady  side  isombra)  and  those  on 
the  sunny  side  {sol).  The  shady  seats,  though 
more  expensive,  are  far  more  eagerly  sought 
after,  and,  even  on  grand  occasions,  the  sunny 
side  is  rarely  crowded.  Here,  however,  we  find 
it  as  densely  thronged  as  the  other,  which  is  the 


From  d\ 


v-XcE   OF   THE  CUADRILLA,    OR   TROUPE   OF    LADY    UULI.-FIGHTERS,    INTO   THE   ARENA   AT 


ii'Ko: 


246 


THE   WIDE   WORLD   MAGAZINE. 


utmost  possiljlc  proof  of  [jublic  enthusiasm. 
The  girls  are  just  entering  the  arena  in  the 
regulation  procession,  and  it  is  amusing  to  note 
how  carefully  they  imitate  the  usual  pompous 
strut  of  the  male  performers.  Indeed,  they 
look  quite  manly  with  their  knickerbockers  and 
spangled  jackets,  while  the  thick  cloth,  always 
wound  round  a  bull-fighter's  waist,  as  a  protec- 
tion against  wounds  from  the  bull's  horns, 
effectively  conceals  the  female  figure. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  describe  the  performance 
at  length,  for  it  does  not  differ  materially  from 
the  usual  corrida,  which  has  already  been  written 
about  a  great  deal  too  much.     ^Ve  may,  how- 


The  hair-dressing  of  the  one  on  the  right  is  worth 
noticing,  for  she  has  arranged  a  tiny  little  chignon 
at  the  back  of  her  head,  just  like  those  worn  by 
male  bull-fighters. 

The  costume  may  be  more  carefully  inspected 
in  the  group  seen  on  the  first  page.  The  photo. 
was  taken  in  one  of  the  doorways  of  the  ring  at 
Alicante.  The  stout  man  on  the  right  is  Seiior 
Totti.  Next  but  one  to  him  is  Lolita,  and 
on  her  right  is  Angelita.  It  is  Lolita,  you  will 
remember,  who  bears  the  scar  of  the  wound 
which  she  received  from  the  blow  of  a  bull's  horn. 
The  dresses  explain  themselves,  and  are  chiefly 
remarkable  for  the  profusion  of  gold  embroidery 


LOI.ITA    ABOUT   TO    KILI,    HER    I'.UI.L. 


[Photo. 


ever,  take  one  glimpse  at  Lolita,  just  as 
she  is  about  to  kill  her  bull.  The  great  point 
is  to  get  the  bull  to  stand  stjuare,  so  that  the 
sword,  in  her  right  hand,  may  be  driven  clean 
home  between  his  shoulder-blades.  That  is  the 
stroke  we  have  already  seen  her  practising  with 
the  go-cart.  The  red  cloak  in  her  left  hand  is 
wrapped  round  a  sharp  instrument.  The  bull 
is  alternately  prodded  with  this  and  confused  by 
having  the  cloak  v*;aved  in  his  face,  imtil  he  can 
be  induced  to  take  the  desired  attitude  and  she 
finds  her  opportunity  for  the  final  blow.  The 
two  girls  at  the  side  have  to  stand  very  much 
on  the  alert,  ready  to  obey  orders  instantly  and 
distract  the  bull's  attention  at  a  critical  moment. 


lavished  upon  them.  A  successful  bull-fighter 
will  often  spend  as  much  as  ^300  on  a  suit, 
and  even  the  simplest  are  never  very  cheap.  The 
caps,  covered  with  knobs  of  fluffy,  finely  plaited 
silk  braid,  are  •  also  to  be  noted  as  specially 
characteristic.  When  a  bull-fighter  has  been 
successful,  it  is  the  custom  for  the  spectators  to 
throw  him  their  hats  into  the  ring  as  a  mark  of 
enthusiasm,  when  he  walks  round  to  acknow- 
ledge their  applause.  The  lady  bull-fighter  in 
the  next  photograph  has  been  posed  in  this 
attitude,  holding  in  her  left  hand  the  cloak  with 
which  she  has  made  such  skilful  play  during 
the  performance,  and  raising  her  cap  with 
her  right. 


THE    LADY    BULL-FICxHTERS    OK    BARCELONA. 


247 


Another  girl  has  been  taken  in  the  costume 
o{  0.  picador.  The  picador  is  the  man  who  rides 
about  the  rinjj;  on  a  wretched  old  horse  and  tilts 
at  the  bull  with  a  long  pole,  at  the  end  of  which 
is  a  sharp  triangular  iron  goad.  The  tilting 
generally  results  in  his  horse  being  gored  to 
death  by  the  bull,  and,  though  his  profession 
involves  rather  more  danger  than  that  of  the 
other  bull-fighters,  it  is  less  sporting  and 
is  considered  less  reputable.  The  picadors 
are  older  men,  generally  disposed  to  loaf  and 
often  to  drink.  Most  people  are  agreed  that  a 
bull-fight  would  be 
much  improved  if 
their  services  could 
be  dispensed  with, 
and  their  perform- 
ance  is  often 
omitted  by  the  lady 
cuadrii/a,  though 
the  bull  is  thus 
far  less  exhausted, 
and  consequently 
more  formidable 
and  difficult  to 
kill. 

I  always  think 
the  most  graceful 
part    of    a     bull- 


fight is  the  play  with  the  baiidcrillas.  These 
are  short  barbed  spikes,  gaily  decorated  with 
coloured  ribbons.  The  handerillero  stands 
facing  the  Inill,  and  waving  the  banderillas  to 
attract  his  attention.  The  bull  then  generally 
makes  a  ferocious  charge,  which  is  awaited  till 
the  very  last  r.ioment,  when  the  handerillero 
steps  suddenly  nside  and  deftly  plants  his 
weapons  in  the  beast's  flanks.  One  of  Senor 
Totti's  cuadrilla  was  particularly  skilful  in  this 
work,  which  is  probably  the  one  part  of  a  bull- 
fight in  which  women  are  naturally  fitted  to  excel. 

'Whether  women 
will  ever  rival  men 
seriously  in  the 
bull-ring  is  open  to 
doubt,  but  they 
have  certainly  ex- 
hibited sufificient 
intrepidity  and  skill 
to  warrant  the  pub- 
lic interest  which 
they  have  un- 
doubtedly aroused, 
quite  apart  from  the 
novelty  of  the  fair  sex 
engaging  in  such  a 
terribly  arduous  and 
dangerous  sport. 


ACKNOWLEDGING   THE    APPLAUSE   OF   THE    MULTITUDE:. 

From  a  Photo,  by  F.  Laureano,  Barcelona, 


The  Tragedy  of  the  Funftingerspitze. 

Bv  Mrs.  Norman  Neruda. 


His  wife  tells  of  the  last  climb   in  the  Tyrol  ever  made  by  the  famous  violinist's   son.     The  joyous  fete 

— the    eventful     morning     the     climb— the    terrible    fall— desperate     efforts    to    save — the    awful    night 

with  the  dying  man,  and  the  rescue  at  daybreak.     With  photographs  and  portraits. 


He  now  re-visited 


HR  8th  of  Se{)tember,  1898,  found 
the  village  of  St.  Ulrich-in-Groden 
en  fete  for  the  ceremony  of  unveiling 
the  monument  erected  to  the  honour 
of  Herr  Paul  (irohmann,  the  well- 
known  climber,  who  made  the  first  ascent  of  the 
Langkofel  and  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
mountaineering  in  the  Tyrol, 
the  valley  for  the  first  time 
since  he  had  conquered'  the 
peak,  in  1869,  as  the  guest  of 
the  Vienna  University  Section 
of  the  "  Deutschen  und 
Oesterreichischen  Alpen 
Verein,"  the  members  of 
which  (amongst  whom  are  to 
be  found  many  of  the  fore- 
most mountaineers  of  the  day) 
had  conceived  and  carried 
out  the  happy  idea  of  the 
"  (jrohmann-Denkmal." 

St.  Ulrich,  as  every  climber 
knows,  lies  in  the  Groden 
Valley  at  a  height  of  1,236 
metres.  It  is  reached  by  a 
three  hours'  drive  from  the 
station,  Waidbruck,  on  the 
Brenner  Railway.  The  Lang- 
kofel group  lies  within  two 
or  three  hours'  walk  of  the 
village.  The  valley  is  closed 
by  the  steep  wall  of  the  Sella 
group,  and  is  very  picturesque. 

The  two  hotels  of  St.  Ulrich  — the  Post  and 
the  Adler — were  full  to  overflowing  with  a 
large  and  varied  gathering  of  mountaineers 
of  both  sexes  and  of  all  ages,  students  from 
the  various  German  and  Austrian  Universities, 
and  their  innumerable  friends.  We  found  our- 
selves, as  usual,  in  our  old  quarters  at  the  Post, 
in  the  midst  of  a  merry  crowd  of  Viennese 
students  and  other  Alpine  friends  of  many 
years'  standing,  and  of  all  the  old  familiar  jokes 
and   happy,    careless   fun    and    laughter    which 


have     always 
Alpine   circle, 
mountaineering 


distinguished     the 


THE   AUTHORESS,    MRS.    NORMAN   NERUDA. 

From  a  Photo,   hy  A.   Bordigioni,   liassnno. 


St.     Ulrich 
Many   a   time  has  some    non- 
hotel    guest    stared    in     utter 
bewilderment  at   the   wild   pranks    indulged   in 
by  certain  well-known  climbers,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  eccentric  behaviour  of  the  members  of 
our  "  clubs  "  in  the  room  which  has  come  to  be 
looked    upon    as   reserved   exclusively   for    our 
social    meetings.     And  while 
the  ordinary  hotel  guest  con- 
tented himself  with  remarking 
that  he  always  had  considered 
mountaineers    more    or    less 
mad,    more    bigoted   persons 
suspected,    and,    in    fact, 
actually  accused  us,  of  being 
I'reei/iasofis — which,    in    a 
Roman    Catholic   country,   is 
considered  almost  a  crime. 

On  the  day  preceding  the 
great  fefe  we  had  made  what 
was,  alas  !  to  prove  our  last 
successful  climb,  in  company 
with  two  or  three  of  our 
lively  friends — the  Gran  Odin, 
in  the  Geisler  group,  from  the 
Regensburger  hut.  The  cere- 
mony of  unveiling  the  monu- 
ment, which  is  an  obelisk 
of  the  porphyry  rock  of  the 
valley,  raised  on  a  base  of 
large,  rough  blocks,  and  orna- 
mented with  an  excellent  bust 
of  Herr  Grohmann— the  work  of  the  sculptor 
Herr  Trautzl,  of  Vienna  —  and  a  simple 
inscription,  was  successfully  carried  out  on  the 
morning  of  the  8th,  in  perfect  September 
weather,  and  in  the  presence  of  an  enthusiastic 
crowd.  The  point  where  the  monument  stands 
commands  a  good  view  of  the  Langkofel,  rising 
steep  and  imposing  above  the  woods  at  the 
head  of  the  valley.  In  the  evening  there  was  a 
banquet,  with  the  orthodox  health-drinking  and 
speech-making,  my  husband   being  selected  to 


THE    TRAC'.EDV    OF     IHE    FUXFFINGERSPITZE. 


249 


to    pass    the    night 


Langkofel 


speak  on  the  subject  of  mountaineering.  This 
was  followed  by  an  informal  social  evening,  with 
students'  songs  and  laughter  and  merriment 
that  lasted  well  into  the  following  day.  Who 
amongst  all  that  merry,  light-hearted  throng 
dreamed  for  a  moment  that  all  this  gaiety  and 
merriment  were  within  a  few  hours  to  be  changed 
into  grief  and  gloom,  and  that  the  whole 
lovely  valley  was  to  be  plunged  into  deepest 
mourning — all  the  sadder  by  contrast  with  the 
festival  that  preceded  it  ? 

Towards  5  p.m.  on  the  afternoon  of  the  9th, 
after  another  pleasant  day 
in  St.  Ulrich,  a  large  party, 
amongst  whom  were  my 
husband,  Herr  Theodor 
F)ietrich,    and    myself,     left 

in  the 
hut,  all  of  us  in 
the  highest  spirits  and  with- 
out the  least  foreboding  of 
harm.  That  was  one  of  the 
liveliest  of  many  a  pleasant 
evening  spent  in  that  hut, 
which  had  been  built  by  the 
Viennese  students,  and  had 
long  ago  become  to  us  our 
favourite  among  all  other 
Alpine  club-huts,  and  the 
one  of  all  others  in  which 
we  felt  most  at  home.  No 
one  of  the  parties  in  the 
hut  left  very  early  the 
following  morning  ;  and  that 
we  were  the  very  last 
to  leave,  at  8.30  a.m., 
was  no  unusual  occur- 
rence. The  idea  of 
ascending  the  Fiin- 
ffingerspitze  from  the 
south,  through  the 
redoutable  Schmittka- 
min,*  was  my  hus- 
band's, and  he  had 
stated  his  belief, 
from  what  he  knew 
of  Herr  Dietrich's  climbing  powers  and  of  mine, 
that  it  was  not  undertaking  more  than  was  within 
our  capacities  to  accomplish.  He  had  already 
ascended  the  peak  twice  over  that  same  route, 
and  had  reached  the  summit  six  times !  It 
has  been  asserted  that  a  possible  cause  of  the 
disaster  was  "over-exertion  in  pulling  up  two 
inexperienced  climbers."  Now,  Herr  Dietrich 
certainly  climbed  every  inch  of  the  chimney 
without    the   least   aid   from   anyone,  and    my 

*  Schmitt's  "Chimney' — the  name  given  to  the  south  route  on 
the  Fiinffingerspitze  after  the  first  climlier.  A  chimney,  it  may  be 
explained  for  the  benefit  of  the  non-climber,  is  a  great  chasm  or  cleft 
in  the  rock's. 

Vol.  iii.— 32. 


MK.    NORMAN    NERUDA,    WHO    LOST    HIS    LIFE   ON    THE 
FUNFFINGERSl'ITZE. 

From  a  Photo,  by  U'alery,  Limited. 


husband  himself  said  that  he  was  quite  capable 
of  leading  anywhere  on  that  ascent.  With 
regard  to  myself,  1  can  only  mention  that  the 
very  fact  that  my  husband  left  me  to  get  up  the 
difficult  bits  as  I  best  could,  leaving  the  rope 
actually  slack,  was  the  first  incident  that  aroused 
in  me  a  fear  that  he  was  not  well — that  he  was 
not,  in  fact,  able  to  give  his  attention  so  entirely 
to  every  detail  of  the  climbing  as  should  have 
been  the  case. 

I  cannot  describe  that  climb,  clearly  as  all  its 
minutest  details  are  burnt  into  my  brain  !  At 
first  all  went  well,  and  it 
was  not  until  we  had  over- 
come the  well-known  diffi- 
!  cult  block  above  the  Kirchl* 
that  my  husband  owned  to 
not  feeling  well,  and  com- 
plained of  severe  pain  at 
the  back  of  the  head.  Both 
my  companion  and  I  used 
every  effort  to  persuade  him 
to  give  up  the  ascent,  but 
he  refused,  saying  he  would 
lie  down  for  a  little,  higher 
up.  The  place  where  we 
then  stood,  he  said,  was  not 
convenient  for  a  rest  ;  // 
7vas  the  very  spot  on  to 
which  he  fell ! 

Herr  Dietrich  then 
climbed  first  up  the  remain- 
ing 15ft.  to  20ft.  of  the 
chimney — even  here  of  no 
inconsiderable  diffi- 
culty ;  and  on  the 
small  platform  above, 
at  the  {)oint  where  the 
original  route  leaves 
the  chimney  for  the 
wall,  we  halted  for  a 
good  half-hour.  This 
platform,  composed 
of  loose  stones  on 
the  top  of  a  large 
boulder,  is  perhaps 
3ft.  or  4ft.  wide  in  parts,  and  is  backed  by 
a  cave  in  the  farther  recess  of  the  chimney, 
some  5ft.  deep,  where  water  drips  continually 
night  and  day  in  hot  weather.  A  drink  of 
this  water  seemed  to  revive  my  husband  con- 
siderably, and  he  presently  rose  to  continue  the 
ascent,  following,  as  he  had  on  every  occasion, 
the  original  route  found  by  Schmitt  by  climbing 
out  on  the  left  (orographical  right)  wall  of  the 
mountain.  After  a  few  feet  had  been  accom- 
plished, he  turned  to  us  and  excused  himself 

*The  chapel--a  name  given  to  a  curious  cave  or  vault  in  the 
chasm  on  account  of  its  resemblance  to  a  small  chapel. 


250 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


IHE    KUNFFINGERSl'ITZE— THE   MOUNTAIN'    ()- 

From  a  Photo.  l>y  Eiiiil  fcrscliak. 

for  going  so  slowly,  as  his  breath  had  failed 
him.  Again  we  suggested  returning,  but  he 
again  refused.  For  the  first  time  on  any  climb 
the  idea  entered  my  mind  that  something  might 
happen,  and  I  asked  Herr  Dietrich  to  stand  in 
front  of  me  and  hold  the  rope  ;  for  I  was,  of 
course,  roped  in  the  centre.  A  moment  later 
my  husband  called  out,  '''■  Jetzt  habefi  wirs 
^etvonnen "  ("  Now  we've  got  it ;  the  worst 
is  done").  And  scarcely  another  moment 
later,  when  on  an  easy  bit,  without  any  sign 
of  a    slip,    or    any    apparent    reason    for    one, 


he  called,  "  Ich 
falle!  Ich  falle  I 
Halt!"  ("I'm  fall- 
ing !  I'm  falling  ! 
Hold  !  "),  and  with- 
out any  effort  to 
save  himself  he  fell 
heavily  backwards. 
The  distance  from 
us  was  perliaps  50ft. 
or  60ft.,  and,  I  think, 
some  20ft.  above 
us.  The  rope  was 
our  English  (Alpine 
Club  pattern)  one, 
and  was  about  90ft. 
long. 

Herr  Dietrich's 
coolness  and  pres- 
ence of  mind  were 
simply  marvellous, 
and  without  a  doubt 
he  averted  an  even 
more  fatal  disaster. 
Literally  as  quick 
as  thought,  he  drew 
in  the  slack  of  the 
rope  as  my  poor 
husband  fell,  and 
when  the  shock 
came  upon  him  he 
had  two  or  three 
coils  of  the  rope 
wound  round  his 
arm.  It  slipped  off 
a  knob  round  which 
he  had  secured  it, 
however,  and  my 
husband  went  crash- 
ing down  into  the 
chimney,  striking 
.  ■   ■  the     back     of    his 

head  against  the 
wall ;  and  then  he 
disappeared. 

A  coil  or  two  ot 
the  rope  slipped 
through  Dietrich's  left  hand,  so  great  was  the 
jerk,  which  came  upon  him  standing,  and  cut 
his  fingers  to  the  bone.  But  he  held — how, 
neither  of  us  can  explain  !  Instinctively  I  had 
run  back  to  the  inner  end  of  the  cave,  but  it 
would  have  been  a  physical  impossibility  for 
me  to  have  held  the  double  weight  had  Dietrich 
also  fallen,  for  we  had  twenty-five  metres  of 
rope  to  run  out  between  us. 

The  whole  disaster  happened  in  a  flash,  and 
there  was  no  time  to  realize  anything.  For  one 
second  I  was  in  danger  of  losing  my  presence 


THE    TRAGEDY    OF    THE    FUNFFINGERSPITZE. 


2^1 


of  mind  ;  but  one  word  from  my  companion 
was  enough  to  call  back  the  mountaineer  in  me 
and  render  me  scarcely  less  cool  than  he  himself. 
I  helped  him  to  secure  the  rope  round  a  big 
boulder,  and  held  the  end  whilst  he  went  down 
the  chimney.  Those  were  ghastly  moments  ! 
And  they  would  have  been  even  more  terrible 
had  I  known  that  Dietrich  found  my  poor 
husband  out  of  the  rope-sling,  save  for  one  arm, 
and  hanging  over  the  dreadful  abyss.  \Mth 
almost  unbelievable  strength  he  managed  to 
pull  the  unconscious  form  back  on  to  the  small, 
sloping  space  above  the  last  great  block,  having 
unroped  himself  for  fear  he  might  lose  his 
balance  and  pull  me  with  him  in  his  fall.  He 
levelled  down  the  platform  as  far  as  possible 
and  secured  my  husband  with  both  ropes,  as 
the  English  one  had  frayed  considerably. 
Then  he  climbed  up  again  to  me — no  easy 
matter  with  a  wounded  hand — and  told  me 
there  was  a  .slight  head  wound  and  injury 
to  one  foot'.  Later  on  he  acknowledged  that 
he  knew  at  the  time  that  the  head  wound  was  a 
very  serious  one,  but  dared  not  tell  me  for  fear 
I  might  insist  on  going  down  to  the  spot  where 
my  husband  lay.  And  this,  all  who  saw  the 
place  say,  would  have  meant  destruction  to  us 
all,  as  there  was  only  room  for  one,  and  it 
v.ould  have  been  far  too  risky  to  remain  there 
unroped.  Dietrich  again  climbed  down  with 
water  and  handkerchiefs  to  serve  as  bandages. 
We  had  nothing  with  us,  having  left  all  pro- 
visions and  e.xtra  weight  at  the  foot  of  the  peak. 

It  was  2  p.m.  From  two  till  five  we  called 
for  help,  using  the  recognised  alpine  danger- 
signal,  and  this  shouting  acted  as  a  safety-valve 
to  all  our  pent-up  emotion. 

My  husband  was  at  first  quiet  ;  then  he 
began  to  rave.  But  never  at  any  moment, 
during  all  the  weary  hours  of  that  or  the  ne.xt 
day,  did  he  give  the  least  sign  of  consciousness. 
He  never  answered  any  question,  and  spoke 
only  German  in  his  delirium — always  the  same 
words  :  "  Lasset  das  Set/  herunter — schmeiss  das 
Sei/  ab — kehren  wir  um,  ja! —  ich gehe  herutiter — 
zieh  das  Sell  ein  "  ("  Pull  the  rope  down,  chuck 
the  rope  down.  Let  us  go  back,  eh  ?  I  am 
going  down.  Let  us  turn  back.  Pull  the  rope 
taut  "),  and  so  on.  At  times  he  would  remain 
quiet  for  hours — thus  durin^the  whole  night. 

At  5  p.m.  we  were  assured  that  our  calls  had 
been  understood,  and  being  by  this  time 
completely  voiceless  we  kept  quiet  for  a  time. 
Dietrich  again  went  down  to  see  if  he  could  do 
anything  for  my  husband. 

At  sundown  we  were  obliged  to  retire  into  the 
wet  cave — the  only  place  where  it  was  safe  to 
remain  without  a  rope ;  and  warm  though  the 
night  v/as,  we  were   soon   soaked  to  the  skin 


and  shivering  as  with  ague.  Just  before  night 
fell  the  first  rescuers  arrived  below  us  and 
shouted  to  us  for  some  time,  also  lighting  fires 
to  encourage  us.  I  was  told  afterwards  that 
one  of  them  —  our  old  acquaintance,  Toni 
Miihlsteiger — wished  to  ascend  the  mountain 
then  and  there,  by  lantern-light  :  but  he  was 
rightly  prevented  from  making  so  risky  a  venture 
by  his  employer. 

Every  minute  of  that  terrible  night  seemed 
an  hour,  every  hour  an  age  ;  and  it  seemed  as 
though  the  dawn  would  never  come.  Our  chief 
anxiety  was  lest  my  poor  husband,  in  an  access 
of  delirium,  should  unrope  himself.  And  every 
slight  noise  set  our  hearts  beating  in  fearful 
dread  that  it  proceeded  from  him.  But  during 
the  night  he  remained  quiet,  and,  so  far  as  we 
know,  did  not  once  move.  Every  now  and 
again  Dietrich  would  lean  cautiously  forward  to 
test  the  ropes,  which  he  always  found  taut ;  and 
when  the  cold  and  wet  became  unendurable,  we 
would  stand  up  to  try  and  warm  ourselves  by 
jumping.  In  the  darkness  we  did  not  dare  move 
beyond  the  cave,  and  we  had  not  even  a  single 
match  with  us.  Nor  had  we  a  particle  of  food 
of  any  sort,  and  my  companion  was  without  a 
coat.  The  only  noise  that  broke  the  silence 
was  the  regular  drip,  drip,  drip  of  the  water 
falling  on  to  us  ;  and  once  or  twice  a  shout 
came  from  below  to  tell  us  of  the  arrival  of 
another  party  of  rescuers.  And  when  at  last 
day  broke,  how  long  it  was  ere  it  was  light 
enough  to  see  the  hands  of  a  watch  !  With  the 
first  glimmer  of  dawn,  the  rescue  party  started 
up  over  the  ordinary  route  for  the  summit, 
shouting  to  us  as  they  proceeded  for  directions 
and  advice.  1  calculated  we  were  about  120 
metres  below  the  summit,  and  the  rescuers  used 
close  on  no  metres  of  rope  to  reach  us. 

The  shouting  now  seemed  to  disturb  my 
husband,  and  he  again  began  to  rave,  but 
showed  no  sign  of  knowing  Dietrich  when  he 
went  to  him,  or  me  when  I  tried  speaking  to 
him  in  English. 

A  little  before  7  a.m.  Miihlsteiger  reached  us, 
letting  himself  down  in  the  most  daring  way,  on 
a  rope  held  from  above,  straight  into  the 
chimney.  A  second  rope  was  sent  down  and, 
Dietrich  helping  me  over  the  worst  bit,  we  at 
once  started  up  to  the  gap  at  the  end  of  the 
snow-couloir,  where  the  south,  north,  and  east 
routes  join.  Here  we  found  a  large  party  of 
guides  and  friends  awaiting  us,  and  (my  com- 
panion with  Franz  Fistill,  of  Groden  ;  I  with 
Luigi  Bernard,  of  Campitello)  we  at  once 
descended  over  the  ordinary  route  to  the  foot 
of  the  peak,  where  some  thirty  or  forty  persons 
— guides,  porters,  and  friends — were  assembled. 

Meantime,  Miihlsteiger,  who  certainly  took  the 


'52 


THE    WIDE     WORLD     ^^AGAZINE. 


lead    in 
for    the 


arrangements 


courage 


all 

rescue,     with     a 

and  devotion 
beyond  all  praise,  acconi 
panied  by  the  guides  Pes- 
costa  and  Michel  Inner- 
kofler,  and  Herren  ¥. 
Hortnagl  and  Carl  Mayr, 
descended  into  the 
chimney  to  undertake  the 
excessively  difficult  work 
of  transporting  my  un- 
fortunate husband  down 
through  that  awful  chasm. 
This  required  no  less  than 
seven  hours,  and  just  as 
the  end  of  the  chimney 
was  reached  my  poor  hus- 
band passed  peacefully 
away  in  the  arms  of  those 
who  were  carrying  him  — 
exactly  twenty-four  hours 
after  the  accident. 

No  words  of  mine  can 
ever  adequately  express 
my  gratitude  to  those  who 
took  part  in  the  rescue ; 
nor  can  I  ever  sufficiently 
thank  all  those  kind  friends 
in  St.  Ulrich  for  their  affec- 
tionate care  and  help  during  the  terrible  time 
that  followed.     I  then  realized  the  full  value  of 


IHK   GLIDK    ML  HI.STEUjEK, 
iMK.    NORMAN 

From   a   Photo. 


of  those  present  at  the 
simple  funeral  service  on 
the  13th — at  which  the 
Bishop  of  Norwich  very 
kindly  officiated — mourned 
for  their  comrade  as  for  a 
brother.  And  so  long  as 
they  themselves  are  living 
will  his  memory  be  held 
dear ;  and  so  long  as 
Alpinism  exists  will  his 
name  be  known'  to  readers 
of  Alpine  literature. 

The  following  notes  are 
also  of  interest  in  connec- 
tion with  the  foregoing 
narrative  of  Mrs.  Norman 
Neruda  : — 

The  guides  who  took  a 
leading  part  in  the  terribly 
difficult  work  of  rescue 
in  carrying  Mr.  Norman 
Neruda  down  the  frightful 
chimney — a  work  that  took 
seven  hours,  and  can  onlv 
be  appreciated  by  those 
who  have  seen  the  place 
—  were  the  following  : 
Anton  Miihlsteiger,  of 
Pflersch,  near  Gossensass,  who  climbed  up  and 
down   the   worst   part   of  the  chimney  several 


who  assisted  in  kecoveking 
neruda's  body. 
by   Aug.    IVilckc. 


THE   CEMETERY    AT   ST.    ULRICH    IN    WHICH    MR.    NORMAN    NEKLDA    IS    IlLRIED. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Eiiiil  Terschak. 

Alpine  friends.     Amidst  all   that  sorrow,  there        times,  first   assisting    Herr    Dietrich   and    Mrs. 
was  comfort  in   the  knowledge  that  everyone        Norman  Neruda  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and 


THE   TRAGEDY    OF   THE    FUNFFINGERSPITZE. 


253 


ihen  helping  with  the  transport — a  great  per- 
formance ;  Michel  Innerkofler,  of  Sexlen,  who 
helped  in  the  transport  and  evinced  great  cool- 
ness and  courage  ;  Josef  Pescosta,  of  St.  Ulrich, 
helped  in  the  transport ;  Luigi  Bernard,  Cani- 
pitello,  guided  Mrs.  Norman  Neruda  down  over 
the  Daumenscharte,  and  then  went  up  to  meet 
the  others  ;  Fran^  Fistill,  of  St.  Ulrich,  guided 
Herr  Dietrich  down  and  then  went  to  meet  the 
others. 

Two  Innsbruck  students— Herr  F.  Hortnagl 
and  Herr  Carl  Mayr — also  assisted  in  the  trans- 
port with  noble  courage  and  unselfish  devotion, 
both  climbing  the  difficult  chimney  more  than 
once  up  and  down  to  fix  or  unloose  the  ropes 
used,  etc.  The  arrangements  for  the  rescue 
were  carried  out  by  Herr  Fritz  Gedon,  of  St. 
Ulrich,  ably  seconded  by  Herr  Emil  Terschak 
and  Dr.  Marschall,  of  Nuremberg,  in  whose 
employ  Muhlsteiger  was  at  the  time.  Neither 
time,  trouble,  nor  expense  were  spared  in  the 
effort  to  get  together  the  rescue  party,  and 
within  three  hours  after  the  news  of  a  disaster 
had  been  carried  to  the  valley  (viz.,  at  8  p.m.) 
the  first  detachment  of  rescuers  was  at  the  foot 
of  the  peak,  and  the  guides  were  with  difficulty 
withheld  from  attempting  the  difficult  climb  by 
lantern-light.     Mrs.    Norman    Neruda   received 


the  greatest  kindness  and  attentive  care  from 
the  above,  and  also  from  the  many  Viennese 
students  in  St.  Ulrich  ;  from  Herr  Lard- 
schneider,  the  hotel-owner,  and  from  many 
guests.  The  cause  of  the  accident  was  a 
seizure,  probably  from  some  brain  malady. 
Mr.  Norman  Neruda  had  no  sign  of  heart- 
trouble,  but  his  medical  attendant  was  aware 
of  cardiac  weakness. 

Mr.  Norman  Neruda  was  buried  in  the 
cemetery  of  St.  Ulrich,  in  the  portion  reserved 
for  non-Catholics.  The  coffin  was  carried  by 
the  guides.  Speeches  were  made  by  Herr  von 
Pfaff,  on  behalf  of  the  Central  Committee  of 
the  CJerman  and  Austrian  Alpine  Club ;  Dr. 
Merz,  for  the  Vieima  University  section  of  the 
same  club ;  by  Herr  Forcher-Mayr,  for  the 
Bozen  section  ;  by  Herr  Domenigg,  for  the 
Austrian  Touring  Club ;  by  Herr  (}edon,  for  the 
Groden  section,  etc.  Dr.  Christmannos,  of 
^leran,  spoke  in  the  name  of  Norman  Neruda's 
friends.  Wreaths  were  sent  frOm  all  the  above 
clubs  ]  also  from  the  Innsbruck  University 
section  ;  the  Munich  University  section  ;  Nurem- 
berg University  section  ;  Italian  Alpine  Club  ; 
Swiss  A.C.  ;  English  A.C.  ;  Rodl  Club,  of 
Groden  ;  Austrian  A.C.  ;  and  over  a  hundred 
others  from  friends  and  guides. 


Froiu  rtj 


MK.    NORMAN    NERUDA  S   GRAVE. 


[P/wtO. 


Saved    from    Hydrophobia 


By  E.   H.  Julian. 

The    author   tells   how    he    was    bitten  by   a    mad    dog,  and   then    describes    his   hopes    and    fears,    the 

agonizing  delays,  his  first   impression  of  the  world-renowned  Pasteur  Institute,  his  fellow-patients,  the 

inoculations,  etc.     With    a    portrait    of    himself,    the    dog,    and   M.  Pasteur,  etc.     The  narrative  will  be 

read  with  interest  and  ready  sympathy,  for  the  accident  might  happen  to  anyone. 


HE  idea  of  being  bitten  by  a  mad 
dog  is  generally  regarded,  even  by 
j)ersons  who  are  not  wanting  in 
courage,  with  fear  almost  amounting 
to  terror.  While  this  may  be,  to 
some  extent,  accounted  for  by  the  incurable 
nature  of  hydrophobia,  the  intense  suffering  of 
the  victim,  the  horror  and  mystery  which 
surround  the  subject,  and  the  mythical  tales  of 
the  violent  means  resorted  to  to  put  sufferers 
out  of  their  misery  (a  belief  which  is  still  very 
general),  I  think  the  chief  reason  is  dread  of  the 
long,  wearying,  anxious  sus- 
pense which  must  ensue 
before  the  person  bitten  can 
feel  that  all  danger  is  past. 

Discussing  the  Pasteur 
treatment  with  some  friends 
a  few  days  before  my  acci- 
dent, I  ventured  the  opinion 
that,  if  I  were  ever  bitten  by  a 
rabid  dog,  I  should  go  at  once 
to  the  Pasteur  Institute — little 
dreaming  that  my  resolution 
was  so  soon  to  be  put  to  the 
test.  The  scene  of  my  accident 
I  may  say  was  a  house  in  the 
south  of  Ireland,  near  Cork, 
and  the  precise  date,  Sep- 
tember 1 8th,  1889.  Looking 
back  now,  with  a  full  know- 
ledge of  what  undergoing 
the  treatment  means  to  the 
patient,  the  risk  attending  it, 
the  extreme  debility,  and,  in 
some  cases,  i)ermanent  injury 
to  health  which  ensues,  I  have  possibly  no 
hesitation  in  saying  I  should  take  precisely  the 
same  course  if  the  occasion  again  arose. 

One  evening,  shortly  after  the  conversation 
above  referred  to,  my  groom  complained  that 
"  Blackie,"  one  of  my  dogs  (a  fox-terrier),  was 
badly  hurt,  and  at  my  request  he  brouglit  him 
into  the  room  where  I  was  dining.  Seeing  the 
poor  brute  was  badly  cut  about  the  head,  a 
large  part  of  the  scalp  being  torn  or  cut  away, 


THE   AUTHOR,    MR.    E.    H.    JUl.l.W,    WHO    WKNT 
THROUGH    THE    TRYING    EXI'KKIENCKS    RELATED 

From  a]  herein.  [Photo. 


and  hanging  loose  from  his  skull,  I  pulled  out 
my  handkerchief  and  took  him  in  my  arms, 
with  the  intention  of  binding  up  the  wound 
temporarily.  The  moment  I  attempted  to  do 
so,  however,  he  turned  on  me  with  a  savage 
growl,  and  seized  my  thumb  in  his  teeth. 
Although  I  drew  my  hand  away,  he  was  too 
quick,  and  inflicted  a  slight  wound. 

I  dropped  the  dog  at  once,  and  he  crawled 
out  of  the  room  with  a  peculiar  reptile-like 
motion.  I  immediately  sucked  the  wound 
vigorously,  afterwards  washing  my  mouth  with 
whisky.  Probably  the  best 
thing  one  can  do  is  to  suck  a 
bite,  provided  the  mouth  and 
lips  are  sound ;  otherwise  it 
adds  to  the  risk.  It  was 
some  hours  before  I  could 
get  the  wound  cauterized,  and 
I  have  since  learned  it  was 
then  a  useless  proceeding.  I 
took  these  steps  merely  as 
precautionary  measures,  as  I 
had  no  serious  reason  to 
think  the  dog  was  rabid, 
though,  of  course,  I  noticed 
his  shyness  and  peculiar  slink- 
ing gait. 

The  following  morning,  on 
entering  the  stable-yard  with 
a  friend,  the  dog  at  once 
rushed  at  him.  I  shouted  a 
warning,  and  he  only  saved 
himself  by  springing  on  to  a 
water -barrel  standing  near, 
I  was  now  convinced  there 
was  something  more  serious  the  matter  with 
the  animal  than  his  wound  (which  I  after- 
wards found  was  given  him  by  the  owner  of  a 
bitch  with  a  litter  of  puppies  that  he  had  attacked 
the  previous  day).     I  believe  it  is  most  unusual 


for  a  dog  to  attack  a  bitch  with 


pups. 


and  it  is 


considered  by  experts  a  very  bad  sign. 

We  drove  the  dog  into  an  outhouse,  securing 
the  door  ;  and  I  then  instructed  the  groom  to 
obtain   the   assistance   of   a   veterinary   surgeon 


SAVED    FROM     HYDROPHOBIA. 


!55 


lad  cumplctcd  his  inuniing  duties, 
could  do  so,  however,  the  animal 
The    madness    now   developed    into 

after 


attacking 


when    he 
Before  he 
escaped. 

the  "  running  stage  "  ;  and 
another  dog  of  mine  (his 
great  chum  and  play-fellow), 
a  strong  Irish  terrier  twice 
his  size,  and  attempting  to 
tear  up  several  trees  and 
shrubs  by  their  roots,  foam- 
ing at  the  mouth  all  the 
time,  he  was  at  length  shot 
by  a  policeman,  called  in 
by  the  affrighted  cook  and 
groom,  the  only  inmates  of 
my  house  at  the  time. 

I  only  learned  this  quite 
late  in  the  evening,  too  late 
to  do  anything  that  night. 
The  following  morning  I 
consulted  a  local  doctor  (who 
had  recently  had  experience 
with  a  hydrophobia  case), 
and  on  his  advice  started  for 
London  by  the  next  train, 
there  to  await  the  report  of 
the  veterinary  surgeons,  who, 
it  was  arranged,  should  hold 
a  post-mortem  on  the  mad 
terrier — one  acting  on  my  behalf,  the  other  being 
a  Government  official.  It  was  arranged  that  the 
report  should  follow  as  soon  as  possible,  and  in 
the  event  of  its  being  unfavourable,  I  was  to  see 
the  eminent  surgeon,  Sir  James  Paget,  and  act 
on  his  advice. 

I  reached  London  early  on  a  Saturday  morn- 
ing, but  for  some  unexplained  reason  the  report 
was  sent  by  post,  instead  of  being  wired.  In 
consequence,  I  was  detained  there  till  Monday 
evening  —  of  course,  in  a  condition  of  great 
anxiety  and  nervous  impatience — thus  losing 
nearly  three  days. 

During  my  enforced  detention  in  London  I 
was  buoyed  up  by  the  hope  that  Sir  James 
Paget  would  not  consider  it  necessary  for  me  to 
go  to  Paris  even  if  the  dog  had  been  rabid,  as 
the  wound  was  very  slight.  How'ever,  on  con- 
sulting him,  he  advised  me  to  start  at  once,  and 
appeared  very  much  annoyed  and  surprised  at 
the  long  and  unnecessary  time  which  had  been 
allowed  to  elapse,  giving  it  as  his  opinion  that 
after  a  week  from  the  time  of  being  bitten  it 
would  be  quite  useless  to  go.  Therefore,  in 
company  with  a  friend,  who  kindly  volunteered 
to  accompany  me,  I  started  for  Paris  by  the 
next  boat-train. 

Of  course,  everyone  said  the  dog  was  not 
mad.  I  believe  they  always  do  on  such 
occasions,    and    some    kind    friends   suggested 


that    I    was    teasiiu 
ingenious    plan    for 


the    poor 
diverting 


brute  —  X    most 
any    sympathy 


which  might  otherwise  have  been  felt  for  me. 


But  even 


THE    DOS    WHICH    DID   ALL  THE   MISCHIEK- 
JULIAN'S   FOX-TEKKIEK,    "  UI.ACKIE." 

From  a  Photo. 


the    jalousies, 
closely    shut. 


the  elements  seemed  to  ha\e  con- 
spired to  delay  me,  for,  owing 
to  a  very  stormy  passage,  we 
arrived  some  hours  after  the 
usual  time.  Thus,  as  it  after- 
wards turned  out,  another 
day's  delay  was  caused. 

On  arriving  in   Paris  there 
was  the  usual  tedious  examin- 
ation   of   luggage,    amidst   a 
babel    of    shrill    tongues,    in 
various  languages.     At   last, 
however,    we    escaped    from 
the     Customs    officers     and 
drove  to  our  hotel,  and,  after 
a  hasty   toilet,    we    hailed  a 
^acre  in   the    Rue  de  Rivoli 
and    drove   to    the    Institut 
Pasteur.    It  is  situated  in  that 
quarter    lying    away    beyond 
the    Invalides,    in   the    Rue 
Dutot.     Our  first  view  of  it 
was  anything  but  reassuring. 
A  long,  two-story  building 
standing  back  from  the  street, 
surrounded  by  a  grass  lawn, 
which    were    to   every   window, 
the    gravel    walk    leading   from 
moss-grown.      The  whole 
devoid    of    either    sign 
had   a    melancholy   and 


gates 


the   entrance 

place    was    absolutely 

or   sound  of  life,  and 

deserted  appearance,  in  ill-keeping  with  a  build 

ing  evidently  quite  recently  erected.     Nor  was 

our  surprise  lessened  when  we  found  that  the 

entrance  gates  were  securely  locked,  and    that 

no    means   existed    for    making    our   presence 

known  to  anyone  who  might  be  within. 

We  were  on  the  point  of  turning  away  in 
blank  confusion  and  growing  astonishment,  when 
a  passer-by,  evidently  guessing  our  dilemma, 
directed  us  to  a  small  lodge  at  the  farther  end  of 
the  grounds,  which  till  then  had  escaped  our 
notice.  After  repeatedly  ringing  the  bell,  a 
young  girl  opened  the  door,  and  looked  quite 
startled  at  seeing  us.  She  appeared  utterly  to 
fail  to  grasp  the  situation,  and  we  thought  her 
very  dense ;  I  have  no  doubt  she  thought  us 
equally  stupid. 

My  friend,  who  acted  as  interpreter,  asked 
for  M.  Rome.     She  said  he  was  not  there. 

"  Where  could  we  see  him  ?  "  . 

"  He  is  away  ;  somewhere  in  Russia,  sir." 

"  M.  Pasteur,  then?" 

"  He  is  not  here." 

"  Where  is  he  ?  " 

"  No  one  knows." 


256 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


"  Is  no  one  here  ?  " 

"No  one,  sir." 

"  But  the  gentleman  wishes  to  be  inoculated." 

"  It  is  impossible." 

As  my  friend  translated  each  reply  I  had 
ample  opportunity  as  the  conversation  proceeded 
for  increasing  mystification  and  surprise.  M. 
Rome — somewhere  in  Russia  !  M.  Pasteur — 
no  one  knew  where !  It  was  impossible  to 
inoculate  me  ! 

By  the  time  the  interview  had  arrived  at  this 
point  we  were  both  reduced  to  a  condition  of 
utter  bewilderment  and  dismav.     All    sorts    of 


jci^i." 


wild,  half-formed  ideas  passed  through  my  mind. 
I  think  the  one  that  most  nearly  assumed  a 
definite  shape  was,  that  the  whole  thing  was  an 
exploded  sham,  and  that  MM.  Pasteur  and 
Rome  had  "bolted"  to  escape  the  conse- 
quences of  having  foisted  a  fraud  on  the  public. 

However,  after  some  further  questioning,  we 
elicited  the  information  that  inoculations  only 
took  place  in  the  morning,  about  eleven  o'clock 
(it  was  then  nearly  two),  and  that  if  we  came  the 
following  day,  at  that  hour,  one  of  the  surgeons 
in  charge  would  be  in  attendance.  They  both 
lived  several  miles  from  Paris,  and  it  was  quite 
out  of  the  question  to  obtain  the  attendance  of 
either  that  day.  So  one  more  day  was  lost,  and 
with  it  went  almost  all  hope  of  any  benefit  from 
the  treatment. 

So  it  was  with  no  pleasant  feelings  that  I 
turned  away  to  face  another  day  of  suspense, 
feeling  that  every  hour  lessened  my  chance. 
I  thought  of  Sir  James  Paget's  impatience  and 
astonishment  at  the  loss  of  time,  and  his 
frank  and  emphatic  opinion  that  after  a  week 


the  inoculations  would  be  useless.  Yet, 
through  no  fault  of  mine — in  fact,  in  spite  of 
every  exertion  on  my  part — seven  days  would 
now  have  elapsed,  from  the  time  of  being  bitten, 
before  I  could  be  operated  on. 

During  the  afternoon  we  called  on  a  lady,  to 
execute  a  trifling  commission  for  a  friend.  On 
hearing  I  had  come  to  Paris  to  undergo  the 
Pasteur  treatment,  she  uttered  a  pious  exclama- 
tion of  horror.  She  said,  "  M.  Pasteur  kills  all 
his  patients,"  and  shouted  for  her  daughter  to 
come  and  see  the  silly  Englishman  who  had 
come  to  Paris  to  be  murdered — evidently  regard- 
ing me  as  a  curiosity  ! 

Under    ordinarj'    circum- 
stances,     her      thoughtless 
words  might  have  made  me 
uncomfortable,   but   at  that 
time  I  had  arrived  at  a  state 
of  .  desperation    almost 
amounting   to   reckless    in- 
difference.    I  knew  that  if 
the    virus    had    actually 
entered  my  system  (of  which 
there   appeared  to  be  little 
doubt),    there    was    only    a 
remote    chance    of     the 
inoculations  doing  any  good. 
Still,    I   had   made   up   my 
mind    to    go    through    with 
the  treatment,    and,    so  far 
from     shrinking    from     any 
risk,   I    think    at    the    time 
the  thought  of  ending   the 
suspense  was  more  a  relief 
than  otherwise. 
On  the  following  morning  we  attended  at  the 
Institute  some  time  before  the  hour  mentioned. 
But  what  a  contrast  was  now  presented  to  its 
appearance   the    previous  day  !      All  was  now 
bustle  and  life.     Surgeons,  dressers,  clerks,  and 
assistants    hurried     backwards     and     forwards 
preparing  for  the  daily  work,  while  groups   of 
patients  and  visitors  stood  about,  conversing  in 
that    animated     manner     peculiar    to     French 
people. 

Passing  through  the  crowd,  we  entered  the 
glass  porch  leading  to  the  waiting-room.  It  is 
a  large,  oblong  room,  plainly  furnished  with  oak 
forms  and  tables,  the  walls  being  hung  with 
maps  of  various  countries  ;  suggesting,  but  for 
the  strong  smell  of  carbolic,  a  class-room  in  a 
college.  Opposite  the  entrance-door  is  a  wide 
passage,  leading  to  the  surgeons'  "  dressing " 
rooms  (where  bad  wounds  are  dressed  every 
morning),  the  laboratories,  operating-room  exit, 
and  ladies'  dressing-room. 

The  men  are  not  provided  with  the  latter 
luxury,  and  are  expected  to  arrange  their  clothes 


if  no  to. 


SAVED    FROM    HYDROPHOBIA. 


257 


as  best  they  can,  in  full  view  of  the  other 
patients  and  visitors.  On  the  left  hand  of  the 
passage  above  referred  to  is  the  olifice,  where  all 
records  of  past  and  present  cases  are  kept,  and 
all  particulars  are  entered  on  admission.  The 
patients  enter  the  operating-room  through  the 
office,  and  leave  by  a  door  leading  into  the 
passage  above  mentioned. 

The  hall-porter  came  forward  on  seeing  us, 
and  on  giving  him  Sir  James  Paget's  card,  he 
appeared  to  understand.  Of  course,  we  con- 
cluded that  the  promised  letter  of  introduction 
had  been  received,  and  that  they  were  expecting 
me.  We  afterwards  found  that,  owing  to  the 
absence  of  the  head  surgeon,  the  letter  had 
been  forwarded  to  St.  Petersburg  unopened.     I 


patient.  The  presence  of  various  surgical 
appliances  on  the  operator's  table  suggested 
anything  but  pleasant  thoughts,  and  added  to 
the  nervousness  I  naturally  felt  on  being  placed 
in  such  close  proximity  to  the  surgeon. 

\\'hile  I  was  considering  the  advisability  of 
removing  to  a  seat  farther  off,  and  wondering  if 
it  was  part  of  the  prescribed  system  that  new 
comers  should  sit  by  while  the  inoculations 
were  taking  place,  a  number  of  visitors  entered 
the  room  and,  crowding  m  on  either  side, 
effectually  prevented  my  moving  till  the  whole 
of  the  operations  were  completed.  I  was  sur- 
prised to  notice  that  a  large  proportion  of  these 
were  young  ladies,  who  appeared  to  visit  the 
Institute  as  they  would  a  theatre  or  other  place 


CE^AirisIM:^ 


/•':OI)l  a  Skctch\  MK.    JII.IANS    •ILKN    AT    l,A--rI       l.i 

mention  these  details,  because  the  mistake  led 
to  a  very  unpleasant  experience.  The  porter 
invited  us  to  follow,  and  conducted  us  to  the 
operating-room,  where,  having  indicated  seats 
immediately  behind  the  surgeon's  chair,  he  left 
us  to  contemplate  our  surroundings. 

This  room  is  furnished  with  a  partition  about 
4ft.  or  5ft.  high,  running  round  three  sides, 
behind  which  the  visitors  sit,  the  upper  part 
being  lattice-work ;  so  that  while  a  good  view  is 
obtained,  the  spectators  don't  objectionably 
obtrude    themselves   on    the   attention    of    the 

VoL  iii— 33. 


KK-^KNCIv    ()K    M.    I'ASTEUR. 


[hy  the  Atithor. 


of  amusement,  and  certainly  displayed  very  bad 
taste  and  a  want  of  modestv  in  doing  so. 

After  what  seemed  to  me  a  very  tedious 
delay  (though  probably  it  was  not  many  minutes), 
the  surgeon  for  the  day  entered  the  room, 
followed  by  an  assistar  *:  carrying  several  wine- 
glasses containing  the  virus  (a  milky-looking 
liquid  in  which  a  white  stringy  substance 
floated),  and  a  small  brass  vessel  with  a  lamp 
beneath.  This  latter  I  afterwards  found  con- 
tained boiling  oil,  in  which  the  point  of 
the    syringe    is    heated    before    using.       Two 


258 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


.     .  rf  ^n  t 


.^J^ 


.1.1 


--i' 


f  r  r    •    ^'  _ 


Frovt  a 


Other  assistants  quickly  followed,  and  when 
all  was  ready  the  clerk  took  up  his  posi- 
tion, book  in  hand,  at  the  door  communicating 
with  the  office,  and  commenced  calling  the  roll, 
beginning  with  the  last  arrival  of  the  previous 
day.  The  object  of  this  is,  that  the  most 
recent  patients,  who  are  naturally  more  nervous 
than  those  who  have  been  through  the  treat- 
ment several  times,  shall  have  the  shortest  time 
to  wait.  Thus,  in  proportion  as  one  becomes 
more  hardened  and  indifferent,  they  also  get 
lower  and  lower  on  the  list.  So  that,  while  a 
recent  arrival  may  be  attended  to  and  dismissed 
in  ten  minutes,  a  patient  of  ten  days'  or  a  fort- 
night's standing  may  be  detained  an  hour  or 
more.  The  i)atient  stands  in  front  of  the 
surgeon,  with  his  left  side  towards  the  latter, 
for  the  first  inoculation,  two  assistants  holding 
him  firmly  during  the  operation,  to  prevent  any 
movement. 

''.'Irj  first  two  or  three  patients  were  French- 
men, evidently  of  the  working  class,  and  not 
troubled  with  over-sensitive  nerves.  They 
stood  the  double  inoculations  without  flinching, 
and  walked  away,  buttoning  up  their  clothes  as 
they  left  the  room,  with  an  air  of  nonchalance. 
The  inoculations  are  not  hypodermic,  or  merely 
skin-deep  injections,  such  as  I  have  seen  per- 
formed, the  intensely  poisonous  nature  of  the 
virus  making  it  imperative  that  it  should  be 
deposited  at  a  considerable  depth  (nearly  an 
inch)  beneath  the  surface,  to  prevent  any  pos- 
sible contact  with  the  air,  otherwise  mortification 
would  ensue. 

After  the  first  few  men-patients  had  been 
disposed  of,  some  women  were  called  in.  They 
usually  groaned  during  the  inoculation ;  some 


iFhoto. 


even  screamed, 
and  most  of  them 
staggered  away 
holding  their 
sides,  and  utter- 
ing expressions 
of  agony.  The 
inoculation  in  the 
case  of  adults  is 
made  just  in 
front  of  the 
"  false  "  ribs,  or 
rather  below^,  on 
each  side  of  the 
stomach.  The 
surgeon  grasps 
the  flesh  in  his 
left  hand,  and 
rapidly  sponges 
the  surface  with 
carbolic,  the 
assistant  mean- 
while filling  a  syringe  with  virus,  and  afterwards 
warming  the  point  in  boiling  oil  and  handing  it 
to  him  when  ready.  He  then  performs  the 
operation,  and,  in  the  case  of  recent  patients, 
repeats  the  inoculation  in  the  right  side. 

After  a  few  women  had  been  disposed  of, 
some  children  were  brought  in.  Those  under 
seven  or  eight  years  of  age  are  inoculated  rather 
differently  from  aSults,  as  in  children  of  that 
age  there  is  not  sufficient  depth  of  tissue  in  the 
region  generally  selected,  so  that  part  which  in 
children  does  not  usually  present  tliis  defect  is 
chosen.  Most  of  the  .children  shrieked  for 
mercy,  and  ])leaded  most  piteoiisly'to  be  spared, 
while  being  held  down  across  the  doctor's  knee, 
and  they  continued  their  cries  until  they  left  the 
building,  the  chorus  being  taken  up  by  those 
whose  turn  was  yet  to  come. 

After  this,  things  began  to  get  decidedly 
lively — men,  women,  and  children  indiscrimi- 
nately followed  each  other  in  quick  succession. 
One  or  two  of  the  men  fainted  and  were  carried 
out,  and  this,  together  with  the  groans  of  the 
women  and  the  cries  and  pleadings  of  the 
children,  made  me  feel  anything  but  happy,  and 
seemed  a  very  bad  preparation  for  my  ordeal. 

On  mentioning  my  thoughts  to  a  doctor 
sitting  by  me,  he  was  surprised  to  hear  I  had 
come  as  a  patient,  and  said  I  ought  not  to  have 
seen  any  of  it,  and  that  the  porter  evidently 
misunderstood  our  object  in  visiting  the  Institute. 
However,  as  I  was  closely  penned  in,  I  was 
obliged  to  put  up  with  it  for  over  an  hour,  and 
do  my  best  to  shut  out  surrounding  sights  and 
sounds.  I  afterwards  found  that  no  patient  is 
allowed  to  enter  the  operating-room  until  the 
preceding  one  has  been  dismissed. 


SAVED    FROM    HYDROPHOBIA. 


259 


The  patients  were,  of  course,  principally 
French  people,  and  of  the  working  class  ;  but 
most  countries  were  represented,  and  the  English 
cases  averaged  about  three  or  four  during  my 
stay.  One  of  the  latter,  a  young  lad,  had  one 
day  picked  up  a  stray  dog,  and,  boy-like,  per- 
suaded his  mother  to  allow  him  to  keep  it.  The 
dog  was  tied  up  in  a  stable,  and  on  his  going 
there  the  following  morning  the  brute,  which 
had  broken  loose  during  the  night,  sprang  upon 
him,  biting  him  severely.  He  managed  to 
escape  and  rushed  to  the  gardener  for  protection, 
pursued  by  the  dog,  which  would  probably  have 
killed  him  but  for  the  timely  assistance  of  the 
latter,  who,  however,  was  also  bitten  before 
he  succeeded  in  kilHng  the  animal.  The  lad's 
case  was  considered  a  bad  one,  and  as  for  some 
reason  the  virus  did  not  "  take,"  he  had  been 
detained  there  some  weeks. 

As  soon  as  the  last  case  had  been  dismissed, 
the  assistants  packed  up  the  apparatus  and, 
accompanied  by  the  surgeon,  left  the  room.  Up 
to  that  moment  I  was  under  the  impression 
they  knew  of  my  attendance,  and  that  I  would 
be  invited  to  step  forward  when  the  prior  cases 
had  been  attended  to.  It  now  dawned  upon  me 
that  some  mistake  had  been  made,  and  that 
unless  I  acted  promptly  the  surgeon  would  have 
left,  and  I  wou.d  not  be  inoculated  that  dav,  in 
which  case  over  a  week  would  have  elapsed  since 
I  had  been  bitten,  when  (according  to  tlie  best 
authorities)  I  might  just  as  well  return  home  as 
I  came,  for  any  good  it  was  likely  to  do. 

I  was  still  hemmed  in  on  both  sides  by  the 
visitors,  who  displayed  a  provoking  reluctance 
to  leave  until  it  was  clear  no  further  entertain- 
ment would  be  provided.  lUit  I  saw  the  doctor's 
departure  must  be  arrested  at  all  costs,  leaving 
explanations  to  follow  ;  so  with  a  reckless  dis- 
regard for  politeness  and  my  neighbours'  toes,  I 
scrambled  out  and  just  overtook  him  as  he  was 
leaving  the  building. 

My  friend,  coming  up  immediately  after, 
explained  matters,  and  after  a  hasty  consultation 
and  scrutinizing  the  veterinary's  report  (I  may 
here  mention  that  unless  there  is  reasonable 
evidence  of  rabies  they  won't  inoculate ;  one 
case  was  refused  while  I  was  there),  they  decided 
my  dog  was  rabid,  and  we  returned  to  the 
operating-room. 

The  assistants  were  recalled,  and  in  almost 
less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  I  was  operated  on. 
There  is  a  curious  stunned  sensation  and  a  good 
deal  of  nerve  pain,  chiefly  caused  by  the  virus 
forcing  a  way  for  itself  between  the  tissues.  I, 
however,  was  lucky  in  my  operator  on  the  first 
occasion.  Another  surgeon,  who  afterwards 
operated  on  me,  caused  much  more  pain,  and 
earned  anything  but  blessings. 


One  gentleman  whenever  this  doctor  attended 
always  left  the  operating-room  using  language 
more  forcible  than  polite  ;  but,  as  he  spoke  in 
English,  probably  few  noticed  his  remarks,  and 
no  doubt  the  French  thought  he  was  referring 
to  some  lady,  as  he  used  the  French  equivalent 
for  that  word  very  freely.  Soon  after  leaving  the 
Institute  my  sides  began  to  ache,  and  this  and 
stiffness  increased  from  day  to  day,  so  that  I 
could  only  lie  flat  on  my  back  at  night. 

The  following  morning  I  found,  contrary  to 
my  expectation,  that  I  was  first  on  the  list. 
The  patients  congregate  in  the  waiting-room, 
which  has  also  to  answer  for  a  dressing-room 
for  the  men.  The  preparations,  however,  are 
not  elaborate  :  the  waistcoat  and  suspenders 
are  unbuttoned,  and  the  underclothing  is  turned 
up  out  of  the  way  so  that  all  may  be  ready  on 
entering  the  operating-room.  It  is  after  the 
operation  that  the  want  of  a  private  dressing- 
room  is  felt,  as  it  is  extremely  awkward  to  be 
obliged  to  arrange  one's  clothing  in  the  pre- 
sence of  ladies. 

The  patients  stood  about  on  the  lawUj 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  surgeon,  unless  they 
were  very  badly  injured,  in  which  case  they 
were  attended  to  by  the  dressers  before  being 
inoculated. 

Being  more  composed  than  on  the  previous 
day  I  was  able  to  study  my  fellow-unfortunates. 
They  represented  almost  every  country  and 
quite  as  many  different  states  of  mind.  There 
were  evidently  some  Mark  Ta{)leys  among  them, 
cracking  jokes  and  telling  tunny  stories  to 
admiring  groups,  whose  loud  laughter  showed 
their  appreciation.  It  was  not  difficult,  however, 
to  see  that  their  mirth  was  somewhat  forced, 
and  the  majority  ap[)eared  to  be  labouring  under 
intense  nervous  excitement.  The  wounds  were 
principally  on  the  hand,  but  a  good  many  had 
also  been  bitten  in  other  {)arts.  One  poor 
fellow  (whom  I  did  not  see)  had  an  eye  torn 
out  ;  he  died  a  few  hours  afterwards. 

As  I  stood  first  on  the  list  I  was  soon 
disposed  of,  when,  of  course,  we  left  our  painful 
surroundings  at  once,  amusing  ourselves  for  the 
rest  of  the  day  by  "doing"  some  of  the  milder 
sights  of  Paris.  Each  day's  experience  at  the 
Institute  was  much  the  same,  but  from  time  to 
time  I  missed  persons  whose  faces  had  grown 
familiar.  No  one  cared  to  inquire  the  cause 
of  their  absence — whether  their  treatment  was 
com[)lete,  or  if  hydrophobia  had  supervened 
and  they  had  been  sent  to  an  hospital. 

I  recall  two  or  three  who  attended  only  a  few 
times.  Possibly  they  had  "  funked  "  the  inocula- 
tions, but  one  could  not  help  speculating  as  to 
the  cause  of  their  absence. 

Naturally,  during  my  course  of  treatment  (I 


a6o 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


was  inoculated  twenty  times  in  the  fifteen  days 
I  attended)  I  gleaned  many  particulars  as  to 
the  preparation  of  the  virus,  etc.  It  is  first 
obtained  from  the  brain  of  a  rabid  dog  or 
other  animal ;  then  a  guinea-pig  or  rabbit  is 
inoculated  with  this  pure  hydrophobia  virus. 
After  about  three  days  the  animal  becomes 
rabid,  though,  to  an  ordinary  observer,  it 
looks  simply  stupid  or  sleepy  in  its  cage.  It 
is  then  killed,  and  the  virus  obtained  is  used 
for  inoculating  a  second  animal ;  and  so  the 
virus  is  gradually  attenuated  by  passing  it 
through  thirteen  guinea-pigs  or  rabbits,  as 
the  case  may  be.  And  the  virus  from  the 
last  is  used  for  the  human 
subject. 

One  day,  shortly  after  my 
arrival,  I  noticed  a  most  un- 
assuming old  gentleman  enter- 
ing the  grounds.  His  face 
was  very  striking,  and  though 
deeply  lined  with  thought, 
and  indicating  great  firmness 
and  resolution,  it  wore  an 
exceedingly  kind  and  gentle 
expression.  I  had  seen  him 
before,  I  thought,  and  while 
trying  to  recall  where,  some- 
one shouted  that  M.  Pasteur 
was  coming  !  Immediately 
every  window  was  crowded  by 
visitors  and  patients  anxious 
to  see  the  great  scientist. 
When  he  entered  the  waiting- 
hall  everyone  stood  up,  all  ""^ '"'■'?„"•  I^tho? 
the  men    raising   their   hats  ;  !-'ro»i 

and  the  officials  seemed  to 
legard  him  with  sincere  affection.  I  saw  M. 
Pasteur  on  several  occasions  afterwards,  when 
he  stood  close  in  front  of  me  while  I  was  being 
treated,  watching  my  face  with  his  keen, 
observant  eyes. 

After  a  few  days  I  began  to  develop  very 
unusual  and  alarming  symptoms.  My  eyes 
and  nose  were  constantly  running ;  I  had  a 
heavy,  dull  pain  over  the  eyes ;  my  sight  was 
confused,  and  the  least  excitement  caused  my 
temperature  to  rise  to  an  alarmingly  high  point; 
while  my  appetite  quite  failed. 

On  the  fifth  day  the  surgeon  looked  at  me 
very  closely  and  questioned  me  in  French. 
Not  being  conversant  with  that  language,  I 
answered    in    English.     Evidently,  however,   it 


made  no  difference,  for  he  immediately  asked, 
"  How  are  you  now  ?  How  do  you  feel  ? " 
I  described  my  symptoms,  and  he  nodded  to 
the  clerk.  Afterwards  the  injections  were 
reduced  to  one  a  day.  From  this  I  concluded 
that  the  symptoms  present  in  my  case  indicated 
when  the  virus  had  "taken,"  and  possibly  they, 
to  some  extent,  corresponded  with  the  re-action 
produced  by  the  anti-toxine  test  for  disease. 

Shortly  before   I  left,  a  young  English   doctor 

arrived  for  treatment.     He  was  badly  wounded, 

three  of  his  fingers  being  bitten  to  the  bone  by  a 

lad  suffering- from  hydrophobia,  who  was  brought 

to  the  hospital  by  friends,  quite  in  ignorance  of 

the   boy  having  been   bitten. 

Shortly  after  his  admission,  a 

paroxysm     coming    on,    the 

doctor   and  nurse  ran  to  his 

bedside  and  both  were  bitten. 

I  saw  an  account  of  the  death 

of  this   lad    in   the  morning 

papers    a  few    days   after  my 

return  home. 

On  the  fifteenth  day,  on 
entering  the  operating  hall, 
I  thought  the  clerk  shouted 
something  like  "final!"  It 
seemed  too  good  to  be  true  ; 
but  on  inquiring  of  the 
surgeon  he  confirmed  my 
supposition  and  said  they 
now  considered  my  course 
of  treatment  complete,  and 
that  I  was  hydrophobia-proof. 
u^r.Nnrt'nATrn '■'''""'  I   left  for  England  by  the 

WAS    iNOCUl-AThi).  O  ^J 

a  Photo.  first    train    out    of   Paris,    as 

I  was  anxious,  in  case  of 
accident,  to  be  at  home.  A  fortnight's  stay 
with  kind  friends  at  Clifton,  and  the  un- 
remitting care  and  attention  of  a  skilful  doctor, 
removed  some  of  the  more  alarming  symptoms  ; 
but  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  fully  recovered 
my  usual  health. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  article  without  paying 
a  tribute  to  the  kindness  and  attention  which 
I,  in  common  with  patients  of  all  nationalities, 
received  from  the  officials  at  the  Pasteur 
Institute.  One  and  all,  from  the  head  surgeon 
to  the  most  subordinate  assistant,  showed  the 
utmost  consideration.  They  knew  no  distinction, 
and  extended  their  assistance,  skill,  and  sympathy 
equally  to  everyone  without  expectation  of 
reward. 


A    Modern    Utopia. 


Bv  Harold  J.  Shepstone. 


'\ 


\  • 


A  complete  account,  illus- 
trated by  photographs 
and  facsimiles,  of  the 
extraordinary  Social- 
istic community  dwell- 
ing at  Ruskin,  Tenn. 
Money  and  rank  are 
alike  unknown.  Photos, 
by  the  official  photo- 
grapher of   the    colony. 


/ 


2-I  o)it  <ij 


.  1-   VIEW    OF   THE    RE.MARKAULE    I.ITTI.E   TOWNSHIP   OF    RUSKIN   (lENX.)  [PhotO. 

—  THE    "  MODERN   UTOPIA." 


RECOGNISED  and  established 
Socialistic  colony,  where  all  members 
are  equal,  where  haj)piness  and  con- 
tentment reign  supreme,  and  peace 
and  goodwill  to  all  is  the  prevailing 
sentiment— this  sounds  like  the  flight  of  a 
writer's  imagination  ;  yet  such  a  colony  exists. 
It  is  known  as  the  Ruskin  Co-operative  Asso- 
ciation— a  band  of  earnest  and  enthusiastic 
pioneers,  who  have  endeavoured  to  sohe  the 
great  social  problem  by  pure  co-operation. 

This  modern  Utopia  was  founded  nearly  five 
years  ago,  and  is  situated  at  the  extreme  edge 
of  a  long  tract  of  undulating  land,  i,8oo  acres 
in  extent,  in  Yellow  Creek  ^'alley,  in  the  State 
of  Tennessee.     At  the  present  time  the  colonists 


number  over  250,  including  women  and  children. 
The  entire  settlement  practically  live  as  one 
great  family.  It  has  its  own  government — by 
the  people.  It  can  boast  of  its  own  system  of 
money,  a  currency  not  based  on  gold  or  silver, 
but  on  labour.  Every  individual  member 
receives  the  same  pay,  whether  he  be  president 
or  plough  bov. 

We  find  that  the  colony  owes  its  inception  to 
a  Socialistic  organ.  The  Coining  Natioit,  which 
was  first  issued  in  the  last  week  of  April,  1893. 
I'he  idea  of  such  a  colony  was  entirely  pro- 
posed and  organized  by  this  paper,  which  has 
always  devoted  itself  exclusively  to  the  cause 
of  labour.  It  was  content,  at  first,  to  point 
out  the  evils  of  the  competitive  system,  declar- 


262 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


ing  that  the  working  man's  only  hope  was  in 
the  abolition  of  private  property  and  the  found- 
ing of  a  commonwealth  where  a  day's  labour 
would  be  the  standard  of  value.  As  its 
circulation  increased  it  began  to  consider  and 
propose  schemes  for  the  establishment  of  a 
commonwealth  where  labour  would  be  king ; 
and   in    October,    1893,    it   printed   an   article, 


who  arrived  on  the  proposed  site  of  the  new 
Utopia  on  the  night  of  June  29th,  1894.  He  was 
guided  to  the  spot  by  a  land  agent,  and  found 
it  nothing  more  than  a  deep  ravine,  thickly 
wooded,  Lonsbury  was  a  Socialist  to  the 
backbone,  but  he  was  tempted  then  and  there 
to  go  back  home  and  lead  about  Socialism 
rather  than  endeavour  to  prove  it  in  an  actual 


Humaaity  Mas  Not  a  ninuU  to  Lose.    Quick  I  Quick  I  Let  Us  Hasten.    The  Wretched  Have  their  Feet  on  Red-Hot  Iron.    They  Hunger,  They  Thirst.  They  Suffer.- Victor  Hllgo. 


TITLE-HEADI.NG   OF    THE   SOCIALISTIC    NEWSPAPER   TO    WHICH    RLSKIN   OWES    ITS    E.XISTENCE. 


under  the  title  of  "A  Co-operative  Village,"  in 
which  was  given'  a  prospectus  or  plan  for  the 
founding  of  a  colony  on  the  Bellamy  principle. 

The  scheme  proposed  had  undoubtedly  nmch 
to  recommend  it,  and  we  cannot  do  better  than 
quote  the  following  extracts  from  the  article  in 
question,  which  will  fully  explain  the  proposition 
put  forward  by  this  enterprising  journal : — 

"  If  you  will  increase  the  circulation  of  T/ie 
Coming  Nation  to  100,000,  it  will  leave  a 
surplus  of  nearly  ^5,000  a  year.  This  money 
will  buy  3,000  to  4,000  acres  of  land.  Those 
who  send  in  200  subscribers  or  more,  or  con- 
tribute as  much,  will  be  the  charter  members, 
who  will  proceed  to  organize  the  colony  on 
such  bases  of  equality  as  in  their  judgment  will 
produce  justice.  E^ch  man  and  eqchvwoman  - 
shall  have  an  equal  voice,  no  matter.;}iow  miich 
or  how  little  they  may  have  contributed.,.  , 'The 
land  shall  be  selected  by  this  committee,  and 
the  title  vested  in  all.  The  land  should  have 
at  least  railway  facilities  convenient ;  good 
water,  soil,  stone,  wood  or  coal.  ^V'hen  work- 
men have  erected  houses  for  themselves,  and 
a  place  for  The  Coming  Nation  office,  the 
paper,  plant,  and  workmen  will  be  removed 
there,  and  will  form  the  nucleus  for  the 
employment  of  the  colony.  All  receipts  of  the 
paper  will  go  to  the  common  fund.  The  store 
will  be  owned  by  the  whole  people,  and  goods 
sold  at  wholesale  price,  plus  cost  of  store- 
keeper's salary.  Everyone  must  be  free  to  do 
as  he  or  she  wills,  so  long  as  in  so  doing  the 
equal  rights  of  others  are  not  infringed." 

The  circulation  of  the  paper  having  consider- 
ably increased,  1,000  acres  of  land  were  pur- 
chased near  Tennessee  City,  Tenn.,  as  the 
future  site  for  the  colony.  In  the  spring  of 
1894  "calls"  were  sent  out  to  a  number  of 
those  who  had  complied  with  the  requirements. 
The  first  present  member  of  Ruskin  to  reach  the 
colony  ground  was  a  man  named  E.  B.  Lonsbury, 


community.  It  was  time  to  plant,  but  there 
was  no  ground  to  plant  in  that  was  not  covered 
with  trees  or  shrubbery.  There  was  no  water 
to  be  obtained  within  half  a  mile — absolutely 
nothing  for  man  or  beast  to  eat  or  drink.  Not 
a  rosy  outlook,  certainly,  for  the  future  of  the 
"coming  nation."  Lonsbury  watched  the  head 
of  the  ravine  for  the  appearance  of  his  brother 
pioneers,  who  came,  one  by  one,  to  survey  their 
future  settlement,  and  by' July  ist  there  were 
on  the  ground  men  of  the  following  trades : 
I  carpenter,  i  machinist,  i  barber,  1  shoemaker, 
I  baker,  i  wire-nail  operator,  i  butcher,  i 
cooper,  I  blacksmith,  and  i  labourer. 

I'hese  men  erected  a  building  for  the  printing 
plant,  dug  a  well,  and  otherwise  prepared  for 
the  reception  of  the  printers  and  printers'  outfit, 
as  well  as  for  their  own  wives  and  children.  On 
August  iitji  T/ie  Coming  Nation  went  to 
press. in  its  new.'quarters  with  a  cu'culation  of 
50,000  copies  \Veekly.  As  soon  as  this  work 
was  finished-  attention  was  immediately  turned 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  land.  The  clearing 
of  the  wooded  slopes  of  the  ravine  was  a 
very  arduous  performance,  and  many  laughable 
incidents  are  recorded  by  those  who  were 
with  the  colony  at  that  time.  The  woods  were 
overrun  by  hogs  of  the  "wind-splitting"  kind. 
One  day,  as  the  men  were  sitting  at  dinner 
in  their  tent,  one  of  these  bold  foragers  of 
the  forest  ran  in  and  actually  seized  a  man 
by  the  arm  in  its  attempts  to  secure  a  portion 
of  the  food.  The  Socialists,  however,  refused 
to  co-operate  in  this  manner,  and  the  animal 
was  unceremoniously  kicked  out. 

The  next  difticulty  experienced  was  that  of 
organizing  a  co-operative  association.  No  State 
at  that  time  had  enacted  laws  for  the  charter- 
ing of  such  corporations  as  the  colonists  then 
had  in  view.  Before  the  end  of  October,  how- 
ever, this  difficulty  was  successfully  surmounted, 
and  certificates  were  issued  to  thirty-five  share- 


A    MODERN    UTOPIA. 


263 


holders,  who  had  paid  in  various  amounts — 
besides  having  in  many  instances  secured  sub- 
scribers for  The  Coming  Nation. 

Everyone  now  set  to  work  with  a  will,  and 
by  July,  1895,  some  twenty-five  to  thirty  houses 
were  erected.  It  soon  became  evident,  how- 
ever, that  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  asso- 
ciation to  prosper  unless  a  more  attractive  and 
productive  location  could  be  secured.  Some 
will  ask,  no  doubt,  why  this  point  was  not  more 
fully  considered  earlier.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  the  then  proprietor  of  the 
paper  which  gave  birth  to  the  idea  was  but  a 
theorist — not  versed  in  agriculture  or  in  the 
purchasing  of  land.  It  appears  he  went  to 
Tennessee  City,  and,  on  the  advice  of  a  land 
agent,  negotiated  for  the  tract.  The  little  band 
of  hardy  pioneers  did  the  wisest  thing  under 
the  circumstances,  and  sent  out  committees  to 
view   various   localities   in   Kentucky,  Pennsyl- 


rise  to  sunset,  the  result  being  that  a  town  of 
nearly  forty  dwellings,  together  with  four  large 
buildings,  besides  smaller  ones,  sprang  into 
existence  and  was  soon  ready  for  occupation. 

Such,  briefly,  is  the  history  of  the  formation 
of  this  remarkable  Socialistic  community.  Before 
describing  the  present  life  of  these  co-operative 
pioneers,  a  few  details  might  be  given  of  how 
one  may  become  a  member  of  the  colony.  In 
the  first  place,  it  is  necessary  for  the  ai)plicant 
to  fill  up  a  blank  form,  which  contains  some 
forty  ([uestions,  and  is  nothing  less  than  an  exam- 
ination in  the  principles  of  Socialism.  After  a 
few  personal  questions,  such  pro{)ositions  as  the 
following  have  to  be  truthfully  dealt  with  : — 

Are  you  willins^  to  do  any  useful  laljour  wlien  there  is 
nothing  for  you  to  do  in  your  chosen  vocation  ?  Di)  you 
I)elieve  that  all  nienihers  sliould  liavc  the  same  j^ay  for  tiie 
same  hours  of  labour  if  they  do  the  best  they  can  ?  W  hat 
works  on  social  prcjblems  have  you  read?  Define 
Socialism.       Define  Communism,      Define  competition. 


From  a\ 


vania,  Eastern  and  ^^'estern  Tennessee,  and 
other  points.  In  February,  1896,  a  farm  of 
384  acres  of  excellent  land,  not  far  from  the 
present  site,  was  purchased  in  the  Yellow  Creek 
Valley,  and  the  colony  began  to  migrate  thither. 
Shortly  after  this  a  second  farm  was  secured, 
the  whole  forming  a  very  desirable  property, 
well  watered,  and  possessing  many  other  advan- 
tages. 

It  was  not  until  July,  1897,  that  the  printing 
plant  was  removed  to  its  new  abode— a  fine 
building,  50ft.  by  looft.,  and  the  largest  in  the 
colony.  During  the  long  summer  days  the 
colonists  worked  with  untiring  energy  from  sun- 


What  is  your  object  in  seeking  to  become  a  mcmbejr'fif 
this  association?  If  fidmitted  to  membership, 'to  which 
would  you  attach  the..n)ost  importance —your  own  indi- 
vidual interests,  or  the  per])eluity  of  the.  association  ? 
How  long  have  you  entertained  these  views  of  the  co- 
operative mode  of  life  ? 

The  application  is  then  posted  on  the  bulletin' 
board  of  the  colony,  where  it  remains  from 
Monday  morning  to  Saturday  afternoon,  whichi 
is  election  day,  and  a  half-holiday.  The  poll  isi 
open  for  two  hours,  and  if  the  applicant  obtains; 
a  two-thirds  vote  of  all  t^ie  ballots  cast,  he  is 
duly  installed  as  a  memter  of  the  community 
provided  he  is  prepared  Xq  take  up  a  share  of 
stock.     This  latter  means  the  payment  of  ^100 


264 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


in  oash.  As  no  instalment  system  is  now  in 
vogue,  the  poor,  hard-working  individual  without 
means  has  but  little  prospect  of  becoming  a 
member  of  this  co-operative  community. 

But  what  advantages  will  a  member  gain? — 
this  is  naturally  the  next  question.  It  will  not 
take  long  to  show  that  these  are  numerous.  He 
will  be  guaranteed  work  every  day  that  he  is  able 
to  work,  and  pay  for  every  day  that  he  is  sick.  He 
is  given  a  house  and  lot  free,  and  is  not  troubled 
with  taxes,  for  these  are  paid  by  the  associa- 
tion. His  board,  laundry,  medical  attendance, 
and  shoe-repairing  cost  him  nothing ;  while  his 
children  are  also  fed  and  educated  by  the 
association.  All  that  he  has  to  buy  is  house- 
hold furniture  and  the  clothing  his  family  wears. 
Should  a  member  ever  wish  to  leave  the  colony 
at  any  time  he  may  do  so,  when  the  associa- 
tion invariably  return  his  share  of  stock,  without 
increment,  though  according  to  its  by-laws  he 
cannot  force  the  association  to  purchase  his 
share  of  stock. 

But  a  general  description  of  Ruskin  as  it  is 
to-day  and  of  the  daily  life  of  its  members  will 
convey  a  far  better  idea  of  the  doings  and 
workings  of  this  remarkable  community.  A 
six-mile  drive  from  1  ennessee  City  brings  one 
in  sight  of  the  colony,  which  is  finely  located  in 
a  beautiful  valley,  bounded  by  high  limestone 
bluffs  or  cliffs  in  some  places,  and  in  others  by 


W^' 


THE  CENTRAL   BUILDING  OF   THE   COLONY — "  THE   COMING 

From  a  Photo. 


gently  undulating  hills,  partially  clothed  by 
forests.  The  photograph  on  page  261  is  a  bird's- 
eye  view  of  the  colony,  which  was  taken  in  the 
month  of  January,  and  this  accounts  for  the 
naked  appearance  of  the  trees.  Not  much 
imagination  is  required,  however,  to  perceive 
that  the  Socialists  have  chosen  a  very  picturesque 
spot.  Altogether  there  are  nearly  seventy  small 
white-washed  wooden  houses  grouped  about  the 
large  printing  building,  the  largest  residence 
being  the  "  Bachelors'  Home,"  occupied  by 
thirteen  unyielding  celibates. 

After  crossing  Yellow  Creek,  which  is  shown 
in  our  second  photograph,  we  enter  this  "earthly 
paradise,"  where  all  are  equal  and  competition 
and  strife  unknown.  The  first  thing  to  strike 
the  visitor  would  probably  be  a  large  three- 
storied  building,  with  its  numerous  windows 
and  massive  proportions.  It  is  called  the 
"  Printery,"  and  can  be  very  well  described  as 
"  the  heart  of  the  colony."  Here  is  printed 
and  published  The  Coming  Natuvi — a  wonder- 
ful Socialistic  newspaper,  which  boasts  of 
having  the  largest  circulation  of  all  other  papers 
of  its  kind  in  America,  if  not  in  the  world.  Its 
mailing  list  is  a  lengthy  one,  containing  over 
30,000  subscribers.  Inside  the  building  one  is 
shown  the  Campbell  web  printing  press,  which 
has  a  capacity  of  12,000  copies  per  hour. 

TJie  Coming  Nation.,  a  facsimile  of  which 
we  reproduce  on  page  262, 
is  a  purely  Socialistic  news- 
paper. It  is  well  got  up,  and 
consists  of  four  pages  ;  it 
can  boast  of  quite  a  num- 
ber of  signed  articles. 
"  Under  the  Searchlight," 
the  editor  (Mr.  Herbert 
N.  Casson)  gives  two 
columns  of  interesting 
reading,  very  cleverly  writ- 
ten, touching,  in  a  Social- 
istic strain,  on  many  of 
the  leading  topics  of  the 
day.  Under  "  Colony 
Notes "  we  learn  much 
interesting  local  news, 
while  there  is  also  a  lady's 
section  and  a  children's 
column.  The  paper  is 
issued  weekly,  and  the 
yearly  subscription  is  50 
cents. 

Adjoining  the  "  Prin- 
tery "  is  the  boiler-house^ 
which  furnishes  power  not 
only  to  the  Printery,  but 
to  the  steam  laundry,  and 
also  to  the  saw-mill  close 


NATION        PRINTERY. 


A    MODERN    UTOPIA. 


265 


by.  To  see  the  Ruskin  teams  bringing  the 
paper  to  the  printing-house,  and  the  immense 
building,  would  give  one  the  impression  that 
the  production  of  the  paper  was  the  chief 
industry  of  the  colony. 
numerous  other  industries 
dition — especially  that  of 
has  found  a  large  market 
The  colonists  also  manufacture  leather  sus- 
penders of  a  style  which  for  ease  and  durability 
require  a  lot  of  beating,  and  the  demand 
for  this  class  of  goods  is  constantly  increasing. 
They  also  make  leather  belts,  and  their  costume 
tailor-department  is  rapidly  increasing   its   out- 


There  are,  however, 
in  a  flourishing  con- 
cereal  coffee,  which 
outside    the    colony. 


garden.  The  flour  used  in  the  baking  of  the 
bread  is  ground  in  their  own  mills,  from  wheat 
raised  on  the  farm.  At  5  p.m.  the  whistle  is 
again  heard  and  the  day's  work  is  over. 

The  currency  in  vogue  in  Ruskin  is  undoubt- 
edly unique.  But  money  of  any  kind  is  seldom 
wanted,  for  all  life's  necessities  arc  free.  There 
is,  nevertheless,  a  system  of  money  called  the 
"  maintenance,"  which  is  paid  every  week  to  all 
workers.  It  is  in  the  form  of  coupons,  and  its 
value  is  noted  by  the  hours  of  labour  performed. 
The  specimen  we  reproduce  herewith  of  this 
curious  "  money "  is  a  one-hour  cheque,  and 
entitles  its  receiver  to  purchase  anything  from 


Tbis  Certifies  tbat  the  Bearer  has  Performed 

3298  ^^^'p"' the^e^.  Series  A 


Ruskin  Co=operative  Ass'n. 

TM>  CfrtificaU  is  redeemabU  in  Labor  or  Ike  Products  of 

Labor  in,  the  keeping  of  the  A'sociation,  but  not  in  Can/i 
And  it  i«  good  only  ictien,  presented  by  a  member  of  said  Associa- 
tion, a  prospective  rnember,  or  a  mtmber  of  their  Jamilies.   ' 


Secy, 


THIS  CHE<^Ue  IS  THE  EQUIVALENT  OF  ONE  HOUr's  LABOUR,  AND  MAV  BE  CASHED  AT  THE  STORE. 


side  trade,  while  the  works  they  publish  on  re- 
form subjects  are  innumerable. 

Life  at  Ruskin  is  very  regular  and  methodical. 
At  5.30  every  week-day  morning  a  steam  whistle 
awakens  the  sleepers.  At  six  o'clock  it  is  heard 
again,  announcing  breakfast,  and  again  at  seven 
o'clock,  telling  its  inhabitants  that  the  day's 
work  has  begun.  No  one  is  allowed  to  shirk 
this  call  to  duty,  not  even  the  president,  Mr. 
Allan  Fields,  a  very  pleasant  man,  who  enjoys 
the  full  confidence  of  all  the  members  of 
the  community.  From  twelve  to  one  is  the 
dinner  hour,  when  all  the  members  of  the 
colony  may  be  found  at  the  "  Printery," 
partaking  of  the  midday  meal.  To  save 
e.xpense  and  also  labour  they  dine  together. 
The  third  floor  of  the  big  building  has  been 
specially  set  apart  for  this  purpose,  and  has  a 
seating  capacity  for  250  persons.  It  is,  indeed, 
a  grand  sight  to  watch  these  hardy  pioneers  of 
labour  partaking  of  their  midday  meal,  with  a 
kindly,  frank  courtesy  towards  each  other  which 
plainly  bespeaks  their  full  confidence  in  their 
belief  that  equality  alone  brings  true  happiness 
and  contentment.  The  fare  cannot  be  said  to 
be  a  sumptuous  one,  but  it  is  wholesome,  well 
cooked,  and  chiefly  the  products  of  the  farm  and 

Vol.  iii.— 34. 


the  community  store  to  that  value.  This  store 
has  probably  the  most  remarkable  price-list  in 
the  world.     This  is  how  it  reads  : — 


Oce  pound  of  tea     .. 

One  pound  of  coffee 

One  cut  of  tobacco... 

One  pair  of  best  shoes        .  . 

One  pair  of  woman's  shoes,  liest 

One  pair  of  jmnts    ... 

One  straw  hat 

One  gallon  coal  oil... 


Hours. 
.    II 

•  7 
2 

•  70 

■  52K 

•  3/ 

•  15 

.     6H 


Every  member  is  entitled  to  draw  cheques  to 
the  value  of  twenty-five  hours  each  week,  while 
his  wife  may  also  draw  the  same,  for  both  men 
and  women  are  paid  on  the  same  scale  ;  and 
their  children  also  may  earn  cheques  to  the 
value  of  ten  hours  each  week.  On  more  than 
one  occasion,  however,  the  colonists  have  voted 
to  stop  the  maintenance  money  when  any  heavy 
debt  has  been  staring  them  in  the  face ;  and 
members  have  even  been  seen  to  tear  up  their 
cheques  when  any  obligation  has  suddenly  had 
to  be  met.  At  present,  however,  the  Ruskin 
Co-operative  Association  is  in  a  very  flourishing 
condition  financially,  with  every  prospect  of 
its  continuing  so. 

Indeed,  so  prosperous  has  the  colony  become 


266 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


1' tout  u\ 


A    I'ROMINliNT   SOCIALIST    ADDRESSING    THE    RUSKINI TES. 


{ruoto. 


that  it  is  now  erecting  a  college,  wiiich  will  be 
known  as  the  College  of  the  New  Economy,  and 
our  photograph  shows  Mr.  Henry  D.  Lloyd, 
a  well-known  figure  in  the  Socialistic  world, 
addressing  the  colonists  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner  -  stone. 
Ever  since  the 
colony  was 
founded  the 
training  of  the 
young  has  re- 
ceived careful 
consideration, 
and  it  is  not 
going  too  far  to 
say  that  the  child- 
ren of  our  great 
civilized  cities 
can  take  many 
lessons  from  the 
bright,  intelligent 
children  of  Rus- 
kin,  who  are  both 
obedient  and 
well  behaved. 
The  colony  can 
also  boast  of  its 
masters  who  have 
gone  to  teach  in 
the  school  at 
R  u  s  k  i  n ,  and 
among  them  we 
notice  the  name 

of  Professor  Broome,  who  v.-as  sent  as  a 
commissioner  to  the  Paris  Exhibition,  and 
who  has  now  been  teaching  the  young 
Socialists  of  this  modern  Utopia  the  fine  arts  for 


more  than  three  years  past.  He  has  also 
established  a  pottery,  and  more  recently  has 
completed  a  life-like  bust  of  Ruskin,  which  is 
a  masterpiece  of  art.  And  for  this  kind  of 
labour  he  is  entitled  to  the  same  privileges  and 


'•^^■^ 


THR   MAN    WHO     PLANTS     DEANS     IN    THIS     KIT- 
CHEN  GARDEN    GETS   THE   SAME   PAY    AS    THE 

From  a\  college  prokessor.  [Photo. 

receives     the     same    amount    of 
maintenance   money  as   the  man 
•    -         who  plants  beans  in  the  associa- . 
SLiiM      tion's  kitchen  garden  ! 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that 
the  members  of  the  colony  suffer  from  ennui. 
Amongst  the  young  people  there  is  a  society 
called  "  The  Progress  League,"  which  meets 
every  Monday  evening,   and   gives  very    good 


A    MODERN    UTOPIA. 


267 


From  n\ 


NEAR    THIS    Mri.I.-Sl'KING    IS   THE    ENTRANCK   TO   THE   CAVES  OF   RUSKIN. 


{Photo. 


entertaiimiciits,  while  there  is  also  the  Ruskin 
Dramatic  Club,  whose  members  display  very 
good  amateur  talent.  There  is  also  a  library 
of  over  1,000  volumes,  which  is  well  patronized. 
Briefly,  then,  this  is  the  financial,  artistic, 
musical,  and  social  side  of  life  at  Ruskin.  It 
may  come  as  a  shock  to  some  good  people, 
however,  to  learn  that  there  is  no  church  in  the 
colony,  and  what  is  more  it  will  never  have  one. 
The  members  believe  that  a  church  would  kill 
the  scheme.  To  establish  a  commonwealth  of 
equality  and  socialism  among  people  divided 
on  theology  would  be  impossible,  and  so  the 
erection  of  a  place  of  worship  is  not  allowed. 
The  colony  does  not  prohibit  its  members  from 
worshipping,  however,  and  on  Sundays  many  of 
them  drive  to  the  nearest  outside  churches  or 


chapels  to  attend  Divine  service.  The  establish- 
ment of  a  drinking  saloon,  too,  is  also  prohibited. 

To  describe  with  any  degree  of  minuteness 
the  forty  different  trades  or  departments  which 
exist  would  be  impossible,  but  it  is  pleasant  to 
note  that  most  of  them  are  in  a  prosperous  con- 
dition. They  are  all  under  the  supervision  of 
a  foreman,  who  is  elected  by  vote  in  the  same 
way  as  the  president  and  other  officials,  and 
who  watches  over  his  department  with  exceeding 
care,  making  a  monthly  report  to  the  association 
of  business  done,  for  which  he  is  entitled  to 
the  same  wages  as  the  lowest  man  under  him. 

The  farm  is  the  chief  outdoor  industry,  while 
the  kitchen  garden  and  orchard,  with  its  choice 
varieties  of  all  kinds  of  fruit,  is  by  no  means 
a  small  concern,  supplying  as  it  does  most  of 


268 


THE    WIDE    WOkLD    MAGAZINE. 


A   CORNER   IN    THE   GREATEST    OF    THE    C.WKs — THIS   ONE   IS   USED   AS   A    CANNERY,    A    VINEGAR    FACTORY,    AND    A    BALL-ROOM, 

From  a  Photo. 


the  table  wants  of  the  colonists.  The  cattle 
farm  can  boast  of  a  well-fed  herd  of  cows. 
Mention  might  also  be  made  of  the  chicken 
ranch,  with  its  800  head  of  chickens,  most  of 
which  are  pure  -  bred  Plymouth  Rocks;  the 
pig  farm,  with  its  160  head  of  Poland  China 
swine;  as  well  as  the  bee  farm — all  in  a  thriv- 
ing and  healthy  condition. 

The  greatest  natural  wonders  of  Ruskin  are 
its  caves.  They  are  well  worth  a  visit,  and  the 
colonists  allude  to  "  our  caves "  with  much 
pride.  They  are  situated  beyond  the  mill, 
shown  in  the  photograph  reproduced  herewith, 
and  here  also  can  be  seen  the  spring.  We  are 
tempted  to  stop  and  call  attention  to  the  group 
of  children  seen  in  this  photograph,  so  healthy 
and  bonny  do  these  rising  young  Socialists 
look;  and  it  cannot  be  gainsaid  that  life  in 
this  remarkable  commonwealth  does  not  agree 
with  them.  What  is  known  as  the  "  Big  "  cave 
is  both  picturesque  and  useful.  It  is  now 
used  as  a  cannery  and  vinegar  factory,  and 
some  idea  of  its  immensity  may  be  gauged  from 
the  fact  that  on  July  4th  last  the  colony  gave  a 


"  barbecue  "and  dance  in  the  cave,  which  was 
attended  by  over  2,000  Tennesseeans  —  more 
than  1,000  of  them  being  in  the  cave  at  one 
time.  There  are  numerous  passages  leading 
from  the  big  cave  into  many  others,  some 
of  them  being  large  and  not  yet  properly 
explored. 

The  most  wonderful  of  all,  however,  is  the 
stalactite  cave.  A  whole  chapter  might  be 
devoted  to  detailing  the  many  wonderfully  odd 
and  curious  shapes  of  the  crystal  formations  to 
be  seen  here.  By  dint  of  perseverance  the 
photographer  of  the  colony  (for  it  has  its  own 
photographer,  and  our  views  represent  beautiful 
specimens  of  his  haiidiwork)  has  secured  a 
photograph  of  this  cave  which  gives  but  a  faint 
idea  of  its  many  beauties.  It  makes  a  strange 
but  interesting  picture,  showing  some  nine 
members  among  the  various  crystal  formations 
with  candles  in  their  hands.  The  atmosphere 
of  the  caves  is  exceedingly  pure  and  dry,  and 
many  happy  hours  do  the  colonists  spend  in 
exploring  their  wonders  after  a  day's  labour  or 
on  Saturday  afternoon. 


A    Fall    of    Three    Thousand    Feet! 


Bv   Professor   Charles  Wolcott. 

The  well-known   New  York  aeronaut  tells  the   fearful  story  of  his  fall    from  the  clouds  in  Venezuela. 

Our  readers  cannot,  we  think,  fail  to  be  interested  in  the  amazing  narrative  of  Mr.  Wolcott's  miraculous 

recovery  after  sustaining  the  shocking  injuries  detailed  herein. 


X  the  fall  of  1895,  having  closed 
a  very  successful  season  in  New 
England,  I  prepared  to  sail  for 
South  America  ;  I  had  a  winter's 
contract  with  the  Venezuelan  Govern- 
ment. Arriving  in  New  York  City,  I  learned 
that  my  assistant  (whom  I  had  given  a  short 
leave  of  absence)  could  not  join  me  in  time  for 
the  boat  which  sailed  next  day.  However,  as  I 
expected  to  spend  several  weeks  in  Venezuela 
before  commencing  my  engagement,  he  could 
easily  arrive  in  time  by 
sailing  on  the  next  steamer, 
nine  days  later.  So  I 
deposited  his  fare  with  the 
steamship  company,  and 
when  the  "  Red  D  "  steam- 
ship I'eiieziu'/a  (now  the  U.S. 
troopship  Panther)  sailed 
next  day,  I  was  a  passenger. 
With  me  went  my  dog  aero- 
naut "Pedro,"  a  thorough- 
bred English  bulldog,  which 
had  accompanied  me  in 
many  a  lonesome  voyage 
among  the  clouds.  After  a 
pleasant  but  uneventful  voy- 
age of  seven  days  we  arrived 
at  La-Guayra.  From  there 
to  the  Venezuelan  capital, 
Caracas,  is  a  railway  journey 
of  but  a  few  hours'  duration. 
Arriving  at  the  latter  place 
I  was  soon  comfortably  in- 
stalled in  one  of  the  several 
good  hotels  of  which  the 
city  boasts. 

That  night  I  met  several  native  friends  whom 
I  had  known  in  New  York,  and  arrangements 
were  made  for  my  entertainment  during  the 
weeks  of  my  supposed  idleness.  For  one  thing, 
mountain  lions  were  numerous  within  a  dozen 
miles  of  the  city,  and  a  week  of  hunting  was 
decided  on  by  way  of  a  start.  I  have  always 
been  an  ardent  hunter,  and  was  somewhat 
disappointed  when  my  agent  informed  me 
next  morning  that  my  contractors,  having 
learned  of  my  arrival,  desired  me  to  commence 
my  performances  at  once.  The  fact  that  I 
had    left    my  assistant    behind  was  no  fault  of 


THE    PARACHUTIST   AN'I)   AUTHOR,    PROFESSOR 

From  a\  chas.  wolcott.  [Photo. 


theirs,  and  as  I  liad  no  reasonable  excuse  for 
delay  I  sent  word  that  I  could  be  ready  in 
twenty-four  hours  after  arriving  on  the  grounds. 
I  thought  I  could  easily  pick  up  a  man  to  assist 
me  for  a  few  trips,  or  until  my  regular  assistant 
turned  up. 

I  was  informed  that  I  was  wanted  on  October 
28th  at  Villa-de-Cura,  the  capital  of  the  State  of 
Miranda,  to  assist  in  the  celebration  of  the 
birthday  of  Simon  Bolivar,  the  liberator.  That 
afternoon  I  received  my  orders,  which,  being 
interpreted,  read,  "  Leave 
Caracas  to-morrow  morn- 
ing, at  6.30.  German 
railway  to  Cagua ;  then  by 
express  to  Villa-de-Cura. 
Deliver  the  inclosed  pack- 
age to  the  (iovernor, 
General  Andrada."  This 
was  rather  meagre  informa- 
tion, but  thinking  a  more 
definite  understanding  could 
be  had  at  Cura,  I  started. 
After  a  tedious  ride  of  nearly 
ten  hours  in  a  poorly  venti- 
lated, ill -smelling,  little, 
narrow-gauge  coach,  I 
arrived  at  Cagua,  where  I 
learned,  to  my  amazement, 
that  the  "express"  to  Villa- 
de-Cura  consisted  of  several 
large  two  -  wheeled  carts, 
each  drawn  by  six  wicked- 
looking  mules,  and  escorted 
by  several  mounted  men 
armed  with  Winchester 
rifles.  This  was  a  mode  of 
my  liking,  but  it  was  that 
I  had  to  put  up  with  it. 
The  overland  trip,  though  interesting,  was  ex- 
tremely tiresome.  My  driver  volunteeied  the 
cheerful  information  that  people  seldom  at- 
tempted the  journey  by  night;  and  even 
in  the  daytime  the  presence  of  an  armed 
guard  was  necessary,  as  wild  beasts  and  high- 
waymen were  always  in  wait,  to  pounce  upon 
the  unwary  traveller.  And  as  we  wound  our 
way  through  miles  of  wild  tropical  jungle,  I 
could  see  no  reason  to  doubt  the  truth  of  his 
statement.     Late  that  night  we  arrived  at  the 


travel    hardly   to 
or     nothing,     so 


270 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


little  city  of  Villa-de-Cura.  I  had  been  advised 
to  stop  at  the  American  House,  and  so  to  the 
American  House  I  went. 

I  spent  an  entire  day  in  getting  together  the 
material  for  the  inflation  of  the  balloon — which 
was  a  hot  air  one  ;  and  in  looking  over  the 
possible  landing-places,  I  found  but  one  really 
dangerous  place  to  descend,  that  being  a  large 
lagoon  or  dead  lake,  that  stretched  away  for  a 
mile  or  more  across  the  plain,  and  was  filled 
with  decayed  vegetation,  which  would  make 
swimming  impossible.  As  I  looked  the  place 
over,  I  realized  that  to  make  a  descent  in  such 
a  place  would  be  as  much  as  a  man's  life  was 
worth,  no  matter  how 
strong  a  swimmer  he 
might  be.  A  native 
who  lived  near  by  told 
me  the  lagoon  was 
infested  by  alligators 
and  huge  serpents,  and 
that  many  cattle  had 
been  lost  by  wading 
out  a  short  distance 
from  shore. 

The  next  morning 
((Jctober^28th)]dawned 
clear  and  beautiful. 
The  crowd  had  in- 
creased during  the 
night,  until  the  streets 
were  almost  impass- 
able. On  arriving  at 
the  place  from  which 
the  ascension  was  to 
take  place,  I  found 
my  paraphernalia  sur- 
rounded by  an  im- 
mense crowd,  and  my 
native  assistant  in  an 
adjacent  wine  -  shop. 
All  that  day,  until 
5.30  p.m.,  the  time  of 
the  ascension,  I  was 
annoyed  and  my  work 
impeded  by  a  multi- 
tude of  crowding,  hustling,  shouting,  curious, 
and  excited  natives.  My  helper  was  of  no 
assistance  whatever,  I  having  all  the  work 
to  do,  while  he  was  explaining  the  science 
of  aeronautics  to  his  many  friends.  You 
see,  he  was  an  important  man  that  day.  At 
last,  however,  I  was  ready  to  commence  the 
inflation,  and,  taking  my  assistant  inside  the 
balloon,  I  gave  him  instructions  and  then  left 
him.  As  the  great  balloon  breathed  in  the 
hot  air,  and  slowly  grew  larger  and  larger,  the 
excitement  among  the  spectators  became  intense 
— even  comic.    My  assistant  became  frightened, 


Th, 


WAS    INSTANTI 

Photo,  ivas  taken  en  the 


crawled  hastily  from  inside  the  balloon,  and 
positively  refused  to  return,  thus  doubling  the 
work  for  me.  Calling  a  policeman,  I  explained 
to  him  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  me  to  go 
inside  the  balloon  for  a  few  moments  to  arrange 
the  sand-bags  and  furnace  cover  before  leaving 
the  ground,  and  that  I  desired  him  to  keep  the 
crowd  back  from  my  paraphernalia.  Whilst  I 
did  this  I  suppose  he  tried  to  do  as  I  requested, 
but  finding  himself  unequal  to  the  task  he 
called  in  the  assistance  of  some  twenty  or  more 
cavalrymen,  who  rode  their  horses  round  and 
round  the  now  rapidly  filling  balloon,  trampling 
upon  and  hopelessly  entangling  the  lines  of  my 

parachute,  which  had 
all  been  nicelyarranged 
and  attached  by  a 
small  rope  to  the  top 
of  the  balloon. 

W'hen  I  again  came 
from  inside  the  balloon 
everything  was  ready 
for  the  start,  and  so, 
quickly  running  to  the 
trapeze-bar,  I  gave  the 
word,  "  Let  go  all."  I 
was  instantly  borne 
aloft,  high  above  the 
heads  of  the  shouting 
multitude.  I  had  com- 
menced my  acrobatic 
work  on  the  trapeze- 
bar  when,  chancing  to 
look  upward,  I  noticed 
the  tangled  condition 
of  my  parachute,  which 
hung  at  the  side  of 
the  balloon  and  was 
connected  with  my 
trapeze-bar  by  a  small 
rope  running  to  the 
corresponding  bar  of 
the  parachute.  I  im- 
mediately tr.rned  my 
attention  to  repairing 
the  damage,  but  as  I 
could  reach  only  to  the  bottom  of  the  entangled 
cords  I  made  but  little  headway.  I  cursed  all 
South  American  republics  and  their  crazy 
peoples.  At  this  time  I  was  fully  6,000ft.  high. 
It  was  rapidly  growing  dark  on  the  earth,  but 
from  my  elevated  position  I  could  plainly  see 
the  sun  over  the  mountains.  I  had  reached 
my  maximum  height,  and  in  another  moment 
was  giadually  descending.  Realizing  the  im- 
possibilil)'  of  getting  my  pirachute  in  proper 
condition  for  the  leap  before  the  balloon 
descended,  and  thinking  I  had  only  to  wait 
until  the  balloon,   losing   its   buoyancy,   would 


V    BORNE    Ar.OFT. 

identical  occasion  re/eneci  to. 


A    FALL    OF    THREE    THOUSAND    FEET! 


27 1 


slowly  and  safely  drift  to  tlie  earth,  I  turned  my 
attention  to  looking  down  and  picking  out  my 
probable  landing-place.  Judge,  then,  of  my 
horror,  when  I  saw  that  it  would  undoubtedly 
be  near  the  centre  of  the  dreaded  lagoon  pre- 
viously mentioned  !  I  was  already  nearly  over 
the  edge  of  that  noisome,  alligator-infested  lake, 
and  was  yet  fully  3,600ft.  high.  A  skilled 
aeronaut  learns  to  think  quickly.  I  knew  that 
to  descend  in  that  dead  lake  was  to  meet  a 
certain  and  terrible  death.  Should  I  jump? 
Well,  the  pressure  might  cause  the  parachute  to 
open  and  the  ropes  to  untangle  themselves.  It 
was  an  awful  chance,  but  the  only  one,  and 
taking  a  firm  grip  on  the  iron  ring  of  the  para- 
chute and  throwing  one  leg  over  the  bar,  I 
leaped  into  space. 

For  the   first  few   seconds    my   descent  was 
similar  to   hundreds  that  I  have  made  during 
my  aeronautical  career  ;  but  I  soon  realized  the 
fact    that    I    was    falling  at  a   frightful    rate    of 
speed.     For   the  first  time  in   my  life  I  thought 
I  was  facing  certain   death,  and   wondered  if  I 
would  not  have  done  better  to  have  taken  my 
chances   with  the  balloon.     I  looked  far  above 
me  and  saw  the  balloon,  which  had  overturned 
and  was  vomiting  out   dense  masses  of  black 
smoke.      I  wondered  if  it  would  fall  in  the  lake 
and   be  lost.      I   remembered  a  dear  friend  in 
New    England    who  had    advised    me   to  give 
up    this    trip    and    remain    in    the    States.       I 
could  plainly  hear   the    shouts   of  the 
people,  many  of  whom  were  following 
the   course   of  the  balloon.      I  remem- 
bered stories     I    had   read    of  people 
falling  great  distances  and  losing  con- 
sciousness,   and     dying    before    they 
reached  the    earth  ;  I   wondered   what 
could  possibly  have  given  rise  to   that 
impression.     I  could  hear  the  wind  as 
it  shrieked  through  the  tangled  cordage 
of  my  parachute,  which  had  now  failed 
me    for  the   first    time.     I  could 
feel  the  hissing  wind  cut  my  face 
like  a  knife.     I  knew  I  had  fallen 
thousands    of    feet,    and    as    the 
mad  rush  continued  I  could  see 
the  earth  apparently  flying  up  to 
meet   me    with   terrible   rapidity. 
An   agony  of   helplessness    came 
over  me.     I  think  I  know  all  the 
sensations  a  man    feels  who  falls 
to  his  death— right  up  to  the  point 
of  unconsciousness.     I  don't  su[)- 
pose  I   felt  the  physical  fear  that 
would  have  seized  almost  anyone 
but  a  balloon  man.     Still,  I  made 
up  my  mind  to  die. 

But  when   scarcely  200ft.  from 


the  earth  the  parachute  lines  became  loosened 
— the  canvas  cracked  and  swelled.  I  swayed 
dizzily.  For  an  instant  I  thought  I  was 
saved,  but  the  awful  pressure  of  the  atmos- 
phere proved  more  than  the  parachute  could 
stand.  Though  my  fall  was  stopped  for  an 
instant,  the  cloth  burst  in  a  dozen  places, 
with  reports  as  sharp  as  rifle-shots.  The 
cords  broke  like  thread,  and  again  I  was 
falling.  I  now  braced  myself  to  meet  the 
shock,  and  next  moment  struck  fairly  on  my  feet 
on  the  grassy  plain — I  actually  heard  my  person 
strike  the  solid  earth.  The  parachute  had 
opened  enough  to  save  my  life.  I  was  unable 
to  move,  but  knew  I  was  terribly  injured.  I  was 
dimly  conscious  of  what  was  transi)iring  around 
me.  I  heard  the  mounted  soldiers  order  the  crowd 
away,  and,  when  they  would  not  obey,  they  charged 
them  with  drawn  swords,  riding  their  horses 
over  me.  I  saw  the  flying  hoofs  above  my  head, 
and  wondered  that  they  did  not  step  on  me. 
Only  one  shoe  of  the  flying  feet  struck  me, 
cutting  a  small  gash  in  my  head.  I  knew  when 
I  was  picked  up  and  carried  to  a  small  bamboo 
hut  near  by  and  laid  on  a  soldier's  blanket. 
Then  I  must  have  lost  consciousness,  for  when 
next  I  remember  it  was  dark.  I  was  still  lying 
on  the  ground,  and  with  the  exception  of  my 
head  and  right  arm  I  could  not  move  a  muscle. 
My  faithful  dog  had  found  me  during  the  night, 
and  now   lay  with  his  head  on  my  face,  howling 


I    SAW   THE    FLYING    HOOFS    ABOVE   MY   HEAD. 


Z72 


THE    WIDE    WOTILD    MAGAZINE, 


mournfully.  It  is  simply  impossible  for  me  to 
describe  my  sufferings  during  the  long  hours  of 
that  terrible  night.  Most  of  the  time  I  was 
conscious,  and  wondered  how  long  I  could 
hold  out.  Morning  came  at  last,  however,  and 
just  as  day  was  breaking  I  heard  someone  sing- 
ing. Attracted  doubtless  by  the  barking  of  my 
dog,  a  native  woman  who  was  on  her  way  to  the 
town  came  to  the  door  of  the  hut.  After  gratifying 
her  curiosity  by  answering  many  questions,  and 
assuring  her  that  I  was  positively  alive,  and  that 
the  dog  would  not  injure  her  (a  native  of 
Venezuela  is  never  in  a  hurry),  I  succeeded  in 
obtaining  her  promise  to  deliver  a  verbal 
message  to  the  proprietor  of  the  "  American 
House,"  she  flatly  refusing  to  go  direct  to  the 
Governor.  Then,  after  hours  of  waiting  and 
suffering,  the  Governor  came,  accompanied  by 
his  bodyguard  and  a  physician.  The  surprise 
and  sorrow  of  General  Andrada  at  seeing  me  in 
such  a  condition  were  certainly  genuine.  I  had 
been  reported  dead,  and  he  was  about  to  give 
orders  for  my  burial,  when  a  soldier  informed 
him  that  a  woman  had  brought  the  report  that  I 
was  still  living.  Procuring  a  doctor,  he  at  once 
came  to  my  assistance,  and  assured  me  he 
would  do  all  in  his  power  to  aid  me.  He  asked 
where  I  wished  to  be  taken.  I  told  him  I  had 
been  informed  that  the  only  good  hospital  in 
the  republic  was  at  Caracas,  and  I  thought  I 
could  get  proper  medical  attendance  there.  He 
fully  agreed  with  me  regarding  the  hospital ;  but 
the  physician,  who,  during  our  conversation,  had 
been  examining  me,  stated  that  it  would  be 
simply  impossible  to  have  me  moved  that  dis- 
tance— that  nearly  every  bone  in  my  body  had 
been  broken.  Furthermore,  that  he  was  sur- 
prised at  my  having  lived  through  the  night ; 
that  I  certainly  would  not  live  to  cover  half  the 
distance  to  the  railway.  Finally,  he  concluded 
that  it  would  make  but  little  difference  any 
way,  as  I  had  left  but  a  few  hours  more  of 
life  at  best.  I,  however,  assured  the  (jovcrnor 
that,  as  I  had  already  lived  fifteen  hours  since 
the  accident,  I  would  certainly  live  to  get 
through.  If  he  wished  to  assist  me  at  all,  I 
said  he  could  best  do  so  by  arranging  for  my 
transportation  as  far  as  the  railway  station  at 
Cagua.  While  willing  to  accede  to  my  request, 
he  insisted  on  my  knowin;  what  my  chances 
were,  and  informed  me  that  during  the  night  the 
usual  South  American  insurrection  had  broken 
out,  and  that  even  now  the  city  was  threatened. 
I  cursed  all  these  Republics  again.  But  he 
could  furnish  me  with  an  escort,  which,  perhaps, 
would  have  no  difficulty  in  passing  the  insur- 
gent lines.  The  chances  were  a  hundred  to 
one  that  I  would  never  live  to  reach  the  rail- 
way;   yet,   if  I   insisted,   he   would  do   all   he 


could  for  me.  I  did  insist,  and  that  after- 
noon, at  three  o'clock,  I  was  taken  by 
my  escort,  which  consisted  of  twenty  mounted 
soldiers,  with  their  captain  ;  six  men  to  carry 
the  stretcher  (improvised  from  a  canvas-cot) ; 
and  a  mule  cart  for  my  baggage.  Just  before 
starting  the  Governor  called  the  captain  to 
the  side  of  my  cot,  and  in  my  hearing  gave 
him  his  orders.  He  should  order  his  men  to 
carry  me  as  carefully  as  possible,  by  the  most 
direct  route  in  the  direction  of  Cagua  ;  and  he 
was  to  keep  on  stopping  when  necessary,  until 
either  the  station  was  reached  or  I  no  longer 
lived.  In  case  of  my  death  before  the  station 
was  reached,  my  body  was  to  be  left  wherever 
we  might  be.  The  soldiers  were  then  to  hasten 
back  to  Villa-de-Cura,  as  the  town  was  sadly  in 
need  of  every  man  capable  of  handling  a  gun. 
Then,  after  wishing  me  good  luck  and  God-speed, 
General  Andrada  gave  the  order  to  march. 
Thus,  twenty  hours  after  the  accident  we  started, 
my  dog  barking  joyously  as  if  he,  too,  was 
anxious  to  be  off. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  pen  of  mine  to  describe 
the  horrors  of  that  journey.  The  route  lay 
across  the  plains  of  Miranda.  The  tropical 
sun  shone  down  upon  my  unprotected  head 
with  merciless  force.  Night  found  us  in  the 
foothills  of  the  Andes,  but  brought  no  relief — 
up  steep  hills  and  over  rough  roads,  until  I 
tliought  each  step  would  close  my  precarious 
lease  of  life.  But  still  we  plodded  on,  stopping 
only  for  a  few  moments  when  we  reached  the 
great  Cagua  jungles.  If  we  passed  any  insur- 
gents on  the  road,  I  did  not  see  or  hear  them. 
The  insects,  however,  were  positively  ferocious, 
and  wild  beasts  howling  close  by  made  the  night 
hideous.  Once  a  mountain  lion,  attracted,  the 
soldiers  said,  by  the  smell  of  blood,  which  still 
flowed  from  the  wound  on  my  head,  screamed  in 
the  bush  so  near  to  us,  that  the  soldiers  were 
alarmed,  and  fearing  an  attack  formed  in  a  circle 
round  my  cot.  My  dog,  too,  bolted  under  cover 
with  a  howl ;  but  a  moment  later  the  lion  was 
heard  stealing  away  through  the  bush  in  the 
opposite  direction,  and  then  the  heart-breaking 
march  was  resumed  once  more.  If  anyone  had 
told  me  that  a  human  being  could  live  to  endure 
such  horrible  suffering  as  I  experienced  that 
night,  I  would  not  have  believed  it.  Each  s'.3p 
seemed  to  add  to  the  torture,  and  I  begged  the 
captain  to  leave  me  and  return,  as  I  preferred  to 
die  rather  than  continue  the  journey.  But  the 
captain  would  reply  :  "  You  heard  the  Governor's 
orders?" 

It  was  daylight  when  we  reached  the  Cagua 
River;  and  at  9  a.m.  we  arrived  at  the  station, 
where  I  was  left  on  the  platform.  The  captain 
and  soldiers  bade  me  good-bye,  and  started  on 


A    FALL    OF    THREE    THOUSAND    FEET! 


273 


the  return  trip.  The  sun  shone  down  pitilessly, 
and  I  soon  began  to  feel  the  tortures  of  thirst ; 
no  one  came  near  me,  however,  for  some  time. 
Then  the  low  growling  of  my  dog  caused  me  to 
look  up,  and  1  saw  a  little  native  girl  standing 
by  my  cot.  Though  seemingly  frightened,  she 
asked  me  in  her  native  tongue  if  I  was  sick  and 
why  I  was  there  alone.  I  told  her  I  was  indeed 
sick,  and  asked  her  to  get  me  a  drink  of  water ; 
whereupon  she  hastened  away  and  soon  re- 
turned with  a  battered  tin 
cup  filled  with  coffee, 
which  was  still  hot.  I 
drank  it  eagerly,  and  never 
was  a  drink  more  appre- 
ciated by  me.  Fearing  to 
be  again  left  alone,  I 
coaxed  the  child  to  me, 
and  taking  her  hand  tried 
to  detain  her,  but  becom- 
ing frightened  she  broke 
away  and  I  saw  her  no 
more.  After  what  seemed 
many  hours  the  station- 
master  arrived  and  asked 
me  gruffly  what  I  was 
doing  there  and  what  I 
expected  was  to  become 
of  me.  I  replied  that  I 
wished  my  cot  placed  in 
the  baggage-car  of  the 
train  for  Caracas,  as  I 
was  unable  to  move 
and  was  trying  to  reach 
the  hospital  at  that 
place.  He  said  he  could 
not  put  the  cot  in  the 
baggage-car,  as  that  was 
intended  for  baggage 
only  ;  and  if  I  expected 
'to  go  on  that  train  I  must  go  in  the  passenger 
coach,  where  I  would  be  allowed  a  regular  seat 
for  a  regular  first-class  ticket.  As  he  walked 
away  I  thought  my  last  chance  was  gone,  and 
bitterly  regretted  that  I  had  not  taken  tlie 
Governor's  advice  and  remained  at  \'illa-de-Cura. 
Soon  other  people  began  to  arrive  and  gather 
round  my  cot.  Among  them  was  a  lady,  who 
looked  at  me  in  surprise.  And,  indeed,  I  must 
have  presented  an  awful  appearance,  being  still 
clad  in  acrobatic  silks  and  covered  with  blood 
and  dirt.  This  lady  asked  me  in  a  kind  voice  if 
she  could  do  anything  for  me.  I  explained  the 
situation  to  her  as  well  as  I  could,  and  informed 
her  that  my  only  chance  for  life  was  to  get  to  the 
hospital  at  Caracas.  She  quickly  called  one 
of  her  servants  and  bade  him  send  the 
station-master   to    her    at  once.      To  him  she 

explained  that  she  was  the  wife  of  the  Vene- 
Voi.  iii.— 35. 


SHE    ASKED   ME    IN 
ANY 


zuelan  Secretary  of  War,  and  that  I  was  to  be 
put  on  that  train  at  any  cost.  The  man  meekly 
promised  to  see  what  he  could  do,  and  was 
cautioned  by  the  lady  to  see  quickly.  Then, 
ordering  one  servant  to  bathe  my  face  and 
head  in  cool  water,  and  sending  another  for  a 
bottle  of  wine,  she  bade  me  keep  heart,  and 
said  she  would  see  that  I  got  to  the  hospital  at 
Caracas  all  right.  She  would,  she  said,  tele- 
graph   to   her    husband    to   have   arrangements 

made  for  my  removal 
from  the  train  on  its 
arrival  at  the  city  of 
Caracas,  so  that  no  time 
would  be  lost  in  getting 
me  to  the  hospital.  At 
twelve  o'clock,  noon,  the 
train  arrived,  when  it  was 
found  there  was  no  rcom 
in  the  baggage -car  for 
"5.     I  MI^HMy.  my  cot.      For  the  mcdest 

"^      1  ^^«^^».  gyj^i  of  one  hundred  and 

twenty-five  dollars  in  gold, 
however,  the  station- 
master  allowed  my  cot  to 
be  placed  in  an  empty 
box  car — into  which,  by 
the  way,  a  crate  of  live 
chickens  was  sub- 
sequently thrown. 
This  static  n- 
master  was  not  a 
native,  but  a  Ger- 
man -  American, 
who  spoke  English 
well,  and  who  had 
formerly  lived  in 
New  York.  He 
volunteered  this 
information  him- 
self The  roof  of  my  "  special "  car  was  cf 
corrugated  iron,  and  the  inside  like  a  fur- 
nace. I  must  have  been  unconscious  during 
a  great  part  of  that  frightful  ride,  but  can 
remember  that  at  nearly  every  stop  the  wife  of 
the  Secretary  came  to  the  door  of  the  car, 
like  a  ministering  angel,  and  asked  her  servant 
(who  occupied  the  car  with  me)  if  I  was  still 
living.  And  she  would  order  him  to  bathe  my 
head  with  fresh  water  and  moisten  my  lips  with 
wine.  At  10.30  p.m.  the  train  arrived  at 
Caracas,  and  was  met  by  the  Secretary  of  War. 
Caracas  has  no  ambulance  service,  so  my 
stretcher  was  taken  on  the  shoulders  of  six  of 
the  little  policemen  who  march  round  the  city 
carrying  Winchester  rifles,  and  carried  to  the 
hospital,  a  distance  of  several  miles.  Vargas 
Hospital  does  not  have  a  surgeon  on  duty  at 
night,  and  so  I  was  taken  to  the  operating-room 


-i 


A    KIND    VOICE   IF   SHE   COULD    DO 
THING    FOR    ME." 


274 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


in  order  to  be  in  readiness  as  soon  as  they 
came  in  the  morning.  This  was  also  in  case  of 
my  death  during  the  night,  when  they  would 
not  have  so  far  to  carry  my  body,  the  same  room 
being  near  the  morgue.  I  remember  but  little 
of  that  right.  I  seemed  to  be  beyond  further 
suffering.  I  was  afterwards  informed  by  one  of 
my  watchers  that  I  talked  incessantly  all  through 
the  night,  and  begged  them  not  to  inform  my 
friends  in  the  States  that  I  had  met  with  an 
accident.  The  next  morning,  at  ten  o'clock, 
just  sixty-four  hours  after  the  accidefit,  the 
hospital  surgeons  gathered  round  my  cot.  I 
had  accomplished  my  purpose,  and  lived  to  get 


having  a  terrible  time  with  the  yellow  fever ! 
The  days  passed,  and,  contrary  to  all  expecta- 
tions, I  lived  and  grew  stronger.  The  visiting 
surgeon,  Dr.  Acosta,  informed  me  that  my 
injuries  consisted  of  the  following,  which  I  am 
sure  my  readers  will  let  me  term  an  appalling 
diagnosis  :  Both  ankles  crushed,  both  knees 
crushed  and  broken,  right  thigh  broken,  right 
hip  broken  and  socket  crushed,  pelvis  broken 
clean  across,  every  rib  on  left  side  torn  from 
the  spine,  four  ribs  on  right  side  broken,  and 
spinal  column  dislocated  in  one  place  and  posi- 
tivelv  fractured  in  another  ! 

This  diagnosis  was,  later,  pronounced  correct 


From  a] 


MK.    WOLCOTT    IS 


Pholo. 


into  the  doctors'  hands.  Nature  would  stand 
no  more.  The  pain  seemed  to  leave  my  body. 
Breathing  became  difficult.  Then  came  oblivion. 
Two  weeks  later  I  regained  consciousness,  to 
find  myself  on  a  cot  in  the  surgical  ward. 
Wax  candles  were  burning  at  my  head  and  feet. 
A  sweet-faced  Sister  of  Mercy  was  standing  at 
my  bedside,  holding  a  crucifix  before  my  face. 
Seeing  that  I  was  conscious,  she  asked  me  in 
French  if  I  were  a  Catholic.  I  replied  "  No," 
and  she  said,  "  It  makes  no  difference — 
rest."  The  surgeons  came  soon  after,  and 
seemed  surprised  and  pleased  that  I  was 
conscious.     They  informed  me  that  I  had  been 


by  the  best  surgeons  of  New  York  City,  and 
verified  by  full-length  X-ray  photographs.  I 
might  write  many  pages  descriptive  of  the  six 
months  I  spent  in  Vargas  Hospital.  I  will  only 
say,  however,  that  I  slowly  got  stronger,  nursed 
with  loving  tenderness  by  the  Catholic  Sisters 
of  Mercy,  who,  although  they  could  not  bind 
a  wound  skilfully,  knew  the  art  of  comforting, 
and  would  not  allow  a  patient  to  suffer  if  they 
could  prevent  it.  Most  of  the  patients  of  that 
ward  were  brought  in — some  from  long  distances 
— suffering  from  wounds  made  by  gun-shot, 
knife-thrust,  or  snake-bite.  Occasionally  a  leper 
was  found  among  them  ;  but  these  were  removed 


A    FAI.L    OF    THREE    THOUSAND    FEET! 


275 


WOLCOTT    I.~. 


LI  KE  S    Hi 


as  soon  as  possi- 
ble to  the  leper 
colony,  situated 
farther  up  among 
the  mountains. 
Vargas  Hospital 
is  supported  by 
the  Government. 
The  attending 
surgeons  were  all 
well  -  educated 
men,  well  up  to 
their  business. 
Many  of  them 
are  graduates  of 
the  best  medical 
colleges  of  the 
U.S.  or  France. 
But  having  no 
modern  appli- 
ances and  a 
limited  amount 
of  supplies,  they 
were  seriously 
handicapped.  I 
have  known  the 
death-rate  to  be 
3  per  cent,  a  day  /;,,/«  a] 
for    m  on  th  s. 

They  did  little  for  me  in  a  surgical  way, 
and  plainly  told  me  that  I  might  live  for 
some  time — perhaps  for  years — but  would  for 
ever  be  paralyzed  from  the  waist  down.  Of 
course,  I  suffered  a  great  deal,  but  neverthe- 
less managed  to  derive  a  certain  amount  of 
amusement  during  my  sojourn  there.  I  at 
one  time  had  a  class  of  eight  men  and 
boys,  whom  I  taught  English  ;  some  of  them 
became  quite  proficient.  Many  American  resi- 
dents visited  me,  and  I  was  regularly  sup- 
plied with  newspapers  and  periodicals  by 
friends  in  New  England.  As  I  grew  stronger 
I  determined  to  try  and  get  to  New  York,  where 
I  knew  I  could  obtain  the  best  treatment  with 
the  latest  ap[)liances,  for  I  thought  I  might 
possibly  recover.  It  was  against  the  advice  of 
the  surgeons  that  I  left,  but  I  had  made  up  my 
mind  ;  and  in  six  months  and  two  days  from 
the  time  I  entered  Vargas  Hospital  I  was  placed 
on  an  inflated  rubber  bed  and  taken  to  the 
railway.  The  rain  was  falling  in  torrents  at  the 
time,  and  when  I  arrived  at  the  depot  I  was 
soaking  wei.  General  Thomas,  the  American 
Minister,  furnished  me  with  a  private  car,  and, 
accompanied  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Legation, 
I  made  the  trip  to  La-Guayra,  and  was  soon  on 
board   the   steamship    Venezuela.     The  officers 


^11 TAI.,    NKW    YORK,    WHERE   THE   GREAT    OPERATION    WAS 

PERFORMED.  [P/loto. 

gave   me   a   warm  welcome  and  made  me   as 
comfortable  as  possible. 

Seven  days  later  we  arrived  in  Brooklyn,  and 
in  a  few  hours  I  was  comfortably  installed  in 
the  beautiful  new  Saint  Luke's  Hospital,  on 
Morningside  Heights,  New  York  City.  My  case 
attracted  the  attention  of  many  of  the  principal 
surgeons  outside  the  hospital  staff,  and  was 
discussed  far  and  wide  ;  and  the  Metropolitan 
papers  printed  columns  regarding  my  accident. 
After  many  consultations,  it  was  at  last  decided 
that  an  operation  alone  could  relieve  me  of 
paralysis  ;  and  after  four  months'  medical  treat- 
ment and  careful  nursing  I  was  pronounced 
strong  enough  to  be  operated  upon.  Li  the 
presence  of  fourteen  of  the  world's  most 
prominent  surgeons,  the  spinal  column  was 
chiselled  into  and  the  vital  cord  exposed  for  a 
distance  of  nine  inches.  Pressure  was  found 
and  removed.  As  an  operation,  it  was  a  success, 
and  I  was  afterwards  informed  that  it  was  the  first 
operation  of  the  kind  ever  successfully  performed. 
Five  months  later  I  was  able  to  walk  with  the 
aid  of  crutches,  and  left  the  hospital — just  one 
year  one  month  and  one  day  after  the  accident. 
I  am  still  in  the  aeronautical  business,  but  my 
physical  condition  compels  me  to  let  paid 
assistants  make  the  trip  to  the  clouds. 


A    ''Bank    Holiday**  in    Bangkok, 


By  Harry  Hillman. 

All   about   the   quaintest    festival   imaginable.     The    fair  in  the   Siamese  King's  temple,  the  hilarious 

doings    of    the    holiday-makers,    and   how  the    poor    build    decorated    sand-heaps    instead    of   temples. 

The  whole  illustrated    by  a  set  of  snap-shots,  taken  in  Bangkok  by  the  author. 


HOUGH  it  is  true  that  we  in 
England  still  link  fancy  fairs  and 
bazaars  with  the  promotion  of  re- 
ligious enterprise,  this  meets  with 
a  great  deal  of  disfavour  in  many 
directions.  The  Eastern,  however,  takes  his 
religion  into  every  action  of  his  life.  Hence 
there  is  nothmg  repugnant  to  the  Siamese  mind 
in  utilizing  the  grounds  of  his  beautiful  temples 
for  gatherings  that  suggest  forcibly  the  old-time 
country  fairs  of  England.  The  various  leading 
events  of  Buddha's  life  afford  an  abundance  of 
holidays,  the  number  of  which  is  swelled  by  the 


This  temple  is  erected  on  a  hill — the  only 
one  for  miles  round,  and  even  that  is  an 
artificial  one.  Built  as  Bangkok  is,  on  the 
deposit  from  the  overflowing  waters  of  the 
river,  the  presence  of  a  natural  hill  is  out  of 
the  question,  though  there  is  an  abundance  of 
clay  for  brick-making.  And  so  brick  is  used 
universally — for  building,  for  paving  the  streets, 
and  actually  for  erecting  the  hill  known  as  the 
Poa-kau-tongon,  or  "Golden  Hill,"  near  the 
temple  called  Wat  Sekate. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Riches,  the  Siamese 
Consul    in    London,  for    the    loan  of   the    first 


THIS   IS    AN    ARTIFICIAL    HI1,L    BUILT   OF    UKICKS.      PILGRIMS    CLIMB   TO   THE   TEMILE   ON    THEIR    KNEES. 

/■'toil!  a    Photo. 


national  festivals,  such  as  the  King's  and  Queen's 
birthdays,  and  those  connected  with  the  life  of 
cnch  individual  —  such  as  the  betrothal  and 
wedding,  the  sacramental  cutting  of  the  hair  at 
the  age  of  puberty,  or  the  cremation  of  the 
dc;id.  Then  there  is  the  pilgrimage  to  "  P'ra 
liaht,"  the  hill  upon  the  summit  of  which 
Buddha  has  left  an  imprint  of  his  foot  for  the 
adoration  of  the  faithful.  But  not  everyone  can 
go  this  lengthy  journey,  and  so  a  temple  has 
been  built  at  Bangkok  within  which  is  a  replica 
of  the  impression. 


photograph,  which,  having  been  taken  shortly 
after  the  hill  was  erected,  shows  the  brick 
formation  very  plainly.  As  can  be  seen,  the  hill 
is  a  fairly  high  one,  and  steep  withal.  It  is  now 
covered  with  trees,  and  their  roots,  while  slowJy 
disintegrating  the  bricks,  at  the  same  time  serve 
to  bind  them  more  securely  together.  There 
have  been  paths  to  the  top,  which  have  since 
fallen  in ;  and  the  inexperienced  is  likely  to 
attempt  a  climb  in  several  promising  places,  only 
to  find  a  return  to  the  bottom  inevitable.  But 
the   way  up  from  the  main   entrance   is  plain 


A    "BANK    HOLIDAY"    IN    BANGKOK. 


'■11 


enough,  involving  the  ascent  of  two  hundred 
and  ninety  steps,  the  last  hundred  or  so  being 
laboriously  steep  ;  dangerously  so,  in  fact,  were 
it  not  for  the  iron  rail  to  which  one  can 
cling.  The  orthodo.x  way  of  ascending  the 
stairs  at  the  original  temple  at  P'ra  Baht  is 
on  the  knees,  and  occasionally  a  particularly 
zealous  individual  will  climb  the  stairs  of  the 
artificial  hill  of  Bangkok  in  the  same  manner. 
An  easier  staircase  goes  twice  round  the  hill  by 
a  gradual  rise,  and  a  portion  of  this  can  be  seen 
in  the  middle  of  the  photograph.  There  are 
also  on  the  way  up  a  band-stand 

and   a    large  sala,  or   shed,   for        , - 

resting    \n.       The    building    on        | 
the    summit    is   a    square   one. 
There  is  a  covered  corridor,  the 
walls  of  which  are  flush  with  the        ; 
edge  of  the  hill,  and  are  pierced        \ 
with  windows  fitted  with  glass. 
This   is    unusual    in    a    country 
where  sunshine  is  the  rule,  but 
in  this  exposed  position  glass  is 
by    no    means    an    unnecessary 
protection. 

In  the  centre  is  the  dagoba 
— the  circular-spired  roof  seen  in 
the  photo.  This  building  is 
supported  on  arches  which 
afford  entrance  to  the  interior, 
in  the  exact  centre  of  which 
is  a  hollow  in  the  ground 
shaped  in  the  orthodox  form 
of  Buddha's  foot— that  is,  with 
all  the  toes  of  equal  length. 
All  the  year  round  this 
foot-step  is  covered  over  with 
a  stone,  securely  cemented 
down  ;  but  when  the  time 
for  the  pilgrimage  comes  round,  this  covering  is 
removed.  Then  the  faithful  flock  in  thousands 
to  the  tuat,  or  temple,  and  bring  their  little  slips 
of  gold-leaf,  with  which  to  gild  the  impression, 
as  an  offering.  In  the  ground.s,  at  the  base,  are 
erected  booths,  at  which  all  kinds  of  goods  are 
sold,  either  directly  or  by  lottery.  Here  also 
are  found  shows  of  deformed  folk  and  other 
wonders  ;  theatres,  and  "all  the  fun  of  the  fair" 
generally.  But  this  festival  is  mainly  a  night 
one,  and,  therefore,  in  order  to  get  a  faint 
idea  of  it,  it  is  necessary  to  refer  to  another 
festival  held  on  the  first  day  of  the  Siamese 
year,  and  so  capable  of  being  photographed. 
There  are,  by  the  way,  two  Siamese  New  Year 
Days — a  State  one,  fixed,  by  a  decree  of  the 
King  in  1889.  on  April  i  ;  and  the  old  ecclesi- 
astical one,  fixed,  like  our  Easter,  by  the  moon. 
It  falls  always  at  the  end  of  March,  and  it  is  at 
that  time  that  the  great  New  Year  festival  takes 


place.     It  is  known  as  the  krut,  and  falls  on  the 
first  day  of  the  fifth  lunation. 

This  festival  is  held  at  the  Kitii^'s  own  7vat 
within  the  palace  walls  at  Bangkok,  the  entrance 
to  which  is  seen  in  the  next  photo.  For  most 
days  in  the  year  the  door  here  shown  is  kept 
shut,  and  is  smeared  all  over  with  dabs  of  gold- 
leaf  placed  on  it  either  as  a  meritorious  act  per 
se,  or  else  in  fulfilment  of  vows.  On  the  New 
Year's  Day  people  gather  from  all  parts  to  adore 
the  famous  emerald  idol,  which  is  the  most 
treasured  possession  of  the  7vat.     John  Ch::-.a- 


ENTRANCE 

From  a] 


TO   THE    KINGS  OWN   TEMPLE.       SELLING    EATABLES  TO   THE 

HOLIDAV-MAKERS.  [Pkoto. 


man,  as  usual,  is  ready  to  drive  his  bargains  with 
the  hungry  folk,  and  sets  up  his  stalls  not  only 
outside  the  gate,  but  within  the  sacred  inclosure 
itself.  His  stocks  of  fruit  and  other  eatables 
are  displayed  where  the  camera  was  able  to 
capture  them  plainly,  with  the  forms  placed 
ready  for  the  convenience  of  customers.  Nearer 
the  gate  is  a  man  who  has  just  arrived  with  his 
portable  kitchen.  On  a  strong  piece  of  bamboo 
placed  over  his  shoulders  he  has  carried — it  may 
be  for  miles^ — a  basket  well  stocked  with  articles 
of  food,  also  a  box  containing  a  fire,  together 
with  charcoal  for  replenishing  it,  and  various 
cooking  implements.  He  is  able  to  supply  half- 
a-dozen  or  so  differently  flavoured  dishes,  all 
smoking  hot  and  fresh  from  the  pot. 

The  plainness  of  the  exterior  hardly  prepares 
one  for  the  beauty  of  the  next  picture.  Passing 
through  the  doorway  of  the  first  courtyard,  re- 
gardless of  the  ugly  beast  guarding  the  approach, 


278 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


we  come  to  a  second  courtyard,  the  splendour  of 
which  quite  takes  one  aback.  The  very  tiles  on 
the  roofs  are  richly  and  yet  artistically  coloured. 
Flowers  of  all  hues,  cunningly  produced  in 
delicate  porcelain,  adorn  the  front  and  roof  of 
some  of  the  buildings.  Dagobas  of  exquisite 
design  are  dotted  here  and  there,  three  of  which, 
one  large  and  two  smaller,  but  of  more  elaborate 
workmanship,  are  seen  in  the  middle  distance  of 
the  picture.     Another,  beyond  the  scope  of  the 


woman  who  is  so  modesdy  re-arranging  her 
"pah  home,"  or  breast  cloth,  in  view  of  the 
presence  of  a  European,  cannot  resist  the 
feminine  tendency  to  know  all  about  what 
he  is  doing  with  his  funny  black  box,  and 
so  he  has  been  able  to  catch  her  in  a  very 
characteristic  attitude.  The  "pah  home"  is 
usually  of  a  brilliant  hue,  made  of  silk, 
and  accordion  pleated.  It  is  always  carried, 
even    when    (as    in    the    case    of    the    woman 


I'rotii  d\ 


I  111-.    AMMAIKl)    SECOND    COUUTVAK'D    WITH    ITS    HOLI  I).\\  -  M  ,\  K  l-.K-- 


\l'hot< 


photo.,  is  gilded  from  spire  to  base,  and  glitters 
in  the  sun  so  that  one  can  hardly  look  at  it. 
Tasteful  mosaics  in  glazed  tiles,  or  in  tiny 
mirrors  of  multi-coloured  glass  ;  carved  wood- 
work covered  with  gold  ;  quaint  figures  of  men 
and  women,  of  giants  and  dwarfs,  of  animals, 
of  birds,  and  of  reptiles ;  and  plants  artificially 
trained  into  the  most  curious  shapes,  abound  on 
all  sides. 

And  then  there  are  the  people.  Look  at  them 
in  the  photograph.  In  the  foreground  on  the 
right  squat  a  couple  of  women  selling  little 
offerings  which  will  be  described  in  more  detail 
later  on.  On  the  left  there  is  a  back  view  of  one 
of  the   towering   giants   of  the   temple.      The 


behind)  a  short  bodice  is  worn  ;  but  then  it  is 
thrown  loosely  over  the  shoulders,  and  is  rarely 
put  on  otherwise. 

Crossing  the  courtyard,  past  a  figure  standing 
at  the  salute,  we  ascend  some  steps  at  the  side 
to  the  balcony,  and  then,  standing  within  it, 
obtain  a  full  front  view  of  the  giant  under 
whose  shadow  we  had  just  been  standing.  He 
is  now  seen  in  all  his  hideousness.  Observe 
him  in  the  photograph.  One  arm  has  tumbled 
off,  but  the  hand  remains  clasping  the  huge  club. 
His  teeth  and  eyes  must  surpass  the  most  vivid 
of  our  childish  imaginings  of  what  an  ogre 
should  be  like.  The  whole  body  is  inlaid  with 
the  coloured  mirrors  already  referred  to,  and  his 


A    "BANK    HOLIDAY"    IN:  BANGKOK. 


•79 


From  a\ 


1     IHE   GROTESQUE   GlANl. 


costume  is    such  as   is  to  be  seen   in  Siamese 
theatrical  performances  to  this  da}-. 

In  the  building  behind  the  giant  guardian  of 
the  gate,  and  stretching  round  the  four  sides  of 
a  quadrangle,  is  held  the  fair.  What  with  the 
high  dagobas  and  the  lowness  of  the  roof,  the 
stalls  are  too  dark  for  photographing.  But  if 
my  reader  will  recall  the  stalls  of  a  country  fair 
— those  with  the  most  gaudy  of  goods— and 
transfer  them  to  these  corridors,  they  will  have 
an  idea  of  the  general  appearance.  Then,  in 
addition,  there  are  to  be  had  packets  of  green 
tea,  clothing,  lamps,  medicines— all  the  needs 
of  ever}--day  life,  in  fiict,  even  to  the  gamble, 
which  is  a  positive  necessity  of  the  average 
Siamese  life.  In  most  of  the  stalls  there  is 
something  in  this  Hne.  It  may  be  a  table  with 
the  revolving  needle,  so  familiar  to  us,  which  is 
turned  by  the  customer,  and  determines  his 
prize  by  stopping  at  it.  Or  it  may  be  the  wheel 
of  fortune,  with  its  tickets,  "All  prizes;  no 
blanks."  Or,  again,  it  may  be  the  very  favourite 
plan  of  attaching  a  piece  of  cotton  to  each 
article  on  the  stall,  and  passing  the  ends 
through  a  ring  suspended  in  the  front.  The 
customer  pays  his  or  her  money,  takes  a 
random  choice  of  the  strings,  and  gives  it  a 
pull,  only  then  to  learn  what  is  attached  to  the 
other  end. 


But  we  turn  our  back  upon 
this  scene  of  buying  and  selling 
within  the  very  precincts  of  the 
temple,  and  enter  another  court- 
yard, where  a  Chinaman  is  seen 
with  the  invariable  supi)ly  of 
iced  drinks.  Onward  still  we 
follow  the  people,  up  some  more 
steps  to  the  wat  itself.  In  the 
porch  squat  several  men  and 
women  with  bowls  of  scented 
water  before  them.  This  they 
are  selling  in  small  doles  to  the 
worshippers,  who  also  take  care 
to  provide  themselves  with  the 
offerings  next  illustrated  —  that 
is,  if  they  happen  not  to  have 
already  purchased  them  from  the 
women  at  the  gate.  Each  consi.';;s 
of  two  "joss  -  sticks,"  a  litt'o 
candle,  and  a  piece  of  paper 
with  a  tiny  square  of  gold-leaf 
in  it.  These  are  tied  together, 
but  are  separated  by  the  pur- 
chaser. Entering  the  lofty  doors 
of  the  7vni,  it  is  a  little  time 
before  one  can  get  accustomed 
to  the  very  "  dim,  religious  light " 
inside.  When  one  does,  the 
walls  are  seen — as  in  the  next 
photo.,  taken  when  the  wat  was  empty,  so 
making  a  long  exposure  possible — to  be  covered 


[Photo. 


OFFERINGS   WITH   WHICH    THE    PILGRIMS     PRO%aDE     THEMSELVES— 

From  a]        joss-sticks,  candi.es,  gold-leaf,  etc.         \Pho'.o. 


2<So 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


From  a\ 


INTERIOK  oi-    iiiK  KiNc;  liv  MA-.i\  T:,:;i'i,r. 

THE   EMERALD    UUDDIIA. 


with  paintings  from  top  to  bottom,  illustrative 
of  events  in  the  hfe  of  Buddha.  For  this 
photo,  also  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Riches. 

Cases  containing  trees  of  gold  and  silver 
work  and  costly  offerings  of  all  kinds  are 
crowded  into  the  building,  the  very  pavement 
of  which  is  all  of  brass  plates,  with  engraved 
patterns.  Handsome  candelabra  hang  from  the 
roof,  kerosene  lamps  being  the  illuminant  on 
the  rare  occasions  when  such  is  needed.  At 
the  farther  end  is  a  sort  of  pyramid,  rising 
nearly  to  the  ceiling.  It  is  all  of  costly  inlaid 
work,  each  step  having  its  own  design,  and  not 
an  inch  left  without  adornment.  On  either  side 
is  a  large  Buddha,  with  his  hands  held  to  the 
worshippers  in  the  attitude  of  benediction. 
There  are  also,  on  handsomely  inlaid  stands, 
the  sacred  multiple  umbrellas. 

On  the  successive  steps  of  the  pyramid  are 
crowded  Buddhas,  standing  or  sitting,  of  all 
kinds  of  material — silver  and  gold  in  many 
cases — and  each  with  the  sacred  umbrella  over 
him.  In  the  foreground  is  the  dais  for  the 
priest  who  leads  the  devotions,  a  tray  in  front  of 
him  to   contain    the   inevitable    betel.     At  the 


highest  point,  barely  to  be  seen 
in  the  dimness  and  distance,  is 
the  famous  sitting  Buddha  cut 
from  a  single  emerald.  At  least, 
such  is  the  story,  though  others 
assert  it  is  made  of  jade.  It  is 
quite  inaccessible,  but  that  does 
not  matter,  as  nearer  the  door 
there  is  a  bronze  statue  which 
receives  the  offerings  by  proxy. 
The  worshipper  first  pours  over 
it  the  scented  water  purchased 
outside,  and  then  dabs  the  little 
square  of  gold-leaf  on  it.  It 
does  not  matter  where — the  head, 
or  back,  or  chest,  all  seem  to  be , 
equally  eligible  for  the  honour. 
In  front  of  the  statue  is  a  bar  of 
iron,  with  spikes  in  it,  and  the 
candles  are  lighted  and  stuck  on 
the  spikes.  The  joss-sticks  are 
likewise  lighted,  and  placed  in  a 
bowl  of  sand,  where  they  gradu- 
ally smoulder  away,  making  the 
atmosphere  heavy  with  their  per- 
fumed incense. 

The  pouring  of  water  on  the 
idol  is  only  part  of  a  general 
laving  that  goes  on  all  over  the 
country  on  this  occasion.  All 
the  younger  members  of 
Siamese  families  call  on  the 
oldest,  and  pupils  on  their 
teachers,  taking  with  them 
in  the  shape  of  new  suits  of 
clothes.  The  reason  for  these  offerings  is 
obvious  from  the  purpose  of  the  visit.  The 
visitors  have  with  them  a  quantity  of  water 
which  has  been  consecrated  by  a  priest,  and  the 
whole  of  this  is  poured  over  the  person  whose 
age  entitles  him  or  her  to  the  distinction. 
Having  thus  spoilt  the  clothes  worn  at  the  time, 
it  is  but  right  that  a  fresh  suit  should  be 
forthcoming. 

But  in  the  streets  a  different  kind  of  washing 
is  going  on.  The  holiday-makers  turn  out  in 
their  best  as  a  rule,  but  they  have  to  be  on  the 
alert  if  they  would  preserve  the  stiffness  of 
their  laboriously  starched  and  highly  polished 
finery.  At  every  corner  there  will  be  lurking 
groups  of  people  supplied  with  an  abundance 
of  water  not  always  of  the  cleanest,  and 
armed  with  squirts  of  varying  propulsive  powers. 
Surely,  a  development  m  excehis  of  the 
abominable  ladies'  tormentors  of  Hampstead 
Heath  !  It  is  all  done  in  the  best  of  humour,, 
of  course,  but  is  none  the  less  wetting, 
for  that.  One  is  likely  at  any  moment  to  get 
a   douche,    and    bad-tempered    indeed    would 


Con  TAI.MN'; 

\_Photo. 


offerings 


A   "BANK    HOLIDAY"   IN   BANGKOK. 


281 


the  person  be  thought  who  resented  it  on  this 
the  first  day  of  the  )ear.  In  their  homes,  this 
rougher  play  is  varied  by  the  throwing  of  scent, 
and  enormous  must  be  the  sums  of  money 
spent  at  this  season  on  Parisian  and  Enghsh 
perfumes  by  the  well-to-do  Siamese. 

Another  remarkable  custom  is  that  illustrated 
in  the  next  photograph.  This  represents  the 
grounds  of  a  temple  which  have  been  thickly 
covered  by  small  dagobas  of  sand.  The  build- 
ing of  a  dagoba  is  alwavs  a  verv  meritorious 
action,  but  the  poorer  people  have  not  the 
wherewithal  to  erect  so  costly  a  structure. 
Nearly  all  ha\e 
boats,  however. 
And  so  they 
travel  up  the 
river,  away  from 
the  eternal  clay 
of  the  lower  part, 
to  where  they 
can,  by  diving, 
bring  up  sand 
from  the  bed 
of  the  stream. 
This  sand  they 
take  down  to 
the  capital  and 
empty  into  the 
grounds  of  the 
temple.  Then 
on  New  Year's 
Day  they  set  to 
vork  to  build  it 
up  into  dagobas. 
They  first  make 
their  offerings 
of  food  or  betel 
lO  the  priests, 
then  sprinkle 
the  idols  in  the 
temple,  and, 
finally,  repair  to 

the  grounds.  The  great  aim  is  to  make  among 
them  84,000  dagobas  during  the  day — that 
being  a  specially  sacred  number,  the  attainment 
of  which  is  believed  to  be  a  most  meritorious 
work  for  the  attainment  of  individual  or  collec- 
tive happiness.  But  think  of  a  whole  city  cart- 
ing sand  into  a  holy  place,  and  then  setting  to 
work  earnestly  to  build  little  temples  with  it, 
against  time,  so  to  speak  ! 

The  sand  is  first  sprinkled  with  scented  water, 
and  then  allowed  to  trickle  through  a  funnel  so 
as  to  assume  the  mound  shape.  As  each  is 
completed  it  is  surmounted  with  paper  flags 
fastened  to  white  sticks  a  foot  or  so  long,  as 
seen  in  the  photograph.  Sometimes  the  workers 
surround  each  dagoba  with  a  railing  of  sticks 

Vol.  iii.— 36. 


THE   POOR,    UNABLE   TO   BUILD    DAGOBAS,    ERECT    NUMEROUS   GAILY 
From  a\  DECORATED   SAND-HEAPS.  [P/toto. 


and  paper,  and  expend  some  ingenuity  in 
decorating  the  mound  of  sand  with  such  primi- 
tive means  as  may  be  at  their  disposal.  At  the 
.same  time  a  great  number  of  good-natured  jokes 
are  played  off,  the  throwing  of  the  scented 
water  on  each  other  taking  place  quite  as 
frequently  as  on  the  mounds  themselves  ; 
so  that  this  sacred  duty  imposes  no  undue 
gravity  on  this  light-hearted  people,  but  is 
accompanied  by  shouts  of  happy  laughter  and 
many  a  jest.  The  photograph  dei)icts  an 
ordinary  temple  such  as  might  compare  with  a 
simple   village  church  with   us.       It   is  a  very 

plain  building, 
just  showing  to 
the  right.  At 
each  corner  is 
a  brick  stand 
of  ornamental 
construction, 
upon  which  is 
placed  a  stone 
cut  in  the  shape 
of  a  .Gothic 
arch,  only 
slightly  narrower 
at  the  base  than- 
at  the  arch,  with 
a  hole  through 
it.  The  grounds 
round  the  build- 
ing are  left  bare, 
and  it  is  here 
where  the  sand 
dagobas  are 
m  a  d  e  .  T  h  e 
fence  round  the 
grounds  is  a 
temporary  affair, 
and  will  be 
removed  after 
the  festival.  On 
the  left  is  a 
real  dagoba,  with  some  cast-off  robes  of  some 
priest  wTapped  round  it.  For  the  robes  are 
sacred,  and  may  not  be  put  to  any  profane 
purpose  or  destroyed.  So  the  practice  is,  when 
they  become  quite  useless,  to  wrap  them  round 
either  a  dagoba  or  a  sacred  />o  tree,  and  let  the 
weather  do  the  rest. 

The  buildings  surrounding  the  grounds  are 
the  houses  of  the  priests — or  monks  would  be 
the  more  correct  term.  A  larger  building, 
hidden  from  sight  by  the  temple,  is  the  school 
and  preaching-house,  without  which  no  temple 
establishment  would  be  complete.  The  high 
platform  so  conspicuous  in  the  picture  is  for 
any  of  the  monks  to  retire  to  for  meditation, 
should  they  so  desire. 


By  D.   H.   Holte. 

An  early  South    African    pioneer    tells    of  a  remarkable  adventure  which  befell  him.     The  two    white 
outlaws  ;  the  strange  community  of  bushmen  living  in  a  cave  ;  the  convenient    cure,  and  the  prestige 

it  brought;  and  finally  the  escape,  pursuit,  and  triumph. 

no  sound  but  the  hard  breathing  of  my  jaded 
steed  and  a  murmuring  river,  which  sounded 
as  if  it  were  some  hundreds  of  feet  below 
me.  I  waited  and  Hstened  in  vain  for 
any  signs  of  my  lost  friends,  fired  off  my  gun 
again  and  again,  but  no  response  reached  my 
ear  save  the  echo  from  the 
high  precipices  of  the  black 
mountains  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river.  The  darkness 
of  that  evening  came  on 
like  a  huge  pall  thrown  over 
me  :  almost  immediately  the 
sun  disappeared  behind  the 
berg.  Well,  there  was  noth- 
ing for  it  but  to  jump  off 
my  jaded  nag,  take  off  the 
saddle,  and  hold  him  by  the 
bridle  until  the  moon  rose, 
which  it  did,  being  nearly  full, 
about  an  hour  after  darkness 
set  in.  It  was  winter,  so  there 
was  little  fear  of  rain  in  those 
parts  ;  but  the  cold  wind, 
which  blew  steadily  from  the 
berg,  soon  obliged  me  to  seek 


ORTY-FIVE  years  ago  the  frontier 
farmers  living  near  the  Drakensberg 
range  of  mountains  were  troubled 
occasionally  with  raids  made  by 
bushmen,    who   lived    in    the   caves 

and  deep  kloofs  of  those  wild  regions.      Being 

one  of  a  p.'irty  of  farmers  fol- 
lowing on   the   trail   or   spoor, 

as  it  is  called  in  South  Africa, 

of  these  wily  thieves,  I  found 

myself  one  day  quite  separated 

from  my  friends,  having  fallen 

upon  the  track  of  a  troop  of 

elands,  whose  foot-steps  I  had 

mistaken    for    the    lost   cattle. 

At   that   time  I   was    a   young 

colonist,  and  not  an  expert  in 

judging  footprints.    So  excited 

had    I    become    in   the   chase 

that    I    had    ridden    ahead   of 

the    party,     so    that    when     I 

entered    into    the     broken 

ground    and    ravines     I    was 

lost  to  view,   and  in   half  an 

hour's     time      found      myself 

alone      in      the     dark,     with 


THE   AUTHOR,    MR.    D.    H.    HOLTE,    WHO    FELL 
INTO   THE    HANDS   OF    THE    HUSHMEN. 

From  a  Photo,  by  T.  Pope,  Birmingham. 


CAPTURED    BY    BUSHMEN. 


2?.S 


shelter  lower  down  the  valley,  whither  I  led 
my  horse.  I  had  been  told  there  were  no 
inhabitants  of  those  parts  but  bushmen,  the 
Kaffirs  and  Zulus  not  daring  to  live  near  the 
stealthy  little  men  of  the  caves,  -whose  poisoned 
arrows  would  tly  from  a  tuft  of  grass  hardly  big 
enough  to  hide  a  hare. 

The  cold  wind  drove  me  stumbling  over  the 
broken  ground  until  the  sound  of  the  river 
came  closer  and  closer — a  weird  sort  of  sound 
that  seemed  to  tell  you  how  dreadfully  silent 
was  that  deep  valley,  where  nothing  else  was 
heard  but  its  own  present  tale  of  solitude. 

At  last  I  found  an  overhanging  ledge  of  rock, 
behind  which  I  sought  shelter  from  the  cutting 
wind.  I  determined  to  knee-halter  my  horse, 
and  let  him  have  a  feed  of  grass.  This  done, 
I  opened  my  saddle-bags,  took  a  pull  at  my 
flask,  and  munched 
at  some  Captain's 
biscuits  which  I  had 
fortunately  provided 
for  emergencies. 
The  provisions  had 
been  following  us 
on  two  horses  led 
by  Kaffirs.  Every 
colonist  going  a  trip 
like  this  takes  care 
to  have  matches,  a 
good  flint  and  fusee, 
a  rug,  a  waterproof 
coat,  and  enough 
food  and  grog  to 
last  for  a  day  or  two. 
A  Good  Templar 
would,  of  course, 
dispense  with  stimu- 
lants, but  that  even- 
ing, much  as  I  re- 
spect temperance 
principles,  I  felt  glad 
I  had  my  flask  full 
of  good  brandy.  I 
must  not  forget 
another  most  im- 
portant requisite  to 
me  at  that  time  — 
my  cherry-wood 
pipe.  As  I  sat  under 
the  ledge  of  rocks, 
keeping  a  strict 
watch  on  my  horse, 

and  with  my  loaded  double  Westley-Richards 
across  my  knee,  I  felt  as  if  I  had  found  a 
companion  in  my  pipe  which  made  up  some- 
what for  the  loss  of  my  friends.  I  was 
hungry,  but  I  had  nothing  to  cook  :  two 
pieces    of    biltong    (dried     meat)    were    soon 


TWO    ROUGH-LOOKINf;    MEN    CAME   ALONUSIOE. 


disposed  of.  I  felt  tired  and  sleepy.  "  Dare 
I  venture  to  sleep  ? "  was  the  sudden  sug- 
gestion that  came  into  my  mind.  "  May  not  the 
little  men  have  been  watching  me,  and  waiting 
till  1  lie  down  to  drive  a  poisoned  barb  into  me 
and  then  walk  off  with  my  horse  ?  Or,  at  least, 
if  they  spare  my  life — which  is  not  probable — 
will  they  not  have  my  horse  and  gun  ? "  I 
brought  up  my  nag,  fastening  the  rein  well 
round  his  neck,  and  then  I  tied  the  other  end 
round  my  arm,  and  sat  with  my  back  up  against 
the  rock,  the  gun  behind  me,  the  rug  round  me, 
and  generally  prepared  to  have  a  nap  at  all 
risks.  I  had  tried  to  keep  awake,  and  smoked 
[)ipe  after  pipe,  but  that  murmuring  river  down 
there  seemed  to  soothe  me  to  rest.  I  felt  I 
must  go  off,  no  matter  what  happened.  My 
horse  was  very  quiet,  hanging  his  head  down, 
and  he  seemed  well  gone  in  a  doze  him- 
self, so  quiet  was  he.     While  brooding  on 

my  surroundings  I 
must  have  fallen 
asleep  and  slept 
soundly  for  five  or 
six  hours. 

I  was  awoke  by 
a  sudden  sensation 
of  being  dragged — 
and  so  it  was.  My 
horse  had  started 
back,  seeing  and 
hearing  something, 
and  had  pulled  me 
off  my  seat.  I  was 
on  my  feet  in  a 
moment  with  the 
rein  untied,  and  my 
gun  ready  for  a  sur- 
prise. The  morn- 
ing light  was  spread- 
ing 011  the  tops  of 
the  mountain  peaks, 
but  the  valley  below 
was  dark  as  night. 
1  heard  a  noise  of 
Ijreaking  branches, 
and  looked  above 
the  krantz  under 
which  I  had  been 
resting,  when  a  voice 
called  out,  in  good 
English,  "  Put  down 
those  firearms  ;  we 
And,  a  few  seconds  later,  two 
but  smiling-faced  men  came 
alongside,  giving  me  a  rough  grasp  of  the 
hand,  and  saying,  "  Good-morning,  hope  you 
had  a  good  sleep.  But  why  didn't  you 
come   across   to    our    crib  ?      Didn't    you   see 


are  friends." 
rouiih-lookintc 


284 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


the  blaze  we  made  across  the  river  there,  to 
attract  your  attention  ?  We  should  have  come 
over  for  you,  but  thought  you  might  all  of  a 
sudden-like  be  letting  off  that  shooter  of  yours, 
which  you  were  firing  away  enough  to  frighten 
away  all  the  bushmen  and  baboons  under  the 
berg." 

Without  giving  me  time  for  explanations,  pro- 
testations, or  inquiries,  my  horse  was  saddled 
up,  and  I  was  told  to  mount  and  follow,  one  of 
the  men  taking  possession  of  my  gun  and  walk- 
ing behind  my  horse,  while  the  other,  holding 
the  rein,  led  the  way  down  the  steep  descent  to 
the  river.  What  did  it  all  mean  ?  I  wondered. 
What  could  these  Englishmen  be  doing  in  these 
wild  parts,  a  hundred  miles  away  from  the 
nearest  frontier  settlement  ?  I  never  heard  of 
any  white  men  being  here.  I  was  turning  these 
things  over  in  my  mind,  when  we  arrived  at  the 
banks  of  the  river,  now  barely  3ft.  deep,  it  being 
the  dry  season  ;  but  by  the  marks  of  the  floods 
I  could  see  that  in  summer  it  must  be  30ft.  or 
40ft.  deep  at  times  of  great  rainfalls  in  the 
Drakensberg. 

"Will  you  kindly  tell  me/'  I  said,  "if  you 
have  seen  my  friends  who  came  along  with  me 
last  evening,  and  of  whom  I  lost  sight  over  the 
hills  there?" 

•'  Your  friends,  eh  ?  Then  there  are  some 
more  white  faces  about  ? "  said  the  leader. 
"And  so  you  got  lost,  did  you?  How  lucky 
for  you  we  found  you,  or  those  little  skin- 
prickers  would  have  woke  you  up  ere  now,  I'll 
warrant.  Why,  man,  they  can  spy  out  a  rock 
rabbit  in  the  mountains  of  the  moon,  they  can." 

"  But  that  is  not  an  answer  to  my  question,"  I 
said. 

"  We  have  not  seen  the  other  men,"  said  the 
man  behind  ;  "  but  if  they  crossed  this  river  last 
night  lower  down,  more  than  one  of  them,  I 
expect,  would  stay  there." 

"They  never  crossed  the  river,  you  may 
depend  ;  it  would  be  dark  before  they  got  half- 
way down  the  valley,"  said  the  leader  ;  having 
said  which  he  fastened  the  rein  he  had  held 
round  my  horse's  neck,  remarking  : — 

"  There  are  some  nasty  holes  in  the  crossing 
of  that  drift,  so  I  will  lead  the  way  over.  Now 
you  can  follow  me,  and  I  will  take  you  to  a 
breakfast  of  bushbuck  and  stewed  partridges." 

We  went  along  silently,  the  mists  rising  out 
of  the  valley  and  ascending  the  mountain-sides. 
The  sun  now  began  pouring  his  warm  light 
upon  us,  and  the  beauties  of  the  valley  came  to 
me  as  a  pleasant  surprise.  For  some  consider- 
able distance  we  passed  along  the  edge  of  a 
forest  of  yellow-wood  and  black-and-white  iron 
woods,  as  well  as  rough-barked  assegai  woods. 

"Fine  timber  trees  here,"  I  said. 


"Yes,  if  there  was  a  market  near  at  hand," 
said  the  leader. 

"  They  look  better  where  they  are  than  made 
into  boards,"  said  the  other,  evidently  an 
admirer  of  Nature.  We  made  a  sudden  bend 
through  a  neck  of  land  and  round  a  steep,  bare 
rock  which  seemed  a  thousand  feet  high,  ana 
immediately  one  of  the  most  beautiful  little 
valleys  opened  up  before  us  which  I  had  ever 
seen.  There  was  a  small  lake  in  the  centre, 
and  huge  forests  clothed  the  steep  slopes  down 
to  the  water's  edge.  Only  one  patch  of  green 
pasturage  appeared,  on  which  a  number  of 
horned  cattle  and  sheep  were  grazing.  The 
smoke  of  a  fire  arose  under  a  projecting  rock, 
near  which  we  could  perceive  some  moving 
objects.  The  two  white  men  began  speaking  kj 
a  language  with  a  large  vocabulary  of  clicks ;  a 
few  words  of  Zulu,  however,  I  recognised  now 
and  again,  and  so  supposed  they  were  speaking 
the  Suto  dialect.  We  now  entered  a  cattle 
track  leading  round  the  northern  end  of  the  lake, 
when  the  leader  suddenly  gave  a  shrill  whistle, 
and  in  a  moment  up  sprang  from  behind  a  rock 
half-a-dozen  little  men  with  bows  and  arrows,  a 
skin  rug  thrown  lightly  across  their  waists, 
depending  from  a  band  round  their  necks. 

"  Bushmen,"  I  remarked,  laconically. 

"  Yes  ;  they  are  not  baboons,  although  there 
are  plenty  of  them  hereabouts,  and  as  big  as 
bushmen,  too,  some  of  them." 

"  Bigger,"  chimed  in  the  man  behind.  I  could 
now  hear  the  bushmen  talking  in  a  gibberish 
sounding  like  the  clacking  of  hens,  turkey  cocks, 
and  a  jabbering  Hottentot  drunk  with  hemp 
"  smoke." 

"  Krijac."  called  out  the  leader,  and  in  a 
moment  the  tallest  of  the  little  men  came  running 
up  to  us. 

A  conversation  now  commenced,  but  I  could 
tell  it  was  not  the  same  language  as  that  spoken 
by  the  bushmen.  By  their  pointing  in  the 
direction  we  had  come,  I  concluded  they  were 
referring  to  the  friends  I  had  lost.  We  walked 
on  and  came  up  to  the  overhanging  ledge  of  rock, 
from  which  issued  smoke.  Here  we  came  to  a 
stand. 

"  Now,"  said  my  white  "  keeper,"  "  if  you  will 
dismount  I  will  see  about  breakfast.  If  you  are 
as  hungry  as  I  am  you  will  enjoy  it.  This  way," 
he  added,  pointing  to  an  opening  in  the  rock  ; 
"  this  is  the  door  to  our  mountain  home.  Keep 
quiet,  and  do  not  appear  in  the  least  surprised. 
Seem  at  home,  if  you  can  ;  your  horse  and  gun 
will  be  quite  safe  with  us." 

I  at  once  recognised  by  the  pictures  of 
animals — game  of  all  kinds,  buffaloes,  rhino- 
ceroses, elephants,  and  some  birds,  all  wonder- 
fully well  painted  with  red  and  blue  and  white 


CAPTURED    BY    BUSHMEN. 


285 


ochie — that  I  was  in  orte  of  the  real  bushmen's 
caves,  which  I  had  so  often  read  about  and 
wished  to  see.  It  was  some  20ft.  or  3ott. 
square  and  very  high.  At  one  end  appeared  a 
passage,  probably  leading  to  other  caves  farther 
in  the  mountain  ;  but  I  remembered  I  had 
been  told  not  to  be  inquisitive,  so  I  only  gave  a 
passing  glance  around.  A  low  whistle  brought 
out  of  this  passage  a  small,  brown-skinned 
woman — it  might  even  have  been  a  girl,  so  small 
of  stature  was  she.  The  light  was  but  dim 
which  came  from  the  crackling  fire,  over  which 
stood  a  steaming  pot  of  savoury-smelling  food. 
The  woman  stood  as  if  in  fear  of  me,  but  soon 
assumed  a  more  assured  aspect  on  being  spoken 
to  by  one  of  the  white  men.  Preparation  was 
made  for  our  meal  :  a 
huge,   grass -plaited  mat 


round  her  neck  made  from  variously  coloured 
berries,  with  charms  of  small  snake-bones  and 
bits  of  bark.  She  had  a  large  head  for  her  small 
body,  covered  with  crisp  little  black  curls ;  a 
flat  nose  and  huge  cheek-bones,  with  a  set  of 
very  perfect  white  teeth  that  shone  like  pearls  in 
the  dim  light. 

"  Mulacaca  "  (click,  click),  said  Burne,  one  of 
the  white  men  whose  name  I  now  heard,  and 
the  dishes  were  cleared  off.  "  Kicnakala  " — or 
something  very  near  that  expression— and  the 
woman  brought  us  in  a  large  assortment  of  wild 
fruits  and  herbs,  besides  some  bulbs,  which  the 
white  men  relished,  but  which  I  could  not  eat.  I 
had  eaten  my  fill,  and  now  wanted  to  find  out 
what  all    this   meant  —  my  detention,  and  the 

cool  manner  of  authority 
which  my  captors  assumed 
over  me.     I  felt  from  the 


was  spread  on  the  floor ;  calabash  cups  and 
dishes  were  laid  before  us,  with  wooden  prongs 
and  hard,  wooden  blades  in  the  place  of  knives 
and  forks.  Horn  spoons,  curiously  carved, 
were  also  provided.  I  was  ravenously  hungry, 
and  soon  set  to,  for  the  meat  was  excellent  and 
the  table-ware  clean,  if  odd.  The  little  brown- 
skinned  woman  of  some  4ft.  stood  near  to 
help  us,  now  and  again  casting  a  glance  at 
me  and  as  suddenly  withdrawing  it  when  I 
caught  her  furtive  eyes.  She  had  a  buck-skin  tied 
loosely  round  her  loins,  and  a  profusion  of  beads 


first  I  was  in  their  hands  and  at  their  mercy, 
so  I  must  use  every  precaution  for  my  safety, 
and  take  things  as  coolly  as  I  well  could. 
To  attempt  to  run  away  would,  I  knew,  be 
simply  impossible,  even  if  I  could  find  my 
way  in  that  fearfully  broken  country.  The 
bushmen  would  track  me  through  the  grass 
and  the  bush  much  faster  then  I  could  go,  even 
if  1  had  a  clear  lead  of  some  hours.  I  must 
temporize,  lead  the  white  men  into  conversation, 
and  try  and  find  out  their  history.  From  the 
very  first  I  felt  sure  they  were  deserters  from  the 


286 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


English  Army,  hundreds  of  whom  were  said  to  be 
hiding  about  the  wild  places  of  South  Africa  at 
that  time,  many  living  an  outlaw's  life  with 
tribes,  and  generally  no  better  than  the  Kaffirs 
themselves.  But  how  had  these  men  come  to 
live  with  bushmen  and  a  few  Basutos  ?  I 
recognised  a  Suto  sitting  on  the  greensward 
outside,  twice  the  stature  of  bushmen.  Were 
all  these  people  a  mere  clan  of  thieves  ?  Yes, 
I  soon  satisfied  myself  on  that  point.  After 
breakfast  I  brought  out  my  pipe,  and  the  two 
white  men  got  theirs.  They  smoked  hemp,  by 
the  way  (like  the  Hottentots),  through  a  horn, 
with  a  bowl  of  water  in  a  cavity  of  the  pipe  to 
clarify  the  smoke,  which  is  drawn  through  the 
water.  Soon  they  became  talkative.  One 
bared  his  arms,  which  were  well  tattooed. 

"  Been  in  the  Navy  ?  "  I  ventured  to  remark. 

Burne,  the  other  man,  smiled. 

"  You  have  it,"  he  said. 

"And  you,"  I  said,  looking  at  the  second 
man,  "are  an  old  Forty-Fifth  man — a  brave 
Grenadier  ?  "  making  a  bold  guess.  He  laid  down 
his  pipe  and  fairly  shook  himself  with  laughter. 

"  WtW,  young  'un,  that's  nearer  the  truth 
than  thy  horse  is  to  his  own  stable,  I  do  admit." 

"  I  know  some  old  Forty-Fifth  men,"  I  said, 
when  his  pipe  was  again  in  full  retort. 

"  You  do,  eh  ?  "  said  he.  "  Then  .  tell  me  the 
names,  and  if  you  will  do  me 
a  good  turn,  blest  if  we  will 
not  do  you  one — there,  now." 
His  pipe  was  put  on  the  cave 
rack,  and  I  was  put  on  my 
mettle  on  the  instant. 

"  Now  for  liberty,"  thought 
I.  "  You  must  have  de- 
serted," I  said,  "  at  the 
Basuto  War,  under  Sir  Harry 
Smith.  Was  it  at  Taba 
Bosiga,  or  at  J5oom  Plaats  ?  " 
I  cunningly  suggested.  This 
seemed  to  satisfy  them. 

"  The  devil's  in  him,"  said 
one,    looking    at   the    other. 
"  Why,  that's  ten  or  fifteen 
years  ago,  I'll  go  hang  if  it 
isn't ;  but  we've  lost  count." 

"What  year  is  this?" 
said  the  Grenadier — 
"  never  mind  the  month 
or  the  day.  It  is  some- 
where about  June,  I  know 
by  the  season." 

I  told  him.  They  began 
to  reckon  up  on  their 
digits,  but  were  some 
minutes  before  coming  to 
a  conclusion. 


At  last  the  Grenadier  said  :— 

"  Now,  let  me  guess.  You  came  ovit  after 
bushmen,  to  shoot  them  if  you  came  across 
them.  You  followed,  or  tried  to  follow,  on  the 
spoor  of  the  stolen  horses  and  other  cattle  ;  you 
got  lost  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  bushmen, 
and  would  have  been  killed  had  we  not  come  to 
watch  over  you.  So  your  life  is  ours,  and  you 
will  have  to  redeem  it  at  our  price.  Let  me  tell 
you  your  friends  have  gone  back — one  wounded. 
The  Kaflir  boys  with  the  led  horses  are  in  the 
hands  of  our  neighbours,  arid  we  will  have  the 
kit  up  here  before  sunset,  as  we  are  thirsty  and 
want  a  draught  of  the  old  canteen  once  more." 

"  A  long  speech  makes  a  parched  mouth — 
here," I  said, "  have  a  pull" — holding  out  my  flask. 

"  Not  a  bad  sort,"  said  the  marine.  They 
had  a  pull  and  finished  the  lot. 

"Now,"  said  the  Grenadier,  "we  will  get  to 
business.  Name  your  friends  of  the  old  Forty- 
Fifth." 

I  gave  the  names  of  three  retired  men  who 
were  pensioned  and  settled  not  120  miles  away. 

"  Describe  each  of  them,"  said  he,  suspiciously. 

I  described  one,  which  .seemed  to  tickle  his 
fancy. 

"  That  is  Pat  Laggard,"  said  he ;  "  he  has  a 
short  step  from  a  cut  he  got.  If  I  am  right,  he 
also   has    a  tattoo-mark   like  this " — baring    his 


ALSO    HAS   A   TATTOO    MARK    I.IKE   THIS. 


CAPTURED    BY    BUSHMEN. 


iS7 


arm — "  three  flags,  a  skull,  and  cross-swords  on 
his  left  arm.  We  were  tattooed  at  the  same 
time  by  Harry  King,  the  bragging  corporal  ; 
there  is  no  man  in  the  British  Army  1  would 
sooner  trust  than  laggard.  Now  I  feel  easier  : 
you  can  save  us— but  more  by-and-by.  In  the 
meantime  you  must  remain  here;  if  you  move 
a  step  towards  escaping  your  life  would  not  be 
worth  an  hour's  purchase.  You  can  move  about 
outside,  but  do  not  go  fifty  yards  away  alone. 
If  you  are  fond  of  fishing  you  can  have  a  rod 
and  go  down  to  the  lake.  A  boy  will  accom- 
pany you.  You  need  not  think  anyone  can 
rescue  you  out  of  this  valley.  All  round  is  a 
precipice  500ft.  deep.  There  is  only  one  way 
out — round  the  track  we  came  by,  and  fifty  men 
could  defend  it  against  a  thousand.  A  guard  of 
little  men  is  always  posted  there  or  near;  but  " 
— and  this  he  whispered  in  my  ear — "  we  know 
another  way  out,  and  you  will  have  to  go  that 
way  if  you  are  to  escape  alive.  Be  quiet  and 
docile  ;  we  will  talk  more  to-morrow." 

I  felt  I  should  like  to  have  another  nap,  and 
so  I  laid  myself  on  a  long  mat,  wrapped  myself 
in  my  rug,  and  was  soon  fast  asleep.  I  must 
have  slept  the  day  out,  for  when  I  woke  up  I 
found  the  whole  cave  alight  with  torches,  and  a 
huge  fire  of  logs  in  the  centre.  In  and  out  of 
the  cave  came  what  appeared  to  me  to  be  boys 
and  girls  painted  all  over  their  naked  bodies — 
some  striped  like  zebras  and  tigers,  and  some 
with  patches  of  red  and  white,  their  faces 
marked  so  as  to  give  them  a  savage  and  blood- 
thirsty appearance.  In  they  came  at  the  open- 
ing, and  passed  on  to  the  black  passage  in  rapid 
succession,  silent  and  noticing  nothing.  What 
did  it  all  mean?  I  could  not  guess.  I  had 
not  long  to  wait,  however,  before  the  sound  of 
drums  and  stringed  instruments  came  as  if  out 
of  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  A  low  chant  was 
struck  up  ;  nearer  and  nearer  it  came  from  the 
direction  of  the  dark  passage,  and  then  there 
entered  the  first  pair  of  singers,  who  were 
followed  by  odiers,  filing  round  the  cave,  so 
that  I  had  to  get  up  and  stand  against  the  solid 
walls  to  make  room  for  them.  They  were  far 
too  intent  on  their  part  of  the  play  or  dance  to 
take  any  notice  of  me.  The  singing,  if  such  it 
could  be  called,  was  a  continued  clicking  and 
clacking  ;  but  when  dancing  commenced  there 
was  more  life  and,  what  appeared  to  me,  more 
ferocity  in  their  movements.  What  singular  con- 
tortions they  made  with  their  bodies,  and  how 
the  little  fellows  jumped  about  as  if  flying  upon 
game,  then  discharging  arrows  and  following 
with  a  dash  through  the  ranks,  springing  high 
as  though  after  a  bird  or  rolling  on  the  floor 
and  tying  themselves  in  a  knot  no  bigger  than  a 
football. 


The  chants  at  times  seemed  to  have  a 
little  melody,  but  altogether  the  exhibition  to 
me  was  tiresome  and  loathsome.  There  were 
some  biggish  men  and  women  amongst  them, 
whom  I  guessed  to  be  Basutos.  Their  singing 
was  more  guttural — like  the  Zulus — a  deep, 
murmuring  cadence  with  a  sort  of  grunting 
chorus  and  stamping  of  feet  to  the  time  of  the 
piece.  The  cave  became  intensely  hot,  and  the 
people  weltered  in  perspiration,  which  literally 
streamed  off  their  bodies  on  to  the  floor.  I 
should  have  been  glad  to  have  gone  outside, 
but  my  white  captors  were  not  to  be  seen,  and 
I  began  to  be  anxious  when  the  evening  became 
far  spent  and  I  saw  them  not. 

About  ten  o'clock,  however,  there  came 
a  whistling  signal  from  the  outside,  and  in 
an  instant  everyone  dropped  on  the  floor 
in  silence.  Then,  led  by  reins  round  their 
necks  came  in  the  two  Kaffirs,  who  had 
been  following  my  party  with  provisions ; 
and  at  a  signal  up  jumped  the  bushmen 
with  their  pointed  arrows.  They  rushed  upon 
the  poor  stupefied  Kaffirs  as  though  they 
would  have  stabbed  them,  but  stopped  short 
when  their  arrows  were  a  few  inches  away  from 
the  victims.  There  was  next  a  dance  round  the 
captives,  the  bushmen  making  occasional  rushes 
towards  them.  I'his  lasted  for  an  hour  or  more, 
when  in  answer  to  a  call  from  the  head  bush- 
man,  all  sat  down  to  eat  meat,  during  which  a 
lively  conversation  was  carried  on  with  two  or 
three  of  what  appeared  to  be  the  leading  men  ; 
the  two  white  men  taking  no  part  in  the  di.s- 
cussion. 

\\'hile  this  was  going  on,  I  was  called  out  by 
the  Grenadier,  who  conducted  me  to  a  hut 
similar  to  a  Kaffir  hut,  only  larger  and  of  oval 
shaoe. 

"This  is  bur  bedroom  and  kitchen.  You 
mu.st  be  hungry,"  said  he  ;  and  so  I  was.  I 
then  had  a  good  feed  of  hot  venison  and  sweet 
potatoes  or  yams,  stewed  together,  which  would 
have  been  palatable  enough  had  there  been 
more  salt  and  some  pepper  present. 

"  To-morrow  there  is  a  hunt.  You  must  go. 
While  out,  I  will  try  and  converse  with  you 
when  not  noticed,  as  you  see  here  we  are 
watched  and  must  be  careful." 

Another  night  in  the  cave,  sleeping  on  my 
mat  and  rug.  Morning  was  well  advanced 
when  I  was  called  outside,  and  found  a  large 
party  of  bushmen  ready  for  the  chase.  I  had  a 
hasty  meal,  and  followed  after  in  company  with 
the  marine  and  two  Sutos.  My  gun  was  handed 
to  me,  with  the  ammunition  I  had. 

"  Don't  waste  your  powder,"  whispered  the 
former.  "  You  may  want  it  to-morrow  or  next 
day  ! " 


288 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


THEY   KUSHEU    UTON    'lllli   POOR    STt'PEFIED    KAFFIKS    Ai    11IJi;GlI    TO    STAli   THEM. 


I  was  fortunate  in  bringing  down  a  fine  buck 
at  my  first  shot,  which  the  two  captive  Kaffirs 
were  called  upon  to  carry  away  to  the  caves.  I 
never  expected  to  see  them  alive  after  the 
previous  night's  exhibition  of  the  bushmen's 
malice  towards  them.  I  was  told  they  were 
being  kept  for  a  great  occasion  at  the  new 
moon.  I  was  hoping  to  be  able  to  save  them, 
and  at  last,  when  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
hearing  the  Grenadier's  proposition,  I  urged 
him  to  let  the  poor  fellows  share  my  perils. 

The  bushmen  showed  great  expertness  in 
trapping  game  and  killing  at  twenty  or  thirty 
paces,  creeping  through  the  long  grass  like 
snakes,  and  making  themselves  appear  like  bucks 
by  putting  on  skins  with  the  horns  of  dead 
game,  thus  stealthily  approaching  their  prey, 
imitating  the  cry  of  monkeys  and  wild  animals 
to  perfection.  Had  this  been  a  mere  exhibition 
of  their  skill  for  my  amusement  I  should  have 
felt  more  interest  in  it ;  but  I  was  a  prisoner  in 
the  hands  of  cruel  savages,  who  cared  not  one 
iota  what  pain  or  suffering  they  inflicted  upon 
their  victims.  They  seemed  to  gloat  over  the 
cries  of  pain  of  the  animals.  What  would  they 
not  do  with  their  human  enemies  ?  There  was 
a  great  drive  of  game  through  a  small  forest,  and 
here,  in  the  excitement  of  the  chase,  the 
Grenadier  and  I  got  separated  from  the  rest. 


"  Now,"  he  said,  "  mind  what  I  say.  You  go 
out  fishing  to-morrow  in  the  lake.  Follow  the 
edge  of  the  lake  to  the  left.  You  will  be  followed 
and  accompanied  by  the  little  woman  who 
waited  upon  us  the  first  night.  You  will  be 
surprised  to  hear  her  speak  a  little  English. 
She  is  a  captive  like  you,  but  has  been  here  so 
long  that  no  one  suspects  her  of  treason.  She 
is  a  bastard  Hottentot  or  bushwoman,  and  has 
been  here  several  years,  but  I  cannot  tell  her 
story  now.  She  will  help  us  all  to  get  away. 
We  mean,  if  we  can,  to  escape  with  you  ;  if  we 
cannot,  you  will,  I  think,  be  free  with  her  or 
without  her.  I  have  told  the  bushmen  you  are 
a  magician — a  sorcerer  amongst  whites,  and  a 
doctor.  If  there  is  any  chance  of  showing  your 
skill  in  any  way  without  exciting  su.spicion,  do 
so.  Now,  go  along  with  the  woman  until  you 
come  to  a  projecting  rock  where  the  waters  of 
the  lake  disappear  as  if  under  the  bowels  of  the 
earth.  She  will  look  carefully  about  for  spies. 
You  will  be  shown  a  water-worn  passage  under 
the  rocks  :  follow  it  without  fear  until  she  bids 
you  return.  Catch  some  fish,  and  bring  them 
back  with  you.      I  will  .say  more  to-night." 

We  returned  at  noon  from  our  expedition, 
with  a  fine  lot  of  wild  game,  and  great  feasting 
and  dancing  took  place  again.  One  of  the 
children  had  got  bitten  by  a  snake,  when  caper- 


CAPTURED    BY    BUSHMEN. 


289 


ing  on  tlie  rocks,  and  all  at  once  it  struck  me 
that  I  had  my  bottle  of  eau-de-hice  with  me, 
which  most  Colonists  carried  as  an  antidote.  I 
immediately  applied  some  to  the  wound,  and  gave 
a  portion  occasionally  to  be  drunk  in  a  little  cold 
water,  the  bushmen  looking  on  with  superstitious 


here   again  ;    so   good-night,   sleep  well.     Your 
gun  is  near  you." 

Two  more  days  passed.  Morning  came  again. 
Before  I  was  out,  the  bushmen  were  off;  so 
after  breakfast,  accompanied  by  a  boy  armed 
with  bow  and  arrows,  I  went  out  fishing.      He 


'>'h  >^'^v5.  sfe 


I    IMMEDIATELY   APPLIED    SOME   TO   THE   WOUND. 


awe.  I  had  the  child  wrapped  in  skins  and 
walked  about  to  keep  it  from  falling  asleep,  and 
also  to  induce  perspiration.  Some  Hollands 
diluted  with  water  was  also  given,  as  the  white 
men  had  not  quite  finished  the  canteen  found 
with  the  Kaffirs.  In  a  few  hours  all  danger  had 
passed,  although  the  poor  child  was  dreadfully 
exhausted.  There  was  great  rejoicing  over  the 
event  that  evening,  and  I  was  evidently  the 
subject  of  their  song. 

To  bed  again  this  evening.  I  w^as  allowed  (I 
suppose  for  my  services  to  the  child)  to  sleep 
in  the  hut,  and  a  whispering  voice  gave  me  the 
full  details  of  the  way  of  escape. 

"  You  must  rest  two  more  days.  There  will 
then  be  no  moon  before  midnight.  The  bush- 
men will  hunt  on  the  berg  and  come  back 
tired  out :  then  will  be  your  chance.  If  we 
can  see  our  way  to  go  with  you,  we  shall  do 
so,  but  if  we  cannot  get  twenty  miles  away 
from  here  before  sunrise,  our  chance  of  escape 
is  not  worth  much.  The  bushwoman  will  lead 
the  way,  if  we  cannot.  To-morrow  morning 
go  out  fishing,  but  keep  near  at  hand  ;  they 
will  not  ask  you  to  go  uj)  the  mountain,  as  I 
have  told  them  you  are  exhausted  with  curing 
the  child.     To-morrow  evening  I  will  see  you 

Vol.  i.-37. 


stayed  with  me  till  midday,  when  he  was 
relieved  by  the  woman  wlio  attended  me  before. 
She  spoke  to  me  in  broken  English,  and  I 
gathered  from  what  she  .said  that,  during  the 
Suto  War,  she  had  been  captured  at  or  near 
a  mission  station,  and  was  taken  away  by 
marauding  Sutos,  who  destroyed  the  kraal  of 
her  father,  and  killed  him  and  all  the  rest  of 
the  inhabitants  except  the  young  women — one 
of  whom  (a  sister)  was  now  at  a  missi'Mi  station 
in  the  Colony,  and  my  guide  was  washing  to  get 
away  and  join  her.  She  had  been  told  of  the 
arrangement  to  escape,  and  I  miglit  trust  her  to 
lead  the  way,  as  she  had  been  over  it  alone  on 
two  occasions  ;  but  we  should  know  more  in 
the  evening. 

The  hunters  returned  after  sunset  with  an 
abundance  of  small  bucks  and  some  wild  turkeys, 
bustards,  paws,  Korans,  guinea-fowl,  etc.  There 
was  soon  a  great  feast  prepared,  but  all  were  too 
tired  for  dancing  and  sought  rest. 

I  was  asked  to  try  and  cure  a  man  who  had 
by  accident  received  an  arrow-wound  in  his  leg. 
The  barb  had  gone  first  through  his  skin  rug 
which  hung  round  him,  and  although  he  was  in 
some  danger  and  pain,  I  succeeded,  after  a  time, 
in  relieving  him,  which  greatly  pleased  the  little 


290 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


ladies  of  his  establishment,  which  I  found  to  be 
a  cave  some  considerable  distance  under  the 
mountain  ;  the  roof  of  the  passage  being  covered 
with  crystal-like  incrustations,  which  glittered  in 
various  colours  when  illuminated  with  lighted 
fagots. 

Having  now  returned  to  the  Grenadier's  hut, 
I  found  that  some  preparations  had  been  made 
for  our  escape.  I  was  told  that  the  bushmen 
would  surely  make  a  bold  effort  to  recapture  us, 
as  they  thought  I  was  a  great  doctor,  and,  there- 
fore, invaluable  to  their  society. 

"I'he  woman  and  the  two  Kaffirs,  whom 
I  have  succeeded  in  hiding  on  your  track, 
will  accompany  you.  You  will  have  to  go  on 
foot  until  you  get  to  the  river  you  crossed  at 
first,  where  you  will  find  a  pony  and  saddle. 
The  Kaffirs  have  your  gun.  We  go  also,  but 
will  give  you  two  hours'  start,  and  then,  if  all 
is  clear,  will  follow  you.  But  should  anything 
happen  to  prevent  our  coming,  take  this  letter — 
you  see  I  have  not  forgotten  how  to  write — and 
give  it  to  Pat  Laggard.  ^  t  is  the  true  story  of 
my  life  these  fifteen  years.  You  will  see  we 
were  not  deserters,  but  taken  prisoners  in  the 
Basuto  War.  If  the  bushmen  find  you  are  gone 
they  will  not  suspect  us,  because  they  are  so 
easily  deceived.  We  shall  persuade  them  you 
have  charmed  yourself  away  and  taken  the 
woman  and  the  Kaffirs  with  you  as  your 
slaves.  But  let  us  hope  to  overtake  you.  ^^'hen 
I  wake  you  up,  in 
about  three  hours, 
not  a  whisper,  mind. 
Creep  away  like  a 
bush  cat;  the 
woman  will  lead  you 
by  a  cord.  You  will 
find  provisions  for  a 
day  with  the  Kaffirs. 
In  six  hours  after 
passing  the  water 
race  tunnel  you 
ought  to  be  safe. 
Now,  lad,  to  sleep ; 
you  will  be  tired  to- 
morrow." 

Soon  I  was  in 
dreamland  —  back 
in  my  schoolboy 
rambles  on  Lanca- 
shire moorlands, 
where  I  fancied  I 
was  being  pursued 
by  bushmen  with 
javelins  !  I  was 
awoke  by  a  squeeze 
of  the  hand,  and 
sat  up  when  I  had 


sufficiently  realized  the  situation.     A  shake  of 
hands  and  a  whisper  : — 

"  All  ready — luck  be  with  you.  Take  this 
cord  ;  bend  low  and  follow  quietly.  Take  your 
rug  only.     Not  a  word  in  reply." 

I  followed  by  the  pull  of  the  cord,  for  when 
we  got  out  it  was  pitch  dark,  a  thick  mist  hiding 
everything.  I  could  only  see  a  sort  of  shadow 
moving  before  me,  leading  the  way.  The  night 
was  cold,  and  a  white  frost  was  on  the  grass,  as 
I  could  tell  by  its  crispy  crackle  under  our  feet. 
This  was  the  only  noise- we  made. 

Not  a  dog  barked ;  not  a  living  thing  moved. 
Soon  we  came  to  the  sound  of  water,  and 
followed  along  its  edge  for  a  painfully  long  time. 
Then  I  found  myself  creeping  into  the  cold 
channel  and  stumbling  among  boulders  and 
small  projecting  rocks.  Following  this  stream 
for  some  time,  we  came  to  a  bush  and  a  fall  of 
water. 

"  Be  careful,"  the  woman  whispered,  in  bad 
Zulu. 

Now  we  slid  down  a  bank  for  some  consider- 
able distance,  at  the  bottom  of  which  I  found 
the  two  Kaffirs  waiting.  I  saw  we  were  in  a  sort 
of  hollow,  surrounded  by  bush,  with  a  dark  gap 
into  which  rushed  the  water  with  great  force. 
I  was  taken  by  the  hand,  the  woman  in  front, 
and  a  Kaffir  hand  holding  on  behind.  Knocking 
my  head  against  rocks,  I  bent  low,  and  soon 
found   I   had  to  walk  almost    bent  double,   as 

Ave  were  in  a  water- 


CAPTURED    BY    BUSHMEN. 


291 


came  to  the  river,  on  the  other  side  of  which, 
tied  to  a  tree,  I  found  the  Basuto  pony. 

The  woman  still  leading  the  way,  I  now 
mounted  and  followed  the  rough  ascent  to  the 
plain-  over  the  valley,  and  on  arriving  there  we 
rested  for  a  few  moments.  I  thought  we  had  done 
well,  but  the  woman  seemed  uneasy,  so  I  again 
hurried  on.  She  kept  up  at  a  trot  with  my  cob, 
the  Kafifirs  well  up  on  our  rear.  We  de- 
scended another  valley  which  was  new  to 
me,  and  again  entered  the  fog,  then  crossed  a 
small  rivulet  at  the  bottom,  and  mounted  the 
opposite  side — a  very  broken  piece  of  ground, 
which  seemed  to  tire  the  poor  woman,  but  she 
bravely  kept  on.  Arriving  at  the  top,  the  moon 
was  casting  a  feeble  light.  I  now  dismounted, 
and  we  all  rested  for  ten  minutes. 

"  We  are  out  of  the  bushmen's  land  now," 
said  the  woman,  "  but  still  on  their  hunting 
grounds.  We  must  not  wait  long  ;  they  have 
horses,  and  can  move  quickly." 

So  I  mounted,  and  we  trotted  off  again.  The 
sun  rose  upon  the  plain  I  had  passed  over  a 
few  days  before.  My  pony  was  getting  tired 
and  hungry.  He  would  try  and  pick  up  a  bit 
of  grass  whether  I  held  him  tightly  or  not.  At 
last  we  came  to  a  small  forest,  which  the  guide 
made  for,  and  we  were  soon  lost  in  the  dense 
underwood. 

"  Now  we  can  rest  here  for  a  time  to  see  if 
the  two  white  men  will  arrive.  This  is  the  place 
they  will  make  for.  Give  your  horse  to  a  Kaffir 
to  lead  it  to  a  piece  of  grass-land  there.  Here's 
some  meat  for  us  in  this  bag." 

I  felt  I  was  indeed  greatly  indebted  to  this 
plucky  woman,  who  had  gone  through  the  hard- 
ships of  the  last  six  hours.  Her  feet  were  now 
bleeding  from  cuts  caused  by  the  rough  stones 
in  the  river  we  waded,  yet  she  never  com- 
plained, and  only  showed  anxiety  to  get  farther 
and  farther  away  from  the  bushnien. 

After  we  had  each  of  us  partaken  of  some 
meat  I  went  to  a  piece  of  rising  ground  as 
stealthily  as  possible  to  see  if  any  living  object 
could  be  seen,  but  1  could  neither  see  nor  hear 
anything. 

After  an  hour's  waiting  I  sent  out  the  Kaffirs, 
who  crept  through  the  grass  and  climbed  a  tree 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  forest.  One  almost  im- 
mediately returned,  saying  he  could  see,  moving 
behind  a  hill  from  the  opposite  direction  to  the 
one  wc  had  come,  some  white  men  and  Kaffirs 
on  horseback  and  on  foot.  They  appeared  to 
be  going  in  the  direction  of  the  bushmen,  he 
said. 

I  soon  satisfied  myself  that  this  was  true, 
and  concluded  at  once  that  the  farmers  from 
the  frontier  settlement  were  coming  to  make 
reprisals  on  the  little  men,  and  were  possibly  in 


search  of  me.  There  would  be  just  time  enough 
for  that.  So  I  bethought  me  as  they  came  nearer 
to  hoist  a  white  flag,  which  I  found  means  of 
doing  by  taking  off  my  shiit  and  attaching  it 
to  a  long  pole. 

We  waited,  however,  till  they  got  within 
half  a  mile  of  us.  The  signal  was  then 
hoisted,  but  at  this  time  the  horsemen  broke 
into  a  gallop,  coming  partly  in  our  direc- 
tion, and  a  moment  afterwards  we  spied  a  large 
number  of  horsemen  on  our  left,  coming  at 
great  speed  in  our  direction,  following  two  more 
horsemen.  I  concluded  at  once  that  the  latter 
were  our  two  white  friends.  They  were  being 
pursued  by  the  bushmen,  who  were  hotly  closing 
upon  them.  I  ran  for  my  horse  and  mounted, 
calling  upon  the  Kaffirs,  who  had  their  sticks 
and  assegais  with  them,  to  follow.  My  gun  was 
loaded  in  both  barrels. 

The  white  farmers  had  till  now  been  under 
cover  of  a  ridge  of  hills  between  them  and 
the  bushmen  ;  but  by  the  time  I  got  on 
the  open  plain  I  saw  them  come  rapidly 
within  rifle  range  of  the  bushmen,  but  these 
did  not  fire,  and,  singular  to  say,  the  little 
men  were  in  such  hot  haste  after  the  two  white 
men  that  they  did  not  even  turn  to  see  the 
rapid  approach  of  their  enemies  !  The  bush- 
men were  now  within  one  hundred  yards  of  the 
pursued,  and  the  Colonists  two  hundred  yards 
behind  them.  Crack  !  crack  !  went  the  first 
rifles,  and  whizzing  shots  flew  past  me  on  the 
left. 

Now  a  horse  of  the  bushmen  fell,  then  a 
man — then  three  or  four  fell,  or  slipped  off  their 
horses,  and  disappeared.  A  panic  now  seized 
the  bushmen,  as  they  saw  some  of  their 
pursuers  cutting  off  their  retreat.  Next  I  came 
within  range,  and  seeing  a  bushman  shooting 
his  arrows  at  the  (irenadier,  I  let  off  a  right 
and  left  barrel  at  him,  with  the  result  that 
I  brought  horse  and  rider  down  to  the  grass. 
The  white  man  now  came  up  to  me  in  great 
exhaustion,  his  horse  being  done  up  also  ; 
in  fact,  he  was  saved  just  in  the  nick  of 
time. 

The  bushmen  —  some  thirty  of  them — dis- 
mounted and  disappeared  in  a  forest  on  the 
edge  of  the  plain.  Many  of  their  horses  had 
been  stabbed  by  them  before  or  after  dismount- 
ing, as  we  afterwards  found.  The  woman, 
carrying  the  white  flag,  now  came  up,  and  the 
Colonists,  who  had  been  busy  collecting  what 
horses  were  fit  to  drive,  came  on  also. 

It  is  needless  to  say  what  a  happy  meeting 
we  had,  as  the  Colonists  hardly  expected  to  find 
me  alive.  After  a  shake-hands  all  round  I 
introduced  the  Grenadier  and  the  three  com- 
panions   who    had    fled  with    me.      Then    we 


292 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


BUSHMAN    SHOOTING,    I    LET   OFF    A    RIGHT   AND    LEFT    BARREL   AT   HLM. 


mounted  and  went  back  to  look  for  the  lost 
marine.  We  searched  for  two  hours,  but  could 
not  find  a  trace  of  him  or  of  his  horse.  I  was 
certain  I  had  seen  a  white  man  fall  from  his 
horse  about  twenty  yards  to  the  left  rear  of 
the  Grenadier,  and  then  re-mount  and  dis- 
appear again  in  the  crowd  of  horsemen  around 
him. 

"  He  must  have  been  dragged  away  into  the 
bush,"  said  one,  but  the  Grenadier  shook  his 
head.  Well,  we  could  do  no  more,  so  we  all 
turned  towards  the  waggons,  which  were 
approaching  us  with  a  guard  of  armed  Kaffirs 
round  them.  Soon  I  was  "  in  clover,"  and  need 
I  say  that  we  had  a  grand  carnival  that  day  ? 
After  dinner  we  turned  about  for  home  and 
trekked  twenty  miles.  The  Grenadier  satisfied 
the  farmers  it  was  no  use  seeking  to  make 
reprisals  on  the  little  men. 


I  need  not  say  that  I  saw 
the  woman  safely  delivered  to 
her  sister,  and  that  I  intro- 
duced the  Grenadier  to  his 
friend  Laggard,  ^^'hat  after- 
wards became  of  him  is  not 
recorded  in  the  hieroglyphics 
(for  such  they  were)  with 
which  he  had  intrusted  me. 
However,  I  re-wrote  them  from 
his  reading  when  he  afterwards 
Host    of   the    Bushman's  Cave 


became   Mine 
Hotel. 

Many  months  after  the  above  events  a  large 
party  of  farmers  and  Zulus  were  taken  on  an 
expedition  to  clear  out  the  wild  men  of  the 
Drakensberg.  It  was  then  discovered  that  the 
marine  who  had  so  mysteriously  disappeared 
had  been  driven  by  the  astute  bushmen  into  a 
large  game-trap — a  hole  covered  with  reeds  and 
grass,  into  which  his  horse  fell,  and  became  im- 
paled upon  the  spears  stuck  up  at  the  bottom. 
The  man  appeared  to  have  died  there  of  his 
wounds — whether  inflicted  in  mistake  by.  the 
white  men,  or  by  the  bushmen,  or  both,  will 
never  be  known — at  all  events,  both  horse  and 
rider  were  lying  there,  their  bones  mingled 
together  ;  and  so,  as  they  lay,  they  were  covered 
up  with  earth,  and  a  wooden  cross  was  fixed  on 
the  grave. 


The   Koumiss   Cure, 


By  Victor  Pitkethley. 

All  about    a  wonderful  "  farm"    in    the  Russian    steppes  where  consumpdve  people  are  made    well  by 

drinking  mares'  milk  and  basking  in  the  glorious  sunshine.     The  milking  of  the  mares  ;  the  operations 

of  the  cure;    and    the    daily   routine    and    amusements    of  this   queer  community,    describid  at  length 

and  illustrated  with  a  set  of  striking  photographs  taken  mainly  by  the  patients  themselves. 


:-^i 


ROM  the  earliest  times  physicians 
have  striven  to  combat  the  ravages 
of  that  dread  scourge,  consumption. 
All  sorts  of  wild  and  fantastic 
theories  have  been  advanced  as  to 
its  causes  and  cure,  and  numerous  extraordinary 
and  all  but  incredible  methods  have  from  time 
to  time  been  brought  before  the  medical  world, 
without,  however,  any  tangible  results  being 
secured.  Now  that  a  national  crusade  against 
this  awful  disease  has  been  started,  under  the 
distinguished  auspices  of  H.R.H.  the  Prince  of 
Wales  and  Sir  William  Broadbcnt,  the  attention 
of  the  general  public  has  been  forcibly  attracted 
to  the  subject. 

The  method  described  herein  is  known  as 
the  koumiss  treatment.  Now,  koumiss  is 
noihing  more  or  less  than  fermented  mares' 
milk,  which  has  been  found  to  possess  wonderful 
nutritive  and  restorative  powers  when  combined 
with  pure  air  and  sunlight.  Briefly,  then,  the 
treatment  consists  in  taking  the  patient  right 
away  from  the  grimy,  germ-laden  atmosphere  of 
the  towns  into  the  pure,  bright  air  of  the  open 
country,  and  there  making  him  bask  in  the 
sunliiihc,  drinking  vast  Quantities  of  koumiss 
the  while.  The  results  are  marvellous  and  un- 
approachable by  any  other  mians. 

This,  at  all  events,  was  the  conclusion  which 
Dr.  G.  I.  Carrick,  an  English  medical  man 
practising  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  formerly  a 
student  at  the  Brompton  Consumption  Hos- 
pital, arrived  at  after  a  tour  of  the  koumiss 
establishments  of  Russia.  At  the  time  of 
Dr.  Carrick's  visit  there  were  about  half- 
a-dozen  of  these  places,  all  situated  in  the 
Government  of  Samara.  So  impressed  was 
he  with  the  wonders  that  koumiss  performed 
that  he  returned  to  the  steppes  no  fewer 
than  six  times,  obtaining  an  insight  into  the 
methods  of  the  koumiss  establishments,  and 
noting  the  advantages  and  faults  of  the  system 
as    administered     by    Russian    medical    men. 


Finally,  Dr.  Carrick  wrote  a  book  on  the  sub- 
ject, which  created  a  stir  in  this  country,  and 
then,  in  consequence  of  the  pressure  brought  to 
bear  upon  him,  he  decided  to  found  a  koumiss 
establishment  of  his  own,  wherein  he  could 
combine  the  wonder-working  properties  of  the 
milk  with  the  results  of  his  own  experience 
and  observation.  After  much  casting  about 
for  a  suitable  site  for  the  farm.  Dr.  Carrick 
resolved  to  strike  out  boldly  in  an  entirely  new 
direction,  and,  accordingly,  he  went  to  the  very 
borders  of  Asia,  in  order  to  get  drier,  purer 
air  and  better  pasturage  for  the  indispensable 
animals — the  "  sources  of  supply."  Here, 
twenty-five  miles  from  Orenburg,  in  the  midst 
of  the  rolling  steppes,  and  in  what  is  perhaps 
the  finest  atmosphere  in  the  world,  this  enter- 
prising Scot  purchased  an  estate  of  2,500  acres, 
and  started  to  build  his  establishment.  This 
task,  commenced  in  February,  1889,  was 
finished  in  May  of  the  same  year.  "  Janetovka," 
as  he  christened  it,  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  the 
only  place  of  its  kind  in  the  (Government  of 
Orenburg,  a  province  about  the  size  of  France. 

From  St.  Petersburg  the  journey  to  Janet- 
ovka occupies  eighteen  hours  by  rail  to  the 
banks  of  the  stately  Volga,  thence  by  luxurious 
and  well-appointed  steamers  to  Samara,  and 
from  Samara  it  is  another  fifteen  hours  by  rail 
to  Orenburg.  From  Orenburg  to  Janetovka  is 
a  drive  of  twenty-five  miles.  A  long  pilgrimage, 
truly,  but  then  what  is  a  long  journey  when 
renewed  health,  strength,  and  even  life  be  at 
the  end  of  it  ? 

In  our  first  photo,  we  see  Dr.  Carrick's 
troika,  or  three-horsed  carriage,  which  brings 
patients  from  the  railway  station  at  Orenburg. 
A  lady  and  gentleman  have  just  arrived,  and 
the  courteous  doctor,  cap  in  hand,  is  welcoming 
them  to  Janetovka.  The  drive  is  most 
exhilarating.  The  splendid  steppe  road  takes 
one  past  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep,  and 
through    miles    upon    miles    of    sweet-scented 


2  94 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


From  a] 


THE   DOCTOK    WELCOMING    NEW    PATIENTS    WHO    HAVE   JUST   AKKIVEU    HiO.M    UKENBUKG. 


[.Photo. 


flowers.  Everything  is  delightfully  new  and 
strange  to  the  visitor :  the  nomad  Bashkirs, 
ambling  along  the  highway  on  their  queer 
camels  ;  the  embryo  crops  of  musk  and  water- 
melons ;  and,  above  all,  the  clear,  bright  air  of 
the  boundless,  sun-bathed  steppes,  after  the 
stuffy  atmosphere  of  the  railway  carriage. 

At  the  rear,  behind  the  equipage,  we  see  one 
of  the  cottages  in  which  the  patients  reside. 
There  are  no  fewer  than  thirty-six  of  these  little 
houses,  and  a  dozen  huts  of  lighter  construction 
— all  set  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  with  a  gentle  river 
at  the  bottom.  The 
huts  are  about  i8ft.  by 
2oft.,  with  a  veranda  run- 
ning the  whole  length  of 
the  structure,  and  each 
cottage  is  separated  from 
its  neighbour  by  a  space 
of  from  35  ft.  to  70ft. 
l"hc  houses  are  arranged 
in  two  parallel  lines,  so 
as  to  form  a  sort  of 
street,  and  the  stables 
and  other  outbuildings  are 
symmetrically  arranged 
around. 

Although  the  patients 
are  at  liberty  to  take  their 
meals  in  the  privacy  of 
their  own  verandas,  very 
few  of  them — and  these 
only  the  most  delicate — 
exercise  the  privilege, 
preferring    to    dine    with        From  a] 


the  rest  in  the  spacious  and  airy  dining-room, 
which  we  show  in  the  accompanying  repro- 
duction. Here  lunch  —  the  principal  meal 
of  the  day — is  partaken  of  at  noon,  dinner 
being  served  at  seven  o'clock.  All  the  dishes 
are  of  the  best,  and  the  fjienu  is  that  of  a  first- 
class  restaurant. 

The  scene  in  the  dining-room — what  with  the 
lively  conversation  of  the  diners  and  the  con- 
tinual stream  of  jokes  from  the  doctor — is  one 
of  great  animation,  and  to  see  the  round,  ruddy, 
laughing  faces  round  the  tables  one  would  not 


THE   SPACIOUS  AND   AIRY  CO.MMO.M    DIM.NG-ROO.M. 


[Photo. 


THE    KOUMISS    CURE. 


295 


viii  a\ 


THE   DOCTORS   KHIRGHIZ   FELT   TENT   ON    THE   STEllE. 


dream  for  an  in.Lmt  that  all  the  people  here 
were  consumptives,  such  wonders  do  the  fresh 
air,  the  koumiss,  and  the  sunshine  work. 

The  next  photo,  we  reproduce  shows  the 
building  of  the  doctor's  tent,  in  which  he  sleeps 
during  the  cool,  silent  nights  characteristic  of 
the  steppes,  fanned  by  the  balmy,  flower-scented 
breezes.  Dr.  Carrick  has  a  house,  but  he 
prefers  to  sleep  in  a  tent  such  as 
the  nomad  Khirghiz  tribesmen  use. 
It  is  made  of  stout  felt  stretched  over 
a  wooden  framework,  and  is  extremely 
cosy  inside.  Even  the  door,  as  will 
be  seen  in  our  illustration,  is  com- 
posed of  a  gorgeous  rug  of  native 
manufacture.  During  the  daytime  the 
roof  of  the  tent  is  thrown  back  to 
admit  the  air  and  light. 

The  "  season "  at  Janetovka  only 
lasts  for  three  months — from  June  till 
the  end  of  August.  The  summer  of 
the  steppes  is  a  very  hot  one,  the 
temperature  in  the  sun  often  regis- 
tering i4odeg.  Fahrenheit,  with  a 
dazzling  sky  of  cloudless  blue.  During 
the  night,  however,  it  may  sink  to 
45deg.,  or  even  lower.  One  curious 
feature  about  the  climate  is  that  no 
dew  falls  at  ni^^ht.  It  comes  down 
about  an  hour  before  sunset,  leaving 
the  evening  cool  and  dry — a  delightful 
change  after  the  blazing  sunshine  of 
the  day.  These  long,  silent  nights 
form  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the 
cure,  since  the  poor,  feverish  patients 
are  lulled  to  sleep  almost  in  spite  of 
themselves  by  the  mysterious  silence 
of  the  steppes.      There  is  no  sound       From  a] 


save  the  soft  rustling  of 
the  wind  through  the  long 
kovil  grass ;  no  sign  of 
life  save  the  twinkling 
of  a  light  in  one  of  the 
cottages  ;  whilst  overhead 
innumerable  stars  glow 
with  a  brilliancy  quite  new 
to  the  jaded  town-dweller. 
During  the  season  the 
doctor  employs  no  fewer 
than  fifty  -  two  persons, 
which  number  is  reduced 
during  the  long,  bleak 
winter  to  ten  — the  head 
horse  -  keeper  and  his 
household. 

The  next  illustration 
shows  several  little 
Bashkir  waiters  of  the 
establishment.  The 
head  waiter,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  wears  a 
European  dress-coat  and  bow,  of  which  he  is 
inordinately  proud.  All  the  boys  come  from 
one  village,  and  they  pick  up  their  multifarious 
duties  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time. 
Dr.  Carrick  clothes  them  from  head  to  foot, 
giving  them  an  entirely  new  outfit  every 
season,    and   in  addition  he    pays    them    some 


[Photo. 


THE  LITTLE   BASHKIR  WAITERS. 


[Photo. 


296 


The  wide  world  magazine. 


thirty  shillings  for  their  three  months  of 
service.  Besides  this,  of  course,  ther-e  are  the 
inevitable  "  tips  "  from  grateful  patients.  Alto- 
gether, these  sharp  little  fellows  make  a  very 
good  thing  out  of  it,  and  they  go  back  to  their 
native  hamlet  like  kings,  swaggering  about  and 
displaying  their  wealth,  to  the  unspeakable  envy 
and  amazement  of  all  the  other  little  boy 
Bashkirs.  Work  they  will  not  till  every  penny 
of  the  money  is  gone,  and  then  back  they  come 
to  Dr.  Carrick.  The  boys  speak  no  language 
but  their  own,  but  they  soon  learn  to  understand 
the  directions  of  the  patients. 

The  making  of  the  koumiss  is,  of  course,  a 
very  important  matter,  demanding  scrupulous 
cleanliness  and  a  considerable  amount  of  skill. 
Here  we  have  a  group  of  the  horse-herds  and 


Prom  a\ 


koumiss-makers.  The  man  on  the  left  and  the 
two  ladies — his  wives — make  the  koumiss  ;  the 
ladies  also  acting  as  milkmaids.  Koumiss,  by  the 
way,  is  made  in  three  qualities — weak,  medium, 
and  strong.  The  weak  is  under  twenty-four 
hours'  fermentation,  the  medium  over  twenty- 
four  and  under  forty-eight,  and  the  strong  is 
over  forty-eight.  The  longer  the  milk  ferments 
the  more  alcohol  and  lactic  acid  it  contains,  and 
the  greater  effect  it  has  on  the  drinker.  The 
koumiss  is  made  fresh  every  day,  the  output 
being  calculated  on  a  basis  of  six  champagne 
bottles  per  day  for  each  patient;  the  average 
production    is    300    bottles    daily.     Six    bottles 


daily  may  seem  rather  a  large  quantity  to  the 
uninitiated,  but  it  should  be  explained  that 
owing  to  some  obscure  chemical  changes  which 
we  cannot  stop  to  describe  in  detail  here,  the 
milk  is  partially  digested  or  peptonized  during 
fermentation,  thus  enabling  the  patient  to 
consume  a  far  greater  quantity  without  reple- 
tion than  would  be  the  case  with  ordinary  cow's 
milk.  Some  of  the  old  stagers,  in  fact,  put. 
away  their  iiine  bottles  a  day  comfortably.  The 
koumiss  is  drunk  chiefly  between  meals,  and 
never  after  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
During  fermentation  it  acquires  quite  a  cham- 
pagne-like quality,  and  has  a  tendency  slightly 
to  "  elevate "  those  unaccustomed  to  it.  Far 
from  satisfying  the  appetite,  it  sharpens  it,  and 
patients    who    have     never    previously    known 

what  it  was  to  feel 
hungry  have  found 
themselves  looking 
forward  to  lunch  with 
keen  expectation. 
The  "strong"  variety, 
if  allowed  to  ferment 
for  too  long  a  period, 
will  often  burst  the 
bottle  with  a  loud 
report,  spattering 
everything  and  every- 
body within  a  radius 
of  several  yards. 

To  produce  all  this 
quantity  of  koumiss 
Dr.  Carrick  has,  of 
course,  to  maintain  a 
large  number  of 
horses.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  he  keeps 
about  a  hundred,  of 
whom  eighty  are 
mares.  The  next 
photograph  shows  a 
general  muster  of  the 
stud  preparatory  to 
being  taken  down  to 
Riding  about  among 
energetic  doctor  him- 


the  river  to  drink, 
the  animals  we  see  the 
self,  conspicuous  by  reason  of  his  Glengarry 
cap.  Beyond,  are  the  great  rolling  steppes, 
stretching  away  to  the  far  horizon.  The  horse- 
herd,  who  is  visible  in  the  foreground,  is  armed 
with  a  curious  kind  of  lasso,  consisting  of  a 
loop  of  rope  attached  to  the  end  of  a  si.x-foot 
pole.  If  the  doctor  wants  any  particular  horse 
caught,  the  herder  rides  into  the  middle  of  the 
"  mob,"  and  hitches  the  loop  over  the  head  of 
the  animal  required.  Then,  if  the  beast  is 
refractory,  he  calmly  proceeds  to  twist  up  the 
loop  until  the  horse  is  half-strangled,  when  it 


THE    KOUMISS    CURE. 


>97 


ii  ually  makes  up  its  mind  to  go  quietly  and 
without  any  fuss. 

Besides  this  large  number  of  horses  the 
doctor  also  keeps  about  1 50  sheep  and  a  dozen 
camels  — these  latter  for  heavy  work  in  the 
plough.  All  these  animals  take  a  great  deal  of 
fodder  —  no  less  than  four  or  five  hundred 
tons  of  hay  during  the  season  ;  besides  a 
hundred  tons  of  straw  and  chaff.  All  of  this, 
however,   Dr.   Carrick  grows   himself.      He  has 


MLSTEKING   THE    HOKSES    BEKOKK    TAKl: 

from  a  Photo. 


I  O    U  .■>  1  EK. 


also   120  acres  under  corn,   which  provides  all 
the  flour  needed  for  the  establishment. 

After  being  gathered  together,  the  herd  of 
horses  is  driven  off  to  the  riverside  to  be 
watered,  and   our  next  snap-shot — which   wears 


L- 


From  a\ 
Vol.  iii.— 38. 


■JiSXtO^ 


{Photo. 


298 


THE   WIDE   WORLD   MAGAZINE. 


/■  loni  a] 


IHK    HEAL)    MAN  S    WIVES    MILKING    THE    MAKES. 


[Photo. 


quite  a  sylvan  appearance — shows  the  horses 
drinking  their  fill  of  the  pure  waters  of  the 
stream.  Behind  is  the  vigilant  horse-herd,  who 
is  in  the  saddle  practically  all  day  long.  Four- 
teen hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  the  mares  are 
out  at  pasturage  on  the  steppes  with  their  foals, 
spending  the  remaining  part  of  the  day  in  stable, 
where  they  feed  uninterruptedly  until  it  is  time 
for  them  to  be  milked.  This  interesting  and 
curious  operation  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
accompanying  photo.,  which  shows  the  head 
man's  two  wives  busily  employed  in  milking 
a  couple  of  mares,  while  the  horse  -  herds 
hold  the  animals'  heads.  Behind  is  the 
grass  -  covered 
stable,  wherein 
the  stud  is  quar- 
tered. Leaving 
the  horses  out 
on  the  steppes 
during  the  day- 
time is  quite  out 
of  the  question  ; 
the  heat  and  the 
clouds  of  vicious 
flies  would  render 
their  lives  a  bur- 
den to  them,  and 
effectually  pre- 
vent them  from 
enjoying  the 
long,  feathery 
kovil  grass  which 
is  their  principal 
food. 

Dr.  Carrick's 
patients  are  deci- 
dedly cosmopoli- 
tan. They  come 
from  England 
and  America,       From  a] 


from  the  banks  of  the  mighty  Amur,  and  the 
borders  of  China  ;  from  the  south,  and  from  as 
far  north  as  bleak  Archangel — all  in  search  of 
health  and  strength.  The  next  photo,  we  re- 
produce shows  a  group  of  patients  outside  one 
of  the  cottages.  Perched  on  the  rail  of  the 
veranda  is  Dr.  Carrick  himself,  watching  over 
his  charges  like  a  hen  over  her  chicks.  The 
gentleman  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  group — 
himself  a  doclor — came  all  the  way  from  the 
Crimea,  far  to  the  south,  to  drink  the  koumiss 
for  three  years  in  succession — a  striking  testimony 
to  his  belief  in  its  virtues.  He  is  now  better, 
thanks  to  Dr.  Carrick,  and  looks  after  his  large 


A   GATHERING  OF    l-ATIENTS   ON   THE    VERANDA   OF   ONE   OF   THE    LITTLE   COTTAGES. 


{Photo. 


THE    KOUMISS    CURE. 


299 


practice  without  difficulty.  The  central  figure 
in  the  party — the  young  Russian  officer  in  white 
— has  a  very  pathetic  story.  All  this  young 
fellow's    family    had    died    of    inherited    con- 


daily  routine  resembles  that  of  a  prison.  The 
charges,  too,  are  positively  awe-inspiring  ;  every- 
thing is  an  "  extra."  At  Janetovka,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  is  no  system  at  all — or,  rather, 


Frovt  a\ 


A   CARAVAN    FROM    BOKHARA. 


[Pholo. 


sumption  somewhere  near  the  age  of  twenty- 
four,  and  the  poor  lad — almost  in  the  last  stages 
of  the  malady  himself — came  to  J'inetovka  as 
a  last  hope.  But  the  hand  of  heredity  was 
strong  upon  him,  and  he  died,  one  of  the  saddest 
cases  the  doctor  has  ever  had  to  deal  with. 

The  number  of  "  cures  "  varies  considerably 
from  season  to  season,  according  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  patients  when  they  come  into  Dr. 
Carrick's  hands  ;  but  in  all  cases  the  percentage 
is  surprisingly  high.  Hardly  a  person  but  gains 
in  weight — sometimes  as  much  as  3olb.  in 
three  months  I 

One  of  the  features  of  Janetovka  is  the 
absence  of  system.  At  some  of  the  koumiss 
establishments,  for  instance,  the  patients  are  all 
mercilessly  turned  out  of  bed  at  some  uncon- 


no  apparent  system.  Everybody  is  free  to  do 
just  as  he  pleases — to  go  where  he  likes,  and 
eat  and  drink  whenever  he  feels  inclined.  One 
lump  sum,  too,  covers  every  possible  expendi- 
ture, so  that  patients  are  spared  the  harassing 
dread  of  running  up  an  enormous  bill  for  such 
necessary  *'  extras  "  as  towels  and  teaspoons. 

There  are  all  sorts  of  quaint  and  curious 
things  to  be  seen  around  the  farm.  The  nomad 
Cossacks,  bringing  horses  for  sale,  and  the 
caravans  of  gentle-eyed  camels  which  are  for 
ever  passing  on  their  way  to  Orenburg,  are  con- 
stant sources  of  attraction  to  Dr.  Carrick's 
cosmopolitan  household.  These  caravans — a 
good  specimen  of  which  we  show  in  the  annexed 
photo. — come  all  the  way  from  Bokhara,  2,000 
miles    distant,    carrying   such   things  as   cotton. 


A    CAMEL    l-LOUOH    AT   JANKTOVKA 


[Photo. 


scionable  hour  in  the  morning,  and  from  thence 
onward  their  day  is  mapped  out  for  them  in  a 
most  irritatingly  complete  manner.  Everything  is 
hedged  round  with  galling  restrictions,  and  the 


hides,  and  carpets  to  the  railway  station  at 
Orenburg,  whence  they  are  forwarded  to  the 
European  markets.  This  system  of  camel  trans- 
port   is    incredibly   cheap.      One   driver   takes 


300 


THE   WIDE   WORLD    MAG.\2LVG. 


charge  of  from  six  to  eight  beasts,  and  they 
will  do  twenty  miles  a  day  with  a  load  of 
5ooIb.  apiece.  The  journey  from  Bokhara  takes 
between  three  and  four  months. 

Whilst  on  the  subject  of  camels,  we  must  not 
forget  the  dozen  belonging  to  Dr.  Carrick.  As 
we  have  said,  they  are  kept  for  heavy  work  in 
the  plough  and  mowing-machine,  and  we  have 
pleasure  in  being  able  to  give  a  curious  little 
snapshot  showing  some  of  the  ungainly  beasts 
in  this  latter  apparatus.  Now,  the  camel  is 
essentially  a  wily  beast..  He  is  for  ever  en- 
deavouring to  avoid  labour,-^^'  much  as  he. 
possibly  can,  and  his  ways  of  attaining  the 
desired  end  are  many  and  various.  For  instance, 
if  for  any  reason  his  harness  is  taken  off  ".during 
the  day,  he  promptly  considers  that  labour  is 
finished,  and  no  amount  of  persuasion — moral 
or  physical — will  induce  him  to  stir  again.  It  is, 
tlierefore,  necessary  to  keep  his  trappings  on  all 
day  long,  no  matter  how  often  the  driver  may  be 


own  resources — would  become  monotonous. 
But  this  is  far  from  being  the  case.  The 
patients  go  out  riding  a  great  deal,  buying  or 
hiring  horses  from  the  wandering  Cossacks. 
Some  even  bring  their  cycles,  but  the  doctor 
prefers  that  they  should  ride  on  horseback. 
Croquet — an  ideal  game  for  the  ailing — is  much 
in  favour  ;  and  the  doctor,  true  to  his  Scotch 
instincts,  even  hopes  to  establish  golf  some 
day. 

There  is  music  in  the  evening — for  which 
purpose  a  large,  fully-equipped  concert-room  is 
provided.  Besides  chess,  draughts,  and  other 
games,  Janetovka  also  has  private  theatricals, 
which  are  very  popular.  A  Russian  play 
called  "  A  Little  War  "  is  a  favourite  piece.  The 
performances  are  given  in  the  concert-hall,  and 
are  very  well  rendered.  The  patients  make  all 
their  own  scenery  and  costumes,  and  the  doctor 
is  usually  allotted  a  leading  part.  But,  busy 
man  as  he  is,  he  does  not  trouble  to  learn,  and 


From  a\ 


THE   EUROI'E   AND   ASIA    BOUNDARY    NEAR   THE    KOUMISS    FARM. 


changed.  Other  camels  are  perpetually  moaning 
and  whimpering  in  an  irritating  way.  Susceptible 
patients  imagine  that  the  crafty  creatures  are 
being  ill-used,  and  go  to  the  doctor  with  all  sorts 
of  stories,  but  the  gift  of  a  piece  of  sugar 
— a  thing  which  camels  love  exceedingly — ends 
the  matter,  so  far  as  the  ill-usage  is  concerned. 
The  camel  whimpers  dolefully  even  as  it  chews 
the  coveted  morsel. 

One  might  come  to  the  conclusion  that  life  at 
Janetovka — isolated  as  it  is  from  any  large 
centre  of   population  and  dependent  upon  its 


his  many  and  varied  appeals  to  the  prompter 
are  not  the  least  amusing  part  of  the  business. 

Our  last  photo,  will  convey  to  the  reader 
more  accurately  than  pages  of  description  the 
boldness  of  Dr.  Carrick's  move  in  establishing 
his  farm  so  far  from  the  crowded  cities  of  the 
west.  Here  we  stand  on  the  banks  of  the 
mighty  Ural,  on  the  very  verge  of  Europe, 
whilst  en  the  farther  side  of  the  great  stream  is 
Asia  ;  the  boundary  line  between  the  two  great 
continents  being  situated  only  a  few  miles  from 
Janetovka. 


Short  Stones. 


I. —  Freezing   to   Death. 

Bv  Egerton   R.  Young,   of  Toronto. 

A  well-known  Canadian  missionary  describes  in  a  very  remarkable  manner  the  insidious  approach 
of  death  through   intense  cold  -the  extraordinary  sensations  and  illusions,   and  the  strange  sense 

of  powerlessness  to   resist  temptations   to   "  rest." 


I V.  mock  suns  had  been  unusually 
numerous  and  brilliant  that  forenoon, 
j'hc  sitjht  of  them  filled  me  with 
admiration,  but  they  were  objects  of 
terror  and  alarm  to  my  Indian  guide 
and  dog-drivers. 

The  vision  of  four  distinct  circles  at  the  same 
time  around  the 
sun,  with  four  vivid 
mock  suns  in  each 
circle,  was  a  phe- 
nomenon to  me  of 
rare  occurrence,  and 
so  I  could  not  resist 
the  inclination  to 
check  the  speed  of 
my  dogs  and  gaze 
upon  this  wondrous 
sight.  This  action 
on  my  part  at  length 
called  forth  the  quiet 
but  emphatic  e.\pos- 
t  u  1  a  t  i  o  n  s  of  my 
Indians.  AVhen  I 
questioned  them  as 
to  their  fears,  they 
stated  that  these 
mock  suns,  or  "  sun 
dogs,"  as  they  called 
them,  were  the  sure 
forerunners  of  a  ter- 
rible blizzard  that 
would  certainly 
assail  us  within  a 
very  few  days.  So 
we  must  hurry  on, 
as  it  would  never  do 
for  us  to  be  caught 
by  it  in  such  a  place. 

We  were  hundreds 
of  miles  from  home 
— far  away  from  any 
Indian  village,  and  were  even  scores  of  miles 
from  the  shelter  of  a  spruce  or  balsam  forest, 
where,  among  the  dense  evergreens,  we  could 
find  some  shelter  until  the  fury  of  the  storm  was 
spent. 

This  information,  which  was  far  from  comfort- 
ing, showed  what  students  of  Nature  these  red 
men  were ;  and  as  I  had  seen  on  many  previous 


THK.   AUTHOR   AND   MISSIONARY,    MR.    EGERTON    R.    YOU.NG. 

Ftoin  a  Photo,  by  W.  F.  Piggot,  I.eighton  Buzzard. 


occasions  the  fulfilment  of  tiieir  predictions 
under  other  circumstances,  I  did  not  doubt  them 
this  wintry  day. 

Stimulated  by  their  forebodings,  we  pushed 
on  as  rapidly  as  possible,  although  in  a  short 
time  the  circles  and  mock  suns  disappeared,  and 
the   sun    shone   down   upon    us  with   his  usual 

brilliancy. 

The  night  follow- 
ing was  one  of  the 
coldest  I  ever  passed 
in  that  northern 
land.  It  was  as 
much  as  we  could 
do  to  keep  from 
freezing  to  death  as 
we  shivered  around 
our  camp-fire.  Our 
tea,  taken  boiling 
hot  out  of  the  kettle 
on  the  fire,  froze  in 
our  tin  cups  within 
five  or  six  minutes 
after  being  served 
out.  Our  milk  was 
frozen  solid,  and  we 
chopped  it  with  a 
hatchet.  Ice,  in 
chunks,  hung  from 
our  whiskers  and 
fur  hoods.  It  was, 
indeed,  a  cold  night, 
and  our  noble  dogs 
as  well  as  their 
masters  suffered  very 
much.  These  faith- 
ful animals  whined 
piteously  in  the  cold, 
and  amused  us  by 
their  cunning  ways 
and  tricks  to  induce 
us  to  put  on  their 
warm  woollen  shoes.  \Mien  we  had  retired  to 
try  to  get  some  sleep  under  our  heavy  robes  and 
blankets,  the  dogs  crowded  around  and  on  top 
of  us,  and  thus  added  to  our  warmth. 

Owing  to  the  anxiety  of  the  Indians  to  get 
on  before  the  great  storm  should  strike  us,  we 
were  up  very  early  the  next  morning ;  and, 
after  a  hasty  breakfast  of   fat  meat  and  strong 


502 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


tea,  we  left  our  camp  in  the  snow,  and  pushed 
on  under  the  starHght  and  the  ever-changing 
glories  of  a  very  brilliant  display  of  the  Aurora 
Borealis. 

Some  hours  after,  the  sun  rose  in  splendour, 
but  the  cold  was  so  intense  that  there  did  not 
seem  to  be  the  slightest  degree  of  warmth  in 
his  brilliant  rays.  The  light  snow,  in  unsullied 
whiteness,  covered  the  earth  to  a  depth  of  from 
3ft.  to  5ft.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  tracks 
made  by  wild  beasts,  the  only  signs  of  travel 
over  it  were  the  imprints  of  the  snow-shoes  of 
our  party  and  our  dog-sleds. 

No  one  thought  of  riding  that  day.  The 
severe  vigorous  exercise  of  snow-shoe  walking 
was  essential  to  keep  us  from  freezing  to  death. 
It  was  certainly  6odeg.  below  zero.  Thus  we 
rapidly  pushed  on.  When  we  thus  travelled 
the  guide  was  generally  a  mile  or  so  in  advance. 
The  dogs  were  more  eager  to  get  on  when  he 
was  some  distance  ahead  of  them.  My  train 
consisted  of  some  St.  Bernard  and  Newfound- 
land dogs,  which  I  had  imported  to  take  the 
place  of  the  wolfish,  thievish  Esquimaux,  with 
which  I  had  become  thoroughly  disgusted. 
They  were  well-trained,  magnificent  dogs,  and 
always  obedient  to  my  calls  upon  them,  except 
when  a  wild  animal  suddenly  crossed  the  trail 
in  front  of  them.  That  was  what  happened  on 
this  occasion,  and  was  the  cause  of  the  terrible 
ordeal  through  which  I  had  to  pass. 

The  animal  that  leisurely  trotted  across  the 
trail  of  the  guide,  a  couple  of  hundred  feet 
ahead  of  us,  was 

a  beautiful  black       ^^,— — ^— 

fox.  The  sight 
and  scent  of  this 
saucy  fellow,  so 
near,  was  too 
m  uch  even  for 
my  well-trained 
and  civilized 
dogs  ;  and  so, 
with  a  rush,  they 
were  off  and  after 
him.  It  is  mar- 
vellous, the  latent 
strength  there  is 
in  a  train  of  ex- 
cited dogs.  En- 
cumbered as  I 
w  as  with  m  y 
large  snow-shoes, 
I  was  powerless 
to  stop  them,  as 
away  they  dashed 
after  their  here- 
ditary foe.  They 
iid     not,     how- 


ever, get  very  far  before  the  head  of  the 
heavy  dog  -  sled  struck  against  a  tree,  and 
thus  suddenly  brought  them  to  a  standstill. 
Indeed,  so  abrupt  was  this  ending  of  their  fox- 
hunt, that  their  harness,  which  is  made  out  of 
moose  skin,  was  ripped  and  broken  in  several 
places. 

My  Indian  drivers  of  the  trains  following, 
after  helping  me  to  get  back  into  the  trail, 
kindly  wished  to  remain  and  mend  my  broken 
harness  for  me.  I  ought  to  have  accepted  their 
offer,  but  I  foolishly  urged  them  to  push  on 
with  their  trains  on  the  trail  of  the  guide,  and 
when  they  had  found  a  suitable  place  for  dinner 
to  have  it  prepared,  and  by  that  time  I  would 
rejoin  them.  As  they  left  me  reluctantly,  I 
shouted  out : — 

"  Never  fear  ;  I'll  be  able  to  mend  the  harness 
and  join  you  in  a  couple  of  hours  or  so." 

As  quickly  as  possible  I  went  to  work.  From 
my  dog-sled  I  obtained  an  awl  and  some  fine 
deer-skin  twine,  and  bravely  began  my  task. 
However,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  sew  with 
my  large  fur  mitts  on  my  hands,  so  I  had  to 
take  them  off  whilst  at  work. 

So  severe  was  the  cold,  that  when  a  few 
stitches  were  made,  my  hands  were  so  benumbed 
that  I  had  to  stop  work  and  warm  them.  This 
could  only  be  done  by  putting  on  my  fur  mitts 
again,  and  then  most  vigorously  pounding  them. 
Thus,  as  the  result  of  attempting  to  keep  my 
hands  from  freezing,  I  made  but  poor  progress 
with  my  harness-mending. 

Soon  the  intense  cold  began  to 
take  hold  of  other  parts  of  me,  and 
it  was  not  long  ere  my  whole  body 
began  to  suffer  most  keenly  from  its 
power.     The  snow  was  so  deep,  and  so 


^ 


I    WAS    POWERLESS   TO    STOP   THEM. 


SHORT    STORIES. 


303 


severe  was  the  cold,  tliat,  like  my  Indians,  I 
had  run  every  mile  of  the  way  since  we  had 
left  our  camp  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning 
So  vigorous  had  been  this  snow-shoe  exercise 
that,  in  spite  of  the  low  temperature,  I  had  per- 
spired a  good  deal,  and  my  flannel  under-gar- 
ments  were  quite  damp.  Now,  however,  about  the 
time  I  had  succeeded  in  mending  my  harness  so 
that  it  would  at  least  hold  together,  I  felt  that  the 
frost  and  chill  had  reached  these  inner  garments, 
and  they  were  hardening  around  me  like  steel 
armour.  This  freezing  of  my  clothing  ought 
to  have  been  warning  enough  to  have  quickly 
started  me  off  to  join  my  comrades. 

But  while  lingering  to  attend  to  some  final 
arrangements  a  strange,  new  sensation  suddenly 
came  to  me.  The  first  intimation  I  had  of  its 
coming  was  the  sound  of  faint,  sweet  singing  in 
my  ears.  With  such  rapidity  did  it  increase 
that  I  was  hardly  conscious  of  the  time,  until  I 
seemed  surrounded  by  the  most  ravishing  music 


I    SEEMED   SURROUNDED    BY  THE   MOST   RAVISHING    MUSIC, 


that  ever  fell  on  mortal  cars.  As  its  e-xquisite 
harmonies  thrilled  and  entranced  me,  every 
sensation  of  cold  and  suffering  left  me.  I  was 
rooted  to  the  spot.  I  was  in  an  elysium  of 
bliss.  Then,  I  remember,  although  almost  fear- 
ful of  breaking  the  spell,  I  ventured  to  look 
about  me,  and  I  found  myself  amidst  the 
most  gorgeous  colours.      Every  frosted  twig  and 


branch  seemed  prisms,  through  which  streamed 
combinations  of  brilliant  hues,  which  in  their 
dazzling  glories  appeared  to  outshine  the  most 
glorious  colour  that  ever  blazed  through  painted 
window  in  palace  or  cathedral.  These  colours 
were  not  stationary,  but  seemed  to  flit  and  dance 
around  me  in  ceaseless  changes,  and  yet  in  every 
combination  there  was  the  most  delightful 
harmony. 

Thus  was  I  dazzled  by  these  gorgeous  sights, 
and  at  the  same  time  entranced  by  the  exquisite 
music  which  ceaselessly  filled  the  air.  How 
long  I  gazed  and  listened  I  know  not.  It  may 
have  been  for  some  minutes,  but  in  all  pro- 
bability it  was  only  for  a  few  seconds. 

Then  another  startling  vision  came  before  me. 
In  my  intoxication  of  bliss,  I  happened  to  turn 
my  eyes  for  an  instant  from  the  visions  of  beauty 
above  and  around  me  to  the  trail  made  by  my 
Indians  who  had  gone  on  ahead.  What  a 
wondrous  transformation  !  Instead  of  the  great 
tracks  made  by  the  large  snow-shoes 
of  my  travelling  companions,  here  were 
spread  out  in  order  the  most  luxuriant 
and  comfortable  lounges  and  sofas 
imaginable.  What  seemed  most  re- 
markable about  them  was  the  delusion 
that  they  each  had  a  voice, 
and  now  with  a  certain 
rivalry,  and  yet  in  most 
loving,  kindly  tones,  they 
were  pleading  with  me. 
Very  distinctly  did  I  seem 
to  hear  them  say  :  "  You 
are  tired  and  weary  ;  come 
and  rest  awhile  upon  us, 
and  listen  to  this  delightful 
music  and  gaze  upon  these 
glorious  visions  ere  you  con- 
tinue your  journey  ! " 

As  I  have  already  stated,, 
all  sensations  of  cold  and 
suffering  left  me  with  the 
first  sounds  of  music. 
Now,  at  the  sight  of  these 
luxurious  couches,  a  feeling 
of  strange, .  sweet  languor 
came  over  me,  and  there 
was  an  almost  irresistible 
desire  to  respond  to  their 
invitation,  and  lie  down 
and  rest  awhile,  and  let  both  eyes  and  ears 
continue  to  be  charmed  and  delighted  by  the 
glorious  visions  and  divine  harmonies.  Very 
distinctly  do  I  remember  quoting  to  myself  the 
words  from  "  Lalla  Rookh  "  : — 

Oh  I  if  there  he  an  Elysium  on  earth, 
It  is  this,  it  is  this. 

I  can  form  no  idea  of  how  long  I  was  in  this 


-^^.v 


304 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


strange  feeling  of  ecstatic  bliss.  That  it  was  of 
brief  duration  is  quite  certain.  Doubtless,  my 
experience  was  similar  to  that  of  a  person 
rescued  from  drowning,  who  spoke  of  the 
celerity  with  which  the  events  of  his  life  vividly 
passed  before  him  in  a  few  seconds  of  time. 

Distinctly  do  I   remember  putting  away  the 
awl  and  deer-skin  twine,  and  then  gathering  up 
the  lariat  or  rope,  one  end  of  which  was  attached 
to  the  rear  end  of  my  dog-sled.     With  harness 
sufficiently  repaired,  there  was  nothing  now  left 
for  me   to   do  but  to  shout   "  Marche  "  to  my 
impatient  dogs,  and  instantly  we  would  be  off. 
But  at  that  instant  the  music  had  arrested  my 
attention  and  prevented  the  utterance  of  that 
one  welcome   word  to  my  dogs,  for  which  they 
were  eagerly  waiting,  and  which  would  have  sent 
them  flying  rapidly  along  the  trail.     Then  had 
followed  the  gorgeous  visions  and  the  sight  of 
the  luxurious   couches    inviting   to    the   repose 
of  death.     Very 
distinctly   at    that 
moment      there 
seemed     to     be 
another    voice; 
and  in  loving,  but 
emphatic,  tones  it 
said  : — 

"Look  out; you 
are  freezing  to 
death !  Remem- 
ber what  Musta- 
gan,  and  others, 
who  went  on  the 
Arctic  explora- 
tions in  order  to 
find  Sir  John 
Franklin,  have 
personally  told 
you  of  the  sensa- 
tions of  freezing 
to  death.  Rouse 
yourself,  or  you 
are  doomed! 
Shun  such  resting- 
places  ;  shut  your 
eyes  and  ears  to 
such     sights     and 

music;  and  be  off  on  the  trail  to  join  your 
comrades  on  ahead!" 

As  a  dream  to  me  now,  it  seemed  to  be  an 
effort  that  tried  all  my  physical  and  will  powers 
to  the  very  uttermost.  Fortunate  was  it  for  me 
that  I  succeeded.  I  managed  in  some  way  or 
other  to  fasten  the  end  of  the  lariat  to  the  sash 
belt  which  was  securely  tied  about  my  heavy 
moose-skin  coat.  Then  with  what  seemed  to  be 
my  last  conscious  act,  I  cried  "  Marche  "  to  my 
dogs.       Instantly   they   were   off  on    the   trail. 


Almost  simultaneously  I  was  jerked  off  my  legs, 
and  away  flew  my  snow-shoes.  On  dashed  the 
dogs.  Well  was  it  for  my  bones  and  brains  that 
over  the  logs  and  rocks  of  that  rough  country 
there  lay  a  mantle  of  snow  several  feet  in  depth. 
So  powerful  were  my  dogs,  and  so  eager  were 
they  to  join  the  other  trains,  that  my  weight  at 
the  end  of  that  long  rope  was  as  nothing  to  them. 
On  they  raced.  Sometimes  it  seemed  as  though 
I  was  ploughing  through  the  snow  head  fore- 
most. Then  my  feet  appeared  to  change  places 
with  my  head,  and  they  made  the  light  snow  fly 
around  me  in  a  cloud. 

When  some  obstruction  seemed  to  have  been 
met,  they  were  twisted  around,  and  it  appeared 
as  though  I  was  pulled  along  sideways  through 
the  deep  snow.  To  judge  by  the  marks  and 
bruises  that  long  remained  with  me,  I  must 
have  been  banged  against  some  trees  and 
pounded  against  some  rocks,  as  my  dogs  rushed 


I    WAS    PULLED    ALONG   SIDEWAYS   THROUGH    THE   DEEP   SXOW. 


madly  onward.  It  is  simply  marvellous  that  I 
was  not  killed.  However,  not  even  a  bone  was 
broken,  while  I  was  thus  involuntarily,  and,  at 
times  unconsciously,  ploughing  along  through 
the  snow  over  every  kind  of  obstruction. 

I  have  not  the  slightest  idea  of  how  many 
miles  I  was  thus  rudely  jerked  along,  but  there 
does  come  to  me  the  vivid  recollection  of  the 
moment  when  I  came  back  to  full  conscious- 
ness and  realized  that  I  was  being  very  uncere- 
moniously   treated.       The    rough    usage    and 


SHORT    STORIES. 


j^o 


pounding  sent  the  blood  coursing  through  my 
veins,  and  this  in  all  probability  saved  my  life. 
But  the  agonies  I  endured  as  the  warm  blood 
seemed  to  be  forcing  itself  through  the  different 
parts  of  my  frozen  body  were  simi)ly  indescrib- 
able. Death  would,  indeed,  have  been  a 
welcome  relief. 

After  a  time  I  was  so  far  restored  that  I  was 
able  to  seize  hold  of  the  rope  to  which  I  was 
tied,  and  with  a  good  deal  of  effort  was  able  to 
pull  myself  up  to  my  dog-sled,  on  which  I 
thankfully  threw  myself.  M}'  whole  body  now 
felt  as  though  I  were  being  rolled  in  a  bed  of 
nettles.  Next,  a  cold  sweat  burst  out  all  over 
me,  and  was  soon  followed  by  painful  shiverings. 
With  full  consciousness  restored,  I  knew  the 
danger  of  this,  and  also  that  in  spite  of  my 
sufferings  I  must  conquer  it  by  vigorous  exer- 
cise. So,  soothing  my  dogs  down  to  a  more 
moderate  gait,   I  slipped  oft"  my  dog-sled,  and 


hanging  on  to  the  rope,  I  ran  or  staggered  along 
behind  in  the  trail,  as  well  as  I  could,  until  the 
welcome  camp  -  fire  was  reached.  Here  my 
anxious  Indians  were  waiting  for  me  with 
plenty  of  hot  tea  and  a  well-cooked  dinner  of 
fish  and  fat  meat. 

When  I  was  al)le  to  tell  them  of  my  narrow 
escape  they  were  much  alarmed,  and  never 
again  did  they  allow  me  to  be  left  alone  where 
there  was  the  slightest  risk  of  any  similar  evil 
befalling  me. 

For  a  long  time  I  suffered  intensely  from  this 
experience,  but  there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  so 
on  we  were  obliged  to  go.  In  a  day  or  two  we 
reached  a  dense  spruce  forest  near  which  were 
many  dry  trees,  which  served  for  our  camp-fire. 
Here  we  made  our  camp  as  secure  as  possible, 
and  in  it  remained,  until  the  predicted  blizzard 
arrived  and  for  days  swept  over  us,  with  pitiless, 
blinding  fury. 


II. — For  Life  or  Death  in  Niagara  Rapids. 

Bv   Orrix   E.    Dunl.vp,    of   Niagara   Falls,   N.Y. 

Describing  how  an  unfortunate  man    named    Averill  battled  the  whole  day  long,  on  his   log,  with 

the  fearful  rapids    of  the    famous    river,  before    the    eyes  of  a  great  crowd.      The  desperate   efforts 

made  and  devices  arranged  to  save  him;  and  the  final  triumph  of  King  Death. 


There  never  was  another  such  thrilling 
incident  enacted  on  the  Niagara  River  as  the 
attempted  rescue  of  Averill  on  the  morning  of 
July  19th,  1853.  This  incident  has  gone  down 
in  history  as  the  climax  of  daring  displayed  in  a 
noble  effort  to  .save  a  human  being  from  being 
swept  over  the  Falls  of  Niagara  to  certain  death. 
The  strife  to  save 
his  life  was  not 
the  work  of  a 
few  minutes  or 
an  hour — but  all 
day  long  the 
unhappy  man 
hatded  with  the 
current  and 
rapids  of  the 
Upper  Niagara,  a 
few  hundred  feet 
above  the  brink 
of  the  precipice, 
in  a  despairing 
effort  to  live  ; 
while  on  the 
shore  of  the 
mainland  and 
near  -  by  islands 
thousands  of 
people  had  gath- 
ered to  witness 
the   attempted 

Vol.  iii.— 39. 


rescue,  and  do  what  they  could  toward  saving 
the  unfortunate  man  from  the  fate  that  hun" 
over  him.  It  was  an  experience  the  like  of 
which  has  never  since  or  before  been  witnessed 
on  the  famous  river. 

The  photograph  here  reproduced  is  absolutely 
unique,  showing  as  it  does  the  heroic  Averill  on 


UNIQUE   DAGUERREOTVPE    I'HOTOGRAPH    SHOWING   AVERILL  ON'   HIS   LOG. 


3o6 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


his  log.  It  has  never  to  my  knowledge  been 
published.  I  have  lived  here  ever  since  1861, 
and  did  not  know  or  even  imagine  such  a  thing 
to  be  in  existence  until  the  other  day,  when  in 
looking  over  some  old  daguerreotypes  which 
belonged  to  the  late  George  Barker,  the 
famous  photographer,  I  ran  across  this  one 
showing  Averill  on  the  log.  It  is  a  remarkable 
picture  and  a  remarkable  story. 

The  news  of  A\eriirs  peril  had,  on  the  fatal 
day,  been  sent  to  Buffalo  and  other  places,  and 
j)eople  poured  into  the  then  small  village  to  see 
the  wonderful  sight  of  a  man  clinging  to  a  log 
in  the  Niagara  rapids,  at  a  point  where  the 
slightest  relaxation  of  his  hold — the  slightest 
giving  way  to  the  fatigue  of  the  strain — would 
mean  sure  and  certain  death.  Some  few  people 
are  still  living  at  the  Falls  who  recall  having 
seen  Averill  actually  on  the  log  ;  and  when  the 
incident  is  recalled  to  them  they  experience 
anew  the  mixed  feelings  of  excitement,  of 
pleasure,  and  of  horror  which  were  theirs  on 
that  summer  day  in  1853;  and  they  shudder  at 
the  pitiful  ending  of  it  all. 

In  some  manner  the  name  "Averill"'  has  been 
corrupted  to  "  Avery "  in  the  guide-books  and 
other  meagre  records  of  the  incident ;  and  it  is 
related  that  the  man  was  lodged  on  a  rock 
instead  of  a  log.  To  this  day,  about  700ft.  up 
from  the  brink  of  the  American  Fall  there  is  a 
rock  projecting  above  the  water  that  is  pointed 
out  to  visitors  as  Avery's  Rock,  probably  owing 
to  the  fitct  that  the  log  on  which  Averill  landed 
was  located  about  that  point — possibly  against 
this  very  rock. 

Here  is  the  story.  Averill  and  two  com- 
panions had  been  out  boating  on  the  upper 
river,  and  in  some  manner  their  boat  was  caught 
by  the  current  and  carried  down  on  the  reefs 
between  Goat  Island  and  the  mainland. 
Averill's  two  companions  were  swept  over  the 
Falls  to  death  that  night,  but  he  caught  on  the 
log  from  which  the  attempt  was  made  to  save 
him.  ^Vhen  daylight  broke,  on  the  morning  of 
July  19th,  the  early  sightseers  were  startled  to 
behold  a  human  being  clinging  to  this  frail 
support  only  a  few  hundred  feet  above  the  brink 
of  the  American  Fall.  The  alarm  was  quickly 
sounded,  and  before  many  hours  the  banks  of 
the  river  were  lined  with  people,  all  ready  to  give 
their  aid.  When  first  discovered  Averill  was  lying 
along  the  log,  grasping  it  with  both  arm.s,  and 
having  the  a[)pearance  of  being  exhausted  to 
the  last  degree.  He  had  clung  to  the  log  all 
through  the  darkness  of  night,  amid  the  roar 
and  the  turmoil  of  the  awful  rapids  and  the 
falling  spray  from  the  Falls,  the  latter  drenching 
him  and  telling  him  he  was  not  far  above  the 
edge  of  the  great  Fall,  to  pass  over  which  would 


be  certain  death.  He  had  maintained  this 
position  for  at  least  eight  hours,  and  it  may  well 
be  imagined  that  the  break  of  day  in  the  east 
renewed  his  courage  and  his  hope,  ^^'ith  the 
appearance  of  people  on  the  shores  he  was  still 
more  encouraged,  and,  finally,  he  managed  to 
sit  upright  on  the  log.  A  glance  down-stream 
told  him  of  the  nearness  of  the  Fall,  and, 
comi)ared  with  its  frightful  roar,  the  sound  of 
human  voices  was  most  cheering. 

Simultaneously  with  the  gathering  of  the 
people,  many  plans  for  his  rescue  were  discussed. 
A  small  boat  was  firmly  lashed  to  a  strong  cable, 
and  an  attempt  was  made  to  let  it  down  to  him 
from  the  bridge  running  from  the  mainland  to 
Bath  Island.  After  floating  a  few  yards  in 
safety,  however,  the  craft  was  upset,  and  spun 
round  and  round  on  the  cable  like  a  piece  of 
cork  on  a  thread.  Soon  the  cable  broke,  and 
the  boat  was  swept  down-stream  past  Averill 
and  over  the  great  Fall. 

In  the  meantime  a  telegram  had  been  sent  to 
Buffalo,  twenty  miles  away,  asking  that  a  life- 
boat be  sent  to  the  Falls  by  the  first  train  that 
morning.  This  train  reached  Niagara  Falls 
about  9.30  a.m.,  and  the  boat  was  met  at  the 
station  by  twenty  or  more  strong  men,  who 
carried  it  on  their  shoulders  down  the  street  to 
the  river  bank.  To  all  appearances  it  was  a 
splendid  craft,  built  of  sheet  iron,  and  having 
air  compartments  at  either  end.  It  was  just 
such  a  boat  as  .seemed  to  assure  a  rescue,  and  its 
arrival  was  received  with  tremendous  cheers  by 
the  constantly  increasing  crowd.  Strong  ropes 
were  wound  about  the  boat,  and  two  fine  new 
cables  that  had  been  sent  with  the  craft  were 
made  fast  to  it.  Much  time  was  consumed  in 
these  preparations,  and  in  order  to  cheer  the 
heart  of  the  poor  fellow  out  on  the  log  the 
v^ords  :  "The  lifeboat  is  coming,"  were  written 
on  a  sheet  in  German  (his  native  language)  and 
swung  from  the  bridge  so  that  he  could  see  it. 
He  seemed  to  understand  that  the  sheet  bore 
words  of  hope,  and  the  people  believed  he 
understood.  Finally  the  lifeboat  was  ready  to 
be  let  down  and  was  launched.  It  was  a 
moment  of  intense  excitement.  The  two 
cables  were  held  by  many  men,  who  stationed 
themselves  at  each  end  of  the  bridge  in  order 
that  they  might  thus  direct  the  course  of  the 
craft.  The  progress  made  by  the  boat  was 
satisfactory.  She  seemed  to  dance  on  the 
waves  of  the  raj^ids  and  t(j  stand  in  no  fear  of 
the  reefs.  But  the  Niagara  River  just  above  the 
Horseshoe  and  American  Falls  has  its  surface 
):)roken  by  a  number  of  small  falls  as  the 
water  leaps  over  the  formidable  reefs.  At 
the  point  where  Averill  was  lodged  there 
were    many     cross-currents  ;     and     in     these 


SHORT    STORIES. 


307 


reefs     and    currents    lay    the    danger    to    the 
boat.     Steadily  the  craft  was  let  down  ;  now  she 
was  about  to  pass  over  the  largest  reef  between 
the  log  and    the   rescuing   party.     Striking  this 
reef,  she  tipped  over  ;  then  she  swung  around, 
but   continued    down    towards    Averill,    partly 
filled  with  water.     Nearing  the   log,    the    boat 
became    unmanageable.      The    weight    of    the 
cables  and  their   length    made   it   hard    lor   the 
men  on  the  bridge  to  handle  them.     The   boat 
swung  back  and  forth  near  the  log  with  awful 
force,  and  the  fear  arosi-  that  Averill  would  be 
knocked    off.      Finally    it    struck    the    log    and 
stood   firm.      It  had    reached    the 
point  to  which  it  was  dispatched. 
There     were     cheers     from     the 
gathered    thousands.      In    a    few 
minutes,  however,  it  was  seen  that 
the  boat  was  in  a  useless  position.  f 

It  lay  on  the  log  with  its  hollow 
inside  directed  ui)-stream,  so  that 
the  entire  force  of  the  terrible 
current  pressed  it,  in  an  almost 
immovable  position,  against  the 
timber.  Averill  was  seen  to  climb 
out  on  the  log  towards  the  boat, 
but  in  his  greatly  weakened  con- 
dition he  could  do  nothing  much. 
The  men  up  on  the  bridge  carried 
both  of  the  cables  to  one  end  of 
the  structure  and  began  a  mighty 
effort  to  dislodge  it.  They  were 
successful,  but  the  minute  the  boat 
was  released  from  the  log  it  swung 
down  -  stream  upside  down.  It 
pitched  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  cables  were  caught  on  the 
rocks,  and  soon  the  boat  was  fast 
under  the  fall  of  water  plunging 
over  the  reef.  In  their  efforts  to 
recover  the  boat  the  men  broke  one  of  the 
cables,  while  the  other  was  torn  away  by  the 
current.  Finally,  the  boat  passed  swiftly  on  the 
current  to  the  Fall,  over  which  it  leaped  and 
then  disappeared. 

This  was  the  second  boat  sacrificed  to  save 
poor  Averill — who,  it  was  plainly  seen,  was 
visibly  affected  by  the  loss  of  this  lifeboat.  So 
much  so,  in  fact,  that  his  hope  seemed  to  leave 
him.  But  the  people  on  shore  did  all  they 
could  to  encourage  him,  and  the  activity  displayed 
must  have  told  him  that  all  hope  was  not  lost. 
A  third  boat  was  obtained.  It  was  long,  with  a 
fiat  bottom,  and  was  of  the  shape  commonly 
called  a  "  scow."  Its  course  down  the  river 
to  the  log  was  most  fortunate.  It  ran  right  up 
alongside  the  log  without  accident,  and  the  faces 
of  the  onlookers  beamed  with  ho{)e.  The  ex- 
citement, as  you   may  suppose,  was  very  great. 


As  the  craft  approached  the  doomed  man  he 
observed  its  successful  trip  ;  and,  standing  on 
the  log,  gave  signals  to  the  men  on  the  bridge 
as  to  how  to  direct  it.  As  the  boat  approached 
him  he  seized  it  with  a  gladness  that  made  every 
heart  thrill.  He  had  been  taken  from  the  log  ! 
He  signalled  to  the  men  to  pull  in.  The  voyage 
up-stream  was  commenced.  AVho  can  picture 
the  intensity  of  the  excitement  and  interest 
among  the  people  on  shore  ?  There  in  a 
small  boat  stood  a  man  w'ho  for  many  hours 
had  been  exposed  to  a  terrible  strain,  and 
this    boat  —  litrrally    his    life — was    held    only 


■  HIS    LIFE   WAS    HELD   ONLY    BY   A   SLF.XDER   ROPE. 

by  a  slender  rope  1  Behind  him  was  the 
most  stupendous  and  dangerous  waterfall 
in  the  whole  world.  To  be  saved  he  must 
make  the  trip  up  through  the  rapids  of  the 
Upper  Niagara,  pulled  by  the  strength  of  men, 
and  wholly  dependent  on  the  rope  not  break- 
ing. Before  the  boat  had  been  hauled  very  far, 
however,  some  of  the  tackle  caught,  and  it  was 
found  necessary  to  relax  the  strain  a  little. 
When  this  was  done,  the  boat  swung  down  the 
river.  It  floated  round  below  the  log,  and  when 
the  men  on  the  bridge  exerted  themselves,  they 
found  the  cable  had  become  entangled.  Try 
their  best  they  could  not  move  the  boat :  pulling 
too  hard  they  tipped  it,  and  it  partly  filled  with 
water.  Averill  was  now  in  a  more  dangerous 
position  than  when  first  discovered.  He  had  to 
work  to  save  his  life.  He  pulled  off  his  boot 
and    baled   the    boat   with   all    his    remaining 


3o8 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


strength.  Then  he  climbed  out  on  the  log  ;  he 
pushed  madly  at  the  boat,  but  all  in  vain.  Poor 
fellow  !  He  was  indeed  struggling  for  his  life. 
He  could  not  move  it.  Over  an  hour  was 
occupied  in  this  work,  and  it  was  a  precious 
hour,  for  the  day  was  passing  rapidly.  That 
boat  retained  its  position  for  over  three  montJis, 
until  the  action  of  the  current  washed  the  cable 
in  two,  allowing  it  to  break  away  and  float  over 
the  Fall. 

Darkness  was  not  to  be  allowed  to  settle 
without  another  effort  at  rescue  being  made. 
A  raft,  2oft.  to  3cft.  long  and  5ft.  wide,  was 
thrown  together  with  wonderful  rapidity.  It 
was  made  of  two  stout  poles  set  5ft.  apart  and 
fastened  by  nailing  2in.  boards  at  the  ends. 
Thus  it  was  a  sort  of  a  skeleton -raft,  having 
platforms  at  each  end.  To  the  upper-end 
platform  two  cables  were  attached,  also  a  large 
empty  barrel  to  add  to  its  buoyancy.  On  the 
lower  platform,  the  one  likely  to  reach  Averill 
first,  was  tied  a  mass  of  ropes,  in  which  it  was 
intended  he  should  lash  himself  There  was 
also  placed  on  this  lower  platform  a  tin  can  of 
provisions,  for  it  was  conceived  that 
the  poor  man  must  now  be  about 
famished.  All  previous  efforts  to 
send  him  food  had  failed.  The 
raft  was  safely  launched,  and  it 
reached  the  log  in  safety.  Averill 
climbed  on  to  the  platform  intended 
for  him,  and  lashed  himself  tightly 
to  it  by  the  ropes.  He  signalled  to 
be  drawn  up.  With  the  pulling  of 
the  men,  the  raft  advanced  up- 
stream. The  empty  cask  or  barrel 
had  a  tendency  to  raise  the  front 
end  to  such  an  elevation  that,  as 
the  men  pulled,  the  lower  end  of 
the  raft,  to  which  Averill  was  lashed, 
was  de])ressed  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  water  washed  over  half  of 
it.  Averill  had  to  get  up  on  all 
fours  to  keep  from  being  drowned. 
He  kept  his  chin  well  elevated, 
however.  The  people  on  shore  ex- 
pected every  minute  to  see  him 
disappear.  Soon,  however,  the  front 
part  of  the  raft  caught  under  a  reef 
and  the  weight  of  the  water  pressed 
it  down.  The  ropes  were  slackened: 
the  raft  fell  back,  but  again  she 
caught  on  her  return.  It  was  then 
decided  to  swing  the  raft  off  towards  a  small 
island.  This  was  done,  but  efforts  to  pull 
it  up  in  that  direction  also  failed.  Its  course 
was  changed  slightly,  and  another  effort  to  free 
it  was  made.  This  time  the  ropes  caught  on 
the    rocks    and  the    raft     became     stationary. 


However,  it  was  at  a  point  where  the  current 
and  rapids  were  not  very  strong,  and  the  raft 
floated  quietly,  so  that  Averill  was  able  to  rest. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  one  of  the  large  ferry- 
boats which  had  been  brought  u[)  from  the 
lower  river  in  the  gorge,  where  it  was  used  to 
ply  between  the  New  York  and  Canadian  shores, 
was  pressed  into  service.  She  was  a  heavy 
craft.  She  was  let  down  stream  very  carefully. 
As  she  passed  the  reefs  she  righted  every 
time.  By  this  time  many  had  given  up  the 
thought  that  Averill  could  ever  be  rescued  by 
a  boat,  for  every  craft  of  this  kind  dipped  and 
filled  at  the  terrible  reefs.  But  the  action  of 
this  last  boat  inspired  new  hope.  It  reached 
Averill.  He  untied  his  lashings  and  awaited  the 
approach  of  the  boat.  He  stood  upright.  The 
boat  was  there.  He  reached  out  to  grasp  her. 
There  was  a  little  fall  right  in  front  of  his  raft. 
As  the  boat  reached  this  fall  it  seem.ed  to  stop ; 
then  it  swung  round  and  plunged  over  the  little 
fall  with  a  rush.  It  was  just  at  that  moment 
that  Averill  reached  out  to  grasp  it.  The  boat 
struck  him  a  terrific  blow  in  the  chest.     In  an 


THE    BOAT   STKLCK    HIM    A    TERRIPIC    ILOW    IN    THE   CHEST. 

instant  he  was  knocked  into  the  river  and  was 

plunging  blindly  on  toward  the  fearful  Falls,  in 

^  the   torrent   of    the    rapids   and   the   grasp    of 

the    relentless    current.       Occasionally,  as    the 


unfortunate 
were     seen 


man 
to 


was  carried   along,   his    arms 


swmg 


above      the      water. 


SHORT    STORIES. 


309 


No  human  power  could  save  him  now.  In 
another  moment  he  was  swept  over  the  Falls 
into  eternity.  From  the  people  on  shore  there 
burst  a  never-to-be-forgotten  cry  of  horror.  All 
the  feverish  efforts  of  the  day  were  fruitless. 
Averill  was  dead.  On  the  river  bank  that  day 
women  fell  faintinp;  to  the  ground,  terror-stricken 
at  the  awful  fate  they  had  seen  the  man  meet, 
after  that  long  and  pitiful  fight  for  life.  And 
the  rushing  waters  of  the  Niagara  went  on  pour- 
ing down  from  Lake  Erie.  It  is  estimated 
that  15,000,000  cubic  feet  of  water  pass  over 
the  Falls  every  minute  :  but  even  this  force  of 


water  has  not  been  sufficient  to  wash  from  the 
little  rock  that  stands  far  out  in  the  rapids  above 
the  American  Fall  the  history  of  the  intensely 
tiirilling  incident  of  that  July  day  in  1S53. 

Averill's  body  was  never  recovered.  In  fancy 
it  is  grouped,  awaiting  the  resurrection  morn, 
with  many  others  who  had  before  and  have 
since  made  the  awful  plunge  to  death  over  the 
body-retaining  American  Fall ;  but  the  small 
rock  projecting  above  the  river's  surface  is  as 
fitting  a  monument  to  the  unha[)py  man's 
memory  as  any  that  might  have  been  erected  by 
human  hands. 


lU.  -The  Murder  of  Ismail. 

Bv   Thomas    Dickson,    of   Cevlon. 

A  narrative  of  the  terrible  fate  meted  out  to  a    Mohammedan    money-lender   in  Ceylon    by   his   long- 
suffering  victim.s.      The    author   is    acquainted  with    every   minute    detail    of  this   amazing  episode,  he 
having  actually  served  on  the  jury  which  tried  the  murderers. 


For  forty  years  coffee  had  thriven  amazingly 
in  the  upland  valleys  of  the  beautiful  tropical 
Island  of  Ceylon,  bringing  wealth  alike  to 
European  planters  and  natives. 

Hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  human  beings 
depended  upon  the 
culture  of  the  fragrant 
bean.  Every  Kandyan 
Singhalese  villager 
owned  half-a-dozen  or 
more  trees,  and  by  the 
sale  of  the  crop  he  was 
enabled  to  indulge  in 
luxuries  unknown  to  his 
forefathers. 

Nowhere  did  these 
native  coffee  gardens 
flourish  more  luxuriantly 
than  in  the  rich  Valle\ 
of  Matela  :  and  there 
many  Singhalese  were 
the  owners  of  well- 
cultivated  coffee  patches 
of  several  acres  in 
extent. 

But  the  history  of 
Ceylon  is  full  of  changes, 
and  tlie  career  of  coftei- 
was  drawing  to  a  close. 
A  dire  fungus  took 
possession  of  the  foliage, 
and  year  by  year  weak- 
ened the  trees  to  such 
an  extent  that,  from 

producing  crops  only  on  alternate  years,  they  physical  strength  and  courage,  and  wherever  he 
ceased  to  bear  any  crop  at  all.  The  first  coffee  went  he  was  received  with  smiles  and  cringing 
to  succumb  to  the  dread  pest  was  that  grown        salaams,  which  as  quickly  changed  to  menaces 


IHE    .-VLTHOK,    .MR.    THO.\l.\S     DICKSON",    WHO   SERVED   ON    THE   JLKV 
WHICH    TKIEU   THE    Ml'KDERERS. 

F)07)t  a  Photo,  by  M'illiaiiz  U'/titeiey,  Bayswatci: 


in  the  native  gardens,  for  the  Singhalese  is  not 
an  enthusiastic  cultivator,  and  he  soon  gave  up 
the  fight  to  save  his  coffee  garden. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  there  lived  in  the 

town  of  Matela  a 
wealthy  Mohammedan 
trader,  zx\  Afghan,  or 
Arab,  as  they  are  called 
in  Ceylon,  who  had 
acquired  considerable 
riches  by  lending  money 
to  the  native  owners  of 
small  coffee  gardens  on 
the  security  of  their 
coffee  crops.  His  name 
was  Ismail.  Like  all 
men  of  his  kidney, 
Ismail  charged  excessive 
rates  of  interest,  and 
once  in  his  debt  few 
were  able  to  shake 
themselves  free.  As  the 
coffee  crops  commenced 
to  fail,  and  speedily  went 
from  bad  to  worse, 
Ismail  commenced  such 
a  reign  of  tyranny  and 
oppression,  aided  by 
the  terrors  of  the  law, 
as  speedily  made  him 
the  best  hated  and 
feared  man  in  all  Matela. 
However,  he  was  a 
man  of 
appearance    and 


commanding 


great 


3IO 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


and  curses  when  his  back  was  turned.  Every 
little  garden  proprietor  who  was  unable  to  pay 
his  advances  was  ruthlessly  sold  up ;  and  if  the 
sale  of  the  victim's  field  was  insufficient  to  cover 
the  indebtedness — as  it  generally  was — his  house 
and  cattle  were  immediately  seized  and  sold 
over  his  unfortunate  head. 

Now,  there  was  one  village  in  particular  in  the 
Matela  Valley  almost  every  family  of  which 
had  suffered  in  one  way  or  other  from  Ismail's 
attentions.  More  than  half  the  families  had 
been  sold  up,  and  had  either  to  leave  and 
become  vagabonds,  or  else  crowd  into  their 
neighbours'  holdings.  But  most  of  the  latter 
were  themselves  also  hopelessly  in  debt  to  the 
all-absorbing  Ismail. 

But  even  a  worm  will  turn,  and  this  oppres- 
sion began  to  breed  revolt.  Little  by  little 
vague  hints  and  muttered  threats  assumed  a 
more  definite  shape,  and  from  being  whispered 
with  fear  and  trembling  at  night,  a  conspiracy 
was  planned  by  the  villagers  in  the  open  day, 
to  rid  themselves  of  this  tyrant.  A  body  of 
young  men  banded  together  to  murder  Ismail, 
and  murder  him  in  such  a  diabolical  way  as 
would  go  far  to  pay  him  back  for  the  misery  he 
had  brought  on  so  many  households.  Night  after 
night  the  conspirators  met  and  discussed  their 
plans,  and,  as  is  usual  in 
Ceylon,  whenever  ras- 
cality is  to  the  fore,  a 
Buddhis"  priest,  named 
Horatella  Unanse,  was 
one  of  the  prime  instiga- 
tors. Their  plans  were 
perfectly  laid,  and  suc- 
ceeded only  too  well. 

In  the  same  village 
there  lived  a  Singhalese 
girl  called  Punchinona, 
whom  Ismail  used  to 
visit  when  he  came  there 
to  collect  his  rents  and 
interest.  She  was  a 
handsome  w'oman,  with 
a  well  -  developed  figure 
and  volui)tuous  mouth 
so  common  amongst  the 
Kandyans.  Large  and 
expressive  eyes  and  beau- 
tiful teeth  were  in  her 
case  unspoiled  by  the 
red  stain  of  the  betel-nut. 
She  was  an  orphan,  living 
alone  with  her  grand- 
mother, and  was  un- 
married. This  girl  was 
easily  persuaded  to  act 
the    part    of   "Delilah." 


Quite  unaware  of  the  plot  against  his  life,  the 
unsuspecting  Ismail  paid  his  next  visit  to  the 
locality,  and  having  spent  the  day  bullying, 
abusing,  and  threatening,  as  was  his  wont, 
retired  in  the  evening  to  "  Delilah's  "  house. 

Shortly  after  dark  the  conspirators  met  at  a 
neighbouring  tenement,  and  waited  patiently 
till  midnight.  Lots  were  drawn  as  to  who 
should  enter  and  tackle  Ismail,  and  eight  men 
were  chosen.  The  rest  were  to  surround  the 
house  and  prevent  escape.  There  was  a  slight 
moon,  and  by  its  light  alone  they  silently 
approached  the  house  of  "  Delilah,"  and  effec- 
tually surrounded  it.  One  of  them  then  stepped 
stealthily  forward  and  tapped  gently  at  the  door. 
Ismail  slept,  but  not  so  Punchinona.  She  lay 
expecting  the  summons,  and,  cautiously  rising, 
opened  the  door  to  the  conspirators.  With  a 
shout  they  were  upon  the  hated  one,  endeavour- 
ing their  utmost  to  tie  him  hand  and  foot  with 
the  ropes  they  had  brought  with  them.  But 
Ismail,  as  I  have  said,  was  a  strong  and  reso- 
lute man,  and,  surprised  and  overpowered  by 
numbers  as  he  was,  yet  he  fought  like  Samson 
himself.  The  very  numbers  of  his  assailants 
were  in  his  favour,  for  the  room  was  small  and 
as  dark  as  pitch.  The  frail  walls  of  mud  and 
sticks   rocked  to  and   fro  as    the    combat   was 


A    TUMBLING,    WRITHING    MASS   OF    HUMANITY   FELL    OUT    INTO    THE    MOONLll.HT. 


SHORT    STORIES. 


;ii 


fought  out  amidst  darkness,  blows,  shouts,  and 
curses.  The  little  house  obviously  could  not 
stand  this  imllc  very  long,  and  so  presently,  with 
a  crash  like  thunder,  tlie  whole  side  wall  fell 
out,  and  a  tumbling,  writhing,  cursing  mass  of 
humanity  fell  out  into  the  moonlight.  Vet  two 
assailants  to  each  limb  were  insufficient  to 
conquer  Ismail,  and  it  was  not  till  overborne 
by  fresh  numbers  that  he  was  finally  bound 
hand  and  foot  and  carried  to  a  giant  cocoa-nut 
l)alm  which  grew  in  the  centre  of  the  village. 
There  the  contjuered  Ismail  was  laid  on  his 
back — conquered  it  is  true,  but  not  subdued, 
for  he  still  glared  and  hurled  defiant  curses  at 
his  enemies. 

Carefully  approaching  their  prisoner  they 
l^ound  fresh  ropes  round  and  round  his  body, 
pinioning  his  arms  securely  to  his  sides.     They 


and,  joined  by  many  other  villagers,  they  now 
surrounded  their  prisoner  in  a  dense  circle, 
holding  torches  of  flaming  rags  steeped  in  oil 
above  their  heads,  and  mocking  him.  To 
enhance  this  weird  spectacle  the  Buddhist 
priest  stepped  out,  his  clean-shaven  skull  shining 
and  flickering  in  the  torchlight.  A  gun  was 
produced,  and  the  ceremony  of  loading  it  was 
performed  in  front  of  everyone.  First  the 
priest  blessed  the  gun  ;  then,  in  turn,  the  powder 
and  bullets ;  and  finally,  when  the  weapon  was 
loaded,  he  blessed  the  man  who  had  been 
chosen  to  shoot  Ismail.  Then  the  crowd 
opened  right  and  left,  and  held  their  breath 
in  silence  as  the  gun  was  brought  to  bear  on 
their  victim.  But  Ismail  had  no  intention  of 
sitting  still  to  be  shot.  No  sooner  did  he 
see  the  gun   pointed   in   his  direction  than  he 


"  :in;  weary  n.wcE  "F  death  \vt:> 


tiEFORE   THE    MOCKING   CROWD. 


then  tethered  him  to  the  trunk  of  the  big  cocoa- 
nut  tree  with  about  30ft.  of  strong  rope,  and,  with 
a  few  slashes  with  a  sharp  knife,  they  severed  the 
thongs  which  bound  his  legs.  Ismail  was  now 
free  to  get  up  on  his  legs,  though  he  could  only 
move  to  the  length  of  his  tethering-rope  in 
circles  round  the  tree.  It  was  some  time,  how- 
ever, before  the  man  could  recover  himself 
sufficiently  to  rise,  as  he  had  been  very  roughly 
handled.  Rise  he  did,  however,  presently,  to 
strain  and  tug  at  his  thongs  and  make  futile 
dashes  at  his  enemies. 

The  latter,  for  their  part,  had  not  been  idle. 


bounded  out  of  the  line  of  fire,  and  thus  the 
weary  dance  of  death  went  on  before  the 
mocking  crowd.  As  soon  as  the  first  man 
got  tired  of  stalking  his  retreating  prisoner, 
another  of  the  chosen  eight  stepped  forward 
and  took  his  place,  giving  Ismail  not  one 
moment's  rest  from  imminent  death.  Ever 
and  anon  the  prisoner  would  retreat  to 
his  tree  and  endeavour  to  entice  his  enemies 
within  the  thirty-foot  circle.  Then,  with  the 
bound  of  a  panther,  he  would  leap  forward  and 
struggle  with  all  his  great  strength  to  free  his 
pinioned  arms  or  reach  one  of  his  tormentors. 


312 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Morning  dawned  and  found  the  spectators 
increased  to  a  great  crowd,  while  Ismail  still 
retreated  and  dodged  the  threatening  muzzle. 

But  even  his  great  strength  and  endurance 
were  drawing  to  an  end  ;  and  between  ten  and 
eleven  o'clock  the  same  morning,  exhausted 
with  his  struggle  with  death,  he  sank  forward  on 
his  knees  and  was  shot  through  the  heart.  He 
died  game,  refusing  by  word  or  sign  to  solicit 
mercy.  It  was  never  known  which  of  the  eight  it 
was  that  shot  him,  for  they  all  claimed  the  glory 


sentenced  to  death,  and  will  never  forget  the 
scene.  The  court-house  was  surrounded  by  a 
dense  throng  of  village  sympathizers,  weeping 
women  and  silent  men.  No  sooner  was  the 
death  sentence  pronounced  upon  them  through 
the  court  interpreter  than  the  eight  prisoners 
simultaneously  burst  into  a  most  plaintive 
Singhalese  hymn,  or  death  song.  Such  an 
extraordinary  thing  had  never  occurred  before, 
and  so  surprised  and  spellbound  were  one  and 
all  by  this  weird  singing,  that  it  was  some  time 


IHK    EIGHT    I'RISONERS    BURST    INTO   A    .MOST    PL.MNTIVE    riYMN. 


of  it ;  and  during  the  ten  hours  he  was  pursued 
round  and  round  the  tree  every  one  of  the 
eight  had  held  the  gun  to  his  shoulder. 

The  villagers  made  no  attempt  to  conceal 
their  crime.  They  considered  they  had  rid  the 
world  of  a  tyrant,  and  were  proud  of  the  fact. 
I   was    present   in   court  when  the   eight   were 


before  the  officials  recovered  themselves  suffi- 
ciently to  endeavour  to  ])rocure  silence.  It  was 
a  moving  scene,  and  when  coupled  with  the 
sobs  and  wails  of  their  relatives  outside  made 
one  glad  to  get  away.  The  men  all  considered 
themselves  martyrs,  and  went  to  the  gallows 
with  stoical  calm. 


Strange    Sights    in    ttie    Himalayas. 

By  Ellis  Griffiths. 

A  plain,  straightforward  narrative  of  adventure  and  research  among  the  highest  mountains  on  earth. 
Illustrated  with  some  remarkable  photographs   and  other  pictures  of  curious  sights  witnessed  by  one 

of  the  most  able  of  modern  Himalayan  travellers. 


O  one  knows  the  Himalayas  better 
than  Major  L.  A.  Waddell,  LL.D., 
F.L.S.,  etc.,  Indian  Army  Medical 
Corps,  whose  explorations  are  de- 
scribed in  brief  in  this  article. 
Major  Waddell  has  had  no  less  than  fourteen 
years' experience  of  Himalayan  sketching,  shoot- 
ing, and  collecting,  especially  on  the  frontiers  of 
Tibet  and  Nepal.  He  got  nearer  to  Mount 
Everest,  the  highest  point  on  this  planet,  than 
any  European,  except,  perhaps.  Hooker ;  and 
the  complete  records  of  his  journeys  ate  em- 
bodied in  his  book,  "Among  the  Himalayas," 
published  a  few  months  ago  by  Alessrs. 
Constable. 

Major  Waddell  made  his  head-quarters  at 
Darjeeling,  the  well-known  hill-station  of  India, 
which  is  twenty-four  hours  by  rail  from  Calcutta, 
and  lies  several  thousand  feet  above  sea 
level.  The  views  from  this  place  are  justly  re- 
nowned. "  To  see  the  famous  sunrise  on  the 
snows,"  says  Major  Waddell,  "  I  got  up  long 
before  daybreak  and  rode  out  to  Senchal, 
a  peak  1,500ft.  higher  than  Darjeeling. 
Before  me  lay  the  grandest  snowy  landscape 
in  the  world.  Snowy  mountains  stretched 
round  nearly  half 
the  horizon,  cul- 
minating in  the 
mighty  mass  of 
Kanchen  -  junga, 
with  its  T 3,000ft. 
of  everlasting 
snow.  The  vast- 
ness  of  the  view 
was  almost  op- 
pressive. From 
the  deep  grove 
of  the  silvery 
Rang-eet  River, 
several  thousand 
feet  below,  great 
masses  of  dark 
forest-clad  moun- 
tains rose  tier 
upon  tier,  carry- 
ing the  eye  up 
to  the  majestic 
snows,  with  the 
colossal     Kan- 

Vol.  iii.—OO 


chen-junga  towering  above  the  river  in  the  back- 
ground. At  one  glance  you  see  an  elevation 
of  the  earth's  surface  more  than  five  miles  in 
vertical  height.  Imagine  Mont  Blanc  rearing 
its  full  height  abruptly  from  the  sea-shore, 
bearing  upon  its  summit  Ben  Nevis,  the  highest 
mountain  in  Great  Britain.  Then  add  two 
-Snowdons,  one  on  top  of  the  other,  and 
finally  take  in  at  one  glance  the  super- 
imposed mountain.  Then,  indeed,  you  will 
have  some  adequate  idea  of  ihe  view  from 
Senchal." 

It  may  well  be  said  that  the  man  who  has 
travelled  in  the  Himalayas  is  spoilt  for  natural 
scenery  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  so 
satiated  is  he  with  the  wonders  of  Nature.  The 
Himalayas  have  several  peaks  over  28,000ft., 
and  more  than  1,100  over  20,000ft.  And  so 
enormous  is  the  projecting  mass  of  the  range 
that  physicists  have  shown  how  it  not  only 
draws  the  plumb-line  considerably  towards  it, 
but  actually  attracts  the  sea  so  as  to  pull  it 
several  hundred  feet  up  its  side.  Yet  this  is  a 
fact  so  little  known  that  most  sea  captains 
would  stare  if  you  told  them  that  coming  from 
Ceylon  to  Calcutta  they  actually  sail  up-hill  1 


MAjUr, 


.  b   CAKAVAN    ABOUT   TO    DEPART. 


3^4 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


..^:.        '-•:.  ,  .11.        ^I.IL,         <jr        THE 

COOLIES,  AND  ''  GENKRAI,  UTILITY  " 

Front  rt]  MAX.  [Photo. 


Travelling  in  Up- 
per Sikhim  is  a  big 
business,  demanding 
costly  and  elaborate 
preparation.  Little 
or  no  food  is  to  be 
had  locally,  whilst 
roads  are  so  few  and 
bad  that  everything 
must  be  carried  on 
men's  backs.  Fre- 
quently there  is  no 
shelter,  except  what 
you  bring  with  you, 
against  the  sudden 
trying  changes  of 
climate  experienced 
in  journeying  in  and 
out  of  the  deep 
tropical  valleys  in 
the  ascent  towards 
the  snows.  You 
must  bring  your  own 
and  your  servants' 
food,  cooking  uten- 
sils, bedding,  forage, 
and  tents.  Also  food 
and  bedding  for  your 
porters  ;  so  that  you  want  a  small  army  to  carry 
your  food  alone.  Another  difficulty  which  the 
mountaineer  experiences  is  the  want  of  proper 
guides.  Major  Waddell,  however,  was  fortunate 
enough  to  secure  as  guide  an  Upper  Sikhim 
man,  named  Kintoop,  a  noted  Tibetan  explorer, 
who  also  acted  as  head  man  of  the  coolies.  The 
illustration  on  the  previous  page  represents  the 
^lajor's  caravan  just  as  it  was  about  to  depart. 

"  There  was  a  crowd  of  coolies  outside,  and 
their  head  man  and  our  servants  inside,  w-eigh- 
ing  the  various  coolie  loads  into  which  we 
divided  our  baggage,  stores,  and  food,  as  well  as 
tents,  shooting,  collecting,  surveying,  and  photo- 
graphic apparatus.  All  told,  the  party,  includ- 
ing my  companion  and  my.self,  numbered 
fifty-three.  Of  these  forty-one  were  porters 
or  coolies.  Their  chief  was  named  Achoom,  a 
dignified  Lepcha,  who  acted  as  courier,  commis- 
sariat officer,  chef,  waiter,  and  valet — all  rolled 
into  one.  There  was  nothing  he  could  not  do, 
from  cooking  some  little  dainty  dish  to  carving 
a  bamboo  flute  and  decorating  it  with  poker- 
work.  He  shot  game,  and  dexterously  pre- 
pared the  skins  for  my  collection.  The  coolies 
were  mostly  from  the  Tartar  tribes  of  Dar- 
jeeling — strong  as  horses,  all  of  them.  Many 
of  them  brought  their  wives,  who  carried  even 
heavier  loads  than  the  men.  Each  coolie 
carried  in  his  hand  a  hollow  bamboo  stick  to 
support  the  load  when  resting  by  the  way,  and 


also  to  use  as  a  water-bottle  when  crossing  the 
sultry  ravines." 

Next  we  have  a  portrait  of  Kintoop,  or  "  the 
Almighty  One,"  who  was  quite  a  hero  in  his  way, 
and  certainly  a  most  interesting  and  romantic 
personage.  "  He  is  the  explorer  '  K.  P.'  of  the 
Indian  survey  reports,  and  did  many  deeds  of 
daring  in  Tibet.  He  had  innumerable  experi- 
ences of  adventure,  sport,  and  narrow  escapes  in 
the  wild  unknown  parts  of  Tibet,  Bhotan,  and 
Nepal,  and  he  has  done  important  geographical 
work  for  the  Indian  Government.  Alone  and 
unarmed,  Kintoop  forced  his  way  into  a  weird 
country  a  few  marches  distant  from  Lhasa,  and 
entered  territory  absolutely  unexplored  —  a 
no  man's  land,  full  of  fierce  savages,  who 
have  successfully  resisted  the  entrance  of 
strangers,  and  who  killed  Tibetans  purely  on 
principle.  Kintoop,  I  saj',  went  far  into  this 
country  with  his  life  in  his  hands,  and  nearly 
perished  from  cold  and  hunger.  He  was 
treacherously  sold  as  a  slave,  and  whilst  still  a 
fugitive — because  he  did  succeed  in  escaping — 
he  struggled  off  down  the  right  bank  of  the 
Tsang-Po,  faithful  to  his  mission,  until  he  got 
nearly  within  sight  of  the  plains  of  Assam.   Then 


/■ 


THE    IIBETAN   EXPLORER    AND   ADVENTURER,    WHO   ACTED 
AS   .MAJOR   WADDELL's   GUIDE. 


STRANOE    SIGHTS    IN   THE    HIMALAYAS. 


j^D 


when  further 
progress  was 
barred  he,  accor- 
ding to  arrange- 
ment, sent  500 
specially  marked 
one-foot  logs 
down  this  remote 
river.  However, 
this  ingenious 
idea,  carried  out 
at  such  great 
pains,  unfortu- 
nately came  to 
nothing,  because 
no  one  was 
sent  to  watch 
for  the  logs 
in  Assam, 
owing  to  the 
death  of 
Kintoop's  mas- 
ter, Captain 
Harman,  who 
was  frozen  to 
death  amid  the 
snows  of  Kan- 
chen-junga. 
These  thrilling 
adventures  of 
Kintoop  may  be 
found  enlivening 
the  dull  reports 
of  the  Indian 
Survey  Depart- 
ment." 

Just  as  .Major 
Waddell's  party 
was  starting  from 
Darjeeling,  the 
coolies  and  the 
rest  got  mixed 
up  in  a  kind  of 
fair.  '"We  met 
gay  crowds  of 
holiday  -  makers,  and  heard  unwonted  sounds 
of  revelry  from  the  village  below.  It  was 
a  Bhotiya  Bustee.  \Ve  found  the  village  en 
fete  on  account  of  the  Nepalese  Feast  of  the 
Lanterns.  The  fun  of  the  fair  was  both  fast 
and  furious — dancing  and  singing,  playing  on 
pipes,  etc.  :  and  they  even  had  a  kind  of  Earl's 
Court  Big  Wheel  of  j)rimitive  construction.  My 
porters  were  treated  to  unlimited  beer,  and 
when  I  saw  them  some  of  them  were  already 
drunk.  Alas !  even  Kintoop  was  not  above 
suspicion.  We  saw  the  Nepalese  stopping  our 
coolies  and  making  them  drink.  Needless  to 
say,  they  did  not  want  much  persuading,   but 


ground 


and 


deposited  their  loads    on   ihe 
joined  in  the  revelry." 

But  in  due  time  the  Major  got  all  his 
caravan  together  and  started  off.  Vexatious 
incidents  of  travel  were  very  much  to  the 
fore,  because  hardly  had  the  party  started 
before  one  of  the  porters  dropped  a  box  of 
precious  photographic  glass  plates  into  a 
dangerous  torrent. 

"  We  soon  got  into  native  or  indepen- 
dent Sikhim,  and  at  once  missed  the  good 
roads  of  British  territory.  I  found  nothing 
but  narrow  goat  tracks  leading  through  tall 
gingers.  We  at  length  reached  the  hamlet 
of  Kitam,  hedged  about  with  orange  groves. 


THE    M.AJOK  S   CAK.WAN"    ^1"AK1I\'',    FK.  ..1    : 1  AUJKl.l.I  NG. 


Here   we   were  regaled  with    beer  in 


fresh-cut 
bamboo  jugs  with  new  sipping-reeds.  We  had 
a  big  crowd  of  admirers.  Afterwards  we  strolled 
through  the  village  and  among  the  homesteads, 
which  were  surrounded  by  clumps  of  feathery 
bamboo,  banana,  and  ginger  trees.  We  watched 
the  villagers  weaving  at  their  primitive  looms. 
They  make  a  cotton  fibre,  which  they  dye  with 
wild  madder  from  the  forest  near  by.  They  don't 
have  to  work  very  much,  these  people  ;  their 
very  umbrellas  grow  by  the  wayside,  and  it 
was  very  comical  to  see  children,  as  repre- 
sented in  the  illustration,  sheltering  from  a 
shower   under   a    leaf   of  the  giant   calladium, 


3i6 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


which    they    had     plucked    in    the     adjoining 
jungle." 

Major  Waddell  had  much  difficulty  in  photo- 
graphing these  people  on  account  of  the  horror 
they  had  of  the  "  Evil  Eye  of  the  box."  An 
old  Lepcha  woman  at  this  place  gave  them 
some  eggs — a  present  that  might  always  prove 
embarrassing  in  Sikhim, 
as  it  is  a  common  way  of 
proposing  marriage.  Next 
came  a  journey  up  the 
Teesta  Valley  to  the 
capital  of  Sikhim.  On 
the  way  Major  Waddell 
visited  a  typical  Lepcha 
house.  Ascending  the 
notched  log  of  wood  that 
did  duty  as  a  staircase,  he 
stooped  and  entered  a  low 
door.  Once  inside  he  put 
his  hat  on  a  clean  spot, 
but  the  good  wife  at  once 
snatched  it  up  and  placed 
it  somewhere  else,  apolo- 
getically explaining  that 
the  devil  of  the  house  was 
just  then  occupying  that 
particular  place.  The 
Major  was  also  nearly 
choked  with  smoke,  as 
there  was  no  chimney. 
In  one  corner  were  a 
few  bamboo  cooking 
vessels  and  some  leaves 
which  did  duty  as  plates. 
The  Lepchas,  he  noticed, 
never  had  money  until  cjuite  recently,  and  when 
it  was  first  given  to  them  they  wore  it  round 
their  necks. 

The  Major  did  a  good  deal  of  specimen 
collecting,  and  that  this  is  a  paying  hobby  will 
be  evident  from  the  fact  that  there  are  4,000 
species  of  butterflies  in  Sikhim  alone.  Some 
of  these  are  so  rare  and  beautiful  that  collectors 
pay  fancy  prices  for  them.  One  specimen  is 
said  to  be  worth  jQ20. 

Major  Waddell  sent  out  some  pioneers  to 
discover  what  was  the  condition  of  a  certain 
rope  bridge  over  the  Teesta,  and  they  came 
back  with  the  news  that  it  was  not  safe.  The 
crossing  of  this  bridge,  which  is  depicted  in 
the  next  illustration,  was  one  of  the  most 
hazardous  enterprises  the  Major  ever  re- 
members. 

"When  we  got  to  the  bridge,  descending  a 
gloomy  gorge,  it  became  a  moot  point  whether 
it  was  strong  enough  for  us  to  cross  in  .safety. 
It  was  a  mere  ragged  skeleton,  slippery  with 
green  slime,  and  spanning  a  great  chasm  about 


THE   SIKHIMESE   ARE   A    PRIM 
UMBRELLAS   (IROW 


300ft.  across.  The  mighty  river  thundered- 
along  60ft.  or  Soft,  below,  crashing  over  great 
boulders  of  gneiss  as  big  as  cottages,  and 
dashing  up  clouds  of  spray.  One  had  to- 
cross  the  bridge  after  the  manner  of  Blondin  on 
the  slack  rope.  The  structure  consisted  of  two 
slender    ropes   of    cane,    stretched    across    the 

gorge,  their  ends  lashed 
to  rocks  and  trunks  of 
trees.  Between  these  two- 
parallel  ropes,  and  tied 
from  one  to  the  other  at 
intervals  of  a  yard,  were 
bits  of  cane  forming  V- 
shaped  loops,  in  which 
were  fastened  a  line  of 
bamboos,  end  to  end.  On 
these  one  had  to  place 
one's  feet.  It  was  just, 
like  walking  on  a  rope. 
And  not  only  was  it  frail,, 
but  it  was  also  rotten. 
The  men  v/e  had  sent  oa 
two  days  previously  tO' 
repair  it  had  declined  to 
endanger  their  lives  by 
venturing  upon  it.  As  a 
rule  these  bridges  only 
last  about  two  seasons,, 
but  this  one  was  several 
years  old  and  had  never 
been  repaired.  It  was,, 
however,  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  we  should  get 
across,  and  not  spend  a 
night  in  that  fever-infested 
gorge.  I  sent  a  Lepcha  across  to  investigate, 
and  then  tried  to  cross  myself.  I  almost  shudder 
when  I  think  of  that  awful  passage.  The 
moment  you  step  on  these  cane  bridges  they 
recoil  from  you  ;  they  swing  and  shake  in  an 
alarming  manner,  rolling  from  side  to  side  and 
pitching  with  every  step  like  a  ship  in  a  storm. 
It  is  well  not  to  look  down  lest  you  become 
dizzy ;  and  yet  if  you  don't  look  down  you 
cannot  see  where  to  place  your  feet. 

"  After  I  had  crossed,  the  laden  coolies  had 
to  pass,  but  before  they  ventured  over,  Kintoop 
and  his  assistants  rushed  into  the  jungle  with 
their  knives  and  cut  down  lengths  of  giant 
creeper  with  which  to  repair  the  loose  parts. 
The  crossing  of  the  coolies  was  a  trying  business, 
too.  The  loads  had  to  be  broken  up  into  small 
parcels  and  slung  on  the  men's  backs.  Some 
of  the  coolies  squatted  down  in  the  middle 
of  the  bridge,  half  paralyzed  with  fear. 
Others  refused  to  cross  at  all,  and  bolted 
off.  The  fall  of  this  river,  as  measured  by 
Hooker,  was  found  to  be  820ft.  in  ten  miles. 


ITIVE    PEOPLE — THEIR   VERY 
BY   THE    WAV.SIDE. 


STRANGE    SIGHTS    IX    THE    HIMALAYAS. 


0^7 


THE   CARAVAN    TKMNG   TO   CKOSS   THE   AWFLL   KOl'E    BKIUGE   OVEK   THE  TEESTA    RAVINK, 

and    the   current    in    places    is    fourteen    miles 
an  hour." 

Soon  the  expedition  arrived  at  Toomlong,  the 
mountain  capital  of  Sikhim.  On  the  way  a 
damp  forest  was  passed  through,  which  was 
found  to  be  simply  swarming  with  voracious 
land-leeches  no  thicker  than  a  knitting-needle.* 

*  Our  readers  will  remember  Mr.  W.  Harcoiirt-Bath's  gruesome 
account,  in  a  reccBt  number,  of  how  he  was  "Attacked  by 
Leeches"  in  the  Himalayas. 


"They  stood 
alert  on  every 
twig.  As  we 
approached  they 
lashed  them- 
.selves  vigorously 
to  and  fro  and 
rushed  to  seize 
us.  Wherever 
they  touched 
they  fastened 
firmly,  and  then 
mounted  rapidly 
by  a  series  of 
somersaults  to  a 
vulnerable  spot. 
Then  they  com- 
menced their 
dreadful  attacks. 
The  poor  bare- 
footed servants 
and  coolies  were 
terribly  bitten, 
and  their  ankles 
and  legs  gave 
out  streams  of 
blood  all  day. 
Every  few  steps 
I  had  to  stop 
and  pick  the 
creatures  off  me. 
I  had  covered 
my  stockings 
with  tobacco- 
snuff,  and  had 
not  felt  the  sharp 
nips  myself;  but 
I  and  my  com- 
panion had  pick- 
ed off  thousands 
of  leeches  from 
the  outside  of 
our  boots  and 
putties.  A\'e 
congratulated 
ourselves  upon 
having  escaped, 
but  after  sixteen 
miles  of  forest, 
when  we  took  off  our  stockings  and  putties, 
we  found  that  the  leeches  had  sucked  their 
fill  of  us,  having  got  in  through  the  eyelets 
of  our  boots  and  the  folds  of  our  putties. 
Thence  they  passed  through  the  meshes  of 
our  stockings,  and  after  having  gorged  them- 
selves thev  withdrew,  Ivins;  in  the  folds  of  the 
stockings,  swollen  to  the  size  of  small  chest- 
nuts. Others  had  crept  down  into  our  boots 
and  got  squashed,  so  that  our  feet  were  in   a 


3i8 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    .MAGAZINE. 


frightful  condition.  The  poor  cattle,  too,  were 
in  a  pitiful  state.  Their  legs  were  always  bleed- 
ing, more  or  less,  and  the  leeches  actually 
lodged  in  their  nostrils  and  hung  from  their  eye- 
lids. All  the  Lepchas  hereabouts  had  their  legs 
covered  with  the  scars  of  leech  bites,  and  no 
doubt  these 
formidable 
pestshavesome- 
thing  to  do  with 
the  remarkable 
absence  of  four- 
footed  game  in 
these  regions. 
The  normal 
food  of  these 
terrible  leeches 
is     vegetable 


juice, 


and 


not 


one  out  of  many 
millions  can 
ever  taste 
blood." 

After  visiting 
and  photogra- 
phing the  King 
and  Queen  of 
Sikhim  in  their 
capital,  Major 
\Vaddeirs  party 
started  off  again 
to  Upper  Sik- 
hirn,  striking 
down  the  can- 
yon oftheTeesta 
until  their 
course  was  sud- 
denly barred  by 
a  point  on  the 
river  which  here 
swept  round 
under  a  huge 
cliff.  This  had 
to  be  scaled  by 
means  of  lad- 
ders of  notched  bamboos — the  "  high  road  "  to 
Upper  Sikhim  in  a  very  literal  sense.  The 
accompanying  photograph  shows  the  party 
negotiating  this  remarkable  "  high  road." 

The  view  up  the  Lete  A\illey  was  very  attrac- 
tive, 'and  at  this  point  the  coolies  began  to  get 
excited  at  the  prospect  of  reaching  the  snows. 
They  began  looking  up  their  snow-boots  and 
blanket-coats.  The  women- -as  if  their  faces 
were  not  dirty  enough  already—  smeared  more 
brown  paint  round  their  eyes  and  noses  as  a 
protection  against  possible  snow-blindness.  The 
well-to-do  Tibetans,  by  the  way,  sew  coloured 
glasses  into  a  band  of  cloth,  or  a  close  netting 


1  ill-.      hi(;h  road     to  uiter  sikhim — SCAL1N( 

/■'rOI/ta]  WITH  BAMBOO  LADDERS. 


of  black  yak  hair  ;  but  the  poor  people  when 
crossing  the  snow  simply  daub  their  faces  round 
the  eyes  and  nose  with  dark  pigments. 

As  the  party  pushed  onwards  and  upward'^, 
the  altitude  grew  so  great  that  Achoom  began 
to  experience  trouble  with  his  cooking.      The 

water  would  not 
boil  properly  at 
this  great  height 
above  sea  level, 
and  so  the 
Major  had  to 
tell  the  dis- 
tressed fellow 
to  roast  his  potatoes  instead  of  trying 
to  boil  them. 

In  the  Tang-Ka  Pass,  at  the  height 
of  14,000ft.,  the  cold  was  so  intense, 
that  when  it  was  found  necessary  to 
take  down  the  tent;  and  the  ropes 
were  loosened,  the  canvas  re- 
mained standing,  "  frozen  as  stiff 
as  a  board  from  our  breath."  It 
had  to  be  beaten  flat  with  tent 
poles  and  sticks.  Later  on  the 
expedition  zig-zagged  up  a  rocky 
wav  called  the  Tired  Yak  Pass. 
Here  were  seen  the  remains  of  a 
great  landslip,  and  in 
the  maze  of  tracks  the 
guide  pointed  out  the 
primitive  device  for 
marking  the  true  trail — 
a  bundle  of  freshly  cut 
twigs  laid  lengthways  on 
one  of  the  diverging 
tracks.  Had  the  twigs 
been  laid  crosswise  it 
would  have  signified 
that  there  was  "no 
thoroughfare  "  that  way. 
Toiling  ever  upward  the  rarefied 
air  began  to  tell  Even  the  yaks 
and  ponies  suffered  from  mountain 
sickness.  "We  all  had  splitting 
headaches,  nausea,  palpitation,  and  bloodshot 
eyes.  Frequently  we  had  to  rest  through  short- 
ne.ss  of  breath  and  that  sensation  which  Hooker 
so  well  describes  as  'having  a  pound  of  lead  on 
the  knee-caps,  two  pounds  on  the  stomach, 
and  a  hoop  of  iron  round  the  head  ! '  The 
men  bled  profusely  at  the  nose,  and  altogether 
we  were  in  a  sorry  plight  as  we  staggered 
into  the  few  bleak  huts  of  Momay  (15,000ft.), 
the  highest  grazing  station  in  Sikhim.  A  few 
minutes  aftei"  my  arrival  Kintoop  came  running 
up  to  tell  me  that  the  captain  of  the  Tibetan 
guard  of  the  pass  was  here,  and  was  going 
to   stop   me.     While    Kintoop   was    explaining 


THE  CI. IFF 

\Photo. 


STRANGE    SIGHTS    IX    THE    HIMALAYAS. 


319 


several  Tibetans  came  to  the  door  of  the  hut, 
attending  a  fine-looking  old  fellow  riding  on  a 
yak.  He  was  the  captain  of  the  guard,  and 
is  seen  in  the  photograph  next  reproduced.  He 
got  off,  came  forward,  and  presented  the  usual 
ceremonial  scarf  I  took  it,  and  then  he  said 
who  he  was.  Was  I  going  up  to  the  Dong-Kia 
(pass)  ?    Yes,  I  was.    Then  he  tried  to  dissuade 


IHE   C.AMAIN    OK    THE   TIBET.^N"   GU.\KD    MOUNTED    ON 
HIS    YAK.       HE    TURNED    .MAJOR    WADDELL    B.\CK     FROM 

From  a\  Tibet.  [Photo. 


me.     The   weather  was  bad ;  snow  had 
fallen  and  driven  him  and  his  men  down.     And, 
indeed,  they  had  bloodshot  eyes  and  blistered, 
peeling  skin,  as  though  they  had  been  exposed 
to  Arctic  weather. 

"  The  captain  was  civil.  He  protested  that 
his  instructions  from  Lhasa  were  explicit.  No 
person  was  to  enter  the  pass  except  a  few 
l)rivileged  Tibetans.  He  trotted  out  with  much 
pantomime  the  old,  old  story.  If  we  were  to 
force  our  way  across,  his  own  throat  and  the 
throats  of  his  men  would  infallibly  be  cut.  He 
was  an  interesting  old  fellov,-,  who  had  fought 
against  us  in  our  little  war  with  Tibet.  He 
examined  my  shot-gun  and  revolver  with  great 
interest,  and  explained  them  to  the  awe-struck 
bystanders.  He  even  asked  me  to  experiment 
with  my  revolver  on  one  of  his  straggling  sheep. 

"  These  Tibetans  awed  my  men  into  silence. 
Later  on  they  told  me  of  the  dreadful  tortures 
that  would  be  inflicted  upon  them  by  the 
Tibetan  Government.  It  seems  they  have  no 
gaols  in  Tibet,  so  when  they  don't  kill  their 
prisoners  outright,  or  torture  them  to  death 
slowly,  they  simply  cut  off  their  ears  or  chop  off 
a  hand,  and  then  set  the  mutilated  person  free. 
Such  mutilated  criminals,  I  understand,  form 
the  majority  of  the  beggars  in  Lhasa  and  other 
big  Tibetan  towns." 

Not  long  after  this  interesting  interview.  Major 
A\"addell  secured  a  beautiful  silvery  water  shrew 
(riecirogale   elegans),    which   is    so   unique   and 


rare    that    no    perfect    specimen     was    hitherto 
known. 

Major  A\'addell  saw  much  of  the  captain  of 
the     Tibetan      guard,    because      that     earnest 
old    gentleman    had    no    idea  of   losing   sight 
of    the    adventurous  Englishman  until  he  was 
sure  that  the   latter   would    not   get   him    into 
trouble.     The  Tibetan  soldiers,  the  Major  no- 
ticed, fortified  themselves  against 
the    cold  with  bits  of  frozen   raw 
meat  shredded   up  with  their  dag- 
gers.    "The  I'ibetan  captain  and 
his    men    accompanied   us   some 
distance,     his     yak      clambering 
nimbly     over     the     snow  -  laden 
stones,  and  far  out-distancing  my 
pony,  who  slipped  and  stumbled 
badly.     He  offered  me  the  use  of 
this  yak,  but  the  beast  would  not 
let  me  mount.     It  made  several 
jjlunges  at  me  when  I  approached, 
though   it  was  held  back  by  the 
rope  through  its  nose-ring.    I  was 
not  sorry  afterwards,  because  the 
rope    on    the    animal    somehow 
became    loose,    and    the   captain 
suddenly  came  down  with  a  rush 
from   his  high   perch,  half-buried 
in  his  own  cooking  pots  and  pans,  which  were 
carried  in  bags  slung  behind  the  yak's  saddle." 
The  next  part  of  Major  W'addell's  wander- 
ings with  which  we  are  here  concerned  is  his 
journey    through     British    Bhotan.       On    one 
occasion     he      came     across     some     Bhotiyas 
preparing    for   a    hot    bath    on    the    banks    of 
a    stream.      Their    method    was    both    curious 
and   original.       They    first    burnt     out   part    of 
the  trunk   of  a  tree,   filled  it  with  water,  and 
then    threw    in    hot    stones.       Returning    from 
Ghoong  Tang  to  the  capital,  Toom-long,  Major 
A\'addell    came    across   some   gorgeous   spiders 
resplendent  in  brilliant  scarlet  and  metallic  blue. 
Now,    these    spiders    would    be    a    pretty    big 
mouthful  for  an  average  untravelled  person  to 
swallow — in  more  ways  than  one.     "  They  were, 
indeed,  gigantic,  4in.  to  6in.  in  spread,  and  spun 
webs  so  strong  and  large  as  to  catch  small  birds, 
on  which  some  of  the  spiders  feed." 

Later  on  the  caravan  reached  a  poor  hamlet, 
where  a  Bhotiya  offered  Major  Waddell  a  fowl 
for  about  twelve  times  the  ordinary  price.  Nor 
would  he  come  down,  because,  said  he,  "  this 
is  positively  the  only  fowl  left  in  this  part  of 
Sikhim." 

As  the  expedition  neared  Darjeeling,  on  the 
return  journey,  great  swarms  of  locusts  were 
encountered.  These  insects  were  present  in 
such  numbers  as  actually  to  darken  the  face  of 
day,  covering  roots,  trees,  and  fields  inches  deep. 


320 


THE     WIDE    WORED    ATAGAZINE. 


A    FUI.L-SIZED   LOCUST. 


THEY   BLACKKNED   THE    HIMALAYAN 

From  a  Photo. 


SNOWS    FOR   MILES. 


Each  locust  averaged  about  3in.  in  length.  The 
Nepalese  villagers  rushed  about  gathering  them 
in  baskets  for  food,  as  they  eat  locusts  like 
shrimps.  It  was  probably  these  insects,  says 
Major  Waddell,  that  John  the  Baptist  ate,  and 
not  the  bean-pods  of  the  same  name  ;  for  the 
locusts  that  swarmed  up  from  India  were  of  the 
Egyptian  species,  and  these,  when  salted,  are 
understood  to  be  the  favourite  dish  of  the 
Arabs  of  North  Africa  during  long  journeys. 
"  I  learnt  afterwards,"  the  Major  goes  on  to  say, 
"that  this  particular  plague  was  first  noticed  in 
the  desert  of  Sind  and  Western  Rajputana,  a 
thousand  miles  off,  where  the  locusts  laid  eggs 
in  the  sand-hills.  The  young  insects  had 
covered  the  whole  of  India  from  the  Punjab  in 
the  north  to  Madras   and   the    Deccan  in  the 


south  and  Bengal  and 
Assam  in  the  east.  In 
the  arid  Punjab,  where 
vegetation  is  so  precious,. 
the  troops  were  actually 
turned  out  to  combat  and 
destroy  the  pests,  and  re- 
wards were  offered  for 
their  destruction.  In  this 
way,  at  one  station  alone 
(Kohat)  no  less  than 
hveuty-hvo  tons  of  locusts 
were  killed  in  a  day.  They 
penetrated  even  into 
Tibet,  and  more  than  one 
trustworthy  traveller  as- 
sured me  that  the  dead 
insects  lay  several  feet  deep  in  the  Tang  Pass. 
(15,700ft.),  blackening  the  snow  for  miles. 
Strangely  enough,  this  identical  plague  of 
locusts  was  predicted  in  the  Tibetan  astro- 
logical horoscope  for  that  year,  and  a  l.ama 
proudly  pointed  this  out  to  me." 

]\Iajor  Waddell's  next  excursion  was  along 
the  Nepal  frontier  towards  Mount  Everest.  At 
one  place  he  was  serenaded  by  a  weird-looking 
musician,  armed  with  a  most  primitive  one- 
stringed  fiddle,  which  mstrument  one  of  the 
party  became  the  proud  possessor  of  for  six- 
pence. And  they  had  other  serenaders : 
swarms  of  frogs  that  croaked  among  the  reeds 
of  an  adjacent  tarn.  Here  also  they  found 
frogs  with  a  bell-like  call,  who  caught  insects 
by  darting  out  their  sticky  tongues. 


From  a\ 


A    VEUITAIiLE   SEA   OF    CLOUDS   RISING    FRO.M    THE   PLAl.NS. 


\Fhoto. 


STkANGE    SIGHTS    IX     THE    HIMALAYAS. 


32t 


The  slopes  of  the 
mountain  at  this  place,  by 
the  way,  are  covered  with 
the  deadly  night-shade, 
or  aconite  plant.  "So 
abundant  is  the  plant 
here,  and  so  deadly  is  it 
to  the  cattle  of  this  pas- 
toral people,  that  all  the 
sheep  and  cattle  passing 
over  the  mountain  are 
muzzled  by  the  drovers  ; 
and  at  the  foot  may  be 
seen  great  piles  of  dis- 
carded bamboo  muzzles 
which  have  already  served 
their  purpose." 

In  the  preceding  photo- 
graph we  have  a  very  ex- 
traordinary view,  showing 
a  veritable  sea  of  clouds 
rising  from  the  plains. 

The  next  photograph 
reproduced  well  deserves 
the  sub-title  of  "  the  most 
sublime  and  imposing 
view  that  the  eye  of  man 
can  rest  upon  on  this 
planet."  This  is  a  view 
of  the  Everest  group — 
Mount  Everest,  29,002ft. 
— taken  from  Sandook 
Phu. 

"Sunrise  over  the  snow 
was  magnificent.  As  the 
eye  wanders  over  the  vast 
amphitheatre  of  dazzling 
peaks  it  is  at  once  attrac- 
ted by  the  great  towering 
mass  of  Kanchen-junga. 
This  stupendous  moun- 
tain— almost  the  highest 
in  the  world  (it  is  only  a 
few  hundred  feet  lower 
than  Everest  itself)  —  is 
simply  sublime  as  seen 
from  here  with  its  dark 
setting  of  pines.  The 
Everest  group  seen  in 
the  photograph,  no  longer 
shut  off  by  the  dark  ridge 
that  hid  their  peaks  from  view  at  Senchal,  soars 
up  through  banks  of  clouds  and  above  a  deep 
gulf  of  valleys.     It  is  at  least  ninety  miles  away. 

"  Scarcely  less  majestic  than  the  view  looking 
up  towards  the  snows  was  the  view  looking 
down  into  the  plain.  Some  1 0,000ft.  below 
was  a  rising  mass  of  clouds,  forming  a  vast 
woolly-white  sea  whose  tide  of  rolling  billows 

Vol.  iii.-41. 


I'HK    Mot  NT    E\EKEST   C 
From  a\ 


ROl  p    KKOM    SANUOOK    PHU.       THIS    IS   THE    HIGHEST   .MOUNTAl.N    ON 
THE   FACE   OF   THE  GLOIIE  (29,002    FEET).  [F/loto. 

surged  in  and  among  the  mountains.  Their 
dark,  rugged  peaks  stand  out  against  the  fleecy 
foam  as  bold  capes  and  headlands  and  dark 
islands  in  a  perfect  sea  of  curling  cloud.  As 
we  gazed,  some  of  these  clouds  surged  over  us 
and  glided  slowly — like  '  sheep  of  the  sky,'  as 
the  Lepchas  call  them — upwards  towards  the 
summit,    on   whose    pinnacles   they   settled   in 


322 


The  wide  world  magazine. 


flocky   masses,    veiling   the   peaks   against   the 
staring  midday  sun." 

Not  long  after  obtaining  this  superb  view, 
Major  ^^'addell  witnessed  a  gruesome  spectacle. 
"  Climbing  up  a  ridge  called  Sabar-Goom  I 
suddenly  beheld  stretched  on  the  snow,  athwart 
the  path,  an  unfortunate  Nepalese  who  had  been 
frozen  to  death.  Several  jackals  and  an  animal 
like  a  hyena  surrounded  the  body,  and  beside  it 
were  the  remains  of  a  little  fire.  He  had 
probably  arrived  here  benighted  after  the  snow- 
fall had  ceased,  and,  unable  to  proceed  farther, 
he  had  lighted  a  fire,  only  to  perish,  however,  in 
the  piercing  cold." 

Once,  near  the  slopes  of  Faloot,  the  Major 
had  a  very  curious  experience.  Some  villagers 
came  to  him  and  begged  him  to  come  and  do 
what  he  could  for  a  man  who  had  been  terribly 
mauled  by  a  bear.  "Arrived  at  the  village,  a 
powerfully-built  man  was  led  slowly  out  to  me. 
He  was  in  a  dreadful  state,  with  his  head 
swollen  to  twice  its  normal  size,  and  his  face 
shockingly  torn.  I  was  told  he  was  the  village 
blacksmith.  His  children  having  complained 
that  they  were  chased  by  bears  whilst  minding 
his  cattle,  he  went  unarmed  to  the  bear's  den 
and  shouted  a  challenge.  The  old  bear  promptly 
took  him  at  his  word  and  rushed  cut,  and  in  a 
minute  had  inflicted  the  frightful  injuries  I  had 
seen." 

On  September  22nd,  1896,  Major  Waddell 
started   from    Yampoong   to  visit    the   western 


glaciers  of  Kanchen-junga,  passing  on  the  way 
a  curious  trap  for  a  snow  leopard,  which  was 
baited  with  the  leg  of  a  yak.  It  was  built  on  the 
same  principle  as  the  brick-trap  which  school- 
boys construct  to  catch  sparrows — save  that  in 
this  case,  the  falling  door  was  a  massive  slab  of 
stone  weighing  a  quarter  of  a  ton,  and  destined 
to  crush  the  animal  to  death. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  gigantic  mountains 
which  surrounded  Major  Waddell  should  so 
work  upon  the  imagination  of  the  natives  that 
they  are  worshipped  as  gods.  Thus,  the  highest 
peak  of  Kanchen-junga  (28,150ft.),  called  by  the 
natives  "  The  Receptacle  of  Gold,"  has  a  god 
all  to  itself.  This  god  is  worshipped  and  pro- 
pitiated assiduously,  particularly  at  the  great 
festival  which  is  celebrated  with  much  pomp 
every  year  throughout  the  whole  of  Sikhim.  It 
is  worship  of  the  devil-dance  order,  as  may 
be  gathered  from  the  photograph  here  given, 
which  is  impressive  chiefly  on  account  of  the 
extraordinary  head-dresses  of  the  devotees. 
"The  Lamas,"  says  Major  Waddell,  "dress 
themselves  in  the  vestments  of  the  pre-Buddhist 
Tibetan  religion,  and  carry  out  the  ritual  of  devil- 
dancing,  as  seen  in  the  photograph.  My  friend, 
the  young  Lama  of  Phodong,  who  hospitably 
entertained  us,  is  seated  in  state  to  receive 
offerings  from  the  people  of  money,  jewellery,  etc. 

"  On  penetrating  the  Pass  of  the  Devil  the 
track  wound  past  several  plants  of  giant  rhubarb. 
Rounding  a  corner  suddenly  at  the  Oma  Pass 


Front  a 


LAMA    DtlVlL-DANCEKS   OF    THE  GOD   OF    MOUNT    KANCHEN-JUNGA. 


\PIwto. 


STRANGE    SIGHTS    IN   THE    HIMAt-AYAS. 


323 


MAJOK    WAUUELL   CKOSSING   THE    OMA    I'ASS   UN    A    YAK   (hE    HAD    SFKAINEU   HIS   ANKLE), 

Front  a  Photo. 


(15,320ft.),  we  came  into  snow;  and  here  the 
subhmeview  of  Kanchen-junga  merged  into  sight. 
Kanchen  and  Kabru  seemed  quite  near,  but  they 
were  fast  clouding  over  before  I  got  my  camera 
ready.  I  had  sprained  my  ankle  slightly,  and 
was  riding  a  spare  yak,  as  you  may  see  in  the 
photograph." 

Next  came  a  steep  descent  of  3,000ft.  in  three 
miles.  The  road  led  through  a  gloomy  gorge, 
called  De  Gamo-lang.  It  was  infested  a  few 
years  ago  by  a  gang  of  Tibetan  brigands,  who 
murdered  and  robbed  tra- 
ders and  others  entering 
the  gorge,  dispatching 
them  by  rolling  down  upon 
them  huge  rocks.  These 
brigands  actually  had 
agents  at  Darjeeling,  who 
not  only  kept  them  posted 
up  in  the  movements  of 
"fat"  and  likely  travel- 
lers, but  also  warned  them 
as  to  the  movements  of  the 
police  who  were  sent  on 
their  track. 

Major  Waddell's  photo- 
graphs were  occasionally 
taken  under  circumstances 
of  difficulty  and  danger. 
"At  one  place  we  had 
been  clinging  to  the  sharp 
crest  of  a  tremendous  pre- 
cipice, where  I  had  to  be 
held  by  my  men  while  I 
stretched  out  to  take  pho-     t-rom  a\ 


tographs.  Pieces  of  rotten  rock 
frequently  broke  and  fell  with  a 
crash  into  the  awful  depths  below." 
Before  leaving  the  summit  of 
the  mountain  the  young  Lama 
and  Kintoop  built  a  small  cairn 
of  stones  on  the  topmost  pinnacle, 
for,  said  they,  no  human  beings 
have  ever  been  here  before.  The 
young  Lama  stayed  behind  to  blow 
a  farewell  blast  on  a  human  thigh- 
bone in  honour  of  that  monarch 
of  mountains,  Kanchen-junga. 

The  last  photograph  reproduced 
shows  the  lay  governor  of  Lhasa 
and  his  suite.  "A  national  party," 
says  Major  Waddell,  "  is  rising  in 
Tibet  against  the  grinding  yoke  of 
the  Chinese.  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  one  of  the  leading 
spirits  in  this  m.ovement.  This 
gentleman  came  to  Darjeeling  in 
the  train  of  the  Chinese  Commis- 
sioners on  the  boundary  question, 
and  he  is  now  chief  lay  governor  at  Lhasa.  It 
was  he  who  stopped  Bonvallot  and  Prince  Henri 
Orleans  on  their  way  to  Lhasa,  at  a  point  fully 
a  week's  journey  from  that  mystic  city,  instead 
of  a  day's  journey,  as  claimed  by  them.  In 
chatting  about  the  Chinese  with  the  lay 
governor,  I  happened  to  mention  that  our 
troops  once  held  Pekin.  He,  however,  thought 
this  was  a  great  joke  on  my  part,  so  successfully 
had  the  Chinese  concealed  their  indignity  from 
the  Tibetans." 


THE    LAY   GOVEK.NOK   OK    LHASA   AND    HIS   SUITE. 


[Photo. 


>\'fe/ 


'!/■ 


By  Mrs.  Fred.  Maturin  (Miss  Edith  Money). 

A    droll   story  of    two    English    maidens,  their    admirers,    and 

their  father  in   the    Himalayas.     Colonel  Edward  Money  was 

greatly    attached  to  his    daughters,    hence   his  persistent  dis- 

coviragement  of  young  officers. 


HEN  it  began  to  grow  very  hot  in 
the  plains,  papa  took  us  up  to  Dar- 
jeehng,  in  the  Himalayas.  Here 
we  lived  in  a  beautiful  little  bungalow, 
perched  in  a  very  wild,  lonely  posi- 
tion on  the  top  of  a  thickly-wooded  mountain, 
about  three  miles  from  Darjeeling  itself. 

Nothing  more  lovely  can  be  imagined  than 
the  scene  that  rolled  away,  as  it  were,  from 
under  our  feet  when  we  stood  in  the  veranda 

We  would 


that  surrounded  our  little  shanty, 
watch  the  sun  rise  and  turn  the  great  snowy 
range  pink,  as  it  faced  us,  looking  so  near,  yet, 
in  reality,  eighty  miles  away  as  the  crow  flies. 

Papa  used  to  rout  us  out  of  our  warm  beds 
before  sunrise — a  horrible  habit  he  had  himself, 
and  it  irritated  him  to  know  tha_t  anyone  else 
was  sleeping  when  once  he  was  up. 

In  the  plains  it  was  all  right,  because  the  early 
morning  was  generally  the  only  time  of  the  day 
in  which  you  could  take  exercise  without  melt- 
ing away ;  but  how  we  loathed  it  up  at  these  icy 
heights,  when  candles  stuck  in  bottles  (we  lived 
most  primitively — "  Why  spend  money,"  said 
papa,  "  when  you  needn't  ?  ")  lit  the  early  bath, 
coated  with  thin  ice,  into  which  we  were  ex- 
pected to  jump  ;  and  when,  on  emerging  in  furs 
to   choia-hazaree,   laid   out  on   the   plateau   by 


shivering  servants,  it  was  often 
hardly  light  enough  to  see  properly 
the  wondrous  world  below  us. 

Yes ;  my  father.  Colonel  Money, 
was,  as  hundreds  know,  a  real 
martinet  with  us  girls  ;  but,  all  the 
same,  I  have  often  since  thanked 
him  for  a  habit  which  proved  one  of 
the  greatest  charms  of  my  life  in  the 
East. 

After  chota-hazaree  it  was  our 
daily  duty  to  ascend  with  papa  to 
"  his  ofifice,"  as  he  called  it,  to 
receive  his  instructions  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  day  was  to  be 
spent.  These  instructions  varied 
from  the  regular  two  hours  at 
copying  the  MS.  of  his  last  new 
book  or  article  (dryasdust  stuff, 
about  nothing  in  particular  that  we 
could  see),  down  to  what  clothes 
and  hats  we  were  to  wear.  Also 
whether  we  might  "ride  into  Dar- 
jeeling "  (a  great  treat) ;  whether  we 
might  invite  any  young  men  home 
to  dinner  (another  treat),  and,  if  so,  how  we 
were  to  comport  ourselves  in  their  presence. 

Most  stiff,  old-fashioned  ideas  had  papa  as  to 
the  ways  of  young  men  and  maidens,  and  one 
of  them  consisted  in  never  even  mentioning 
marriage,  except  with  "  bated  breath  and 
blushes  " — such,  said  he,  being  the  manner  in 
which  his  great-grandmother,  or  some  old  dame, 
now  bones,  approached  the  subject  in  the 
presence  of  the  male  sex,  and  they  in  hers. 

I  suppose  papa  intended  us  to  marry  some 
day  like  other  people,  but  if  so,  he  behaved  in 
an  extraordinary  fashion  to  the  young  men  who 
dared  timidly  approach  our  bungalow ;  and 
thanks  to  this  peculiarity  of  his,  Leila  and  I  had 
an  escape  of  our  lives  one  night  which  I  sha'n't 
easily  forget. 

"Now,"  said  he  in  his  office,  one  moining 
about  seven,  our  day  being  already  two  hours  old 
— "  no  gallivanting  off  into  Darjeeling  this 
morning.  This  article  for  the  Pioneer  has  to  be 
copied;  and  mind,  Edith,  to  underline,  'If  the 
tom-fool  who  laughs  at  my  new  Sun  Tea- 
Shriveller  will  pay  a  visit  to  my  tea-gardens 
where  the  machine  is  now  working,  I  shall  be 
happy  to  burn  a  hole  in  his  trousers  with  it, 
at  a  distance  of  fifty  paces,  before  he  can  count 
ten,  and  that  without  the  aid  of  any  fire.' " 


THE  CANDLE  IN  THE  WINDOW 


325 


"  Yes,  papa,"  I  as- 
sented, thinking  what 
fun  it  would  be  to  see 
the  hole  burnt. 

''And  you  and  Leila 
can  ride  into  Darjeeling 
after  lunch  —  just  there 
and  back." 

"  Mav  we  ask  some- 
one  home  to  dinner?" 

' '  Someone,  meaning 
young  men,  I  suppose  ? 
Well,  you  may  ask  one 
apiece — no  more.  And 
on  condition  that  they 
understand  they  have  to 
go  at  nine." 

Delighted  with  this 
concession  we  retired. 
Papa's  "  office  "  was,  be 
it  understood,  merely  a 
rat-haunted  attic  between 
the  roof  of  the  bungalow 
and  the  ceiling  of  the 
lower  rooms,  and  was 
only  meant  for  dryness, 
till  he — nothing  if  not 
original  —  had    a     pane 


THE     ALiHiiKESS,     MRS.     FRED.     MATUKIN     (nEE     MISS 
EDITH    money). 

F/via  a  Photo,  by  B.  Collenette,  Guernsey. 


by  it,  he  drew  it  up  and 
was  seen  no  more  except 
at  tiffin,  when  he  would 
let  down  a  small  basket 
in  which  the  kitimidi::;ar 
placed  food.  Having 
devoured  this,  one  heard 
no  more  of  him,  except 
an  occasional  sneeze,  till 
evening. 

From  all  this  it  will 
be  seen  that  my  father 
was  a  sort  of  Diogenes, 
and  was  not  fond  of 
the  society  of  mankind. 
My  sister  and  I,  being 
in  our  teens  and  full  of 
fun,  were  a  constant 
torment  to  him,  and  the 
necessity  of  giving  us 
a  little  society  was  one 
of  the  bugbears  of  his 
life. 

\Ve  rode  gaily  off  on 
our  Bhootier  ponies, 
into  the  station,  after 
tiffin  that  day,  return- 
ing about  six  with 
two  young  officers,  then 
quartered  at  Jellapehar,  who  (fortifying  them- 
selves with  the  refl-jction  that  "  None  but  the 
brave  deserve  the  fair  ")  periodically  approached 
our  bungalow,  with  a  new  novel,  an  invitation, 
or  some  other  flimsy  excuse.  They  wtre,  how- 
ever, invariably  frightened  away  by  papa,  hours 


MKS.   JACK    UOLsTEAD  (nEE   MISS   LEILA   MONEY^. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Mayall &=  Co.,  Kifigston-on-Thamcs. 

of  glass  let  into  the  top,  and  a  rough  table 
carried  up  through  a  hole  cut  in  the  boards. 
To,this  fair  retreat  he  and  we  ascended  daily 
through  the  hole,  by  means  of  a  litde  rope- 
ladder  made  by  ourselves,  and  which  lent 
romance;  and  when  we  had  descended  again 


THE   GIRLS     FATHER,   COLONEL  EDWARD   MONEY. 

From  a  Photo,  by  The  London  Stereoscopic  Company. 


326 


THE    WIDE   WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


before    the   time,    and    swore    to    each   other 
they'd  never  try  it  again. 

I  suppose  that  day  they  couldn't  resist  us,  or 
else  that  the  memory  of  the  last  visit  was  grow- 
ing dim. 

We  all  arrived  in  great  spirits,  and  I  rushed 
in,  in  my  riding  habit,  to  tell  the  kicmudgar  to 
put  all  our  nicest  things  on  the  dinner-table 
—  some  wine-glasses,  kept  only  for  special 
occasions,  now  appearing,  as  well  as  dinner- 
napkins — two  European  luxuries  papa  would 
have  none  of  in  every-day  life.  In  fact,  I  often 
look  back  and  think  we  lived  positively  like 
barbarians,  and  yet  it  was  certainly  not  from 
necessity.  It 
pleased  papa,  el 
voila  tout. 

Of  course  he  gave 
away  the  whole 
show  directly  we 
sat  down,  exclaim- 
ing, as  he  peered 
over  his  specs, 
"  Dinner  -  napkins, 
I  declare,  and 
wine-glasses  ! "' 

Leila  kicked  him 
under  the  table, 
and  then  he 
jumped,  and  said, 
"Who  did  that?"; 
so  we  gave  it  up 
as  a  hopeless  job. 

Down  came  the 
Himalayan   rain 

about   the  middle  of  dinner,   thundering  upon 
our  thin  tin  roof  as  if  a  river  dam  had  burst. 

We  went  into  the  primitive  drawing-room,  of 
which  the  furniture  was  entirely  made  of  empty 
tea-chests  turned  upside  down,  or  inside  out,  or 
wrong  way  up,  according  to  what  they  were 
intended  to  represent.  It  was  all  very  uncom- 
fortable and  hard,  and  when  you  got  into  an 
arm-chair,  for  instance,  you  stuck,  and  couldn't 
get  out  again,  and  had  to  walk  about  with  the 
chair  fastened  on  to  you  till  you  found  someone 
to  pull  it  off. 

The  two  young  subalterns  sank  gingerly  into 
two  of  these  pieces  of  furniture,  lit  cigars  at  papa's 
invitation,  and  gazed  pensively  at  the  big  rhodo- 
dendron and  fir-logs  blazing  in  the  open  hearth. 

"Do  you  like  poetry?"  asked  papa  of  one  of 
them,  between  the  puffs  at  his  cigar. 

They  both  turned  pale,  but  replied  that  they 
did — immensely. 

"Thomas  More,  for  instance,"  said  papa. 
"  I  will  repeat  you  something  of  his.  I  daresay 
you  have  heard  it — '  Rich  and  mre  were  the 
gems  she  wore.'  " 


A  sickly  smile  played  on  the  subalterns'  faces. 
Was  the  evening  to  be  spent  like  this  ?  The 
colonel  had  been  young  himself.  Why  on  earth 
didn't  he  retire  to  his  office  and  leave  his 
daughters  to  repeat  poetry  instead  ? 

At  least,  that's  what  their  faces  said. 

We  sat  for  one  hour  by  the  clock  listening  to 
"  Rich  and  rare,"  and  other  antiquated  gems. 
The  rain  still  roared  down  ;  the  night  was  black 
as  pitch,  and  one  of  the  subs  remarked  that  it 
was  awful  weather. 

"  Fearful,"  agreed  my  father,  "  and  it's  getting 
late." 

Tljis   hint  passed  unheeded.     The  men  had 


WE   SAT   FOR   ONE   HOUR    BY    THE   CLOCK    LISTENING   TO       RICH    AND    RAKE. 


no  lanterns  or  coats.  The  barracks  were  on 
the  ridge  of  the  mountains  far  above  us  again, 
and  the  only  way  home  was  a  lonely,  winding, 
dangerous  path  of  at  least  four  miles.  You 
wouldn't  turn  a  dog  out  such  a  night,  and 
Anglo-Indian  hospitality  is  proverbial. 

They  quite  expected,  evidently,  to  be  told  to 
stop  the  night.  We  had  a  spare  room.  But,  no. 
Papa  sat  on,  and  at  last  glancing  again  at  the 
clock,  said,  "Dear,  dear;  how  late  it's  getting." 
And  he  stood  up  and  yawned. 

"  I  don't  see,"  said  the  most  courageous  of 
the  two,  "  how  we're  to  get  up  to  Jellapehar 
to-night — eh,  Chips  ?  " 

"Not  well,"  replied  Chips,  scratching  himself 
nervously.     "  Perhaps  the  Colonel " 

"  I  can't  put  you  up,"  said  papa,  with  refresh- 
ing candour,  "  if  that's  what  you're  hinting  at. 
But  I'll  lend  you  lanterns." 

"Oh,  thanks,  sir.  But — -er- — you  don't 
think  we  shall  go  over  the  khud  in  the 
dark,  eh?" 

"  I  hope  not,"  said  papa,  cheerfully ;  "  you 
must  take  care." 


THE  CANDLE  IN  THE  WINDOW. 


327 


"  They  could  sleep  on  the  dining-room  table, 
papa,  just  till  the  storm  is  over,"  said  Leila. 

'No  doubt  they  could ;  but  they  won't,"  said 
my  parent.  "  Hoity-toity ;  what  are  young 
fellows  coming  to?  When  I  was  a  young  man 
I  wasn't  afraid  of  melting  in  rain.  Come,  say 
good-night,  girls,  and  off  to  bed  with  you." 

The  rain  roared  ?o  loud,  that  one  had  to  shout 
to  be  heard.  Outside  you  could  not  see  your 
hand  before  your  face. 

"  No  lantern  will  live  in  such  a  night,"  said 
Chips,  dolefully,  with  a  longing  glance  at  the 
dining-room  table. 

"  Feel  your  way  if  it  blows  out,"  said  papa. 
"  When  you  step  cut  of  the  veranda,  keep  to  the 
right.  The  left  would  take  you  over  a  nasty 
cliff — a  drop  of  sixty  feet  on  to  rocks ;  and 
remember  it's  the  same  the  whole  way  up." 

"  I've  no  more  notion,"  I  heard  Chips  remark, 
drearily,  "  how  we're  going  to  get  home  to-night 
than  the  devil." 

And  that  was  the  last  thing  we  heard  them 
say  to  each  other,  as  the  black  night  swallowed 
them  up. 

I^eila  and  I,  once  inside  our  bedroom,  looked 
at  each  other  for  a  minute,  and  then,  sitting 
down  on  our  two  little  charpoy  beds,  began  to 
weep. 

"  He'll  be  dead  by  morning,"  said  Leila, 
referring  to  the  swain  she  preferred. 

"  He's  a  little  lame  now,"  said  I,  alluding  to 
the  other,  "  and  is  sure  to  take  a  false  step — fall, 
and  then  be  flattened  to  a  jelly." 

Before  I  lay  down  I  stepped  to  the  rickety 
little  door  of  the  bathroom,  which  opened  out 
of  our  room  on  to  the  wild  forest  and  mountains 
behind. 

There  was  no  v/ind.  There  never  is  in  the 
Himalayas  ;  but  so  terrific  was  the  deluge  that 
no  lantern  could  possibly  keep  alight  on  such  a 
night.  I  knew  that  the  lonely  zig-zag  path  that 
led  to  Jellapehar  passed,  once,  right  above  the 
roof  of  our  bungalow  ;  and  I  stood,  listening 
breathlessly,  in  one  of  those  sudden  brief  lulls 
in  the  downpour,  so  characteristic  of  the 
Himalayas. 

Imagine  my  sensations  when  I  distinctly 
heard,  somewhere  above  our  chimneys,  a  limp, 
moist  voice  say,  "  Mine's  gone  out  now.  Where 
are  you.  Chips  ?  " 

"Sitting  down — my  legs  over  the  edge.  I'm 
going  to  stop  here  till  morning." 

"  I'd  like  to  wring— — -"  began  the  other 
voice,  and  then  swish — roar — the  heavens 
opened  again,  pouring  out  their  torrents,  and 
the  rest  of  the  speech  was  drowned,  though  it 
wasn't  hard  to  guess  the  end  of  it. 

I'm  sure  you'll  all  own  it  was  very  hard  lines 
on  two  soft-hearted  young  girls  to  feel  that  two 


good-looking  young  men  found  themselves  in 
such  a  position,  thanks  to  an  invitation  meant 
only  to  give  them  pleasure. 

We  began  to  cry  afresh,  but  there  was  nothing 
to  be  done. 

Papa,  who  was  a  toughened  "  Old  Indian," 
and  had  led  such  a  life  of  peril  and  adventure 
himself  that  he  forgot  others  hadn't,  was,  of 
course,  by  now  fast  asleep  in  his  own  room, 
which  was  right  away  from  ours,  at  the  other 
end  of  the  bungalow,  with  the  dining  and  draw- 
ing room  and  spare  bedroom  in  between.  He 
would  be  furious  if  disturbed,  or  the  sub- 
ject re-opened,  so  we  at  last  retired  to  our 
pillows,  sobbing  dolefully.  Before  we  did  so, 
however,  we  propped  open  the  little  bath- 
room door  and  stood  a  candle  (in  a  pilgrim- 
bottle)  at  the  window,  so  that  if  any  serious 
accident  happened  to  either  of  the  subalterns, 
the  friendly  gleam  would  perhaps  be  a  guide 
back  to  our  bungalow  for  help. 

We  were  prepared,  indeed,  to  make  them  up 
a  bed  on  the  sly,  if  necessary,  in  the  stables,  the 
cook-house,  or  any  dry  corner,  and  never  say  a 


I  M   GOING  TO   STOP   HEkK    TILL    MOK.NI.NG. 


32g 


The  wide  World  magazine. 


WE  STOOD  A  CANDLE   IN  A  I'ILGRIM-BOTTlE  AT  THE  WINDOW. 


word  about  it ;  so  hoping  tliat  the  hght  would 
at  any  rate  cheer  them,  and  show  them  how 
sorry  we  were,  wc  at  last  fell  asleep. 

I  have  often  woke  up  with  a  start,  but  never 
such  a  start  as  now.  The  sound  that  awakened 
us  was  one  calculated  to  strike  terror  to  the 
stoutest  heart ! 

Oui  beds  were  placed  touching  each  other, 
mine  being  the  outer  one  and  Leila's  against  the 
wall.  And  you  may  conceive  our  terror  when 
I  tell  you  that  we  were  awakened  by  a  deep, 
threatening  snarl,  proceeding,  it  was  clear,  from 
some  huge  throat,  and  belonging  to  some  animal 
who  had  evidently  entered  our  room  while  we 
slept  and  got  under  our  beds,  where  the  smallest 
movement  on  our  part  caused  it  to  give  an 
ill-tempered  growl — menacing,  ominous,  and 
altogether  fearful.  The  smothered  shriek  we 
gave  as  we  awoke  elicited  a  fresh  snarl,  rather 
sleepy  in  character,  yet  terrifying  enough  to 
silence  us  at  once  ;  and  there  we  lay  like  two 
figures  of  stone — for,  I  can  tell  you,  we  barely 
dared  breathe. 

We  had  not  yet  been  six  months  in  India, 
and  knew  very  little  of  the  habits  of  wild 
animals;  but- we  had  listened  time  and  again  to 
papa's  stories  of  his  own  experiences  and 
adventures.  Few  men,  indeed,  have  encountered 
more  wonderful  ones,  for  he  had  first  visited 
India  in  the  days  when  it  took  five  months' 
sailing  to  get  out  there ;  and,  being  of  dauntless 
and  original  character,  he  had  penetrated  dis- 
tricts where  he  hourly  held  his  life  in  his  hand, 
both  against  natives  and  wild  beasts. 


So  we  had  gleaned  enough  from  papa  to  feel 
certain  that  for  any  wild  animal  to  enter  a 
bungalow  in  which  a  light  was  burning,  and  take 
refuge  under  an  occupied  bed,  was  a  most 
unusual  occurrence,  and  that  there  must  be 
some  remarkable  reason  for  it. 

However,  as  we  were  young  and  tender,  and 
the  near  result  seemed  that  we  should  shortly 
furnish  the  animal  with  a  succulent  meal,  we 
troubled  our  heads  but  little  as  to  the  why  and 
wherefore,  and  lay  trembling  at  the  bare  notion 
of  what  was  to  come. 

Outside,  the  rain  still  roared  down.  The 
candle  had  gone  out — how  long  before,  we 
couldn't  tell ;  perhaps  before  the  creature  got  in. 

As  yet  not  a  glimmer  of  dawn  broke  the 
black,  wet  night  which  prevailed  outside  the 
uncurtained,  unshuttered  window  of  our  room. 
As  in  all  bungalows,  we  were,  of  course,  on  the 
ground-floor,  there  being  no  other.  A  box  of 
matches  lay,  we  knew,  on  a  chair  close  to  my 
pillow,  but  we  dared  not  stir  to  touch  it. 

We  lay  and  just  pressed  each  other's  hands 
convulsively  ! 

I  longed  to  yell  for  papa — the  servants — any- 
body ;  but  what  was  the  use  ?  Papa  was  a  long 
way  off,  snoring.  The  servants  were  further 
away  still,  rolled  in  blankets  in  their  mud-huts 
down  the  mountain  side.  We  should  be*  torn  to 
pieces  long  before  help  arrived.  Our  only  hope 
lay  in  keeping  quiet. 

I  didn't  know  what  Leila's 
during  that  long  and  terrible  vigil,  but /pondered 
on  many  things.  Of  how  it  was  all  papa's  fault, 
for  we  generally  barred  our  bathroom  door,  which 
almost  touched  the  forest,  whilst  to-night  it  had 
been  propped  invitingly  open.  Then,  again,  how 
sorry  he'd  be  when  he  found  our  hair  in  the 
morning,  and  perhaps  a  bone  or  two.  (We  had 
both  very  long,  thick  hair ;  and  I  remember 
feeling  certain  it  would  stick  in  the  creature's 
throat,  and  he'd  have  to  bring  it  up  again  with 
our  half-chewed-up  heads,  perhaps,  still  hanging 
on.)  I  also  pictured  Chips  and  Co.  following 
the  funeral  of  the  hair  and  bones,  and  perhaps 
guessing  that  our  pity  for  them  had  done  it  all. 
I'he  candle  would,  I  knew,  be  found  stuck  in  the 
pilgrim-bottle,  leaning  up  against  the  tiny  bath- 
room window.  Another  light  would  steal  upon 
Papa,  Chips  and  Co.,  and  a  small  thrill  of  satis- 
faction went  through  me  as  I  pictured  them 
"  breaking  down  "  as  men  do  in  novels,  and 
"turning  away  to  hide  the  tears  that  ivould 
come." 

Leila  has  since  told  me  she  went 
further,  and  settled  on  our  respective  tomb- 
stones. Hers  was  to  be  snow-white  marble, 
and  mine  granite  (a  great  shame — -why  only 
granite  for  me  ?).     An  angel  was  to   stand  on 


thoughts  were 


THE    CANDLE    IN    THE    WINDOW. 


329 


her  tomb,  and  hold  an  inscription  describing  all 
her  beauty  and  virtues  ;  whereas  my  tomb,  as  far 
as  I  could  make  out,  was  to  be  a  miserable 
cheap  affair,  and  nothing  about  my  beauty  and 
virtues  written  on  it,  except  that  I  almost  canie 
up  to  Leila,  but  not  quite.  You  may  wonder 
that  we  girls  could  have  such  thoughts  at  such  a 
time,  but  please  remember  we  lay  there  motion- 
less for  over  two  hours,  and  it's  hardly  to  be 
wondered  at  that  under  the  circumstances 
nothing  more  cheerful  than  our  tombstones 
occurred  to  us. 

As  time  went  on,  however,  my  thoughts 
received  a  sudden  check,  and  a  very  nasty  one. 
1  began  gradually  to  become  aware  that  some- 
thing was  wrong  with  my  left  arm  :  it  was 
hurting — it  was  hurting  frightfully,  with  a  most 
peculiar  plui^^i^ed  fight  pain.  This  is  the  only 
way  I  can  describe  it. 

I  lay  still  for  a  bit,  my  brain  revolving  round 
this  new  incident,  and  wondering  what  it  meant. 
Had  our  midnight  visitor  helped  himself  some- 
how to  a  little  steak  out  of  my  arm,  unknown  to 
me  ?  Impossible,  of  course.  Then  what  was 
it?  And  did  I  dare  to  move  my  other  hand  to 
touch  it  and  see  what  it  was  ? 

Well,  I  niusf,  and  there  was  an  end  of  it. 
The  agony  was 
growing  intense. 
If  I  died  for  it  I 
must  know  what  it 
meant.  So  I  cau- 
tiously and  very 
gingerly  moved  my 
hand,  and  on  pass- 
ing it  over  the 
upper  part  of  my 
arm,  I  found  some- 
thing  growing  out 
of  the  fiesh — some- 
thing fleshy  in  it- 
self, yet,  when  I 
touched  it,  to  my 
horror  it  moved,  yet 
was  buried  there 
^ast  ! 

I  did  think  now 
I  must  scream  or 
die.  What  horrible, 
loathsome  creature 
had  fastened  itself 
to  me  in  this  wise 
— wriggled  deei)er 
if  I  touched  it,  yet 
was  locked  fast  to 
my  flesh  ? 

First,  I  lay 
speechless,  and 
then,    all     being 


quiet  under  the  bed,  I  leant  over  carefully  and 
whispered,  sobbingly,  into  Leila's  very  ear  what 
had  happened  to  me.  Then,  taking  her  hand,  I 
laid  it  on  my  arm. 

As  she  touched  the  mysterious  growth  it 
moved  again,  and  she  gave  a  start  so  violent 
that  both  beds  shook. 

Instantly  there  vibrated  through  the  room 
(which  was  now  growing  faintly  grey  with  the 
coming  of  dawn)  another  long,  low,  ill-tempered 
snarl;  and  this  time,  losing  all  self-control,  we 
dived  beneath  the  clothes,  yelling  frantically  for 
help  ! 

It  was  all  up  now.  We  heard  the  animal 
move.  We  heard  it  struggling  to  get  out  from 
under  the  beds,  and,  worse  than  all  (the  beds 
being  only  charpoys  made  of  wide,  thick 
webbing  plaited  round  a  frame,  and  no  mattress, 
but  only  a  folded  blanket),  we  could  distinctly 
feel  the  creature  struggling  under  us.  (living 
ourselves  up  for  lost,  we  uncovered  our  heads 
once  more  to  how/,  and  then  dived  in  again  ; 
and  if  you  think  us  cowardly,  picture  to  your- 
selves our  utterly  helpless  position. 

For  a  moment,  our  visitor  seemed  caught  in 
some  way,  perhaps  by  our  violent  plunges  over- 
head :  and  then — w^ell,  I  never  can  forget  the- 
ghastly  roar  it  gave  as  it  struggled  out. 
I  have  since  felt  certain  that  the 
poor  animal — who,  it  transpired  later, 
was  somehow  wounded  —  was  as 
terrified  of  the  two  struggling, 

as 


kicking    beings   overhead. 


we  were  or  it. 


Its 

a 


roar  was 
roar     of 


Vol.  iii. — 42. 


'as  papa  reached  the  door  we  all  three  distinctly 
saw  the  animal." 


really 
pain. 

Papa   awoke, 
shouted  "  I'm  com- 
ing ! "      and      then 
rushed     in  —  a 
unique    and   grace- 
ful vision  in  a  very 
short  nightshirt,  his 
tremendously  long, 
thin  legs    unveiled, 
and  a  nightcap  over 
one    ear.       As     he 
reached    the    door, 
and     our     heads 
emerged,    we     all 
three  distinctly  saw  the 
animal — a     small     hill- 
cheetah  —  leap    out 
through  the  other  door 
leading     to    the    bath- 
room !    There  it  paused 
an     instant     on     three 
legs,   one   paw  uplifted 
and      bleeding     badly, 


33° 


THE   WIDE   WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


and    then    another    leap    took    it    out   on   to 
the  khud. 

Rushing  for  a  gun  (though  we  shrieked  to 
him  not  to  leave  us),  papa  followed  the 
wounded  animal,  and  we  heard  him  fire  round 
the  far  side  of  the  bungalow.  Then  another 
shot  farther  off,  and  we  wondered  whether  the 
cheetah  would  come  bang  on  Chips  and  Co. 
But  papa  returned, 
and  said  he  had 
missed  it ;  it  had 
bolted  dow7i  the 
mountain  side — not 
up  ;■  so  we  hoped 
they  were  safe. 

By  this  time  we 
had  got  on  dressing- 
gowns  and  were 
gazing  at  the  blood- 
tracks  on  the  bath- 
room and  bedroom 
floors.  Papa  gave  it 
as  his  opinion  that  it 
had  been  a  precious 
lucky  thing  for  us 
that  our  visitor  had 
been  wounded  ; 
though,  on  the  other 
would  probably   never 


I  also  seized  and  threw  wet  mud  at  two  or 
three  servants,  who,  aroused  by  all  this  noise, 
were  gathering  here  and  there.  Having  plastered 
the  astonished  kitmudgar's  face  I  felt  much 
better,  and  stood  by  to  watch  with  deep  satis- 
faction papa  burning  the  tick — for  so  this  hateful 
little  creature  is  called — in  the  open  charcoal 
stove,  which  the  servants  were  hastily  blowing 

at,  to  boil  the  kettle 
for  chota-hazaree. 

Leila  says  she  has 
never  forgotten  my 
face  as  I  stood  there, 
still  panting,  and 
watched  the  crema- 
tion. Nor,  the  obse- 
quies being  over, 
how  I  heaved  a  sigh, 
and  murmured 
through    my    teeth  : 


"I'm  not  cruel. 
I'm  not  cruel ; 
I'm    glad     it 


'HAVING     PLASTERED     THE     ASTONISHED     KITMUDGAK  S     FACE 
I    FELT    MUCH    BETTER." 


me, 
the 


hand,    unless 
have   crept  in 


hurt,    it 
to   take 


shelter  from  the  weather  under  our  beds. 

Now,  however,  my  arm  was  growing  moment- 
arily more  painful,  and  rolling  up  my  sleeve  I 
was  horrified  to  find,  sticking  up  out  of  my 
flesh,  a  gluey,  greyish  body  about  the  size  of  a 
big  pea,  which,  however,  as  it  moved,  gradually 
grew  smaller  and  smaller  ! 

It  was  burrowing  into  my  arm,  and  would 
soon  disappear  entirely.  It's  no  exaggeration  to 
say  (and  I  am  sure  all  of  my  own  sex  will 
understand)  that  this  loathsome  sight  caused  me 
more  terror  even  than  the  cheetah  had  done  ! 

I  simply  danced  up  and  down  on  the  floor 
almost  out  of  my  senses,  while  papa,  seizing  the 
thing  in  his  finger  and  thumb,  tugged  at  it,  but 
to  no  purpose.     It  was  like  part  of  my  flesh. 

Directing  Leila  to  hold  on  to  it  (which  she 
did,    with     loud    yells)    he    rushed    for    some 


pincers,  and 


returnmg, 


he  laid  hold  of  it,  and 


accompanied  by  a  shriek  from  me  which  might 
have  woke  the  dead,  he  tore  it  out  of  my  arm 
alive. 

The  thing  being  gone,  I  flew  out  into  the 
open  air,  I  can  hardly  tell  you  why,  except  that 
the  two  frights  had  completely  unnerved  me. 
The  sun  was  up  now  and  the  world  light,  and  to 
papa's  and  Leila's  great  consternation  I  went 
and  banged  my  head  several  times  against  the 
rocky  mountain  side  behind  the  bungalow,  still 
screaming  and  sobbing  violently. 


No, 
but 
has 
suffered  too." 

Perhaps   the    men 
won't     believe 
but     I      think 
women  will,  when  T  say  that  of  the  two  experi- 
ences that  night  I  would  rather  see  the  cheetah 
again  than  that  tiny  india-rubber  coloured  beast 

1  found  embedded  in  my  arm.  The  parasite 
must,  by-the-bye,  have  come  off  the  cheetah, 
as  they  generally  infest  wild  animals. 

We  heard  next  day  in  the  station  from  the 
two  subalterns  that  they  reached  home  about 

2  a.m.  swearing  like  troopers,  and  simply  eaten 
up  by  leeches,  which  swarm  in  the  Himalayas 
during  rain. 

I  was  lunching  with  Chips  not  long  ago,  and 
he  told  me  that  he  and  Co.  vowed  that  night 
they'd  rather  walk  up  to  a  cannon's  mouth  than 
ever  face  papa  again. 

But  they  did  face  him  again — oh,  yes — they 
danced  at  Leila's  wedding  two  months  later  ; 
and  a  year  after,  one  of  them  stood  and  looked 
on  at  mine.     The  other  was  far  away. 

We  have  known  each  other  ever  since,  and 
often  talk  with  fits  of  laughter  of  the  night  when 
papa's  hard-heartedness  led  us  to  put  that 
candle  in  the  window. 

When  we  were  safely  married,  and  he  couldn't 
punish  us,  Leila  and  I  told  papa  zvhy  that  light 
was  placed  in  the  bathroom  window  and  the 
door  propped  open. 

Papa  was  deeply  shocked,  especially  because 
we  told  it  to  him  with  much  glee,  and  not,  as  he 
was  certain  his  great-grandmother  would  have 
done,  "with  bated  breath  and  blushes." 

Bother  the  great-grandmother ! 


Odds    and    Ends, 


From  a\ 


The  "cream"  of  travellers'  photo-albums  from  every  region,  with  full  descriptive  text. 

The     impressive 
little  photograph 
next  shown  depicts 
a  cottage  in  flames 
in     New    Zealand. 
It  appears  that  the 
native    wood  is    so 
very     inflammable, 
that  in  the  event  of 
one  of  the  cottages 
taking  fire,  a  mere 
half-hour  or  so  will 
suffice  for  it  to  be 
totally      destroyed. 
The  lady  who  sent 
ui  this  photo,  says 
she  saw  the  cottage 
while    she    was 
District     last    year. 
Judging  from  the  enormous  volumes  of  smoke, 
you    would     think     that    at    the    very    least    a 
fair-sized    factory  was    in    flames,  instead  of   a 
humble  little  New  Zealand  cottage.     This,  how- 
ever, is  accounted  for  by  the  great  fierceness  of 
the  conflagration. 

We  next  pass  to  South  Africa,  and  reproduce 
a  very  striking  photo,  showing  the  Kaftirs  in  the 
De  Beers  Diamond  Mines  returning  home  to 
the  compound  after  the  day's  work.  It  is 
pretty  generally  known  that  these  natives  are 
practically  imprisoned  during  the  term  of  their 
engagement  with  the  great  diamond  monopoly. 


"  SOAl'V   SMITH,"   THE    KLO.NIJIKK    Ul 


-:^|]-:k.\Ui 


HE  first  photo,  reproduced  shows 
"Soapy  Smith,"  the  Klondike  des- 
perado, lying  in  state.  Soapy  had 
a  lively  time  during  his  life,  but,  of 


{Photo. 


driving    in     the     Feilding 


his  "call 


Inci- 


course,  nis  '•  call     soon  came, 
dentally  the  photo,  is  an  eloquent  commentary 
on  how  law  and  order  are  enforced  in  primitive 
communities.     Listen  to  a  recent  writer  : — 

"  Apart  from  the  dogs,  the  peace  and  order  of 
Skaguay  at  the  time  of  my  visit  were  unexcep- 
tional.     A  few  weeks  before,   however,  things 
had  been  very  different.     All  last  summer  (1898) 
the  town  was  'run'  by  a  collection  of  undesirable 
characters  from  the  mining  regions  of  the  Western 
States,  headed    by   a   gentle- 
man known  as  'Soapy'  Smith. 
The  outrages  that  were  com- 
mitted daily  under  this  regime 
at   last    culminated    in    a 
peculiarly  audacious  robbery. 
The   more   reputable   of  the 
inhabitants  held  a  meeting  to 
consult    on   what   was  to    be 
done.  Mr.  Soapy  Smith  heard 
of    the    meeting,    and    con- 
sidered   it   desirable    for   his 
welfare    that    he    should    be 
present.     On    his    arrival    he 
was    informed    by    the    door- 
keeper that  he  could  not  be 
admitted.     In  reply,  he  fired 
at  and  mortally  wounded  the 
sentinel,    who,    however,   was 
quick    enough  before  he  fell 
to  shoot   dead    the   redou (st- 
able Smith.   The  leader  being 
destroyed,  his  associates  and 
friends  were  quickly  captured." 


^L^. 


I'roin  a  J 


A   COTTAGE    IN    FLAMES,    1 


332 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


:  f 


f 


.!f^' 


watched  day  and  night  in 
order  to  see  that  they  do 
not  take  away  with  them 
some  of  the  company's 
property. 

The  photo,  we  have 
been  describing  was  taken 
some  years  ago,  but  nowa- 
days the  Kaffirs  — or,  at 
any  rate,  some  of  them — 
do  not  walk  to  and  from 
their  work,  but  are  con- 
veyed in  an  extraordinary 
kind  of  aerial  tramway  or 
railway,  whose  flanged 
wheels  rest  upon  rails  of 
steel  rope  suspended  in 
the  air.  The  photo,  next 
reproduced  shows  this 
very  interesting  and  strik- 
ing arrangement. 


4 


V< 


r»* 


tf* 


r-j/j^^ 


KAFUKS    KETLKNINf.    FKO.M     IHE    DIAMOND    MINES   AKTiiK 
THEIR    DAYS   WORK    (oLD    STYLE). 

From  a  Photo. 

During  this  time  the  men  live  in  the  "  com- 
pound," which  is  simply  an  enormous 
stockaded  village,  and  they  cannot  go  out 
of  bounds  without  special  permits.  It 
must  be  said,  however,  that  the  company 
provide  them  with  every  requisite,  and 
even  with  means  of  amusement ;  but  in 
spite  of  the  elaborate  system  of  examina- 
tion adopted,  the  Kaffirs  can  and  do  steal 
diamonds.  Of  course,  the  old  days  of 
"I.D.B.,"  or  illicit  diamond  buying,  arc 
over,  but  there  is  still  a  pretty  considerable 
leakage  —  some  say  to  the  amount  of 
;;^ 1 0,000  yearly.  During  the  last  week  of 
their  engagement  the  natives  have  huge 
gloves  put  upon  their  hands,  which  resemble 
boxing-gloves,  and  these  are  locked  on. 
During  these  last  days  the  men  are  also 


THE    KAFFIRS   OF    iO-UAV   GO    BAC 

From  d\  "  aerial 


KUAKDS   AND    FORWARDS    IN 
TKAM." 


THE 

{Photo. 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


33i 


A   DAYS   WINNINGS   AT   THE    KIMliERLEY   MIXES — ;£lO,000   WORTH    OF    DIAMONDS. 

From  a  Photo,  by  J.  E.  Middlebrook. 


A  third  .snap-.shot  from  the  famous  mines  of 
Kimberley  is  here  given,  and  it  shows  one  of 
the  officials  at  the  office  examining  and  sorting 
three  most  enviable  piles  of  diamonds.  These 
represent  one  day's  winnings  from  the  famous 
"  blue  gravel,"  and  their  value  is  approximately 
^10,000. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  compound  Kaffir 
devotes  every  moment  of  his  engagement  to 
devising  new  and  ingenious 
methods  of  secreting  these 
tiny  masses  of  dull  crystal, 
which  represent  great  wealth 
in  a  small  compass,  and 
mean  to  him  all  manner  of 
luxuries  in  the  shape  of  bad 
whisky,  tobacdo,  old  guns, 
and  indescribable  fashion 
novelties,  which  seem  to  find 
their  \v'ay  from  Europe  in 
a  steady  stream,  and  are 
eagerly  snapped  up  by  the 
absurdly  vain  and  finery- 
loving  natives. 

This  unique  snap-shot  of 
the  Judge  of  Bocoyna  in  his 
coach  was  taken  by  Mr.  J. 
Gurdon  L.  Stephenson,  C.E., 
during  the  Mexican  Western 
Railway  Expedition  of  1897. 
What  a  vision  of  splendour 
is  called  up  before  our  eyes 


by  those  words, 
"  The  judge  in 
his  coach  !  "  We 
imagine  the  sleek, 
prancing  steeds, 
the  irreproach- 
able, powdered 
coachman  and 
footmen,  and  the 
luxurious  carriage 
in  which  the 
magnate  takes  his 
ease.  We  look 
at  the  photo- 
graph, and  the 
bright  vision 
vanishes.  What 
—  that  thing  a 
coach?  Or  is  it 
really  a  joke?  It 
looks  very  like 
one  of  those  little 
hand-carts  which 
the  street  urchins 
knock  together 
out  of  a  couple 
of  packing- 
cases,  with  two  rusty  wheels  rudely  fixed  on. 
The  attitude  of  the  Judge  of  Bocoyna  is  full 
of  pride  and  dignity  as  he  meets  the  party  of 
English  engineers  surveying  the  country,  and 
adjusting  his  legs  like  a  pair  of  compasses  for 
the  sake  of  balance,  he  stands  like  a  statue,  all 
unmoved  by  the  fearful  jolts  of  the  vehicle, 
labouring  along  the  uneven,  bumpy  ground. 
Unconsciously  the  little  tiger '\\.\\^^  back  mimics 


[Photo. 


334 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


the  pride  of  his  chief  in 
a  manner  too  comical 
for  words,  as  he  pushes 
up  behind  with  might 
and  main. 

Bocoyna  is  a  little 
place  among  the  wilds 
of  one  of  the  moun- 
tainous districts  of 
Northern  Mexico,  where 
life  flows  peacefully  on 
untroubled  by  the  cares 
and  rush  which  are  the 
curse  of  the  civilized 
world. 

The  accompanying 
illustration  may  truly 
be  termed  a  most  strik- 
ing photograph.  It 
shows  a  wild  elephant 
that  has  been  caught 
during  the  "  khedda " 
operations  in  the  Duars 
district  of  India,  close 
alongside  the  boundary 
of  Bhotan  and  British 
territory.  You  will 
observe  how  strenuously 
the  poor  beast  is  trying 
to  drag  himself  free — a 
long,  long  pull  and  a 
strong,  strong  pull, 
indeed.  He  is  secured 
by  strong  ropes,  carefully 
adjusted  so  as  not  to 
injure  him  in  his  frantic 
struggles,  and  these  are 
fastened  to  the  base  of 
stout  trees.  It  is  an 
amusing  sight  to  see  the 
indignant  villagers  driv- 
ing a  herd  of  tuskers  out 
of  their  fields.  Keeping 
at  a  respectful  distance, 
they  shout  and  yell,  beat 
tom  -  toms  and  empty 
tins,  and  generally  make 
as  much  noise  as  pos- 
sible. If  the  raid  occurs 
at  night-time,  they  wave 
lighted  torches  and  light 
big  fires.  This  pande- 
monium of  sound  scares 
the  elephants,  who  move 
off,  grazing  the  while. 
They  often  return,  how- 
ever, with  aggravating 
persistency,  when  the 
villagers  have  dispersed. 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


-•  -»  r 


HOW    THE   SOLTH    AKKICAN    KAKMEKS    RESENT    THE    INTRUSION    OF    s.lla.-.L,, 

From  a  Photo. 


,  ^j— THE   RESULT   OF    A 


At  certain  seasons  of  drought  in  the  unin- 
habited portions  of  the  Upper  Karoo,  in  South 
Africa,  huge  herds  of  springbok  migrate  in 
search  of  water  towards  the  haunts  of  men. 
They  move  in  countless  numbers,  and,  as  can 
be  imagined,  consume  every  vestige  of  herbage 
that  lies  in  their 
path.  They  are 
no  respecters  of 
property,  and 
when  their  rovings 
lead  them  across 
the  much-prized 
pasture  lands  of 
the  farmer  they 
are  looked  upon 
as  unwelcome 
intruders,  and 
taught  the  error 
of  their  ways. 
Our  photo,  shows 
the  result  of  a 
two  days'  raid 
made  against 
them  by  a  party 
of  farmers  owning 


property  in  the  district  through  w-hich  the 
springbok  chanced  to  be  passing.  A  great  deal 
of  this  meat  will  be  carried  away,  dried  in  the 
sun,  and  turned  into  famous  "  biltong  "  by  the 
skilful  hands  of  the  farmers'  wives.  The  horns 
are  very  little  utilized. 


:.^^ 


FroiJi  a\ 


WILD    I'ELICANS   ON    THEIR    BREEDING-GROUND. 


\_Photo. 


33^ 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


I'roin  a\ 


A    GKOUl'    Ol'    VOLNi;    rKLlCANi    llUDUl.Kl)    HH.K  1  HEK. 


We  have  now  to  consider  two  really  unique 
photos,  of  wild  pelicans  on  their  breeding- 
ground— a  small  island  in  the  Lake  Reservoir, 
at  Buena  Vista,  California.  At  the  time  our 
photos,  were  taken  there  were  at  least  10,000 
of  these  queer  birds  on  the  island.  They  were 
within  20ft.  of  the  photographer  (who  was  hid 
in  some  rushes  at  the  edge  of  the  island),  and 
as  they  came  marching  along  in  their  grotesque 
manner  they 
seemed  almost 
like  a  miniature 
army.  They  feed 
their  young  by 
placing  their  bills 
in  the  mouths  of 
the  little  ones, 
and  then  disgorg- 
ing the  food  they 
have  devoured, 
which  consists 
entirely  of  fish. 
Only  two  eggs  are 
laid  in  a  nest,  and 
all  the  nests  are 
located  on  the 
side  of  the  island 
facing  the  sun. 
Hatching  out 
usually  takes 
place  in  the 
month  of  May.  In 
the  second  photo, 
we  see  a  group 
of  young  ones, 
huddled  together 
in  a  very  curious 


way.  They  get  almost  as 
large  as  a  turkey  before 
there  is  any  sign  of  feathers, 
but  once  these  begin  to 
grow  they  become  so 
strong  and  thick  that 
nothing  but  a  heavy-bore 
gun  will  penetrate  them 
within  a  reasonable  shoot- 
ing range.  Young  pelicans 
can  be  easily  tamed,  if 
taken  in  hand  early  enough, 
and  will  then  follow  you 
about  like  dogs. 

In  many  parts  of  Burma 
there  are  to  be  found  num- 
bers of  remarkable  sculp- 
tares,  usually  carved  out 
of  the  living  rock.  The 
extraordinary  carvings 
shown  here  are  to  be  found 
at  Thomboo,  on  the  Ira- 
waddy.  They  are  cut  out  of  the  face  of  a  high 
cliff  rising  directly  from  the  river  bank,  and  are 
of  great  size.  They  consist  of  a  succession  oi 
rudely-formed  niches,  in  appearance  something 
like  the  catacombs  of  Rome,  and  these  are  full 
of  large  and  small  images  of  Buddha,  who  is 
represented  in  several  positions.  On  the  sum- 
mit of  the  cliff  is  a  pagoda  of  great  sanctity, 
which  is  visited  by  large  numbers  of  pilgrims. 


[Photo. 


EXTKAOUDl.NAk'i     kocK-SCULl'I  X  Kl-s   ul     liLULiHA    AT    IHU.MliOU,    IN    BURMA. 


[Photo. 


HUNDREDS   OF   THE    I'ol'UEACE  CAME   TO  SEE   ME,    EEINCUNG  AT   ME 
ABUSE   THEIR   LANGUAGE   IS   CAPABLE   OF." 


ALL   THE 


(see  page  347.) 


The  Wide  World  Magazine. 


Vol.   111. 


AU(;i'ST,    1899. 


No.  16 


In  the  Khalifa's  Clutches;    or,  My  Twelve  Years'  Captivity  in 

Chains  in  Omdurman. 


IJy  Ch.\rles  Neufeld. 
CHAPTER    II.    {continued). 


A  KING  me  apart  from  the  rest,  the 
I'^mir  continued,  "  I  see  you  are 
thirsty  "  ;  and,  c.iUing  up  one  of  his 
men,  he  told  him  to  pour  some  water 
over  some  hard  dry  bread.  This  he 
handed  to  me,  saying  smilingly,  "  Eat — it  is  not 
good  for  you  to  drink."  I  divined  his  meaning. 
Had  our  men  not  made  that  mad  rush  for  the 
water  we  might  have  had  a  very  different  tale  to 
tell ;  and  who  knows  if,  had  we  won  the  day  and 
reached  Sheik  Saleh  safely,  the  history  of  the 
Soudan  for  the  past  twelve  years  might  not  have 
read  differently?  Mhie  would  have  done  so,  at 
any  rate. 

I  was  handed  over  to  two  men,  who  were 
held  responsible  for  my  well-being.  Hasseena 
and  Elias  were  placed  together  in  the  charge  of 
others,  and  we  were  ordered  to  seat  ourselves  a 
little  distance  away.  I'he  Dervishes  had  with 
them  military  tents,  which  must  have  been 
taken  at  Khartoum,  and  one  was  soon  pitched. 
Here  the  Emirs  and  principal  men  met  to  hold 
a  conference  and  inquiry.  Darb  es  Safai  and 
others  were  taken  up  one  by  one,  and  the  ques- 
tion put  to  them  direct,  "  Where  are  the  rifles 
and  cartridges  ?  " — for  no  case  or  package  had, 
of  course,  been  brought  on  with  us  to  the  wells. 
They  denied  any  knowledge  of  them, 
c*nfTh"re"at.^iid  thcn  Farag  replied,  significantly, 
"  We  will  find  them  for  you,  and 
show  you  how  they  are  used."  My  turn 
came  next,  and  in  reply  to  the  usual  ques- 
tion, I  declared  I  knew  nothing  at  all  about 
either  guns  or  ammunition.  Questioned  still 
further,  however,  I  admitted  I  had  seen  a 
number  of  boxes,  but  I  could  not  pretend  to 
know  what  was  inside  them.  Asked  as  to 
where  they  were,  I  said  I  could  not  tell— in  the 
desert  somewhere  ;  they  had  been  thrown 
away  perhaps,  as  the  camels,  being  tired 
and  thirsty,  could  not  carry  them  any  longer. 
Still  interrogated,  I  replied  that  the  guide 
who  had  brought  us  here  was  the  very  first 
to  be  killed  in  the  firing,  and  that  I  did 
not  think  anyone  else  in  our  caravan  could  find 
his  way  back  to  the  place  where  the  boxes  were 

Vol.  iii.— 43. 


left.  On  hearing  this,  rapid  glances  were 
passed  from  one  to  the  other.  Asked  if  I  was 
sure  he  was  killed,  I  could  only  reply  that  my 
clerk  had  told  me  so,  and  that  I  had  seen  him 
fall.     I  e\en  indicated  the  place. 

Farag    at    once    sent   off  a    man    in 
Moments.  '^'^'^'^^   dircction    after  whispering  some 

instructions  to  him,  and  during  the 
few  minutes  he  was  away  perfect  silence 
reigned  in  the  tent,  with  the  exception  of 
the  regular  click,  click  of  the  beads  of  the 
Sidha,  or  rosar)-.  AMien  he  returned,  the  mes- 
senger whispered  his  reply  to  Farag.  Two  of 
the  Alighat  Arabs  who  had  joined  us  at  Wadi 
Haifa  were  next  brought  up  and  questioned  ; 
they  did  not  give  direct  replies.  They  were 
presently  taken  aside,  but  not  far  enough  away 
to  prevent  my  overhearing  part  of  what  went  on. 
As  a  result  of  first  promises  and  then  threats, 
I  gathered  that  they  undertook  to  lead 
the  I)ervishes  to  the  spot  where  the  cases  had 
been  left  in  the  desert.  It  is  quite  certain,  from 
the  questions  put  by  the  Dervishes,  that  they 
were  ignorant  of  the  precise  spot  where  the 
baggage  had  been  left,  and  this  in  a  measure 
confirmed  the  death  of  Hassan.  Nevertheless, 
I  have  always  had  a  suspicion  that  the  treacher- 
ous miscreant  shammed  death  and  got  away,  to 
present  himself  later  on  to  the  renowned  Emir 
Nejoumi.  Hassan  might  easily  have  mingled 
with  the  Dervishes  and  not  been  .seen  by  us. 

The  sun  had  now  set,  and  the  conference 
being  ended,  orders  were  given  by  P'arag  for  all 
to  march  back  by  the  route  we  had  come,  the 
Alighat  Arabs,  with  Amin  between  them,  lead- 
ing the  way.  We  marched  for  only  an  hour  or 
being  tired  and  not  having 

A 


good  deal  of  trouble. 


so,  for  our  camels, 
been  watered,  gave  a 

halt  was  then  called  for  the  night,  and  what 
water  the  Dervishes  had  was  partly  distributed. 
By  sunrise  the  next  day  we  were  on  the  march 

having 
All 

Saleh's  men,  wounded  and  sound  alike,  were 
compelled  to  walk,  the  Dervishes  and  their 
wounded  riding  on  camels. 


agam,   twenty-five   men,  well   mounted, 
been  sent  on  in  advance  with  the  guides 


340 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


WE    ruUNU   THE    FOLK    .MEN    Willi    THEIR    HANDS    CUL'ND    BEHIND    THE.M. 


In  the  afternoon  we  reached  the  spot  where 
we  had  left  the  four  men  in  charge  of  the 
baggage,  and  found  them  with  their  hands 
bound  behind  them.  The  advance  party  had 
reached  them  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  had  doubtless  found  them  asleep,  as  no 
shots  had  been  fired.  The  men  were  not  to  be 
blamed  in  any  way,  and  it  really  mattered  but 
little  whether  they  were  asleep  or  awake  when 
taken,  so  great  were  the  odds  against  them. 
I  had,  on  starting  for  the  wells,  left  them  the 
little  water  I  had  saved ;  had  they  not  had 
this,  they  could  not  have  slept. 

In  the  same  way  that  Saleh's  men  had  for- 
gotten everything  in  that  mad  rush  for  the 
water,  so  did  the  Dervishes  break  loose,  forget 
all  about  their  prisoners,  and  rush  on  the  pile 
of  cases. 

The  ground  was  soon  littered  with 
*  """aS/e."  rifles,  packets  of  ammunition,  sugar, 
clothing,  food,  and  the  hundred  and 
one  articles  to  be  found  in  a  trading  cara- 
van ;  for  the  cases  and  bales  of  the  Arabs 
who  had  joined  us  at  \Vadi  Haifa  con- 
tained only  merchandise.  My  mind  was 
soon  made  up  :  Running  towards  the 
other  prisoners  with  my  hunting-knife,  I 
thought  that  at  all  events  the  thongs  of  a 
few  might  be  cut,  and  that  then,  making  for 
the  camels  and  scattering  in  different  directions. 


a  f  e  w  m  i  g  h  t 
have  made  good 
their  escape.  It 
was  a  mad  idea, 
but  it  was  some- 
thing.  Before 
any  part  of  my 
half-formed 
plan  could  be 
put  into  execu- 
tion, however, 
the  guards  were 
down  upon  us. 
I  was  taken  to 
the  Emir,  Said 
^Vad  Farag,  but 
I  excused  my- 
self before  him 
for  my  actions, 
saying  that, 
being  a  medical 
man,  I  had 
gone  to  see  if 
I  could  attend 
to  any  of  the 
wounded.  Com- 
plimenting me 
on  my  thought 
for  others,  he 
recommended  me  to  think  of  myself. 

He    then   appropriated  the  knife  the 

'^PromTse!^  &'J^''ds    had  fouud    in    my  hand,  and 

told  me  he  would  let  me  know  when 

to  use  it,  warning  me  at  the  same  time  not  to 

attempt  to  speak  to  any  of  the  other  prisoners. 

When  the  excitement  over  the  loot  had  cooled 
down  a  little  a  camel  was  killed  in  honour  of 
the  occasion,  and  my  servant  Hasseena  was 
ordered  to  prepare  some  of  the  dishes.  I  was 
invited  to  eat  with  the  Emirs.  Our  first  dish 
was  the  raw  liver  of  the  camel,  covered  with 
salt  and  shetta — a  sort  of  red  pepper.  I  had 
often  seen  this  dish  being  eaten,  but  had  never 
before  partaken  of  it  myself. 

I  had  two  reasons  for  eating  it  now  :  Firstly, 
I  was  both  hungry  and  thirsty  ;  and  secondly, 
one  of  the  first  signs  of  fear  is  a  disinclination 
— I  might  say  inability — to  swallow  food  ;  and 
fear  of  my  captors  was  the  last  thing  I  intended 
to  exhibit.  After  the  food,  my  clothes  were 
taken  from  me,  as  they  looked  upon  them 
as  the  dress  of  a  base  Kaffir,  or  unbeliever, 
and  I  was  turned  out  into  the  night-air  with 
my  singlet,  drawers,  and  socks  as  my  complete 
wardrobe.  My  turban  and  Baghdad  rofiyeh 
were  also  taken  away,  so  that  I  was  bareheaded 
into  the  bargain.  When  the  Dervishes  had 
finished  their  food,  and  before  they  lay  down 
for  the  night,  the  Emir  Farag  sent  for  all  the 


IN    THE    KHALIFATS    CLUTCHES. 


341 


loot  to  be  collected  and  brouglit  before  his  tent, 
when  it  would  later  on  be  distributed  according 
*.o  the  rules  of  the  Beit  el  Mai,  or  Treasury. 
This  important  institution  and  its  working  will 
be  described  later.  Only  a  part  of  the  loot  was 
collected,  for  the  men,  knowing  from  experience 
the  extraordinary  manner  in  which  loot  "shrank" 
in  bulk  and  number  when  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  Emirs  to  be  distributed  according  to  rule, 
concealed  in  the  sand  or  beneath  their  jibbehs 
whatever  could  be  hidden  there.  The  pipes  and 
tobacco  found  in  the  baggage  were  burned,  as 
their  use  was  prohibited  by  the  INIahdi. 

Among  my  things  was  found  my  letter- 
^  pa''pe'r°s"^  \vallet,    and  this   was  handed    to   the 

Emirs,  who  afterwards  sent  for  me 
and  demanded  to  know  the  contents  of  the 
letters.  I  replied  that  they  were  only  business 
documents — receipts  for  goods,  and  such-like ; 
but  that  if  the  wallet  were  handed  to  me,  I 
would  translate  each  letter.  Being  satisfied 
with  this  answer,  however,  Farag  kept  the 
wallet.  Complaining  of  my  clothing  having 
been  taken  from  me,  he  allowed  me  to  have  my 
flannel  shirt,  and  gave  me  a  piece  of  rag  as  head- 
dress. In  this  guise  I  lay  down  in  the  sand  to 
doze  and  wake  the  whole  night  through — con- 
scious yet  unconscious,  and  with  the  strange 
incidents  of  the  last  eighteen  days  chasing  each 
other  through  my  excited  brain. 

The  camp  was  astir  long  before  sunrise,  and  by 
dawn  we  were  on  the  move  east  towards  El  Kab, 
which  we  reached  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  The  "  wells  "  at  the  part  we  arrived 
at  are  situated  on 
rising  ground  ; 
but  the  name 
"  well  "  in  this 
instance  is  a  mis- 
nomer. They  are 
mere  shallow 
basins  scooped 
out  with  the 
hands  or  any 
rough  imple- 
ment, the  water 
being  found 
about  3ft.  below 
the  surflxce  —the 
shrubs  indicate 
where  to  scoop. 
The  camels  were 
watered  and  then 
left  to  graze  on 
the  scanty  herb- 
age. Another 
camel  was  killed 
to  celebrate  the 
capture    of    the 


caravan,  and  again  I  was  invited  to  take  food 
with  the  Emirs.  I  was  asked  on  this  occasion 
but  the  most  commonplace  {questions,  but  I 
could  not  get  any  reply  to  those  I  put,  except 
that  Abderrahan  Wad  en  Nejoumi  would  tell 
me  all  I  wished  to  know. 

While  still  with  the  Emirs,  Farag 
MakTs^a  called  up  his  followers  again,  and 
Speech,  ^f^gj.  congratulating  them  upon  the 
capture  of  the  "  English  Pasha  "  and 
the  caravan  (though  the  Emir  knew  very  well 
who  I  was,  from  old  days  at  Korti),  he 
harangued  them  on  the  advisability  of  obeying 
to  the  letter  the  orders  of  the  Mahdi  trans- 
mitted to  the  Khalifa,  and  by  the  Khalifa  to 
him,  winding  up  his  oration  with  threats  of 
{)unishment  and  imprisonment  to  any  of  the 
faithful  who  robbed  the  Beit  el  Mai  by  con- 
cealing any  of  the  loot.  Finally,  he  ordered 
everyone  to  be  searched  again.  I  had  many 
opportunities  later  of  seeing  evidences  of  what 
the  Emirs  m.ost  relied  upon,  in  regard  to  the 
handing  o\er  of  any  loot :  an  exhortation  to 
their  followers  and  an  appeal  to  their  religious 
scruples,  or  else  threats  of  punishment  and 
imprisonment.  Both  went  together,  and  were 
administered  in  the  order  I  have  given  them ; 
and  there  was  seldom  an  occasion  when  a 
search  did  not  follow  the  appeal  to  their 
honesty,  and  when  punishment  did  not  follow 
the  search  for  concealed  loot. 

Wad  Farag  dismissed  me  for  the  night,  but  I 
had  hardly  lain  down  when  two  Dervishes  stole 
up,  and  asked  me  to  describe  all  the  baggage  I 


TWO    DERVISHES   STOLE    UP   AND   ASKED    ME   TO    DESCKIhE   ALL   THE   BAGGAGE, 


342 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


had  with  mc.  I  said  that  a  hst  would  be  found 
in  my  wallet,  which,  if  they  would  bring  to  me, 
would  allow  of  my  giving  them  the  required 
information.  One  left  me,  for  the  purpose,  I 
imagine,  of  asking  the  Emir  for  the  wallet,  but 
returned  shortly  saying  that  I  would  have  to 
remember,  and  that  the  list  I  then  gave  would 
be  compared  with  the  list  in  the  wallet.  There 
was  in  reality  no  list  in  the  wallet,  but  there 
were  one  or  two  letters  I  wished  to  extract.  I 
have  thought  since  that,  had  I  exhibited  less 
anxiety  to  get  hold  of  the  wallet  itself,  I  might 
have  induced  them  to  hand  over  these  letters 
under  one  pretext  or  another.  I  soon  dis- 
covered from  their  questions  that  the  Dervishes 
were  spying  one  upon  the  other,  for  they  asked 
me  directly  what  were  the  contents  of  the  bag 
taken  from  Elias,  my  clerk.  I  told  them  three 
hundred  dollars,  as  well  as  gold  and  silver 
jewellery,  and  some  jewellery  which  my  servant 
Hasseena  had  asked  Elias  to  carry  for  her. 
Hasseena  was  then  sent  for  to  describe  her 
jewellery.  The  information  evidently  gave  these 
men  huge  satisfaction,  and  taking  Hasseena  with 
them,  they  presently  sent  her  back  with  cooking 
utensils,  food,  and  firewood,  and  ordered  her  to 
prepare  food  for  me.  Having  had  my  food  with 
the  Emirs  but  a  little  time  before,  I  was  at  a 
loss  to  understand  the  meaning  of  this,  but 
learned  later  on  that  it  was  to  prevent  anyone 
else  approaching  her  for  information.  Whether 
these  two  men  were,  as  they  said,  in  charge  of 
the  Beit  el  Mai ;  or  whether,  having  seen  some 
of  the  money  or  jewellery,  they  wanted  to  get 
their  share  of  it,  I  cannot  say.  In  the  light  of 
subsequent  events,  however,  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  the  latter. 

When  the  food  was  ready,  I  invited  my  guards 
to  eat  it.  I  was  hoping  that  a  full  meal — 
especially  as  their  fatigue  was  very  evident — 
would  induce  them  to  sleep;  and  feigning 
drowsiness  myself  I  moved  off  a  few  yards,  and 
scooped  out  a  sand  bed.  I  was  prepared  to  risk 
anything  for  liberty.  We  were  now  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  wells,  and  might  travel  for 
days  without  being  out  of  reach  of  water. 

Explaining  my  plans  to  Hasseena,  I 
^Itcipe!"  told  her,  under  the  pretence  of  collect- 
ing firewood,  to  try  and  get  up  to  Amin 
and  Elias,  cut  their  thongs  with  the  large  knife 
we  had  had  to  cut  up  the  meat  sent  us  for  food, 
and  then  tell  them  to  creep  towards  a  small  tree 
which  I  had  noticed  during  daylight,  and  await 
me  there.  Some  camels  with  their  feet  fastened 
by  ropes  were  grazing  near  there,  and  I  believed 
we  might  slip  a\vay  unobserved  and  get  some 
hours'  start.  But  the  guards  of  the  other 
prisoners  were  not  asleep ;  they  were  indeed 
very    much    awake,    searching     their    charges 


for  any  valuables — an  operation  which  was 
carried  out  by  each  relief  of  guards ;  so 
that  the  sun  rose  with  us  still  in  the  hands 
of  the  Dervishes.  It  was  just  after  sunrise 
when  we  moved  off  again.  My  own  particular 
guardian  must  have  been  impressed  with  my 
importance,  for  he  saddled  the  camel  for  me 
himself,  and  brought  me  a  gourd  full  of  camel's 
milk.  During  this  day's  journey  the  Emir 
Mohammad  Hamza,  of  the  Jaalin  tribe,  who 
was  commanding  a  section  of  the  Dervishes, 
rode  up  to  me  and  inquired  about  my  health— 
the  usual  form  of  salutation.  He  told  me  not 
to  be  afraid  of  any  harm  coming  to  me,  and 
then  rode  off  again.  That  evening  we  arrived 
at  a  small  encampment  of  Dervishes  close  to 
some  wells,  and  I  was  taken  before  another 
Emir,  whom  I  was  told  was  ISIakkin  en  Nur, 
and  who,  from  the  deference  paid  him  by  the 
others,  was  evidently  the  chief  He,  too,  put 
a  few  questions  to  me  of  the  same  common- 
place nature  as  the  others,  and  then  waved 
his  hand  for  me  to  be  removed.  On  being 
sent  for  again  I  was  accused  of  being  a 
(Government  spy,  and  asked  what  I  had  to 
say  for  myself.  I  replied,  calmly,  "  I  have 
told  you  the  truth.  What  do  you  want  me  to 
do  now  ? — tell  you  a  lie,  and  say  I  a;u  a  spy  ? 
If  I  do  so,  you  will  kill  me  for.  saying  I  am  one ; 
and  if  I  say  again  I  am  nof,  you  will  not 
believe  me,  and  kill  me  just  the  same.  I  am 
not  afraid  of  you  ;  do  as  you  please." 

^^'hen  the  Emir  questioned  me  again,  I  said, 
"  I  refuse  to  answer  any  more  questions."  My 
manner  of  speaking  caused  no  little  surprise,  as 
it  was  doubtless  different  from  what  had  been 
expected,  and  to  what  the  Dervishes  had 
formerly  experienced  when  dealing  with  captives. 

A  young  Dervish  was  at  length  called  in,  and 
told  to  conduct  me  to  a  spot  removed  from  the 
other  prisoners.  As  we  walked  along,  the  youth 
said,  piously,  "  God  is  just ;  God  is  bounteous. 
Please  God,  to-morrow  our  eyes  shall  be 
gladdened  by  seeing  a  white  Kaffir  yoked  with 
a  shayba  to  a  black  one." 

This  shayba  is  the  forked  limb  of  a 
*Tortu?i."'  tree  ;  the  fork  is  placed  on  the  throat 
pressing  against  the  larynx,  with  the 
projecting  before  the  wearer.  The 
wrist  is  then  tightly  bound  to  the 
stem  with  thongs  of  fresh  hide,  which 
soon  dry  and  "  bite "  the  flesh.  Next  the 
prongs  of  the  fork  are  drawn  as  closely  to- 
gether as  possible,  and  fastened  with  a  cross- 
piece.  It  is  a  cruel  instrument  of  torture,  for 
the  arm  must  be  kept  extended  to  its  utmost. 
Any  attempt  to  relieve  the  tension  means 
pressure  on  the  larynx ;  but  when  yoked  to 
another  man  he  throws  pressure   on  you,  and 


stem 
right 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


343 


you  on  him.  A  prod  iti  the  ribs  under  the  arm 
of  either  victim,  with  sword  or  rifle,  affords  end- 
less amusement  to  their  tormentors,  who  glory 
in  the  victims'  gapes  and  grimaces  as  they  gasp 
for  breath.  But  the  captors'  cup  of  happiness 
is  filled  when  an  extra  hard  prod  knocks  one 
man  off  his  feet,  and  both  poor  wretches  are  only 
helped  up  again  when  they  are  almost  choking. 

Irritated  beyond  endurance  by  the  youth's 
gibes  and  jests,  and  hoping  to  put  an  end  to 
everything  at  once,  I  threw  my  weight  and 
strength  into  one  blow— I  was  a  powerful  man 
then — and  felled  him  senseless.  Taking  his 
rifle  I  strode  back  to  the  tent,  almost  foaming 
with  rage.  I  glared  from  one  to  the  other  with 
blazing  eyes,  wondering  whether  to  fire  the  one 
shot  and  then  start  "  clubbing  "  until  I  was  cut 
down.  Hamza  was  the  first  to  speak,  and 
jumping  up,  he  held  up  his  hand,  saying, 
''Isfa/uia  "—wait.  I  hurriedly  related  what  had 
occurred,  and  told  him  what  I  intended  to  do. 
Hamza  gave  an  im[)atient  gesture,  and  cried, 
"  Za,  la,  hi — no,  no,  no — there 
must  be  a  mistake.  Vou  are  not 
to  be  put  in  a  shayba.  Our  orders 
are  to  deliver  you  alive  and  well." 
Then,  turning  to  the  others,  he 
continued,  "  Hand  this  man  over 
to  me  ;  I  shall  deliver  him  alive 
and  well  to  Wad  en  Nejoumi.  I 
hold  myself  responsible  for  him." 
Some  demur  was  made,  when, 
suddenly  lowering  the  rifle,  I 
placed  the  butt  on  the  ground, 
rested  my  chin  on  the  muzzle, 
and  then,  addressing  myself  to  all, 
said  that  unless  I  was  left  in 
Hamza's  charge,  I  should  press 
the  trigger — on  which  my  great  toe 
was  then  resting.  Hamza  again 
urged  his  point  before  the  others, 
and  said,  "If  you  do  not  agree,  and 
this  man  does  any  harm  to  himself, 
I  declare  myself  free  of  blame  and 
responsibility.  I  have  heard  him  ; 
and  he  will  do  as  he  says." 

The  effect  of  the  words 
th^e^whue  was  magical.  "Take  him 

Kaffir.     Q^^vay  —  keep    him;     do 

what  you  wish  with  him. 
Never  let  him  come  near  us  again 
— never.  Never  let  him  look 
upon  us  with  his  eyes."* 

Then    Hamza,    turning   to   me, 
said,  "You  must  know  now  that 

*  The  Soudanese — indeed,  all  Orientals — have 
a  great  horror  of  the  "Evil  Eye";  and  the 
grey  and  grey-blue  eyes  of  Europeans  in  anger, 
or  even  in  a  fixed  stare,  as  I  learned  later,  strike 
fear,  if  not  terror,  into  the  hearts  of  most. 


our  master,  Wad  en  Nejoumi,  knew  of  your 
coming,  and  sent  us  to  conduct  you  to  him.  His 
orders  were  that  you  should  be  treated  well ;  he 
wishes  to  speak  to  you.  I  will  give  you  security 
until  Dongola,  where  he  is  waiting  for  you.  I 
do  not  know  what  he  will  do  with  you  ;  maybe 
he  will  kill  you — I  cannot  say. 

But,  for  myself,  I  promise  you  will  arrive 
*pfuK)n2"^  in  Dongola  alive.  If  anything  happens 
to  you,  the  Emir  Wad  en  Nejoumi  will 
kill  me.  Will  you  ])romise  that  you  will  leave 
yourself  in  my  hands,  and  will  not  try  to  kill 
yourself,  or  attempt  to  escape?"  I  gave  my 
word,  upon  which  Hamza  said,  "  Leave  this 
man  to  me." 

The  conversation  which  took  place  between 
us  was  of  much  longer  duration  than  the  above 
would  appear  to  indicate ;  but,  of  course,  I 
cannot  pretend  to  remember  aH  that  was  said 
after  the  twelve  years'  interval.  The  above  is 
the  gist  of  it,  however.  I  handed  Hamza  the 
rifle,   and   he,   taking  me  by  the  hand   in   the 


LOWERING   THE    RIFLE,    I    I'LACED   THE    BUTT    ON    THE   GROUND    AND    RESTKD    MV 
CHIN    ON    THE   MLZZLE." 


344 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Bedawi  manner,  led  me  out  of  the  tent,  and 
towards  his  section  of  the  Dervishes.  On  the 
way,  in  a  few  hurried  whispers,  he  gave  me  to 
understand  that  he  was  really  still  a  friend  of 
the  Government,  and  I  would  do  well  to  trust 
implicitly  to  him.  On  reaching  his  people,  he 
called  four  men  to  attend  to  me,  and  sending 
for  Hasseena,  told  her  to  prepare  such  food  as  I 
was  accustomed  to. 

Hasseena  came  in  in  rags  ;  her  clothes, 
for'aothls.  ^•''  h^id  mine,  had  been  taken  from  her. 
But  Hamza  ordered  one  of  her  dresses 
to  be  returned  ;  and  on  my  showing  him  how 
the  skin  had  been  burnt  off  my  back  and 
shoulders  by  the  sun,  he  ordered  that  I,  too, 
should  be  supplied  with  more  clothing. 

Instead  of  our  starting  off  the  next  morning  at 
sunrise,  a  sort  of  "  fantasia "  was  held.  This 
consisted  in  men  riding  up  and  down  the  camp 
furiously,  with  mimic  combats  between  indi- 
viduals— a  sort  of  circus  display,  in  fact.  Stricter 
watch  was  placed  over  me,  and  my  guards  were 
warned  against  allowing  me  to  hold  conversation 
with  anyone.  At  sunset  we  were  off  again, 
and  the  following  day  halted  in  the  desert. 
El  Ordeh  (Dongola)  being  then,  I  was  told, 
a  few  hours'  distant.  We  rested  probably  a 
couple  of  hours,  and  marched  until  evening,  but 
had  not  yet  sighted  Dongola.  A  final  search  was 
here  made  for  concealed  loot,  and  a  piece  of  my 
leather  bag  having  been  discovered  on  one  of 
the  men,  he  was  flogged.  Offering  to  confess, 
he  declared  that  he  had  found  the  bag  empty 
upon  the  ground.  His  clothing  and  that  of  his 
section  was  then  searched,  and  resulted  in  the 
discovery  of  seventeen  of  my  Turkish  dollars. 
A  further  application  of  the  dread  kourbash,  or 
whip  of  rhinoceros  or  hippopotamus  hide, 
resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  remainder  of 
the  three  hundred  dollars,  whilst  a  third  scourg- 
ing brought  to  light  the  greater  part  of  the 
jewellery.  All  this  flogging  and  searching 
delayed  us,  and  instead  of  travelling  that  night 
we  only  got  away  in  the  morning,  arriving  within 
sight  of  Dongola  at  noon,  when  men  were  sent 
in  to  report  our  arrival. 

While  awaiting  the  return  of  the  messengers, 
discipline — what  there  was  of  it — was  relaxed, 
and  the  camp  given  over  to  jubilation.  The 
attentions  bestowed  upon  me  were  not  pleasant ; 
both  by  words  and  actions  I  was  given  to  under- 
stand what  the  men  hoped  and  expected  would 
be  my  fate.  A  respite  was  granted  when  the 
man  who  had  received  the  floggings  was  brought 
to  me  so  that  I  might  certify  that  all  the 
things  discovered,  on  him  and  his  companions 
were  extracted  from  my  cash-bag,  and  that, 
furthermore,  all  the  articles  had  been  recovered. 
The  sufferer  seemed  none  the    worse    for    his 


experiences,   and,    on    my    expressing    surj)rise, 
the  matter  was  explained  to  me. 

When    the     Ansar,    or    faithful,    are 

s^oiH^gufg  flogged — whilst  on  an  expedition —for 

IS  Done.   ^   j-|-,gfj-    which^    as   the  Emirs   know, 

everyone  would  commit,  so  many 
stripes  are  ordered  to  be  given.  These  are 
administered  with  the  kourbash,  or  rhinoceros- 
hide  whip,  on  the  fleshy  part  of  the  back  and 
over  the  clothing.  There  is  no  abrasion  of  the 
skin,  but  the  application  of  eighty  blows — the 
usual  number — causes  local  functional  derange- 
ments which  are  as  painful  to  the  victim  as 
they  are  amusing  to  the  onlookers,  particularly 
those  who  have  undergone  a  similar  experience, 
or  who  have,  in  the  undisguised  language  of 
the  East,  had  one  related  to  them.  The 
gibes  and  jeers,  by  the  way,  added  to  what 
passes  for  humour  in  the  Soudan,  has  as 
much  to  do  with  extracting  a  confession 
as  the  make-believe  castigation.  The  victim  on 
this  occasion  forgave  me,  and  blamed  the  sugar 
for  his  discovery.  The  sugar-loaves,  which 
formed  part  of  the  goods  of  the  Arabs  who  had 
joined  the  caravan  at  Wad'i  Haifa,  had  been 
broken  up  and  distributed.  At  the  wells  some 
of  the  men  had  been  noticed  dipping  pieces  in 
the  water  and  munching  them  ;  and  none  of  the 
sugar  having  been  handed  in  when  the  loot  was 
collected,  the  first  search  was  instituted,  which 
resulted  in  the  discovery  of  other  hidden  loot. 
I  do  not  happen  to  know  who  is  the  "  father  of 
sugar,"  but  I  trust  that  the  curses  and  impreca- 
tions showered  on  his  head  by  my  Dervish 
friends  may  not  reach  him. 

Hasseena    too    was     brought    to    be 

"^Fort"^'^ searched,    and    stripped    naked;    she 

thought,    cleverly    dropped     my     seal    in     the 

sand,  and  pressed  it  in  with  her 
foot.  I  had  asked  her  to  get  this  seal 
from  Elias,  as,  with  this  in  their  possession,  the 
Dervishes  might  have  written,  through  my  clerk, 
whatever  letters  they  chose,  and  sealing  them 
with  my  seal,  would  have  made  them  appear 
authentic.  Hasseena  was  again  questioned  as 
to  who  I  was,  and  persisted  in  saying  that  I  was 
a  merchant  and  not  a  Government  official. 
While  she  was  being  threatened  with  the 
kourbash  (and  in  this  serious  instance  it  would 
have  been  applied  as  the  cat-o'-nine-tails  is  at 
home),  the  Emir  Hamza  came  forward  as  a 
witness  in  my  favour.  Hamza  was  another 
chief  who,  friendly  as  he  was  to  the  Govern- 
ment, had  been  driven  by  force  of  circumstances 
into  the  ranks  of  the  Dervishes.  After  the  final 
search,  a  move  was  made  towards  Dongola, 
opi)osite  which  town  we  arrived  between  two 
and  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Before  the 
town    we   descried   a   grand   parade   of    troops 


IX    THE    KHALIFAS    CLUTCHES. 


345 


*•  Music" 

Extraordi-  .  ,  , 

nary.        UU.UleS     ailQ 


taking  place,  and  as  we  halted  a  band  struck  up 
a  lively  air. 

From  the  sound  which  reached  us,  the 

band    must   have   been   composed  of 
^^^^   trumpets   of   all    shapes. 

sizes,  and  pitch,  with  just  as  varied 
an  assortment  of  drums.  In  the  medley  they 
played  could  be  heard  snatches  of  the  so-called 
Khedivial  hymn. 

When  the  prisoners  had  been 
ranged  up  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  make  their  exhibit  most 
effective,  and  I,  as  the  prisoner  of 
the  occasion,  placed  in  the  midst 
of  the  Emirs,  a  signal  was  given, 
on  which  the  horsemen  of  the 
paraded  army  charged  down  upon 
us  in  their  much-lauded  and  vastly 
over-rated  exhibition  of  horseman- 
ship. This  exhibition  consists  of 
individual  and  collective  charges 
right  on  to  the  opposing  line  of 
onlookers,  then  a  sudden  pulling- 
up  of  the  horse  which  throws  it 
on  to  its  haunches,  a  meaningless 
shaking  of  swords  and  spears  over 
one's  head,  and  finally  a  swerve 
to  the  left  or  right,  the  direction 
being  dominated  by  the  half- 
broken  jaw  which  the  sudden 
puUing-up  with  the  brutal  ring-bit 
is  responsible  for.  Another  charge 
follows,  and  so  on  until  the  rider 
is  tired  or  the  horse  jibs.  This  is 
the  usual  programme,  but  it  is 
occasionally  varied  by  accidents  to 
horses  and  riders  and  onlookers 
— as,  for  example,  the  affair  of 
Khalifa  All  Wad  Helu,  who,  some 
few  days  before  the  Battle  of 
Omdurman,  gave  an  inspiriting 
exhibition  to  the  faithful  in  front 
of  the  Mahdi's  tomb,  in  order  to 
instruct  them  how  to  charge  the 
British  lines.  He  spoiled  the 
whole  thing,  however,  by  being 
thrown,  breaking  his  wrist,  laming 
the  horse,  and  nearly  killing  half- 
a-dozen  of  his  most  ardent 
admirers  who  were  in  the  front  rank.  The  parade 
and  exhibition  (called  El  Arrdah),  given  in  cele- 
bration of  our  capture,  lasted  more  than  an  hour, 
when  a  move  was  made  towards  Dongola,  and  on 
arrival  at  the  town,  \\'ad  Hamza  and  Wad  Farag 
led  me  to  the  gateway  of  Nejoumi's  inclosure. 

We  were  kept  waiting  at  the  entrance 

some  time,  and  it  was  as  much  as 

do   to   protect   me 

from   the   rabble.      The   people  were 


clearly  in  a  most  excited  >iatc,  and  my  position 
was  not  rendered  any  the  more  comfortable  by 
my  understanding  the  language  perfectly.  I  was 
prodded  with  spears  and  swords,  and  maybe  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour — it  may  have  been  more ;  it 
may  have  been  less— I  was  subjected  to  as  severe 
an  ordeal  as  ever  man  was  put  to.  Many  of  those 
in  the  rabble  knew  me  from  pre-abandonment 
days,    but   the   cringing    supplicants    of    former 


OF  AN    noun. 


Threatened  f„_ 
by  the       1*-^ 

Rabble,    j^-jy  guards    could 


Vol.  iii.-44. 


days  were  now  my  bitterest  foes  and  tormentors. 
Curses  and  imprecations  are  common  enough 
accompaniments  in  ordinary  disputes  in  the 
East — disputes  over  the  most  trivial  matters— 
where  a  child  just  learning  to  babble  may  be 
heard,  in  childish  innocence,  to  lisp  to  its 
mother,  "  //  /a'an  afiook,"  or  a  much  shorter 
expression  which,  owing  to  the  large  number  of 
people  now  understanding  Arabic,  I  cannot 
here  use.     But  it  was  the  suggestive  actions  — 


346 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


some  representing  beheading,  some  mutilations, 
and  otliers  of  a  description  at  which  I  may  not 
even  hint,  which  nearly  drove  me  to  exaspera- 
tion. They  did  so  actually,  but  I  controlled 
myself,  and  did  not  allow  my  wrath  to  show 
itself  in  any  way,  either  by  word  or  deed. 

On  entering  the  inclosure,  I  was  shown  to  a 
small  room,  on  the  floor  of  which  three  people 
were  sitting.  One  of  these  rose,  and,  taking 
my  hand,  said,  "  ^/  Hamdu  /illah" — ^'' Bis- 
Salaamtiik  '"'  (thanks  be  to  (lod  for  your  safety). 
I  was  told  to  sit  down.  The  three  scrutinized 
me,  and  I  returned  their  gaze.  For  some 
moments  nothing  was  said,  and  I  was  deter- 
mined not  to  be  the  first  to  break  the  silence. 

Presently  food  was  brought  in,  and  I 
*  Meai."^  ^^'^s  told  to  partake  of  it.  As  with  the 
first  meal  with  the  Emirs,  I  set  to  with 
a  will,  and  continued  eating  after  the  others  had 
finished,  taking  not  the  slightest  notice  of  my 
hosts.  I  was  acting  a  part,  I  admit,  for  in- 
different as  I  might  have  appeared  to  all  taking 
place  around  me,  I  was  at  the  same  time  all 
eyes  and  ears. 

When  I  had  finished  eating,  the  one  who  had 
first  spoken  to  me,  and  whom  I   had  guessed 


was  Nejoumi,  introduced  himself  to  me.  He 
prefaced  the  series  of  questions  he  put  to  me 
by  saying,  "  Do  not  be  afraid  ;  I  hope  it  will 
be  my  pleasure  to  receive  you  into  the  true 
religion,  and  then  we  shall  be  good  friends." 
Nejoumi  assured  me  that  I  would  soon  grow 
accustomed  to  my  new  mode  of  life,  and  would 
in  the  end  bless  him  for  having  saved  me. 

He  then  told  me  that  he  knew  perfectly 
by^Nlfoum'i.  ^\'t;ll    ^^'ho     I    was,  and,    not    being   a 

"  (jovernment  man,"  my  life  was  safe 
in  his  hands ;  but  my  property,  having  been 
found  in  a  caravan  of  enemies,  must  be  con- 
fiscated. I  did  not  follow  his  reasoning,  nor 
was  I  allowed  to,  for  he  sent  me  off  to  the 
house  of  the  Amin  Beit  el  Mai  (store-keeper  or 
director  of  the  Beit  el  Mai),  with  instructions 
that  I  should  be  well  attended  to.  Hasseena 
was  sent  into  the  hareem  of  the  same  house. 

Early  the  next  morning  Nejoumi  sent  for  me, 
and,  upon  arriving  at  his  inclosure,  I  saw  that 
he  had  a  number  of  Sheik  Saleh's  men  under 
examination.  I  learned  later  that  some  had 
admitted  that  I  was  once  in  Government  employ, 
and  had  fought  against  the  Mahdi,  but  that  now 
I  was  a  merchant  only.     There  were,  of  course. 


;.i:jOL'.Ml  S    FIRST   QUESTION    WAS,    ''  WHICH    A;,E    HIE   l_,u\  liK.N  MKN  T    I'AFEKS  ? 


IN    THi;    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


347 


numbers  in  the  town  who  remembered  me  in 
connection  with  the  expedition,  and  in  order  to 
curry  favour,  they  were  by  no  means  averse  to 
credit  me  with  exploits  and  prowess  which,  if 
related  to  and  believed  in  by  the  British 
authorities,  would  have  placed  nie  upon  an 
unearned  pedestal.  These  things  were  in  this 
instance  related  in  the  hope  that  I  should  be 
placed  on  the  now  well-known  angareeb,  or  bed- 
stead platform,  which  in  a  few  seconds  would  be 
drawn  away,  leaving  me  suspended  by  the  neck. 
When  my  turn  for  interrogation  came,  my  letter- 
wallet  was  handed  to  Nejoumi;  he  had,  no  doubt, 
had  the  contents  examined  the  night  before. 

His   first   question   was,    "  Which    are 
'^^^"rs?''^  the  Government  papers?"  I  declared 

Question,    ^i^^,.  ^^^^^  ^^.^^^    ,^qj^^^  jj,^j    ^^^^^    ,^H  j.j^g 

papers  were  business  ones.  He  then 
inquired,  "  Are  there  no  papers  from  the  friends 
of  the  Government  ?  "  To  which  I  answered, 
"  There  may  be  ;  I  am  a  merchant ;  I  buy  gum, 
hides  —  anything  from  the  Soudan — and  sell 
them  again  to  anyone  else  who  will  buy  them 
from  me.  It  is  khuUo  zai  baadoo  (all  the  same) 
to  me  who  the  people  are — friends  or  enemies 
of  the  Government — provided  they  pay  me.  I 
gave  good  money  for  what  I  bought,  and 
wanted  good  money  for  what  I  sold."  Nejoumi 
then  told  me  that  he  had  had  the  letters  trans- 
lated by  a  girl  educated  in  the  "  Kanneesa  "  or 
church  of  Khartoum.  General  Stephenson's 
letter  had  been  translated  as  a  "  firman," 
appointing  me  the  Pasha  of  the  Western  Soudan  ! 
with  orders  to  wage  war  on  the  Dervishes,  for 
which  purpose  I  had  been  provided  with  money, 
rifles,  and  ammunition,  and  about  forty  or  fifty 
men  as  my  personal  bodyguard  ! 

At   first    I    was   dumfounded ;     then, 

Transfa-   scrious   as   my   position  was,   I  could 

tions.     jiQj.  restrain  myself  from  bursting  out 

laughing.  I  protested  that  the  trans- 
lation was  false,  and  asked  to  be  shown  the 
document.  I  was  not  shown  it.  To  a  man 
whom  I  surmised  was  the  Kadi,  I  said,  "  If  the 
letter  is  a  '  firman,'  then  it  should  be  written  in 
Arabic,  as  the  Soudanese  do  not  read  or 
understand  English."  This  remark  appealed  to 
Nejoumi,  who  said  that  he  did  not  believe  the 
translation  himself,  as  it  ivas  quite  different  from 
the  news  he  had  received  from  Hassib  el  Gabou. 
I  made  inquiries  about  the  above-mentioned 
black  female  convert  to  Christianity,  and  learned 
that  she  knew  not  a  single  word  of  English  ! 
She  knew  a  few  words  of  Italian,  however,  and 
like  the  remainder  of  such  converts — so-called 
— went  to  the  mission  for  what  she  could  get 
out  of  it.  I  have  forgotten  her  name,  but  hope 
to  discover  it  before  completing  my  notes,  when 
I    shall    give    it.      It   would    be    interesting    to 


learn  how  much  Christian  money  had  been 
wasted  on  the  education  of  this  su[)posed  con- 
vert, married  then  to  a  Danagli,  and  a  shining 
light  amongst  the  most  fanatical  of  the  women, 
who,  with  their  songs  and  dances,  fanned  the 
flame  of  fanaticism  amongst  the  men. 

More  of  Saleh's  men  were  presently  brought 
in  and  questioned.  I  was  questioned  with 
them.  In  the  end,  I  admitted  that  General 
Stephenson's  letter  asked  me,  if  I  was  passing 
Sheik  Saleh's  district,  to  tell  him  that  arms  and 
ammunition  were  awaiting  him  at  Wadi  Haifa  ; 
but  that  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  sale  of 
them  was  proved  by  my  arriving  after  they  had 
been  taken  over.  Furthermore,  my  papers 
would  show  that  I  had  not  sold  them  to  him^ 
and  that  I  was  not  going  to  collect  the  money 
for  them  as  they  believed.  The  remainder  of 
that  conference  is  as  a  mere  haze  to  me  now, 
but  I  remember  that  later  the  same  day  I  was 
told  that  Nejoumi,  pressed  by  the  other  Emirs, 
had,  in  order  to  elicit  the  truth  by  frightening 
the  others,  ordered  the  slaughter  of  fourteen  of 
the  Arabs  who  had  joined  us  at  Wadi  Haifa. 
Appalling  news,  indeed.  El  Amin,  my  guide, 
for  some  reason  or  other  which  I  never  dis- 
covered, w\^s  ordered  to  be  executed  at  the  same 
time,  and  was  first  to  be  beheaded.  My 
surmises  upon  this  incident  had  better  be  left 
to  my  next  chapter. 

On  the  following  morning,  the  Amin  Beit  el 
Mai  ordered  me  to  get  ready  to  attend  a 
"  fantasia  "  which  Wad  en  Nejoumi  had  arranged, 
and  at  which  he  had  ordered  me  to  be  present; 
but,  being  his  prisoner,  I  must  appear  as  one, 
and  for  this  purpose  a  light  ring  and  chain  were 
placed  on  my  neck,  and  a  light  chain  fastened 
to  my  ankles.  On  arrival  at  Nejoumi's,  I  found 
the  Kadi  trying  to  persuade  Darb  es  Safai  and 
about  twelve  or  thirteen  of  Saleh's  men  to 
become  Mahdists.  Darb  es  Safai  was  their 
spokesman.  They  scorned  the  exhortations  of 
the  Kadi,  however,  and  heaped  on  his  head 
whatever  insults  they  could.  Nejoumi  was 
present,  and  to  him  Darb  es  Safai  said,  "  We 
have  ridden  behind  our  master,  Sheik  Saleh, 
and  we  refuse  to  follow  you  on  foot  as  slaves ; 
we  have  come  here  to  die — let  us  die." 

Being  told  that  if  thny  persisted  in 
their  stubbornness  they  certainly  would 
be  killed,  Darb  es  Safai  repeated, 
"We  have  come  to  die — ^let  us  die."  I  was 
then  removed  to  a  small  mud  hut,  and  told  to 
sit  down.  Whilst  here,  hundreds  of  the  populace 
came  to  see  me,  flinging  at  me  all  the  abuse 
their  rich  language  is  capable  of,  and  striving 
with  each  other  to  excel  in  virulence.  Darb  es 
Safai  and  the  others  had  been  marched  off  a 
short  distance  and  set  to  dig  a  shallow  trench. 


'  Let  us 
Die." 


348 


THE    WIDI-:    WORLD    MACJAZINE. 


When  this  was  finished  they  were 
sp"c?ac°ief  ordered  to  kneel  at  its  edge,  and  then 
their  hands  were  tied  behind  them  ; 
this  action  is  practically  the  declaration  of  the 
death  sentence.  Es  Safai  asked  to  be  beheaded 
last,  as  he  wished  to  see  how  his  men  could  die. 
Only  one  jumped  to  his  feet  when  a  few  heads 
had  rolled  into  the  trench,  and   Es   Safai   called 


OM.V    ONE 
JUMIEI)     TO 
MIS     FICET 
WHEN    A    l-l;\V 
HEAUS    HAD 
OI.l.ED     INTO 
I  HE  TRENCH." 


out,  with  scornful  jjride,  "Kneel  down.  Do 
you  not  see  these  cowards  are  looking  at  us  ?  " 
This  then  was  the  "  fantasia "  I  was  to  have 
assisted  at,  but,  by  some  misunderstanding,  was 
spared  the  horrible  spectacle.  When  the  execu- 
tions were  over,  my  chains  were  removed,  and  I 
was  again  taken  before  Nejoumi,  and  (questioned 
as  to  what  property  I  had  in  the  caravan,  and 
also  if  I  had  any  slaves.  I  said  I  might  not 
possess  slaves,  but  had  two  servants — Elias,  my 
clerk,  and  Hasseena,  who  was  a  freed  slave,  and 
now  my  female  servant.  Elias  had  been  cross- 
examined,  but  had  evidently,  in  his  fright,  contra- 
dicted himself  time  after  time.  First  he  said  he 
was  my  clerk,  then  that  he  was  the  servant  of 
All  Abou  Gordi  of  the  Alighat  tribe,  who  was 
at  that  time  trading  in  the  Soudan.  Nejoumi 
told  me  that,  if  Elias's  last   tale  were  true,  he 


could  not  be  returned  to  me,  as  he  must  be 
an  enemy.  I  did  my  best  for  Elias,  telling 
Nejoumi  that  he  was  a  good  clerk  and  a  good 
writer,  and  that  he  might  be  very  useful  to  him 
in  writing  letters.  Hasseena  was  also  brought 
in,  and  protested  she  was  my  slave— not  my 
servant  ;  that  I  had  bought  her,  but,  as  slaves 
were  not  allowed  by  the  Ciovernment,  I  had  to 
give  her  a  shehaada,  or  certificate, 
declaring  her  free. 

Nejoumi  calmly  made  a 
"clven"^  present  of  her  to  one  of 
Away.  }-|jg  men,  and  on  this 
Hasseena  squatted  on 
the  ground  and  refused  to  budge. 
She  screamed  to  Nejoumi  that  he 
might,  if  he  chose,  marry  her 
himself,  but  she  went  on  to  say 
whoever  her  husband  might  be, 
he  would  die  the  same  night,  she 
knowing  how  to  poison  people 
secretly.  She  really  knew  nothing 
whatever  about  poisons,  but  this 
remark  probably  was  the  reason 
for  her  being  sent  to  the  Khalifa, 
as  it  was  thought  she  might  prove 
useful.  She  was  accordingly  sent 
back  as  "  property  "  to  the  Beit 
el  Mai.  My  ordeal,  however,  was 
not  yet  over.  Other  chiefs  came 
in,  and  the  conference  thus  opened 
soon  developed  into  a  heated,  if 
not  acrimonious,  discussion  and 
dispute.  I  did  not  know  Soudani 
sufficiently  to  follow  all  that  was  said,  besides 
which,  three  or  four  were  speaking  rapidly  at  the 
same  time  ;  but  I  gathered  that  Nejoumi  wished 
to  keep  me  by  him,  as  he  believed  I  might  be 
made  useful  in  signing  letters  which  my  clerk 
would  have  to  write.  The  others,  believing  the 
girl's  translation  of  the  letter,  were  for  dispatching 
me  forthwith  to  the  next  world,  and  sending  my 
head  as  a  gruesome  present  to  the  Commandant 
at  Wadi  Haifa,  accompanied  by  the  supposed 
"  firman  '"  appointing  nie  "  I'asha."  It  is  not  a 
pleasant  experience  to  sit  down  and  hear  your 
fate  being  discussed  by  semi-savages,  conscious 
that  the  sentence  will  be  carried  out  immediately 
if  a  majority  are  in  favour  of  it.  And  surely  no 
criminal  ever  scanned  the  face  of  a  jury  on  its 
return  into  court  as  I  did  those  of  my  savage 
captors,  with  ears  strained  to  catch  every 
familiar  word ;  and  difficult  as  it  is  after  all 
these  years  to  attempt  to  give  a  real  analysis  of 
one's  feelings  then,  I  know  that  one  thought 
was  uppermost. 

It  was,  that  had  death  been  the  sen- 

ThoughlLs!  tence,   I  gloated   over  the  scene   my 

brain  had  conjured  up — of  my  spring- 


IX     rili:     KllAl.IlAS    CLUTCHES. 


349 


ing  at  the  throat  of  the  first  Emir  I  could 
reach,  with  my  nails  buried  in  and  tearing  at 
the  flesh,  until  a  blow  would  finish  all  ;  and  so 
would  I  rob  the  fanatical  horde  outside  of  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  a  hated  "  Turk "  publicly 
executed.  That  the  recollection  is  no  imaginary 
one  may  be  guessed  from  the  fact  that,  when  I 
asked  about  (labou's  "  health  "  at  Assouan  after 
my  release,  one  part  of  that  conjured  scene 
sprang  up,  and  doubtless  would  have  been 
acted  had  that  infamous  traitor  been  alive. 

Nejoumi  only  partly  won  his  point,  but  it 
was  decided  I  was  to  be  sent  to  the  Khalifa. 
Seven  men  were  sent  for,  and  Hasseena  and  I 
placed  in  their  charge.  Nejoumi  then  gave  me 
some  clothing,  and  also  a  hundred  dollars  out 
of  the  three  hundred  taken  from  me.  We  were 
ordered  off  to  Omdurman  that  night. 

(Extracts.) 

"  He  (Nejoumi)  captured  in  the  Oasis  of  Selima  a 
large  part  if  not  the  whole  of  the  rifles.  This  was  mainly 
owing  to  the  imprudence  of  an  enterprising  German 
merchant  named  Charles  Neufeld,  who  had  accompanied 
the  convoy,  and,  desirous  of  obtaining  a  supply  of  water, 
had  descended  to  the  oasis,  where  he  was  ca[)tured  by 
the  enemy." 

"...  Most  of  them  were  killed,  and  a  few,  including 
Neufeld,  were  taken  captive  to  Dongola ;  there  they  were 
beheaded,  w^ith  the  exception  of  Neufeld,  who  was  sent 
to  Omdurman,  where  he  arrived  on  March  i,  1887." 

March  21,  18S7.  —  "Sixty  Kabbabish  have  arrived, 
sent  by  their  chief  to  take  over  arms  and  money." 

May  15,  1887. — "  Mr.  Neufeld  is  reported  to  have 
diverged  from  caravan  of  Kabbabishes  to  Sheik  Saleh 
to  Bakah  Wells,  and  to  have  been  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Dervishes.  A  few  Kabbabish  letters  are  also  said  to  have 
been  captured  ;  none  from  this  office  were  intrusted  to 
him"  (Blue  Book  No.  2,  1888— Nos.  50  and  90). 

"  Neufeld  was  now  free.  His  release  was  owing  to 
one  of  the  Emirs  representing  to  Abdullah  Khalifa  the 
great  service  Neufeld  had  been  in  enabling  arms  and 
amnuinition  to  be  taken  from  the  Kabbabishes  at  the 
time  he  was  captured"  (Letter  to  Mrs.  Neufeld  hum 
War  Oftice.     Cairo,  10.3.90). 

It  may  be  as  well  at  once  to  give  the 
History  o'f  real  history  of  my  capture  as  regards 
the  Capture,  j-j^g  ciicumstances  and  the  arrange- 
ments made  to  effect  it  I  received 
the  details  first  from  Ahmed  Nur  Ed  Din,  who, 
some  months  after  my  capture,  came  to  Omdur- 
man on  his  own  initiative  to  try  and  effect  my 
escape.  His  version  was  confirmed  and  ampli- 
fied by  my  intended  companion  Hogal,  who 
again  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Dervishes  in 
1897,  and  was  imprisoned  with  me  until  we 
were  finally  released  a  few  months  ago. 

The  treachery  of  Cjabou   has  also  been  con- 
firmed  by  Moussa  Daoud   Kanaga,   who  came 


from  the  Soudan  to  meet  me,  having  heard  of 
my  release  and  arrival  in  Cairo.  IMoussa  was 
one  of  the  Soudan  merchants  with  whom  I  had 
had  many  dealings  in  fcjrmer  days  ;  and,  believ- 
ing he  could  do  something  towards  effecting  my 
escape,  he,  after  many  attempts  to  reach  me, 
finally  succeeded  in  doing  so  in  September, 
1889. 

Now,  instead  of  wearying  my  readers  with 
snatches  from  one  narrative  and  the  other,  I  will 
try  combining  all,  to  make  one  narrative  clear 
and  connected,  having  for  this  purpose  deleted 
from  the  last  chapter  remarks  and  questions  put 
to  me  by  Nejoumi  at  Dongola  in  order  to  intro- 
duce them  here. 

The  guide  1  had  engaged  for  the  journey, 
Hassib  el  Gabon,  belonged  to  the  Dar  Hamad 
section  of  the  Kabbabish  tribe  which  was  settled 
in  and  around  Dongola.  Gabon  was  employed 
as  a  spy  by  the  military  authorities  on  the 
frontier,  but  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that 
he  was  at  the  same  tiiiie  in  the  pay  of  the  Emir 
W'ad  Nejoumi. 

He  related  to  each  side  just  sufificient 
*T°raiior    to  kccp  himsclf  in  constant  good  grace 

Worked,  .^ji^j  p^y^  jjj-jj  faiiJiig  authentic  news  of 

any  description,  he  was  able  to  fall 
back  upon  his  intimate  local  knowledge,  his 
double  dealings,  his  knowledge  of  the  people 
and  language,  and  a  fund  of  plausibility  which, 
at  the  present  day,  would  not  pass  current  for 
five  minutes. 

Between  the  Dar  Hamad  section,  and  the 
section  acknowledging  Saleh  Bey  Wad  Salem  as 
their  head,  there  were  a  number  of  old  out- 
standing jealousies  which  had  not  been  settled  ; 
what  they  were  all  about  I  cannot  pretend  to 
say,  but  one  of  the  principal  was,  whether 
Sheik  Saleh  or  the  head  of  the  Dar  Hamads 
should  be  considered  the  senior.  It  may  not 
have  been  forgotten  by  those  who  have  taken  an 
interest  in  Soudan  affairs  that  the  existence  of 
these  tribal  jealousies  and  disputes  between 
divided  tribes  was  taken  full  advantage  of  by 
the  Mahdi  and  Khalifa,  in  very  much  the 
same  way  that  a  political  agent  runs  one 
section  of  a  party  against  another,  and  gains 
/lis  point,  at  the  cost  and  discomfiture  of  the 
others  who,  for  the  time  being,  are  uncon- 
sciously i)laying  his  game  for  him.  Sheik 
Saleh's  party  then  were  the  real  Bedawi  or 
men  of  the  desert,  and,  therefore,  more  reliable 
than  the  Dar  Hamads,  who  had  the  "  belladi " 
or  town  taint,  or  stigma,  attached  to  them. 


{To  he  coji tinned.) 


My   Adventures    on    the    Roof   of    the    World. 

By  R.  p.  Cobbold. 
I. 

Readers  of  "  The  Wide  World  "  will  be  specially  interested  in  this  record  of  a  magnificent  journey 
in  the  remotest  wilds  of  Central  Asia — more  especially  as  Mr.  Cobbold  was  able  to  take  such 
remarkable    snap-shot    photographs    en    route.      Indeed,    it    is    doubtful    whether    any    Central    Asian 

traveller's  camera  ever  served    him  so  well. 


\'ER  since  reading  Captain  Young- 
husband's  interesting  book,  "  The 
Heart  of  a  Continent,"  I  was  filled 
with  an  ambition  to  visit  that 
mysterious  region  called  "Pamir," 
which  until  quite  recent  years  was  an  utterly 
unknown  land. 

It  was  in  August,  1897,  that  the  much-longed- 
for  opportunity  occurred  to  gratify  my  wish.  I 
was  shooting  in  Kashmir  at  the  time,  when 
quite  unexpectedly  the  Indian  Government 
gave  me  permission  to  make  use  of  the  road  to 
Ciilgit,  which,  passing  through  the  narrow 
defile  of  Hunza-Nagar,  or  Kunjut,  eventually 
finds  a  way  over  the  natural  frontier  of 
India — the  Hindu  Kush  Mountains— and  from 
thence  descends  on  to  the  Pamirs.  I  was  lucky 
to  get  leave,  because  for  some  inexplicable 
reason  the  Government  closes  the  Gilgit  road  to 
all  but  officials.  Formerly  there  were  good 
reasons  for  doing  so,  as  the  military  road  did 
not  then  exist,  and  the  only  means  of  conveying 
baggage  and  supplies  was  on  the  backs  of 
the  natives — who,  by  the  way,  objected  very 
strongly  to  the  forced  labour.  Now,  however, 
this  pretext  no  longer  exists,  for  there  is  a  mag- 
nificent I  oft.  road  from  Kashmir  to  Gilgit,  a 
distance  of  something  over  200  miles  ;  and  there 
is  also  an  unlimited  supply  of 
baggage  animals. 

'I'he  real  reason  why  the 
Gilgit  road  is  closed  is  the 
jealousy  of  the  officers  of  the 
Gilgit  Agency  over  their  sport- 
ing rights.  For  this  district 
comprises  the  best  shooting 
in  the  world.  Markhoor,  ibex, 
and  oorial  abound,  but  no  one 
is  allowed  to  shoot  except  the 
half-dozen  officers  quartered 
at  Gilgit.  And  a  real  good 
time  they  have !  I  did  not 
take  long  making  preparations. 
Some  thick  woollen  suits  made 
out  of  the  cloth  of  the  country; 
warm  gloves,  and  long  fur 
boots  were  easily  procured. 
Stores  required  more  thought. 
What     I     took     consisted 


principally  of  tea  and  cocoa,  porridge,  treacle, 
compressed  soups,  sugar,  baking  powder,  flour, 
and  rice.  I  had  a  dozen  ponies  to  carry  my 
baggage  stores  and  my  rifles,  which  consisted 
of  a  i2-bore  ball  and  shot  gun,  a  Mannlicher 
repeating  rifle,  and  a  single-barrelled  '303.  The 
Mannlicher  was  the  weapon  that  did  all  my 
work ;  it  is  the  best  rifle  for  non-dangerous 
game  that  I  ever  wish  to  use. 

The  road  to  Gilgit  is  a  very  good  one,  as  I 
said  before ;  the  two  passes  it  crosses  present 
no  difficulties  except  in  winter.  Travelling  by 
easy  stages  I  arrived  at  Gilgit  in  a  fortnight, 
where  I  was  hospitably  entertained  by  the 
Political  Agent,  Captain  McMahon,  one  of  the 
ablest  men  in  his  department. 

My  first  photograph  here  reproduced  shows 
the  British  Residency  at  Gilgit.  It  is  a  com- 
fortable, single-storied  house,  overgrown  with 
vines,  which  in  September  afford  excellent 
grapes.  Gilgit  is  a  green  and  pretty  village, 
situated  in  a  valley  surrounded  by  enormous 
mountains.  There  is  excellent  shooting  here  — 
the  markhoor,  ibex,  and  oorial  being  constantly 
seen  by  the  officers  from  their  houses.  There 
is  a  largish  garrison,  consisting  of  the  Political 
Agent's  escort  of  200  regular  troops  of  the 
Indian     Army  ;    two    regiments    of     Kashmiri 


lAKTlNCi-rOINT — THE   BRITISH    RESIDENCY   AT   GILGIT. 

Front  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


MY    AbVENtURES    ON    THE    ROOF    ()1-     THE    WORLt). 


Sb 


Imperial  Service  troops,  and  a  battery  of 
Artillery.  There  are  about  eight  officers, 
some  of  them  married,  and  their  wives 
living  there  with  them.  They  have  a  very  good 
time  of  it,  playing  golf,  lawn  tennis,  cricket,  and 
football  with  the  troops,  besides  enjoying  the 
fishing  and  wonderful  shooting.  They  are  not 
very  hard  worked,  and  have  no  General  to 
worry  them.  Then,  of  course,  they  are  the 
nearest  troops  to  the  frontier,  and  would  be  the 
first  in  it  if  there  was  a  disturbance.  I  stayed  a 
week  at  Gilgit  waiting  for  the  Hunza  River  to  fall. 
In  the  summer  the  path  beyond  Hunza  is  very 
difficult,  as  the  lower  road  by  the  river  is  sub- 
merged, so  that  you  have  to  climb  along  the 
precipices  high  up,  hanging  on  "  by  your  eyelids," 
so  to  speak.  About  the  middle  of  October  the 
water  began  to  fall,  and  I  started  off. 

As  usual  in  such  expeditions,  my  troubles 
commenced  early.  My  pony-men,  never  having 
been  beyond  Gilgit,  refused  to  go  farther,  and 
had  to  be  persuaded  gently  to  do  so.  As  far  as 
Hunzaj  which  is  sixty  miles  beyond  Gilgit,  the 
road  made  by  sappers  and  miners  in  the  war  of 
1 89 1  is  fairly  good.  I  reached  Hunza  in  three 
days.  It  was  very  hot  in  the  narrow,  barren 
defile,  but  the  scenery  was  simply  magnificent. 
'i'he  mountains  inclosing  this  valley  are  among 
the  most  stupendous  in  the  world.  From  one 
point  you  can  see  a  dozen 
peaks  over  20,000ft.  high  ; 
Rakapushi  (25,000ft.)  is  the 
highest.  This  mountain  is  a 
sublime  sight,  with  a  very 
sharp  cone,  and  sides  clothed 
with  birch,  mountain  ash,  and 
hazel— all  in  beautiful  autumn 
tints.  Below  the.se  come  dark 
pine  and  deodar  forests. 
Hunza-Nagar  are  two  States 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  river. 
We  conquered  them  in  1891, 
and  hard  work  it  was  ;  three 
officers  gained  the  V.C.  in 
one  fight. 

The  natives  are  very  interest- 
ing people  —  good  -  looking, 
with  clean-cut,  aquiline  fea- 
tures. They  claim  descent 
from  Alexander,  who  on  his 
victorious  march  to  India  sent 
some  sick  troops  to  recruit 
their  health  in  these  lofty 
valleys — at  all  events,  so  the  story  goes.  The 
Mir  of  Hunza  lives  in  a  lofty  castle,  high  up  on 
the  mountain  side,  and  overhung  by  a  towering 
snow-peak.  On  one  side  his  castle  wall  slopes 
sheer  down  to  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  with  a 
mighty  glacier  thousands  of  feet  below.     Down 


this  preci[)ice  inconvenient  relatives  used  to  be 
thrown  before  we  took  the  country.  There  is 
a  wonderful  panorama  from  the  castle  itself — 
huge  peaks  of  fantastic  shape  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  see ;  and  below  the  castle  and  on  the 
Nagar  side  of  the  river,  cultivation  and  green 
orchards — a  smiling  contrast  to  the  frowning 
peaks  above.  The  people  live  on  fruit  half  the 
year,  eating  it  raw  as  long  as  it  lasts,  and  then 
dried  in  the  sun— peaches,  apricots,  grapes,  and 
melons  abound.  The  rest  of  the  year  they  eat 
bread,  which,  however,  is  something  of  a  luxury, 
for  the  steep  nature  of  the  country  admits  of 
little  cultivation.  The  women  are,  as  a  rule, 
very  pretty,  but  all  except  the  old  ones  are  kept 
religiously  secluded. 

Hawking  is  a  great  pastime.  These  birds 
are  used  to  kill  ducks,  chikow,  or  French  part- 
ridges, and  many  other  small  birds.  The  next 
photograph  almost  recalls  the  Middle  Ages.  It 
shows  two  Hunza  men  with  their  hawks.  The 
clothes  these  people  wear  are  all  of  sheep's  wool 
spun  in  their  own  houses.  Beyond  Hunza  the 
road  ceases,  and  there  is  then  but  a  mere  track. 
Still,  as  the  river  was  falling  rapidly,  the  ponies 
managed  to  ford  the  stream  successfully  ;  and 
when  it  was  too  deep  the  men  carried  the 
baggage  along  the  precipitous  cliffs  whilst  the 
ponies  swam.     As  you  ascend    the    valley  the 


HU.NZA    MKN    \VHH     IHlilR   TKAINED    HA^VK^. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 

villages  get  smaller  and  poorer.  It  is  about 
one  hundred  miles  from  Hunza  to  the  crest  of 
the  Hindu  Rush.  The  ascent  is  rather  severe 
and  trying  to  the  lungs. 

The  pass  I  crossed  by  is  called   Kilik.     It  is 
nearly  1 6,000ft.  high,  and  the  magnificent  view 


352 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


:.iv  riKST  VIEW  of  the  tamir  fro.m  -riiE  British  fron 
frotH  a  Photo,  by]  i5,6ooFT.  high. 

from  the  summit  is  clearly  indicated  in  the  next 
snap-shot.  Looking  forward  to  the  north,  one 
sees  a  grand  vista  of  snowy  moun- 
tains—  chain  upon  chain  and  range 
upon  range,  all  snow.  Behind  lay  the 
Hindu  Rush,  with  its  mighty  peaks. 
Beyond,  again,  were  the  Himalayas, 
separating  Gilgit  from  Kashmir ;  and 
in  the  far  distance,  two  hundred  miles 
away,  the  great  dome  of  Munga 
Parbat,  28,000ft.,  towering  above  all 
the  rest.  Below  me  lay  a  wide  valley, 
covered  with  brown  grass — that  was 
the  Pamir.  I  had  expected  to  see 
an  elevated  table-land,  but  there  was 
none.  The  ponies  I  had  hired  now 
turned  back.  Poor  beasts,  they  were 
much  reduced  in  condition,  and  the 
men  suffered  greatly  from  cold. 

Nurla  Bai  (the  most  remote  British 
postman  in   the  world)    now  met  me 
with  some  yaks,  \vhich   are  a  shaggy 
kind  of  ox  peculiar  to  Tibet  and   the  Pamirs. 
These  beasts  are   wonderfully  sure-footed,   and 


TIF:R — KII.IK    PASS, 

[the  Author. 

ency  of  Kashmir, 
a    rough    way,  and 


will  cross  precipices  and 
frozen  streams  without  the 
least  fear  of  slipping  —  my 
interesting  postman  had  also 
got  some  camels  with  him. 
Nurla  Bai  is  a  native  of 
Yarkand,  and  carries  Her 
Majesty's  dak  (the  Indian 
name  for  mail)  from  the 
confines  of  Hunza-Nagar  to 
Kashgar,  where  the  Indian 
Government  has  an  official 
stationed  to  look  after  trade 
interests.  A  portrait  of  this 
man  appears  in  the  next 
photograph,  together  with  my 
cook  Kellick,  a  native  of 
Ladakh,  w'hich  is  a  depend- 
He  is  an  excellent  cook,  in 
used  to  produce  in    thirty 


ox    THE    LEFT    IS   THE   .MOST    REMOTE    POSTM.W    IN    THE   WORLD, 
1     MAILS    Across   THE   PAMIR    FROM    GII.GIT    TO    KASHGAR. 

Fro7n  a  Photo,  by]  ladakhi  cook. 


HOUSE-BUILDI.NG    0.\    THE        KOOF    OK    THE    WORLD. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 

minutes   three  courses — soup,   meat,  and   pud- 
ding —  with  the  thermometer   below   zero,    no 

fuel,  and  only  snow  to  boil 
with.  But  you  will  ask, 
how  could  he  cook  with- 
out fuel?  Well,  there  is 
no  "wood  in  the  Pamirs,  so 
dried  dung  is  used  instead. 
It  makes  a  good  fire.  Some 
years  ago  the  Russians 
seized  the  dak  to  see  what 
was  in  the  letters,  but  I 
don't  suppose  they  found 
anything  exciting. 

The     next     photograph 
shows  the  Kirghiz  nomads 
of    the    Pamir  putting   to- 
coNVEviNG  HER  majesty's        gcthcr  an"akoi,"  or  tent. 

ON    THE    RIGHT    IS    MY  ?i-.i  r  1       •  J  r 

[the  Author.      1  he  iramcwork  is  made  oi 


MV  ADVENTURES  ON  THE  ROOF  OF  THE  WORLD. 


•1  r  -> 


A    REMOVAL   ON    THE   PAMIRS. 

From  a  Photo.  by\ 


THE   KIRGHIZ    REMOVE   THEIR    DWELLINGS    BY   CARRYING    THEM 


OFF   BODILY. 


splines,  supporting  a  wooden  centre,  whence 
the  smoke  escapes.  The  whole  framework  is 
covered  with  felt  matting  ;  and  a  first-rate  dwell- 
ing takes  about  half  an  hour  to  construct. 

We  next  have  a  photographic  representation 
of  house-moving  on  the  "  Roof  of  the  World." 
Here  we  see  a  tent  in  process  of  being  moved 
bodily  to  a  fresh  locality.  Obviously  it  is  not  a 
very  arduous  undertaking.  The  curious  dress  of 
the  Kirghiz  women  is  also  shown  here.  Their 
head-gear  consists  of  many  yards  of  cloth 
wrapped  round  and  round  till  it  takes  the  form 
of  a  huge  cheese ;  these,  however,  are  worn 
only  by  the  married 
women.  Then  their  dress 
is  a  coloured  Russian 
cotton,  whilst  underneath 
they  wear  loose  trousers. 
I  don't  think  they  wear 
anything  else.  A  wife  on 
the  Pamir  varies  in  price 
according  to  her  looks. 
A  good-looking  girl  will 
command  a  large  price. 
She  is  purchased  in  kind. 
Perhaps  ten  camels,  five 
ponies,  five  yaks,  and  fifty 
sheep  would  be  paid; 
this  would  mean  an  outlay 
of  ^loo,  but  it  would 
only  be  a  rich  man  who 
could  afford  such  a  lovely 
creature.  The  Kirghiz  are 
very  dirty;  you  see,  it  is 
much    too  cold  to  wash. 

Vol.  iii.— 45. 


'I  hey  have  great  numbers 
of  flocks  and  herds,  and 
live  on  the  flesh  and 
milk.  The  milk  of  the 
camels,  mares,  sheep, 
yaks,  and  goats  is  all 
mixed  together.  The 
sheep's  milk  is  the  richest. 
I'^xcellenl  cream  is  obtain- 
able in  every  house.  A 
whole  family  live  together 
in  one  hut  in  a  patriarchal 
sort  of  way — father, 
mother,  children,  and 
grandchildren  —  aye,  and 
often  the  brothers  and 
sisters  of  the  [jarents  also, 
if  they  are  not  well 
enough  off  to  su|)port 
themselves.  Generally 
you  find  about  ten  in  a 
hut. 

When  these  nomads 
really  change  camp,  they 
don't  shift  their  dwelling  bodily,  as  you  see  them 
doing  in  the  next  photograph.  No ;  in  such 
cases  the  tent  is  soon  dismantled  and  placed. on 
a  yak  or  camel.  The  whole  structure,  with 
cooking  pots,  carpets,  etc.,  will  weigh  about 
5oolb.  They  are  very  warm,  these  tents,  and 
their  shape  prevents  them  from  being  readily 
blown  over  by  the  wind,  which  blows  furiously 
on  the  Pamir.  In  spring-time  the  tents  are 
filled  at  nights  with  the  young  of  all  their 
animals,  and  a  nice  uproar  they  make.  The 
Kirghiz  talk  I'urki.  They  are  a  lazy  race,  and 
never  walk  by  any  chance  if  they  can  possibly 


\thc  Author. 


AND   THE   WHUI.E    FAMILY   HELF   IN    REMOVING    THE   HoUbE. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author, 


354 


The  wide  world  magazine:. 


1   GO  OFF   ON    A    "  SHOOT       MOUNTED   ON    A   YAK. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 

ride.  They  rarely  tell  the  truth — are,  in  fact, 
great  liars,  and,  if  you  don't  watch  it,  thieves 
also. 

In  the  next  photograph  the  author  is  seen  on 
a  shooting  ox,   or  "yak,"  as   they  are   called. 
This  animal,  as  I  remarked   before,  is  peculiar 
to  Tibet  and  the  Pamirs.     He  dies  if  he  goes 
below  io,oooft.  in  summer-time.    These  beasts 
are  wonderful  climbers  and  invaluable  for  shoot- 
ing purposes.     No  hill  is  too  steep  for  them  to 
climb,  and  no  ground  too  bad  for  them  to  nego- 
tiate.    You  guide  them  with  a  rope  run  through 
the   nostrils,  which  are  bored  for  the  purpose. 
The  best  way  to  make  them  go   is   to  hit   them 
behind    the    saddle    on    the 
spine   with   a   stone :    other- 
wise, unless    you   can  get  a 
man     to    drive    them    from 
behind,   they  will  not   go  at 
all.     Their  dung   constitutes 
the  fuel  of  the  Pamirs.     Out 
of    their    long    coats    ropes 
are    made,    and     they    give 
a     good    amount     of     milk. 
The    photograph    shows    the 
author    going    out    shooting. 
Note   the    barren    nature    of 
the    country,   the    sheepskin 
coat,    and    the    Jaeger   cap. 
Jaeger  garments  of  all  kinds 
are   a    necessity   in    extreme 
cold.      I  have  found  nothing 
so   good.      l'"elt   boots  lined 
with   fur   are  also  indispens- 
able   for    keeping    out    the 
biting  cold. 

We  next   come  to  a  very 
remarkable    photograph  —  I 


might  well  say  a  unique  one  . 
— representing  the  great  sheep 
of  Marco  Polo,  called  ovis 
poli.  This  animal  inhabits 
the  Pamirs,  the  Thean  Shan 
Mountains,  and  some  other 
lofty  ranges  to  the  north  of 
Tibet.  It  is  the  largest  sheep 
in  the  world,  standing  nearly 
twelve  hands  in  height.  The 
one  in  the  picture  weighed 
36st.  The  method  of  hunt- 
ing them  is  to  start  from  camp 
on  a  yak  long  before  dawn, 
so  as  to  reach  the  valley 
where  you  think  they  will 
be  feeding  at  dawn.  They 
are  found  in  large  herds 
—  sometimes  a  hundred 
together.  In  one  place  on 
the  Russian  side  of  the 
Bayik  Pass,  five  hundred  of  these  magnifi- 
cent creatures  were  seen  in  a  day,  including 
females.  They  are  very  wary  and  difficult  to 
approach,  the  mountain  sides  being  so  bare  that 
there  is  little  chance  of  getting  cover.  The 
photograph  shows  the  difficult  nature  of  the 
country  they  inhabit.  In  the  early  mornings 
they  descend  to  feed,  but  soon  after  the  sun 
gets  up  they  retire  to  higher  ground,  where  they 
pass  the  day  amidst  the  snow.  So  many  of 
these  sheep  are  killed  by  wolves  in  the  winter- 
time that  their  horns  strew  the  Pamirs.  The 
flesh  is  good,  and  in  the  autumn  very  fat.  The 
largest  pair  of  horns  known  are    those  in  the 


THIS    IS    A    UNIQUE   SNAP-SHOT.     IT   SHOWS   AN    OVIS    POLT,    OR    GREAT    SHEEP   OK  THE    PAMIRS, 
IN    ITS   AI.MOt^T    INACCESSIBLE    WILDS.      THE    HEAD   OF   AN    OVIS    POLI    IS   THE    "  BLUE 

From  a  Photo,  by]  riband"  of  the  pig-game  hunter.  {the  Author. 


MY    A1)\ENTURKS    ON    THE    ROOF    OF    THE    WORID. 


155 


MY    RETURN    AFTER    A    SUCCESSFUL   L)AV  S    HU^ 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Atithor. 

possession  of  Lord  Roberts  —  they  measure 
7 5 in.  round  the  outside  curve.  These  were 
piclced  up  off  the  ground.  The  longest  pair 
ever  shot  are  65in.  I  myself  was  fortunate  in 
shooting  an  ovis  poli  carrying  horns  measuring 
64in.  ill  length — the  second  largest  ever  shot. 
Considering  the  inaccessibility  of  its  haunts, 
the  dangerous  nature  of  the  stalk,  and  the  fine- 
ness of  the  trophy,  it  is  no  wonder  that  an  ovis 
poli  head  should  be  numbered  among  the  prizes 
of  the  big-game  shooter. 

In  the  next  snap-shot  is 
seen  my  return  to  camp 
after  a  successful  day's 
shooting.  In  this  case  it 
was  a  very  successful  day 
indeed,  for  the  yaks  carry 
two  heads  apiece.  The 
two  native  hunters  are  rid- 
ing a  third  yak.  When 
an  ovis  poli  is  killed  there 
is  much  rejoicing,  as  the 
huge  beast  affords  un- 
limited meat  to  the 
Kirghiz  ;  the  skin  is  used 
to  make  boots — though 
the  hide  of  the  ibe.x  is 
more  durable  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  ovis  poli  has 
very  large  bones,  which  arc 
rich  in  marrow.  Formerly 
there  were  great  numbers  of 
this  sheep  on  the  Pamirs, 
but  the  quantity  is  decreas- 
ing rapidly.     The   Kirghiz 


kill    a    great    many    with 
dogs    in    the   winter-time, 
when   the  snow   is  deep. 
These  dogs,  by  the  way, 
are  wonderfully  sagacious, 
and  will  follow  an  animal 
for  miles  and  never  leave 
it.    Eventually  they  bring 
it  to  bay  in    some  rocky 
ground,  and  there  hold  it 
till  the  hunter  comes   u[) 
with  his  gun.      To  fire  a 
Kirghiz  gun  is   rather  an 
alarming   business.      'i"he 
barrel  is  supported  on  the 
ground  by  a  pronged  rest, 
and    the    powder    in    the 
touch  ignited  by  a  i)iece  of 
lighted  string  attached   to 
the  hammer.  Still,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  they  man- 
age to  kill  a  good  many 
beasts  with  these  fearsome 
weapons  of  the  chase. 
The   highest   peaks    on    the    "  Roof  of  the 
World  "  are  shown  in  the  next  photo. — among 
them   being  the  great   Mustagh-Ata,    26,000ft., 
the  "  father  of  snow  mountains."     It  is  an  im- 
posing pile,   and   divides  the    Pamir  from   the 
plains  of  Turkestan.     From  the  point  of  view  of 
scenery,  be   it  remembered,    this   is    the   most 
stupendous  and  awe-inspiring  region   on  earth. 
The  sides  of  Mustagh-Ata  are  seamed   by  eight 
enormous  glaciers,  which  have  cut  deep  beds  in 


THE  hi(;hest  peak  on 

DR.    SVEN 


'"THE   K(MJK    liF    the    WORLD" — MUSTA<.H-ATA,    26,OOOFT.    HIGH. 
HEDIN    UNSUCCESSFULLY   ATTEMPTED   THLS    PEAK. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


56 


THE    \V1DE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


fort   guarding  the   defile   to 
Kashgar.     They    are    going 
<jut  in  full  dress  to  meet  the 
Amban,  or  Governor.     They 
are  a  curious-looking  crowd, 
their     banners     and    coats, 
covered  with    strange  hiero- 
glyphics, depicting  the  vari- 
ous styles  and  titles  of  the 
Emperor    of   China.     Their 
arms  are  a  motley  accumula- 
tion   of    Sniders,    Enfields, 
muzzle-loaders,    and  one  or 
two    magazine    rifles.       The 
meeting  with  tlie  Amban  was 
a  curious  sight.     The  escort 
all   fired  off  their  guns  in  a 
ragged  volley,  and  then  some 
of  them  galloped  in  front  of 
the  great  personage,  firing  wildly  all  the  time.  It 
was  quite  immaterial  that  many  were  loaded  with 
bail  cartridge,  and  that  the  bullets  could  plainly 
be   seen  dropping   into   the   lake.     That   only 
encouraged   them    to    fire    more.     The    thing 
seemed  to  grow  more  attractive  with  the  risk. 
The  Amban's  personal  attendants  also  kept  up 
the  fusillade  all  round    him,  so  he  must   have 
had  quite  a  warm  time  of  it. 

I  now  left  the  Pamirs  for  the  time  being  and 
descended  gradually  through  a  labyrinth  of  bare 
mountains    to   the    plains   of  Turkestan.     The 


A   CHINESE   OUTPOST  ON   THE    MARCH.      NOTE   THE    DEVICES   ON    THE   BANNERS   REPRESENTING 
THE   VARIOUS   STYLES   OF   THE   EMPEROR   OF    CHINA. 

From  a  Plioto.  l<y  the  A  uthor. 

the  mountain  sides.     The  natives  have   many 
legends  about  this  great  mountain.     Some  say 
that   on   the   summit  will  be  found  an  inferior 
kind  of  Paradise,  with  gardens  and  flowers,  but 
the   aspect  of  the    mountain    hardly  coincides 
with   this  idea.     From    the    point    of  view   of 
personal  comfort   I   should  say  a  very  inferior 
Paradise.     Dr.  Sven  Hedin,  the  great  Swedish 
explorer  of  Central  Asia,  attempted  the  ascent, 
but  only  reached  a  point  i8,oooft.  high.    No  one 
has  ever  yet  seen  the  top  of  Mustagh-Ata,  and 
most  probably  no  one  ever  will.     It  is  a  wonder- 
ful   sight.      l"he 
whole     mountain 
is  so  vast  that  it 
took  my  caravan 
two     long     days 
merely    to    skirt 
the    base    of    it. 
The     people     of 
the  neighbour- 
hood  could    not 
understand   what 
Sven  Hedin  had 
been  doing  in  a 
boat  on  the  lake 
close     by ;    they 
imagined  he  had 
been     taking 
soundings  to  see 
if  the  bottom  was 
lined  with  gold. 

Shortly  after 
leaving  Mustagh- 
Ata  I  met  a 
Chinese  force, 
and  the  next 
snap-shot  shows 
a  portion  of  the 

.  C  U  '^"*'    '^■'^'^'^ET-l-LACE    IN    THE    REMOTE    CENTRAL    ASIAN    Cll  V    OK    KASHCAK. 

garrison      Ot       the  from  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


MV    ADVENTURES    ON    THE    ROOF    OF    THE    W0REi3. 


3 


jy 


cold  had  lately  been  su  uxccbshc — generally 
several  degrees  L)elo\v  zero — that  I  and  my  men 
were  glad  to  get  to  lower  elevations.  Two  days 
after  reaching  the  plains  we  arrived  safely  in 
Kashgar.  This  town  is  the  seat  of  government 
in  Kashgaria,  and  is  a  large  city  of  50,000  in- 
habitants—  Chinese,  Turks,  Afghans,  Indian 
traders,  and  many  others. 

W'e  next  have  a  striking  view  of  the  market- 
place in  Kashgar  city.  On  Wednesdays  the 
country  people  flock  in  from  the  surrounding 
country  in  thousands,  bringing  the  produce  of 
their  farms  to  barter  for  cotton  goods— mostly 
Russian,  I  fear,  for  the  latter  are  much  better 
and  cheaper  than  the  British-made  cottons,  or, 
at  all  events,  those  which  find  their  way  from 
home  to  this  out-of-the-way  spot.  This  photo- 
graph, I  ought   to  explain,  was  not  taken  on  a 


in    Kashgar  at  the    san)e    price   as   they  do  in 
Moscow. 

I  was  invited  to  several  dinner-parties  during 
my  stay  in  Kashgar.  Here  is  the  menu  of  one 
"little  spread"  given  by  the  Governor  (we 
were  seven):  Hors  d'a'iivres :  Ham,  tongue, 
pork,  liver,  ducks'  eggs  preserved  in  chalk,  and 
sweetmeats.  Dinner  proper :  Sharks'  fins  and 
sweet  onions ;  fish-skins  and  onions ;  sea 
slugs;  lotus  beans  and  roots;  bamboo  shoots 
and  roots ;  crackling  of  sucking-pig  ;  celery 
and  meat  (unknown) ;  liver  of  sucking-pig  ; 
fat  of  ditto  ;  muslirooms  ;  Kulchar  pear."^,  stewed 
with  sweet  rice  inside ;  duck  fried  in  batter ; 
meat  dumplings;  sweet  dumplings,  rice,  and 
condiments;  hot  elderberry  wine;  hot  Bene- 
dictine ;  almonds  and  tea.  A  brazier,  of  hot 
coal   was  under  the  table  and   the  door  wide 


..    :.   !  ..IHEK    AND   SON    IN    FRO: 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


market  day,  otherwise  there  would  not  be 
standing-room  anywhere.  There  are  several 
Europeans  in  Kashgar.  Firstly,  there  is  the 
agent  of  the  Indian  Government ;  then  a  Russian 
Consulate  and  sixty  Cossacks,  and  several 
Swedish  missionaries.  They  cannot  do  any 
good  with  the  people,  and  make  but  very 
few  converts.  I  think  they  made  one  once, 
though.  He  was  dying,  and  they  forced  their 
way  into  the  house  and  threw  water  on  him. 
The  activity  of  the  Russian  traders  is  extra- 
ordinary. They  are  fast  driving  out  the  Indian 
merchants  ;  but  then,  of  course,  the  Russian 
Government  allows  such  liberal  bounties  that 
the   merchants   are   able   to   sell    their  cottons 

{To  be 


open.  It  was  a  disgusting  scene.  The  China- 
men threw  the  eatables  about  all  over  the  table  ; 
and,  as  they  have  a  jovial  way  of  mixing  drinks 
with  any  guest  who  is  a  particular  friend,  you 
get  some  truly  awful  concoctions  offered  you. 

The  usual  method  of  going  to  market  in  this 
weird  country  is  very  quaint.  In  the  accom- 
panying photograph  we  see  the  father  and  his 
firstborn  in  front  and  his  wife  behind.  The 
load  on  the  top  appears  to  be  about  equal  in 
size  with  the  unhappy  beast  of  burden.  The 
countrywomen  age  rapidly  and  become  ugly. 
So  do  the  donkeys.  The  town  women  are 
always  closely  veiled,  and  many  are  good- 
looking,  with  very  red  cheeks. 

continued.) 


By  Mrs.  Fred.  Maturin  and  Miss  E.  H.  Lewis. 

Fun     in     a      Himalayan    bungalow — The    sick    officer  —  The    still    night — The    turning    door-handle 
and    the  fearful  apparition — The  tell-tale  shoe  and  how  it  was  tried  on  the  suspects — Mrs.  Maturin's 

journey — Another   apparition    and    the    toy  pistol. 


OOR     Captain     Fiddle     lay,    as    all 
believed,  dying,   in  the  bare,  white- 
washed room  (yet  the  best  we  had) 
in  the  little  Punjabie 
Himalayan  bungalow 

which    we   had    been    trying  for 

two    months    to    leave,    but 

couldn't,     because     our     charge 

was    so    ill.      Miss    I.-ewis    and 

I     had    nursed    him    since    the 

June  night  when   he  had  fallen 

over  the  kJuid  near  our  shanty, 

broken  both  his  ankles,  and  in- 
jured his  spine.     Captain  Fiddle 

is   really  Captain    C.    P.    Lloyd, 

late   of   the    Buffs,    but   he   was 

generally  known  as  Fiddle. 

His   ankles   mended,   and   he 

began  to  get   about — much    too 

soon,    .said    the  doctor,    a    dear 

little    fat    man,     who    used    to 

run  in  and  say,  "  Shure,  an'  how 

are   ye  to-day,   Capt'in?"     And 

when      he'd     re-bandaged      the 

ankles,    listened     through    a    tube,    examined 

his   watch,    made   the   invalid    say    ninety-nine 


MRS.   FRED.   MATUKI 
"  TURKISH    BALLET 

From  a\     on  this 


and  breathe  hard  (and  gone,  in  fact,  through 
all  the  other  medical  INIaskelyne  and  Cook 
manoeuvres  ;  the  only  difference  between  him- 
self and  Mr.  Maskelyne  being 
that  nothing  wonderful  happened 
in  the  end),  he  would  sit  down 
for  a  rest  on  the  patient's 
charpoy  and  gaze  entranced 
while  a  number  of  us  rehearsed 
a  Turkish  dance  in  front  of 
Captain  Fiddle's  bed. 

I  was  getting  up  theatri- 
cals "in  aid  of  a  charity"  (the 
profits  to  be  spent  by  the 
company  on  champagne  sup- 
])ers  and  a  fancy  dress  ball  ; 
l)ut  you  always  put  it  like  that 
in  India),  and  Captain  Fiddle 
was  ballet-master.  It  was 
rumoured  —  and  he  never 
denied  it  —  that  whilst  on  a 
year's  furlough  "  for  urgent 
private  affairs "  he  had  gone 
home  and  joined  the  Moore 
and  Burgess  Minstrels,  trusting  to  the  black 
not    to    be    recognised.     At   any  rate,  he    had 


N  IN  THE  IDENTICAL 
"  COSTUME  SHE  WORE 
OCCASION.  [F/loto. 


OUR    CHAMBA     CINDERELLA. 


359 


learnt  to  sing  "  Nelly  C>ray,"'  falsetto,  and  could 
stand  on  one  leg  twenty  minutes,  and  twirl  the 
other  round  his  head.  Also  he  could  do  the 
Pigeon's  Wing  Step,  which  consists  of  jumping 
into  mid-air  and  remaining  there,  flapping  your 
feet  together,  after  which,  when  the  applause 
begins,  it's  the  correct  thing  to  go  off  the  stage 
on  your  hands,  your  heels  uppermost.  It 
looked  more  unassuming,  he  always  explained, 
than  going  off  bowing,  the  right  way  up, 
which  is  apt  to  give  a  self-satisfied  air. 

His  feet  being  useless,  he  showed  us  how  to 
do  the  steps  with  his  fingers  on  a  tray  ;  and  he 
used  to  get  so  excited  over  the  lesson  (roaring 
at  Miss  Lewis,  "Left  leg.  Miss  Lewis,  not  right! 
Loop  the  right  one  up  like  I'm  doing  my  thumb, 
for  the  love  of  Heaven  ! ")  that  the  litde  fat 
doctor  would  declare  he  was  seriously  injuring 
his  health,  and,  on  behalf  of  Miss  Lewis,  who 
had  been  trying  for  three  weeks  to  stand  on  one 
leg  and  couldn't,  the  doctor  would  try  in  vain  to 
point  out  that  your  fingers  on  a  tray  in  bed  and 
your  feet  on  the  ground  were  two  vastly  different 
things. 

Captain  Fiddle  would  declare  that  if  there 
was  one  thing  more  than  another  which  injured 
his  health  it  was  opposition.  Miss  Lewis  could 
stand  on  one  leg,  and,  what's  more,  she'd  got  to 


sta^e  head  over  heels   in  a 


gracfful 


and  natural- 


looking  manner.  It  was  being  largely  done  at 
home  by  all  the  society  women,  premieres, 
danseuses,  etc.  Would  the  doctor  kindly  not 
interfere  ?  He  might  understand  lungs  and 
livers,  but  it  was  clear  he  didn't  understand 
dancing. 

The  doctor  was  finally  appeased  by  being 
promised  that,  if  he  made  himself  agreeable  over 
this  affair,  he  should  be  the  Pasha,  lounging 
in  the  background  of  the  ballet,  with  a  hookah, 
watching  his  wives  dance  ;  and  as  the  "  wives  " 
were  all  good-looking  and  young,  and,  further- 
more, in  the  pauses  he  was  to  be  permitted  to 
sit  with  his  arm  round  each  one  in  turn  on  the 
divan,  he  said  no  more.  And  the  consequence 
of  all  this  was  the  strange  incidents  I'm  now 
telling  you  of. 

I  don't  blame  the  doctor.  Few  men  would 
resist  such  a  bait,  and  he  did  all  he  could  when 
the  night  came  to  keep  up  the  ballet-master's 
strength  with  champagne,  setting  him  the  best 
of  examples  each  time  by  saying,  as  a  cork 
went  pop,  "  Come  now.  Fiddle,  me  boy,  I'll 
give  you  a  lead,"  and  before  you  could  say  Jack 
Robinson  the  bottle  was  empty. 

The  doctor  made  a  jolly  little  Pasha,  and 
performed  his  part  so  well  that  three  infuriated 


^^ 


THE    DOCTOR    MADE   A   JOLLY    LITTLE       PASHA. 


—  unless  the  whole  dance  was  to  be  a 
failure.  His  hostess,  Mrs.  Maturin,  had  asked 
him  to  coach  for  this  Turkish  affair,  and  he 
never  did  things  by  halves.  Miss  Lewis  was 
one  of  the  central  figures,  and  was  to  appear  in 
the  programme  as  BuI-Bul,  the  Light  of  the 
Ha/-ei)i,  and  she  must  dance  up  to  the  character. 
Before  the  20th,  she'd  got  to  learn  to  go  off  the 


husbands  in  the  audience  insisted  on  coming 
behind  in  the  ten  minutes'  interval  to  ask  him 
what  he  meant  by  holding  their  wives  so  tight 
that  they  screamed. 

Whereupon  the  doctor  referred  them  to 
Captain  Fiddle,  who,  sitting  in  the  wings  with 
crutches  under  his  arms,  working  the  lime-light, 
said  he'd  never  heard  such  nonsense  in  his  life. 


360 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


If  a  thing  was  worth  doing,  it  was  worth  doing 
well — that's  what  //^W  always  been  taught.  Also, 
if  you  do  a  thing,  do  it  with  all  your  might ;  and 
if  theatricals  were  to  be  a  success,  you'd  got  to 
be  realistic ;  and  who  could  be  jealous  of  the 
little  doctor  ?  This  led  to  a  row.  The 
husbands  were  angry  at  the  mere  idea  they 
could  be  jealous  of  him,  and  the  doctor  was 
angrier  at  the  idea  that  they  couldn't.  The 
lime-light,  too,  went  wrong  :  it  would  fizzle 
away  when  the  curtain  was  down,  and  stop 
fizzing  when  it  went  up  ;  and  the  dance  was  such 
a  fiasco  in  consequence,  and  everyone  so  cross, 
that  poor  Fiddle  was  carried  home  to  bed,  in 
my  dandie,  speechless  with  exhaustion  and 
disappointment.  To  crown  all.  Miss  Lewis  at 
the  last  moment  had  refused  to  go  off  head  over 
heels.  This  appeared  to  affect  the  invalid  more 
than  anything. 

The  next  morning  Captain  Fiddle  was  found 
sitting  up  trying  to  speak  and  couldn't. 
Paralysis,  meningitis,  and  blindness  rapidly  came 
on,  and  oh  !  he  was  ill — ill  as  any  mortal  can 
be,  and  yet  live.  His  sufferings  were  horrible. 
For  weeks  no  one  went  to  bed — neither  I,  nor 
Miss  Lewis,  nor  the  three  soldier  hospital- 
orderlies,  nor  the  servants. 

The  season  ended.  Everyone  left  the  Hima- 
layas, and  we  were  due  in  Agra,  where  my 
husband  and  our  regiment  were.  A  bungalow 
and  servants  were  all  ready  there,  and  yet  we 
couldn't  get  away,  as  there  was  no  one  else 
found  to  nurse  the  sick  man.  Now  it  was 
November.  Our  little  fat  doctor  had  gone,  and 
his  substitute  had  stood  half  an  hour  by  the 
bedside  shaking  his  head  ominously  and  saying 
"  Um  " — as  doctors  do  when  they'd  give  any- 
thing to  know  what  is  the  matter  with  the 
patient — and  as  he  mounted  his  tat  to  ride  away, 
he  told  me  that  the  whole  College  of  Surgeons 
couldn't  save  him — "Sorry;  good-night."  He 
rode  up  through  the  forest,  and  I  stood  outside 
the  bungalow,  leaning  against  a  pillar,  feeling 
utterly  worn  out,  and  breathing  in  a  little 
of  the  keen  air  that  sighed  over  deserted 
Dalhousie,  as  the  rapid  Indian  night  fell  upon 
the  mountain-world  around  us. 

Away  behind  the  bungalow,  leaning  up  against 
Heaven,  glimmered  the  Great  Snowy  Range, 
its  pale  pinnacles  walling  in  the  universe  on  that 
side,  and  joining  earth  to  sky,  with  a  silent 
majesty  which  dwarfed  into  insignificance  such 
things  as  broken  plans,  cold,  privation — yes, 
even  the  struggling  life  battling  for  existence 
under  the  little  roof  hard  by  !  One  felt  that  he 
struggled  for  a  very  short  and  miserable  thing, 
as  one  gazed  at  that  wide,  white  world  beyond. 
And  as  for  our  privations — no  dry  wood  for  fires, 
no  milk  (our  cow   had   been  stolen  three  nights 


before),  and  no  food  unless  you  seized  it  from 
the  natives  by  force — what  did  it  all  matter  as 
one  looked  at  the  darkening  grandeur  around, 
and  realized  that  we.  were  but  specks  crawling 
towards  Eternity  ? — whether  fast  or  slow  signified 
but  little. 

I  felt  consoled  as  I  at  last  left  the  plateau  and 
re-entered  the  quiet  bungalow.  The  children 
played  almost  noiselessly  in  the  room  farthest 
from  the  one  in  which  the  sick  man  lay.  Two 
ayahs  sat  nursing  their  cold  knees  on  the  floor, 
murmuring  to  each  other.  The  children  built 
bricks  in  fur  coats,  for  all  the  logs  had  to  be 
kept  for  the  silent  room  at  the  other  end ;  and 
the  cold  was  intense. 

A  sheep,  skinny  and  small,  and  newly  killed, 
hung  in  the  veranda,  and  that  was  all  the  food 
we  had  to  look  forward  to  for  a  long  time  ;  we 
had  sent  my  khansaitiah  twenty  miles  into 
Chamba  to  fetch  that.  He  obtained  it  by 
giving  its  owner  a  clout  over  the  head,  and 
then  making  off  as  hard  as  his  legs  would 
carry  him,  first  throwing  the  price  of  it  down  at 
the  infuriated  native's  feet ;  or  he  said  he  did. 
Miss  Lewis  always  declares  he  did  not,  however, 
and  that  it  was  this  which  brought  about  what 
happened. 

Dalhousie  is  only  about  twenty  miles  from 
Chamba,  which  is  independent  territory;  and 
we  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  Chamba  men 
followed  my  khaiisamah  and  found  out  where 
we  lived.  Revenge  was  very  easy  for  them. 
No  one  stops  in  Dalhousie  after  the  15th  of 
October.  The  little  hill  -  station  becomes 
deserted.  Everyone  goes  back  to  the  warm 
plains,  and  as  all  the  food  supplies  during 
the  summer  come  from  the  plains,  and  nothing 
is  grown,  bred,  or  reared  in  Dalhousie,  and 
these  supplies  cease  with  the  demand  —  in 
October — he  who  remains  there  after  that  runs 
a  good  chance  of  dying  of  hunger  and  cold. 

This,  then,  was  our  plight.  Two  English 
officials  who  are  always  forced  to  winter  in 
Dalhousie  provide  against  this  by  laying  up 
wood  and  food  during  the  summer,  a  la  cigale. 
But  ive  had  chantced  all  the  summer,  simply 
because  we  had  no  notion  that  events  were  to 
befall  us  which  would  pin  us  fast  to  this  deserted 
spot  long  after  civilization  and  food  should  have 
fled  from  it.  Of  the  officials,  one  lived  so  far 
off,  and  had  such  a  numerous  family,  that  we 
dared  not  ask  him  for  supplies  ;  the  other  said 
he  had  hardly  enough  for  himself. 

So  it  really  seemed  as  if  starvation  and 
death  from  cold  shortly  stared  us  in  the  face  ! 
The  two  officials  had,  during  the  bright  summer 
days,  shown  me  the  photos,  of  their  bungalows 
during  the  past  winter,  with  only  the  chimneys 
sticking  up  through  the  snow,   which    in    this 


OUR 


CHAMBA    CINDERELLA. 


?6i 


part  of  the  Himalayas  froqueiiily  lalls  loan  cvlii 
depth  of  tliirty-five  feet ! — cutting  you  off  entirely 
from  the  outer  world.  That  the  snow  was 
coming  now,  we  could  feel  and  see.  One  by 
one  the  great,  sombre  fir-clad  mountains  between 
us  and  the  White  Range  turned  white  too, 
and  old,  white-bearded  Lai  Bu\,  of  the  Bazaar, 
came  up  one  morning  to  our  bungalow,  pointed 
away,  and  said,  "  It  comes — and  I  go." 

He  further  earnestly  advised  us  to  go  too  (till 
now  he  had  sold  us  rice  and  dal  at  high  prices), 
but  that  was  impossible.  Our  guest  was  dying, 
and  what  little  chance  of  life  he  had  would  be 
shaken  out  of  him  if  we  tried  to  carry  him  down 
the  seventy  miles  of  rough  mountain  road  which 
lay   between    us   and   comparative    civilization. 


the  past  season,  had  witnessed  many  a  gay 
revel,  and  (draped  with  many  a  rich  hue) 
had  formed  the  background  for  bright  faces  of 
"  fair  women  and  brave  men "  now  far,  far 
away.  The  camels  had  weeks  ago  departed  for 
the  plains  with  all  our  domestic  comforts  when 
we  were  preparing  to  leave,  and  so  our  wretched 
little  windows  had  not  even  a  curtain  to  hide 
us  from  the  night.  Nor  had  we  enough  cover- 
ings for  our  beds,  nor  warm  clothes,  nor 
anything. 

After  long  and  earnest  parley,  we  decided 
that  as,  if  we  all  remained  in  Dalhousie,  we 
must  starve  or  die  of  cold,  it  would  be  best 
for  me  and  my  children  and  one  ayah  to  get 
away  down  to  the  plains  before  the  snow  came. 


,'d-'. 


■  WE   TIP-TOEO    IN    TO    LOOK    AT   THE   WORN    FIGURE   ON   THE    BED. 


However,  our  servants  were  listening  eagerly 
to  old  Lai  Bux,  the  soothsayer  and  prophet, 
and  when  he  said,  "  The  snow — it  comes,"  they 
knew  it  ivas  coming  ;  and  that  night  all  except 
the  two  ayahs  and  the  cook  ran  away  and 
deserted  us. 

This,  therefore,  was  our  strange  plight  that 
cold  night  in  November  in  Northern  India,  in 
the  year  1893.  Miss  Lewis  and  I  sat  in  what 
had  been  my  pretty  drawing-room,  and  talked 
the  prospect  over  till  about  11  p.m.  Bare, 
whitewashed  walls,  two  chairs,  two  little  round, 
worm-eaten  tables,  and  the  row  of  bare  wooden 
grocery-boxes  which  had  been  the  foundation 
of  the  Oriental  divan  for  which  my  hill  bun- 
galow was  always  famous — this  was  all  that 
remained   of  the   dainty    room    which,    during 

Vol.  iii— 46. 


Miss  Lewis — dear,  kind  little  soul  —  would 
remain  to  nurse  the  man  whose  toss-up  for 
life  now  lay  in  our  hands.  Food  for  those  who 
remained  fiiig/if,  by  using  strategy  or  force,  be 
obtainable,  but  for  such  a  party  as  we  now 
were,  it  was  impossible.  This  being  decided, 
we  opened  the  door  leading  to  the  sick  room, 
and  tip-toed  in  to  look  at  the  worn  figure  on 
the  bed. 

Two  soldiers,  worn  out,  too,  slept  heavily  in 
two  rickety  chairs  by  the  sparse  log  fire,  whose 
fitful  gleams  shone  now  red  on  their  scarlet 
coats  and  pale  faces,  and  then  throbbed  down 
into  a  dull  glow.  The  one  window  of  this  room 
was  curtained  by  two  blankets,  hung  one  over 
the  other,  the  least  ray  of  light  causing  the 
sufferer  to  shriek  with  agony  (as  is  the  case  in 


362 


The  Wide  world  magazine. 


meningitis).  Even  now  he  moaned  in  a  low, 
shrill  way,  as  the  fire-light  played  on  the  cracked 
ceiling  above  his  up-turned  face. 

We  whispered  together,  Miss  Lewis  and  I,  as 
to  the  division  of  the  night-nursing  ;  for  we 
never  left  him  alone  with  the  orderlies.  It  was 
decided  that,  as  I  felt  so  ill,  I  should  go  to  bed 
till  2  a.m.  and  then  relieve  Miss  Lewis,  and 
she  was  to  call  me  if  any  change  for  the  worse 
occurred.  As  the  doctor  had  given  him  about 
half  the  night  to  live,  I  finally  left  the  room  with 
a  heart  full  of  dread. 

The  chill,  vastly -silent  Himalayan  night, 
the  great  loneliness  all  around  us,  and  the 
unseen  Hand  which  seemed  stretched  over  that 
still  form  ready  to  grasp  it  — all  these,  and  the 
sinking  depression  caused  by  weeks  of  want  of 
sleep,  proper  nourishment,  and  warmth,  pro- 
duced upon  me  an  impression  most  appalling 
and  profound,  and  I  shuddered  as  I  laid  my 
head  on  my  pillow  and  i/ishiiii/y — in  three 
minutes,  or  so  it  seemed — dreamed  that  I  stood 
by  a  cold,  open  grave,  expecting  to  see  a  coffin 
in  it,  but  instead  fell  in  myself! 

[The  next  bit  of  the  story  I  will  tell  in  Miss 
Lewis's  words.  She  has  kindly  sent  me  her 
own  account  of  what  happened.] 

When  Mrs.  Maturin  had  gone  to  lie  down,  I 
went  round  the  bungalow  to  see  that  all  was 
safe,  and  finally  retired  to  the  sick  room.  I  put 
a  fresh  log  on  the  fire,  noticed  how  soundly  the 
orderlies  slept,  and  then  tied  my  plusli  hood 
over  my  head  and  ears,  for  the  cold  was  very 
great.  Fearing  to  drop  asleep  if  I  lay  down  on 
the  second  bed,  I  sat  myself  in  a  chair  by  the 
sick  bed,  and  tried  to  occupy  my  thoughts. 

I  let  my  mind  travel  back  to  my  home  in 
Devonshire  and  the  dear  ones  there,  and  of  all 
that  had  happened  since  the  day  I  had  left 
tiiem  and  sailed  for  India  in  the  troop-ship  with 
Colonel  and  Mrs.  Maturin  and  their  children 
three  years  ago.  I  had  many  strange  and  even 
wonderful  events  to  recall  as  I  sat  there.  The 
life  I  had  since  led,  as  compared  with  the  peace- 
ful years  previously  spent  in  a  quiet  Devonshire 
parsonage,  was,  indeed,  a  startling  contrast. 
According  to  Mrs.  Maturin,  it  was  like  reading 
the  "Arabian  Nights'  Entertainments"  after 
meandering  through  "The  Daisy  Chain." 

One  circumstance  after  another  had  led  to 
the  present  strange  situation,  and  now  what  lay 
before  us?  Mrs.  Maturin,  my  one  bright  com- 
panion, and  my  three  darling  pupils,  the 
children,  were  to  leave  Dalhousie  in  two  days 
from  then.  This  was  necessary — and  should 
I  ever  see  them  again  ?  I  was  to  remain 
behind — the  only  woman  in  a  lonely  Himalayan 
bungalow,  seventy  miles  from  civilization,  from 


which  we  should  soon  be  completely  cut  off  by 
deep  snow,  with  two  soldiers  and  a  paralyzed 
and  dying  man — all  of  us  short  of  food  and 
every  necessary  of  existence. 

Pondering  thus,  I  next  recalled  the  very 
remarkable  fact  that,  on  our  way  up  to  this  spot 
eight  months  before,  a  native  fortune-teller  at  a 
dak  bungalow  at  which  we  halted  told  me  that 
ere  the  year  was  out  /  "  7vas  to  run  a  risk  of  my 
life  throjigJi  tending  a  man  ivho  zvas  to  have  one 
leg  diseased  or  tiseless.'" 

How  merrily  Mrs.  Maturin  and  I  had  laughed 
at  this  quaint  prophecy  !  Well,  our  poor  help- 
less invalid,  then  strong  and  well,  and  far  away, 
had  now  got  hemiplegia — paralysis  of  one  whole 
side  of  the  body.  He  could  move  one  leg  and 
not  the  other  .  .  .  Strange  !  .  .  . 

At  this  moment  I  became  aware  of  a  sound. 
It  was  the  handle  of  the  door  connecting  with 
the  drawing-room  slowly  turning.  Mrs.  Maturin 
often  came  in  quietly  thus,  several  times — even 
during  the  half  of  the  night  set  apart  for  her  rest. 
So,  fearing  that  the  creaking  would  disturb  the 
patient,  I  rose,  walked  softly  to  the  door,  and 
taking  the  slowly  turning  handle  in  my  fingers, 
I  helped  cautiously  to  turn  it,  saying  as  I  did 
so  —  "  'Sh  !  — 'Sh  !  —  'Sh  !  —  "  (I  little  dreamt 
how  near  I  now  was  to  fulfilling  the  Hindu 
fortune-teller's  prophecy  !) 

The  door  opened  .  .  .  but  no  Mrs.  Maturin 
stood  there  .  .  . 

I  gazed  up  instead,  horrified  (I  am  a  little 
woman\  at  a  gigantic  black  man,  who  was 
rolled  in  a  dark  blanket,  and  held  in  h"is  hand 
a  huge  curved  knife,  drawn  out  of  its  sheath. 
His  large  dazzling  teeth  gleamed  in  the  uncer- 
tain light At  the  same  moment  I  saw 

beyond  him,  in  the  veranda,  others  Pike  him  ; 
and  I  knew  they  were  men  of  the  wild  Chamba 
tribe,  come  probably  to  revenge  themselves  for 
the  forcible  taking  of  the  sheep  that  morning  ! 
I  instantly  rushed  back  into  the  room,  and 
seized  and  shook  the  two  sleeping  soldiers— the 
best  thing  I  could  have  done. 

The  black  ruffians  had  evidently  not  bargained 
for  seeing  Englishmen  or  red-coats.  They  had, 
of  course,  heard  of  the  helpless  sick  sahib  and 
the  two  memsahibs  nursing  him,  and  had 
calculated  on  an  ea.sy  revenge.  On  beholding 
the  orderlies  spring  up  with  a  shout,  and  not 
knowing  how  many  more  there  might  be  in  the 
bungalow,  the  black  fellow  turned  and  fled, 
dropping  one  shoe  as  he  did  so.  All  the  others, 
catching  the  scare,  turned  tail  also  and  rushed 
pell-mell  down  the  mountain  through  the  jungle. 
The  orderlies  followed — not,  however,  as  if 
specially  anxious  to  catch  them.  I  felt  very 
angry  about  this  at  the  moment,  but  have  since 
found  excuses  for  them,  for  I  daresay  they  would 


OUR    CHAMBA    CINDERELLA. 


'Jl  .if 

• 

i 

,.       1        1 

1.1        ' 

I    tiAZED    fl',    HOKRIFIED,    AT   A    GIGANTIC    BLACK    MAN." 


have  been  stabbed  to  death  in  an  instant  liad 
they  closed  with  the  midnight  intruders. 

Mrs.  Maturin  came  flying  out  of  her  room, 
white  with  terror.  We  went  into  the  veranda. 
T/ie  sheep  zvas  gone  !  We  all  sat  up  till  morning 
dawned,  and  then  sent  word  to  one  of  the 
officials  (before  mentioned),  and  also  sent  the 
dropped  shoe,  which  was  extraordinarily  large. 
He  dispatched  a  messenger  to  the  Rajah  of 
Chamba,  who  is  friendly  to  the  English,  and 
His  Highness  suggested  that  a  batch  of  suspected 
men  should  be  sent  to  our  bungalow  and  made 
to  try  on  the  shoe — a  truly  typical  Indian  mode 
of  convicting  a  criminal  ! 

The  Ceremony  did  actually  take  place  with 
much  solemnity,  Mrs.  Maturin  sitting  on  a  kind 
of  throne  as  judge  ;  but  our  Cinderella  was  not 
found.  The  shoe  (instead  of  being  too  small) 
proved  too  big  for  any  of  the  suspected  feet.  It 
appeared  to  strike  no  one  that  some  of  the  men 
I  had  seen  in  the  veranda  might  easily  be 
standing  before  us  now  ;  but  any  way,  as  I 
could  identify  no  one,  it  hardly  mattered.  I 
should   not   even   have   cared   to    identify   the 


native  who  opened  the  door  in  llial  ghostly 
manner.  His  height  was  remarkable,  but 
his  blanket  was  thrown  across  his  face,  and  I 
should  never  have  felt  certain  1  was  not 
perhaps  laying  my  finger  on  an  innocent  man. 
And  each  man  might  well  have  been  guilty, 
for  as  he  was  dragged  up  to  try  on  the  shoe 
he  howled  like  a  fiend.  ]Mrs.  Maturin's 
attitude,  assumed  half  for  fun  and  half  to 
insfjire  awe,  and  with  a  mortar-board  on  her 
head,  appeared  to  excite  great  anger  amongst 
them,  for  it  is  well  known  that  they  despise 
our  sex.  I  beheld  the  most  furious  glances 
levelled  at  her,  and  kept  begging  her  to  make 
herself  scarce. 

I  believe  Mrs.  Maturin  means  here  to 
relate  the  Jitia/e  to  this  terrifying  adventure, 
so  I  will  make  my  bow  and  close. 

(Signed)  Eulalia  Helen  Lewis. 

[Narrative  concluded  by  i\Irs.  Maturin.] 
Two  days  after  that  night,  I  left   Dalhousie 
at  5  a.m.  with  my  three  children,  one  ayah, 
and  our   luggage   slung    between    poles,  and 
carried  by  a  jabbering  crowd  of   hill-coolies, 
who,    elated    at    the    unwonted    sight    of    a 
memsahib  travelling  with  no  earthly  protection 
in  the  shape  of  either  men-servants  or  suhibs, 
went  on  in  the  most  awful  way  the  moment  we 
had  left  Dalhousie  above  us,  throwing  down 
the  baggage  every  two  miles  and  refusing  to 
go  on  unless  supplied  with   money  forthwith. 
As  I  had  had  to  pay  fully  for  each  one  to 
a  native  official  at  Dalhousie,  I  at  first  indig- 
nantly refused,  but  had  to  give  in  at  last,  vow- 
ingvengeance — which  I'm  glad  to  say  I  eventually 
got  on  reporting  them  to  the  Commissioner. 

However,  all  this  delayed  uS  terribly.  The 
day  passed,  and  as  we  got  into  the  very  wilds  of 
the  lower  mountains,  and  darkness  crept  over 
the  world,  I  began  to  feel  nervous  and  wretched 
at  the  low  whisperings  and  general  demeanour 
of  two  of  the  coolies  who  had  suddenly  been 
joined  by  a  third  native — a  Chaviba  man,  I  felt 
sure,  by  his  face.  He  must  have  been  awaiting 
us,  for  he  hopped  out  of  a  steep  ravine  in  a 
lonely  part,  and  walking  along  close  to  my 
doolie,  glanced  now  and  then  at  me  in  a  would- 
be  careless  kind  of  way. 

At  last  I  called  my  ayah  to  tell  the  fellow  to 
go.  He  calmly  took  no  notice.  I  would  have 
given  worlds  to  have  hurled  a  bit  of  rock  or 
something  at  him,  for  I  was  in  a  perfect  passion 
at  his  insolent  demeanour,  coupled  with  my 
own  miserably  unprotected  position  ;  but  the 
thought  of  my  little  children,  sitting  quarrelling 
sleepily  in  another  doolie,  stopped  me,  and  I 
contented  myself  by  looking  at  the  creature 
with  the  deepest  scorn. 


364 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


When  we  at  last  reached  a  native  village  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  I  refused  to  proceed 
any  farther  that  night — evidently  much  to  the 
disgust  of  the  coolies;  the  stranger  had  dis- 
appeared. Their  looks  decided  me  more  firmly 
than  ever,  and  we  retired  to  rest  in  a  little  dak 
bungalow,  where,  at  any  rate,  the  Government- 
chosen  khansamah  and  chokey-dar  slept  near 
the  dwelling  all  night,  and  would  be  more  or 
less  responsible  for  our  safety. 

Before  I  went  to  sleep  I  found  and   loaded. 


remarkable  height  and  odiously  fiendish 
expression.  I  felt  certain,  and  do  now,  that  it 
was  our  Chamba  Cinderella  ! 

I  sat  up,  took  the  pistol,  and  pointed  it  at 
him.  He  saw  me  distinctly,  and  ducked  as  I 
fired.  Then  away  he  went  !  I  put  another 
cap  in  the  toy  pistol,  and,  running  to  the  door, 
opened  it,  and  fired  again  and  again ;  no 
European  could  possibly  have  been  thus  taken 
in  ;  but  a  native,  easily.  And  that  he  fled  in 
terror,  I  know.    I'hen  I  sat  down  and  screamed. 


TOOK    THE    I'ISTOl.,    AND    rOINTF.n    IT    AT    HIM. 


with  as  many  little  gunpowder  caps  as  I  could 
press  in,  a  small,  brown  toy-pistol  of  the 
children's ;  price  originally  fourpence  in  the 
Lowther  Arcade  I  This  same  pistol  had  stood 
Miss  Lewis  and  me  in  good  stead  one  night  in 
quite  another  part  of  the  Himalayas.  Though  it 
couldn't  hurt  a  fly,  it  made  a  nice  loud  bang.  I 
put  the  little  pink  box  of  caps  clo.se  beside  it 
near  my  bed,  lit  and  placed  a  night-light  in  a 
basin,  and  then  lying  down  closed  my  eyes. 

But  I  didn't  sleep.  Now  and  then  I  opened 
them  and  lay  thinking  of  all  we  had  already 
gone  through.  Was  our  patient  still  alive,  I 
wondered  ;  and  how  would  my  dear  little  Miss 
Lewis  fare  in  the  strange  situation  she  found 
herself  in  ?  After  about  an  hour,  turning  my 
eyes  drowsily  towards  the  uncurtained  glass 
door,  I  saw  bending  and  peering  in  a  huge 
black  man,  draped  in  a  blanket.  I  should  not, 
perhaps,    have    been    so   terrified    but    for    his 


The  children  woke  up  yelling  ;  the  khansamah 
and  others  came  running  in,  and  then  I  knew 
that  at  least  I  was  safe  for  the  rest  of  the  night, 
so  I  felt  at  leisure  to  have  a  good  cry,  and  did. 

On  e.xamining  the  veranda  we  found  the 
prints  in  the  white  sand  (strewed  over  it  for 
cleanliness)  of  two  enormous  naked  feet  !  I 
had,  unfortunately,  left  the  tell-tale  shoe  behind 
up  at  Dalhousie  with  Miss  Lewis,  so  couldn't 
measure  them,  but  I  felt  quite  certain  who  had 
been  there.  And  had  I  been  asleep  (my  door 
did  not  latch)  I  should,  I  suppose,  have  been 
butchered  in  my  bed.  The  little  pistol  I  have 
kept  ever  since. 

The  next  night  we  reached  civilization  safely, 
and,  I  can  tell  you,  I  was  glad  ! 

To  those  who  always  like  a  "  happy  ever 
after,"  I  will  add — that  Captain  Fiddle  did 
not  die.  He  and  Miss  Lewis  remained 
nearly   all    the    winter   in    their   lonely   retreat. 


OUR    CHAMP.A    CINDERELLA. 


36: 


Captain    Fiddle    not    only    recovered,     but    is 

now  married,  and  the  father  of  twins.     He  will 

have  nothing  more  to  say  to  private  theatricals. 

He  has  never,  he  says,  (jiiite 

forgiven    Miss    Lewis    for 

refusing  to  go  off  head  over 

heels,   but  as   he  certainly 

owes  his  life  to  her   noble 

and  unselfish  devotion 

under    the    most    peculiar 

and    trying   circumstances, 

I  think  she   has  far  more 

than  atoned  ! 

The       accompanying 
group    was    taken      by    a 
native    photographer    out- 
side my  bungalow   on   the  very  morning  of  the 
theatricals     which     witnessed     the     disastrous 
Turkish    ballet.     Miss    Lewis  stands    with    her 
arm   on    my  eldest   child's    shoulder;    Captain 


THIS     IS      THE       IDEXTIC.A.L       PISTOL     WITH      WHICH       MKS. 
MATlklN'    FRIGHTENED   OFF    HER    MIDNIGHT   VISITOR. 

From  a  Photo,  by  George  Ne^vnes,  Limited. 


Fiddle  sits  in  the  dandie  with  his  crutches. 
The  other  lady  is  myself.  My  devoted 
Bhootier     ayah,    who    stuck    to    us     through 

all  our  subsequent  mis- 
fortunes, stands  behind 
me ;  but  the  two  men- 
servants  behind  Mi.ss  Lewis 
turned  traitors  and  deserted 
us.  The  two  windows  in 
the  back  of  the  veranda 
belong  to  the  very  room  in 
which  the  sick  man  lay  on 
that  eventful  night,  and 
which  the  Chamba  man 
tried  to  enter.  The 
stout  man  with  a  dog  at 
his  knees  is  an  officer  of  the  Highland  Light 
Infantry ;  and,  by-the-bye,  that  little  black 
Tibetan  dog  of  mine — Fatima — was  carried  off 
by  a  hill  leopard  a  few  nights  after. 


Two  men-servants  who 
turned  traitors  and 
desprted  Mrs.  Maturin. 


Miss  E.  H.  Lewis,  whose 

personal  narrative  is  also 

given  herein. 


The  faithful  ayah. 


Captain  C.  P.  Lloyd  (late  of  the  Buffs),  who        Mrs.  Fred.  Maturin. 
was  the  invalid  Ballet-Master,  Captain  Fiddle. 

GROUP    TAKE.V   OUTSIDE    .MRS.    M.ATURIN's   BUNGALOW   O.N   THE   VERY   MORNING   OF    THE    "TURKISH    BALLET"    THEATRICALS. 

From  a  Photo. 


The   Columbus  Festival  in   Barcelona. 


Ev  B.  ^v^•vTERs. 


They  honoured  him  in  this  way  before  the  war,  b 
great  navigator's  statue  with  rotten  eggs.     The 

JlLl'HOUOH  the  remains  of  Colum- 
bus were  recently  deposited  in 
Seville  Cathedral  with  much  pomp 
and  circumstance,  amid  the  accla- 
mations of  a  populace  whose  chief 
delight  is  in  spectacular  displays,  the  vogue 
of  the  discoverer  of  America  is  now  by  no 
means  what  it  used  to  be  in  Spain.  Indeed, 
the  citizens  of  Madrid  took  occasion,  not  long 
ago,  to  revenge  themselves  upon  him  for  the 
calamities  which  have  followed  his  discovery  by 
pelting  his  statue  with  rotten  oranges  and  eggs. 
Before  the  war,  however,  he  was  probably  the 
one  man  in  all  Spanish  history  whom  his  com- 
patriots most  delighted  to  honour. 

It  is  not  so  long  since  all  Spain  was  giving 
herself  up  to  the  celebration  of  the  fourth 
centenary  of  Columbus,  and  at  the  same  time 
proclaiming  the  praises  of  America  to  an  ex- 
tent which  savours  of  grim  irony  to-day.  My 
illustrations  deal  with   this  very  striking  festival 


I'rom  a\ 


THIC    DECORATED    PROiMENADE   OF    COLUMBUS. 


ut  afterwards  the  citizens  of  Madrid  pelted  the 
discoverer  of  America  is  not  in  favour  now  ! 

as  it  was  observed  in  Barcelona,  the  most 
prosperous  and  one  of  the  gayest  cities  in 
the  peninsula. 

The  w^hole  population  was  early  afoot,  and 
dense  crowds  soon  thronged  the  magnificent 
broad  promenade,  with  its  double  row  of  stately 
date-palms  along  the  side  of  the  harbour  on  the 
way  to  the  bull-ring,  where  special  performances 
were  to  be  given  later  on  in  the  day.  This 
embankment  was  re-named  "  Promenade  of 
Columbus"  (Paseo  Colon)  in  honour  of  the  day, 
and  it  had  undergone  a  strange  transformation, 
which  rendered  it  almost  unrecognisable  even 
by  the  oldest  inhabitant.  At  each  end  was  an 
enormous  erection,  consisting  of  two  sturdy 
pillars  supporting  a  great  globe,  which  repre- 
sented the  world,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  huge 
canvas  framework  for  the  firmament,  with  stars 
and  big  yellow  tongues  intended  to  suggest  sun- 
light. If  the  astronomy  was  not  precisely 
accurate,  the  effect  was  at  Jeast  imposing.     The 

general  impression  in  the 
crowd  was  that  the  con- 
trivers wished  to  recall 
old  ideas  of  cosmogony. 
But  it  was  surely  sufficient 
that  we  had  a  fine  dis- 
play. 

All  down  the  avenue 
were  rows  of  busts  on 
lofty  pedestals,  a  strange 
medley  of  Spanish-Ameri- 
can celebrities  and  types. 
Famous  generals  and  Aztec 
ladies,  historical  heroes  and 
dusky  potentates,  w^ere  all 
arrayed  like  a  gallery  of 
Caesars  ;  while  weird,  fabu- 
lous beasts,  barbaric 
crowns  and  emblems  were 
scattered  about  below.  At 
intervals  in  the  centre 
stood  gigantic  idols  of 
ancient  American  origin, 
taken  out  of  the  museums 
for  exposure  on  this  memo- 
rable day.  Their  head- 
dresses and  pedestals, 
covered  with  all  sorts  of 
cabalistic  designs,  had  long 
baffled  archccology,  and 
evidently  produced  a 
powerful  effect  upon  the 
yphoto.         minds  of  the  vulgar. 


IHE    COLUMBUS    FESTINAI,    IX    BARCELONA. 


36? 


was  a  medieval  spirit 
abroad,  and  it  needed 
but  a  small  stretch  of  the 
imagination  to  picture  the 
same  crowd  gathering  to 
celebrate  the  return  or 
departure  of  Columbus, 
and  still  thinking  first  of 
their  own  enjoyment  of  the 
moment. 

Later  on  in  tlie  day, 
when  the  masquerades  be- 
gan, the  illusion  of  old 
times  was  still  more  irre- 
sistible. The  Spaniards  are 
born  masqueraders,  and 
enter  into  the  spirit  of 
their  travesties  with  more 
zest  than  any  other  nation. 
The  most  popular  costumes 
were,  of  course,  the  gi[i^anfes 
(giants),  which  are  rarely 
absent  from  any  Spanish 
carnival,  and  were  wel- 
comed as  specially  appro- 
priate on  this  day.  The 
two  seen  in  the  accom- 
panying photograph  are 
gigantic  figures  of  Ferdi- 
nand     and     Isabella,     the 


M 


.ALL    DilWX    THH    .WEME    WKKK    K<  iWS 
OK    ItUSTS   ON    l.OFTY   PEDESTALS.  ' 

From  a  Photo. 

No  doubt  the  arrange- 
ment and,  indeed,  many 
of  the  e.xhibits  were  ex- 
cessively poor  in  them- 
selves, but  they  certainly 
produced  a  strange  effect, 
and  one  admirably  suited 
to  this  particular  celebra- 
tion, which  sought  to  call 
back  memories  of  a  remote 
and  glorious  age.  The 
Spanish  people  have  a  gift 
for  organizing  and  appre- 
ciating festivals  above  all 
other  nations,  and  it  was 
instructive  to  mark  their 
methods.  Little  attention 
was  paid  to  mere  details, 
but  the  general  result  had 
a  potent  effect  in  directing 
the  current  of  the  general 
gaiety.  Few  troubled  them- 
selves much  about  Colum- 
bus or  the  circumstances 
of    his    festival,    but   there 


GIGANTIC  FIGU: 
Frovi  a] 


rv.^  cE^^. 


iiiGH  (theke  are  peepholes 
{Photo. 


368 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


glorious  Sovereigns  who  raised  Spain  to  her 
highest  pinnacle,  and  made  the  discoveries  of 
Columbus  both  possible  and  useful.  Each  is 
fully  13ft.  high,  and  must  require  extreme  skill 
to  manipulate  by  the  man  inside.  The  peep- 
hole or  breathing-place  may  be  discerned  in  the 
latitude  of  the  knees,  and  emphasizes  the  com- 
paiative  insignificance  of  the  "motive  power" 


The  specially  striking  and  original  feature  of 
the  spectacle  was  afforded  by  the  great  gilded 
barges,  which  were  soon  to  be  espied  floating 
about  in  the  basin  of  the  harbour.  One,  pro- 
vided with  a  dolphin's  head  at  the  prow,  was 
particularly  artistic.  In  the  centre  stood  a  bust  of 
Columbus,  with  a  globe  as  pedestal.  Behind  it 
was  a  rich  banner  with  a  coat  of  arms,  and  in 


OiNE    BARGE,    PROVIDED    WIIH    A    UOLPHIN's    HEAD    AT   THE    PROW,    WAS    PAKTICLLAULY    ARTISTIC. 


[Photo. 


inside.  These  figures  are  exceedingly  well 
modelled,  and  possess  rich  wardrobes,  comprising 
mantles  of  velvet  and  ermine,  besides  crowns  of 
considerable  artistic  merit.  They  are  the  property 
of  an  association,  which  has  been  in  existence 
for  several  centuries  and  has  ministered  to  the 
gaiety  of  many  generations.  The  rest  of  the 
masks  do  not  call  for  special  comment — though 
many  of  them  were  of  unusual  merit.  There 
was  an  abundance  of  mediaeval  costume  ;  there 
were  historical  figures  and  grotesques ;  there 
were  banners  ;  there  were  allegorical  cars,  and 
all  the  paraphernalia  of  a  Southern  carnival. 
These  are  already  familiar  to  us,  however.  Their 
chief  interest  here  lay  in  their  contribution  to 
the  general  effect. 


front  was  an  alligator,  as  a  symbol  of  the  strange 
beasts  of  the  New  World.  Shields,  palms,  and 
elaborate  floral  decorations  completed  a  very 
dainty  arrangement. 

Another  barge  aroused  a  great  deal  of  well- 
deserved  admiration.  It  was  perhaps  less  rich, 
but  certainly  more  graceful  ;  the  ornamentation 
and  the  arrangement  of  flowers  giving  evidence 
of  remarkable  taste.  And  among  bales  and 
cases,  emblematic  of  the  commerce  which 
the  discovery  of  America  had  unfolded, 
were  grouped  a.  number  of  beautiful  Spanish 
women,  who  reclined  in  easy  poses  and 
sang,  to  dreamy,  mysterious  airs,  songs  of 
patriotism  and  ancient  glory.  l"he  crowds  upon 
the  banks  took  ud  the  refrains  with  the  utmost 


THE    COLtJMr.US    FESTIVAL    IN    BARCELONA. 


36^ 


From  a\ 


ANOTHER   OKNA.MKN  1  Al 


'.ARGE    THAT    KIGUKED    IN    THE    WATER   i'AGEA.N  r. 


it'kotu. 


zest,  and  it  seemed  as  though  all  Barcelona, 
seized  by  the  spirit  of  song,  had  been  inspired 
to  join  in  one  wild  p^ean  in  honour  of  Columbus 
and  America.  The  recollection  of  this  outburst 
to-day,  when  the  name  of  America  cannot  be 
mentioned  anywhere  in  Spain  without  execra- 
tion, must  rankle  in  the  minds  of  many  who 
took  part  in  it. 

It  was  at  night-time  that  the  glamour  of  the 
festival  reached  its  supreme  height.  I  think 
that  music  is  never  so  sweet  or  so  inspiring  as 


when  it  is  heard  over  the  water,  and  when  a 
blaze  of  illuminations  is  transfiguring  the  dark- 
ness. Even  fireworks  cease  to  be  common- 
place when  they  are  reflected  a  thousandfold 
among  the  ripples.  Here  the  old-world  lan- 
terns of  the  barges ;  the  Spanish  guitars 
accompanying  the  murmur  of  Moorish  melodies; 
the  soothing  plash  of  the  oars  ;  the  simple 
gaiety  of  the  populace — all  combined  to  call 
into  being  a  fairyland  which  none  who  were 
privileged  to  behold  it  are  ever  likely  to  forget. 


Vol.  iii.— 47. 


Bv  Tom  C.  Newton,  of  Constantinople. 

The  author   graphically  describes  a  terrible  night's   battle   with    a   huge   pack   of  wolves — a  battle  so 
fierce  that   at  its  close  over  thirty  of  these  ferocious  creatures  lay  dead  upon  the  snow.     But   the  dogs 

and  men  did  not  emerge  scatheless. 


HE  winter  of 
1890-91  in  the 
higher  regions  of 
Asia  Minor  was 
one  of  the  severest 
ever  experienced  within  the 
memory  of  the  proverbial 
oldest  inhabitant.  I  certainly 
never  experienced  such  cold 
and  biting  frosts.  The  ther- 
mometer registered  twenty 
degrees  of  frost.  Animals 
and  birds  had  great  difficulty 
in  finding  food,  and  even  the 
timid  partridges  made  com- 
mon cause  with  the  fowls. 
Hunger  had  driven  them  to 
the  hospitable  manure-heap 
outside  the  garden  wall.  It 
was  a  strange  and  curious 
sight  to  see  these  usually  wild 
partridges  venturing  so  near 
the  house,  and  especially 
feeding  with  the  fowls. 


r      4 


k,  ^3 


i 


THE   AUTHOR,    MR.    TOM    C.    .NEWTON. 

From  a  Photo. 


The  house  where  I  was  liv- 
ing was  situated  some  3,000ft. 
above  sea  level,  and  in  a  most 
lonely  place  on  the  hills.  Our 
nearest  neighbour  lived  a  few 
miles  away.  A  white  mantle 
of  virgin  snow  covered  the  up- 
lands to  the  depth  of  several 
feet.  The  glare  of  the  white 
mass  was  only  broken  here 
and  there  by  jutting  rocks  or 
towering  peaks,  which  seenied 
to  loom  out  of  the  white  sea 
double  their  actual  size. 

The  tall,  graceful  pines  on 
the  hills  beyond  carried  so 
great  a  weight  of  snow  on  their 
yielding  branches,  that  thpy 
drooped  heavily  earthwards. 
The  sharp  frosts  which  fol- 
lowed the  fall  of  snow  had 
rendered  its  surface  hard  and 
crisp,  and  unyielding  to  the 
foot  of  man  or  beast, 


A    TUSSLE    WITH    WOLVES. 


371 


The  severe  cold  had  caused  the  wolves  to 
descend  from  the  higher  regions  in  search  of 
food.  Hunger  had  made  them  fierce  and 
audacious.  Eve-ry  night  would  be  heard  their 
short,  shrill  yelps  and  angry  growls,  but,  so  far, 
they  had  not  ventured  near  the  house,  as  our 
big  sheep-dogs  replied  in  loud,  gruff  barks  to 
their  weird  yells.  Hunger,  however,  made  them 
utterly  reckless,  and  one  night  they  ventured  as 
far  as  the  orchard  at  the  back  of  the  house.  I 
was  awakened  by  an  unearthly  series  of  growls 
and  piercing  yells  ringing  out  in  the  still  night 
air.  The  dogs  had  got  at  them,  and  as 
it  was  a  fine  moonlight  night,  I  could  see 
the  battle  raging  fiercely  when  I  reached  the 
window.  I  made  out  that  there  were  about  ten 
or  twelve  wolves  against  our  three  dogs.  I  was 
not  afraid  of  the  dogs  being  hurt  much,  as  they 
had  iron-spiked  collars  on  to  protect  their 
throats,  so  that  the  wolves  could  not  get  at  that 
vital  part  without  a  sharp  spike  or  two  piercing 
their  jaws. 

The  battle  continued  furiously  for  some  time, 
but  the  dogs  presently  seemed  to  be  getting  the 
worst  of  it.  I  was  afraid  to  fire,  however,  as 
dogs  and  wolves  were  mixed  up  pell-mell. 
Besides,  my  cartridges  were  loaded  with  slugs 
(eight  to  a  charge),  and  slugs  are  rather  erratic 
at  fifty  paces.  I  did  not  wish  to  let  daylight 
into  one  of  the  dogs. 

I  noticed  that  one  dog  had  a  wolf  by  the 
throat,  while  four  other  wolves  were  attacking 
him  from  behind.  The  dog,  however,  would 
not  leave  the  wolf  he  was  worrying  until  he  had 
finished  with  him.  After  giving  him  a  good 
shake  or  two  he  dropped  him,  and  then,  seizing 
a  second  wolf  by  the  back,  he  gave  him  one  shake 
and  threw  him  a  couple  of  yards  away,  whilst  a 
third  wolf  shared  the  .same  fate.  The  other 
dogs  were  doing  like  execution.  But  soon  a 
change  came  over  the  scene.  The  exasperated 
wolves  smelling  blood  turned  on  each  other, 
thus  giving  the  dogs  a  better  chance  to  tackle 
the  brutes  more  advantageously.  They  grabbed 
first  one  wolf  and  then  another  with  their 
powerful  jaws,  and  very  soon  quite  half  the 
pack  lay  writhing  in  the  snow.  Finally  first  one 
and  then  another  of  the  intruders,  having  had 
enough  of  the  dogs,  slunk  away,  but  not  without  a 
parting  shot  from  me  which  crippled  two  of  them. 
Four  others,  which  the  dogs  had  placed  hors  de 
combat^  remained  struggling  in  the  snow.  These 
the  dogs  went  for  again,  and  no  doubt  would 
have  finished  had  not  I  gone  out  and  put  a  charge 
of  slug  into  their  vile  carcasses.  The  snow  was 
fairly  covered  with  blood,  whilst  the  coats  of  the 
dogs  were  transformed  from  white  to  red.  Next 
morning  I  examined  the  dogs  for  wounds,  but 
found  only  a  few  scratches  on  their  legs.     Their 


thick  winter  coats  had  effectively  prevented  the 
teeth  of  the  wolves  from  reaching  their  flesh. 
I  then  examined  the  dead  wolves,  and  found 
two  with  their  throats  ripped  open  ;  another 
with  his  back  broken,  and  a  fourth  with  a 
fractured  leg.  The  dogs  had  done  their  work 
well,  considering  they  were  so  outnumbered, 
but  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  dogs  were  double  the  size  and  weight 
of  the  wolves.  I  was  not  surprised  to  see  the 
wolfs  back  broken.  A  bite  from  such  powerful 
jaws  as  those  of  the  sheep-dogs  was  sufficient. 

I  was  curious  to  know  what  had  become  of 
the  two  I  had  crippled  the  night  before,  so 
taking  the  dogs  with  me,  I  soon  came  upon 
them  about  a  mile  away  trying  to  get  up  the 
hill.  These  the  dogs  soon  finished,  and  I 
found  that  each  had  had  a  leg  broken  by  the 
slugs.  At  forty  to  fifty  paces  I  find  a  slug 
charge  is  safer  than  a  bullet,  for  even  if  it  does 
not  kill,  it  stops  the  wolf  from  getting  away. 
l"he  next  day  our  neighbours,  the  Turkish 
villagers,  heard  of  the  scrimmage,  and  many 
came  to  see  the  dead  brutes.  They  were  right 
glad  to  see  the  execution  wrought,  as  many  of 
their  sheep  had  been  worried  by  the  wolves. 

For  several  nights  we  were  not  troubled  l)y 
these  dangerous  brutes.  Those  which  had 
escaped  evidently  did  not  wish  to  renew  the 
acquaintance  of  the  dogs.  One  night,  however, 
I  heard  the  usual  yelp,  and  the  dogs  bolted  off 
in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  barking  wildly 
as  they  ran.  On  looking  out  I  saw  a  black 
mass  on  the  crest  of  a  hill,  about  150yds.  away, 
so  I  tried  what  effect  a  ball  from  the  Martini 
would  have,  and,  firing  into  the  mass,  I  heard  a 
piercing  yell,  and  saw  a  helter-skelter  scrimmage. 
Evidently  one  of  the  brutes  had  been  hit,  so  I 
fired  again.  Another  yell  was  the  result,  and 
then  the  whole  pack  bolted  over  the  hill,  leaving 
the  two  I  had  brought  down  behind  them. 
These,  of  course,  the  dogs  went  for,  and  before 
I  got  to  the  scene  they  were  both  dead. 

I  thought  it  was  now  high  time  that  something 
should  be  done  to  get  rid  of  these  savage  brutes 
altogether.  Owing  to  the  continued  intense 
cold  they  might  even  get  dangerous  in  the  day- 
time, especially  as  they  were  becoming  more 
numerous.  I  had  come  across  several  small 
packs  the  day  before,  but  they  were  not  bold 
enough  to  attack  me  there  in  open  daylight. 
Therefore,  after  some  consideration,  I  ap- 
proached some  of  my  Turkish  villagers,  who  had 
often  accompanied  me  on  shooting  expeditions. 
I  knew  them  to  be  cool,  cautious,  and  true 
sportsmen,  and  very  good  shots  besides.  I 
suggested  to  them  to  come  out  with  me  one 
evening  while  the  moon  lasted,  and  have  a  slap 
at  the  wolves  if  we  could  come  across  them. 


372 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


The  result  was  that  a  dozen  of  the  villagers 
turned  up  in  the  evening,  and  a  queer-looking 
crew  they  were — in  fact,  a  more  disreputable- 
looking  lot  of  cut-throats  I  never  canie  across. 
Their  feet  were  encased  in  moccasins,  and  their 
legs  wrapped  in  canvas  sacking ;    while  round 


-^^Sf^-iv 


them  to  the  branch  of  a  tree  Several  feet  from 
the  ground.  They  had  also  made  a  fire  and 
placed  pieces  of  the  liver  in  the  smouldering 
ashes.  As  soon  as  these  began  to  frizzle  the 
wind  carried  the  smell  towards  the  hills.  We 
knew  that  if  the  keen -scented  brutes  got  the 


"a    gUEER-LOOKlNG   CKEW    TllEY    WERE.' 


their  heads,  necks,  and  ears  a  long  woollen  scarf 
was  wound  turban-wise,  leaving  only  eyes  and 
nose  visible.  A  military-looking  cloak  was  tied 
tightly  round  their  bodies.  Six  pairs  of  woollen 
gloves  between  the  twelve  completed  their 
costume.  They  were  armed  with  double- 
barrelled,  muzzle-loading  guns,  while  knives-— 
murdero''",.':- looking  weapons — were  stuck  in 
their  o(:[\s.  One,  hov/ever,  carried  an  enormous 
weapon,  a  single-barrelkd  duck  gun  (No.  4  bore), 
with  a  barrel  a  yard  and  a  half  long. 

I  thought  this  would  play  havoc  among  the 
wolves,  especially  with  the  peculiar  charge  its 
owner  preferred  to  use  instead  of  the  slugs  I 
offered  him.  He  had  cut  up  some  lead  piping, 
which  he  said  would  have  far  more  effect  than 
slugs.  I  found  out  afterwards  the  force  of  his 
argument. 

"  Well,  Ahmet  ! "  I  said,  addressing  one  who 
appeared  as  their  leader ;  "  what  will  be  our 
'  Kismet '  to-night  ?  " 

"  Inshallah,"  he  answered, 
have  been  seen  to-day,  and  I 
men   out  with  the   bait.      We 


locate  them  to-night." 


"  The  wolves 
have  sent  two 
can   pretty 


well 


Half  an  hour's  walk  over  the  hard,  crisp  snow 
brought  us  to  the  rendezvous  appointed.  In 
the  afternoon  the  men  had  taken  the  entrails  of 
a  sheep  that  had  been  worried  the  day  before 
and  dragged  them  round  in  circles,  finally  tying 


scent  of  the  liver,  they  would  follow  up  its  trail 
without  delay. 

We  counted  up  ten  double-barrelled  muzzle 
and  two  breech-loading  guns,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  murderous  No.  4  bore,  and  our  eight 
splendid  sheep-dogs — -or,  rather,  I  should  say  a 
cross  between  a  sheep-dog  and  a  woIT-hound. 
Under  cover  of  a  wall,  we  were  enabled  to  reach 
a  spot  within  twenty  -  five  paces  of  the  tree 
where  the  bait  was,  without  having  been  seen.' 
Here  we  found  three  polecats  quarrelling  and 
spitting  at  each  other  in  their  eagerness  to  get 
at  the  entrails.  The  temptation  to  have  a  shot 
at  them  was  strong,  but  we  were  afraid  the 
report  of  the  guns  would  frighten  the  wolves  if 
they  were  anywhere  about.  So  we  decided  to 
leave  the  little  beasts  alone  and  wait. 

We  crouched  expectantly  under  the  wall,  which 
sheltered  us  a  little  from  the  biting,  keen,  and 
frosty  wind.  Some  of  us  sadly  wanted  a  smoke, 
but  it  was  arranged  beforehand  that  smoking 
should  not  be  allowed.  We  wasted  nearly  half 
an  hour — our  limbs  getting  stiff  and  numbed 
with  cold  the  while.  We  were  just  thinking  of 
going  round  the  hills  to  have  a  look  for  our 
quarry,  when  there  came  across  the  still  night 
air  a  shrill,  eerie,  snappish  yelp.  "  Shish  ! 
shish  ! "  I  whispered  to  my  neighbours,  who 
passed  the  warning  along.  In  a  few  seconds 
more,  several  yelps  reached  us,_and  as  they  came 


A    TUSSLE    WITH    WOLVES. 


3?' 


nearer  and  nearer  the  yelping  became  general, 
accompanied  by  growls  and  savage  barks.  The 
dogs  were  in  leash,  and  their  masters  had  them 
well  under  control.  I  had  my  own  two  faithful 
dogs  by  my  side.  They  were  eager  to  get  at 
the  wolves,  but  a  gentle  tap  on  their  heads 
with  my  hand  restrained  them.  At  last  the 
ferocious  brutes  came  in  sight.  "  Good 
heavens  !  "  I  whispered  involuntarily  to  myself, 
and  nudged  my  companion  Ahmet.  "  Inshal- 
lah  !  what  a  lot !  "  he  murmured,  softly.  The 
bright,  clear  moonlight  enabled  us  to  distinguish 
no  fvwer  than  between  thirty  and  forty  savage, 
gaunt,  and  hungry  brutes,  and  as  they  bounded 
towards  us  we  could  see  their  bloody-looking 
eyes  flashing  in  the  moonlight.  They  had 
evidently  got  full  scent  of  the  entrails,  and  had 
come  down  with  a  rush,  snapping  at  each  other, 
to  the  tempting  bait.  The  polecats  had  wisely 
cleared  out  when  they  heard  the  yelping. 

As  soon  as  the  wolves  reached  the  tree  they 
began  jumping  up  at  the  entrails,  tearing  down 
mouthfuls  and  fighting  each  other  for  them.     It 


tinctly  distinguish  the  loud  bang  ot  No.  4 
sending  its  charge  of  cut  lead  piping  into  the 
wolves.  As  soon  as  the  smoke  cleared  off  we 
repeated  the  dose.  No  sooner  had  we  given 
them  the  second  volley  than  I  shouted,  "  Let 
go  the  dogs";  but  Hassan,  with  his  No.  4, 
shouted,  "  Wait  until  I  have  reloaded.  I 
want  another  shot."  Loading  was  rather  a 
simple  process.  Taking  a  handful  of  powder 
out  of  one  pocket  and  ramming  it  down,  and  a 
handful  of  lead  piping  out  of  another,  and 
ramming  that  down  also,  with  an  iron  ramrod,  my 
picturesque  Hassan  was  ready  for  another  shot. 
As  he  was  the  only  one  to  lire  I  was  curious 
to  see  the  effect.  A  group  of  ten  or  a  dozen 
wolves  were  skulking  away  and  fighting  among 
themselves.  Into  these  Hassan  sent  his  jagged 
messengers  of  death.  "  Inshaliah,"  he  said, 
grimly,  "that  got  them."  And  sure  enough  it 
had.  The  effect  was  terrible,  fully  half  of  the 
maddened  creatures  going  down  like  ninepins. 
The  leashes  were  then  slipped,  and  the  dogs 
dashed   into   the   thick  of   the   wolves  with  a 


TEARING    DOWN    :.iOUTHFl;!.S    AND    FIGHTIN<;    EACH    OTHER    FOR   THEM. 


was  an  extraordinary  spectacle,  for  the  whole 
place  seemed  to  be  fairly  alive  with  snapping, 
yelping  brutes. 

Presently  I  thought  the  time  had  come  for  a 
volley,  so  I  nudged  Ahmet,  and  he  sent  the 
signal  along.  We  took  aim  as  though  we  were 
a  regiment  of  soldiers  in  battle,  and  twelve 
barrels  belched  fo.th  twelve  heavy  charges  of 
slug.      Above    all    the    reports    I    could    dis- 


tremendous  rush,  while  my  little  "  army  "  spread 
out  in  skirmishing  order  to  pick  off  any  that 
attempted  to  escape.  Then  commenced  a 
terrible  battle.  At  least  half  of  the  pack  had 
by  this  time  been  mortally  wounded  and  some 
killed  outright,  but  none  the  less  the  battle  was 
bloody  and  fierce  for  some  time,  the  dogs  going 
for  all  that  came  in  their  v^-ay,  laying  low  first 
one   snarling   wolf    and    then    another ;    while 


374 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


bang,  bang,  bang  came  from  all  sides.  I 
enjoyed  it  enormously.  The  skulkers  were 
dropping  here  and  there.  Every  now  and  then, 
like  a  minute  gun,  the  heavy  boom  of  No.  4 
rang  out  above  the  infernal  din. 

Presently  I  heard  a  cry  for  help  from  the 
other  side  of  the  wall.  I  ran  in  the  direction  of 
the  call,  and  saw  poor  Hassan  with  his  two-yard 
gun  trying  to  keep  two  huge  brutes  from  spring- 
ing at  his  throat.  "  Drop  your  gun  and  knife 
them,"  I  shouted,  but  he  had  evidently  lost  his 
presence  of  mind  for  the  moment,  and  before 
I  could  get  to  him  one  wolf  had  grabbed  him 
by  the  muscles  of  his  right  arm.  Drawing  my 
hunting-dagger  as  I  ran  up  to  Hassan,  I  plunged 
it  up  to  the  hilt  between  the  brute's  shoulders. 
This  made  it  relax  its  hold,  but  whilst  giving  it 
the  coup  de  grace,  the  other  wolf  sprang  on  my 
back  and  pinned  me  by  the  shoulder.  Ugh,  I 
could  feel  the  brute's  stinking  hot  breath  on 
my  cheek  and  his  sharp  teeth  penetrating  my 
flesh.  It  vvas  now  Hassan's  turn  to  render  me 
assistance.  I  could  not  reach  to  stab  it  behind 
me,  and  a  sickening  feeling  was  coming  over  me, 
when  Hassan's  curved 
yataghan  flashed  in  the 
moonlight  and  came 
down  on  the  wolf's 
back  with  a  terrible 
swiftness  and  force 
that  almost  severed  the 
wolfs  hind  -  quarters 
from  its  body. 

It  was  a  relief  both 
to  myself  and  Hassan 
to  have  dispatched 
the  two  wolves,  as  we 
were  afraid  others 
might  come  and  assist 
them.  Two  were 
quite  enough  at  close 
quarters.  It  appeared 
that  Hassan's  gun  was 
loaded,  but  he  had 
dropped  the  cap  in 
the  snow,  and  before 
he  could  put  another 
on  the  wolves  were 
upon  him.  Poor  old 
Hassan.  His  arm 
was  hanging  listlessly 
by  his  side  and  the 
blood  was  trickling 
down,  crimsoning  the 
white  snow.  His 
cloak  had  fallen  off 
during  the  struggle, 
and  the  wolfs  teeth 
had   only   his    coat 


sleeve   and   shirt    to   penetrate,    so   they   went 
pretty  deeply. 

It  was  the  work  of  a  moment  to  take  his  coat 
off.  I  put  a  handful  of  snow  on  the  lacerated 
wounds  and  tied  his  arm  up  with  my  handker- 
chief I  felt  a  clammy  feeling  on  my  shoulder, 
but  there  was  no  time  to  look  to  it,  as  cries  for 
help  now  came  from  the  other  side  of  the  wall. 

"  Come  along,  Hassan,"  I  said,  "  but  cap  your 
gun  first !  "  This  he  did,  and  jumping  over  the 
wall  we  found  some  of  our  companions  fighting 
the  wolves  single-handed,  while  others  were 
assisting  each  other.  It  was  all  knife  work  now. 
The  glittering  blades  were  slashing  right  and 
left.  Two  of  our  companions  were  side  by  side 
cutting  and  hacking  at  three  or  four  wolves 
which  were  trying  to  get  at  them.  Just  behind 
the  two  men  some  of  the  dogs  had  surrounded 
two  wolves  which  were  trying  to  get  away, 
having  had  more  than  enough. 

The  dogs,  in  making  a  rush  for  them,  tumbled 
against  one  of  the  men's  legs  from  behind. 
Down  he  came  backwards  among  wolves,  dogs, 
and  men.  As  he  fell  he  uttered  a  blood-curdling 

yell,    and    then    he 
seemed  to  get  mixed 
up.      We    had    some 
difficulty    in     singling 
out  the  wolves  for  fear 
of  striking  the  dogs  or 
the  Turk.    But  Hassan 
dexterously    managed 
to  dispatch  one  of  the 
brutes   and    the   dogs 
pinned    the    other, 
whereupon  our  friend 
extricated      himself 
more  frightened  than 
hurt.    His  face,  how- 
ever, had  been  badly 
scratched    by   the 
claws  of   both 
and  wolves. 

By  this  time  we 
had  nearly  finished 
our  work.  The 
dogs,  however, 
were  still  worrying 
the  wounded 
wolves,  that  lay 
scattered  on  that 
extraordinary  field 
of  battle.  It  was 
only  a  few  minutes' 
work  to  finish  the 
few  struggling  crea- 
tures, and  then  we 
felt  we  had  had 
quite     enough    of 


dogs 


HASSAN  S   CURVED   VATAGHAN    CAME    DOWN   ON   THE    WOLF  S    BACK 
WITH    TERRIBLE   SWIFTNESS." 


A    TUSSLE    WITH    WOLVES. 


375 


DOWN    HE   CAME   BACKWARDS   AMONG   WOLVES,    DOGS,    ANtl    MEN 


the  ghastly  business.  The  excitement  and  the 
sight  and  smell  of  blood,  as  well  as  the  pain  in 
my  shoulder,  had  made  me  quite  sick,  and  it 
was  some  time  before  the  nauseo.'s  feeling  left 
me. 

We  counted  up  our  formidable  bag,  which 
totalled  no  fewer  than  thirty-two  dead  wolves 
stretched  on  the  field  of  battle,  some  of  them 
fine  animals  with  their  furs  in  good  condition  ; 
and  as  these  latter  were  worth  a  few  shillings 
each,  it  was  not  a  bad  night's  work  even  finan- 
cially speaking,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that 
we  had  rid  the  neighbourhood  of  these  sheep- 
worrying  brutes.  We  supposed  that  about  a 
dozen  or  fifteen  had  escaped,  but  some  of  the.se 


would  no  doubt  be  found 
ne.Nt  day  on  the  neighbour- 
ing hills. 

We  left  the  dead  wolves 
on  the  field  until  next 
morning,  when  it  was  our 
intention  to  return  and 
skin  them.  Calling  the 
i.  dogs    we     returned     home, 

and  made  liberal  use  of 
carbolic  acid  in  dressing 
our  wounds,  which  were 
not  so  serious  as  we  thought. 
Our  clothes,  however,  had 
suffered  considerably  in  the 
fight.  Scarcely  one  of  the 
dogs  had  come  off  sco'; 
free.  Most  of  them  had 
lorn  snouts  and  lacerated 
lijis,  while  one  poor  brute 
had  a  bad  knife  slash  in 
the  hind  -  quarters,  done 
'-      ■.  accidentally  in  the  desperate 

nielee.  I  poured  some  car- 
bolic acid  over  the  wound, 
hut  it  only  sent  the  dog 
ycUir.g  to  the  village. 

It  was  a  long  time  before 

%Hl  I.co^^d^f^   ^"  ^l^^eP    that 

^•W  night.       1  he  excitement  ot 

,  ,,r  '  '  the  fight,   and   the    remem- 

brance of  the  wolf  on  my 
shoulder,  had  quite  un- 
hinged my  nerves.  When 
I  did  drop  off,  my  sleep  was 
disturbed  by  horrid  dreams. 
My  wife  woke  me  up  telling  mc  I  was  using 
abominable  language,  and  calling  out  in  Turkish 
to  Hassan  "  to  knife  the  brute  !  " 

Next  morning  almost  the  whole  male  popu- 
lation of  the  village  turned  out  to  assist  in  the 
skinning  operations.  Some  of  us  scoured  the 
hills  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fight  in  the  hope  o' 
finding  some  of  the  wolves  that  had  escaped. 
We  found  only  one  dead,  and  two  wounded, 
which  we  dispatched.  The  skinning  process 
revealed  the  havoc  Hassan's  lead-piping  had 
done.  The  flesh  on  the  carcasses  of  some  of 
the  wolves  was  torn  and  ripped  in  all  directions, 
while  the  skins  were  practically  worthless  from 
the  same  cause. 


Curiosities  of  the  Soutti  Seas. 

Bv  Basil  Thomson. 
I. 

A    collection    of  curious    and   remarkable    photographs    oi    life    in    the    SoUtk    Sea    Islands,    ably   and 
humorously  described  by  one  who  spent  many  years  in  the  various  groups,  and  is  a  recognised  authority. 

the 


O  the  historian  of  the  twenty-first 
century  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
phases  of  the  Victorian  age  will  be 
the  awakening  of  native  races  by 
contact  with  civilized  man.  It  is 
the  fashion  to  deplore  the  decay  of  native 
customs,  beset  on  the  one  hand  by  the  zeal  of 
the  missionary,  and  on  the  other  by  the  calico 
and  strong  liquors  of  the  trader  ;  for  the  romance 
and  interest  that  cling  to  the  transition  and 
fusion  of  opposite  races  are  forgotten  in  regret  for 
ancient  faiths  and  ancient  polities  fast  crumbling 
into  ruin.  In  a  few  generations  the  very  natives 
themselves  will  have  ceased  to  exist  as  a  separate 
people,  just  as  the  Picts  and  Britons,  from  whom 
most  Englishmen  could  claim  descent,  merged 
their  blood  with  that  of  their  Roman  and  Saxon 
and  Norman  invaders  to  form  the  English  people 
of  to-day.  The  eating  up  of  weak  nations  is  as 
old  as  the  human  race,  and  the  romance  of  the 
assimilating  stage  comes  with  time.  What  now 
seems  so  flat  and  tame  will  -be  as  fresh  to 
Macaulay's  New  Zealander  as  Caesar's  conquests 
appear  to  us.  But  what  would  not  an  historian 
give  for  the  material  to  which  that  New 
Zealander  will  have  access — for  a  file,  let  us 
say,  of  a  Wide  World  Magazine  published 
at  Rome  in  a.d. 
50,  containing 
photographs  of 
tlie  late  Queen 
Boadicea,  and  the 
dress  worn  by  the 
Arch  -  Druid  at 
the  annual  sacri- 
fice ?  Even  if  the 
Arch  -  Druid 
added  a  Roman 
toga  to  his  cool 
costume  of  woad, 
as  the  Malokulan 
dons  Manchester 
prints  at  a  modern 
celebration  of 
the  Maki,  we 
should  not  cry, 
"  Out  upon  the 
vulgar  Colonists 
who  wantonly 
destroyed  the 
picturesq  ue 
customs  of  the 
natives." 


For  the  benefit  then  of  Macaulay's  Maori, 
and  incidentally  for  the  information  of  con- 
temporary readers,  the  editor  has  collected 
photographs  of  those  phases  of  life  in  the  South 
Sea  Islands  that  are  fast  passing  away.  The 
Fijian  in  our  first  photograph  is  a  case  in  point. 
Being  a  good  Wesleyan,  who  goes  to  church 
twice  of  a  Sunday,  he  is  decently  clad  in  jersey 
and  sulu  bought  at  the  neighbouring  store,  for 
in  Fiji  clothes  are  the  outward  and  visible  sign 
of  Christianity  as  taught  by  the  early  mis- 
sionaries, who  considered  the  apron  of  fig- 
leaves,  or,  rather,  the  equivalent  worn  by  the 
unconverted  Fijian,  shockingly  inadequate.  But 
he  still  cooks  and  eats  his  food  as  his  fathers 
did.  The  pig  and  the  taro  in  the  picture  are 
fresh  from  the  pit-oven — a  shallow  grave  lined 
with  hot  stones,  on  which  green  leaves  have 
been  laid  to  serve  the  double  purpose  of  pre- 
venting the  meat  from  burning  and  of  helping 
the  roasting  by  their  steam.  The  pig,  poor 
beast,  had  his  hind  legs  broken  u'hilst  alive  to 
prevent  him  from  straying  while  the  oven  was 
heating ;  and,  when  they  gave  him  his  quietus, 
with  a  club-blow  on  the  snout,  his  belly  was 
filled  with  hot  stones  ere  they  laid  him  to  rest 
in  his  warm  bed. 


Front  a\ 


FIJIAN    COOKING 


AND   TARO. 


[Photo. 


CURIOSITIES    OF   THE    SOUTH    SEAS, 


3^7 


I'KEPARING  A    FEAST   IN     1  lili   bOHJ.MON    ISLANDS. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Kerry  &^  Co.,  Sydney. 

The  method  of  roasting  pigs  is  common  to  all 
the  islands  of  the  Pacific.  Here  is  a  photograph 
of  the  scene  as  it  is  in  the  Solomon  Islands 
to-day.  Take  away  the  knife,  the  pipe,  and  the 
aprons  of  Manchester  cotton,  and  you  have  the 
exact  scene  described  in  the  manuscript  journals 
of  Gallego,  the  pilot,  and  Catoira,  the  purser  of 
Mendana's  ships  when  they  discovered  the 
Solomons  in  1567.  The  names  of  places  are 
changed  sometimes ;  forest  trees  overgrow 
villages  that  swarmed  with  people  in  their  time  ; 
but  the  ornaments,  the  language,  and  the  habits 
of  the  people  are  to-day  exactly  what  they  were 
over  330  years  ago.  To  do  as  their  fathers  did 
was  their  first  article  of  faith.  What  a  problem  it 
suggests  !  There  must  have  been  a  time  when 
they  advanced,  for  their  elaborate  customary 
law,  their  skill  in  carving  and  in  canoe-building, 
must  have  been  reached  by  successive  steps. 
When  did  they  stop,  and  why  ?  And  how 
came  they  to  depart  from  the  natural  law  that 
there  is  no  halting  between  growth  and  decline  ? 
Theories  there  are  plenty,  but  facts  to  prove 
them,  none. 

It  is  a  popular  fallacy  that  the  introduction 

Vol.  iii.— 48 


of  pigs  itito  the  islands  was  the  act  of 
Captain  Cook.  On  the  contrary,  that  bluff 
sailor's  chief  concern  was  to  reach  an  island 
in  time  to  replenish  his  stock  of  fresh  pork 
and  so  keep  the  scurvy,  which  had  wrecked 
so  many  previous  expeditions,  at  bay.  The 
pig  has  been  in  the  Solomon  Islands  pro- 
bably as  long  as  the  natives  themselves. 
He  is  a  long -snouted,  lean,  melancholy 
brute,  black  and  bristly,  and,  as  village- 
scavenger,  unspeakably  filthy  in  his  habits. 
His  exact  position  in  his  niaster's  affections 
is  difficult  to  determine.  The  native  puts 
his  pig  before  his  wife,  and  regards  a  stone 
thrown  at  the  brute  as  a  deadly  insult  to 
himself;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  kills 
and  eats  him  without  compunction,  and, 
having  doomed  him  to  the  oven,  will  break 
his  legs  to  save  himself  the  trouble  of 
catching  him.  No  doubt  the  loved  object 
is  nearer  the   heart  when  it   is   housed  in 


IHIS    IS   A    GKEAT   TOWEU,    OVER   40FT.    HIGH,    MADE   OF    ULNCHtb 

From  a]  of  bananas.  [Photo. 


37^ 


tHE   WIDE    WORLD   MAGAZINE. 


the  stomach.  And  this  reminds  me  of  the 
contour  of  the  figure  on  the  right.  Pot-belly  is 
the  portion  of  every  native  in  early  youth,  because, 
when  one  eats  lolb.  weight  of  food  at  a  sitting, 
one  must  make  room  to  put  it  in.  The  pig  in 
the  constrained  position  on  the  left  of  the  photo, 
is  losing  his  bristles  over  the  singeing-iire. 

There  are  generally  great  rejoicings  and  much 
display  of  hospitality  when  a  Prince  of  the  Royal 
blood  is  married,  even  in  Europe  ;  but  in  far- 
away Fiji  they  make  the  occasion  a  pretext  for 
an  orgie,  lasting  sometimes  for  weeks,  during 
which  time  incredible  quantities  of  pork, 
turtle,  fruit,  and  n^itive  grog  are  consumed. 
The  queer  -  looking  tower  in  our  last  photo- 
graph is  upwards  of  40ft.  high,  and,  as  may 
be  seen,  consists  solely  of  big  bunches  of 
bananas,  part  of  the  dessert  at  the  wedding  of 
Prince  Ratu  Tui  Sawau,  of  the  blood  Royal  of 
Fiji.  The  festivities  at  thisgentleman's  nuptials 
lasted  for  some  sixteen  days,  at  the  end  of 
which  the  guests  were  quite  unable  to  move, 
realizing  thereby  the  seventh  heaven  of  Fijian 
happiness.  Those  of  our  readers  who  are 
interested  in  abstruse  arithmetical  calculations 
may  figure  out  for  themselves  the  value  of  this 
tower  of  bananas  at  current  Covent  Garden 
prices. 


F)-0IH  a\         A  FIJIAN   HEATING  THE  AI.AU.M  ON   HIS  CVRIOLS  DKU 


{I'luuo. 


The  costume  of  the  Fijian  in  heathen  days 
is  shown  in  the  photograph  here  given.  The 
drummer  wears  a  girdle  of  native  masi — the 
inner  bark  of  the  paper  mulberry,  beaten  out 
into  a  thick  paper,  and  decorated  with  stencilled 
patterns —the  free  end  being  passed  between 
the  legs  and  looped  up  behind.  A  turban  of 
the  same  material  covers  his  mop  of  hair;  his 
war-club  lies  at  his  feet,  and  his  ula,  or  throwing- 
club,  is  stuck  through  his  belt.  The  drum 
he  is  beating  is  a  hollowed  trunk  of  vesi 
wood,  now  used  in  every  village  to  summon 
folks  to  church  or  court-house,  but  formerly 
to  intimidate  besiegers,  or  to  carry  the  news 
of  an  attack  to  the  neighbouring  village- 
fortresses.  The  deep,  melodious  boom  of  a 
well  -  cut  lali  has  a  remarkable  quality  of 
penetration.  The  beat,  which  causes  you  no 
discomfort  when  standing  beside  the  drum,  will 
be  heard  distinctly  in  a  village  lying  down  wind 
seven  or  eight  miles  away.  Like  the  Negus's 
drums  in  Abyssinia,  the  lali  could  convey 
messages — that  the  chief  was  drinking  kava,  or, 
by  a  tattoo  of  devilish  significance,  that  human 
flesh  was  to  be  eaten.  A  superstitious  reverence 
is  attached  to  certain  very  ancient  lalis  in  the 
mountain  district ;  one  of  these,  on  its  journey 
down  the  river  with  its  European  purchaser, 
was  saluted  with  the  tama,  or  salutation  due 
to  superiors,  by  all  who  encountered  it. 

The  quality  that  distinguishes  the  Fijian 
from  the  other  races  in  the  South  Seas  is 
his  conservatism.  For  four -and -twenty 
years  he  has  been  a  British  subject,  with 
every  opportunity  for  adopting  the  life  of 
his  civilized  neighbours  ;  but  though  the 
Tongan  has  his  weatherboard  house  and 
his  horse  and  cart,  and  the  converted  New 
Hebrides  Islander  loves  to  array  himself 
in  a  cast-off  militia  uniform,  the  Fijian 
clings  to  the  ways  of  his  fathers,  and 
secretly  believes  them  to  be  vastly  better. 
Take,  for  example,  this  unfinished  house. 
It  belongs  to  the  delta  of  the  Rewa  River 
(you  can  t..'ll  that  from  the  covering  of 
rnakita  leaves  on  the  walls) ;  and  any  native 
of  that  district,  from  his  wages  and  his 
rents,  could  easily  afford  to  build  himself 
a  wooden  bungalow  with  an  iron  roof 
But  he  prefers  to  call  in  his  neighbours, 
and  run  up  this  hut,  which  will  last  fo: 
ten  years  at  most.  And,  after  all,  is  he 
wrong  ?  This  disembowelled  hayrick  of 
his  will  be  cool  in  the  hottest  weather, 
and  every  inch  of  its  soft  matted  floor  will 
tempt  its  owner  to  repose.  Englishmen 
who,  like  the  writer,  have  lived  for  years 
in  each  kind  of  house  prefer  the  native. 
Houses   built   of  poles  and  grass  in  such 


CURIOSITIES    OF   THE    SOUTH    SEAS. 


il9 


frog  fashion  on 
his  hands,  to  the 
derision  of  his 
native  escort.  It 
has  been  sug- 
gested as  a 
remedy  that  na- 
tives should  be 
compelled  under 
heavy  penalties 
to  travel  three  or 
four  abreast  ;  but 
the  true  cure  will 
be  found  when 
they  take  to  keep- 
ing horses  and 
carts  of  their  own, 
as,  following  the 
example  set  them 
by  the  Tongans, 
they  have  already 
begun  to  do  in  a 
few  districts. 


Jni/ia]  HOUSE-BUILDING    IN     FIJI. 


[F/io/o. 


a  climate  rot  away  to  dust  in  a  very 
few  years  ;  and  there  would  be  no 
visible  proof  of  that  time  when,  as 
an  ancient  saga  tells  us,  "Thepeople 
were  so  thick  in  the  land  that  the 
earth  could  not  be  seen  for  men," 
wereit  not  for  theyavus,  the  substan- 
tial foundations  on  which  the  houses 
of  the  past  generation  were  built. 

As  with  the  Fijian's  house,  so 
with  his  bridge.  The  native  roads 
and  bridges  are  the  despair  of  the 
district  magistrate,  who  rides  a 
horse  or  walks  with  booted  feet. 
For  the  Fijian,  who  always  walks 
in  single  file  and  has  a  natural 
dislike  for  travelling  on  the  flat, 
where  an  enemy  may  be  lying  in 
ambush,  cannot  see  why  he  should 
be  compelled  to  make  a  road 
toilsomely  graded  and  four  times 
too  wide  for  his  requirements,  nor 
why  a  slippery  log  which  he  can 
cross  safely  with  bare  feet  should 
not  be  good  enough  for  the  white 
man  in  boots.  The  bridge  in  the 
picture  is  a  concession  to  foreign 
prejudices  in  that  it  boasts  a 
bamboo  hand-rail ;  for  there  are 
hundreds  of  bridges  which  the 
luckless  European  can  only  cross 
after  a  shower  by  sitting  astride 
and  progressing  painfully  in  leap- 


From  a\ 


A    I'RIMITIVE    FIJIAN    I-,RIL"jE. 


[Photo. 


3^0 


THE    WIDE    VVORLD    MAGAZINE. 


FIJIANS   CLOTHED    IN    TKADE   STUFF    WHICH    WILL    BE    PRESENTED    TO   THE  SPECTATORS  AT   THE   CLOSE   OF   THE   DANCE. 

Fiom  a  Photo. 


It  is  to  De  feared  that  the  South  Sea  Islander 
finds  the  practice  of  Christianity  as  he  has 
learned  it  from  the  missionaries  intolerably  dull. 
The  excitements  of  war,  the  ceremonial  of 
heathen  rites,  are  denied  to  him,  and  it  is  not 
surprising  that  he  takes  every  opportunity  for 
indulging  in  such  of  his  ancient  rites  as  have 
not  been  condemned 
as  unedifying.  Mr. 
Herbert  Spencer  has 
taken  the  Fijian  as 
an  example  of  the 
germ  of  division  of 
labour.  One  district 
possesses  salt  -  pans, 
another  clay  for  pot- 
tery, a  third  the  soil 
on  which  the  paper 
mulberry  flourishes. 
And  as  each  must 
have  salt,  and  cook- 
ing-pots, and  bark- 
cloth,  it  follows  that 
there  must  be  trade. 
No  vulgar  chaffering 
this.  The  ornate 
L-eremonial  that  en- 
velops the  entire  life 
of  a  Fijian  spreads 
its  mantle  over  his 
trade.  Village  A. 
requires  cloth,  and 
intimates  its  wishes 
to  village  B.,  who 
on  a  day  agreed  upon 
proceeds  en  masse  to     from  a\ 


A  NEAR  VIEW  OF  ONE  OF  THE        TRADING       DANCERS. 


A.,  to  make  a  sokvu,  or  presentation.  Arrived 
at  A.  it  arrays  itself  in  its  wares,  and  paints 
its  face,  and  advances  spear  in  hand  upon  its 
entertainers,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying 
photograph ;  and  at  the  close  of  a  blood- 
curdling war-dance,  it  doffs  its  finery  and  pre- 
sents it  with  due  ceremony. 

The  gentleman  fes- 
tooned in  grey  bark- 
cloth  was  brought  up 
to  face  the  camera 
when  in  the  very  act 
of  undressing.  His 
robes  were  secured 
round  the  neck  by 
a  single  string,  and 
when  he  stepped  out 
and  slunk  away  in  as 
[)itiable  a  case  as  a 
wether  fresh  from  the 
shears,  the  dress  re- 
mained standing  very 
much  as  it  did  before, 
only  without  the 
head. 

The  war  -  dances 
that  accompany 
tliese  presentations 
are  really  magnificent 
spectacles.  The  rear 
of  the  houses  is  the 
green-room,  and  the 
spectators  see  nothing 
of  the  dancers  until 
they  advance  fully 
equipped     into     the 


{Photo. 


CURIOSITIES    OF    THE    SOUTH    SEA^. 


^^t 


IHK    UAK-DANCES    WHICH    ACCO.MI'ANV    THESE    PKliSE.NTATlONS   ARE   KEALLY    MAGNIKICENT    SPECTACLES. 

l-'rorn  a  Photo. 


natural  stage.  Imagine,  first  of  all,  more  than 
loo  spearmen  crouching  in  serried  ranks.  A 
weird  band  chant  a  song,  beating  on  the  ground 
with  hollow  bamboos  that  make  a  deep,  drum- 
like sound.  Suddenly  a  third  of  their  number 
spring  to  their  feet  with  spears 
aloft  and,  with  a  loud  shout, 
advance  with  (quivering  spears. 
They  return,  and,  just  as  they 
join  the  rest,  another  third 
spring  up.  Again  they  return, 
and  the  last  third  join  them 
as  before,  the  entire  band 
advancing  close  to  the  audi- 
ence. Instead  of  returning 
this  time  they  leap  into  the 
air  and  come  down  with  a 
tread  that  shakes  the  earth, 
slmking  their  spear  -  points 
right  in  your  face.  The 
whole  mass  is  as  if  on  wires. 
They  leap  and  dance  like 
madmen  seeking  an  enemy 
to  stab.  You  never  know 
what  they  are  to  do  next,  and 
yet,  of  the  whole  loo,  not 
one  moves  out  of  time.  They 
all  do  exactly  the  same  thing 
at  the  same  moment.  Then 
they  split  into  two,  and  seen) 
to  engage,  the  sweat  pouring 
from  their  naked,  painted 
bodies.  It  is  the  most  aston- 
ishing piece  of  stage  manage- 
ment.     As    a   ballet    at   the 


A    .MILNE   BAY   NATIVE   IN    FULL    DKESs 

From  a  Photo. 


Empire  it  would 
make  the  fortune 
of  the  place  ;  but 
as  a  ballet  in  the 
open  air,  when 
you  are  not  quite 
sure  that  they 
may  not  be  in 
earnest,  you 
would  have  paid 
something  at  the 
moment  to  be  a 
mile  away,  but 
for  the  fascina- 
tion of  the  thing. 
The  writer  saw 
it  done  on  the 
coast  to  many 
hundred  peace- 
able, churchgoing 
coast  natives. 
^^'hen  they  first 
advanced  there 
was  a  saiive  qui 
pent  among  the  audience,  who  fled  terrified  to 
their  canoes,  thinking  the  man-eating  heathen 
were  upon  them  to  avenge  old  scores.  Behind 
is  the  presentation — a  coil  of  tobacco-leaf  twisted 
into  a  rope,  and  a  roll  of  white  bark-cloth,  to 
which  will  soon  be  added 
the  fathoms  coiled  about  the 
waists  of  the  band  and  the 
war-dresses  of  the  dancers, 
amounting  when  unrolled 
to  4,oooyds.  or  5,000yds. 
Village  B.  will  now  be  feasted, 
and  A.  will  divide  the  spoil, 
but  the  day  of  reckoning, 
when  B.  will  notify  its  poverty 
in  salt,  is  not  far  distant. 
Then  woe  to  A.  if  it  is  nig- 
gardly, for  B.  knows  to  a 
farthing  the  value  of  its  cloth. 
The  love  of  dressing-up  is 
not  confined  to  l''iji,  nor, 
indeed,  to  the  Pacific  Islands. 
Masks  and  wigs  for  use  in 
ceremonial  dances  are  found 
in  every  group  of  islands  from 
New  (Guinea  to  the  Society 
Islands. 

The  slender  Papuan  from 
Mihie  Bay  in  Eastern  New 
Guinea  knows  too  well  the 
natural  mildness  of  his  coun- 
tenance to  trust  to  it  when 
he  desires  to  make  your  flesh 
creep,  and,  since  Nature  has 
cursed   him    with   a   mop  of 


Zii 


THE   WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


incurable  frizziness,he  chooses 
straight  hair  when  he  would 
look  terrible.  Attired  thus  he 
will  dance  the  night  through 
to  the  accompaniment  of  a 
lizard-skin  drum,  and,  as  this 
writer  can  testify,  the  third  or 
fourth  hour  of  the  perform- 
ance is  excruciating  torture. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  New 
Caledonian,  who  disdains  to 
disguise  his  hands  and  feet, 
could  more  easily  have 
attained  his  object  by  display- 
ing his  ugly  features.  A  pure 
Melanesian,  he  is  of  sturdier 
build  than  the  Papuan,  and 
of  less  amiable  countenance. 
His  helmet  is  of  human  hair, 
and  his  costume  of  feathers. 

The  basis  of  the  religion  of 
all  the  races  in  the  South 
Pacific  was  ancestor-worship; 
but  in  many  of  the  Melanesian 
Islands  the  primitive  idea  was 
overlaid  with  mystic  rites  in 
which  the  initiated  only  were 
privileged  to  take  part.  These 
formed,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  secret  society  contain- 
ing grades  as  in  Freemasonry;  and  the  idea 
underlying  their  rites  was  that  at  certain  seasons 
the  spirits  of  the  dead  were  more  profitably 
invoked  to  give  good  harvests  and  to  strengthen 
the  arms  of  their  descendants  in  battle.  Such 
were  the  Mbaki  in  Fiji,  the  Maki  in  Malokula, 
and  in  a  less  de- 
gree the  Dukduk. 
The  rites  were,  of 
course,  an  excuse 
for  unlimited 
license  and  feast- 
ing, in  which  the 
ancestors  were 
supposed  to  con- 
sume the  spiritual 
essence  of  the 
viands,  while  their 
living  descen- 
dants devoured 
its  grosser  fibre. 
Sometimes  the 
rites  were  deser- 
vedly kept  secret 
on  account  of 
their  horrible 
nature,  but,  as  a 
rule,  women  were 
stringently  ex- 
cluded from  them. 


NEW   CALEDONIAN    NATIVE    IN    CEREMONIAL   DRESS 
OF    FEATHERS   AND    HUMAN    HAIR. 

From  a  Photo,  by  E.  H.  Du/ty. 


It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  Euro- 
pean has  been  allowed  to 
witness  them,  though  more 
than  one  has  pretended  to 
have  been  so  privileged  ;  and 
we  must,  therefore,  be  content 
with  photographs  of  the  scene 
of  their  celebration  when  the 
sanctity  of  the  spot  has  waned 
a  little  from  disuse.  Here, 
then,  is  the  scene  of  the 
Maki,  which  is  celebrated 
once  every  three  or  four 
years  in  Malokula,  in  the  New 
Hebrides.  In  the  shed  hang 
the  jaws  of  the  pigs  sacrificed 
at  the  last  celebration,  and 
at  the  farther  end  stand  the 
sacred  drums,  which  are  better 
shown  in  the  following  photo- 
graph. They  are  tree-trunks 
of  hardwood,  about  iift. 
high,  rudely  carved  to  repre- 
sent a  human  face,  and  hol- 
lowed from  chin  to  foot  by 
adzes  introduced  into  the 
longitudinal  slit.  Struck  with 
a  wooden  mallet  on  the  lip, 
they  emit  a  deep  note  like  that  of  the  Fijian 
lali.  The  Malokulans  shown  in  this  picture  are 
peculiar,  in  that  their  skulls  are  squeezed  into  a 
peak  by  artificial  compression  in  infancy,  a 
fashion  that  does  not  seem  to  interfere  with 
their  intelligence;  and  they  are  further  remark- 
able among  South  Sea  Islanders  as  being  one 


^^ML\.'''''^^^^^^^S^^^^^S^^^^^jf. 

m  ^^mij^li^^_^^^_ 

HHJ^^^BBidil^K^' «*  J^^^^^Ik^^^    d^^^^^^^^l 

L                             '^^ 

"  IN    THE   SHED    HANG   THE  JAWS   OF    THE   PIGS   SACRIFICED   AT    THE    LAST   CELEBRATION." 

From  a  Photo. 


CURIOSITIES    OF   THE    SOUTH    SEAS. 


3^3 


From  a\ 


I^     L  M.L)    .\  I       1  HI' 


of  the  few  tribes  living  near  the  sea  who  rarely 
learn  to  swim.  Those  who  would  know  more  of 
the  Maki  rites  may  refer  to  Mr.  B.  P.  Somer- 
velle's  paper  in  the  journal  of  the  Anthropo- 
logical Institute 
for  August,  1893. 
Since  the  dead 
play  so  large  a 
part  in  the  affairs 
of  the  living,  every 
care  was  taken 
not  to  give  them 
offence  in  dispos- 
ing of  their  re- 
mains. A  Fijian 
corpse  was  for- 
merly washed  and 
oiled,  then  rolled 
in  a  shroud,  and 
wrapped  in  costly 
mats,  with  a 
whale-tooth  upon 
its  breast  to  cast 
at  the  mystic  Pan- 
damis  tree  on  the 
threshold  of  the  after-world.  Before  the  British 
Government  interfered  with  the  practice,  the 
dead  man  was  buried  in  his  own  house,  which 
was  either  left  to  fall  into  ruin  or  was  reoccupied 


by  his  surviving 
family.  The  loud 
grief  of  the 
mourners  was 
short  -  lived,  be- 
cause the  spirit  in 
its  journey  soon 
came  upon  and 
drank  from  a 
spring  called  the 
water  of  Solace, 
which  straight- 
way assuaged  his 
grief  and  the  sor- 
row of  them  who 
mourned  for  him 
at  home.  Some- 
times when  a  man 
was  very  old  or 
afflicted  with  a 
lingering  disease 
hisfriendsdid  not 
wait  for  death. 
With  his  own  con- 
sent, sometimes  at 
his  own  entreaty, 
he  was  treated  as 
a  corpse.  The 
grave  was  dug,  the  dying  face  was  kissed  with  every 
token  of  affection  and  grief,  and  the  earth  was 
reverently  trampled  in  upon  the  living  corpse.  An 
Englishman,  who  was  present  at  one  of  these 


\KI     1   KM  IVAL    IN    MALOKL'LA,     NKW    HKIIKIDKS. 


il'huXO. 


-    I  IjlA.N    CORPSE   WAS    FORMERLY    WASHED    AND    OILED,    THEN 

From  a  Photo. 


burials,  distinctly  heard  the  body  cough  as  the 
earth  was  shovelled  in.  There  were  cases,  how- 
ever, in  which  the  grave  was  left  open,  and  food  was 
lowered  daily,  until  it  was  seen  to  be  untouched. 


{To  be  cofiti?iued.) 


Short  Stories. 


^^"y^^T-rl^'S^C 


Bv  Chas.  H.  Robinson. 


A  vivid  account  of  an  amazing  battue   organized   by   the    colonists  in  British  Guiana.     How   the 
monsters    are    entrapped    and    surrounded  ;    their   terrible    fight    for    life,    and    the    final    scene    of 

slaughter  and  excitement. 


ROBABLY  there  are  few  parts  of  the 
globe  where  sharks  abound  in  such 
immense  numbers  as  in  the  yellow, 
turbid  waters  that  wash  the  shores 
of  British  Guiana.  From  the  deck  of 
a  schooner,  lying  off  the  mouth  of  the  Demerara 
River,  I  counted  on  one  occasion  over  forty  of 
the  hideous,  triangular  dorsal  fins  dotting  the 
surface  of  the  sea  within  a  radius  of  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  or  so. 

Many  are  the  tragedies  in  the  colony  laid  to 
the  account  of  these  ferocious  tigers  of  the  deep. 
Fishermen  planting  their  seines  are  frequently 
attacked,  even  in  shallow  water,  and  either 
devoured  outright  or  else  suffer  the  loss  of  a 
limb ;  whilst  rash  bathers  have  been  torn  to 
pieces  before  the  eyes  of  their  friends,  who 
were  powerless  to  render  them  any  aid. 

Indeed,  I  have  heard  it  said  that  to  fall  over- 
board in  the  Demerara  River  is  certain  death, 
and  that  nobody  was  ever  known  to  be  saved 
who  had  met  with  such  an  accident,  so 
numerous  and  voracious  are  the  sharks  in- 
festing its  waters. 

The  planters  on  the  coast  occasionally  or- 
ganize a  great  hunt  of  the  monsters,  when  large 
numbers  are  slaughtered,  merely  for  the  excite- 
ment and  sport  of  the  thing,  be  it  said,  for 
their  carcasses  are  quite  valueless.  I  was 
fortunate  enough  to  be  present  on  one  of  these 


interesting  occasions,  and  certainly  the  scene 
was  sufficiently  exciting.  A  description  of  a 
big  "shark-shoot"  cannot,  I  think,  fail  to  interest 
all  sportsmen — particularly  those  in  whose  ears 
the  very  term  sounds  outlandish. 


THE   AUTHOR,    MR.     CHAS.     H.     ROBINSON,    WHO   WAS    PRESENT   AT 
THIS    EXTRAORDINARY    HUNT. 

Front  a  Photo,  by  George  Ne2vnes,  Lititiied. 


SHORT    STORIHS, 


5S5 


I  was  overseer  on  a  sugar  plantation  on  the 
east  coast  of  Demerara,  and  my  fondness  for 
sport  of  all  kinds  being  well  known  to  Bob 
Dunn,  the  manager  of  a  neighbouring  estate 
(who  was  getting  up  the  hunt  for  the  edification 
of  a  visitor  from  the  old  country — a  fellow-Scot 
of  some  eminence,  who  had  been  ordered  a 
sea-voyage  for  his  health),  he  good-naturedly 
invited  ine  to  join  in. 

Dunn,  or  "Long  Bob "  as  he  was  generally 
known  to  his  friends,  of  whom  he  had  many, 
was  an  old  stager  at  every  kind  of 
sport  the  colony  afforded  ;  and  I 
may  say  here  that  his  plans  on  this 
occasion  were  well  laid,  and  proved 
entirely  successful  in  every  way. 


and   its   waters   had    been   well    baited    on    the 
morning  of  the  great  hunt. 

About  half  a  mile  from  the  mouth  of  the 
channel  the  body  of  a  dead  cow  had  been 
attached  by  ropes  to  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  the 
fastenings  being  slack  enough  to  allow  the 
carcass  to  float  well  out  into  the  stream.  This 
place  was  about  as  far  up  as  it  was  expected  the 
sharks  would  venture.  Between  this  spot  and 
the  sea,  however,  lumps  of  flesh,  cut  from  the 
body  of  an  old,  worn-out  mule,  that  had  been 


"the  body  ok  a  riEAr)  cow  iiAn  iucf.n  att.\chkd  uv 

KOFES   TO   THK    TKLNK    OF    .\   TREE.  ' 


The  method  adopted  was  as  follows  :  Most  of 
the  sugar  plantations  on  the  east  coast  have 
channels  running  from  the  buildings  to  the  sea. 
These  were  dug  many  years  since  for  the  purpose 
of  conveying  the  produce — rum,  sugar,  etc. — by 
sailing  craft  to  George  Town,  the  capital,  where 
it  was  transhipped  to  the  big  ocean-going  vessels. 
Since  the  advent  of  the  railway,  however,  and 
the  greater  facilities  it  offered  for  carriage,  these 
channels  have  fallen  into  disuse,  and  are  at  the 
present  time  mostly  turned  to  account  as  dump- 
ing places  for  the  bodies  of  mules,  cows,  and 
other  animals  that  have  died  a  natural  death, 
and,  in  fact,  any  refuse  which  it  is  desired  to  get 
rid  of  quickly  is  deposited  in  these  inlets.  As 
the  tide  recedes  it  carries  the  garbage  with  it  to 
the  sea,  where  it  is  made  short  work  of  by  the 
sharks,  which  are  naturally  attracted  to  the 
vicinity  in  swarms. 

It  was  one  of  these  channels  that  had  been 

selected  as  the  scene  of  this  e.xtraordinarv  battue. 
Vol.  iii.— 49. 


killed  that  morning  s[)ecially  for  the  purpose, 
had  been  scattered  at  intervals,  the  idea  being: 
to  entice  the  sharks  up  the  channel  at  high 
water,  and  then  to  prevent  them  from  returning: 
uiitil  the  tide  had  fallen  sufficiently  to  force 
them  to  run  aground  on  the  numerous  nmd- 
banks  in  the  bed  of  the  channel  ;  or  at  all 
events,  to  expose  themselves  to  our  bullets,  a.s 
the  water  became  shallow. 

Near  the  entrance  to  the  cutting  some  twentv 
canoes,  filled  with  negroes  carrying  long  bamboos, 
were  lying  close  in  under  the  banks,  hidden 
from  view  by  the  overhanging  trees  and  bush. 
These  fellows  awaited  in  silence  the  signal  to 
perform  their  part  in  the  proceedings.  \\'haL 
that  was  will  be  seen  presently. 

At  the  hour  appointed,  about  fifty  of  us-^ 
planters,  overseers,  and  a  few  visitors  from  the 
town — assembled  at  Dunn's  house,  and  after 
partaking  of  the  inevitable  brandy  cocktail,  or 
"swizzle"   as   it  is  called  in   the   West  Indies, 


386 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


we  made  our  way,  headed  by  Dunn  and  his 
Scottish  friend,  to  the  banks  of  the  channel, 
where  we  waited  patiently,  and  in  complete 
silence  for  fear  of  scaring  the  quarry,  until  our 
host  gave  the  order  to  start  operations. 

Each  man  was  armed  with  a  rifle,  shot-gun, 
or  revolver.  I  had  chosen  a  small  American 
revolving  rifle  with  five  barrels  as  being  suffi- 
ciently effective  at  short  range,  and  much  lighter 
to  carry  under  the  tropical  sun  that  was  blazing 
above  us. 

A  long  and  tedious  wait  ensued,  which  was  not 
rendered  more  pleasant  by  the  clouds  of  mos- 
quitoes and  sand-flies  that  settled  upon  our 
faces  and  hands,  and  did  their  best  to  devour 
us  alive  before  the  sport  commenced.  These 
tropical  pests  are  always  encountered  in  greater 
numbers  and  of  larger  size  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  bush  and  water. 

At  last  an  ugly,  familiar  three-cornered  fin 
was  descried,  slowly  sailing  up  the  channel ; 
then  another  and  another,  until  in  a  few 
minutes  so  many  of  the  dark  objects  were  to  be 
seen  gliding  stealthily  along  the  surface  of  the 
oily-looking  water,  that  it  became  apparent  the 
channel  was  simply  alive  with  sharks. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  the  greedy 
monsters  had  scented  the  bait,  for  they  v*'ere 
all  making  in  that  direction — but  very  cautiously, 
however ;  for  though  probably  the  most  voracious 
of  fish,  Jack  Shark  is  also  a  good  deal  of  a 
coward,  and  unless  very  ravenous  indeed  he 
hesitates  about  trusting  himself  in  narrow  or 
shallow  waters. 

As  I  have  already  said,  perfect  silence  had 
been  enjoined  upon  us,  and  we  almost  held  our 
breath  as  once  or  twice  the  fin  of  the  leading 
fish,  which  was  all  we  could  see  of  the  monster 
in  that  muddy  water,  wavered  and  stopped. 
Our  excitement  was  intense  at  that  moment, 
though  we  were  obliged  to  suppress  it,  for  upon 
the  behaviour  of  that  fin  depended  the  success 
of  all  our  plans. 

From  its  size  it  evidently  belonged  to  a  big 
fish,  probably  the  leader  of  the  school,  and 
should  he  take  fright  and  turn  back  half-way, 
the  rest  of  the  shoal  would  assuredly  follow  his 
example,  and  then  there  would  be  an  end  of 
our  sport  altogether. 

But  fortune  favoured  us.  Nearer  and  nearer 
the  creatures  approached  the  carcass  of  the 
cow — at  first  with  evident  hesitation,  as  if  they 
rather  suspected  a  trap.  But  the  temptation 
became  too  strong  to  resist ;  their  appetites, 
moreover,  had  been  whetted  by  the  pieces  of  the 
mule  they  had  picked  up  on  the  way,  and 
suddenly  with  a  savage  rush  a  dozen  of  the 
monsters  threw  themselves  upon  the  body. 
Other  sharks  also  glided  swiftly  up  in  rapid  suc- 


cession, jostling  the  first  comers  in  their  eager- 
ness to  secure  a  share  of  the  spoil ;  and  almost 
in  an  instant  the  hitherto  placid  water  was 
transformed  into  a  seething  whirlpool  by  the 
struggles  of  the  fighting,  leaping,  and  tearing 
monsters  contending  for  their  prey.  Every  now 
and  again  there  was  the  flash  of  a  dull  white 
belly  and  horrid  gaping  jaws,  as  one  of  the 
brutes  turned  over,  hurling  himself  half  out  of 
the  water  at  the  same  time,  to  make  a  grab  at 
the  body — from  which,  by  the  way,  the  flesh  was 
now  fast  disappearing. 

Our  opportunity  had  come  at  last.  Dunn 
gave  the  impatiently -awaited  signal,  and  the 
whole  party  poured  a  volley  into  the  dark, 
heaving  mass,  aiming  at  head,  belly,  back,  or 
any  part  that  was  exposed  for  a  second.  The 
immediate  crimsoning  of  the  water  showed  that 
our  shots  had  taken  effect. 

The  sharks  v.ere  obviously  staggered,  and 
some  of  them  turned  sharp  round  and  made  in 
the  direction  of  the  sea  ;  but  the  others,  more 
rapacious  or  less  timid,  after  a  short  pause 
renewed  their  attack  on  the  carcass,  to  be 
greeted  with  a  second  volley — and  again  the 
water  was  stained  with  red,  which  stain  spread 
wider  and  wider  every  second. 

This  settled  the  matter.  Immediately  the 
whole  school  were  in  swift  retreat.  But  they 
were  not  to  get  off  so  lightly.  The  purpose  for 
which  the  canoes  were  intended  became  now 
apparent.  Directly  the  men  in  them  heard  the 
firing  they  paddled  swiftly  out  from  their  con- 
cealment, formed  a  line  across  the  channel,  and 
advanced  slowly  to  meet  the  retreating  sharks, 
yelling  and  shouting  in  a  manner  such  as  only 
a  negro's  leather  lungs  are  capable  of.  At  the 
same  time  they  beat  the  water  frantically  with 
their  bamboos,  and  altogether  kicked  up  a 
fiendish  hullabaloo.  This  movement  had  the 
effect  intended.  The  terrified  sharks  stopped, 
backed,  and  eventually  turned  tail  and  fled 
swiftly  up  the  channel  again. 

We  on  the  banks  were  ready  for  them. 
Scampering  along  as  fast  as  the  inequalities  of 
the  ground  would  permit,  we  peppered  away  at 
any  fish  that  showed  the  smallest  portion  of  his 
body  above  water,  until  the  doomed  horde 
became  utterly  panic-stricken. 

Hitherto  they  had  kept  together  in  a  fairly 
compact  body,  but  now  sauve-(]iii-peitt  seemed  to 
be  the  order  of  the  day.  A  few  of  the  baflled 
monsters  turned  once  again  down  channel,  and, 
boldly  charging  the  boats,  dived  beneath  and 
escaped  to  the  sea,  but  the  bulk  of  them  darted 
backwards  and  forwards  in  a  frantic,  aimless 
manner.  Meanwhile  the  men  in  the  canoes 
gave  them  no  rest.  Pressing  closely  and  steadily 
onward,  they  kept  up  the  ear-splitting  din  until 


SHORT    STORIES. 


3»7 


aground, 


the  sharks  were  completely  demoralized  with 
terror,  and  one  after  the  other  ran  themselves 
for  the  tide  had  been  falling  for  the 
past  hour,  so  that  the 
channel  was  rapidly  drain- 
ing, and  wide  niudbanks 
alonuj 


labourers 


THE   MEN    IX    THE   CANOES   GAVE   THEM    NO    REST. 


As  the  helpless  monsters  lay  gasping  on  their 
sides,  impotently  clashing  their  formidable  jaws 
together,  and  sending  showers  of  mud  flying  in 
all  directions  by  repeated  blows  of  their  powerful 
tails,  we  ran  from  one  to  the  other,  riddling 
their  bodies  with  our  shots  until  the  water  and 
mud  ran  red  with  their  blood. 

The  shark,  however,  is  notoriously  tenacious 
of  life,  and  it  takes  a  good  many  bullets  to 
kill  it  outright,  so  at  this  juncture  the  estate 
labourers,  to  the  number  of  several  hundred  — 
men,  women,  and  children  (who  had  so  far 
been  kept  in  the  background  for  fear  of  their 
clamour  prematurely  interfering  with  the  sport) 
— were  now  allowed  to  take  a  hand  in  the  game, 
their  province  being  to  administer  the  coiip-dc- 
grace  to  the  huge  writhing  fish,  which  were  by 
this  time  all  completely  disabled. 

They  were  a  motley  crew  which  came  upon 
the  scene,  composed  as  they  were  of  many 
different  races.  Burly,  lazy,  laughter  -  loving 
West  Indians  ;  Kroomen  from  the  West  Coast 
of  Africa — short,  thick-set  and  sturdy,  with  faces 
gashed  in  parallel  lines,   and  teeth   filed  to   a 


point,  in  a  manner  which  they  consider  orna- 
mental ;  also  a  number  of  nondescripts  of 
intermingled  races,  descendants  principally  of 
slaves  that  had  been  captured  long  ago  by 
British  cruisers  and  landed  free  men  in  Guiana 
and  the  islands.  Added  to  these  were  long, 
lanky  coolies  from  Calcutta  and  Madras  and 
other  parts  of  India ;  sly-eyed  Chinamen  from 
goodness  knows  where  (mostly  indentured 
as  regards  the  two  last-mentioned 
races),  brought  over  by  the  plan- 
ters to  do  the  work  which  the 
negroes  were  too  indolent  to 
attempt.  Each  member  of  this 
weird  gang  was  aimed  with  some 
weapon  —  chopper,  knife,  old 
sword,  or  spear,  the  latter  being 
improvised  by  fastening  the  blade 
of  a  knife  or  other  sharp  piece  of 
iron  to  a  bamboo  shaft. 

Shouting,  screaming,  and  laugh- 
ing, the  noisy  crowd  rushed  down 
the  banks,  women  and  children 
as  well,  with  their  scanty  cloth- 
ing tucked  up  to  their  middle. 
A\'ading  through  the  mud,  in  a 
few  seconds  they  were  soon  hard 
at  work,  slashing,  chopping,  and 
stabbing  at  the  expiring  sharks, 
skipping  hither  and  thither  mean- 
while in  order  to  avoid  the  snap- 
ping jaws  with  their  terrible  razor- 
like  teeth,  or  blows  from  the 
ever-flapping  tails — for  a 
square  blow  from  this  part 
full-grown  shark  would  break  a  man's 
easily  as  one  snaps  the  stem  of  a  pipe. 

It  was  a  scene  never  to  be  forgotten.  The 
mob  of  panting,  perspiring  men,  racing  and 
hustling  each  other  along  the  banks  to  get  a 
shot  at  some  freshly-stranded  monster  ;  the 
knots  of  wildly  excited  natives,  capering, 
yelling,  and  gesticulating  like  maniacs  round 
the  bodies  of  their  palpitating  victims ;  the 
shrieks  and  shrill  laughter  of  the  women  and 
children  as  they  dodged  the  dying  monsters, 
and  the  hoarse  cries  of  the  negroes  in  the 
canoes,  all  combined  to  make  up  a  pande- 
monium without  a  parallel  in  my  experience. 

A  stranger  at  a  little  distance  would  have 
been  excused  for  thinking  that  a  terrible  riot 
was  in  progress. 

At  last  the  slaughter  ceased,  when  there  was 
nothing  left  to  kill,  and  the  hubbub  gradually 
subsided. 

Scores  of  sharks,  large  and  small,  lay  prone 
upon  the  mud.  The  largest  measured  over 
14ft.,  and  the  others  varied  downwards  to 
about  7ft. 


good, 
of  a 


leg 


as 


s>^s 


THE    WIDE    WOREl)    AEVGAZLXE. 


THE   ESTATE   LABOL'REKS — MEN,    \V(;ME\,    AND    CHII.Dkr.X — WFKi:    .\(jU    Al.LuWElJ    JO    TAKE    A    HAND    I.N'    THE   GAME. 


Needless  to  say.  we  did  f/o/  take  home  our 
bag.  The  bodies  were  left  where  they  lay,  to 
1)0  carried  out  to  sea  by  the  next  tide,  and  most 
probably  to  be  devoured  by  their  more  .ortunate 
<ompanions;  for  sharks  are  rare  cannibals,  and 
will  ruthlessly  turn  upon  and  rend  even  a 
slightly-wounded  fellow. 

An  incident  occurred  during  the  me/Se  whicii 
at  another  time  might  have  been  attended  with 
tragic  consequences.  A  young  o\erseer,  who 
had  sprained  his  ankle  and  could  not  run 
along  the  bank,  determined  not  to  be  altogether 
out  of  the  fun.  He  therefore  took  his  place  in 
one  of  the  boats,   and  as  some  of  the   sharks 


approached  (those  whicn  afterwards  escaped)  he 
stood  up  to  get  a  better  shot,  but  unfortunately 
lost  his  balance  and  plumped  head  first  into 
the  water,  directly  before  the  snouts  of  the 
ferocious  creatures.  He  said  afterwards  that 
he  felt  their  bodies  brush  past  him  while  he 
was  in  the  water. 

The  sharks,  however,  were  very  much  off 
their  feed  for  the  time  being,  having  other 
things  to  think  of;  so  beyond  the  ducking  and 
the  loss  of  his  gun  the  youth  came  to  no  harm. 
Only  it  was  a  very  white  and  scared  individual 
indeed  that  was  dragged  ashore — of  that  you 
mav  be  sure. 


II. —  On  the  Way  to  Moon  gee. 

Bv  Mrs.  Jack  Boustead. 

Mrs.  Boustead  was  on  a  riding  tour  with  her  husband  in  Ceylon  when  they  came  to  a  dangerously 
swollen  river,  and  she  nov/  tells  us  what  happened  when  they  tried  to  ford  the  stream  just  above 

a  roaring  cataract. 


The  sun  was  creeping  slowly  up  the  sky  to 
t'ne  perpendicular  position  he  insists  on  assuming 
in  the  tropics  at  noonday.  Ceylon  is  within  si.\ 
degrees  of  the  Equator,  and  one  of  the  infernal 
regions ;  and  for  my  part,  I  felt  as  if  we  were 
even  nearer  than  that  as  I  moved  painfully  in 
my  saddle,  and  called  out  to  my  husband  :  — 

''Jack,  how  much  farther  is  it?"' 

My  lord  and  master  whipped  his  tired  horse 
nearer  to  mine. 

"  Only  about  ten  miles  more,"  he  said,  with 
most  annoying  cheerfulness  ;  "  and  Blazes  looks 
as  fresh  as  a  daisv." 


"Blazes  may  be,  but  I  am  not,'"  I  returned  ; 
"in  fact,  I  think  I  am  going  to  die." 

My  husband  opened  his  eyes  wide  at  this 
mild  declaration,  and  appeared  to  be  reflecting 
that  horseback  was  a  most  inconvenient  place 
for  such  a  catastrophe. 

"I  am  one  huge  ache  from  head  to  foot; 
the  skin  is  blistering  off  my  face,  and  the  sun 
is  beating  into  my  brain,"  I  continued,  in  a 
voice  dangerously  near  tears.  "  Hold  my  pony, 
Jack  :  1  am  going  to  get  off  and  put  my  head 
into  that  stream,  or  I  shall  drop  insensible  in  a 
minute." 


SHORT    STORIES. 


389 


My  liusband  obeyed,  and  staggeriny  pain- 
fully to  where  a  little  mountain  rivulet  poured 
in  a  clear  fall  over  some  rocks,  I  took  off  my 
solar  topee  and  held  my  head  under  it  for  a 
short  time.  The  relief  was  wonderful.  The 
congested  feeling  in  my  head, 
that  seemed  as  if  it  were  hurrying 
me  to  death's  door,  passed  away. 
I  picked  some  fresh  cinchona 
leaves,  which  I  placed  in  my 
hat  as  an  additional  protection 
against  the  sun,  and  then  re- 
mounted. 

1  had  every  excuse  for  being 
as  tired  as  a  woman  could  be, 
for  we  had  already  come  twenty- 
live  miles  that  morning  :  and 
twenty-five  miles  under  a  burning 
tropical  sun  is  a  vastly  different 
thing  from  what  it  is  in  England. 
My  husband  was  making  a  riding 
tour  on  business  through  the 
island,  and  with  the  rashness  of 
youth  I  had  decided  to  accom- 
pany him— my  baby— my  pre- 
cious first,  blue-eyed  baby — having  been  sent  to 
the  hills  to  friends  during  our  absence  from 
Colombo. 

We  had  already  been  about  a  fortnight  on  the 
trip,  putting  up  either  at  rest-houses  or  friends' 
estates,    as    happened   most   conveniently.     We 
were  now  in   Maskeliya,  and 
bound    for   an    estate    called 
Moongee,  the   property  of  a 
bachelor  Scotchman,  who  was 
going   to   entertain    us"  for    a 
day  or  two. 

I  can  assure  you  it  had  not 
been  all  beer  and  skittles -- 
nor,  to  use  a  more  flowery 
meta[)hor,  had  it  been  a  [)ath 
of  roses.  On  the  contrary, 
there  was  often  no  path  at  all, 
so  thickly  strewn  with  rocks 
and  fallen  trunks  of  trees  was 
our  road  at  many  a  point. 
Fortunately  our  horses  were 
well  accustomed  to  such  diffi- 
culties, ^line  was  a  dear 
little  Pegu  pony,  as  sure-footed 
as  a  cat ;  and  to  see  him 
clamber  along,  sometimes 
I)Ositively  leaping  from  rock 
to  rock,  would  have  delighted 
anyone.  I  had  him  many 
years,  and  always  loved  him  dearly,  all  the  more 
after  our  careers  in  this  world  of  sin  had  nearly 
been  cut  short  at  the  same  moment— but  I  am 
i:ntici[)ating.    Polly,  my  husband's  big  Australian 


THE  AUTHORESS,  MRS.  JACK  BOUSTEAD,  AS 

SHE   APPEARED    AT  THE   TIME   OF   THIS 

AD\EiS'TURi:. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Grigson,  Colombo, 
Ceylon. 


MR.    JACK    BOUSlEAl). 

/■'lom  a  Photo,  by  G.  T.  /ones,  Siirbiioti. 


mare,  was  less  fitted  for  the  gymnastic  perform- 
ances the  trip  involved  ;  but  she,  too,  scrambled 
along  somehow,  and  so  we  made  another  three 
or  four  miles. 

The  douche  of  cold  water  on  my  head  had 
refreshed  me  wonderfully,  and 
when  we  struck  into  the  deep, 
leafy  shade  of  a  belt  of  jungle, 
my  spirits  mounted  rapidly. 
Everthing  was  so  lovely — the 
sunlight  (juivering  through  the 
banyans  and  palms ;  the  whirr 
of  the  a/ure  or  scarlet  wings  of 
some  tropical  bird  ;  and,  above 
all,  the  sense  of  utter  repose  that 
the  vast,  dim  silence  around 
produces  on  the  mind. 

But  our  satisfaction  was  short- 
lived. There  is  no  Eden  without 
its  serpent,  and  we  soon  found 
ours  in  the  shape  of  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  leeches.  There  had 
been  some  rain  the  day  before, 
and  this  always  brings  them  out ; 
but  I  have  never,  in  all  my  wan- 
derings, seen  anything  like  their  numbers  in 
this  spot.  The;  plagues  of  Egypt  were  a  fool  to 
them.  They  attacked  us  in  myriads,  and  we 
grew  weary  of  trying  to  pull  the  loathsome 
things  off.  I  counted  fifteen  at  one  time  on  my 
husband's  face,  and  our  horses,  our  .saddles,  and 
ourselves  were  one  mass  of 
the  uncanny  -  looking  little 
brutes,  who  move  along  by 
turning  themselves  into 
hoops,  in  a  way  that  is,  1 
believe,  unique  to  the  crea- 
ture. 

"We  shall  die  of  blood- 
poisoning,  I  suppose,"  I  re- 
marked, with  philosophical 
calm,  when  I  had  resigned 
myself  to  the  situation. 
"  People  do  sometimes  from 
leech  bites,  I've  heard." 

"  Not  unless  you  }hi11  them 
off,  I  think,"  said  my  hus- 
band, shutting  one  eye  to 
survey  a  fine  specimen  on  his 
nose.  "  ^Vhen  wu  get  in, 
we'll  get  some  salt — that  kills 
them  at  once.' 

"We  had   better   rub   our- 
selves   all    over    with    it, 
another  time,  before  we  start. 
keep    them    off  altogether,   perhaps,"  I 
"  However,  here  we  are,  out  of  the 


It   will 

suggested. 

jungle.      How  much   farther   is   it  now,  do  you 

think  ?  •' 


39° 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


and  whatever  they  were  doing,  they  would 
do  it  in  that  attitude.  If  they  remained 
long  in  our  service,  they  gradually  grew 
quite  deformed. 

"  They  have  to  go  a  different  way  from 
ours  altogether  now,"  observed  my  husband, 
presently.  "  They  cross  the  river  much 
higher  up,  where  there  is  a  boat.  We  can't 
be  far  off  from  it  now,"  he  added,  reining 


in  his  horse  and  listening. 


•  THE    LEECHES    ATTACKKU    US    IN    .MVKIADS. 

"  There's  Moongee  over  there — you  can  just 
see  the  factory,"  replied  my  husband,  pointing 
at  a  distant  white  spot  with  his  whip  ;  "  and 
here,  thank  goodness,  are  those  infernal  coolies 
with  our  boxes,"  he  added,  as  up  a  short  cut 
through  a  gully  two  perspiring  specimens  of 
humanity  emerged  on  to  the  road,  and  ran 
ahead  with  the  long,  swinging  trot  common  to 
their  class.  I  began  to  laugh,  for  the  sight  of 
the  box-coolies  invariably  tickled  me.  In  the 
first  place,  my  husband  had  a  most  singular 
method  of  packing  his  luggage.  He  never 
troubled  to  get  everything  into  the  box  at  all, 
but  simply  tied  anything  that  was  left  out  on 
to  the  outside.  On  the  present  occasion  I 
remember  that  two  pairs  of  boots,  his  pyjamas, 
a  sponge-bag,  and  several  collars  were  all 
dangling  round  the  head  of  the  man  who 
carried  it.  But  the  behaviour  and  deport- 
ment of  the  coolies  themselves  were  the  most 
amusing.  They  lived  in  constant,  and  perhaps 
wholesome,  terror  of  my  husband.  Like  most 
Englishmen  in  the  East,  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
emphasizing  all  his  orders  with  kicks,  and  they 
had  grown  so  accustomed  to  the  fear  of  his  boot 
coming  behind,  that  the  moment  they  saw  him 
they  instinctively  drew  their  bodies  into  a  curve 
exactly  the  opposite  to  that  intended  by  Nature, 


I   ex- 
must 

"It 


I,  too,  stopped,  and  strained  my  ears 
dull  roar  was  distinctly  audible. 

"  What    on    earth    is    that  ? "    I    asked ; 
"the  river  can't  be  making  all  that  noise." 
"  That's  the  waterfall,  a  little  lower  down. 
It's  a  very  fine  one." 

The  tired  horses  pricked  up  their  ears  at 
the  sound  of  the  water,  and  moved  on 
more  quickly.  In  about  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  we  reached  the  banks,  and  drew  rein 
as  we  surveyed  the  scene  before  us.  It 
was  a  broad  and  beautiful  stream,  shining 
refreshingly  in  the  scorching  afternoon  sun  ; 
and  it  flowed  past  in  a  great,  swift,  silver 
sheen  until,  about  a  hundred  yards  farther 
down,  it  fell  over  the  rocks  in  a  tremendous 
cataract. 

I  measured  the  width  with  my  eye  from 
bank  to  bank.  It  looked  about  sixty 
yards. 

"  It  is  much  more  swollen  than 
pected,"  remarked  my  husband ;  "  they 
have  had  a  good  lot  of  rain  here." 

"W'ill  it  be  safe?"  I  asked,  anxiously, 
looks  awfully  deep  in  the  middle." 

"  It's  all  right,  I  think.  I've  been  over  lots 
of  times." 

"  Yes,  on  Polly.  But  Blazes  is  so  small  : 
he'll  be  taken  off  his  feet." 

"  Oh,  no  ;  he  won't,"  replied  my  husband, 
in  the  happy-go-lucky  way  that  characterized 
him.  "  You  keep  close  to  me,  and  when  you 
get  near  the  middle,  whip  him  up  smartly." 

I  had  some  cjualms,  but  I  was  the  heroine  of 
an  adventure  when  I  crossed  the  Ganges  on  an 
elephant,  and  was  not  going  to  be  daunted  by 
this.  We  spurred  the  horses,  who  had  been 
drinking  at  the  edge,  and  they  began  the  fording 
gingerly.  Deeper  and  deeper  became  the 
water,  and  the  current  proved  to  be  far  stronger 
than  my  husband  had  anticipated.  I  saw  a  look 
of  anxiety  cross  his  face,  and  my  nerve  began  to 
desert  me. 

"  Blazes  is  getting  out  of  his  depth,"  I  cried, 
suddenly,  as  I  felt  the  cold  stream  rush  above 
my  knees. 

"  He'll  have  to  swim,"  said  my  husband, 
seizing  my  bridle.  "  Whip  him,  Leila  !  Whip 
him  liard  !  " 


A  - 


SHORT    STORIES. 


391 


HADE   A    FRANTIC    I.UNGE   TO  GKASP   MY   HUSBANDS   HAND. 


I  obeyed,  and  struck  the  pony  over  the  head. 
There  was  not  much  else  of  the  poor  Httle  animal 
visible  by  this  time,  for  the  water  was  above 
the  saddle.  He  made  a  gallant  struggle  for  it, 
so  did  I.  Polly  was  holding  her  ground  well, 
for  she  was  a  tall,  powerful  animal ;  but  the  ex- 
pression of  her  terrified  eye  showed  that  she, 
too,  had  to  do  all  she  knew  to  keep  on  her  feet. 

Suddenly  I  felt  myself  bodily  lifted  from  the 
saddle  by  the  irresistible  force  of  the  water.  I 
made  a  frantic  lunge  to  throw  my  arms  round 
Polly's  neck,  or  grasp  my  husband's  hand,  but 
the  next  moment  the  cruel  current  took  me,  as 
if  I  were  a  leaf  or  a  straw,  and  whirled  me  from 
them.  I  uttered  one  spluttering,  gasping  cry, 
and  then  my  head  went  under.  A  mighty  sea 
seemed  to  rush  roaring  over  me,  and  beat  my 
brains  out. 

Strange  to  say,  I  never  lost  consciousness 
entirely.  Of  what  followed  I  have  certainly  but 
a  very  hazy  remembrance — but  I  do  remember 
it.  Neither  did  I  experience  the  feeling  so 
often  described  by  the  drowning,  of  seeing  their 
whole  past  lives  pass  before  them  as  a  panorama. 
I  simply  thought  of  the  waterfall,  and  felt  that 
certain  death  awaited  me.  I  believe  I  made  a 
wild  effort  to  swim — my  husband  says  I  did — 
i)ut  I  don't  recollect  it.  A  giant  force  was 
dashing  me  headlong  towards  destruction — that 
is  all  I  know — when  suddenly  my  progress  was 
arrested  by  a  violent  jerk.  What  had  happened 
I  did  not  then  realize,  for  I  was  blinded, 
half  stunned,  and  choking.  I  became  aware 
that  some  solid  object  was  near  me,  and 
I    instinctively    flung    my   arms    out    frantically 


and  grasped  —  a  rock.  I  iiad 
been  saved  by  the  providential 
accident  of  my  riding-habit  skirt 
getting  caught  on  the  jagged  end 
of  a  rock — one  of  a  cluster  that 
stood  up  out  of  the  water  about 
fifty  yards  from  the  fall.  With 
my  last  remaining  strength,  I 
dragged  myself  up  on  to  them, 
and  then  sank  down — earth  and 
sky  and  water  becoming  one 
great  blurr  before  my  eyes. 

I  was  roused  by  my  husband's 
voice,  and  I  felt  him  lifting  me 
up.  He,  too,  was  dripping  from 
head  to  foot.  Polly  was  safe  on 
the  bank,  and  Blazes  stood  there 
also,  with  drooping  head,  and 
limbs  quivering  with  fear  and 
exertion.  How  they  had  all 
fared  I,  of  course,  then  learnt. 
When  I  had  been  swept  away 
by  the  current,  my  husband 
had  flung  himself  off  his  horse 
after  me.  He  was  a  powerful  swimmer,  and 
had  not  many  fears  for  himself,  but  he  fully 
expected  to  see  me  dashed  over  the  waterfall 
before  his  eyes.  Fortunately,  the  whirling 
stream  swept  me  straight  on  to  the  saving  rocks, 
round  which  it  foamed  and  eddied,  till  a  short 


I    WAS   ROUSED   BY   MY   HUSBAND  S   VOICE,    AND    I    FELT   HIM 
LIFTING   ME   UI'." 


392 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


distance  farther  on  it  formed  the  roaring  cataract 
that  came  so  near  to  being  my  death. 

To  get  to  shore  when  I  was  sufficiently 
recovered  was  no  great  difficulty.  The  rocks 
we  had  landed  on  were  on  the  far  side,  and  not 
twenty  yards  from  the  bank.  We  simply  waded 
through,  and  Polly  and  Blazes  whinnied  for  joy, 
and  thrust  their  wet  noses  into  our  hands.  Poor 
little  Blazes  !  He  had  had  a  brave  struggle 
to  get  to  shore,  and  he  seemed  as  pleased  as 
anybody  when  I  mounted  his  dripping  wet  little 
back  and  turned  his  head  away  from  that 
dreadful  river.  The  rest  of  our  ride — about 
another  three  miles — was  the  most  uncom- 
fortable I  have  ever  taken.  Drenched,  of 
course,  to  the  skin,  our  soaking  clothes  only 
weighed    us   down;    and,   as    both   our   topees 


had  disappeared  in  the  water,  we  had  no 
covering  on  our  heads  against  the  blazing  sun. 
^^'e  felt  this  so  much,  in  spite  of  the  thorough 
wetting  we  had  had,  that  we  had  to  stop  and 
pick  cinchona  leaves,  which  we  fastened  on  our 
heads  with  handkerchiefs  tied  under  our  chins. 

Certainly,  we  must  have  presented  most 
curious-looking  figures  when  we  finally  reached' 
the  bungalow,  and  our  host  ran  out  to  greet  us. 
I  burst  out  laughing  at  his  face  of  amazement, 
and  if  he  had  only  had  a  kodak  with  him,  I 
should  now  be  able  to  present  my  readers  with 
two  very  interesting  photos.  As  it  was,  the 
box-coolies  not  ha\ing  arrived,  and  there  being 
no  clothes  exactly  suitable  for  me  handy,  I  had 
to  go,  simply  and  ignominiously,  to  bed  for  the 
rest  of  the  day. 


III. — A  Splendid  Feat. 

By    Capt.mn    Cecii,    Dvce. 

How  a  young  Indian  official  had  a  hand-to-hand  fight  v/ith  a  leopard,  which  he  killed  by  sheer 

strength  and  a  daring  inspiration. 


An  Anglo-Indian  author  of  repute,  who 
wri*;es  under  the  twni-de-pIuDic  of  "  Maori,"'  in  a 
book  entitled  "  Sport  and  Work  in  the  Nepaul 
Frontier,"  mentions  incidentally  that  a  powerful 
young  Scotchman  belonging  to  the  Forest 
Department,  in  a  struggle  with  a  leopard,  "  by 


pure  physical  strength  dashed 
brains  out  against  the 
jagged  edges  of  the 
stump  of  a  sal  tree."  A 
line  or  two  lower  down 
he  continues,  "  Of  course, 
the  young  hunter  was 
horribly  mauled  in  the 
encounter,  Init  by  this 
s[)lendid  feat  he  saved  his 
own  and  a  fellow-crea- 
ture's life."  It  is  the  story 
of  this  deed,  heard  from 
the  lips  of  the  hero  of 
the  adventure,  that  is 
here  narrated,  and  as  far 
as  possible  in  his  own 
words.  The  hero  is  my 
friend  Captain  Edward 
Wood,  formerly  Con- 
servator of  ^Voods  and 
I'^orests  in  the  North- 
West  Provinces  of  India, 
but  now  retired  : — 

At  the  time  I  had  not 
been  very  long  in  India, 
and  was  temporarily 
posted  as  assistant  engi- 
neer   to    the     Etawah 


the    animal' 


THIS    IS   CAPTAIN    EU.VARU    WOOD,    WHO    lEKI-OIJ.MKD   THE 
"  SPLENDiD    feat"    RELATED    HEliE. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Shepherd  d-'  Rolrerison. 


branch  of  the  (ianges  Canal.  As  the  line  of 
rail  from  Cawnpore  to  Etawah  w'as  on  the 
point  of  completion,  our  executive  engineer 
naturally  wished  to  transfer  our  head-quarters 
from  Mynpoorie  to  the  latter  place,  which  from 
its  position  would  now  be  altogether  more 
convenient  and  easy  of  access.     Thus  it  came 

to  pass  that  one  fine 
morning  I  found  myself 
marching  into  Etawah, 
llien  unknown  ground  to 
me.  On  entering  the 
station  I  espied  a  Euro- 
pean hard  at  work  with 
theodolite  and  chain,  sur- 
veying; stepping  up  to 
him  I  said,  politely  : — 

"  ^\'ill  you  kindly  direct 
me  to  the  nearest  camp- 
ing ground  ?" 

"  Tell  me  now,  are 
you  Edward  Wood?" 
he  asked.  This  sudden 
question,  couched  in 
tones  redolent  of  the 
"  Ould  Counthrie,"  took 
nie  by  surprise,  but  I 
answered,  promptly  : — 

"Yes,  that  is  my 
name.'' 

"  Faith,  then,  we  have 
been  on  the  look-out  for 
you  for  some  time  ]iast. 
Me  own  name  is  Patrick 
Cogan,  and   I    belong  to 


SHORT    STORIES. 


393 


the  same  Department  as  yourself— sorry  I  can't 
accompany  you  home — too  busy.  But  Til  write 
a  note  to  my  wife,  who  will  look  after  your 
creature  comforts." 

This  was  a  piece  of  luck,  but  I  subsequently 
discovered  that  the  invitation  was  characteristic 
of  the  man,  who,  if  a  trifle  off-hand,  was  as 
kindly  and  hospitable  a  soul  as  ever  breathed. 

He  scribbled  a  few  lines  and  handed  them  to 
a  peon,  under  whose  guidance  I  duly  reached 
the  bungalow,  introduced  myself  to  the  lady  of 
the  house,  had  an  invigorating  tub,  and  pre- 
sently sat  down  to  a  bountiful  chota  hazri  (early 
breakfast).  We 
were  yet  in  the 
middle  of  the 
meal  w  h  e  n 
Cogan  rode  up, 
with  a  small 
crowd  of  gesti- 
culating natives 
following  in  his 
wake. 

"I  say,  Wood." 
he  exclaimed, 
"  see,  here-  are 
at  least  half-a- 
dozen  villagers 
at  me.  They 
all  declare  that 
some  wild  beast, 
of  which  they 
are  mortally 
afraid,  and 
which  rejoices 
in  the  outland- 
ish  name  of 
'  tenduah,'  has 
taken  posses- 
sion of  their 
fields,  and  they 
want  me  either  to  kill  it  or  drive  it  away. 
Maybe  it  is  a  hyena  or  a  wolf ;  do  you  feel  in 
the  humour  for  a  bit  of  sport  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  I  answered  ;  "  but  all  my 
baggage,  including  guns,  is  behind." 

"  Oh,  then  I'll  lend  you  a  tolerable  blunder- 
bus,"  he  rejoined,  cheerfully. 

^'ery  soon  we  made  up  a  party  and  started  in 
the  direction  of  the  village.  I  was  armed  with 
a  gun,  the  right  barrel  of  which  was  loaded  with 
shot,  and  the  left  with  ball.  Presently  we 
reached  some  wheatfields,  in  which  the  corn 
stood  nearly  4ft.  high,  for  the  land  was  well 
irrigated.  Here  the  beaters  formed  line  and  the 
drive  commenced.  We  worked  systematically 
through  several  fields,  but  with  no  result ;  and 
I  was  getting  a  trifle  careless  and  inclined  to 
fancy  that  amid  the  general  din  and  hubbub  our 

Vol.  i: .— 50 


\^  v\v\V 


HE   CAME   AT   ME   LIKE   .A.   THUNDERBOLT.    SO   TO   -SPEAK. 


quarry  had  sneaked  away  uiiperceived,  when,  to 
my  amazement,  right  in  front  I  saw  a  fine,  full- 
grown  leopard  dash  across  a  patch  of  open 
ground  to  where  the  cover  was  denser. 

Without  thought  or  calculation  I  let  fly — and, 
as  is  usual  under  the  circumstances,  instead  of 
the  bullet,  my  charge  of  shot  added  some  extra 
speckles  to  the  already  beautifully  spotted  skin 
of  the  animal.  In  truth,  I  must  have  peppered 
the  brute  sharply,  for  he  instantly  wheeled  round 
and  charged.  The  celerity  of  his  onset  was 
such  that  I  had  no  time  to  collect  myself :  he 
came  at  me  like  a  thunderbolt,  so  to  speak.     I 

fired  my  remain- 
ing barrel ;  of 
course,  missed, 
and  was  hurled 
to  the  earth,  at 
the  same  mo- 
ment my  wea- 
pon went  flying 
from  my  grasp. 
The  impetuosity 
of  the  leopard's 
attack  carried 
him  several 
yards  beyond 
me ;  I  managed 
therefore  to 
spring  up  just 
in  time  to  face 
the  infuriated 
beast  a  second 
time. 

From  this 
point  I  offer  my 
description  of 
the  fight  with 
considerable 
diffidence. 
Under  the  cir- 
cumstances one's  recollection  must  of  necessity 
be  faulty  and  confused.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  at  one  time  I  was  clutching  the  brute's 
throat  with  one  hand  in  a  resolute  attempt  to 
keep  his  fangs  from  tearing  open  my  windpipe, 
and  his  claws  from  disembowelling  me  ;  while 
with  my  right  fist  I  instinctively  rained  down  a 
shower  of  blows  on  his  head  and  neck,  pre- 
cisely as  though  I  were  in  deadly  grip  with  a 
human  being.  At  another  time  I  was  sprawling 
on  the  ground,  the  result  doubtless  of  a  frenzied 
effort  to  throw  off  the  panther  and  be  free  of 
him,  even  though  it  were  only  for  a  moment. 
On  the  latter  occasion  my  fingers  came  in 
contact  with  the  steel  barrels  of  my  weapon  ; 
and  this  proved  a  God-send,  for  in  the  "round  " 
that  ensued  I  so  battered  my  spotted  foe  that  I 
must  have  rendered  him  dizzy.     In   the  mean- 


394 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


time,  seeing  how  fully  the  leopard  was 
occupied  with  my  luckless  self,  some  of  the 
natives,  recovering  from  their  panic,  returned, 
and  I  remember  quite  distinctly  that  Cogan's 
gun-bearer  actually  succeeded  in  placing  the 
muzzle  of  the  loaded  rifle  he  carried  against 
the  panther's  body,  making  the  while  frantic 
attempts  to  pull  the  trigger,  but  the  gun 
refused  to  go  off,  as  it  was  on  half-cock.  Nor,  in 
the  mad  excitement  of  the  moment,  could  I 
miftter  sufficient  Hindustani  to  tell  the  capering 
idiot  of  his  mistake.  The  native,  however,  paid 
somewhat  dearly  for  his  stupidity,  for  the  leopard 
suddenly  turned  from  me,  and,  springing  on  the 
poor  fellow,  bore  him  to  the  earth. 

Then,  for  me,  there  came  a  blissful  pause  in 
the  breathless  fight  for  life  I  had  been  waging  ; 
yet,  strange  to  say,  half-a-dozen  seconds  were 
enough  to  put  new  vigour  into  my  relaxed 
muscles.  There  was  the  leopard  barely  two 
yards  off,  its  superb  frame  dilating  with  rage  as 
it  stood  triumphant  over  at  least  one  conquered 
foe.  Its  hind-quarters  were  nearest  me,  and  its 
splendid  yellow  tail  swayed  to  and  fro  before 
my  eyes.  My  shattered,  useless  gun  slipped 
from  my  fingers,  for,  to  tell  the  truth,  that 
oscillating  tail  fascinated  and  drew  me,  and 
before  I  well  knew  what  I  was  about  I  had 
seized  it  at  the  root,  and,  putting  all  my  strength 


PUTTING    ALL    MY   STRENGTH    INTO    THE    EKKORT, 

OF    THE    MAN." 


SWUNG    THE    LEOl'ARD    CLEAR 


into  the  effort,  had  swung  the  leopard  clear  of 
the  man,  and  was  whirling  the  brute  round, 
with  my  own  body  answering  to  the  motion. 
Quite  three-parts  of  a  circle  had  been  com- 
pleted, when  I  felt  a  great  shock,  and  the 
leopard's  skull  seemed  to  crack.  It  had  come 
into  violent  contact  with  the  ugly  spiked  stump 
of  a  sal  tree.  Probably  the  impact  also  breke 
its  neck ;  but  after  the  shock  I  remembered 
no  more,  as  I  must  have  dropped  down  in  a 
dead  faint,  due  doubtless  to  loss  of  blood  aad 
exhaustion  after  the  terrible  excitement  of  the 
struggle. 

Of  course,  the  question  naturally  arises,  where 
was  Cogan  all  this  time,  and  how  was  it  he  was 
not  at  hand  to  help  me  in  my  difificulty  ?  It 
must  be  remembered,  however,  that  neither  of 
us  expected  to  find  a  leopard  in  the  fields,  hence 
Cogan  was  at  the  extremity  of  the  drive  some 
looyds.  distant,  and  at  the  moment  I  fired  his 
attention  had  been  diverted  by  a  drove  of  wild 
pig  which  broke  cover  quite  close  to  him.  He, 
however,  arrived  in  time  to  witness  the  finale  of 
the  fight,  which,  though  so  full  of  incident 
to  myself,  could  not  from  first  to  last  have 
occupied  many  minutes. 

For  many  weeks  I  lay  seriously  ill  with  fever, 
delirium,  blood-poisoning,  and  their  con- 
comitants. The  surgeons  at  one  time  wished  to 
amputate  my  arm,  but  were  afraid  I 
might  sink  under  the  operation,  so 
fortunately  they  left  it  alone.  At 
length  a  good  constitution  and  the 
devoted,  careful  nursing  I  received  at 
the  hands  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cogan  (to 
whom  I  can  never  be  sufficiently 
grateful)  prevailed,  and  I  became 
convalescent ;  but  it  was  quite  six 
months  before  I  was  once  more  fit 
for  work.  My  arm  as  you  see  is  badly 
scarred  and  indented,  so  also  is  my 
chest,  and  I  have  partially  lost  the 
use  of  these  two  fingers.  Otherwise, 
I  am  thankful  to  say,  I  am  none  the 
worse  for  the  terrible  tussle  I  had 
with  that  leopard,  whose  glossy, 
speckled  coat  I  have  always  re- 
tained as  a  trophy.  Of  course,  it 
was  my  friend  Cogan  who,  during 
my  illness,  had  the  skin  beauti.*"ully 
cured,  and  when  I  became  conva- 
lescent presented  it  to  me  with  a 
kindly  little  speech.  The  native 
gun-bearer,  I  am  glad  to  say,  re- 
covered very  quickly  from  his 
wounds,  which  were  not  of  a  serious 
nature. 


The  Quaintest  Wedding  in   ttie   World. 


By  Kathleen  Schlesinger. 

We  think  this  extraordinary  account  of  a  Finnish  wedding  in  Russian  Carelia — illustrated  as  it  is 
with  a  set  of  unique  snap-shots  taken  by  J.  K.  Inha,  and  copyrighted  by  K.  E.  Stalberg — well  merits 
the  above  title.     Such  ceremonies,  and   wailings,  and   prostrations,  and  visits  from  the  magician  !     In 

Carelia   a   wedding  is   an  ordeal  indeed. 


T  is  impossible  to  imagine  anything 
more    doleful   and    unique   than    a 
peasant   betrothal   and    wedding  in 
Russo-Finland— that  is    to    .say.   in 
^  those  parts  near  the  boundary  where 
Russian  customs  prevail. 

In  order  to  understand  the  photographs  which 
illustrate  this  article,  it  is  necessary  to  e.xplain 
where  they  were  taken,  for  there  are  not  many 
Finns  even  who  have  ever  witnessed  the 
ceremony.  The  scenes  here  represented  took 
place  in  1894,  in  a  small  village  in  the  forest- 
land  of  Russian  Carelia,  just  across  the  Finnish 
border.  The  actors  in  this  lamentable  drama, 
although  of  Finnish  stock  and  preserving  the 
curious  and  ancient  customs  of  that  people, 
have  lived  for  so  long  subject  to  Russian 
influence  and  religion,  that  they  present  the 
strongest  possible  contrast  to  the  highly  cultured 
Finlanders  proper. 

These  scenes  are  all  the  more  unique  and 
interesting  because  they  are  taken  from  the  life 
of  the  folk  among  whom  the  great  Finnish  epic 
"Kalevala"  was  collected,  and  the  different 
phases  of  the  elaborate  ceremony  are  genuine 
survivals  of  ages  long  gone  by. 

Such  a  thing  as  a  radiant  bride  is  unknown 
in  those  regions, 
and  the  chief  idea 
seems  to  be  to 
make  as  great  a 
show  of  grief  as 
possible  and  to 
make  the  function 
as  dismal  as  a 
funeral.  In  all 
probability  the 
bride  does  not  feel 
half  as  miserable 
as  she  looks,  but 
tradition  demands 
the  shedding  of 
many  tears  on  this 
occasion.  You  see, 
her  mother  and 
grandmother  wept 
in  the  orthodo.x 
manner,  and  there- 
fore she  —  like  a 
dutiful  daughter — 
does  likewise.  As 
is  usual  in  all 
countries    where 


dowries  are  given  to  the  bride  and  mercenary 
arrangements  play  a  prominent  part,  the 
young  people  do  not  settle  their  love  affairs 
themselves  • —  if  indeed  love  enter  into  the 
matter  at  all.  The  proceedings  are  strictly 
official  and  correct  in  every  detail,  and  the 
wooing  begins  by  proxy. 

The  young  man  chooses  a  professional  spokes- 
man, who  afterwards  acts  as  best  man,  and  is 
sent  to  see  "  how  the  ground  lies,"  and  what 
responsibilities  rest  on  his  broad  shoulders  !  If 
he  is  satisfied  with  all  he  sees  and  hears,  he 
asks  t'.ie  parents  with  assumed  indifference 
whether  they  intend  to  get  their  daughter 
marr.'eJ,  and  what  they  propose  to  give  her. when 
tliat  doleful  day  dawns.  A  few  days  later  the 
young  man's  parents,  accompanied  by  the 
spokesman,  make  their  appearance  in  solemn 
state,  and  the  latter  official  at  once  announces 
the  object  of  the  visit. 

"  Formerly  I  came  as  a  guest ;  now  I  come 
as  wooer,"  he  cries  as  the  door  opens. 

At  these  words  there  is  a  general  stir  and 
flutter  of  excitement.  The  guests  are  led  to  the 
seats  of  honour  and  candles  are  lighted  before 
the  ikons  ;  the  negotiations  then  proceed — how 
much  is  to  be  given  for  the  bride ;   how  many 


From  a]  the  return  fro.m  the  bath— the  opening  ceremonv  ok  the  "  weefing  uav."     [Photo. 


39^ 


THE   WIDE   WORLD   MAGAZINE. 


kegs  of  spirits  and  what  provisions  are  to  be 
provided  for  the  festivities,  and  what  presents 
the  bride  is  to  give  and  receive.  The  poor  girl 
is  spared  the  humiliation  of  hearing  all  this 
haggling,  which  is  often  exaggerated  to  satisfy 
tradition,  and  not  entirely  from  mercenary 
motives ;  she  is  only  summoned  to  give  her 
formal  consent  when  everything  has  been  settled. 

A  few  days  before  the  wedding  the  formal 
betrothal  takes  place,  which  is  as  binding  as  the 
marriage  itself. 

Our  first  illustration  represents  the  return 
from  the  bath,  which  is  the  opening  ceremony 
of  the  zveepiiig  day,  or  day  before  the  wedding. 
In  the  morning  early  the  maiden,  accompanied 
by  her  girl  friends,  sits  on  a  seat  in  front  of 
the  .  house,  while  the  professional  wailers 
sing  doleful 
laments.  Then, 
rising  and  enter- 
ing the  house, 
she  beseeches 
her  brother  to  go 
and  fetch  some 
fire-wood  to  heat 
the  bath  -  house. 
With  a  voice 
choked  with  tears, 
she  ne.xt  turns  to 
her  sister,  begging 
her  to  make  ready 
the  bath,  while  a 
friend  is  told  off 
to  draw  water 
from  the  well. 

"  Let  me  bathe 
for  the  last  time 
to  efface  from  my 
white  body  all 
traces  of  grief, 
and  from  my 
heart  my  ardent 
sorrow."  This  is 
the  burden  of  the 
song  she  sings 
while  all  is  being 

got  ready  ;  it  forms  part  of  a  regular  collection 
or  Litany,  which  has  been  religiously  handed 
down  by  word  of  mouth  among  the  Finns,  nnd 
these  wailing  laments  play  a  great  part  at  their 
wedding  ceremonies,  which  are  surely  the 
dismalcst  in  the  world.  Let  it  be  said  e?i 
passant  that  the  bath-house  is  a  characteristic 
institution  in  Finland,  where  every  tiny  cottage 
has  one.  Saturday  is  the  regular  tub-night  all 
over  the  country. 

The  future  bride  has  just  returned  with  her 
bevy  of_ maidens  from  her  ablutions  ;  she  walks 
first,  supported  by  her  chief  wailer.     On  enter- 


ing, they  are  met  by  the  brother,  who  is  an 
important  person  on  these  occasions.  He  holds 
an  embroidered  towel  in  one  hand  and  with  the 
other  dips  the  koitvchine,  or  metal  cup,  shaped 
something  like  a  little  saucepan  with  a  handle, 
into  the  basin,  and  offers  his  sister  holy  water  for 
another  ceremonial  ablution — this  time  to  scare 
away  evil  spirits  and  diseases,  for  the  Carelians 
look  upon  the  bath  as  a  pagan  institution.  The 
religion  of  the  Carelian,  by  the  way,  consists  of 
the  most  incongruous  mixture  of  superstition, 
heathenism,  and  orthodoxy  imaginable,  as  will 
presently  become  evident  to  the  reader. 

The  mother  then  appears,  and,  weeping  also, 
leads  the  party  into  the  inner  room,  where  we 
will  follow  them.  Looking  at  the  next  photo- 
graph we  see  that  a  somewhat  impressive  scene 


THE    WOMEN    BOW    UOW.N,    INVOKING 


A    BLESSING    ON     I  HE    1;K1UE,    WHILE   'IHE    .MEN    STAND   SOLEMNLY   BY. 

From  a  Photo. 

is  taking  place.  All  turn  to  the  East.  The 
women  then  bow  down  before  the  sacred 
imngcs,  touching  the  ground  with  their  foreheads 
and  invoking  a  blessing  on  the  bride,  while  the 
men  stand  solemnly  by. 

It  is  really  quite  a  relief  to  find  that  after  this 
the  party  becomes  more  cheerful,  and  sits  down 
to  a  meal,  at  which  pancakes  form  one  of  the 
chief  dishes.  The  future  bridegroom  is  never 
present  on  this  iveepiug  day,  which  is  devoted 
solely  to  bidding  a  mournful  farewell  to  the 
happy  girlhood  of  the  maiden,  and  to  indulgence 
in  the  joys  of  being  and  making  others  miserable. 


THE    QUAINTEST    WEDDING    IN    'i'HE    WORLD. 


397 


From  d\ 


THE   BKIDE,    SUl'l'ORTED    liV 


TKLATEU    WAILER,    IS    INVITED    l;Y    ONE   OF    HI- 


RELATIVES    10  ENTER   THE   HOUSE. 


This  gloomy  view  of  marriage  is,  of  course,  but 
a  reminiscence  of  the  customs  of  the  senii- 
civihzed  East,  where  woman  is  at  best  but  a 
slave  after  marriage. 

After  the  meal,  the  girls,  wailers,  and  a 
brother  or  two  set  off  to  make  a  round  of  fare- 
well visits  to  all  the  relations  of  the  bride  ;  and 
by  looking  at  the 
next  photograph 
we  are  enabled 
to  picture  their 
arrival  at  an 
aunt's  house. 
The  bride,  sup- 
ported by  an  an- 
tiquated waller, 
is  being  invited 
by  one  of  her 
relatives  to  enter 
the  house,  in 
the  doorway  of 
which  the  aunt 
is  just  dimly 
visible. 

The  song  an- 
nouncing the 
sad  occasion  of 
the  visit  has 
already  been 
sung  in  front  of 
the   homestead  ; 


and  as  these  songs  are 
often  of  considerable 
length,  this  gives  the  aunt 
time  to  make  hot  some 
beer  or  wine,  which 
custom  demands  should 
be  drunk  on  entering 
the  house,  possibly  as  a 
kind  of  charitable  pick- 
me-up.  Then  there  follows 
an  endless  succession  of 
embraces  and  bowings  to 
the  ground  on  the  part 
of  the  biide,  intermixed 
wilh  snatches  of  prayers 
and  songs,  etc.,  before 
the  party  finally  sits  down 
to  refresh  the  inner  man 
by  a  small  repast.  After 
this  sometimes  the  in- 
mates bring  presents  to 
the  bride — generally  small 
coins  of  the  realm  —  or 
else  the  company  sits 
down  to  sew  or  play 
games  ;  next  follow  more 
{Photo.  songs  and  bowings,  and 
then  the  whole  of  this 
little  comedy  is  repeated  at  the  house  of 
another  relati\e. 

There  seems  to  be  a  constant  supply  of  tears 
laid  on  which  never  runs  dry.  The  voices  do 
not  get  hoarse,  and  the  cakes,  beer,  and  sweet- 
meats never  seem  to  pall  or  llie  appetites  to 
flag,  however   great   the  demands    made  upon 


'WHEN    THE   MOTHER    HEARS  THE   MOURNFUL  PROCESSION    RETURNING 

From  a  Photo. 


Tu    .MEET  HER   DAUGHTER. 


398 


THE    AVIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


them.  Life  seems  a  little  short  for  a  wedding 
of  this  kind,  but  after  all  it  is  a  question  of 
observing  ancient  traditions. 

All  this  time  the  bride's  real  mother,  who 
seems  to  keep  in  the  background  and  to  delegate 
her  rights  to  others,  has  been  preparing  the  house 
for  more  meals — ^baking  unlimited  loaves  and 
cakes  and  other  delicacies.  When  she  hears  the 
mournful  procession  returning,  she  goes  to  meet 
her  daughter,  who  stands  supported  by  her  young 
companions.  Behind  are  the  brothers  and  the 
rest  of  the  maidens,  all  in  their  ordinary  everyday 
clothes ;  and  of  course  it  would  be  a  crime  to  do 
aught  but  weep,  weep,  weep,  more  and  more  tears. 


presence  is  tolerated  on  these  occasions — not 
even  that  of  the  ever-useful  brother.  All  male 
folk  are  banished  for  the  night.  After  the  repast 
they  adjourn  to  another  part  of  the  room  shut  off 
by  a  curtain,  and  the  Liturgy  of  Tears  begins. 

Of  course,  it  will  be  understood  that  all  this 
weeping  is  a  formal  act — a  survival  of  the 
cherished  old  customs  of  the  real  Finns.  Among 
some  of  the  Russian  tribes  the  weeping  is  re- 
placed by  a  sort  of  howling,  compared  with  which 
the  demeanour  of  our  Finns  is  positive  hilarity. 
The  wailers,  whose  dirges  are  stirring  and 
full  of  the  most  poetical  and  pathetic  ideas, 
work  themselves  up  in  such  a  realistic   manner 


I'roin  a.\ 


THEY   AUJOUKN    TO   ANOTHER    I'AKT   OK    THE    ROOM,    AND    THE    LITURGY    OF    TE.\RS    BEGINS. 


[Photo. 


You  or  I  might  be  moved  to  mirth  at  the  sight. 
All  these  girls  wear  a  curious  ribbon  passed 
across  the  forehead  and  tied  at  the  back,  the 
long  ends  hanging  far  below  the  waist.  Over 
this  ribbon  is  worn  the  kerchief  of  silk  or  linen, 
often  beautifully  embroidered,  which  conceals 
the  hair. 

The  little  children  are  the  bonniest-looking 
of  all ;  but  even  on  their  baby  faces  there  is  a 
reflection  of  the  melancholy  of  their  elders. 
One  longs  to  lure  them  away  from  all  this  mock 
sadness,  and  romp  with  them  till  smiles  break 
over  the  little  faces  and  merry  laughter  replaces 
the  wailing. 

A  climax  is  reached  in  these  sad  ceremonies 
when  all  these  womenfolk  sit  down  to  supper 
together  and  sing  marriage  songs.     No  man's 


that  they  frequently  burst  into  real  sobs  and 
tears.  Thus  these  dirges  naturally  increase 
and  stimulate  the  sincere  sorrow  which  the  bride 
feels  at  leaving  her  happy  home.  Next  the  bride 
kindles  a  light  in  front  of  the  ikon,  thus  signify- 
ing her  willingness  to  be  married,  and  goes  to  sit 
behind  the  stove  ;  her  head-kerchief  is  solemnly 
loosened,  the  ribbon  untied  which  encircles  her 
brow,  and  her  tresses  released.  Each  female 
member  of  the  family  comes  forward  in  turn  and 
unplaits  some  of  the  maiden's  hair,  who  as  bride 
loses  the  right  to  wear  it  plaited  ;  and  she 
presents  the  deposed  ribbons  to  her  chief  brides- 
maid, singing  a  special  song  to  mark  the  act. 

In  Russian  Carelia  the  family  ties  are  very 
strong,  and  each  member  participates  by  right 
in  all  important  functions  like  the  above. 


THE    QUAINTEST    WEDDING    IN    THE    WORLD. 


399 


The  next  photograph  represents  a  singular 
scene,  and  needs  a  little  explanation.  On  the 
wedding  morning,  as  soon  as  the  bridegroom's 
party  is  heard  approaching,  there  is  a  mighty 
stir  in  the  girl's  home.  Led  by  the  professional 
wallers,  the  bride  repairs  to  the  yard  ;  a  sheep- 
skin is  brought,  and  then  begins  a  curious  and 
humiliating  ceremony,  dangerous  to  apoplectic 
subjects.  The  poor  victim  is  walked  up  to  the 
sheepskin,  and  the  two  wallers,  covering  their 
faces  with  their  handkerchiefs  and  wailing  out 
appropriate  songs,  make  a  show  of  forcing  the 
bride  down  on  to  her  knees.  Then  lower  still 
must  she  bend,  like  the  Mohammedan  at  prayer, 
till  her  forehead  touches  the  dust,  or  the  feet  of 
all  the  guests,  and  of  her  own  parents  and 
relations  in  turn.  Our  snap-shot  was  taken  as 
she  grovelled  at  the  feet  of  the  most  important 


victim,  who  has  had  a  pretty  bad  time  of  it  on 
the  whole,  and  will  have  cause  to  remember  her 
wedding  day. 

In  the  meanwhile,  feasting  goes  on  until  the 
bride  is  sent  for.  A  large  square  shawl  conceals 
her  head,  and,  as  she  cannot  see,  she  holds  in 
her  hand  a  handkerchief,  by  which  she  is  led, 
after  a  while,  out  of  the  house  by  the  bride- 
groom into  the  yard,  where  another  solemn 
ceremony  takes  place  — the  exorcizing  of  evil 
spirits  by  the  magician.  The  bride,  distin- 
guished by  her  veil,  has  on  her  right  her  chief 
maiden,  and  on  her  Itft  the  bridegroom,  who  is 
still  holding  the  end  of  the  kerchief.  Her 
brothers  and  the  best  man  complete  the  group  in 
the  centre,  while  parents  and  guests  stand  around. 

The  Fatvaska,  or  magician,  wearing  in  his 
white  girdle  the  embroidered  towel  presented  by 


/•>  oiii  a\ 


THE    BKIUES   OIIEISANCE    BEFOKE    THE    VILLAGE   .MAGItlAN. 


iPhoto. 


personage  of  all,  the  magician,  at  whose  bidding 
demons  and  spirits  are  banished  and  wicked 
men  cease  to  trouble  the  young  couple. 

After  this  humiliating  prelude,  the  wedding 
party  adjourns  to  the  living  room,  whilst  the 
bride  is  carried  off  by  her  maidens  to  be  dressed 
for  the  wedding.  One  can  readily  conceive 
that  after  all  this  labour  and  grovellinii  in  the 
dust,  ablutions  and  a  change  of  apparel  must 
be  most  necessary  for  the  comfort  of  the  poor 


the  bride,  rushes  out  of  the  house  with  a  blazing 
firebrand  in  one  hand  and  an  axe  in  the  other. 
Bending  low,  he  describes  with  the  axe  three 
magic  circles  round  the  young  couple,  muttering 
the  while  certain  ancient  magic  runes,  exorcizing 
all  bad  spirits  and  removing  from  the  path  of 
the  pair  all  evil-disposed  persons  who  might 
wish  to  do  them  an  ill  turn.  One  might  truly 
be  back  in  the  Middle  Ages,  in  the  days  of  the 
black  art  and  of  witches  and  broomsticks  ! 


400 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Ihoin  a\     THE    MAGICIAN,    UTI  H    AXE   AND    FIKEBRAND,    EXORCISES    EVIL   Sl'IKlT.S   THAT    MIGHT   AlFITCT    THE    HAITV    COLT'LE.         [i'luilo. 


This  curious  ceremony,  which  is  never 
omitted  by  any  chance,  always  occurs  when  the 
bride   leaves    her   home    on    the   way    to    her 


husband's.  The  next  scene  gives  one  the  idea 
of  a  funeral  rather  than  a  wedding  procession. 
It   shows   the   wedding    party    leaving   for  the 


THE    I'ROCESSION    LEAVING   FOR   THE    BRIDEGROOM'S    HOUSE   (tHF.  GKku.I    I.,    LUAUING    HIS    VEILED    BKIDE    IN    TOKEN    OK    "llLrND 

»"•«  a]  obedience").  yhoto. 


THE    QUAINTEST    WEDDlXG    IN   THE    WORLD. 


401 


[J  'Iwto. 


bridegroom's  home.  Everyone  looks  gloomy 
and  miserable,  as  though  a  great  catastrophe 
had  taken  place.  First  walks  the  magician, 
followed    bv    the    bride's    brothers  —  one     of 


them  carrying  on  his  head  the  loaf  of  bread 
sewn  up  in  a  white  damask  cloth,  together  with 
a  complete  cover  for  one  person,  as  a  symbol 
of  the   maintenance    now   undertaken    by   the 


Front  a\ 
Vol.  uL-51. 


THE   BRIDE  GIVES  PRESENTS  TO  HER  NEW  RELATIVES. 


{Photo. 


462 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


bridegroom.  The  latter  leads  the  bride  by 
means  of  the  kerchief  as  before.  This  is  pro- 
bably also  a  foretaste  of  the  "  blind  obedience  " 
he  will  exact  from  her  in  the  future  ;  the  father 
and  mother  follow  their  daughter. 

Such  lugubrious  ceremonies  might  well  deter 
Carelian  maidens  from  entering  the  estate  of 
matrimony  with  undue  haste  ;  and  yet  such  is 
not  the  case  by  any  means.  We  will  now  leave 
the  party  to  wend  its  way  to  the  new  home, 
taking  the  church  on  the  way,  the  bride's  face 
remaining  concealed  from  view  the  whole  time. 
There  is  nothing  unusual  about  the  religious 
ceremony,  so  we  will  wait  until  the  party  is 
seated  at  table  before  we  take  a  peep  at  them 
again. 

At  last  the  time  comes  when  the  fond  husband 
is  allowed  a  glimpse  of  the  bride,  whose  weeping, 


must  wait,  for  there  is  yet  one  more  debt  to  be 
paid  to  custom — one  more  corvee  for  the  bride. 
She  must  now  give  to  her  new  relations  certain 
presents,  which  may  consist  of  articles  of  dress 
and  various  foods  and  drinks.  This  done,  each 
recipient  rises  in  turn,  and  the  unfortunate  bride 
has  to  make  new  prostrations  to  each  relation, 
touching  the  table  with  her  forehead  in  token  of 
humility  and  obedience  to  her  "  husband's 
people." 

After  this  the  doings  of  the  party  cease 
to  interest  us,  and  become  quite  common- 
place, for  they  merely  eat  and  drink  and  make 
merry  like  ordinary  individuals,  and  the  reign  of 
the  wallers  is  at  an  end. 

The  next  morning  finds  the  bride  paying 
homage  to  her  mother-in-law  in  an  exceed- 
ingly untidy-looking  room — that   is,   everything 


.NEXT    MORNING    FINDS   THE   BRIDE    lAYING    HOMAGE   TO    HER    MOTHEK-IN-LAW. 

F^oni  a  Photo. 


by  the  way,  both  personal  and  vicarious,  is  now 
at  an  end.  The  magician,  who  seems  to  take  a 
far  more  prominent  share  in  the  ceremonies 
than  the  happy  man  himself,  now  pronounces 
some  more  magic  runes  ;  then  he  solemnly  lifts 
the  veil  from  the  face  of  the  standing  bride, 
while  the  bridegroom  remains  meekly-  seated 
with  his  back  to  the  window,  and  so  bathed  in 
light  that  only  his  own  peculiar  mode  of  tying 
his  tie  gives  the  clue  to  his  identity. 

The  samovar  filled  with  fragrant  tea  and  the 
eatables  are  on  the  table  ;  but  the  hungry  folk 


apparently  that  it  ought  not  to  be.  Sometimes 
the  mother-in-law  graciously  renames  her 
daughter,  bestowing  upon  her  some  such  pet 
name  as  "  the  darling  "  or  "  the  beautiful,"  by 
which  she  is  henceforth  known.  Only  some- 
times she  may  be  neither. 

This  is  the  last  act  in  the  strange  comedy 
or  drama,  whichever  we  like  to  call  it,  and  the 
young  couple  are  now  allowed  to  settle  down 
quietly  in  their  own  home,  where  we  will  leave 
them  in  peace,  with  due  apologies  for  having 
hitherto  shown  ourselves  so  inquisitive. 


Captured   by    Cannibals 

Rv  P.  A.   iMcCann. 

This    well-known    trader    and    explorer    has    only    recently    returned    to    England    after    many    years' 

residence  in  West  Africa.      The    following    is    the    most    terrible    adventure    even     in    Mr.    McCann's 

experience  ;    and    all    will    agree    that    it    is    an    almost    painfully   graphic    narrative,    giving   a   vivid 

idea  of  what  such  men  are  occasionally  called  upon  to  endure. 


HE  following  adventure  befell  me  in 
the  month  of  October,   1883,  when 
trading  in  the  Gaboon  country.      At 
the  time  I  was  up-river  agent  for  a 
Liverpool    firm,    and   was  stationed 
on  a  hulk  anchored  off  the  Island  of  Ningue 
Ningue,  at  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  Como 
and    Bogne.      Several   other   firms    had    hulks 
anchored  about  there,  and  these  were  in  charge 
of     black    traders,     who 
belonged    to    the    Coast 
tribe    (Mpongwe)  of   the 
Gaboon.       I    was,    there- 
fore, the  only  white  trader 
in  the  river. 

Trade  being  more 
than  usually  dull  at  this 
time,  I  resolved  to  make 
a  trip  into  the  upper 
river,  and  see  if  I 
couldn't  stir  up  business. 
Therefore,  loading  a 
small,  twenty-ton  schooner 
with  a  varied  assort- 
ment of  merchandise,  I 
went  up  beyond  the 
usual  trading  limit,  and 
anchored  off  a  popu- 
lous cluster  of  villages 
called  Attacamma.  I  was 
well  armed,  and,  know- 
ing the  treacherous  nature 
of  the  people,  took  every 
precaution  against  a  sur- 
prise. The  natives 
(Mpongwes)  were  canni- 
bals of  the  worst  type, 
and  I  knew  I  had  little 
mercy  to  expect  if  I  were 
caught  napping  or  re- 
laxed my  vigilance  in  any 
way.  As  trading  negotia- 
tions are  always  opened 
by  an  interview  with  the 
chief  of  the  community, 
and  making  him  a  friendly 
present,  I  asked  to  see 
this  individual,  shortly 
after    anchoring    off    the 

villflfrpt;  THIS   IS   A    FHOTO.    OF   THE   A 

VlUageb.  ADVENTURE.      THE   PHOTO. 


The  chief,  I  was  told,  had  gone  into  the  bush 
to  attend  some  family  palaver,  and  was  not 
expected  back  for  a  couple  of  months,  so  I 
requested  his  deputy  to  come  along  instead.  In 
due  course  this  individual  came  off  attended  by 
some  followers,  and  as  he  clambered  up  the 
schooner's  side  and  stepped  on  to  the  deck,  I 
don't  tliink  I  ever  beheld  a  more  evil-looking 
villain  ;  I  took  an  instinctive  dislike  to  him  right 


UTHOR,    MR.    P.    A.  MCCANN,    WHO   EXPERIENCED   THIS   TERRIBLE 
WAS    TAKEN    BV   HIMSELF   ON    THE   WEST   COAST  OF   AFRICA. 


404 


tHfi  Wide  world  magazine. 


away.  He  had  a  smoking-cap  on  his  head,  and 
was  clad  from  the  waist  to  the  knees  with  cloth 
made  from  the  bark  of  a  tree.  In  his  hand  he 
held  a  bamboo  switch,  with  which  he  kept  off 
flies,  and  with  a  large  brass  ring  upon  each 
ankle  his  attire  was  complete.  Afflicted  with 
some  form  of  leprosy,  his  face  and  body  were 
covered  with  large  scaly  patches  of  white, 
which  gave  him  a  fearfully  loathsome  appear- 
ance. His  hands,  too,  from  the  cicatrization  of 
ulcerous  sores,  were  cramped  up  like  claws,  and 
to  complete  his  horrible  appearance,  his  mouth, 
when  he  spoke,  revealed  teeth  which  had  been 
filed  to  a  point  and  looked  as  sharp  as  needles. 
It  is  not  good  trading  policy,  however,  to  let 
one's  instinctive  personal  feeling  stand  in  the 
way  of  business,  so  concealing  the  repugnance 
I  felt,  I  paid  him  the  usual  courtesies  and  gave 
him  a  liberal  present  of  cloth  and  tobacco, 
as  a  trade    opening.       While  talking   to    him, 


'  I    I'AID    HIM    THE   USUAL   COURTESIES   AND   GAVE    lU.M 
A    LIBERAL   PRESENT   AS   A   TRADE   OI'ENING." 


however,  I  could  see  him  taking  furtive  note  of 
everything  about  the  deck,  and  when  his  eyes 
rested  upon  my  repeating  rifle  and  double- 
barrelled  gun  which  stood  up  against  the  cabin 
skylight  handy  to  my  reach,  and  when,  further, 
he  noted  the  heavy  six-shooter  which  I  wore 
buckled  round  my  waist,  he  exchanged  some 
significant  remarks  with  his  followers  in  an 
undertone. 

Seeing  I  noted  this  he  affected  jocularity,  and 
hastily  remarked  that  he  and  I  would  become 
good  friends,  and  that  he  would  bring  me  more 


ivory  than  the  schooner  could  carry.  As  3. 
friendly  ofi'ering  he  had  brought  off  a  fowl  and 
two  bunches  of  plantains,  which,  as  he  spoke, 
were  handed  over  to  me  by  one  of  his  followers. 
These,  I  might  add,  I  gave  to  the  crew  as  soon 
as  he  had  left.  After  expressing  his  satisfaction 
at  my  arrival  and  reiterating  his  professions  of 
friendship,  he  went  ashore  with  his  followers. 
During  the  next  week  everything  went  on  well : 
trade  was  fairly  good  and  the  people  friendly 
enough.  There  seemed  every  prospect  of  my 
completing  a  successful  trading  trip,  and  things 
looked  so  peaceful  that  I  decided  to  make  a 
prolonged  stay  and  complete  barter  of  cargo  I 
had  brought  before  returning. 

My  quarters  on  board  the  schooner,  how- 
ever, were  far  from  comfortable,  and  as  it  was 
the  height  of  the  hot  season,  the  cabin  was 
insufferably  close  and  stuffy.  At  nights,  too, 
I  was  so  pestered   with  rats,  cockroaches,  and 

mosquitoes  that  I 
got  very  little  sleep. 
The  rubber  also  (one 
of  the  products 
brought  in  by  the 
natives),  stored  in 
the  hold,  gave  off  a 
vile  odour,  and  this, 
added  to  the  other 
discomforts,  was 
more  than  I  could 
stand,  so  I  decided 
to  transfer  my 
quarters  ashore  and 
use  the  schooner  as 
a  depot. 

Not  far  from  the 
landing  -  place,  off 
which  the  schooner 
lay,  there  stood  a 
good  -  sized  native 
house,  built  after  the 
Gaboon  style  ;  and 
on  inquiry  I  found 
that  it  had  been  put 
,- '  up     by    a    Gaboon 

man,  who,  coming 
up  here  to  trade  some  years  ago,  had  inter- 
married and  settled  amongst  this  tribe.  He 
took  ill  and  died,  however,  and  his  wife,  not 
liking  the  position  of  the  house,  went  back  to. 
her  people. 

It  was  situated  pleasantly  enough  on  a  little 
knoll  close  to  and  overlooking  the  river,  and 
stood  by  itself  embosomed  in  a  thick  grove  of 
plantain  trees.  Peeping  out  from  among  the 
broad  leaves,  its  roof  could  just  be  seen  from 
the  deck  of  the  schooner  ;  and  to  me,  cramped 
up  in  the  close  and  ill-ventilated  little  trading 


Captured  bV  cannibaiA 


4<^^ 


Vessel,  it  looked  delightfully  cool  and  tempting 
to  live  in. 

To  understand  the  following  events  it  will  be 
necessary  for  the  reader  to  have  an  idea  as  to 
the  position  of  the  villages.  Attacamma  col- 
lectively comprised  three  villages,  each  being 
composed  of  one  long  street  about  800  yards  in 
length,  with  the  houses  on  each  side.  These 
were  built  of  bark,  thatched  with  matting  made 
from  fronds  of  the  bamboo  palm,  and  were 
all  joined  together.  Two  of  the  villages  were 
situated  at  right  angles  to  the  river,  and  between 
these  two  the  third  lay  parallel  with  the  water- 
side ;  the  general  shape  of  the  three,  looked  at 
from  a  bird's-eye  point  of  view,  forming  an 
irregular  H.  Each  village  had  its  own  landing- 
place,  that  of  the  central  one  being  half-way 
between  the  other  two,  and,  leading  up  from 
the  waterside  for  about  forty  yards,  it  opened 
into  the  street  at  about  the  middle  of  the 
village. 

A  little  to  the  right  of  this  landing-place  was 
situated  the  house  just  mentioned,  and  as  it  was 
convenient  for  trade,  and  handy  to  the  river,  it 
suited  me  nicely.  The  approach  to  it  branched 
off  from  the  path  leading  between  the  village 
and  the  river.  After  arranging  with  the  owner, 
I  took  possession. 

It  was  built  of  bamboo,  and  for  a  native 
house  was  fairly  comfortable.  In  size  it  was 
about  25ft.  long  by  15ft.  wide,  and  contained 
four  rooms,  and  a  veranda  w'hich  faced  the 
river.  Opening  from  the  veranda,  a  doorway 
led  into  a  central  room,  from  which  again  rooms 
opened  off  on  the  three  sides.  The  room  on 
the  left  extending  across  the  whole  width  of  the 
building  was  larger  than  the  others,  and  in  this 
I  took  up  my  quarters,  using  it  as  living  and 
sleeping  room.  The  one  opposite  to  mine  I 
allotted  to  the  cook  and  steward,  and  the 
remaining  two  were  used  as  store-rooms.  The 
doors  not  being  provided  with  locks,  I  fastened 
them  at  night  with  wooden  bars.  About  thirty 
yards  off  the  landing-place,  the  schooner  lay  in 
mid-stream,  in  charge  of  a  boatswain  and  six 
men,  all  of  whom  were  armed  with  guns. 

Shortly  after  I  had  established  myself  in  the 
house  the  deputy  chief  paid  me  a  visit  and 
brought  a  small  goat  as  a  present.  With 
fulsome  compliments,  he  hoped  I  would  stay  at 
his  village  a  long  time,  as  he  had  formed  a  great 
friendship  for  me,  and  his  people  were  greatly 
pleased  to  have  a  white  man  living  among  them. 
I  took  all  this  for  what  it  was  worth,  of  course, 
and  did  not  fail  to  notice  that  my  evil-looking 
friend  exhibited  great  interest  in  the  disposition 
of  things  about  the  room — particularly  the  case 
of  cartridges  and  the  guns  standing  by  the  bed. 
Before  leaving  he  glanced  into  the  other  rooms 


in  a  casual  sort  of  way,  and  said,  "  White  man, 
in  a  few  days  you  will  see  these  rooms  filled  up 
to  the  top  with  rubber  and  ivory,  and  you  will 
be  glad  that  you  liave  come  here,"  saying  which 
he  saluted  me  and  went  off. 

Things  went  on  quietly  for  some  days,  and 
one  morning,  no  business  being  on  hand,  I 
thought  I  would  give  my  guns  a  rub  up ;  so 
going  into  my  room  and  drawing  the  rough 
table  up  close  to  the  bed,  I  placed  the  guns  and 
cleaning  things  upon  it,  and,  taking  my  seat  upon 
the  edge  of  the  bed,  started  to  work. 

At  the  time  the  only  other  person  in  the 
house  was  my  steward,  Ndongo,  the  cook  having 
gone  off  to  the  schooner.  I  had  finished  clean- 
ing my  revolver  and  was  at  my  rifle,  when 
Ndongo  came  in  and  said  one  of  the  big  men  of 
the  village  was  outside  and  wished  to  see  me. 
Now,  if  there  is  anything  I  dislike,  it  is  being 
interrupted  when  I  am  doing  anything,  so  in  an 
angry  tone  I  asked  him  what  the  fellow  wanted. 
"  I  no  sabby,  massa,"  Ndongo  replied. 

"  Let  him  come  in,  then,"  I  said,  and  the 
words  were  barely  spoken  before  a  powerful  and 
burly  native  entered. 

It  was  a  strange  thing,  but  at  that  moment  I 
had  just  closed  the  breech  of  the  rifle,  and  the 
weapon  lay  across  my  knees  with  my  right  hand 
upon  the  lock  and  trigger,  as  if  I  were  about  to 
fire  it.  The  fellow,  as  he  stood  inside  the  doorway, 
was  thus  covered  by  the  gun,  and  exasperated 
by  his  abrupt  entrance,  I  sternly  demanded 
what  he  wanted,  and  in  my  anger  forgot  about 
the  manner  in  which  I  held  the  gun.  The  man  was 
evidently  labouring  under  some  strong  excite- 
ment, as  I  could  see  by  the  rapid  rise  and  fall 
of  his  massive  chest,  and  the  bloodshot 
appearance  of  his  eyes.  It  struck  me  that, 
perhaps,  some  of  my  crew  had  made  trouble  in 
the  village,  and  he  had  come  to  me  to  seek 
redress.  My  stern  manner  seemed  to  disconcert 
him,  however,  for  he  spoke  in  a  very  incoherent 
way,  and  as  if  he  had  forgotten  what  he  had 
intended  to  say.  Edging  back  from  the  gun, 
he  managed  to  explain  that  he  had  just  heard 
there  was  a  lot  of  ivory  in  a  town  a  day's 
journey  off,  and  as  the  people  there  could  not 
bring  this  down  on  account  of  a  war  palaver 
between  them  and  another  tribe  on  the  route, 
he  wished  me  to  trust  him  with  2oodols.  worth 
of  goods,  so  that  he  could  go  and  buy  it 
for  me.  My  boy  Ndongo  interpreted,  so  I 
told  him  to  tell  my  visitor  that  I  did  not 
give  trust  to  anybody  ;  that  he  had  better  go 
for  the  ivory  and  get  the  owners  to  trust 
him  ;  and  that  if  he  brought  it  down,  I  would 
pay  him  a  good  price  for  it.  Seeing  there 
was  no  use  talking  further,  I  waved  my  hand  to 
indicate  that  he  had   better  go,  and  with  surly 


4O0 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZlNfi. 


demeanour  he  turned  and  reluctantly  went  out. 
Asking  Ndongo  what  he  thought  of  the  man's 
manner,  he  replied,  in  Mpongwe,  that  the  man 
had  drunk  plenty  of  palm  wine. 

Dismissing  the  matter  from  my  mind,  I  con- 
tinued my  cleaning,  and  was  just  finishing  when 
Ndongo  came  in  hurriedly,  saying,  "  Massa, 
them  fellow  sabby  lie  too  much  ;  he  say  ivory 
live  for  bush,  and  now  he  come  back  with  piece 
ivory  for  sell ;  he  be  rascal  man." 

"  All  right,  Ndongo,"  I  replied  ;  "  put  the  ivory 
on  the  steelyard  and  tell  me  how  much  it 
weighs." 

The  boy  went  out  to  do  this,  but  almost 
immediately  came  back,  saying  that  the  native 
had  refused  to  let  him  weigh  it,  alleging  that  he 
would  be  cheated,  and  that  he  wanted  the 
white  man  himself  to  do  it. 

As  it  would  only  take  a  minute  or  so  to  do 
this,  I  hastily  put  the  gun  1  was  cleaning  down 
upon  the  table,  and  passed  into  the  outer 
room.  I  had  just  reached  the  doorway  open- 
ing on  to  the  veranda,  when  suddenly  from 
behind  a  grip  as  of  steel  seized  me  round  the 
neck  and  waist,  and  a  cold  sweat  broke  out  all 
over  me  as  I  realized  that  I  was  trapped,  and 
in  the  hands  of  these  cannibals.  Tike  a  flash, 
I  saw  through  the  whole  thing.  The  fellow 
who  came  to  ask  me  for  trust  had  evidently 
been  told  off,  being  a  big  and  heavy  man,  to 
seize  me  ;  but,  seeing  me  armed,  he  withdrew. 


"  A    GRll'   AS   OF   STEEL    SEIZED    ME    KOUND    THE    NECK    AND    WAIST.' 


and  then  had  recourse  to  the  other  dodge  of 
enticing  me  out  to  weigh  a  piece  of  ivory;  his 
laboured  breathing  and  bloodshot  eyes  were 
thus  explained.  While  my  boy  was  interpreting, 
the  two  men  who  now  seized  me  had  passed 
through  and  secreted  themselves  in  the  back 
room. 

Knowing  the  fate  that  awaited  me  if  captured, 
I  struggled  desperately  to  throw  off  the  grip, 
and  with  almost  superhuman  strength  forced 
my  two  captors  across  the  room  and  managed 
to  get  hold  of  the  frame  of  the  bedroom  door. 
Then  with  a  convulsive  effort  1  endeavoured  tp 
get  at  my  revolver.  Alarmed  at  their  inability 
to  hold  me,  my  assailants  called  out,  and  in  a 
moment  the  place  was  alive  with  people.  Shriek- 
ing like  fiends,  the  savages  seemed  to  start  out 
of  the  very  ground  ;  they  came  from  everywhere 
• — from  behind  the  plantain  trees,  from  the 
back  of  the  house,  from  the  bush  skirting 
the  path,  and  every  available  space  that  could 
give  shelter. 

Holding  on  like  grim  death  to  the  door  frame 
which  I  had  gripped,  the  frantic  crowd  hauled 
and  dragged  at  me,  until  with  a  loud  rending 
noise  the  door  frame  and  part  of  the  bamboo 
partition  gave  way  and  came  down  with  a  crash, 
and  we  went  in  a  struggling  heap  on  the  floor. 
Over,  under,  and  around  me,  the  black  frenzied 
fiends  tugged  and  pulled,  until  I  thought  my 
limbs  would  come  apart  with  the  fearful  strain 

put  upon  them. 
'Vhe  r  o  o  m  w  a  s 
packed  so  tightly 
that  the  crowd  could 
not  get  through  the 
doorway,  and  none 
of  those  who  grip- 
ped me  would  re- 
linquish their  hold, 
so  the  struggle  went 
on  until  the  air  of 
the  place  became 
heavy  and  fetid  with 
the  steaming  exhala- 
tions from  the  per- 
spiring bodies. 

The  din,  outside 
and  in,  was  appal- 
ling, and  the  place 
a  veritable  pande- 
monium. Finally, 
some  space  being 
cleared  outside,  an 
effort  was  made  to 
force  me  through, 
but,  the  narrow  door- 
way again  getting 
blocked,  the  crowd 


CAPTURED    BY    CANNIBALS. 


407 


inside  surged  and  pushed  until  the  doorway 
broke  away  from  its  fastenings  in  the  bamboo  wall 
and  precipitated  myself  and  my  nearest  captors 
into  the  veranda.  \\"nh  the  desperation  born  of 
despair  I  struggled  and  kicked  for  dear  life,  and, 
as  I  was  forced  along,  head  down,  I  made  a 
convulsive  clasp  at  one  of  the  veranda  posts, 
but  with  a  wrench  my  grasp  was  torn  away, 
causing  the  blood  to  spurt  out  from  under  my 
finger-nails.  Gripping  me  wherever  they  could 
get  a  hold,  the  yelling  crowd  of  demons  surged 
up  the  path  to  the  village.  Emerging  into  the 
street,  the  crowd  bore  me  to  a  tree  which  stood 
some  distance  to  the  right  of  the  path,  and 
deposited  me  like  a  log  upon  the  ground, 
while  some  of  them  went  for  bush  rope  with 
which  to  tie  me.  This  was  quickly  brought,  and 
I  was  lashed  up  to  the  tree  in  a  twinkling. 
They  had  no  ditificulty  in  doing  this,  as,  ex- 
hausted and  half  dazed,  I  was  incapable  of  any 
further  resistance.  Covered  with  blood  and 
half  stunned,  I  was  too  stupefied  to  notice  my 
surroundings  for  some  time ;  and  when  my 
faculties  grew  clear  again,  I  saw  a  couple  of 
natives  about  a  yard  off,  one  on  each  side  of 
me,  leaning  upon  long  guns  and  eyeing  me 
intently.  They  were  evidently  stationed  there 
to  prevent  me  from  attempting  to  escape. 

The  view  from  the  position  I  was  in  looked 
up  the  street  towards  the  higher  of  the  two 
villages  which  lay  at  right  angles  to  it.  Most  of 
the  angle  of  view,  however,  was  blocked  by  a 
small  palaver  house  (called  Banje,  by  the 
Mpongwes),  which  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
street,  so  that  the  only  portion  of  the  upper 
village  which  I  could  see  was  what  showed 
through  the  doorways  at  each  end  of  this 
building.  The  huts  between  me  and  the 
Banje  house  numbered  about  five  on  each  side. 
The  path  to  the  waterside  was  a  short  distance 
behind  the  trees  and  on  my  right-hand  side. 

A  continual  stream  of  yelling  and  frantic 
savages  thronged  up  from  the  waterside  with 
packages  of  the  looted  merchandise  on  their 
heads ;  and  the  scene  that  went  on  absolutely 
beggars  description.  It  was  a  veritable  hell  let 
loose.  \\'ith  the  capture  of  so  much  loot,  all 
that  was  diabolical  in  the  savage  nature  of  these 
cannibals  was  stirred  to  its  lowest  depths  ;  and 
over  the  distribution  of  the  spoil  they  quarrelled 
and  fought  like  beasts.  Knives  were  used  and 
blood  flowed  freely  among  them.  The  excite- 
ment spread  even  to  the  sick  and  diseased,  and 
from  the  dark  recesses  of  the  huts  gaunt  and 
emaciated  forms  crawled  out  to  get  their  share 
of  the  plunder.  Some  had  lost  the  use  of  their 
legs  from  ulcerous  sores,  and  crept  painfully  on 
their  hands  and  knees.  Others,  thin  as 
skeletons,  from  some  wasting  sickness,  tottered 


along  with  the  aid  of  sticks;  while  lepers,  with 
noses  ulcerated  away,  and  hands  and  feet  gone, 
hobbled  about  on  their  remaining  stumps,  and 
fought  with  the  looters  coming  up  from  the 
river  for  possession  of  the  spoil  they  were 
carrying. 

It  was  a  sickening  sight,  and  so  revolting  that 
words  fail  me  to  convey  the  least  idea  of  it. 
While  one  of  the  lepers  was  crawling  past  me, 
a  native  at  the  same  moment  came  out  of  the 
path  from  the  river  staggering  under  the  weight 
of  a  heavy  case  of  brass  rods  which  he  carried 
upon  his  head.  The  leper  at  once  made  for 
him,  grabbed  at  his  legs,  and,  with  a  vigorous 
pull,  brought  him  with  a  crash  to  the  ground. 
The  case  bursting  with  the  fall,  the  rods  were 
strewn  about  in  all  directions.  Quicker  than  it 
takes  to  write  it,  a  crowd  was  on  the  spot,  fight- 
ing and  struggling  like  demons  for  possession  of 
the  precious  rods. 

Amidst  this  uproar  the  sentries  guarding  me 
quietly  disappeared.  Evidently  they  could  not 
remain  passive  any  longer.  All  day  long  the 
din  went  on  around  me,  and  as  the  sun  was 
going  down  a  couple  of  fetishmen  came  and 
danced  around  me  for  some  time.  After  ttiis 
two  of  the  young  men  brought  a  pile  of  wood, 
and  kindled  a  fire  about  two  yards  off.  They 
then  put  mats  down  by  it,  from  which  I  could 
see  they  were  going  to  act  as  sentries. 

My  sufferings  during  that  fearful  night  I 
cannot  attempt  to  describe  ;  they  were  beyond 
words.  Of  escape  or  rescue  there  was  not  the 
most  remote  chance.  Days  would  elapse  before 
the  news  could  reach  the  traders  at  Ningue 
Ningue  ;  and  about  another  week  would  pass 
before  it  reached  the  French  authorities  at 
Gaboon.  So  in  this  direction  I  had  no  hope 
whatever.  What  had  become  of  the  crew  I 
knew  not.  Seeing  me  captured,  they  would 
probably  jump  overboard,  swim  ashore,  and 
make  their  escape  into  the  bush,  if  they  could. 
If  they  had  not  got  off  before  the  natives 
boarded  the  schooner,  then  their  ( arthly  careers 
were  surely  finished. 

In  the  village,  quarrels  and  angry  altercations 
went  on  all  through  the  night  over  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  plunder,  until  within  an  hour  or  so 
of  daybreak,  when  all  grew  quiet,  and  the  still- 
ness was  only  broken  at  intervals  by  the  shrill 
shriek  of  the  screech  owl,  or  the  discordant  cry 
of  a  sloth  from  the  adjacent  bush.  With  the 
break  of  day  the  village  was  soon  astir,  and 
through  the  open  doorways  of  the  Banje  house 
I  could  see  the  people  collecting  for  the  purpose 
of  a  palaver.  Far  up  the  street  I  could  discern, 
as  the  people  moved  to  and  fro,  one  end  of  a 
tier  of  cases  containing  gin,  and  the  distribution 
of  these  was  evidently  the  topic  under  discussion. 


4o8 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


A    COUPLE   OF    FETISHMEN    CAME  AND   DANCED   AROUND    ME    FOR   SOME   TIME 


The  evil-looking  deputy-chief  was  at  the  head 
of  the  proceedings,  assisted  by  his  head  men, 
and  among  these  I  noticed  the  burly  form  of 
the  savage  who  had  been  the  means  of  decoying 
me.  Bitter  regrets  filled  my  mind  at  the  sight 
of  this  fellow,  and  I  deeply  deplored  my 
imprudence  in  leaving  the  schooner.  If  I  had 
been  attacked  on  board  the  craft,  I  would  at 
least  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  making  a 
vigorous  defence,  and  giving  my  assailants  a 
warm  time  of  it.  By  slipping  the  anchor  I 
would  have  had  a  chance  of  getting  away ;  but 
to  be  seized  and  tied  up  like  a  sheep  for 
slaughter  was  horrible  beyond  expression.  In 
other  villages  from  time  to  time  I  had  seen 
bodies  cut  up  and  cooked,  and  little  dreamed 
then  that  a  fate  like  this  would  ever  befall  me. 

The  uproar  and  confusion  in  the  village 
seemed  to  increa.se,  and  ^om  the  angry  manwer 
in  which  knives  were  drawn  and  guns  handled, 
it  looked  as  if  a  fight  were  going  to  take  place. 
Things  quieted  down,  however,  and  I  heard 
the  chief's  iron  gong  sounding  to  call  silence 
and  attention.  The  people  then  formed  them- 
selves in  rows  on  each  side  of  the  street,  while 
the   deputy-chief  and  his  head  men  sat  upon 


stools  in  the  middle,  and  near  to 
where  the  cases  of  gin  were  stacked. 
\Vith  various  degrees  of  uproar  and 
interruption  the  palaver  went  on 
for  hours,  and  the  sickening  an.xiety 
I  endured  was  horrible  beyond 
words  to  express ;  for  I  felt  that 
with  the  termination  of  the  palaver 
my  end  was  at  hand.  Suddenly 
the  chief's  gong  sounded  again, 
and  its  dull  "  clang  "  went  Llirough 
me  like  a  hot  iron  as  it  seemed  to 
knell  my  last  moments.  A  cold 
sweat  broke  out  over  me  as,  unable 
to  restrain  my  feelings,  I  groaned 
aloud  with  bitter  anguish. 

Immediately  after  the  gong  had 
sounded  I  observed  one  of  the 
chief's  followers,  with  a  gun  in  his 
hand,  start  off  running  at  the  top 
of  his  speed  down  the  line  of 
auditors  oh  the  left,  and  reaching 
half-way,  suddenly  stop,  and  then, 
with  a  waving  sweep  of  his  hand 
to  indicate  that  he  included  every- 
body, he  uttered  some  words  in 
a  loud  voice.  In  answer,  the 
throng  on  that  side  of  the  street 
replied,  with  a  deep  "  Yo,"  in  such 
perfect  time  that  it  sounded  as  if 
from  one  throat.  Extending  his 
hand  again  with  another  inclusive 
sweep,  he  repeated  his  remark, 
and  got  the  same  deep  and  unanimous  answer, 
after  which  he  raced  over  to  the  other  side, 
and,  going  through  the  same  performance,  got 
the  same  answer  from  the  people  there. 

He  then  darted  out  to  the  middle  of  the 
street,  and  with  frantic  contortions  went  through 
the  preliminary  steps  of  a  war  dance,  which, 
with  a  violent  movement  of  the  body,  he 
SL'Jdenly  broke  off,  and  started  to  race  down 
the  suv,ct  like  one  possessed.  Passing  the 
Banje  house,  he  stopped  in  front  of  me,  and 
commenced  to  dance  about  with  wild  gesticula- 
tions and  a  frequent  pointing  of  the  gun.  He 
fairly  quivered  with  excitement,  and  as  he 
chanted  a  war  song  at  the  top  of  his  lungs,  the 
veins  of  his  face  and  neck  stood  out  like  whip- 
cord. Twice  he  came  up  so  close  to  me,  that  I 
could  feel  his  hot  breath  on  my  face  as  he 
shouted  out  some  contemptuous  remark  and 
flourished  the  gun  before  me. 

This  done,  he  set  out  at  the  same  wild  speed 
back  to  where  the  chief  was  sitting.  Cases  of 
gin  were  now  broached,  and,  after  a  lot  of 
singing,  followed  by  firing  of  guns,  a  wild 
orgie  started.  Crowds  of  women  and  children 
gathered  around,  jeering  and  mocking  me ;  and 


CAPTURED    BY    CANNIBALS. 


409 


while  this  was  going  on,  a  tall,  gaunt  fellow, 
armed  with  a  gun,  suddenly  darted  out  of  the 
Banje  house,  followed  by  another  native  who 
was  evidently  trying  to  stop  him.  From  the 
wild  rolling  of  his  eyes  he  was  evidently  half 
mad  with  gin.  Coming  within  a  few  yards  of 
me,  he  put  up  the  gun  and  cocked  it.  The 
click  of  it,  to  my  tensely-strung  nerves,  sounded 
like  blows  of  a  hammer  upon  an  anvil,  and 
my  heart  almost  stopped  beating.  Giving 
myself  up  for  lost,  I  closed  my  eyes,  momen- 
tarily expecting  the  explosion.  Instead,  how- 
ever, I  only  heard  the  click  of  the  flint  as  it 
struck  against  the  pan,  and  then  a  tussle  as 
if  between  two  persons.  Opening  my  eyes,  I 
saw  that  the  gun  had  missed  fire,  and  my 
would-be  executioner  was  gripped  by  the  man 
who  had  followed  him,  and  a  struggle  for  the 
gun  ensued. 

At  this  juncture  some  other  men  came  along, 
and,  interfering,  they  overpowered  the  one  with 
the  gun.  Then,  taking  the  weapon  from  him, 
they  led  him  away.  My  life  for  the  present  was 
saved,  but,  as  I  was  to  find  later  on,  this  inter- 
vention was  not  instigated  by  any  motives  of 
humanity,  but  from  a  desire  to  reserve  me 
until  they  were  ready  to  put  me  to  a  lingering 
death  and  enjoy  the  sport  of  watching  my  dying 
struggles. 

Singing  and  carousing  went  on  all  through 
that  day,  and  about  evening  the  beat  of  tom-toms 
and  clang  of  gongs  announced  another  ceremony. 
Through  the  Banje  house  I  could  see  a  crowd 
coming  down  the  street  in  my  direction,  and 
presently  there  emerged  out  of  the  Banje  house 
a  fetishman  wearing  his  fantastic  ceremonial 
dress  and  attended  by  drummers  and  a  large 
following.  He  wore  a  short  skirt  made  of 
dried  grass,  and  around  his  ankles  were  bands 
of  the  same  material,  to  which  were  attached 
small  brass  bells,  which  jingled  loudly  as 
he  walked.  Bound  upon  his  head  v.'as  a 
circlet  of  eagle  feathers,  and  in  his  hand 
he  carried  a  deer's  horn,  in  the  open  end  of 
which  was  stuck  a  small  round  mirror.  The 
upper  part  of  his  body  and  his  face  round  the 
?yes  were  smeared  red,  with  a  paste  composed 
of  powdered  redwood  and  oil,  which  gave  him 
a  fearfully  repulsive  and  ferocious  appearance. 
He  and  his  followers  were  all  under  the  influence 
of  gin,  and  as  the  crowd  surrounded  me  with 
derisive  laughter  and  jeers,  my  heart  pulsated 
wildly,  as  I  thought  the  final  scene  was 
approaching. 

With  an  ominous  sound,  the  drums  now  com- 
menced to  beat,  and  with  this,  the  fetishman 
approached  and  commenced  to  chant  in  a  low 
tone,  keeping  time  with  his  feet.  Slowly  he 
moved  about  me  in  a  half  circle,  looking  from 

Vol.  ill.— 52. 


time  to  time  at  the  mirror  set  in  the  horn  he 
carried.  Gradually  the  chanting  grew  louder 
and  quicker,  and,  accompanying  his  voice,  his 
feet  and  bodily  movements  increased  in  rapidity, 
until  he  became  as  one  frenzied.  Then  his 
movements  and  voice  would  gradually  slow 
down  and  sink  into  a  cadence,  until  he  resumed 
his  normal  state  again. 

This  went  on  for  about  half  an  hour,  as  near 
as  I  could  judge,  when,  an  opening  being  made 
in  the  crowd,  the  fetishman  went  off.  From 
out  the  crowd  then  came  the  evil-looking 
deputy-chief  and  the  big  fellow  who  had  been 
the  means  of  trapping  me ;  and  closely  following 
them  was  another  man  bearing  a  large  iron  pot. 
Advancing,  this  individual  put  the  pot  down  a 
few  yards  from  me,  and  as  he  did  so,  the  act 
was  accompanied  by  a  great  uproar  among  the 
crowd  standing  about. 

They  commenced  to  dance  round  it  with 
violent  contortions  of  their  bodies,  and  calling 
to  me  to  look  at  it,  they  made  a  sawing  motion 
with  their  hands,  as  if  cutting  off  a  head.  Over 
this  pantomimic  display  the  savages  laughed 
with  fiendish  delight.  The  chief  and  the  big 
fellow  with  him  had  been  drinking  heavily,  for 
their  eyes  were  red  and  bloodshot,  and  they 
walked  unsteadily.  The  chief  danced  about, 
saying  to  me  tauntingly  in  the  coast  language, 
which  he  knew  I  understood,  "  O'  bells  cola 
iiipungi,  Ntangani'l  Ugo,  Ugo,  mpungi  eri  si 
nyfigi."  Translated,  this  means  :  "  You  want  to 
buy  ivory,  white  man  ?  Come,  come,  ivory  is 
here  in  plenty  !  "  Saying  which^  he  danced  off, 
derisively  signing  for  me  to  follow  him. 

The  big  fellow  then  danced  in  his  turn. 
Leering  and  gesticulating  at  me,  he  ])ointed  to 
my  throat,  and  then  making  a  sawing  motion 
with  his  hand  to  his  neck  as  if  cutting  off  a 
head,  he  pointed  to  the  pot  ;  after  which,  indi- 
cating the  position  in  the  sky  where  the  sun 
rose,  he  raised  his  hand  a  little  above  the 
horizon  to  point  out  the  time  when  the  head 
was  coming  off.  Interpreted,  his  action  plainly 
said  :  "  Your  head  is  going  into  that  pot 
to-morrow  morning  at  seven  o'clock."  Going 
off  with  the  drummers,  the  crowd  gradually 
followed. 

^\'ith  the  setting  of  the  sun  the  watch-fires 
were  again  kindled,  and  the  sentries  prepared 
their  mats  for  the  night.  For  about  an  hour 
after  sunset  comparative  quiet  reigned  in  the 
village  while  the  people  were  at  their  evening 
meal.  This  over,  the  drums  gradually  started 
again,  and  by  eight  o'clock  a  tremendous  drunken 
orgie  recommenced.  What  with  the  deep  boom 
of  the  drums,  the  firing  of  gun.s,  and  baccha- 
nalian singing,  it  gave  one  an  impression  of 
the   infernal   regions.      It   was   a   dense    black 


4IO 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


'  HE    I'OINTED    TO    MY   THUOAT,    AND    MAKING    A    SAWING    MOTION,    POINTED   TO    THE    POT. 


night,  and  the  village  street  was  illuminated  by 
native  candles  (made  with  the  inflammable  gum 
of  a  leguminous  tree)  stuck  here  and  there  in 
the  ground.  These,  as  they  cast  their  fitful  light 
over  the  dense  moving  throng,  which  danced 
and  capered  about  with  frenzied  movements, 
gave  a  weird  and  supernatural  aspect  to  the 
scene,  intensely  realizing  to  my  excited  fancy 
Dante's  conception  of  the  Inferno. 

As  the  pangs  of  hunger  and  thirst,  and  the 
fearful  agonizing  pain  of  my  cramped  position, 
caused  me  to  moan  heavily  at  intervals,  the 
sentries  laughed  boisterously  at  my  suffering, 
and,  mimicking  my  groans,  enjoyed  this  joke 
immensely. 

When  the  orgie  in  the  village  seemed  at  its 
highest,  one  of  the  sentries  went  off  as  if  to  fetch 
something,  but  not  coming  back,  the  other  went 
after  him.  Neither  of  them  turning  up  again, 
I  concluded  that  the  dancing  and  drinking  had 
proved  too  much  for  them.  About  midnight, 
as  far  as  I  could  judge,  the  noise  gradually 
lessened,  one  drum  after  the  other  stopping, 
until  only  one  was  left,  and  the  loose,  un- 
connected beat  of  this  plainly  indicated  that  the 
performer  was  very  far  gone  with  liquor. 

This  finally  ceased,  and,  shortly  after,  I  heard 
someone  groping  about  in  the  Banje  house,  and 
finally  fall  with  a  drunken  exclamation  on  to 
one  of  the  bamboo  seats  which  ran  along  the 


side  of  it.  Some  time  passed  and  a  dead  silence 
reigned,  the  only  thing  indicative  of  life  being 
the  rustle  of  wings  as  huge  bats  flapped  past  me 
from  time  to  time;  occasionally  I  heard  the 
sharp,  barking  voice  of  a  mandril  in  the  bush. 
The  last  ember  of  the  sentries'  watch-fire  had 
just  flickered  out,  when  suddenly  from  out  the 
darkness  at  the  back  of  me,  I  fancied  I  heard 
a  voice  whispering.  Did  I  hear  aright  ?  Or 
was  it  the  working  of  a  disordered  imagina- 
tion ?  No,  there  it  sounded  again,  and  it 
seemed  real  enough.  ]]ut  it  could  not  be ; 
it  must  be  fancy.  From  whence  could  a  voice 
come  ? 

The  blackness  of  the  night  seemed  to 
intensify,  and  the  silence  almost  grew  oppres- 
sive, as  instinctively  I  felt  the  presence  of  some 
living  thing.  With  senses  now  painfully  on  the 
alert,  I  listened  with  bated  breath,  and  suddenly 
I  heard  a  slight  rustle  at  the  back  of  me,  and  a 
voice,  the  reality  of  which  I  could  no  longer 
doubt,  say,  "  Massa,  Massa  !  " 

Almost  afraid  to  speak,  I  hoarsely  muttered, 
"  Who  is  that  ?  " 

"  It  be  me,  massa — your  boy,  Ndongo  ! " 
replied  the  voice. 

For  some  moments  I  could  hardly  realize 
that  it  was  true,  until  the  boy  produced  a  knife, 
and  commenced  to  cut  the  ropes  which  bound 
me.    "  Massa,  make  we  go  quick,"  he  said  ;  "  if 


CAPTURED    BY    CANXIT.ALS. 


411 


'Pongwe  man  wake  up  and 
catch  we,  we  go  die  one  time." 

At  that  moment  we  heard  a 
noise  in  the  Banje  house,  and 
my  breath  came  in  gasps,  as  1 
feared  it  was  the  sentry  waking 
up.  The  noise  not  being  re- 
peated, it  was  evidently  only 
someone  turning  over  in  a 
drunken  sleep.  \\'hen  the 
ropes  were  taken  off  me,  to  my 
horror  /  found  that  I  couldn't 
move  ;  the  cramped  position  I 
had  been  so  long  in  had  com- 
pletely numbed  my  limbs.  The 
boy  was  in  a  fearful  state  of 
trepidation  lest  some  of  the 
men  should  wake  up  and  dis- 
cover us. 

Trembling  with   excitement, 


THIS    IS    THE     FAITHFUL    BOY    NDONGO,    WHO 

CLT   MR.    MCCANN's    BONDS   AND   HELPED    HIM 

TO   ESCAPE   FROM    THE    CANNIBALS. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


black  and  indistinct  mass  of 
the  schooner,  where  she  had 
been  hauled  by  the  natives. 
Pulling  up  two  of  the  paddles, 
we  got  into  a  canoe  and  were 
soon  off  and  in  mid-stream  ; 
and  as  the  strong  current  seized 
the  canoe  and  swiftly  bore  us 
down  the  river,  I  felt  as  if 
snatched  out  of  the  very  jaws 
of  death.  I  wondered,  indeed, 
whether  any  other  man  had 
ever  had  such  a  perfectly 
miraculous  escape  from  what 
seemed  absolutely  certain 
destruction. 

^^'e  were  not  clear  of  danger 
yet,  however,  for  if  the  sentries 
woke  up  and  found  their 
captive    gone,   they   would    be 


I  directed  him  to  flex  and  move  my  limbs  up        after  us  speedily  and  soon  overhaul  us.    Paddling 
and  down  by  turns,  and  this  gradually  brought        for  dear  life,  our  efforts  and  the  strong  current 


feeling  back.  In 
couldn't  have 
been  more  than 
about  half  an 
hour,  I  was  able 
to  stand,  and, 
leaning  on  the 
boy,  started  off 
down  the  path  to 
the  waterside.  I 
had  to  halt  every 
few  yards  from  the 
pain  in  my  limbs, 
and  I  feared  I 
would  never  reach 
the  1  iver. 

The  hope  of  life 
strong  within  me 
now,  however,  I 
made  desperate 
efforts,  and  finally 
got  down  to  the 
waterside,  where 
we  found  a  whole 
line  of  canoes 
drawn  up.  Some 
were  high  and  dry 
out  of  the  water 
and  others,  afloat, 
were  fastened  by 
bush  ropes  to 
paddles  stuck  in 
the  ground.  Near 
by,  among  the 
long  grass  growing 
on  the  bank, 
loomed    up   the 


what    seemed   an  age,   but         carried    the    canoe 


along 


THE    BOY    PRODUCED   A   KNIFE   AND   COMM-,iNCED   TO   CUT   THE 
ROPES   WHICH    BOUND   ME." 


with  tremendous 
velocity.  We  went 
on  for  some  hours, 
until  the  black  of 
the  sky  gradually 
greyed  and 
heralded  the 
ap[)roach  of  dawn ; 
and  as,  at  length, 
we  shot  past  the 
landing  -  place  of 
some  villages 
whose  inhabitants 
were  at  feud  with 
my  recent  captors, 
I  at  last  breathed 
freely  and  with  a 
full  sense  of  free- 
dom. As  the  grey 
pall  of  the  sky 
lifted  and  day 
commenced  to 
break,  I  felt  so 
exhausted  that  I 
had  to  lie  down  in 
the  canoe. 

T  here  w  e  r  e 
many  unfriendly 
villages  still  be- 
tween us  and 
safety,  so  I  direc- 
ted Ndongo  to 
steer  for  the  bush, 
so  that  we  might 
lie  by  until  night- 
fall, and  goon  then 
with  more  security. 


412 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


I'ULLING    UP   TWO   OF   THE    PADDLES,    WE   GOT    INlo   A   CANOE   AND   WERE   SOON   OFF. 


Therefore,  hauling  into  the  bush,  the  canoe  was 
got  alongside  the  bank  and  carefully  concealed 
among  the  overhanging  mass  of  foliage  which 
grew  in  a  thick  tangle  on  the  riverside.  The 
great  outspreading  branches  of  the  trees  over- 
hung the  river  for  about  ten  yards,  and  from 
these  a  dense  network  of  creepers  and  vines 
grew  down  and  trailed  in  the  water,  forming  an 
opaque  curtain,  which  efifectually  hid  us  from 
the  view  of  anybody  passing  up  or  down 
stream. 

Ndongo  making  a  couch  of  leaves  for  me,  I 
stretched  myself  upon  these,  and,  exhausted  and 
overcome  with  what  I  had  gone  through,  I  fell 
dead  asleep.  In  this  I  dreamt  that  I  had  been 
recaptured  and  taken  back  to  the  village,  amid 
the  fierce  exultation  of  the  people.  Tied  up  in 
my  old  position,  preparation  was  made  for  my 
immediate  execution.  Near  me  was  the  large 
iron  pot,  and  under  it  a  big  fire  had  been 
kindled.  My  evil-looking  friend,  accompanied 
by  the  fetishman,  danced  around  me  with 
triumphant  yells,  and  in  their  hands  they  held 
long,  glittering  knives,  with  which  they  made 
feints  at  me  from  time  to  time.  AV'arriors,  with 
eagle-feather  head-dresses  and  bodies  painted 
red,  formed  a  huge  ring,  round  which  they 
danced  with  the  delight  of  fiends  as  they  kept 
time  to  the  drums. 

The  cold  sweat  poured  off  me,  and  the  agony 
of  death  was  now  jeally  upon  me.  The  drums 
beat  quicker ;   th^   shouting  and  singing   grew 


like  thunder  ; 
and,  amidst  fren- 
zied dancing,  the 
deputy-chief,  with 
his  Satanic  face, 
sprang  at  me  with 
upraised  arm. 
Like  a  lightning 
flash,  the  glitter- 
ing blade  was 
buried  in  my  flesh. 
\\'ith  a  loud  cry  I 
awoke,  bathed  in 
perspiration,  and 
with  the  blood 
surging  at  my 
temples,  as  if  the 
arteries  would 
burst. 

Everything 
swam  around  me, 
and  for  some 
moments  I  could 
not  realize  where 
I  was,  or  what  had  happened.  As  surrounding 
objects  took  tangible  shape — the  busharound  and 
overhead,  the  water  with  shimmering  discs  of 
lightwhere  the  sunlight  streamed  through  between 
the  leaves  of  the  trees ;  and  finally  my  faithful 
Ndongo,  sitting  not  far  off,  with  mouth  open  and 
eyeballs  protruding  with  horror — I  realized  with 
ineffable  relief  that  it  was  only  a  dream,  and  I 
was  in  comparative  safety.  Ndongo,  seeing  my 
convulsive  struggles  when  asleep,  thought  I  was 
dying,  hence  his  horror-stricken  appearance. 

During  my  sleep  he  had  gone  out  to  forage, 
and  coming  to  a  farm,  he  carefully  reconnoitred 
and  was  able  to  get  some  cassava  roots,  and 
these  he  had  brought  back  with  him.  Having 
no  means  of  making  a  fire,  we  ate  the  roots  in 
their  raw  state  and  appeased  our  hunger  con- 
siderably. At  nightfall  we  pushed  off  in  our 
canoe  again,  and  though  several  times  hailed 
from  passing  canoes,  Ndongo  answered  in 
'Pongwe  and  satisfied  the  curiosity  of  these 
inquirers. 

We  finally  reached  Ningue  Ningue  without 
any  further  mishap  just  as  day  was  breaking, 
and  when  the  traders  and  natives  heard  of  my 
arrival  they  greeted  and  congratulated  me  as 
one  risen  from  the  dead.  I  may  conclude  by 
saying  that  when  the  matter  was  reported  to  the 
French  authorities  at  Gaboon  a  gunboat  was 
sent  up,  and  after  a  stiff  fight,  in  which  the 
natives  lost  heavily,  the  whole  of  the  villages 
were  razed  to  the  ground. 


The  Miracle   Fair  of   Congonhas. 


Bv    HkRBERT    KlLBURN    ScOTT. 

A  remarkable   article    from    little-known    Brazil.    How   the    village    awakes   from    its    slumbers    for   the 

•'  Festa,"  and  all  the    amazing   doings  of  the  pilgrims. 


t.KNEKAL    VIEW    OF    CON'GONH.\S    DE    C.\MI'li,    WHERE    THE    liRE.-^T    MIKACI-E    ! 


P/tota. 


HE  Festa  of  Congonhas  de  Campo, 
in  the  State  of  Minas  Geraes,  is 
held  annually,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  important  of  the  religious 
festivals  or  fairs  in  that  vast,  but 
little-known,  country — Brazil.  Each  province 
or  State  has  one  or  more  Festas  during  the  year, 
in  connection  with  each  of  which  there  is 
usually  some  religious  ceremonial.  A  growing 
stone  is  the  great  attraction  at  Congonhas  ;  a 
statue  of  a  saint  at  Barra  de  Si.  Joas,  in  the 
State  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  ;  and  a  stream,  whose 
waters  are  supposed  to  possess  healing  proper- 
ties, at  Peres,  in  Minas  Geraes.  Very  large 
numbers  of  people  attend  these  fairs,  those  of 
Congonhas  and  Nazareth,  in  the  State  of  Para, 
being  the  most  popular. 

Congonhas  de  Campo,  so  called  to  distinguish 
it  from  Congonhas  de  Sahara,  another  village 
in  Minas,  is  situated  about  300  miles  north  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro.  Being  on  the  high  road  to 
the  gold-muiing  district,  it  was  a  very  important 
stopping  -  place  during  the  first  half  of  this 
century,  as  practically  all  the  gold  troops  or 
caravans  passed  through  Congonhas  during  the 
prosperous  times  of  1830-60. 

Nowadays  the  greater  proportion  of  the  pil- 
grims travel  by  rail  to  Solidade,  the  nearest 
station,  and  then  go  forward  on  foot  or  horse- 
back ;  but  this  will  shortly  be  changed,  as  the 
authorities  are  about  to  construct  a  branch  line. 
The  country  between  Solidade  and  Congonhas 
is  typical  of  the  Highlands  of  Brazil,  and  consists 


of  "campo"'  and  "niatto"';  campo  being  the 
grass  land  covered  with  the  "  capini  gordura,"  a 
very  good  fattening  grass  for  animals,  and 
matto,  the  wooded  part,  mostly  second  growth 
which  has  taken  the  place  of  the  virgin  forests. 
The  country  consists  generally  of  low  hills,  but 
northwards  it  is  mountainous,  the  peak  of  Ouro 
Branco  being  the  most  conspicuous.  Between 
Solidade  and  Congonhas  the  road  is  continually 
obstructed  by  immense  heaps  of  rubble,  known 
as  "cascallio,"  which  are  all  that  remain  of 
the  placer  gold  deposits  worked  by  the  first 
Portuguese  settlers.  Some  of  these  heaps  are 
of  colossal  size,  and  generally  lie  along  the  banks 
of  streams. 

The  road  follows  the  River  Parcopeba,  one  of 
the  sources  of  the  Rio  San  Francisco,  which  is 
over  1,500  miles  in  length,  and  drains  a  vast 
tract  of  country.  Fortunately,  the  road,  or 
rather  network  of  roads,  is  in  good  condition  in 
the  early  part  of  September  during  the  Festa, 
but  the  narrow  footpath  which  is  the  invariable 
short-cut  used  by  pedestrians  and  persons  on 
horseback  is  so  often  crossed  and  recrossed  in 
all  directions  that  travelling  without  a  guide  is 
rather  difficult.  The  main  roads  used  by  the 
ox-carts  are  more  easily  followed,  but  they  are 
much  farther  round. 

The  cheerfulness  and  happiness  of  the 
pilgrims  as  they  plod  along  with  their  Mecca  in 
sight  are  especially  noticeable.  They  come  in 
from  every  part  of  the  State  of  Minas  and  the 
almost   unknown    interior,    and    this    although 


414 


THE   WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


travelling  is  very  difificult  and  monotonous. 
Several  hundred  miles  seem  but  a  short  dis- 
tance in  Europe,  where  roads  are  well  defined 
and  easy  to  follow,  but  in  Brazil  the  case  is  quite 
different,  and  it  is  a  hard  task,  even  for  a  native 
mounted  on  a  good  hor.se,  to  travel  long 
distances.  Yet,  notwithstanding  the  days  passed 
without  food,  and  the  nights  in  the  field  or 
wood,  far  away  from  any  human  habitation, 
these  poor  people  will  willingly  face  anything  to 
go  and  fulfil  their  "  preniessas,"  or  vows,  at  Con- 
gonhas.  One  cannot  help  admiring  the  religious 
zeal  and  great  faith  thus  shown  in  such  a 
practical  way.  On  one  of  his  visits  to  Con- 
gonhas,  the  writer  met  a  woman  who  had 
tramped  on  foot  from  Jannaria,  a  distance  of 
over  400  miles.  On  asking  her  if  she  had  no 
fear  of  travelling  such  a  long  distance  alone,  she 
replied,  cheerfully,  "  No,  I  persevere  ;  and 
coming  to  fulfil  my  '  premessas,'  the  Good  Jesus 
accompanies  me."  This  courageous  and  truly 
religious  woman  would  return  to  her  own  village 
when  the  Festa  was  over,  passing  through  the 
same  difficulties  and  trials  with  a  cheerful  heart, 
borne  up  by  the  one  thought  of  having  fulfilled 
her  vows. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  year  Congon- 
has  is  only  suitable  for  those  wishing  to  be  very, 
very  far  from  the  "  madding  crowd."  Scarcely 
a  person  is  to  be  seen  in  the  streets,  and  houses 
and  shops  alike  seem  to  be  enjoying  a  sort  of 
Rip  Van  Winkle  sleep.  When  a  traveller  arrives 
in  the  village,  he  finds  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
getting  anything  to  eat,  as  the  inhabitants  can- 
not be  roused 
from  their  indif- 
ferent and  indo- 
lent state  with- 
out a  sustained 
struggle.  With 
the  beginning  of 
September,  how- 
ever, the  scene 
changes :  the 
streets  begin  to 
be  peopled  with 
pilgrims,andcon- 
f  u  s  i  o  n  reigns 
supreme.  First 
come  first  served 
is  the  rule ;  and 
all  the  houses  of 
the  Brotherhood 
are  immediately 
hired  at  exor- 
bitant rates.  The 
axles  of  the  ox- 
carts screech; 
the  horses  rattle 


their    shoes    over   the  vile   "  calcada,"  or  pave- 


ment ;    and    the   noise    is    further 


augmented 


by  the  increasing  hubbub  of  human  voices. 
The  inhabitants  wake  up  from  their  ten 
months'  sleep  and  throw  open  their  houses 
to  all  comers.  Tents  of  all  kinds,  shapes, 
and  sizes  are  erected  on  every  available 
piece  of  ground,  until  it  is  difficult  to  find  a 
resting-place  at  all,  even  the  churches  being 
filled.  The  zealous  pilgrim  makes  light  of  these 
inconveniences,  however,  saying:  "The  ground 
is  hard,  but  the  sky  is  a  roof  large  enough  to 
cover  all  humanity,"  and  so  the  late  comer 
contentedly  sleeps  out  in  the  open  air. 

Along  with  the  pilgrims  come  the  component 
parts  of  the  fair  proper.  Merchants  of  all 
descriptions  bring  their  goods,  and  with  the 
handicraftsmen,  jewellers,  saddlers,  etc.,  erect 
booths  along  the  principal  streets.  They  do  a 
thriving  business,  as  many  of  the  pilgrims  can  only 
make  purchases  once  a  year,  when  they  visit  the 
fair.  There  are  also  several  small  circuses  and 
menageries,  and  these,  together  with  the  round- 
abouts and  penny  shows,  minister  to  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  younger  visitors.  Last,  but  not  least, 
come  the  pickpockets,  card-sharpers,  etc.,  who 
as  in  other  countries  find  plenty  of  greenhorns 
among  the  rustics.  The  gamblers,  who  come 
up  from  Rio  Janeiro,  go  in  mostly  for  roulette 
and  baccarat,  the  play  being  generally  conducted 
in  the  back  rooms  of  gin-shops,  wh^re  these 
swindlers  are  allowed  to  carry  out  their  fraudulent 
practices  without  a  protest  from  the  authorities. 
Even  when  a  person's  pocket  is    picked,  or  a 


THK   STREETS    BEGIN   TO   BE   PEmi  1 
Front  a\ 


\  i>    ',■.  I  I  II     I  1;  '  ,1   I  .1  -. 
THE   FESTA.) 


I  I  I  I  I    1  iiKiNi; 

{Photo. 


THE    MIRACLE    FAIR    OF    CONGONHAS. 


415 


■"THE    SIDE-SHOWS    IN    THE   STREETS    ARE    INNUMERABLE;.  '      (HERE  WE   SEE   CROWDS  OF  PILGRIMS   AVAILINC 

From  a\  themselves  of  the  temporary  attractions  of  the  town.)  [Photo. 


robbery  committed,  the  police  content  them- 
selves with  looking  on  and,  "  tomar  conbecimento 
do  facto'''' — that  is,  "  make  a  note  of  it."  Among 
the  thieves  are  not  a  few  who  profess  to  be 
excessively  religious,  and  one  of  their  dodges  is 
to  pass  on  their  knees  (as  is  the  custom  with  the 
pilgrims)  from  the  door  of  the  church  to  the 
altar,  and  whilst  kissing  the  feet  of  the  sacred 
statue  draw  into  their  mouths  some  of  the  paper 
money  left  there  by  the  pilgrims  !  Others  there 
are  who  make  it  their  business  to  become 
friendly  with  the  more  religious  of  the  pilgrims 
and  ask,  as  collectors,  for  money  for  the  saints 
— which  money,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  does 
not  find  its  way  into  the  coffers  of  the  Church. 
The  priests  are  aware  of  the  presence  of  thieves 
in  their  midst,  and  counsel  the  faithful  to  use 
care  in  distributing  alms,  but  further  than  this 
they  are  unable  to  go,  and  conseciuently  all  kinds 
of  impostures  are  carried  on. 

A  few  of  the  bond-fide  collectors  wear  official 
dress,  and  carry  a  figure  of  a  saint  or  a  banner 
bearing  some  sacred  picture,  which  pilgrims  are 
allowed  to  kiss,  after  which  they  present  a  small 
sum.  Burton  says  that  the  income  of  the  Festa 
in  1869  was  ;^2,ooo,  but  the  writer  was  told 
that  the  average  for  the  last  few  years  has  been 
^8,000.  About  ;^2,ooo  is  deposited  with  the 
sacred  image  under  the  altar  in  the  principal 
church. 

The  shopkeepers,  strangely  enough,  are  mostly 
Turks,  who,  like  the  Portuguese,  have  a  happy 
knack  of  making  money  quickly  and  returning 
to  their  native  country  to  spend  it.     The  side- 


shows  in  the 
streets  are  innum- 
erable; the  Edison 
phonograph  which 
found  its  way  to 
the  fair  last  year 
attracting  more 
than  usual  atten- 
tion. The  people 
showed  great  in- 
terest in  the  taking 
of  the  photographs 
accompanying 
this  article,  but  it 
was  almost  im- 
possible to  make 
them  understand 
that  they  must 
stand  away  from 
the  camera.  When 
informed,  in  reply 
to  ceaseless  ques- 
tions, that  the 
camera  was  an 
infernal  machine 
they  showed  a  disposition  to  stand  farther 
off,  but  soon  became  artful  and  shook  their 
heads  at  this  explanation  ;  some  of  them  even 
made  off  with  the  dark  slides,  thinking  'they 
w'ould  be  able  to  take  photographs  them- 
selves. A  good  Margate  or  Scarborough  sands 
specialist  taking  photographs  "while  you  wait" 
would  do  a  roaring  business  at  remote  and  far- 
away Congonhas. 

The  village  is  scattered  over  two  hillsides, 
which  slope  down  to  the  River  Paracopeba. 
The  more  important  buildings,  such  as  the 
churches,  etc.,  are  built  in  a  substantial  way, 
but  the  majority  of  the  houses  are  made  of  large 
sun-dried  bricks,  or  clay  pressed  into  a  frame- 
work of  rough  timbers.  The  walls  are  after- 
wards plastered  and  whitewashed  inside  and 
out,  forming  when  new  a  fairly  presentable 
building.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  natives 
have  no  "  spring  cleaning,"  or  in  fact  any  other 
kind  of  cleaning,  and,  consequently,  after  a  time 
the  inside  walls  become  very  dirty.  Many  of 
the  houses  were  built  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  or  the  early  part  of  this  century ;  and  the 
destroying  hand  of  Time  has  begun  to  lay  hold 
of  them.  Hundreds  of  swallows  build  in  the 
roofs  of  the  dilapidated  houses,  where  they 
remain  until  disturbed  by  the  Festa,  when  they 
take  possession  of  the  interiors  of  the  churches — 
like  the  human  pilgrims. 

The  village  can  boast  of  three  large  churches 
and  several  smaller  ones.  The  mother  church 
of  the  patron  saint,  Bom  Jesus  de  Mattosinhas, 
is  situated  at  the  highest  point  of  the  village,  and 


4i6 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


|J>|,>L  l-I-IKl-    KlJlMCES    COXTAININ'G    RErRESENT  ATKjNS   i>|-    'IHE    DIFFERENT   SI  A  I  I 

J'rotii  a  Photo. 


is  reached  by  a  stiff  climb  over  the  cobble-stone 
pavement,  which  no  doubt  serves  to  remind  the 
pilgrims  of  the  Biblical  "narrow  way."  The 
steep  streets  of  all  Brazilian  villages  are  paved 
in  this,  to  a  traveller,  abominable  manner — 
partly  to  secure  a  better  foothold  for  beasts  of 
burden  passing  up  and  down,  and  also  to  break 
the  force  of  the  waters  during  the  rainy  season. 
In  front  and  below  the 
mother  church  is  a 
walled -in  space,  in 
which  are  5ome  Asiatic 
mosque  -  like  edifices 
containing  representa- 
tions of  the  different 
stations  of  the  Cross. 
These  small  chapels 
are  interesting,  as  they 
show  in  tableaux 
vivants  style,  and  with 
strict  attention  to 
detail,  the  different 
stages  of  Our  Lord's 
life,  leading  up  to  the 
Last  Supper  and  the 
Crucifixion.  Artistically 
speaking,  they  are  not 
imposing,  but  from  the 
visitor's  point  of  view 
they  are  interesting 
enough,  as  they  give 
an     insight     into     the 

^.,r-f^.^,^.      -^r     (.U„      „1 ^  "ILUAS   OCCUPIES    A    SEAT   N 

customs    of    the    place.  From  a\ 


During  the  Festa 
the  pilgrims  visit 
and  revisit  all 
these  chapels,  and 
the  writer  can 
vouch  for  the  fact 
that  the  tableaux 
fulfil  their  mission 
admirably.  The 
figures  are  a  little 
grotesque  to  the 
foreigner,  and  the 
artist  has  dressed 
them  a  la  Con- 
gonhas.  He  has 
actually  furnished 
the  table  of  the 
Last  Supper  with 
cutlery  and  glass, 
and  also  native 
Brazilian  dishes — 
feigas,  or  black 
beans ;  arroz,  or 
boiled  rice ;  and 
cachaca,  the 
native  rum.  Judas 
occupies  a  seat  near  the  door,  and  all  good 
pilgrims  think  it  their  duty  to  strike  him 
in  the  face,  with  the  consequence  that  the 
traitor's  visage  is  completely  knocked  out  of 
shape.  The  noses  of  the  Roman  soldiers  are 
amusing,  all  being  without  exception  about 
twice  the  size  they  should  be,  and  with  the  ridge 
shaped  something  like  a  switchback  railway. 


EAR   THE    DOOR,    AND    ALI,   GOOD    PILGRIMS 
TO   STRIKE    HIM    IN    THE    FACE." 


THINK    IT    THEIR    DUTY 

\_Photo. 


THE    MIRACLE    FAIR    OK    CONGONHAS. 


4^7 


it  was  a  national  institution.  The  church 
was  the  very  first  thing  thought  of  when 
a  few  settlers  had  gathered  together  to 
work  the  alluvial  gold,  and  it  is  to  their 
credit  that  they  raised  up  edifices  which  are 
in  good  preservation  to  this  day.  In  many 
villages  the  church  is  almost  large  enough 
to  swallow  up  the  remainder  of  the  build- 
ings together.  Inside  the  church  at  Con- 
gonhas  there  are  two  pulpits  and  several 
confessionals,  but  an  entire  absence  of 
seats  of  any  kind,  the  people  worshipping 
either  standing  or  kneeling.  Below  the 
altar,  in  a  reclining  position,  is  the  wooden 
figure  shown  in  the  photograph,  and  this 
figure  is  much  visited  and  venerated  by  the 
faithful.  The  image,  which  one  is  bound  to 
say  has  not  a  very  attractive  appearance,  is 
carefully  treasured,  and  the  writer  was  only 
able  to  procure  the  photo,  through  the 
friendship  of  the  Padre  Superior.  AH  good 
pilgrims  to  Congonhas  visit  and  revisit  this 
shrine,  hoping  that  by  so  doing  they  will  be 
guarded  from  all  ills  until  they  return  again 
the  following  year.  It  may  fairly  be  con- 
sidered as   being  worth  its  weight   in  gold. 


COLOSSAL    STATUES   OUTSIDE  THE  CHUKCH.      (THE  SCULFTOIC 

From  a]  got  £3  each  for  them  !)  [Photo. 

The  boundary  wall  of  the  church  is 
adorned  by  a  number  of  colossal  statues, 
some  of  which  are  shown  in  the  photograph. 
These  statues  are  about  15ft.  high,  and  were 
designed  and  wrought  by  a  local  artist. 
According  to  the  account -books  of  the 
church,  the  sculptor  was  paid  at  the  rate  of 
jQt,  each,  and  little  enough,  too,  when  one 
considers  the  dim.ensions.  Among  the  most 
noticeable  statues  are  Jonah  astride  a  whale, 
and  Daniel  with  the  lions. 

The  inscription  on  the  facade  of  the 
church  indicates  that  it  was  built  and  con- 
secrated in  the  year  1755.  This  was  at  a 
time  when  slaves  were  abundant,  and  manual 
labour  cost  very  little.  In  Brazil  it  is  not 
at  all  unusual  to  find  large  and  well-built 
edifices,  which  could  not  be  attempted  now- 
adays ;  and  although  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  believe  that  a  church  should  ever  own 
slaves,  yet  this  one  at  Congonhas  was  built 
undoubtedly  with  slave  labour,  and,  what  is 
more,  it  is  only  about  forty  years  ago  since 
the  Santuario,  or  governing  body  of  the 
church,    sold    off  its  few    remaining   slaves. 

But  do  not  let  this  shock  you.    Remember, 
Vol.  iii.— 53. 


.  .iL    KECUMBF.NT   WOODEN    KIGUKE    OK    CHKISI    liEl.uV. 

THE    LODE-STONE   THAT   ATTRACTS   ALL  THE   PILGRIMS. 

From  a  Photo. 


4:8 


THE    WIDE    WOULD    MAGAZINE. 


seeing  that  since  its  arrival  at  Congonhas,  twenty 
years  ago,  it  has  earned  an  immense  fortune  for 
the  Santuario.  Like  Judas's  face,  the  wood  of 
which  this  sacred  figure  is  made  has  suffered, 
though  to  a  less  degree  and  in  a  vastly  different 
way,  through  the  millions  of  kisses  and  tears 
which  have  been  showered  upon  it.  The  stone 
which  is  supposed  to  grow  occupies  a  space  of 
about  two  square  yards  on  the  left-hand  side  of 
the  church,  on  the  very  spot  where  the  Saint  Bom 
Jesus  de  Mattosinhas  is  said  to  have  first  made 
his  appearance.  Lor  this  reason  the  stone  was 
specially  venerated,  and,  owing  to  the  anxiety  of 
the  pilgrims  to  po.s.sess  pieces  of  it,  it  began  to 
disappear.  To  avoid  the  loss  of  so  valuable  a 
relic,  the  fathers  had  it  railed  in,  and  it  is  now 
supposed  to  get  gradually  larger  every  year. 

Perhaps  some  explanation  of  the  word 
"premessa,"  which  has  been  mentioned  several 
times,  may  be  interesting.  In  Brazil,  when  any- 
one is  suffering  from  an  illness  or  other  mis- 
fortune, they  make  a  promise  to  pay  for  masses, 
to  give  money  to  the  church,  or  do  penance,  in 
the  event  of  their  recovery.  The  consequence 
is  that  at  each  Festa  at  Congonhas  there 
are  the  accumulated  masses  and  penances  of  a 
year  to  be  got  through.  The  easiest  and  most 
common  form  of  penance  is  to  crawl  on  one's 
knees  round  the  church  and  up  to  the  altar,  and 
it  is  quite  a  common  occurrence  to  see  whole 
families  going  in  for  this  kind  of  devout  exercise. 
Another  form  consists  in  going  round  the 
church  kneeling  and  kissing  every  flagstone, 
finishing  up  at  the  figure  of  Bom  Jesus  under 
the  altar,  and  there  leaving  alms  for  the  church. 
Sometimes  a  man,  half-clothed,  will  be  seen 
carrying  a  great 
iron  chain  on  his 
shoulders  round 
the  church,  while 
his  wife  assists  in 
carrying  the  last 
links,  and  thus 
participates  to  a 
certain  extent  in 
the  penance. 
Some  women  cut 
off"  their  hair  ;  and 
the  writer  saw  a 
well-dressed  lady 
lying  flat  on  the 
pavement,  drag- 
ging herself  on 
her  elbows  round 
the  church  and 
up  to  the  altar. 
As  this  was  a  diffi- 
cult performance, 
she    was    carried 


out  fainting.  Others  there  are  who  carry 
lighted  candles  in  their  mouths,  thus  oblig- 
ing themselves  to  hold  back  theii  heads  in 
the  most  uncomfortable  and  painful  position. 
One  devout  penitent  had  a  coffin  made,  and  was 
carried  in  precisely  the  same  way  as  a  corpse, 
with  candles  burning  and  relations  weeping, 
three  times  round  the  church. 

About  a  ton  of  wax  candles  are  offered 
annually,  and  these  are  sold  by  auction  at  the 
end  of  the  Festa.  the  money  going  to  the  church 
funds. 

The  religious  services,  called  "  missoes,"  are 
supposed  to  commence  on  the  8th  September 
(although  previous  to  this  date  preparation 
services  are  held),  and  they  continue  until  the 
14th.  There  are  two  services  per  day  in 
addition  to  the  ordinary  mass.  Owing  to  the 
inuBense  concourse  of  people  who  attend  the 
evening  service,  it  is  generally  conducted  out  of 
doors  from  the  steps  of  the  church.  Only  the 
best  preachers  are  chosen,  and  in  consequence 
the  people  listen  most  attentively.  The  thousands 
of  worshippers — men  with  heads  bared,  and 
women  and  children  all  earnestly  listening  to 
every  word  of  the  preacher — together  with  the 
glorious  panorama  of  the  surrounding  country 
and  Ouro  Branco  in  the  far  distance,  make  a 
most  striking  and  impressive  picture.  After  the 
sermon  there  is  a  procession  round  the   church. 

On  the  14th  September  the  Papal  Benediction 
is  given  by  the  Bishop  of  Marianna,  and  this 
marks  the  close  of  the  great  fair  as  far  as  the 
religious  services  are  concerned.  The  number 
of  people  present  at  this  benediction  is 
enormou.s,    as    indulgences    are    given    to    all 


!■  roin  a\ 


Al    ri-.R     IHH    SKKMiiN    THERE    IS    A    I'NOCESSION     KOUND    THE    CHLKCH. 


{fltcic. 


THE    MIRACLE    FAIR    OF    COxVGONHAS. 


419 


INTEKIOK    Ol-     TliK    MIRACLE    KCJO.M- 

Front  a\ 


present.  AVhen  it  is  over,  the  more  devout 
pilgrims  take  their  last  farewell  of  the  miraculous 
image  of  the  saint.  Men,  women,  and  children 
crowd  round  the  altars  and  pass  hours,  and  often 
the  whole  night,  singing  in  a  melancholy  tone 
and  asking  for  the  saint's  protection. 

The  Miracle  Room  is  interesting,  and  a  view 
of  the  interior  is  shown  in  the  next  photograph. 
It  contains  pictures  and  sketches  representing 
the  circumstances  under  which  pilgrims  have 
been  rescued  from  great  dangers  and  immi- 
nent death.  Besides  the  j)icturcs  there  are 
many  wax  models 
of  heads,  legs,  and 
arms  —  presented 
by  persons  desirous 
of  returning  thanks 
for  their  recovery 
from  broken  limbs 
— also  crutches, 
bandages,  and 
clothes  of  all  sorts 
connected  in  some 
way  or  other  with 
injuries  and  ail- 
ments which  have 
been  cured.  In  this 
room,  too,  is  the 
original  cross  made 
by  the  first  settlers, 
and  which  tradition 
says  commenced  as 
early    as    the    year     yroma\' 


1700     to    work 
miracles. 

Behind  the 
church  are  the 
"  Romarias,"  or 
houses  where  a 
large  number  of 
the  pilgrims  are 
lodged,  or,  rather, 
packed  together 
like  sardines. 
These  houses  for 
the  pilgrims  be- 
1 o  n  g  to  the 
Brotherhood  of 
Congonhas,  the 
members  of  which 
aresaid  to  number 
close  on  20,000. 
I'he  Brotherhood 
have  also  a  bank 
at  the  back  of 
the  church,  where 
all  the  financial 
business  is  trans- 
acted. 

No  account  of  Congonhas  would  be  coniplete 
without  some  mention  of  the  poor  beggars. 
Cripples,  lepers,  and  persons  suffering  from  all 
kinds  of  terrible  diseases  come  in  their  hundreds 
from  all  parts  of  Minas,  and  gather  for  the  most 
part  on  the  steps  or  round  the  walls  of  the 
church.  To  a  considerable  extent,  the  alms 
they  receive  at  the  Festa  keep  them  alive 
for  the  rest  of  the  year.  Some  of  the  pilgrims 
change  a  large  sum  into  small  notes,  and 
give  systematically  to  all  the  lepers  and  goitre- 
stricken  persons. 


BESIDES    IHE    IICTLKES    THERE    AKE    MANY    WAX    MODELS    OK    HEADS, 

LEGS,    AND    ARJLS."  [Plloto. 


THE    KEGGARS. 


iLMS   THEY    RECEIVE   AT   THE    FESTA    KEEP   THEM    ALIVE    FOR 

REST   OF   THE   YEAR."  '^J  ru, 


7/7  the  Stronghold  ot  the  Bees. 

By  Captain  Frank  C.  Wemyss,  of  the  Cameronians  (Scottish  Rifles) 

It  is  a  remarkable  story  which  Captain  Wemyss 
tells.  The  beautiful  marble  gorge  of  the  Nerbudda, 
near  Jubbulpore ;  the  vast  colonies  of  nesting 
bees ;  the  greedy  Gonds  who  rob  them ;  and 
the  terrible  revenge  of  the  buzzing  myriads. 
With  a  complete  set  of  photographs  and  sketches 
done  on  the  spot. 

I  IE  "Marble   Rocks,"  near  Jubbul- 

])ore,  are  one  of  the  sights  of  India, 

and  form  a    superb   gorge    through 

which    the    River   Nerbudda   fiows. 

Tiie  rocks  on  each  side  are  from  40ft. 
to  Soft,  high,  mostly  perpendicular,  and  are  com- 
posed entirely  of  white  marble.  Time  and  weather 
have  to  a  great  extent  stained  them,  and  this  is 
apparent  in  daylight ;  but  in  the  glorious  light 
of  an  Indian  full  moon  they  are  dazzling  white, 
and  form  one  of  the  most  beautiful  sights  in 
the  world.  The  gorge  is  about  two  miles  in 
length,  and  in  its  upper  part,  for  a  mile  or  so, 
the  width  from  cliff  to  cliff  is  not  more  than 
ten  to  fifteen  yards.  One  spot  the  natives  call 
the  "  Monkeys'  Leap,"  and  here  they  show  one 
where  the  monkeys  jump  across ;  but  as  the 
animals  are  supposed  to  take  a  flying  leap 
from  a  point  about  Soft,  in  height  to  a  flat 
rock  on  the  opposite  side,  not  more  than  4ft. 
or  5ft.  above  the  water-level,  one  has  one's 
doubts. 

The  water  runs  rather  sluggislily  through  the 


11,    1  ALL    AT    THE   ShOT    UHbUK    THE    NERBUDDA    DESCENDS    IMO    THE    OORCiE. 

From  a  Photo. 


THE    AUTHOR,    CAPTAIN     FRANK    C. 
WE.MVSS,  OF   THE  CAMERONIANS. 

From  a  Photo. 

gorge,  except  at  the  top, 
where  the  river  falls  from 
the  upper  level  of  the 
country  into  the  gorge  it- 
self, a  drop  of  40ft.  or 
50ft.,  below  which,  for 
two  hundred  yards  or  so, 
the  water  fairly  boils  along 
at  a  tremendous  pace.  It 
soon  settles  down,  how- 
ever, owing  to  its  great 
depth,  and  a  boat  can 
easily  be  rowed  right  up 
to  the  beginning  of  the 
rapid.  At  the  lower  end 
of  the  gorge  are  two  rest 
bungalows,  which  are 
much  patronized  by 
people  from  Jubbulpore, 
thirteen  miles  away. 
There  are  a  couple  of 
boats  belonging  to  these 
bungalows  for  the  use  of 


IN  THE  STRONGHOLD  OF  THE  BEES. 


421 


visitors.  People 
very  often  come 
out  to  tline,  and 
row  up  the  gorge 
afterwards,  when 
the  moon  gets 
high.  But  if  one 
goes  uj)  in  the 
daytime,  the  na- 
tives always  im- 
press on  one  the 
necessity  of  not 
making  a  noise, 
and  more  particu- 
larly of  not  smok- 
ing, as  this  is 
likely  to  disturb 
the  vast  colonies 
of  bees,  which 
build  multitudes 
of  hanging  nests 
on  the  cliffs. 

And  it's  better 
to  be  chased  by 
almost  anything, 
from  a  Miistli 
elephant  down- 
wards, than  by  a 
host  of  angry  In- 
dian bees.    They 


hot  weather  they  are  much  more  to  be  feared, 
partly  because  they  are  then  much  more  lively, 
but  chiefly  because  the  Gonds,  the  natives  of 
the  Central  Province  jungles,  take  their  nests  at 
this  time  for  the  sake  of  the  honey,  leaving 
untold  thousands  of  the  angry  insects  both 
homeless  and  restless. 

The  way  the  (ionds  take  the  honey,  by  the 
way,  is  quite  marvellous.  They  first  jam  a 
stake  into  a  crack  of  the  rock  at  the  top  of  the 
cliff,  above  the  i)lace  where  they  have  marked  a 
nest,  then  they  climb  down  a  cord  swinging 
from  the  stake.  This  is  done  at  night,  when 
the  bees  never  seem  to  do  any  harm.  When 
the  natives  get  to  the  nest,  they  just  pull  it  to 
pieces,  take  out  the  honey,  and  then  climb  up 
the  rope  again.  The  ropes  they  use  are  most 
crazy-looking  things  to  trust  oneself  to  from  the 
top  of  a  high  cliff. 

But  now  to  my  story.  One  day  in  April, 
1894,  three  men  of  my  own  regiment,  the 
Scottish  Rifles,  then  stationed  at  Jubbulpore, 
went  for  the  d;iy  to  the  Marble  Rocks,  mean- 
ing to  row  up  the  gorge  and  come  back  in 
the  cool  of  the  evening.  When  they  reached 
the  river  they  had  their  dinner,  which  they  had 
brought  with  them,  and  then  started  up  the 
gorge,  rowed  by  two  native  boatmen.  The 
accompanying  photograph  shows  the  identical 
boat    and    rowers.      It  was   by  this  time  about 


■r     ^-' 

THE  WAY  THE  GO.MDS 
ROB  THE  bees'  nests. 

From  a  Sketch  sicpplied 
by  Captain  IVeiiiyss. 


abound  in  all  the 
Central  Province 
jungles,  building 
their  nests  on  the 
boughs  of  trees 
and  among  rocks. 
T  h  e  M  a  r  b  1  e 
Rocks  of  the 
Nerbudda  Gorge 
are  a  veritable 
stronghold  of 
them.  During 
the  cold  weather 
they  are  to  some 
extent  torpid,  and 
therefore  not 
nearly  so  likely 
to  give  trouble. 
At  the  same  time, 
it  doesn't  do  to 
annoy  them  even 
then.    But  in  the 


VIEW   OF    THE    MAKBLE   GORGE   OK    THE    NEKBLDUA,    SHOWING   THE    IDENTICAL 

From  a  Plwto. 


JuA  1     L  >h  L* 


I  lit    .MEN. 


422 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


THF.    MAKHLE   GORGE   A    FEW    HUNUKED    YAkllS    BELOW   ']'HE    i'l.ACE   OF    THE   ACCIDENT. 

From  d\  VERY  SPOT  wherf,  the  bees  attacked  the  men. 


3  p.m.,  and  very  hot.  The  (Jonds  had  for 
some  time  past  been  engaged  in  taking  the 
honey,  and  the  bees  all  up  the  gorge  were  in  a 
very  restless  state.  The  boatmen  warned  the 
men  not  to  smoke  or  make  any  noise,  and  at 
first  they  complied.  After  half  an 
hour  or  so,  however,  having  seen 
no  sign  of  any  bees,  except  some 
nests  which  so  far  had  escaped 
being  taken,  the  men  became  some- 
what less  cautious.  At  about  a 
quarter  to  four  they  arrived  nearly 
at  the  tail  of  the  rapid.  The  cliffs 
here  were  extremely  high,  and  the 
water-way  very  narrow  ;  the  exact 
spot  is  marked  wnth  a  cross  in  the 
photograph.  The  boatmen  had  for 
some  time  been  getting  nervous 
from  various  signs  they  had  noted, 
and  would  willingly  have  turned 
back  earlier.  But  the  men  wished 
to  go  on,  and  their  wishes  were 
obeyed  by  the  natives. 

Having  gone  as  far  as  they 
could,  they  were  just  proceeding 
to  turn  the  boat  round  when  sud- 
denly, with  a  roar  and  a  buzz, 
myriads  of  angry  bees  were  upon 
them.  The  boatmen  at  once 
jumped    into     the    water,      being 


absolutely  unpro- 
tected from  the 
onslaughts  of  the 
furious  insects. 
The  soldiers  tore 
off  their  khaki 
coats  and  struck 
out  right  and  left 
at  the  bees.  But 
this  only  had  the 
effect  of  making 
them  more  and 
more  enraged  ; 
and  at  last,  mad- 
dened with  the 
[viin,  the  soldiers 
also  sprang  into 
the  water  — 
though  one  of 
them  was  a  very 
indifferent  swim- 
mer. Even  in 
the  water,  how- 
ever, they  were 
not  left  in  peace, 
and  were  com- 
pelled to  dive 
and  swim  under 
water  as  much  as 
they  could.  Each  time  a  head  came  up  a  swarm 
of  buzzing,  stinging  bees  was  upon  it  in  a 
moment  ;  and  at  last  one  of  the  unfortunate 
men,  utterly  exhausted  with  the  double  struggle, 
sank  to  rise  no  more. 


the   cko.ss   shows  the 
\,Photo. 


the    soldiers   tore   off   their    khaki    coats   AND 
STRUCK    OUT    RIGHT    AND    LEFT    AT    THE    BEES." 

From  a  Sketch  supplied  by  Captain    IVemyss. 


IN  THE  STRONGHOLD  OF  THE  BEES. 


423 


The  two  natives  and  the  two  remaining 
soldiers,  swimming  under  water  as  much  as 
possible,  at  last  shook  off  the  overwhelming 
enemy,  and  landed  on  a  piece  of  flat  rock  some 
three  hundred  yards  below  where  they  had  been 
attacked.  After  waiting  a  short  time  here,  the 
boat  came  slowly  towards  them,  drifting  down 
with  the  current,  and  with  a  cloud  of  furious 
bees  still  hovering  over  it.  The  men  all 
crouched  motionless  on  the  little  bit  of  rock, 
fearing  that  the  slightest  movement  would  bring 
back  their  relentless  foes.  A  short  distance 
below  them  the  boat  caught  against  an  angle  of 
the  rock  and  there  remained.  The  bees,  after 
buzzing  round  it  for  half  an  hour,  at  last  left, 
and  the  four  exhausted  men  then  swam  down  to 
it  and  got  in.  When  they  reached  the  bottom 
of  the  gorge,  they  returned  to  Jubbulpore  and 
there  reported  the  melancholy  business. 

The  Colonel  ordered  me  to  go  out  early  next 
morning  to  collect  the  native  evidence  for  the 
inquest,  and  also,  if  possible,  to  recover  the  body 
and  select  a  spot  for  the  grave.  Accordingly  I 
drove  out,  taking  with  me  a  sergeant  and  two 
men.  Shortly 
after  we  arrived, 
about  7  a.m.,  the 
inspector  of 
police  joined  us, 
and  we  started 
by  interviewing 
the  boatmen. 
They  were  still  in 
a  terrible  fright, 
and  had  their 
heads  smeared 
with  some  yellow 
stuff  to  allay  the 
pain  caused  by 
the  stings.  Ex- 
cept on  their 
heads  they  were 
practically  un- 
touched, having 
taken  to  the 
water  at  once. 
Naturally  they 
were  very  loth  to  venture  into  the  gorge  again, 
but  were  allowed  no  choice,  and  after  providing 
ourselves  and  them  with  blankets  to  wra{)  our- 
selves in  if  the  bees  attacked  us,  we  started  in 
the  same  boat  to  try  and  recover  the  body  by 
dragging  with  a  large  grappling-iron  fixed  to  a 
long  rope.  We  crept  along  in  absolute  silence 
except  for  the  slight  splash  of  the  oars,  very 
unwillingly  worked  by  the  two  natives. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  scene  of  the  catas- 
trophe, we  first  looked  about  for  a  possible  spot 


WRAPPED    IN    OUR    BLANKETS    FROM    HIM)     i    i    I     ■  .  I  ,    v.iiii    ism 
BEES    BUZZING    AM,    KnlNli    US.  " 

From  a  Sketch  supplied  by  Captain   iVemyss. 


on  which  to  land  in  case  the  bees  attacked  us. 
We  found,  just  at  the  foot  of  the  rapid  and 
.slightly  above  where  the  party  had  been  attacked 
the  previous  day,  a  good-sized  pittce  of  flat  rock, 
and  on  this  I  decided  we  should  land  and  lie 
down  covered  with  blankets  in  case  of  accidents. 
We  then  began  dragging,  but  soon  found  that 
this  was  practically  useless,  as  the  surface  of  the 
bottom  was  so  uneven,  that  at  one  moment  the 
grappling-iron  would  want  Soft,  of  rope,  while 
the  next  we  would  be  pulling  it  up  the  side  of  a 
50ft.  precipice  under  the  water. 

I  was  just  thinking  of  giving  it  up  and  going 
back  when  the  boatmen  screamed  "  Mukki  ata  !  " 
(the  bees  are  coming),  and  were  with  difficulty 
restrained  from  jumping  into  the  water.  Sure 
enough,  the  bees  were  coming.  Some  indeed 
were  already  round  us,  and  there  was  a  perfect 
roar  of  buzzing  in  the  gorge  below  us.  We  each 
seized  a  blanket  and  made  for  the  flat  rock, 
which  was  now  only  a  few  yards  away ;  this 
gained,  we  fairly  hurled  ourselves  out  of  the  boat. 
There  we  lay  down  wrapped  in  our  blankets 
from  head  to   foot,  with   unnumbered   hosts   of 

bees  buzzing  all 
round  us.  We 
remained  in  this 
trying  position 
for  half  an  hour 
or  so,  which 
seemed  like  an 
age,  as  you  may 
suppose.  At  last 
the  buzzing 
stopped,  and 
cautious  investi- 
gation from 
under  a  blanket 
showed  the  coast 
to  be  clear.  We 
had  togo through 
the  gorge  again 
to  get  back,  and 
we  didn't  like  it 
too  much,  I  can 
tell  you  ;  but, 
after  waiting 
another  half-hour,  we  started  off,  rowing  as 
hard  as  we  could,  and  got  through  without  any 
misadventure. 

Before  I  went  back  I  chose  a  place  for  the 
man's  grave,  in  case  the  body  should  be  re- 
covered. The  spot  was  next  to  the  grave  of  a 
man  tv/io  had  met  an  exactly  similar  death 
fourteen  years  before.  The  body  of  our  man 
was  found  by  some  natives  early  the  next  morn- 
ing close  to  the  bungalows  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  gorge,  and  it  was  buried  the  same  day. 


In   the    Wilds  of  Alaska. 


Bv  A.   Bp:verlv  Smith. 

Entering  the  country  by  Cook's  Inlet,  on   the  south-western    coast,  this  gentleman    penetrated  to 
new  and  almost  unknown  gold-fields.     He  illustrates  his  paper  by  a  series  of  snap-shots  showing 

the  manner   of  life    in  this  wild   region. 

time  remained  unexplored,  except  by 
the  priest.s  of  the  Cireek  Church,  who 
have  penetrated  far  into  the  interior, 
and  through  the  influence  of  their 
teaching.s    paved    the   way   for    the 
peaceful  entry  of  the  dominant  race. 
As  is  always  the  case  where  gold 
is   likely  to  be   found,   many  hardy 
and  adventurous  men  entered  this 
new   region    with   the   Government 
forces   and    followed,    or   in    some 
cases  led,  them  in  their  explorations. 
They    found    many    difficulties    to 
overcome,  however.     The  Sushitna 
is  a  broad,  shallow  stream,  divided 
into  many  channels,  and  with  a  very 
swift  current,   such   as   is  found    in 
all    Alaskan    rivers.      Owing  to  the 
many  bars  and  shallows,  the  river  is 
full  of  snags  :  some  of  them  project- 
ing high  out  of  the  water,  and  others 
masked  by  a   few  inches  of  water 
running  over   their   point,   as    seen 
in  the  photograph  here  reproduced. 
These  snags  are   by   far  the   most 
dangerous  obstacles,  for  in  the  riffles  it  is  difficult 
to  distinguish  the  break  of  water  over  the  point 
of  the  snag.     The  fate  of  the   boat  that  runs 
against   this   concealed   foe  while  going   down 
stream  is  sealed  ;  for  before  one  can  think  the 
boat  is  overturned  and  the  contents  lost  in  the 


-MR.    A.    BEVERLY   SMITH,    UN'    TIIK    SUSHITNA    RIVER,    ALASKA. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


TE  year  1898  witnessed  the  opening 
up  of  another  division  of  the  great 
territory  of  Alaska.  Attempts  have 
previously  been  made  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  to  find  a 

pass  into  the  interior  of  Alaska  and  the  Klondike 

region,  by  which  entrance 

could  be  obtained  without 

passing  over  British  terri- 
tory;  and  for  this  purpose 

several   expeditions    have 

unsuccessfully    attempted 

to     ascend    the     Copper 

River.    In  1898,  however, 

a  new  point  was  selected 

for  attack,   and  three   ex- 
peditions entered   Cook's 

Inlet,  on  tlie  south-western 

coast,    prepared    to   force 

the    Knick  and    Sushitna 

Rivers.     One  of  these  ex- 
peditions was   successful, 

and  I  was  fortunate  enough 

to   accompany    it,    armed 

among   other  things  with 

a  camera. 

This  section   of  the     

country    had    up    to    this        Fro,,,  a  rhoto.\ 


A    DANGEROUS        SNAG       IN    THE    SUSHITN.\    RIVER. 


\by  the  A  uthor. 


IN'     IHE    WIl.DS    OK    ALASKA. 


425 


/•'lom  a  }^hoto.] 


A   CoUH.E   OF    PROSPECTORS   IN    THEIR   CANVAS    BOA  i>. 


rushing  flood,  while  the  occupants  themselves 
are  lucky  to  escape  with  their  lives.  Many  of 
the  parties  on  the  river  last  year  met  this  danger, 
and  lost  one  or  more  boats  and  cargoes,  althou2;h 
there  was  but  one  life  thus  lost,  so  far  as  is 
known. 

Of  course,  there  were  many  patterns  of  boats 
used.  Each  man  thought  he  knew  what  model 
was  best  suited  to  river  navigation  ;  while,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  were  few  of  the  crowd  experi- 
enced in  such  work.  The 
hobbies  were  numerous, 
and  the  results  in  some 
cases  laughable.  Perhaps 
the  oddest  craft  that  en- 
tered the  river  last  year 
was  a  sort  of  house -boat, 
propelled  partly  by  steam 
and  partly  by  sail.  It  was 
named  after  the  State  from 
which  its  captain  hailed, 
but  when  it  appeared  on 
the  river  someone  dubbed 
it  Noahs  Ark,  and  by  this 
name  was  it  known  until 
the  end.  The  favourite 
boat  was  a  pointed  skiff, 
long  and  narrow,  usually 
built  roughly  after  the 
arrival  at  the  Inlet.  These 
were  in  the  main  the  most 
satisfactory.  There  were 
many  Peterborough  and 
other  canoes,  which  were 
found  to  be  too  delicate 
for   the    heavy   work   re- 

Vol.  iii. — 54. 


quired,  and  a  few  folding 
canvas  boats,  which  were 
very  good  indeed. 

The  photo,  here  given 
represents  a  couple  of 
prospectors  with  their 
canvas  boats.  In  the 
background  we  have  a 
typical  scene  on  the  river 
banks.  'l\vo  of  thest 
canvas  boats  went  up  the 
river  successfully  and  with- 
out accident  of  any  kind, 
e.xcepting  an  occasional 
hole  punched  by  a  too 
familiar  rock.  And  even 
in  that  event  they  were 
easily  repaired  with  a 
patch  of  canvas.  They 
were  overloaded  though, 
as  were  all  the  boats,  the 
disposition  of  the  "  ten- 
derfoot "  being  to  carry 
too  much.  They  had  tarpaulins  fashioned  into 
S(|uare-rigged  sails,  which  worked  well. 

A  common  experience  was  meeting  with  and 
chopping  through  the  many  log  jams.  Burdened 
with  their  heavily-laden  boats,  the  explorers 
chose  the  smaller  and  quieter  channels,  for  there 
they  found  the  current  less  violent,  although  the 
log  jams  were  more  numerous.  Frequently  these 
jams  extended  entirely  across  the  channel,  and 
sometimes  covered  acres  in  extent  with  a  tangled 


yi'y  trie  A  It  t  hoy. 


FRFQ    F.NTi  V    THESE  JA.MS   EXTENDED    ENTIRELY   ACROSS    THE    CHANNEL,    AND    TO    CH  'P    A    PASSAGE 

rrom  a  Photo.]  THROuciH  WAS  NO  EASY  TASK.  [by  the  Author. 


426 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


1. 


IT    USUALLY   REQUIRED   THE   ENTIRE    STRENGTH   OF   THE   PARTV 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 

mass  of  giant  tree-trunks  and  other  debris.  To 
chop  a  passage  through  one  of  these,  as  seen  in 
the  photograph,  was  no  easy  task,  and  generally 
required  hours  of  arduous  and  dangerous  work, 
both  in  chopping  and  afterwards  hauling  the 
boats  through  the  narrow  channel  thus  made. 
The  last-named  operation  is  well  rej^resented  in 
the  next  snap-shot. 

It  usually  required  the 
entire  strength  of  the 
party  to  move  one  boat, 
some  bending  their  utmost 
efforts  upon  the  tow-line, 
while  others  skilfully 
steered  the  boat  through 
the  boiling  passage. 

As  the  adventurers  tra- 
velled farther  and  farther 
north,  they  found  the  day 
increasing  in  length,  until 
in  midsummer  the  sun 
remained  above  the  hori- 
zon nearly  twenty  hours 
out  of  the  twenty- four, 
presenting  the  novelty  of 
a  sunset  at  midnight. 
One  of  these,  occurring 
at  11.30  p.m.,  June  19th, 
is  here  shown. 

The  natives  of  this  part 
of  Alaska  present  a  some-     .. 

.  '  .  THE    SUN    REMAINED    AllO\  E   T 

what     mterestmg     study.  from  a 


I  )irty  and  degraded,  with- 
out honour  or  traditions, 
they  are  sinking  rapidly 
down  the  slope  of  time 
to  extinction.  Once  the 
coast  tribes  were  strong, 
with  men  of  valour  and 
might,  as  may  be  read  in 
the  picture  language  of 
their  former  Shamens,  or 
medicine  men,  and  the 
l)araphernalia  of  their 
secret  societies.  Now, 
however,  the  tribes  are 
few  in  number,  and  the 
people  dying  fast  of  con- 
sumption and  kindred 
diseases — mostly  the  heri- 
tage left  them  by  the 
foreigners  who  have  been 
their  real  rulers  since 
Captain  Cook  discovered 
their  abiding -place.  To 
illustrate  these  remarks  I 
reproduce  at  the  top  of  the 
nextpagea  snap-shot  show- 
ing a  typical  chiefs  house. 
Their  villages  are  built  without  any  attention 
to  regular  order.  The  houses  are  of  logs,  usually 
consisting  of  one  or,  in  some  cases,  two  rooms 
and  an  outer  shed,  which  also  acts  as  a  storm- 
door  to  the  house,  and  always  contains  an  open 
fire  of  logs.  'I'he  roofs  are  covered  with  strips  of 
birch  bark,  held  in  place  by  logs  laid  upon  them. 


iJ 


TO  MOVE  ONE  BOAT. 


HE  HORIZON  NEAKLV  IWENTV  HOURS  OUT  UK  THE  TUENIV-KOUR. 

Photo,  taken  by  the  .-iuthor  at  ll.jo  p.m. 


IN    THE    WILDS    OF    ALASKA. 


427 


From  a  Photo.} 


A  TYPICAL   chief's    HOUSE   ON    THE    RIVER. 


Each  cabin  has  its  attendant  "  cache,"  a  small 
house  built  of  logs  and  mounted  upon  high 
posts.  In  these  caches  are  stored  the  dried  fish 
and  other  provisions  of  the  owner,  secure  from 
predatory  animals.  Each  supporting  post 
usually  has  a  circlet  of  tin  or  other  metal  near 
the  top,  to  prevent  the  encroachments  of  the 
smaller  climbing  animals.  Attached  to  many  of 
the  houses  may  be  seen  a  low  structure  of  logs, 
with  the  floor  sunk  under  ground  and  an 
entrance  a  few  inches  square  leading  into  the 
cabin.  These  are  the  bath-houses.  The  Russians 
taught  these  people  the  use  of  the  steam  bath  ; 
and  at  least  once  each  week  a  huge  fire  is  built, 
great  stones  heated,  and  the  family  retire  into 
these  cells.  The  hot  stones  are  then  brought 
in  and  water  poured  over  them,  making  a  dense 
steam  ;  this  is  followed  by  a  general  rubbing 
down  and  massage  of  one  another,  after  which 
all  don  their  discarded  garments  and  return  to 
the  always  dirty  dwellings. 

The  priest  is  the  real  head  of  the  tribe, 
although  there  are  generally  a  head  chief  and 
second  chief  to  each.  All  the  tribes  of  the 
Sushitna  district  are  under  the  spiritual  leader- 
ship of  oiie  man.  Father  Ivan  Bornovsky.  He 
is  stationed  at  Kenai,  and  has  nine  villages 
under  his  charge,  which  he  visits  at  least  twice 
each  year.  He  is  an  earnest  man  and  venerated 
by  his  scattered  flock.  His  portrait  was  taken, 
together  with  that  of  Ivan,  the  head  chief  of  the 
middle  Sushitna  tribe.  How  persistently  the 
trail  of  Russia  lingers  in  this  land. 

Each  native  bears  two  names — one  ot  Indian 
origin  and  the  other  conferred  upon  him  at  his 
baptism  into  the  Greek  Church.  For  the  latter, 
the  name  of  one  of  the  saints  of  the  Church  is 
generally  selected,  and  as  there  are  not  enough 


saints  to  go  round,  the 
result  is  a  puzzling  du[)li- 
cation  of  cognomens.  Ask 
for  "  Stepane  "  at  one  of 
their  villages,  and  four  or 
[\\ii  will  a})pear :  whilst 
"  Ivan "  will  bring  forlh 
half  the  male  population. 
The  ordinary  costume 
of  the  natives  is  a  tra\  esty 
on  that  of  civilization. 
For  the  "  bucks,"  a  flannel 
shirt  and  "overall"  panta- 
loons, with  always  a 
"  Derby  "  hat,  if  they  can 
get  it.  The  scjuaws  wear 
a  loose  gown  of  printed 
cotton  goods  —  usually 
much  the  worse  for  wear. 
Ordinary  observation  fails 
to  reveal  any  other  gar- 
ment during  the  summer  season.  On  gala 
occasions  a  new  gown,  with  a  bright  bandana 
kerchief  on  the  head,  and  beaded  moccasins, 
set  off  the  won\en  ;  while  the  men  appear  in  the 
full  glory  of  "  store  clothes  "  of  varied  makes. 

The  natives  bury  their  dead,  erecting  over 
each  a  structure  of  hewn  logs,  or  sometimes  (in 
case  of  children)  a  little  tent  of  gaily  coloured 
calico,  with  always  the  triple  cross  of  the  Cjreek 
Church  at  the  head.  One  custom  is  peculiar — 
the  dead  are  always  buried  with  the  head  to  the 


[6y  the  A  uthor. 


,  :-    MIDDLE    ~ 

THE   RUSSIAN    PKIEST,    FATHER    IVAN    BOK.NOVsKY. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


425 


THE   WIDE    WORED    MAC.AZIXE. 


the  camera  was  a  never- 
ending  source  of  wonder 
and  amusement  to  them. 
Allowed  to  look  through 
it  at  some  of  their  com- 
panions, they  would  evince 
the  greatest  delight  — 
chattering  volubly  and 
laughing  heartily  at  seeing 
them  apparently  standing 
on  their  heads  ;  those  in 
front  meanwhile  posing  in 
all  sorts  of  ridiculous  atti- 
tudes. They  could  not 
understand  how  it  was 
l)ossible  to  see  people 
upside  down  wlwrn  they 
knew  were  standing  on 
their  feet.  One  old  fellow 
insisted  on  turning  the 
camera  over  and  then 
looking  through  it,  and 
was  mystified  at  this  mak- 
ing no  difference. 

The  food  of  the  natives 

consists   mostly    of    dried 

salmon     and    other    fish  ; 

also   the   flesh    of    moose 

and    such    other    animals    as    they    may    kill 

during  the  fall  and  winter.     Salmon  forms  the 

bulk  of  their  diet,  and  is  very  plentiful   during 

the  season,   which  begins  about  July   ist,  and 

lasts  until  frost  comes  in   September.     An  idea 


CiRAVEYARD   OF    THE   INDIANS   IN    THE    INTERIOR   OK    ALASKA  —  THE    TWO    LITTLE   lENTS    ON 

From  a  Photo.'\  the  left  mark  the  graves  ok  two  papooses.  {by  the  Author. 

north-east.  Close  inquiry  fails  to  disclose  the 
reason  for  this,  but  so  it  is.  Here  we  have  a 
photograph  of  one  of  these  Indian  graveyards. 
Notice  the  two  little  "  tents  "  on  die  left,  mark- 
ing the  last  resting  -  places  of  a  couple  of 
papooses. 

It  is  difficult  to  obtain 
a  photograph  of  the  native 
women.  They  seem  to 
have  great  objection  to 
having  it  done,  and  it  is 
only  under  positive  orders 
from  their  chief  that  they 
will  pose.  The  writer  was 
fortunate  enough  to  secure 
the  accompanying  photo- 
graph of  all  the  squaws 
present  at  the  time  in 
one  of  their  villages.  The 
endeavour  of  one  to  hide 
her  face  almost  prevented 
the  recording  of  her 
beauty.  At  the  critical 
moment,  however,  a 
blood-curdling  yell  from 
the  artist  and  author 
caused  her  to  look  up, 
and  the  camera  was 
snapped.  The  men  are 
not  so  chary  about  having 

ineir  pictures       took,     ana  Fro>n  a  Fhvto.\  squaws  and  children  ok  a  sushitna  village. 


\by  the  Autlinr. 


IN    THE    AVII.DS    OF    ALASKA. 


429 


KF.SUI.r    OK    ONE    llDl  1; 

Front  a  Flioto.  ] 


S    1  IMIING    WITH    A    SMAI.I,    Ml        Ai  ,1  . !;  I  1  .  A  1  1 : 

WEIGHT  OVER  sooi.ii.  \by  the  Author. 


may  be  obtained  of  the  great  quantities  of  these 
fish  from  the  next  photo.,  which  shows  the 
result  of  a  single  hour's  fishing  with  a  small 
gill  net.  The  aggregate  weight  of  this  haul  was 
over  5oolb.  !  It  is  a  common  occurrence  during 
a  canoe  trip  for  the  Indians  to  reach  out  and 
capture  a  salmon  in  their  hand  as  it  is  swimming 
past  the  boat.  The  natives  clean  and  strip  the 
fish  and  then  hang  it  up  to  dry  in  the  open  air, 
using  no  salt  or  other  preservative.  Each 
cabin  during  the  season  has  before  it  a  frame- 
work filled  with  the  drying  fish.  The  prepara- 
tion of  the  .salmon,  drying,  etc.,  is  entirely  the 
work  of  the  squaws. 

The  Sushitna  Indian  builds  his  boats  for  the 
river  of  birch  bark,  and,  for  navigating  the  Inlet, 
of  the  skins  of  the  hair  seal.  In  the  construc- 
tion of  these  boats  he  manifests  considerable 
ingenuity,  but  little  origi- 
nality of  design.  The 
framework  is  always  of 
spruce,  bound  together 
with  sinew,  or  with  spruce 
roots  split  to  the  requisite 
thickness.  The  joints  and 
imperfect  places  in  the 
bark  are  rendered  water- 
tight by  cementing  with 
copious  applications  of 
spruce  gum.  These 
boats  are  very  light  (two 
men  are  holding  one 
in  the  photo,  with 
little  apparent  effort), 
and  will  safely  carry 
about  4oolb.  They  are 
inferior  in  design  and 
capacity   to    the    bark 


canoes  of  the  Canadian  or  North  American 
Indian. 

In  disposition  the  natives  are  friendly, 
their  recognition  of  the  property  rights  of 
others  being  their  redeeming  trait  ;  but  they 
arc  thoroughly  unreliable  otherwise,  and 
born  liars.  They  cannot  be  depended 
upon  to  carry  out  the  smallest  contract, 
luigaged  as  guides,  they  require  constant 
driving  and  careful  watching  to  prevent 
their  shirking  the  work,  or  deserting  the 
traveller  in  the  wilderness,  without  a 
nioment's  warning.  Here  is  a  case  in  point. 
One  of  the  prospectors,  an  old  man,  en- 
gaged two  Indians  to  guide  him  up  the 
river  and  perform  the  heavier  work  of  the 
journey.  He  had  hard  work  to  get  his 
guides  past  the  last  village  on  the  ri\er, 
and  being  unfamiliar  with  their  ways  was 
unable  to  cope  with  them  to  advantage, 
until  it  became  a  question  as  to  which  was 
leader  of  the  party.  Arrived  one  night 
an  island  in  one  of  the  widest  and 
swiftest  channels  of  the  upper  river,  they 
went  into  camp.  The  old  man,  being  very  tired, 
went  to  his  tent,  leaving  the  Indians  to  attend 
to  the  necessary  work  of  the  camp.  Awaking 
in  the  morning,  he  wondered  at  the  unusual  quiet- 
ness, but  suspected  no  treachery.  On  rising, 
his  dismay  can  be  imagined  when  he  discovered 
that  during  the  night  his  guides  had  left  him, 
not  only  deserting  him,  but  also  carrying  off  the 
only  boat,  although  they  did  not  take  the  focd 
or  outfit. 

His  situation  was  serious.  There  he  was 
deserted  on  an  island  far  up  the  lonely  river, 
with  absolutely  no  means  of  reaching  the  main- 
land, and  no  help  within  reach.  To  add  to  his 
trouble,  the  river  began  to  rise,  and  he  saw  from 


the 
at 


BIRCH-BARK    CANOES   OF    SUSHITNA   INDIANS — THEY   ARE   VERY    LIGHT, 
From  a  Fhoto.]  .  CARRY  400LB. 


AND    WILL    SAKEi.V 

[6y  the  Author. 


43<^ 


THE    WIDE    WORED    MAGAZINE. 


TRADING   POST   NEAR   THE    ^ 
I'tOlll  a  Photo.} 


the  driftwood  on  the  island 
that  it  was  entirely  sub- 
merged at  high  water. 
Something  must  he  done, 
and  that  quickly,  but  what 
was  best  was  difificult  to 
determine. 

Ooing  to  the  pile  of 
driftwood,  he  cut  with  his 
axe  a  stout  pole,  to  which 
he  fastened  a  flour  sack 
as  a  flag  ;  after  which  he 
set  it  up  at  the  head  of 
the  island,  in  the  hope 
that  it  would  attract  atten- 
tion should  there  fortu- 
nately be  any  parties 
passing  up  or  down  the 
river.  He  then  laboriously 
rolled  to  the  w-ater  some 
of  the  lighter  logs  from 
the  jam  at  the  head,  of 
the  island,  and  secured 
them  with  ropes  formed 
by  stripping  up  his  spare 
clothes  into  a  small  and  rude  raft.  This  done, 
he  sat  down  to  await  developments,  feeling  it 
was  better  to  remain  where  he  was  rather  than 
trust  himself  to  the  raft  unless  it  became  abso- 
lutely necessary.  He  had  no  means  whatever 
of  guiding  the  raft,  and  the  fastening  was  so 
insecure  that  there  was  great  probability  of  its 
going  to  pieces  in  some  of  the  rougher  riffles  of 
the  river.  He  also  knew  it  w^ould  be  impossible 
to  carry  any  of  his  outfit  or  stores  on  the  raft,  as 
it  was  barely  large  enough  to  sustain  himself. 

The  first  day  passed  quickly  in  this  prepara- 
tion for  the  worst ;  the  second  day  seemed 
interminable  ;  the  third  found  him  still  on  the 
island,  with  no  prospect  of  rescue.  Fortunately 
the  river  was  no  longer  rising — was,  in  fact, 
subsiding  ;  so  he  was  at  least  safe  for  the  time 
being,  and  in  no  danger  of  starvation.  But 
how  was  he  to  get  away  ?  vSuppose  no  parties 
passed  up  or  down  the  river  for  weeks  ?  Such 
was  likely  to  be  the  case  ;  or  those  who  passed 
might  take  another  channel,  of  which  there 
were  many.  Visions  of  home,  and  of  the 
friends  he  n)ight  never  again  see,  passed  before 
him,  and  he  felt  despair  approaching. 

Just  as  he  felt  that  all  was  hopeless,  he  saw 
an  Indian  canoe  nearing  the  island,  the  occu- 
pants of  which  were  curious  to  discover  the 
meaning  of  the  extemporized  flag.  A  fresh 
disappointment  awaited  him  here.  The  Indians 
would  not  take  him  into  the  canoe  because  of 
his  inexperience  and  the  danger  of  his  capsizing 
them.  As  a  last  resort,  he  wrote  a  note  to  the 
agent   at  the   trading  post  near  the  mouth   of 


. iA< — THE        STRANUEU 

TO   REACH    THIS    PLACE. 


I'KOSI'ECTDK    WANTED 

[l>y  the  Author. 


the  river  (see  accompanying  photograph),  and 
secured  a  promise  from  the  Indians  that  they 
would  deliver  it  as  they  passed  down.  He  knew 
how  little  reliance  could  be  placed  on  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  promise,  but  it  was  the  best  he 
could  do,  and  he  could  only  wait  with  what 
patience  he  could  command  for  the  outcome. 

In  this  case  the  Indians  proved  more  faithful 
than  his  guides  had  been,  for  they  delivered  the 
note  in  due  time.  A  rescuing  party  was 
organized,  and  brought  him  and  his  belongings 
safely  to  the  post.  He  afterwards  found  his 
boat  hauled  up  on  the  bank  at  the  post,  where 
his  deserting  guides  had  left  it  for  him  to 
recover,  or  not,  as  might  happen.  Needless  to 
say,  he  travelled  no  more  with  Indian  guides, 
but  attached  himself  to  a  party  of  white  men 
for  the  remainder  of  his  stay. 

The  ascent  of  the  Sushitna  River  proved  to 
be  a  difficult  and  tedious  accomplishment. 
Now  wading  and  dragging  the  boats  through 
the  riffles ;  then  towing  them  by  long  ropes 
through  the  swift  reaches,  first  hewing  a  trail 
through  the  dense  underbrush  along  the  banks, 
or,  again,  crossing  and  recrossing  the  river  con- 
stantly to  avoid  the  rapids  as  much  as  possible. 
The  progress  was  very  slow — sometimes  five 
miles,  sometimes  a  little  more,  would  be  the 
result  of  a  hard  day's  work  ;  but  always  there 
was  travelled  a  distance  entirely  out  of  pro- 
portion to  the  miles  gained-  in  progress 
up  the  river.  The  river  is  in  some  places 
many  miles  in  width,  and  the  writer  has  known 
parties  to  travel  five  miles,  crossing  from  channel 


IX     THi:    WILDS    OF    ALASKA. 


431 


NO    BAV     Ku.M    A.NLl    .NO 


KlCKl.SG      W.-\,S    THt    MOTTO   AT   THESE   EST.\l;LlbH.MtNTS. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


making 


but 


one 


mile 


up 


to   channel,    \vhilst 
stream  I 

Each  permanent  camp,  or  stopping-place  for 
more  than  one  party,  had  its  amateur  barber  and 
extemporized  barber  shop.  No  bay  rum  and  no 
"  kicking "  was  the  motto  at  these  establish- 
ments ;  and  woe  betide  the  one  who  objected  to 
the  style  of  cut,  or  complained  of  the  dulness  of 
the  razor.  But  better  than  any  description  is 
the  snap-shot  here  reproduced. 

As  the  days  advanced  into  August,  the  rainy 
season  (so  called)  set  in.  For  days  at  a  time 
the  clouds  and  mist  obscured  the  sun,  and  every- 
thing became  soaked  with 
water.  Clothes,  bedding, 
and  camp  equipage — all 
were  wet.  At  this  time  a 
clear  day  was  hailed  with 
delight,  and  the  journey 
temporarily  abandoned  to 
allow  the  drying-out  of 
men  and  outfits,  as  is 
seen  in  my  next  illustra- 
tion. 

At  one  of  these  camps 
a  laughable  incident 
occurred,  that  furnished 
sport  to  all  but  the  par- 
ticipants. Three  of  the 
men  had  gone  on  a  trip 
farther  up  stream  for  some 
purpose.  As  they  were 
returning,  and  just  out- 
side the  limits  of  the 
camp,   they  came   across 


a  yearling  black  bear 
crouched  behind  a  stump, 
and  watching  their 
approach..  The  leader 
ga\e  a  mighty  yell,  and 
each  man  sought  a  tree, 
up  which  he  climbed  with 
frantic  haste,  while  the 
bear,  as  much  alarmed  as 
they,  shambled  off  in  the 
opposite  direction.  The 
yelling  roused  the  camp. 
Each  man  grabbed  a  gun, 
and  all  sallied  to  the 
rescue.  I'he  bear  was 
met  and  killed  by  a  well- 
directed  shot,  after  which 
the  three  descended  from 
their  perches  in  the  trees, 
amid  the  jeers  of  the 
crowd.  It  was  not  safe 
after  this  to  say  "  Bear  " 
to  either  of  the  victims, 
although  it  was  long  before 
they  were  allowed  to  forget  the  incident. 

Twenty-five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Sushitna  River,  the  Alaska  Commercial  Com- 
pany have  established  a  trading  post  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  Indians  and  prospectors. 
There  is  also  an  Indian  village  at  the  same 
place. 

It  was  the  writer's  fortune  to  be  at  this  trading 
post  on  September  7th,  8th,  and  9th,  when 
there  occurred  a  sudden  flood  which  did  a  great 
deal  of  damage.  It  had  rained  steadily  for 
days  —  not  the  gentle  rain  of  the  temperate 
zone,  but  a  steady  downpour,  as  if  the  heavens 


DRVING-OUT 


OF    .MENS   CLtn  HES   .\NLi   OU  Tf  IT.-. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


if  TER   A    DKE.'.i;HI.\G. 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


"  THK    WAIEK    WAS    NEARLY   4FT.    DEEr   ALL   OVER    THE   ISLAND 

From  a  Pkoto.]  situated." 

were  again  opened  for  the  destruction  of  the 
world.  The  river  rose  slowly  but  ourely.  Not- 
withstanding the  numerous  channels  it  became 
full,  and  finally  overran  its  banks.  The  swift 
current  began  to  wash  out  the  banks,  and 
sections  —  sometimes  acres  in  extent  and 
bearing  great  trees  upon  them  —  crashed 
into  the  water  with  loud  reports,  that  rever- 
berated among  the  mountains  like  thunder. 

Steadily  the  water  rose. 
The  Indians  beheld  with 
horror  the  approaching 
ruin  of  their  cabins  and 
stores  of  food.  They  held 
night  .services  in  their  little 
log  church,  and  thus  tried 
to  avert  the  impending 
disaster.  Finally,  they  got 
out  their  little  canoes  and 
placed  in  them  the  most 
precious  of  their  effects, 
and  then  awaited  the 
coming  of  daylight.  (The 
photo,  shows  the  front  of 
the  store  in  flood.) 

When  day  broke  on 
the  morning  of  the  9th  it 
showed  a  scene  of  deso- 
lation and  damage.  The 
water  was  nearly  4ft.  deep 
all  over  the  island  on 
which  the  post  was 
situated.  All  the  houses 
were  uninhabitable,  and 
only  the  store  proper  and       i-rom  a  Fhoto.\ 


the  "  caches  "  on  their 
high  foundations  were 
above  the  water.  And 
the  river  was  still  rising- 
All  night  the  white  men 
and  Indians  had  worked 
side  by  side  in  the  dark- 
ness to  save  their  precious 
goods  and  outfits.  There 
were  at  the  post  large 
quantities  of  prospectors' 
outfits — clothing  and  food 
mostly  —  that  had  been 
cached  in  the  log-houses 
l)y  those  who  had  gone 
up  river  and  not  yet  re- 
turned. These  were  nearly 
all  covered  by  the  water 
and  lost,  notwithstanding 
that  each  man  at  the  post 
worked  hard  to  save  pro- 
perty without  respect  to 
ownership.  Owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  boats  it  was 
impossible  to  save  all,  and,  of  course,  each  man 
looked  out  for  his  own  first. 

Breakfast  that  morning  was  light,  and  prepared 
in  many  novel  ways.  One  party  built  a  fire  on 
a  little  knoli,  the  top  of  which  projected  a  few 
inches  from  the  water,  and  fried  the  inevitable 
"  bacon  and  pancakes  "  over  it,  the  cook  wading 
to  and  from  the  former  tent-table  for  the  batter. 
This  cooking  under  difficulties  is  seen  in  the 


ON    WHICH    TiIE    lijbl     WAS 

[by  the  Author. 


KESCtING   GOODS    IN    THE    FLOOD 


\lty  the  Author. 


IX     THE     WILDS     ur     ALASKA. 


433 


Lilh  1-  icl.  L  1  It^. 


next  snap-shot.  Another  party  set  up  their 
camp  stove  in  their  boat  and  cooked  on  it, 
standing  around  knee-deep  in  the  water  to  eat 
the  meal  (see  photograph).  At  six  o'clock  a.m. 
all  hands  turned  in  to  help  remove  the  goods 
from  the  trader's  store,  and  by  noon  all 
abandoned  the  island  for  the  mainland,  getting 
across  the  swollen  channel  in  their  heavy  boats 
with   ditificulty,    but  without  accident. 

Reports  had  from  time 
to  time  come  down  the 
rivc-r  that  tiiere  had  been 
a  good  ■"  strike  "'  made  on 
the  Chanilkiia,  or  Clear- 
water Creek.  These  re- 
ports could  not  be  verified, 
for  the  new  field  was  diffi- 
cult of  access  by  white 
men,  and  no  one  who  had 
come  down  had  visited 
it.  The  writer,  however, 
undertook  to  get  there, 
although  the  season  was 
so  far  advanced  that  there 
was  danger  of  being  frozen 
in  for  the  winter.  Taking 
abaidarka,  or  native  skin- 
covered  boat,  however, 
with  twenty  days'  rations 
and  a  couple  of  Indians 
as  guides  and  helpers,  I 
started,  and  by  steady 
work  reached  the  Cha- 
nilkna,  and  the  scene  of 

Vol.  ill. — 55. 


the  reported  strike  nine 
days  afterwards.  1  found 
the  reports  had  not  exag- 
gerated. The  find  proved 
to  be  in  the  bed  of  what 
was  evidently  a  prehistoric 
river.  The  Chanilkna,  a 
modern  creek,  now  occu- 
pies portions  of  the  old 
river-bed,  and  has  cut  its 
way  through  it.  It  is  a 
beautiful  stream,  but  im- 
possible of  navigation  for 
even  the  lightest  boats, 
owing  to  tile  huge  boul- 
ders and  many  rapids. 

(Jold  was  found  in 
l)knty,  and,  unlike  that 
heretofore  obtained  in 
this  section,  was  in  coarse 
grains  and  small  nuggets. 
A  subsequent  assay  of 
this  gold  shows  it  to  be  of 
unusual  fineness,  the  assay 
report  being  that  it  was 
•833  fine,  and  worth  $i7"i5  per  ounce.  At  one 
point  ot  the  creek  the  discoverers  had  com- 
menced operations.  They  had  put  in  a  dam  and 
bedrock  drain,  and  had  sunk  a  shaft  almost  to  bed- 
rock.  Tile  sudden  advance  of  winter,  however, 
put  a  stop  to  their  work  before  bedrock  was 
reached,  but  they  expected  to  begin  washing  out 
gold  early  in  this  spring.  There  will  undoubtedly 
be  a  rush  made  to  this  field  in  the  present  year. 


l/j'  iiiiS  .  1  utitor. 


.1  P/toti^.] 


IHE    KlKSl 


.{7il!ior. 


The   Kidnapping   of   Jo  finny   Conway. 

Ev  W.   H.  Braixerd,   City    Editor   of    the   Albany  (N.Y.)  "  Argus." 

How   a  child  was  kidnapped  in  August,  1S97,  and   after  many  strange  happenings  restored  once  more 

to  his  parents — not.  however,  through  police  efforts,  but  through  the  brilliant  enterprise  of  the  Albany 

"  Argus."     With  a  full  set  of  portraits.     An  extraordinary  instance  of  journalistic   enterprise. 


H  E  old  Dutch  town  of  Albany  was 
excited  ;  in  fact,  it  was  stirred  to  its 
depths.  Five  -  year  -  old  Johnny 
(Jonway  had  disappeared  from  his 
home  two  days  before,  and  on  the 
day  of  his  disappearance  a  letter  had  been 
received  by  his  father,  informing  him  that  if 
3,ooodols.  ransom  were  not  placed  in  the 
hollow  of  the  old  tree  close  to  the  toll-gate,  on 
the  Troy  road,  within  a 
specified  time,  he  would 
never  see  his  child  again. 

Now,  the  strangest  part 
of  the  affair  was  that  the 
child  of  a  labouring  man 
should  be  carried  off,  when 
there  were  so  many  rich 
men  in  Albany  who  had 
children  of  tender  age. 
But  the  reason  for  selecting 
Johnny  became  apparent 
later.  The  note  to  the 
father  demanding  ransom 
told  him  to  withdraw  the 
money  from  the  bank. 

This  convinced  the 
police  and  newspaper  re- 
porters who  were  at  work 
on  the  case  that  someone 
who  knew  pretty  well  the 
circumstances  of  the 
parents  of  Johnny  had  a 
liand  in  the  kidnapping. 

Two  days  had  passed, 
and  the  police  seemed  to 
have  made  but  little  pro- 
gress. Searching  parties 
were  formed  to  scour  the 
woods  to  the  north  and 
west  of  the  city.  The 
haunt  of  the  "  Growler 
Gang "  (known  as  the 
"Devil's  Hole")  was 
difficult  of  access,  and 
was  thought  to  be  the  hiding  -  place  of  the 
kidnappers.  But  it  was  not.  The  morning 
of  the  third  day  dawned,  but  brought  no 
tidings  of  the  missing  child.  The  search- 
ing parties  returned  from  their  night's  tramp, 
and  fresh  ones  started  out  to  follow  up 
the  paths  where  they  had  left  off  It  was 
noticeable  that  Joseph  M.  Hardy  (little  Johnny's 


uncle)  and  Matthew  f^asker  headed  the  parties 
which  went  in  the  direction  of  Karners.  They 
did  not  sleep,  and  while  others  retired  for  a  few 
hours'  rest,  they  continued  the  search.  The 
police  remarked  the  unusual  interest  these  men 
took,  and  Hardy  being  a  relative  of  the  Con- 
ways,  they  were  both  placed  under  surveillance. 
Hardy,  it  was  learned,  had  been  in  hard  luck 
for  some  time,  and  had  endeavoured  in  a  number 

of  ways  to  extort  money 
from  >\Ir.  Conway,  but  with- 
out success.  With  AVednes- 
day  morning  came  another 
letter  to  Mr.  Conway, 
making  a  last  appeal  for 
the  ransom,  at  the  same 
time  intimating  that  dire 
vengeance  would  fall  upon 
him  for  laying  the  matter 
before  the  police.  The 
position  of  the  kidnappers 
was  growing  critical.  Search- 
ing parties  were  increasing 
hourly,  and  rewards  for  the 
capture  of  the  boy  and  the 
kidnappers  were  offered  by 
the  newspapers,  including 
the  Argus,  and  Mayor 
Thacher. 

The  street  in  the  vicinity 

of   the    Conway   home   (a 

small,  unpretentious  house) 

was  filled  constantly  with  an 

excited  throng  of  persons, 

who    grasped    upon    each 

new    rumour.       Hundreds 

crowded    into    the    sacred 

*-***.iT , ,  "  — ^^Kg      precincts  of   the    desolate 

/  m      home,  and  eagerly  offered 

*  i      sympathy,     financial     aid, 

and  personal  services. 


THIS    IS    POOR   LITTLE   FIVE 

Frotn  rt]  WHO  WAS 


YEAR-DLU  JOHNNY  CONWAY, 
KIDNAPPED.  [P/loiO. 


when    the   managin: 


It  was  the  noon  hour, 
in  the  office  of  the  Argus, 
editor,  James  C.  Farrell, 
emerged  from  his  room,  and  seated  himself 
on  a  "  horse "  containing  exchanges  along- 
side the  desk  of  the  city  editor.  Mr.  Farrell 
w-as  a  very  sympathetic  man,  and  his  personal 
feelings,  more  than  any  increased  business  which 
might  accrue  from  such  an  act  as  he  contem- 
plated,   moved    him.       With    a    determination 


THE    KIDNAPPING    OF   JOHNNY  CONWAY, 


435 


which  the  city  editor  had  scarcely  ever  noticed 
before  in  him,  Mr.  Farrell  said  : — 

"  I  nni  going  to  restore  Johnny  Conway  to  his 
mother.  My  plan  is  to  charge  Joseph  Hardy 
and  H.  G.  Blake  with  the  crime.  What  do  you 
think  of  it  ? "'  Mr.  Farrell  had  been  watching 
the  case,  and  with  his  true  newspaper  nose  for 
news,  had  been  making  a  little  investigation  on 
his  own  account.  He  had 
nothing,  however,  but  a  few 
circumstances  and  his  own 
suspicions  on  which  to 
make  the  charge.  The 
matter  was  debated  between 
him  and  his  city  editor 
for  a  short  time,  and  it 
was  understood  that  this 
line  of  work  should  be 
carried  out. 

It  was  now  time  for  that 
portion  of  the  reportorial 
staff  which  worked  into  the 
night  to  report  for  duty. 
All  the  general  reporters 
but  one  man  who  was  to 
cover  the  story  from  police 
head-cjuarters,  and  another 
who  was  sent  back  to  the 
Conway  house  to  watch  out 
for  that  part  of  the  story, 
were  taken  from  their 
former  work.  One  man  was 
sent  to  the  livery  stables  to 
learn  whether  a  rig  had 
been  hired  on  Monday 
morning  ;  another  was  sent 
to  a  saloon  on  Broadway, 
where  Hard\",  Blake,  and 
Fasker  lived ;  a  third  went 
to  a  merchant  for  whom 
Blake  formerly  worked  ; 
others  on  similar  missions;  all  on  detective  work. 

The  clues  which  these  reporters  brought  in 
fastened  the  crime  so  thoroughly  upon  Hardy 
and  Blake  that  they  made  the  charging  of  them 
with  it  a  matter  which  could  not  injure  Mr. 
Farrell,  even  if  they  refused  to  accept  his  con- 
ditions. This  is  what  the  reporters  brought  in  : 
A  surrey  was  hired  by  Blake  at  8.30  o'clock 
Monday  morning,  at  Elliffs  livery  stable,  and 
was  not  returned  until  between  three  and  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  writing  in  a  journal 
which  Blake  kept  in  a  business  house  corre- 
sponded with  the  writing  of  the  man  who  signed 
for  the  surrey.  Carriages  had  been  hired  at 
various  other  liveries  by  Hardy  and  Albert 
Warner,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  kidnapping 
a  man  in  a  surrey  had  purchased  sandwiches, 
candy,  oranges,  and  other  eatables  on  the  streets 


I     AM    GOING    TO    RESTORE    JOHNNY    CONUAV    TO    HIS 
MOl  HEK,'  SAID  MR.  JAMES  C.  FARRELL,  AL\N.\f;LNC 


From  a\ 


EDITOR  OF  THE     ARGUS 


through  which  the  surrey  passed  on  its  way  to 
the  vicinity  of  the  Conway  house.  There  had 
evidently  been  a  number  of  unsuccessful  attempts 
to  get  the  child,  as  was  indicated  by  the  frequent 
hiring  of  carriages  by  the  trio.  The  letter  which 
the  lather  received  was  penned  by  the  same 
hand  that  wrote  the  entries  in  the  journal  and 
the  signature  in  the  book  at  Elliffs  livery  stable. 

Albert  Warner  was  found  to 
have  been  registered  at 
Keeler's  Hotel  since  the 
Friday  previously  ;  and  the 
place  of  rendezvous  for  the 
trio  was  in  Malony's  saloon, 
a  short  distance  therefrom. 
It  was  also  learned  that, 
the  kidnappers  finding  that 
the  game  was  up  ;  that  the 
hiding-place  of  the  child 
was  likely  to  be  found, 
because  of  the  increased 
number  of  searchiner 
parties  ;  and  that  discovery 
meant  lynching  to  whoever 
might  be  found  with  him, 
actually  intended  to  throw 
the  child  into  one  of  the 
city  reservoirs,  close  by 
where  he  was  held  captive, 
or  even  before  a  railroad 
train,  on  Thursday. 

It  was  \\'ednesday  even- 
ing, in  a  north-end  under- 
taker's shop.  Several  re- 
porters, of  the  Argus,  and 
private  detective  Michael 
E.  Riley,  also  in  the  employ 
of  the  paper,  sat  in  the 
room  whose  sides  were 
flanked  with  coffins.  Hardy 
and  Blake  were  there  too.  They  were  charged 
with  the  kidnapping.  Hardy  turned  deathly 
pale,  while  Blake  assumed  a  dogged  air.  They 
would  admit  nothing,  though  Hardy  exhibited 
signs  of  wanting  to  tell  something.  The  re- 
porters induced  the  two  men  to  go  to  the  office 
of  the  Argus.  The  men  separated  when  they 
went  forth.  Hardy  took  one  side  of  the  street, 
Blake  the  other.  Close  to  and  in  front  of  Blake 
walked  two  detectives,  who  were  shadowing 
Hardy.  Hardy  went  into  Malony's  saloon,  and 
Blake  followed  shortly  after.  They  tried  to  play 
pool,  but  could  not.  The  reporter  having  Hardy 
in  tow  induced  him  to  continue  his  journey  with 
him.  Blake  came  from  the  saloon,  stood  along- 
side the  city  detectives,  and  heard  what  they  had 
to  say.  He  walked  down  Broadway,  close  to  them, 
until  Hardy  passed  into  the  office  of  the  Argus. 


[P/wto. 


43^ 


THi:    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


The  police  had  got  wind  of  the  .hxi/s's 
operations,  and  there  were  several  policemen  in 
and  about  the  building.  Blake,  believing  a 
trap  had  been  set  for  him  and  Hardy,  stood 
about  for  a  while,  and  then  walked  up  the 
street.  In  a  short  time  Hardy  emerged  from 
the  building  and  passed  up  the  street  also,  the 
detectives  following.  Blake  walked  dcnvn  on 
the  opposite  side,  and  smiled  as  he  went  by. 

In  some  manner  Hardy  eluded  the  detectives, 
and  he  and  Blake  met  in  a  down-town  resort. 
Blake  had  been  scared  avvay  by  the  police,  and 
Hardy  was  so  thoroughly  frightened,  that  he  did 
not  know  what  to  do  or  to  say.  The  men 
simply  cast  about  like  a  helpless  ship  at  sea. 

The  reporters  of  the  Argits  were  now  sent 
out  to  discover  the  two  men, 
and  James  Earrell  went  lo 
police  head-quarters  and  told 
vv'hat  he  had  learned.  The 
police  wanted  to  arrest  the 
men  immediately  they  were 
seen,  but  Mr.  I'arrell  prevailed 
upon  them  to  hold  off  until 
the  child  was  recovered,  pro- 
mising to  allow  two  re[)resen- 
tatives  of  the  i)olice  depart- 
ment to  uo  in  the  carriage 
with  his  reporters  to  the  place 
of  rendezvous.  This  was 
agreed  to,  and  two  police 
officers  returned  with  him  to 
the  Ari^us  office,  but  all  other 
policemen  were  kept  away 
from  its  neighbourhood. 

John  V.  Farrell,  a  star  re- 
porter, who  studied  law  while 
he  did  much  of  his  best  work, 
and  who  was  now  the  attorney 
for  the  Ar^/zs,  drop[)ed  in  the  ofTicc  to  see  how 
the  kidnap])ing  case  was  being  handled.  He 
learned  of  the  result  of  the  first  attempt  to  get 
Hardy  and  Blake  into  the  confession  chamber. 
He  told  the  city  editor  that  he  would  try  his 
hand  again  at  the  old  work,  and  asking  private 
detective  Michael  E.  Riley  to  accompany  them, 
they  left  the  office  about  nine  o'clock.  Two 
hours  later,  they  returned  with  both  Hardy  and 
Blake,  and  all  went  directly  into  the  managing 
editor's  room,  and  the  door  was  clo.sed. 

^\llen  the  door  had  been  closed,  James  Farrell 
charged  both  men  with  being  implicated  in 
the  kidnapping,  and  backed  up  his  charge  with 
the  proofs  the  reporters  had  discovered.  Blake 
said  that  he  did  not  kidnap  the  child,  but  that  he 
knew  where  he  was.  "  If  you  v>-ill  conduct  my 
reporters  to  where  the  child  is,  and  deliver  him  to 
them,  I  will  give  you  2,ooodols.,"'said  Mr.  Earrell. 


manaiiinir    editor's 


IHE   CHIKI-     KKl'ORTER,  MK.  JOHN  K.   I- AUkKl.l-,  \\\Ui 
TOOK  CHARCiF.  OF    THE  OrERATIONS   AND  IN  IKN- 

Froin  a\       viewed  the  kidnappers.  \Plwto. 


"  Yes,  and  put  the  police  on  us  at  the  same 
time,"  was  the  man's  sneering  reply. 

"  No,"  said  -Mr.  Ivarreli,  "  I  will  give  you  my 
word  of  honour  that  there  will  be  no  [)olice 
interference."  He  appreciated  that  he  had  a 
desperate  game  to  play,  and  decided  to  play  it. 

"Well,"  said   Blake,   "if  you  will  guarantee 

that  the  police  will   not   interfere  with   us   until 

we  are  outside  of  the   city   lines,  and   make  it 

2,5oodols.,  I'll  do  it." 

Mr.  Farrell  acquiesced. 

Blake    remained     in     the 

office,  while   Hardy  returned  to  his  home,  being 

shadowed  by  police,  three  of  whom  stood  about 

it  all  night,  and  arrested  hirn  in  the  morning. 

Mr.  Farrell  did   not   believe  that  it  would  not 

be  legitimate  to  deceive  Blake. 

So  he  went  forth   to  get  the 

money.        Blake    would     nut 

accept    a    certified    cheque  ; 

that  he  thought  might  lead  to 

his    detection.       He    wanted 

hard  cash      Mr.  Farrell  has  a 

wide     acquaintance,      so     he 

immediately    set      out.       He 

visited  several   big  merchants 

and    bankers,   and   succeeded 

in  getting  such  money  as  was 

not  issued  by  the  Ck)vernment 

that   they  had  in  their  safes. 

To  this  he  added  some  good 

money,   and  returned    to    his 

office.       The       money      was 

counted  out  before  Blake,  and 

tucked  into  a  nice,  new  black 

morocco   pocket-book,   which 

John  Farrell    placed    in    his 

])ocket.     From   that  time  on, 

John  Farrell  did  not  get  out 

of  sitrht  of  Blake,  who  was  to  receive  the  money 

when  he  delivered  the  child. 

Towards  daybreak,  a  surrey,  drawn  by  a  span 
of  greys,  left  the  office  of  the  Ai\c;iis.  In  it  were 
the  two  policemen,  one  disguised  as  a  hostler, 
and  the  other  representing  a  reportei',  private 
detective  Riley,  Blake,  and  Farrell.  The 
three  latter  sat  on  the  rear  seat,  and  Blake 
on  the  outside  by  agreement.  He  directed 
the  movements  of  the  driver,  and  the  route 
taken  to  the  outskirts  of  the  city  was  cir- 
cuitous. At  last  the  horses  were  turned  into 
the  Shenectady  turnpike.  Blake  was  nervou.s, 
and  ke[)t  facing  around  constantly  to  see  that 
the  surrey  was  not  being  followed.  In  the  dim 
grey  light,  just  before  the  sun  cast  his  rays 
over  the  eastern  hills,  the  surrey  came  to  a  halt 
in  a  thick  piece  of  wood.  Blake  alighted,  and 
bid    Mr.    Farrell    accompany   him.       He  v»-ould 


■hi:    KlDXAl'I'IXC;    oi-    lOIIXW    coxwwv. 


437 


not  consent  to  anyone  else  going  along.  So 
the  two  disap|)cared  into  the  wood.  Another 
circuitous  roule  was  taken.  Mr.  Farrell  knew 
that  he  was  being  conducted  about  in  a  circle, 
and  that  he  had  covered  a  mile  of  territory. 
Not  a  word  was  spoken  by  either.  I'inally,  a 
low  whistle  from  JUake  was  followed  by  the 
cracking  of  twi^s.  iMr.  Farrell  was  commanded 
to  stand  still.  Blake  left  him,  and  shortly  after- 
wards his  voice  was  heard  in  angry  dispute 
with  that  of  another  man.  'i'he  hot  words 
continued  for  some  time,  and  thun  the  two 
men  came  to  where  Mr.  Farrell  stood.  Blake's 
companion  was  Albert  Warner.  Me  had  a  f.and- 
kerchief  over  the  upper  part  of  his  face,  and 
was  complaining  of  ISIalce  making  a  muddle  of 


asked  Blake  what  kind  of  a  game  he  was  playing 
on  him!  Blake  saitl  nothing,  but  ducked  into 
the  wood.  As  Farrell  climbed  into  the  surrey 
more  shots  came  from  the  wood,  a  volley  was 
sent  back  from  the  surrey,  the  whi[)  was  applied 
to  the  horses,  and  the  distance  between  the 
kidnap[)ers  and  the  boy  was  increased  —  that 
between  the  child  and  his  mother  decreased. 

The  surrey  was  to  have  returned  to  the  ofilice 
of  the  A/xiis  bv  six  o'clock.  Six  o'clock  came, 
but  nothing  had  been  heard  from  the  [)arty  in 
the  surrey.  An  hour  went  by,  but  no  tidings  of 
the  surrey.  Then  the  long-dislance  telephone 
was  brought  into  play,  and  Hursts,  Normans- 
ville,  Loudonville,  Whitbecks,  Karners,  antl 
other  places  were  called    up,  and    the  question 


;s   TKEE    WAS    LiKSK.NAI.  I)    l;V    I  ME    KIDNAPJ'ERS   AS   THE    KEl'uMlOKV    IN    U11H.H    THE    KA.NSO.M    WAS   TO    HE    1-,.ACE1). 


the  whole  affair,  which  would  likely  result  in 
their  arrest.  \\'hile  the  conversation  was  uointi 
on,  Johnny  Conway  had  been  awakened  by  the 
talking,  and,  unobserved,  had  crawled  through 
the  underbrush,  and  ap[)eared  at  the  edge  of 
the  wood.  Detective  Riley  sprang  for  him. 
The  party  could  indistinctly  hear  the  voices  of 
the  three  men  who  were  now  disputing  over  the 
money  and  the  means  of  escaping  police  inter- 
ference. Riley  and  the  two  police  officers 
jumped  into  the  surrey,  and  then  called  to 
Farrell  to  come  along.  But  this  was  not  an 
easy  matter.  There  were  two  to  one,  and  eacli 
had  a  drawn  pistol.  Farrell  used  diplomacy, 
and  it  was  agreed  between  the  three  that  Pilake 
and  Farrell  should  return  to  the  surrey  and  secure 
from  the  police  the  pledge  that  they  be  allowed 
to  get  out  of  the  county.  Warner  broke  his 
agreement  to  remain  where  the  conference  was 
held,  and  followed  Blake  and  Farrell.  He  got 
a  sight  of  the  carriage,  and  in  it  the  child.  He 
discharged    his    revolver.      Farrell    turned    and 


asked  :  "  Has  a  light  coloured  surrey,  with 
whitish  horses,  passed  your  way?"  Karners 
was  the  last  place  interrogated,  and  the  word 
came  back  :  "  Yes ;  it  went  toward  Malloy's, 
down  by  the  reservoir,  half  an  hour  ago,  and  in 
it  were  four  men  and  a  boy." 

Just  as  this  message  was  being  repeated  to 
those  who  stood  about  the  telephone,  Police 
Sergeant  Beckett,  with  five  police  officers,  came 
into  the  office  and  asked  if  any  word  had  been 
heard  of  the  party  which  left  the  office  of  the 
Argus.  He  was  given  the  information  just 
received,  and  hurried  his  men  out  with  instruc- 
tions to  procure  a  locomotive  engine  and  j)roceed 
to  Karners. 

The  morning  contemporaries  of  the  Argits 
had  its  reporters  shadowing  the  office,  and.  had 
carriages  ready  to  follow  any  which  left  with  the 
reporters  of  the  Argus.  Particularly  attentive 
to  the  goings  on  was  the  nearest  neighbour,  a 
few  doors  u[)  the  street,  called  the  Press  and 
Knickerbocker.      Its  reporters  even  ventured  in 


43^ 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZEVE. 


the  ofifice  of  the  A)-gtis  to  learn  wliat  they 
could.  They,  however,  got  a  little  information, 
which  is  sure  to  leak  out,  even  about  the  best- 
regulated  newspaper  ofifice.  It  was  not  the 
reporters  who  gave  anything  away,  for  they 
knew  that  the  Argus  had  a  "  big  scoop  "'  :  but 
some  of  the  men  connected  with  the  other 
departments,  who  had  not  been  schooled  to 
know  the  value  of  an  exclusive  piece  of  news 
from  an  editorial  standpoint.  It  was  certain 
that  someone  "  leaked,"'  for  the  J'rcss  and 
Knickerbocker  recalled  its  printers,  and  held  its 
pressman  and  others  in  the  mechanical  depart- 
ments. 

-Managing  Editor  James  Farrell  was  a  modest 
man,  and  when  his  city  editor  talked  over  the 
matter  of  preparing  the  story  of  the  capture, 
he  suggested  that  there  be  a  simple  announce- 
ment, without  ostentation  or  "  scare  "  head-lines. 
Tile  city  editor,  while  not  a  great  admirer  of 
"  stud  "  heads  and  "  scare  "  head-lines,  counselled 
that  the  piece  of  news  was  too  big  to  dismiss 
with  such  a  bare  statement.  Mr.  Farrell  then 
left  the  matter  with  the  city  editor  to  use  his 
discretion. 

The  mail  edition  had  gone  to  press,  so  the 
decks  were  cleared  excepting  for  the  late  news 
for  the  city  edition.  The  city  editor  called  his 
star  reporter,  George   D.  Morris,   and   told   him 


From  a\ 


I    .  :  ■     ■    .     '  .1      .1:'  .1  ■  .1,!    I  -  .     M    :  '  ■! 

ON  THE  RIGHT  MR.  W.   H.    RRAINERD,  CITY  EDITOR  OF  THE  "ARGUS. 


he  wanted  a  three-column  story  on  the  recovery 
of  little  Johnny,  and  the  facts  which  led  up  to 
it.  Morris  could  operate  a  typewriter  as  fast, 
nearly,  as  he  could  talk,  and  it  took  him  less 
than  an  hour  to  throw  together  the  story  of  the 
recovery  of  the  boy.  The  exciting  trip  in  the 
surrey,  and  the  scenes  about  the  office  when 
the  vehicle  drove  up  with  the  child,  were  left 
out.  This  class  of  journalism  was  not  popular 
in  the  office  of  the  Argus.  The  story  was  com-^ 
plete  up  to  the  time  the  rescuing  party  left  for 
the  woods.  Then  was  added  one  small  para- 
graph :— 

"  Little  Johnny  was  delivered  into  the  arms 
of  his  mother  at  o'clock  this  morning." 

The  story  was  sent  to  the  printers,  sheet  by 
sheet,  marked  "  double  leads."  It  was  in  type 
by  four  o'clock,  the  plate  was  made — that  is  to 
say,  a  stereotype  plate  of  the  first  page  was  cast — 
in  good  time,  and  sent  to  the  press-room.  It 
was  fastened  to  its  cylinder  on  the  press,  and 
the  big  machine,  which  seemed  at  times  to  be 
possessed  of  human  intelligence,  stood  in  readi- 
ness to  be  started  at  a  second's  notice.  It 
seemed  to  wait  impatiently.  Certain  it  was  that 
those  who  were  about  the  editorial  room  were 
nervously  impatient.  The  paper  could  have 
been  printed  and  sent  out  had  it  not  been  for 
the   last   paragraph    in    the    article,    telling   of 

Johnny's  capture. 
^\'hat  if  anything 
should  happen  that 
the  plan  to  get  the 
boy  should  fail  ?  Then 
the  last  paragraph 
would  be  a  fatal  state- 
ment for  the  truthful- 
ness of  the  Argus. 
The  minutes  length- 
ened into  hours,  and 
while  it  was  certain 
that  the  capture  had 
not  been  consummated 
as  planned,  there  was 
also  a  feeling  in  the 
minds  of  those  who 
anxiously  awaited  the 
return  of  the  surrey 
that  it  had  failed,  and 
that  the  boy  was  not 
retaken.  The  police 
authorities  continued 
to  grow  more  and 
more  anxious  —  and 
also  to  say  harsh 
things  about  the  re- 
porters of  the  Argus, 
after  the  manner  of 
police  generally. 


1  HE    LEFT,    AND 

[P/w/0. 


THE     KIDNAPPING    OF     lOHNNY    CONWAY. 


439 


uu 


Through    the     Efforts    of    The 

Argus  He  is  Returned  to 

His  Parents. 


EXCELLENT  WORK  OF  REPORTERS 


They  Run  Down  a  Clue  Which  Fastens  the 
Crime  on  an  Albany  Man. 


RANSOM  OF  $2,500  PAID  BY  THIS  PAPER 


Police  Commissioner  Phalen  and  Detective  Michael  E.  Biley  Assist  Ma- 
terially in  Bringing  About  the  Result — Police  and  Citizens  Make 
Desperate  EfForts  to  Findthe  Boy  and  Smoke  out  His  Kidnapper, 
but  WithoLit  Success — The  Most  Important  Clue  Came  From  Finding: 
Where  -was  the  Horse  and  Wapon  Which  Carried  Away  the  Little  Fel- 
low— The  Child  Delivered  by  Eis  Captor  at  The  Ar^us  OSlce  at 
Six  O'clock  this  Morning — Joy  in  the  Household  of  the  Distracted 
Parents,  and  Relief  in  the  City  at  Large > 


THE     JUSTlFlAliLE     EXUBERANCE     OF     THE     "  ARGUS   '     PEOPLE     OVER 
TRIUMPH    OF     THEIR    GOOD    WORK — PERHAPS    THE    MOST    EXTR 
JOURNALISTIC   ENTERPRISE   ON   RECORD. 

It  was  just  as  the  stroke  on  the  bells  used 
by  the  fire  alarm  telegraph  system  of  the  city 
sounded  the  hour  of  nine  that  the  surrey 
rounded  from  State  Street  and  passed  down 
Broadway  to  the  office  of  the  Argus.  The 
thoroughfare  was  filled  with  men,  women,  and 
children.  .Vs  if  by  magic,  a  passage-way  was 
opened  up  and  the  carriage  with  its  party,  con- 
sisting of  the  same  number  of  persons  as  when 
it  left  the  office,  but  with  a  child  in  place  of  a 
strong  man,  halted  in  front  of  the  newspaper 
office.  There  was  a  great  shout  from  the 
assembled  crowd  as  the  child  was  lifted  from 
the  carriage  and  carried  into  the  office.  Then 
followed  a  clamour  from  those  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  crowd  for  a  sight  of  the  little  fellow.  So 
he  was  carried  to  the  managing  editor's  room 
on  the  second  floor,  and  held  up  at  the  open 
window.  The  assembled  throng  broke  into  a 
wild  hurrah  ;  hats  were  thrown  into  the  air,  and 
traffic  in  the  street  was  stopped  for  the  time. 


Early  in  the  morning  one  of  the 
re[)orters  had  roused  the  clergyman 
of  little  Jcjhnny's  parish  from  bed, 
and  brought  him  to  the  office  of 
the  Argus.  It  was  thought  fitting 
that  he  should  break  the  good  news 
to  the  mother,  but  he  was  held  like 
the  Press,  until  it  was  certain  that 
the  boy  was  secured.  So,  immedi- 
ately the  surrey  stopped  at  the 
office  of  the  Argus,  the  clergyman 
was  sent  post  haste  on  a  hack  to 
the  Conway  home,  and  the  press- 
man was  given  orders  to  start  his 
presses.  As  if  by  magic,  the  news- 
boys darted  among  the  dissolving 
crowd,  for  Johnny  had  been  re- 
placed in  the  surrey  and  was 
moving  along  with  it.  The  surrey 
was  surrounded,  and  its  passage 
was  slow.  Many  touched  with 
their  hands  the  half  -  frightened 
child,  his  rescuers,  or  the  vehicle. 
All  were  happy,  and  many  in  their 
happiness  shed  tears.  There  were 
a  few  in  the  crowd,  however,  who 
did  not  join  in  the  demonstrations 
of  joy.  They  were  the  blue-coats, 
who  felt  in  anything  but  a  happy 
frame  of  mind,  for  allusions  made 
to  the  police  failure  to  ferret  out 
the  abductors  were  heard  on  all 
sides,  and  were  anything  but 
complimentary. 

"  It  is  a  shame,"  said  a  police- 
man.    "  Here  we  have  known  just 
where     the    kidnappers     had     the 
child    for    two   days,   and  we  were 
going    to    make    a    descent    on    the   camp  and 
capture  them,  when  the  Argus  jumps    in    and 
spoils  everything." 

George  Morris,  the  reporter,  who  happened 
to  be  in  hearing,  became  wroth.  He  was  of 
athletic  build,  and  was  to  have  been  one  of  the 
party  which  went  in  the  surrey.  He  was 
crowded  out,  however,  to  make  room  for  the 
two  policemen,  and  although  he  had  put  a  good 
story  together,  he  would  rather  have  taken  the 
ride  than  have  written  it;  so  he  replied,  rather 
hotly  :— 

"  Vou  had  two  i)olicemen  in  our  waggon  ;  why 
didn't  they  ca[)ture  the  kidnappers  ?  They 
crowded  out  two  of  our  boys.  We  were  not 
doing  police  work.  We  wanted  to  get  the  boy, 
to  restore  him  to  his  mother,  and  we  got  him. 
The  police's  duty  is  to  get  the  kidnappers.  We 
gave  the  police  the  opportunity ;  took  them  to 
the  spot  where  the  kidnappers  were  ;  and  yet 
they    let    them   get   away.      Why   didn't    they 


THE     COIIPLETE 
AORDINARY 


44° 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MACiAZLXK 


remain  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  place  where 
the  boy  was  found  ?  Our  reporters  were  amply 
able  to  brmg  the  child  back  in  safety."  While 
Morris  had  been  talking,  quite  a  crowd  had 
collected  and  cheered  him  on.  There  were 
some  mutterings  against  the  police,  which  were 
very  unpleasant.  Morris  saw  that  to  continue 
the  conversation  might  result  in  disorder,  so  he 
ceased,  and  went  on  his  way. 

The  capture  of  the  boy  and  his  return  to  his 
parents  concluded  the  mission  which  the  Argus 
had  set  out  to  accomplish.  The  populace  was 
relieved  to  think  that  the  child  was  again  safe  in 
the  home  of  his  parents.  'I'he  public,  however, 
a?  every  newspaper  writer  learns  from  experience, 
if  he  has  not  the  knowledge  previously,  is  rest- 
less. The  child  home,  but  the  kidnappers  still 
at  large  save  Hardy,  would  not  do;  the  people 
tlemanded  the  capture  of  the  culprits.  The 
police  had  allowed  them  to  slip  through  their 
lingers,  and  so  the  public  looked  to — aye,  de- 
manded of— the  Argi/s  that  it  should  now  effect 
the  capture  of  the  kidnappers.  But  the  province 
of  the  Argus  was  not  to  perform  police  duties, 
but  if  it  coi/ld  render  a  ])ublic  service,  it  was 
])erfectly  willing  to  com[)l\'.  So  the  reporters  of 
the  paper  were  once  more  sent  out.  One  i)arty 
in  a  surrey  discovered  the  camp,  in  a  clump  of 
woods,  where  little  Johnny  was  held  in  captivity. 
There  were  sandwiches,  oranges,  candies,  cakes, 
and  horse-blankets  which  had  been  taken  from 
the  carriages  hired  by  the  members  of  the  gang. 
The  blankets  were  traced  to  their  owners,  and 
the  wrappers  about  the  fruit,  candy,  etc.,  to  the 
places  where  purchased.  In  this  manner  the 
reporters  wove  a  chain  of  circumstantial  evidence 
around  Hardy  and  Blake. 

John  Farrell  was  resting  on  the  platform  of 
the  freight  depot  at  Schenectady  when  he  saw 
Blake  coming  along  the  railroad  track.  He 
talked  with  the  culprit,  and  induced  him  to 
accompany  him  to  Albany  without  trouble. 
Blake  knew  the  temper  of  the  people  in  the 
matter,  and  felt  that  if  it  became  noised  about 
that  he  was  one  of  the  guilty  parties,  he  would 
be  lynched.  So  the  ca[)tured  and  the  captor 
made  the  trip  to  Albany,  on  the  regular  train, 
and  few,  if  any,  suspected  that  Blake  was  a 
prisoner,  or  soon  would  be. 

The  day  after  the  capture  of  PJake,  a  man 
walked  sprightly  into  the  editorial  room  of  the 
Argus,  and  in  an  impatient  matuier  said : 
"  Where  are  your  downthe-river  exchanges  ?  " 
The  city  editor,  to  whom  the  question  was 
directed,  pointed  to  a  "  horse,"  across  which 
they  had  been  thrown.  "  You  folks  are  on  the 
wrong  scent,"  said  the  stranger.     "In  what  re- 


spect ?"'  asked  the  city  editor.  "  Why,  you  should! 
send  your  reporters  down  to  Kingston.  I  just 
came  from  there.  I  was  sent  out  by  ^X^q  Journal, 
of  New  York,  to  work  up  this  end  of  the  line  in- 
trying  to  capture  Warner." 

''  You  were,  eh  ?  " 

The  city  editor  had  acquaintances  among  the- 
members  of  the  staff  of  the  journal,  and  asked 
about  them.  The  visitor  pretended  to  know 
them.  As  in  all  trades  and  professions,  a 
pretender  will  make  some  remark  or  do  some 
act  which  will  clearly  demonstrate  that  he  is. 
bogus. 

'Fhe  visitor  worked  his  cards  well,  but  still, 
there  was  a  suspicion  in  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Brainerd,  the  city  editor.  The  visitor  promised 
to  call  in  the  next  day,  to  look  over  the  "  down- 
the  -  river  exchanges "  again,  and  then  he- 
departed.  When  he  was  gone,  Mr.  Brainerd 
called  up  the  Journal,  over  the  long-distance 
telephone,  and  learned  that  no  such  man  as  his 
\isitor  was  emjjloyed  by  it,  and  that  ihtt  Journal' 
had  sent  no  reporter  out  on  the  kidnapping, 
case. 

The  bogus  reporter  came  in  the  following, 
day,  as  he  had  promised  to  do,  greatly  to  the 
surprise  of  Mr.  Brainerd,  who  excused  himself, 
and,  going  into  the  telephone-box,  called  up- 
the  chief  of  police.  He  explained  that  he  had 
a  man  whom  it  would  be  well  to  watch,  and 
recjuested  the  loan  of  a  detective.  Detective- 
Cireagan,  of  the  city  force,  came  into  the- 
editorial  room  a  few  moments  later,  and,  seating, 
himself  at  one  of  the  reporters'  tables,  began  to- 
throw  off  yards  of  copy. 

"Mr.  Oreagan,"  called  out  Mr.  Brainerd,. 
"  what  are  you  working  on  ?  " 

"The  road  improvement,"  he  replied,  imme- 
diately. 

"A\'ell,  you  can  drop  that  for  the  present;  I 
want  you  to  go  out  on  the  kidnapping  story. 
1  understand  that  Blake  is  willing  to  grant  au' 
interview." 

"All  right,"  replied  Mr.  Greagan,  and  he 
turned  to  go. 

"Wait  a  moment  :  here  is  a  man  from  the 
Neiv  York  Journal  [^exh:i\)?,  he  would  like  to- 
go  along  with  \ou." 

The  bogus  reporter,  who  sat  a  short  distance- 
apart,  pretending  to  be  looking  over  exchanges^ 
and  who  appeared  to  be  oblivious  to  what  was- 
going  on  about  him,  got  up  and  proceeded  to- 
where  the  city  editor  and  Mr.  Greagan  were 
talking.  He  answered  that  he  would  be  pleased 
to  go  along,  because  he  had  failed  upon  several 
occasions  to  get  an  interview  with  Blake. 

The  men  proceeded  to  police  head-quarters, 
and  Mr.  Greagan,  taking  out  a  card,  wrote 
upon  it  : — 


THE    kidnapping;    of    IOHNNV    CONWAY 


441 


M.   G  REAGAN,   Reporter. 
The  Argus. 

J.   (iREKN,   Reporter. 
A'cw  York  fotirnal. 


The  men  were  ushered  immediately  into  the 
presence  of  the  chief  of  police.  Mr.  (ireagan 
performed  his  part  well,  but  his  companion  con- 
vinced the  chief,  in  a  few  minutes,  that  he  was 
not  what  he  pretended  to  be.  The  chief 
smoothed  matters  over,  by  requesting  the  men 
to  wait  until  the  next  day,  promising  them  that 
no  one  should  see  Blake  in  the  meantime.  The 
detective  and  his  companion  then  repaired  to  an 
adjacent  cafe,  and  strength- 
ened their  acquaintance  in 
a  sociable  drink.  This  was 
to  allow  the  chief  to  send  a 
second  detective  out  to 
shadow  Greagan's  com- 
panion. 

When  the  two  emerged 
from  the  cafe,  there  was 
standing  on  the  opposite 
sidewalk  a  man  who  seemed 
to  be  waiting  for  someone. 
Mr.  Greagan  noticed  him 
mi  mediately,  and  recog- 
nised him  as  Mr.  Nolan,  a 
brother  detective.  Greagan 
then  bade  his  companion 
good  -  day  and  started  for 
the  office  of  the  Argus,  to 
finish  his  "  road  improve- 
ment "  article.  His  com- 
panion took  another  direc- 
tion, shadowed  by  Mr. 
Nolan  at  a  safe  distance. 

^\'hile  the  clever  piece  of 
detective  work  was  going 
on,  and  the  meshes  about 
Warner  were  being  pulled 
smaller  a:id  smaller,  his 
■friends  were  on  the  alert. 
It   is    hard   enough,   under 

ordinary  circumstances,  to  run  down  such  a 
clever  man  as  Warner,  but  when  there  is  a  spy 
in  the  camp  of  his  prosecutors,  the  task  is 
doubly  hard.  It  proved  that  in  the  office  of 
the  Argus  there  was  just  such  a  young  man, 
who  was  watching  out  for  Warner's  interests. 
He  was  Gene  (footer,  and  saw  Detective 
Greagan  leave  the  office  with  the  bogus  reporter. 
Believing  the  latter  was  under  arrest  or  going  to 


ALBERT   S.    WARNF.K,    THE    LE; 

(each  was  sentenced 
Front  a\      AND  SIX  months' 


make  a  confession,  he  telegraphed  to  Warner  at 
Schenectady,  and  within  a  short  time  Warner 
was  travelling  westward.  It  was  an  hour  later 
when  the  telegram  from  the  chief  of  police, 
sent  upon  the  information  secured  by  Detective 
Nolan,  reached  Schenectady.  Gooter  went  to 
the  bogus  reporter's  place  of  eniployment. 
"Is  it  all  up?  "  asked  Gooter,  in  a  whisper. 
"  No,"  replied  the  bogus  reporter,  "  1  have 
just  written  to  Warner  that  I  am  to  have  an 
interview  with  Blake  to-morrow." 

This  caused  Gooter  to  look  surprised. 
"The  chief  has  promised  the  reporter  of  the 
Argus   and   me   an   interview   with    Blake    to- 
morrow. Then  I  can  slip  a  note  into  Blake's  hand." 
Gooter's  look  of  astonishment  increased. 

"  Why,"  he  said,  in  a 
low,  but  intense,  tone,  "that 
fellow — the  one  you  left 
the  office  of  the  Argus  with 
— is  not  a  reporter,  but  a 
detective ! " 

"The  deuce,  you  say." 
The  bogus  reporter  did  not 
sleep  in  Albany  that  night. 
Warner  was  traced  to 
Riley,  Kansas,  and  dis- 
covered at  work  on  a  farm. 
For  the  information  which 
led  to  the  arrest  the  Argus 
paid  i,ooodols.  in  good 
currency  of  the  country. 
'I'he  trial  of  the  men  was 
short,  and  each  got  the  limit 
of  the  law  with  proper 
deduction  for  weather.  In 
New  York  State  a  sentence 
must  be  made  so  as  not 
to  expire  in  winter.  The 
terms  of  sentence,  there- 
fore, were  fourteen  years 
and  six  months  in  each  case. 
\\'arner  was  a  lawyer  who 
had  hit  upon  the  kidnap- 
ping scheme ;  Blake  was 
a  college  graduate  who  had 
failed  to  make  several  kinds 
of  business  go  into  which  he  had  embarked  ; 
and  Hardy  was  the  uncle  of  little  Johnny,  who 
had  an  aversion  for  work,  and  who  found  the 
victim  for  the  first  "strike." 

Little  Johnny  Conway  went  through  a  severe 
fit  of  sickness  as  the  result  of  exposure  during 
the  period  he  was  held  for  ransom,  but  the 
little  fellow  always  refers  to  the  affair  as  "My 
picnic." 


adek  of  the    kidnappers 
to  fourteen  years 
imprisonment).       {Photo. 


Vol.  iii.-56. 


Odds    and    Ends. 

Special  attention  is  drawn  to  the  photographs,  with  their  descriptive  notes,  reproduced  in  this 
section.  They  are  selected  with  extreme  care  from  thousands  submitted  by  travellers,  officers, 
explorers,  missionaries,  and    others  ;     and  the    standard  of   remarkableness    and  interest  can  therefore 

be  maintained  at  a  very  high  level. 


INsTANTANE(JUS   SNAl'-SHOT   OF    A    TERRIKIC 

CYCI.O.NIi   THAT   STKUCK   THE   TOWN     OF    WAVNOKA, 

OKLAHOMA. 


ERE  is  an  instantaneous 
and  undeniably  impres- 
sive photograph  of  a 
terrific  cyclone  which 
passed  through  the  town 
of  Waynoka,  Woods  County,  Okla- 
homa, at  about  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening  of  May  i8th,  1898,  destroy- 
ing eighteen  houses  and  other  pro- 
perty. The  distance  from  point  of 
view  is  about  two  miles.  1'he  cyclone 
was  preceded  and  accompanied  by  a 
rapidly  falling  barometer,  the  clouds 
were  low,  and  had  an  angry,  turbu- 
lent aspect.  The  general  direction 
was  from  south-west  to  north-east, 
the  onward  movement  being  rather 
slow,  while  the  rotary  motion  was 
terrific,  sweeping  away  everything  in 
its  path — which  was,  however,  fortu- 


nately only  from  60ft.  to  300ft.  in  diameter 
when  it  touched  the  earth.  The  funnel  rose, 
lowered,  and  swayed  on  its  journey  of  des- 
truction, and  after  a  time  gradually  dispersed, 
to  the  immense  relief  of  the  Waynokans. 

Our  next  photograph  represents  a  fishing 
wheel,  as  used  on  the  Columbia  River,  near 
Portland,  Oregon.  It  is  fixed  near  the  bank 
of  the  river,  a  place  being  selected  where 
the  river  is  most  rapid.  The  wheel  consists 
of  three  receivers,  as  it  were,  one  of  which  is 
seen  just  leaving  the  water  in  the  accompany- 
ing picture.  These  receivers  are  inclosed  on 
three  sides  by  wire  netting,  and,  as  the  wheel 
revolves  by  means  of  the  current,  each  receiver 
is  submerged  beneath  the  water  and  scoops 
up  the  salmon,  as  they  jump  up  the  rapids. 
The  receiver  then  continues  on  its  upward 
journey,  the  salmon  meanwhile  slipping  down 
towards  the  axle  of  the  wheel  until  at  last, 
when  it  becomes  perpendicular,  the  fish  is 
shot  into  the  wooden  slide,  which  may  be 
seen  in  the  picture  on  the  top  of  the  axle  of 
the  wheel.  From  this  point  it  slips  into  the 
longer  wooden  slide,  and  is  hurled  down- 
wards into  the  boat  seen  in  the  bottom  left- 
hand  corner.  There  are  several  of  these  wheels, 
which  catch  maiiv  thousands  of  salmon  a  day. 


SAL.MON    KISHI.SG    bV 

From  a] 


MALHINEKY  :  — THtV   ARE   CAUGHT    AUTOIIATI 
WHEEL  AND    HURLEO   INTO  A   BOAT. 


CALLY    HY    THIS 

[Fhoto. 


Onns    AND    ENDS. 


443 


The  palanquin,  or  "  palki,"  as  most  people 
know,  is  a  usual  mode  of  travelling  in  India, 
and  for  rough  roads,  such  as  that  shown  in  our 
photo.,  it  has  a  very  obvious  advantage  over 
wheeled  vehicles.  To  the  uninitiated  it  may 
seem  a  very  luxurious  mode  of  locomotion — 
lying  at  your  ease  on  a  mattress  and  being 
carried  by  eight  men,  who  take  turn  about  in 
relays  of  four  each.  It  is  pleasant  enough, 
certainly,  if  the  journey  is  a  short  one,  but  when 
it  extends  over  fifty  or  sixty  miles  it  is  apt  to 
become  unendurable.  The  comical  grunt  of 
the  bearers  as  they  jog  along  is  peculiarly 
irritating,  and  they  give  vent  to  it  for  a  very 
curious  reason.  It  assists  them  to  keep  out  of 
step,  which  is  the  secret  of  carrying  a  palanquin 


Fr.nn  a\ 


smoothly,  and  without  discomposing  jerks. 
When  they  have  settled  down  to  their  work, 
however,  they  generally  manage  to  fall  into 
step  in  spite  of  the  grunt,  and  then  the  poor 
victim  inside  is  not  to  be  envied.  The  lady 
seen  in  our  photo,  was  a  b^ide,  married 
but  a  fortnight  previously  in  Calcutta,  and 
she  was  on  her  way  to  her  future  home, 
which  lay  twenty -five  miles  away  through 
the  jungle.  Shortly  after  setting  out  from  the 
nearest  railway  station,  one  of  the  "  palkis " 
broke  down,  and  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  for 
the  bridegroom  to  do  the  journey  on  foot. 
Luckily — as  every  traveller  in  India  knows — 
there  are  "dak  bungalows,"  or  rest  houses,  at  in- 
tervals of  seven  or  eight  miles  all  along  the  main 
roads,  which  may  be  occupied  by  weary  travel- 
lers in  consideration  of  a  small  sum  paid  to  the 
Government  coolie  in  charge.  The  bungalows 
along  the  route  taken  by  the  bride  were  wretched 


-no  more  worthy  of  the  name  of  houses  than 
the  unspeakable  track  through  the  jungle 
deserved  to  be  called  a  road.  They  were  in 
no  way  furnished,  and  the  bedstead  difficulty 
had  to  be  solved  by  carrying  in  the  palanquins 
and  sleeping  in  them.  It  was  creepy  work  going 
through  the  jungle,  for  at  one  spot  the  cheering 
news  was  imparted  that  only  two  hours  previously 
a  man  had  been  killed  by  a  tiger  only  a  hundred 
yards  or  so  away,  and  the  operator  who  took 
the  accompanying  photo,  could  not  help  remem- 
bering that  it  is  always  the  last  man  of  a  party 
that  the  tiger  goes  for.  Small  wonder  is  it  if  an 
uncomfortable  sensation  did  creep  up  his  back 
while  his  head  was  hidden  under  the  focusing 
cloth,    for   he   did    not   know   what    might    be 

peering  out  from 
behind  the  bank 
to  the  left  in  that 
veritable  home  of 
the  man-eater.  But 
finally,  we  are  glad 
to  learn,  the  bride 
arrived  at  her  new 
home  safe  and 
sound. 

The  odd  figure 
seen  in  the  illus- 
tration on  the  next 
page  is  not  an 
escaped  patient 
from  some  lunatic 
asylum,  in  spite  of 
his  bizarre  appear- 
ance. On  the  con- 
trary, he  is  a  per- 
sonage of  great 
importance  in  his 
own  country — the 
neighbourhood  of  Meran,  in  the  Tyrol.  He  is 
known  as  a  Saltner,  and  it  is-  his  duty  to  guard 
from  thieves  the  grapes  and  other  fruit.  These 
Saltners  are  generally  fine,  stalwart  specimens 
of  humanity,  being  chosen  from  among  the 
young  men  who  bear  the  best  reputation. 
Their  dress,  as  can  be  seen  from  our  photo.,  is 
highly  fanciful,  and  dates  back  many  centuries. 
It  consists  of  a  three-cornered  hat,  adorned 
with  a  profusion  of  feathers,  not  to  mention 
squirrels'  and  foxes'  tails  ;  a  leather  jacket, 
covered  with  wild  boars'  teeth  and  metal 
chains  ;  and  short  leather  breeches,  which  leave 
the  knees  bare.  The  Saltner's  armament  is 
somewhat  peculiar,  consisting  as  it  does  of 
a  medi?eval  halbert  and  a  modern  six-shooter. 
The  work  is  very  hard,  the  rr.en  being  on 
duty  night  and  day  all  the  year  round.  They 
are  even  debarred  by  the  exigencies  of  their 
employment    from    attending    church.      Their 


FESTED  JUNCl.l, 


444 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


'•  IT    IS    HIS    UUTY   TO   GUARD    FRO   1     Ulil.\i;S   THE   GRATES    AND 
From  a  Photo.  hy\  OTHER  FRUIT."  \B.  Johnnes. 

dwellings — called  "  Saltner  huts  " — are  miser- 
able affairs,  made  of  straw,  these  being  their 
only  shelter 
against  the  in- 
clemencies of  the 
weather.  All  night 
these  grape- 
guarders  wander 
about,  each  man 
having  his  own 
district,  which  he 
may  not  leave. 

We  next  re- 
produce a  striking 
photo.,  showing 
some  of  the  re- 
markable images 
of  Judas  on  sale 
in  Mexico  City 
during  the  extra- 
ordinary Passion 
play  which  is  held 
in  that  place. 
I'hese  images  are 
pyrotechnic  fig- 
ures, which  are 
hung  up  in  great 
numliers  in  the 
Streets     and     ex- 


ploded at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
Saturday  in  Passion  Week,  in  order  to  repre- 
sent the  destruction  of  the  betrayer  of  Christ. 
Ciood  Friday  in  Mexico  City  is  an  amazing 
festival,  with  its  gaudy  colours,  showy  trap- 
pings, and  paint  and  painted  feathers.  All 
day  long  on  the  occasion  when  our  photo, 
was  taken  the  crowded  tram-cars  poured 
the  people  of  Mexico  City  into  the  beautiful 
Plaza  of  Coyoacan,  one  of  the  historic  suburbs. 
Interest  centred  round  the  historic  figures  of 
Pilate,  the  Virgin  Mary,  the  Roman  soldiers,  the 
centurion,  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  Nicodemus, 
and  the  rest  of  the  Biblical  characters.  The 
different  trials  were  heard  and  the  sentence 
loudly  proclaimed  by  a  Roman  herald.  Then 
Pilate  vainly  washed  his  hands,  and  Judas 
rushed  frantically  forth  and  hanged  himself. 
And  presently  the  slow  procession  wended 
its  weary  way  up  the  volcanic  slopes  of 
the  little  Calvary,  and  the  thieves  —  huge 
and  hideous  cardboard  men  —  were  crucified 
upon  the  right  and  left.  Then  a  black 
and  somewhat  ghastly  image  of  Christ,  with 
movable  head  and  limbs,  was  nailed  with  spikes 
a  foot  long  to  a  big  black  cross.  A  crown  of 
long  cactus  thorns  was  placed  upon  His  brow, 
and  then  the  cross  was  slowly  lifted  and  dropped 
into  its  socket  on  the  hill.  Then  the  people 
went  and  revenged  themselves  on  the  betrayer 
by  means  of  the  pyrotechnic  images  seen  in  our 
photo. 


I'YROI'ECHNIC    FICUKES    (JK    JUDAS 


WHICH    ARE    KXl'lODED    IN    THE    STKEETS    OF    .MEXICO    CITY. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Waite. 


Oni)S    AND    I-NDe^. 


445 


The  photo,  next 
seen  depicts  the  finish 
of  the  Maori  IVakines' 
or  girls'  canoe  luirdle- 
race  which  took  place 
recently  at  Ngarua- 
wahia  Regatta,  N.Z. 
A  canoe  hurdle-race 
sounds  an  im{)0ssible 
function,  but  wait 
until  I  explain.  The 
dug-out  canoes  are 
skilfully  worked  over 
a  series  of  hurdles  or 
cross-bars  of  bamboo, 
each  being  raised 
fully  a  foot  above  the 
deep  and  swift-flow- 
ing waters.  Each 
hurdle  is  literally 
charged  at  full  speed 
by  the  two  occu- 
pants, who  sit  well 
back  in  the  stern  of 
the  canoe,  whose  bow 
is  tilted  well  out  of 
the  water.  When 
partly  over  the  bar  the 
girls  balance  the  frail 
but   more*  often  tlian 


THE    HM.sH    OK    A    MADKI    (ilKLS     CANOE   IIUKDLE-KACE. 

From  a  Photo. 


craft  as  well  as  possible, 
not  it  capsizes,  and  they 


have  to  struggle  in 
the  water  to  right  it, 
regain  their  position, 
and  return  to  the 
charge.  As  a  suc- 
cessful negotiation 
frequently  is  only 
effected  at  the  third 
or  fourth  trial,  it  will 
be  realized  that  a 
considerable  degree 
of  proficiency  and 
courage  is  requisite ; 
whilst  the  amusement 
of  the  spectators 
(spectators  are  always 
amused)  is,  of  course, 
immeasurably  greater 
than  in  the  case  of  an 
ordinary  boat  -  race. 
It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  finish  of  the 
race  shown  was  most 
exciting,  two  canoes 
being  on  the  final 
hurdle  together. 
Ngaruawahia  is  a 
Maori  word  signify- 
ing "  meeting  of  the  waters,"  the  rivers  Waikato 
and  ^^'aipa  joining  their  waters  at  that  particular 


From  a  Photo,  by] 


EACH    HURDLE    l.S   CHARGED    .\  .         _;   i     sfEED. 


{Foster  Bell,  Auckland. 


446 


THE   WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


spot.  This  most  extraordinary  variety  of  contest 
is  even  better  seen  in  our  next  snap-shot,  which 
represents  a  Maori  canoe  hurdle-race  in  Calliope 
Dock,  Auckland,  N.Z.  The  occasion  was  a 
native  championship  regatta  held  last  January. 

A  rainless  season  in  Southern  Persia  causes 
great  privation  and  loss  to  the  natives — more 
especially  the  poorer  class,  as  they  depend  oti 
the  rain  to  soften  the  baked-up  soil,  so  that 
they  can  plough  it  with  their  rude  implements, 
and  sow  their  corn,  etc.  And  not  only  is  the 
drought  a  terror  to  the  natives,  it  is  also  a 
cause  for  anxiety  to  the  Europeans,  who  are 
scattered  about  in  the  different  provinces  in 
twos  and  threes.  Tor,  in  rainless  times,  pil- 
laging becomes  rife  in  the  towns,  and  highway 
robbery  an  everyday  occurrence.     The  drought 


of  drought  the  Seyeds  and  MooUas  hold  constant 
prayer-meetings  at  the  mosques,  and  the  various 
signals  are  generally  given  by  the  Afooshtad, 
or  high  priest,  who,  watching  a  favourable 
opportunity  (probably  when  a  few  black  clouds 
are  about),  orders  an  eji  masse  prayer-meeting, 
sending  criers  around  the  town  for  that  purpose. 
The  whole  populace  promptly  troops  out  on  to 
the  plains  beyond  the  town  and  then,  facing  the 
south-west,  in  the  direction  of  ]\Iecca,  and  led  by 
the  Mooshtad,  Seyeds,  and  MooUas,  they  engage 
in  prayer — now  standing,  now  squatting,  or  else 
bending  their  bodies  till  their  foreheads  touch 
the  ground,  as  seen  in  the  remarkable  photo 
grapli  reproduced.  Or  they  touch  with  their 
foreheads  the  little  piece  of  stone  (from  Mecca) 
that   most  of  them    carry  with    them.     All    the 


THIS    EXI  KAOKDINARY    I'HOTOGKA  CH    SHOWS    A    WHOLE    NAl  ION    I'KAVINl 


I   I  HEKN    I'EKSIA. 


is  invariably  put  down  to  the  least  likely  circum- 
stance, and  at  such  times  a  more  evil  eye  than 
ever  is  cast  upon  the  unfortunate  Ferringhec,  or 
foreigner.  The  populace  must  have  some  outlet 
or  other  for  their  feelings,  nnd  consequently 
something  is  singled  out  as  being  the  cause  of  the 
drought— more  especially  so  if  tiiat  something 
has  any  connection  with  a  European.  In  such 
cases  a  howling  mob  speedily  congregates,  and 
the  offending  [)ers'on  is  given  an  exceedingly 
uncomfortable  quarter  of  an  hour,  if  indeed  his 
house  be  not  forthwith  demolished.     In  times 


earnest  devotees  keep  time  more  or  less  with  the 
Mooshfad,  or  high  priest.  The  prayers  some- 
times last  a  whole  day,  great  reverence  being 
consistently  shown  to  the  Mooshfad.  Hundreds 
of  the  faithful  kiss  his  hands  or  garments,  when- 
ever an  opportunity  offers.  And  should  rain 
happen  to  fall  within  a  week,  the  Afooshtads 
fame  spreads  far  and  wide.  Needless  to  say, 
the  Mooshfad  is  by  way  of  being  a  weather 
prophet,  and  he  is  careful  to  select  for  the  great 
prayer  a  moment  when  he  has  good  reason  to 
suppose  that  a  heavy  shower  is  not  far  off. 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


447 


VIF.W    LOOKING    INTO    THE   CRATKR    OF    THE   CRF.AT    BUBBLING   MUD    VOLCANO 

From  a  Photo,  by]  (natives  eat  the  mud).  [/.  Valentine,  Dundee. 

Everybody  knows  the  famous  pink  and  white 
terraces  of  New  Zealand,  which  resembled  frozen 
cataracts  of  whipped  cream,  and  which  suffered 
so  severely  from  an  earthquake  some  years  ago. 
But   the   extraordinary   mud-volcanoes    in   their 
neighbourhood  are  by  no  means  so  well  known, 
although  the   difficulty  of  reaching  them  is  by 
no  means  great,  and  there  are  many  of  them. 
Our    photo,  represents    what  is  known    as  the 
(Jreat  Mud  Crater,  a  conical  mound  some  loft. 
or    12ft.   high,    and  90ft.   in  circumference.      Jt 
is  op^n  at  the  top,  and  resembles  a  huge  caldron. 
This  is  filled    with    seething    mud   of  the  con- 
sistency of  porridge.     On 
the  surface  are  liitle  round 
whirlpools    of     bluish- 
coloured  mud,  which  circle 
round     and    round     slug- 
gishly, every  now  and  tlien 
throwing   up    bubbles    of 
gas  and  spurts  of  creamy 
froth.     These,  as  they  fall, 
take  the   form    of    quaint 
rosettes    and  odd   flowers 
of    fantastic    hues,    which 
remain  for  a  few  seconds 
and    then    disappear.     A 
spectator's  first  impression 
is     that     some     monster 
culinary  process   is    going 
on.      It     is    as    if    some 
Titanic  cook  were  stirring 
regular   rivulets  of    liquid 
sweetmeat  for  the  decora 
tion  of  a  Brobdingnagian 
cake.     The  natives  of  the 
locality  are  so  far  domin- 
ated by  this  idea  that  they 


come  in  great  numbers  to  collect 
tiny  portions  of  mud  and  eat  them 
as  a  delicacy,  to  which  they  attach 
great  medicinal  virtues.  White 
people,  however,  find  the  mud 
inexpressibly  nauseous. 

Here    we    see    seme    Canadian 
Indians  making  a  "portage."     T  he 
greater  portion  of  the  Province  of 
Quebec  being  covered  with  dense 
and  all    but    impenetrable    forests, 
the  inhabitants  are  obliged  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  many  rivers  by 
which  this  vast  region  is  intersected 
as    a   means    of  getting  from   one 
place  to   another.     The  Canadian 
Indians  are  the  most  expert    river 
navigators   in    the    world,  and    the 
dexterity  with    which   they    handle 
their    frail    canoes    is     something 
wonderful  ;     sometimes    ascending 
swift  rivers,   sometimes  sweeping  down   stream 
and  safely  steering  their  little  craft  amidst  eddy- 
ing currents  and  treacherous  shoals,  or  shooting 
boiling  rapids  between  jagged  rocks,  where  the 
slightest    error  must  result  in  their  thin-skinned 
canoes  being  ripped  from  end  to  end,  or  over- 
turned, with  the  loss  of  all  their  goods,  and  per- 
haps their  lives.  At  times,  however,  these  intrepid 
voyagers  come  to  a  waterfall  or  a  rapid  which 
even  they  are  unable  to  negotiate.     They  then 
make  a  "  portage."     Placing  their  canoes  and 
baggage  on  their  heads,   they  carry  them  over- 
land   to    a    point   where    they    are    again    able 


CANADIAN    INDIANS   MAKING   A 


'  PORTAGE        I'AST    SOME    U.NNAVIGABI.E    PIECE   OF    WATtK. 

From  a  Photo. 


448 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


to  take  to  the  water.  The 
Indians  are  able  to  carry  enor- 
mous weights  in  this  manner 
for  incredible  distances. 

This  is  one  of  the  extra- 
ordinary feats  played  by  a 
strolling  band  of  jugglers  in 
India.  One  man  takes  hold 
of  a  slender  bamboo  pole 
about  2oft.  long,  and  holds  it 
straight  up  in  the  air.  Another 
runs  up  it  as  if  it  were  a  ladder, 
and  goes  through  a  variety  of 
postures  on  the  top.  One  pos- 
ture is  to  lie  down  on  his  back 
on  the  top  of  the  point  and 
stretch  out  his  legs  and  arms 
to  their  full  length.  In  the 
photograph  we  see  him  cling- 
ing to  the  pole  with  his  legs, 


[/■/li'tO. 


known  species,  cutting  all  sorts  of  capers  for  the 
amusement  of  the  villagers.  What  bird  this  is, 
I  leave  my  readers  to  guess  ! 

The  British  farmer  is  driven  to  some  curious 
shifts  in  order  to  circumvent  the  various  pests 
that  threaten  to  destroy  the  results  of  his 
labour,  but  what  would  he  say  to  having  to 
stack  his  hay  in  trees  ?  And  yet  this  is  what 
the  Indian  agriculturist  has  to  do  every  day  in 
order  to  save  the  hay  from  wandering  cattle  and 
from  the  all-devouring  white  ants.  The  accom- 
panying photo,  gives  a  very  good  idea  of  one  of 
these  haystacks  in  the  air,  and  you  will  see  that 
it  is  conveniently  located  in  the  forks  of  a  large 
tree,  well  out  of  reach  of  the  longing  cattle. 


AN    OI'EN-AIK    VARIBTV    EN'TERTAINMENT    IN    INDtA. 
Fro7n  a  Photo. 

while  he  stretches  out  his  body  almost  at  right 
angles.  Imagine  how  dexterous  he  must  be  to 
go  through  such  a  variety  of  feats  on  just  a  bare 
smooth  pole  borne  by  his  companion. 

In  the  next  photograph  we  have  the  same 
band  of  strolling  players  and  jugglers  going 
through  another  performance.  One  has  a  drum, 
which  he  is  beating,  and  another  is  singing  a 
weird  air.     Before  them  is  a  bird  of  some  un- 


WU^\ 

*K>V^^^HM 

J^HHHMll 

,-^*ij 

'^  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 

r\ 

1 

i 

f                                           ' 

^\&:te  ■■■' 

. ,  'j^r^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

\                                            ■ 

THE    INDIAN    FARMER    mil.DS    HIS    H.^WMACKS    IN    TREES    TO 

From  d\  avoid  the  cattle  and  white  ants.  [Photo. 


"I   COULD  SEE    WHAT  APPEARED  TO   BE  AN    ENDLESS    STREAM   OF    PRISONERS 

COMING   THROUGH   THE   DOOR." 

(SEK   PACE   460.) 


Tup:  Widk  WnRi.n  Magazine. 


Vol.  III. 


si:i''n:Mi'.i.K,  1S99. 


No.   17. 


In   the   Khalifa's  Clutches;    or,  My  Twelve  Years'  Captivity  in 

Chains  in  Omdurman. 

By  Charles  Neukeld. 
III. 


ABOU'S  first  plan  was,  according  to 
his  lights,  to  act  loyal  to  his  section 
of  the  tribe,  and  so  arrange  matters 
that  the  arms  intended  for  his 
ri\als,  Sheik  Saleh's  section,  should 
fall  into  the  hands  of  his  people.  And  with 
those  arms  turned  against  the  Dervishes,  he 
might  see  his  section  come  to  the  front  as 
the  support  of  the  Government,  and  himself 
maybe  in  possession  of  the  coveted  title  of  Bey, 
plus  a  Nishan  or  decoration  if  his  plans 
succeeded.  An  ambitious  fellow  was  my  treach- 
erous guide  (labou.  I  have  no  doubt  that,  had 
his  first  plan  succeeded,  he  would  have  been 
prepared  with  a  plausible  tale,  and  gaining  any 
slight  advantage  over  the  Dervishes  would 
certainly  have  atoned  for  his  defections.  His 
j)lan  as  originally  conceived  was  as  follows  : 
First,  he  wrote  to  his  own  sheik  giving  him 
full  details  of  the  arms  and  ammunition  awaiting 
Saleh's  caravan ;  and  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  the  letters  sent  by  General 
Stephenson  to  Sheik  Saleh  in  the  first  instance 
were  delayed  by  Gabou  until  his  plans  were 
complete.  The  guide  Hassan,  who  I  believed 
had  been  engaged  at  the  last  moment,  had  been 
engaged  some  time  before,  and  was  fully  in- 
structed in  the  part  he  had  to  play.  Gabou  had 
promised  his  people  that  after  Sheik  Saleh's 
caravan  left  El  Selima  Wells,  they  would  be  led 
towards  the  Wadi  el  Kab  instead  of  towards  El 
Agia  Wells ;  so  that  even  had  we  filled  our 
water-skins  at  leisure  at  Selima,  we  should  only 
have  been  provided  with  four  instead  of  eight 
days'  water.  And  even  two  days  in  the  desert 
without  water  has  its  discomforts.  When  a 
Bedawi  or  desert  man  will  travel  two  or  three 
days  without  water  and  not  murmur,  it  may  well 
be  imagined  what  Gabou's  promise  to  hand  us 
over  "  thirsty  "  meant. 

In     fact,     it     meant 


Madnels  of  actually   did    occur  : 

Thirst. 


precisely    what 

the  madness  of 

thirst    approaching;     the    lips    glued 

together  ;  the  tongue  swollen  and  sore 

in  vain  attempts  to  excite  the  salivary  glands  ; 
Vol.  iii.— 57. 


the  muscles  of  the  throat  contracted ;  the  palate 
feeling  like  a  piece  of  sandstone ;  the  nostrils 
choked  with  fine  sand  ;  and  the  eyes  reddened 
and  starting,  with  the  eyelids  ready  to  crack  at 
every  movement.  Only  those  who  have  ex- 
perienced what  we  did  during  those  last  days  on 
our  journey  to  Wadi  el  Kab  can  fill  in  the 
missuig  details  in  the  history  of  Esau  selling 
his  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage. 

'I'he  Dar  Hamads,  on  receiving  Gabou's  news, 
made  their  preparations.  Arms,  buried  in  the 
ground  to  conceal  them  from  the  Dervishes, 
were  unearthed ;  but  the  very  evident  activity 
of  the  people  excited  the  suspicions  of  \\'ad 
Nejoumi.  Believing  a  revolt  was  intended,  he 
prepared  to  meet  it,  but,  having  his  spies  about, 
bits  of  the  real  truth  leaked  out.  Gabou  was 
put  to  the  test.  Either  written  messages  or 
messengers  were  sent  to  him  by  Nejoumi,  asking 
about  Saleh's  caravan  and  the  purposes  for 
which  its  members  had  gone  to  Wadi  Haifa. 
Gabou,  seeing  at  once  that  his  first  scheme  had 
miscarried,  and  rather  than  the  caravan  should 
fall  into  the  hands  of  his  rivals,  gave,  as  being 
first  hand  to  Nejoumi,  the  plot  he  had  planned 
for  the  benefit  of  his  own  people. 

It  was  on  this  account  that  he  had,  as 
Trluor's  related,  tried  at  one  time  to  get  me  to 

Plans,  abandon  the  .projected  journey,  and, 
as  can  be  understood,  there  were 
many  reasons  for  his  sending  word  to  Nejoumi 
saying  I  was  to  accompany  the  caravan.  His 
keeping  back  of  Ismail,  tiie  leader,  day  after 
day,  was  only  to  allow  of  his  messages  reaching 
Nejoumi  in  time  for  that  Emir  to  make  complete 
preparations  for  intercepting  us. 

Hogal  arrived  at  Wadi  Haifa  on  the  very 
evening  of  our  departure,  and  sent  over  his 
message.  Gabou  met  him  and  gave  him  his 
confidence.  He  told  Hogal  the  means  he  had 
used  to  try  and  get  me  to  abandon  the  journey, 
but  that  he  dared  not  give  me  the  real  reasons, 
as  he  knew  I  should  report  the  matter,  and 
then  his  head  would  be  in  danger.  He  had, 
he  declared,  done  the  best  he  could  by  letting 


452 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


/ 


\  ■ 


\        I 


"aKMS     liUKlKU    IN   THE  GROUND   TO   CONCEAL  THEM    FROM   THE 

WERE    UNEARTHED." 


Nejoumi  know  who  and  what  I  was.  Still 
dexterously  playing  his  card.s,  and  in  order  to  keep 
Hogal  quiet,  he  said  he  knew  that  the  English 
were  going  away ;  they  certainly  would  not 
take  him  with  them,  and  as  he  and  Hogal  had 
their  family  ties  in  the  Soudan,  unless  he 
worked  with  Nejoumi,  Nejoumi's  "  good  word  " 
would  be  of  no  avail  to  his  family  and  friends 
when  the  Dervishes  came  down  to  occupy  the 
abandoned  towns. 

I  trust  my  readers  are  now  beginning 
Conspiracy,  to  566  the  light  through  this  dark  con- 
spiracy, and.  that  I  am  making  the 
narrative  sufficiently  intelligible  and  clear  with- 
out constantly  requesting  you  to  turn  back  to 
earlier  pages. 

Gabou,  playing  a'  double  part  himself,  and 
being  naturally  suspicious  of  everyone  else  in 
consequence,  thought  that  I  might  have  divined 
his  treachery  when  the  camels  did  not  overtake 
us,  and  might  change  the  route  in  consequence  ; 
and     these    suspicions    he    communicated    to 


Nejoumi.  Had  he  not  done  this, 
I  might  have  forgiven  him — fc>r  it 
was  everyone  for  himself  in  those 
days.  There  was  not  the  least 
necessity  for  his  warning  Nejoumi 
that  we  might  change  our  route 
on  finding  that  the  guide  was  lead- 
ing us  in  the  wTong  direction,  for 
had  Nejoumi's  men  not  found  us, 
Gabou  could  not  have  been 
blamed. 

Nejoumi,  on  receiving  the  news, 
dispatched  a  large  number  of 
Dervishes  under  Wad  Bessir  to 
Umbellila,  opposite  Abou  Gussi ; 
and  another  force  under  Osman 
Azrak  to  El  Kab,  opposite  El 
Ordeh  (Dongola).  Said  Mohammad 
Wad  Farag,  Mohammad  Hamzn, 
Makin  en  Nur,  and  Wad  Umma 
were  ordered  to  the  various  wells 
in  the  Wadi  el  Kab ;  the  latter 
having  orders  to  keep  the  Dar 
Hamads  in  check. 

I   am,   be  it  understood, 
im^o"ing  giving    this    list    of    now 
•■•      famous  names  from  recol- 
lection of  what  I  was  told 
at  Dongola   and  Omdurman,  and 
not  for  the  purpose   of,    by   their 
means,    investing   with    a   halo   of 
barbaric     romance     an     incident 
which   was   nothing  more    or   less 
_^  than    a    bit    of    highway    robbery. 

DERVISHES,  But  my  chief  reason  is  that,  should 

any  of  those  named  be  still  living, 
and  should  they  eventually  come 
into  the  hands  of  the  Government,  they  may 
be  questioned  as  to  this  affair,  and  their 
account  compared  with  the  series  of  contra- 
dictory passages  which  head  the  present  chapter. 
Wad  Farag  sent  a  flying  party  to  Selima 
Wells,  led  by  a  slave  of  Wad  Eysawee,  named 
Hassib  Allah.  It  was  Hassib  Allah  who  had 
fired  the  shot  we  heard  on  the  day  of  our  arrival 
at  Selima,  and  when  taken  before  Wad  Nejoumi 
at  Dongola,  one  of  the  questions  pu-t  me  was, 
"  Did  you  see  anyone,  or  hear  a  shot  fired  the 
day  you  reached  Selima  ?  "  I  answered,  "  Yes," 
as  regarded  the  latter  part  of  the  question,  and 
thereby  made  an  everlasting  friend  of  Hassib 
Allah,  as  a  reward  had  been  promised  to  the 
man  who  should  first  sight  us  and  then  hurry 
back  to  the  main  body  with  the  news ;  Hassib 
had  fired  the  shot,  so  that  the  question  might  be 
put.  Even  from  this  you  may  gauge  the  amount 
of  confidence  the  Ansar  or  faithful  had  in  the 
word  of  their  Emirs,  and  the  amount  of  credence 
a  European  might  give  to  their  tales  when  they 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


453 


lied    to    and   deceived    each    other   with    such 
charming  inipartiahtv. 

After  dispatching  Hassib,  Wad  P'arag 

cl'meor^the'J'^'Jtid  liis  party,  sending  one  to  the 

Scout?    district  between' Wadi  el   Kab  and  the 

Nile,  and  the  second,  commanded  by 
himself,  he  led  to  the  desert  to  intercept  us. 
The  Alighat  Arab  sent  out  by  us  as  a  scout, 
and  who  did  not  return,  must  either  have  been 
captured  by  Farag,  or  what  is  more  likely,  as 
he  was  sent  out  by  Hassan  he  was  an  emissary 
of  Hassan's  to  Wad  Farag  or  any  of  the  other 
Dervishes  to  give  them  the  news,  as  Hassan 
must  have  been  aware  of  our  position  and  the 
proximity  of  the  Dervishes.  The  tracks  we  had 
picked  up  on  the  road  when  the  embers  of  the 
caravans'  fires  were  found  still  hot  were  the 
remains  of  the  fires  of  Hassib's  men,  who 
had  kept  within  touch  of  us  the  whole  time, 
only  losing  touch  on  the  day  following  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  Alighat. 

On  reaching  the  broken  ground  leading  to 
El  Kab,  my  guide  Amin  and  the  two  others  had 
intentionally  been  allowed  to  pass  unchallenged, 
as  the  Dervish  plan  was  to  form  themselves  into 
three  parties,  which  were  to  rush  us  from  three 
sides  at  the  same  time.  It  was  in  direct  dis- 
obedience of  orders  that  the  first  shots  were 
fired  at  us,  but  this  was  probably  done  by  some- 
one to  gain  the  promised  reward  for  sighting  us, 
and  it  ended,  as  already  related,  in  a  general 
fusillade.  The  camels  loaded  with  filled  water- 
skins  were  left  behind  purposely,  but  their  being 
left  was  a  happy  thought  at  the  moment  of 
Farag's  men.  When  they  retired,  it  was  only  to 
join  the  other  section  which  was  to  have  rushed 
us  from  the  left ;  the  section  to  rush  us  in  the 
rear  being  a  litde  farther  out  in  the  desert  than 
the  plan  shows. 

Our    leader    Ismail    I    never    saw  or 

p^a?a°'c^^of^it;ard   of  again ;    he    may   have   suc- 

ismaii.    f^eeded  in  escaping  altogether,  only  to 

be  killed  when  the  virtual  extermina- 
tion of  the  tribe  took  place — when  Sheik 
Saleh,  standing  on  his  sheep-skin,  fell  fighting 
to  the  last. 

This  account  of  the  capture  of  the  caravan, 
and  the  explanations  given,  though  not  agree- 
ing in  essentials  with  the  accounts  given 
officially,  may  be  accepted  as  being  as  nearly 
correct  in  every  detail  as  it  is  possible  for 
memory  to  give  them  ;  and  the  occasion  was 
one  of  those  in  life  where  even  twelve  years' 
sufferings  are  not  sufficient  to  obliterate  the 
incidents  from  the  mind. 

I  feel  some  Httle  confidence  in  offering  to  the 
world  my  version  of  the  circumstances  attending 
my  departure  from  Wadi  Haifa  for  Kordofan, 
as  well  as  the  date  upon  which  I  really  did  leave 


Egypt— as  unfortunate  a  date  for  me  as  it  evi- 
dently has  been  to  some  of  my  biographers  : 
also  the  actual  circumstances  attending  my 
capture. 

V'ou  see,  I  ha[)pened  to  be  present  on 
*witnesV.*  the  various  occasions  spoken  of,  and 

I  do  not  think  it  will  be  asking  too 
much  if  I  request  that  the  same  amount  of 
credence  be  given  to  my  own  story  as  has 
been  given  to  that  of  others  referred  to  in  my 
introduction. 

It  now  remains,  before  closing  this  chapter,  to 
deal  with  Duf^x'allah  Hogal  and  his  part  in  the 
affciir.  In  my  first  letter  from  Omdurman  which 
was  written  for  me  by  dictation  of  the  Khalifa, 
I  am  made  to  say  that  I  blamed  Hogal  for  his 
deceit,  but  at  the  same  time  thanked  him  for  it, 
as  it  had  led  me  to  grace !  This  wasa  clever  inven- 
tion of  the  Emir  at  Dongola,  or  of  the  Khalifa 
himself,  to  get  Hogal  into  trouble  with  theCiovern- 
ment,  and  draw  away  suspicion  from  Hassan 
and  Gabou.  This  letter  was  received  by  one  of 
my  clerks  at  Assouan,  who  fortunately  retained 
a  copy  before  forwarding  it  on  to  Cairo.  A 
translation  of  it  will  be  given  later. 

Hogal  is  not  to  be  blamed  for  keeping  his 
own  counsel  after  Gabou  had  given  him  his 
confidence.  He  had  nothing  to  gain  by  telling 
the  authorities  the  truth,  and  he  had  everything 
to  lose  if  he  did.  The  Khalifa's  spies  were 
everywhere — in  the  Government  and  out  of  it ; 
just  as  in  the  same  way  the  Government  spies 
were  among  the  Mahdists.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  they  were  paid  by  both  sides— and 
who  is  to  blame  them  ?  Hogal's  family  ties  and 
relations  were  in  the  Soudan,  and  it  was  no  use 
his  raising  a  question  over  a  dead  man. 

I  may  have  something   to  say  about 

Tro\u>n  of  guides  and  spies  later  on,  but  it  will 

Justice.    iiQ^  ijg  ^^.j^[^  ^YiQ  idea  of  calling  any  of 

them  to  justice.  The  only  justice  they 
knew  of  was  that  contained  in  "  Possession  is 
nine  points  of  the  law,"  or  "  Might  conquers 
right "  ;  and  it  suited  their  natures  admirably  to 
play  a  double  game,  which  was  rendered  so  easy 
for  them  with,  on  the  one  hand,  a  Khalifa  who 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  do  a  certain  thing 
and  ever  kept  that  object  in  view,  and  worked 
for  its  accomplishment ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
a  Government  which  did  not  appear  to  know  its 
own  mind  from  one  day  to  another  as  to  what 
should  be  done  with  the  Soudan  and  its  subjects 
resident  there. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  night  of 
su^ffe'nngs.  April    27th,    the   Amin    Beit    el    Mai 

told  me  to  prepare  for  my  journey  to 
Omdurman,  as  Wad  Nejoumi  had  sent  for  me. 
There  was  little  preparation  I  could  make,  how- 
ever, except   to   beg  some   sesame  oil   to   rub 


454 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


over  my  face^  shoulders,  back,  and  feet.  The 
woollen  shirt  and  clothing  I  had  been  allowed 
had  not  been  sufficient  to  protect  me  against  the 
burning  rays  of  the  sun  ;  and  the  skin  was  now- 
peeling  away  from  my  face,  shoulders,  and  back, 
while  my  feet  were  blistered  and  cut.  My 
stockings  had  been  worn  through  in  a  day's 
tramping  through  the  sand.  Taken  to  Nejoumi's 
inclosure,  that  great  Emir  and  I  sat  together 
talking  for  a  considerable  time.  He  told  me  that 
he  had  wished  to  keep  me  by  him  for  the  pur- 
poses of  "akhbar"  (information,  or  news),  but  that 
the  other  Emirs  had  insisted  upon  my  being  killed 
at  once,  or  sent  to  the  Khalifa  with  the  supposed 
"  firman  "  appointing  me  "  Pasha  of  the  Western 
Soudan,"  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  Khalifa  at 
Omdurman.  Nejoumi  said  he  had  written  ask- 
ing that  I  should  be  sent  back  to  him.  He  put 
to  me  many  questions  about  the  Government ; 
also  the  fortifications  of  Cairo  and  Alexandria  ; 
Assouan  ;  Korosko  and  Wadi  Haifa.  In  par- 
ticular he  was  anxious  to  know  all  about  the 
British  Army  and  "  Ingleterra."  The  advance 
up  the  Nile  for  the  relief  of  Gordon  had 
evidently  given  him  a  very  poor 
opinion  of  our  means  of  transport 
—  at  any  rate,  as  regards  rapidity 
of  movement  ;  for  when  I  told 
him  of  the  distance  between  Alex- 
andria and  England,  and  assured  him 
that  steamers  could  bring  in  a  large 
army  in  a  week's  time,  he  smiled 
and  said,  "I  am  not  a  child,  that 
you  should  tell  me  a  tale  like  that." 
Nejoumi  may  or  may  not 
have  gone  to  his  grave 
believing  I  was  romancing, 
when  I  described  to  him 
what  an  ocean-going  steamer  was 
like,  and  did  my  best  to  give  him 
some  idea  of  the  proportions  of  a 
Nile  dahabieh  compared  with  an 
ocean-going  steamer  and  a  man-of- 
war  of  the  first  class. 

I  left  him  firmly  impressed  with 
the  idea,   and   this  impression   was 
only  intensified  months  later  when 
a   number   of  his   chief  men   were 
ordered    back    to    Omdurman 
and    thrown    into    prison    with 
me.     I  then  gathered  that  had 
Nejoumi  had  anyone  in  whom 
he  could  have  reposed  his  con- 
fidence  and   absolute  trust  in 
such    a    delicate     matter,     he 
would   have   sent    in    his   sub- 
mission   to    the    Government ; 
and   then    laying    hands   upon 
the  Emirs  sent  by  the  Khalifa 


Giving 
Nejoumi  a  ' 
Lesson. 


to  spy  upon  him  —  for  he  was  then  under 
suspicion  —  he  would  have  led  his  army  as 
"  friendlies  "  to  Wadi  Haifa,  and  asked  assist- 
ance to  enable  him  to  turn  the  tables  on  the 
Khalifa,  \\hat  further  leads  me  to  make  such 
bold  assertion  or  statement  is  that  the  Emirs,  or 
chief  men,  referred  to  already  as  having  been 
thrown  into  prison  with  me  at  Omdurman,  gave 
me,  as  their  fellow-captive,  first  their  sympathy, 
and  then  their  complete  confidence. 

I    learned    from    them     the    fate    of 

''^^siilivB^  those  of  Saleh's  caravan  whom  I  had 

Caravan,  j^fj  g^^^^  ^^  Dongola.     They  had,  they 

told  me,  been  executed  in  batches  of 
varying  numbers  at  intervals  of  some  days ; 
Elias,  my  clerk,  being  the  last  to  be  executed,  and 
he  not  until  about  two  months  after  my  de- 
parture. Nejoumi,  for  reasons  which  will  be  at 
once  seen,  kept  him  alive  until  the  last ;  and  then 
doubtless  only  gave  the  order  for  his  execution 
when,  despairing  of  my  being  sent  back  to  him, 
he  gave  way  to  the  importunities  of  the  other 
Emirs,  who  were  anxious  to  see  the  last  of  Saleh's 
people    destroyed.      Judging    from    what     the 


AN    OUJhCT-LESSON    l-'OR    N^.JOt'.MI — "  I    CAVE    HIM    SOME    IDEA  .OF    A    NILE    UAHAl.U-.H 
COMI'AKED   WITH    A    MAN-OF-WAR." 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


4:>D 


prisoners  confided  to  me,  there  could  not  be  the 
sli^lUest  doubt  that  a  conviction  of  the  impos- 
ture of  the  Mahdi's  successor  was  growing  and 
spreading  amongst  the  Mahdists  ;  but  tlic  system 
of  espionage  instituted  by  the  KhaUfa  nipped  in 
the  bud  any  outward  show  of  discontent.  There 
can  be  also  no  doubt  that  these  confidants  of 
Nejoumi  had,  in  some  way,  compromised  them- 
selves when  speaking  in  the  presence  of  some 
of  the  Khalifa's  agents;  and  probably  the  only 
reason  why  Nejoumi  himself  had  not  been 
ordered  back  with  them  was  owing  to  his  popu- 
larity and  the  Khalifa's  fear  and  jealousy  of  him. 
There  was  not  a  soul  whom  Nejoumi 
Surrounded  _Qr,  for  thc  matter  of  that,  anyone,  not 
Treaojiery.  gygj^  excepting  the  Khalifa  himself 
—  might  implicitly  trust  in  the  Soudan. 
The  man  to  whom  you  gave  your  innermost 
confidences  might  be  friend  or  foe ;  and,  as  all 
changed  face  so  rapidly  and  as  circumstances 
dictated,  it  would  be  safe  to  say  that  no  one  in 
the  Soudan  trusted  his  neighbour  for  a  single 
moment. 

\Vhatever  Nejoumi's  convictions  may  have 
been  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  Mahdist  move- 
ment, it  is  certain  that  they  subsequently  under- 
went a  great  change ;  and  his  advance  against 
the  Egyptian  army  at  Toski,  when  he  was 
killed,  was,  as  I  was  told  after  their  return  by 
some  of  his  people  imprisoned  with  me,  only 
undertaken  when  he  was  goaded  to  it  by  the 
reproaches  of  the  Khalifa,  who  accused  him  of 
cowardice  and  treachery,  threatening  also  to 
recall  him  to  Omdurman — and  Nejoumi  knew 
well  what  this  implied. 

I  have  already  remarked  that  I  would  later 
offer  some  surmises  as  to  the  reason  of  my  guide 
Amin  having  been  the  first  to  be  executed  at 
Dongola,  and  it  would  be  well  to  insert  them 
here,  while  speaking  of  my  fellow-prisoners  from 
Nejoumi's  army.  They  were  certain  that 
Amin's  two  or  three  [jassages-at-arms  with  the 
guide  Hassan  had  been  related  to  the  assembled 
Emirs  at  Dongola  immediately  after  our  arrival, 
and  Amin  was  in  consequence  ordered  to  be 
at  once  decapitated. 

I  expressed  my  suspicions  as  to  thc 

*Dla!h.^'  actual  death  of  Hassan  at  El  Kab, 
and  in  face  of  what  I  was  told,  I  can- 
not but  believe  that  his  falling  from  the  camel 
was  an  arranged  affair,  and  that  he  came  with 
the  caravan  to  Dongola,  and  gave  evidence 
against  Amin.  Then  following  up  the  suspi- 
cion or  supposition,  it  is  very  probable  that  he 
originated  the  "  cock-and-bull  "  story  related  to 
the  military  authorities,  detailing  the  supposed 
incidents  of  the  capture  of  Saleh's  caravan  and 
myself.  It  will  not  have  been  forgotten  that  the 
published  official  and  semi-official  records  report 


my  capture  at  two  different  places  150  miles 
apart  or,  in  other  words,  a  minimum  oi  five 
days'  journey,  and  that  at  different  dates.  In  one 
instance  my  arrival  at  Omdurman  as  a  captixe 
is  announced  one  month  before  the  caravan  I 
was  supposed  to  have  betrayed  — or  been  the 
cause  of  the  capture  of  through  "imprudence" 
— had  even  started  from  Wadi  Haifa. 

But  to  continue.  In  the  early  morning  of 
April  28th,  I  and  Hasseena  were  taken  outside 
the  town  to  where  the  guards  and  camels  were 
awaiting  us,  aixl  setting  off  on  our  journey,  we 
travelled  through  Hannak,  Debbeh,  Abou  Gussi, 
and  Ambukol.  The  incidents  connected  with 
our  appearance  at  these  places  are  not  of  sufficient 
interest  to  warrant  my  detaining  my  readers 
with  them.  From  Ambukol  we  struck  into  the 
desert,  making  for  the  Nile  at  Gebel  Roiyan, 
and,  of  course,  enduring  the  inevitable  discom- 
forts and  privations  of  such  a  journey.  On 
arrival  at  the  village  near  (iebel  Roiyan  we  took 
possession  of  what  we  believed  to  be  a  deserted 
house,  and,  after  taking  a  little  food,  laid  down 
to  sleep. 

During  the  night,  however,  a  wretched 
vuitorf  old  woman  crept  into  my  room,  and 

commenced  that  peculiar  wailing 
known  to  those  who  have  been  in  the  .  East. 
She  was,  she  said,  £/  umm  Khashni  el  Miis — 
the  mother  of  Khashm  el  Mus ;  but  the  expres- 
sion may  be  taken  to  imply  merely  that  she 
was  one  of  the  numerous  family  or  relatives  of 
Khashm  el  Mus,  whom  Gordon  had  sent  with 
gunboats  to  Metemmeh  to  accompany  Sir 
Charles  Wilson  on  his  voyage  to  Khartoum. 
The  woman's  sons — indeed,  the  whole  of  her 
family  or  tribe  —  had  been  killed  by  the 
Khalifa's  order,  and,  as  far  as  she  knew,  she 
was  the  only  one  left.  Taking  no  notice  of 
my  guards,  who  had  come  in,  attracted  by  the 
wailing  and  talking,  she  cursed  the  Mahdi,  and 
everything  and  everyone  connected  with  him. 
The  wailings  of  the  poor  creature — her  pinched 
and  sunken  cheeks ;  her  glistening  eyes ;  her 
skinny,  hooked  fingers ;  her  vehement  curses 
on  the  Mahdi  and  Khalifa,  and  the  faint  glow 
from  the  charcoal  embers  which  only  served  to 
outline  the  form  of  the  old  woman  as  some 
horrid  spectre  as  she  stood  up  and  prophesied 
my  death,  completely  unnerved  me.  If  there 
were  one  night  in  my  life  upon  which  I  required 
a  few  hours'  rest  it  was  surely  on  this — the  last, 
as  I  knew,  before  entering  Omdurman.  But  no 
sleep  came  to  my  eyes  that  night. 

Soon  after  the  woman  left  a  sound  of 
Trig'el''y.  duU  thuds,  a  shriek,  a  moan,  and  then 

silence  told  their  own  tale.  She  had 
been  battered  to  death  with  curses  on  the  Mahdi 
on  her  lips.     The  night  was  one  long,  horrible. 


456 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


wakening  nightmare,  but  all  was  real  and  not  a 
fantasy  of  the  brain.  How  I  longed  for  the 
dawn  !  And  how  impatiently  I  waited  for  it ! 
For  the  first  time  I  had  fears  for  my  reason. 
The  sensation  I  felt  was  as  if  a  cord  had  been 
slipjjed  round  my  brain,  and  was  gradually  but 
surely  tightening.  But  enough  of  this  :  it  is  not 
necessary  to  interlard  my  experiences  with 
painful  mental  sensations,  real  as  they  were. 


..  AILINGS   OF    THE   POOR    CREATURE   AS   SHE   STOOD    Ul'   AND 

UNNERVED   ME." 


It  was  with  some  little  difficulty  that  I  shuffled 
my  way  to  the  camels  next  morning,  to  mount 
and  get  away  on  the  last  stage  of  my  journey  to 
Omdurman.  We  reached  the  town  at  noon,  on 
Thursday,  May  5th,  and  passed  in  almost  un- 
noticed until  we  reached  the  market-place,  when 
the  news  of  our  arrival  spread  like  wildfire.  Vv  e 
were  soon  surrounded  by  thousands  of  people, 
and  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  we  fought 
our  way  to  the  open  praying-ground  adjoining 
the  burial-place  of  the  Mahdi.  The  tomb  had 
not  then  been  built.  Here  I  was  placed  in  the 
shade  of  the  rukooba,  which  is  a  light  structure 
of  poles  supporting  a  roof  of  matting  and  palm 
branches,  in  the  shade  of  which  the  people  rest 
during  the  heat  of  the  day.  Two  of  my  guards 
went  off  to  deliver  ^^'ad   Nejoumi's  despatches 


to  the  Khalifa,  and  also  to  announce  my  arrival. 
Shortly  afterwards  Nur  Angara,  Slatin  Pasha, 
Mohammad  Taher,  and  the  chief  Kadi,  with 
others,  came  to  question  me. 

.Slatin  addressed  a  few  words  to  me  in 

*''siaun°'"t:"g1'sh,  but  not  understanding  him,  I 

Pasha,     asked  him  to  speak  in   German,  upon 

which  he  said  in  an  undertone,  "  Be 

polite  ;  tell  them  you  have  come  to  join  Mahdieh 

in  order  to  em- 
brace  the   Mah- . 
di's  rehgion  ;  do 
not  address  me." 
Nur  Angara,  who 
put  the  majority 
of  the  questions, 
asked,     "Why 
have    you    come 
to  Omdurman  ?  " 
I    hesitated    a 
little    before    re- 
plying,   but   not 
long   enough    to 
allow  my    Euro- 
pean    blood    to 
cool    sufficiently 
to  reply  "  polite- 
ly "    to    the    im- 
perious    black 
confronting    me. 
I  told  him,  "  Be- 
cause  I  could 
not  help  myself. 
When     I    left 
Wadi     Haifa    it 
was    to   go    and 
trade,    and    not 
fight ;    but   your 
people    have 
taken  me  prison- 
er, and  sent  me 
here.      W^hy   do 
you  ask  me  that  question  ?  "     Slatin  on  hearing 
this    moved   behind   the    other   Emirs,    and    I 
believe  made  some  attempt  to  make  me  under- 
stand that  I  should  speak  differently  to  them. 
But  my  helplessness  was  galling  to  me ;  there 
was  not  a  man  there  whom,  pulled  down  as  1 
was,    I    could    not   .with    sheer   strength   have 
crushed  the  life  out  of.     I  was  questioned  about 
the  number  of  troops  at  Wadi  Haifa  and  Cairo, 
the  fortifications,  etc.,  but  neither  place  would 
have  recognised   the   fortresses   I  invented  for 
the  occasion,  and  the  numbers  of  troops  with 
which  I  invested  them.     When  told  that  news 
had  been  received  from  Wad  Nejoumi  that  the 
British  troops  were  leaving,  I  admitted  the  truth 
of  this,  but  said  that  they  could  all  be  brought 
back  to  Wadi  Haifa  in  four  days. 


PROPHESIED    MY   DEATH    CO.MPLETEIA 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


457 


All  the  questions,  or  nearly  all,  were 
ara'*Pashk'^:iii  Connection  with  the  army  and  the 

movement  of  the  troops  ;  and  this  will 
be  the  better  understood  when  it  is  remembered 
that  by  some  I  was  believed  to  be  a  "  Pasha," 
and  all  Pashas  in  the  Soudan  were  military 
leaders.  I  have  been  shown  a  statement  to  the 
effect  that  my  readiness  to  talk  "  made  a  bad 
impression";  but  this  remark  was  not,  at  the 
time  of  writing,  sufficiently  explanatory.  And 
yet  it  may  have  been. 

Other  captives  had  grovelled   at  the 

*^'alad^   ftet   of  their   captors.        I    did    not ; 

Impression,  i^^,.,^,^  probably  the  "  bad  impression  " 

created.  And  while  the  world  may 
blame  me  for  being  so  injudicious  as  to  treat 
my  powerful  captors  with  such  scant  courtesy, 
it  can  hardly  be  expected  that  I,  even  had  I  not 
passed  six  years  in  close  connection  with  the 
British  Army  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  in  times 
of  comparative  peace,  should  in  a  moment 
forget  and  lose  my  manhood,  and  cover  with 
servile  kisses  the  hands  of  a  savage  black — and 
one  of  the  murderers  of  Gordon  to  boot.  I 
thank  God,  now  that  I  am  restored  to  "  life," 
that  my  first  appearance  as  a  hapless  captive  in  the 
clutches  of  the  Khalifa  "  made  a  bad  impression." 
On  the  Emirs  and  others  leaving  me,  some 
Dervishes  advanced,  stripped  me  of  the  jibbeh 
and  clothes  given  me  by  Nejoumi,  and  replaced 
them  with  a  soldier's  old  jersey  and  cotton 
drawers.  My  feet  were  next  fettered,  and  a 
ring,  with  a  long  heavy  chain  attached,  was 
fastened  round  my  neck.  During  that  evening 
— indeed,  during  the  whole  night — crowds  came 
to  look  at  me,  while  the  awful  ombeyeh,  or  war 
trumpet,  made  from  a  hollowed  tusk,  was  sounded 
the  whole  night  through.  A  woman — a  sort  of 
Mahdist  amazon — walked  and  danced  up  and 
down  in  front  of  me,  singing  and  gesticulating, 
but  I  could  not  catch  the  full  meaning  of  her 
words.  Noticing  Hasseena  sobbing  violently  a 
few  yards  away,  I  called  to  her,  and  asked  what 
was  the  matter  with  her.  She  told  me  that  the 
ombeyeh  was  calling  up  the  followers  of  the 
prophet  CO  come  and  witness  my  execution,  and 
that  the  woman  before  us  in  her  rude  rhyme 
was  describing  my  death  agonies,  and  my  sub- 
sequent tortures  in  hell  as  an  unbeliever.  One 
of  my  guards  told  me  that  what  Hasseena  had 
related  was  true,  and  I  had  curiosity  enough  to 
ask  him  the  details  of  an  execution  ;  these  having 
been  described  to  me,  I  refused  food  and  drink. 
I  was  determined  to  deprive  the  fanatics  of  at 
least  one  anticipated  element  connected  with  my 
execution — but  I  may  not  enter  into  details. 

At    dawn    the    following    morning    a 
*|°"?are.^  Dcrvish  came  to  me,  and  crossing  my 

right  hand  over  the  left  at  the  wrists, 

Vol.  iii.— 58. 


palms  downward,  proceeded  to  bind  them 
together  with  a  rope  made  of  palm  fibre.  When 
the  ropes  had,  with  a  bit  of  wood  used  as  a 
tournicjuet,  been  drawn  well  into  the  fli^sh,  water 
was  poured  over  them.  The  agony,  as  the  ropes 
swelled,  was  excruciating.  They  "  bit  "  deeply 
into  the  flesh,  and  even  now  I  cannot  look  at 
the  scars  on  my  hands  without  a  shudder,  almost 
experiencing  again  the  same  sensations  as  those 
of  twelve  years  ago. 

Then,  with  the  perspiration  rolling  off  me 
owing  to  the  pain  I  was  enduring — and  I  could 
no  longer  conceal  that  I  was  suffering — I  was 
led  forth  to  be  the  sport  of  the  rabble.  INIade 
to  stand  up  in  the  open  space,  bareheaded,  with 
thousands  around  me,  I  truly  believed  that  at 
last  the  moment  for  my  decapitation  had  come. 
Muttering  a  short  prayer,  I  knelt  down  and 
bent  my  head,  but  was  at  once  pulled  to  my 
feet  again  ;  the  populace  wanted  their  sport  out 
of  me  first.  Dervishes  rushed  madly  at  me, 
prodding  with  spears  and  swords ;  and  while 
this  was  going  on,  two  men,  one  on  each  side 
of  me,  with  the  mouths  of  their  ombeyehs 
placed  against  my  ears,  blew  their  loudest  blasts. 
One  powerful  man  in  particular,  armed  with  a 
large  spear,  gave  me  the  idea  that  it  was  he 
who  had  been  told  off  to  give  the  final  thrust ; 
and  when  he  had  made  a  number  of  feints,  I 
tried  in  successive  ones  to  meet  the  murderous 
blade.  One  of  the  men  guarding  nie,  however, 
taking  the  chain  attached  to  the  ring  round  my 
neck,  pulled  me  back  each  time,  much  to  the 
delight  of  the  assembled  people.  The  ropes  with 
which  I  was  bound  had  now  done  their  work ; 
the  swollen  skin  gave  way,  and  the  horrible 
tension  was  removed  as  the  ropes  sank  into  the 
flesh.  If  I  had  exhibited  any  feeling  of  pain 
before,  I  was  now  as  indifferent  to  it  as  I  was 
to  the  multitude  around  me.  A  messenger  of 
the  Khalifa,  Ali  Gulla  by  name,  asked  me, 
"Have  you  heard  the  ombeyehs.?" — a  bit  of 
the  Khalifa's  suppo.sed  pleasantry,  when  it  was 
by  his  orders  that  the  mouths  of  the  instruments 
had  been  placed  against  my  tortured  ears. 

On  nodding  my  reply,  Gulla  continued: 
Khimas  "The  Khalifa  has  sent  me  to  tell  you 
Decision.   ^]^^^  j-,^  j^^g  decided  to  behead  you," 

to  which  I  replied,  "  (jO  back  to  your 
Khalifa,  and  tell  him  that  neither  he  nor 
fifty  Khalifas  may  so  much  as  remove  a 
hair  from  my  head  without  God's  permis- 
sion. If  (iod's  will  it  is,  then  my  head 
shall  be  cut  off;  but  it  will  not  be  because 
the  Khalifa  wills  it."  He  went  to  the 
Khalifa  with  this  message,  and  returned  saying, 
"The  Khalifa  has  changed  his  mind  ;  your 
head  is  not  to  be  cut  off;  )0u  are  to  be  crucified 
as  was  your  prophet,  Aisse  en  Nebbi  "  (Jesus 


458 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    ^MAGAZINE. 


the  Prophet).  After  saying  this  he  told  my 
guards  to  take  me  back  to  the  rukooba  while 
preparations  for  my  crucifixion  were  being 
made.  By  this  time,  what  with  the  fatigue  and 
privations  on  the  journey ;  my  head  almost 
splitting  as  the  result  of  the  ombeyehs'  blasts  ; 
the  agony  caused  by  the  ropes  binding  my 
wrists  ;  the  torture  of  scores  of  small  irritating 
and  stinging  flies  attacking  the  raw  flesh  of  my 
hands  ;  and  the  sun  beating  down  on  my  bare 
head,  I  was  about  to  faint.  An  hour  later,  I 
was  ordered  off  to 
the  place  of  cruci- 
fi  X  i  o  n  .  Being 
heavily  chained,  I 
was  unable  to  walk, 
so  had  to  be  placed 
upon  a  donkey,  on 
which  I  was  held  up 
by  two  men.  On 
coming  to  a  halt,  I 
found  a  set  of  gal- 
lows, instead  of  the 
crucifix  I  had  ex- 
pected. I  was  lifted 
from  the  donkey  and 
placed  close  to  the 
angareeb,  or  bed- 
stead, with  the  noose 
dangling  just  over  my 
head.  Pain  and  faint- 
ness  at  once  left  me. 
A  few  min- 


Last  II  tot; 

Homents.    '••'■^•' 


more. 


I 
end 


thought, 
all,    and 


would 
I  had  made  up  my 
mind  that  the  horde 
of  savages  about  me 
should  respect  me, 
even  in  my  death.  I 
tried  to  mount  the 
angareeb,  but  my 
chains  prevented  me. 
Suddenly  a  tall  black 
— the  chief  Kadi  of 
the  Khalifa — placing 
his  hand  on  my  arm, 
said,  "The  Khalifa 
is  gratified  at  your 
courage,  and,  to  show 
of  the  manner  of  your 


THIS     IS       SIK       RUDOLF 
SLATIN  (SLATIN  I'ASHA), 

who   translated  mr. 
neufeld's  papers  for 

THE     KH;*LIFA    (SLATlN 

was  also   a  prisoner, 
but     acted     as     the 
khalifa's  orderly). 
From  a 


this,  offers  you  a  choice 
death."  I  replied,  "  (;o 
back  to  your  Khalifa,  and  tell  him  that  he  may 
please  himself  as  to  what  form  my  death  takes— 
only  if  he  wishes  to  do  me  a  favour,  let  him  be 
quick  about  it;  the  sun  burns  my  brain."  To 
this  the  Kadi  replied,  "  You  will  be  dead  in  a 
few  minutes  ;  what  will  you  die  as — a  Moslem 
or  a  Kafifir?"     I   was  growing  desperate,   and 


answered  at  the  top  of  my  voice,  "  Ed  Deen  mush 
hiddm  terrayer  iiahaarda  ou  Bookra  "  (religion  is 
not  a  dress  to  be  put  on  to-day  and  thrown  off 
to-morrow). 

My  reply,  and  the  manner  in  which  I  gave  it, 
I  was  gratified  to  see,  made  the  Kadi  angry. 
While  we  were  still  talking,  however,  a  man  on 
horseback  made  his  way  through  the  crowd  to 
us,  and  spoke  to  the  Kadi,  who,  turning  to  me, 
said,  "  Be  happy  ;  there  is  no  death  for  you  ; 
the  Khalifa,  in  his  great  mercy,  has  pardoned 

you."  I  at  once 
asked,  "Why?— 
Have  I  asked 
for  his  pardon  ?  " 
For  I  did  not  believe 
for  a  moment  that 
such  was  actually  the 
case.  Nevertheless  I 
was  at  once  bundled 
on  to  the  donkey 
and  taken  back  to 
the  rukooba,  or  shel- 
ter. Someone  had  re- 
ported to  the  Khalifa 
about  the  state  of 
my  hands,  and  a 
man  was  sent  at 
once  with  orders  to 
have  the  ropes  re- 
moved. Food  in 
abundance  was  then 
sent  me,  but  this  I 
gave  to  the  ombeveh 
men  who  had 
escorted  me  back  fo 
the  rukooba.  I  could 
even  then  smile  at 
one  of  the  men  who 
complained  that  he 
could  not  enjoy  the 
food,  as  his  lips — 
great  thick  black 
ones  they  were,  too 
—  were  almost  as 
raw  with  blowing  the 
ombeyeh  all  night  as 
my  hands  were  with 
the  ropes  used  in 
torturing  me. 
On  the  following  day  I  was  taken 
Sidis^  and  before  the  Kadis,  with  whom  were  the 
Pa"ha.  Khalifa  and  Slatin.  I  was  again  asked, 
"  Why  have  you  come  to  Omdur- 
man  ? "  To  which  I  ga\e  the  same  reply  as  I 
had  given  to  Nur  Angara.  The  letter  of 
General  Stephenson  was  then  shown  to  me,  and 
I  was  asked,  "  Is  this  your  firman  ?"  I  replied 
that  it  was  no  firman,  but  a  letter  from  a  friend 


Photo,  hy  Dr.  Szekely,   Vienna. 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


459 


about  business,  and  that  it  had  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  the  Government. 

Slatin   was    told    to    translate    it,    but, 

^\^ni"r^^  fortunately,    did    not    translate   it   all. 

preter.    Qj-j  L,gi,-,g  ^gj^ed  his  Opinion  of  me,  he 

told  the  Khalifa  that  from  the  papers 
found  in  my  wallet,  I  appeared  to  be  a  German 
and  not  an  Englishman,  but  that  I  had  the  per- 
mission of  the  English  Government  to  go  to 
Kordofan  on  merchant's  business.  He  also  said 
that  Sheik  Saleh's  name  was  mentioned,  but 
only  in  connection  with  business  of  no  conse- 
quence. I  was  then  asked  if  I  wished  to  send 
any  message  to  my  family.  Naturally  I  did, 
and  pen  and  paper  being  given  me,  I  commenced 
a  letter  in  (Jerman  to  my  manager  at  Assouan  ; 
but,  after  a  few  lines  had  been  written,  the 
Khalifa  said  the  letter  had  better  be  written  in 
Arabic.  When  finished  it  was  handed  to  me  to 
sign,  but  not  knowing  the  contents  I  scrawled 
under  the  signature,  as  a  flourish,  "  All  lies,"  or 
something  to  this  effect. 

The  letter  was  sent  down  by  one  of  the 
Khalifa's  spies,  and  was  delivered  to  the 
Commandant  at  Assouan.  The  word  "  Railway" 
appearing  as  part  of  the  address,  it  was  sent  to 
Mankarious    Effendi,   the    station-master,    who. 


after  taking  a  copy  of  it  for  reference,  returned 
it  to  the  Commandant,  with  the  address  of  my 
manager.  Now,  Mankarious  Effendi,  having 
heard  of  my  recent  arrival  in  Cairo,  has  come  to 
me  with  the  original  co[)y  of  the  letter  taken  in 
June,  1887.  The  following  is  a  literal  transla- 
tion  of  it  : — 

In    the    name    of  the    most    merciful   God, 
jt_*"i  ..    prayers  be  unto  our  Lord  Mohammad  and  his 

Amusing     ^  ,  •'    .     .  .. 

Letter,     submissive  adherents. 

From  the  servant  of  his  lord  Abdalla  el 
Muslimain,  the  Prussian  whose  former  name  was  Charles 
Neufeld,  to  his  manager  Moller,  the  Prussian  in  the 
Railway,  Assouan. 

I  inform  you  that,  after  departing  from  you,  I  have 
come  to  the  Soudan  with  the  men  of  Saleh  Fadjallah 
Salem  el  Kabbabashi,  who  were  carrying  with  them  the 
arms  and  ammunition  and  other  articles  sent  to  Saleh 
by  the  Government. 

On  our  march  from  Wadi  Haifa,  notwithstanding 
our  precautions  and  care  for  the  things  in  our  charge,  we 
arrived  at  the  so-called  Selima  Wells,  where  we  took 
sufficient  water,  and  then  proceeded  on  our  journey. 
Suddenly  we  were  met  by  six  of  the  Faithful  in  the 
desert  ;  they  attacked  us,  and  we  fought  against  them. 
Our  number  was  fifty-five  men.  At  the  same  time  a 
number  of  men  from  Abdel  Rahman  Nejoumi  came  up  ; 
they  reinforced  the  six  men  ami  fought  us,  and  in  the 
space  of  half  an  hour  we  were  sulxlued  by  them.  Some 
were  killed,  and  the  rest  were  captured,  with  all  the 
baggage   we    had.     Myself,   my  servant   Elias,   and   my 


HE    TOOK    A   SHORT    I'OLE   AND    LsKl)     1  IIIS   AS   A    LEVER    To    FORCE    THE    ANKl.EIS   OI1..N. 


460 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


maidservant  Hassecna  were  among  the  captives.  All  of 
us  were  taken  to  Abdel  Rahman  Nejuumi  at  Ordeh,  and 
by  him  sent  to  the  Khalifat  el  Mahdi  (peace  be  unto  him) 
at  Omdurman.  On  our  arrival  at  Omdurman  we  were 
taken  to  his  presence,  where  we  were  found  guilty  and 
sentenced  to  immediate  death ;  but  the  Khalifat  el  Mahdi 
(peace  be  unto  him)  had  mercy  upon  us  and  proposed 
unto  us  to  take  the  true  religion.  We  therefore  accepted 
El  Islam,  and  pronounced  the  two  creeds  in  his  presence : 
"  I  testify  (bear  witness)  that  there  is  none  but  God,  and 
Mohammad  is  his  prophet,"  and  then,  "  I  believe  in  God 
and  his  Prophet  Mohammad,  upon  whom  God  has  prayed 
and  greeted  ;  and  in  the  Mahdi  —  praise,  and  peace 
be  ujjon  him  and  upon  his  Khalifa."  I  further  requested 
the  Mahdi  to  grant  me  the  "abai'a"  (oath  of  allegiance), 
which  he  was  pleased  to  grant  me,  and  thereupon  shook 
hands  with  me.  He  then  named  me  Abdallah,  after 
embracing  the  true  religion.  Therefore  I  was  pardoned 
by  the  Khalifat  el  Mahdi  from  the  execution  which  I  have 
deserved. 

He  pardoned  me  because  he  is  gracious,  and 
"^el's^^  for  the  sake  of  the  religion  of  Mohammad 
Gracious."  which  I  now  adhere  to.  So  I  thought  it  well 
to  inform  you  all  about  these  events  ;  and  I 
inform  you  further  that  Dufa'allah  Hogal,  although  he 
deceived  me,  I  cannot  sufficiently  thank,  because  his 
deceiving  me  has  resulted  in  the  great  mercy  and  good 
which  has  come  to  me.  Saleh  Fadlallah  Salem  is  desert- 
ing and  hiding  in  the  desert,  for  fear  of  his  life.  All  that 
I  have  informed  you  is  pure  truth.  I  am  still  living, 
thanks  be  to  God  for  this  and  my  health. — 17th  Shaaban, 
1304  (May  loth,  1887). 

Slatin  I  saw  but  once  again  during  my  long 
captivity,  and  then  it  was  only  in  the  distance 
on  one  occasion  when  he  called  at  the  prison 
to  give  soine  orders  to  the  head  gaoler.  The 
Khalifa  I  saw  twice  again,  on  occasions  to  be 
referred  to  later. 

After  signing  the  letter,  I  was  taken  back  to 
the  rukooba,  or  "  waiting-room,"  where,  about 
sunset,  a  man  carrying  a  long  chain  came  to 
me  and  said  he  had  orders  to  remove  my 
fetters.  Passing  the  chain  through  one  of  the 
anklets  and  round  one  of  the  posts,  he  took  a 
short  pole,  and  used  this  as  a  lever  to  force  the 
anklets  open.  Whilst  still  engaged  in  removing 
the  chains,  the  chief  Kadi  came  in,  and  ordered 
the  anklets  to  be  hammered  back  again,  and  the 
ends  cold-welded. 

I    remained    in   the   rukooba   for  the 

pjfson.  'light,  and  the  following  morning  was 
placed  upon  a  donkey  and  taken  to 
the  prison.  I  was  told  that,  to  save  my  life, 
Slatin  had  suggested  this  course  being  taken, 
using  as  an  argument  that  I  could  there  be 
converted  to  the  Mohammedan  religion,  devot- 
ing all  my  time  to  my  instructors. 

On  entering  the  prison  I  found  my.self  in  the 
company  of  about  a  hundred  poor  wretches — 
Soudanese  and  Egyptians  —  and  all  heavily 
chained.  I  was  taken  at  once  to  an  anvil  sunk 
in  the  ground  until  the  striking  surface  was 
almost  level  with  it.     Then  first  one  foot  and 

{To  be 


then  the  other  had  to  be  placed  on  the  anvil, 
while  more  anklets,  with  chains  connected,  were 
fitted  to  me.  I  had  now  three  sets  of  shackles, 
and  another  ring  and  chain  was  fastened  to  my 
neck.  During  my  twelve  years  in  chains,  and 
amongst  the  hundreds  who  came  directly  under 
my  observation,  I  never  saw,  as  has  been  illus- 
trated in  some  papers,  any  prisoner  with  chains 
from  the  neck  connected  with  the  wrists  or 
ankles.  All  prisoners  w'ere  shackled  in  the 
manner  as  shown  in  my  photograph,  and  the 
chain  from  the  neck  was  allowed  to  hang  loose 
over  the  shoulder. 

The  shackling  completed,  I  was  taken  to 
a  room  measuring  about  30ft.  each  way,  but 
having  a  square  pillar  about  4ft.  wide  to 
support  the  roof,  thus  reducing  the  actual  space 
to  about  26ft.  between  each  face  of  the 
pillar  and  the  walls.  I  was  assigned  a  place 
at  the  wall  farthest  from  the  door,  and  between 
two  chained  men  who  were  dying  of  small-pox. 
There  were  about  thirty  other  prisoners  in  the 
room — some  lying  down  seriously  ill,  but  to 
whom  not  the  slightest  attention  had  been  paid 
for  days — as  sickening  visible  evidences  proved. 
Near  the  roof  were  a  few  small  apertures,  pre- 
sumably for  ventilation  ;  but  the  only  air  which 
could  possibly  come  into  the  place  was  through 
the  doorway  when  it  was  opened.  The  stench 
in  the  room  was  sickening,  awful,  overpowering. 

I   had  little  hopes  of  surviving  more 
E^  Jerieilce.  than  a  few  days  in  such  a  ghastly  hole, 

and  must  have  swooned  off  soon  after 
entering,  for  I  remember  little  or  nothing  until 
roused  after  the  sun  had  set.  Then  in  the  dim 
light  I  could  see  what  appeared  to  be  an  endless 
stream  of  prisoners  coming  through  the  door 
(see  frontispiece),  and  no  sooner  was  the  door 
closed  than  a  terrific  din  and  uproar  ensued. 
What  a  frightful  experience  for  a  civilized  man 
— a  European — to  go  through.  It  was  surely 
worse  than  the  most  fiendish  horrors  of  the 
Black  Hole  of  Calcutta.  Mingled  with  the 
clanking  of  chains,  the  groans  of  the  sick,  the 
moans  of  the  dying,  and  their  half-uttered 
prayers  to  Allah  to  relieve  them  speedily  of 
their  sufferings,  were  the  most  fearful  impre- 
cations and  curses  as  the  prisoners  fought  and 
struggled  like  maniacs  for  a  place  near  the 
walls  or  the  pillar,  against  which  they  could 
rest  their  backs.  And  this  hell  was  supposed 
to  be  a  SLEEPING  place  !  Of  course  sleep 
had  to  be  snatched  during  the  day,  when  we 
were  allowed  out  into  the  zareba.  But  it  is 
out  of  the  question  my  trying  to  describe  my 
first  night  in  the  dread  Saier,  or  prison  of 
Omdurman.  It  is  a  confused,  horrible  dream 
to  me. 
conlinued.) 


My    Adventures    on    the    Roof   of    the    World. 

By  R.  p.  Coebold. 

IT. 

Mr.  Cobbold  here  concludes  the  story  of  his  extraordinary  wanderings  in  the  wildest  parts  of  Central 

Asia.     He    also  relates  the  story    of  his  arrest  by  the  Russians.     That    he    used    his    camera   to  good 

advantage  will  be  evident  from  the  striking  and  curious  snap-shots  herein  reproduced. 

is  great ;  God  is  great.  There  is  only  one 
God  —  God  has  sent  us  Mahomed  as  his 
prophet.)  Then  Hke  one  man  the  mighty 
multitude  bow  themselves  to  the  ground, 
touching  the  earth  with  their  foreheads. 
Up  they  stand  again,  repeating  further  verses 
of  the  Koran  —  then  suddenly  drop  on  their 
knees,  and  bow  to  the  earth  again.  There 
must  have  been  nearly  20,000  people  whose 
devotions  I  witnessed  from  the  roof  of  a 
house  and  photographed.  It  was  a  most 
impressive  scene.  There  were  no  women  to  be 
seen,  for  the  Mohammedans  do  not  admit  that 
w'omen  possess  souls.  Nevertheless,  I  used 
often  to  see  the  Kirghiz  women  praying  lustily, 
without  being  checked  by  their  lords  and 
masters. 

A  remarkable  person  appears  on  the  next 
page.  This  is  a  Fakir — a  very  holy  man,  but 
very  poor,  as  may  be  seen  by  his  garments. 
These  Fakirs  travel  great  distances  to  follow  the 
impulses  of  religion — many  thousands  of  miles 
on  foot,  in  fact — depending  solely  on  charity. 

I  now  prepared  to  make  a  start  for  the  north. 
The  beautiful  range  of  snow  mountains  which, 
on  a  fine  day,  I  could  see  from  the  roof  of 
my  host's  house  enticed  me  still  farther  on. 
HowMK.  coBiioLDLooKEuwH.i  ,  ,      i         .ASIA.         fhis    Tangc   Is   thc   Thlan    Shan,    or   Celestial 

Photo,  by  The  Photograpliic  Association,  Brook  i>treet,  IV.  -.^  ,■  l'u  uir  \    •      c 

■^   -^  Mountams,  which  run  half-way  across  Asia  from 

WAS  fortunate  to  be  in  Kashgar  east  to  west.  There  are  many  different  ranges 
city  during  the  progress  of  a  great  comprised  in  the  system,  but  I  will  call  them 
Mohammedan  re- 
ligious festival.  In 
the  first  snap-shot 

is  seen  the  lane  made  for  the 

Mullah   to   come  down  from 

the  mosque.    What  a  wonder- 
ful   hold    the    Mohammedan 

faith    ha->    on    its    followers! 

Even  in  extreme  dangers  and 

discomforts  they  never  forget 

to  pray. 

There  is  a  fine  mosque  just 

out  of  the  city,  which  I  visited 

on    this    day.      The    Mullah 

standing    on  the  steos  of  the 

mosque  called  the  people  to 

prayer    with    the   well-known 

incantation     of    the     Koran, 

"  AUah-ho-Akbar  ;     AUah-ho- 

Akbar.     Arsh  Haddoo  Unnah  ... ,  ^^.^^^  ,^.  ^^^^,^_^^  „,.^,,^.^.  ^,,^  ,r„c..kp,ss  ok  a  gkkat  mohammedan  pest.val. 

Mahomeda  RaZlll  A/Itlh"{V>od  From  a  Photo.  by  the  Author. 


462 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


A    VERY   HOI.V   MAN — BUT   VERY    I'OOR,    AS    MAY   BE   SEEN 
BY   HIS   GARMENTS." 

Froti!  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 

all  Thian  Shan  ;  they  form  the  frontier  barrier 
for  a  considerable  di.stance  between  the  Russian 
Asiatic  Empire  and  Chinese  territory.  They 
are  not  so  high  nor  so  precipitous  as  the 
Himalayas,  although  one  peak  attains  a  height 
of  24,000ft. 

I  had  got  together  a  fresh  lot  of  ponies  during 
my  stay  in  Kashgar,  but  they  were  a  bad  lot, 
and  most  of  them  broke  down  soon  after  the 
start.  For  two  days  I  travelled  across  a  desert, 
and  then  entered  the  lower  spurs  of 
the  mountains.  All  was  barren  and 
dreary,  there  being  no  vegetation  of 
any  kind  except  a  species  of  wild 
lavender,  which  the  ponies  managed 
to  subsist  upon.  The  road  soon 
entered  a  defile  through  which  ran 
a  wide  river.  Its  surface  was  frozen, 
but  the  ice  was  not  very  thick, 
and  the  animals  were  constantly 
breaking  through  and  tumbling  down, 
which  meant  long  delays  to  readjust 
their  loads,  and  much  loss  of  temper. 
The  road  ascended  gradually,  the  cold 
becoming  more  and  more  intense 
daily.  Every  night  the  thermometer 
sank  to  several  degrees  below  zero, 
and  it  was  difficult  to  keep  one's 
circulation  going.  However,  my  dogs 
— an  English  fox-terrier  and  a  Chinese 
pug — managed  to  survive,  swimming 
across  freezing  rivers,  and  negotiat- 
ing glaciers  and  snow-fields  with  the 
best  of  us. 


After  about  a  week  we  came  to  the  foot  of  a 
pass  called  Turgat,  where  there  were  a  couple 
of  huts  and  some  Kirghiz,  stationed  there  by  the 
Russian  authorities  to  help  the  messengers  con- 
veying the  Imperial  post  to  Kashgar  from  the 
nearest  Russian  station.  We  were  glad  to  find 
these  huts,  as  it  was  now  snowing  hard,  and  the 
prospect  before  us  by  no  means  a  pleasant  one. 
They  were,  however,  crowded  with  snow-bound 
travellers  —  some  Kashgar  merchants,  some 
Russian  Cossacks,  my  own  party  of  five  men 
and  myself,  besides  the  Kirghiz  family.  I 
should  think  there  were  about  twenty  of  us 
altogether  in  that  small  hut,  but  the  cold  was 
such  that  I  didn't  mind  the  close  fit — although 
the  smoke  from  the  burning  dried  dung  with 
the  outlet  of  the  tent  closed  was  rather 
oppressive. 

The  next  day  w-e  crossed  the  pass ;  it  is 
about  1 2,000ft.  high,  and  not  difficult.  There 
was  a  fine  view  from  the  top,  embracing  all  the 
ranges  of  the  Thian  Shan  chain  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach,  and  far  below  a  great  frozen 
^ake,  Chadir  Kul,  which  we  subsequently 
crossed.  Then  another  pass  had  to  be 
surmounted  which  w-as  much  steeper.  The 
ponies,  tired  with  their  long  day,  had  to  be 
dragged  up  with  ropes,  causing  endless  delay. 
When  at  last  we  all  reached  the  summit  night 
was  approaching,  and  as  the  caravan  were  so 
weary  that  they  could  not  move  farther,  I  rode 
on  in  the  hopes  of  finding  some  Kirghiz  with 
whom  to  get  shelter. 

In  the  next  view  is  seen  my  caravan  crossing 
a  glacier  some  miles  below  the  top  of  this  pass. 


•  -.n     CARAVAN    CROSSING    A    GLACIER   SOME    MILES    BELOW    THE    TOT   (JF    1  IIK 

From  a  Photo.  l>y\  I'ASS."  \the  Author. 


MY    ADVENTURES    ON    THE    ROOF    OF    THE    WORLD. 


463 


On  the  fiir  side  the  descent  is  much  steeper. 
My  servant  and  1  could  not  get  a  foothold  on 
the  smooth,  frozen  snow,  and  we  had  many 
severe  tumbles  before  we  got  to  the  bottom. 
Here,  one  evening,  we  startled  a  herd  of  ibex 
feeding,  though  precisely  on  what,  it  was  difficult 
to  say.  At  last,  about  10  p.m.,  we  came  on 
some  nomads'  tents,  where  I  spent  an  uncom- 
fortably cold  night  with  no  blankets  and  no  food 
except  some  tough  ibex  flesh,  which  was  very 
nasty  and  very  musty.  I  was  afraid  all  the 
ponies  would  die  of  exposure  on  the  summit  of 
the  pass,  but  to  my  delight  they  turned  up  at 
noon  the  next  day  seemingly  none  the  worse. 
The  men  had  placed  the  baggage  and  ponies 
round  them  in  a  circle,  and  slept  huddled  up 
together  in  the  middle,  with  the  dogs  inside 
their  sheepskin  coats. 

From  this  point  I  reached  the  Russian 
frontier  settlement  of  Akbashi,  where  I  was 
hospitably  entertained.  My  host,  who  was  a 
Sous-Prefect  of  the  district,  was  an  excellent 
fellow,  but  we  could  not  understand  each 
other,  as  he  did  not  know  French.  I  found 
that  the  Russians  drink  an  awful  lot  of  vodka 
and  brandy;  and  I  w^as  expected  to  drink  a 
pmt  of  neat  spirit  at  each  meal  !  Fortunately 
the  cold  was  excessive^25deg.  Fahr.  below 
zero— so  it  did  not  matter  much.  My  hostess 
had  caught  and  trained  some  Kirghiz  girls  to 
act  as  domestic  servants,  but  they  were  rather 
strange  at  the  work.  I  saw  some  fine  horns  of 
the  Thian  Shan  wapiti  here.  These  animals 
are  pretty  numerous  in  the  neighbourhood,  and 
the  best  time   of    year  to  hunt  them   is  from 

September      till     the    first      

snowfall  in  November. 
They  are  a  magnificent 
trophy. 

The  scenery  here  must 
be  lovely  in  summer.  All 
the  mountain  sides  are 
clothed  in  pine  and  deo- 
dar, and  there  are  luxuriant 
grass  and  flowers  of  all 
kinds— quite  a  little  para- 
dise, in  fact.  Here  I  dis- 
posed of  my  ponies  and 
hired  sledges  as  far  as 
Narin,  about  forty  miles 
farther  on,  where  there  is 
a  Russian  garrison  of  200 
infantry  and  about  fifty 
mounted  Cossacks.  The 
officers  were  all  very  civil 
to  me,  but  it  meant  more 
brandy.  The  quantity  they 
can  drink  is  altogether  ex- 
cessive, and  they  get  quite 


offended  if  you  refuse  to  take  your  share.  Narin 
is  about  230  miles  from  Kashgar,  and  it  look 
me  sixteen  days  to  do  the  journey.  Here  I 
hired  rough  carts  and  Russian  drivers  and  went 
on  to  Viernoi,  which  lies  on  the  far  side  of  the 
mountains  in  the  steppes.  This  was  another 
250  miles,  but  not  very  difficult  travelling,  as 
there  was  a  road  of  a  sort  for  carts.  In  Viernoi 
I  met  a  Frenchman  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
college  there  ;  for  this  is  a  large  town  of  nearly 
30,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  20,000  are  Rus- 
sians— mostly  convicts,  or  the  sons  of  convicts, 
banished  to  Siberia.  Many  of  the  banished, 
by  the  way,  belong  to  the  highest  families,  and 
are  among  the  best  educated  in  Russia. 

My  French  friend  advised  me  to  try  a 
hunting  excursion  into  the  mountains  to  try 
and  shoot  one  of  the  wapiti  I  mentioned  before. 
The  attempt  was,  however,  fruitless ;  the 
weather  was  too  bad,  and  I  was  nearly  snowed 
up  in  the  woodcutters'  hut  where  I  took  up  my 
abode,  far  up  among  the  pine  forests.  I  did 
see  some  tracks,  however,  and  shot  lower  down 
a  magnificent  ibex,  with  horns  5oin.  long,  the 
most  massive  head  I  have  ever  seen.  Unsuccess- 
ful in  obtaining  a  wa[)iti,  I  returned  to  Viernoi, 
and  .started  to  Ilinsk,  where  the  main  Siberian 
road  crosses  the  River  Hi.  Here  there  is  a  large 
Cossack  village,  and  hiring  three  hunters  I 
started  off  for  Lake  Balkash,  into  which  the  Hi 
River  empties  itself,  400  miles  lower  down.  It 
is  a  wild,  desolate  region,  with  only  a  few 
wandering  bands  of  Kirghiz  for  inhabitants.  On 
either,  side  of  the  river  extend  vast  deserts. 

In  the  next  photograph  we  see  my  caravan 


:3K??^?* 


MR.    COBBOLD  S   PAKTV   STRAGGLING   ACROSS  THE    FROZEN    STREAM    OF   THE    ILI    RIVER. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Autlior. 


464 


THE    ^VIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


crossing  the  frozen  stream  of  the  l\\  River.  It 
is  a  fine  stream,  in  some  parts  a  good  mile  wide. 
Now,  however,  at  the  end  of  February  it  was 
frozen  to  a  great  depth.  The  people  had  never 
seen  a  traveller  before,  except  occasionally  a 
Russian  ofificial,  so  they  thought  I  was  of  that 
nationality.  They  do  not  like  officials  much,  as 
they  are  obliged  to  provide  them  with  transport 
and  food  by  Government  order.  So  they  did 
not  look  with  favour  upon  me  till  they  found 
that  I  paid  for  everything  they  supplied  me  with. 
Then  it  was  all  right.  I  had,  however,  a  lot  of 
trouble  to  get  transport.  The  Kirghiz  thought 
I  meant  to  steal  their  ponies,  and  would  not 
lend  them,  so  the  Cossacks  had  to  catch  them 
as  best  they  could. 

Generally  at  night  they  managed  to  bring  in 
enough    ponies   to   take   us   a    stage,    but   this 
occasioned  a  lot   of    hard    fighting,    and  once 
my   escort    had    to    fire   a   rifle,    but   did    not 
hit  anyone.     I  think  they  only  meant  to  frighten 
the  people.     However,  things  soon  got  easier, 
when    they    found    I    paid    up.      There    was 
very    thick     reed     jungle     along     the     river, 
and     a     fair     number    of     tigers,     but     they 
would  not  kill  baits  that  I  tied  up  for  them,  as 
there  were  such  quantities  of  wild  boar  at  hand, 
and  they  prefer  pork  to  anything.     I  came  on 
two  tigers  asleep  one  day,  but  was  riding  on  pony- 
back  and  so  enveloped  in  sheepskin  coats,  that 
long  before  I   could  unsling  the  rifle  they  were 
off.     The  jungle  swarmed  with  pheasants,  and 
I  could   have  shot  a  hundred  in  a  day  had  I 
wished  to,  but  they  were  poor  eating.     The  Cos- 
sacks used  to  kill,  wild  boars  for  their  dogs'  food, 
but  the  Kirghiz  would  not 
cook  the  flesh  for  us,  so  it 
was  mostly  wasted.  I  spent 
a    month   on    this   part    of 
my  journey,  going  as  far  as 
Lake  Balkash.     This  is  a 
dreary  looking  place  in  the 
middle  of  a  desert.     It  is 
about  350    mites   long  by 
eighty   broad.     There   are 
no  inhabitants  to  be  seen 
in    its    vicinity    except    in 
the  summer  season,  when 
Kirghiz  come  and  fish. 

The  sand  round  the  lake 
is  rich  in  tin  deposits.  It 
was  terribly  cold  in  this 
place,  35deg.  F.  below  zero 
being  the  extreme  tempera- 
ture I  experienced.  All  my 
provisions  froze  solid ;  a 
cup  of  scalding  tea  was 
solid  in  five  minutes.  Even 

„,,    „     r  n^l  i.-  I        J  SUIM.ING    liUlbC.K    OK    T\V 

rum  froze.     The  tigers  had     j-ro,,, a  r/iota.  iy] 


gone  farther  up  the  river,  where  it  wns  not  so 
cold,  so  I  did  not  stay  long.  In  the  sunmier 
time  all  the  estuary  of  the  Hi  River  is  a  huge 
swamp  for  fifty  miles,  and  is  covered  with  long 
reeds.  Naturally,  no  one  can  get  about  except  in 
winter,  when  everything  is  frozen  solid.  Going 
back,  we  caught  ponies  and  tied  them  with 
ropes  to  an  improvised  kind  of  sledge.  It  was 
exciting  work,  as  the  animals  had  never  done 
harness  work,  and  often  broke  the  traces  and 
overturned  the  sledge  ;  the  snow,  however,  was 
thick,  and  rendered  our  fall  soft. 

We  got  back  to  Ilinsk  without  serious 
accident,  and  there,  picking  up  my  servants 
and  dogs,  returned  to  Viernoi.  Here  I  found 
that  in  my  absence  leave  had  come  from  the 
Governor-General  of  Turkestan  for  me  to  travel 
on  the  Russian  Pamirs,  so  I  started  off  back  to 
Kashgar  by  much  the  same  road  as  I  had  come. 
I  saw  one  extraordinary  natural  feature  on 
my  return  journey,  and  that  was  a  mountain 
from  the  sides  of  which  ran  streams  of  liquid 
mineral  wax,  so  clear  and  transparent  that  birds 
come  and  settle  in  it,  mistaking  it  for  water,  and 
are  held  fast. 

I  was  back  again  in  Kashgar  in  April,  and 
soon  got  together  a  fresh  caravan  of  a  dozen 
ponies  to  carry  the  baggage  and  grain,  for 
nothing  of  that  sort  can  be  obtained  on  the 
Pamir.  I  also  procured  a  couple  of  riding  ponies 
for  myself  and  the  cook,  who  was  no  walker. 
We  ascended  once  more  to  the  lofty  Pamir 
region,  which  was  still  under  snow  in  most 
places,  but  the  weather  was  becoming  warmer 
daily.     I  did  some  shooting  and  had  fair  sport. 


ISTEl)    lilKCll    1  lllKli   A.NU    TVMGS    WHICH 
HAD   TO   CROSS. 


Cl,Jl;lHlLU  S    CANAVA.N 

[//te  Author. 


MV    ADVEN  TURKS    OX    THE     ROOF    OF    THE    WORLD. 


465 


M-;AK    VIKW   of    native    RAKT.       it    is    made   ok    INFLATRn    fiOAT-SKI.SS. 

Front  a  Photo,  by  the  .luthoi: 


AH  went  well  until  one  day,  crossing  a  large 
river,  the  guide  took  us  to  the  wrong  place  to 
ford.  Then  there  was  trouble,  for  the  swift 
current  soon  carried  off  the  struggling  and 
already  heavy-laden  ponies.  I  lost  three  of  the 
animals  and  most  of  my  provisions.  My  rifles 
and  some  cartridges,  fortunately,  were  saved.  I 
was  in  an  awkward  predicament,  being  more 
than  300  miles  from  Kashgar.  I  took  counsel 
with  my  Kirghiz  guide,  and  decided,  on  his 
advice,  to  make  for  the  Oxus,  where  I  should  be 
certain  of  finding  food  and  a  road  back  to 
Chitral. 

Before  describing  my 
journey  to  the  Oxus,  I  wish 
to  point  out  to  all  who  read 
my  narrative  that  this  valley 
of  the  Murghab,  by  which 
I  at  last  reached  the  great 
river,  had.  so  far  as  I  know, 
never  before  been  traversed 
by  an  Englishman.  Russian 
exploring  parties  have  pene- 
trated some  distance  in  the 
winter  ;  but  the  last  official. 
General  Unif,  who  tried  to 
find  a  way,  lost  all  his  ponies 
by  their  falling  down  a  pre- 
cipice. Of  road  there  is  none 
— merely  a  goat  track.  'I'he 
Murghab  River  runs  along 
the  bottom  of  the  defile,  and 
from  the  river  rise  bare,  steep 
mountains  of  enormous 
height. 


The  bridges  over  this 
river,  by  the  way,  are  very 
remarkable.  The  one  de- 
picted at  the  bottom  of  the 
previous  page  is  made  of 
birch  fibre  and  twigs  twisted 
together.  It  sways  a  good 
deal  in  the  wind,  and  is 
suspended  high  above  the 
river.  It  is  not  very  pleasant 
when  you  are  unused  to  it. 
The  rafts  em|)l(>yed  here 
are  also  extraordinary.  As 
will  be  seen  in  the  next 
photograi)h,  they  are  made 
of  inflated  goat-skins.  This 
is  the  only  method  of  cross- 
ing the  rivers.  Notice  the 
character  of  the  natives  of 
the  district.  'I'hese  are 
called  Tayiks.  They  are 
of  Persian  origin,  and  speak 
that  language  as  well  as 
their  own.  Taken  alto- 
gether they  are  a  good-looking  lot,  fair  in  com- 
plexion, and  with  clean-cut  features.  We  next 
see  this  same  raft  laden  with  my  baggage  and 
being  conveyed  across  the  river.  Two  Tayiks 
strip  and  push  it  over,  kicking  vigorously  behind. 
The  water  is  glacier  water,  but  they  do  not 
seem  to  mind.  By  the  time  they  reached  the 
0{)posite  side  they  were  carried  down  half  a 
mile,  so  swift  is  the  current. 

The  so-called  roads  in  this  district  are  perhaps 
the  most  extraordinary  in  the  world,  as  will  be 
seen  in  the  specimen  shown  in  the  next  photo- 


r>«^ 


Vol.  iii.— 59. 


THE   SAME    HAFT,    LADEN    WITH    MY    liACCiAC.E,    BEING   CONVEYED   ACROSS   THE    KIVI-.R. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


466 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


is  the  place  where  General  Unif 
lost  his  ponies.  They  all  fell  into 
the  river,  which  runs  at  a  dizzy 
distance  below.  I  was  more  for- 
tunate, but  my  servants  had  to  work 
tremendously  hard. 

I  next  employed  my  camera  in 
taking  a  view  of  the  point  beyond 
which  ponies  can  no  longer  be  used, 
the  precipices  being  too  sheer  even 


■•   Hit    looK   luMt.S   CkAWLING   ALONG  A  TKECl HICK, 
WITH    THE   RIVER   THOUSANDS   OF    FEET   HEUOW." 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 

graph.  The  poor  ponies  can  be  seen 
crawling  along  the  edge  of  a  precipice, 
with  the  river  running  thousands  of 
feet  straight  below.  I  had  to  send  on 
men  in  front  to  scrape  a  path  with 
the  pointed  tips  of   ibex  horns.     This 


'the   ponies   ARE   SWUM    ROUND   THE    BASE   OF    THE    ROCKS. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Wuihor. 


"  WHEKE  THE  FOMES  HAD  Tu  BE  AbA.NDuNEU 

F7om  a  Photo,  by]        altogether."  [the  Aifthor. 

for  them  to  cross.  They  are,  therefore, 
swum  round  the  base  of  the  rocks  whilst  the 
baggage  is  carried  on  the  natives'  backs. 
The  poor  animals  often  got  their  legs  badly 
cut  by  the  jagged  edges  of  sunken  rocks. 
Sometimes,  also,  when  swimming  across  the 
river  they  would  get  carried  into  rapids  and 
turned  over  and  over  by  sunken  rocks. 
Until  this  journey  I  never  knew  ponies 
were  such  good  and  brave  swimmers.  I 
had  only  two  drowned,  in  spite  of  the 
enormous  difificulties. 

I  make  no  apology  for  introducing  so 
many  photographs.  They  illustrate  the 
remarkable  nature  of  this  journey  more 
accurately  and  more  graphically  than  whole 
pages  of  mere  verbal  description.  My  next 
snap-shot,  then,  deals  with  the  section  where 
the  ponies  had  to  be  abandoned  altogether, 
as  the  nature  of  the  defile  was  too  difficult 
to  afford  a  passage  for  them.  The  natives 
with  my  baggage  in  this  photo,  are  seen 
crawling  like  ants  along  the  side  of  the  cliff. 
As  for  me,  I  had  to  take  off  my  boots  and 
stockings  to  gain  a  foothold  on  the  rock. 
The  path  is  all  up  and  down— sometimes 
thousands  of  feet  above  the  river  ;  at  other 
times   descending   to  the   river  bed.     The 


MV    ADVF.XTURES    OX     rUR     ROOK    OF     IHE    WORLD. 


467 


■■   1  HI.    NAIUES   CO.NSTKUCT    H.^.\01Nl.    c.^i.. 

Front  a  Photo.  by\  as  '  high  koaus.'  " 


\the  Author. 


heat,  too,  is  stifling.  In  June  the  narrow  valley 
admits  no  air,  and  the  rocks  scorch  one's  feet. 
Only  occasionally,  and  at 
rare  intervals,  is  any  green 
to  be  seen :  all  is  barren 
and  desolation. 

In  this  region  the  natives 
construct  hanging  galleries 
of  birch  twigs,  which  as 
"  high  roads  "  would  take  a 
lot  of  beating  for  remark- 
ableness  of  character.  One 
is  shown  above.  They  are 
built  in  places  where  the 
rock  is  so  sheer  as  to  be 
impassable  without  artificial 
improvement.  Ropes  of 
birch  fibre  and  twigs  are 
made  and  secured  in  cun- 
ning fashion  to  crevices  in 
the  precipices.  To  the  ends 
of  these  a  swinging  gallery 
is  attached,  and  along  this 
dizzy  and  awful  road  one 
has     to     pass     or     remain     Fro^tTi^^t^iyr '''^'' 


lirhind.  In  places  the  ordeal  is  simply  horrible, 
aiul  enough  to  make  one's  head  turn  giddy. 
In  the  [)hoto.  is  sliown  my  dog  Sfwt.  Poor 
beast !  he  followed  me  faithfully  all  tlie  wliik-, 
and  I  don't  know  what  I  should  have  done 
without  him. 

The  photograph  next  reproduced  shows  a 
gallery,  somewhat  similar  to  the  last  one,  con- 
structed along  the  side  of  the  mountain.  One 
of  my  men  can  be  seen  coming  along.  This  is 
not  such  a  nasty  place  to  cross  as  the  last  one, 
for  it  is  not  so  high,  the  river  only  being  a  few 
hundred  feet  below.  I  never  could  make  out 
how  the  natives  manage  to  carry  heavy  loads 
over  these  places,  for  I  found  great  difficulty  in 
crossing,  even  with  nothing  to  carry. 

When  ^t  length  I  reached  the  end  of  this 
terrible  place,  I  emerged  into  the  broad  valley 
of  the  Oxus.  It  was  a  fine  sight,  as  can  be 
judged  by  the  photograph  here  seen.  On  the 
opposite  bank  rose  the  snow-capped  mountains 
of  Afghanistan  ;  whilst  on  my  side  of  the  river  a 
succession  of  green  villages  presented  a  pleasant 
contrast  to  the  eye  after  the  dreary  rocks  behind. 
However,  I  was  not  long  allowed  to  enjoy 
myself  amid  these  pleasant  surroundings,  for  no 
sooner  had  I  arrived  at  the  foot  of  Kala-i-W'amer, 
which  is  situated  at  tlie  junction  of  the  Alurghab 
and  Oxus  rivers,  than  I  was  arrested  by  the 
Bokharan  chief-in-charge,  who  had  received 
orders  from  the  Russian  ofificer  in  command  of 
the  district,  and,  therefore,  could  not  help 
himself. 

The  fort  had  a  garrison  of  Bokharan  troops  — 
dirty-looking  fellows,  armed  with  a  most  motley 
collection  of  rifles.     There  was  much  excitement 


TliliSt    ILACE.s. 


\_the  Author. 


468 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


THIS    IS   THE    FORT   WHERE   MR.    COBBOLC    \V.-\S    ARRESTED    BY   THE    RCSSI.^NS 

Frojii  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 

af  the  time,  as  one  of  their  officials,  who  had 
recently  arrived  from  Bokhara,  not  knowing  the 
ways  of  the  country,  had  incautiously  pitched 
his  tent  outside  the  walls  of  the  fort.  During 
the  night  some  Afghans  had  crossed  over  in 
their  "  mussuks  "  (by  which  I  mean  a  blown- 
out  goat -skin)  and  murdered  the  unfortunate 
Bokharan,  afterwards  making  off  with  his 
belongings.  The  Bokharan  commander  had 
written  to  the  Afghan  official  in  charge  on  the 


their  ferry-boats  in  their 
belts  !  It  is  difficult  to 
keep  your  balance  on  these 
skins  ;  they  roll  about  in 
all  directions,  and  unless 
you  are  an  expert  you  get 
turned  over  yourself.  I  was 
kept  in  this  fort  for  a  fort- 
night, during  which  time  I 
sent  back  one  of  my  men 
to  Sarikol  (some  350  miles) , 
to  deliver  a  letter  to  the 
postman,  whose  portrait 
was  shown  earlier  in  my 
narrative.  The  letter 
reached  Gilgit  safely.  I 
also  wrote  to  the  Russian 
commander,  whose  head- 
quarters were  eighty  miles  up  the  river,  com- 
plaining of  my  arrest.  In  reply  he  promised  to 
come  and  see  me,  which  he  soon  did. 

The  group  here  inserted  includes  a  portrait 
of  Captain  Kevekiss,  the  Commander  of  the 
Pamir  and  Upper  Oxus  district.  The  three 
principal  Bokharan  officials  are  with  him,  and 
his  Cossack  escort  behind.  He  is  a  Swede  by 
nationality.  The  Russian  service  is  full  of 
foreigners.     He  told  me  he  had  received  orders 


RUSSIAN    cHlCKU    Wll.i    AHKl->rtD    I  HE    ALTHi  iK  — liOKH  ARAN    tHIKKS    UN    THE    LEFT   AND    RIGHT   OK    HIM. 

F}-oitt  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


opposite  banK,  but  he  took  no  notice  of  his 
letter,  so  they  were  naturally  very  bitter  about 
it.  All  the  people  of  the  Oxus  \'alley  carry 
these  skins  about  with  them  hanging  to  a  belt 
at  the  waist ;  and  when  they  want  to  cross  a 
river,  they  just  sit  down,  inflate  the  skin, 
and,  tying  themselves  to  it,  propel  themselves 
across.     So   you    may    say  these   people   carry 


to  arrest  me  wherever  he  could  find  me. 
Evidently  among  the  Russian  officials  it  was 
generally  supposed  that  I  was  a  spy  in  Govern- 
ment service ;  for  Kevekiss  had  his  orders 
direct  from  the  Governor  of  Ferghana.  Captain 
Kevekiss's  Cossacks  had  been  hunting  for  me 
for  a  fortnight,  but  when  I  got  down  the 
Murghab   they  could  not   follow.      He  was   a 


MY    ADVENTURES    ON    THE    ROOF    OF    THE    WORLD. 


469 


very  i)loasanl  man  and  treated  me  well.  There 
was  a  fan)ine  raging  at  the  time,  and  the  natives 
were  living  on  roots  and  grass ;  so  it  was 
difficult  to  get  much  to  eat. 

After  a  fortnight  at  Kala-i-Waniar,    Kevekiss 
took    me    with    him    to    Shignan,    the    Russian 


After  going  about  300  miles  we  came  to  the 
Chinese  frontier.  'J'he  next  and  last  photograi)h 
shows  the  mountains  constituting  the  boundary. 
Here  I  was  released,  and  glad  to  get  away  I 
was,  I  can  tell  you.  This  is  my  first  camp  on 
the  Chinese  side  ;  the  little  tent  was  the  only 


CHINESE    FKONTIEK    WHEKE    MR.    COBBOLD    WAS    SET   AT    LIISERTV. — "  MY    FIRST   CAMH 

Frojii  a  Photo.  by\  on  the  Chinese  side."  \tke  Author. 


head-quarters.  They  have  a  well-built  fort  there. 
Just  oi)posite  is  an  Afghan  fort,  garrisoned  by  a 
couple  of  hundred  Afghans.  The  Russian 
officers  (si.x  in  number)  seemed  quite  pleased 
to  see  me,  and  I  was  allowed  to  go  about, 
but  not  to  photograph.  At  last  orders  of 
some  kind  for  my  disposal  reached  the  com- 
mandant, for  he  told  me  that  he  would  send 
me  back  to  the  Chinese  frontier  with  an  escort. 
And  so  off  I  started  again.  I  had  great  diffi- 
culties in  getting  back — a  fearful  road  and  no 
provisions.  The  natives  who  had  helped  me 
in  my  journey  to  the  Oxus  had  been  seized 
and  sent  in  chains  to  the  Covernor  of  Ferghana 
for  daring  to  assist  an  Englishman.  My  poor 
hunter  had  been  sent  to  Siberia,  for  it  was  he 
who  had  showed  me  the  way.  The  people  I 
met  with  were,  therefore,  naturally  not  inclined 
to  assist  me  or  give  me  food  ;  but  the  Cossacks 
with  me  took  what  they  required,  and  I  fed  with 
them. 


part  of  my  baggage  left.  I  had  bartered  every- 
thing else  remaining  to  get  some  money,  and 
much  had  been  lost.  The  tent  only  weighed 
4olb.,  but  it  lasted  me  well.  My  dog  is  asleep 
in  the  tent.  He,  too,  had  survived.  I  stop[)ed 
here  and  had  some  shooting,  but  rinderpest  had 
killed  most  of  the  wild  sheep.  The  Kirghiz 
were  very  friendly  and  gave  me  every  assistance. 
I  found  my  way  back  to  the  British  frontier  in 
about  three  weeks'  time,  and  arrived  at  Gilgit  in 
August. 

The  Russians,  as  will  have  been  seen,  are 
very  suspicious  of  English  travellers  visiting  out- 
of-the-way  corners  of  their  Central  Asian 
frontier ;  but  no  explanation  of  the  reasons 
why  my  passport  was  secretly  cancelled,  and 
why  I  was  arrested,  has  yet  been  forth- 
coming. The  Czar's  Government,  in  reply 
to  an  inquiry  from  the  Foreign  Office,  merely 
intimated  that  I  had  been  reconducted  across 
the  frontier. 


Twenty=Seven  Days  in  an   Open   Boat, 


By  Capt.  J  as.   Richards. 

This  modestly  told  narrative  of  dreadful  suffering  illustrates  in  a  most    striking  manner  the 

extraordinary  fortitude  of  British  seamen. 


i 


V  is  over  twenty  years  since  the 
events  I  am  about  to  relate  took 
place.  I  was  little  more  than  a  lad 
at  the  time,  but  though  many  stirring 
scenes  in  a  sailor's  life  have  been 
shared  by  me  since  then,  I  still  retain  a  very 
vivid  recollection  of  the  last  voyage  of  the  San 
Rafael. 

She  was  a  full-rigged  ship  of  1,20c  tons,  a 
three-masted  barque,  built 
after  the  American  type, 
and  she  was  commanded 
by  Captain  McAdams. 
She  was  well  found  and 
manned  in  every  way, 
and  had  a  crew  of  twenty- 
two,  all  told.  In  addi- 
tion, the  captain's  wife 
sailed  with  him,  making 
in  all  twenty-three  souls 
aboard.  Her  owners  were 
the  well-known  Liverpool 
firm,  Balfour,  Williamson, 
and  Co.,  and  she  sailed 
from  Liverpool  in  Octo- 
ber, 1874,  with  a  cargo  of 
coal,  bound  for  Valparaiso 
by  way  of  Cape  Horn. 

I  had  the  honour  to  be 
her  third  officer,  and  this 
was  my  first  voyage  in 
that  responsible  capacity. 
Nothing  of  any  great  im- 
portance happened  in  the 
early  part  'of  the  voyage. 
The  San  Rafael  made  a 
very  long  passage  to  the 
Cape,  the  winds  being 
light    and    baffling.      At 

about  midday  on  the  28th  of  December,  the 
ship  being  somewhat  to  the  south-west  of  Cape 
Horn,  we  suddenly  encountered  a  terrific  gale — 
such  a  gale  as  only  old  Cape  Homers  can  ever 
have  experienced,  or  are  able  to  comprehend. 
The  sea  was  tremendous,  with  a  great  long 
"  fetch,"  most  probably  caused  by  there  being 
nothing  to  break  the  force  of  the  waves  for  so 


CAPTAIN    RICHARDS   AS   THIRD   OFFICER   OF    THE 
"  SAN    RAFAEL." 

From  a  Photo,  by  Vandyke  &=■  Brozvn,  Liverpool. 


many  thousands  of  miles.  Indeed,  the  giant 
waves  have,  one  may  say,  a  clean  sweep  right 
round  the  world,  and  they  rise  here  to  a  height 
unknown  elsewhere,  and  an  Atlantic  sea  is 
almost  insignificant  in  comparison.  We 
were  buffeted  about  for  three  days  and 
nights,  unable  to  show  anything  but  a  mere 
rag  of  canvas  to  keep  the  ship  to  the  wind. 
Towards  the  morning  of  Sunday  (New  Year's 

Day)  the  gale  moderated, 
and  advantage  was  taken 
of  this  lull  to  go  into  the 
forepeak  for  some  spare 
gear,  in  order  to  repair 
damages  and  relash  spars, 
which  had  been  washed 
adrift  by  the  waves  that 
had  broken  over  us  dur- 
ing the  past  three  days. 

On  taking  off  the 
hatches  we  made  the 
most  appalling  discovery 
known  to  ''  those  that  go 
down  to  the  sea  in  ships." 
We  noticed  that  smoke 
was  issuing  from  the 
cargo,  accompanied  by 
sulphurous  fumes.  No 
one  said  anything  for  a 
few  moments.  Each  man 
looked  at  his  neighbour 
as  the  dreadful  truth 
flashed  upon  us  that  our 
ship,  our  home,  our  salva- 
tion in  that  dreary  waste, 
was  on  fire. 

Although  one  and  all 
fully  realized  what  had 
happened,  very  few  words 
were  spoken,  nor  was  there  any  hurry  or  con- 
fusion as  the  gear  was  rapidly  passed  out,  and  the 
hatches  immediately  clapped  on  again  to  prevent 
the  draught  from  getting  at  the  fire,  and  thus 
forcing  into  a  flame  that  which  appeared  as  yet 
to  be  only  smouldering.  The  second  ofiicer  gave 
the  men  some  necessary  orders,  and  then  went 
aft  and  reported  the  awful  news  to  the  captain. 


TWENTY-SEVEN    DAYS    IN    AN    OPEN    BOAT 


471 


"  WE    NOTICED   SMOKE   ISSUING    FROM   THE   CARGO — THE   SHIP   WAS   ON    FIKE 


A  consultation  was  at  once  held,  in  which 
the  captain,  the  first  and  second  officers,  and 
carpenter,  in  addition  to  myself,  took  part. 
At  a  time  like  this  there  could  be  but  few 
minutes  to  spare  for  palaver,  so,  glancing 
hurriedly  at  the  situation  in  all  its  bearings,  the 
decision  was  arrived  at  to  keep  the  ship  away 
and  steer  for  the  Falkland  Islands,  some 
1,200  miles  distant — say,  about  four  and  a  half 
days'  good  run  before  the  wind.  This  was  con- 
sidered the  best  port  to  make  for,  because  if  the 
wind  remained  steady  we  could  run  straight  for 
it.  In  the  meantime,  great  care  was  taken  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  the  fire  by  "  corking " 
every  vent  and  outlet  from  the  hold.  But  not- 
withstanding this,  early  on  the  Monday  morning 
we  found  that  our  attempt  to  smother  the  fire 
had  been  unavailing,  for  the  smoke  now  began 
to  force  its  way  through  the  seams  in  the  ship's 
side  and  deck,  rendering  all  the  berths  in  the 
cabin  and  forecastle  untenable.  By  Monday 
noon  we  had  done  all  that  lay  in  our  power  to 
prepare  for  the  worst.  We  had  busied  ourselves 
in  making  the  boats  seaworthy  and  provisioning 
them,  and  now  all,  except  one  officer  and  the 
man  at  the  wheel,  tried  to  snatch  an  hour's 
sleep,  simply  choosing  the  most  sheltered  place 
about  the  deck  for  this  purpose. 

The  hapless  San  Rafael  was  at  this  time 
running  under  her  top-gallant  sails  before  a 
fresh  gale,  the  sea  still  being  very  high  and  the 
old  ship  being  driven  to   her  utmost.     Under 


ordinary  circumstances  it 
would  have  been  ex- 
tremely risky  to  carry  so 
much  canvas  in  such  a 
wind,  but  on  our  vessel's 
speed  we  felt  our  lives 
depended.  At  ten  o'clock 
that  night  we  were  all 
startled  by  hearing  a  loud 
report  and  seeing  a 
voluuie  of  flame  shoot  up 
from  the  main  hatch  to  a 
height  of  some  60ft.  It 
was  a  fearful  spectacle 
under  the  circumstances, 
and  one  that  filled  us 
with  terror.  It  was  like 
a  square,  solid  pillar  of 
blue  flame,  much  the 
same  shape  as  the  hatch 
from  which  it  rose,  and  it 
tapered  away  to  a  point. 
Imagine  a  night  as  black 
as  your  hat,  the  ship  illu- 
minated from  stem  to 
stern  as  if  by  vivid' 
lightning,  and  after  the 
one  loud  report  like  thunder,  no  sound  to  be 
heard  but  the  whistle  of  the  wind  through 
the  rigging  and  the  rush  of  the  vessel  through 
the  dark  and  swelling  waters.  Every  man  had 
sprung  to  his  feet,  and  orders  were  given  to 
start  the  force-pumps,  which  had  been  kept  in 
readiness.  Every  man  worked  like  ten.  Each 
worked  as  if  he  realized  that  upon  his  exer- 
tions alone  depended  the  safety  of  the  ship  and 
every  soul  on  board.  For  about  four  hours  we 
laboured  without  any  apparent  effect,  and  then 
reluctantly  we  were  compelled  at  last  to  con- 
clude that  the  flames  were  gaining  slowly  but 
surely  upon  us,  and  that  a  few  hours  at  most 
must  see  the  last  of  the  Sa)i  Rafael. 

"  Reduce  sail  ! "  was  the  ominous  order 
issued  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
everything  was  taken  in  except  the  storm  stay- 
sails and  topsails,  under  which  the  ship  was  at 
length  hove  to.  The  next  business  was  to  get 
the  boats  out — a  task  of  great  difficulty,  owing 
to  the  rolling  and  pitching  of  the  ship.  Our 
complement  of  boats  consisted  of  one  long-boat, 
one  pinnace,  a  gig,  and  a  dinghy,  the  last  measur- 
ing only  about  1 7ft.  keel.  The  long-boat  and 
pinnace  were  put  safely  over  the  side  with  a 
man  in  each  to  take  care  of  her,  and  dropped 
astern,  but  unfortunately,  in  putting  out  the  gig 
she  was  stove  in  and  sank  immediately,  with  all 
the  provisions  she  contained.  We  had  not 
intended  originally  to  take  the  dinghy,  cockleshell 
as  she  was,  but  it  now  became  absolutely  neces- 


472 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZLNE. 


sary,  the  gig  being  lost.  At  last  the  dinghy,  with 
her  17ft.  of  keel,  was  put  safely  out,  and  dropped 
astern.  It  was  then  about  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  when  the  word  was  passed  to  take  to 
the  boats,  which  we  did  by  getting  over  the 
stern,  that  being  the  safest  plan  in  bad  weather. 
The  captain's  wife  and  the  apprentice  boy 
were  lowered  first,  and  the  men  followed,  the 
captain  and  officers  being,  of  course,  the  last  to 
leave  the  ship.  We  hung  on  astern  until  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  the  vain  hope  that  the 
smoke  and  flames  might  attract  some  passing 
ship,  for  the  .SV^^  Rafael  was  by  this  time  a  huge 
mass  of  glowing,  crackling  fire,  the  burning 
sparks  and  spars  blowing  about  and  falling  in 
every  direction.  Higher  and  higher,  fiercer  and 
fiercer,  grew  the  fire,  until  at  last  it  became  so 
imminent  a  danger  to  us  all  astern,  that  the  word 
was  passed,  and  a  moment  later  we  were  cut 


adrift  for  ever  from  all  that  remained  of  our 
once  beautiful  vessel.  In  the  long-boat  was  the 
captain,  his  w'ife,  and  nine  men.  In  the 
pinnace,  the  first  mate  and  six  men  :  and  in  the 
dinghy  the  second  mate,  two  men,  a  boy,  and 
myself 

We  were  selected  for  the  smallest  boat  as  the 
lightest  weights  ;  and  it  was  feared  that  if  disaster 
came  our  fate  would  l)e  first  sealed.  Before  the 
boats  were  cut  adrift  from  the  burning  vessel, 
and  whilst  we  were  still  together  hanging  on  to 
her  stern,  a  further  consultation  had  taken  place 
as  to  the  best  course  to  be  adopted. 

From  the  time  we  had  first  kept  the  ship 
away  to  the  moment  she  was  finally  abandoned, 
we  had  run  some  450  miles,  which  would  still, 
it  will  readily  be  seen,  leave  us  some  750  miles 
from  the  Falkland  Islands. 

Now,  the  coast  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  lay, 
roughly  speaking,  some  150  miles 
to  the  N.E.  of  us,  and  for  that 
point  we  finally  determined  to 
run,  hoping  that  it  might  prove 
possible  to  make  our  way  over- 
land to  the  Straits  of  Magellan, 
and  there  attract  the  attention  of 
some  passing  steamer.  We  were 
without  sails,  but  by  each  using 
an  oar  for  a  mast,  a  boat-hook 
for  a  yard,  and  rigging  up 
blankets  as  a  substitute  for  sails, 
we  were,  with  the  good  breeze 
then  blowing,  enabled  to  run 
between  four  and  five  knots  an 
hour. 

The  day  was  intensely  cold, 
but  bright,  clear,  and  cheerful, 
and  notwithstanding  our  gloomy 
outlook,  we  took  heart  of  grace 
and  hoped  for  the  best.  Some- 
where about  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  we  were  caused  con- 
siderable uneasiness  by  seeing  a 
heavy   snow  -  squall    working    up 


astern,  and  sure 


enough 


It  over- 


■■Q'l^fm^- 


WE   WERE   CUT   ADRIKT    FOR    EVER    FROM    ALL    THAT    REMAINED   OF   OOK   ONCE 
ISEAUTIFUL    VESSEL." 


took  US  about  two  o'clock,  hiding 
for  ever  from  our  view  all  that 
remained  of  our  burning  vessel. 
Still,  we  believed  it  would  last 
but  a  few  minutes,  and  so  con- 
tinued to  run  with  what  wind  we 
still  had.  But  the  heavy  flakes 
fell  and  fell,  thicker  and  faster 
each  moment,  until  it  was  im- 
possible to  see  a  boat's  length 
ahead  through  the  blinding  down- 
fall. For  over  an  hour  the 
storm  continued,  and  when  at 
last      it      cleared,      we      looked 


TWENTV-SEVEN    DAYS    IN    AN    OPEN    liOAT. 


473 


anxiously  around  for  our  companions.  Had  we 
anticipated  that  the  snowfall  would  have  lasted 
more  than  a  few  minutes,  or  been  so  heavy,  v^'e 
should  have  cast  a  line  from  boat  to  boat,  and 
thus  made  pretty  sure  of  not  parting  comi)any. 
Perhaps  under  any  circumstances  we  ought  to 
have  done  so,  but  this  was  only  one  of  the  many 
lessons  we  afterwards  learnt  by  bitter  experience. 
As  I  said,  when  the  squall  cleared  we  looked 
anxiously  around  for  the  other  boats,  and  at  last 
discovered  one  some  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
distant  on  the  starboard  bow.  This  proved  to  be 
the  pinnace  with  the  first  mate,  but  the  captain's 
long-boat  was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  As  we  came 
up  to  the  pinnace — "Seen  the  captain?"  were 
the  first  words  shouted  simultaneously  from  each 
boat.  "  No  !  No  !  "  came  back  the  reply.  Again 
and  again  a  dozen  earnest  faces  with  anxious 
eyes  were  turned  this  way  and  that,  and  a  dozen 
hearts  beat  a  shade  faster  when  it  was  found  that 
the  captain's  boat  was  not  in  sight.  "  Had  she 
dropped  astern  or  run  ahead,"  we  asked  our- 
selves, "  or  was  she  to  right  or  left  of  us  ?  "  We 
had  no  fear  for  her  safety,  because  she  was 
far  and  away  the '  biggest  and  best  of  the  three  ; 
and  as  there  was  now  a  good  deal  less  wind, 
we  did  not  fear  that  she  had  been  capsized  or 
swamped.  No,  the  cause  of  our  anxiety  came 
still  nearer  home  to  us.  She  had  aboard  the 
great  bulk  of  the  provisions^  which  it  had  been 
arranged  should  be  divided  on  getting  ashore, 
no  matter  whether  we  decided  to  abandon  our 
boats  and  make  our  way  across  country,  or 
whether  we  should  find  ourselves  coripelled  to 
put  to  sea  again.  I'or  over  an  hour  we 
remained  where  we  were,  hoping  the  captain 
might  have  hove  to,  and  that  he  would  now, 
the  squall  being  past,  get  under  way  and 
overtake  us.  At  length  we  abandoned  the 
idea,  and  determined  at  all  hazards  to  make  the 
best  of  our  way  to  land,  trusting  we  might 
there  meet  the  long  -  boat  at  some  accidental 
rendezvous. 

The  wii-)d,  which  had  lulled  during  the  after- 
noon, afterwards  freshened,  and  by  ten  o'clock  at 
night  it  was  blowing  a  moderate  gale,  and 
momentarily  becoming  an  ever-increasing  danger. 
We  therefore  determined  to  heave  to  for  a  while 
and  put  out  a  sea-anchor. 

The  gale  we  had  experienced  on  board  ship 
was  from  the  west,  but  the  one  now  blowing 
was  from  S.S.W.,  thus  causing  a  nasty,  dangerous 
cross  sea.  We  had  to  meet  each  sea  as  nearly 
as  possible  bows  on,  and  to  do  this  we  had 
recourse  to  a  steering  oar,  a  rudder  at  such  a 
time  being  quite  useless.  At  somewhere  about 
two  in  the  morning  the  first  mate  called  out 
that  his  boat  was  becoming  unmanageable 
and    had    twice    been    nearly    swamped ;     he 

Vol.  iii— 60. 


suggested   anxiously   that  we   should   take   the 
foremost  place.     Now,  the  dinghy  was  so  short, 
being  nearly  as   broad   as   she   was   long,   and 
so  much   lighter  too  than  the  other  boat,  that 
with   an  oar  from  the  pinnace  for  steering  (an 
oar  quite  as  long  as  the  boat  itself)  great  power 
could  be  obtained,  and  the  dinghy  slued  round 
more  readily  and  with  greater  certainty  to  meet 
the  seas.     With  extreme  care  and  great  caution 
we  proceeded  to  change  places  with  the  pinnace, 
but    not   without   grave    misgivings   as   to   the 
result.     We    hardly   relished    finding    ourselves 
in    the   van,   as    it    were,   with  nothing    but    a 
boat    hardly    bigger    than    the    coracle    of  the 
ancient   Briton  between   ourselves  and    drown- 
ing; for  no  swimmer  could  live  in  such  a  sea. 
To   our  great  relief,    however,  the   experiment 
answered  admirably.     Yet,  notwithstanding  the 
great  success  attending  the  change  of  position 
of    the    boats,    we    passed    a    night    of    the 
most   intense   anxiety.     Although    we  later  on 
rode    through    three    heavier    gales,    we    never 
afterwards    felt    one    tithe    of   the    terror    and 
highly-strung  nervous   excitement   of    this    first 
awful  night.     Although  experienced  sailors,  none 
among  us  had  ever  before  been  placed  in  any- 
thing like  such  a  predicament.     We  had  yet  to 
learn  the  full  capacity  of  the  boats  that  carried 
us.     Although  the   change   of  position    was   a 
distinct  success,  it  took  us  all  our  time  to  keep 
the  boats  clear.      Now   and   again    the    waves 
would  break    clean    over   us,    rendering    baling 
operations    constantly    necessary.       Even    our 
oil-skins    were    saturated    and     we    were     wet 
through,  literally,  to  the  skin.     The  night  was 
bitterly  cold,  and  we  had  not  broken  our  fast 
from  the  time  we  left  the  ship.     Still,  no  one 
felt    hungry,    strangely    enough.       Events    had 
followed  one  another  so  closely  ;  the  excitement 
had    been   so  constant ;    our  exertions   so   con- 
tinuous ;   the  tension  of  our  nerves  so  great — 
tliat  we  had  no  thought  of  either  rest,  or  hunger, 
or    thirst.       We   were    battling  with    the    angry 
waves  for  dear  life,  while  death  seemed  to  sit  at 
each  man's  right  hand.     Towards  eight  o'clock 
the  gale  moderated,  and  we  took  breakfast — a 
biscuit  being  served  to  each   man.     This  was 
the  first  food  tasted  for  nearly  thirty-six  hours. 
The  blankets  were  again  set  as  sails,  and  we 
stood   towards   land    with    a   fresh    breeze,   the 
morning  being  only  varied  by  occasional  snow- 
squalls.    What  with  our  steady  running  before  the 
wind  and  drifting  in  the  night,  we  had  made  con- 
siderable progress,  and  at  last,  about  noon,  the 
word  went  round,  "  Land  ahead  ! "     Yes,  there 
it  was,  distinctly  visible  about  fifty  or  sixty  miles 
distant.     AVe   ran  on   till  about   nine  at  night, 
when  we  stopped  for  a  consultation  in  the  bright 
moonlight.     Land  was  now  about  twenty  miles 


474 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


.  \  I    I  LI  M,     Willi 


FOU    DF.AU    LIFE. 


ahead,  and  we  decided  to  stand  in  until  within 
two  or  three  miles  of  it.  I'his  we  did  and  then 
hove-to  till  morning.  At  break  of  day  we  again 
got  under  way,  and  ran  in  pretty  close.  To 
and  fro  our  eyes  wandered  vainly  searching  for 
a  spot  to  land,  but  nothing  could  w^e  see  but 
vast  unbroken  cliffs,  towering  sheer  up  to  a 
tremendous  height  from  the  sea,  which  dashed 
itself  angrily  against  those  mighty  buttresses, 
throwing  up  the  spray  to  a  height  of  over  150ft. 
At  another  time,  and  under  happier  circum- 
stances, one's  admiration  would  have  been 
compelled  by  the  grandeur  of  the  magnificent 
panorama  stretched  out  for  miles  before  us. 
The  great,  grey  cliffs  looked  grim  and 
grizzly  ;  eternal  silence  reigned  over  their 
stupendous  heights ;  and  at  their  base  the  wild 
tumultuous  waves,  with  never-ceasing  energy, 
raged  and  battled,  and  spent  their  blind 
fury  in  unavailing  assaults  upon  the  impassive 
rocks.  Presently,  however,  the  mate  fancied  he 
saw  a  small  inlet — or,  at  all  events,  a  place 
where  the  water  broke  less  violently.  When 
we  made  for  the  spot  we  found  that  the  mate's 
eyes  had  not  deceived  him,  and  we  ran  through 
a  narrow  channel  some  hundred  yards  wide. 

A  glance  at  the  chart  will  show  this  part  of 
the  coast  to  be  made  up  of  islands,  and  I  have 
since  been  able  to  identify  this  inlet.  I  also 
found  that  it  was  between  two  of  these  islands 
we  had  put  in. 

Once  inside,  to  right  and  left  of  us  there 
stretched  away  a  sheet  of  smooth,  clear,  pellucid 


water  where  all 
was  calm  and 
quiet,  and  in  wel- 
come contrast  to 
the  turmoil  with- 
out. The  cliffs 
shot  sheer  out  of 
the  water,  and 
rising  hundreds  of 
feet  seemed  to 
touch  the  very 
sky.  Steep  as  the 
side  of  a  house 
were  these  majes- 
tic heights,  and 
so  crystal  clear 
was  the  water  that 
their  lines  could 
be  traced  for 
fathoms  below 
the  surface. 

For  many  hours 
we  searched  in 
vain  for  a  place 
to  land,  and  at 
length,  as  the 
afternoon  wore  on,  we  discovered  a  spot  where 
the  rocks  shelved.  Here  we  landed  and  suc- 
ceeded in  hauling  up  our  boats.  We  were  in  a 
bit  of  a  valley,  we  found  ;  and  on  either  side 
the  towering  mountains  were  covered  with  snow 
down  to  within  a  couple  of  hundred  feet 
of  the  water's  edge.  Our  first  thought  was 
to  make  a  fire,  for  we  had  matches.  In  the 
sheltered  crevices  of  the  rock  we  found  a  stunted 
shrub  which  grew  to  a  height  of  some  eighteen 
inches  ;  we  gathered  a  quantity  of  this  and  at 
length  succeeded  in  getting  a  fire — from  which, 
however,  we  received  but  little  comfort.  The 
wood  was  green,  and  the  great  quantity  of  dense 
smoke  was  sadly  out  of  proportion  to  the 
warmth  afforded  by  the  feeble  flame.  If  one 
crawled  near  enough  to  obtain  a  little  warmth  it 
was  at  the  expense  of  being  nearly  choked  by 
the  smoke.  Supper  was  by-and-by  served  out, 
and  between  the  twelve  of  us  we  divided  a  four- 
pound  tin  of  Australian  mutton,  with  half  a 
biscuit  to  each  man.  A  little  water  was  by  each 
in  turn  put  into  the  tin  and  heated  over  the 
smoky  fire. 

It  was  now  Thursday  evening,  and  this  was 
the  first  warm  food  we  had  tasted  since  Monday's 
tea.  Exhausted  and  almost  worn  out,  we  lay 
down  on  the  ground,  and,  partly  sheltered  by  a 
huge  rock,  we  slept  soundly  in  spite  of  a  biting 
wind,  which  blew  down  from  the  snow -clad 
mountains.  We  were  all  astir  at  five  o'clock  on 
Friday  morning,  and  at  once  resolved  ourselves 
into  a  kind  of  ways  and   means  committee  to 


TWENTY-SEVEN    1)A\S    IN    AN    OPEN    BOAT. 


475 


see  what  was  to  be  done  and  how  to  do  it.  The 
male  spoke  first,  and  said  that  before  forming 
any  plans  it  was  necessary  to  come  to  a  distinct 
understanding  that  disciphne  and  obedience  — 
more  essential  now  than  ever — should  be  rigidly 
maintained,  and  he  looked  to  everyone  strictly 
to  uphold  his  authority,  as  we  had  now  given  up 


1     i.ddKi'.i)  'I'd  i-\i-:i;\' 


all  hope  of  meeting  the  captain  and  must  shift 
for  ourselves.  Obedience  being  promised,  we 
soon  came  to  a  few  practical  conclusions. 

It  was  clearly  no  use  staying  wiiere  we  were. 
It  was  utterly  impossible  to  scale  the  mountains, 
and  so  carry  out  our  original  idea  of  making  our 
way  by  that  route  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan. 
The  perpetual  snows  and  precipitous  steeps  put 
this  notion  out  of  court.  There  seemed  nothing 
to  be  done  but  to  make  our  boats  as  seaworthy 
as  possible,  and  to  proceed  to  sea  again  in  the 
chance  of  being  picked  up  by  some  passing 
ship  homeward  bound.  Standing  out  to  sea 
again  looked  a  pretty  desperate  resource — a 
forlorn  hope — but  we  agreed  it  seemed  a  toss- 
up  whether  we  starved  or  were  drowned  :  the 
death  of  a  pauper  or  the  death  of  a  sailor.  If 
the  worst  should  come  to  the  worst,  we  could 
but  die,  and  death  by  drowning  had  been  so 
near  for  days  that  the  King  of  Terrors  was 
robbed  of  half  his  power  to  affright  ;  besides,  at 
sea  there  was  just  a  chance  of  being  picked  up. 
Where   we  were,  the  only  alternative  of  starva- 


tion seemed  a  likelihood  (jf  being  frozen  to 
death.  So  wc  determined  to  get  to  .sea  without 
an  hour's  delay. 

We  now  took  stock  of  our  provisions  and 
stores,  and  a  pretty  slender  stock  it  proved. 
We  had  two  bags  of  bread  {i.e.,  biscuits),  each 
bag  containing  about  fifty  pounds  ;  twelve  four- 
pound  tins  of 
Australian  mut- 
ton ;  two  beakers 
of  water,  each 
containing  about 
four  gallons ;  a 
t  wen  ty  -  eight 
pound  case  of 
tobacco,  and  that 
was  all.  In  the 
way  of  gear,  we 
had  between  the 
two  boats  eleven 
oars,  two  boat- 
hooks,  two  bolts 
of  canvas,  one 
coil  of  small  line, 
and  hal fa- dozen 
buckets  for  bal- 
ing. Among  our 
number  was  the 
sail  maker,  who 
fortunately  had 
iSH**  with     him     his 

■^S^iJiJ^ .,  small  bag.  con- 
taining needles, 
twine,  etc.,  and 
was  thus  able  to  make  sails  for  both  boats  from 
the  canvas  available.  All  day  on  Friday  we 
worked  unceasingly,  but  in  spite  of  every  effort 
to  get  everything  complete,  we  found  ourselves 
compelled  to  spend  another  night  ashore.  When 
we  knocked  off  for  the  day  we  had  supper. 
It  had  already  been  decided  in  the  morning 
that  the  day's  rations  should  be  for  each  man 
one  biscuit  and  a  small  jiortion  of  Australian 
meat.  Supper  done,  we  sat  round  for  a  smoke, 
but  this  also  was  a  slow  business,  for,  strange 
to  say,  we  had  but  one  pipe  among  us,  and  a 
box  of  wax  vestas.  The  tobacco  had  been 
carefully  and  equally  divided  in  the  morning, 
so,  too,  had  the  wax  vestas.  Each  man  took  his 
share  of  matches,  carefully  wrapped  them  in  a  few 
bits  of  oilskin,  ai;id  stowed  them  away  inside  his 
shirt.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  loving  care  was 
bestowed  on  these  few  matches,  though  the  ordin- 
ary value  of  the  whole  could  not  have  been  more 
than  a  halfpenny.  Each  man  in  turn  had  the 
privilege  of  filling  our  one  and  only  pipe, 
smoking  it,  and  passing  it  on  to  the  next  man. 


AT: 


{To  be  concluded  next  month.) 


How  the  Miners  Conquered  the  Teslin  Trail 

By  H.    Mortimer    Lamb,  of  Victoria,  B.C. 

A  British  Columbian  gentleman  tells  how  a  number  of  miners,  deceived  as  to  the  possibilities 
of  the  all  but  impossible  "  Teslin  Route  "  to  Dawson  City,  resolve  to  push  on  at  all  risks. 
The      photographs    show     the     remarkable     and    ingenious    methods    of    transport    devised    by  these 

sturdy  and  undaunted  Britons. 


N  the  early  spring  of  last  year  some 
three  thousand  prospectors  and 
miners,  many  of  them  having  made 
their  way  up  the  Stickine  River  on 
the  ice,  attempted  to  reach  the 
Klondike  diggings  by  what  was  known  as  the 
Teslin  route.  This  route  had  unfortunately 
been  represented  as  by  far  the  most  feasible  way 
to  the  goldfields.  The  country  between  Glen- 
ora,  at  the  head  of  navigation,  and  Teslin  Lake 
was  described  as  a  rolling  prairie,  over  which 
supplies  could  be  transported  with  the  greatest 
ease ;  and  from  Teslin  to  Dawson  City  the 
journey,  it  was  stated,  could  be  comfortably 
continued  in  boats.  Imagine,  therefore, 
the  consternation  and  anger  of  the  unfor- 
tunate men  who,  having  relied  on  this 
information,  travelled  long  distances  and 
spent  their  all  in  outfitting,  only  to  discover 
that  the  Teslin  trail  was  almost,  if  not  quite, 
im[)assable.  Yet  such  was  the  case,  and 
many  of  those  that  had  left  farm  or  workshop 
to  join  in  the  mad  rush 
northward,  retraced 
their  steps,  now  weary 
and  disfiirited,  and  re- 
turned to  their  homes. 
Others  died  of  expo- 
sure or  want ;  but  a 
few,  more  experienced 
or  more  resolute  than 
the  rest,  pushed  on. 
Here,  then,  was  the  op- 
portunity for  the  born 
prospector  to  display 
his  natural  ingenuity. 
Horses  were  out  of  the 
question  in  that  land 
of  dense  forest  and 
treacherous  swamp. 
How,  then,  was  he  to 
get  his  supplies,  of 
which  he  carried  from 
3oolb.  to  5oolb.  weight, 
through  to  Lake  Teslin 
over  that  140  odd  miles 
of  difficult  country  ? 

The  ta.sk  was  mani- 
festly not  a  light  one, 


but  these  men,  bred  in  the  backwoods  of  the 
North-West,  are  not  easily  daunted.  The 
roughness  and  narrowness  of  the  trail  demanded 
the  use  of  one  wheeled  vehicles,  and  conse- 
quently unicycles  of  every  conceivable  shape 
and  form  were  fashioned  out  of  the  rude 
material  at  hand.  Small  trees  were  cut  down, 
roughly  squared  with  an  axe,  and  converted  into 
v/heel barrows,  carts,  and  "  go-devils."  Dogs 
were  also  pressed  into  service  to  do  duty  as 
both  pack  and  draught  animals ;  and  thus  after 
infinite  labour  the  journey  was  successfully 
accomplished  by  the  plucky  few.  The  first 
photograph  illustrates  that  most  extraordinary 
of  vehicles,  the  "go-devil."  This  contrivance 
consists  firstly  of  a  box  with  a  framework  of 
hewn  boards,  firmly  bolted  together,  to  which  are 
attached  a  couple  of  poles  some  12ft.  in  length 
to  serve  as  handles.  Next  a  big  wheel,  generally 
from  5ft.  to  7ft.  in  diameter,  is  fitted  to  the  box, 
and  grooves  are  cut  in  the  centres  of  the  two 
handle-poles  to  receive  the  axle-trees,  which  are 


A    UNIQUE    MODE   OF    I.OCOM 

From  a\ 


OTION     THKDUCH     THE     FORESTS    AND    SWAMl'S.      THIS    IS   A    I'lllLAl. 

go-devil"  made  bvthe  miners.  [Fhoto. 


HOW    THE    iMINERS    CONQUERED    THE    TESLIN    TRAIL. 


477 


securely  held  in  position  by  stout  iron  or 
wooden  staples.  At  length  the  "  go-devil  "  is 
declared  complete  in  every  detail,  and  the 
proud  builders  begin  the  skilful  loading  of 
their  belongings  into  the  body  of  their  strange 
vehicle.  Presently  all  is  in  readiness  for  the 
start,  and  one  man  seizing  the  pair  of  handles 
in  front,  and  the  other  those  in  the  rear,  they 
commence  the  difficult  journey  before  them. 
The  two  men  in  the  photograph  conveyed  in 
this  manner  nearly  five  hundredweight  of  pro- 
visions and  supplies  a  distance  of  fifty  -  five 
miles,  going  at  an  average  rate  of  from  five  to 
ten  miles  a  day,  through  a  terribly  difficult 
country.      In  some  rare   cases  a  horse  took  the 


goodness  only  knows  what  else.  He  is,  how- 
ever, an  exceptionally  good  and  painstaking 
inventor  of  "  cuss-words."  Well,  it  will  perhaps 
be  admitted  that,  all  things  considered,  it  were 
better  that  men  should  "  blow  off  steam "  in 
forcible  language  than  in  cutting  their  own  or 
other  people's  throats ;  and  many  of  those  who 
last  summer  travelled  the  Teslin  trail  were 
desperate  enough,  and  sick  and  disappointed 
enough,  to  do  any  mad  act. 

I  have  some  faint  recollection  of  having  read, 
in  those  far  distant  days  when  I  attended  a 
school  kept  by  a  lady,  a  disquisition  on  dogs,  in 
which  that  animal  was  generally  described  as 
man's    staunchest    companion    and    friend.       I 


lilKY    DON'T    LOOK    AMl.^ULE,    BLT    IT    IS    NO    WONDKK.       THIS   WAS   THE  ONLY   TWO-WHEELED    VEHICLE 
From  a\  ON  THE  TKAIL.  [Photo. 


place  of  the  man  in  front,  but  then  it  would 
often  require  several  men  to  keep  the  "  go- 
devil  "  in  an  upright  position,  or  to  hold  it 
back  on  an  abrupt  descent.  And,  by  the  way, 
some  of  those  descents  were  so  precipitous  as 
to  necessitate  the  use  of  block  and  tackle  to 
lower  the  outfits  and  supplies  of  the  travellers. 

My  next  photo.,  I  think,  hardly  requires  much 
explanation,  but  I  may  mention  in  passing  that 
the  cart  the  three  men  are  so  laboriously  navi- 
gating was  the  only  two-wheeled  vehicle  used 
on  this  trail.  The  individual  wearing  the  fierce 
expression,  and  manfully  tugging  in  front,  was 
by  turns  a  preacher  ;  a  "  bull  -  puncher  "  in 
Michigan ;    a   lawyer   in    San    Francisco ;    and 


wonder  what  the  author  of  that  excellent  work 
would  have  given  me  for  the  next  two  photo- 
graphs wherewith  appropriately  to  })oint  his 
moral  and  adorn  his  tale  !  For  if  a  man's  dog 
is  his  friend  in  civilized  communities,  how 
much  more  so  then  in  the  wilderness — on  the 
deserted  trails,  or  in  the  backwoods  of  Canada's 
great  North-West?  Many  a  man  who  has  lived 
for  weeks  and  months  without  the  sight  of  a 
fellow-being  has  reason  to  thank  his  God  who 
made  dogs  and  imbued  them  with  a  sympathetic 
intelligence.  I  met  a  man  once  who  had 
existed  for  three  years  in  a  country  where  none 
dwelt  but  Indians,  and  he  told  me  that  if  it  had 
not  been  for  his  two  dogs,  he  must  have  gone 


478 


THE   WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


ACCUSTOM  RO    HIS    I)i 


AND    SO    LiOT    THKOUGH. 


{Photo. 


mad.  As  it  was,  he  was  not  (}uitc  what  one 
would  call  sane.  But  to  return  to  my  photo- 
graphs. The  prospector  to  be  noted  in  the 
accompanying  illustration  was  one  of  the  few  of 
the  3,000  who  started  out  on  this  most  difficult 
and  perilous  journey  to  Klondike.  He  finally 
reached  his  destination.  This  was  assuredly 
because  he  was  a  sensible  man  and  adopted 
a  plan  which  is  very  common  among  the 
Indians  —  the  plan  of 
accustoming  his  dogs 
to  carry  weight.  The 
animals  soon  get  used 
to  the  "  pack,"  and  trot 
along  quite  contentedly 
with  loads  weighing 
2olb.  and  even  3olb. 
for  days  at  a  time. 
Indians,  however,  have 
very  little  consideration 
for  the  poor,  patient 
brutes ;  and  their  un- 
fortunate dogs  are  fre- 
quently taxed  by  their 
dusky  owners  quite 
beyond  their  powers  of 
endurance.  Thus  in 
the  Omineca  district 
of  British  Columbia, 
dogs  are  utilized  almost 
entirely  for  transport 
purposes,  and  earn 
very  substantial  sums 
in  the  course  of  a 
season  for  their  Indian 

„  ■     .  II      ..  HARD    I.I.i 

proprietors.      But  you        yrom  a\ 


have  only  to  look  at  an  Indian  "pack-dog" — 
poor  creature — and  he  will  run  off  whining,  with 
his  tail  between  his  legs.  Mongrels  and  curs  of 
low  degree,  all  of  them,  with  raw  and  hairless 
backs  where  the  packs  have  rubbed,  but  withal 
sturdy,  able-bodied  little  fellows,  whose  honest 
and  pathetic  eyes  appeal  strangely  to  one. 

Another  way  in  which  dogs  are  made  to  assist 
prospectors  on  their  marches  is  shown  in  the 


MAN.         A    LOADKU    I  . 
A    FAITH FUI-    UOG. 


.1.    ..  IIEEI.BARKOW    AM) 

\.Photo. 


HOW     I  HE    MINERS    CONQUERED    THE    TESLIN    TRAH.. 


479 


second  of  these  two  photos.  Here  tlie  "  Klon- 
diker "  has  maiuiractured  for  himself  a  stout 
hand  -  barrow,  to  which  he  has  harnessed  a 
tolerably  muscular  dog,  who  is  seemingly  pull- 
ing away  for  all  he  is  worth.  Surely  these 
photographs  convey  a  more  eloquent  conception 
of  pioneer  life  in  the  backwoods  than  pages  of 
mere  description  !  It  is  hard  work,  too,  for 
both  dog  and  man,  as  anyone  who  has  attempted 
to  wheel  a  heavily  weighted  barrow  over  soft 
ground  can  easily  understand.  Nevertheless, 
the  pair  made  very  good  headway,  and  sub- 
sequently reached  Dawson  City  last  autumn — 
but  without  the  wheelbarrow,  which  was 
abandoned  after  a  distance  of  about  forty  miles 
over   tlie  trail    had    been  covered.      If  only  the 


tlie  chief  difficulty,  of  course,  was  in  tjreaking 
the  animals  to  harness,  ami  in  teaching  them  to 
answer  to  the  word  of  command.  Cioats  are 
jjroverbially  giddy  beasts,  and  the  first  attempt 
to  "hitch"  them  to  the  sleighs  resulted  in  a 
scene  of  the  maddest  and  wildest  description. 
While  one  goat  was  executing  a  frantic  war- 
dance  another  would  try  the  effect  of  standing 
on  his  head ;  and  a  third  and  fourth  would 
engage  in  a  pitched  battle,  in  which  one  of  the 
combatants  was  at  the  obvious  disadvantage 
of  being  prodded  in  the  rear  by  a  pair  of 
sharp  horns.  All  this  was  very  exciting,  and 
had,  moreover,  its  humorous  side ;  but  the 
prospector  cannot  afford  to  lose  precious  time. 
So,  still  unbroken  to  work,  the  goats  were  urged 


t" 


/■■;v, 


A    STKANCiK 


Story  could  be  written  of  faithful  dogs  in  Canada, 
how  pathetic  and  heroic  the  narrative  would  be  ! 
One  more  photograph,  and  this  little  article 
must  conclude.  It  is  no  very  remarkable  thing 
for  dogs  to  be  trained  as  transport  animals.  It 
is  a  common  enough  practice  in  all  northern 
countries ;  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe 
—  in  Belgium  and  P'rance  particularly  — 
one  gets  quite  accustomed  to  the  sight  of 
teams  of  dogs  drawing  the  milkman's  or 
the  baker's  cart  from  door  to  door.  But 
whoever  heard  of  goats  for  such  work  ?  Yet, 
the  experiment  was  not  only  tried  in  the  Yukon 
last  year,  but  proved  a  great  success.  The 
native  animals  are  strong,  hardy,  and  swift ; 
capable,  too,  of  great  feats  of  endurance.     But 


forward  somehow,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days  of  steady  travelling  they  were  as  tractable 
and  obedient  as  could  be  desired.  No  doubt 
the  goats  were  eventually  eaten.  But  surely 
this  is  a  strange  enough  way  of  getting  motive 
power  out  of  one's  food  ! 

I  could,  I  believe,  fill  a  very  fair-sized  volume 
with  accounts  of  the  many  strange  and  ingenious 
methods  adopted  by  Western  prospectors  in 
overcoming  difficult  conditions  of  travel,  which 
to  untrained  men  —  or  "  tender-feet,"  as  the 
vernacular  has  it — proved  insurmountable  ;  but 
for  the  present  enough  has  perhaps  been  said  to 
give  the  readers  of  The  Wide  ^^'oRLD  Magazine 
some  idea  of  what  this  phase  of  life  in  Western 
Canada  really  is. 


How    the    Lasso    is    Used. 


Ij\    Howard   Rkvnolds. 

A  complete  description  by  an    acknowledged    expert,  illustrated  with    photographs    showing    how  this 
peculiar  weapon  — which  is  so    indispensable   on    the    great    cattle-ranches    of    the    Western    States   -is 

manipulated.     With  many  curious  and  interesting  facts. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  lasso  is  about  40ft. 
long— seldom  exceeding  50ft.— and  out  of  that 
must  be  deducted  the  amount  taken  in  making 
the  noose  and  the  part  which  is  retained  in  the 
hand.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  average  cast  is 
about  25ft.  or  30ft.  ;  and  the  "roper"  who  can 
throw  anywhere  near  50ft.  with  accuracy  is  a 
rarity.  In  California  they  sometimes  use  a  rope 
as  long  as  65ft.  ;  but  there  they  seem  to  have  a 
liabit  of  throwing  an  enormously  large  loop — 
much  larger  than  is  really  necessary.  In  actual 
work,  however,  it  will  be  found  that  a  man's 
hand  is  not  large  enough  properly  to  hold  much 
more  than  40ft.  of  rope  when  coiled  ready  to 
throw. 

The  lasso  is  a  creation  of  a  certain  environ- 
ment and  need.  Its  place  is  on  the  broad 
prairies  and  grazing  lands,  and  its  chief  utiUty 
lies  in  the  stock  business.  It  is  almost  useless 
in  a  wooded  country  by  reason  of  the  obstruc- 
tions afforded  by  branches  and  bushes.  The 
kasso  seems  to  be  a  weapon  of  the  chase 
peculiar  to  North  America  and  the  outcome  of 
an  aboriginal  need.  Savages  all  seem  to  have 
weapons  peculiar  to  themselves — as,  for  example, 
the  Australian  boomerang,  the  Papuan  blow-gun, 
the  Zulu  assegai,  the  Indian  tomahawk.     Again. 

THE   ALTHOK    SHOWING    HOW   THIS    WONOERI-UI-  WEAPON    SHOLLU  •„      O  tl         A      ^        •  »U  /^  U  ».U,        I  ^1     \. 

Fro7nd\  BEHELD.  \piwto.  '"   South  America  the  Gauchos  use   the  oolas 

for  purposes  similar  to  the  lasso,  and  with  equal 
k^RHAPS  the  most  picturesque  and         skill. 

romantic    characters    of  the    recent  The  finest  lassos   are   of  raw   hide,   cut  into 

war  between  the  United 

States   and   Spain   were    the  '      ^  '. 

Western  cowboys,  formed 
into  a  regiment  of  cavalry  variously  known 
as  Roosevelt's  Rough  Riders,  Teddy's 
Terrors,  and  other  like  euphemisms.  The 
fact  that  the  bulk  of  the  command  was 
composed  of  superb  horsemen,  familiar 
with  the  use  of  that  unique  implement,  the 
lasso,  caused  at  the  time  a  variety  of  state- 
ments in  the  Press  regarding  the  potency 
of  the  "rope "as  a  weapon  — statements 
which  were  amusing  to  anyone  like  the 
writer  familiar  with  the  article  in  question. 
For  instance,  one  recent  statement  in 
a  New  England  paper  implied  an  effective 
range  for  the  lasso  of  something  like 
looyds.  ;  while  in  the  most  sensational 
sheets  there  have  been  vivid  illustrations 
of  lasso  charges  against  massed  Spanish 

=>&""■  "      ^^J^       -J  I.  ||.j.    j-j^iigp    LTILITV   LIES    IN    THE   STOCK    BUSINESS. 

troops  !  Prom  a  Photo. 


HOW    THE    LASSO    IS    USED. 


481 


THIS    bllLWi    A   COWBOYS   SADULK   WITH    ALL    ITS    FITTINGS 

From  a]  and  lasso  arrangements.  [Photo. 

thin  Strips  and  braided,  si.\-ply,  into  a  rope  of 
from  l^in.  to  ^-2 in.  diameter.  They  are  quite 
expensive,  a  good  40ft.  rope  costing  about  ydols. 
On  this  account,  of  late  years  a  fine,  hard-twisted 
grass  rope  is  used  ;  but  the  raw-hide  rope  is  the 
best  in  a  wind,  as  it  is  heavier,  and  when  filled 
with  oil  it  is  not  affected  by  wet  weather.  A 
braided  rope,  also,  has  less  tendency  to  kink 
than  a  twisted  rope.  Cowboys  have  a  mixture 
of  lard  and  beeswax  with  which  they  dress  their 
hemp  or  linen  ropes  to  keep  out  dampness,  and 
also  to  prevent  them  from  getting  too  dry. 

The  most  celebrated  make  of  the  genuine 
"  riattas  "  are  those  made  by  the  .  Raw-hide 
Manufacturing  Co.,  of  Chicago,  who  produce 
an  article  much  superior  to  the  rougher  ones 
turned  out  in  Mexico. 

There  are  three  general  methods  of  throwing. 


with  many  minor  variations  of  individual  habit. 
The  rope  is  held  in  practically  the  same  way  in 
every  case.  I-lrst  is  the  plain,  straight  cast, 
noose  swinging  around  above  the  head  from 
right  to  left,  by  a  rotating  wTist  movement. 
Some  "  ropers  "  throw  a  smrJl  loop,  hard  and 
fast,  almost  on  a  level ;  others  a  larger,  lazier 
kind,  which  nevertheless  "arrives."  For  my- 
self, I  rather  favour  the  small  loop  thrown 
hard,  as  it  seems  the  best  all-round  style,  most 
effective  against  the  wind  or  other  adverse 
conditions. 

The   aim    is    somewhat  to   the  right   ot    the 
object  to  be  roped — say,  a  foot  and  a  half  on  a 


jyfifTfif  yy>||[''>«'»'»y9ti»»pifw5qipwtt 


HE  IS  TAUGHT  TO  SETTLE   BACK   ON    HIS   HAUNCHES   THE   IN 
Frotr.  a]  TO  TIGHTEN." 

Vol.  iii.— 61. 


HERE   WE    M-',K    MN.     KKVNOLOS    AT    "TKICK    Wd  i;  K         Will!     Ji!^ 

From  a]  lasso-enl-  of  plain  spin — loop  large.  \Photo. 

25ft.  throw ;  the  exact  instant  of  release  being 
governed  by   weight   of  rope,  wind,  velocity  of 

swing,  etc.  Judgment 
comes  instinctively  with 
practice.  The  rest  of  the 
rope  is  held  coiled  in  the 
other  hand  and  released 
as  fast  as  desired,  two  or 
three  coils  being  retained. 
To  "snub"  the  rope 
(wind  it  about  the  pommel 
after  casting)  in  the  instant 
of  time  allowed,  is  a  trick 
quite  as  difficult  as  throw- 
ing properly.  The  Mexi- 
cans with  their  large- 
diameter  pommels  only 
have  to  take  one  turn ; 
the  American  pommels 
being  smaller  require  two. 
The  pommel  often  smokes 
from  the  friction  created, 
and  is  frequently  deeply 
grooved     and    almost 


STANT    THE    ROPE    BEGINS 

\.PIwto. 


482 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


A   CALK    HAS   JUST    BEEN        ROPED 

Front  a  Photo. 


FOR   BRANDING. 


burned  by  the  rope.  The  important  part 
played  by  the  trained  cow-pony  is  obvious. 
He  is  taught  to  settle  back  on  his  haunches 
the  instant  the  rope  begins  to  tighten,  and  in 
many  other  ways  materially  to  assist  his  master. 

The  second  method  of  throwing  is  exactly 
the  reverse ;  i.e.,  the  noose  is  swung  from 
the  left  to  right  above  the  head  before  release. 
This  is  called  the  "  California  Throw,"  and 
possibly  gives  a  little  greater  range.  At  any 
rate,  one  or  two  of  the  longest  throwers  I 
know  use  it,  and  I  find  it  so  myself.  It  may 
be  only  a  personal  result.  Any  good  "  roper  " 
can  throw  either  way. 

The  third  cast  is  the  "  Corral  Drag,"  which, 
as  its  name  implies,  is  for  use  afoot  and  in 
confined  quarters.  It  consists  in  trailing  out 
the  loop  on  the  ground  behind  one,  and 
snapping  it  forward  by  an  underhand  motion. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  a  lasso 


charge  against  massed  and  unshaken  troops  i^ 
impracticable  and  absurd.  The  men  would  have 
to  ride  up  to  within  40ft.  of  a  line  of  armed 
men,  cast  ropes  and  whirl  their  horses  to  right 
or  left,  and  then  race  back  again.  They  would 
have  to  be  deployed  so  that  their  ropes  wou-ld 
not  strike  each  other  while  being  whirled,  and 
the  attempt  to  wheel  might  result  in  inextricable 
confusion.  At  five  times  the  distance,  armed 
with  six-shooters,  the  fine  marksmanship  of  the 
plainsmen  would  be  infinitely  more  deadly  and 
decisive,  until  the  enemy  were  on  the  run.  On 
broken  or  panic-stricken  troops,  either  infantry 
or  horsemen,  the  lasso  would  find  a  special  and 
peculiarly  effective  field ;  and  a  squadron  of 
"  ropers  "  turned  loose  on  a  demoralized  and 
scattering  enemy  would  scoop  them  in  at  an 
amazing;  rate.     But  where  the  lasso  comes  into 


A  SHORT  WAY   WITH   A  TROUBLESOME    HOKsl  .:, 

From  a  Ph:>to. 


COWBOY   CHECKING    "  BUCKS  "    AND    KICKS   WITH    THE   LASSO. 

From  a  Photo. 

contact  with  firearms,  it  must  make  the  swiftest 
kind  of  retreat.  Where  the  adversary  is  un- 
armed,   or   only    has  a  knife,   it  is  an  entirely 

different  matter. 

The  lasso's  greatest  effec- 
tiveness, as  a  weapon,  is 
when  the  wielder  is 
mounted.  When  both  ad- 
versaries are  afoot  its  value 
is  very  slight.  W'xih.  cattle 
or  horses  it  is  an  entirely 
A  different  thing.     The  whole 

^  essence  of  the  matter  is  to 

tighten  the  noose  around 
an  opponent  with  a  jerk 
sufiicicnt  to  dismount  him 
or  take  him  off  his  feet. 
To  that  end  you  may  ride 
past  him  swiftly,  or,  if  pur- 
suing him,  stop  your  own 
horse  suddenly.  Or  if  he 
is  stationary  and  you  can- 
not ride  past  him,  you  can 


Mow    'IME    LASSO    IS    USED. 


483 


THIS    IS    VICENTE   OKOPESA,    CHAMl'lON      "  KOl'ER 
OF   OLD    MEXICO. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Stacy,  Brooklyn. 

wheel  your  own  horse  and  retire  after  a  success- 
ful cast.  In  lassoing  a  man,  if  done  skilfully, 
the  instant  of  time  is  too  brief  for  him  either  to 
throw  off  the  tightening  noose  or  cut  it.  And 
it  is  one  of  the  most  deceptive  things  to  attempt 
to  dodge. 

In  giving  the  above  description  of  the  limita- 
tions of  the  lariat  or  lasso,  it  is  without  any 
desire  to  detract  from  its  peculiar  effective- 
ness, when  used  under  proper  conditions. 
The  following  clipping  from  a  recent  paper 
is  self-explanatory : — 

SHE  ROPED  A  WOLF. 

From  the  ilinneaimlis  Times. 

Chamberlain,  S.D.,  Jan  20. — Miss  Eliza  Walker, 
who  owns  a  slock  ranch  a  few  miles  norlh  of  this  city, 
to-day  brought  in  the  scalp  of  a  large  grey  timber  wolf, 
and  the  story  of  its  capture  by  a  lady  is  interesting. 
All  the  fall  Miss  Walker  has  been  troubled  by  this 
%volf.  It  appeared  to  make  its  head-quarters  in  a  small 
ravine,  filled  with  timber,  about  a  (piarter  of  a  mile 
from  her  house,  and  from  this  jioint  it  sallied  forth  in 
quest  of  food.  A  short  time  ago  it  killed  a  young 
steer  belonging  to  Miss  Walker,  and  several  neigh- 
bours have  lately  suffered  similar  losses.  Miss  Walker 
states  that  towards  evening,  as  she  was  out  on  horse- 
back rounding  up  her  cattle  for  the  night,  she  dis- 
covered the  wolf  in  the  very  act  of  making  an 
onslaught  upon  a  youn^calfin  her  bunch.  Her  only 
weapon  of  offence  was  a  rope  attached  to  her  saddle, 
and  she  concluded  to  make  an  attempt  at  roping  the 
animal.      This  she    succeeded  in    doing  at  the  first 


attempt.  She  then  started  her  horse  on  a  run,  and  after 
she  had  exhausted  and  subdued  her  capture  in  this  way 
she  permitted  her  dogs  to  finish  the  job. 

Although  not  explicitly  stated,  the  lady  in 
question  undoubtedly  rode  astride,  on  a  regular 
stock  saddle,  as  is  quite  customary  for  women  in 
cattle-raising  localities  ;  and  she  dragged  the 
wolf  from  the  pommel  in  most  approved  style. 
Cowboys  frec^uently  ride  down  and  capture 
mountain  lions  in  this  manner ;  and  three  or 
four  of  them  together  have  even  succeeded  in 
taking  a  full-grown  grizzly  bear — an  animal  of 
such  strength  and  ferocity,  as  to  be  hunted  only 
with  the  same  caution  as  is  observed  in  the  case 
of  a  tiger. 

It  is  possible  to  control  the  noose  of  a  lasso 
by  the  remainder  of  the  rope,  but  it  is  a 
dexterity  which  few  acquire  in  years.  The 
finest  roper  I  know,  Vicente  Oropesa,  chainpion 
of  old  Mexico,  who  is  with  Buffalo  Kill's  "  Wild 
West,"  can  do  this  to  perfection  ;  and  his  per- 
formance is  one  of  the  ablest  things  in  that 
interesting  exposition  of  plainsmanship.  Oropesa 
is  an  enthusiast.  One  of  the  Mexicans  once 
told  me  that  one  night  the  champion  dreamed 
of  a  new  cast,  and  at  once  got  up  and  went 
out  scantily  clad,  and  in  half  an  hour  had 
mastered  it. 

In  spinning  the  rope  I  have  been  accused  of 
sticking  or  securing  the  "  honda  "  or  slip-noose 
from  sliding;  but  in  reahty  it  is  perfectly  free  to 
move  along  the  rope.  In  fact,  I  can  readily 
start  spinning  a  noose  2ft.  in  diameter  and 
increase  it  steadily  to  8ft.  or  loft.  across. 

A  peculiarity  about  roping  horses  or  steers  is 
that  after  getting  a  hard  fall  a  few  times  they 
quickly  get  "  roi)e-sense."  I  have  often  seen 
them,  in  a  corral,  stand  stock-still  when  the  rope 
falls  across  their  backs — even  when,  as  a  matter 


From  a  Photo. 


484 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


of  fact,  they  are  not  caught.  If  any  reader  has 
ever  encountered  a  clothes-line  while  running  at 
full  speed  in  the  dark,  the  line  stretched  at  about 
the  level  of  the  throat,  he  will  notice  that  he 
doesn't  run  across  that  lawn  any  more  after 
nightfall.     He's  got  "rope-sense,"  in  fact. 

There  are  several  uses  which  the  lasso  could 
be  put  to,  it  seems  to  me,  even  in  quite  densely 
populated  districts.  In  capable  hands  it  would 
afford  an  excellent  means  of  stopping  the  many 
street  runaways,  and  it  also  could  almost  always 
be  utilized  where  a  skater  broke 
through  the  ice.  And  as  a  regu- 
lator of  fast  bicycling  it  would 
easily  stand  unrivalled,  for  no 
scorcher  would  dare  to  ride  past 
a  guardian  of  the  peace  equipped 
with  tne  persuasive  lariat. 

As  I  am  left-handed,  I  handle 
the  rope  in  a  manner  precisely 
the  reverse  of  the  way  which  I 
have  described  it.  In  picking 
out  and  roping  any  particular 
leg  of  an  animal  while  in  motion, 
I  cannot  analyze  the  method.  I 
commence  whirling  the  noose 
while  watching  the  foot  rise  and 
fall,  and  when  the  instinctive 
feeling  comes  of  its  being  the 
right  time,  I  let  go. 

The  Mexicans  generally  use 
a  larger  "  eye,"  or  more  open 
"  honda,"  for  the  slip-noose  than 
do  the  Americans.  The  latter 
use    the   rope   a    good    deal    in 


branding  calves,  and  require 
a  small  "honda"  to  allow  the 
noose  to  close  quite  snugly 
on  tl  e  slender  legs  of  these 
little  animals. 

The  spinning  of  the  rope, 
of  which  four  photographs  are 
shown,  gives  great  practice  in 
acquiring  general  accuracy, 
and  is  also  useful  in  catching 
animals  by  the  feet.  It  also 
gives  a  certain  amount  of 
control  of  the  noose  after  it 
has  left  the  hand  (by  mani- 
pulating the  remainder  of  the 
rope),  which  those  who  have 
not  had  this  practice  do  not 
attain.  What  little  practising 
I  do  is  with  a  short  rope,  only 
25ft.  long,  simply  because  it 
is  easier  to  keep  clear  of  kinks 
and  tangles.  I  have  only 
shown  the  plainest  and  simplest  forms  of  rope- 
spinning.  From  this  foundation  many  elaborate 
and  interesting  feats  are  possible,  such  as 
spinning  oneself  into  the  centre  of  the  loop, 
jumping  in  and  out  of  the  circle,  etc. 

I  recently  spun  and  cast  my  rope  in  a  very 
moderately-sized  room,  which  fairly  bristled 
with  bric-a-brac  and  costly  ornaments,  without 
doing  any  damage  whatever  ;  though  I  fancied 
my  hostess  looked  a  trifle  relieved  when  I  had 
ended  the  performance. 


IHK   ALIHUK   bPl.NMNG 

From  a] 


iHE   NuObE    BEHIND    Hl.M    fc.NTlKELY    bV 
THE   ROPE. 


FEEL       OF 

[Fhoto. 


The  Professor  in  the  Bear  Trap. 


Bv  Otto  Frank. 

iThis  extraordinary  narrative  of  personal  adventure  will,  we  think,  attract  a  good  deal  of  attention. 
The  well-known  Austrian  savant.  Professor  Ernst  Schmidt,  commissioned  by  his  Government  to 
survey  some  mountains  in  Bosnia,  was  actually  caught  in  the  jaws  of  a  powerful  bear  trap  chained 
to  a  beech-tree.  His  long  imprisonment,  the  dreadful  agony  of  his  leg,  the  visit  of  the  bear,  the 
desperate  struggles  to  get   free,  and   by  what  strange  expedient  this  was  finally  brought  about. 


X  the  world-remote  wooded  mountains 
of  Bosnia  bears  are  very  numerous 
to  this  day.  There  Mr.  Bruin  finds 
an  abundance  of  the  berries  and 
other  fruits  which  his  heart  loves. 
On  the  approach  of  winter,  which  is  usually 
very  severe  in  Bosnia,  he  will,  in  a  sheltered  spot, 
prepare  himself  a  nest  of  twigs,  leaves,  and  moss, 
in  which  to  lie  dormant  through  the  coldest  part 
of  the  year.  During  that  time  he  takes  no  food, 
but  lives  literally  on  his  own  fat  ;  so  that  when 
he  comes  out  in  spring  he 
is  a  sorry  spectacle — thin 
and  haggard,  and  therefore 
a  dangerous  customer  to 
meet.  Driven  by  hunger, 
he  then  seeks  for  food,  and 
when  there  is  a  scarcity  of 
vegetables  —  as  may  well 
happen  early  in  the  year — 
he  seeks  after  flesh,  ^^'hen 
once  he  has  tasted  this  he 
becomes  a  beast  of  prey 
in  the  true  sense  of  the 
word.  Success  makes  him 
bold  ;  he  goes  farther  and 
farther  afield,  finally  in- 
vading the  habitations  of 
men  and  robbing  the  stable 
or  cow  -  house  of  some 
villager. 

Of  course,  the  Bosnian 
peasant  does  not  quietly  put 
up  with  that  sort  of  thing, 
but  tries  his  best  to  become 
still  more  nearly  acquainted 
with  the  ungainly  brown 
robber,  in  order  at  once  to  stop  his  thieving 
and  to  secure  his  valuable  skin.  Oddly  enough, 
bears  almost  pedantically  keep  to  one  beaten 
track ;  and  so  the  peasants  take  great  trouble 
to  find  out  the  robber's  wonted  way,  and  having 
succeeded,  they  place  right  in  the  middle  of 
the  path  an  extremely  strong  iron  trap.  The 
chain  attached  to  this  trap  is  then  fastened 
round  a  tree — or  if  there  be  none  near,  to  a 
large  and  heavy  log  of  wood. 

These  bear  traps  are  commonly  placed  far 
away  from  all  spots  visited  by  man  ;  and 
scrupulous  care  is  taken  to  cover  both  trap 
and    chain   with   moss   and   leaves,   so   as  not 


IHIS    IS    PROFESSOR    SCII.MIDT,    THE   YOUNG   AUSTRIAN 

SAVANT   WHO   SPENT   SEVENTV    HOURS   IN    THE 

BEAR   THAI'. 

Frovt  a  Photo,  by  Gebastiaiiutti  &=  Bcnqiie,  Trieste. 


to   excite  the   bear's   suspicions.       Now   to    our 
story. 

Professor  Ernst  Schmidt,  whose  portrait  I  am 
able  here  to  reproduce,  had  been  commissioned 
by  the  Austrian  Government  to  survey  the 
mountains  to  the  south-west  of  Sarajevo,  in 
order  to  prepare  a  geological  ma|)  thereof.  Now 
of  necessity  this  work  compelled  tlie  professor  to 
penetrate  to  many  different  points  in  order  to 
obtain  specimens  and  ascertain  the  nature  of 
the  stratification  ;  he  also  wanted  to  study  the 
Bjelasnica  Mountains,  the 
highest  peaks  of  which  are 
over  6,oooft.  above  the  sea. 
Accordingly,  one  morning 
\Qxy  early  he  left  the  railsvay 
at  Tarcin,  and  wandered 
up  the  highly  romantic 
Lepenica  Valley.  Having 
reached  the  sources  of  the 
Lepenica  River,  he  struck 
into  the  mountains  in  an 
easterly  direction,  with  the 
intention  of  reaching 
Tazaric,  on  the  Sarajevo- 
Konjica  Railway,  the  same 
night. 

Professor  Schmidt  wore 
an  ordinary  tourist's  suit, 
with  laced  boots  and  leather 
leggings.  He  carried  in  his 
knapsack  a  havelock  or 
overcoat,  besides  food 
enough  for  the  day,  con- 
sisting of  cold  meat,  a  flask 
of  wine,  some  eggs,  bread, 
etc.  He  also  had  a  coarse 
bag  to  hold  his  specimens,  and  a  moderate-sized 
hammer,  with  which  from  time  to  time  he 
broke  off  bits  of  rock  after  the  manner  of 
geologists.  The  professor  possessed  a  good 
general  knowledge  of  the  Bjelasnica  Mountains, 
having  already  made  several  excursions  in  them  ; 
but,  nevertheless,  he  had  provided  himself  with 
a  good  map  of  the  district  and  a  compass. 

He  had  a  hard  day's  work  cut  out  for  him. 
A  tour  in  the  Bosnian  Mountains  is  difficult 
enough  under  any  circumstances,  as  in  places 
they  are  very  steep  and  full  of  crevasses ;  and 
Professor  Schmidt,  in  order  to  attain  his  object, 
might  not  always  take  the  easiest  way.    At  times, 


486 


THE   WIDE   WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


indeed,  he  was  forced  to  climb  the  face  of  an 
extremely  steep  rock ;  at  others,  to  penetrate 
almost  impassable  thickets,  such  as  are  common 
in  the  forests  of  these  mountains.  Consequently, 
it  was  no  wonder  that  early  in  the  afternoon, 
when  he  turned  back,  he  was  very  tired — especi- 
ally considering  that  he  had  to  carry  a  heavy 
bag  of  stone.'  with  him.  But  yet  that  did  not 
deter  him,  on  the  descent,  from  stopping  now  and 
again  to  examine  the  ground — on  which  occa- 
sions, by  the  way,  the  bag  got  fuller  and  heavier. 
At  last  he  had  almost  reached  the  Krupar  Valley, 
whence  an  hour  and  a  half's  walk  would  take  him 
to  the  railway  station.  In  his  left  hand  he  held 
the  bag,  which  already  dragged  along  the  ground, 
and  in  his  right  he  grasped  his  alpenstock.  Just 
as  he  was  in  the  act  of  quitting  the  thick  beech 
forest  and  entering  a  meadow,  Dr.  Schmidt 
suddenly  felt  a  terrific  blow  on  his  left  leg, 
and  instantly  he  was  hurled  full  length  on  the 
ground.  On  rising,  he  was  astounded  to  find 
that  he  was  caught  in  a  bear  trap  I     Professor 


•  ON    RISING,    1: 


-i.U   TO    KIND   TIIAT    HE   WAS   CAUGHT    IN    A 
BEAR   TRAP ! " 


Schmidt  believes  that  had  not  fortunately  the 
bag  of  stones  got  into  the  trap  at  the  same 
moment  as  his  own  person,  the  bone  of  his  leg 
would  have  been  crushed,  so  great  was  the 
force  with  which  the  trap  shut.  You  see,  the 
tremendously  powerful  jaws  first  struck  the  bag, 
and  then,  with  considerably  diminished  violence, 
his  leg. 

"  The  first  moment  or  so  after  my  capture," 
says  the  professor,  "  I  did  not  deem  the  affair 


so  very  serious,  believing  myself  strong 
enough  to  press  down  the  spring  and  thus 
release  my  imprisoned  limb.  With  all  my 
might  and  main,  therefore,  I  pressed  the 
spring  with  my  right  foot,  at  the  same  time 
endeavouring  to  lever  open  the  jaws  by  inserting 
my  alpenstock  between  them  ;  but  it  was  in 
vain.  Then  I  tried  another  way,  but  equally 
unsuccessfully ;  the  spring  was  altogether  too 
strong.  There  was  rpparently  no  getting  my 
foot  out.  Next  I  I'-gan  to  consider  matters  as 
more  serious,  '.lud  yet  if  I  cannot  get  out,'  I 
said  to  myself  comfortingly  the  next  moment, 
'  why,  I  must  try  and  reach  the  valley  with  the 
trap  on  my  leg.  The  peasants  will  laugh 
heartily  on  seeing  what  a  strange  bear  they  have 
caught  ! ' 

"  Then  came  my  second  di.sappointment,  and 
it  was  far  bitterer  than  the  first.  The  trap  zvas 
fastetied  to  a  stout  beech-tree  by  meatn  of  a  strong 
chain  ;  and  when  I  endeavoured  to  unhook  the 
latter  I  found  to  my  horror  that  it  was  impos- 
sible, as  the  two  ends  were  held 
together  by  a  padlock.  AVilh  my 
I)Ocket-knife  and  geological  ham- 
mer I  tried  to  open  a  link  in  the 
chain,  and  to  break  the  lock — but 
it  was  in  vain  ;  all  my  efibrts 
were  fruitless.  Soon  the  conviction 
*A"!I;.  ,^  forced  itself  upon  me  that  I  had 
-'^  "^  no  means  whatever  of  releasing 
myself,  and,  therefore,  there  was 
nothing  for  it  but  patiently  to  wait 
till  somebody  should  visit  the  trap. 
'  To-morrow,'  said  I,  trying  to 
comfort  my.self  once  more,  'a 
hunter  or  peasant  will  certainly 
come  and  let  you  out ;  and  you 
certainly  can  bear  it  till  then.' 
But,  despite  a  hundred  repetitions 
of  this  comfort,  I  was  growing 
very  depressed,  I  frankly  confess. 
I  called  out  as  loudly  as  I  could, 
but  at  length  I  became  too  hoarse 
to  shout  any  more  ;  and  besides, 
who  could  possibly  be  near  that 
lonely  spot  at  that  hour  ?  In 
my  wanderings  through  the  moun- 
tains I  had  not  seen  a  single  soul 
all  day  long,  and  the  nearest  farm  was,  at  the 
very  least,  several  miles  from  my  remarkable 
prison  ! 

"The  pains  in  my  leg  grew  rapidly  more  and 
more  intolerable  ;  and  there  was  not  a  single 
thing  I  could  do  to  relieve  them.  I  did  not 
dare  to  cut  off  my  leather  legging,  for  fear  that 
the  jaws  of  the  trap  should  penetrate  still 
deeper  into  my  flesh  and  injure  the  bone.  Nor 
had  I  even    any  water  wherewith  to  cool   the 


THE    PROFESSOR    IN    THE    BEAR    TRAP. 


48/ 


suffering  part,  which  already  burned  in  an 
agonizing  way.  Only  a  few  paces  from  me  a 
brook  ran  murmuring  by,  but  it  might  as  well 
have  been  a  mile  off,  for  my  chain  was  too  short 
to  allow  of  my  getting  a  drop.  My  wine-flask, 
too,  was  well-nigh  empty,  and  I  resolved  to 
spare  the  little  still  left  in  it  for  the  next  day. 
With  food  I  was  better  supplied.  Not  having 
been  hungry  all  day,  my  knapsack  still  contained 
two  hard-boiled  eggs,  a  bit  of  meat,  and  some 
bread.  Contenting  myself  with  an  egg,  some 
meat,  and  a  little  bread,  I  saved  the  rest  for  the 
next  day. 

"  Meanwhile  it  had  been  growing  darker  and 
darker,  till  at  last  it  was  quite  night.  Imagine 
the  situation  for  yourself.  The  darkness,  the 
loneliness,  the  intolerable  pain,  and  the  absurd 
situation — a  man  of  my  position  caught  by  the 
leg  in  a  bear  trap  !  In  Bosnia  the  spring  nights 
are  pretty  cold,  the  temperature  often  falling 
below  freezing-point.  The  night  on  this 
wretched  occasion  promised  to  be  cold,  and 
despite  the  fact  that  I  had  put  on  my  overcoat  I 
began  to  shiver  a  great  deal.  '  I  shall  be  frozen 
to  death,  if  I  sit  still  on  this  cold  ground,'  I 
said  to  myself.  'I  must  take  some  exercise, 
otherwise  it  is  all  up  with  me.'  I  thought  to 
walk  round  the  tree  to  which  I  was  chained,  but 
I  had  forgotten  my  injured  leg.  Even  standing 
increased  the  pain  to  an  unbearable  degree,  and 
so  walking  was  utterly  out  of  the  question,  as  it 
would  have  involved  dragging  the  heavy  trap 
with  my  suffering  leg.  After  standing  for  a 
while  leaning  against  a  neighbouring  tree  I  sat 
down  again,  contenting  myself  with  doing 
gymnastic  exercises  with  my  arms.  Then  for  a 
change  I  took  my  long,  iron-pointed  alpenstock 
and  stabbed  at  the  trees  within  my  reach. 

"  In  this  manner  I  succeeded  in  passing  a  few 
awful  leaden  hours,  but  I  felt  convinced  I  could 
not  continue  the  gymnastic  exercises  all  night — 
although  they  had  certainly  warmed  me  a  little. 
At  last,  however,  my  arms  grew  so  tired  that  I 
could  hardly  move  them  at  all.  Accordingly 
I  resolved  to  rest  for  a  little  while.  But  when 
I  wanted  to  resume  my  gymnastics  I  found  my 
arms  even  more  tired  than  before.  Also  my 
eyes  closed,  and  it  became  clear  that  I  should 
be  overcome  in  my  resistance  to  sleep.  By  the 
light  of  a  match  I  looked  at  my  watch  and 
found  it  was  a  quarter  to  twelve.  How  was  it 
possible,  I  thought,  for  me,  in  my  exhausted 
state,  to  keep  awake  the  six  drtadful  hours 
of  the  night  ?  My  leg,  it  is  true,  still  pained 
me,  yet  not  so  intensely  as  at  first ;  it  was,  how- 
ever, just  as  though  it  had  been  plunged  into 
hot  water  up  to  the  knee.  Was  it,  I  wondered, 
getting  numbed?  I  thought  of  blood-poison- 
ing, of   limbs  falling  off,   and  other   gruesome 


things.  At  length,  giving  way  to  my  fatigue, 
after  wrap[)ing  my  overcoat  tightly  round  me, 
I  lay  down  as  comfortably  as  circumstances 
permitted.  Yet  I  did  not  drop  off  to  sleep 
so  quickly  as  I  had  expected.  My  excited 
brain  kept  me  awake.  I  thought  and  thought, 
and  wondered  how  long  my  captivity  would 
last — how  it  would  end,  and  whether  there 
were  not  some  possibility  of  getting  out  of 
the  horrible  trap  without  help  from  anybody. 
Suddenly  it  dawned  on  me  \.\\a.i  perhaps  the  har 
for  which  the  trap  had  been  itiiended  might  soon 
come  along.  The  thought  filled  me  with  horror. 
Cold  drops  of  perspiration  stood  out  on  my 
forehead.  '  If  the  bear  comes  you  are  lost,' 
said  I  to  myself.  'In  this  position — -immov- 
able, unarmed,  and  caught,  literally,  like  a  rat 
in  a  trap  —  how  could  you  resist  the  fierce 
creature?  It  would  eat  you  up  as  it  would 
a  lamb  or  a  goat.' 

"  When  this  thought  came  it  banished  all 
sleep.  I  could  not  get  the  bear  out  of  my  head. 
Years  before  I  had  passed  some  weeks  in 
Croatia,  and  had  ample  opportunity  of  learning 
what  bears  are  like.  How,  when  once  they 
have  become  accustomed  to  eating  meat,  they 
are  very  dangerous  and  relentless  enemies  of 
man.  Consequently,  I  knew  precisely  what  fate 
awaited  me  if  the  bear  found  me  during  its 
nocturnal  rambles. 

"Some  hours  must  have  elapsed  when 
suddenly,  from  a  distance,  and  in  the  direction 
of  the  plain,  I  heard  a  low,  unmistakable  growl- 
ing, which  I  knew  must  come  from  a  bear. 
Then  it  was  quiet  again  for  a  time ;  but  soon 
the  growling  recommenced,  louder  and  more 
angry  than  before — as  if  the  beast  were  irritated. 
I  listened  with  an  indescribable  feeling  of  help- 
less horror.  All  grew  quiet  again  ;  then  once 
more  I  heard  the  violent  growling.  Next  a 
perfect  Babel  of  sounds  reached  my  ear,  with- 
out, however,  my  being  able  to  decide  from  what 
animal  they  came.  'Ah!  the  bear  is  fighting 
with  some  other  animal,'  said  I  to  myself.  '  But 
what  animal?'  For  a  while  quiet  again 
prevailed.  At  last,  when  the  beast  made 
itself  heard  again,  its  growling  was  much 
more  distinct  than  before  —  as  if  it  had 
approached  the  spot  where  I  was.  When, 
after  a  few  minutes'  pause,  its  voice  was 
heard  again,  it  was  quite  close  to  me.  The 
bear  at  this  time  could  not  have  been  farther 
from  me  than  the  breadth  of  the  glade  before 
me.  Distinctly  I  heard  the  twigs  cracking. 
Evidently  the  forest  there  was  very  dense,  and 
at  times  I  even  thought  I  heard  the  beast 
snorting.  My  excitement,  my  torture,  my  help- 
lessness, were  something  truly  awful.  It  could 
not  be  long  before  the  bear,  which,  as  is  well 


488 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


known,  has  a  very  acute  sense  of  smell,  would 
find  me  out.  A  short  struggle — its  result  certain 
beforehand — and  I  should  be  dead,  torn  to 
pieces.  And  yet  what  I  could  never  have 
hoped  for  actually  took  place.  The  bear  left 
my  vicinity  and  took  its  way  towards  the 
valley.  Soon  its  voice  sounded  far  away,  and 
finally  all  was  silent  again.  Once  more  I 
breathed  almost  freely.  I  listened  a  long  time, 
but  all  remained  quiet,  and  at  last  I  fell  asleep, 
not  to  wake  until  it  was  broad  day. 

"  The  first  thing  I  did  was  to  try  every 
imaginable  means  of  getting  free,  v.-helher  by 
opening  the  lock,  a  link  of  the  chain,  or  the 
jaws  of  the  trap  itself.  IJut  all  my  efforts  were 
in  vain — despite  all  I  could  do  I  remained  a 
helpless  prisoner.  Then  I  examined  my  leg, 
and  found  it  terribly  inflamed  and  swollen 
almost  up  to  the  knee.  It  was  now  causing  me 
considerably  more  pain  even  than  it  had  the 
evening  before.  Something  had  to  be  done, 
otherwise  I  think  I  should  have  gone  mad. 
With  my  clasp-knife  I  dug  up  some  earth,  and 
applied  it  to  the  inflamed  part  as  far  as 
possible.  Finding  this  peculiar  compress  brought 
me  some  relief,  I  renewed  it  several  times  in  the 
course  of  the  day.  On  feeling  my  pulse  I  found 
I  had  a  little  fever,  and  probably  that  was  the 
reason  of  a  want  of  appetite,  which  made  half  a 
hard-boiled  egg  enough  for  my  breakfast.  My 
thirst,  however,  became  very  tormenting,  and 
soon  the  little  remnant  of  wine  I  had  saved  was 
all  gone. 

"  Hour  after  hour  passed  without  anybody 
coming  to  see  after  the  trap.  I  cried  for  help 
as  loudly  and  as  long  as  I  could,  but  no  one 
came  tD  my  rescue.  Knowing  tiiat  the  hunters 
usually  start  to  look  after  their  traps  soon  after 
daybreak,  I  had  confidently  reckoned  on  being 
freed  in  the  course  of  the  morning.  But  noon 
came  and  found  me  still  fastened  in  agony 
to  the  tree.  How  much  longer,  I  wondered 
dizzily,  was  I  to  remain  in  that  torturing 
condition?  When  would  somebody  come  up 
the  mountain  ?  And  suppose  that  the 
trap  had  been  altogether  forgotten?  Or  the 
man  who  looked  after  it  been  taken  ill,  or 
otherwise  j)revented  from  coming— what  then? 
Then  indeed  I  should  perish  miserably  of 
hunger  and  thirst.  However  small  the  rations 
I  allowed  myself,  my  provisions  could  not 
possibly  be  eked  out  for  more  than  another  day, 
and  to  drink  I  now  had  nothing  whatever.  Deep 
depression  took  possession  of  me.  For  a  long 
while  I  sat  resting  my  head  on  my  hand,  brood- 
ing in  melancholy  and  despair.  I  thought  of 
my  aged  parents— what  a  terrible  blow  it  would 
be  to  those  dear  ones  to  lose  their  only  son. 
Then    I    remembered  a  saying  my   father  was 


fond  of  using :  '  Don't  despair ! '  And 
curiously  enough,  those  words  encouraged  me. 
Taking  heart  again,  I  roused  myself  from  my 
useless  lethargy,  and  again  made  every  possible 
effoit  to  free  myself  irom  my  hateful  captivity. 
The  result  was  the  same  as  in  all  my  innumer- 
able previous  attempts.  Then  I  began  consider- 
ing whether  it  would  not  be  possible  to  burn 
down  the  beech-tree  to  which  the  trap-chain 
was  fastened.  But  soon  I  was  forced  to  the 
conclusion  that  if  the  trunk  of  the  tree  were  on 
fire  I,  who  was  hardly  two  paces  from  it,  should 
inevitably  be  consumed' also — apart  from  the 
fact  that  at  the  same  time  the  whole  forest 
would  be  set  on  fire.  But  then  again,  could 
not  I  cut  down  the  tree  with  my  clasp-knife? 
I  had  asked  myself  the  question  long  before, 
it  is  true,  but  had  concluded  that  such  a 
manner  of  deliverance  was  both  inipossible  and 
grotesque.  The  beech  was  a  thick  one,  with  a 
diameter  of  almost  2ft.  How  then  could  I  even 
dream  of  felling  it  with  my  pocket-knife?  But 
even  presupposing  the  bare  possibility,  it  was  a 
job  that  would  take  not  mere  hours,  but  whole 
days.  And,  besides,  I  could  not  conceal  from 
myself  the  possibility  that  the  fiilling  tree  might 
crush  me  to  death,  so  that  my  efforts  would 
result  only  in  my  own  speedier  destruction.  All 
these  things  occurred  to  me,  and  yet  I  had  a 
much  greater  mind  to  try  than  I  had  had 
previously. 

"  Losing  no  more  time,  I  set  about  my  appar- 
ently absurd  work.  As  my  painful  leg  compelled 
me  to  sit  all  the  time,  I  was  forced  to  make  the 
incision  pretty  near  the  ground,  where  the  trunk 
was,  of  course,  thickest.  I  began  by  cutting 
two  rings  right  round  the  tree  about  a  foot 
apart,  and  then  stripping  off  the  bark  between 
them.  That  was  comparatively  easy.  But 
when  I  began  cutting  the  wood  itself  I 
found  at  once  how  hard  beech  is.  ^'ery 
soon  the  perspiration  was  running  down  my 
face  and  my  right  hand  was  covered  with 
blisters  ;  but  the  result  of  this  labour  was  very 
unsatisfactory.  Next  1  tried  another  way,  which 
proved  much  more  effectual.  I  put  my  knife — 
which,  as  I  omitted  to  mention,  had  a  large, 
strong  blade — slanting  against  the  tree,  and  with 
my  hammer  drove  it  downwards  towards  a  cut 
I  had  made  lower  down,  and  then  with  litde 
trouble  I  could  break  off  large  chips  ;  for  beech 
wood  splits  easily.  I  worked  hard  all  the  after- 
noon and  evening,  and  when  increasing  darkness 
compelled  me  to  stop,  I  was  well  satisfied  with 
what  I  had  accomplished.  Fancy  a  feeling  of 
comparative  content  under  such  circumstances 
— the  second  night  darkening  down.  I  had  got 
on  unexpectedly  quickly,  because  the  wood  was 
diseased  and  soft  in  one  place,  where  the  cut 


THE    PROFESSOR    IN    THE    BEAR    TRAP. 


4S9 


1  HE   TREE,    AND    WITH    MY    HA.M.MKR 
DkOVt    IT    DuWNWARDS." 


was  already  almost  as  deep  as  the  large  blade 
of  my  knife  was  long.  After  eating  a  few 
mouthfuls  of  meat,  I  was  about  to  arrange  my 
primitive  bed,  when  it  suddenly  began  to  rain 
very  heavily,  so  that  in  half  an  hour  there  was 
not  a  dry  thread  about  me,  despite  my  over- 
coat. Nevertheless,  I  was  heartily  glad  of  the 
jain,  for  I  was  already  suffering  dreadfully  from 
thirst,  which  now,  thank  God,  I  could  quench. 
I  caught  the  water  in  rny  hat,  and  dug  a  little 
hole  in  the  ground  in  which  to  store  some 
more.  I  also  drank  as  much  as  I  wanted,  and 
filled  my  flask  besides. 

"  After  a  few  hours  the  rain  ceased.  Although 
I  was  so  cold  in  my  wet  clothes  that  my  teeth 
chattered,  I  was  so  very  tired  that  I  soon  fell 
into  a  s!eep,  which  fortunately  lasted  all  night, 
undisturbed  by  any  bear. 

"  When  I  awoke  the  next  morning  it  was  rain- 
ing again,  and  it  hardly  left  off  the  whole  day 
and  the  succeeding  night.  The  inflammation 
had  by  this  time  extended  farther  up  my  leg, 
which  I  could  not  now  bend  without  frightful 
pain.  My  fever,  too,  had  increased,  as  I  found 
on  feeling  my  pulse.  Nevertheless  I  imme- 
diately set  to  work  at  the  tree  once  more,  and 
continued  working  almost  uninterruptedly  till 
evening,  when  I  sustained  a  fresh  blow.  Just 
as  I  was  getting  out  a  rather  large  chip  my 
knife-blade  broke — evidently  I  had  overstrained 

Vol.  iii.— 62. 


it.  Imagine  my  despair  !  The  work 
had  bcLH  progressing  remarkably  well, 
and  just  when  success  became  probable 
--nay,  well  -  nigh  certain — this  new 
misfortune  occurred  to  dash  my  hopes. 
I  lost  my  one  and  only  tool — the  sole 
thing  that  could  possibly  deliver  me 
from  my  amazing  bondage  and  save 
my  life.  But  now  I  was  reckoning 
how  long  I  could  eke  out  my  scanty 
remnant  of  food,  and  how  many  days 
after  it  was  gone  I  should  have  to 
endure  the  awful  tortures  of  hunger 
before  I  finally  died  of  starvation.  I 
remembeied  reading  of  imprisoned 
miners  who  had  lived  without  food  for 
a  week  or  more. 
';,  "It    was   long   before    I   had   sufifi- 

jk  ciently  recovered  from  the  shock  to 
^  consider  that  after  all  it  might  be 
possible  to  use  the  broken  blade. 
The  break  was  a  favourable  one,  being 
not  in  the  middle,  but  close  to  the 
handle.  My  first  task  was  to  get  the 
blade  out  of  the  wood  in  which  it  was 
stuck — a  difficult  operation,  as  it  did 
not  project  enough  to  enable  me  to 
catch  hold  of  it  with  my  fingers. 
After  considerable  exertion,  however,  I 
at  last  succeeded  in  wrenching  off  the  chip  with 
my  alpenstock  and  getting  out  the  precious  blade. 
"  Meanwhile  it  had  become  so  dark  as  to  make 
it  impossible  to  do  anything  more  that  night. 
Having  nothing  to  eat,  all  I  could  do  was  to 
stretch  myself  on  the  sodden  ground,  and  there 
I  slept  for  some  hours,  despite  the  pouring  rain. 
"  As  soon  as  the  next  day  began  to  dawn  I 
resumed  operations  on  the  cruel  beech.  I 
found  I  could  use  the  broken  blade  like  a  chisel ; 
but  separating  the  chip  was  much  more  difficult 
and  slow.  Nevertheles.s,  I  did  not  lose  courage ; 
my  jirogress  was  slow,  it  is  true,  but  still  it  was 
constant,  notwithstanding  my  increasing  weak- 
ness. But  would  my  strength,  1  wondered,  hold 
out  until  the  tree  fell  ?  I  worked  with  feverish 
haste — my  hands  trembling  and  my  temples 
throbbing.  I  was  fully  convinced  that,  unless 
release  came  soon,  exhaustion  would  overcome 
me  and  put  an  end  to  everything.  My  excite- 
ment increased  so,  that  repeatedly  I  hit  my  left 
hand  a  smashing  blow  with  the  hammer.  But, 
regardless  of  the  pain,  I  worked  on  and  on 
breathlessly. 

"  At  last  I  had  got  so  far  that  the  tree  might 
fall  at  any  moment.  Now  my  fate  should  soon 
be  decided.  Either  I  would  be  free  or 
crushed  to  death.  The  rain  had  ceased  in  the 
early  hours  of  the  morning,  and  the  wind  had 
risen  and  blew  a  gale  at  noon  ;  it  had,  however. 


490 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


■  1    (JAVE   ONE   LAST    DESPAIRING    CKV    H>R    llELI',    AND    THEN    i  AINIEU. 


moderated  since  then.  Towards  one  o'clock 
there  was  a  sudden  gust,  and  to  my  delight  my 
beech  cracked,  and  then  slowly  fell  on  to  its 
neighbours.  Finally,  it  fell  to  the  ground  with 
a  crash  like  thunder. 

"Unhurt — free!  A  seventy  hours'  captivity 
over  !  '  Not  quite,  however,  for  the  trap  and 
chain  were  still  attached  to  my  leg.  But  yet  I 
could  by  some  means  now  get  into  the  valley, 
not  that  that  was  an  easy  undertaking — even  to 
a  man  full  of  strength.  Being  unable  to  use 
my  left  leg  I  could  only  slide  along  in  a  sitting 
posture.  At  first  I  got  on  pretty  well,  but  after 
a  while  the  unwonted  mode  of  motion  tired  me 
so  very  much  that  repeatedly  I  was  forced  to 
rest  awhile  through  sheer  inability  to  move. 
For  six  dreadful  hours  this  extraordinary  journey 
continued  before  I  reached  the  village  of  Pazaric, 
which  I  entered  with  my  clothes  rent  and  my 
face  so  torn  by  the  bushes 
and  boughs  that  the  blood  j 
was  running  down  it.  My  j 
hands  also  were  bleeding 
and  blistered.  But  sum- 
moning up  the  last  rem- 
nant of  my  strength  I 
gave  one  last  despairing 
cry  for  help,  and  then 
fainted. 

"On  coming  to  again 
I  found  that  some  men 
had  removed  the  huge 
trap  from  my  leg,  and 
that  I  was  in  a  peasant 
woman's    house.      There 


I  had  to  remain  four  days 
before  I  was  able  to 
return  to  Sarajevo. 

"The  reason  why  no 
one  had  come  to  look 
after  the  trap  was  as 
follows  :  The  bear,  whose 
growling  had  so  frightened 
me  the  first  night,  had 
been  caught  in  another 
trap  which  the  peasants 
had  put  in  a  meadow, 
and  which,  for  want  of  a 
tree  near  by,  they  had 
fastened  to  a  large  log  of 
wood.  Thus,  though  the 
bear  was  caught,  it  could 
walk  about.  Evidently  it 
meant  to  go  to  its  lair  in 
the  mountains,  and  on  its 
way  had  passed  very  near 
me.  On  arriving  at  the 
glade  it  must  have 
changed  its  mind,  so  to 
speak,  and  gone  down  towards  the  Krupar  brook. 
There  its  log  was  caught  in  the  thicket,  and  so 
in  the  morning  the  men  found  the  captive  beast 
with  little  trouble.  Joyful  at  catching  their 
enemy,  they  very  naturally  omitted  looking  after 
the  other  trap,  and  the  following  day  they  were 
again  deterred  by  the  torrents  of  rain.  Besides, 
in  the  conviction  that  there  was  no  second  bear 
in  the  neighbourhood,  they  naturally  were  not  in 
any  hurry  to  visit  the  other  trap. 

"  My  leg  was  in  a  terrible  condition  ;  but 
fortunately  it  had  not  sustained  any  permanent 
injury,  and  in  a  short  time  was  perfectly  well 
again. 

"  My  knife,  despite  its  broken  blade,  has  a  place 
of  honour  on  my  desk.  Although  the  sight  of 
it  reminds  me  of  three  woful  days,  such  as  1 
hope  never  again  to  experience,  yet  I  treasure 
the  simple  thing  as  the  saviour  of  my  life." 


"j*-  ll^fc^Bl 


I 
I 

J 


THIS     IS     I  UK     I  i      -.ikSTRUSTY    I'OCKK  I  ICH    HE   CUT    DOWN     THE    TKEE, 

AND   TO    WHICH    HE   OWES    HIS    LIKE.      IT    WAS    slEclALLY    fHuTOGRAPHED    FOR   THIS   NARRATIVE. 


The   Great  *' Passion  "  Procession  at  Murcia. 


By  Herbert  Vivian. 

A  mediaeval  function  of  to-day.     A  strange   and  wonderful  religious  ceremony  of  Spain   described  in 
all  its  fantastic  details  and  illustrated  with  impressive  photographs. 


'.  Middle  Ages  die  hardest  in 
Murcia.  There  are  many  who 
think  that  this  wonderful  survival 
ought  to  be  walled  in  and  only 
shown  to  favoured  visitors,  provided 
with  tickets,  and  that  at  long  intervals.  But 
such  precautions  are  scarcely  needed  in  a  pro- 
vince where  all  cherish  the  .same  ideas  and 
habits,  cling  to  the  same  traditions,  accept  the 
same  blind  faith,  and  do  honour  to  it  with  the 
same  antiquated  magnificence  as  their  fathers 
have  observed  for  centuries.  It  would  need  a 
lifetime  of  patient  observation  to  penetrate  the 
fringe  of  a  Murcian's  conservative  character, 
but  we  may  at  least  gain  an  inkling  of  the 
picturesqueness  of  his  creed  by  mingling  with 
the  crowds  which  congregate  in  his  streets  to 
reverence  the  out  -  door  ceremonies  of  Holy 
Week. 

Chief  among  these,  and  more  interesting 
because  less  hackneyed  than  the  pageants  of 
Seville,  is  the  ancient  Good  Friday  procession, 
with  its  wonderful  sculptured  groups  (master- 
pieces of  the  unique  Spanish  art  of  coloured 
wood-carving),  comprising  as  they  do  the  most 
famous  works  of  the  immortal  Salzillo.  Before 
describing  these  marvellous  creations  of  that 
mighty  mediaeval  genius,  and  the  no  less  impos- 
ing fervour  and  enthusiasm  of  the  assembled 
Murcians,  it  may  be  interesting  to  trace  the 
origin  and  development  of  the  foremost  among 
their  many  religious  functions. 

As  far  back  as  Christian  history  can  trace,  the 
Murcians  have  afforded  special  devotion  and 
respect  to  the  various  holy  brotherhoods,  which, 
in  spite  of  every  change  and  turmoil  in  the  out- 
side world,  are  still  almost  unchanged  down  to 
the  minutest  particular.  In  Moorish  times, 
Christians  were  relegated  to  a  suburb,  much  as 
Jews  have  been  confined  to  a  Ghetto  in  most 
Christian  kingdoms.  This  had  its  incon- 
veniences, but  it  served  to  make  the  con- 
quered people  cling  more  closely  together 
and  cherish  more  tenaciously  than  ever  their 
various  religious  institutions.  Among  these 
was  the  famous  hermitage  of  the  miraculous 
Virgin  of  the  Arrixaca.  Near  this  another 
hermitage  was  established  in  1475  (f^^e  year  of 
the  bubonic  plague),  in  honour  of  San  Sebastian, 
to  whose  intervention  the  staying  of  the  epidemic 
was  ascribed.      In    1675  both  the  plague  and 


(to  the  grave  disapproval  of  a  contemporary 
historian)  the  saint's  intervention  had  been  for- 
gotten, and  the  neighbouring  Augustin  convent 
obtained  authority  from  the  bishop  to  demolish 
the  Hermitage  of  San  Sebastian  and  build  a  chapel 
of  their  own.  But  another  religious  body  inter- 
vened and,  after  acute  litigation,  obtained  the 
site  where  the  existing  Hermitage  of  Jesus  was 
set  up. 

The  successful  litigant  was  the  "  Confraternity 
of  Our  Father  Jesus,  or  Brotherhood  of  the 
Nazarenes,"  which  had  obtained  ecclesiastical 
recognition  in  the  year  1600.  One  of  the  special 
objects  of  its  foundation  had  been  to  organize 
and  keep  up  the  annual  processions  of  superb 
carved  groups  (known  as  pasos),  which  we 
so  much  admire  to-day.  'J"he  officials  com- 
prised a  number  of  "major-domos,"  generally 
noblemen,  each  of  whom  had  the  special 
charge  of  one  of  the  pasos.  At  first  the 
major-domos  were  elective,  but  the  same 
holders  of  the  office  were  regularly  re-elected, 
and  the  position  soon  became  hereditary. 
About  1 736  the  old  pasos  were  replaced  by  the 
existing  ones,  the  work  of  the  great  master, 
Salzillo,  who  was  made  honorary  major-domo 
and  chamberlain  of  all  the  pasos.  He  was 
born  in  1707  and  died  in  1783,  after  a  life  of 
arduous  work;  no  fewer  than  1,792  wooden 
sculptures  are  ascribed  to  him,  nearly  all  of 
them  dealing  with  religious  subjects.  It  is  said 
that,  proud  as  he  was  of  his  work,  he  was 
prouder  still  of  his  official  position  as  one  of  the 
familiars  of  the  Holy  Inquisition. 

All  through  the  eighteenth  century  the  Con- 
fraternity of  Jesus  received  especial  support 
from  the  various  trade  guilds  of  Murcia,  the 
principal  ones  associating  themselves  each  with 
one  of  \k\Q.  pasos^  and  being  privileged  to  carry 
it  in  the  Good  Friday  procession.  The  tailors 
bore  the  gigantic  group  of  the  Last  Supper  ; 
the  gardeners,  that  of  the  Prayer  in  the  Garden. 
The  bakers  took  up — in  a  very  literal  sense — 
\\-\& paso  of  the  Kiss  of  Judas  ;  the  weavers,  the 
group  of  St.  Veronica ;  the  carpenters,  that  of 
Christ's  Fall  under  the  Cross  ;  the  shoemakers, 
that  of  St.  John  ;  and  the  ropemakers,  that  of 
Our  Lady  of  Dolours.  All  the  bearers  were 
dressed  in  violet,  which  is  the  colour  of  the 
Confraternity,  and  they  carried  lighted  candles 
and  musical  instruments,  but  no  cross. 


492 


THE   WIDE  WORLD   MAGAZINE. 


Tradition  says  that  the  procession  has  been 
continued  every  year  since  1603,  but  it  is 
probable  that  it  did  not  assume  precisely  its 
present  form  until  1690.  It  was  only  abandoned 
one  year,  namely,  in  1809,  when  the  Govern- 
ment forbade  it.  At  six  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  Good  Friday,  the  standard  of  the  Confra- 
ternity is  displayed  at  the  gate  of  the  hermitage 
to  summon  the  brethren.  According  to  the 
primitive  statutes  they  were  bound  to  go  bare- 
foot and  in  silence,  without  looking  to  the  right 
hand  or  the  left,  under  pain  of  a  fine  of  half  a 
pound  of  wax. 

At  the  head  of  the  procession  came  the 
standard-bearer,  accompanied  by  a  number  of 
boys,  whose  duty  it  was  to  proclaim  to  the 
crowd  that  "This  is  done  in  remembrance  of 
the  Passion  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  while 


finally  the  clergy  in  copes  and  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  Sovereign  and  the  bishop. 
Now,  the  procession  is  still  much  the  same 
as  ever,  except  that  it  is  preceded  by  a 
body  of  mounted  gendarmes,  and  that  the 
brethren  now  escort  all  the  J>asos  in  double  file, 
each  holy  man  wearing  a  violet  hood,  which 
completely  covers  the  head  and  face,  but  leaves 
two  slits  for  the  eyes.  Round  their  waists  they 
have  a  knotted  girdle  of  rope.  Instead  of  going 
barefoot  as  of  old,  they  wear  a  sort  of  knitted 
stocking  of  white  wool  as  a  compromise. 

In  the  photograph  we  see  the  procession  just 
emerging  from  the  Church  of  the  Confraternity 
of  Jesus.  The  bearers  have  not  yet  let  down 
their  hoods  over  their  faces,  but  we  may  observe 
among  the  crowd  some  of  the  brethren  who 
have  clone  so.     It  is  interesting   to  note  what  a 


>Ollla\     THK    GKKAT    I'KOCESSION    ISSUING    FKOM    THK  CMUKCH  (NOTICE    THE  HLDE  CiMSSKS   IIOKNK    \',\     IHK    CKcUlJ    i  i.\     I  h  IC    MGIIi;.     \FIlotO' 


others  punctuated  the  sentence  with  trumpets 
and  bells.  Then  came  the  first  five  pasos, 
borne  by  the  members  of  the  guilds  associated 
with  each.  Next  came  the  Confraternity  itself, 
escorting  the  paso  of  Our  Father  Jesus  in  full 
state,  with  loud  drums,  blaring  bugles,  and  a 
dazzling  blaze  of  lights.  After  them  came  the 
rest  of  the  pasos,   borne   by  their  guilds,   and 


large  number  of  rude  wooden  crosses  are 
being  paraded  by  individuals  in  the  crowd, 
as  a  sin)ple  way  of  testifying  their  interest  in 
this  time-honoured  procession.  This  is  the 
paso  of  the  Kiss  of  Judas,  but  the  wealth  of 
floral  decoration  makes  it  difiicult  to  distinguish 
the  figures  clearly,  as  we  shall  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  later  on. 


THE   GREAT   "PASSION"   PROCESSION   AT    MURCIA. 


493 


We  will  now  take  each  of 
the />asos,  or  groups,  in   turn, 
as   they  well   repay  a  closer 
inspection.     First  comes  the 
representation     of    the    East 
Supper.     This  is  the  largest 
and  heaviest  of  all  the  J>asos, 
but    is    generally    considered 
the  weakest  in  execution.     It 
weighs    over    a    ton    and    a 
gnarfer,  and  requires  twenty- 
four  strong  bearers  during  the 
procession.      The  honour  of 
sharing  in  this  task  is  eagerly 
coveted     and,    owing     to    a 
curious    old    custom,     hand- 
somely  remunerated.      After 
the    procession     is    over,    a 
sumptuous   repast    is    served 
to  the  figures,  every  kind  of 
delicacy  being  offered  by  the 
richest  people  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood.    This  strange  ban- 
quet to  wooden  figures  con- 
sists of  Iambs  roasted  whole, 
fat    capons,     creams,     fruits, 
game,   etc.     These  excellent 
comestibles  are  later  on  sold 
by  auction,  and  fetch  excep- 
tionally high  prices,  as,  owing 
to     the     sanctity     of     their 
association,  they  are  supposed 
to  bring  particular  good  for- 
tune  to  those  who  consume 
them.    The  proceeds  are  then 
divided  among  the  bearers  of 
the   East  Supper  group.     So 
minutely  have  all  the  points 
been  investigated  which  con- 
cern  this   strange    procession 
that    each   of    the    figures   in 
the  East  Supper  has  actually 
been    weighed   separately.      I 
need     not     enumerate     the 
details,  but  it  may  be  curious 
to    note     that     the    Saviour 
weighs     83}^lb.,     St.     Peter 
loilb.,    St.    James    the  Eess 
ii2lb.   (the  top  weight  this), 
and  Judas   Iscariot   105^216. 
The  Saviour  has  the   lightest 
weight  of  all.     Many  of  the 
details  of  the  group  are  open 
to    criticism.     Christ's    chair, 
for  instance,    belongs   to   the 
Eouis  XV.  period,  if  it  belongs 
to   any.      The   stools  of  the 
Apostles  are  such   as   might 
have  been  seen  in  aristocratic 


494 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


drawing-rooms  at  the  time  of  Salzillo  himself. 
Moreover,  the  group  is  anything  but  histori- 
cally accurate.  The  Jews  celebrated  their 
Passover  standing  up,  with  their  loins  girt, 
and  with  staffs  in  their  hands.  Again,  if 
the  Last  Supper  were  not  the  Jewish  Passover, 
but  rather  a  family  meal,  the  positions  would 
have  been  recumbent.  In  no  case  could  seats 
have  been  used  as  they  are  here  represented. 
Moreover,  Christ  would  not  have  occupied  the 
end,  but  the  middle  of  the  table.  Still,  if 
Salzillo  errs  in  these  respects,  he  errs  in  good 
company,  as  Titian,  Raphael,  Tintoretto, 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  all  the  other  old 
ma.':ters  made  the  same  mistake — namely,  that 
of  representing  the  Last  Supper  as  suppers 
were  represented  in  their  own   day.     But  the 


each  figure  is  a  transcendent  masterpiece,  and 
no  touch  of  modern  vulgarity  can  impair  its 
beauty.  The  angel  Gabriel  is  pointing  out  a 
golden  chalice  in  the  palm-tree,  and  the 
best  critics  consider  that  he  has  no  equal 
in  wood-sculpture  anywhere  in  the  world.  It 
is  related  at  Murcia  that  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton offered  ^80,000  for  the  angel  alone,  but  I 
have  not  been  able  to  discover  any  convincing 
authority  for  the  statement.  The  expression  of 
the  Saviour  is  strikingly  human,  and  the  sleep- 
ing Apostles  are  unequalled  in  their  realism. 
There  is  a  curious  legend  with  respect  to 
Salzillo's  execution  of  this  group,  and  the 
custodians  at  Murcia  firmly  believe  that  it  was 
a  supernatural  creation  —  at  any  rate,  so  far  a.s 
the  design  is  concerned.      When  Salzillo   had 


THE    "aGij.SV    in    the   CAKUliN  "    OKuUl',    CO.NblUKKhl)     THK    UNKSl'   OF   ALL.(THliY   SAV    IN    MUKCIA   THAT 

From  a]  the  duke  of  wei.lin(;ton  offered  ;C3o,ooo  for  the  anoel  alo.ne).  [Fhofo. 


expression  of  the  figures  is  little  short  of  sublime. 
That  of  the  Saviour  is  full  of  majesty  and 
loving-kindness,  and  the  Apostles  are  as  natural 
as  they  are  dignified.  The  photograph  gives  a 
very  good  idea  of  the  whole,  but  no  photo- 
graph could  possibly  do  justice  to  the  grandeur 
of  the  original. 

The  next  paso  represents  the  Agony  in  the 
Garden,  and  is  considered  the  finest  of  all.  It 
is  known  as  "  the  pearl  of  Salzillo."  To  my 
thinking  it  would  have  been  more  impressive 
without  the  gilt  throne,  added  in  1893,  and  the 
somewhat  theatrical  cloak  with  which  the 
Saviour   is   clothed   for   the  procession.      Still, 


determined  upon  thx's,  pas<),  we  are  told,  he  made 
several  sketches,  none  of  which  satisfied  him. 
One  night,  however,  when  he  was  working  late, 
and  beginning  to  despair  about  accomplishing 
anything  satisfactory,  there  came  a  knock  at  his 
door.  "  Who  is  there  ?  "  he  asked.  "A  poor  man 
who  does  not  belong  to  this  earth,"  was  the  reply 
— "one  who  craves  a  night's  lodging."  Salzillo 
often  received  such  requests,  and  had  a  room 
which  he  was  accustomed  to  place  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  homeless.  So  he  ushered  his  guest 
in,  locked  him  up,  and  retired  to  rest.  Next 
morning  he  found  on  his  table  the  design  which 
was  actually  used  for  this  group,  and,  when  he 


THE    GkEAT    "PASSION"    PROCESSION    AT    MURCIA. 


495 


Frolic  a\ 

unlocked   the   door  of   his   guest-chamber,  the 

visitor  had  disappeared.     When  he  showed  the 

design  to  the  Confraternity,   it  was  welcomed 

with  enthusiasm,  and  he  proceeded  to  execute 

this  paso,  which  afterwards  contributed  most  to 

his  fame.     In  connection  with  this  group,  the 

accounts  of   the  Confraternity  are  curious.     I 

find  among  them 

the      following 

items  :    Cloak  for 

Jesus,     ^200; 

crown,    ^120; 

sword  for  St.  Peter, 

£1  ;  gilt  chalice, 

;^  2  o  —  w  h  i  c  h 

items  certainly 

show    that    the 

authorities     were 

not    niggardly    in 

furnishing    the 

groups. 

The  third  group 
shown  is  known 
as  "The  Kiss  of 
Judas."  Here  the 
various  figures  arc 
much  larger  and 
nearly  twice  as 
heavy  as  those  of 
the  Last  Supper. 
The  ground  is  re- 
presented by  cork, 
and  on  close  in- 
spection   matches 


[I'lioto. 


badly  with  the  solid  realism  of  the  figures. 
Critics  may  also  draw  attention  to  the  Roman 
soldiers  armour,  which  is  that  of  the  sixteenth 
century  ;  and  also  to  the  costume  of  Malchus, 
which,  with  its  blue  and  white  striped  stockings, 
recalls  that  of  Murcian  peasants  a  hundred  years 
ago.   It  is  likewise  pointed  out  that  the  smiting  of 


CHRIST    BEING   SCOURGED   AT    THE    PILLAR  (l  F    IS   SAID   THAT   A   CHARCOAL-BURNER    AND    A   .MARKET-PORTER 
From  a]  POSED   AS   MODELS   FOR  THE   SCOURGERS).  \,FhotO. 


496 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


the  servant  of  the  high  priest  was  not  simul- 
taneous witli  the  kiss  of  Judas,  and  ought  not 
therefore  to  be  represented  in  the  same  group. 
But  as  the  second  incident  is  depicted  at  the 
back,  that  surely  implies  the  short  lapse  of  time 
suggested  in  the  Gospel  narrative.  And  in  any  case 
it  seems  a  pity  to  carp  at  details,  when  the  work  of 
art  is  so  very  beautiful  as  a  whole.  Judas  has 
his  left  arm  round  the  waist  of  the  Saviour,  and 
his  right  hand  on  the  Saviour's  right  shoulder, 
while  the  Christ  himself,  cheerfully  accepting 
the  traitor's  kiss,  places  his  left  arm  round 
Judas's  waist.  The  Saviour's  face  is  admirable 
in  its  expression  of  dignity  and  disappointment, 
but  that  of  Judas  is  perhaps  even  more  success- 
fully rendered.  It  is  sufificiently  repulsive  with- 
out being  overdone,  the  sculptor  having  evidently 
realized  that  the  contrast  of  the  Saviour's  face 
in  such  close  proximity  with  that  of  Judas  (both 
were  carved  out  of  the  same  piece  of  wood) 


as  he  bends  forward  trying  to  see  how  he  may 
best  deliver  his  blow  in  the  uncertain  light.  It 
is  in  details  of  this  kind  that  the  peculiar 
excellence  of  Salzillo's  art  stands  revealed. 

The  group  at  the  bottom  of  the  previous 
page  represents  the  Flagellation.  Here, 
again,  are  the  usual  historical  improba- 
bilities. The  usage  was  for  one  man  only  to 
wield  a  four- thonged  whip,  and  the  sufferer 
was  certainly  never  tied  to  a  pillar  in  the  way 
here  represented.  Nor  is  the  workmanship  so 
good  as  in  the  other  pasos.  The  Saviour 
wears  no  particular  expression.  Not  only  does 
he  exhibit  no  fear  or  shrinking,  but  there  is 
no  suggestion  of  resignation  in  the  pre- 
sence of  an  outrage.  Were  Christ  depicted 
merely  in  the  act  of  washing  his  hands,  he 
could  not  appear  more  unmoved.  Some  have 
thought  that  this  figure  cannot  be  the  work  of 
Salzillo,  but  tradition  attributes  it  to  him,  and 


From  rt] 


CHKIST    KAI.I.S    P.ENEAIH    HIS   CROSS — A    MARVELLOUS    PIECE   OK    COLOSSAL    SCLI.PTLK 


{I'ltoto. 


sufificed  to  emphasize  the  coarse,  sordid  features 
of  the  betrayer  ;  St.  Peter's  uplifted  arm  is 
also  specially  admired  by  all  good  judges. 
Indeed,  it  is  related  that  a  German  tourist 
recently  offered  ;^i,ooo  for  this  limb  alone. 
The  saint's  attitude  is  also  very  skilfully  rendered 


even  recalls  a  charcoal-burner  and  market- 
porter,  who  are  alleged  to  have  po.sed  as  models 
for  the  two  executioners. 

The  fifth  paso  represents  St.  Veronica,  who 
held  a  handkerchief  to  the  Saviour's  face  while 
on  His  way  to  Calvary,  and  received  upon  it  the 


THE    GREAT    "PASSION"   PROCESSION    AT    MURCIA. 


497 


imprint  of  His  sacred  face.  Next  conies  the  Fall 
Beneath  the  Cross.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
here  that  the  rufifian  with  the  club  was  taken 
from  the  same  model  as  that  which  served 
as  the  sublime  angel  in  the  group  of  the 
Agony  in  the  Garden,  seen  in  our  third 
photograph.  The  mailed  warrior  is  in  the 
garb  of  Spain  during  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
Simon  of  Cyrene  is  dressed  like  any  Murcian 
peasant  of  last  century.  This  was  Salzillo's 
last  work,  and  he  has  here  perhaps  been 
most  successful  in  his  rendering  of  the  Saviour's 
face,  which  is  at  the  same  time  grander 
and  more  sublime  than  in  any  other  of  his 
sculptures.  The  stivtnth  J>ciso,  known  as  that  of 
"Our  Father  Jesus,"  is  the  special  insignia 
of  the  Confraternity  itself.  It  is  imposing 
enough  in  a  procession — perhaps  even  the 
most  imposing  of  all  ;  but  at  close  quarters 
it  suffers  a  good  deal  from  the  tawdriness 
of  its  decorations  and  the  profusion  of 
varnish,  which  has  not  spared  even  the  face. 
The  Confraternity  pos- 
sesses three  magnificent 
brocaded  cloaks,  which 
this  image  wears,  one 
during  this  procession  and 
the  others  on  the  two  other 
annual  occasions  when  it 
is  taken  abroad.  The  eighth 
^aso  is  a  life-sized  statue  of 
St.  John  the  Evangelist,  on 
a  throne  supported  by  two 
poles,  requiring  twelve  men 
for  the  procession.  It  is 
among  the  most  admired 
of  Salzillo's  works,  and  in 
it  he  has  avoided  his  usual 
error  of  representing  a  Jew 
of  the  first  century  with 
short  hair. 


Finally,  there  comes  the  famous  statue  of  Our 
Lady  of  Dolours  (Fig.  7),  the  face  of  which 
is  considered  by  many  judges  to  be  the 
finest  treatment  which  this  subject  has  ever 
received.  One  story  is  liiat  Sal/illo  took  his 
wife  as  his  model  for  this  Virgin,  and,  in  order 
to  obtain  an  expression  of  the  utmost  possible 
anguish,  suddenly  accused  her  of  a  dreadful 
crime.  Another  version  is  that  his  daughter 
was  his  model,  and  that  he  obtained  the 
desired  expression  by  bringing  in  a  forged  letter 
announcing  the  suicide  of  the  man  she  was 
engaged  to  marry.  In  either  case  the  ruse  has 
proved  astoundingly  successful,  and  no  praise 
could  be  too  high  for  the  artist's  success  in 
seizing  a  look  of  supreme  sorrow.  I  am  cer- 
tainly free  to  confess  that  this  last  image  mo\ed 
me  far  more  than  any  of  its  predecessors, 
wonderful  as  they  are.  Some  have  thought  that 
the  gorgeous  vestments  worn  by  the  image  are 
not  in  keeping  with  the  subject,  but  in  my  eyes 
they  served  to  heighten   the   effect,  as  did  also 

the  wealth  of  flowers,  the 
clouds  of  incense,  the  blaz- 
ing candles,  the  tumult 
of  musical  instruments,  and 
the  devout  enthusiasm  of 
the  crowd.  It  was  impos- 
sible not  to  be  profoundly 
impressed  by  this  strange, 
old-world  procession,  which 
carried  me  back  hundreds 
of  years  into  the  Dark 
Ages,  with  all  their  majesty 
and  mystery.  But  what 
moved  me  most  was  that 
face  of  inexpressible  anguish 
and  those  haunting  eyes, 
from  whose  mute  misery  I 
feel  that  I  shall  never  alto- 
gether escape. 


the  statue  ok  our  ladv  of  dolours. 

(the  artist  accused  his  wife  of  a  crime 

in  order  to  get  the  expression). 

From  a  Photo. 


Vol.  iii.-63. 


Short  Stones. 


I. — Besieged    in    Paraguay. 

By  F.   \V.  Grauert. 

A  gentleman  who  has  spent   the  greater  part  of  his  life    in    the    South    American  Republics   tells  one 
of    his    many    thrilling    adventures.      He    was    besieged    in    a    frail   hut    by  a    crowd    of    bloodthirsty 

Paraguayans,  clamouring  for  undue  wages. 


T  \va.s  in  Paraguay  that  the  circum- 
stance.s  occurred  of  which  I  am 
about  to  write.  As  manager  for  a 
foreign  corpora- 
tion,   I   needed 

about  200  natives  for  cutting 

firewood.  Previous  experience 

had  taught  me  to  intrust  the 

hiring    and     afterwards     the 

managing  of  these  people  to 

a    native   a    little    higher    in 

the  scale  of  intelligence   than 

the  average  native.    His  name 

was    Patino.       He    received 

better    wages    and    acted    in 

the    capacity  of   foreman,    or 

"  Capadaz."   I  instructed  him 

plainly  and  distinctly  to    pre- 
mise  one  patagon    and    fifty 

cents  (about    is.    6d.)    for    a 

day's     work    of    ten    hours. 

Also     that     he    should    take 

particular  notice  of  the  most 

efficient     workmen,     and     to 

promise    them     1.75    the 

"second"  month.  It  appeared 

afterwards     that     Patino,    in 

order  to  obtain  the  required 

number  of    men,    promised   each 

//■(}j;i  the  heghmhig. 

The  place  where  I  was  stationed  was  known 

by  the  name  of  Za-pu-cay,  a  locality  famous  as 


hundred 


the  hotbed  and  rendezvous  of  robbers  and 
assassins.  The  railway  passed  within  two 
yards  of  the  house  I  occupied — a 
large  square  rancho,  built  of 
logs  and  mud,  and  divided 
into  two  rooms.  It  stood 
upon  a  knoll  in  an  open 
l)lain,  from  whence  a  splendid 
view  of  the  surrounding 
country  was  obtainable. 
Within  half  a  mile  in  ail 
directions  from  the  house  the 
country  was  covered  with 
dense  forests. 

The  men  had  worked 
twenty  -  three  days  in  the 
month.  Pay-day  arrived,  and 
the  whole  number  with  their 
families  were  squatting  in  the 
high  grass  surrounding  the 
house,  passing  their  time  in 
dancing,  gambling,  and  drink- 


ing  caha,    the 


home- 
about 


THIS  IS  MR.  GRAUERT,  ONE  OF  WHOSE  MANY 
ADVENTURES  IS  HERE  RELATED.  HE  HAS 
HAD  EXTENSIVE  EXPERIENCE  OF  LIFE  IN 
THE   TURBULENT    SOUTH   AMERICAN    STATES. 

Photo,  by  Etnberson  <5^  Sorts,  IVilton  Road,  S.  JV. 


1-75    a 


day 


From  a\ 


VIEW   OF    THE    IDE.N  1  ILAL   i,TAIIU.N"    WllticE 


vilest 
made    alcohol,    worth 
threepence  the  quart. 

The  paymaster,  for  some 
unaccountable  reason,  was 
three  days  late,  and  when  he 
arrived  the  natives  were  as  disagreeable  as  drink 
and  delay  could  make  them.  Speedy  arrange- 
ments were  made  to  pay  the  crowd,  which  had 
by  this  time  grown   into  an  unruly  mob.     It  is 

necessary  to  ex- 
plain that  it  is  as 
customary  for  a 
native  Paraguayan 
to  carry  a  long, 
keen-edged  knife 
as  it  is  for  other 
men  to  wear 
shoes  and  stock- 
ings. Many  of 
the  angry  men 
outside  were 
armed  with  cheap, 
old-fashioned  re- 
volvers, while 
others  carried  a 
"  honda,"  a  mur- 
derous instru- 
ment    composed 


WAS    l,LiU.l.,ELl. 


SHORT    STORIES. 


499 


of  from  four  to  six  strings,  each  about  2ft. 
long,  and  made  of  raw  hide,  with  a  musket- 
ball  fastened  on  the  end.  Others  carried  a 
"revenga,"  a  kind  of  riding-whip  made  of 
iron.  One  room  of  the  house  had  a  door, 
made  of  strong,  hard  wood,  and  a  window.  The 
men  drew  up  in  line,  each  presenting  himself  at 
the  window,  when  his  name  was  called,  and  he 
received  his  pay.  Only  a  few  had  received 
their  money  when  they  returned,  and  in  a 
boisterous  manner  demanded  the  rest  of  their 
pay,  each  claiming  he  had  not  received  what  was 
due  to  him.  I  told  them,  if  they  thought  they 
had  not  received  their  promised  pay,  to  wait 
unt''  they  had  all  been  paid  off  and  then  we 
w  lid  talk  about  it.  About  half  had  received 
tl".  'r  .noney,  when  the  noise  of  discharged  fire- 
ari.  J  put  a  stop  to  the  proceedings. 

I  went  outside  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the 
disturbance,  when  I  was  surrounded  by  a  howl- 
ing mob,  threatening  to  do  me  bodily  harm. 
Great  heaps  of  dry  wood  and  grass  had  been 
piled  around  the  house,  and  I  saw  an  Argentine 
from  Corrientes,  a  man  known  to  me  as  an 
assassin  and  author  of  many  a  bloody  deed, 
setting  fire  to  one  heap  of  it.  \\\\h  great  effort 
I  managed  to  extinguish  the  flames,  and  dealt 
the  drunken  villain  a  heavy  blow,  felling  him  to 
the  ground.  Then,  turning  to  the  crowd,  I  asked 
what  they  wanted.  This  was  all  done  in  much 
less  time  than  it  takes  me  to  relate  it.  Their 
response  was,  "  Oh,  nothing,  boss  ;  we  are  only 
having  a  little  fun."  I  approached  Patiiio,  who, 
it  appeared  to  me,  was  actually  the  ringleader,  and 
told  him  I  would  hold  him  responsible  to  the 
extent  of  his  life  for  any  harm  done.  Human 
life  is  very  cheap  in  South  America.  Though 
very  drunk  he  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  attempted 
to  kiss  my  hand.  He  promised  to  keep  his 
men  in  check.  However,  I  saw  that  some 
other  precautions  were  necessary  on  my  part. 
Before  entering  the  house  I  stationed  a  German, 
a  member  of  the  San  Bernardino  Colony,  near 
the  window,  with  the  only  weapon  of  defence  in 
my  possession — a  -44  Colt's  lightning  rifle — with 
orders  to  shoot  if  anyone  attempted  to  disturb 
the  proceedings  or  make  mischief. 

Scarcely  had  I  entered  the  house  and  closed 
the  door  behind  me,  however,  when  1  heard  a 
terrible  uproar  outside,  and  in  a  moment  my 
German  friend  entered,  minus  the  gun,  and 
bleeding  from  four  knife  wounds  in  the  chest. 
His  head  also  was  frightfully  battered.  The 
paymaster,  under  the  pretext  of  riding  to  Para- 
guary,  the  nearest  telegraph  station,  a  distance 
of  ten  miles,  to  telegraph  for  assistance  to  the 
Government  in  Asuncion,  left  me  alone  and 
practically  defenceless.  After  securely  barricad- 
ing both  door  and  window,  my  first  attention  was 


bestowed  upon  the  injured  man.  I  soon  found 
I  could  be  of  no  help  to  him  ;  he  turned  and 
twisted  several  times,  threw  up  his  legs  and  arms, 
with  a  gurgle  in  his  throat,  and  then  expired. 

I  took  the  money,  books,  and  everything  of 
value  to  me,  and  dug  a  hole  i)4ft.  deep  in  the 
corner  of  one  room  ;  in  this  I  buried  everything, 
and  then  put  a  notice  of  all  these  proceedings 
in  a  bottle  securely  sealed.  I  thought  the 
end  was  near.  When  the  infuriated  mob  saw 
the  paymaster  leave,  all  who  could  still  use 
their  legs  attempted  to  follow  him,  but  the 
speed  of  his  horse  saved  him.  This  was  the 
reason  of  my  not  being  molested  while  I 
was  completing  the  above  arrangements.  I 
ventured  to  take  a  peep  through  the 
crack  in  the  door,  and  saw  with  horror  that  the 
fiends  had  torn  up  the  railroad  track  and 
rolled  two  heavy  logs  across  the  line,  where  in 
three  hours'  time  a  heavily-laden  train  was  due. 
Like  a  cloud  of  locusts  the  murderous  and 
drunken  crowd  returned  towards  the  house — 
Patiiio  this  time  leading  on  horseback  !  When 
near  the  place  I  saw  they  were  amusing  them- 
selves by  throwing  wood  against  door  and 
window,  but  I  soon  found  that  their  intention 
was  to  roast  the  "  gringo."  Someone  had 
kindled  two  heaps  of  rather  damp  grass  and 
wood,  and  nothing  but  the  calmness  of  the 
afternoon  prevented  the  flames  from  spreading. 
Heavy  smoke  and  clouds,  however,  poured  into 
the  frail  building,  so  that  I  was  nearly  suffocated. 
There  were  only  two  alternatives  left  me — either 
to  face  the  mob  outside,  or  be  roasted  alive. 
Knowing  the  cowardly  propensities  of  the 
Paraguayans,  I  chose  the  former.  Fortunately, 
the  man  in  possession  of  my  Colt's  rifle  stood 
so  near  the  door  that  I  could  almost  touch 
his  clothing  through  the  cracks.  He  was 
too  drunk  to  be  encumbered  with  the  rifle,  so 
he  had  placed  it  against  the  casing.  The 
smoke,  favourable  to  my  intentions,  almost 
blinded  me ;  but  taking  advantage  of  the  situa- 
tion, I  slowly  opened  the  door,  as  noiselessly  as 
the  occasion  required.  No  one  seemed  to  pay 
particular  attention  to  the  door,  and,  favoured 
by  a  big  cloud  of  smoke,  I  slid  behind  the 
scoundrel,  and  with  one  solid  kick  from  my 
right  foot  sent  him  flying  about  five  paces 
ahead,  landing  him  on  his  stomach.  One 
grab  forward,  and  the  rifle  was  mine.  Once 
in  my  possession,  I  levelled  the  gun  at 
Patiho  and  called  upon  him  to  come  to  me. 
He  staggered,  and,  almost  sobered  by  his 
fright,  fell  on  his  knees.  To  show  the 
cowards  that  I  was  not  afraid  of  them,  I 
placed  the  rifle  securely  in  the  corner  of  the 
door  from  whence  I  had  taken  it,  and  ad- 
vancing   several    steps     towards    them     said  : 


500 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    .^L\GAZ1NE. 


I    SLID    BEHIND   THE   SCOUNDREL,    AND    WITH    O.N'E    KICK    SEN'T    HIM    FLYING. 


"  What  do  you  wish  to  do  ?  Do  you  wish  to 
kill  me?"  After  this  I  advanced  still  farther, 
and  taking  Patifio  by  the  arm,  ordered  him  to 
enter  the  house  with  me.  When  he  had  done 
as  I  ordered,  I  found  him  so  drunk  that  he  was 
almost  incapable  of  speech.  My  hope  was  to 
sober  him,  so  I  made  him  drink  four  siphons  of 
soda-water,  several  cups  of  strong  coffee,  and 
some  olive  oil !  I  then  left  him  to  enjoy  a  good 
dinner,  while  I  went  into  the  next  room  to 
arrange  to  pay  off  the  men  myself.  For  this,  how- 
ever, I  needed  the  assistance  of  Patino,  and  an 
ex[)Ianation  regarding  the  arrangements  for  pay 
which  he  had  made  with  his  people.  As  he  had 
been  in  the  house  more  than  an  hour,  and  hoping 
that  my  precautions  had  sobered  him  somewhat, 
I  returned  to  the  room,. to  find  him  with  his  head 
on  the  table,  fast  asleep ;  near  hini  was  an 
empty  bottle  of  Hennessy's  cognac,  which  I 
kept  full  in  a  cupboard  near  the  table.  All 
efforts  to  rouse  him  were  an  utter  failure. 

Venturing  outside  once  more,  unarmed,  I 
explained  Patifio's  state,  and  asked  if  they 
would  remove  the  obstacles  they  had  placed  on 
tlie  rails,  repair  the  line,  and  accept  the  pay  I 
considered  due  to  them.  To  my  amazement 
they  agreed  to  my  terms,  and  within  an 
hour  and  a  half  the  line  was  clear,  they 
had  been  paid  off,  and  had  returned  to 
their  various  camping-places  near  by.  Patino, 
unable    to    move,    was     left     in    my    charge. 


The  last  man  had  scarcely  dis- 
appeared when  I  took  a  half-inch 
rope  and  pinioned  the  fellow's 
arms  and  legs,  and  rolled  him  into 
a  corner  of  the  room.  Meanwhile, 
night  was  fast  approaching,  and 
with  it  came  sixteen  white  men, 
who  had  been  working  under  my 
instructions  about  six  miles  farther 
down  the  line.  I  apprehended  that 
the  natives  would  return  under 
cover  of  the  night,  and  do  harm 
if  they  could.  It  was  eleven 
o'clock,  and  all  but  myself  and  a 
trusted  labourer,  an  Irishman,  had 
gone  to  rest.  Pat  kept  watch  on 
the  veranda  of  the  house,  while  I, 
rifle  in  hand,  patrolled  the  sur- 
rounding country.  The  night  was 
pitch  dark.  When  about  one 
hundred  yards  from  the  house,  I 
thought  I  heard  the  sound  of 
approaching  horses  from  the  prin- 
cipal road.  As  the  sounds  came 
nearer  and  nearer,  I  called  three 
times  in  Spanish,  "  Who  is  there?" 
but  getting  no  reply,  I  fired  two 
shots  in  the  direction  of  the  noise. 
No  sooner  had  the  echoes  died  away,  than 
native  voices  shrieked  in  unison,  "For  love  of 
God,  don't  kill  us,  boss ;  we  bring  important 
despatches  from  the  Government." 

So  it  proved.  They  brought  a  telegram  from 
the  Government  at  Asuncion  advising  me  that 
250  soldiers,  infantry  and  cavalry,  had  been  dis- 
patched from  the  capital  to  my  relief.  On  the 
discharge  of  my  rifle  the  horse  of  one  of  the 
natives  had  bolted,  throwing  the  rider,  who 
sustained  a  broken  collar-bone  and  a  broken 
arm.  He  showed  me  his  straw  hat  where  one 
of  my  bullets  had  passed  through  the  crown. 
The  messengers  I  sent  on  to  Paraguary, 
taking  the  injured  man  with  them,  and  then 
I  made  my  way  back  to  the  house.  Scarcely 
had  I  started,  however,  when  five  revolver  shots 
rang  through  the  stillness  of  the  night.  Pat, 
on  hearing  my  rifle,  madly  ran  in  the  direction 
of  the  noise,  thinking  someone  had  fired  at  me. 
To  be  sure  I  should  know  he  was  near,  he  dis- 
charged all  five  chambers  of  his  revolver  at 
random.  When  I  reached  the  house  I  found, 
to  my  great  consternation,  that  the  large  white 
silk  handkerchief  I  had  loosely  tied  round  my 
neck  was  pierced  by  a  ball  in  two  places  at  the 
extreme  ends  ! 

I  decided  not  to  wait  until  the  soldiers  should 
arrive  to  arrest  the  ringleaders,  but  to  do  so 
myself,  as  I  knew  the  Paraguayans  too  well  to 
expect  they  would  arrest  their  own  countrymen. 


SHORT    STORIES. 


SOI 


There  was  no  time  to  lose.  Pat  and  I  set  to 
work  at  once.  I  took  the  revolver  this  time, 
whilst  Pat  provided  himself  with  some  short 
ropes,    and   in    the    stillness    of  the   night    we 


I    PUT   THE   COLD   STEEI.    UNDER   THE   SLEEPING   MANS   NOSE   WHILE   PAT  TIED 

HIS   HANDS." 


entered  the  hut  of  the  Argentine  I  have  already 
mentioned.  By  the  light  of  a  bull's-eye  lantern, 
I  put  the  cold  steel  under  the  sleeping  man's 
nose  while  Pat  tied  his  hands.  When  secured, 
we  marched  him  up  to  keep  Patino  company. 


He  went  into  the  house  like  a  lamb,  and  there 
we  tied  his  feet  securely.  In  this  manner, 
without  disturbing  anyone,  we  brought  fourteen 
of  the  worst  of  the  gang  to  the  house. 

All  night  we  waited  the  ap- 
proach of  the  train  which  should 
bring  the  troops,  but  it  was  after 
si.K  when  we  heard  the  echo  of 
the  whistle  in  the  distance.  An 
officer,  in  gorgeous  uniform, 
brought  me  a  letter  from  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  informing 
me  that  Captain  Tabegado  had 
been  instructed  to  arrest  the 
ringleaders,  and  take  them  to 
the  nearest  justice  of  the  peace. 
I  accompanied  the  soldiers  to 
the  various  camps,  but  as  I  had 
foreseen,  the  huts  were  deserted. 
Great  was  their  consternation 
when  I  took  them  to  the  house 
and  showed  them  the  fifteen 
securely  tied  men,  by  this  time 
all  fast  asleep.  The  afternoon 
train  took  the  soldiers  and  their 
prisoners  to  Paraguary,  but  the 
justice  of  the  peace  there,  a 
native,  characteristically  refused 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
prisoners,  claiming  that  the  place 
where  the  trouble  occurred  was 
situated  in  the  adjoining  depart- 
ment of  Ibitimi.  And  the  justice 
there,  hearing  of  the  disturbance, 
left  the  village,  so  that  there  was  no  one  to 
receive  or  care  for  the  prisoners,  and  the 
fugitive  magistrate  never  came  near  his  office 
until  the  last  prisoner  had  left  the  town,  un- 
molested and  unpunished. 


II. — In    a    South    African    Flood. 

Bv  E.  J.  AusTEX. 

A  typical    narrative  of   a  man   who    has  "knocked  about    the  world."  Mr.  Austen    is  the   well-known 
cyclorama    artist,  now    residing    near  Newark,    N.J.     The    illustrations    are    by  himself,    and  therefore 

have  a  peculiar  interest. 


It  is  more  than  twenty  years  ago  now  since 
Jim  Mitchell  and  I  started  off  from  Port 
Elizabeth  with  the  intention  of  going  to  the 
diamond  fields.  The  railroad,  which  now  runs 
to  the  fields,  was  at  that  time  (1877)  com- 
pleted only  as  far  as  Grahamstown,  and  the 
usual  mode  of  travel  was  either  by  coach,  post- 
cart,  or  bullock-waggon.  We  had  been  in  the 
country  for  some  years,  and  were  tolerably 
familiar  with  "  the  ropes,"  so  we  invested  in  a 
light  waggon  with  a  span  of  six  bullocks,  with 
which  to  make  the   journey.     Our  belongings 


included  a  camera  and  photographic  outfit  ;  and 
we  proposed  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  trip  by 
photographing  the  farmers  whose  places  we 
passed  on  the  road.  This  was  before  the  days 
of  dry  plates ;  and  we  had  fitted  up  the  back 
part  of  our  waggon  as  a  dark  room. 

For  several  months  the  country  had  suffered 
from  a  severe  drought.  The  rivers  w'ere  all 
very  low,  or  partially  dried  up  ;  while  the  veldt 
was  so  badly  scorched  that  we  took  the  advice 
of  several  experienced  transport  riders  and 
selected  a  route  which,  although  a  little  longer, 


502 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZLNE. 


passed  through  a  country  which  had  not  suffered 
^iO  severely  from  the  dry  spell,  and  still  afforded 
some  grass  for  the  bullocks.  We  wanted  to  get 
well  on  our  road  to  the  fields  before  the 
inevitable  rains  came,  so  we  trekked  on  steadily, 
saving  our  stock  as  much  as  possible. 

We  crossed  the  Boschberg  Mountains  in  the 
Sneeuwberg  range,  and  soon  struck  the  banks 
of  the  Great  Fish  River.  We  had  been  near  it 
ever  since  leaving  town.  Some  transport  riders 
we  met  had  told  us  that  there  had  been 
heavy  rains  farther  up  country,  and  the  rivers 
would  be  rising  soon.  They  advised  us  to 
cross  the  river  as  soon  as  we  came  to  the  drift — 
if  we  did  not  want  to  be  delayed  indefinitely. 


and  an  appalling  accompaniment  of  thunder 
and  lightning.  We  had  hardly  started  to  out- 
span  when  it  burst  upon  us. 

We  had  been  told  that  the  river  might  be 
dangerous,  but  in  our  ignorance  supposed 
that  it  would  simply  get  deeper  and  deeper 
graduaHy  ;  and,  as  the  water  on  the  drift  was 
not  up  to  my  middle  yet,  we  thought  we  had 
plenty  of  time.  Still,  as  it  was  raining  so  hard, 
we  concluded  it  was  better  for  us  to  get  across 
at  once,  instead  of  waiting  till  next  day.  The 
transport  riders  had  told  us  that  when  the  river 
was  swollen,  it  might  be  many  days  before  it 
would  be  fordable  again. 

It  is  bad  for  the  oxen  to  trek  in  the  rain,  but 

we  were  anxi- 
ous not  to  be 
delayed  ;  so  we 
stripped  our- 
selves to  our 
shirts,  sent  Jan, 
our  Koranna 
voe  r  1  oeper, 
ahead  with  the 
trek  -  touvv,  or 
head  reins,  of 
the  two  lead- 
ing bullocks, 
and  started. 
Jim  took  the 
whip,  while  I 
went  on  the 
opposite  side, 
to  yell  at  the 
oxen,  and  keep 
them  in  a 
straight  line. 


W^hen  we  reached 
the  banks  we  found 
the  water  much  higher  than 
it  had  been  farther  down 
stream ;  but  as  we  had 
already  trekked  a  consider- 
able distance,  we  thought  it 
wise  to  out-span  for  a  while, 
in  order  to  give  the  bullocks  a  rest  before 
tackling  the  job  of  hauling  the  waggon  across 
the  drift.  We  had  noticed  the  clouds  com- 
ing up,  and  supposed  it  would  rain  soon. 
It  did ;  and  before  we  were  ready,  too.  It 
came  with  a  rush,  with  the  sky  black  as  ink, 


--si^ 


IT    WAS   COMING   ON    LIKE    A    (HI, ANTIC    WAVE,    CAKUVING    \MTI1    IT   A 
FRINGE   OF    DEBRIS." 


The  Great  Fish  River  is  quite  wide  at  this 
point,  and  the  drift  takes  a  bend  in  the  middle. 
Our  progress  was  slow,  for  the  water  was  deep, 
and  the  bullocks  floundered  among  the  stones. 
The  rain  was  coming  down  in  torrents. 

We  had  reached  nearly  to  the  middle  of  the 


SHORT    STORIES. 


503 


river,  when  we  heard  a  roar.  It  was  a  roar  that 
we  could  hear  above  the  shouting  of  the  storm, 
and  above  our  own  yelHni^s  to  the  straining 
oxen.  I  turned  and  looked  up  the  river.  ...  I 
saw  something  I  shall  never  forget. 

There  was  a  veritable  wall  of  water  rolling 
and  crashing  towards  us  !  Whether  ten  feet 
or  fifty  feet  high,  I  can't  say  ;  it  looked  a 
thousand.  It  was  coming  on  like  a  gigantic 
wave,  carrying  with  it  a  fringe  of  debris — chunks 
of  the  bank,  and  great  trees  torn  up  by  the 
roots. 

I  stood  appalled  !  For  fully  half  a  minute  I 
simply  stood  and  stared.  Then  I  came  to  my 
senses  and  yelled,  ''  Look  out,  Jim  !  "  and — it 
was  upon  us  ! 

A  jumble — a  rush — a  roar  !  I  was  turned  up- 
side down  and  stood  on  my  head.  I  saw  the 
waggon  topple,  then  fall  over  on  its  side,  and — 
swish  I  away  she  went. 

The  next  moment  I  found  myself  being  swept 
along  at  the  rate  of  what  seemed  like  a  million 
miles  a  minute.  I  had  no  time  to  think,  so  that 
whatever  I  did  was  instinctive.  How  I  escaped, 
being  crushed  against  the  waggon,  or  swept 
under  the  hoofs  of  the  oxen ;  or  why  I  wasn't 
brained  by  one  of  the  great  logs  which 
were  all  about  us — I  don't  know.  I  was 
right  alongside  the  struggling  bullocks,  most  of 
them  on  their  backs,  choked  by  their  neck  reins. 
I  had  a  sheath-knife  in  my  belt,  which  I  had  on 
over  my  shirt.  I  snatched  this  out  and  cut  the 
neck  reins  of  the  two  beasts  next  to  me,  then 
swam  a  stroke  and  released  the  leaders.  Just 
as  this  was  done,  we  were  all — the  waggon,  two 
of  the  bullocks,  and  myself —swept  into  a  tangle 
of  trees  and  bushes  which  hung  over  the  river 
at  a  bend.  The  waggon  drove  on  into  the  thick 
of  it  and  remained  Fast.  I  pulled  myself  up 
out  of  the  flood  and  found  we  were  on  a  ^pit  of 
land,  which  was  almost  a  bar,  and  was  rapidly 
being  washed  away  by  the  terrific  racing  flood. 
The  two  bullocks  managed  somehow  to  get  a 
footing  and  climbed  out. 

Then  I  thought  of  Jim,  and  it  came  over  me 
like  a  flash  that  he  was  not  much  of  a  swimmer. 
Not  that  anyone  could  possibly  sink  in  that 
tremendous  rush  of  water ;  but  a  stroke  or  two 
on  nearing  a  bend  might  save  a  man  from  being 
swept  on  into  the  Indian  Ocean. 

Just  then  I  caught  sight  of  him.  I  didn't 
think  at  all,  but  just  hurled  myself  back  into  the 
water  and  made  for  him.  He  was  well  out  in 
the  river,  and  so  missed  the  end  of  the  bar 
which  had  caught  the  waggon  and  myself.  He 
wasn't  making  a  move.  I  reached  him  with  the 
first  plunge,  otherwise  I  expect  I  should  have 
been  swept  on  within  arm's  length  of  him,  but 
without  being  able  to  touch  him.     I   yelled  at 


I'hen  we  dragged  ourselves  out 


him,  and  he  heard.  I  screamed  out  for  him  to 
look  out  for  the  next  bend  and  make  with  nie 
for  the  point. 

All  this  takes  much  longer  to  tell  than  it  did 
to  happen.  We  had  been  so  taken  by  surprise 
that  it  hadn't  even  occurred  to  us  to  be  scared. 
It  was  a  dream — a  nightmare ;  and  we  just 
clutched  and  grabbed,  as  our  instincts  guided 
us,  at  every  little  stick  we  could  see.  W'e  were 
carried  plunging  along,  and  presently  went 
whirling  close  under  the  bank.  There  were  the 
roots  of  a  tree  dragging  in  the  water.  I  wrenched 
myself  over  and  caught  hold  of  one,  gripping 
Jim  by  the  tail  of  his  shirt  at  the  same  time. 
Both  the  root  and  the  garment  held.  For  a  few 
seconds,  however,  it  was  nip  and  tuck  between 
the  roaring  torrent  and  the  hold  I  had.  But  I 
was  evidently  not  born  to  be  drowned,  for  I 
hung  on,  and  presently  Jim  caught  hold  of 
another  root, 
and  cre[)t  up  on  to  the  bank 

What  a  sight  it  was  !  The  river,  which  had 
been  but  a  few  minutes  before  a  placid  stream, 
hardly  deep  euough  to  compel  one  to  swim  at 
its  deepest  place,  was  now  a  boiling,  raging, 
roaring,  seething  torrent,  foaming  and  hissing  as 
the  rain,  pouring  down  in  sheets,  bored  and 
stung  the  surface  of  the  angry  waves.  The 
tawny-crested  breakers  leaped  and  plunged  as 
though  in  play,  and  hurled  the  giant  logs  and 
trees,  which  had  been  torn  from  the  banks,  into 
the  air  as  a  child  would  a  ball.  Tumbling  and 
tossing;  raging  and  pounding— stung  by  the 
rain-drops  into  fury  ;  shouting  and  roaring  as  it 
tore  its  resistless  way  along,  it  made  us  shudder 
as  we  gazed  upon  its  might.  We  could  hardly 
realize  that  we  had  escaped  its  angry  clutch. 

Everything  had  gone  with  such  a  rush  that  it 
all  seemed  like  a  dream.  We  were  both  of  us 
dazed  ;  and  for  a  long  time  after  crawling  up 
the  bank  we  could  do  nothing  but  stare  at  the 
water.  As  for  formulating  any  plan  of  action, 
that  was  quite  out  of  the  question.  The  only 
definite  impression  I  was  conscious  of  was  a 
deep  feeling  of  thankfulness  to  God,  who  had 
permitted  us  to  escape  with  our  lives. 

We  had,  as  yet,  no  sense  of  having  lost  all 
our  worldly  possessions  at  one  stroke.  Re- 
member, the  team  and  waggon,  with  what  it 
contained,  represented  all  we  had.  But  the 
thought  of  having  escaped  the  furious  water- 
wall,  the  sight  of  the  raging  flood,  and  the 
awful  aspect  of  Nature  were  enough  just  thei. 
Everything  was  apparently  dissolving  under  the 
terrific  torrent  of  rain  which  was  pouring  down 
in  sheets,  obscuring  the  farther  bank.  We 
might  have  been  seated  at  the  margin  of  the 
ocean  for  aught  our  eyes  could  tell  us. 

So  passed  an  hour.     We  did  not  attempt  to 


504 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


THEN    WE    DRAGGED 


sjxiak  much.  The  noise  of 
the  waters  drowned  every 
other  sound.  Then  the 
rain  gradually  lessened. 
The  sheets  became  large 
drops,  the  large  drops  small  ones,  and  presently 
it  stopped  altogether.  Hardly  was  it  over  when 
the  clouds  began  to  roll  away  to  the  south. 
There  had  been  thunder  and  lightning  with  the 
storm — we  could  hear  the  last  of  it  rumbling 
away  in  the  distance.  In  half  an  hour  after 
the  last  rain-drop  had  fallen  the  sun  came  out. 

Then  we  rose  to  our  feet  and  looked  at  one 
another.  The  extent  and  serious  nature  of  our 
loss  struck  us  at  the  same  time.  We  made  one 
or  two  disjointed  remarks  about  the  waggon  and 
bullocks — and  Jan,  whom  we  hadn't  seen  since 
the  great  wave  first  struck  us.  Then  we  sat  down 
to  think  it  over  again  ;  we  looked  at  each  other  a 
second  time,  and  burst— into  tears?  No  I  ^^'e 
burst  out  laughing  ! 

I  suppose  we  were  hysterical.  But  I  re- 
member now,  how  the  ridiculous  side  of  the 
situation  struck  me.  I  could  no  more  have 
helped  kxaghing  than  I  could  have  prevented 
the  rain.  It  wasn't  e.xactly  funny,  only  grim.  I 
remembered  how  often  we  had  thought  we  were 
such  smart  fellows— able  to  go  anywhere  and 
cope  with  anything ;  yet  here  we  were,  for  all 
our  boasting,  and,  after  our  years  of  work  and 
saving,  half-drowned,  thrown  out  on  the  banks 
of  an  African  river,  penniless,  and  stripped  to 
the  shirt. 

And  we  sat  there  by  the  waves — by  the  wreck 
of  our  fortune — and  laughed. 

But  laughing  at,  and  not  with,  one's  self  soon 


OURSELVES    UL  . 
TO   THE   BANK. 


i-KEPT   UP   ON 


gets  monotonous. 
The  humorous 
feature  of  the 
situation  gradu- 
ally assumed  less 
prominence,  and 
presently  we 
jumped  to  our 
feet  to  see  how 
much  of  our  pro- 
perty remained  to 
us.  We  had  come 
ashore  nearly  a 
mile  below  the 
drift,  while  the 
point  on  which 
I  had  landed 
with  the  waggon 
and  the  two  bul- 
locks was  half- 
way back  —  for- 
tunately on  the 
same  side  of 
the  river. 

We  followed 
the  flood  till 
we  came  to 
that  spot. 
There  was  the  waggon,  sure  enough,  tightly 
wedged  in  the  branches  of  an  uprooted 
willow  tree — and,  wonderful  to  say,  right  side 
up.  It  was  well  above  the  waters  which  had 
placed  it  there,  showing  that  the  flood  was 
already  subsiding.  Fifty  yards  away,  serenely 
grazing,  were  the  two  bullocks  that  had  come 
ashore  with  me.  The  tongue  of  the  waggon 
had  been  broken  off.  Tangled  up  with  it  and 
their  yokes  were,  no  doubt,  the  two  after- 
oxen  —  drowned  beeves  by  this  time  —  well 
on  their  way  to  the  sand-bar  whicli  marks  the 
entrance  of  the  Great  Pish  River  into  the 
Indian  Ocean. 

I  had  released  the  other  two  bullocks ;  they 
might  possibly  have  made  their  escape  lower 
down.  And  Jan  ?  \Aell,  it  was  quite  probable 
that  he,  as  well  as  the  bullocks,  had  been 
drowned,  and  was  now  tossing  about  in  the 
river,  somewhere  near  Grahamstown. 

We  managed  to  scramble  out  to  the  waggon, 
and  found  it  in  tolerably  good  condition, 
though  soaked  through  and  through,  and 
most  of  the  contents  probably  ruined.  Our 
stores,  such  as  coffee,  sugar,  flour,  and  so 
on,  were  useless,  of  course.  But  we  got  out 
some  clothes,  which,  though  drenched,  were 
at  least  a  covering ;  a  bottle  of  brandy  and 
some  tobacco. 

We  each  took  a  big  drink  of  the  brandy,  and 
felt   the   benefit   of   it  directly.     We   next    laid 


SHORT   STORIES. 


505 


some  tobacco  out  on  a  rock  to  dry,  and  tlicn 
decided  that  the  first  thing  to  do  was  to  look 
for  Jan  and  the  other  bullocks;  so  we  started 
back  on  the  trail  of  the  torrent. 

We  travelled  nearly  two  miles  without  seeing 
a  trace  of  them,  when  lo  !  right  across  the  river, 
and  travelling  back  in  our  direction,  we  suddenly 
beheld  Jan,  calmly  driving  two  bullocks  before 
him.  He  waved  his 
hand  to  us,  and  we 


supply  of  paper  and  chemicals  ;  but  otherwise, 
nothing  was  hurt  save  what  the  sun  would  make 
all  right. 

We  did  not  worry  about  Jan  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river  ;  Kaffirs  know  how  to  shift  for 
themselves.  He  would  prol)ably  find  a  kraal, 
and  there  is  a  perfect  freemasonry  between  the 
"  boys  "  when  they  find  a  fellow  in  trouble. 


shouted  ; 
river     was 
now,    that 
not    make 
what     we 


but  the 
so  wide 
we  could 
him  hear 
said.      Of 


course,  there  was  no 

chance  of  our  being 

able   to   re-unite    our 

forces  by  way  of  the 

drift  for  several  days 

yet.      So    we    waved 

our     arms,     pointed 

up   the    stream,    and 

returned     to     where 

the  waggon  was 

stuck.  — -  we    on 

one  side  of  the 

river     and     Jan 

and  the  bullocks     - 

on   the    other.     (^ 

Here  we  camped 

in  sight  of  each 

other,   and    discussed    a    plan   of    action.     By 

this    time     our    clothes   were   partially   dried ; 

and,    about    three    o'clock    in    the    afternoon, 

we  started  off  for  a  farm-house  we  could  see  in 

the  distance. 

We  had  the  good  fortune  to  strike  an  English 
farmer,  who  made  us  sit  down  to  a  good  meal 
and  the  inevitable  coffee.  He  gave  us  some  dry 
tobacco  and  matches,  and  gave  orders  for  a 
span  of  sixteen  oxen  to  follow  us  out  to  the 
wreck. 

Arrived  there,  the  trek-chain  of  the  team  was 
made  fast  to  the  front  end  of  the  "  schooner," 
and  after  a  great  deal  of  chopping  away  branches, 
and  crashing  and  cracking  and  straining,  our 
derelict  waggon  was  hauled  out  on  to  the 
bank. 

Fortunately  for  us.  South  African  waggons  are 
built  for  wear  rather  than  show.  Our  beauty 
was  badly  splintered  up ;  some  spokes  were 
smashed  and  the  cover  was  partly  wrecked,  but 
everything  was  there,  except  the  tongue,  and 
was  repairable. 

We  lost  no  time  in  getting  everything  out  of 
the  waggon,  and  laid  out  on  the  grass.  Our 
photographing  outfit  was  damaged,  but  not 
seriously.     We   should   have   to  lay  in  a  new 

Vol.  iii.— 64. 


THEKE   WAS   THE    WAr.(;oN    Tir.HTT.Y    WEDGED 
IN   THE    BRANCHES   OF    AN    UI'ROOTED 
WILLOW   TREE." 


Our  kind  host,  Mr.  Miller,  told  us  we  should 
most  likely  have  more  rain  for  three  days  to 
come  ;  and  meanwhile,  his  span  and  men  would 
carry  our  belongings  up  to  the  house.  He 
shouted  to  Jan  what  we  were  going  to  do,  and 
directed  him  over  to  a  kraal  he  knew  of  on 
the  hill.  Jan  trudged  off  with  the  bullocks 
while  we  turned  back  to  the  house,  getting 
the  last  of  our  sodden  blankets  in  under  the 
friendly  shelter  of  the  farm  -  house  just  as 
the  rain  came  down  again  as  fiercely  as  ever, 
and  accom[)anied  this  time  by  a  lively  thunder 
obbligato. 

Three  days  later  we  started  off  again,  the  sun 
shining  and  the  sky  clear.  The  river  was  still 
too  deep  to  ford,  but  Farmer  Miller  lent  us  his 
team,  making  our  waggon  fast  to  the  back  end 
of  his.  Jan  was  instructed  to  go  on  to  the  town 
with  the  two  bullocks  on  his  side  of  the  river. 
There  was  a  bridge  there  which  had  survived  the 
flood — although  I  believe  it  had  been  washed 
away  on  a  previous  occasion. 

W'e  had  the  waggon  repaired,  paying  for  it  with 
money  we  had  in  our  belts.  Then  we  bought 
two  more  bullocks  to  make  up  our  span,  and  in 
three  weeks  were  on  the  road  again,  well  on  our 
way  to  the  fields. 


5o6 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


III.— //oh-  We  Waited  for  Death. 

By  Basil  C.  d'Easum,  of  Fort  Saskatchewan,  Alberta,  N.W.T. 

How  a  couple  of  pioneers  lay  for  several  seconds  in  their  mining  tunnel  in  Castle,  Montana,  expecting 
to  be  blown    into    eternity  by    a    barrow-load  of   blazing  dynamite,  which,  with  a   box    of  detonators, 

stood  near  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 


Dynamite  is  queer  stuff ;  you  can  never  be 
sure  how  much  you  know  about  it.  It  is  very 
like  women — the  more  you  see  of  it,  and  the 
older  you  become,  the  more  yor  are  obliged 
to  confess  that  you  know  nothing  at  all 
about  it. 

Perhaps  the  first  thing  you  will  be  told  about 
dynamite  is  that  concussion  is  needed  to  set  it 
off.  Now,  I  have  accidentally  cut  a  stick  of 
dynamite  into  halves  with  a  spade,  and  nothing 
happened,  except  that  my  heart  leaped  into  my 
throat  as  I  saw  what  I 
had  done.  Again,  I  have 
seen  a  miner  pick  up  a 
stick  and  throw  it  at  his 
partner,  who,  luckily, 
caught  it  in  a  most  deli- 
cate way,  and  then  gently 
laid  it  down  and  went 
for  the  fool,  and  well  and 
truly  thrashed  him. 

Another  instance.  Two 
of  us  were  working  at  the 
bottom  of  a  shaft,  and 
had  made  ready  for  a 
shot.  Some  sticks  of 
dynamite  were  being  sent 
down  to  us  in  a  bucket, 
but  the    man   at  the  top. 


who   was   seven    or    eight 


different  kinds  of  a  born 
fool,  managed  to  drop  a 
stick  over  the  side  of  the 
bucket,  and  it  fell  some 
50ft.  down  the  shaft  and 
landed  at  our  feet.  George 
Ross,  my  j)artner,  looked 
at  me  and  I  at  him  ;  we 
said  nothing,  but  I  believe 
that  we  both  thought  a 
whole  lot.  So  you  see  that 
concussion  does  nof  always  set  off  dynamite. 

But,  oh!  there  is  another  side  to  the  question. 
I  knew  a  miner  who  was  carrying  two  sticks  of 
dynamite  in  the  bosom  of  his  shirt  when  he 
stumbled  and  fell.  Where  he  fell  the  ground 
was  torn  up  and  a  big  hole  made,  but  nothing 
more  was  ever  seen  of  that  miner. 

Another  case.  A  teamster  was  driving  slowly 
up  the  hill,  picking  his  way  and  keeping  a  sharp 
look-out  for  rocks  on  the  road ;  his  waggon 
was   loaded   with   dynamite,    carefully   packed. 


One  wheel  struck  a  stone  ;  there  was  a  jolt  and 
a  roar,  and  then  the  teamster,  his  waggon,  and 
four  mules  were  scattered  over  the  State  of 
Montana.  And  the  coroner's  jury  did  not  view 
the  remains,  because  there  were  none. 

As  I  said  before,  it  is  queer  stuff,  and  yet  it 
looks  so  innocent  and  harmless  —  like  the 
women  again  !  It  is  made  up  into  sticks 
about  loin.  long  and  lin.  in  diameter, 
wrapped  in  yellow  or  white  paper.  And  these 
sticks     look     very    like     the     Roman    candles 

and  big  squibs  used  in 
firework  displays.  The 
stuff  is  very  sensitive 
to  changes  of  tempera- 
ture, and  has  to  be  thawed 
out 
has 
first 
look 
out 


before  using  if  it 
become  frozen.  At 
one  is  inclined  to 
upon  this 
process 


thawing- 


THIS  POKIUAll  KKTRESENTS  Ml;.  D  EASLM  IN  A 
COAT  OF  CARIBOU  SKINS  MADE  BY  AN  INDIAN 
SQUAW,  AND  HE  HAD  TO  GO  A  LONG  JOURNEY 
BY  DOG-TKAIN  AND  SLEIGH  TO  GET  THE  PHOTO 
TAKEN    FOR   THIS   NARRATIVE. 

From  a  Photo,  taken  by  C.  IK  Mathers, 
Edmonton,  Alberta,  N.W.T. 


as  rather 
ticklish  work  —  although, 
with  [)roper  care,  it  is 
usually  perfectly  safe.  A 
fire  is  made,  and  the  dyna- 
mite is  placed  near  it. 

Often  you  will  see  a 
miner,  who  wishes,  per- 
haps, to  startle  some 
"  tenderfoot,"  take  a  stick 
and  set  fire  to  it,  hold- 
ing it  in  his  hand  while 
it  sputters  and  burns  with 
a  sharp,  acid,  and  choking 
smoke.  But  sometimes 
the  Eool-killer  Angel  (who 
deals  also  in  unloaded 
guns)  is  attending  to  his 
business,  and  then  that 
miner's  benefit  lodge  has 
to  pay  an  insurance 
claim  to  the  widow.  The  only  thing  you  can 
say  about  dynamite  is  that  the  unexpected  is 
just  as  likely  to  happen  as  the  expected. 

Now  for  my  story.  In  October,  1897,  I  was 
at  Castle,  Montana,  not  far  from  the  Crazy 
Mountains.  While  the  boom  was  going  on, 
Castle  was  a  lively,  wide-open  town ;  but  when 
I  was  there  the  bottom  had  fallen  out  of  the 
boom,  and  the  town,  if  not  dead,  was  decidedly 
sleeping. 

Upon  the  hillsides  were  the  open  shafts  of 


SHORT    STORIES. 


507 


abandoned  mines.  Fine  buildings  and  expen- 
sive machinery  were  left  untended  and  falling  to 
pieces  ;  whilst  the  boarding-houses,  filled  to 
overflowing  by  miners  in  the  palmy  days,  were 
empty  and  deserted.  I'he  inhabitants  of  the 
little  town  made  pathetic  attempts  to  convince 
themselves  and  stray  visitors  that  times  were 
picking  up,  and  that  there  would  yet  be  pro- 
sperity for  them.  Is  there,  by  the  way,  anyone 
in  the  world  who  is  more  sanguine  than  a  miner 
or  prospector  ? 

A  few  mines  were    still    being   worked,    and 
rumours  of  rich  strikes  were  constantly  heard  on 
the   streets    and    repeated   in   the   poor    little 
weekly  pa[)er.      I  know  of  nothing   more  pitiful 
than  a  dead  mining-town  ;    and    Montana   has 
many  such  dreary  wrecks.     In  Castle  there  w-ere 
many  mines  whose  owners,  in 
the    golden    days,    refused    to 
sell     them     for     thousands    of 
dollars  ;    now,  however, 
they    were     abandoned 


One  day  we  were  at  work  on  a  tunnel  which 
we  were  running  into  the  side  of  the  hill.  The 
tunnel  was  about  40ft.  long,  and  while  we  drilled 
some  holes  at  the  wall  end  of  it,  at  the  mouth 
we  built  a  little  fire  and  laid  near  it  some  sticks 
of  dynamite  which  were  frozen.  Beside  the  fire 
stood  a  wheelbarrow,  and  on  it,  wrapped  in  a 
piece  of  gunny  sack,  were  some  lengths  of  fuze 
and  a  little  tin  box  containing  the  caps  or 
detonators  used  to  explode  the  dynamite.  We 
were  busily  working  one  morning,  I  holding  the 
drill  and  turning  it  while  George  was  striking, 
when  suddenly  we  both  noticed  that  a  choking 
smoke  was  curling  into  the  tunnel,  bringing 
with  it  the  urmiistakable  smell  of  burning 
dynamite. 

The  reader  may  judge  of  our  horror  when  I 

tell  him  we  saw  that 

by    some    means   the 

.._-  awful  stuff  had  caught 

/^^  vji  fire  !      Now    this    of 

itself  might  not  have 


'we  both  noticed  that  a  choking  smoke  was  curling  into  the  tunnel. 


altogether,   or  were   worked,   in   a   half-hearted 
manner,  "  on  shares." 

George  Ross  and  I  had  taken  the  "  Golden 
West  "  mine  on  shares  ;  George  was  an  experi- 
enced miner,  but  I  was  green  at  the  work, 
having  but  lately  come  from  the  cattle  country, 
and  being  more  handy  at  throwing  a  rope  than 
at  swinging  a  pick  or  turning  a  drill.  But  we 
got  on  capitally  together. 


frightened  us  greatly,  but  we  both  knew  that 
the  danger  lay  in  that  little  box  of  percussion 
caps.  If  they  should  explode,  why,  then, 
nothing  on  earth  could  save  us,  for  the 
concussion  would  set  off  the  dynamite,  and  then 
we  knew  that  we  should  be  blown  to  pieces 
in  our  tunnel.  George  put  out  his  hand  and 
squeezed  mine. 

"  I  guess  we're  done  for,"  said  he,  simply. 


5oS 


THE    WIDE    WORLt)    MAGAZINE. 


We  threw  ourselves  on  our  faces,  for  the 
smoke  was  choking  us.  I  know  I  tried  to  pray, 
but  it  was  a  jumbled  attempt,  on  account  of  the 
whirling  confusion  of  thoughts  that  rushed 
through  my  excited  head.  I  thought  of  my  old 
home  in  England  ;  of  mean  things  that  I 
had  done  at  school  and  since ;  and  of  the 
girl  who  would  never  know  how  much  I  had 
loved  her.  Through  all  there  buzzed  the  pitiful 
refrain  : — 

"  It's  a  shame — it's  a  shame,  to  die  like  this — 
blown  to  pieces  in  a  hole  in  the  ground  !  " 

We  could  see  the  fire  catch  the  piece  of 
gunny  sack  and  flicker  all  over  it.  In  a  few 
seconds  we  knew  the  caps  would  go,  and  then — 
well,  then  the  miners  at  the  "Jumbo  "  above  us, 
when  they  came  down  to  dinner,  would  find 
the  mouth  of  our  tunnel  choked  up  and 
they  would  dig  and  dig,  and  perhaps  find 
some  horrible  pieces  of  what  had  once  been 
the  partners  who  were  working  the  "  Golden 
West  "  on  shares. 


THE    BARROW   WAS    TILTED   A    LITTLE,    AND   AS   THE   SACKING    BURNED   THE    BOX 
FELL   OUT   AND    ROLLED   DOWN    THE   HILL.' 


I  say  we  saw  the  fire  catch  the  gunny  sack, 
which  was  wrapped  round  the  box  of  caps,  and 
we  hid  our  faces,  stretched  at  full  length  on  the 
ground.  But,  like  one  mesmerized,  I  could  not 
keep  my  eyes  away  from  that  flickering  gunny 
sack,  from  whence  utter  annihilation  was  to 
come.  But  it  was  not  to  be.  I  looked  again, 
and  saw  a  marvellous  thing — a  thing  I  shall 
never  forget,  for  it  is  printed  at  the  back  of  my 
eyes  and  branded  on  my  brain.  And  like  all 
marvellous  things,  it  was  wonderfully  simple. 
The  barrow  was  tilted  a  little,  and  as  the 
piece  of  sacking  burned,  the  weight  of  the  box 
of  caps  slowly  unrolled  it.  The  box  then  fell 
out  on  the  side  farthest  away  from  the  fire,  and 
gently  rolled  down  the  side  of  the  hill  into 
safety ! 

It  was  a  few  seconds  before  we  realized  that 
the  chief  danger  was  over ;  then  we  scrambled 
to  our  feet  and  staggered  to  the  entrance  of  the 
tunnel.  I  went  down  and  picked  up  the  still 
warm  box  of  caps,  and  sprang  down  the  moun- 
tain-side with  it.  George  followed  me,  and 
without  a  word  we  went  down  the  main  street 
of  the  little  town  and  pushed  open  the 
ng  doors  of  the  "  Nugget  "  saloon, 
bar-keeper  shoved  the  bottle  and 
asses  towards  us,  and  the  bottle 
ave  clinked  against  the  glass  as  we 
each  poured  out  about  " three 
fingers  of  tangle-foot  barbed  wire." 
Remember,  that  the  time  from 
our  first  noticing  the  smoke  until 
I  saw  that  blessed  litde  box  roll 
away  could  not  have  been 
more  than  a  few  seconds. 
And  there  was  not  much 
chance  of  showing  bravery 
or  cowardice.  A  kitten, 
drowned  in  a  sack,  may 
be  brave  or  may  not ;  it 
makes  no  difference  to 
the  kitten  or  to  its  reputa- 
tion afterwards.  So  it  was 
with  us  in  that  tunnel  on 
the  "  Golden  West." 

"There,"  said  George, 
wiping  his  moustache  with 
the  back  of  his  hand,  "  what 
do  you  say  to  that  for  a 
close  call  ?  Now,  would  you 
call  that  an  accident,  or 
what  ?  And  why,  do  you 
suppose,  weren't  we  wiped 
out  just  now  ?  " 

And  I  could  not  answer 
him. 


Curiosities  of  the   South  Seas. 


By  Basil  Thomson. 
II. 

A  further  photographic  revelation  of  the   strange  sights   and  peculiar  phases  of  life  "  by  reef  and 
palm  "   in   the  beautiful   islands  of  the    Pacific.      With  full   descriptive  notes  bv  an  acknowledged 

authority  on  these  fascinating  regions. 

various  routes  to 
the  promised 
land.  The  Fijian 
had  " juniping-off 
phices"  facing 
the  north  -  west, 
the  position  of 
these  being  no 
mean  indication 
of  the  wanderings 
of  the  race.  The 
native  of  Rubiana 
in  the  Solomons, 
whose  tutelar  deity 
is  the  porpoise, 
takes  ship  in  the 
belly  of  his  god — • 
that  is  to  say,  his 
bones  are  depos- 
ited in  a  wooden 
model  of  a  fish, 
and,    inanimate 


things 


having 


F>om  <i] 


A   SCHOOL   OF   WOODEN'    POKI'OISES    \\  ; 

HE  belief  that  the  spirits  journeyed 
across  the  ocean  to  a  better  land, 
where  the  fruits  of  the  earth  ripened 
w  i  t  h  - 
out 


II    DEAD    MKNS   BONIiS. 


[Photo. 


souls   as   well    as 

animate,    the 

wraith    of   the 

wooden  porpoise  ferries   him  over.     Here   is  a 

school   of  such    porpoises   freighted    with  dead 

men's  bones.      A  wrench  upon  the  dorsal  fin 


tillage,  and  labour 
and  sorrow  were 
not,  was  universal. 
This  better  land 
seems  to  have 
been  the  country 
whence  the  ances- 
tors of  the  race 
had  emigrated 
generations  be- 
fore ;  and,  just  as 
colonial  -  born 
children  draw 
from  the  remi- 
niscences of  their 
elders  an  exagger- 
ated idea  of  the 
glories  of  "  home," 
so  the  Polynesian 
exalts  the  land  of 
his  origin  to  the 
rank  of  an  Ely- 
sium. There  were 


ON   THE   RIGHT   STANB   THE  CARVED   KING-POSTS   OF   A    RUINED    HOUSE. 
From  a]  IN  the  wooden  POKPOISE. 


THE    FORJIER    OWNER    IS    NOW    HOUSED 

[Photo. 


51" 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


"  IN   THE    BACKGROUND  STANDS    A    NEW-MADE  GRAVE,    WHOSE  TENANT  IS 

From  d\  feu  daily  with  plantains  and  fish."  [Photo. 

brings  the  whole  side  away  and  discloses  the 
bones  in  a  neat  little  chamber  within.  The  cage 
beneath  the  roof-tree  contains  the  skulls,  from 
which  every  shred  of  flesh  has  been  reverently 
removed  by  repeated  boiling  !  .  Sometimes  the 
skull  itself  is  deposited  within  the  fish. 

Hard  by  stand  the  carved  king -posts  of  a 
ruined  house,  ruined  because  the  owner  has  no 
further  use  for  it,  being  now  housed  within  the 
belly  of  the  wooden  porpoise.  When  you  reflect 
that  these  posts  were  carved  with  tools  made  of 
stone  and  shell,  you  will  admit  that  the  Solomon 
Islanders  have  a  right  to  be  called  the  artists  of 
the  Pacific. 

The  native  gentleman  in  the  next  illustration 
has  been  photographed  in  his  ordinary  costume 
of  shield  and  spear,  which  are  infinitely  more 
necessary  to  his  well-being  than  the  apparel  of 
civilization.  His  wives  and  daughters  grow  his 
food  and  cook  his  dinner,  while  he  stands  guard 
over  them  against  surprise.  He  is  no  mean 
ship-builder,  for  the  canoe  behind  him,  unlike 
those  of  most  Pacific  tribes,  has  neither  out- 
rigger nor  dug-out  hull,  but  is  built  up  of  planks 
neatly  jointed  and   sewn  together  with  sinnet. 


In  the  background  stands  a  new-made  grave, 
whose  tenant  is  fed  daily  on  plantains  and 
fish. 

The  broad-brimmed  hat  is  an  invention 
that  has  never  occurred  to  the  Rubiana 
people,  whose  woolly  hair  is  protection 
enough  for  the  head,  but  not  for  the  eyes. 
But  they  have  hit  upon  a  sunshade  which 
may  be  described  as  a  brim  without  a  hat. 
The  fisherman  in  the  accompanying  illus- 
tration has  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  years 
of  patient  culture  he  has  bestowed  upon  the 
lobes  of  his  ears.  Into  the  first  tiny  per- 
foration he  introduced  a  grass  blade,  and 
gradually  increased  the  number  until  the 
aperture  was  large  enough  to  take  in  succes- 
sion a  roll  of  banana  leaf,  a  stick,  an  empty 
cotton  reel,  a  tin  matchbox,  and  finally  this 
shell  ring.  Some  day  it  will  catch  on  a  twig 
and  tear,  and  he  will  then  have  to  mend  the 
string  of  flesh  by  excoriating  the  ends  and 
splicing  them  until  they  adhere.  In  the 
Solomons,  as  elsewhere,  "  //  faui  souffrir 
pour  etre  beau." 

The  artistic  taste  of  the  Solomon  Islander 
is  not  confined  to  sculpture.  Look,  tor  in- 
stance, at  the  prow  of  a  Bougainville  canoe 
inlaid  with  mother-of-pearl.  Each  of  these 
stars  has  been  laboriously  cut  out  of  pearl 
shell  with  stone  tools,  and  laid  into  the  wood 


with   black  vegetable 


gum. 


Think   of  the 


RUBIA-  1  I  ARING    "a    BRIM    WITHOUT    A    HAT     —NOTICE 

THE  EXTRAORDINARY  WAY  HE   HAS  TRAINED  THE  LOBE  OF  HIS  EAR, 

From  a  Fhoto.  by  Capt.  Davis,  R.N. 


CURIOSITIES    OF    THE    SOUTH    SEAS. 


511 


the  Solomons  is  doomed.  After  the  Germans 
had  claimed  the  northern  islands  of  the  group, 
l-^nu;laiid,  who  had  long  had  the  expense  of 
policing  the  immense  stretch  of  coast  under  the 
authority  of  the  Western  Pacific  Order  in  Council, 
proclaimed  a  Protectorate  over  the  southern 
portion,  and  appointed  Mr.  C.  M.  Woodford, 
the  autlior  of  .*'  A  Naturalist  Among  the  Head- 
hunters,"  the  first  Resident.  The  post  is  no 
sinecure,  for,  as  may  be  gathered  from  this 
photograph,  the  first  duty  of  a  Resident  is  to 
build  his  own  residence.  Although  the  Solo- 
mons were  discovered  by  Mendana  no  less  than 
330  years  ago,  these  few  planks  are  the  first 
tangible  signs  of  civilized  authority. 

Except  in  the  hurricane  season  the  Resident 
can  point  to  a  British  gunboat  cruising  on  the 
coast  when  he  wishes  to  enforce  an  order,  but 
for  the  rest  he  has  to  trust  to  his  own  tact  and 
what  poker-players  call  "  bluff"  for  maintaining 
order  among  his  turbulent  subjects,  many  of 
whom  have  lost  their  awe  of  the  white  man  by 
working  for  him  on  the  plantations  of  Queens- 
land and  Fiji. 

The  Solomons  are  the  Western  limit  of  the 
Melanesian  race,  for  though  Melanesians  have 
crossed  the  narrow  sea  that  separates  them  from 
New  C.uinea,  taking  their  language  and  customs 
with  them,  the  prevailing  type  on  the  great 
I'Row  OF  A  aoLGAiNvii.i.F.  CANOE  INLAID  WITH  MOTHER-oF-PEAKL  -  Island'Con ti ttcn t  Is  Papuan.  As  with  the  racial 
}-,o,na\         cARicATUKE  OF  AN  ENEMv  AT  FOOT.  \Pitoto.      jypg^  ^o  wlth  thc  fauna.     Thc  grcat  strctchcs  of 

labour  of  it !  The  little  figure-head  attached  to  upland  swarm  with  wallaby,  the  forest  with  birds 
the  fore-foot  is  intended  to  represent  the  features  of  Paradise  and  cassowary ;  and  to  the  sports- 
of  the  Bougainville  hill-men,  who  are  ever  at  war  man,  the  naturalist,  and  the  orchid  -  hunter 
with  the  coast 
natives.  The  cari- 
cature hits  off  very 
cleverly  the  hill- 
man's  progna- 
thous jaw,  which 
is  his  notable 
characteristic.  It 
is  complete  even 
to  the  painting  of 
the  face  and  the 
nose  and  ear  orna- 
ment s .  These 
canoes  are  pro- 
pelled by  paddlers 
sitting  two  abreast 
to  the  number  of 
ten  to  thirty 
according  to  their 
size,  and  they 
attain  an  incredi- 
ble speed  for  a 
short  distance. 

^  A   GLIMl'SE   OF    THE   HARDSHIPS   OF    EMPIKE— MR.    C    .M.    WOODFORD.    THE   LKITI3H     KEblUt.N  I  ,    UOILDING    HIS 

tive    savagery    or      j.yom  a\  own  house  in  the  solomons.  \Fiioto. 


512 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


J'rOtlla]      "A  PLAIN  OF  HOT  SUl.PUUK  Hi  >M,M.  i  >.M  III- ll   V.V  c,i;\SHK 


[/'//<)/,). 


camera  was  pitched  was  pulsating  like  a 
high-pressure  engine,  and  the  camera  itself 
narrowly  escaped  destruction  from  a  shower 
of  boiling  filth  belched  into  the  air  by  the 
caldron  in  the  foreground.  The  half-starved 
trees  behind  are  the  most  easterly  specimens 
of  the  Australian  gum-tree  that  have  yet 
been  found. 

Travel  in  New  Guinea  is  not  a  luxurious 
experience,  for  the  weight  of  baggage  must 
be  strictly  limited  to  the  available  supply  of 
carriers.  After  a  week  the  gorge  rises  at 
hard  tack  and  damper,  and  the  spirit  yearns 
for  leavened  bread.  To  the  good  bushman 
even  this  is  attainable,  provided  that  his 
swag  contains  flour  and  a  little  German 
yeast,  and  that  an  ant-hill  can  be  found.  To 
the  "  tender-foot,"  however,  no  more  un- 
promising material  for  an  oven  could  be 
found  than  this  pyramid  of  crumbling  and 
unwholesome-looking  mud,  but  our  half- 
breed  Australian  cook  knows  better.  The 
carriers  are  sent  out  to  bring  in  firewood, 
while  Tom  scoops  a  doorway  in  the  side  of 
the  mound.  Out  swarm  the  ants,  struggling 
and  tumbling  in  the  ruins  of  their  city.  But 
'I'om  knows  no  mercy.  \Vith  a  dexterous 
twist  of  his  tether-pin  he  scoops  out  the 
bowels  of  the  hill,  until  nothing  is  left  but 
a  crust  alive  with  infuriated  ants.  But  worse 
is  still  to  come.  Tom  sets  a  match  to  a 
handful    of    dead    leaves    and    twigs,    and 


Guinea   is   a 


among 


alike,    New 
paradise. 

The  writer  was 
the  first  who  explored  the 
Ferguson  Island,  which  is 
divided  from  the  mainland 
by  a  strait  scarce  ten  miles 
wide.  Yet  this  strait  has 
sufficed  to  prove  an  im- 
passable barrier  for  the 
birds.  The  weird  spot 
reproduced  in  this  photo- 
graph is  a  plain  of  hot 
sul[}hur  honeycombed  by 
geysers,  and  the  forest  on 
the  right  is  the  only  spot 
in  the  world  where  the 
beautiful  Paradisea Decora 
is  found.  The  poor  bird 
is  so  easily  decoyed  to  its 
death  that  the  Govern- 
ment has  wisely  forbidden 
its  destruction  by  law. 
The  photograph  is  a  little 
woolly  in  outline  because 
the  ground  on  which  the 


AN    ANT-HILL   AS   AN    OVEN    LN    NEW   Gl'NEA — CARRIERS    BRINGING    FIREWOOU,    WHILE 

From  a\  a  hole  in  the  mound. 


TOM    SCRAI'ES 

[P/ioto. 


CURIOSITIES    OF    THE    SOUTH    SEAS. 


5^3 


smoke  bursts  out  from  every  pore  of  the  mound. 
Down  roll  the  ants  in  showers,  writhing  a  solid 
inch  deep  in  the  grass  ere  they  make  off  to  build 
a  new  city  upon  a  site  less  subject  to  volcanic 
eruption.  As  the  wood  burns  up,  the  crust 
changes  colour.  You  can  see  by  the  simmer  in 
the  air  that  i'  is  red-hot.  Out  with  the  embers 
and  in  with  '  .e  dough,  building  up  the  doorway 
with  moist  earth.  It  is  wonderful  how  the  walls 
hold  the  heat :  at  the  end  of  two  hours  they 
are  too  hot  for  the  hand,  and  the  loaves  are 
browned  to  a  turn. 

The  men  who  carry  your  baggage  on  this 
part  of  the  coast  hail  from  Rigo,  the  large  coast 
village  shown  in  the  next  picture.  In  the 
centre  street  stand  four  posts,  elaborately 
carved,  and  over  20ft.  high.  The  platform  and 
the  spikes  protruding  from  them  are  for  sus- 
pending baskets  of  food,  probably  propitiatory 


rLATiORM    AND   SPIKES    FOR   SUSPENDING  OFFERINGS   TO   THE   DEAD  (COAST  VILLAGE 

From  a  Photo. 


offerings  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  who  are 
usually  buried  under  the  raised  floors  of  the 
houses.  The  origin  of  these  platform  huts, 
which  are  used  throughout  British  New  Guinea, 
is  difficult  to  determine.  They  may  be  sur- 
vivals from  a  time  when  every  village  was 
built  on  piles  in  the  sea  to  guard  against 
surprise,  like  the  village  near  Port  Moresby, 
which  can  only  be  approached  in  canoes ; 
or  they  may  be  the  result  of  an  empirical 
discovery  that  an  air  space  beneath  the  floor 
keeps  off  malaria.     In  the  latter  case  the  sage 

Vol.  iii.— 65. 


who  devised  them  might  also  have  taught  that 
the  emptying  of  slops  and  refuse  through  the 
crannies  in  the  floor,  to  form  a  stinking  wallow 
for  the  pigs,  goes  far  to  counteract  the  salubrity 
of  his  invention.  The  piles  are  often  surmounted 
with  a  flat  wooden  disc  to  prevent  the  rats  from 
ascending  them.  The  full  dress  of  a  Rigo 
gentleman  may  be  noticed  near  the  sacred 
platform.  It  consists  of  a  narrow  girdle,  to  which 
a  pack-thread  passed  between  the  legs  is  attached 
fore  and  aft. 

No  account  of  South  Sea  curiosities  would  be 
complete  without  a  reference  to  cannibalism. 
Men  were  eaten  in  New  Guinea,  the  Solomon 
Islands,  and  very  rarely  in  Tonga,  but  the 
practice  was  reduced  to  a  fine  art  in  Fiji.  It  is 
now,  of  course,  safer  to  travel  alone  in  Fiji  than 
in  some  parts  of  England,  although  so  late  as 
1894    two    men    were    killed  and    eaten  by  an 

inland  tribe  as  a 
mark  of  defiance 
to  the  (Govern- 
ment. But  from 
the  beginning  of 
this  century  until 
late  in  the  six- 
ties warriors 
slain  in  battle 
were  often  eaten 
bv  their  con- 
querors — not  in 
most  cases  from 
taste,  but  as  a 
quasi  -  religious 
rite  of  triumph. 
This  ferocity  in 
moments  of  tri- 
um[)h  did  not 
imply  that  they 
were  incapable 
of  kindly  feeling, 
f  o  r  m  a  n  y  e  x  - 
cannibals  with 
whom  the  writer 
has  been  on 
intimate  terms 
are  good  ad- 
ministrators, kind  fathers  and  husbands,  and 
gentle-mannered,  intelligent  men.  The  horrible 
barbarities  of  which  they  were  undoubtedly 
guilty  were  confined  to  war-time,  and  practised 
only  on  their  vanquished  foes.  A  photograph  of 
the  "  Cannibal  Stone,"  or  slaughtering-place  of 
human  victims  at  Bau,  in  Fiji,  is  next  reproduced. 
When  a  canoe  approached  the  town  after  a 
successful  expedition  a  peculiar  tattoo  was 
beaten  on  the  drum,  which  was  caught  up  by 
the  great  drum  in  the  village.  Men  and  women 
flocked   down    to   the   water's   edge,    bandying 


i,LIM-a;. 


5M 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZlINE. 


rrom  <ij       i  Ht 


■  CA.NMl.Al.    >  I 


obscenities  with  the  returning  warriors  who,  it 
could  now  be  seen,  had  corpses  or  captives  on 
board.  If  they  had  far  to  walk  the  body  was 
bound  to  a  pole,  and  the  warriors  advanced 
dancing  the  thimbi,  or  death  dance.  The  body 
was  thrown  down  to  be  insulted  and  mutilated 
by  the  populace,  while  the  oven  was  made 
ready.  It  was  then 
prepared  and  baked 
whole,  exactly  like  a 
pig,  and  afterwards 
carved  skilfully  with 
a  bamboo  knife. 
Each  joint  —  and 
there  were  special 
names  for  all — was 
wrapped  in  leaves, 
and  apportioned  to 
the  different  chiefs, 
who  ate  it  in  secret 
with  certain  wooden 
forks  that  were  re- 
served for  that  pur- 
pose alone,  and  were 
regarded  with  super- 
stitious awe. 

This  photograph 
of  the  ihimbi  was  not 
taken  on  the  spot  for 
obvious  reasons,  but, 
as  a  reproduction  of 
the  grim  scene,  it 
is    very    fair.       The 


corpse,  however, 
ought  not  to  be 
lashed  to  the  pole 
face  upwards,  for 
a  corpse  in  that 
position  has  a  ten- 
dency to  fold  up; 
but,  no  doubt,  the 
"  corpse  "  in  the 
photograph  con- 
sidered that  accu- 
racy to  the  extent 
of  lashing  him  to 
the  pole  facedown- 
wards  savoured 
of  pedantry.  The 
thi)iihi  is  accom- 
panied by a  savage 
chant,  and  while 
the  warriors  ad- 
vance dancing, 
and  making  their 
spears  shiver  as  in 
the  act  of  throw- 
ing, the  women 
shriek  out  plea- 
santries never  permitted  at  any  other  time.  In 
a  case  described  by  Jackson,  who  was  present, 
the  body  was  placed  in  a  sitting  posture,  and 
an  orator  took  it  by  the  hand,  and  spoke  to  it, 
kindly  at  first,  remonstrating  with  it  for  its  fool- 
hardiness  in  coming  out  against  so  redoubtable 
a  foe.     Then,   working  himself  into  a  passion. 


1/  iloio. 


/■  ro»i  a\ 


THIS    IS    HOU-    A    CANNIHAL   ORGIE   COMMENCED    IN    THE   OLO    DAYS 


ifkoto. 


CURIOSITIES    OF    THE    SOUTH    SEAS. 


5^5 


he  kicked  it  over  amid  shouts  of  laughter,  and 
then  the  riff-raff  ran  in  to  mutilate  it.  So 
shame-faced  were  the  warriors  at  returning 
empty-handed  on  one  occasion, that  a  missionary, 
sailing  past  their  canoe,  saw  them  strip  one  of 
their  own  party,  and  lay  him  bound  upon  the 
deck  to  counterfeit  a  corpse  slain  in  battle  ! 

There  are  contrasts  enough  in  these  fair 
islands,  so  bounteously  made  bv  Nature,  and  so 
marred  by  man.  Here  are  two  types  of  criminal, 
both  condemned  to  life- long  imprisonment 
in  a  land  where  a  life  sentence  means  what  it  is 
called. 

U'he  first  was  a 
veritable  wild  man, 
a  reversion  to  the 
pre-paleolithic  type, 
when  man  stru!io;led 
for  his  place  among 
the  other  beasts,  at 
war  with  them  and 
with  his  own  kind. 
His  history  as  we 
learned  it  afterwards 
was  this.  A  labour- 
schooner  brought 
him  to  Fiji  from  ttie 
New  Hebrides  in 
1877,  and  he  was 
indentured  as  ser- 
vant to  the  English 
doctor  stationed  in 
K  a  n  d  a  V  u  .  But 
domestic  service  was 
not  to  his  liking,  and 
he  ran  away  into  the 
bush  and  dis- 
appeared. Those 
who  thought  of  him 
at  all  believed  him 
dead,  and  in  a  year 
or  two  he  was  for- 
gotten. Ten  years 
passed,  and  then  the 
island  was  startled  by 
a  series  of  murders, 

ruthless,  unprovoked,  and  objectless.  Eonely 
men,  returning  from  their  plantations  in 
the  dusk,  were  struck  down  witii  an  axe  ;  way- 
farers were  attacked  from  behind  without  ever 
seeing  their  assailant.  A  native  mission  teacher, 
suspected  of  one  of  these  murders,  was  arrested 
and  tried,  but  the  chain  of  circumstantial 
evidence  wanted  a  link,  and  he  was  acquitted. 
'I'hen  another  man  was  chased  by  a  wild  naked 
creature,  and  escaped  to  tell  the  tale.  The 
island  was  in  panic.  It  was  a  giant,  one  of  the 
gods  of  old  !  But  later  an  explorer  came  upon 
the  mysterious  one's  lair,  a  cave  in  an  inacces- 


Plf  "" 

\ 

inj  ^1^' 

M-lfl 

-Hi 

iMnl 

^H 

c 

'^.1^ 

1 

-.g-zhr^^-      ***s?*5HH 

9 

1^ 

\\  li.l)    .MAN     I-  K 

J-foin  a] 


sible  crag.  This  witness  saw  the  creature  leaping 
from  crag  to  crag  like  a  wild  goat,  and  he 
brought  home  the  furniture  of  the  cave — 
an  axe  of  antiquated  pattern  and  a  stick 
for  rubbing  fire— evidence  that  none  could 
dispute.  At  last  the  wild  man  grew  bolder, 
and  pursued  a  mission  teacher,  who  made 
for  the  village  with  the  murderer  in  such 
close  pursuit,  that  they  made  a  rush  upon  him 
and  bound  him  fast.  The  Court  found  him  to 
be  insane,  and  consigned  him  to  the  lunatic 
asylum,  where  his   photograph   was  taken,  with 

the  corrugated  iron 
fence  for  background. 
They  had  given  him 
clothes,  but  he  tore 
them  up  and  fes- 
tooned the  shreds 
about  his  neck.  He 
knew  no  h  u  m  an 
speech,  and  the  only 
human  possession  he 
would  accept  was  a 
clay  pipe  and  some 
tobacco,  and  there 
he  sat  all  day  smok- 
ing in  a  mild,  con- 
templative mood. 
He  was  a  gentle, 
melancholy  creature, 
incapable,  one  would 
have  said,  of  the 
smallest  unkindly 
act.  His  spirit  pined 
for  the  free  life  in 
the  woods,  and,  as 
the  body  could  not 
come,  it  left  the 
body  with  us,  and 
went  alone. 

One  turns  to  the 
second  type  of  crimi- 
nal with  a  sigh. 
When  you  land  in 
New  Caledonia  in 
the  afternoon,  you 
find  Noumea  en  fe/e.  The  whole  population 
— soldiers,  naval  officers,  Civil  servants,  and 
merchants'  clerks,  together  with  every  wife 
and  daughter  in  the  place — is  taking  the  air 
in  the  little  square  where  the  band  is  plaj'- 
ing.  It  is  a  good  band,  and  something  odd 
about  its  uniform  excites  your  curiosity.  You 
draw  nearer,  and  note  that  the  uniform  is  of 
sacking,  that  the  band  is  attended  by  guards : 
that  it  is,  in  fact,  composed  of  convicts,  who 
regard  their  membership  as  a  privilege. 
These  are  men  who  have  nearly  earned  their 
remission,  and   may  each  within    a  few   years 


■  E\V     Hi;HKIllt>    WHO     Ub;\ASlArtL) 
KANUAVU. 


IHK     ISLAND    OK 

[P/wto. 


5i6 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


own  a  wife,  Hb'er'ee  like  themselves,  and  a 
little  cafe  on  one  of  the  excellent  roads 
that  traverse  the  islands.  But  the  others — 
those  who  never  pass  the  prison  wall?  What 
of  them  ?  In  this  photograph  you  have  a 
glimpse  of  the  lives  they  lead.     It  is  the  e.xercise- 


afford  the  passage  money.  The  convicts  dream 
of  France  too,  but  they  will  never  see  it  more. 
Not  France,  not  even  the  glorious  scenery  of 
their  tropical  island  ;  not  the  blue  Pacific,  and 
the  foam-crusted  reef  they  can  faintly  hear. 
Their  world  is  in  this  narrow  yard,  with  the  heat 


CONDEMNED   FOR    IJFE    IN    NEW    CALEDONIA  !— "  THEIR   WORLD    IS    IN    THIS   NARROW   VARD,    WITH    THE   HEAT   AND   THE   MOSQUITOES. 

From  a  Photo. 


yard  of  the  prisoners,  "condamnes  a  perpetuite  " 
in  the  prison  of  the  Nou.  There  is  no  help 
for  them.  If  they  rebel,  it  means  chains  and 
the  iron  ball. 

If  they  acquiesce,  it  means  that  this  yard  will 
be  the  brightest  spot  in  their  lives  until  death 
releases  them.  Their  warders,  the  garrison 
kept  to  overawe  them,  the  civilians  who 
administer  their  colony,  dream  of  I*>ance, 
and  realize  their  dreams  as  soon  as  they  can 


and  the  mosquitoes.  It  makes  one  smile  to 
think  of  the  pity  poured  forth  upon  the  sleek 
malefactors  in  our  own  prisons,  working  in  the 
open,  in  the  breezy  air  of  Dartmoor  or  Portland, 
already  full  of  plans  for  their  certain  release, 
and  then  to  remember  the  shiver  that  went 
down  the  back  when  one  looked  upon  those 
others  on  the  He  Nou.  There  are  strange  things 
to  be  seen  in  the  South  Sea  Islands,  but  none, 
as  I  think,  stranger  than  this. 


In  Search   of  My    ** Goddess,"' 

Bv  Madame  Cathinca  Amyot, 


An  interesting  page  from  the  life-story  of  a  well-known  lady  artist.  Madame  Amyot's  early 
aspirations.  She  seeks  her  goJdess  (the  Swedish  artist,  Mile.  Sophia  Ribbing)  in  the  Castle  of 
Christiansborg.      She    goes   astray  in  the   vast,  silent    saloons,    and    finally    has    a    terrible  fall    into    a 

mysterious  pit,  from  which  her  "goddess"  rescues  her. 


THINK  I  may  say  that  few  people, 
if  any,  have  experienced  an  adven- 
ture like  the  one  I  met  with  some 
thirty  years  ago  in  Copenhagen.  I 
^  had  not  yet  begun  my  artistic  studies, 
for  at  that  period  my  native  town  offered  no 
opportunity  whatever  for  a  lady  to  study  art 
seriously.  My  desire  to  do  so  met  with  the 
strongest  opposition  in  my  own  family  ;  a  lady 
artist  being  then  looked  upon  almost  as  a  freak. 
Indeed,  in  the  eyes  of  these  decorous  and  old- 
fashioned  people  she  was  synonymous  with  an 
'■  e  mancipated  " 
woman,  dressed  in 
k nicker  -  bockers, 
with  short-cut  hair, 
and  smoking  ciirars. 
I  therefore 
thought  it  wisest  to 
keep  to  myself  my 
hopes  and  plans  : 
to  leave  niy  native 
country  and  study 
abroad  —  at  least, 
until  my  resolves 
could  be  laid  be- 
fore the  family 
council  as  some- 
thing more  than 
mere  day-dreams. 

In  our  whole 
circle  there  was 
nobody  who  could 
advise  me  in  this 
matter  ;  and  pic- 
tures by  foreign 
artists  being  very 
scarce  at  our  yearly 
exhibitions,  it  was 
difficult  for  me  to 
form  any  idea  of 
where  to 
school 
abroad. 

But  a 
exhibited 
that  time 


fmd     a 
of    art 

picture 
just  at 
of  inde- 
cision turned  my 
straying  ideas  into 
a  distinct  groove. 
It    was     a      fiiiure 


THIS   IS   MADAME   CATHIN'CA   AMYOT, 

From  a  Photo.  by\  s tkan 


picture  by  the  Swedish  artist.  Mile.  Sophia 
Ribbing,  a  pupil  of  the  great  Belgian  painter, 
Louis  (lallait. 

From  the  moment  I  saw  this  picture  I  made 
up  my  mind  to  communicate  with  the  lady  and 
ask  for  her  advice.  She  was,  however,  at  that 
time  in  Rome,  whence  rumour  carried  her 
fame  in  the  most  glowing  terms.  Her  talent, 
her  beauty,  her  bewitching  manner,  and  her 
sweet  temper  brought  everybody  who  knew  her 
under  a  perfect  spell ;  and  it  was  said  that 
every  man   and  woman,  old  and  young,  almost 

worshipped  her.  No 
wonder  that  my 
youthful  enthusi- 
asm, kindled  by 
all  these  eulogies, 
endowed  her  with 
a  halo,  and  raised 
her  to  such  a  pin- 
nacle that  I  would 
never  have  dared 
to  approach  this 
goddess  without  an 
introduction. 

But  as  it  is 
always  the  unex- 
pected which  hap- 
pens, I  found 
myself  actually 
l)rought  into  con- 
tact with  her 
through  a  coinci- 
tlence  — -  which,  as 
Rudyard  Kipling 
would  say,  "is 
another  story  alto- 
gether." I  saw  her 
but  a  few  moments, 
and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  she  even 
caught  my  name  ; 
but  I  found  myself 
at  once  under  the 
spell  of  her  charm- 
ing personality.  She 
appeared  but  one 
moment  to  cheer 
my  dull,  humdrum 

WHOSE   ARTISTIC   CAREER    BEGAN    SO  lllc,      anU      men      SQC 

GELv.  iBarraud,  Ltd.      disappeared. 


5i8 


Till":    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


This  was  In  early  spring.  All  through  the 
summer  I  lived  in  an  ecstasy  of  worsliip  (I  was 
very  young  then  !).  I  lived  a  kind  of  double 
life — a  monotonous,  uninteresting  one,  with  an 
undercurrent  of  a  delightful  dream-world  in 
which  I  fancied  myself  in  intimate  friendship 
with  my  goddess.  I  would  be  conjuring  up 
conversations,  adventures,  confidences,  and 
arguments  with  her,  and  basking  in  the  sun- 
shine of  her  wonderful  eyes  and  the  charm 
of  her  presence.  Naturally,  then,  it  was  with 
a  kind  of  delightful  shock  that  I,  on  a  hot 
August  day,  read  in  the  newspaper  that  Mile. 
Sophia  Ribbing  was  in  Copenhagen,  and  en- 
gaged on  painting  another  lovely  child's  picture. 

How  I  got  her  address 
matters  little  ;  but  taking 
"  vwn  courage  a  deux 
mains,'"  I  started  one 
morning,  determined  to 
find  her,  and  to  put  my 
case  before  her. 

I  did  not  tell  anyone 
at  home  where  I  was 
going,  for  I  felt  as  shy 
about  it  as  if  I  had  been 
in  love.  Besides,  I  had 
perfect  freedom  to  go 
where  I  liked,  so  long  as 
I  returned  punctually  for 
the  meals. 

First  I  walked  at  full 
speed,  carried  forward  by 
the  intensity  of  my  desires  ; 
but  when  I  came  nearer 
the  street  where  my  god- 
dess was  living,  I  slackened 
speed,  doubt  and  hesita- 
tion filling  my  mind.  What 
was  poor  I,  that  this 
glorious  being — living  in 
an  atmosphere  of  art  and 
admiration  —  should  re- 
member me?  Of  course 
she  would  have  forgotten 

me,  and  she  would  perhaps  look  upon  me  as 
an  intruder. 

The  daring  of  my  undertaking  grew  upon 
me  to  such  a  degree  that,  on  finding  myself 
before  her  door,  I  felt  inclined  to  run  away 
again  ;  but,  angry  with  my  own  weakness,  I 
boldly  crossed  the  Rubicon  and  pulled  the  bell 
hard. 

She  was  not  at  home.  .She  had  started  early 
that  morning  for  her  studio  to  arrange  a  lot  of 
things,  as  she  was  leaving  for  the  country  the 
following  day.  My  first  feeling  of  relief  at 
finding  her  out  gave  place  to  one  of  great  dis- 


MLLE.    CATHINCA    KNGEl.HAUT  (MADAME    AMYOT)   AS 
SHE   APPEAREO     AT   THE   TI.ME    OF     THIS    ADVENTURE. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Georg  E.  Hansen,  Copenhagen. 


appointment,  but  with  my  defeat  all  my  courage 
returned.  So  on  learning  from  the  servant  that 
Mile.  Ribbing  had  a  room  to  paint  in  at  the 
Royal  Castle  of  Christiansborg,  I  immediately 
set  out  to  find  her  there.  The  servant's  sugges- 
tion of  calling  again  at  her  lodgings  late  that 
evening,  or  early  next  morning,  I  could  not 
entertiin,  as  my  very  slight  acquaintance  with 
the  great  artist  would  hardly  justify  my  intruding 
on  her  at  such  unconventional  hours. 

The  Castle  of  Christiansborg,  which  was 
totally  wrecked  by  fire  about  ten  years  ago, 
was  an  immense  pile  of  buildings,  and  was  not 
used  as  a  residence  at  all.  It  contained  the 
State  apartments  ;  the  two  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment ;  the  National  Pic- 
ture Gallery ;  and  end- 
less stores  of  furniture, 
china,  and  plate ;  being, 
in  fact,  tlie  "Garde 
Meuble "  of  the  Danish 
Crown.  Separated  from 
the  castle  by  vast  court- 
yards were  the  Royal 
stables  ;  the  manege  ; 
the  arsenal  ;  the  Chapel 
Royal,  and  the  Govern- 
ment offices. 

Except  during  the 
winter,  when  the  Parlia- 
ments sit,  and  on  two 
days  Aveekly,  when  the 
picture  gallery  was  open, 
the  enormous  edifice  was 
perfectly  deserted.  It 
looked  gloomy  and  for- 
bidding, like  a  house  of 
mourning,  with  its  end- 
less rows  of  windows  with 
drawn  blinds,  and  its  large, 
em[)ty  courtyards,  where 
the  monotonous  cooing 
of  the  pigeons  and  the 
measured  tramp  of  the 
sentinels  were  only  now 
and  then  varied  by  a  cart  or  waggon  fr©m  the 
arsenal  or  stables,  whose  terrific  rattling  over 
the  rough  cobbles  re-echoed  from  all  the  sur- 
rounding buildings  as  if  a  whole  convoy  of 
carts  were  advancing  with  deafening  noise. 

It  was  with  a  depressed  and  hesitating  feeling 
that  I  stood  before  the  enormous  portals,  which 
were  more  like  the  gates  of  a  citadel  than  the 
doors  of  a  Royal  Palace.  The  colossal  bronze 
statues  of  Minerva  and  /Esculapius  which 
guarded  the  entrance  had  something  crushing 
about  them,  and  made  me  feel  like  an  ant 
coming  to  face  a  giant. 

I  did  not  know  how  to  get  into  this  forbidding- 


IM    SEARCH    OF    MV    "GODDESS." 


MADAME    tNotLHA; 

From  a  Photo. 


looking  building,  ee  I 
asked  the  sentinel  to 
direct  me  —  unaware  of 
the  fact  that  he  was  not 
allowed  to  speak  whilst 
mounting  guard.  The 
Lifeguardsman  simply 
stared  straight  before  him, 
and  his  immovable  fea- 
tures and  absolute  silence 
struck  me  with  an  awe 
which  must  have  been 
strongly  expressed  in  my 
face,  for  the  son  of  Mars 
was  evidently  moved  to 
pity.  Raising  his  left 
gloved  hand,  he  pointed 
towards  the  green  copper 
dome  of  the  Chapel 
Royal,  and  grunted, 
"  Porter's  lodge."  To 
find  this  was  an  easy 
task,  and  I  congratulated 
myself  on  having  at  last 
safely  arrived  at  the  goal 
of  my  wishes.  But  I  little 
knew  what  was  before  me. 

Tile  fat  porter  in  the  scarlet  coat,  black  velvet 
knee-breeches,  white  stockings,  and  cocked  hat 
received  me  with  that  afifiable  condescension 
which  is  the  true  badge  of  real  greatness.  And 
he  listened  to  my  request  to  be  directed  to 
Mile.  Ribbing  with  the  good- 
natured  patience  of  a  man 
whose  time  is  absolutely  his 
own. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  with  a 
voice  sounding  as  if  it  came 
through  cotton  wool  (beer, 
most  likely),  "there  is  such 
a  person  "  —  Oh  I  my  god- 
dess ! — "  working  here.  We 
have  accommodated  her,  as 
she  was  specially  recom- 
mended to  Us  from  over 
there." 

This,  with  a  wave  of  his 
fat  hand  in  the  direction 
where  he  supposed  Sweden 
to  be  situated. 

"  But  I  cannot  say  that  I 
ever  set  eyes  on  her,  as  she 
does  not  come  under  my 
department.  Vou  see,  little 
miss,  you  have  come  in  by 
the  wrong  entrance.  You 
ought  to  have  entered  by 
the  south  door.  You  are 
a  long  way  from  the  painter- 


by  E.  Lange,  Copenhagen. 


MADAME    AMYf'TS    Ka;HEK,    M.    E.SGFLHART, 

CHEP     OE     BUREAU     IM     THE     NATIONAL    HA\K    OF 

DENMARK.        (hE    LI'DGED   A    COMPLAINT   AFTER 

HIS   daughter's   ADVENTURE.) 

From  a  Photo,  hy  L.   Ifartmann,  Copcnhagn. 


lady's  room.  However, 
if  you  will  follow  my 
directions  you  need  not 
go  all  round  to  the  other 
side,  which  is  quite  a 
journey.  It  is  quite  easy 
to  find  her.  Now,  you 
look  here.  You  first  go 
up  this  staircase  to  the 
first  landing,  and  go  in 
by  the  door  there,  which 
you  cannot  mistake,  there 
bein^^  only  one  door.  It 
will  take  you  into  the 
'LongGallery';  go  straight 
through  it  and  the  follow- 
ing  three  rooms.  In  the 
last  you  will  see  a  green 
baize  door  before  ycu, 
which  will  take  )0u  into 
a  kind  of  corridor,  with 
doors  on  both  sides.  The 
third  door  to  the  right- 
no,  let  me  see,  to  the  left 
—  no,  no,  to  the  right — 
is  your  door.  Open  that 
and  pass  through  another 
long  gallery  until  you  find  a  door  with  a  glass 
pane  in  the  centre,  which  will  take  you  into  a 
passage.  There,  keep  to  your  left  till  you  see  a 
door,  on  which  is  written  'Fireplug';  open 
that,  and  then  you  are  on  the  staircase  which 
leads  to  the  lady's  room. 
Oo  up  till  you  come  to  a 
landing  with  three  doors  : 
the  left  door  leads  to  her 
room.  It  is  quite  easy  ;  you 
can't  go  wrong  if  you  only 
stick  to  my  instructions," 
and  he  returned  to  his 
private  apartments,  leaving 
me  alone  at  the  foot  of  stair- 
case No.  I. 

I  had  at  that  time  a  very 
retentive  memory,  and  trust- 
ing to  that,  I  plunged  boldly 
into  the  vast,  deserted  palace, 
all  the  time  rehearsing  the 
directions  I  had  received,  for 
fear  of  losing  the  Ariadne 
thread  which  was  my  only 
safeguard.  I  mounted  the 
stairs  and  opened  the  heavy 
door  which  led  into  the 
"  Long  Callerv  " — how  weird 
it  looked  !  The  blinds  were 
all  drawn,  and  in  this  se:-ii 
darkness  the  shrouded  chan- 
deliers and  the  white  covered 


520 


THE    WIDE    \VORLD    MAGAZINE. 


furniture  had  n  ghastly  appearance.  And 
the  innumerable  large,  dull  pier-glasses,  which 
reflected  the  architecture,  gave  the  place  a 
bewildering  impression  of  endless  perspective, 
I  carelessly  let  the  heavy  door  bang,  and  was 
pearly  frightened   into  a  fit  by  the  thunder-like 


THIS    IS   THE   DESERTED    PALACE   OF   CHRISTIANSEOKG  (siNCE    RURNED    DOWN)   IN   WHICH    MADAME    AMVOT  S 

"  GODDESS  "    WAS   AT   WORK. 


echo  which  rolled  upon  me  from  all  sides,  and 
made  me  fear  that  tlie  whole  place  was  going 
to  colla[)se. 

The  stillness  which  followed  was  quite  oppres- 
sive. I  walked  on  tip-toe  to  avoid  hearing  the 
echo  of  my  steps,  which  startled  me  with  the 
impression  that  some  unseen  person  was  fol- 
lowing me.  I  dared  hardly  look  about  me,  but 
hurried  on  as  fast  as  I  could,  with  bated  breath, 
my  heart  beating  a  loud  thump,  thump,  and 
my  nerves  tingling.  All  the  time  the  rigmarole 
of  my  directions  was  running  like  an  obbligato 
accompaniment  through  my  brain. 

Through  the  three  next  rooms  !  Yes  !  It 
was  all  right — they  were  ante-chambers,  or 
such-like,  and  much  less  formidable.  One  had 
even  an  uncurtained  window,  through  which 
I  could  see  the  ships  on  the  canal  yond.  r, 
the  church  of  "  the  Navy,"  and  the  beauti- 
ful spire  of  the  Royal  Exchange,  with  its 
four  intertwined  dragon-tails  pointing  up  into 
the  blue  summer  sky.  Voices  and  sounds  of 
the  street  traffic  reached  me,  but  seemed  all  to 
belong  to  another  world  ;  and  an  unreal,  dream- 
like feeling  came  over  me,  as  if  I  were  a  sleep- 
walker, and  might  suddenly  awake  to  find  myself 
somewhere  else. 

The  green  baize  door  successfully  opened,  I 
found  myself  in  the  long,  semi-dark  corridor, 
where  long  step-ladders,   brooms,  brushes,  and 


pails  stood  in  solemn  array.  Somehow  these 
emblems  of  active  domestic  life  added  to  my 
isolated  and  lonely  feeling,  for  not  a  housemaid, 
or  boy,  nor  even  a  charwoman,  was  to  be  seen.  It 
was,  indeed,  the  Palace  of  the  Sleeping  Beauty. 
I   had   come  to  a  knotty  point,  for  had  my 

cicerone  not 
hesitated  as  to 
which  door  I 
was  to  take  ?  I 
felt  puzzled — for 
on  trying  the 
three  first  doors 
-^         ..-:.•->  O'l    either    side, 

they  were  all 
found  to  open 
on  dark  cup- 
boards contain- 
ing firepails, 
hoses,  some  kind 
of  large  stove, 
and  other  mis- 
cellanies. 

I    tried    the 

fourth    door    to 

the  left.     It  was 

a   double    door, 

and    the     inner 

one,     though 

locked,  had  a  key  in  it.     I  opened  it  boldly, 

and  was  delighted  to  find  that  it  did  open  on 

a  long  gallery  ;   so  it  was  all  right. 

I  stood  almost  dumfounded  at  the  sight  of 
this  magnificent  hall — probably  the  State  ball- 
room. It  was  extremely  long,  and  built  some- 
thing like  a  basilica,  with  a  gallery  all  round, 
supported  Ijy  rows  of  beautiful  Corinthian 
pillars,  richly  gilded.  It  was  lighted  from 
windows  high  up  in  the  gallery,  and  the  sun 
rays,  striking  the  cut  crystals  of  the  large 
chandeliers,  sent  shafts  and  dancing  spots  of 
rainbow-coloured  light  down  on  the  white  and 
gold  decoration  of  this  splendid  apartment. 

But  the  air  was  very  close  and  heavy  with  the 
smell  of  bees  -  wax,  turpentine,  and  mastic 
varnish  — easily  accounted  for  by  the  shining 
parquet  floor,  and  the  many  highly-varnished 
pictures  on  the  walls.  These  were,  of  course,  a 
great  attraction  for  me,  and  whilst  wandering 
down  the  splendid  apartment  and  gazing  at  the 
pictures  I  quite  forgot  everything  else. 

I  had  to  repeat  my  directions  from  the  very 
beginning  before  I  knew  what  my  next  steps 
were  to  be.  A  door  with  a  glass  pane  in  the 
middle.  Impossible  in  a  State  ball-room! 
Here  were  only  two  superb,  heavy,  double 
portals,  one  at  each  end,  and  both  locked  ! 
How  had  I  entered  this  place  ?  Where  was 
the    door?      It    struck    me    that    I    had    no 


IN    SEARCH    OF    MY    "GODDESS.' 


521 


recollection  of  havino;  shut  the  door  behind  me. 
It  seemed  suddenly  to  have  vanished,  and  the 
more  I  considered  the  matter  the  clearer  it 
became  that  it  must  have  been  a  door  hidden 
in  the  wall  or  covered  by  a  picture. 

In  vain  I  tried  to  open  the  large  portals  ;  of 
course  they  would  not  yield  to  my  efforts.  I 
began  to  feel  both  hot  and  cold  and  extremely 
nervous  at  the  idea  of  being  a  prisoner  until 
some  caretaker  might  be  passing  that  way — 
which,  perhaps,  would  not  be  that  day,  or  even 
the  next.  My  alarm  grew  with  every  moment. 
I  hurried  forward  and  backward.  I  listened, 
but  not  a  sound  was  to  be  heard  except  my 
own  panting  breath. 

By  an  inspiration  I  ran  up  the  stairs  leading 
to  the  balcony  above.  At  one  end  was  the 
orchestra — and  there  was  my  much-longed-for 
door,  with  the  glass  pane  in  the  centre.  I  was 
saved  I  I  was  quite  right  after  all  ;  though  how 
it  was  that  the  porter  had  not  explained  things 
better,  both  puzzled  and  angered  me.  And  my 
anxiety  was  renewed  when,  on  opening  the  door, 
I  found  myself  on  a  narrow,  wooden  staircase, 
and  not  in  a  corridor,  as  I  had  expected.  I 
descended  it,  however,  and  on  seeing  before  me 
two  doors,  one  of  which  had  the  inscription 
"Fireplug,"  I  took  courage  again — especially 
on  finding  that  it  opened  on  what  was  called 
"The  Queen's  Staircase."  I  had,  when  quite  a 
child,  visited  the  State  apartments,  and  remem- 
bered this  magnificent  staircase,  which  was  only 
used  on  great  State  occasions. 

It  was  built  entirely  of  different  coloured 
marbles,  and  richly  decorated  with  sculpture  and 
gilding.  The  flight  of  broad,  white  marble  steps 
rose  to  a  landing,  then  divided  into  two  flights, 
and  alternately  like  this  through  the  entire 
height  of  the  palace. 

On  the  landings  and  in  niches  in  the  walls 
were  white  marble  statues  of  all  the  Danish 
Queens  from  the  earliest  times.  I  mounted  the 
marble  .steps  slowly  It  was  so  cool  there,  and 
so  solemn— almost  like  in  a  temple.  Now  and 
then  I  stopped  to  rest  and  recover  my  breath, 
for  it  was  a  considerable  ascent,  and  the 
emotions  and  anxieties  I  had  [)assed  through 
had  made  me  feel  quite  tired  out. 

At  last  I  reached  the  top  landing.  It  was 
quite  unornamented,  and,  as  I  had  been  told,  I 
saw  three  doors  there — one  in  front  of  me,  and 
one  on  each  side  wall. 

The  one  to  the  left  was  ajar,  and  I  heard 
voices  coming  from  within,  though  muffled  by 
distance.  I  knocked  at  the  door,  and  it  left 
the  impression  on  me  that  it  sounded  like  iron, 
though  I  did  not  stop  to  realize  it  fully  at  the 
time. 

A  voice  in  the  soft,  singing,  Swedish  dialect 

Vol.  iii.— 66. 


said,  "  There  was  somebody  knocked  at  the 
door." 

A  doer  was  o|">ened  and  shut  again,  and  a 
deci)er  voice  replied,  "  No  !  There  is  nobody 
there." 

The  conversation  continued  as  before,  and  as 
I  could  hear  all  that  was  said,  and  did  not  like 
the  situation  of  an  unwilling  eavesdropper,  I 
opened  the  door,  certain  that  this  was  some 
dark  passage  leading  to  Mile.  Ribbing's  room.  I 
entered  with  a  quick  step  to  the  left,  whence 
the  voices  seem  to  come — one  step — only  one — 
between  me  and  eternity,  as  I  thought — for  I 
stepped  into  empty  space,  and  felt  myself  falling, 
Hilling,  falling  into  an  unknown  pit! 

It  is  impossible  in  words  to  describe  what  I 
felt  in  those  few  seconds.  I  knew  by  intuition 
that  I  had  fallen  into  a  chimney,  and,  lightning- 
like, the  thought  struck  me,  "  I  go  to  the  bottom 
to  starve  to  death — to  rot,  or  to  be  eaten  by 
rats,  if  on  landing  there  I  am  still  alive." 

Before  my  mind's  eye  I  saw  my  home,  my 
parents,  my  sister  and  brother.  Nobody  knew 
where  I  had  gone.  Nobody  expected  me  in 
this  terrible  place.  It  was  all  done  in  a  few 
seconds,  but  my  whole  life  passed  before  me, 
with  a  farewell  to  its  joys  and  happiness — with 
remorse  and  sorrow  at  its  transgressions  and 
unkindnesses.  Lights  were  spinning  before  my 
eyes,  and  stars  seemed  to  sparkle  in  the  dark- 
ness. Brick  and  mortar,  and  Heaven  knows 
what  besides,  came  rattling  and  rushing  down 
with  me  in  my  headlong  descent.  In  this 
narrow  space  I  felt  myself  bumping  right  and 
left  against  wooden  beams,  which  hurt  and 
bruised  me  all  over.  Farewell,  dear  life  !  Fare- 
well, dear  ones  !  But  suddenly  I  was  stopped 
on  my  downward  career  ;  I  had  landed  on  some 
projecting  place. 

^^'ith  nervous  hands  I  grasped  at  the  walls  for 
support,  and,  clinging  to  some  timber,  managed 
to  kee[)  on  the  narrow  ledge  where  I  was 
stranded,  so  to  say.  Close  to  my  left  a  voice 
cried,  "There  was  something  fell  down." 

Strange  to  .say,  I,  who  would  have  shrieked  if 
a  mouse,  or  even  a  good-sized  spider,  had  run 
over  me,  had  not  uttered  a  sound  in  that 
moment  of  intense  agony,  when  the  whole  world 
seemed  to  slip  away  from  me  ;  and  now  that  I 
found  at  least  a  few  moments'  respite,  my  inbred 
humour  was  irresistibly  tickled  by  the  absurdity 
of  my  position,  and  I  felt  myself  shaken  by 
hysterical  laughter. 

"Is  anyone  there?"  called  the  unknown 
somebody,  somewhere  to  my  left. 

"  Yes  !  It  is  a  lady  who  wants  to  call  on 
Mile.  Ribbing." 

Oh,  the   irony  of  the  whole    thing  !     I,  who 


522 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAOAZINE. 


did  not  think  myself  justi- 
fied in  intruding  on  the 
great  artist  at  unconven- 
tional hours  in  her  lodg- 
ings— I  had  now  come 
down  upon  her  in  this 
extraordinary  fashion. 
"  But  where  are  you  ?  " 
"Somewhere  in  a 
chimney."  I  was  almost 
choked  with  laughter,  and 
dust,  and  grit.  But,  really, 
my  position  was  anything 
but     laughable  — •  perched 


laughable 
on    a    rough    brick 


ledge. 


probably  with  a  chasm 
gaping  at  my  feet,  and  in 
such  a  state  of  general 
pain,  that  I  really  did  not 
know  which  of  my  bones 
was  left  unbroken.  And 
then  to  be  obliged  to 
converse  with  strangers, 
and  explain  things  which 
seemed  inexplicable  to 
myself ! 

The  situation  was  most 
mysterious.  We  heard 
each  other's  voices  as  if 
we  were  in  the  same  room, 
and  yet  we  were  separated 
by  we  knew  not  what !  I 
was  in  utter  darkness,  ex- 
cept for  a  little  light  high 
above  me,  caused  by  the 
oj)en  door. 

"Are  you  hurt?  How 
can  we  reach  you  ?  " 

"  If  you  go  up  the 
Queen's  staircase,  right  to 
the  top,  you  will  find  me, 
but  you  must  bring  a 
ladder,  and  please  make 
haste,  for  I  am  holding  on 
here  for  dear  life." 

There  was  a  great  deal 
of  bustling  about  close  by  : 
then    the   slamming   of  a 
door,  followed  by  a  death- 
like silence.     A  dream-like 
feeling  crept  over  me,  and 
almost  numbed  my  senses, 
and  a  dreadful  doubt  took 
hold  of   my  mind.     Were 
those    voices,    which    had 
now  ceased  to  speak,   a  hallucination,  or  per- 
haps an  aberration  of  my  brain,  consequent  on 
my  fall,  and  would    I    be   left  to   die  in    this 
open  grave  ?     The  dreadful  thought  forced  my 


I    SAW    THE    DAKK    FIGURES   ABOVE    :ME    IN    THE 
DIM    LIGHT." 

From  a  Dra'tuing  specially  executed  by  Meuiaine 
Aiityot  herself. 


waning  consciousness  back, 
and  the  bodily  pain,  which 
increased  every  minute 
through  my  cramped  posi- 
tion, kept  me  fully  awake. 
Slowly,  slowly,  like  hours, 
the  minutes  crept  on. 
The  fearful  stillness  which 
surrounded  me  became 
almost  unbearable.  Would 
my  deliverers  never  come  ? 
The  thought  of  my  dear 
ones  at  home  returned 
with  a  fearful  choking  in 
my  throat.  How  little 
they  all  knew  what  trouble 
had  befallen  me  !  They 
seemed  all  so  far  away,  as 
if  seen  through  the  per- 
spective of  many  years. 
I  fancied  that  I  could  hear 
them  in  years  to  come, 
saying,  "  That  was  when 
poor  Cathinca  was  still 
with  us."  For,  strange  to 
relate,  now  that  I  could 
hope  for  help  and  deli- 
verance, my  situation  ap- 
peared more  hopeless  than 
in  the  moment  of  my 
imminent  danger.  I  ex- 
pect it  was  a  reaction,  and 
that  very  Hkely  my  mind 
had  received  some  shock, 
which  robbed  it  of  its 
natural  strength.  How- 
ever, I  felt  all  the  time 
thankful  that  my  mother, 
in  her  delicate  and  hyper- 
neurotic  state  of  health, 
knew  nothing  of  the  dan- 
ger I  was  passing  through. 
Poor  mother,  who  was 
always  so  tender  and  full 
of  care  for  me  !  In  my 
dark  prison  she  seemed 
suddenly  to  be  present, 
her  face  full  of  •  anxiety, 
shining  in  the  darkness 
before  me. 

How  slowly  the  time 
was  passing  !  It  seemed 
hours  before  I  caught  the 
first  sound  of  approaching 
footsteps  on  the  Queen's  staircase.  (It  took 
them  really  about  thirty-five  minutes,  they  told 
me  afterwards.)  How  loud  their  voices  sounded 
after   the    silence,   repeated    by   the   echoes   of 


IX    SEARCH    OF    MY    "GODDESS. 


523 


that  lofty  staircase.  They  came  nearer,  and 
nearer.  I  heard  their  heavy  breathing,  caused 
by  their  ascent,  and,  catching  the  meaning  of 
their  discussion  of  my  whereabouts,  I  cried  : — 

"  Go  up  to  the  top  landing — here  !  this  way 
— the  iron  door  ! '' 

I  suppose  it  was  really  the  sound  of  my  voice 
which  guided  them,  for  they  could  not  possibly 
have  heard  my  words  from  my  dark  grave. 
Yes  !  it  was  like  a  grave !  Ancl  wlien,  at  last, 
I  saw  the  dark  figures 
up  above  me  in  the 
dim  light  of  the  open- 
ing, I  felt  as  one  buried 
alive  on  the  point  of 
being  exhumed. 

I  forget  whether 
they  had  a  lantern,  or 
only  matches  were 
struck  to  localize  me, 
for  in  the  ruddy  light, 
which  suddenly  burst 
out  up  there,  I  saw 
only  one  face  —  the 
beautiful  face  of  my 
goddess — that  face  of 
which  a  certain  great 
CO  n  tern  poraneous 
artist  in  Rome  said, 
"  \Vhen  Phidias  meets 
Sophia  Ribbing  in 
Heaven,  he  will  find 
himself  face  to  face 
with  his  \"enus  of 
Milo." 

How  they  managed 
to  lower  their  ladder 
and  fix  it  securely  close 
to   me,   and  how  they 

fill  .  T  A    PK.VCll.   rORTKAIT   OF    HEK 

nally     got     me     up,     1  Swedish    artist,    mlle.    soi 

scarcely  recollect — for 
a  kind  of  reaction  set 

in,  and  dimmed  my  impressions  of  every- 
thing except  the  light  of  those  wonderful 
eyes,  and  the  sound  of  that  soft  and  com- 
forting voice,  which  to  me  will  always  be 
associated  with  all  that  is  most  elevated  or 
beautiful  in  life.  I  have  no  idea  of  how  I  got 
down  the  many  marble  steps,  or  how  I,  at  last, 
found  myself  in  Mlle.  Ribbing's  room.  I  was 
sitting  in  a  large  arm-chair  opposite  the  beautiful 
picture  she  was  then  painting.  She  was  bend- 
ing over  me,  bathing  my  face,  and  tending  me 
in  every  way  ;  whilst  her  companion,  a  stolid 
Norwegian,  much  older  than  herself,  was  knock- 
ing at  the  walls  with  an  umbrella,  to  find  out 
where  the  hollow  place  was  which  I  a  few 
minutes  before  had  occupied,  and  which  might 
have  held  me  till  Doomsday.     For,  as  my  two 


new  friends  explained,  they  had  been  on  the 
point  of  leaving  the  room  when  they  heard  the 
noise  of  my  falling  down  ;  and  if  I  had  been  a 
few  minutes  later,  there  would  have  been  no 
help  at  hand,  this  being  their  last  day  at  the 
palace.  They  intended  leaving  town  the  next 
day,  and  always  taking  the  key  with  them,  not 
even  a  charwoman  or  caretaker  would  have 
come  near  the  place. 

Whilst  they  were  explaining  this  to  me,  my 

eyes  fell  on  a  clock, 
and  seeing  that  it  was 
a  quarter  to  one,  I 
remember  making  a 
mental  note  of  the 
fact  that  my  accident 
must  have  taken  place 
just  about  twelve 
o'clock.  Aching  and 
shaken  as  I  was,  I  still 
found  words  to  ex- 
plain why  I  had  come  ; 
and  I  pleaded  my 
cause  so  well  that  Mlle. 
Ribbing  promised  on 
her  return  from  the 
country  to  give  me  all 
the  information  I 
wanted,  as  well  as  help 
and  advice  in  my 
studies,  should  she 
remain  in  Copenhagen 
during  the  winter,  and 
should  I  not  be  able 
to  realize  my  hope  of 
going  abroad. 

I  then  had  to  con- 
sider my  return.  My 
clothes  were  torn  to 
tatters  ;  my  hat  per- 
fectly unworthy  of 
such  an  ambitious 
name.  It  was  a  miracle  I  had  no  broken 
bones.  No  doubt  the  narrowness  of  the  shaft 
and  the  beams  which  had  broken  my  fall 
accounted  for  this  :  but  I  was  in  great  pain, 
nevertheless.  Until  this  day  I  bear  the  marks 
upon  me  of  that  fateful  day. 

I  drove  home  in  a  closed  cab,  but,  on  ac- 
count of  my  mother's  excitable  and  nervous 
state  of  mind,  I  dismissed  it  before  I  came  to 
our  house  ;  and  entering  as  quietly  as  possible,  I 
hoped  to  slip  away  to  my  own  room  undetected; 
I  would  then  change  my  dress  before  appearing 
in  the  drawing-room.  But  my  mother's  sharp 
ears  had  heard  me,  and  she  called  from  the 
drawing-room  : — 

"  Is  it  you,  Cathinca  ?  " 

"  Yes,  all  right,  mother ;  coming  directly,''  I 


GODDESS     — THE    BEAUTIFUL 
HIA     RIBBING    —   DRAWN'       MANY 
YEARS   AGO    BY   MADAME   A.MYOT. 


524 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


answered  ;  and,  throwing  a  dust  cloak  around 
me,  and  substituting  for  my  wrecked  hat  a 
garden  hat  I  found  in  the  hall,  1  opened  the 
door  and  peeped  in. 

My  mother  had  raised  herself  from  the 
couch  on  which  she  was  lying  ;  her  face  had 
a  strained  and  anxious  expression,  and  her  eyes 
seemed  to  question  me. 

"  Where  have  you  been  ?  I  have  been  in 
the  most  dreadful  anxiety  about  you,"  she  cried. 

I  answered  that  I  did  not 
see  why  she  had  any  reason 
to  fret  about  me,  as  I  was  in 
the  habit  of  going  out  every 
day  without  special  notice. 

"  No,  no,"  .said  mother,  fret 
fully,  "  this  has  been  some- 
thing quite  unusual ;  I  had 
not  been  thinking  of  you  at 
all,  till  about  twelve  o'clock. 
I  was  then  suddenly  seized 
with  a  most  extraordinary  feel- 
ing of  anxiety  and  fear  on 
your  behalf,  and  it  grew  so 
upon  me  that  I  could  not 
rest  anywhere,  but  went  about 
from  room  to  room,  and  sat 
at  the  window,  looking  for 
your  return.  When  the  maid 
brought  my  luncheon,  I  asked 
her  if  she  knew  where  you 
had  gone,  and  added  that  I 
felt  you  must  be  in  some  great 
danger  or  trouble.  I  am 
indeed  thankful  to  see  that  it 
was  all  unfounded." 

What  my  mother's  feelings 
were  when,  little  by  little,  my 
adventure  leaked  out,  you  can 
easily  guess  !  It  was  certainly 
an  instance  of  a  distinct 
telepathy. 

My  father  went  that  same  evening  to  the 
architect  of  the  palace,  who  was  a  friend  of  ours, 
to  tell  him  of  my  narrow  escape,  and  he  added 
that  he  would  lodge  a  complaint  against  the 
l)orter,  who  had  sent  a  young  girl  alone  into  the 
maze  of  that  great  castle,  where  such  death- 
traps were  found.  The  architect  was  much 
distressed  and  puzzled  ;  he  declared  that  no 
such  place  existed.     He  got  out  all  the  plans  of 


M.    ZELTNER,    CO;  iillECT 

OF  THE    PALACE,  WHO    1N\  EbTlCATED  THE 
CAUSE   OF   MADAME   AMYOt".S   CATAS- 
TROPHE. 

From  a  Photo,  by  F.  //.  Ramus. 


the  palace,  and  showed  my  father  that  on  that        which  I  experienced. 


top  landing  of  the  Queen's  staircase  there  were 
only  three  doors,  leading  to  the  three  great  shafts 
of  chimneys.  He  added  that  those  doors  were 
never  left  open  by  any  chance.  He  and  my 
father  went  at  once  together  to  the  palace,  pro- 
vided with  a  lantern  to  inspect  that  dreadful 
spot. 

They  found  the  door  still  open,  with  all  the 
traces  of  the  catastrophe  about  it,  in  the  shape 
of  debi-is  of  bricks  and  mortar.  My  father  was 
not  an  alarmist,  nor  a  man 
given  to  exaggeration  ;  but 
lie  said  that  he  turned  almost 
giddy  v.-hen  he  peeped  down 
into  that  dreadful  shaft  and 
saw  the  narrow  ledge  which 
had  saved  my  life.  Had  I 
gone  but  one  step  more  to 
the  right,  I  would  have  fallen 
to  the  bottom  of  the  pit. 

The  mystery  was  now  fully 
explained.  I  had,  of  course, 
lost  my  bearings,  owing  to 
the  porter's  involved  and 
muddled  directions  ;  and,  in- 
stead of  emerging  on  the 
western  staircase,  leading  to 
Mile.  Ribbing's  room,  I  had 
come  out  on  the  Queen's 
staircase.  As  ill-luck  would 
have  it,  the  chimneys  had  the 
day  before  been  inspected, 
and  through  a  most  unpardon- 
able carelessness,  that  fatal 
door  had  been  left  open.  The 
chimney  into  which  I  had 
fallen  was  one  of  the  great 
central  arteries,  from  which 
other  chimneys  branched  out. 
Falling  from  two  stories  above, 
I  had  landed  on  the  upper 
ledge  of  the  fireplace  in 
Mile.  Ribbing's  room,  the  opening  of  which 
had  been  covered  with  an  arras,  stretched  on 
beams ;  there  was,  then,  only  this  tapestry 
between  me  and  the  two  ladies,  and  this,  of 
course,  explained  why  1  could  hear  every  word 
they  spoke. 

My  adventure  ends  here.  It  was  a  narrow 
escape,  and  I  think  that  very  few  artists  have 
started  on  their  career  by  such  a   debacle  as  that 


The    Great    Ice    Cave  of    Dobschau. 

Bv  L.   H.  EisENMAXX,  OF  Vienna. 

A   complete    description,  illustrated  with    photographs,   of  the   marvellous   Ice   Grotto  near   Dobschau, 
in  the  Carpathians.     In  the  hottest  day  of  summer  you  can  dive  into  the  mountain  and  suddenly  find 

yourself  in  a  veritable  world  of  ice. 


X  that  part  of  the  Carpathians 
which  has  received  the  name  of  the 
Cave  Mountains,  because  of  the 
number  and  richness  of  its  caves, 
there  is  a  natural  curiositv  which  has 
not  its  hke  in  Europe.  I  refer  to  the  Dobschau 
Ice  Grotto.  Not  only  does  it  contain  ice  all 
the  year  round — which  itself  is  a  remarkable 
phenomenon — but  ice  is  present  in  such  enor- 
mous quantities,  and  assumes  such  bizarre 
forms,  that  the  spectator  may  easily  imagine 
himself  transported  into  the  Polar  regions.     The 


springs,  and  fountains  which  only  betray  tiiat 
they  are  frozen  by  their  rigidity  and  unearthly 
silence. 

This  subterranean  world  of  ice  is  about  ten 
miles  from  the  little  Hungarian  mining  town  of 
Dobschau,  from  which,  also,  it  takes  its  name. 
The  way  there  leads  through  the  romantic 
Stracena  \'alley,  which  is  shown  in  the  first 
photograph,  and  which  in  places  narrows  to 
an  imposing  gorge  with  picturesque  groups  of 
rocks  on  either  side. 

The  entrance  to  the  grotto  is  at  the  foot  of  a 


From  a] 


^_..   .  ;  .-HE  ENTRAVCE  TO  THE  GREAT  ICE  CAVE.      \_PhotO. 


impression  produced  by  passing  from  the  out- 
side of  the  mountain,  which  is  covered  with 
flowers,  blooming  in  the  scorching  sun  of  a 
Hungarian  summer,  into  the  ice-clad  depths 
inside  is  utterly  indescribable.  Instead  of  living 
tree-trunks,  impervious  to  light,  the  amazed 
spectator  beholds  trunks  which  never  bore  a 
green  twig,  and  whose  icy  masses  allow  a  faint 
and  ghostly  glimmer  of  light  to  pass  through  : 
and  instead-of  the  ^ay  flowers  of  the  upper  world 
he   sees   glittering   ice-flow^ers    by   the    side   of 


steep,  rocky  wall,  and  takes  the  form  of  a  per- 
pendicular fissure.  This  opening,  at  the  edges 
of  which  ice  is  found  even  in  the  height  of 
summer,  had  been  known  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  neighbourhood  by  the  name  of  the  "  Ice 
Hole  "  since  time  immemorial.  \Vhenever  they 
wanted  ice  they  simply  fetched  it  from  the 
"  Hole,"  but  nobody  ventured  to  enter  the 
opening  and  penetrate  into  the  une.xplored 
interior  of  the  mountain  —  an  undertaking 
which    might    have    been    dangerous    in    the 


526 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


extreme,  because  of  the  precipitousness  of  the 
sheer,  icy  walls  and  the  unknown  depth  of 
the  abyss.  Nor  was  the  tradition  attaching  to 
the  grotto  of  a  nature  to  entice  even  the  most 
daring  to  explore  the  mysterious  cave.  It  was 
related  that  on  one  occasion  a  young  peasant, 
who  wanted  to  examine  the  grotto,  paid  for  his 
curiosity  with  his  life. 

In  the  summer  of  1870,  however,  the  mining 
engineer,  Eugen  Ruffinyi,  whose  portrait  we  are 
here  able  to  give,  visit^ed  the  spot  and  fired  a 
gun    into    the  opening    by 
way    of    an     introduction. 
The     long,     rolling,    rum- 
bling echo  which  followed 
led    him    to    believe    that 
there    must    be    extensive 
chambers    inside,    and    so 
the     daring     young     man 
determined    to   satisfy   his 
desire    for    knowledge    by 
exploring  the  interior. 
Accordingly,    a    few    days 
after    firing    the    gunshot, 
and  in  the  company  of  two 
friends,    he    returned   fur- 
nished with  the  necessary 
ropes,    ladders,    axes,    and 
other  implements.  Ruffinyi 
then      bound     round     his 
waist  a  rope,  the  other  end 
of  which  was  fastened  to  a 
windlass  above.     He  next 
took  in  his  hand  a  strong 
string   attached    to  the 
signal   bell,  put  a   miner's 
lamp  on  to  his  belt,  agreed 
with  his  companions  on  a 
code  of  signals,  and  finally, 
all  being  ready,   he  began  to  descend  into  the 
cold,    unknov.'n    depths    with    a    true    miner's 
courage.       The    enterprise    was    accompanied 
by    real    danger    to    life.      For    a    long    time 
the   explorer    had   to   seek  for    a    passage    in 
the    shaft,   which  was  filled  with  debris  and  a 
confused     mass   of    fallen   tree-trunks.      I'hen, 
again,  he  would  let  himself  down  steep,  smooth 
surfaces  of  ice,  only  to  be  compelled  to  ascend 
again.     To  the  right  and  to  the  left  he  searched 
for  a  way  in,  always  following  up  the  ice.     At 
last  he  succeeded  in  entering  a  roomy  cavern, 
where  he  was  able  to  stand  firmly  on  the  top  of 
an  ice-hill.     Turning  the  light  of  his  lantern  in 
different  directions,  he  perceived  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill  a  perfectly  smooth  sheet  of  ice,  with  shining 
ice-pillars   rising  from  its  surface  to  the  roof, 
which  was  covered  with  ice-flowers.     Although 
the   feeble  light  of  his  lamp  sufficed  only  to 
discover  to  his  astonished  gaze  a  very  small  part 


THIS   IS    EL'GIiN    KUFFI.VM,     I  HE    l:KAVE    ENtilNEEK 

WHO,      REGARDLESS      OF      SUI'ENSHTIOUS      YARNS, 

BOLDLY     EXPLORED     THE     GREAT    CAVE     AND    DIS- 

/''roM  rt]        COVERED    ITS   WONDERS.  \PhotO. 


of  the  place  he  was  in,  yet  it  convinced  him 
that  he  had  penetrated  into  one  of  Nature's 
jewel-cases  —  and  a  unique  and  extraordinary 
one  at  that.  His  heart  beating  high  with  excite- 
ment, he  hurried  back  to  his  comrades,  who 
were  eagerly  awaiting  the  adventurer's  return, 
and  then,  in  a  voice  trembling  with  excitement, 
Ruffinyi  joyfully  exclaimed :  "  Down  there  I 
have  found  a  glorious  ice-grotto  !  " 

Subsequently  all  parts  of  the  cavern  were  ex- 
plored thoroughly,  the  town  of   Dobschau  itself 

.sparing  no  expense  in  its 
endeavour  to  make  the 
grotto  accessible  to  visitors. 
Steps  were  put  in,  and  the 
various  weird  ice-chambers 
lighted  throughout  with 
petroleum  and  electric 
light,  so  that  now  every 
interesting  point  can  be 
visited  and  inspected  with- 
out danger  or  difficulty. 

The  extent  of  the  grotto 
is  a  little  less  than  three 
acres,  of  which  more  than 
three-quarters  are  covered 
with  ice.  The  quantity  of 
ice  is  estimated  at 
4,500,000  cubic  feet,  pro- 
bably Weighing  more  than 
100,000  tons.  The  ice 
consists  of  innumerable 
layers,  firmly  frozen  to- 
gether, 
a  huge 
others, 


Sometimes  it  forms 
smooth  plain  ;    at 
gigantic    walls    of 
ice,    or    enormous    icicles, 
cones,    and    fantastic    pil- 
lars, etc.,  in    places   trans- 
parent as  the  clearest  glass,  and  in   others  of  a 
rather  whitish  colour  and  opaque. 

The  formation  and  preservation  of  the  ice  in 
the  grotto  are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  tempera- 
ture in  it  is  always  low,  so  that  the  ice  formed 
in  winter  does  not  melt  in  summer.  The  mean 
temperature  for  the  year  is  2  7deg.  Fahr.,  the 
highest  recorded  being  4odeg.  Fahr.  The 
grotto  is  3,oooft.  above  the  level  of  the  sea — 
a  considerable  elevation  ;  and  it  is  situated  on 
the  northern  slope  of  the  mountain.  Of  course, 
its  elevation  alone  would  produce  a  low  tem- 
perature, while  the  moss-covered,  rocky  wall  over 
the  mouth  keeps  the  grotto  in  perpetual  shade. 
This  mouth  is  very  small,  and  the  opening  at 
the  other  end,  serving  to  drain  the  grotto, 
is  very  narrow.  Except  at  those  two  points  no 
air  from  outside  can  enter,  and  even  at  the  entry 
and  exit  the  circulation  of  air  is  very  slight,  for 
the  mouth  of  the  cave  slopes  downward.     The 


THE  GREAT  ICE  CAVE  OF  DOBSCHAU. 


527 


consequence  is  that  in  winter  the  cold  and 
heavy  air  can  easily  penetrate,  whereas  even  in 
hot  weather  it  cannot  readily  escape  ;  while  on 
the  other  hand  the  hot  air  cannot  enter.  The 
ice  in  the  cavern  is  constantly  on  the  increase, 
and  sooner  or  later  would  completely  fill  it  up 
were  it  not  for  the  preventive  measures  which 
have  been  taken. 

But  now  it  is  time  for  me  to  invite  the  reader 
to  accompany  me  into  this  mysterious  subter- 
ranean world  and  inspect  its  unique  beauties. 
Immediately  on  entering  we  feel  the  cold  air 
upon  our  cheeks.  Descending  a  few  dozen 
wooden  steps,  we  next  find  ourselves  in  the 
nether  world  altogether.  Soon  the  space 
around  us  opens  up  with  an  arched  roof,  and  we 
stand  on  the  platform  of  an  ice-hill,  where  a 
surprising  sight  presents  itself  to  our  gaze. 
From  this  point  we  are  able  to  overlook  almost 
the  whole  of  the  chief  "  saloon  "  in  the 

oft.  :   its 


grotto — an 


the  height  of  which  is  about 


amounting 


grotto, 

breadth 

and  its  length  to 


to  180ft 

The  floor  for  the  greater 


in  places 

no  less  than  400ft. 
part  is  formed  of 
perfectly  smooth 
ice,  which  de- 
mands wary  walk- 
ing lest  we  fall. 
At  every  step  we 
crush  thousands 
of  ice-crystals 
which  have  fallen 
from  the  roof. 
Here  we  see  a 
pillar  of  clear  ice 
rising  from  the 
floor ;  there  we 
observe  a  higli 
hill  of  ice  almost 
reaching  to  the 
roof.  Yonder, 
again,  is  another 
fantastic  forma- 
tion, reminding 
us  of  the  singular 
shapes  to  be  seen 
in  ordinary  stalac- 
tite caves.  The 
roof  is  of  lime- 
stone,    but     at 

certain  seasons  it,  too,  is  so  thickly  studded  with 
millions  of  ice-crystals  and  large  and  small 
icicles  as  to  make  it  seem  as  if  it  also  were 
entirely  of  ice. 

Whereas  a  few  moments  ago  we  were  crossing 
a  flowery  mead  with  the  sun's  rays  pouring 
down  upon  us,  now  we  are  beholding  a  sight 
such  as  is  not  to  be  found  elsewhere  save  only 
in  the  Polar  regions.     And  it  is  just  this  sur- 


prising contrast  that  makes  such  a  deep  impres- 
sion on  the  visitor  to  the  Dobschau 
impression  never  to  be  forgotten. 

This  chief  portion  of  the  cave  is  divided  into 
two  unequal  parts.  The  upper  and  smaller  one 
is  popularly  known  as  the  "  Little  Saloon,"  and 
is  the  portion  first  entered.  It  contains  some 
very  interesting  ice-formations.  I-ying  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor  are  two  ice-tablets,  known 
as  the  "  Gravestones."  On  the  right  wall  there 
is  a  wonderfully  fine  waterfall,  30ft.  high  and 
20ft.  broad  ;  it  looks  so  natural,  that  only  its 
rigidity  and  the  deep  stillness  prevailing  betray 
that  the  water,  which  looks  as  though  it  flowed 
from  the  roof  in  a  large  arch,  is  frozen.  By  the 
opposite  wall,  shown  in  the  next  photograph, 
will  be  observed  a  column  resting  on  the  floor 
and  leaning  against  the  wall ;  this  is  called  the 
"  Oak  Tree."  The  name,  indeed,  is  remarkably 
well  chosen,  for  it  does  look  uncommonly  like 
a  tree-trunk,  and  its  surface  has  grooves  running 
lengthwise,  precisely  like  the  bark  of  a  tree.  The 
"  trunk  "  is  almost  25ft.  long  and  6ft.  in  diameter. 


THIS     IS 
Front  rt] 


OAK    TREE 


■   CALLED.       EVERYTHING    IS    OF 
llorii^bT   IIIDSU.MMEK    DAY. 


ON     IHK 

{Photo. 


Proceeding  further  with  the  investigation  of 
the  cave,  we  descend  some  steps  cut  in  the  ice 
into  the  lower  part  of  the  chief  division — the 
"  Large  Saloon,"  of  which  we  have  already  had 
a  glimpse  from  the  "  Little  Drawing-room." 
The  first  thing  to  arrest  our  attention  here  is 
the  splendid  floor.  Throughout  its  whole 
extent  of  some  acre  and  a  half,  there  is  neither 
mound  nor  depression,  flaw  nor  failure,  in  its 


528 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


THE   "  LARGE   SALOON. 

From  a\ 


-AN    ACRE   AND    A    HALF   OF   GLLSTF.NING    ICE.      A   SKATING   CARNIVAL   WAS 

HELD    HERE    IN    AUGUST,    1894.  {PllOto. 


perfectly  smooth  and  glistening  surface.  This 
magnificent  sheet  of  ice  with  its  mirror-like 
surface  has  in  summer  often  been  alive  with 
merry  skaters ;  and  in  August,  1894,  an  ice 
festival  was  held  here,  in  which  hundreds  of 
skaters  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes  took  part. 
The  floor  of  the  "  Large  Saloon  "  is  rapidly 
increasing;  so 
rapidly  that  an  ice 
stalagmite  on  it 
almost  as  clear  as 
crystal  grew  2ft. 
in  a  single  year. 
Some  time  ago 
when  a  wooden 
g  a  n  g  w  a  }•  w  a  s 
erected  in  the 
"  Large  Saloon  " 
the  boards  were 
put  a  good  foot 
higher  than  the 
ice-floor;  but  in 
two  years  the  ice 
had  risen  nearly 
a  foot  above  the 
boards.  So  in 
order  to  retard 
the  increase  of 
the  ice  in  the 
"  Large  Saloon," 
a  short  time  ago  a 
drain  was  made 
to  carry    off    the 


water  into  the 
lower  part  of  the 
grotto. 

From  the  ice- 
parquet  rise  three 
mighty  bluish  ice- 
pillars,  which  look 
as  if  they  wanted 
to  help  support 
the  heavy  rock- 
roof,  while  the 
walls  in  places  are 
adorned  with 
splendid  ice-crys- 
tals, which  seem 
to  be  arranged  in 
groups  and  glisten 
with  the  brilliance 
of  many-coloured 
gems.  One  of 
the  pillars  rests 
against  a  high  ice- 
hill  —  it  is  strik- 
ingly transparent, 
and  on  nearer 
inspection  is  seen 
to  be  hollow,  with  a  little  stream  of  water 
constantly  running  down  inside  it,  eating 
away  a  hole  in  the  ice  of  the  floor  and  keeping 
it  almost  always  full  of  water.  This  has  earned 
for  it  the  name  of  the  "  Pump."  A  view  of  the 
"  Large  Saloon  "  with  the  "  Pump "  is  here 
reproduced.     These  photographs,   by  the  way, 


Fypv!  a\ 


VIEW  OF  THE    LARGE  SALOON   AND  "  PUMP 


[Photo. 


IHi:    CRKAT    ICE    CAVE    OF    DOBSCHAU. 


529 


were  extremely  difficult  to  take,  requiring  ex- 
posures of  very  long  duration.  The  two  other 
great  pillars,  the  "Altar''  and  the  "Bedouin's 
Tent,"  about  30ft.  high  and  from  6ft.  to  9ft. 
thick,  are  almost  transjiarent  and  hollow,  while 
their  surface  is  charmingly  adorned  with  thou- 
sands of  beautiful  ice-ornaments.  These  two 
pillars  are  also  shown  in  another  photograph, 
which  incidentally  gives  a  capital  idea  of  the 
superb  floor  of  glassy  ice. 

That   portion   of  the   grotto   which    we   have 


THE    SUPERB    FLOOR   OF   GI.ASSV    ICE.         MERE   ALSO   WE   SEE   THE 

From  a]  AS  the  "alt.-\r"  and  the  "bedoui.v' 

already  visited  is  the  up[)er  story,  so  to  speak, 
but  there  is  also  a  lower  story,  which  is  by  no 
means  inferior  to  the  other  in  beauty. 

The  formation  of  the  lower  story  is  as 
follows:  It  consists  of  one  long,  uninterrupted 
passage.  The  same  rock  that  bounds  the 
'■  Drawing-room  ""  on  the  south  continues  down 
through  the  lower  story,  forming  its  one  wall, 
while  the  other  consists  of  solid  ice.  In  this 
place  the  ice  is  some  20ft.  removed  from  the 
rock,  thus  forming  a  curious  passage.  Originally 
there  was  a  parting  wall  of  ice  separating  the 
corridors  into  two  parts,  but,  some  years  ago, 
the  ice  was  tunnelled,  and  the  whole  converted 
into  one  long  passage  of  600ft. 

The  left  wing  of  the  passage  was  discovered 
by  Rutifinyi.  Noticing  that  the  water  ran  off, 
he  looked  round  and  became  aware  of  a 
narrow  cleft  between  the  ice-floor  and  the 
rocky  wall  of  the  "  Drawing-room'" :  and,  suppos- 
ing consequently  that  there  must  be  a  second 
space    or    portion    of    the    grotto,    he    had    a 

Vol.  iii.-67. 


hole  made  in  the  ice,  and  then  passing  through 
a  tunnel  30ft.  long  he  found  himself  in  a  new 
space — the  left  passage.  There  are  now  con- 
venient wooden  steps  leading  down  to  it  through 
the  tunnel.  The  passage  has  in  most  places  a 
width  of  20ft.,  but  here  and  there  it  widens  out 
to  a  breadth  of  60ft.  to  70ft.  The  rock  forming 
the  one  pa.ssage  wall  forms  also  the  ceiling,  and 
extends  right  across  and  meets  the  other  wall, 
which  is  of  solid  and  pure  ice.  This  ice-wall, 
extending  as    remarked    to   a   length  of  about 

600ft.,  is  particu- 
larly interesting, 
because  it  per- 
mits us  to  observe 
the  structure  of 
the  mass  of  ice 
in  a  manner  other- 
wise only  possible 
in  Arctic  regions. 
The  entire  mass 
consists  of  layers 
varying  from  a 
few  lines  to  some 
inches  thick,  alter- 
nately like  alabas- 
ter and  like  glass. 
In  some  places 
there  are  layers  of 
chalky  dust,  thin 
as  paper,  running 
in  the  same  direc- 
tion as  the  ice- 
layers.  This  ex- 
tremely old  wall 
of  ice  shows  also 
some  recent  for- 
mations, which,  in  places,  are  of  striking  beauty. 
Probably,  also,  in  this  lower  story,  the  ice 
reached  to  the  rocky  wall  once,  and  has 
gradually  receded,  not  so  much  owing  to  melt- 
ing as  to  evaporation,  and  thus  were  formed 
this  steep  wall,  which  in  places  overhangs, 
and  also  the  passage. 

But  the  wall  is  by  no  means  the  only  interest- 
ing ice-formation  here.  One  of  the  most  note- 
worthy is  the  so-called  "Bower,"  standing  on  a 
hill  of  ice  and  looking  as  though  it  consisted  of 
garlands  of  palm  leaves  and  fine  grasses  woven 
together.  The  interior  of  the  "Bower"  is 
adorned  with  parti-coloured  glittering  ice-crystals, 
and  when  it  is  lighted  up  it  presents  a  fascinating 
spectacle  viewed  from  the  outside.  Its  dimen- 
sions are  about  30ft.  high  and  20ft.  broad.  After 
pa.ssing  through  the  above-mentioned  tunnel  we 
reach  the  wonderful  "Chapel,"  which  has  its 
walls  covered  with  a  great  variety  of  ice-forma- 
tions. This  is  the  coldest  and  driest  part  of  the 
grotto,  where  the  ice  has  never  been  observed 


two  great 
s  tent." 


KNOWN 

[Phoio. 


53° 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    AL^GAZINE. 


photographs  con- 
vey such  a  wonder- 
fully impressive 
idea  of  the  interior 
of  the  great  Ice 
Caveof  Dobschau 
as  the  one  here 
reproduced,  which 
shows  the  "(iigan- 
tic  Waterfall"  in 
the  right  wing  of 
the  corridor. 

A  staircase  with 

150    steps    leads 

back    into    the 

"  Small    Saloon," 

and    thence  in  a 

few  moments    we 

get    back   to   the 

upper    world, 

again    astonished 

to  see  how  close 

together    are   the 

realms  of    winter 

and  summer. 

The   unique    Ice    Grotto    of    Dobschau    not 

only  attracts  visitors  from  all  parts,  but  is  also  a 

distinct   acquisition    to  the  town   itself,    whose 

population,   when    almost    overcome   with    the 

heat    of    a     Hungarian     summer,     can    simply 

disappear    into   the   interior  of  the    mountain, 

and    transport   themselves    into   a    weird    fairy 

palace  of  Arctic  ice. 


From  a]         "  ON    THE    LEFT   A   GREAT   WALL   OF    SOLID   CRYSTAL    ICE   FROM    45I   r.    TO   60FT.    HIGH."  \FhotO. 

to  melt.  The  accompanying  photo,  shows  the 
left  passage.  The  "  Chapel "  is  at  the  top,  and 
on  the  left  a  great  wall  of  solid  crystal  ice  from 
45ft.  to  60ft.  high. 

There  are  interesting  things  also  in  the  right 
wing  of  the  corridor.      Of  these   must  first   be 
mentioned    the   "Curtain,"   which    excites    the 
admiration    of     every      beholder.       It     hangs 
from    the   ceiling 
without    touching 
the   wall,    leaving 
room    enough  for 
a  person  to  get  in 
between.     It  dis- 
plays  j)icturesquc 
folds   right    down 
to     the     ground, 
and     is    adorned 
with  fine  garlands 
and  tassels  of  ice 
hanging  free. 

At  the  end  of 
this  wing  there  is 
a  mighty  mass  of 
ice,  formed  by  a 
great  inclination 
of  the  floor,  re- 
sembling a  frozen 
waterfall,  whence 
it  has  obtained 
the  name  of  the 
"Gigantic  Water- 
fall." Perhaps 
none  of  the  other        Fro^,,  a] 


A    .MlGli'IV    .MASS    OF    ICE,    icE.sL.MLLl.-.G    A    rl,L,;L.\- 


ATEKFALL. 


[F/ioto. 


Lost  in  the  '*  Seventy=Mile/' 

Bv  T.  W.   HicKsoN,  Latk  Inspector,  General  Survey  Department,  New  Zealand. 

A  New  Zealand  surveyor  and  his  party  get  lost  in  the  bewildering  bush  for  no  less  than  seven  days, 

owing  to  their  having  struck  a  blazed  track,  which  led  them  round  and  round  in  an  all  but  fatal  circle. 

Their  miseries  and  sufferings  ;  how  they  found  their  way  out  ;  and  their  first  extraordinary  meal. 


HE    adventure 

related    herein 

happened  to  me 

some    t  \v  e  n  t  y 

odd  years  ago, 
when  I  was  surveying  for 
the  New  Zealand  Govern- 
ment in  the  wild  South 
Central  part  of  the  North 
Island.  At  that  time  this 
region  was  terra  incognita 
indeed — a  mere  blank  on 
the  maps ;  and  this  survey 
expedition  was  specially 
intended  to  fill  up  the 
blank.  It  proved  a  very 
fertile  region,  and  is  now 
thickly  settled  with  pros- 
perous farmers.  Now  for 
the  story.  There  were  six  of 
us  in  the  camp,  and  only  a 
biscuit  apiece  left.  Taking 
with  me  two  stalwart  young 
fellows,  Fred  Fairburn  and 
Walter  Ramsbottom,  I  started  off,  expecting 
to  be  back  in  camp  with  food  by  nightfall. 

Our  instructions 
were  to  follow  up  the 
Mangaone  stream 
until,  on  its  right- 
hand  bank,  we 
came  upon  a  blazed 
track.  Turning  to 
the  right  and 
following  this  track 
would  bring  us 
to  a  small  open 
space  in  the 
forest,  called  Eketa- 
huna,  near  which 
a  stock  of  food 
had  been  left  for 
us  by  another 
exploration  party, 
whose  work  we  had 
taken  up. 

"  Easy  as  falling 
oflF  a  log  "  it  looked 
— on  paper. 


MK.    T.    W.    HICKSOM,    THE   I.KADER   OF   THE    PARTY 
WHICH   GOT   LOST. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Schiventner,  Neiv  York. 


overhead  densely 
the  trunks  and  lim 


THIS   GIVES   YOU   .\N    IDEA   OF   WHAT   MR.    HICKSON   AND   HIS   MEN   LOOKED 

From  a\  like  when  in  new  Zealand  surveying  rig.  [Photo. 


An  hour's  smart  scram- 
ble brought  us  to  the 
blazes.  We  turned  to 
the  right  and  followed 
the  track.  A  "  blaze  "  is 
a  mark  made  upon  a  tree 
by  chopping  out  a  piece 
of  the  bark  and  leaving 
the  lighter-coloured  inside 
wood  conspicuously  visi- 
ble some  distance  off  A 
series  of  these  marks,  each 
one  visible  from  the  pre- 
ceding one  in  the  chain, 
forms  a  "  blazed  track." 
Beyond  a  mark,  here  and 
there,  made  in  cutting 
away  intervening  under- 
scrub,  supple-jack,  fallen 
limbs,  or  other  impedi- 
ments, there  was  nothing 
else  to  guide  us. 

The     timber    generally 
was   lofty,    the    foliage 
matted  with  creeping  vines, 
bs  of  the  trees  thickly  clothed 
with  mosses,   filmy 
ferns,    lycopods, 
and  orchids  ;  while 
the     ground     also 
was     literally     car- 
peted   with  similar 
vegetation    in    be- 
wildering     variety, 
beautiful   beyond 
description. 

All  w^as  plain 
sailing.  Only  at 
one  point  were  w-e 
at  fault,  losing  the 
track  for  a  few 
minutes,  but  pre- 
sently picking  up 
the  blazes  again. 

By  noon,  accord- 
ing to  our  instruc- 
tions, we  should 
have  easily  been  out 


to  the  clearing,  but 


532 


iHE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


the  midday  hour  passed  without  sign  of  getting 
out. 

We  rested,  munching  our  last  biscuit  as  we 
did  so. 

"  Don't  Hke  it,"  Fred  ejaculated. 

"  More  do  I,"  said  Walter. 

"It  is  funny,"  I  agreed. 

Soon  through  with  our  biscuit,  we  pelted  on 
again,  the  blazes  perfectly  plain,  the  track  un- 
mistakable, and 
yet  no  end  to 
our  journey,  still 
less  to  our 
anxiety.  At  three 
I  called  another 
short  halt. 

"They  couldn't 
have  been  having 
a  game  with  us, 
surely?"  said 
Fred. 

"Mr.  Baker 
would  be  the 
last  man  to  do 
that,"  I  replied. 
"So  put  that 
idea  out  of  your 
head." 

"  No  one  else 
been  blazing 
tracks,  do  you 
think  ?  "  sug- 
gested Walter. 

"  Never  a  soul 
supposed  to 
have  been  in 
here  be  fore 
Baker  and  our- 
selves." 

The  thing  was 
a  mystery,  but 
guessing  its 
solution  would 
not  help  us  out, 

so  on  we  pelted  again.  The  sky  had  become 
as  gloomy  as  our  own  thouglits,  and  pre- 
sently rain  began  to  spatter  henvily  through 
the  overhead  foliage,  quickly  wetting  us 
through,  for  we  had  come  lightly  clad,  leav- 
ing coats  and  waistcoats  at  camp.  By  five 
it  was  almost  too  dark  to  see  the  blazes,  and 
our  progress  was,  in  consequence,  slow. 
Our  case  seemed  desperate.  "Nothing  for 
it,  boys,  I  am  afraid,  but  to  find  a  hollow 
tree  and  doss  out  for  the  night."  So  a  halt 
was  called  beside  one  that  seemed  to  pro- 
mise us  a  dry  "doss"  in  case  the  rain  kept  up. 
In  groping  about  to  find  some  dry  fern  or  bark 
to  make  a  bed,  my  eye  caught  something  white 


WHY,    ITS   THE    VERV   PAPER    WE    H.AD   OUR    LUNCH    WRAPPED    IN 
OF    THE    'graphic'!   ' 


a  few  yards  from  us  in  the  line  of  the  blazes. 
My  curiosity  drew  me  to  it. 

"  Paper,  by  Jove  1  Someone  has  been  here 
quite  recently  by  the  look  of  it.  Good  God  ! 
Why,  it's  the  very  paper  we  had  our  lunch 
wrapped  in — a  piece  of  the  Graphic.  Boys, 
we've  circled  round  on  our  own  tracks  ;  this  is 
where  we  had  our  lunch." 

"  How  can  that  be,  when  we've  been  following 

the  blazes  all  the 
time?"  exclaim- 
ed the  others, 
d  o  u  b  t  f  u  1  until 
they  had  them- 
selves examined 
the  place,  to  see 
whether  I  had 
not  made  some 
mistake.  But 
there  was  no 
mistake  aljout  it. 
\\'e  were  back 
where  we  had 
eaten  our  lunch. 
"Whoever  cut 
this  track  must 
have  been  lost 
themselves  :  and 
we're  '  bushed ' 
on  their  track." 

To  relate  a 
tenth  part  of 
our  tribulations 
from  this  moment 
on  to  the  end 
of  the  story 
would  weary  the 
reader  to  death. 
He  would  ski[) 
this  narrative  as 
surely  as  we 
would  h  a  \'  e 
skipped  the  ex- 
peri  e  n  c  e  if 
we  had  been  afforded  the  option. 

I  must  say  this,  however,  that  the  experience, 
bitter  and  near  death  as  it  was,  has  made  me  a 
better  satisfied,  more  easily-contented  man  than 
I  could  ever  possibly  have  been  had  I  never 
gone  through  it,  and  as  contentment  is  "a  pearl 
of  great  price,"  it  may  pay  the  reader  to  follow 
me  patiently  through  to  the  end  of  the  trip  on 
the  chance  of  being  able  to  find  the  gem 
himself. 

We  congratulated  ourselves   on   having  a  dry 

tree  to   shelter  under.      Fred  was  disposed  to 

grumble — \\'alter  to  take  a  cheery  view  of  things. 

"  We're  ashore,  at  any  rate,  and  that's  better 

than  being  at  sea  on  a  stormy  night  in  a  sinking 


LOST    IN    THE    "SEVENTV-MILE. 


53: 


ship  on  a  lee  shore.  We've  oniy  got  to  wail  till 
daylight,  and  then  we  can  push  along  again  all 
right." 

We  were  a  good  deal  bothered,  though,  to 
understand  how  things  had  taken  this  unex- 
pected turn. 

"It's  all  a  blooming  mystery  to  me,"  groaned 
Fred;  "all  I  know  is,  Em  hungry  enough  to  eat 
my  boots,  and  that  cramped  I  can  hardly  move ; 
and  cold  is  no  name  for  it. ' 

It  was  a  little  uncomfortable,  but  might  easily 
have  been  worse. 

"  It's  lucky  for  us  there's  three  of  us 
together,"  was  Walter's  response,  as  he  wedged 
his  shoulder  in  between  Fred's  and  mine  to 
give  it  a  warm,  the  other  side  having  "had  its 
turn." 

Towards  midnight  the  water  had  accumulated 
and  began  to  rise  under  us,  until  we  had  to 
abandon  our  sitting  position  and  stand. 

"  Vou  didn't  know  when  you  were  well  off, 
you  see,  Fred,  and  your  growling  has  brought  a 
judgment  on  all  of  us." 

The  water  gradually  filled  our  boots  and  crept 
up  until  it  was  above  our  knees. 

"  Well,  it's  better'n  if  it  was  up  to  our  necks, 
anyway.  What's  the  use  o'  grumbling  because 
your  socks  are  wet?  You're  always  on  the 
growl,  Fred.  Why  don't  you  look  at  the  sunny 
side  o'  things?" 

"  How  can  you  look  at  the  sunny  side  when 
there  ain't  one  ?  " 

"Ain't  one,  be  bothered.  Make  one.  What's 
your  imagination  given  you  for  if  it  won't  help 
you  out  that  much  ?  " 

At  last  daylight  came.  But,  oh  !  the  dreari- 
ness of  it.  Everything  was  wet  and  dripping  — 
streams  and  pools,  where  yesterday  all  was  dry 
and  lovely.  Hungry,  stiff,  and  shivering,  we  set 
forth  again  as  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see 
the  blazes. 

At  noon,  as  nearly  as  I  could  judge— for  my 
watch  had  stopjied,  and  I  had  no  key  to  wind 
it— despite  our  utmost  efforts  to  find  a  "branch 
off"  we  found  ourselves  back  again  at  the 
"Graphic  Hotel,"  as  we  named  our  resting-fjlace 
of  the  night  before. 

This  pushing  onward  all  the  time,  and  yet 
everlastingly  coming  back  to  our  starting-point, 
was  disheartening  work.  Turning  about,  we 
worked  back  in  the  opposite  direction,  hoping 
we  might  be  able  to  make  out  the  point  at 
which  the  track  from  the  stream  joined  "  the 
Circus,"  as  Walter  dubbed  it,  but  without  avail, 
for  night  found  us  back  again  at  "  the  hotel." 

Another  night  out.  This  time  in  comparative 
comfort,  for  we  had  found  a  larger  dry,  hollow 
rata  tree  on  higher  ground,  and  made  it  pretty 
comfortable  with  fern  and  bark  for  a  bed.     But 


for  our  hunger  and  the  cold  and  general  dis- 
comfort, we  would  not  have  been  so  badly  off. 
Huddling  as  closely  together  as  we  could,  and 
taking  "  turn  about  for  middle  berth,"  we 
managed  to  enjoy  a  few  snatches  of  sleep.  In 
the  morning  I  found  my  trousers  frozen  stiff 
(I  had  hung  them  up  to  drain  over-nighl),  and 
had  to  scrunch  them  up  and  shake  the  frost  out 
of  them  before  putting  them  on.  Even  Fred 
had  to  smile  at  my  plight,  Walter  improving  the 
occasion  with,  "There,  Mr.  (irowler,  how'd  you 
like  to  be  the  boss  and  have  to  jump  into  the 
likes  o'  them  ?  I  hope  you  recognise  when 
you're  well  off." 

We  made  a  welcome  discovery  this  morning. 
Chewing  some  icicles  hanging  from  the  trees,  we 
found  that  the  moss  inside  them  had  a  strong 
taste  of  allspice  and  quite  a  refreshing  and 
sustaining  effect  on  our  spirits.  It  being  plentiful, 
we  chewed  much  of  it.  There  was,  however, 
nothing  more  substantial  about  it  than  its  flavour, 
and  its  effects  did  not  last  long.  Our  jaws 
ached  greatly  with  chewing,  and  our  bodies 
derived  no  lasting  benefit.  We  had  tried  and 
exhausted  the  well-known  plan  of  "taking  in  a 
hole  in  your  belt,"  until  there  was  not  another 
hole  left,  and  still  the  sensation  of  ever-dragging 
hollowness  remained  within. 

Fred,  as  usual,  was  disposed  to  grumble, 
while  Walter  reckoned  "  it  wasn't  as  bad  as 
being  sea-sick — anyway,  we  had  enough  to  think 
about  without  worrying  about  grub." 

I  was  inclined  to  agree  with  him,  and  "  thank 
God  we  weren't  sea-sick." 

This  day  we  made  but  one  round  of  the 
Circus.  It  poured  in  torrents.  For  the  life  of 
us  we  could  make  out  no  sign  of  any  "  branch 
off,"  and  when  night  again  came  on  we  were 
thankful  that  at  least  we  had  the  dry  shelter  of 
our  "  hotel  "  of  the  night  before.  The  incessant 
downpour  had  left  no  other  dry  spot  that  we 
could  see  anywhere  on  the  dreary  round  of  this 
dismal  ten-mile  circus,  in  the  arena  of  which  it 
seemed  to  be  our  destiny  to  dance  to  the  end 
with  but  the  one  spectator,  grim  old  Death,  as 
the  master  of  the  show. 

Another  endless  night,  without  glimmer  of 
star  or  moon  to  relieve  the  density  of  its 
darkness. 

Another  long  and  more  than  ever  dismal  day. 
A  deadly  languor  and  feebleness  seemed  creep- 
ing stealthily  over  us.  We  could  hardly  drag 
one  leg  after  the  other.  The  day  was  nearly 
done,  and  we  had  but  traversed  half  the  round 
of  the  circle,  without  trace,  look  high  or  look 
low,  of  any  side  track. 

Crawling  on  hands  and  knees — for  I  was 
tired,  and  this  afforded  me  a  restful  change — 
my  eye  was  suddenly  caught  by  something  I 


534 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


had  never  noticed  before  ;  it  was  not  much, 
just  a  bit  of  stick,  a  supple-jack  cane,  with  a  hit 
of  folded  paper  stuck  in  a  cleft  at  one  etid.  It 
had  evidently  been  left  standing  erect,  but  had 
been  trodden  down  and  almost  buried  out  of 
sight  in  the  fern  and  moss  underfoot.  The 
paper  was  sodden,  weather-beaten,  frayed,  and 
pulpy,  but  to  me,  at  that  moment,  it  seemed  of 
more  value  than  a  mint  full  of  gold. 

The  others  came  up.  With  painful  care  we 
unfolded  our  prize,  anxious  to  know  its  contents, 
but  dreading  lest  it  should  fall  to  pieces  and  be 
unreadable.  The  tattered  thing  was  in  frag- 
ments before 
we  had  it  fully 
spread  out,  and 
t  h e  n  a  1 1  we 
could  decipher 
of  a  long  pencil 
message  were 
two  words, 
"Keep  .  .  .  , 
track  .  .  .  .  " 

"  Considering 
we've  been 
keeping  the 
blessed  track  all 
the  time,  I 
don't  give  much  ■ 
for  that  tip," 
growled  surly 
Fred. 

"  Nobody 
don't  get  any 
option  on  my 
interest  in  that 
document,  all 
the  same,  Fred," 
said  ^Valter 
"  I'll  put  my 
hat  over  it  to 
keep  the  rain 
from  washing  it 
away,  and  we'll 
see  what  w  e 
can   make  of  it 


in  the  morning." 


LOOKING   OVER   AND  ^^ 

BEYOND   THE   GIANT   TRUNK, 

I    COULD   SEE   ANOTHER    liLAZE — 

'  DELIVERANCE  AT    LAST  !  '    I    YELLED. 


That  night 
was  the  worst  of 
any.    It  seemed 

as  if  day  would  never  dawn,  and,  when  the 
dawn  did  appear,  as  if  it  would  never  be  light 
enough  to  read  the  message. 

Impatient  at  the  delay,  I  thought  to  search 
for  blaze  marks  abreast  of  the  spot,  while  wait- 
ing for  more  daylight  to  read  by.  Some 
yards  away  on  our  right  lay  an  enormous  dead 
pine  tree  that  had  recently  fallen.  Beneath 
this  I  found,  to  my  intense  joy,  a  living  "  blazed 


tree  "  that  had  been  crushed  to  earth  by  the  fall 
of  the  larger  one.  Looking  over  and  beyond 
the  giant  trunk  of  the  pine  I  could  see  another 
blaze — "  Deliverance  at  last  !  "  I  yelled. 

Calling  to  the  others  I  pointed  to  my  dis- 
covery. Their  joy  knew  no  bounds.  They,  too, 
had  made  out  more  letters  on  the  paper — for 
example,  "ight,"  which  we  took  to  mean  "right," 
the  whole  message  probably  being  something 
about  "  keeping  the  track  to  the  right."  But  we 
did  not  bother  about  it  now  we  were  off  that 
dreadful  Circus.  Our  spirits  went  up  sky-high, 
and   we  could    not  put  that  Circus  behind  us 

quickly  enough. 
On  we  pelted, 
hoping  every 
moment  would 
bring  us  out  as 
we  passed  blaze 
after  blaze.  But, 
oh  !  it  was  dis- 
a  ppointing 
work.  In  place 
of  "getting 
out "  we  got 
into  dreadfully 
rough  country. 
Our  strength 
was  failing  us 
very  fast,  too. 
As  darkness 
again  set  in  we 
came  upon 
what  had  evi- 
dently been  a 
camping  -  place 
of  those  who 
had  gone  before 
us.  Ends  of 
burnt  wood,  an 
empty  meat  tin, 
a  matchbox 
equally  empty, 
and  some  dry 
fern  and  bark 
under  a  shel- 
tering and  over- 
hanging wall  of 
rock.  \Wc  rested 
here  in  com- 
parative comfort  again.  The  night  was  milder; 
the  rain  had  ceased,  and  we  secured  some  sleep. 
The  morning  broke  clear  and  bright  for  once, 
and  we  heard  the  tinkling,  bell-like  notes  of  the 
tui,  or  "parson-bird,"  for  the  first  time  since 
leaving  camp.  The  bush  seemed  alive  with 
them,  but  sweet  as  their  music  sounded,  we  felt 
that  our  teeth  in  their  flesh  would  be  sweeter 
still — such  savages  doth  hunger  make  of  men. 


LOST    IN    THE    "SEVENTY-MILE." 


535 


But  our  ravenous  cravings  were  of  no  avail. 
The  birds  were  far  out  of  our  reach.  The  siyht 
of  the  meat  tin  had  aroused  afresh  the  partially 
dormant  pangs  of  hunger.  Walter  picked  it  up 
and  examined  it  carefully,  on  the  off-chance  of 
finding  a  dainty  morsel  of  grease  or  something 
equally  luscious  about  it.  Disappointed,  he 
flung  it  into  the  creek  below. 

Away  we  trudged  again,  more  hopeful  than 
before,  though  we  hardly  knew  why.  The 
signs  of  civilization  had,  perhaps,  put  fresh  life 
into  us. 

But  we  were  very  stiff,  and  the  vigour  of  the 
morning  did  not  stand  to  us  very  long. 

We  were  soon  "  done  "  again.  Only  able  to 
do  a  short  spell  and  then  a  rest.  Towards 
night  we  came  to  a  white  pine  or  kahikatea 
swamp,  into  which  the  blaze  marks  carried  us 
up  over  our  knees  in  water.  Darkness  fell  upon 
us  while  still  in  it,  and  we  did  not  get  out  of  it 
before  daylight.  We  had  to  keep  moving  :  and 
although  each  of  us  had  been  "  ready  to  drop  "' 
long  before  night  overtook  us,  when  there  was 
nothing  to  drop  into  but  cold  water,  we  some- 
how managed  to  keep  on  our  legs,  feeling  our 
way  from  tree  to  tree  and  blaze-mark  to 
blaze-mark.  Evidently  we  had  only  been 
''  malingering  "  the  day  before.  It  is  wonderful 
what  a  man  can  endure  when  he  ]ias  to 
endure  it. 

To  our  amazement  and  chagrin  we  found 
when  daylight  did  come  that  we  had  only  been  a 
few  yards  away  from  a  cliff  similar  to  that  which 
we  had  sheltered  under  the  night  before,  running 
parallel  to  the  flat  we  had  been  wading  along  all 
niglit. 

Exhausted  as  we  now  unquestionably  were, 
we  were  grateful  for  the  chance  of  a  rest  on  dry 
ground.  It  was  an  almost  fatal  rest  for  us  all. 
When  at  noon  I  tried  to  rise,  the  muscles  of 
my  thighs  and  legs  seemed  to  form  into  hard 
knots,  and  it  was  only  with  the  most  excruciat- 
ing pain  that  1  managed  to  straighten  them 
again  and  drag  myself  to  my  feet.  All  efforts 
to  arouse  the  others  were  vain. 

Huddled  closely  together,  hardly  a  stitch  of 
clothing  now  left  upon  them,  they  lay  in  a  state 
of  torpor  or  stupor,  rather  than  sleep.  I  could 
get  nothing  from  either  of  them,  more  than  a 
groan  and  a  muttered  appeal  to  let  them  be— to 
go  on  myself  and  leave  them.  The  night's  work 
had  been  too  much  for  them.  They  were 
done. 

I  thought  moving  away  might  rouse  them — 
that  when  they  found  I  was  really  gone  they 
would  try  and  get  up  and  follow  me.  They 
were  immovable,  however. 

I  moved  farther  away  each  time,  but  my  own 
strength  was  going  fast.     I  could  hardly  drag 


myself  along,  and  dare  not  lie  down  lest  I  should 
be  unable  to  rise  again. 

"  Oh,  if  I  only  had  one  mouthful  of  brandy," 
I  thought,  '"just  enough  to  put  one  spark  of 
fresh  life  into  us  ;  or  a  bit  of  food,  one  word 

of  encouraging    news  —  anything Good 

heavens  I  What's  this?"  I  was  standing  full 
upon  a  broad,  well-trodden  pack-track,  which  I 
knew  must  be  the  one — the  only  one  in  that 
vast  region  of  forest  - —  that  led  through  the 
Eketahuna  clearing  and  past  the  depot  we  were 
looking  for. 

Back  I  ran  to  the  boys,  scrambling,  stumbling, 
tumbling,  anyhow  :  "  Walter,  Fred,  rouse  up  ! 
We're  out !     I've  found  the  pack-track  1  " 

All  stupor  was  at  an  end.  In  a  twinkling 
they  had  struggled  to  their  feet,  trembling — 
shaking  like  palsied  beings — haggard,  wild-eyed 
spectres  of  their  former  selves,  but  all  alive  once 
more. 

"  Where  ?  Where  ?  Oh,  for  God's  sake 
you're  not  fooling  us,  boss  ?  Show  us  it, 
quick  !  " 

A  few  moments  brought  us  to  it.  They 
seemed  hardly  able  to  believe  their  senses. 
Tears  of  joy  streamed  down  every  cheek  as  we 
clasped  and  shook  each  other's  hands. 

Another  problem  faced  us  :  ''  U'hich  way  to 
turn  ?     On  which  side  was  Eketahuna  ?  " 

"  Toss  up  the  billhook  " — a  chopper  I  had 
carried  all  through — ''if  it  com.es  down  with 
maker's  name  up,  we  will  turn  to  the  right ; 
plain  side,  to  the  left." 

It  came  down  with  the  name  "  Sorby,  Shef- 
field," uppermost.  W^e  turned  to  the  right,  and 
in  an  hour  were  out  on  "  the  clearing '' — an 
open  space  about  the  size  of  an  average  cricket- 
field.  W^hat  a  relief  again  to  see  the  open  sky, 
after  nearly  a  year's  submergence  working  in 
the  forest's  shade. 

But  "the  grub,"  where  was  it?  Our  direc- 
tions said  we  would  find  the  remains  of  an  old 
slab  shelter  on  the  edge  of  the  clearing.  At 
the  foot  of  the  rise  on  which  it  stood,  in  the 
shelter  of  some  scrub,  and  fifty  paces  from  the 
river,  we  would  find  the  raised  platform  upon 
which  they  had  packed  the  stores.  But  this 
spot  we  found  submerged  by  the  overflow  from 
the  flooded  river,  and  no  sign  of  the  platform. 
Wading  in  up  to  my  armpits  I  stumbled  over 
something  under  water.  It  was  our  stock  of 
provisions.     The  platform  had  collapsed. 

Raising  and  carrying  the  various  bags  and  pack- 
ages ashore,  we  found  that  the  sugar  had  melted, 
a  syrupy  ooze  only  trickling  from  the  bags. 
Raisins,  a  pulp  ;  we  gorged  on  these  for  a  com- 
mencement. A  handful  of  saturated  rice  in  a 
pannikin  followed  the  raisins.  Next  came  a  tin 
of    wax    matches,    the    phosphorus    heads    all 


536 


THE    WIDE     WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


settled  in  a  paste  in  the  corner  of  the  box  ;  put 
this  aside  for  use  later.  Some  candles  :  gnawed 
the  ends  of  these.  Jar  of  salt :  very  precious  ;  a 
bag  of  same  being  all  melted  away.  Box  of  tea  : 
saturated,  but  we  could  dry  it  out.  Several 
"fifties"  of  flour  in  bags,  the  interior  contents 
preserved  by  the  outer  coating  of  paste  formed 
by  contact  with  the  wet. 

This  last  item  was  the  one  thing  indispensable, 
for  it  meant  life,  home,  friends,  and  all  that  is 
worth  living  for. 

In  the  first  bag  of  flour  opened  we  found  a 
nest  full  of  young  drowned  rats — tempting,  pink 
morsels  of  meat .' 
Don't  shudder — 
we  were  starving ; 
but  we  passed 
them  and,  mixing 
a  paste  of  flour 
and  water  in  the 
pannikin,  swal- 
lowed that  in 
preference. 

Night  was  clos- 
ing in  again, 
sharp  nnd  frosty. 
Fred  was  set  to 
work  to  hunt  up 
something  to 
serve  for  a  grid- 
dle, while  Walter 
gathered  wood 
for  a  fire  and  fern 
for  our  bed. 

I  turned  my 
attention  to  get- 
ting a  fire,  utiliz- 
ing the  phos- 
phorus in  the 
match-box,  mixed 
with  a  little 
shredded  shirt- 
sleeve, dried  in 
a  groove  made 
hot  by  rubbing 
the  end  of  one 
piece  of  wood  on 
the  flat  surface 
of    another — 

much  as  a  boy  will  rub  a  chisel  on  an  oil-stone 
to  sharpen  it.  Soon  we  had  a  fire  going. 
Walter  mixed  some  dough,  using  an  empty 
sugar-bag  for  a  mixing-board.  Fred  had  found 
the  remains  of  an  old  spade  with  the  business 
end  of  its  blade  gone.  It  made  an  admirable 
griddle. 

"  Why   not   make   a   damper,"   Walter    sug- 
gested, "  Australian  fashion,  in  the  ashes  ?  " 

"  Damper,  my  boy,  is  all  very  well  when  you 


WHILE    I    HEATED    IHE   GKIDDLE,    WALTER    ROLLED   OLT'    HIS    SCONES. 


haven't  the  conveniences  of  civilization  about 
you  for  making  anything  better.  We  have,  and 
will  have  some  scojies^  An  empty  rum  bottle 
was  raked  out  of  a  rubbish  heap  beside  the  old 
shanty,  in  the  angle  of  whose  sheltering  walls 
we  were  now  established  ;  and  while  I  heated 
the  griddle,  ^\'alter  rolled  out  his  scones.  Not 
without  some  delay,  however,  for  we  were  all 
the  while  picking  at  the  fringe  of  his  dough, 
and  "putting  away"  portions  of  his  scones 
before  they  had  time  to  reach  the  griddle.  For 
several  whole  days  and  nights  we  had  not  had 
an  atom  of  food— were,  in  fact,  practically  dying 

o  f  h  u  n  g  e  r  and 
exhaustion  —  so 
my  readers  will,  it 
is  hoped,  excuse 
our  manners  ;  we 
were  too  hungry 
to  wait  for  the 
conventionality  of 
cooking. 

The  first  few 
that  did  reach 
the  griddle  were 
snatched  and  de- 
molished before 
they  were  fairly 
warm,  (ietting 
"something  with 
the  chill  off"  into 
our  interiors  was 
a  sensation  never 
to  be  forgotten. 

The  win  d 
swirled  round  the 
ends  of  our 
sheltering  walls,, 
lapping  the  flames- 
and  smoke  into 
our  faces,  but 
what  cared  we  ? 
W  e  were  too 
happy  in  having 
a  fire  at  all,  and 
positively  delight- 
ed in  its  rude 
caresses,  con- 
gratulating our- 
selves on  again  tasting  the  sweets  of  civilized 
life  ;  on  possessing  a  dwelling-place  ;  a  hearth  ; 
a  cooking  utensil  ;  food  —  in  fact,  everything 
necessary  to  render  life  thoroughly  enjoyable 
and  worth  living. 

Presently,  having  removed  the  raw  ana 
ravenous  edge  of  our  appetites,  we  permitted 
some  of  our  scones  to  acquire  quite  a  distinct 
tinge  of  colour — of  brown — in  flecks  here  and 
there  on  one   side,  before   committing  them  to 


-^> 


LOST    IN    The    "SEVENTY-MILE.*' 


^37 


our  interior  depths.  There  was  not  merely 
warmtli  but  "  flavour  "  about  them  ;  and  when, 
later  on,  we  permitted  them  a  chance  to  brown 
evenly  on  both  sides  our  enjoyment  was  com- 
plete. And  yet — yes,  some  people  seem  never 
really  content.  So  it  was  with  us.  The  cloven 
hoof  of  discontent  peeped  out  even  at  this 
moment,  when  we  should  have  been  on  our 
knees  praising  Providence  for  unbounded  bene- 
factions. 

The  baneful  effects  of  unwonted 
luxury  began  to  manifest  them- 
selves. Nothing  would  satisfy  us 
but  we  must  have  a  drink,  and  a 
hot  drink  at  that.  Visions  of  deli- 
cious "pannikins  of  tea"  assailed 
us.  The  consumption  of  scorching- 
hot  scones  had  created  an  insati- 
able craving  for  liquid  refreshment. 
Fred  raked  up  a  couple  of  empty 
jam  tins  for  himself  and  Waller, 
while  I,  as  boss,  was  allotted  the 
pannikin. 

Our  thoughts  were  not  entirely 
of  ourselves,  however.  Never  for 
a  moment  were  mine  entirely  free 
from  anxiety  for  those  we  had  left 
behind  in  camp  and  the  terrible 
plight  they  must  be  in,  not  know- 
ing which  way  to  turn  for  relief,  or 
at  what  moment  we  might  return 
with  succour  ;  or  whether  we  would 
ever  return  at  all. 

Their  predicament  was  an  ugly 
one.  We  knew  it,  and  the  know- 
ledge weighed  heavily  upon  us,  for 
we  had  not  undergone  any  of 
those  callousing  processes  which  in 
older  countries  and  centres  of  a 
"  higher  civilization  "  enable  men  to 
eat   while   women   and    babes    are 


lose  not  one  moment  in   finding  our  way  back 
to  our  distressed  companions  at  the  camp. 

A  final  word  as  to  the  men  who  had  been 
left  behind.  By  the  time  we  got  back  to 
them  they  had  been  eleven  days  without  food. 
One  was  a  raving  maniac  and  died  six  months 
later  in  an  asylum.  Another  was  a  mere  bag  of 
bones  over  which  the  skin  was  drawn  with 
hideous  tightness  ;  but  a  third   had  weathered 


starvmg. 


^Ve  just   brewed   ourselves  some 
tea,    wringing  in  a   dash  of  sweet- 
ness fiom  a  w^et  sugar  bag  ;  tipped  each  other's 
tins  "  to  our  starving  comrades,"  and  sipped  our 
brew,   with  bowed   heads,    in  silence,   resolving 
that  with  the  dawn  of  the  morrow  we  should 


THE   ll.ME   WE   GOT    HACK    TO   THEM    THEY   HAD   BEEN   ELEVEN 
DAYS   WITHOUT   FOOD." 


the  storm  surprisingly  well.  He  was  a  good- 
humoured  man-o'-war's  man,  who  took  life  easily 
and  never  worried.  He  had  be  ■<  acting  as 
cook. 


VoL  iiL— 68. 


Among    West    African    Swamps. 


Bv  P.  A.  McCann. 


This  gentleman  has  lived  for  many  years  in  the  "  White  Man's  Grave,"  and  only  recently  returned 
to  England  after  having  penetrated  into  many  remote  and  hitherto  untrodden  regions.  Mr. 
McCann    brought  back  with    him  thousands   of  extraordinary  and  beautiful  photographs,  of  which  the 

ones  we   reproduce  are  a  fair  sample. 


OXSPICUOUS  in  the  history  of  the 
Ciolcl  Coast,  tlie  River  Pra  stands 
out  prominently  as  the  scene  of 
many  a  hard -fought  engagement 
between  the  Ashantis  and  the 
coast  tribes  ;  and,  in  the  latter  period  of  its 
history,  between  the  Ashantis  and  the  British 
forces.  It  takes  its  rise  in  the  Kwahu  country, 
and  traversing  about  i8o  miles  through  the 
territories  of  Kwahu,  Akim,  Assin,  I'ufel,  Was- 
.saw,  and  Ahanta,  finally  emerges  into  the 
Atlantic,  near  the  town  of  Chama. 

It  is  called  Bosompra,  or  Sacred  River,  and 
is   an    object    of    veneration    to    alT  the    tribes 


through  whose  territory  it  flows.  Each  tribe 
has  its  special  god  abiding  in  the  river  ;  and, 
prior  to  the  British  occupation,  human  sacrifice 
was  regularly  offered  by  each  tribe  to  its  par- 
ticular deity.  The  Ashantis  venerate  the  river 
on  account  of  Osai  Tutu,  the  founder  of 
Ashanti,  having  been  killed  upon  its  banks  by 
a  body  of  feudatory  Akims,  against  whom  he 
was  marching  to  quell  a  revolt.  The  King  was 
shot  as  he  was  about  to  lead  his  men  across  the 
river,  and  the  body,  falling  into  the  water,  was 
carried  away  by  the  current  and  never  recovered. 
In  1824  the  river  was  the  scene  of  a  crushing 
defeat  inflicted  upon  a  British  force,   under  the 


SIK    \V.    E.    .MAXWELL,    LATE  GOVERNOR   OP   THE   GOLD   COAST,    CROSSING   THE   SACKED   ASHANTI    RIVER,    FRA. 

From  a  l^hoto.  by  the  Autlior. 


amont,  Vv';:si'  al'RIca:;  sU'amPo. 


5>3 


command  of  Governor  Sir  Charles  McCarthy ; 
and  after  a  stiff  battle,  Sir  Charles  and  about 
i,ooo  of  his  troops  were  slain,  very  few  making 
their  escape.  'i'he  head  of  the  unfortunate 
Governor  was  cut  off  and  sent  up  to  Kumassi, 
where  it  was  formed  into  a  drinking-cup  for  the 
King  of  Ashanti,  who  used  it  when  offering 
sacrifice  to  his  tutelary  deity  at  the  Royal 
mausoleum  at  Bantama. 

The  heart  being  taken  from  the  body  was 
eaten  by  the  chief  war  captains,  while  the  flesh 
having  been  dried  was  distributed  with  his 
bones  among  the  men  of  consequence  in  the 
army.  These,  the  respective  owners  kept  about 
their  persons  as  charms  to  inspire  them  with 
courage.  The  photograph  herewith  reproduced 
is  a  typical  view  of  the  sacred  Pra.  The  event 
upon  this  occasion  represents  the  passage  of  one 
of  the  most  noted  of  the  Gold  Coast  Governors, 
the  late  Sir  W.  E.  Maxwell,  K.C.M.G.,  to  whom 
is  due  the  opening  up  and  annex^ition  of  Ashanti 
to  the  British  Empire. 

Leaving  the  Pra,  the  journey  to  the  Sacred 
Lake  of  the  Ashantis  (called  by  the  natives, 
Bosomshwi)  leads  through  Eastern  Adansi. 
From  the  river  bank  we  enter  an  unbroken 
forest  tract,  where  the  tall  and  massive  trees  are 
interwoven  with  creepers,  which  interlace  so 
tightly  with  the  branches  of  the  trees  as  to  form 
a  thick  and  matted  canopy  of  vegetation  absolu- 
tely impenetrable  by  the  sun.  Here  and  there 
we  come  to  a  monarch  of  the  forest  which  has 
been  felled  by  lightning,  and  in  falling  has 
brought  down  with  it  a  great  mass  of  the  canopy, 
revealing  the  sky  above — a  curious  gap  in  the 
"  roof"  of  the  forest.  Coming  to  these  openings, 
where  the  beams  of  the  sun  cut  into  the  gloom 
of  the  forest  like  thick,  golden  shafts,  is  positively 
like  coming  from  underground  and  getting  a 
glimpse  of  the  world  above.  The  bright  light 
and  freshness  of  the  air  at  these  places  give 
one  a  sense  of  exhilaration,  which  cjuickly 
evaporates,  however,  as  one  proceeds  on 
again  into  the  recesses  of  the  bush  and  comes 
within  its  depressing  influence.  Occasionally 
we  mount  a  steep  hill,  which  causes  the  breath 
to  come  and  go  in  gasps,  and  necessitates 
frequent  halts  to  rest  and  recover.  Valleys 
between  the  hills  are  frequently  strewn  with 
rock  boulders  and  pebbles  of  primary  rock,  and 
intersected  with  shallow  streams,  v.-here  the 
sand,  thickly  charged  with  mica,  glistens  like 
gold  as  the  clear  and  limpid  water  sparkles  over 
it.  Here  and  there  this  effect  is  heightened  as 
pencils  of  sunlight  find  their  way  through  the 
trees  and  matted  foliage  overhead,  and  dance 
and  shimmer  on  the  rippling  water.  In  these 
moist-laden  valleys  the  graceful  bamboo-palms 
gladden  the   eye  with  their   beautiful  feathery 


fronds,  which  droop  and  curve  from  the  trunks 
on  all  sides.  Contrasting  with  the  darker 
hue  of  the  foliage  round  about,  the  light 
green  of  the  parasitic  ferns,  which  clothe 
the  trunks  of  the  palms  in  every  conceiv- 
able variety  and  luxuriance,  stands  out  in 
prominent  relief.  Anon,  the  valleys  are  marshes 
and  beds  of  black  mud,  the  fatiguing  struggle 
through  which  exhausts  one's  temper  and  energy. 
Here  everything  is  indicative  of  Nature  in  her 
worst  mood — the  straggling,  sickly  vegetation  ; 
the  low  flats  of  ooze  covered  with  copper- 
coloured  fluid,  and  emitting  a  fetid  odour  ;  the 
scrubbly  bush  bounding  this,  among  which 
grow  innumerable  i.)rickly  plants  and  variou-;^ 
species  of  strong  creepers,  armed  with  thorny 
hooks  which  tear  the  clothes  and  flesh  wher- 
ever they  come  in  contact.  Innocent-looking 
vines,  too,  which  when  grasped  in  the  hand 
leave  an  impression  one  does  not  forget  in  a 
hurry ;  for,  apparently  covered  v.'ith  fine-looking 
moss,  this  stuff  turns  out  to  be  minute  spikes, 
so  minute  and  close  together  as  to  resemble 
moss  to  the  eye ;  grasped  in  the  hand,  how- 
ever, these  delicate  spikes  enter  the  flesh  and 
break  off,  causing  not  only  exquisite  pain,  but 
loss  of  power  in  the  hand  and  fingers  until  all 
the  spikes  are  extracted.  And  as  these  have 
to  be  cut  out  with  the  point  of  a  needle,  the 
operation  is  exceedingly  painful. 

Struggling  waist-deep  at  times  through  these 
filthy  swamps,  one  regains  terra  firma  with  a 
sigh  of  relief,  but  with  clothes  torn,  skin  bleed- 
ing, and  one's  body  caked  up  to  the  waist  with 
thick  black  mud,  which  has  to  be  scraped  off  with 
a  cutlass.  Coming  to  a  stream  of  water  we  wade 
in  and  wash  off  the  greasy  mud.  It  is  useless 
putting  dry  clothes  on,  for  half  a  mile  or  so 
farther  on  we  have  to  wade  through  mud  again. 
The  monotony  of  this  bush  and  swamp  is 
occasionally  broken  by  a  farm  clearing,  where 
amongst  the  crops  we  notice  growing  are  yams, 
cassada,  maize  or  Indian  corn,  and  plantains. 
The  plantains,  with  their  broad,  drooping  leaves 
of  a  beautiful  transparent  green,  are  always  a 
welcome  sight,  and  give  the  tired  traveller  a 
sense  of  relief  and  refreshment,  for  wherever  the 
plantain  is  seen,  it  is  a  sure  sign  that  a  village 
is  not  very  distant,  and  a  rest  and  a  meal 
generally  follow.  The  krooms,  or  villages  of 
the  natives,  are  generally  about  two  miles  distant 
from  the  farms.  They  are  mostly  situated  on 
knolls,  and  are  always  near  running  water. 
Krooms  are  distant  from  each  other  about  nine 
to  ten  miles,  and  occasionally  twelve  to  fifteen. 

I  generally  reached  a  kroom  before  sundown 
and  obtained  a  couple  of  huts  for  the  night, 
one  for  my  men,  and  the  other  for  myself  and 
baggage.     My  party  consisted  of  seventeen  men 


540 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


(fifteen  carriers,  a  cook,  and  an  interpreter). 
Rising  early,  the  cook  would  be  up  by  4.30  and 
have  coffee  made  by  5.0,  after  which,  bed  and 
baggage  would  be  packed  up  and  the  party 
would  start  by  5.45. 

Five  days'  laborious  travelling  through  the 
Adansi  country  brought  us  to  a  volcanic  range 
of  hills  on  the  Ashanti  border,  among  which 
lies  Bosomshwi,  the  crater  lake  of  Ashanti.  We 
took  up  our  quarters  for  the  night  in  a  small 
village  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  circling 
series  of  hills  which  inclose  the  lake,  and 
getting  up  betimes  made  an  early  start.  Two 
and  a  half  hours'  toilsome  marching  over  a 
steeply  rugged  series  of  hills  brought  us  to  a 
kroorn  on  the  crater's  edge  (height  by  aneroid, 
650ft.),  and  from  here  the  path  descended. 
Owing  to  the  density  of  the  bush,  no  view  was 
possible,  as  the  tops  and  sides  of  the  hills  were 
clothed  with  trees  and  foliage  as  luxuriantly  as 
the  valleys.  The  path  down  the  crater's  side 
was  very  steep,  and  hands  as  well  as  feet  were 
fully  occupied  in  descending.  Extreme  care 
was  necessary,  for  a  slip  might  mean  a  fall  of 
looft.  or  so,  in  places  where  the  path  curved 
perilously  near  crevices  in  the  hill-side.  It  was 
simi)ly  marvellous  to  see  the  way  in  which  the 
carriers  manoeuvred  round  these  ticklish  spots 
with  the  heavy  loads  (6olb.  to  yolb.  weight)  upon 
their  heads.  As  they  stepped  from  boulder  to 
boulder,  and  swung  themselves  round  dangerous 
corners— the  only  thing  between  them  and 
absolute  destruction  being  their  hold  upon  the 
sinuous  roots  of  a  tree,  laid  bare  by  the  action  of 
the  rain  in  the  wet  season — it  gave  one  the  im- 
pression that  they  bore  charmed  lives.  Crossing 
the  bed  of  a  gully  near  the  bottom  of  the  hill, 
we  emerge  on  to  a  flat  tract  leading  through  a 
grove  of  plantain  trees  ;  and  a  few  hundred 
yards  farther  on  a  turn  in  the  path  suddenly 
reveals  a  broad  ex[)an3e  of  water  shimmering 
in  the  sun  fully  looft.  below  us.  The  path  now 
winds  down  the  hill,  and  hurrying  on,  we  quickly 
reach  a  village  on  the  edge  of  the  lake. 

Tbi  habitations  of  the  people  are  built  in 
compounds  after  the  Ashanti  style — that  is, 
four  little  huts  built  to  inclose  a  small  square 
and  walled  around,  with  a  doorway  opening 
into  it.  In  one  of  these  huts  the  owner 
sleeps,  two  others  are  occupied  by  the  wives 
and  family,  while  the  fourth  is  used  to  cook 
in  and  hold  the  cooking  utensils  and  farm 
implements.  The  floors  of  the  huts  are 
filled  in  with  earth,  so  as  to  raise  them  2ft. 
or  3ft.  above  the  ground,  and  this  keeps  them 
tolerably  dry  in  the  wet  season.  The  lake  is 
thirty-six  miles  in  circumference,  and  dotting  the 
shore  all  round  are  thirty-five  villages,  with 
populations  ranging  from    ico  to  300.      It  was 


discovered  and  populated  by  the  Ashantis  about 
the  latter  end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It 
occupies  thi  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano,  and 
the  water  now  filling  it  is  the  accumulation  of 
centuries  of  rainfall.  The  rise  of  water  in  the 
wet  season  does  not  much  exceed  5ft.  A 
remarkable  feature  is  the  great  evaporation 
which  goes  on  daily,  and  this  causes  so  thick 
a  mist,  that  between  the  first  hour  of  sunrise 
and  last  hour  of  sunset  it  is  not  possible  to 
see  objects  beyond  twenty  to  thirty  yards  dis- 
tant. During  the  day  the  oppression  caused  by 
the  hot  moist  air  deprives  one  of  all  energy,  and 
induces  a  feeling  of  extreme  languor.  With  the 
going  down  of  the  sun,  however,  the  evapora- 
tion lessens,  and  about  4  p.m.  a  light  breeze 
springs  up  over  the  surface  of  the  water,  after 
which  the  air  cools  down  and  bodily  energy 
seems  to  return  to  the  traveller. 

Plantains  are  the  staple  food  of  the  people, 
and  these  grow  in  luxuriant  groves  all  around 
the  lake,  adding  greatly  to  the  picturesque 
appearance  of  the  villages. 

Fishing  is  the  chief  occupation  of  the  people, 
and  it  is  done  by  means  of  hook  and  line,  and 
large  seine-like  nets  made  from  the  split  fronds 
of  the  bamboo  palm.  The  lake  literally  teems 
with  fish,  which,  in  the  months  of  August  and 
September,  are  so  numerous  that  vast  quantities 
are  cast  up  and  die  en  the  shores.  Crocodiles 
are  also  very  numerous,  but  are  evidently  so  well 
fed  that  they  never  molest  the  natives.  The 
lake  is  called  Bosomshwi  by  the  Ashantis. 
This  is  derived  from  Bosom,  a  god,  and  Shwi, 
a  great  open  place  or  expanse — literally  meaning, 
"  God's  place." 

Upon  all  Ashanti  festivals  and  ceremonies 
many  human  victims  have  been  sacrificed  to 
the  God  of  the  AVater  ;  and  an  idea  may  be 
gathered  of  the  numbers  of  human  beings 
immolated  from  time  to  time  by  the  fact  that 
upon  the  death  of  Osai  Quamina,  in  1824,  200 
slaves  were  sacrificed  every  week  for  three 
months.  Bodies  of  victims  thrown  into  the  lake 
would  not  be  cast  up  again,  and  it  was  believed 
by  the  superstitious  natives  that  the  god  had 
taken  them.  Their  disappearance,  however,  is 
easily  accounted  for  by  the  crocodiles  which 
abound  in  the  lake. 

When  the  first  settlers  established  themselves 
on  the  lake,  their  fetish  priest  announced  that 
the  god  had  spoken  to  him  and  expressly 
commanded  that  canoes  were  not  to  be  used 
on  its  waters  ;  and  that  if  at  any  time  they 
disobeyed  this  command  the  lake  and  all  its 
inhabitants  would  be  destroyed.  This  law 
they  have  rigidly  observed  to  this  day,  and  no 
canoe  has  ever  been  afloat  on  its  waters.  In 
lieu  of  canoes,  the  people  go  about  on  poles  of 


AM 


WEST  ai':iic'a:j  swamps. 


541 


light,  pithy  wood,  got  from  trees  growing  near 
the  lake,  and  in  the  use  of  these  they  are  very 
expert.  The  poles  are  about  8ft.  long  and  from 
gin.  to  loin.  in  diameter;  both  men  and  women 
use  them.  They  get  astride  them  at  the  centre, 
and  paddle  with  their  hands.  They  go  as  fast 
as  a  man  would  paddle  in  an  ordinary  canoe. 
The  photograph  illustrates  a  couple  of  natives 
on  their  poles  in  the  lake. 


only  resource,  therefore,  was  to  put  on  a  bold 
front  and  try  a  game  of  bluff.  Buckling  on  my 
revolver,  I  went  amongst  the  shouting  crowd 
and  sought  the  chief.  In  an  angry  harangue,  I 
told  them  that  I  had  not  interfered  with  their 
fetish  temple  or  property,  and,  being  a  white 
man,  I  was  not  subject  to  their  god,  and  con- 
sequendy  had  broken  no  law ;  therefore,  if 
they  dared  to  harm   me,  the   English  Queen's 


THIS    IS   THE   SACRliD    LAKE   OF    THE   ASHANTIS.       l.a.mm-^    a 

From  a  Photo. 

Wishing  to  go  out  on  the  lake  to  take  some 
soundings,  I  asked  the  chief  of  a  village  if  he 
would  "allow  his  people  to  construct  a  raft  for 
me.  This  request  caused  great  commotion 
among  the  natives  and  excited  their  ire.  They 
refused  point-blank,  so  I  determined  to  make  a 
raft  myself  and  steal  a  march  upon  them. 
Rising  before  daybreak  one  morning,  I  went 
down  to  the  water,  and  hastily  constructing  a 
raft  with  some  of  the  fishermen's  poles,  I  shoved 
off  and  got  afloat.  Extemporizing  a  paddle 
with  a  forked  branch  of  a  tree,  I  was  able  to 
guide  the  raft  fairly  well.  I  got  about  i)4  miles 
off  the  shore  when  a  mist  came  on,  and  I  was 
forced  to  return.  In  the  meantime  the  natives 
had  assembled  in  great  force  in  the  village, 
and  the  young  men  handled  their  guns 
threateningly.  Fighting  on  my  side  was  out  of 
the  question,  as  my  men  were  unarmed,  and  I 
would  have  had   no   chance   of  success.     My 


Kh,    II  iKuiuiji-,.N,    ^lO   THE    NATIVES    USE    I'liLE    i;AI    Is    I.NM  EAD. 

,  by  the  Author. 

representative,  who  was  at  Kumassi,  would 
send  down  soldiers  and  destroy  their  town. 
The  power  that  had  seized  and  imprisoned  the 
King  of  Ashanti  would  also  reach  them.  If 
they  wished  to  kill  me,  let  them  shoot, 
and  they  would  see  what  would  happen 
to  them.  Saying  this,  I  turned  and  strode 
back  to  my  quarters.  It  was  a  near  thing, 
as  I  could  see  by  the  tremulous  clutching 
of  the  guns  by  some  of  the  men,  and  the  fierce 
looks  they  cast  at  me.  A  tremendous  uproar 
followed  my  speech,  but  it  evidently  made  them 
consider,  for  shortly  after  I  got  back  to  my  hut 
the  chief  came  along,  accompanied  by  some  of 
the  elders  and  a  boy  leading  a  big  sheep.  He 
came  to  say  that  the  palaver  was  finished, 
and  to  apologize  for  the  impetuosity  of 
his  young  men.  He,  therefore,  hoped  I  would 
take  the  sheep  he  had  brought  as  a  present. 
He  had  heard   of    the  white  men's   power  at 


542 


THE    WIDE    WOllLI)    MAGAZINE. 


Kumassi,  and  begged  me  not  to  bring  the 
soldiers  down  upon  his  people.  I  was  extremely 
relieved  at  this  peaceful  termination  of  the 
palaver,  and  told  the  chief  I  was  glad  an 
amicable  understanding  had  been  come  to, 
and  as  he  had  become  conciliatory,  all  need 
for  soldiers  was  at  an  end.  However,  although 
the  affair  seemed  settled,  a  certam  latent  excite- 
ment and  hostility  was  discernible  throughout 
the  day,  and  under  the  impulse  of  fetish  in- 
spiration, it  was  quite  possible  that  some  of  the 
young  men  might  be  tempted  to  do  something 


fetish  deities.  The  market  -  place  is  one  of 
the  historic  parts  of  Kumassi,  and  in  times 
past  was  the  frequent  scene  of  sacrifices.  It 
is  now,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  photograph 
reproduced,  a  daily  scene  of  bustle  and  peaceful 
excitement.  In  days  past  considerable  quantities 
of  gold  dust  were  brought  from  tlie  interior  by 
native  traders,  and  were  bartered  in  the  market- 
place for  other  commodities.  It  was  a  strict 
and  peculiar  law  of  Ashanti  that  whoever 
dropped  any  gold,  either  from  their  person  or 
whilst  weighing  it,  dare  not  pick  it  up  again 


TlIK   MAKKEl-rl.ACE   AT    KU.MAbbI 


KACII    TIME    THIS    SC^>UAkK    WAS       M 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


rash  in  an  inflamed  moment ;  so  the  wisest  thing 
for  me  to  do,  I  reflected,  was  to  get  away  while 
I  had  a  whole  skin.  Packing  up  before  day- 
break next  morning,  I  and  my  carriers  had  got 
clear  of  the  lake  and  were  on  our  way  through 
the  bush  before  the  villagers  were  awake. 

A  journey  of  thirty-five  miles  north-west  of 
the  lake  brings  us  to  Kumass-i,  the  capital  of 
Ashanti.  Space  will  not  admit  of  my  giving 
a  detailed  history  of  this  remarkable  place, 
which  has  become  notorious  by  the  fearful 
amount   of  human    life  sacrificed  to  propitiate 


under  penalty  of  death,  as  the  soil  and  every- 
thing that  it  contained  was  the  property  of  the 
King.  Strangers  coming  into  the  capital, 
and  ignorant  of  this  law,  have  at  times 
innocently  picked  up  pieces  of  gold  which 
they  saw  lying  about,  and  paid  the  penalty 
with  their  lives.  Some  idea  of  the  vast  revenue 
supplied  to  the  King  may  be  gathered  from  the 
fact  that  during  the  reign  of  one  of  the  Ashanti 
Kings  the  soil  of  the  market-place  was  washed 
upon  two  occasions,  and  each  time  yielded 
1, 600  ounces  of  gold. 


AMONG    WEST    AFRICAN    SWAMPS. 


543 


THK    KING    OK    MAMllIN    AM)    HIS     Kl    11      !    1.       SO.MK    CARRY  i 

GOLD-MOUNTED     ELEPHANT-TAILS     TO     KEEP     THE    FLIES 
OFK    HIS    MAJESTY. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 

The  photograph  next  reproduced  represents 
the  King  of  Mampon  and  his  retii.ue ; 
Mampon  being  one  of  the  feudatory  States 
cf  Ashanti.  Standing  around  him  are  his 
drummers,  gold  sword-bearers,  and  horn- 
bearers,  also  some  of  his  wives  ;  while  seated 
in  a  crescent  shape  before  him  are  youths 
of  good  family  who  have  particular  offices 
to  perform,  such  as  carrying  gold-mounted 
elephant-tails  and  horsetails,  to  keep  flies 
from  the  Royal  person,  bearing  gold-mounted 
sandals,  the  keys  of  the  Royal  coffers,  gold- 
mounted  pipes,  and  so  forth.  Amongst 
other  feudatories,  the  King  of  Bekwai  is  an 
important  one,  and  at  the  head  of  his  retinue 
the  chief  sword-bearer  next  seen  is  a  con- 
spicuous figure.  The  head-dress,  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  accompanying  photograph,  is 
made  of  eagles'  feathers,  mounted  on  a  band 
of  leather,  decorated  with  cowry  shells  and 
gold  ornaments.  The  lower  part  of  the 
sword  of  office  is  made  of  iron,  and  the 
upper  part  of  gold.  The  chain  round  the 
breast  is  made  of  silver,  and  is  of  exquisite 
workmanship.  The  dress  is  a  symbolical 
one,  and  connected  with  fetish  rites  observed 
by  the  King. 


.,,iii.> 


A   STATE   DlGMlAi. 

From  a  Photo,  iyr) 


CHIEF   SWOKD-BEARER.  [the 


1^  A  Al  S 

Author. 


544 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGA:^IN£. 


Pharaohs,  when 
the  followers  of 
the  Khaliffs  over- 
ran that  country. 
They  settled  at, 
and  founded, 
Jenne,  on  the 
Niger,  a.d.  765. 
Unable  to  brook, 
the  rule  of  the 
Moors,  some  of 
the  chief  inhabi- 
tants withdrew  to 
southern  regions 
and  established 
themselves  at  the 
present  site  of 
Buntuku. 

In  the  photo- 
graph reproduced 
of  a  Buntuku 
dwelling,  the  art 
of  Egypt  is  un- 
mistakably seen, 
as  will  be  noted 
by  the  general 
pyramidal    form. 


MR.    MCCANN  S   CAKAVAN    CROSSING   A   MOUNTAIN 
RANGE    IN    THE    BLACK    VOLTA   COUNTRY. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 

Fifteen  days'  journey  north-west  of 
Kumassi  lies  the  interesting  and  little- 
known  city  of  Buntuku,  in  the  Gaman 
country.  Going  out  north  from  Kumassi, 
the  first  three  days'  journey  leads  through 
fairly  dense  bush,  after  which  the  timber 
thins  down  and  we  gradually  emerge  into 
undulating  open  country  covered  with 
long,  coarse  grass  and  clumps  of  gum 
trees.  Nearing  the  Black  Volta,  the  open 
country  becomes  more  pronounced,  with 
mountain  ranges  breaking  the  monotony 
of  the  view.  The  characteristic  feature 
of  this  scenery  will  be  noted  in  the  ac- 
companying photographs,  one  of  which 
shows  my  carriers  crossing  a  mountain 
range. 

Approaching  from  the  east  through 
fertile  valleys  and  grassy  plains,  we  reach 
Buntuku,  in  the  country  of  Gaman. 
'I'he  exact  period  of  the  founding  of 
Buntuku  is  not  known,  but  by  the  style 
of  its  buildings  it  is  evidently  of  great 
antiquity.  The  probable  date  of  its 
settlement  is  about  1595,  when  the  Moors 
invaded  the  territory  of  the  Songhois 
and  conquered  that  nation.  The  Songhois 
originally  came  from  Egypt,  flying  from 
thence  upon  the   fall  of  the  last  of  the 


THIS   SHOWS    THE    KI>.D   OF    UWELLINOS    IN    THE   WEIRD    BUNTUKU   COUNTRY 

From  a  Photo.  by\  visited  bv  the  author.  \i he  Author. 


AMONG    WEST    AFRICAN    SWAMPS. 


545 


VlfcW   OF    A    bUNTUKU    HOUSE. 

from  a  Photo,  by] 


NOTICE   THE   QUEER    NOTCHED 
OF    WOOD. 


LADDER   CUT    FKUM    A   SINGLE   hlfcCE 

[the  Author. 


This,  as  will  be  seen  from   the   accompanying 
photograph,    is    a    wonderful    structure    for    a 


the  flat  roof,   and  triangular  battlements.     The 
walls  are    made   of  sun-dried   bricks   plastered 

over    inside   and  

out  with  a  cement 
made  with  quartz- 
ose  gravel  ob- 
tained from  auri- 
ferous alluvial  in 
the  plains  outside 
the  city.  This 
sets  very  hard  and 
resists  the  disin- 
tegrating influ- 
ence of  the  heavy 
rain  in  the  wet 
seas^jn. 

I'he  next  photo- 
graph shows  how 
access  is  obtained 
to  the  flat  roof: 
the  ladder,  it  will 
be  noted,  is  cut 
from  a  single 
stick,  the  steps 
being  formed  by 
notches  cut  into 
it.  The  chief  idea 
of  this  ladder  is 
that    in    case   of =_^^ 

attack.        trOm        an         I-rom  a  FhotO.  by\  A    .MARVELLOUS   MOHAMMEDAN    MOSQUE   IN   THE    BL'NTUKU    COUNTRY. 

Vol.  iU.— 69. 


enemy,  the  in- 
habitants of  the 
house  mount  on 
to  the  roof,  the 
ladder  is  drawn 
up,  and,  ly in- 
flat,  the  de- 
fenders shoot 
down  upon  their 
assailants  with 
out  exposing 
much  of  their 
persons. 

With  the  in- 
coming of  the 
Jenne  founders, 
Ls lam  ism  was 
introduced 
amongst  the 
people  in  this 
region,  but  did 
not  take  a  firm 
hold  until  about 
1795,  by  which 
time  sufficient 
zeal  had  been 
established  to 
allow  of  a  mos- 
que being  built. 


\thc  Author. 


0   r- 


THE    WIDE    WORLD     MAGAZINE. 


THEV    LIKEWISE    GROW    INDIGO 

From  a  Photo,  fy] 


people  who  hav 
build  with.  The 
height,  and  the 
projections  jut- 
ting from  the 
walls  are  made 
from  very  hard 
wood,  and  are 
deeply  set  in  the 
structure.  Upon 
certain  festivals, 
meetings  are 
held  upon  the 
terrace  on  top  of 
the  building, and 
these  projec- 
tions are  used  as 
steps  to  ascend 
by.  The  interior 
of  the  mosque 
is  divided  in- 
to passages 
which  intersect 
each  other,  and 
in  these  the 
faithful  regularly 
assemble  for 
prayer.  The 
w.iUs  and  towers 
are  built  as  de- 
scribed    in     a 


e    only     sticks    and     clay    to 
pyramidal  towers  are  35ft.  in 


dwelling.  Prior 
to  the  city  of 
Buntuku  being 
besieged  by 
Samory  it  was  a 
great  emporium 
for  native  indus- 
tries ;  I'lie  wood- 
work, carving, 
[jottery,  iron, 
gold,  and  silver 
work  turned  out 
being  of  a  high 
degree  of  exct^- 
lence.  Growing 
their  own  cotton, 
this  was  spun 
into  yarn  and 
woven  into  cloth 
of  beautiful  tex- 
ture upon  looms 
of  their  own  con- 
struction. They 
likewise  grew 
indigo  (^Indigo- 
fera  Tinctoria) 
and  dyed  the 
cloth  they  made. 

The  above  photograi)h   shows  their  quaint  and 

wonderful  dye-pits. 


-AND   THIS   SHOWS    SOME   OF    THEIK    QUAINT   AND    WONDERFUL 

DYE-PITS.  \,the  Author. 


"  OKTKN    WK   WERE    MGHI-BOUNU    IN    THE    BUSH.         THIS    MKiWS   MR.    MCCANN    MCK    ANL)    WEARV    WITH 

From  a  riwto.  by]  his  great  journey  in  these  enervating  regions.  [the  Author. 


AMONG    WEST    AFRICAN    SWAMPS. 


547 


Of  the  journey  back  to  the  coast  from 
Buntuku  words  fail  to  convey  the  least  idea  of 
the  hardships  I  had  to  go  through.  Being  the 
latter  end  of  the  rainy  season,  the  rivers  on  the 
route  were  swollen  into  impetuous  torrents,  and 
most  of  the  low-lying  tracts  of  bush  were  under 
water.  I  had  a  500-mile  journey  through  this 
to  perform  before  reaching  the  coast.  The 
provisions  I  had  brought  with  me  on  my  way 
up  were  exhausted  two  weeks  before  I  left 
Buntuku,  and  from  this  date  until  I  got  back  to 
the  coast  I  was  forced  to  live  on  the  meagre 
diet  of  the  natives.  A  basin  of  corn  gruel 
morning  and  evening  formed  my  daily  meal  for 
weeks.  The  fearful  tract  of  country  lying 
between  Buntuku  and  Kumassi,  by  the  south- 
east route,  and  the  hardships  involved  in 
getting  through  this,  I  shall  not  forget  for  some 
time.  It  took  me  seventeen  days  to  get  thrcjugh 
to  Kumassi,  this 
being  half  my 
journey  to  the 
coast.  What  with 
the  scarcity  of 
food ;  the  daily 
tramp  through 
fetid  malarial 
swamps  andj)ush  ; 
damp  huts  to  sleep 
in  when  villages 
were  reached  ; 
frequent  attacks  of 
fever,  it  seemed 
hopeless  that  I 
would  ever  get 
through.  Often  we 
were  night -bound 
in  the  bush  ;  and 
the  photograph  at 
the  bottom  of  the 
previous  page  gives 
an  idea  of  our 
camp  at  night. 


The  last  photograph  illustrates  the  Krobo 
Hill,  which  is  situated  about  ten  miles  from  the 
Volta  River,  at  a  point  about  s'xty-five  miles  up 
from  the  mouth.  It  is  located  in  the  country 
of  the  Kroboes,  and  a  remarkable  geological 
feature  about  it  is  its  rising  abruptly  from  an 
unbroken  expanse  of  plain,  and  towering  up  to 
a  height  of  800ft.  F  om  this  peculiarity  the 
natives  believe  it  to  be  the  abode  of  a  god. 
At  one  time  a  number  of  villages  were  built 
upon  its  summit,  and  the  inhabitants  of  these 
were  notorious  throughout  all  the  surrounding 
country  for  their  cruel  and  ferocious  disposition. 
Making  frequent  raids  upon  the  dwellers  of 
the  plains,  and  seizing  persons  and  property, 
they  carried  them  off  to  their  hill  stronghold. 
All  prisoners  they  seized  were  put  to  death  by 
being  taken  to  the  highest  point  of  the  hill  and 
flung  down   upon  the  rocks  lying  at  its  base  in 

the  plain  below. 
The  chief  object 
of  their  raids  was 
to  get  victims  to 
offer  up  as  sacri- 
fices to  the  god 
of  the  hill.  A 
few  years  ago  the 
(iovernment,  with 
the  determination 
of  stamping  out 
these  customs, 
sent  a  punitive 
expedition  against 
them,  and,  after 
some  sharp  fight- 
ing, the  hill  was 
taken  and  the 
villages  destroyed. 
Some  of  the  chiefs 
being  captured, 
they  were  promptly 
hung  as  a  lesson  to 
other  offenders. 


THE    EXECUTION    HILL  IN  THE  KKOliO   COUNIKV.       "  tKl.su.\bKS    WEKE   PUT 
TO    DEATH    BV   BEING   TAKEN    TO   THE    HIGHEST   POINT   AND    FLUNG    DOWN 

From  a  Photo.  by\  UPON  THE  ROCKS  BELOW."  \_the  Autfwr. 


7t)UC 


GO  * 


■*        o        o  o         V        O       O 


Bv  Mrs.  Jack  Boustead. 

A  narrative  of  wild  pioneering  life  in  North-East  India  in  the  seventies.  How  Colonel  E.  D.  Money's 
wife  avoided  the  nocturnal  murderer's  knife  by  rolling  out  of  bed  with  her  baby  on  her  arm. 
With    portraits    of    Colonel    and    Mrs.    Money  and     their  daughter    who  was    the    baby  of   the   story, 

and  sister  to  the  writer. 


HE  India  of  to-day  is  not  the  India 
of  yesterday.  This  has  been  said 
before  ;  but  the  following  true  and 
terrible  adventure,  experienced  by 
my  father  and  mother  in  the  year 
1870,  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  fact  with  some 
interest,  I  hope.  In  numerous  districts  where 
the  hand  of  civilization  is  now  at  every  turn  to 
be  seen  there  was  in  those  days  but  one  vast 
mass  of  wild  jungle,  and  Europeans  lived  in  the 
midst  of  alarms  that  would  seriously  upset  the 
nerves  of  the  modern  Anglo-Indian,  whose  sole 
notion  of  the  country  is  generally  a  gay  round 
of  society  in  the  plains  in  the  cold  weather,  and 
an  agreeable  migration  to  one  of  the  hill  stations 
in  the  hot. 

The  scene  of  my  present  story  is  laid  in  the 
wild  district  lying  between  Chittagong  and 
Alcyab.  There,  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
quite  expatriated  from  home  and  kindred,  my 
parents  sought  their  fortunes  —  their  object 
being  the  planting  of  tea,  for  which  the  hot 
and  humid  climate  was  eminently  favourable. 
Before  I  go  any  further  I  must  explain 
that  my  father  (Colonel  Edward  Money)  was 
the  pioneer  of  the  tea  industry  in  India,  and 
so  it  happened  that  he  was  the  first  to  avail 
himself  of  the  offer  made  by  Government   at 


that  time  of  granting  free  (or  for  merely  nominal 
sums)  large  tracts  of  land  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  tea-plant. 

Imagine  him,  then,  with  my  mother  and  us 
children  settling  themselves  in  their  far-off,  un- 
civilized honie,  eighty  miles  from  Chittagong 
and  on  the  borders  of  the  Sungoo  River.  No 
European  had  ever  lived  or  scarcely  even  set 
foot  there.  Malaria  and  deadly  fevers  of  all 
kinds  rose  pestilential  from  the  newly-turned 
soil ;  for  it  is  a  curious  thing  that  Nature  often 
conceals  her  most  fatal  weapons  under  a  smiling 
face.  "  Let  sleeping  dogs  lie "  would  appear 
to  be  her  motto  ;  and  the  land  that  for  ages 
remains  innocuous,  at  the  first  touch  of  the 
hand  of  man  breathes  forth  sickness  and  death 
unsparingly. 

But  the  climate  and  the  wild  beasts  were 
not  the  only  dangers  that  threatened.  They 
very  soon  discovered  ^that  a  foe  more  deadly 
than  either  lurked  at  their  door.  The  whole  of 
the  savage  tribes  around  were  up  in  arms  and 
filled  with  fury  at  the  invasion  by  the  English  of 
what  they  considered  their  territory.  Their 
forefathers  had  always  held  it,  they  said,  and  no 
man,  white  or  otherwise,  had  a  right  to  take  it 
from  them.  And  matters  were  made  worse  by 
the  fact  that  in  apportioning  out  the  plantation, 


TOUCH    AND    GO. 


549 


Government  had  not  assigned  any  distinct 
boundaries,  and  so  constant  feuds  were  the  result. 
Whether  the  natives  had  really  any  right  to  be 
aggrieved,  I  should  not  like  to  say.  That  the 
English  as  a  nation  have  a 
habit  of  trying  to  take  away 
everyone's  property  seems  very 
clear,  but  the  Bengalis  had 
never  made  the  slightest  attempt 
to  improve  or  cultivate  the  soil, 
so   it  seemed   rather   doa:-in-the- 


mangerish 


to    prevent     anyone 
Not  a  man 


from  doing  so, 


else 

would  come,  at  any  price,  to 
work  the  land.  All  the  labour 
had  to  be  imported  at  immense 
expense  from  Assam,  and  in 
the  face  of  such  difficulties, 
perhaps  few  men  would  have 
persevered.  But  my  father 
never  gave  up. 

"  If  I  live,  I  will  make  this  the 
Tea  (harden  of  India,"  he  said. 
He  little  knew  how  very  nearly  his 
earthly  ambitions  were  destined 
to  be  cut  short  by  a  horrible 
death — but  he  kept  his  word. 

They  had  been  on  the  plantation  about  three 
years,  and  another  child,  my  youngest  sister, 
had  been  born  to  them,  when  the  incident  I  am 
going  to  relate  occurred.  Life  had  been  full  of 
hazard  and  danger  from  the  beginning,  to  say 
nothing  of  utter  discomfort.  Their  servants 
they  got  from  Chittagong  ;  but  as  none  but  the 
very  worst,  and  with  no 
characters  at  all,  would 
consent  to  live  amidst  such 
perils  and  in  such  a  place,  it 
can  be  imagined  that  even 
this  was  a  serious  matter  in 
itself.  Frequently  they 
would  wake  up  in  the 
morning  to  find  everyone 
gone — cleared  out  in  the 
night,  generally  with  what- 
ever portable  property  they 
could  lay  their  hands  on. 
Only  one  mitigating  cir- 
cumstance had  occurred. 
They  were  no  longer  the 
only  settlers  about.  Twelve 
miles  away  another  tea- 
garden,  called  Putteljamb, 
had  been  opened  by  an 
ex-sea  captain  named  Mc- 
Laren and  a  young  fellow 
called  Thwaites,  who  had 
joined  him  as  partner  in 
the  enterprise. 


"SHOKF  WAY    '  WITH    NATI\ES  BROUGHT 
ABOUT  THIS   ADVENTURE. 

From  a  Photo,  by  G.  Lickfold,  Croydon. 


MRS.  Money, 


1  r- :.  V,  t    1  r^ 


WHOSE    Th-Kiutil.f,    hAi 
HEREIN    RELATED. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Clarkington  &'  Co.,  Regent  Street. 


The  delight  with  which  they  were  welcom^ 
cannot   be  realized    by  those  who   have  nev* 
experienced  what  it  is  to  live  year  in  year  oil 
without    the   sight   of    a   white    face.     Captail 
McLaren   was   a    jolly   old    sea 
dog,    with   a  wonderful    fund   d 
yarns      always      forthcoming  —1 
whilst  his  partner  was  a  pleasant 
man  of  artistic  tastes,  and  witH 
a  passion    for   music    and    thea-! 
tricals     that     the     surroundings! 
hardly   lent    themselves    to.      In; 
spite   of    the    distance    between 
the  plantations   and   the   rough, 
wild  jungle  separating  them,  they 
all  exchanged  visits  as  often   as 
possible,    and   a   sincere   attach- 
ment    between    them    was    the 
result. 

It  was  a  sultry  day  in  August, 
and  the  end  of  the  rains.  The 
ground  reeked  with  the  steaming 
damp — exactly  the  atmosphere  ol 
a  hothouse.  We  children  lolled 
about  with  white,  wan  faces  and 
inert  limbs,  and  my  mother 
longed  to  be  able  to  take  us 
away  to  healthier  climes,  and  see  the  roses 
return  to  our  cheeks.  But  the  tea  was  flushing 
beautifully  ;  the  factory  was  now  nearly  finished 
— after  being  burnt  dozvn  txvice  by  the  Bengalis  ; 
and  a  nest  of  cobras  had  been  routed  out  from 
behind  the  big  tub  in  the  bath-room,  and 
exterminated    before   they   had    bitten  anyone. 

My  mother  thanked  Pro- 
vidence for  all  His  mercies, 
and  went  to  tell  my  father 
that  hazaree,  or  breakfast, 
was  ready.  She  found  him 
in  his  little  office,  holding 
an  interview  with  the  khic- 
magar.  The  man  was 
gesticulating  wildly  as  he 
talked,  and  my  Cither's  face 
was  dark  and  frowning. 

"What's  the  matter, 
Edward  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Why,  this  fellow  says 
that  the  man  from  the 
bazaar  with  the  rice  and 
chickens  refuses  to  sell  us 
any.  They  intend  to 
starve  us  out  —  that's 
the  last  game,  I  sup- 
pose." 

"What  on  earth  shall 
we  do  ?  Yesterday  I  had 
a  difficulty  in  getting 
any    milk.       Oh,    Edward, 


55° 


THE    WIDE    V/ORLD    MAGAZINE. 


my  precious  babes  will  starve,"  said  my  mother, 
in  pathetic  tones — and  not  without  a  note  of 
resentment,  for  she  always  laboured  under  a 
sense  of  injury  that  she,  a  young  and  beauti- 
ful woman,  had  been  buried  in  such  an  awful 
place. 

"I  don't  know,"  returned  my  father.  "I'll  go 
out  and  talk  to  him.  Here,  where's  my 
revolver  ? "  and  reaching  for  the  weapon  he 
usually  kept  with  him  day  and  night,  he  went 
out,  my  mother  following,  full  of  curiosity  and 
alarm. 

The  Bengali  was  squatting  on  the  ground 
disposing  of  his  rice  and  curry  materials  to  the 
bungalow  servants.  He  made  no  salaam  and 
took  no  notice  of  my  parents'  approach,  beyond 
a  side-long  look  out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye,  in 
which  there  shone  an  expression  of  malevolent 
enjoyment.  But  Europeans  in  India  never 
stand  such  manners.  The  next  instant  a  tre- 
mendous kick  stretched  him  full  length  on  the 
ground. 

"  (let  up,"  said  my  father. 

The  man  obeyed,  slowly  and  sullenly,  drawing 
himself  to  his  full  height,  and  stood  there  survey- 
ing them  with  quiet   insolence. 
He  breathed   heavily,    but    his 
eye  caught  the  pistol.     Then  he 
suddenly  flung  the  bag  of  rice 
over  his  shoulder,  and  picking 
up  the  basket  of    chickens 
he  had  brought  with   him, 
turned     to    go.       But     my 
father,    boiling    under   the 
long  series   of  insults  and 
injuries    he    had     received 
from    this    people,    sprang 
upon  him  and  shook  him 
as  a  dog  would  a  rat.     The 
native  was  a  big   man  for 
his  race,  but  my  father  was 
six  feet   two,  and,   patting 
all    his    strength    into    his 
arm,    he    made    the    teeth 
rattle   in    the   man's  head, 
finishing    up     by    flinging 
him  from  him   with   all   his 
force.     Then,  directing  the 
khitmagar  to  take    posses- 
sion of  the  poultry  and  the 
other  provisions,  he  tossed 
the  money  for  them  uj^on 
the   prostrate  form    of  the 
Bengali. 

:  'T  think  he's  dead,  sahib," 
suggested  the  servant, 
equably,  eyeing  the  rupees. 

"  Nonsense.    He's  sham- 
ming." 


But  the  man  was  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other.  He  presently  rose  from  the  ground,  his 
lip  cut  where  he  had  struck  it  against  a  stone, 
and  moving  slowly  away,  looked  back.  Hatred, 
murder,  and  all  uncharitableness  can  but  dimly 
describe  that  look.  My  mother  says  it  would 
have  been  a  relief  to  have  seen  him  shake  his 
fist  honestly  at  them.  She  turned  and  went 
back  into  the  bungalow,  shivering  in  the  noon- 
day sun,  for  the  shadow  of  an  indefinable  terror 
lay  upon  her. 

The  rest  of  the  day  passed  quietly.  My 
father,  though  he  tried  to  conceal  it,  was  uneasy 
about  the  question  of  provisions  for  the  future. 

"If  they  really  go  on  with  that  game,  it  means 
checkmate,"  he  said.  "  I  think  I'll  send  a  letter 
in  to  Colonel  Lacy,  of  the  police  at  Chittagong, 
telling  him  about  it.  He  may  send  out  some 
assistance." 

*' But  no  one  can  force  them  to  sell  us  food 
if  they  won't,"  said  my  mother. 

"  Oh,  yes,  they  can.  It's  wonderful  what  the 
sight  of  a  few  mounted  police  will  do.  And  it's 
high  time  we  had  some  protection  and  let  them 
see  we've  got  Government  at  our  backs." 


PUTTING  ALL  HIS  STRENGTH  INTO  HIS  ARM,  HE  MADE  THE  TEETH  RATTLE    IN   THE   MAN's  HEAD." 


TOUCH    AND    GO. 


551 


It  was  high  time,  indeed.  But  it  cameahiiost 
too  late.  Night  fell,  hot  and  breathless  a^  only 
an  Indian  night  can  be.  The  f;ir-off  howl  of  a 
jackal  or  the  bark  of  a  pariah  dog  in  the  coolie 
lines  came  up  every  now  and  then  on  the  heavy 
air.  My  father  and  mother  sat  up  late,  talking 
of  many  things,  and  wondering  why  they  had 
heard  nothing  from  their  friends  at  Putteljamb 
lately. 

"  It's  three  weeks,  quite,  since  they  were 
here.  McLaren  said  affairs  were  pretty  ([uict 
with  them  then." 

"  Perhaps  they've  been  starved  out  too," 
suggested  my  mother. 

"  I  don't  think  so.  They  would  have  been 
over  here  if  it  had  come  to  tliat.  I  hope  it's 
nothing  serious,  but  I'll  ride  over  there  in  a  day 
or  two  and  look  them  up." 

"  Well,  you  must  take  me  and  the  children 
also,  Edward.  I  can't  be  left  here  alone ;  I  feel 
so  frightened." 

"  But  you  often  have  been  left  before  ;  and  if 
I  start  early  I  shall  be  back  by  sundown." 

"Yes,  but  it's  different  now.  That  man's 
awful  look  to  day — I  can't  forget  it.  You 
didn't  notice  it  as  I  did." 

"  Don't  bother  your  head  about  him.  He's 
a  sadder  and  a  wiser  man  by  now.  But  if 
you're  nervous,  I  won't  go  till  Lacy  has  sent 
us  out  some  police,  and  then  you'll  be  as  safe 
as  a  church." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  my  mother,  reassured  ;  "  but 
very  likely  we  shall  hear  from  Putteljamb 
to-morrow.  And  now,  Edward,  I  must  go  to 
bed.     I  am  dead  tired." 

In  order  to  make  more  clear  what  follows,  I 
must  here  pause  for  a  moment  to  describe  the 
bungalow  and  the  position  of  affairs  inside  it. 
It  was  an  ordinary  one-storied,  thatch-roofed 
dwelling,  built  up  on  poles  about  6ft.  from  the 
ground,  as  a  protection  against  wild  beasts  and 
fevers.  There  were  only  four  rooms — two  bed 
and  two  sitting  rooms,  and  a  veranda  ran 
entirely  round  it.  From  each  side  a  rude  flight 
of  steps  led  down  to  the  ground,  and  the  whole 
thing,  raised  on  a  kind  of  plateau,  overlooked 
the  jungle  for  miles  around.  The  two  bedrooms 
communicated  by  a  door,  and  each,  of  course, 
gave  out  on  to  one  of  the  verandas.  Outside 
the  bungalow  was  the  little  log  cabin  my  father 
used  as  his  office,  and  about  1 00yds.  away  lay 
the  servants'  quarters. 

The  baby  had  been  very  fretful  lately  with 
teething  and  prickly  heat,  and  for  the  last  few 
nights  my  mother  had  been  keeping  it  alone 
with  her  in  one  room,  while  we  elder  children 
slept  with  my  father  in  the  other.  The  beds 
had  not  been  moved  back,  and  so,  though  to- 
night she   felt  \ery   nervous    and   would  gladly 


have  had  some  protection,  she  was  obliged  to 
keep  to  the  arrangement.  On  going  to  her 
room  she  found  the  ayah,  who  always  remained 
beside  it  till  she  came,  fanning  the  baby  with  a 
large  taliput  fan,  her  great  black  eyes  fixed  on 
it  with  the  marvellous  watchfulness  and  patience 
of  her  race. 

"  Butche  very  good  to-night,  memsahib," 
said  the  woman  in  Hindustani.  "Sleeping 
quite  quietly — memsahib  sleep  also." 

My  mother  was  certainly  glad  to  hear  it,  for, 
owing  to  its  screams,  no  one  had  slept  at  all  of 
late.  Afterwards  she  wondered  if  the  woman 
had  been  bribed  to  drug  the  child.  If  so,  their 
very  machinations  saved  her.  But  I  am  antici- 
pating. 

She  dismissed  the  ayah  and  undressed,  feeling 
very  weary  and  tired.  The  exhausting  climate 
and  the  constant  strain  upon  her  nerves  were 
beginning  to  tell  upon  her  health,  and  she  cast 
a  longing  thought  towards  home  and  Old 
England  as  she  got  into  bed.  The  baby  lay 
upon  her  arm,  for  though  it  often  slept  in  its 
cot,  and  this  stood  close  beside  her,  she  pre- 
ferred having  it  where  she  could  easily  hush  it 
off  if  it  cried. 

She  says  the  last  thing  she  remembers  before 
falling  asleep  was  the  peep  of  the  rising  moon 
as  it  glimmered  through  the  open  door.  She 
must  have  been  asleep  an  hour  or  two  when  she 
awoke — why,  she  does  not  know,  unless  it  were 
owing  to  the  extremely  bright  moonlight  falling 
full  on  her  face.  The  position  of  her  bed 
commanded  a  view  of  that  portion  of  the 
veranda  where  the  steps  joined  it,  and  as  she 
lay  dreamily  gazing  out,  she  became  aware  of  a 
strange  looking  object  crouching  on  the  top  of 
the  steps.     What  on  earth  could  it  be  ? 

She  was  not  at  first  very  much  alarmed,  for 
her  senses  were  in  that  half-torpid  state  th6t 
follows  on  first  awaking ;  but  as  she  because 
more  fully  alert,  she  examined  the  thing 
attentively.  Was  it  an  animal?  It  locked  like 
one,  certainly,  though  whether  tiger  or  what,  she 
could  not  see.  Tlie  next  instant  it  suddenly 
rose  erect,  and  the  figure  of  a  man  was  sharply 
silhouetted  against  the  brilliant  sky.  He  was 
stark  naked  except  for  a  loin-cloth  about  his 
waist,  and  in  this  c'oth  she  distinctly  saw  the 
handle  of  a  dhow,  or  large  curved  knife,  sticking 
out.  But  she  had  also  time  to  observe  some- 
thing else.  His  sletk  black  body  was  smeared 
from  head  to  foot  with  oil,  which  gleamed  in  the 
moonlight  with  every  movement  he  made. 

My  poor  mother  was  far  too  well  acquainted 
with  the  habits  of  the  natives  not  to  realize 
instantly  the  situation.  He  had  come  to  murder 
them  in  their  beds,  and,  according  to  a  custom 
she  had  heard  of,   he  had  covered  himself  with 


552 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


THE    FIGURE   OF    A    MAN    WAS   SHARI'I.V   SILHOUETTED 
AGAINST   THE    BRILLIANT   SKY." 

oil  in  order  to  be  able  to  wriggle  along  the  floor 
instead  of  walking — with,  consequently,  less  fear 
of  being  seen. 

What  could  she  do  ?  To  scream  and  rouse 
my  father  in  the  next  room  would  be  probably 
only  to  precipitate  a  catastrophe,  and  the 
murderer  would  knife  her  before  help  could 
come.  That  it  was  the  same  man  who  had 
refused  to  sell  the  food  in  the  morning  she  had 
not  the  slightest  doubt.  With  the  cold  per- 
spiration standing  on  her  forehead  and  her 
heart  thumping  like  a  sledge-hammer,  she  lay 
for  a  few  moments  absolutely  paralyzed  with 
terror,  as  she  saw  him  cautiously  extend  himself 
on  the  ground  and  commence  to  wriggle  in 
from  the  veranda. 

Then  the  next  moment  all  was  plunged  into 
darkness.  The  moon  had  gone  suddenly 
behind  a  cloud.  To  this  providential  circum- 
stance there  is  no  doubt  my  mother  owes  her 
life,  for  if  the  light  had  remained  streaming 
upon  her  bed  she  could  not  possibly  have 
carried  out  the  plan  she  now  in  her  desperation 
conceived.  This  was  simply  to  clasp  her  baby 
to  her  breast  and  roll  as  noiselessly  as  possible 
out  of  the   bed,   and  under  it  as  the  assassin 


came  up  on  the  opposite  side.  She  had  just 
had  time  to  observe  before  the  moon  went  out 
that  he  was  making  for  the  right  hand,  and  this 
circumstance  favoured  her,  for  the  cot  stood 
there,  and,  with  its  long  curtains  reaching  to  the 
ground,  might  afford  some  sort  of  screen  to  her 
hiding-place. 

Of  course,  she  was  fully  aware  it  could  be  at 
best  but  a  short  respite.  If  the  moon  came  out 
again  he  must  at  once  discover  her — but  as  a 
drowning  person  catches  at  a  straw,  she  resolved 
to  make  at  least  this  attempt  to  save  her  own 
and  her  child's  life.  Perhaps  Heaven  would 
send  her  some  help  in  time. 

Happily,  o.. ing  to  the  heat,  there  were  no  bed- 
clothes to  cumber  her,  and  fortunately  also  the 
bed  (a  simple  charpoy)  was  not  high  from  the 
ground.  Breathing  a  despairing  prayer,  she 
commenced  to  roll  out  as  softly  as  possible. 
Suppose  the  baby  woke  and  cried  !  All 
would  be  lost.  But  it  did  not,  and  holding  it 
tight  to  her  with  one  arm,  she  used  the  other  to 
support  herself  with,  as  she  lowered  herself 
down  ....  down  ....  gingerly  to  the  ground. 

In  spite  of  her  best  efforts,  however,  she  was 
unable  to  accomplish  it  without  a  slight  thud. 
At  the  same  instant  the  dogs  outside  began 
barking  loudly.  There  was  a  swift  rush  and — 
oh,  horror  !  she  was  aware  that,  with  a  cat-like 
leap,  the  man  was  upon  the  bed.  She  heard 
the  sound  of  the  knife  as  it  struck  the  pillow 
and  ripped  it  open.  But  only  for  a  moment 
was  the  murderer  baffled.  The  next,  his  foot 
touched  her. 

She  remembers  his  groping  with  his  liands, 
which  wound  themselves  in  her  long  hair  .... 
the  dogs  were  baying  furiously  ....  why  was 
Death  so  long  coming  ?  .  .  ,  .  there  were  other 
strange  sounds  she  could  not  distinguish,  and  the 
crying  of  the  baby  seemed  far  off  .... 

When  she  came  to  herself,  the  baby  was  still 
crying,  and  something  warm  was  trickling  over 
her  arm.  It  was  blood  from  a  flesh  wound  in 
the  poor  little  thing's  shoulder. 

"  The  only  one  who  has  a  scratch,"  said  a 
familiar  voice  in  a  cheering  tone,  "and  it  is 
nothing.  A  bit  of  plaster  will  put  it  right  in  no 
time.  Well,  Mrs.  Money,  you  look  astonished 
enough  at  seeing  us." 

My  mother  was  certainly  regarding  him  with 
perplexity.  It  was  Captain  McLaren,  clothed 
only  in  pyjamas,  with  bare,  torn  feet  and  a 
general  air  of  the  most  utter  dishevelment  about 
him.  A  few  yards  off  Mr.  Thwaites,  in  the 
same  airy  garb  and  condition,  was  kneeling  on 
the  floor  examining  something  under  the  light 
of  a  lamp  held  by  my  father.  My  mother 
raised  herself  on  her  elbow  and  uttered  a  terrified 
cry.     It  was  the  body  of  the  Bengali. 


TOUCH    AND    GO. 


553 


"Yes,  he's  a  stiff 'un,"  said  the  captain,  with 
an  extreme  relish  which  even  the  tragic  circum- 
stances could  not  subdue.  "  I  shall  always 
believe  in  a  ProvidL-nce  after  this,  and  if  there 
was  a  church  handy  I'd  go  right  off  there  and 
say  my  prayers — straight,  I  would." 

"  I  think  we'll  stick  him  on  a  pole  as  a  scare- 
crow to  frighten  others  off,"  suggested  Mr. 
Thwaites — "see,  colonel,  there's  where  your 
bullet  got  him,"  pointing  to  a  dark  spot  on  the 
prostrate  body. 

My  mother  shuddered  and  clasped   her  infant 


hadn't  tried  to  do  for  us,  too,  we  shouldn't  have 
been  here  to  save  you." 

"  Did  they  try  to  murder  you  ? "  asked  my 
mother. 

"Yes — burnt  us  out  last  night.  They  have 
been  leading  us  a  terrible  life  during  the  last 
fortnight.  You  know,  we  only  had  the  mud-hut 
as  yet  for  our  quarters,  and  they  set  fire  to  it 
when  we  were  asleep.  They  hoped,  of  course, 
we  should  be  quietly  suffocated,  and  there 
wouldn't  have  been  much  trace  left  to  show 
what    had     become    of    us ;     but,    fortunately, 


"SEE,  COLONEL,  THERE  S  WHERE  YOUR  BULLET  GOT  HIM 


closer  to  her.  There  was  some  difficulty  in 
persuading  her  that  she  and  her  little  one  were 
both  really  alive  ;  but  marvellous  to  relate  she 
was  actually  entirely  unhurt,  and  the  murderer's 
knife  had  simply  grazed  the  baby's  shoulder. 
Of  course,  she  was  eager  to  hear  the  explanation 
of  her  miraculous  escape,  and  when  she  had 
been  as  far  as  possible  restored  to  composure, 
and  the  baby's  wound  attended  to,  Captain 
McLaren  proceeded  to  give  it  graphically. 

"  It's    an    ill    wind    that    blows    nobody   any 
good,"  he  remarked,  tritely,  "  and  if  the  devils 

Vol.  iii.-70. 


Thwaites  awoke,  spluttering  and  gasping  with 
the  smoke,  and  roused  me.  We  got  out, 
Heaven  knows  how,  nearly  dead,  and  made  for 
the  jungle.  If  they  had  found  us,  we  should 
have  been  murdered  without  much  ado,  but  we 
hid  there  all  day,  and  when  sundown  came, 
started  off  for  here,  meaning  to  take  shelter  with 
you.  You  see  the  plight  we  are  in,  having  had 
to  come  barefoot  across  this  awful  country,  and 
half-famished  too,  for  we  have  had  nothing  to  eat 
for  thirty-six  hours.  We  felt  thankful  enough 
to  see  the  bungalow  at  last,  as  you  may  imagine, 


554 


THE   VVlUE   AVORLD   MAGAZINE. 


but  we  didn't  guess  how  badly  we  were  wanted. 
Just  as  we  were  climbing  the  ravine,  I  felt  certain 
I  saw  somebody  or  something  creeping  up  the 
veranda  steps  in  the  moonlight.  I  pointed  it 
out  to  Thwaites,  and  we  halted  a  moment,  for  we 
thought  it  might  be  a  panther,  and  of  course  we 
had  no  arms  with  us  at  all.  Then  suddenly 
Thwaites  shoated  : — 

"  '  By  jove,  it  is  a  nigger.  They're  going  to  do 
for  them  too — come  on, 
McLaren  ! '  and  with- 
out stopping  to  think 
we  dashed  ahead.  As 
we  passed  the  coolie 
lines,  all  the  pariahs 
rushed  out  barking  like 
mad,  and  your  wolf- 
hound was  straining  at 
his  chain  like  a  wild 
thing — you  should  have 
him  loose,  you  know. 
We  made  straight  for 
your  room,  to  which  the 
yelling  of  the  baby 
guided  us.  The  fellow 
was  bending  over  you, 
but  at  the  sight  of  us  he 
dropped  you  (we  cer- 
tainly thought  you  were 
dead)  and  made  a  bolt 
for  the  other  door.  But 
he  cooked  his  goose  at 
a  (juick  fire,  for  your 
husband  had  been 
awakened  by  the  noise, 
seized  his  revolver  from 
under  his  pillow,  and 
sprung  out  of  bed.    The 


fellow   was     right    in    a 


MEXTIONKD    IN 

From  a  Photo,    by 


patch  of  moonlight  and 

made  a  splendid  mark, 

and  he  got  him  slick.     He  fell  dead  without  a 

groan,  and  serve  him  right ;  and  that  is  about 

the  whole  size  of  it." 

"  Help  me  pull  his  body  out  of  the  way, 
colonel,"  said  Mr.  Thwaites  ;  "  it's  not  a  pretty 
sight,  and  I'll  tell  you  what— if  tho.se  other 
chambers  are  loaded,  I'd  go  and  fire  them  all 
off  outside  if  I  were  you,  in  case  there  are  any 
more  of  the  gentry  about." 

My  father  carried  out  this  suggestion,  and 
then  as  the  hands  of  the  clock  pointed  to  three, 
and  everyone  felt  that  bed  and  sleep  were  out 
of  the  question,    they  gathered  in  a  corner  of 


the  veranda,  and  sat  up  talking  over  the  perils 

of  their  situation. 

"  I   must  send   you  and  the  children  home, 

Ina,"  said   my  father,  when  he  had   smok.d  his 

third   pipe  and  the   grey  light   of  morning  was 

stealing   over   the   scene  ;  "  this   is  no  fit  jjlac^ 

for  you." 

"  Look  !     What's  that  ?  "  said  Mr.  Thwr.ites, 

suddenly,  pointing  down  the  plateau.     They  all 

gazed  in  the  direction 
he  indicated,  where  the 
narrow  path,  cut  through 
the  jungle,  wound  like  a 
white  ribbon  in  the  faint 
dawn ;  and  as  they 
looked  they  saw  first  one 
dark  figure  and  then 
another  steal  stealthily 
out  of  the  dense  under- 
growth and,  crossing 
the  path,  disappear  into 
the  jungle  beyond.  No 
explanation  was  needed. 
They  all  knew  that  the 
savages  had  bc^n  hiding 
there  in  ambush,  until 
frightened  from  their 
purpose  by  the  firing. 

"  Twenty  —  thirty,  at 
least,"  said  McLaren, 
at  length,  when  the  last 
figure  had  vanished, 
and  rather  an  awe- 
struck silence  had  faller 
upon  the  little  party. 
"What  chance  could 
we  have  if  they  all 
came?  " 

"None  at  all,"  said 
Mr.  Thwaites,  drily  ; 
"but      they're      such 

cowards   they  probably  never  will." 

Three  months  later,  when  the  Lord  Warden 
sailed  homewards  from  Calcutta,  my  mother 
and  her  children  were  passengers  on  board  her. 
During  the  next  few  years  that  she  remained  in 
England  she  lived  in  constant  expectation  of 
hearing  by  every  mail  that  her  husband  had  n'-.et 
with  some  terrible  end,  but  he  survived  all  the 
dangers  he  subsequently  encountered,  and  his 
prophecy  regarding  Sungoo  came  true.  He 
reaped  the  reward  of  his  labours  by  selling  i'. 
for  a  large  fortune. 


THE    STORY. 

Le  Bon,   OstCTid. 


Odds    and    Ends. 


The  photographs  reproduced  in  this  section  are    the    "  plums  "    frora    albums    and    collections 
belonging  to  travellers,  officers,  missionaries,  and  others. 

are  switched  up  on  another 
bi'anch  out  of  the  reach  of 
mischievous  boys.  Summon- 
ing the  congregation  to  church 
in  a  shower  of  rain  must  be 
a  rather  unpleasant  experi- 
ence for  the  poor,  unprotected 
ringers. 

'rhe  next  photo,  well  repays 

inspection,  especially  on  the 

part    of    big  -  game    hunters, 

depicting  as  it  does  the  largest 

moose   head    in    the    world. 

This  unique  trophy  measures 

no    less    than    6ft.    6)4 in.   in 

spread,  and  has  forty  prongs. 

Its  history  is  rather  romantic. 

For  several  years  the  Indians 

round   Fort   Selkirk    and 

the    mouth    of    the    Stewart 

River,     in     the     north  -  west 

territories    of    Canada,     had    been    telling    the 

traders  about  a  /li-uh  (big)  moose  that  they  had 

seen   on   many  occasions,    but  were  unable  to 

kill.      Gradually   they  acquired  a   superstitious 

reverence    for  this  mvsterious   beast,    which  es- 


■"EVtKV    MCIUMNG    THE    LOC.-^L    HAlTtK     (or      KiiNDa)     I'l.NS     HIb    WAI. 

From  a  Photo,  by]  of  the  blll-ring." 

UR  first  photograph  represents  a 
characteristically  Spanish  scene.  It 
was  taken  in  the  dreamy,  old-world 
town  of  Ronda,  which  is  perched  at 
the  edge  of  a  tremendously  pre- 
cipitous ravine  between  Gibraltar  and  Granada. 
Ronda,  though  possessing  a  population  of 
20,000,  does  not  boast  of  a  real  hat-shop,  but 
every  morning  the  local  hatter  comes  and  pins 
his  wares  to  the  wall  and  one  of  the  gates  of  the 
bull-ring.  His  wares  consist  exclusively  of  those 
very  broad-brimmed  wideawakes  which  are  worn 
by  everybody  all  over  Andalusia.  The  hatter 
himself  is  seated  at  the  side,  wearing  one  of  his 
own  hats,  buried  in  dreams,  and  ap[)arently  quite 
indifferent  whether  custom  comes  his  way  or 
not.  Even  when  a  large  crowd  of  loafers 
collects  Lo  watch  this  snap-shot  being  taken,  he 
does  not  trouble  to  look  up.  The  hats  are 
spread  out  upon  the  ground  and  hung  on  to 
whatever  nails  or  projections  he  has  been  able 
to  find  in  the  big  door  of  the  bull-ring.  They 
look  like  some  flight  of  strange  birds,  which 
have  settled  there,  or  a  swarm  of  sleeping  bats. 

A  cathedral  with  a  peal  of  bells  hung  in  a 
tree  is  somewhat  unique,  and  we  accordingly 
have  pleasure  in  being  able  to  reproduce  a 
photo,  of  the  cathedral  bells  of  St.  Peter's, 
Pietermaritzburg,  S.A. — the  cathedral  with 
which  the  late  Bishop  Colenso  was  connected 
for  so  many  years.  These  bells  hang  from  the 
branch  of  a  blue  gum  tree,  and  the  bell-ropes 


ES    TO   ONE   ol-     IHE   GATES 

[Mrs.  Herbert  Viviati. 


A  lEAL  OK  CATHEDRAL  BELLS  HUNG  IN  A  GUM  TREE. 

From  a  Photo,  by  //.    W.  Armstrong,  Pietei  maritdmr-g. 


556 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MxVGAZINE. 


'^l 


THK    I.AKl, 

From  a\ 


l-.bT    MOOSE    HEAD    IN    THE 


THIS   SUPERB  TROPHY    HAS  A   ROMANTIC 
(il^lUKV.  [PkotO. 


miles  from  Dawson  City  (Klon- 
dike). He  tried  to  get  some 
Indians  to  help  in  bringing  in 
the  meat  and  head,  but  this  the 
superstitious  braves  absolutely 
refused  to  do,  declining  to  be 
party  to  any  such  sacrilegious 
proceeding,  so  it  was  a  very  long 
time  before  the  daring  hunter 
could  set  himself  right  in  the 
eyes  of  the  indignant  tribe. 
Finally,  some  whites  went  out 
from  the  post  and  brought  the 
moose  in,  and  the  following  year 
the  head  was  sent  down  the 
Yukon  to  Tacoma,  Wash.,  where 
it  was  purchased  by  Mr.  W.  F, 
Sheard,  a  skin  merchant  of  that 
city,  in  whose  possession  this 
unique  and  magnificent  trophy 
now  remains. 

The  photograph  next  -  shown 
conveys  an  excellent  idea  of  ^'ir- 
ginia  Post-office,  which  is  situated 
on  the  stage  road  between  San 
Diego  and  Escondido,  in  San 
Diego  County,  California.  Two 
stages  stop  at  this  post-office  daily, 
except  on  Sundays,  to  deliver  and 
take  on  mails.  The  entire  struc- 
ture of  the  post-office,  I  grieve  to 
say,  was  originally  a  mere  piano- 
box,  and  is  about  6ft.  high,  3ft. 
wide,  and  5ft.  long.  It  has  five 
private  boxes  on  one  side,  fitted 
with  Yale  locks.  It  is  undoubtedly 
the  smallest  post  -  office  in  the 
United  States,  if  not  in  the  whole 


caped  unharmed  from  all  their 
assaults,  and  they  declared  it 
to  be  the  re-incarnated  spirit  of 
some  great  warrior.  The  matter- 
of-fact  traders,  however,  paid  no 
attention  to  these  stories,  well 
knowing  that  every  tribe  of 
Indians  has  its  own  legends  and 
ghost  stories,  and  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  big  bull  moose  was 
set  down  as  a  fable  of  the  usual 
order  until  October,  1897,  when 
an  Indian,  or  French  half-breed, 
untroubled  by  any  scruples, 
came  into  the  post  and  re- 
ported that  he  had  followed  the 
hi-uh  moose  for  four  days,  and 
had  ultimately  killed  it  near  the 
head  waters  of  the  Stewart 
Kiver,   two   or    three    hundred 


THE   SMALLEST  POST-OFFICE    IN   THE   UNITED   alAifca— il    WAS   ORIGINALLY  A   PIANO-BOX. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Howland  &'  Co.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


Onns    AND    EXDS. 


55-; 


From  a] 


DUG-OUTS 


EXTRAORDINARY   DWELLINGS   OF    ROCKY   MOUNTAIN    PROSPECTORS. 


world.  The  post-mistress  and  her  son  are  seen 
standing  outside.  Vir'j;inia  Post-ofifice  is  not  a 
money  order  post-office.  The  city  of  San  Diego 
is  the  nearest  town. 

Our  next  photo,  shows  three  of  the  picturesque 
"dug-outs"  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  miners. 
They  are  not  particularly  palatial,  and  for  a 
winter  residence  one  could  fancy  a  more  com- 
fortable abode,  but  the  miner  is  usually  a  cheer- 
ful, uncomplaining  person,  and  he  takes  what 
he  can  get  and  makes  the  best  of  it.  As  may 
be  seen,  a  typical  specimen  of  the  class 
sits  at  the  door  of  one  of  the  "  dug- 
outs" enjoying  his  evening  smoke. 
Although  the  miner's  "  house  "  may  not 
be  over  pretentious,  he  is  not  so  badly 
off ;  all  the  necessities  of  life  are  his — 
if  he  cares  to  pay  for  them,  and  there 
is  the  ever-present  prospect  of  making 
a  "strike" — a  rich  gold  "strike,"  that 
is,  not  one  of  the  strikes  affected  by 
the  unions  of  English  workers. 

The  gentleman  here  shown  in  durance 
vile  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Chinese 


hundreds,  ever  ready  for  loot,  pillage,  and  riot. 
Our  own  villain  (amiable  soul  !)  was  concerned 
in  the  massacres  of  1895,  '"  which  many  people 
lost  their  lives.  After  iiis  capture  by  the  native 
police  he  was  placed  in  this  cage,  which  was 
then  slung  on  bamboo  poles  and  carried  to  the 
Yamen,  where  our  photo,  was  taken.  He  is 
utterly  callous  as  to  his  fate  —  whether  it  be 
kneeling  on  chains,  the  thumbscrew,  the  ankle- 
twist,  or  one  of  the  numberless  other  forms  of 
Chinese  punishment. 


rough. 
gan  ■ 


In  England  we  have  the  "  hooli- 
America   boasts    of     "  corner 


boys  "  ;  Australia's  lowest  development 
is  the  "  larrikin " ;  but  the  Chinese 
piegiang,  or  villain,  is  the  fie  plus  ultra 
of  blackguardism.  Although  John 
Chinaman  is  generally  of  a  peaceable 
disposition,  every  village  possesses  a 
few  specimens  of  these  scoundrels,  and 
they    swarm    in    the    large   towns    by 


„    ,  , tCl.MEN    OF    THE   CHINESE    ROUGH  "  —  HE    WAS    CONCERNED     IN    THE 

From  a]  &IASSACRES  OF  1895.  [F/toto. 


the:  wide  wokld  magazine. 


A  QLAI.N  r  CUSTOM    IN  SOU  It;  C.KK- 

many:  musicians  playing  on 
the  church  steeple. 
From  a  Photo. 

The  accompanying 
photo,  illustrates  one  of 
the  many  quaint  and 
interesting  customs 
which  have  been  kept 
alive  for  centuries  in  the 
old  University  town  of 
Tubingen,  in  South  Ger- 
many. Every  day  in  the 
year  at  a  few  moments 
before  noon  a  small 
group  of  musicians  takes 
its  stand  on  a  dizzy  plat- 
form high  up  on  the 
church  steeple,  and  plays 
first  to  the  east  and  then 
to  the  west  a  choral  or 
sacred  melody.  This 
music  can  be  heard 
faintly  and  weirdly  for 
miles  around,  and  the 
effect  below  is  very  quaint 
and  pleasing.  Our  repro- 
duction is  from  a  snap- 
shot taken  by  Mr.  Robert  Cattlay,  of  York. 

Our  next  snap-shot  brings  us  to  the 
consideration  of  the  ostrich  in  California. 
The  African  ostrich  has  been  taken  over 
to  California,  and  is  now  cultivated  there 
in  half-a-dozen  beautiful  localities.  The 
creature  does  not  enjoy  the  freedom 
granted  to  it  by  the  Africa:-!  ostrich  farmer 
— permitted  to  roam  over  miles  of  plain, 
the  fields  surrounded  by  wire  fences;  but 
in  California  the  treatment  it  receives  is 
merely  that  given  to  geese  and  turkeys. 
The  huge  birds  are  cooped  up  in  pens, 
partly  for  convenience  in  display  as  an 
exhibit  to  interested  tourists  and,  of  course, 
partly  also  for  economy.  Our  photograph 
shows  a  keeper  at  a  California  ostrich  farm 


allowing  an  ostrich  to  peck  oranges  out  of 
a  bucket.  Notice  the  width  of  the  neck 
near  the  head  ;  an  orange  is  descending  the 
throat.  Male  ostriches  have  black  feathers, 
and  female  grey. 

The  Chinese,  as  most  people  know,  believe 
in  a  future  existence ;  but  in  that  future 
state  they  are  by  no  means  certain  whether 
all  one's  wants  are  provided  for,  conse- 
quently they  have  a  way  of  their  own  of 
consigning  earthly  comforts  to  their  departed 
friends  and  relatives  in  the  other  world. 
Soon  after  a  relative  dies,  it  is  the  usual 
custom  for  his  friends  in 
this  world  to  send  him 
everything  that  he  is 
likely  to  require.  These 
different  comforts  are 
conveniently  made  of 
paper,  and  on  some 
auspicious  day  they  are 
burned  amid  the  wait- 
ings and  shouts  of  all 
assembled;  the  departed 
one  being  supposed  to 
receive  the  offering  as 
soon  as  the  flame  dies 
out.  The  first  offering 
made  is  a  small  paper 
house,  hardly  large 
enough  to  accommodate 
a  baby.  On  the  journey 
to  the  other  world,  how- 
ever, it  is  supposed  to 
extend  to  the  required 
dimensions.  After  the 
house    follow    servants, 


A  COCK  li>  1  KIlH  — 
THE  BIRD  IS  JUST 
.SWALLOWING    ONE. 

From  a  Photo. 


1U>KSE,    SERVANTS,    AND   OTHER   CHINESE    LUXURIES    MADE   OK    PAPER- 
THEY  ARE   TO   liE    BURNED,    AND   SO   CONVEYED   TO   THE   DEAD. 

From  a  Photo. 


ODDS    AND    EX  Do. 


559 


palanquins  and  bearers,  concubines,  horses,  and 
the  necessary  funds  to  support  the  entire  establish- 
ment— everything  being  made  of  paper.  In  our 
illustration  a  mounted  soldier,  a  palanquin  and 
bearers,  together  with  a  stock  of  provisions  —all 
of  paper— are  about  to  be  consigned  to  a 
departed  Celestial.  On  the  ap[)roach  of  tiie 
camera  the  people  interested  vanished,  disgusted 
at  the  irreverence  of  the  foreign  devil ;  this 
accounts  for  the  absence  cf  mourners. 

"  What  is  this  ?  "—our  readers  will  ask.     Well, 
it  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  a  christening  in  a 


Holding  the  sleeping  baby  m  his  arms  we  see 
the  officiating  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cook, 
while  behind  him  stands  no  less  a  personage 
than  Leo,  the  African  Giant  Wrestler.  Next 
come  Mrs.  Captain  Taylor,  the  mother,  and  Miss 
(iodfrey,  one  of  the  lady  jockeys  of  the  establish- 
ment; while  beyond  them  again  are  the  stalwart 
captain  and  his  assistant,  keeping  a  vigilant  eye 
on  the  snarling  lions,  who  resented  fiercely  this 
unwonted  intrusion  into  their  den,  and  would 
no  doubt  have  made  short  work  of  the  entire 
party  — baby  included — but   for    the  ever-ready 


A    CHKl^TtNl.Nu    IN    A    LlOiNS 


DEN- 

-.ii.   . 


-THE    KA'IHER    AND   MOTHt-k    Wl-,Kt.   Al.so    MAKKlliU    IN     THE   SA.Mli    DANGEROUS    I'LACL.. 

From  a  I'/wto.  by  Lee  i5^  Co.,  Cape  Ttnvn. 


lions'  den !  This  unique  and  extraordinary 
ceremony  took  place  at  Fillis's  Circus,  Cape 
Town,  on  December  15th,  1898,  the  hero  of 
the  occasion  being  the  infant  son  of  Captain 
'I'aylor,  the  lion  tamer.  The  announcement  of 
the  christening  aroused  the  good  folks  of  Cape 
Town  to  an  unprecedented  state  of  excitement, 
and  thousands  were  turned  away  from  the 
doors.  In  our  photograph  we  see  the  lions' 
cage,  which  was  appropriately  decorated  and 
lighted  by  electricity  for  the  auspicious  occasion. 
Gathered  around  the  infant  are  quite  a  collection 
of  circus  celebrities.  Starting  from  the  extreme 
left,  the  gentleman  standing  beside  the  car  is 
Mr.    J.    FitzSimmons,    the    Kangaroo    Boxer. 


whip  and  iron  nerve  of  their  dreaded  tamer. 
The  man  on  the  extreme  right,  by  the  way,  is 
Professor  Mooney,  who  guides  the  destinies  of 
the  elephants,  and  who  took  a  fatherly  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  his  brcther-tamer.  Mr. 
Mooney  prepared  a  lot  of  forks,  red-l:ot  irons, 
and  other  nasty  things  which  lions  don't  like, 
in  case  of  any  unpleasantness.  Everything,  we 
are  glad  to  say,  went  off  without  hitch  or 
accident,  amid  scenes  of  wild  enthusiasm. 
Presents  were  showered  upon  the  courageous 
couple  and  their  interesting  offspring,  and 
ringing  cheers  all  but  drowned  the  roaring  of 
the  lions — much  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
little  woolly  dog  underneath  the  cage.     Captain 


560 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


abounding  in  that  district  contain  sulphur 
and  other  therapeutic  ingredients,  eftec- 
tive  in  curing  many  of  the  ills  that  yellow 
as  well  as  white  skinned  flesh  is  heir  to. 
In  the  numerous  inns  or  resting-places  are 
baths  of  these  waters,  which  are  borne  from 
the  springs  in  bamboo  pipes.  The  accom- 
panying photo,  was  taken  at  an  hospital  in 
an  isolated  spot  on  the  east  of  Lake 
Hakone,  in  the  Myanoshta  district. 
Afflicted  "  Japs  "  flock  there  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  to  be  cured  of  skin  and 
other  diseases.  Frequently  patients  who 
are  too  weak  to  walk  when  they  arrive 
go  on  their  way  rejoicing  after  a  few  weeks' 
treatment,  restored  to  health  and  strength. 
The  two  men  in  the  photo,  are  taking  their 
daily  bath  in  the  open  air,  the  hot  sulphur 
water  being  allowed  to  run  over  them  from 
bamboo  pipes  in  the  manner  shown. 


RICE    I^VJU.I    1..     .i    o.i...L..-,>     .ii-U-.L.*:- — i.t-Atii'KA'l  t,  Ol-  KtK- 
INGS   ARE   .MADE   TO   THEM    TO    INSURE   GOOD    CROPS. 

From  a  Photo. 

and  Mrs.  Taylor  were  also  wedded  in 
the  lions'  den  a  year  previous,  when  a 
similar  ovation  was  accorded  them. 

In  reading  of  Indian  matters  one  fre- 
quently meets  the  word  "paddy."  Now, 
paddy  is  young  growing  rice,  and  we 
next  produce  a  missionary  photograph  of 
two  droll  idols,  which  are  nothing  more 
or  less  than  paddy  gods.  These  quaint 
images  are  to  be  seen  in  all  the  villages 
in  the  Ganges  delta  during  the  growth 
of  the  rice  crops,  and  elaborate  offerings 
are  made  to  them,  according  to  the 
means  of  the  worshippers,  to  the  end 
that  drought,  floods,  or  any  other 
calamity  that  may  injure  the  crops  might 
be  averted.  It  will  be  seen  that  these 
peculiar  gods  consist  only  of  a  head, 
and  it  is  sometimes  explained  that  this 
is  the  head  which  the  god  Ganesha  lost 
when  a  baby,  and  for  which  the  head  of 
an  elephant  was  afterwards  substituted. 

One  of  the  most  popular  of  the  many 
inland  watering-places  in  Japan  is  Mya- 
noshta, situated  about  fifty  miles  south- 
west of  Yokohama.      The   hot  springs 


A    QUEER   JAPANESE   WATERING-PLACE — THE   SULPHUROUS   WATERS    FLOW 
THROUGH    RAMBOO   PIPES   ON    TO   THE   PATIENTS. 

From   a   Photo,    by   Mr.   John   Heathccit,  M.Sc. 


"  BY  THE  TIME  I  REACHED  THE  KHALIFA  I  WAS  IN  A  FAINTING  CONDITION." 

(SEK    PACE    566.) 


The  Wide  World  Magazine. 


Vol.   HI. 


OCTOBER,  i8y9. 


No.   18. 


In  the  Khalifa's  Clutches;    or.  My  Twelve  Years'  Captivity  in 

Chains  in  Omdurman. 


By  Charles  Neufeld. 
IV. 


X  the  opening  of  the  cell  door  next 
morning  I  swooned  again,  and  was 
carried  into  the  open  air  to  come 
round.  I  had  no  sooner  partially 
done  so  than  I  was  carried  back,  in 
order,  as  I  was  told,  "  to  get  accustomed  to  the 
place."  My  first  three  days  passed  in  fever  and 
delirium,  and  my  legs  were  swelling  with  the 
weight  of  the  chains  and  anklets.  My  earliest 
clear  recollection  was  on  what  I  knew  later  to 
be  the  fourth  day,  when  an  Egyptian,  named 
Hassan  Gammal,  was  sent  to  attend  to  me. 
Later   on 


Suggestion  "-''^       SamC 
of  Pity,      ^^y 


the 

my 

servant 
Hasseena  was  sent 
to  me  to  prepare 
some  food  and 
bathe  my  legs.  Up 
to  this  time  I  had 
actually  eaten  noth- 
ing, nor  have  I  any 
recollection  of  even 
taking  a  drink  of 
water.  Hasseena, 
on  my  being  con- 
signed to  prison, 
had  been  sent  into 
the  Khalifa's  harem. 
The  money  I  had 
brought  with  me, 
and  which  had 
been  taken  from  me 
on  my  arrival,  and 
.sent  to  the  Beit  el 
Mai,  was  given  to 
Hasseena  with 
which  to  purcha.se 
my  food.  On  her 
entering  the  prison 
inclosure,  Idris  es 
Saier,  the  head 
gaoler,  relieved  her 
of  the  money,  say- 
ing he  would  take 
care  of  it,  and  then 

Vol.  iii.-71. 


I  ill,   i  l:lMj.N,    i  UK    II 
THE  MO.N' 


shackling    the^  devoted    creature    with    a    light 
chain,  he  calmly  sent  her  into  his  harem. 

I  now  received  permission  to  sit  outside 
during  the  day,  and  also  to  converse  with  the 
other  prisoners.  On  my  first  entering  the  prison, 
however,  I  had  been  warned,  under  threats  of 
the  lash,  not  to  speak  to  anyone,  and  the  other 
prisoners,  under  the  same  threat,  had  likewise 
been  warned  not  to  speak  to  me.  But,  as  may 
be  gues.sed,  they  were  most  anxious  to  talk  to 
me,  and  get  some  news  from  the  outer  world  ; 
at  the  same  time  they  were  most  guarded  in 

their  inquiries. 
There  were  many 
prisoners  in  the 
place  who,  to  curry 
favour  with  the 
gaoler  or  the  Khalifa, 
would  have  reported 
anything  in  the  way 
of  a  complaint 
against  the  general 
treatment  —  a  wish 
on  the  part  of  any- 
one to  escape,  or 
an  expressed  hope 
that  the  Govern- 
ment would  soon 
send  troops  to  re- 
lease us.  Knowing 
that  theGovernment 
had,  for  the  time 
being,  abandoned 
all  thoughts  of  re- 
conquering the  Sou- 
dan, I  told  those  of 
my  fellow -captives, 
when  they  spoke  to 
me  about  a  probable 
advance  of  the  com- 
bined armies,  that 
they  must  have 
patience  until  the 
hot  weather  passed. 
Had  I  told  them 
what  I  knew  their 
despair    could    not 


E.AI)    GAOLEK    RELIEV-ED   HER   OF 
EY." 


564 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


have  been  concealed,  and  the  truth  would 
soon  have  reached  the  Khalifa's  ears.  A 
number  of  the  prisoners  were  old  soldiers  of  the 
Egyptian  Army,  who  had  been  taken  at  the  fall 
of  Khartoum  and  elsewhere ;  and  they  waited 
day  after  day,  week  after  week,  and  year  after 
year,  in  that  foul  den,  ever  hoping  that  the 
Government  for  whom  they  had  fought  would 
send  troops  to  release  them. 

But,  with  the  greater  number,  their 
a^Rlieasl.  please  came  only  with  death — death 

at  the  gallows  ;  at  the  Khalifa's 
shambles ;  or  by  disease  and  slow  starvation. 
Imprisoned  at  one  time  with  me  was  Mahmoud 
Wad  Said,  the  Sheik  of  the  Dabaanieh  tribe, 
who  for  years  had  kept  the  Abyssinians  in 
check  on  the  Egyptian  frontier  in  the  Eastern 
Soudan.  At  one  time  he  had  been  power- 
ful— rich  in  cattle,  slaves,  and  lands ;  but 
he  had  been  taken  prisoner  early  in  the 
Mahdist  movement.  When  he  had  been 
imprisoned  about  three  years  and  four  months 
he  became  paralyzed,  and  his  release  was 
ordered  by  the  Khalifa,  who  had  so  far  relented 
as  to  allow  of  his  dying  with  his  family,  who 
were  then  at  Omdurman,  patiently  waiting  for 
his  promised  release.  By  their  careful  nursing 
and  attention  the  old  man  recovered — only, 
however,  when  the  Khalifa  heard  of  it,  to  be 
thrown  into  prison  again,  where  he  passed 
another  thirteen  months,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  he  was  once  more  released,  on  condition 
that  he  would  collect  the  remnants  of  his  tribe 
and  attack  his  old  enemies,  the  Abyssinians, 
whom  the  Khalifa  was  then  fighting  with.  A 
few  months  later  I  heard  that  Mahmoud  was 
dead,  one  report  saying  that  he  had  died  of  a 
broken  heart,  and  the  other  that  he  had  been 
"  removed,"  by  orders  of  the  Khalifa,  for  failing 
to  bring  together  again  a  tribe  which  the 
Khalifa  himself  had  almost  exterminated. 

Another  of  my  companions  in  adversity  was 
Ajjab  Abou  Jinn,  of  the  Hammadah  tribe  ;  he 
fought  with  the  Government  troops  at  Sennar, 
and,  when  defeated  by  the  Dervishes,  he  retired 
to  his  country  with  his  men  until,  on  the  fall  of 
Sennar,  he  was  attacked  and  defeated,  his 
property  confiscated,  and  he  himself  taken 
prisoner  to  Omdurman.  His  wife  was  sent  into 
the  Khalifa's  harem. 

After  spending  four  years  in  prison,  he 

A        was  considered  sufificiently  "educated," 

Education,  and  was  therefore  released.     In  a  few 

months  he  was  allowed  to  return  to 
his  own  country,  when  he  set  about  making  pre- 
parations to  attack  the  Dervishes.  He  tried  all 
sorts  of  means  to  get  into  communication 
with  the  Government,  many  of  his  people 
coming   to  see  me  in   prison,   in   the  hope  of 


learning  news  from  me  of 


a  forward  movement, 
el    Kerim    Pasha,    of 


A  Whole 

Tribe 
Betrayed. 


The  three  sons  of  Awad 
the  Shukrieh  tribe,  were  also  in  prison  with  me  ; 
their  father  had  died  in  prison  shortly  before 
my  arrival.  After  keeping  the  three  brothers — 
Abdalla,  Mohammad,  and  Ali — incarcerated  for 
nineteen  months,  the  Khalifa  promised  to  re- 
lease them  on  condition  that  their  tribe  came  to 
Omdurman  and  tendered  their  submission. 

This    they   did ;    but,  coming  unpro- 
vided with  food,  the  tribe,  in  the  four 
or  five  months  they  were  kept  waiting 
at  Omdurman,  was  decimated  by  dis- 
ease and  starvation,   and  then,   and  then  only, 
the  Khalifa  kept  his  promise,  and  released  their 
chiefs. 

A  man  with  whom  I  almost  struck  up  a  real 
friendship  was  Sheik  Hamad  En  Nil,  a  well- 
known  religious  teacher  from  the  Blue  Nile. 
Having  great  influence  over  a  large  number  of 
people,  the  Khalifa,  fearing  he  might  obtain  a 
great  following,  ordered  him  to  Omdurman. 
Here  a  difficulty  arose  as  to  what  charge  could 
be  brought  against  him  in  order  to  condemn 
him  to  imprisonment.  Sheik  Hamad  had 
taken  neither  one  side  nor  tlie  other — Govern- 
ment or  Mahdieh  ;  and  he  had  devoted  his 
whole  time  to  a  strict  preaching  of  the  Koran, 
as  he  had  done  for  years.  No  kadi  dare 
condemn  him  on  any  charge  made,  suborn 
"  witnesses "  as  the  Khalifa  would.  But  the 
crafty  Abdullah  was  determined  to  effect  his 
condemnation  by  some  means,  more  especially 
as  Sheik  Hamad  was  rich,  and  the  Beit  el  Mai 
short  of  funds.  IMen  were,  first  of  all,  sent  to 
the  sheik's  house  with  orders  to  conceal  some 
tobacco  in  the  ground.  Other  emissaries  were 
then  sent  to  discover  it ;  and,  tobacco  being  for- 
bidden by  the  Mahdi,  Sheik  Hamad,  in  spite 
of  all  protestations,  was  sentenced  by  the  kadi 
to  imprisonment  and  the  confiscation  of  his 
property.  His  health  broke  down  after  about 
eighteen  months'  privation,  and  he  was  released  ; 
but  recovering  once  more,  as  did  Mahmoud,  he 
was  again  imprisoned,  and  died  a  few  weeks  later. 
Of  all  those  in  the  prison.  Sheik 
Hamad  was  the  only  one  who  dared 
say  openly  to  those  whom  he  trusted 
that  both  the  Alahdi  and  Khalifa  were  impostors. 
Two  of  my  first  four  years  were  spent  mainly 
with  the  sheik  learning  to  read  and  write  Arabic, 
discussing  the  respective  tenets  of  the  Christian 
and  Mohammedan  religions,  and  my  telling 
him  of  our  social  life  and  customs  in  Europe. 

There  was  one  arrival  at  the  prison  whom  I 
was  rather  pleased  to  see — Ahmed  Abdel 
Maajid,  of  Berber,  a  great  supporter  of  both 
Mahdi  and  Khalifa,  and  one  of  the  bitterest 
enemies  of  Christians  and  Europeans.     He  was. 


A  Bold 
Prisoner. 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


565 


for  the  Soudan,  well  educated,  and  also  rich. 
Naturally  he  had  much  influence,  but  his  vanity 
got  the  better  of  him.  He  gave  evidence  of 
his  wealth  in  the  richness  of  his  dress  and 
lu.xurious  living,  and  this  had  been  reported  to 
the  Khalifa  ;  but  as  yet  Maajid  had  not  accepted 
any  of  the  Khalifa's  pressing  invitations  to  pay 
him  a  visit  at  Omdurman.  Maajid  made  up  his 
mind  to  marry  another  wife — a  young  and  pretty 
one.  Preparations  for  the  marriage  ceremonies, 
and  the  feastings  which  accompany  it,  were 
made  on  a  large  and  lavish  scale.  The  Mahdi 
had  fixed  ten  dollars  as  the  sum  to  be  paid  to 
the  parents  of  a  virgin  upon  her  marriage,  but 
Maajid  paid  one  thousand  ;  and  this  scouting 
of  the  Mahdi's  orders  coming  to  the  ears 
of  the  Khalifa,  he  sent  off  a  party  to  Berber 
with  instructions  to  bring  Maajid  and  his  bride 
back  with  them.  This  party  arrived  at  Berber 
while  the  festivities  were  still  going  on,  and 
Maajid  could  not  refuse  the  Khalifa's  invitation 
this  time. 

When  he  arrived  at  Omdurman  he  was, 
with  his  bride — who  was  reputed  to  be  the 
most  beautiful  woman  ever  seen  in  the  Soudan — 
hurried  before  the  Khalifa  and  the  kadi ;  and 
the  latter,  having  his  brief  ready,  accused 
Maajid  of  having  broken  the  rules  as  laid  down 
by  the  Mahdi,  and  also  of  having  detained 
moneys  which  should  have  been  sent  to  the 
Beit  el  Mai — as  was  proved  by  his  having  so 
much  money  when  the  coffers  of  the  Beit  el 
Mai  were  empty. 

His  property 
'the  ^nd1s°'\vas  condemned 
"Troom.'^^'to  be  confis- 
cated and  sent 
to  the  Beit  el  Mai ;  his 
bride  was  taken  posses- 
sion of  by  the  Khalifa, 
and  Maajid  himself  sent 
to  prison,  where  he  spent 
six  months,  mainly  in 
cursing  the  face  of  his 
bride,  as  it  was  she,  he 
said,  who  had  brought 
him  to  grief  At  the  end 
of  six  months  he  was 
released  and  sent  back 
to  Berber  "  educated,'" 
with  a  strong  recommen- 
dation from  the  Khalifa 
not  to  be  so  ostentatious 
with  his  wealth  in  future. 
The    Khalifa 

Both  Bride  l.,,f      AfToiirlV 
and  Money '^tJpi      AMaajlUN 

conffscated.  ui  o  u  e  y  —  a  n  d 

also   his   bride. 

It  was  this  same  Maajid 


who,  after  Slatin's  escape,  ferreted  out  the 
people  in  Berber  who  had  assisted  Slatin's 
guides,  and  had  them  sent  to  the  White  Nile, 
where  those  who  did  not  die  on  the  journey 
died  miserably  there  later.  Those  I  have 
mentioned  above  were  what  I  might  call  the 
better  class  of  prisoners,  and  with  them  I 
mainly  associated  during  my  first  two  years  in 
prison ;  the  remainder  were  slaves,  thieves, 
ordinary  criminals,  debtors,   murderers,  etc. 

When  I  had  recovered  a  little  from  my  fever 
I  was  placed  upon  a  camel  and  paraded  past 
the  huts,  rukoobas,  and  zarebas  which  at  that 
time  constituted  the  town  of  Omdurman.  A 
number  of  Haddendowas  had  come  in  to  tender 
their  submission  to  the  Khalifa,  and  he  had 
seized  that  occasion  to  exhibit  me  to  the 
"  faithful "  as  the  great  Pasha  sent  to  conquer 
from  him  the  Western  Soudan.  I  was  also 
used  to  impress  the  Haddendowas.  A  halt  was 
made  at  the  hut  of  the  Emir  Said  Mohammad 
Taher,  a  relative  of  the  Mahdi,  who,  after 
relating  his  version  of  the  death  of  Hicks 
Pasha,  and  the  destruction  of  his  army — both 
of  which  events  had,  according  to  him,  been 
brought  about  through  the  agency  of  angels 
sent  by  the  Prophet  for  the  purpose — gave  me 
a  long  lecture  on  Mahdieh,  at  the  end  of  which 
he  asked  me  my  opinion  of  it. 

I  told  him  that  if  he  himself  wished 
'offi^L^  for  a  few  lessons  on  religion,  and  as 
Tuition.    jQ    }^Q^^,  ji^g  Qq^  J    prayed    to    dealt 


A   HALT  WAS   MADE   AT  THE   HUT  OF   THE   EMIR,  WHO   GAVE  ME  A   LONG  I.ECTURE   ON   MAHDIEH. 


566 


THE    \Vll)E    WORM)    MAGAZINE. 


with  His  faithful,  and  the  means  His  teachers 
in  Euroi)e  employed  for  converting  people 
and  making  them  religious,  I  should  be 
pleased  to  give  him  as  many  as  he  recjuired. 
'I'he  re[)ly  angered  him,  and  another  batch  of 
prisoners  were,  by  his  orders,  told  off  to  lecture 
me  the  whole  day  long  on  the  doctrine  of 
Mahdieh.  ^Vhile  quite  ready  to  talk  to  them 
about  the  Mohanmiedan  religion  as  pro- 
|)ounded  in  the  Koran,  I  would  not  believe  in 
the  mission  of  the  Mahdi  or  his  new  religion. 
On  Taher  asking  what  progress  I  had  made  in 
my  "education,"  he  was  told  that  I  would  make 
none  in  Mahdieh,  but  was  ready  to  become  a 
Mohammedan. 

I  knew  perfectly  well  what  an  out-and-out 
acceptance  of  Malidieh  meant  —  my  release, 
but  only  to  be  put  into  the  charge  of  some 
troops,  and,  having  already  fought  with  the 
British  against  the  Mahdists,  I  had  no  wish  to 
be  caught  in  the  Dervish  ranks  fighting  against 
my  friends,  or  to  be  found  dead  on  the  field,  after 
the  fight,  in  the  garb  of  a'Dervish,  pierced  by  a 
British  bullet. 

Taher  was  not  pleased  at  the  results  of  his 
interview  with  me,  and  reported  my  insubordi- 
nation to  the  Khalifa.  It  was  probably  on  my 
fifteenth  day  that,  accompanied  by  the  Hadden- 
dowas,  who  had  come  in  to  make  their  sub- 
mission, I  was  taken  by  steamer  to  Khartoum, 
in  order  that  I  might  be  "impressed"  with  the 
power  of  the  Khalifa  and  the  truth  of  Mahdieh. 
We  were  first  taken  to  Gordon's  old  palace, 
where  Khaleel  Hassanein,  acting  as  the  Mahdist 
governor  of  the  town,  and  at  the  same  time 
director  of  the  arsenal,  received  us  and  gave  us 
food.  We  were  then  taken  through  the  rooms, 
which  were  dismantled,  and  shown  at  the  head 
of  the  stairs  what  we  were  told  were  the  blood- 
stains of  Gordon. 

After  this  we  were  placed  on  donkeys 
signif*ant  ^'^^^    taken    round    the    fortifications, 

Lesion",  \vliile  our  "instructors"  in  Mahdieh, 
jjointing  to  the  skeletons  and  dried 
bodies  lying  about,  gave  us  glowing  word-pic- 
tures in  advance  of  how  the  fortifications  of 
Wadi  Haifa  and  Cairo  would  look  after  the 
Khalifa,  assisted  by  the  angels,  had  attacked 
them.  It  was  a  melancholy  journey  for  me, 
and  I  am  not  ashamed  to  say  that  fortifications 
and  skeletons  grew  dimmed  and  blurred,  and 
then  were  lost  to  view,  as  the  hot  tears  fell  upon 
the  back  of  my  hand. 

Taken  back  to  prison,  I  became  worse.  The 
weight  of  the  chains  and  anklets  dragging  on 
me  as  I  rode,  and  the  chafing  of  the  skin,  set 
u[)  a  dreadful  irritation  ;  and  the  filth  and  dirt 
of  the  prison  soon  contributed  to  the  formation 
of  large  ulcers. 


It  was  while  lying  down  in  the  shade 

^tmnfthl^  one  morning,  unable  to  move,  at  the 

Khalifa,    j^jj-j^^,.   ^jf  ^l,^^  great  Bairam   feast,    that 

two  camel  men  rode  into  the  prison 
inclosure,  and,  making  one  of  the  camels  kneel 
down  near  me,  ordered  me  at  once  to  mount, 
as  the  Khalifa  had  sent  for  me.  The  other 
prisoners  crowded  round  and  bade  me  good- 
bye ;  Mahmoud  Wad  Said  telling  me  to  pull 
myself  together,  and  to  act  as  I  did  "  when 
they  tried  to  burst  your  head  with  the  om- 
beyehs."  There  was  a  grand  parade  of  the 
troops  that  day,  and  everyone  believed  that  I 
was  to  be  decapitated  in  front  of  them.  The 
two  men  could  tell  us  nothing  but  that  the 
Khalifa  had  sent  for  me,  and,  living  or  dead,  they 
were  bound  to  take  me.  I  was,  therefore,  lifted 
on  to  the  camel,  and  taken  off  to  the  parade- 
ground  outside  the  town.  The  long,  swinging 
stride  of  the  camel  communicated  its  motions  to 
my  chains,  and  by  the  time  I  reached  the 
Khalifa  the  ulcers  were  broken,  and  I  in  a 
fainting  condition.  The  Khalifa,  noticing  this, 
asked  one  of  the  Emirs  what  had  happened. 
Although  I  was  close  to  him,  he  would  not 
address  a  word  directly  to  me,  and  yet  I  could 
hear  what  he  said,  and  my  reply  must  have 
been  perfectly  audible  to  him.  On  hearing  the 
reason  of  my  shocking  condition  he  "gave  orders 
that  the  chains  were  to  be  removed  that  night, 
and  a  lighter  set  fitted.  The  Khalifa  was 
surrounded  by  his  Emirs  and  body-guard,  and 
ranged  on  the  plain  in  front  of  us  was  his  great 
army  of  horse  and  camel  men,  and  foot-soldiers. 
I  should  have  been  marched  past  the  whole 
army,  but  before  reaching  the  horsemen  the 
Khalifa  said  to  the  Emir  Ali  Wad  Saad,  "Tell 
Abdullah  (myself)  that  he  has  only  seen  a  quarter 
of  the  army,  and  let  him  be  brought  up  for  the 
parade  to-morrow." 

The  prisoners  were  astonished  to  see 

*  PorThi^*  lilt;  return  alive  that  evening,  and  still 

Prisoners,  j^iqj-^  astouishcd  at  the   orders   given 

to  Idris  es  Saier,  the  head  gaoler,  to 
remove  my  chains  at  once,  and  put  on  a  lighter 
set.  For  once,  the  Khalifa's  orders  could  not 
be  carried  out ;  the  legs  having  swollen  so 
much,  the  anklets,  almost  buried  m  flesh,  could 
not  be  brought  near  enough  to  the  face  of  the 
anvil  to  allow  of  their  being  struck,  and  the 
following  day  I  again  attended  parade  in  pretty 
much  the  same  state  of  collapse  as  the  first. 
The  Khalifa  was  furious  at  this  ;  he  had  no 
wish  to  parade  before  his  troops,  as  an  evidence 
of  his  power,  a  man  who  had  to  be  held  u[) 
on  his  camel.  My  gaoler  was  sent  for,  and 
asked  why  he  had  disobeyed  orders.  He 
gave  as  reasons,  first,  that  he  had  no 
lighter    chains,     and    secondly,     that     my    legs 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


5<^7 


were  so  swollen  he  was  unable  to  get  at 
the  anklets.  The  Khalifa  replied  that  they 
were  to  be  removed  that  night,  and  they 
were ;  but  it  was  a  terrible  ordeal  for  me. 
Before  leaving  the  parade-ground,  he  sent  to  me 
Said  Gumma's  donkey  and  Slatin's  horse,  telling 
me  that  I  might  ride  either  of  them  back  to 
town,  as  their  motion  would  be  better  for  me 
than  the  camel — I  elected  to  remain  on  the 
camel,  however. 

I  had  done  my  best  to  get  near  Slatin, 
Pasli'aartheto  have  a  few  words  with  him,  but  he 


o^dir'iy.^  was  hardly    for   a   moment   near   the 

Khalifa's  side,  galloping  from  one  part 
of  the  army  to 
another  with  his 
orders.  All 
Wad  Saad,  on 
the  part  of  the 
Khalifa,  asked 
m  e  what  I 
thought  of  the 
army  ;  to  which 
I  replied,  "You 
have  numbers, 
but  not  training  " 
— a  reply  which 
gave  little  satis- 
faction to  the 
Khalifa,  who 
could  overhear  it 
without  having 
to  wait  for  Saad 
to  repeat  it  to 
him.  This  was 
the  last  time 
upon  which  I 
saw  the  Khalifa  ; 
but  I  live  in 
hopes  of  seeing 
him  once  again. 

My  first  spell  in  prison  was  one  of 
Prison  Life.  j-Q^^   ycars.      After   nine    months   the 

rings  and  chains  were  removed  from 
my  neck,  but  the  fetters  I  wore  continuously — 
with  the  exception  of  thirteen  days — during  the 
whole  of  my  cai)tivity.  Now,  a  day-to-day 
record  of  my  experiences  is  out  of  the  question, 
besides  being  unnecessary — even  were  it  possible 
to  give  them.  I  must,  therefore,  content  myself 
with  a  general  description  of  the  life  passed 
there,  and  an  idea  of  the  day's  routine. 

When  I  reached  Omdurman,  the  prison 

Rouune  or  pr'^PL-r  consisted  of  the  common  cell 

Life,      already  mentioned  ("  Abou  Hagar" — 

the  house  of  stone),  which  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  large  zareba  of  thorn  trees  and 
branches,  and  standing  about  6ft.  high.  There 
were    thirty    guardians,    each    armed    with    a 


"  kourbash  "  (rhinoceros-hide  whip)  with  which 
to  keep  their  charges  in  order.  'J'here  were  no 
sanitary  arrangements — not  even  of  the  most 
primitive  description.  All  prisoners  had  to  be 
fed  by  their  friends  or  relatives ;  if  they  had 
neither  they  simply  starved  to  death,  as  the 
prisoners,  charitable  as  they  were  to  each  other 
in  the  matter  of  food,  had  barely  enough  to  eat 
to  keep  body  and  soul  together ;  the  best,  and 
greater  part  of  the  food  sent  in,  being  eaten  by 
the  gaolers. 

At  sunrise  each  morning  the  door  of  the 
common  cell  was  opened,  and  the  prisoners 
allowed   to  shuffle  down    to   the   banks  of  the 


AT   SUNRISE   THE    DOOR    WAS    Ol'ENED, 


AND    THE    PRISONERS    ALLOWED   TO   SHUFFLE   DOWN    TO   THE 
HANKS     OP    THE    NILE." 

Nile,  a  few  yards  distant,  for  their  ablutions  and 
water  for  drinking.  After  this  we  assembled  for 
the  first  prayer  of  the  day,  which  all  had  to  join 
in.  ^Vhen  not  working  we  had  to  read  the 
Mahdi's  ratib,"*  a  kind  of  prayer-book,  con- 
taining extracts  from  the  Koran  with  inter- 
polations of  the  Mahdi.  All  the  faithful  were 
ordered  to  learn  this  "ratib"  off  by  heart,  and 


*  The  "Ratib"  occupied  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in 
recitation,  and,  by  the  Mahdi's  orders,  it  had  to  be  repeated  daily 
by  evtrj'one  after  the  morning  and  afternoon  prayers  ;  it  ranked  in 
importance  with  the  five  obligatory  daily  prayers  ordained  by  the 
Koran.  It  was  also  looked  upon  as  a  sort  of  talisman  ;  and  it  was 
given  out,  after  such  fights  as  Toski,  Ginniss,  and  the  Atbara,  that 
those  killed  were  those  who  had  either  not  learned  the  Ratib  or 
had  not  a  copy  with  them.  The  book  was  carried  in  a  small 
leather  case  suspended  from  the  neck.  A  number  of  copies  were 
printed  on  the  old  Government  press,  but  it  was  considered  more 
meritorious  to  write  out  a  copy  rather  than  purchase  one.  The 
Mahdi  hoped  that  this  Ratib  would  eventually  become  a  sort  of  a 
Koran,  accompanied  by  its  volumes  of  "  traditions  " ;  hence  his 
anxiety  that  everyone  sliould  learn  to  write. 


568 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


for  this  purpose  each  had  either  to  purchase  a 
copy  or  write  one  out.  At  noon  the  second 
prayers  were  held,  followed  by  another  mid- 
way between  noon  and  sunset,  and  a  fourth  at 
sunset. 

We   should  have  repeated   the   night 
'Hfdl'ous*  prayer  when  the  night  had  set  in,  but 

as  we  were  driven  into  the  "  Abou 
Hagar "  at  sunset,  the  time  which  ought  to 
have  been  given  to  this  prayer  was  fully  taken 
up  with  brawls,  fights,  and  those  comprehensive 
curses  of  the  Arabs  which,  commencing  with 
the  cursed  person's  father,  go  back  for  genera- 
tion.s,  and  include  all  the  female  ancestors. 

It  has  been  found  impossible,  even  in  the 
most  guarded  and  disguised  language,  to  insert 
here  a  real  word-picture  of  a  night  in  the  dread 
Saier.  The  scenes  of  bestiality  and  filthiness  ; 
the  means  employed  for  bringing  the  most 
powerful  man  to  his  knees  with  a  single  blow ; 
the  nameless  crimes  committed  night  after  night, 
and  year  after  year,  may  not  be  recorded  in  print. 
At  times,  and  sometimes  for  weeks  in  succession, 
from  250  to  280  prisoners  were  driven  into  that 
small  room.  We  were  literally  packed  in ;  there 
was  scarcely  room  to  move  our  arms ;  our 
"jibbehs"  swarmed  with  insects  and  parasites, 
which  in  themselves  made  sleep  an  impossi- 
bility and  life  a  misery.  As  the  heat  grew 
more  oppressive,  and  the  atmosphere — always 
vile  with  the  ever-present  stench  of  the  place — 
grew  closer  with  the  perspiring  bodies,  and  with 
other  causes,  all  semblance  of  human  beings 
was  lost. 

Filth  was  thrown  from  one  side  of  the 
*iifferno.^  room    to   the   other    by   anyone   who 

could  move  his  hand  for  the  purpose 
of  doing  so ;  and  as  soon  as  this  disgusting 
element  was  introduced,  the  mass,  in  its  efforts 
to  avoid  being  struck  with  it,  swayed  from  side 
to  side,  fought,  bit,  and  struggled  like  mad  dogs, 
as  far  as  their  packed  condition  would  allow. 
They  kicked  with  their  bars  and  chains  the 
shins  of  those  next  them,  and  the  scene  became 
one  such  as  only  a  Dante  might  describe.  Any 
prisoner  who  went  down  on  such  a  night  never 
got  up  again  alive;  his  cries  would  not  be  heard 
above  the  appalling  pandemonium  of  clanking 
chains  and  bars,  imprecations  and  cursings;  and 
for  anyone  to  attempt  to  bend  down  to  assist, 
only  meant  his  going  under  also.  In  the  morn- 
ing, when  we  were  allowed  to  stream  out,  five 
and  sometimes  six  bodies  would  be  found  on 
the  ground  with  the  life  crushed  and  trampled 
out  of  them. 

One's   and  two's  were  of  such  con- 
EBtabnShed  stant   occurrence   that   we   came    to 
Institution."  Jqq]^  ^pQj^  ^.j^g^  almost  as  an   estab- 
lished institution   in  connection  with 


the  Saier.  Occasionally,  when  the  uproar  was 
greater  than  usual,  the  guards  would  open  the 
door,  and,  standing  in  the  doorway,  they  would 
lash  at  the  heads  of  the  prisoners  with  their 
hide  whips.  And  always  when  this  occurred 
death  claimed  its  five  or  six  victims,  crushed 
and  trampled  to  death  in  the  awful  stampede. 
I  wish  I  might  say  that  I  had  drawn  upon  my 
imagination  for  what  is  given  above ;  I  can  but 
assure  you  that  it  gives  but  the  very  faintest 
idea — merely  the  vaguest  of  indications — of 
what  really  occurred. 

Until  we  had  been  set  to  make  bricks  and 
build  a  wall  round  our  prison,  our  life,  in 
comparison  with  what  it  was  later,  was  I  might 
almost  say  endurable.  By  "  backsheeshing  "  the 
guards,  we  were  allowed  to  go  down  to  the 
river  during  the  day  almost  as  often  as  we 
pleased ;  and  these  excursions,  taken  osten- 
sibly for  the  purpose  of  ablution  and  drinking, 
gave  us  many  opportunities  for  conversing 
with  the  townspeople.  This  life  I  enjoyed 
but  for  a  few  months.  A  large  number  of 
prisoners  succeeded  in  escaping.  Then  the 
digging  of  a  well  for  infiltration  water  to  supply 
the  prisoners,  and  a  wall  round  the  prison, 
was  ordered  by  the  Khalifa  to  be  constructed 
as  rapidly  as  possible. 

The  prisoners  who  escaped  were 
^""whif"^  mainly  slaves,  and  as  most  slaves  were 
Escaped,   chained  to  prevent  their  running  away 

from  their  owners — hundreds  going 
about  the  town  fettered — they  had  little  diffi- 
culty in  effecting  their  escape  from  prison,  and 
also  from  Omdurnian.  On  being  allowed  to  go 
to  the  river  to  wash,  they  would  wade  down  the 
bank  until  they  came  opposite  some  large  crowd 
of  people.  Coming  on  the  bank  in  this  way 
their  chains  would  excite  no  suspicion,  for,  as  I 
have  already  said,  hundreds  similarly  fettered 
were  going  about  the  town.  Making  their  way 
to  the  nearest  blacksmith,  he  would  remove 
their  chains  in  a  few  moments  for  the  sake 
of  obtaining  the  iron,  which  was  valuable 
to  him. 

We  were  not  at  that  time  altogether  without 
news.  Papers  published  in  Egypt  were  con- 
stantly arriving,  brought  thither  by  the  Khalifa's 
spies,  who  passed  regularly  backwards  and 
forwards  between  Omdurman  and  Cairo,  keep- 
ing up  communications  between  the  Khalifa 
and  some  of  the  more  fanatical  Mohammedans 
resident  at  the  Egyptian  capital.  Since  my 
return  to  civilization  I  have  inquired  about  an 
incident  which  happened  on  the  frontier  in 
connection  with  the  army  some  years  ago.  I 
shall  only  relate  what  we  heard,  and  as  given 
out  by  the  Khalifa  and  his  Emirs.  All  the 
English    officers,    according    to    the    report  re- 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


569 


ceived,  had  been  dismissed,  and  had  left  with 
the  Sirdar. 

The  EngHsh  soldiers  had  also  been 
"bUaB?.'  removed  from  Egypt ;    so  the  Khalifa 

was  jubilant,  and  looked  forward  to 
the  near  future  when  the  Egyptian  troops  would 
attempt  to  attack  him,  and  when  not  a  man  of 
them  was  to  be  left  alive.  I  was  to  have  been 
a  witness  of  the  great  battles  when  the  angels 
of  Allah  were  to  fight  with  the  believers,  and 
assist  the  Ansar,  or  faithful  adherents,  utterly  to 
exterminate  the  Turks.  While  this  was  still  the 
topic  of  conversation,  another  messenger  arrived 
to  say  that  the  trouble  had  been  arranged  ;  the 
English  officers  and  troops  were  tiot  leaving, 
and  as  the  Khalifa's  hopes  fell,  ours  rose. 

Of  all  the  people  whom  the  Mahdi  himself 
appointed  to 
posts,  two,  and, 
I  believe,  two 
only,  retained 
their  positions 
up  to  the  time 
of  the  taking  of 
O  m  d  u  r  m  a  n . 
One  was  Khaleel 
Hassanein,  the 
director  of  the 
arsenal,  and  the 
other  Idris  es 
Saier,the  gaoler. 
Idris  — ■  for  he 
is  still  living — 
is  a  man  of  the 
G  a  w  a  a  m  a  h 
tribe.  This  tribe 
the  first  mission- 
ary will  have 
some  little 
trouble  with, 
unless  he  is  pre- 
pared to  revise 
one  of  the  Ten 
Commandments 
out  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch, as  the 
following  story, 
connected  with  my  gaoler's  first  appearance  in 
the  world,  may  indicate. 

Idris"s  mother  had  a  sister  who,  tired 
^^or^n^t"  of  single  blessedness,  proposed  to,  and 
Leap  Year  i^^.^g  accepted  by,  a  swain  of  the  tribe 

who  was  a  constant  visitor  to  their 
hut.  You  must  never  be  surprised  at  anything 
in  the  Soudan.  Idris's  mother  had  also  the 
intention  of  proposing  to  the  same  man,  but 
having  told  her  sister  this,  the  sister  popped  the 
question  first  and  was  promptly  accepted.  Then 
Idris's  mother  upraided  her  after  the  manner 

Vol.  iiL— 72. 


of  her  tribe,  which  evidently  consisted  more  in 
actions  than  in  words.  When  the  happy  swain 
next  put  in  his  api)earance,  Idris's  mother,  with 
Idris  in  her  arms,  asked  him  how  he  dare  go 
against  the  custom  of  her  section  of  the  tribe, 
and  accept  in  marriage  a  girl  who  had  no 
children,  while  she  had  already  had  two  I  "  Saier  "' 
in  the  Gawaamah  language  means  "custom" 
and  "  customary,"  and  Idris  was  named  Idris  es 
Saier  when,  in  after  years,  a  satisfactory  expla- 
nation could  not  be  found  for  his  not  boasting  a 
father.  Idris's  mother  evidently  went  on 
"  Saiering "  to  the  end,  and  did  not  marry. 
A\'hen  appointed  as  gaoler  by  the  Mahdi,  his 
prison  was  called  "  El  Beit  es  Saier "  (the  house 
of  Saier),  which  later  on  was  contracted  to 
"  Saier,"  and  the  name  eventually  replaced  the 


IDRIS    HAD    1;KEN    A    l-AMOLS    ROUI;F.K,    AND    WAS    Mi\  EK   TIKliD   OK    KKLATl.NG    HIS    lOXI'I.OITS. 


proper  word  for  prison.  .  AH  prisons  were 
gradually  called  the  "  Saier,"  and  the  head 
gaoler  was  dubbed  "Saier"  also. 

Idris  had   been  a  famous  robber  and 

"^Gaollr^s^  thief,   and   he   never  tired   of  relating 

Past,      j^jg   tjxploits,   winding  up  by  pointing 

out  what  good  Mahdieh  had  done 
for  him.  By  his  conversion,  he  said,  he  was 
now  the  honoured  guardian  of  all  thieves,  rob- 
bers, and  murderers,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that 
he  had  a  sneaking  regard  for  all  such,  as  form- 
ing a  link  between  himself  and  his  earlier  days. 


570 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


He  was  superstitious  to  a  degree,  was  Idris  ; 
and  although  the  Mahdi  and  Khalifa  had  strictly 
forbidden  fortune  -  telling  and  the  writing  of 
talismans,  Idris  followed  the  example  of  the 
Khalifa  himself,  and  regularly  consulted  the 
fortune-tellers  ;  most  of  his  ill  -  gotten  gains 
going  to  them  in  fees.  He  had  made  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  boards  of  hardwood,  about  i8in.  to 
2oin.  square ;  and  on  these  he  had  written 
daily  a  sourah  from  the  Koran.  The  ink  with 
which  the  sourahs  were  written  was  a  mixture 
of  wood-soot — or  lamp-black,  when  that  could 
be  obtained — gum  arabic,  some  perfume,  and 
water.  As  soon  as  the  writing  was  finished, 
Idris  would,  after  carefully  washing  his  hands, 
take  a  small  vessel  holding  about  two  teacups 
of  water,  and  carefully  wash  off"  the  writing, 
allowing  the  water  to  drip  back  into  the  vessel. 
Not  a  drop  was  to  be  spilled  on  the  ground, 
otherwise  the  writing  would  have  to  be  done 
over  again,  for  the  name  Allah,  and  many  of 
his  attributes,  were  then  contained  in  the 
solution. 

Having     washed     the     board    clean, 

p?X^used  caught  every  drop  of  water,  a7id  then 

Magic.     (iru7ik    it,    he    would    come    to    us, 

and  deliver  himself  of  the  following 
harangue.  And  as  we  heard  it  two  or  three 
times  a  week  for  years,  I  have  an  almost  ver- 
batim recollection  of  it. 

"  I  am  a  born  thief  and  robber  ;  my  people 
killed  many  on  the  roads,  and  robbed  them  of 
their  property.  I  drank  as  no  one  else  could, 
and  I  did  everything  possible  against  rule  and 
religion.  But  the  Mahdi  then  came  and  taught 
me  to  pray  and  leave  other  people's  property 
alone."  (This  last,  by  the  way,  always  raised  a 
bitter  smile  on  the  faces  of  hearers,  as  he  used 
to  torture  us  to  deliver  up  for  "the  Khalifa" 
any  small  coin  or  article  of  value  we  might 
come  into  possession  of)  "How  much  I 
have  to  thank  the  Mahdi  for,"  he  would  say 
rapturously,  "  having  made  me  a  good,  holy, 
and  new  man,  and  he  will  at  the  Day  of 
Judgment  be  my  witness,  and  take  me  with  his 
Ansars  (helpers)  to  Heaven. 

"Think  what  I  have  been,  and  see  what 

Impassive  I  ''I'll  now !     I  havc  been  worse  than 

LessSn.    ''^y  of    you.     If    you  stole   anything, 

you  stole  when  you  were  with  the 
Go\ernment,  and  you  only  did  what  the 
Government  and  everyone  else  did.  So  I  was 
worse  than  you  ;  I  had  no  authority.  God  has 
pardoned  me,  however,  and  will  also  pardon 
you  if  you  repent  and  give  to  the  Beit  el  oNIal 
what  you  have  taken  from  the  poor ;  for  there 
are  now  many  poor  in  the  town  crying  for 
food,  and  there  is  no  money  in  the  Beit  el  Mai 
to  purchase  any.      I  have  given  all  my  money  in 


charity,  and  my  wives  and  children  are  crying 
for  food.  I  have  no  boats  to  bring  me  mer- 
chandise, and  I  have  no  land  to  cultivate  to 
grow  dourra  "  (Sorghum,  a  grain  in  the  Soudan, 
which  takes  the  place  of  our  wheat).  "I  am  a 
prisoner,  as  you  are,  and  the  pay  I  get  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  feed  my  family.  Yesterday  there  was  no 
.  dourra  in  my  house  to  feed  my  children,  so  they 
had  to  lie  down  hungry.  I  thank  God  for  his 
grace  in  supporting  me  through  these  trials,  for 
which  I  shall  be  rewarded  m  the  next  world.  I 
am  going  to  see  my  starving  children  now,  and 
then  I  shall  pray  to  God,  and  ask  him  to  release 
you  if  you  repent,  and  turn  the  Khalifa's  heart 
to  you.  The  Khalifa  knows  everything  you  do, 
and  sees  you  all  the  day.  For  '  El  Nebbi 
Khiddr '  is  his  eyes  and  ears,  and  '  El  Nebbi 
Khiddr '  not  only  sees  and  hears  what  you  are 
doing  and  saying,  but  sees  what  your  very 
thoughts  are." 

After  this,  all  but  myself  used  to  rise  and 
kiss  the  hands  of  our  eloquent  but  hypo- 
critical gaoler ;  I  never  did  so.  At  the  end  of 
the  first  harangue  he  gave  in  my  presence,  and 
also  at  the  end  of  his  harangues  for  weeks  after- 
wards, he  would  continue  :  "  And  now  you  man 
from  the  bad  world,  you  understand  Arabic 
well. 

"  The  Khalifa  has  told  me  to  instruct 
th^Alfgirs^-yoiJ  in  the  true  religion;  your  fellow- 
prisoners  will  tell  you  how  Hicks 
Pasha  was,  with  all  his  army,  killed  by  the 
angels.  Not  a  single  shot  was  fired,  nor  a  spear 
thrown,  by  the  Ansar.  The  spears  flew  from 
their  hands,  and,  guided  by  the  angels,  pierced 
the  breasts  of  the  unbelievers,  and  burned  up 
their  bodies.  God  is  great.  You  will  soon 
le^rn  that  you  are  mistaken,  and  that  all 
your  world  is  wrong  ;  there  is  no  religion 
but  that  of  the  Alahdi.  How  happy  you 
should  be  to  have  lived  in  his  time  and 
entered  into  the  company  of  the  Ansar,  or 
faithful.  God  now  loves  you  ;  it  is  He  who  has 
brought  you  to  us,  and  with  the  Khalifa's 
blessing  you  will  yet  be  numbered  with  the 
Ansar,  and  you  will  fight  against  the  unbelievers 
and  Turks  as  other  converts  have  done.  You 
have  a  strong  mind,  and  the  Khalifa  therefore 
has  not  a  bad  opinion  of  you.  Thank  him  for 
his  mercy  that  he  did  not  kill  you.  Be  con- 
verted, and  I  shall  be  pleased  and  proud  of  you, 
and  be  as  your  father.  You  others,  you  have 
seen  the  Mahdi  and  the  Khalifa  and  their 
dealings ;  tell  him  of  them.  You,  Hamad  el 
Nil,  you  are  a  learned  man,  and  know  more  of 
religion  than  I  do ;  make  Abdullah  know  who 
God  is,  and  who  is  His  prophet." 

At  the  end  of  my  first  lecture,  Abou  Jinn 
asked  me  how  much  money  I  had.     I  inquired 


IN    THE    KHALIFA'S    CLUTCHES. 


571 


why.  He  replied,  "Do  you  not  understand? 
The  Saier  wants  some  money  from  you.''  I 
told  him  of  the  money  Hasseena  had,  and 
which  the  Saier  was  taking  eare  of.  On  hear- 
ing this  he  smiled  and  told  me  that  the  Saier 
would  not  take  the  money  himself,  but  he 
would  compel  me  to  i^ive  it  to  him  for  his 
"starving  children." 

A  few  days    later  I  was    sent    for    to 

doe"r  so^me- l^^'-'ir  t'"'^'  Saier  hold  forth    again,  and 

where.     q,-j  jj-jJj,  Qccasiou   he    finished    up    by 

saying  that  some  of  us  must  have 
done  something  wrong  ;  that  the  Nebbi  Khiddr 
had  reported  it  to  the  Khalifa,  who  had  in 
consequence  ordered  him  to  add  more  chains 
to  our  feet.  ^V'e  were,  however,  to  submit  to 
this  without  bad  feelings  against  the  Khalifa. 
All  the  principal  prisoners,  with  the  exception 
of  myself,  were  then  marched  to  the  anvil,  and 
had  their  chains  hammered  on. 

I  was  spared,  as,  after  the  first 
^'"orth^e°'^'lecture,  I  had,  on  Abou  Jinn's  advice, 
chiidreii""  sent  prompt  word  to  the  Saier  to  take 

fifteen  of  my  dollars  for  his  "starving 
children."  We  prisoners  then  held  a  conference, 
and  it  was  decided  to  present  more  moneys  to 
the  unscrupulous  rufiian  in  whose  power  we 
were.  It  took  us  two  days  to  scrape  together 
the  requisite  sum — about  fifty  dollars;  and  to 
this  1  added  seventeen  of  mine.  This  had  the 
happy  result  of  not  only  removing  the  extra 
chains  of  the  prisoners,  but  Hasseena's  also. 
The  Saier  then  called  us  together,  gave  us  a 
homily  on  repentance  and 
good  behaviour,  and  told 
us  to  continue  in  the  same 
path,  as  it  was  evidently 
looked  upon  with  approval 
by  the  Nebbi  Khiddr.* 


But  this  Nebbi  Khiddr  was  never  satisfied  for 
long  with  our  conduct  Every  month  he  had 
something  to  report  to  the  Khalifa,  and  just  as 
regularly  we  were  given  extra  chains,  until  a  few 
dollars,  entrusted  to  Idris  for  the  poor,  had  sent 
him  to  the  Khalifa  with  a  favourable  report. 
Most  of  these  ill-gotten  moneys,  as  I  have  said, 
went  to  soothsayers,  fortune-tellers,  and  talisman 
writers,  in  whose  absolute  power  the  Saier  was  ; 
though  i)art  went  in  backsheesh  to  the  servants 
and  counsellors  of  the  Khalifa,  whom  the  Saier 
had  to  keep  in  funds  in  order  to  retain  his 
place — "  Great  fleas  have  little  fleas,"  etc. 

The  Saier  knew  very  well  that  not  a 
ot'lqulez™  single  one  of  us  believed  in  this  Nebbi 

Khiddr  business  ;  but  as  outside  the 
circle  of  the  princijial  prisoners — and  they  were 
the  only  ones  from  whom  money  could  be 
squeezed — were  always  gathered  a  number  of 
the  ignorant  and,  therefore,  more  fanatical  of 
the  Khalifa's  adherents,  he  invented  this  tale, 
which  he  gave  year  after  year  without  the 
slightest  variation  in  words,  in  order  to  hood- 
wink them  and  prevent  any  tales  reaching  the 
Khalifa  as  to  the  sums  "  presented  "  by  the 
prisoners. 

It  was  during  my  first  months  in  prison  that 
Ahmed  Nur  ed  Din,  of  the  Kabbabish,  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  into  prison  in  the  hopes  of 
effecting  my  escape.  I  had  for  some  years  had 
dealings  with  Nur  ed  Din  in  connection  with 
the  Intelligence  Department,  and  also  with  the 
caravan  trade.      When  I  left  Wadi  Haifa  with 


*  The  Nebbi  Khiddr  is  a  mythical 
character  in  Islam.  Sects  are  divided 
as  to  whether  he  is  a  prophet  or  not. 
His  name  does  not  appear  in  the 
Koran.  By  some  of  the  old  writers 
he  is  made  the  companion  of  Noah, 
Abraham,  and  Moses.  Havingdrunk 
of  the  waters  of  ilie  Fountain  of  Li''e, 
lie  is  believed  by  some  to  be  ever 
present  at  one  of  the  Holy  Places. 
His  exact  whereabouts  and  his  attri- 
butes have  never  been  defined.  The 
Mahdi  killed  two  birds  with  one 
stone  by  appropriating  Ibis  unclaimed 
prophet  to  himself;  firstly,  his  sup- 
posed presence  made  Omdurman  a 
Holy  Place,  as  the  Nebbi  only  ap- 
peared al  Holy  Places  ;  and  then, 
by  investing  him  with  the  powers  as 
related  by  Idris  es  Saier,  he  was  able 
to  impress  the  more  ignorant  of  his 
followers  concernmg  his— the  Kha- 
lifa's— omn  science  and  omnipresence 
through  the  Nebbi  Khiddr's  agency. 
The  Mahdi  laying  clai.-n  to  this 
prophet  and  attributing  to  him  the 
powers  he  did,  raised  in  the  minds 
of  Hamad  El  Nil  and  others  their 
first  suspicions  as  to  the  Mahdi  and 
bis  tnission. 


'  llASSEtNA.    WITH    TWO 


BOYS,    LSIiU   TO   CARRY    ME    AliOU 
SUN    TRAVELLED." 


■.LI.    10    SHADE   AS   THE 


572 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Saleh's  caravan,  Nur  ed  Din  was  then  at 
Saleh's  camp  bearing  messages  to  him  from 
the  Government.  On  his  return  to  Wadi 
Haifa  he  heard  of  wliat  had  hapjDened,  and, 
coming  at  once  to  Omdurman,  he  sent  a 
message  by  my  servant  that  he  had  come 
for  me.  All  his  applications  to  get  into  the 
prison  being  refused  by  the  guards,  and 
fearing  to  make  an  application  direct  to  Idris  es 
Saier  or  the  Mehkemmeh,  he  arranged  with  a 
friend  to  have  a  petty  quarrel  in  the  market- 
place ;  his  friend  hurried  him  before  the  kadi, 
and  Nur  ed  Din  was  ordered  into  prison.  On 
seeing  me  walk  towards  him  as  he  entered— as 
I  did  not  know  then  that  he  came  as  a  prisoner 
— he  gave  me  a  "  hooss"  the  Soudanese  equiva- 
lent for  our  "ssh"  (silence),  and  then  walked  off 
in  another  direction. 

Later  in  the  day,  and  when  we  were 

co'melo?  being  marshalled  to  be  driven  into  the 

You."     conuiion  cell,  he  came  next  to  me,  and 

whispered,  "  I  have  come  for  you ; 
be  careful ;  keep  your  eyes  open ;  try  and 
obtain  permission  to  sleep  outside  the  Umm 
Hagar."  Two  weeks  elapsed  before  we 
had  another  opportunity  of  exchanging  a  few 
words,  but  in  the  interval  Nur  ed  Din  was 
ingratiating  himself  with  the  prisoners  who 
associated  with  me,  and  gradually  allowing  his 
curiosity  to  speak  to  the  "  white  kafifir "  to 
become  evident.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to 
act  in  this  cautious  manner  in  order  to  avert 
suspicion  ;  and  another  week  passed  after  his 
introduction  to  our  little  circle  before  he  dared 
seize  an  opportunity  to  consult  me  about  his 
health  and  numerous  ailments— which  was  his 
explanation  when  questioned  about  our  long 
conversation  together. 

His  plan,  when  he  saw  that  there  was 

Desperate  i^ot  the  slightest  hopes  of  my  being 

Plan,     released  from  prison,  was  a  desperate 

one,  and  we  ran  every  chance  of 
being  killed  in  the  attempt  to  escape  ;  but  this 
risk  I  was  quite  willing  to  take.  I  knew  Nur 
ed  Din  would  make  no  mistakes.  It  was  not 
as  if  he  were  actuated  by  avarice  in  assisting 
me ;  it  was  a  feud  to  the  death,  and  it  was  his 
desiring  to  be  the  one  to  be  left  alive  which 
prompted  him  to  act,  for  he  knew  that  if 
he  could  conduct  me  to  Wadi  Haifa,  Gabon 
would  soon  decorate  a  scaffold  or  be  shot 
out  of  hand.  Nur  ed  Din,  through  the 
.services  of  one  of  his  party — a  boy  whom 
he  had  broughtj;  with  him,  and  who  came 
into  the  prison  daily  as  Nur  ed  Din's  food 
servant — first  arranged  for  relays  of  camels, 
then  the  purchase  of  rifles  and  ammunition, 
which  were  buried  in  the  desert  a  short  distance 


from  Omdurman.  These  preparations  being 
complete,  six  of  the  ten  men  at  his  first  relay 
station  were  sent  for  to  cut  a  hole  through  the 
wall  of  the  prison  nearest  the  Nile.  I'his  they 
were  to  do  on  the  night  we  sent  a  message  to 
them  or  gave  a  signal ;  one  of  the  men  being 
always  near  the  bank,  close  to  the  selected  part 
of  the  wall.  Final  instructions  were  given  on 
hearing  that  the  camels  were  ready  and  well 
provided  with  water. 

After  creeping  through  the   aperture, 

°'h^*pro°'  we  were  to  make  our  way  to  the  river. 

ilcape.    dragging  an  old  fishing-net  behind  us ; 

this  part  of  the  scheme  was  to 
hide  my  chains  and  prevent  their  clanging 
from  being  heard.  On  passing  the  last 
of  the  huts  'we  were  to  leave  the  river.  Rags 
were  then  to  be  bound  round  the  chains  to 
deaden  their  rattling,  and,  mounting  the  camels, 
we  were  to  travel  as  fast  as  they  would  go  for 
twelve  hours  direct  west,  where  we  would  pick 
up  the  first  relay.  We  had  sent  the  boy  out 
with  a  message  to  our  people  to  procure  three 
revolvers  and  ammunition.  Nur  ed  Din  and  I 
were  to  take  one  each  for  use  in  case  necessity 
arose  before  we  could  reach  the  buried  rifles; 
and  the  other  weapon  one  of  the  men  was  to 
take.  If  our  flight  were  at  once  discovered  he 
was  to  fire  towards  a  boat  which  had  been 
taken  to  the  opposite  bank,  and  swear  that  we 
had  escaped  by  its  means.  This  would  put  our 
pursuers  on  the  wrong  scent  for  some  time. 
But  only  one  revolver  and  seventeen  cartridges 
could  be  found  just  then,  so  Nur  ed  Din  decided 
on  waiting  until  others  could  be  obtained. 
During  the  few  days  these  were  being  searched 
for  Nur  ed  Din  became  feverish,  and  to  my 
horror  and  despair  I  saw  all  the  symptoms  of 
typhus  fever  developing. 

This   fever    had    been   named    Umm 

Sabbah  (seven),  as  it  invariably  carried 


A  Strange 
Fever. 


{To  be 


off  its  victims  in  seven  days.  It  may 
be  guessed  how  anxiously  and  carefully  I  nursed 
Nur  ed  Din,  and  how  Hasseena  was  kept  busy 
the  whole  day  long  brewing  cooling  draughts 
from  tamarinds,  dates,  and  roots,  in  order  to 
allay  his  fever.  He  might  have  recovered  had 
he  not  kept  himself  excited  at  the  fear  of  losing 
his  vengeance  on  Gabon  ;  but  he  gradually  sank 
and  died.  I  was  locked  up  in  the  Umm  Hagar 
on  the  night  of  his  death,  and  the  fever  was 
then  taking  hold  of  me  also.  Two  days  later 
I  was  senseless,  and,  of  course,  helpless. 
Hasseena,  with  two  boys,  used  to  carry  me  about 
from  shade  to  shade  as  the  sun  travelled  ;  but 
my  neck-chain  dragged,  and  sometimes  tripped 
one  or  the  other  up,  and  then  it  was  that 
orders  were  given  to  remove  it. 
cotitbnted.) 


My  Impressions  of  Pekin. 

Bv  Ai.FRKD  Edmonds. 

The  narrative  of  a  journey  to  one  of  the  queerest  cities  on  earth,  describing  the  scenes  and  incidents 
en  route.     The  whole  being  illustrated  by  a  set  of  photographs  by  the  author,  showing  those  curiosities 

which  at  once  strike  the  Western  eye. 


From  a] 


i;.\GI.\ES   AKi;   KEVEKSEB,    SHE    FINDS    IT 
HERSELF." 


EKIN,  of  course,  abounds  in 
curiosities  which  may,  with  the 
prosaic  advance  of  raihvays,  "  fade 
into  the  Hght  of  common  day"  ;  but 
until  the  city  is  brought  into  closer 
contact  with  Western  civilization,  it  must  always 
possess  an   air  of  mystery  for  Occidental  minds. 

Before  the  railway  line  was 

laid  from  thu  Taku  forts  to 
Tientsin,  the  journey  from 
the  coast  was  generally  made 
in  a  steamer  up  the  Peiho 
River — one  of  the  most 
difficult  streams  to  navigate 
in  all  Ciiina.  Owing  to  the 
enormous  amount  of  silt 
carried  down,  and  the  bad 
condition  of  the  banks,  the 
bed  is  exceedingly  treacher- 
ous, and  fresh  mud-banks 
are  continually  being  formed. 
The  first  illustration  re- 
presents a  steamer  hope- 
lessly stuck ;  and  although 
her  engines  are  reversed,  she 
finds  it  impossible  to  extri 
cate  herself.  Not  infre- 
quently, lots  are  drawn 
amongst  the  passengers  as 
to  who  shall  ride  to  Tientsin 


for  assistance.  The  person  on 
whom  the  lot  falls  hires  a 
pony  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  on  reaching  Tientsin 
sends  down  lighters  —  long, 
flat  -  bottomed  craft  —  which 
relieve  the  steamer  of  just  so 
much  of  its  cargo  as  will  enable 
her  to  get  afloat  once  more. 

The  road  depicted  in  the 
second  illustration  is  the 
termination  of  the  long  and 
dreary  overland  journey  from 
the  city  of  Tientsin  to  the 
capital.  This  journey  is 
usually  performed  either  on 
horseback  or  in  springless 
carts,  which  threaten  with 
every  revolution  of  their 
wheels  to  dislocate  the  joints 
of  the  unhappy  traveller.  Good 
horsemen,  with  relays  of  ponies, 
have  been  known  to-  cover 
the  ground  in  one  day ;  but 
in  carts  it  takes  two  days,  a  night  having  to 
be  spent  in  a  Chinese  inn,  where  the  traveller 
has  to  sleep  on  a  Kang  (a  low  structure  of 
bricks),  and  where  he  is  usually  "  hush'd  with 
buzzing  night  flies  "  to  his  slumber. 

By     the     extension     of     the     railway    from 
Tientsin  to  Lukachiou,  however — a  town  within 


IDLE    TU    EXIKICAIE 

[Photo. 


.II    ill-    kuAU  AliKuAc-ili: 
From  a  Photo. 


1  i.i.  1..   1  i.i'.M    :  li.;.  1  -.i." 


574 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


a  few  miles  of  Pekin — the  cart  journey  is 
obviated,  and  the  great  city  can  now  be 
reached  in  half  a  day  from  the  coast.  The 
stream  shown  in  the  illustration  is  the  moat  (in 
many  parts  dry)  that  surrounds  the  city  walls  ; 
and  the  high  pagoda  in  the  distance  surmounts 
the  Yung-ting-men  gate,  at  the  southern  entrance 
to  the  wonderful  city  itself 

The  third  snap-shot  shows  a  party  of  travellers 
proceeding  along  a  stone  road  which  runs  right 
tlirough  what  is  known  as  the  Chinese  City,  to 
the  gates  of  the  Tartar  City.  On  the  right  of 
this  road,  immediately  at  the  entrance,  is  the 
Temple  of  Heaven,  where  the  Emperor  pro- 
ceeds once  a  year  to  worship  his  ancestors  ;  and 


From  a\ 


•  CENTURIES   OF   TRAFFIC    HAVE   MADE   HUGE   RUTS   IN    THIS   ROAD. 


on  the  left  is  the  Temple  of  Apiculture,  where 
he  annually  guides  the  plough  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  season.  Centuries  of  traffic  have 
made  huge  ruts  in  the  great  boulders  which  form 
this  road.  These  are  frequently  a  foot  and  a- 
half  in  depth,  making  travelling  over — or  rather 
through — them  in  a  cart  positively  dangerous. 
But  no  attempt  appears  to  be  made  to  repair 
the  "thoroughfares,"  though 
money  is  annually  set  aside 
by  the  metro[)olitan  author- 
ities for  this  purpose.  When 
the  Emperor  proceeds  to  the 
annual  ceremony,  the  ruts 
are  filled  up  with  mud,  so  as 
to  induce  him  to  believe  that 
the  road  is  kept  in  proper 
repair.  But  in  this  land 
of  make  -  believe  — painted 
"  dummy  "  cannons  and  the 
like — this  is  not  a  matter  for 
surprise. 

The  structure  in  the  fourth 
illustration  is  the  chief  gate- 
way into  the  Tartar  City 
from  the  Chinese  City,  and 
is  called  Ch-ien-men.  On 
either  side  are  hucksters 
exhibiting  their  wares  for 
sale.      It    is   no   uncommon 


mass  of  rubbish  offered  for  sale  some  really 
choice  bit  of  porcelain  ;  but  the  betrayal  of  the 
slightest  anxiety  on  the  part  of  the  intending 
purchaser  will  cause  the  dealer  instantly  to  put 
a  fancy  price  on  the  article.  Expert  buyers 
generally  offer  one-fourth  of  the  sum  asked,  and, 
finally,  a  bargain  is  usually  struck,  when  about 
50  per  cent,  of  the  original  price  is  taken  off 

It  should  be  mentioned  that  the  wall,  an  idea 
of  the  solid  character  of  which  may  be  gathered 
from  this  [)hoto.,  consists  of  a  stone  foundation, 
and  then  two  brick  walls  filled  with  mud.  That 
of  the  Northern,  or  Tartar  City,  is  40ft.  high, 
50ft.   thick  at  the  base,  and  36ft.  at  the  top; 

by  massive  buttresses  at 
intervals  of  300  yards.  It 
has  nine  gates,  each  of  which 
has  on  the  outside  a  semi- 
circular or  square  enceinte  in 
which  a  smaller  tower  stands 
opposite  to  the  gate  tower, 
'i'he  building  dimly  visible  to 
the  right  of  the  pagoda  in 
our  photograph  is  the  Nan- 
tang  Roman  Catholic  Cathe- 
dral— one  of  the  two  noble 
edifices  which  the  Catholics 
possess  in  Pekin  ;  the  other 
It  is  computed  that  there  are 
Catholics  in    the   city — 


and  it  is  strengthened 


[Photo. 


Ig- 


being  Hsi-tan 

about    8,000    Roman 

descendants  of  the  converts  made  by  the  Jesuit 

missionaries  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 

centuries. 

Few  things  are  more  impressive,  by  the  way, 
than  the  sight  of  a  huge  congregation  of  Chinese 
worshipping  in  one  of  these  cathedrals,  though 


^^">ft»«^*^'to( 


thing 


to    find 


among 


the 


-  -•> 


^ 


.^w 


Front  a] 


THE   CHIEF    GATEWAY    INTO   THE   TARTAR   CITY. 


{Photo, 


MY    niPRESSIONS    OF    PEKIN. 


575 


"the    FEKIN    OBSEKVAIORY,    ONE   OF    THE   GkEAT    SIGHTS, 

From  a]  wall  of  the  tartar  city." 


to  the  European  there  is  at  first  sight  something 
ludicrous  in  the  idea  of  a  pig-tailed  priest.  The 
devotional  attitude  of  the  whole  of  the  wor- 
shippers, however,  speedily  dissipates  this  idea. 
They  murmur  their  Latin  prayers  with  the 
facility  of  a  congregation  at  St.  Peter's,  and  the 
almond-eyed  priests  comport  themselves  at  the 
altar  with  the  grave  dignity  of  a  cardinal.  There 
are  no  seats  in  the  body  of  the  cathedral :  the 
women  sit  on  the  floor  on  one  side  of  the  aisle, 
and  the  men  on  the  other.  The  instruments  in 
the  orchestra  (which  is  a  really  excellent  one) 
are  played  by  Chinese.  For  these  strange 
people,  under  competent  tuition,  soon  become 
skilled  musicians,  and  this  is  evidenced  by  the 
accomplished  band  which  Sir 
Robert  Hart,  Inspector- 
General  of  the  Imperial 
Maritime  Customs,  has 
organized  for  his  private 
delectation. 

The  next  photo. — a  view 
in  the  great  observatory  at 
Pekin,  with  two  of  the  native 
officials — conveys  but  a  faint 
idea  of  the  exquisite  beauty 
of  the  bronzes  and  instru- 
ments in  that  wonderful 
institution.  The  Pekin 
Observatory,  or  Kwang- 
hsiang-tai — one  of  the  great 
sights — is  situated  on  the 
eastern  wall  of  the  Tartar 
City.  Chinese  astronomers, 
we  may  say,  have  not  been 
generous  in  their  conclusions.        /^,.om  a] 


All  the  world,  under  Heaven, 
in  their  opinion,  is  China ; 
and  the  constellations  exist 
for  that  world's  especial 
benefit.  The  observatory 
establishment  dates  back  to 
the  reign  of  the  famous 
Kublai  Khan,  and  is  men- 
tioned by  Marco  Polo.  It 
consists  of  a  terrace  abutting 
on  the  city  wall,  and  a  small 
court-yard  at  the  bottom. 
Two  planispheres  and  an 
astrolabe  are  among  the  older 
instruments.  They  are  of 
great  size  and  are  made  of 
bronze,  supported  by  huge 
dragons ;  and  they  are  con- 
sidered to  be  the  finest  speci- 
mens of  ancient  bronze  work- 
manship to  be  found  in  the 
whole  of  Eastern  Asia.  A 
number  of  astronomical 
instruments,  less  elaborate,  but  of  greater 
scientific  interest,  are  erected  on  the  terrace, 
and  rise  above  the  wall. 

No  one  expects  to  get  an  Hotel  Cecil  or 
Waldorf  in  Pekin  ;  but  though  the  Hotel  de 
Pekin  —  the  only  European  hostelry  of  any 
pretensions  in  the  Celestial  City — cannot  boast 
of  the  splendour  of  these  palaces  of  gastronomy, 
it  is  nevertheless  very  comfortable,  and  is 
regarded  as  a  positively  luxurious  establishment 
by  those  who  have  experienced  the  verminous 
and  other  horrors  of  a  Chinese  inn.  The  front 
part  of  the  building  is  devoted  to  a  large  store, 
where  most  European  comestibles  can  be  ob- 
tained at    fairly    moderate   prices.     It   is   only 


IS    ON    THE    EASTERN 

[Photo. 


THE   ONLY    HOTEL    IN    THE   CELESTIAL   CnV. 


[Photo. 


576 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


during  a  long  and  severe  winter 
that  any  fear  of  a  dearth  of  food- 
stuffs is  entertained ;  and  the 
European  inhabitants  have  not 
yet  been  known  to  resort  to  birds'- 
nest  soup.  For  some  months, 
however,  the  coast  is  ice-bound, 
and  no  supphes  can  be  got  by  sea. 
During  one  winter  the  Legations 
ran  short  of  soda-water,  and  the 
wily  landlord  of  this  hotel,  hear- 
ing of  it,  got  enormous  prices  for 
the  small  stock  he  had  in  hand. 
The  bedrooms  are  in  a  court-yard 
at  the  rear  of  the  store,  and  are 
moderately  well  furnished  ;•  while 
the  attendance  of  the  Chinese 
servants  is  in  every  respect 
admirable.  The  charge  for 
accommodation  is  about  six 
Mexican  dollars,  or  twelve  shil- 
lings, a  day,  exclusive  of  wines ; 
and    the    meals    are    well    prepared. 

Pekin  after  rain  is  a  nightmare.  Pools  3ft. 
and  4ft.  deep  are  often  formed,  and  children  are 
sometimes  drowned  in  them !  But  the  utter 
callousness  of  the  Chinese  with  regard  to  human 
life  is  frequently  observable  in  the  Celestial  City. 
For  example,  a  stranger  never  attempts  to  save 
either  a  drowning  man  or  child  for  fear  of 
being  saddled  with  the  burial  expenses  should 
the  unfortunate  creature  die  ;  and  very  rarely 
will  even  the  relatives  come  to  the  rescue. 

The  next  illustration  may  be  regarded  as 
depicting  a  fairly  ty[)ical  Pekin  street.  It  is  in 
the  southern  or  Chinese  City,  and  presents  a 
most  brilliant  and  picturesque  appearance  on  a 
fine  day.  The  streamers  across  the  road  are 
painted  in  vermilion  and  gold  and  a  variety  of 


ll-.KI.NESE    SHOC   SIG.NS    AND   ADVERTISEMENT    FOSTEKj. 


From  d\    this  is  a  typical  pekin  street,  with  streamers  in  veRiMIlion  and  gold.      [Photo. 


colours,  setting  forth  in  grandiose  terms  the  sur- 
prising character  of  the  goods  to  be  obtained  in 
the  shops.  The  scroll  shops,  by  the  way,  are 
very  attractive  to  the  Western  stranger  on 
account  of  the  wealth  of  colour  displayed  in 
the  production  of  their  wares.  Cloisonne  stores 
and  snuff- bottle  shops  are  also  centres  of 
interest. 

The  formidable-looking  characters  on  the 
wall  in  the  next  reproduction  would  strike  the 
Chinese  eye  much  in  the  same  way  that  huge 
pictorial  posters  would  arrest  the  attention  of  a 
European  in  his  own  country.  Not  satisfied 
with  merely  advertising  his  goods,  the  average 
Chinese  tradesman  will  place  on  his  sign-board 
his  birthplace,  and  also  some  such  expressions 
as    the    following  :    "This    is    the    abode   of 

generosity  and  kindness  "  ; 
"  We  live  but  to  serve 
others  "  —  excellent  senti- 
ments, which,  unfortu- 
nately, are  more  honoured 
in  the  breach  than  in  the 
observance.  A  doctor  will 
boldly  assert  on  his  sign- 
board that  he  will  cure 
patients  of  any  disease  in 
three  days,  and  will  restore 
them  to  perfect  health  in- 
seven.  Many  of  the  boards 
bear  the  characters  "Pu  er 
chia,"  which,  literally 
translated,  mean,  "  No  two 
prices."  The  shopkeeper, 
however,  will  not  hesitate 
to  charge  a  foreigner 
double    the  advertised 


MY    IMPRESSIONS    OF    PEKIN. 


577 


=i''^^;.Si^n?'7 


A    1  EKINliSE    DuCTuK    1  KESCRIBING    1  OK    A    i;OV. — THIS 

From  a\  weird  things. 


price  of  an  article,  in  the  hope  that  the  purchaser 
is  ignorant  of  the  Chinese  language ;  and  even 
when  detected  he  simply  laughs  and  says,  "Fixed 
prices  are  not  intended  for  foreigners."' 

The  above  illustration  depicts  a  doctor 
prescribing  for  a  Chinese  boy  ;  the  collection 
of  animals  and  horns  on  the  table  near  him 
forming  his  "  dispensary."  The  medical  system 
in  China  is,  according  to  tradition,  as  ancient  as 
the  monarchy  itself ;  and  its  followers  are  gener 
ally  unsuccessful  literary  candidates  or  poor 
scholars,  who  must  do  something  to  earn  a 
livelihood.  The  leader  of  the  art  is  a 
gentleman  who  rejoices  in  the  name  of  Chin 
Che  Chun  Ching.  He  has  written  forty  volumes 
on  the  subject  of  the  curing 
of  ills.  Of  these,  seven  are 
devoted  to  nosology,  eight  to 
pharmacology,  five  to  pathol- 
ogy, six  to  surgery,  and  fourteen 
to  the  diseases  of  women  and 
children.  More  than  any  other 
work  in  any  other  land  it 
possesses  the  quality  of  origin- 
ality. According  to  the  writer, 
the  human  body  consists  of 
water,  fire,  wood,  metal,  and 
earth  ;  and  as  long  as  the 
equilibrium  between  these 
elements  is  maintained  the 
body  enjoys  perfect  health. 
When,  however,  one  component 
becomes  predominant  sickness 
ensues.  Curious  that  this  never 
appears  to  have  occurred  to 
our  doctors.  The  prescriptions 
are  equally  original.  Sudden 
faintness,  paleness,  and  tremor 
are  to  be  relieved  by  pouring 
the  blood  of  an  animal,  when 


still  warm,  down  the  throat  of 
the  su ffr rcr.  True,  under  this 
kind  of  treatment,  instant 
ileath  is  by  no  means  uncom- 
mon, but  such  accidents  create 
little  sensation,  because  it  is 
dying  according  to  the  system 
established  by  the  ancients. 
And  there  is  a  lot  in  that ;  the 
Chinese  are  a  most  conservative 
race.  One  of  the  drollest  treat- 
ments is  that  for  persons  under 
the  influence  of  demons.  They 
are  to  have  their  nose  twisted, 
their  face  spat  upon,  their  feet 
l)itten,  and  their  elbows  burnt. 
Trying,  no  doubt,  but  wonder- 
fully efficacious ;  that  sort  of 
thing  should  rouse  any  demon. 
The  Chinese  really  possess  many  excellent 
herbal  remedies,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  shrub, 
leaf,  or  root  which  has  not  been  adopted  as  an 
ingredient  of  medicine. 

No  characteristic  of  the  Celestial  is  more 
marked  than  his  reverence  for  the  dead,  and 
funerals  are  consequently  very  solemn  and 
elaborate  ceremonies,  enormous  expense  being 
gone  to  in  the  provision  of  the  coffin  and  the 
hearse.  I'he  hearse  shown  in  the  next  illustra- 
tion is  one  of  the  more  costly  kinds,  the 
deceased,  who  was  a  successful  tradesman,  having 
selected  it  as  rather  a  neat  thing  before  his 
death.  Do  not  be  shocked  at  the  apparent 
hilarity    of  the    bearers.      'I 'hey   forget    for    a 


DISPENSARY       IS    FULL   OF 

\Photo. 


Vol.  iii.— 73. 


A   CHINESE    FUNERAL    PROCESSION. — THE  REARERS   ARE    WATCHING   THE    "  CKAZV 

From  d\  foreign  devil  '  taking  the  photograph.  [P/toto. 


578 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


silks,  and  supported  by  aii 
iron  frame,  a  sort  of  colossal 
maiden  aunt,  in  fact.  The 
interest  taken  in  the  event 
may  be  gathered  from  our 
next  snap-shot,  in  which  we 
see  that  the  balconies  are 
crowded  with  people,  and  the 
streets  thronged  with  specta- 
tors watching  the  approach  of 
the  funeral  procession.  Among 
the  poorer  classes  the  chief 
mourner  precedes  the  coffin, 
clad  in  a  long  garment  of 
unbleached  calico,  and  carry- 
ing in  his  hand  a  bunch  of 
flowers.  At  intervals  he  falls 
to  the  ground  in  an  uncon- 
trollable fit  of  weeping,  and 
with  great  difficulty  is  induced 


FREQUENTLY    IIU  .  .      .  - 

CEDED    BY  THE   1  A.MILV   JOSS. 

From  a  Photo. 

moment  their  grave  charge 
in  watching  the  manoeuvres 
of  the  crazy  foreign  devil 
with  the  "  picture-box." 

Frequently  the  hearse  is 
preceded  by  the  family  Joss, 
as  in  the  above  photo- 
graph— a  huge  figure,  of 
sinister  cast  of  countenance, 
dressed  in   the  costliest  of 


1  HE  ; 

prom  a\ 


vt.l,  l-s    AKE    THRONGED   WITH    SPECTATORS   WATCHING   THE    .ai  I  i 
THE    FUNERAL." 


\rho:o. 


A    l.uA])  111-    IMITATION    PAPER  MONEY, 
WHICH     IS     BURNT   AT   THE    ANCESTORS* 

From  a]  tombs."  [Photo. 

to  proceed  to  the  burial-place. 
China  might  well  be  called 
the  Land  of  Graves.  They 
are  everywhere  to  be  seen- — 
in  fields,  in  gardens,  and  on 
the  roadside.  The  wealthier 
erect  tablets  over  the  graves  of 
their  dead,  but  the  majority  of 
the  tombs  are  mud-mounds, 
similar  in  shape  to  the  hut 
of  a  Hottentot  ;  so  that  most 
fields  look  like  the  kraals  of 
African  chieftains. 

The  illustration  shown 
above  represents  a  woman 
carrying  a  load  of  imitation 
silver  paper  money,  which  is 
burnt  at  the  ancestors'  tombs 
— a  ceremony  which  takes 
place  in  the  March  of  every 
year,  and  is  continued  for  a 


My  impressions  of  pkkin. 


579 


only  way  to  keep  them  at 
anil's  length  is  by  distributing 
among  them  a  plentiful  sup- 
ply of  copper  "  cash."  Beg- 
ging is  as  much  a  profession 
in  China  as  is  the  calling  of 
the  medicine  man  ;  and  the 
mendicants  form  themselves 
into  strong  guilds  whose 
ramifications  extend  throush- 
out  the  whole  of  the  Empire. 
Tradesmen  contribute  to- 
wards the  support  of  these 
vagabonds  in  the  hope  that 
they  will  abstain  from  troub- 
ling customers — the  beggars' 
blackmail,  in  fact  !  It  is 
related    of    a    tradesman    in 


FrOVla]     '■  TRAUF.S.MEN  C'JN  I  Ivlia  1  1.    MjU  AKDs  THli  SL  I'lOKl    OF  THESli  \AGABO.\DS."        [P/loto.  bliailgliai,      that        bCCaUSe        llC 


month 


All  Chinamen  who  have  any  respect 
for  themselves  and  their  families  visit  the 
graves  of  their  ancestors  at  this  period  of  the 
year,  and  send  the  spirits  of  the  dead  any 
little  article  likely  to  be  of  use.  The  tombs 
are  decorated  with  bamboo  sticks,  to  which  are 
attached  long  streamers  of  tough  white  paper, 
these  signifying  that  the  graves  on  which  they 
are  found  have  been  duly  visited  and  attended 
to,  and  that  the  dead  are  not  without  dutiful 
descendants.  All  kinds  of  offerings  are  made  to 
the  departed.  In  addition  to  the  silver  paper 
money,  sticks  of  fragrant  incense  and  candles  are 
burnt ;  and  boiled  pork,  fowls, 
ducks,  geese,  tea,  rice,  and 
wine  are  brought  to  propitiate 
the  good  services  of  the  de- 
ceased. A  space  around  the 
grave  is  swept  clean,  and  after 
due  prostrations  the  edibles 
are  consumed  by  the  worship- 
pers. Finally,  the  function 
is  wound  up  by  a  blaze  of 
crackers  —  to  the  Western 
mind,  rather  an  unseemly 
termination  to  an  otherwise 
reverent  and  decorous 
function. 

If  there  is  one  thing  more 
than  another  that  makes  a 
visit  to  the  lower  quarters  of 
Pekin  unpleasant  to  the 
stranger,  it  is  the  crowd  of 
beggars  by  whom  he  is  sur- 
rounded on  every  hand.  The 
majority  of  these  hideous 
gentry  suffer  from   the  most 

the 


refused  to  support  the  ragged 
brotherhood  they  crowded  round  his  shop  to 
such  an  extent  as  effectually  to  keep  away  all 
customers,  and  so  they  ruined  his  trade.  Our 
photo,  shows  three  Pekin  beggars  in  consultation. 
The  peculiar  building  methods  adopted  by 
the  Chinese  are  illustrated  in  the  next  photo. 
Before  any  stone  or  brick  work  is  proceeded 
with,  the  shape  of  the  structure  is  fashioned  out 
of  long  bamboo  rods,  and  the  illustration  shows 
a  very  fair  specimen  of  this  kind  of  scaffolding. 
Though  "  coolie "  labour  is  very  cheap,  it  is 
calculated  that  a  white  labourer  will  get  through 
as  much  work  as  three  coolies. 


frightful    diseases,    and 


CHINESE    BUILDING   OPERATIONS. —     THE   SHAPE   OF   THE   STRUCTURE    IS    FASHIONED 

From  a]  out  of  long  bamboo  rods."  [Photo. 


Two  Love  Affairs,    and  How    They  Ended. 

By  Kitty  Russell. 

Colonel  Tryon's  sprightly   narrative  illustrates  in  a  very  remarkable  way  the    romance  of  real  life,  of 

which  there  is  a  vast  deal  lying  idle,  so  to  speak.     His  own  love  affair  ended  in  his  falling  head  first 

down  a  deep  well  full  of  garbage,  and  he_remained  there  all  night  in  dreadful  agony. 


;  "  but  what  do  you 
happened   to   you, 


MS,  love  is  a  curious  thing,"  said 
Colonel  Hervey  Tryon,  when  we 
were  out  for  a  ramble  the  other 
day,  and  had  been  talking  of 
India,  adventures,  and  The  \V' ide 
World,  which  he  carried  under  his  arm.  "  I 
should  think  it  must  cause  more  real  adventure 
than  anything  else,  if  people  would  but  tell  the 
truth." 

"  I'm  sure  it  does,"  said  I 
mean  ?  Anything  strange 
Colonel  Tryon  ?  If  so,  do 
tell  me,  and  let  me  send  it 
up  to  The  Wide  World." 

"  Let's  sit  down  here," 
said  the  Colonel,  pausing 
at  a  fallen  tree  which  looked 
inviting,  "and  we'll  talk  it 
over.  I  did  once  have  a 
very  curious  adventure  — 
caused,  I  may  say,  indirectly 
by  a  young  lady;  and  I 
also  witnessed  another  in 
which  love  formed  a  very 
prominent  part.  It  was  in 
my  subaltern  days,  and  I 
remember  being  much  im- 
pressed by  the  two  dis- 
astrous results. 

"  My  own  little  affair  was 
all  nonsense  ;  the  other, 
which  occurred  to  a  young 
couple  on  my  first  voyage 
out  to  India,  was  far  more 
serious.  Mine  landed  me 
head  downwards  for  a 
whole  tropical  night  in  an  Indian  well, 
other  " 


COLONEL  HEKVEY  TRYON  (lATE  NORTHAMPTON- 

From  a\  shire  regiment).  {Photo. 


The 


"  Begin  at  the  beginning,  please,  Colonel," 
said  I,  opening  my  parasol  and  drawing  off 
my  gloves;  "  this  will  make  a  lovely  story.  I'm 
so  glad  you  told  me." 

"  Easy,  easy,"  said  the  Colonel.  "  I  don't 
know  now  if  I'll  tell  you.  I>ut  I  was  reading 
The  Wide  World  t'other  day,  and  I  remem- 
bered these  two  incidents,  and  thought,  '  What 
about  them  ?  They  are  queer  and  startling 
enough.  Shall  I  tell  Kitty  and  let  her  send  the 
story  up  in  ship-shape  form  ?  Can  I  face  an 
illustration  of  myself  in  full  regimentals,  wrong 
side  up,  in  that  open  tomb,  just  as  I  must  have 
appeared  ?   And  that  ship  love-adventure,  which 


was  terrible  enough  for  any  novel  ?     Or  shall  I 
keep  it  all  dark  ?  '  " 

"  I'm  so  glad  you  haven't,"  said  I,  awfully 
pleased.  "  You've  got  to  go  on  now.  Colonel 
Tryon,  whether  you  like  it  or  not.  For  I  won't 
budge  from  this  '  seat,  nor  let  you,  till  you 
have." 

"  Well,  may  I  smoke  ?  "  asked  the  Colonel, 
producing  a  cigarette-case.  "  What,  you  don't? 
Well,  very  sensible,  too.  I  don't  like  to  see 
women   smoke.     They  never  did  in   my  young 

days." 

"  Women  are  charming 
creatures,  aren't  they, 
Colonel  Tryon  ?  "  said  I, 
hoping  gently  to  lead  him 
up  to  the  story ;  "  and  I 
suppose  when  you  first 
joined  you  fell  in  love  once 
a  month  with  someone  or 
other  ?  On  board  ship, 
now,  going  out  to  India 
round  the  Cape  ?" 

"  During  my  first  voyage 
out  to  India,  when  I  first 
joined,"  said  the  Colonel 
—  fairly  launched  without 
knowing  it — "  I  was  occu- 
pied most  of  the  time  in 
watching  another  couple's 
love  affair,  and  am  not  at 
all  sure  that  I  wasn't  a  bit 
spoony  on  the  appropriated 
young  lady  myself  But  it 
ended  in  an  awful  manner, 
and  I'll  tell  you  about  it, 
for  such  things  don't  happen,  as  a  rule,  except 
in  novels — where  they're  not  believed. 

"  It  was  in  '62.  My  regiment  was  the  old 
48th— the  Northamptonshire.  I  was  ordered 
out  to  Lucknow,  and  we  left  Cork  on  the  14th 
of  September,  1862,  in  the  Lady  Jocelyn,  twin 
screw  steamer,  with  troops  on  board,  the  vessel 
being  commanded  by  Captain  Kerr.  He  was  a 
very  smart  fellow,  I  remember— always  wore 
white  kid  gloves  on  deck — and  kept  one  hand 
thrust  into  the  breast  of  his  coat,  after  the 
manner  of  Lord  Nelson  ;  and  he  wasn't  unlike 
him,  either.  He  was  a  good  chap,  but 
'pon  my  word  there  seemed  to  be  a  curse 
on  his  ship  that  voyage.  Deuced  hard  lines 
on  him. 


two    LOVE    AFFAIRS,    AND    HOW    THEV    ENDED. 


5«t 


"A  very  pretty  girl,  aged  eiglitecn,  had  been 
brought  on  board  at  Cork  by  her  parents  and 
placed  in  his  charge.  '  She's  engaged,'  explained 
the  father,  '  to  a  rich  civilian  out  in  India,  and 
has  suddenly  taken  a  violent  dislike  to  him, 
just  as  her  going  out  to  be  married  was  all 
arranged.' 

"  '  Funny,  that  I '  said  Captain  Kerr. 

"  '  Not  funny  at  all,'  said  the  father  (a  perfect 
beast,  a  second  Mr.  Icy  Chill,  and  no  mistake) ; 
'  nothing  is  funny  in  this  world  when  you've 
discovered  what  causes  it.  She's  fallen  in  love 
with  another  fellow.' 

"  '  By  gum,'  said  the  captain  ;  he  couldn't 
think  of  anything  more  hcl[)ful. 

"  '  I'll  glim  him,'  said  Mr.  Icy  Chill,  drawing 
in  his  breath  with  a  whistle,  'if  he  interferes 
with  this  marriage  any 
further,  ^^'e  have  for- 
bidden him  to  approach 
her,  and  are  now  ship- 
ping her  off  quickly 
with  you,  captain,  to 
save  all  further  un- 
pleasantness. We  com- 
mend her  to  your  care. 
Keep  a  sharp  look-out 
at  ports.  She  might 
bolt,  or  he  turn  up. 
She'll  be  met  at 
Madras.' 

"  The  girl  looked 
broken-hearted  till  we 
got  well  out  to  sea, 
and  then  she  suddenly 
cheered  up  and  looked 
happy  as  could  be.  I 
had  my  suspicions.  I 
was  young  and  impres- 
sionable myself,  and  I 
noticed  rapid  but  sweet 
glances  between  two 
pairs  of  eyes  on  that 
deck  day  by  day,  which 
seemed  to  me  to  hint 
at  a  very  pretty  little 
romance  indeed. 

"  I  asked  the  captain 
one     fine     morning 

whether  he  happened  to  know  the  name  of  the 
delinquent  who  had  tried  to  upset  the  rich 
civilian's  hopes.  '  No,'  said  he,  '  I  don't — 
forgot  to  ask.  Of  no  consequence  now.'  And 
I  became  more  sure  than  ever  that  our  young 
Lovelace  was  on  board. 

"  Finally  we  were  all  made  acquainted  with 
the  fact  in  a  most  terrible  manner. 

"  We'd  got  into  the  tropics,  and  it  was  posi- 
tively grilling  down  in  the  cabins  at  night,  so, 


■  YOUNG    LOXELACE,    HAVING 
HIMSELF   ON 


with  many  others,  I  moved  my  mattress  on  deck 
and  slept  there.  1  often  got  up  during  the 
small  hours  and  would  take  a  turn,  leaning  over 
the  bulwarks,  and  watching  the  moonlight  on 
the  water. 

'■  One  glorious  night  about  twelve,  I  was  doing 
this  and  smoking,  when,  to  my  astonishment,  I 
saw  something  dark  dropping  slowly  down 
against  the  side  of  the  white  vessel,  in  a  very 
quiet  and  cautious  fashion. 

"  Fearing  some  kind  of  foul  play  from  the 
crew,  I  moved  along  till  I  came  to  where  a 
stout  rope  had  been  fastened,  and  on  casting 
my  eye  down  it,  I  soon  made  out  that  a  human 
being  dangled  at  the  other  end,  and  was  casting 
anchor,  as  it  were,  just  outside  a  certain  open 
port,  which  I  knew  belonged  to  the  cabin   in 

which  slept  the  bride- 
elect  and  two  other 
women. 

"  Here  was  a  pretty 
little  business  ! 

"  Young  Lovelace, 
having  reached  his 
haven,  balanced  him- 
self on  some  rigging. 
A  pretty,  tumbled  dark 
head  emerged  from  the 
port ;  the  man's  fair 
head  bent  forward; 
and  then  the  two  heads 
met  by  a  process 
known  to  most  lovers, 
I  suppose. 

"  There  that  highly 
romantic  young  couple 
remained,  talking — 
well,  for  quite  an  hour. 
The  bride's  cabin  com- 
panions I  could,  I 
fancied,  hear  snoring, 
but  that  may  have  been 
my  imagination. 

"  I  was  tickled  —  it 
was  a  rare  joke.  But  I 
kept  my  counsel,  and 
have  felt  sorry  since, 
for  their  poor  sakes, 
that  I  did  so. 
"  Lovelace  went  on  doing  this  night  after  night, 
but  by  day  they  both  looked  as  innocent  as  a 
pair  of  doves.  Being  in  the  secret,  however,  I 
caught  glances  from  her  dark  eyes  and  his  blue 
ones  which  no  one  else  had  the  key  to. 

"One  night,  when  the  sea  lay  around  us  as 
calm  as  a  pond,  and  the  Southern  Cross  burned 
overhead,  I  caught  sight  of  the  little  meeting 
again,  and  then,  thinking  I'd  no  business  to  be 
looking  on  at  all,  I  turned  away,  threw  myself 


REACHED  HIS  HAVEN 
SOME  RIGGING." 


BALANCED 


5«- 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    J^IAGAZINE. 


on  my  mattress,  and  fell   sound  asleep  in  five 
minutes. 

"  A  splash  !  A  most  terrible  and  piercing 
shriek — these  were  the  sounds  that  woke  me  ! 
I  rushed  to  the  ship's  side.  The  officer  on  watch 
rushed  too.  .  .  .  Other  men  rushed.  .  .  . 
The  girl  was  leaning  half-way  out  of  her  port, 
shrieking  and  holding  out  two  white  arms 
towards  where,  already  a  speck  on  the  moonlit 
ocean,  her  young  lover  struck  out  for  the  ship 
that  was  fast  leav- 
ing him  behind  ! 

"  He  had  some- 
how slipped  from 
his  rope  and  fallen 
into  the  sea  ;  and 
the  water  here 
s  w  a  r  m  e  d  with 
sharks.  In  those 
days  '  man  over- 
board '  drill  had 
not  become  the 
practised  art  it  is 
now.  It  took  four- 
teen minutes  by 
my  watch  l)efore  a 
boat  could  be 
lowered.  Mean- 
while that  speck 
vanished.  No  one 
quite  knew  when. 
You  were  gazing 
at  it — we  all  were. 
Our  hearts  thump- 
ed in  our  mouths ; 
then  you  blinked  .  . 
and  the  speck  was 

'^  "alkeady  a  si'F.ck  on-  the  mooni 

gone  !  OUT  FOR 

"The  poor  little 
bride-elect  never   beheld   her  lover  again.     As 
for  me,  'pon  my  word  I  don't  like  talking  of  it 
even  now — I  get  choky." 

My  companion  paused,  and  his  kind  face 
clouded  as  he  puffed  at  his  cigarette.  He  seemed 
to  be  gazing  at  the  bygone  picture  of  that 
gallant  ship  and  that  moonlight  night  when  a 
[)Oor  young  girl's  heart-strings  snapped  in  the 
very  joy  of  life.     Then  he  continued  : — 

"The  days  passed  on  and  a  gloom  seemed  to 
have  dropped  on  the  ship.  Two  weeks  later 
(you  understand  we  were  making  for  India 
round  the  Cape)  another  tragedy — a  double  one 
this  time— occurred.  The  under-steward  (leav- 
ing a  note  in  his  cabin  to  say  he  couldn't  stand 
the  upper-steward's  bullying  a)iy  longer)  jumped 
overboard  one  morning  when  we  were  all  on 
deck  playing  quoits.  A  sailor — plucky  chap — 
jumped    in    after    him.      The    under-steward 


couldn't  swim,  and  clutched  his  rescuer  round 
the  neck,  so  that  both  were  drowned  under 
our  very  eyes.  So  much  for  that  ill  -  fated 
voyage. 

"  We  arrived  at  the  '  Shiny  '  at  last,  and  I 
proceeded  by  dak  from  Calcutta  to  Lucknow,  a 
glorious  spot  in  the  Indian  *  cold  weather.' 

"  I  shared  a  jolly  little  bungalow  with  two 
brother  officers,  and  we  had  quite  a  pretty, 
English-looking  garden,  where  I  used  to  wander 

in  the  cool,  and, 
as  the  hot  weather 
came  on,  compose 
poetry  to  a  young 
lady  of  my  ac- 
quaintance named 
Edith.  Edith  is  a 
very  difficult  name 
to  provide  a  rhyme 
for,  and  all  that  I 
could  think  of  was 
this  :— 

Where  the  gentle  ewe- 
lamb  feedeth, 

Meet  me  there,  my 
darling  Edith  ; 

Where  the  viahli  * 
daily  weedeth 

I  rove,  and  think  of 
you,  my  Edith. 

'And  SO  on.  And 
I  remember  being 
knocked  flat  when 
one  day  she  pro- 
duced, with  an  air 
of  gloomy  triumph, 
a  rival  production 
from  another 
swain,  who  had  got 
over  the  difficulty 
and    who  poured 


.IT  OCEAN, 
THE  SHIP.' 


HEK  YOUNG  LOVER  STRUCK 


by   addressing  her  as    Edie, 
forth  his  soul  thus  : — 


With  love  I'm  getting  seedy, 
Take  pity  on  nie,  precious  Edie. 

But  if  you  ask  me,  I  consider  mine  beats  his 
into  fits. 

"  I  mention  this  little  incident  because,  but  for 
Miss  Edith,  I  don't  believe  1  should  ever  have 
gone  into  that  well." 

"  What  fun,"  I  here  chipped  in.  "  I  ivish  I'd 
been  Edith,  Colonel  Tryon.  If  there's  one 
thing  that's  more  fun  than  another,  it's  having 
two  men  in  love  with  you  at  the  same  time,  both 
trying  to  outdo  the  other." 

"  Oreat  fun  for  the  lady,"  said  the  Colonel, 
sniffing,  "and  horrid  for  the  men.  Well,  I  was 
so  upset  at  that  fellow  clapping  his  beastly 
poetry  on  the  top  of  mine,  that  as  I  dressed  for 

*  Gardener. 


two    LOVE    AFFAIRS,    AND    HOW"     THEY    ENDED. 


58: 


mess  that  night  I  hardly  knew  whether  I  stood 
on  my  head  or  my  heels.'' 

"And  you  little  dreamt,"  I  added,  '•  that  you 
were  about  to  stand  on  vour  head  in  earnest, 
eh  ?  " 

"  I  little  dreamt,"  assented  the  Colonel,  "  that 
I  was  about  to  stand  on  my  head  in  earnest,  as 
you  say.  I  heard  tlie  mess-bugle  going,  and  I 
started  to  walk  across  the  three  compounds  that 
divided  us,  my  mind  seeking  for  a  fresh  rhyme 
for  '  Edith,'  so  as  to  cut  the  other  chap  out  for 
good  and  all.  I  tried  the  whole  alphabet,  and 
when  I  got  to  N,  was  overjoyed  at  the  word 
'  needeth  '  cropping  up.  A  lot  I  knew  could  be 
done  with  '  needeth.'  I  could  say,  for  instance, 
that  my  soul  needeth  ....  Edith  ....  And 
put  more  poetically — rounded  off,  as  it  were — it 
would  sound  uncommonly  well  and,  I  thought, 
rather  neat. 

"  At  this  very  moment  (it  was  now  quite  dark 
— we  get  no  twilight  in  India)  I  tripped  over 
some  stone  coping  or  other.  Not  realizing  what 
it  was  the  coJ)ing  of,  I  stumbled  on  ...  .  and 
....  the  next  instant  I  was  shooting  head 
downwards  apparently  into  the  very  bowels  of 
the  earth  !  I  remember  the  sensation  as  my 
head  bumped  first  on  one  side  of  that  well  and 
then  the  other.  It  was  a  very  narrow  well,  and 
about  50ft.  deep  (so  I  afterwards  discovered). 
It  was  dry,  however,  or  nearly  so  ;  and  luckily 
for  me,  the  native  servants  from  bungalows 
around  had  been  in  the  habit  of  throwing  refuse 
down  it — mostly  in  the  shape  of  dirty  straw  out 
of  their  sahibs'  stables.  This  made  a  thick 
padding  at  the  bottom,  which,  with  the  foot 
or  so  of  water  in  the  well,  provided  quite 
a  nice  spongy  pulp  for  my  skull  to  alight 
on ;  and  '  squash '  went  my  face  into  this. 
Even  let  down  thus  easy,  it's  a  marvel  my  neck 
didn't  break  ;  but  I,  of  course,  threw  my 
arms  instinctively  downwards,  so  that  they 
received  a  lot  of  my  weight,  and  no  doubt 
saved  me. 

"  I  can  tell  you,  young  lady,  it  was  a  horrible 
bed  to  alight  on,  face  downward.  Straw  and 
manure  and  dirty  water  ;  odds  and  ends  of 
long-decayed  vegetables  ;  scraps  of  food  ;  filthy 
remnants  of  native  clothing  ;  and — to  add  to 
the  charm — empty  tins  and  a  bottle  or  two, 
which,  luckily,  my  face  did  tiot  strike.  Such 
was  my  couch  that  fearful  night. 

"On  first  alighting  I  was  fairly  stunned  for 
Heaven  knows  how  long.  I  thought  I  was 
divmg,  and  wondered  when  I  was  going  to 
reach  the  bottom.  Then  it  slowly  dawned  on 
me  that  I  had  reached  the  bottom,  and  reached 
a  horrible  smell  at  the  same  time.  Then  full 
consciousness  returned,  and  I  began  to  try  and 
right  myself.    For  a  long  time  I  simply  couldn't. 


There  I  stuck  head  downwards  almost  up  to  my 
neck  in  that  filth.  The  heat  was  terrific.  The 
perspiration  poured  off  me,  and  to  add  to  my 
miseries,  millions  of  creeping  insects  of  all  sorts, 
bred  by  the  decaying  animal  and  vegetable 
matter,  began  to  crawl  over  my  head,  neck,  and 
face,  and  even  into  my  ears,  till  I  could  have 
roared  with  pain.  I  would  take  first  one  hand 
and  then  the  other  off  the  ground,  and  try  to 
scrape  the  hideous  things  off  me,  but  in  vain. 
I  felt  that  unless  I  could  find  relief,  and  that 
quickly,    it    would    all    be    over    with    me    very 


soon 


My  legs  were  not  straight  up  all  this  time. 
They  were,  in  fact,  bent  at  the  knees  ;  whilst 
my  feet  were  jammed  against  the  brick  side  of 
the  wall.  It  afterwards  turned  out  that  I  could 
have  righted  myself  at  once  but  for  my  feet 
having  caught  in  a  broken  fissure  in  the  brick- 
work. I  soon  discovered  this,  however,  and, 
after  frantic  struggles,  freed  myself;  my  legs 
then  dropped  down,  and  I  turned  myself  right 
way  up. 

"  I  now,  for  the  first  time,  knew  for  certain 
that  it  was  a  well  I  had  fallen  into.  P'ar  up 
overhead  gleamed  the  stars  of  an  Indian  night, 
looking,  from  this  depth,  brilliant  and  large  to 
an  extraordinary  degree.  Not  a  sound  broke 
the  stillness  for  a  time,  ai"\d  then,  sounding  a 
long  way  off,  and  very  muffled,  I  heard  the 
regimental  band  playing  outside  our  mess  ! 

When  other  Hps  and  other  hearts 
Their  tales  of  love  shall  tell 

I  always  thought  it  a  sweet,  pretty  air. 

"  Now— to-night — as  I  stood  in  my  open  grave 
(for  such  it  seemed  to  me)  and  thought  of  the 
world  above  ;  my  friends  (yes,  of  course,  I 
thought  of  Edith,  too — the  little  minx,  and  how 
delighted  the  other  fellow  would  be  at  the  final 
extinction  of  me  and  my  poetry)  ;  well,  I  tell 
you,  I  felt  as  choky  as  when  my  mother  left  me 
at  my  first  school  and  told  me  to  be  a  good  boy 
and  not  eat  all  my  jam  the  first  week. 

"  But  the  music  changed  and  my  mood  with 
it. 

." '  When  Johnny  comes  marching  home 
again,'  inspired  me  with  a  sudden  resolve  ?iot  to 
die — if  it  were  only  to  spite  Edith  and  the  tom- 
fool she  preferred  to  me. 

"And  when   tune    No.   3  stole    in    down   to 
me — 
Oh  where,  and  oh  where,  is  my  Highland  laddie  gone  ? 

I  made  up  my  mind  I'd  let  'em  k?io2V  where,  if 
I  burst  my  lungs  over  it.  And  I  started  bellow- 
ing and  shouting  till  I  was  fairly  hoarse. 

"  But  it  was  all  of  no  use.     Nobody  came- 
near  me.     And  now  fresh  tortures  began.     The 
vermin   that   infested  the    rubbish    in    which    I 
stood   began  crawling   up  the   legs   of  my   tight 


584 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


uniform  trousers,  whilst  mosquitoes  in  thousands 
'tinged'  round  my  head  and  face.  It  would, 
indeed,  be  hard  to  describe  to  you  what  I 
went  through  in  the  well  that  burning  Indian 
night. 

"I  shouted  —  I  yelled — I  swore;  I  tore  at 
my  legs  and  feet ;  I  dashed  my  hands  round 
my  face.  I  covered  my  face  with  my  hands, 
and  then  the  loathsome  creatures  settled  on  my 
hands.  The  narrow  confines  of  my  hideous 
prison  ;  the  inability  to  move  or  walk  about, 
which  would  have  been  a  relief;  the  suffocating 


my  legs  doubled  up,  when  I  suddenly  discerned 
the  figure  of  a  native,  looking  very  small,  yet 
sharply  defined  against  the  morning  light  above. 

"  I  gave  one  more  shout.  He  vanished,  and 
despair  seized  me.  But  in  a  few  moments  more 
figures  appeared,  voices  dropped,  hollow- 
sounding,  down  to  me,  and  I  knew  dimly  that 
I  was  saved. 

"  A  rope  and  bucket  were  soon  lowered,  and 
I  scrambled  in  somehow.  \Vhen  the  fresh,  sweet 
air  of  the  upper  world  blew  upon  my  swollen, 
disfigured   face   I    fainted   with    relief  and  the 


WHEN    THE   FRESH,    SWEET   AlK    OF    THE    Ul'I'ER    WORLD    BLEW    UPON    MY    FACE    I    FAINTED    WITH    RELIEF.' 


heat,  foul  air,  stench,  and,  above  all,  the  vermin 
and  mosfjuitoes  which  were  soon  devouring  my 
whole  body — well,  I  won't  dwell  on  my  sufferings 
that  awful  night,  for  I  tell  you  I  don't  care- to 
remember  it  for  long. 

"  Morning  came  at  last.  A  ring  of  daylight 
took  the  place  of  the  stars  above  me,  and,  with 
all  the  strength  I  could  muster  (but  I  was,  now, 
nearly  done  for)  I  again  yelled  for  help. 

"  I  knew  it  was  my  last  chance.  I  was  almost 
exhausted  ....  and  when  my  strength  and 
voice  should  fail  me,  it  would  of  course  be  all 
u  p — for  who'd  dream  of  coming  to  look  for 
young  Tryon  down  a  disused  old  well  ? 

"  I  was  sitting  in  the  filth  at  the  bottom,  my 
head  leaning  back  against  the  brick-work,  and 


feelings  it  brouglit.  And  that's  the  whole 
adventure." 

"  And  Edith  ?  "  said  I. 

"Oh,  yes,"  replied  the  Colonel— " 'Edith  ! ' 
I'd  had  a  sickening  of  poetry.  I  tried  no  more. 
And  the  other  chap  used  the  word  '  needeth  ' 
with  such  effect  (the  only  other  one  left  in  the 
alphabet,  you  see,  that  rhymed  at  all)  that  a  gay 
wedding  very  soon  followed." 

"  And  were  you  broken-hearted  ?  "  said  I. 

"  I  was  for  a  bit,"  replied  Colonel  Tryon,  "  but 
I'm  bound  to  say  that  in  a  month  from  then  I 
was  trying  to  find  a  good  rhyme  for  the  name 
Jessie — or  was  it  Julia,  now  ?  I  declare  I  can't 
remember  which.  But  I  know  it  began  with 
a  J." 


The  !iook=Swinging  Ceremony  as  I  Saw  It. 

Bv  The  Rev.  Joshua  Knowles. 

The  able  representative  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  in  Pareychaley,  Travancore,  South  India, 
sends  his  personal  impressions  of  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  pagan  festivals  in  the  world.  The 
devotees    have    iron    hooks  fastened  into  their  flesh,  and  they  are    then    swung    high    into    the   air    at 

the  end  of  a  long  pole. 


INCE  I  first  went  out  to  India  in 
1880  as  a  missionary  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  I  think  nothing 
has  impressed  me  more  than  the 
beHef  which  many  of  the  more 
ignorant  classes  in  India  firmly  hold,  that  their 
sufferings  and  sick- 
nesses come  upon  them 
because  their  deities 
are  displeased  with 
them.  The  cause  of 
the  god's  displeasure  is 
generally  attributed  to 
failure  on  the  part  of 
the  worshippers  to  per- 
form the  religious  cere- 
monies due  to  the 
idols.  And  so,  in  order 
to  propitiate  these  cruel 
deities,  the  relatives  of 
the  sick  will  visit  the 
idol  temple,  and  by 
offerings  try  to  appease 
their  wrath.  Or  the 
sick  persons  themselves 
will  make  vows  that  on 
their  recovery  they  will 
do  honour  to  the  gods. 
In  the  case  of  chil- 
dren, the  parents  or 
relatives  will  make 
appropriate  vows  on 
their  behalf  Sanguin- 
ary offerings — either  of 
the  blood  of  goats  or 
fowls,  or  of  the  sacri- 
ficer's  own  blood — are 
believed  to  be  specially 
pleasing  to  these  deities. 

At  certain  festivals  held  in  honour  of  the 
goddess  Bhadra  Kali,  in  the  Native  State  of 
Travancore,  South  India,  the  most  strange  and 
striking  form  which  these  sanguinary  sacrifices 
take  is  known  as  Hook-swinging.  The  devotees 
have  iron  hooks  inserted  into  the  fleshy  part  of 
their  backs,  and  are  then  swung  up  in   the   air 

Vol.  iii. — 74. 


before  the  goddess.  I  think  of  all  the  super- 
stitious and  cruel  ceremonies  it  has  been  my  lot 
during  my  missionary  career  in  India  to  see  or 
to  hear  of,  this  one  of  Hook-swinging  is  (with  the 
exception    of  the    sacrifices    under    the    car    of 


Juggernaut,     now 


prohibited  by  the  British 
Government)  the  most 
extraordinary.  In  one 
respect,  viz.,  that  in- 
fants and  children  are 
included    in    the 


cere- 


THE    REV.    JOSHUA    KNOWLES     HAS    DONE    MUCH    TO   WEAN    THE 
DEVOTEES   FROM    THIS   BARBAROUS    PRACTICE. 

From  a  Photo. 


mony,  Hook  -  swinging 
is  worse  than  the  "  fire- 
walking  "  sometimes 
practised  in  parts  of 
India.*  The  following 
is  an  account  of  a  visit 
paid  by  me  to  the 
festival  about  eighteen 
months  ago. 

"  Next  week  there 
will  be  the  annual 
Hook  swinging  Festival 
at  Kollangodu.  There 
will  be  many  thousands 
of  people  there.  ^Ve 
hear  that  some  twenty 
men  are  to  be  swung. 
Will  our  missionary  be 
pleased  to  come  with 
us?"  asked  Laban,  the 
Evangelist,  of  me  at 
our  fortnightly  agents' 
meeting. 

It  was  the  end  of 
March,  and  the  hot 
season  was  beginning. 
I  did  not  half  relish 
the  exposure  to 
the  sun  I  knew  the  visit  must  involve,  but 
I  had  heard  so  much  of  Hook  -  swinging 
that  I  was  desirous  of  seeing  the  festival ;  and 
also  I  wished  to  encourage  the  mission  agents 

*  In  the  Wide  W'orld  for  May,  1898,  appeared  a  remarkable 
article  on  the  mysterious  "  fire-walking  "  practised  in  Fiji.  Each 
phase  of  the  ceremony  was  illustrated  by  a  photograph. 


586 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


by  my  presence.  So  I  told  Laban  I  would 
endeavour  to  be  at  the  temple  where  the 
swinging  took  place  early  on  the  day  of  the 
festival.  Accordingly,  on  the  morning  appointed, 
I  took  a  supply  of  Bible  portions,  handbills, 
and  pictures  for  sale  and  distribution,  then  got 
into  my  jinrickshaw,  and  set  out  for  the  temple 
in  which  were  the  idols  in  whose  honour  the 
festival  took  place. 

I'he  road  was  thronged  with  people  of  almost 
all  castes,  including  a  great  number  of  women 
and  children.  The 
travellers  were 
mosUy  on  foot,  with 
here  and  there  a 
well  -  to  -  do  Sudra, 
or  Chetty  family, 
in  country  carts, 
drawn  by  bullocks. 
The  temple  is  near 
the  sea-shore,  and  ■ 
for  the  last  two 
miles  the  road  was 
over  heavy  sand 
along  a  narrow 
lane,  so  I  got  out, 
and  leaving  my 
men  to  bring  the 
jinrickshaw,  with 
my  camera,  on  to 
the  place,  I  joined 
the  multitudes 
going  there.  At 
two  or  three  places 
I  found  large 
crowds  gathering 
in  the  court -yard 
of  some  native 
houses  before  the 
household  gods. 
On  inc]  airing  I 
learnt  that  devotees 
were  there  being 
prei)ared  for  the 
Hook  -  swinging 
ceremony.  The  ^•'>o»ia] 
preparation,    so  far 

as  I  could  gather,  consisted  in  making  offerings 
of  goats,  fowls,  cocoanuts,  and  flowers  to  the 
idols  in  the  court-yard.  Then,  having  bathed, 
they  rubbed  themselves  over  with  oil,  till  their 
skins  shone  with  it.  There  was  also,  it  seemed, 
a  good  deal  of  drinking  of  toddy.  I  spoke  to 
several  of  the  devotees,  and  tried  to  find  out 
what  led  them  to  offer  themselves  to  be  swung, 
but  they  were  in  such  an  excited  state  that  I 
could  not  make  out  clearly  their  reasons.  I 
gathered  from  them,  however,  that  they  did  it 
to   propitiate    the    goddess  —  though    some    by- 


1  HE   (JLU    UA^.-.    1  UK    lJl-Ai)TKES 
ALL   THEIR   WEIGHT 


standers  informed  me  that  they  were  paid  for 
being  swung  by  the  relatives  of  the  children  or 
sick  people  on  whose  account  vows  had  been 
made.     Sacrifice  by  deputy,  in  fact. 

Pushing  forward  with  the  crowd,  I  came  to  the 
Kollangodu  temple  where  the  Hook  swinging 
ceremony  is  yearly  performed.  Thousands  of 
people  were  gathered  together,  many  having 
come  from  a  great  distance.  The  place  had 
the  appearance  of  a  vast  fair.  There  were  shops 
and  booths  for  the  sale  of  rough  country-woven 

cloths;  calicoes 
from  Manchester ; 
prints ;  native  dyed 
goods  ;  brass  and 
copper  household 
vessels  ;  earthen- 
ware pots ;  and  all 
the  miscellaneous 
things  sold  in  an 
Indian  bazaar. 
There  were  also,  of 
course,  the  ubiqui- 
tous arrack  shops 
and  booths  for  the 
sale  of  this  intoxi- 
cating liquor ;  and 
here  and  there  a 
knot  of  men 
gathered  round 
some  gambling- 
place. 

Near  the  temple 
was  a  building  with 
small  verandas 
facing  the  temple  ; 
and  on  these 
verandas  were 
gathered  companies 
of  Sudra  women 
and  girls,  gaily 
dressed  for  the 
occasion,  and  wear- 
ing quantities  of 
gold  and  silver 
jewellery.  Here, 
also,  I  found  the 
tahsildar,  police-ofificers,  peons,  and  others,  on 
whom  devolved  the  charge  of  keeping  order 
during  the  great  festival. 

I  took  a  photograph  of  one  of  the  Sudras 
here  ;  I  believe  he  was  the  village  schoolmaster. 
I  tried  to  include  in  it  one  of  the  women,  but 
failed  to  obtain  permission.  As  usual,  the  boys 
crowded  round  us,  so  some  of  them  come  in. 
These  Sudras  are  generally  well-to-do  farmers. 
In  North  India  Sudras  are  considered  low  caste, 
but  in  Travancore  they  rank  quite  high.  The 
marks  on  the  man's  forehead  and  chest  denote 


WEKE   SWUNG    LIKE    THIS — \VI  I  H 
ON   THE   HOOKS.  \PhotO. 


THE    HOOK-SWINGINC;    CI-REMONY    AS    I    SAW    IT. 


587 


Fiom  a  I'hoto.  hy  the  Rev.  Joshua  Kutnules. 

his  religious  sect ;  they  are  put  on  by  the  finger 

with   sacred  ashes.      The  tuft   of  hair  on   the 

crown    of     the 

head  marks  him 

as  a  Hindu,  and 

it  is  by  this  that, 

according  to  the 

popular    belief, 

the  wearer  is  to 

be     raised     to 

Heaven. 

In  front  of  the 
temple  w  as  a 
booth  containing 
the  image  of  the 
goddess,  called 
Bhadra  Kali — a 
cruel  deity,  who 
is  supposed  to 
delight  in  blood. 
This  hideous 
image  was 
decked  out  with 
jewels  and  gar- 
lands. Alongside 
of  it  were  some 

hei;f,  thk  ske-sau  iiU.k  is  i.(i\m-.ki:i).     iie 

other    images,  Frowa 


two 
the 


such  as  the  elephant-headed  Ganesha. 
i'he  priests  were  in  attendance  to  receive 
the  offerings  of  the  people.  These 
came  forward  one  by  one.  They  pros- 
trated themselves  on  the  ground  before 
the  idol,  made  salaams  to  the  priests  in 
attendance,  put  their  offerings  into  a 
collecting  box,  not  unlike  a  missionary 
box,  and  then  gave  way  to  others.  The 
offerings  during  the  day  amounted,  I 
was  told,  to  a  very  considerable  sum. 
Now  and  then  the  crowd  grew  greater, 
as  the  devotees  who  were  to  be  swung, 
and  the  children  who  were  to  have  a 
sad  share  in  the  ceremonies,  came  for- 
ward, accompanied  by  musicians  beating 
tom-toms  and  playing  Indian  flutes.  The 
devotees  seemed  to  me  half-mad  as, 
leaping  and  dancing,  they  dashed  to  the 
front.  But  whether  it  was  religious 
frenzy,  or  drink,  or  opium,  or  bhang,  or 
all  of  these  things  combined,  I  cannot 
say. 

At  a  little  distance  was  the  car.  I  took 
a  photo,  of  this  as  a  devotee  was  being 
made  fast.  The  bottom  part  of  this  car 
was  very  much  like  the  lorry  used  when 
transporting  large  logs  of  timber  by 
means  of  elephants.     There  were  four 

I       solid  wooden  wheels  of    thick    tihiber, 

with  a  framework,  like  a  railway  waggon 

on  a  small  scale.     To  this  were  attached 

thick  cable  ropes.     Joined  to  the  sides  of 

car  were  two  upright  posts,  about  15ft.  high, 


NEAl  H  THE  CANOl'Y  ON  THE   I.EKT  THE  DEVOTEE  IS  EEING  .MADE  FAST. 

Photo,  by  the  Rev.  Joshua  K Modules. 


588 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


AM,    liEINC 


laCADY,    THE    FANATICAL    VICTIM    IS    RAISED    HIGH     INTO    THE    AIR    BY    PEOPLE    PULLING   ON   THE 
ROPES.      THE    ENTIRE    SIRUCTURE    IS   THEN    DRAGGED    ROUND    THE    TEMPLE. 

From  a  J 'hot  a.  hy  tlic  Rev.  Josliua  KnoivUs. 


Strengthened  with  stays  and  cross-pieces.  On 
the  top  was  a  piece  of  thick  timber,  with  a  hole 
in  it  and  the  bottom 
rounded,  which  fitted 
into  a  cross-piece,  and 
allowed  the  long  beam 
on  which  the  men  were 
swung  to  move  up  or 
down.  This  beam  was 
some  35ft.  or  40ft.  long, 
and  about  cjin.  in  dia- 
meter. It  was  placed 
through  the  hole  in  the 
piece  of  timber  on  the 
top  of  the  upright  frame, 
and  balanced  in  thu 
middle,  like  a  hut^e  see- 
saw.  At  one  end  of  the 
pole  was  a  covered 
canopy,  and  at  the  other 
long  ropes  were  fastened, 
which  trailed  on  the 
ground. 

The  whole  arrange- 
ment of  the  car  was  such 
that,  by  lowering  one  end 
of  the  long  beam  to  the 
ground   and   fastening   a 


man  to  it,  and  then   pulling  down  the  other  end  by 
the   roi)cs,  the  man  could   be  raised    into   the  air  a 

height  of  some 
40ft.  or  more. 
The  wliole  car, 
with  the  man  in 
the  air,  could 
then  be  dragged 
by  the  thick 
cable  ropes 
around  the 
temple.  Some 
native  carpenters 
were  on  the  car, 
to  direct  the 
people  in  raising 
and  lowering  the 
man,  and  to  be 
ready  in  case  of 
any  accident — a 
thing  likely 
enough  to 
happen. 

The  next 
photo.,  though 
not  taken  at  the 
same  festival  as 
the  others,  gives 
us  a  closer  view 
of  the  car  of  the 
cruel  goddess 
unobstructed  by  a  crowd.  The  men  are  Chogans 
of  Travancore.    The  boy  on  the  extreme  left  is 


FJioto. 


THE    HOOK-S\VIx\GING    CEREMONY    AS    I    SAW    IT. 


589 


without  the  kiidu/ni,  or  "  Disraeli  curl,"  which 
Hindu  boys  and  men  wear  on  their  forehead. 
This  boy  and  the  bald-headed  man  to  the  right  of 
the  frame-work  car  are  Christians.  The  strangely- 
clad  swinger  is  being  kept  in  [Position  by  the 
man  below,  while  his  photo,  is  being  taken 
before  he  begins  to  swing.  Over  the  frame 
above  his  head  a  mat  is  stretched,  partly  to  do 
him  honour, and  partly  to  protect  him  from  the 
sun.  His  head  and  neck  are  richly  ornamented, 
and  below  he  is  bedecked  with  peacocks'  feathers. 
Not  so  evident  as  these  things,  but  much  more 
useful,  is  a  cloth-band  which  will  bear  at  least 
some  if  not  all  the  weight  of  his  suffering  body. 
The  hook  is  passed  through  his  back,  and  after 
being  photographed  he  will  swing  to  and  fro  in 
front  of  one  of  the  temples. 

The  pain  these  devotees 
go  through  for  the  honour 
and  glory  of  their  god  is 
intense.  They  generally  take 
drugs  and  into.xicants  before- 
hand, but,  in  any  case,  the 
passing  of  a  large  hook 
through  the  sinews  of  the 
back  must  be  accompanied 
with  excruciating  agony. 

I  wandered  about  among 
the  crowd  for  some  time 
giving  away  handbills  and 
conversing  with  the  people, 
but  they  were  so  excited 
that  I  fear,  from  a  mission- 
ary point  of  view,  I  made 
but  little  impression  on 
them.  Yes,  they  said, 
Christianity  was  good,  but  — 
what  did  I  think  of  the 
festival  ?  One  and  all  were 
full  of  high  expectation. 

Presently  I  heard  loud 
reports  as  of  fire  -  arms  ; 
and  going  in  the  direction  I 
ceeded  from  small  mortars 
powder.  Anyone  could  pay  for  mortars  being 
let  off,  and  with  the  report  his  sins  flew  away  I 
So  the  people  said.  Soon  followed  the  beating 
of  tom-toms,  the  screeching  of  native  flutes,  the 
shouts  of  the  crowds.  The  canopied  end  of  the 
long  beam  was  now  lowered.  The  devotee 
lay  prone  on  the  ground  below  the  end  of  the 
beam,  and  was  fastened  to  the  beam  by 
means  of  ropes  passing  under  his  arms  and 
around  his  chest.  To  some  of  the  ropes  iron 
hooks  were  fastened.  The  priests  took  hold  of 
the  fleshy  part  of  the  man's  back,  squeezed 
up  the  flesh,  and  fastened  the  iron  hooks 
into  it.  Some  four  hooks  at  least  were 
put    through    the    flesh.     A    rudely    fashioned 


native  sword  and  shield  were  then  given  to  the 
man.  Then,  whilst  the  people  shouted,  the 
rope  fastened  to  the  other  end  of  the  long 
beam  was  pulled  down,  and  the  man  swung 
upward  into  the  air,  waving  the  sword  and 
shield  and  making  convulsive  movements 
with  his  legs  as  if  dancing  in  the  air. 
With  shouts  and  cries,  loud  beating  of 
tom-toms,  and  screaming  flutes,  the  people 
took  hold  of  the  long  cable  ropes,  and 
strained  and  tugged  till  the  car  moved 
forward.  The  place,  as  I  have  said,  was  very 
sandy ;  the  wheels  sank  into  the  sand,  so 
that  the  work  was  heavy.  Slowly,  but  surely, 
however,  the  people  dragged  the  car  round  the 
temple,  a  distance  not  quite  as  far  as  round  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral.  Some  of 
the  men  were  suspended 
while  the  car  was  dragged 
round  three  or  four  times. 
I  should  think  that  from 
the  time  the  hooks  were 
put  in  till  they  were  taken 
out  half  an  hour  passed. 

Finally  the  devotee  was 
lowered  to  the  ground,  the 
ropes  unfastened,  and  the 
hooks  taken  out  of  the  flesli. 


ini.->       IS      THE      lUE.NTlCAl.       HOOK      U11H.1!       Mi. 
KNOWLES  TOOK    OUT  OF    THE   DEVOTEE'S    BACK. 

From  a  Photo,  by  George  Newnes,  Lid. 


found  they  pro- 
filled    with 


gun- 


I  managed  to  secure  one 
of  the  hooks — in  fact,  I 
assisted  in  taking  it  out  of 
the  man's  back,  and  a  photo- 
graph of  it  specially  taken 
for  this  article  is  here  repro- 
duced. There  was,  of 
course,  some  bleeding ;  and 
I  saw  the  wounds  made  by 
the  hooks.  This  man  and 
the  others  must  have  suffered 
not  a  little  pain ;  but  the 
barbarity  and  cruelty  were  to 
my  mind  a  much  more 
offensive  thing  than  the  actual  pain  inflicted. 
Perhaps,  however,  that  may  be  because  I  have 
been  familiarized  with  surgical  operations. 

But  barbarous  as  had  been  the  above-men- 
tioned proceedings,  a  greater  barbarity  was  to 
follow.  The  next  devotee  was  fastened  in  the 
same  way  to  the  beam,  but  instead  of  giving 
him  a  sword  and  shield,  the  priests  gave  him  an 
infant  in  his  arms.,  and  devotee  and  infant  were 
swung  up  into  the  air,  and  the  car  dragged 
round  the  temple  as  before.  Mounting  a 
banyan  tree,  I  tried  to  secure  a  snap-shot  as 
the  car  moved  up  to  the  stopping-place,  but  I 
failed  to  secure  a  very  clear  image  of  the 
devotee  and  hapless  infant.  I  did  not  think  it 
right  to  ask  for  a  moment's  delay  in  the  horrible 
proceeding,   so  the   image  was  a   little  blurred. 


59° 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


The  terror  of  the  little  infant  and  the  feelings 
of  the  poor  mother  waiting  below  may  best  be 
left  to  the  imagination.  The  only  bright  ray  I 
.saw  in  the  whole  of  this  barbarous  business 
was  the  almost  tender  way  in  which  one  of  the 
men  assisting  gave  the  child  into  the  devotee's 
arms.  During  the  day  about  a  score  of  devotees 
—some  with  swords  and  shields,  and  some  with 
children  —  were  swung  in  the  way  I  have 
described. 

On  this  occasion,  at  least,  the  devotees  were 
not  actually  swung  by  the  hooks  alone,  but  by 
ropes  and  hooks.  I  was,  however,  shown  some 
big,  awful  looking  iron  hooks — thicker  than  the 


I  believe,  the  ceremony  had  not  been  performed 
for  years).  The  fleshy  part  of  the  man's  back 
was  first  beaten  to  cause  it  to  swell.  Then 
two  large  hooks  were  fastened  into  the  flesh, 
and  the  poor,  deluded  victim  swung  away  into 
space,  as  we  see  him  in  these  remarkable  snap- 
shots. The  distension  of  the  flesh  caused  by  the 
hooks  can  be  seen  in  the  accompanying  photo. 
The  whole  ceremony,  however,  was  so  brutal 
that  I  really  do  not  care  to  enter  into  further 
details.  The  missionaries  of  the  American 
Madura  INIission  petitioned  vainly  against  the 
ceremony,  but  of  one  thing  I  am  sure — that  the 
best  and  most  influential  and  largest  portion  of 


Jtft 


HOcnC-.sWlNClM,    AT    MAUUIiA.       I'uLK    UtCoK.-\l  EU    WITH    COLOUKEU    CLiilll    A;.D    1  LOWERS. 

From  a\  man  swung  by  hooks  only.  [Photo. 


largest  butchers'  variety— which  I  was  told  were 
formerly  used  in  the  Hook-swinging,  until  the 
Government  interfered  in  the  matter. 

At  Madura,  in  the  Madras  Presidency,  how- 
ever, some  three  years  ago,  the  Hook-swinging 
ceremony  as  already  described  took  place,  and 
on  that  occasion  the  devotee  was  swung  by  the 
hooks  alone,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying 
photographs.  The  pole  was  longer  than  that 
used  at  Kollangodu,  and  it  was,  as  seen  in  the 
l^hoto.,  decorated  with  coloured  cloth  something 
like  a  barber's  pole,  and  garlanded  with  flowers. 
Instead  of  being  fixed  on  a  car,  a  large  plat- 
form was  used  instead.  Thousands  of  people 
gathered  to  watch  the  proceedings  (especially  as. 


the  Indian  people  would  be  glad  if  the  British 
Government  stopped  any  repetition  of  this 
ceremony. 

But  to  return  to  the  Kollangodu  festival  in 
Travancore.  Some  children  were  brought 
forward  whose  parents  had  made  vows  about 
them.  The  little  ones  were  then  made  to 
prostrate  themselves  before  the  image  of  the 
goddess  Kali.  Then  the  fleshy  parts  of  their 
sides  were  pinched  up,  some  wires  put  through, 
just  as  a  surgeon  would  sew  up  a  large  open 
wound.  This  done,  the  wires  were  placed 
in  the  hands  of  relatives,  and  in  this  way 
the  suffering  children  were  led  round  and  round 
the  temple,  as  though  in   leading  strings.     Any 


THE    HOOK-SWIXGlxNG    CLREM(JiNY    AS    I    SAW    IT. 


591 


cries  they  made  were  drowned  by  the  noise  of 
the  music  and  the  shouts  of  the  people. 

In  the  afternoon — but  long  before  all  the 
proceedings  were  over — I  came  away,  with  feel- 
ings of  pity  for  the  suffering  children,  and  with  a 
more  earnest  longing  tlian  ever  that  the  people 


all  these  tortures  were  entirely  self-inflicted,  and 
no  one  but  the  devotee  himself  need  take  any 
part  in  them.  In  Hook-swinging  and  side- 
piercing,  however,  there  are  the  temple  authori- 
ties, the  priests,  the  relatives,  and  the  people 
holding  the  ropes  — all    taking  a  distinct   part. 


From  a\ 


GENEKAL   VIEW 


THE    HOOK-SUI.NGING    I  t.-.ir.AI. 


[Photo. 


should  be  taught  a  better  way  of  giving  them- 
selves and  their  children  to  God's  service.  The 
day  had  been  a  very  hot,  sultry  one,  and  the 
heavy  thunderstorm  which  had  been  threatening 
all  the  afternoon  burst  upon  us  when  we  had 
gone  about  five  miles.  This,  however,  I  learnt 
afterwards  from  my  agents,  did  not  stop  the 
festival. 

I  have  during  my  missionary  life  in  India 
seen  various  kinds  of  self-inflicted  torture  by 
religious  devotees  and  fakirs.  I  have  seen  men 
with  iron  skewers  thrust  through  their  cheeks. 
I  have  .seen  men  walking  on  sandals  with  nails 
driven  through.  I  have  seen  men  sitting  on  little 
carts  made  of  a  board  with  hundreds  of  sharp 
nails  driven  through  point  upwards  ;  and  I  have 
seen  nien  lying  naked  on  beds  of  thorns — but 


and  all  (I  hope  my  Hindu  friends  will  excuse  the 
word,  but  none  other  will  express  the  meaning) 
being  brutalized  by  the  ceremony  and  taught 
to  combine  in  a  cruel  rite.  Then  there  are 
the  infants  and  children,  unwilling  sufferers 
in  the  ceremonies  ;  and  for  this  reason,  and 
on  behalf  of  the  children,  I  do  hope  every 
possible  influence  will  be  brought  to  bear  to 
bring  this  barbarous  and  dangerous  practice 
to  an  end. 

KoUangodu  is  in  Travancore.  This  is  a 
Native  State,  having  self-government  and  a 
British  Resident ;  but  the  Travancore  Rajahs 
have  always  been  loyal  to  the  British  throne,  and 
I  believe  His  Highness  the  Maharajah  would 
join  the  Madras  Government  in  making  this 
ceremony  a  thing  of  the  past. 


A    Desperate    Plight. 

By  Captain   H.  V.   Barclay  (Late    Royal  Marines),  F.R.(;.S. 

The   well-known    Australian    surveyor    relates  one  of  his   most  fearful  experiences — which,  of  course, 

spells   "  thirst  " — in   the  arid  interior  of  the  island  continent.     The   desperate    lonely  ride  through  the 

gorge,  the  dying  horses,  the  terrible  fall  and  the  ultimate  rescue. 


HEN  in  charge  of  the  Trigonome- 
trical Survey  of  Central  Australia, 
in  unexplored  country,  in  a  dry 
season,  we  had  many  adventures  and 
frequent  difificulties  to  overcome,  not 
the  least  of  which  were  those  encountered  when 
searching  for  water. 

The  story  of  one  such  experience — always 
hazardous  to  the  Australian  pioneer,  especially 
when  without  camels — I  now  relate  from  notes 
made  at  the  time.  The  main  facts  may  be 
found  in  the  Government  records. 

I  started  from  Port  AugL;:i:a  in  South 
Australia  (being  in  the  service  of  the  Govern- 
ment) in  February,   1878.     Besides  myself  and 


CAl'TAIN    BARCLAY  (ON    THE    LEFt)   AND    HIS    PARTY   IN    CAMP. 

From  a  Photo,  by  the  Author. 


my  assistant,  there  were  seven  other  white  men 
in  my  caravan,  including  Charles  Fitzner,  my 
foreman,  who  was  my  companion  in  the 
desperate  plight  herein  mentioned.  We  travelled 
direct  to  Alice  Springs  from  Port  Augusta,  and 
our  second  depot  camp  was  seventy  miles  due 
north  of  this  well-known  telegraph  station. 

The  camp  was  situated  on  the  northern 
confines  of  a  vast  elevated  plateau  over  2,000ft. 
above  the  sea,  and  almost  centrally  situated 
with  regard  to  the  Australian  Continent,  being 
above  1,000  miles  from  the  ocean  in  any 
direction.     It  was  a  climate  of  rapid  changes. 


from  great  heat  by  day  to  cold  and  heavy  dews 
by  night ;  the  last,  however,  being  a  fortunate 
circumstance,  on  many  occasions  enabling  our 
horses  to  traverse  great  distances  without  water, 
which  otherwise  could  not  possibly  have  been 
accomplished. 

Towards  the  north  and  east  and  on  the  far 
south  the  plateau  is  bounded  by  rugged  granitic 
ranges,  frequently  rising  precipitously  for 
thousands  of  feet,  and  presenting  an  impassable 
barrier  excepting  where  torn  by  tremendous 
convulsions  into  dusky  gorges  and  passes,  weird 
and  intricate,  into  which  it  is  far  easier  to 
penetrate  than  to  return. 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  our  depot,  as 
shown  in  the  illustra- 
tion  on  page  594,  the 
ranges,  although  often 
4,oooft.  high,  were 
evidently  negotiable,  not- 
withstanding that  the 
difficulty  of  crossing  was 
accentuated  by  dense 
mulga  scrub  covering 
the  lower  slopes,  every 
scratch  from  which  makes 
a  painful  festering  sore 
difficult  to  heal,  and  the 
source  of  delight  from 
dawn  to  dusk  of  swarms 
of  small  flies,  whose  per- 
sistency and  determina- 
tion almost  insensibly 
caused  us  to  cease  brush- 
ing them  aside  for  very 
weariness. 

The  exigencies  of  my 
work  requiring  me  to 
shift  my  depot  —  provid- 
ing I  could  discover 
enough  water  to  enable  me  to  do  so — we  made 
many  fruitless  searches  in  the  vicinity,  and  finally 
had  to  fall  back  on  such  information  as  we 
could  obtain  by  capturing  natives,  few  of  whom 
had  ever  seen  a  white  skin  before,  although  the 
white  man's  reputation  as  the  apostle  of  death 
or  destruction  had  preceded  our  arrival. 

Therefore,  to  establish  friendly  relations  under 
the  circumstances  was  not  easy,  particularly 
as  neither  the  blacks  nor  I  were  able  to 
understand  a  word  of  one  another's  language. 
However,  by  liberality  with  such  food  as  we 
could  spare,  we  managed  to  calm  their  terrors, 


A    DESPERATE    PLIGHT. 


593 


and  by  means  of  a  kind  of  picture  language 
extemporized  on  the  spot  we  succeeded  in 
obtaining  consistent  information  of  water  in  a 
direction  a  little  to  th:  east  of  north.  There 
seemed  a  probability  of  our  being  able  to  reach 
it,  too,  providing  we  were  fortunate  in  finding  a 
pass  by  which  we  could  cross  the  range  in  that 
direction. 

Our  black  friends  of  both  sexes,  although 
resembling  our  primitive  ancestors  in  the  matter 
of  clothing  (as  shown  in  the  accompanying 
photograph  of  a  bush  family),  were  a  fine  peoplt 


'uUK    BLACK    FRIENDS   WERE   A   FI.NE   PEOPLE  "—BUT     :      I    , 

From  a  Photo,  by]  for  the  captain. 

— "  the  Highlanders  of  Australia,"  in  fact.  They 
were  by  no  means  lacking  in  courage  and  bright 
intelligence,  so  I  determined  to  make  an  effort 
to  reach  their  water.  Previous  experience, 
however,  had  convinced  me  of  the  futility  of 
attempting  to  take  them  with  us  as  guides,  since 
— probably  through  fear  of  their  own  com- 
patriots— they  invariably  misled  us,  or  slipped 
away  when  unobserved. 

The  supply  of  water-carrying  appliances  we 
had  was  slender  in  the  extreme,  being  limited 
to  a  few  small  canvas  bags  whose  contents 
usually  suffered  much  from  evaporation.  They 
also  absorbed  saline  matter  from  the  perspiration 
of  the  horses  carrying  them,  thus  rendering  the 
water  brackish  and  thirst-inducing  rather  than 
refreshing.  I  therefore  decided  on  taking  with 
me  but  one  man,  Charles  Fitzner,  with  four  of 
our  most  reliable  horses,  packing  two   with  a 

Vol.  iii.-75. 


limited  supply  of  charqui  (sun-diied  beef),  some 
tea,  flour,  tobacco,  and  sufficient  ammunition 
for  our  rifles  and  revolvers,  lest  we  should 
unfortunately  be  attacked  by  the  blacks,  who 
were  very  treacherous  in  these  parts,  and  certain 
to  be  numerous  in  the  vicinity  of  water  such 
as  we  hoped  to  discover. 

Having  completed  our  preparations  for  the 
trip  overnight,  we  were  enabled  to  start  at  the 
first  streak  of  dawn  on  a  lovely  summer  morning. 
A\'e  commenced  forcing  our  way  through  the 
dense  scrub,  now  dripping  with  the   heavy   dew 

peculiar  to  these  elevated 
regions.  I  made  the  best 
course  I  could  by  com- 
pass towards  where  I 
believed  we  should  find 
the  lowest  part  of  the 
range. 

On  emerging  from  the 
scrub,  in  a  sorely  dilapi- 
dated condition  after 
several  hours'  hard  work, 
we  were  delighted  to  find 
ourselves  in  a  pass  which, 
though  difficult,  was  yet 
practicable ;  and  by  half- 
past  three  in  the  after- 
noon we  were  safely  o\er 
the  range  in  open  country. 
Before  us  in  the  distance 
could  be  seen  the  dark 
winding  line  of  gum  trees, 
invariably  found  on  the 
borders  of  rivers  of  the 
interior.  We  pushed 
along  smartly  until  we 
arrived  at  what  in  wet 
seasons  must  be  a  con- 
siderable stream,  but 
which  was  now  a  dry  bed  of  sand. 

We  continued  along  its  course  for  many 
miles  widiout  finding  water,  until  at  7  p.m.  we 
unpacked  and  hobbled  our  tired  and  thirsty 
horses,  turning  them  out  on  the  abundant  and 
dewy  grass  in  the  vicinity.  Then,  having  re- 
freshed ourselves  with  a  little  brackish  tea, 
charqui,  and  damper,  we  proceeded  to  make  a 
deep  hole  in  the  sandy  bed  of  the  water-course. 
After  much  hard  work,  without,  however,  find- 
ing any  indications  of  water,  we  were  compelled 
to  give  up,  tired  and  disappointed,  and  rolling 
ourselves  in  our  blankets,  we  lay  on  the  soft 
sand  feeling  pretty  secure  from  attack  in  such  a 
waterless  country.  We  slept  as  only  those  can 
who  have  tried  shovellin<?  loose  sand  after  a 
long  day's  ride  under  a  blazing  sun. 

Before  dawn  we  brought  in  the  horses,  now 
quite  refreshed,   and   loaded  them  up,  starting 


[the  Author. 


594 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE 


onwards  at  5.30  a.m.  and 
following  the  course  of  the 
creek,  which  was  still  taking 
a  north-easterly  direction. 
Having  proceeded  some 
miles  we  arrived  at  its 
junction  with  another  large 
water  -  course  ;  and  here 
again,  the  position  appear- 
ing favourable,  we  unpacked 
the  horses  and  turned  them 
out  to  feed,  whilst  we 
made  a  well  in  the  sand 
Not  finding  any  trace  of 
water,  however,  we  again 
re-packed  the  horses  and 
resumed  our  journey  along 
the  creek,  now  greatly  in- 
creased in  size.  The  sandy 
bed,  between  high  banks, 
was  studded  with  gum 
trees,  the  course  being 
now  about  1 00yds.  wide.  After  an  hour's 
travelling  the  creek  turned  to  the  north, 
but  I  determined  to  adhere  to  the  north- 
easterly direction  in  which  our  black  infor- 
mants had  pointed,  hoping  shortly  to  find 
the  reported  water  of  which  we  were  now 
sorely  in  need.  By  the  way,  I  often  think 
that  an  account  of  Central  Australian  explora- 
tion must  bore  the  reader,  since  the  feature  that 
figures  in  almost  every  sentence  is  the  incessant 
hunt  for  precarious  water. 

Well,  crossing  some  low  hills  covered  with 
broken  flint  stones,  for  some  time,  we  presently 
saw  before  us  a  much  larger  creek,  with  high, 
steep  banks,  answering  the  description  given  us 
by  the  blacks ;  and  shortly  after  we  reached  it. 
We  found  the  sandy  bed  dry,  however,  and  so 
followed  along  its  course  for  some  distance 
until  we  reached  a  promising-looking  spot, 
when  we  dismounted  and  dug  a  well  about  6ft. 
deep  in  the  bed  of  the  creek,  going  right 
through  the  sand  to  the  clay  below  it  — 
but  again  without  success.  We  then  con- 
tinued to  follow  the  course  of  the  creek, 
being  determined  at  all  hazards  to  verify  the 
statements  of  the  blacks  regarding  the  large 
camping-ground  where  they  described  the  water 
to  be ;  consequently  we  continued  along  the 
creek,  occasionally  halting  to  test  the  sand  for 
water,  but  always  with  the  same  unfortunate 
result. 

At  last  we  came  upon  the  remains  of  an 
extensive  camp,  now  deserted,  and  found  the 
position  in  the  bed  of  the  creek  where  holes 
had  been  made  for  water.  These  "  wells,"  how- 
ever, were  now  partially  filled  with  sand,  but 
with  infinite  labour  we  opened  them  out,  and  in 


THIS  1.-,    i  UK  CA.Ml'  1-KO.M  WHICH  CAI'  I  AIX   I'.AKCI.AV  SIAKTEU  OUT  ON   HIS  Al  I 

J^'yoiit  a  Sketch  bv  the  Author, 


some  cases  deepened  them,  without  finding  even 
a  trace  of  water.  We  searched  the  creek  for 
about  four  miles  beyond  the  camp,  faintly  hoping 
we  might  find  some  other  spot  where  a  little  of 
the  life-giving  fluid  had  remained  ;  but  in 
vain.  'We  were  then  reluctantly  compelled  to 
admit  that  our  only  chance  of  escaping  with  our 
lives  (for  our  condition  and  that  of  our  beasts 
was  now  simply  desperate)  was  to  return  to  the 
nearest  water  we  knew  of — that  at  our  now  far- 
distant  depot  camp.  Accordingly  we  struck 
across  to  the  creek  along  which  we  came, 
following  it  homeward  until  we  found  some 
excellent  green  grass.  Here  we  unpacked  our 
poor  horses,  who  were  now  very  nmch  done  up, 
owing  to  thirst  aggravated  by  the  great  heat, 
and  turned  them  out  to  rest,  hoping  they  might 
eat.  This,  however,  the  poor  animals  would 
not  do,  as  the  dew  had  not  yet  commenced  to 
fall.  At  six  o'clock  we  resumed  our  homeward 
journey,  making  fairly  good  progress  until  i  a.m., 
when  we  camped  for  a  much-needed  rest. 

At  daylight  we  packed  our  horses,  but  finding 
them  very  sorely  pressed,  although  there  had 
been  a  copious  fall  of  dew,  damping  our 
blankets  as  we  lay  on  the  sand,  we  decided  to 
proceed  on  foot,  driving  them  before  us,  and 
occasionally  mounting  to  rest  ourselve-s.  In 
this  fiishion  we  continued  journeying  until  we 
were  about  ten  miles  from  the  depot  and  near 
the  mountain  pass  through  which  we  had  come. 
At  this  point  two  of  the  horses  refused  to  move, 
even  when  unpacked,  and  it  was  evident  they 
were  in  a  dying  condition.  My  companion,  too, 
was  greatly  exhausted,  and  declared  he  would 
rather  lie  down  and  take  his  chance  than 
attempt  to  reach  the  camp.     I  felt  very  much 


A    DESPERATE    PLIGHT. 


595 


the  same  myself,  but  the  knowledge  that  having 
ordered  Fitzner  to  accompany  me  I  was  respon- 
sible for  his  sufferings,  even  if  they  were  un- 
avoidable, strencjthened  me  in  mv  resolution  to 
go  on.  So,  leaving  ever)lhing  except  two 
leather  pack-bags,  which  I  thought  might  be 
useful  for  bringing  out  water,  and  a  light  sport- 
ing rifle  with  a  couple  of  cartridges  in  case  of 
attack,  I  pushed  on  alone  with  the  other  horses 
straight  for  the  depot,  hoping  to  bring  out  assist- 
ance before  it  was  too  late. 

It  was  impossible  not  to  recognise  that  our 
position  was  well-nigh  hopeless.  Between  us 
and  help  there  was  yet  the  most  formidable 
obstacle  of  all — a  rugged  mountain  range  with 
deep  gorges  and  heavily-timbered  slopes  which 
we  found  difficult  enough  to  negotiate  when 
fresh  and  well-mounted.  Now,  however,  worn 
out  with  fatigue  and  thirst,  and  with  dying 
horses,  it  seemed  utterly  impossible  that  I  should 
succeed.  But  I  knew  our  only  chance  was  for 
me  to  attempt  it,  and  I  set  out  on  foot,  driving 
the  remaining  two  horses  before  me. 

Their  instinct  telling  them  that  we  were 
homeward  bound  towards  the  longed-for  water, 
thev  moved  along  willinglv  enoush  for  a  time, 
until  clinibing  up  the 
steep  gorge  began  to  tell 
on  them,  and  then  I 
could  no  longer  keep 
them  in  front  of  me.  Our 
camp  was  now  not  more 
than  six  or  seven  miles 
distant,  and  we  were  over 
the  saddle  and  on  the 
downward  slope  towards 
it  So,  as  a  last  resource, 
I  re-mounted  and  drove 
the    other    horse    before 


For  a  time  I  could  not  recall  the  situation  — 
then  the  urgent  necessity  of  pushing  forward  to 
the  camp  flashed  across  my  mind,  and  with 
difficulty  I  climbed  up  the  slope,  only  to  find 
the  pack-horse  in  the  throes  of  death,  whilst  the 
other  had  vanished  without  leaving  a  trace. 
Possibly  he  had  fallen  down  the  gorge. 

The  night  was  now  cold  and  very  damp,  and 
although  too  much  dazed  from  the  fall  to  be 
able  to  proceed  at  once,  I  was  surprised  to  feel 
the  longing  for  water,  and  the  sense  of  suffoca- 
tion which  accompanies  it,  much  less  keenly 
than  was  the  case  earlier  in  the  evening.  The 
probable  reason  for  this  was  my  having  been 
slightly  relieved  by  the  loss  of  blood  from  a  cut 
I  received  on  the  back  of  my  head.  This  seemed 
to  have  bled  copiously.  After  resting  a  few 
minutes  I  made  another  attempt  to  reach  the 
camp,  and  entered  the  scrub,  taking  the  stars 
for  my  guide.  I  was  by  no  means  clear  in  my 
mind,  but  was  possessed  by  one  dominating 
thought — that  I  must  reach  the  camp  somehow 
and  return  with  water  to  my  companion,  poor 
Charles  Fitzner.  I  believe  the  intensity  of  this, 
my  one  desire,  endowed  me  for  the  time  with 
faculties  of  perception  and  endurance  beyond 


me.      I    sot    along    well 


CATTAIS   BASCI.AY  ON 


enough  for  about  a  mile, 
when,  to  my  horror,  while 
going  along  the  side  of 
a  very  steep  gully,  the 
horse  I  was  riding  sud- 
denly  collapsed,  and,  fall- 
ing heavily,  caused  the 
muzzle  of  the  rifle  I  was 
canning  in  a  gun  bucket 
on  the  saddle  to  strike  the 
ground  with  great   force, 

the  butt  end  crashing  against  my  side  just  below 
my  ribs,  and  throwing  me  headlong  down  the 
gorge.  Fortunately  I  was  thrown  clear  of  the  horse. 
1  received  a  stunning  blow  on  my  head,  and 
must  have  remained  unconscious  for  a  consider- 
able time.  The  accident  occurred  about  half- 
past  five  in  the  afternoon,  but  the  stars  were 
shining  brightly  when  I  came  to  myself. 


THE  idextica:.  horsf.  that  threw  him  in  the  gorge. 
Fran!  a  Pkoio.  by  the  Author. 

those  ordinarily  enjoyed  by  humanity,  enabling 
me  to  scramble  through  the  dense  mulga  in  the 
dark  without  much  difficulty — and,  strange  to 
say,  without  being  greatly  scratched  by  the 
tangled  mass — so  little,  indeed,  that  many  times 
I  was  nearly  overcome  by  a  sense  of  intense 
and  pleasurable  languor.  I  remember  this 
distinctly  ;  was  I  dying,  I  wondered  ? 


596 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Eventually,  I  emerged  from  the  scrub  on  to 
the  open  plain  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
depot,  where  I  shortly  after  arrived — greatly  to 
the  men's  surprise  and  alarm,  at  seeing  my 
dreadful  condition.  I  now  found  that,  owing 
to  the  swollen  state  of  my  tongu-e  from  thirst,  I 
could  neither  utter  a  sound  nor  yet  swallow — 
although  the  maddening  craving  for  water  had 
returned  at  the  sight  and  smell  of  it.  For  even 
pure  water  can  be  svielt  when  a  man  is  urgently 
in  need  of  it.  My  men  threw  buckets  of 
water  over  me,  and  I  believe  that  the  pores  of 
my  skin  must  have  absorbed  it  like  a  sponge,  as 
my  condition  became  greatly  relieved.  Presently, 
not  being  able  to  articulate,  I  wrote  an  order 
for  the  horses  to  be  brought  in  at  once  and 
loaded  up.  Fortunately  they  were  near  the 
camp  in  hobbles,  and  by  i  a.m.  a  rescue 
party  was  ready,  consisting  of  a  couple  of  men 
and  my  black  tracker,  with  four  horses  loaded 
with  as  much  water  as  we  could  contrive  appli- 
ances to  carry. 

Then  a  new  difficulty  arose.  None  of  my 
men  could  possibly  travel  by  compass  and 
distance  in  such  country,  even  if  I  could  have 
given  sufficiently  exact  data  ;  and  it  being  dark 
my  black  tracker,  also  a  stranger  to  the  terri- 
tory, could  not  or  would  not  guide  them.  Like 
all  Australian  aborigines,  he  feared  a  night 
expedition  in  the  gorges.  So,  although  severely 
bruised,  yet  feeling  little  pain,  and  the  only 
solution  being  to  show  the  way  myself,  I 
returned  with  them  through  the  scrub.  About 
2.30  a.m.  we  were  well  in  the  pass.  The 
country  being  too  dangerous  to  attempt  to 
proceed  in  the  dark,  we 
camped  till  dawn,  when 
we  resumed  our  journey. 

Not  long  afterwards,  my 
tracker  discovered  what 
he  said  was  Fitzner's 
track  going  towards  the 
depot.  Later  on  we  found 
places  where  we  could  see 
it  for  ourselves  without 
doubt,onits  being  pointed 
out  by  the  tracker.  Hence, 
it  was  no  use  proceeding 
farther,  and  we  returned 
to  the  camp,  following  up 
Fitzner's  tracks  under  the 
guidance  of  my  black  boy, 
lest  he  should  have  failed 
to  reach  the  camp.  From 
time  to  time  our  guide 
would  show  a  broken 
branch,  a  footstep,  or  a 
bit  of  shirt  lost  in  tearing 
through  the   scrub,   thus 


taking  us  along  rapidly  until  we  reached  the 
depot,  where,  to  our  inexpressible  relief,  we 
found  Fitzner  recovering  from  the  terrible 
sufferings  he  had  endured.  Buckets  of  water 
were  being  poured  over  him  by  our  cook. 

The  subsequent  explanation  was  that  when 
the  dew  began  to  fall,  in  the  cool  of  the 
evening,  he  removed  his  clothes  and  lay  in  the 
damp  grass  until  sufficiently  revived  to  push 
on,  in  the  hope  of  meeting  me  on  my  return. 
We  — that  is,  the  rescue  party— passed  quite 
near  to  him,  but  owing  to  his  tongue  being 
swollen  he  could  not  stop  us,  and  being  unable 
to  find  his  way  through  the  scrub  in  the  dark, 
he  simply  rested  until  daylight.  Then  he 
crossed  our  track  and  followed  it  to  camp, 
arriving  there  in  a  condition  of  terrible  distress 
through  want  of  water,  but  without  any  serious 
injury. 

The  men  I  had  with  me  having  rested,  I 
dispatched  them  under  the  guidance  of  my 
tracker  to  find  our  saddles,  packs,  etc.,  and 
bring  them  in.  Meanwhile  I  and  my  companion 
enjoyed  a  hardly-won  rest  for  a  couple  of  days, 
when  the  remainder  of  the  party  returned  with 
nearly  all  we  had  left  behind. 

A  few  days  later  a  severe  thunderstorm, 
accompanied  by  heavy  rain,  swept  over  the 
country  in  the  direction  in  which  I  desired  to 
proceed,  and  so  we  packed  up  our  many  instru- 
ments and  other  impedimenta.  Our  difficulties 
in  quest  of  water  were  now  at  an  end  for  many 
months,  a  circumstance  which  only  those  who 
have  explored  the  arid  interior  of  Australia  can 
fully  appreciate. 


WE    PACKED   UP   OUR   MANY   INSTRUMENTS   AND    OTHER    lllPEDIMEN  lA. 

From  a  PItoto.  by  the  Author. 


The   Great  Grottos   of  Hatio 


Bv  William  G.   FitzGerald. 

All  about  the  marvellous  caverns  near  Han-sur-Lesse,   in  the  Belgian    Ardennes.     Described   by 
cr.e  -.vho  thoroughly  explored  them,  and  illustrated  with  a  set  of  magnificent  and   impressive  photos. 

taken  by  M.   Paul  Boyer,  of  Paris. 


HE  Belgian  Ardennes  aren't  nearly 
well  enough  known.  In  the  various 
villages  there  you  can  live  like  the 
proverbial  fighting-cock  for  about 
five  shillings  a  day,  and  enjoy  some 
of  the  most  charming  scenery  in  Europe.  You 
go  to  Brussels;  thence  to  Namur,  and  from 
ihere  down  the  Meuse  in  a  steamer  to  Dlnant  — 
dear,  quaint  little  Dinant,  with  its  curious 
church  with  the  funny  egg-shaped  arrangement 
on  top,  nestling  under  the  tremendous  rock  on 
which  the  citadel  is  built.  Then,  one  morning 
you  sally  forth  and  take  the  train  to  Eprave. 
Vou  may  go  on  to  Rochefort,  which  !ias  quite  a 
considerable  cavern  all  to  itself;  but  on  the 
whole  Eprave  ii  the  best  station.  Going  down 
in  the  train,  a  meek-faced  person  speaking  weird 
English  comes  and  sells  you  tickets.  If  you 
attempt  to  interview  him,  you  gather  that  the 
wonderful  grottos  you  are  about  to 
see  are  the  private  property  of  a 
gentleman  residing  at  Namur;  at 
least  that's  what  /  gathered.  And 
considering  that  the  entrance  fee  is 
7.fr.  for  one  person,  and  5fr.  a  head 
for  a  party,  I  should  think  our  friend 
has  a  fine  fat  thing.  And,  by  the 
■way,  the  rules  and  regulations  that 
lie  has  set  his  seal  to  are  anions: 
the  queerest  imaginable.  But  I  was 
talking  about  Eprave  Station.  Here 
you  are  met  by  a  break,  which  takes 
you  to  the  Hotel  Mallarm,  where, 
strangely  enough,  there  is  a  long 
wait  for  refreshments. 

But  at  last  the  break  is  ready 
once  more,  and  this  time  you  see 
your  companions.  There  are  not 
many  of  them.  Only  half-adozen 
surprisingly  fat  French  cyclists  ;  a 
little  English  madame^  and  a  large 
French  lady  with  a  hoarse  voice  and 
a  dear,  sweet  face.  Everybody  beams 
at  everybody  else,  and  the  entire  party 
is  in  a  state  of  suppressed  excite- 
ment. You  hear  someone  say  that 
for  centuries  no  one  dared  to  enter 
the  vast,  mysterious  chambers  and 
grottos.  The  coachman  cracks  his 
whip,  and  away  we  go  towards  the 
village  of  Han.  ^^ere  you  buy  your 
ticket  of  admission  to  the  srottos 
themselves  ;    also    your    ticket 


for  "  The  Loss  of  the  Lesse  "  (fifty  centimes 
e.xtra) ;  the  firing  of  the  cannon  to  wake  the 
echoes  (also  fifty  centimes  extra) ;  and  other 
little  things  which  ve.x  you  horribly  at  the  time, 
but  which  afterwards  you  wouldn't  like  to  have 
missed.  It  was  raining  abominably,  but  nothing 
could  damp  the  spirits  of  our  party. 

At  length  we  are  off  again,  and  everyone  is 
craning  his  or  her  neck  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  precipitous  hills  in  which  the  grottos  are 
situated.  At  last  the  break  stops,  and  we  all 
get  out.  A  sweet-faced  Walloon  girl  greets  us, 
and  leads  the  way  across  some  wet  and  muddy 
fields.  At  last  we  arrive  at  the  ugliest  hoarding 
I  ever  saw.  In  a  moment  I  know  its  object ;  it 
is  to  keep  the  cold  eye  of  the  non-paying  public 
from  the  "  Perte  de  la  Lesse  " — the  awe-inspir- 
ing spot  where  the  river  plunges  into  a  subter- 
ranean abvss. 


THE   PLACE   WHERE    THE    RIVER     LESSE   DISAPPEARS    INTu    THE   ABYSS. 

From  a  Photo. 


59« 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


The  dear  Walloon  girl  clears  her  throat.  The 
pretty  smile  vanishes,  and  she  commences  the 
old  parrot-like  peroration  commencing  with  : 
"  Mess-'ieurs  et  mesdames"  etc.,  etc.  Yes,  it  is 
very  interesting  ;  and  the  little  English  madame, 
with  that  desire  to  "  see  things  "  which  is  so 
characteristic  of  her  countrywomen,  leaves  the 
main  party  and  goes  carefully  down  the  pre- 
cipitous slope  almost  into  the  cavern.  A  little 
way  in,  the  river  falls  into  "an  awful  abyss. 
About  fifty  yards  before  the  Lesse  enters  the 
cavern  it  is  dashed  into  foaming  breakers,  and 
is  altogether  unlike  the  placid  little  stream  we 
hugged  so  closely  coming  from  Dinant  in  the 
train. 

After  a  few  minutes  the  fat  Frenchmen  begin 
to  look  a  little 
bored.  Also  they 
look  at  one  another 
as  though  asking 
why  they  had  come 
there, and  then  they 
look  at  the  little 
Walloon  girl  some- 
what sternly,  as 
though  bidding  her 
take  them  to  the  en- 
trance of  the  great 
cavern.  Mam'zelle 
was  careful  to  see 
us  all  out  through 
the  door  in  the 
hoarding,  which 
she  scrupulously 
locked,  and  then 
led  the  way  along 
a  m  u  d  d  }'  path 
through  the  woods 
towards  the  en- 
trance to  the 
famous  Grottos  of 
Han. 

At  length  the 
path  widened  and 
grew  firmer.  There 
was  a  sharp  bend, 
and  suddenly  we 
stood  before  the 
rather    alarming,      ■— .-._.-„*.  ._.^  .. 

.  1        I'lr   i  '''""'    ^'^''^S    ^'O"    ^    GOOD    IDEA    OF    THE 

tunnel- like    en-        From  a]  from  one  "saloon' 

trance.    ^V'e  waited 

some  time  here,  and  some  of  us  shouted 
for  the  guide.  Presently  he  came  along, 
apparently  a  poor,  decrejMt  old  man,  with  a 
stout  stick  in  his  hand  and  a  number  of  lengths 
of  frayed  tow  in  his  girdle.  He  also  had  with 
him  two  or  three  more  girls  and  a  middle-aged 
woman — all  assistants,  and  each  provided  with 
a  curious  arrangement  consisting  of  a  handle  in 


the  middle  and  an  oil  lamp  on  either  side.    Yoi' 
will  see  these  lamps  in  many  of  the  photos. 

In  we  walked.  Need  I  say  that  the  little 
English  madauie  was  first  ?  Feeling  confident 
that  no  one  understood  what  she  said,  she 
declared,  witli  an  indignation  there  was  no 
earthly  excuse  for,  that  no  one  should  go  before 
her.  Yes,  she  would  follow  close  behind  the 
guide,  and  everybody  else  would  have  to  take  a 
back  seat,  of  course. 

Altogether,  there  are  twenty-two  "rooms." 
Nothing  could  be  more  impressive  than  the  way 
in  which  the  narrow,  winding,  low-roofed  passages 
(one  of  them — the  Grande  Rue — is  115  metres 
long,  and  is  naturally  hewn  out  of  black  marble 
veined  with   white)  abruptly  widened  out  i«to 

the  most  stupen- 
dous galleries — the 
largest  of  them  of 
the  truly  colossal 
dimensions  of 
5coft.  by  400ft.,  by 
250ft.  in  height. 
Not  even  the  most 
blinding  glare  of 
the  magnesium 
ribbon  could  illu 
mine  the  vast 
heights  of  this 
sombre  cavern. 

Our  second  illus 
tration  conveys  a 
most  admirable 
idea  of  one  of  the 
stairways,  which 
appear  to  have 
been  fitted  by  our 
commercial  friend 
at  Namur,  who 
owns  the  place. 
Nevertheless,  in 
spite  of  the  stair- 
case, the  experience 
is  rather  a  trying 
one,  especially  for 
the  ladies.  The 
entire  tour  of  the 
grottos  takes  not 
less  than  three 
hours,  the  way 
being  a  seemingly 
interminable  succession  of  staircases,  winding 
pathways,  abysses,  and  galleries,  with  occasional 
glimpses  of  the  silent  river,  flowing  at  an 
extraordinary  distance  beneath,  and  reflecting 
weirdly  the  lights  carried  by  the  girls.  We 
notice  that  electric  light  is  installed  throughout, 
but  we  also  observe  in  the  card  of  rules  that 
when    it    is    "  on  "    a    few    francs    extra    are 


NEVER-ENDING     ■ 

'    TO   THE   OTHEH. 


LEADING 

[Photo. 


THE    GREAT    (GROTTOS    OF    HAN. 


599 


added   to  the   already  ridiculously  high  admis- 
sion fee. 

The  little  English  madamc  is  a  great  trial  to 
the  guide.  She  is  perpetually  tapping  at  the 
slender  stalagmites,  and  saying  positively  wicked 
things  when  she  finds  they  are  as  rigid  as  iron. 
She  wants  to  take  a  few  of  the  crystals  home 
with  her,  and  her  anxiety  in  this  respect  causes 
her  almost  to  lose  the  high  place  she  has  hitherto 
held  in  the  guide's  esteem.  She  asks  her 
husband,  in  a  whisper,  "  What  is  the  French  for 
'  hammer  '?  "  He  says  he  thinks  it  is  f/mrte.ai/, 
but  isn't  sure,  as  he  hasn't  a  dictionary  with  him. 
"  Well,"  replied  the  little  lady,  "  I  am  going  to 
ask  the  guide  to  lend  me  a  marteau,  for  I  am 
going  to  knock  off  a  few  of  these  crystals." 

That  is  enough.  The  guide  has  caught  the 
word,  and  from  that  time  until  we  make  our 
weird  exit  in  a  boat  on  the  subterranean  river 
he  keeps  his  eye  on  /a  petite  A/fi^/a/se.  Under 
the  pretext  of  placing  her  in  the  most  advan- 
tageous position,  he  dexterously  arranges  that 
she  shall  be  put  behind  everybody  else,  and 
out  of  reach  of  the  precious  stalagmites  and 
stalactites — particularly  the  slenderest  ones. 
Still,  viada»ie  has  an  active  mind  and  must  be 
doing  something,  so  she  frightens  the  entire 
party  out  of  their  wits  by  tipping  enormous 
pieces  of  rock  into  the  abyss  in  order  to  wake 
the  echoes.  The  fat  French  cyclists  were  grieved 
at  this  out-of-place  frivolity,  but  the  dear 
Frenchwoman  laughed  so  heartily  that  she 
had  to  be  supported  up  the  staircase  by  her 
unfortunate  spouse,  who 
must  have  weighed  at  least 
twenty-two  stone. 

When  the  narrow  ways 
branched  out  again  into  vast 
mysterious  grottos  the  old 
guide  would  call  a  halt.  We 
always  knew  when  he  had 
arrived  at  some  impressive 
point  of  view,  because  one 
of  the  fat  cyclists  would 
cannon  heavily  into  the 
curious  little  oil  reservoir, 
mounted  on  an  iron  pipe 
in  the  ground,  the  use  of 
which  I  will  explain. 

In  the  semi -darkness — 
for  the  lights  carried  by  the 
girls  merely  served  to  in- 
tensify the  extraordinary 
gloom  —  the  guide  would 
dispose  his  charges  here 
and  there,  and  then  make 
preparations  for  lighting  up 
the  Saloon.  Detaching  one 
length  of  tow  from  his  girdle, 


he  would  hand  it  to  one  of  the  girls.  She  took 
it,  and,  0[)ening  the  little  iron  reservoir  on  top 
of  the  oil-pipe,  dipped  it  in  and  out  until  it 
was  saturated.  Even  in  the  semi-darkness  you 
could  catch  the  angry  warning  glances  of  the 
ladies,  who  feared  that  their  dresses  might  get 
splashed  witli  petroleum  or  kerosene,  or  what- 
ever the  stuff  was.  Then  our  friend  the  guide 
put  the  dripping  tow  on  the  end  of  his  stick 
and  lighted  it.  The  effect  was  simply  astound- 
ing. As  the  oily  stuff  blazed  up  one  had  a 
momentary  glimpse  of  the  tremendous  propor- 
tions of  the  Saloon.  Up  and  up  and  up  the 
eye  travelled,  dazzled  by  the  diamond -like 
glitterings  of  the  crystals  and  the  snow-white 
brilliance  of  the  extraordinary  stalagmites —the 
latter  in  many  cases  looking  like  immense 
fountains  that  had  been  instantaneously  frozen 
solid. 

The  photo,  next  reproduced  shows  the  scene 
— a  small  part  of  it,  that  is.  On  the  left  we  see 
the  guide  with  his  blazing  tow  on  his  stick,  and 
before  him  are  the  tourists,  carefully  inspecting 
the  wonders  of  the  place  in  the  light  of  his 
glowing  descriptions.  I  suppose  it  is  inevitable, 
but  these  guides  mumble  in  such  a  way  that  one 
cannot  catch  the  words.  1  he)',  however,  lay 
extraordinary  stress  on  the  preliminary  "  Mess- 

ieurs  et  mesdaiues,  ceci  est  la  salle "  and  then 

the  thing  dies  away  altogether.  And  so  the 
guide's  voice  rises  and  falls  in  the  most  mad- 
dening way. 

The  proper  attitude  expected  of  the  tourist- 


A    HALT    IN   ONE  OF   THE   GREAT   CHA.MBERS — THE   GUIDE   DESCRIBING   THE   WONDERS   OF 

THE   PLACE.  [Photo. 


From  a] 


6oo 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


"la   TIAKE  "   (the   papal  crown),  one   of    the   LAKGl 

From  a  Photo. 

spectator  is  one  of  reverential  awe,  and  hence  it 
was  that  the  little 
English  lady  aforesaid 
came  in  for  much  dis- 
favour. Having  seen 
the  guide  gravely 
kneeling  down  and 
sounding  some  of  the 
stalagmites  with  slight 
knocks,  thereby  pro- 
ducing quite  a  dulci- 
mer-like air,  she  would 
insist  upon  throwing 
lumps  of  rock  at  the 
finest  stalagmites  in 
order  to  see  what  their 
particular  note  was. 
And  she  would  droj) 
absurdly  large  stones 
into  abysses  so  deep 
that  she  had  time  to 
walk  to  quite  a  distant 
part  of  the  Saloon, 
there  to  be  meekly 
listening  to  one  of  the 

girls,  before  the  terrific     

rumbling     and     mys-       Fro»ta\ 


terious  crash  burst  upon  the  startled  ears  of 
all  present. 

Our  next  reproduction  shows  one  of  the 
most  extraordinary  stalagmites  in  these  vast 
grottos.  This  is  known  as  "La  Tiare,"  and 
I  reproduce  it  because  its  shape  really  bears 
out  its  title  ;  for  even  without  knowing  the 
latter,  one  could  not  fail  to  be  struck  by  its 
resemblance  to  the  world-renowned  Papal 
triple  crown,  or  tiara.  There  are,  of  course, 
"  cascades"  "  foinbeaux,"  "  trones"  and  such- 
like, but  most  of  these  titles  are  very  far- 
fetched indeed.  At  many  of  the  finest  spots 
our  guide,  discarding  the  blazing  tow,  would 
light  up  some  magnesium  ribbon,  holding 
behind  it,  close  to  himself,  a  huge  reflector — 
a  useful  institution,  seeing  that  it  saved  us 
from  die  glare  of  the  light. 

Talking  about  the  guide,  he  gave  quite  a 
curious  little  show  of  his  own — quite  uncon- 
sciously, perhaps,  but  still  nevertheless  enter- 
taining. He  would  take  the  blazing  tow  in 
his  bare  hand  long  before  it  had  burnt  out, 
and,  still  continuing  his  description  of  a 
stalagmite  or  cavern,  commence  calmly  and 
leisurely  to  crumple  up  the  dripping,  blazing 
stuff  in  a  way  which  recalled  the  "  Eire 
King  "  of  the  country  fair. 

The  "Salle  du  Precipice,''  seen  in  the 
accompanying  photo.,  is  a  weird  and  mys- 
terious place.  The  roof  is  covered  with  a 
veritable  forest  of  slender  and  delicate  stalac- 
tites— (the  little  English  lady  had  to  be  forcibly 


THE      SALLE    DU    PRECIPICE      IS   A    WEIRD   AND    MYSTERIOUS    PLACE. 


[Photo. 


THE    GREAT    GROTTOS    OF    HAX. 


60 1 


restrained  from  tnrowing  lumps  of  stone 
at  them)  —  whilst  the  ground  was  covered 
with  a  curious  fungus -like  crop  of  stunted 
stalagmites.  In  the  background  were  rare  and 
impressive  steeple-like  structures  of  great  height. 
But  this  saloon  gets  its  name  from  the  abysses 
it  contains.  On  the  left-hand  side  can  be  seen 
one  of  these.  The  guide  told  me  it  was  over 
forty  metres  deep.  But  the  most  terrible 
precipice  of  all  lies  behind  and  between  the  two 
steeples  in  the  background.  The  fat  cyclists 
never  inquired  much  into  things,  having  all  their 
work  cut  out  for  them  merely  to  follow  the 
guide  in  the  usual  round.  But  the  French  lady 
inquired  whether  it  was  possible  to  go  down 
these  precipices  by  ladders  or  ropes,  and  seemed 
quite  disappointed  when  told  that  such  a  thing 
was  altogether  unprecedented,  unconventional — 
and  not  included  in  the  entrance  fee. 

The  next  photo,  conveys  a  very  fine  idea 
indeed  of  the  magnitude  of  one  of  the  caverns. 
But  no  photo,  can  ever  convey  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  size  of  this  place.  At  this  spot  we 
remained  quite  a  long  time.  The  poor  old 
guide  took  off  his  coat,  slowly  and  feebly,  and 
prepared  for  something  —  we  knew  not  what. 
Suddenly,  with  a  loud  yell,  he  dashed  up  the 


precipitous  rc.'.cs  on  the  left,  with  a  big  bunch 
of  blazing  tow  in  his  hand.  We  watched  him — 
up,  up,  up,  until  his  figure  seemed  no  largei 
than  that  of  a  little  doll,  and  his  flaming  torch 
a  tiny  speck  of  light  in  the  infinite  gloom. 
Would  anyone  have  believed  that  that  seemingly 
feeble  and  slow-moving  old  man  could  yell  like 
that  or  dart  up  those  frightful  rocks  like  a 
chamois  ? 

As  we  look  up  at  him  now  we  realize  why 
he  did  this  ;  it  was  to  give  us  an  idea  of  the 
utter  immensity  of  the  place.  We  are  standing 
on  a  kind  of  platform,  and  behind  us,  to  the 
right  of  the  photograph,  is  a  frightful  precipice ; 
and  down,  down,  down  below  there  were  two 
or  three  of  the  girls  moving  with  lights,  which 
were  reflected  in  the  mysterious  bosom  of  the 
silent,  swift-flowing  Lesse.  Hark !  one  of  the 
girls  is  singing  a  plaintive  old  French  song,  and 
each  note  is  echoed  and  re-echoed  in  a  most 
impressive  manner.  We  take  our  eyes  away 
slowly — bring  them  up,  so  to  speak — over  the 
vast  space  and  glance  at  the  old  man.  He,  too, 
is  giving  vent  to  all  kinds  of  "coo-eys"  and 
eerie  cries  ;  and  altogether  the  scene  is  fairy- 
like and  unreal.  It  is  more  like  a  transformation 
scene  in  a  pantomime  than  anything  else. 


PART  OF  ONE  OF  THE  LARGEST  SAt.OONS 

Vol.  ii;.— 76. 


F    THE   TRANSPORMATION    SCENE   IX   A   PANTOMIME   THAN    ANYTHING    ELSE. 

From  a  Photo. 


6o2 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


J'foin  a\ 


THE    ENTIiANCE   TO    THE        SAI.I.K    UU    UNAI'EUIES 


\riioto. 


The  entrance  to  the  "Salle  du  Drapc^ries,"  natural  courts 
which  is  shown  in  the  next  photo.,  indicates  guides  is  seen 
that  we,  are  nearintj;  the  end.  As  we 
wind  iri  and  out  of  the  strange  paths 
(occasionally  we  pass  places  where  a  slip 
would  result  in  a  frightful  fall)  we  notice 
that  we  are  getting  down  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  river,  which  a  few  minutes 
ago  appeared  hundreds  9#„feet  below  us. 
As  this  saloon,  tOQ,-is.^lighted'up,  v>^prds 
utterly  fail  to  convey  ai,1  idea  ^of  the  un- 
earthly beauty  of  the  miiliuns  _of  stalac- 
tites 'fhat'  droop  from  ll]e  roof,  I'he 
place  Tfi-rtot  properly  lighted.  .  l^rqbably 
it  would  be  impos'sible  to  light  it 
thoroughly.  Even  tRe  brilliant  and 
dazzling  magnesium  'can  only  illumine 
one  corner,  whilst  the  blazing  tow  leaves 
numberless  strange  recesses  and  dark 
abysses  merely  indicated  in  tjI  terrify iiij* 
manner.  ^^ 

I  forgot  to  mention  that' aikpne  truly 
colossal  cavern  (I  think  it  is  (^Iled  the 
Salle  du  Dome)  there  is  a  weird,  un- 
inviting refreshment-[)lace,  where  abomi- 
nable wine  and  worse  champagne  are 
retailed  at  absurd  prices.-  However,  I 
must  say  it  is  worth  while  having  some- 
thing, if  only  for  the  sake  of  sitting  there 
and  looking  down  into  the  "mysterious, 
half-defined  darkness  which  lies  before 
you.  Down,  down,  down  goes  one  of  the 
Walloon  girls,  with  the  double  lamp  in  her 
hand,  to  the  frail  bridge  which  spans  the     "T.'«r«r''''  °"^  ^"^  '"''" 


subterranean  river.  Arrived 
here,  she  puts  her  lamp 
down  and  sings  another 
melancholy  song.  The  voice 
seems  strangely  muffled  and 
far  away,  and  the  echoes 
are  quite  extraordinary.  The 
Salle  du  Dome  takes  its 
name  from  the  immense 
arched  roof,  which  springs 
at  one  stupendous  span 
from  one  side  to  the  other. 
The  silence  at  this  place  is 
not  so  appalling  as  in  the 
other  saloons,  for  drops  of 
water  can  be  heard  falling 
with  a  reverberating  crash 
into  the  dark  and  silent 
river  below. 

Our  next  photo,  shows 
one  of  the  last  of  the  prin- 
cipal attractions.  This  is 
the  "  Alhnmbra,"  so  called 
on  account  of  its  many 
excjuisite  [)illars  and  quaint 
In  the  picture  one  of  the 
in  the  very  act  of  pointing  out 


ES    OF    THE 
TOURISTS. 


'  ALHAMIiRA 


TO    A    PAKTV   OF 

iFhoto, 


THfi    GREAT    GROTTOS    OF    HAN. 


603 


the  strdrige  beauties  of  the  place  to  a  party  of 
tourists.  You  will  notice  that  the  gentleman  in 
the  foreground  carries  a  bag  suspended  from 
his  shoulders  ;  and  I  strongly  advise  all  other 
tourists  visiting  the  grottos  to  do  the  same— 
that  is  to  say,  to  carry  a  flask  of  wine  and  some 
sandwiches  or  other  refreshment  with  them,  for 
the  way  is  long  and  tiring. 

At  last  we  are  down  almost  level  with  the 
placid  lake,  formed  here  by  the  Lesse,  where 
we  embark  in  boats  which  are  in  waiting  to 
carry  us  to  the  spot  where  the  river  sees  the 
light  of  day  once  more.  This  photo.,  perhaps 
more  than  any  other,  gives  one  an  idea  of  the 


The  roof  is  simply  ablaze  with  stalactites, 
which  glisten  like  a  lady's  sequin  dress.  So  fine 
are  they  that  you  would  almost  think  a  breath 
of  wind  would  set  them  swaying  to  and  fro  like 
masses  of  sea-weed.  The  plash  of  the  oars  is 
quite  alarming  on  account  of  the  volume  of 
sound  it  awakens  ;  and  the  girls  in  the  prow  sing 
snatches  of  French  and  Walloon  songs.  Fhey  still 
have  their  lamps  alight,  but  before  we  get  to  the 
exit  they  will  put  them  out.  Every  now  and 
then  our  old  friend  the  guide  causes  a  strip  of 
magnesium  to  flare  up  and  reveal  for  us  the 
indescribable  beauty  of  our  surroundings.  On 
and  on  we  go,  ever  so  slowly,  but  with  unerring 


From  a] 


NEARING   THE    END   OF   THE   TOUR — VISITORS    BEING   ROWED   TOWARDS  THE  EXIT  OF  THE   KIVER. 


[P/io/e. 


astonishing  beauty  of  the  scenes  awaiting  the 
tourist  who  visits  this  place.  Indeed,  the 
original  photo,  does  great  credit  to  Monsieur 
Boyer,  and  is  really  a  beautiful  picture  in  itself. 
The  embarkation  is  very  carefully  arranged, 
with  a  view,  I  believe,  to  the  disembarkation. 
At  any  rate,  the  stout  people  got  in  first,  and  the 
little  English  lady  last.  She  was  rather  glad  about 
this,  as  she  wanted  to  find  out  all  kinds  of  things 
— whether  the  water  was  deep,  whether  it  was 
cold,  how  the  steering  man  knew  where  he  was 
going  to,  and  many  other  things.  She  was  an 
inquisitive  little  person.  When  all  were  aboard 
we  glided  off  without  the  slightest  >'jund  on  to 
the  placid  lake  which  the  river  forms  at  this  point. 


accuracy.  At  last  we  fancy  we  see  a  faint  glim- 
mer of  daylight.  Can  it  be  ? — no — yes,  it  is, 
though  ;  and  in  a  moment  we  are.  plunged  into 
the  most  intense  darkness,  for  the  girls  promi)tly 
extinguish  their  lights  and  commence  to  sing 
softly  amidst  the  great  blackness.  Our  rowers 
give  one  or  two  long  strokes  and  then  rest.  We 
are  now  gliding  quite  swiftly  along  the  surface, 
and  the  spot  of  light  ahead  grows  brighter  and 
brighter.  At  last  we  reach  the  curious  spot 
seen  in  the  next  photograph,  which  is  quite 
close  to  the  e.xit.  The  sensation  on  reach- 
ing the  outer  world  after  that  long,  weird  im- 
prisonment is  altogether  unique.  The  sun — it 
was  a    feeble    sun—  seemed  painfully  dazzling. 


6o4 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


J' rum  a] 


IHE   SUBTEKKANEAN    RIVER    HURRYING   TO    REACH    THE    LIGHT    OK    DAV   O.N(. 


The  grass,  the  trees,  the  flowers — all  seemed  to 
possess  an  extraordinary  brilliance  which  quite 
shocked    and  hurt  the  eyes.     Another  curious 


sensation  was  that 
one  appeared  to 
breathe  more 
freely. 

The  opening 
grew  larger  and 
larger,  and  finally 
the  boats  glided 
out  into  the  air  at 
the  spot  shown  in 
the  accompanying 
illustration.  This, 
again,  in  the  ori- 
ginal, makes  an 
extremely  beauti- 
ful picture. 

Our  companions 
are      asking      one 
another  what  they 
thought  of  it,  and 
each  is  vying  with 
his    neighbour    in 
the    matter  of  ad- 
jectives.     There 
are      any     number     of     "  magnifiques "     and 
"  superbes  "  flying   about,   and  even  the   little 
English    lady    says    decisively    that    it    is    the 


[Photo. 


.  "     •^  ■•-,"« 


J'roiii  a] 


A I    LAST  I    TIRED   TOURISTS   DISEMBARKING    AT   THE   EXIT   AFIKK    IHin 


THE    GREAT    GROTTOS    OF    HAN. 


605 


most  wonderful  experience  she  ever  had. 
The  very  river  scem.s  to  be  relieved  that  it 
is  here  permitted  to  breathe  the  outer  air 
of  heaven  once  more.  It  has  grown  larger  and 
quieter  and— shall  one  say? — wiser,  alter  the 
trying  ordeal  through  which  it  has  passed.  The 
guides  are  perspiring  freely,  and  making  un- 
blushing demands  for  pourboires.  The  girls  are 
doing  the  same,  only  they  ask  so  prettily  that 
one  gives  with  less  reluctance.  You  will  see 
that  there  is  a  kind  of  refreshment  kiosk  here  at. 
the  exit,  and,  indeed,  one  needs  some  refresh- 
ment after  the  great  exertion.  On  the  extreme 
right,  but  not  shown  in  the  photo.,  is  a  large 
glass  case  in  which  are  exhibited  the  entire  series 
of  I\I.  Paul  Boyer's  photos. 

Have   we   quite   finished  ?      No,    not   quite. 


extraordinary  reverberating  roars  echoing  and 
re-echoing  until  one  thought  they  would  never 
stop,  and  great  was  her  mirth  thereat. 

"  You  see,"  she  said,  triumphantly,  to  the 
Walloon  maiden  who  was  taking  her  out  of  ear- 
shot, "  I  have  not  paid,  but  I  have  heard." 
And  the  young  peasant  smiled  sweetly,  as 
though  she  had  received  a  second  poiirboire. 
But  she  would  not  have  smiled  had  she  known 
what  madanie  was  saying. 

The  photo,  just  previously  described  gives 
us  an  excellent  idea  of  the  appearance  of  the 
Lesse  at  the  point  where  it  issues  from  the  great 
cavern.  It  was  probably  taken  from  the  little 
bridge  which  is  here  thrown  across  the  river, 
and  which  is  well  seen  in  our  last  photograph 
here  reproduced.     This  conveys  a  fine  idea  of 


From  a\ 


LOOKING    BACK    AT   THE    EXIT- 


TllE    VERY    KIVEK   SEEMS   TO    BE    RELIEVED. 


[Photo. 


The  rest  have  taken  tickets  for  the  firing  of  the 
cannon  at  the  exit  to  make  the  myriad  echoes  ; 
but  the  little  English  lady  and  her  husband 
have  not.  Therefore,  one  of  the  girls  is 
specially  deputed  to  lead  these  undesirable 
persons  far  away  from  the  place,  so  that  they 
may  not  be  placed  on  the  same  footing  as  those 
who  have  religiously  paid  their  half- francs. 
Nevertheless,    /a  petite  uiadame   did    liear    the 


the  truly  magnificent  scenery  of  the  Ardennes. 
And  from  this  point  onwards  the  Lesse  is  quite 
a  staid  stream — no  more  flowing  in  subterranean 
abysses  or  tumbling  over  its  rocky  bed.  Yes, 
the  little  lady  and  her  husband  looked  back 
from  this  point  at  the  superb  landscape  depicted 
in  the  photo.,  and  niadanie  murmured  with 
conviction  :  "  I  wouldn't  have  missed  it  for 
cDiy  thing." 


Short  Stones. 


By  Herbert  Perkins. 

The  story  of  a  terrible  situation.      The    author  exploring  a  marine    cavern,    and   walking  along   a 
narrow  ledge  above  the  water,  is  suddenly  gripped  by  one  of  the    terrible  tentacles  of  a  "squid" 

— and  the  tide  was  rising ! 


INDING  I  was  likely  to  be  kept  in 
Sydney  for  a    considerable    time,    I 
a    third 


bought 

share  in  a  large 
o  pen  sailing 
Ijoat.  'Jhe  other  share- 
holders were  her  skipper 
and  a  gentleman  who  only 
showed  up  for  a  sail  occa- 
sionally on  holidays.  As  for 
the  skipper  and  I,  we  fairly 
lived  in  her,  and  spent  nearly 
all  our  time  knocking  about 
the  harbour,  camping  in  our 
boat,  and  between  fishing, 
shooting,  etc.  (there  was 
some  shooting  to  be  got  in 
those  days),  we  had  a  good 
lazy  old  time  of  it. 

On  entering  Sydney  Heads 
you  see  a  fine  bluff  head- 
land facing  you.  This  is 
Middle  Head,  and  the  water 
of  the  harbour  proper,  lead- 
ing up  to  the  city,  flows 
round   its    left  -  hand    side  ; 


:k.   iii:i 
■  HKLD    BV 

From  a  I'hoio.  by 


whilst  round  the  other  a  fine  wide  branch  called 
Middle    Harbour  runs   inland   for  many  miles. 

Middle    Harbour  was  then 

I  an  ideal  camping-ground  for 
i  boating  and  fishing  parties, 
and  greatly  affected  by  us. 
At  the  time  of  the  occur- 
rences I  am  going  to  relate 
we  had  been  down  there 
soiiTe.  days,  and  with  us  was 
a  lad  some  years  younger 
than  myself.  We  called  him 
Charley  ;  he  was  a  first-rate 
boatman,  a  good  fisherman, 
and  a  frequent  member  of 
our  crew. 

The  skipper  had  gone 
overland  to  North  Sydney 
on  some  business,  and 
Charley  and  I  were  by  our- 
selves. At  this  time  w^e 
had  a  fad  for  catching  the 
common  green  rock-eels  ;  or 
rather  for  coaxing  them  out 
of  their  holes  with  a  baited 
hook  on  the  end  of  a  stick. 


.-Hi 


iBEKT    I  1       :. 
AN   OCTUlL>. 

E.  H.  Cox,   Torquay, 


SHORT    STORIES. 


607 


On  the  morning  in  (luestion,  leaving  the  yaclit 
moored  out  in  the  stream,  we  pulled  ashore  in  the 
dinghy  bent  on  this  rather  silly  sport.  To  make 
what  follows  clear,  I  must  ex|)lain  that  the  hills 
shutting  in  Middle  Harbour  are  mostly  rather 
steep,  and  come  down  boldly  into  the  water. 
Along  the  foot  of  them,  however,  there  is,  in 
many  places,  a  level  flat  shelf  of  what  I  will  call 
sea  rocks,  only  covered  at  high  water.  The 
width  of  this  shelf  varies  greatly,  and  is  in  places 
littered  over  with  boulders  and  stones,  fallen 
from  the  hill-sides.  Just  beyond  where  we 
landed  on  this  shelf  is  a  high  steep  point,  round 
which  the  harbour  turns  ;  and  a  little  way  on 
our  side  of  it  there  had  been,  at  some  time  or 
other,  a  regular  avalanche 
from  above  of  great  rocks 
and  large  flat  slabs  of  sand- 
stone, which  had  piled  them- 
selves against  one  another 
in  an  almost  systematic 
manner. 

As  Charley  and  I 
were  passing  round 
the  edge  of  this  ava- 
lanche, I  noticed  for 
the  first  time  (though 
I  had  often  been  that 
way  before)  an  open- 
ing between  two  of 
the  rock  slabs  facing 
the  water,  and  imme- 
diately over  a  wide 
fissure  in  the  shelf. 
There  was  plenty  of 
room  to  get  through 
at  that  stage  of  the 
tide,  which  had  just 
turned  for  the  flood, 
and  so  I  decided  to 
have  a  look  inside, 
while  my  mate  went 
on  round  the  point. 
I  presently  found  that 
the  fissure  ran  into  a 
circular  rock  -  hole 
some  15  ft.  in  dia- 
meter, roofed  in  by 
the  overlapping  rock 
slabs.  Round  it  on 
one  side  was  a  narrow 
ledge,  barely  a  foot 
wide,  on  which  these  rocks  rested,  but  from  the 
way  they  slanted  over  the  water  I  could  only 
get  along  the  ledge  in  a  very  awkward  fashion 
— at  one  time  going  sideways  with  my  back  to 
the  rocks  and  leaning  forward  over  the  pool. 
After  sidling  along  as  far  as  I  could  get,  I  saw 
there  was  no  chance  of  eel-fishing  there,  and 


^#^<^^^;^// 


LOOKING     DOWN,    I     SAW   THAT  IT  WAS   THE   TENTACl.K 
OF   AN   OCTOPUS." 


was  going  back  when,  unfortunately  for  me,  I 
stopped  to  admire  the  beauty  of  the  pool.  The 
water  was  about  4ft.  deep,  nearly  awash  with 
the  ledge,  and  perfectly  clear.  In  the  middle  a 
large  boulder,  like  a  miniature  island,  rose 
above  the  water,  and  all  round  it  and  the 
sides  of  the  pool  there  waved  a  most  lovely 
wealth  of  seaweeds  of  many  colours  and  shapes — 
corallines,  sea-anemones,  and  other  marine 
growths.  It  was  a  regular  little  sea  garden.  I 
may  as  well  mention  also  that  I  was  bare- 
foot and  bare-legged  up  to  the  knees  at  the 
time.  As  I  was  standing,  admiring  these  marine 
beauties,  with  my  right  foot  slightly  over  the 
ledge,  I    suddenly  felt   something    like    a    strip 

of  wet  flabby  green 
hide  flap  round  my 
right  ankle,  and  look- 
ing down,  you  may 
imagine  my  thrill  of 
horror  when  1  saw 
that  it  was  the  ten- 
tacle of  an  octopus, 
the  creature  to  which 
it  belonged  being 
underneath  the  ledge, 
here  undermined  by 
the  water,  and  there- 
fore just  out  of  sight. 
In  the  fright  it  gave 
me  I  drop[)ed  my 
eel  -  stick  into  the 
water,  and  was  in  the 
act  of  stooping  to  try 
and  recover  it,  when 
I  suddenly  thought 
of  what  one  of  the 
Balmain  watermen 
had  told  me  only  a 
few  days  before.  He 
had  been  out  at  low 
water  one  morning 
after  bait,  and  while 
lying  down  flat  on 
some  rocks  with  his 
ead  over  the  water,  poking 
about  with  a  sort  of  harpoon 
called  a  mutton-stick,  and  search- 
ing for  a  star-fish  he  knew  to  be 
there,  the  creature  had  whipped 
a  tentacle  round  his  neck,  and 
the  only  way  he  could  get  loose 
was  to  roll  over  into  the  water,  which  was  only 
up  to  his  knees,  and  then,  getting  a  firm  pur- 
chase with  his  feet,  he  managed  to  tear  off  the 
horrid  thing. 

It  struck  me  that,  in  the  very  cramped  position 
I  was  in,  I  should  be  completely  helpless  if  I 
stooped  for  the  stick  (rather  a  difficult  job  with- 


6o8 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZLXE. 


out  toppling  forward)  and  happened  to  get 
another  tentacle  round  my  arm,  so  I  let  the 
stick  go.  Rolling  over  into  the  water  was  out 
of  the  question,  for,  as  I  have  said,  it  was  fully 
4ft.  deep,  and  instead  of  being  fast  by  the 
neck  like  the  fisherman,  and  being  able  to  get 
a  purchase  on  the  bottom  for  my  feet — if  I 
went  overboard  it  would  be  a  case  of  heels  up 
and  head  down. 

Of  course  I  tried  to  drag  my  foot  away,  but 
as  soon  as  I  did  so  the  brute  whipped  two  more 
slimy  tentacles  round  it,  thus  holding  me  with 
three — and  yet  leaving  himself  with  five  others 
to  moor  himself  fast  with.  Well,  I  tugged  and 
pulled  away,  and  poked  at  the  horrid  tentacles 
with  the  other  foot,  keeping  a  sharp  look-out 
not  to  get  it  caught  too,  for  ever  so  long  ;  but 
all  in  vain,  there  was  no  shifting  them.  P'orone 
thing,  I  could  not  exert  much  strength  in  the 
awkward  way  I  was  standing,  and  I  was  really 
frightened  all  the  time  of  falling  forward  into 
the  water.  Every  now  and  then,  slackening 
up  his  moorings  a  bit,  the  brute  would  pop 
his  hideous  body  and  wicked-looking  eyes 
above  the  ledge,  ivhich  by  this  time  was  beginning 
to  be  covered  by  the  rising  tide  ;  but  a  movement 
of  the  other  foot  or  the  waving  of  my  arms 
always  made  him  bob  down  again. 

I  had  been  at  this  game  fully  half  an 
hour,  judging  by  the  rise  of  the  tide,  and 
was  having  a  spell,  keeping  my  feet  as 
wide  apart  as  possible,  when  to  my 
disgust  I  felt  my  left  foot  seized  in  a 
similar  way,  by  another  and  much  smaller 
octopus,  but  he  was  big  enough  and 
strong  enough,  in  my  then  state,  to  hold 
me  hard  and  fast.  It  is  firmly  believed 
by  our  fishermen  that  star-fish  hunt  in 
couples.  I  am  inclined  to  the  same 
opinion  now,  though  I  cannot  vouch  for 
its  correctness. 

lliings  began  to  look  serious,  though 
I  can  safely  say  that  at  the  time  I  was 
not    seriously    frightened,    my   principal 
fear   being   that   the  horrid  creatures 
would  commence  to  bite  me.     I  take 
no  credit  to  myself  for  this,  for  it  was 
simply  the  result  of  ignorance  of  the 
danger  I  was  in  ;  for  surely,  though  I 
have  had  rather  an  eventful  life,  I  was 
never  in  more  deadly  peril.      I   kept 
consoling  myself  with  the  thought  that 
at  the  highest  the  tide  would  not  reach 
farther  up  than  my  waist,  and  some- 
thing was  bound  to  happen  before  then. 

In  the  meantime  I  kept  on  shouting 
and  cooey-ing  for  help.  There  were 
plenty  of  gaps  in  the  roof  where  the 
rock   slabs   did   not  meet.     Through 


some  of  these  llie  sun  poured  in  his  brilliant 
rays,  and  through  others  I  could  see  up  the 
hill-side,  the  green  trees  rustling  in  the  breeze, 
and  showing  up  in  sharp  contrast  against  the 
bright  blue  sky.  This  made  me  feel  really  bad 
and  want  to  get  out  all  the  more. 

As  the  tide  rose  both  star-fish  came  up  bodily 
on  to  the  ledge.  If  only  I  had  had  a  knife  or  an 
axe  !  Under  other  circumstances  it  would  have 
been  interesting  to  watch  the  methodical  manner 
in  which  the  hideous  things  moved  themselves, 
loosing  one  of  their  mooring  tentacles  at  a  time 
and  getting  a  firm  hold  with  it,  before  bringing 
up  another.  I  still  managed  to  keep  them 
at  bay  by  shouting,  waving  my  arms,  and  jerk- 
ing my  legs  as  much  as  I  could.  When  I 
did  so,  they  would  shrink  back  and  erect 
their  bodies,  seeming  to  puff  them  out  and  glare 
at  me  with  their  terrible  eyes. 

I 

with  so  devilish  an  expression  in  its  eyes  as 
an  octopus.  I  had  now  been  held  fast  by 
both  feet  for  a  considerable  time — more  than 
another  half-hour  I  counted — when  I  noticed  a 
movement  among  the  seaweeds  on  the  far  side 
of  the  great  boulder  in  the  middle  of  the  pool, 
and  after  a  while   I   fancied   I  saw  something 


am  certain  there  is  no  other  living  creature 


I'KESENTLV    I    SAW    IT    AGAIN    AS    IT    FLICKERED   OVER    THE     FACE   OF   A    ROCK. 


SHORT    STORIES. 


609 


writhing  aoout  among  them,  but  tnen  again  all 
was  still.  At  first  it  struck  me  as  bring  prob- 
ably a  large  rock-eel. 

Presently  I  saw  it  again  as  it  flickered  over 
the  face  of  a  rock,  and  this  time  I  knew  with 
my  first  feeling  of  terror  that  it  was  no  eel,  but  t/ie 
tentacle  of  a  huge  octopus,  a  regular  '''•  old  man.'' 

I  had  every  opportunity  of  examining  the 
two  star-fish  that  held  me,  and  I  judged  the 
biggest  one  to  have  tentacles  from  2  2in.  to  24in. 
long,  and  the  other  from  i5in.  to  iSin.  ;  but  this 
new  monster  on  the  far  side  of  the  boulder  must 
have  had  tentacles  over  4ft.  long.  I  form  this 
estimate  from  long 
experience,  having 
killed  and  seen  great 
numbers  of  these 
loathsome  creatures 
since  then.  The  dis- 
covery of  this  fresh 
danger  would  have 
been  a  greater  shock 
to  me  if  just  about 
the  same  time  I  had 
not  caught  the  sound 
of  Charley's  voice 
answering  my  shouts. 
When  he  got  close  I 
made  him  understand 
he  was  to  climb  on 
top  of  the  rocks,  and 
I  can  assure  you  that 
his  face  looking  down 
through  one  of  the 
gaps  in  the  roof  was 
a  very  welcome  sight 
to  me.  In  the  yacht, 
which  was  not  more 
than  150yds.  away,  we 
had  a  long  light  bam- 
boo, intended  for  the 
shaft  of  a  lance.  I 
told  Charley  to  get 
this  and  lash  a  very 
sharp  -  pointed  bait 
knife  on  to  its  end, 
and  to  be  sharp  about 
it.  This  he  soon  did, 
and  passed  it  to  me 

through  the  roof;  then  taking  a  steady  aim  I 
stabbed  the  smaller  star-fish  fairly  between  the 
eyes.  The  instant  it  felt  the  knife  it  left  my 
foot  and  clasped  its  tentacles  round  the  bamboo, 
and  a  tough  job  I  had  to  get  it  loose,  I 
can  tell  you.  Then  I  repeated  the  operation 
on  the  other  brute,  which  was  still  worse  to'get 
off  the  shaft  than  the  first  one.  Both  the 
repulsive   creatures    sank   down    to   the   sandy 

bottom  of  the  pool,  where  they  caught  hold  of 
Vol.  iii.— 77. 


•  I   STABBED   THE   SMALLER   STAR-FISH    FAIRLY    UETWF.EN    THE   EVES. 


one  another,  twisting  and  writhing  themselves 
into  a  regular  knot  like  a  bunch  of  snakes. 

I  only  just  managed  to  get  out  of  this  horrid 
6tin  without  diving,  and  you  may  believe  that, 
though  far  from  realizing  the  mortal  danger  I 
had  been  in,  I  was  very  thankful  to  stretch  my 
cramped  limbs  in  the  bonny,  wholesome,  free 
sunshine. 

On  my  way  to  the  dinghy  I  heard  Charley, 
who  was  still  perched  on  the  rocks,  calling  to 
me  to  come  back  and  see  some  jolly  lark  or 
other,  but  I  was  not  so  inclined,  having  other 
views,  and  getting  aboard  the  yacht  as  quickly 

as  possible,  I  adminis- 
tered to  myself  a  good 
nip  of  strong  rum 
internally  and  then 
rubbed  my  ankles 
with  some  of  the  same 
medicine.  I  wish  to 
say  here,  distinctly, 
that  although  I  had 
been  in  the  grasp  of 
first  one  and  then  two 
octopuses  for  con- 
siderably over  an  hour 
(both  Charley  and  I 
calculated  it  an  hour 
and  a  half  from  the 
tide  rise),  with  their 
tentacles  round  my 
ankles  and  stuck  on 
to  my  naked  skin,  I 
never  felt  any  agoniz- 
ing pains  from  thecon- 
tact  of  their  suckers. 
My  legs  got  certainly 
very  much  cramped 
from  the  strained  posi- 
tion I  was  kept  in, 
and  there  may  have 
been  a  slight  numb- 
ness from  impeded 
circulation,  with  a 
slight  pricking  some- 
thing like  what  is 
called  "pins  and 
needles."  I  cannot 
describe  the  feeling  of 
the  tentacles  better  than  I  have  already  done,  as 
a  tight  adhesive  clasp.  Where  the  suckers  had 
been  were  little  round  red  marks.  I  rubbed  my 
legs  two  or  three  times  with  the  spirit,  and  next 
morning  the  marks  were  barely  traceable.  I 
need  not  add  that  neither  octopus  sucked  or 
absorbed  any  blood  from  me. 

When  Charley  came  aboard  he  described 
the  "  lark  "  he  had  wished  me  to  come  back 
and  see. 


6io 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


"  Just  as  ycu  got  out  of  that  beastly  hole, 
I  saw  a  huge  star- fish — and,  by  Jove,  he 
was  a  boomer  ! — dart  round  the  big  rock  and 
fasten  on  to  the  two  beggars  that  were  squirming 
about  on  the  bottom.  First  he  seemed  to  want 
to  separate  them,  then  when  he  found  that  was 
no  go,  he  laid  himself  flat  on  top  of  them  and 
seemed  like  to  gather  them  together  in  his 
feelers.  So  I  dropped  a  lump  of  rock  down  on 
him  and  made  him   bolt  off  for  a  spell,  then 


back  he  came  again,  and  I  kept  him  at  this 
game  for  a  bit,  but  each  time  he  cleared  off  I 
could  see  where  he  had  been  biting  bits  out 
of  his  mates.  My  word,  it's  a  precious  good 
job  for  you,  old  man,  you  didn't  have  that  big 
chap  to  deal  with  ;  he  would  have  made  it 
pretty  warm  for  you." 

In  which  statement  I  cordially  agreed  then, 
and  do  so  still  more  cordially  now,  when  I  think 
the  affair  over. 


II. — Shooting  the  Reversible  Falls. 

By  F.   K.   F.\irwe.\ther,   of  St.  John,  N.B. 

Canoeing  extraordinary.     The  attempt  of  two  Indians  to   shoot   the   Reversible   Falls  at  St.  John, 

New  rsrunswick.     This  extraordinary  if  foolhardy  feat  resulted  in  the   death   of  one   Indian  in  the 

presence  of  a  vast  crowd.     With  photos,  of  the  Falls,  the  canoe,  and  the  men. 


It  was  in  the  middle  of  the  month  of  August, 
in  the  summer  of  1898,  when  a  rumour  first 
began  to  circulate  about  the  city  of  St.  John, 
N.B.,  that  two  Indians  were  to  shoot  the  falls, 
at  low  tide,  in  a  canoe.  Very  few  people 
believed  or,   in   fact,  took  much   notice  of  the 


Before  narrating  the  exciting  attempt  of  the 
26th  of  August,  perhaps  it  would  be  well  to 
describe  briefly  the  curious  Reversible  Falls. 
The  St.  John  River,  as  everyone  knows,  flows 
into  the  Bay  of  Fundy  at  St.  John.  This  river 
is,  in  places,  two  or  three  miles  wide,  and  not 


.F    THE    l-.M.I.;, 


I  111.    l.Kllj(,i:.s--lHE    CI  l;l<K\  J     IS    KUNNING    DOWN    WITH    KEAKl-LL    \  tLOCITY. 

From  n  Photo. 


Story.  Such  a  thing  had. been  talked  of  before, 
but  the  attempt  had  not  been  made  in  the 
memory  of  living  man.  One  or  two  there  were 
among  the  people  of  St.  John  who  had  passed 
safely  through  those  awful  rapids  and  treacherous 
whirlpools,  but  in  these  few  cases  the  perilous 
journey  had  happened  by  accident.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  was  a  long  record  of  deaths  ; 
for  many  had  been  caught  in  the  fierce  current 
and  been  drowned  in  the  tossing  waters. 


far  above  the  city  it  opens  out  into  a  large 
lake  or  river  expansion.  But,  as  it  nears  its 
mouth,  it  becomes  narrower,  and  the  waters  are 
confined  between  high  hills.  These  open  out 
just  above  the  falls,  but  close  in  again  ;  and  the 
outlet  to  the  sea  is  through  a  narrow  passage 
bL-t-.veen  high  and  jagged  cliffs.  The  rise  and 
fall  of  the  tide  is  about  26ft.,  and  when  the  tide 
is  out  there  is  a  tremendous  fall  of  water  as  the 
river  rushes  to  the  bay  in  white  rapids  and  foam- 


SHORT    S'i'ORIliS. 


6ir 


capped  waves.  As  the  tide  begins  to  rise  the 
scene  changes.  The  waters  from  the  Bay  of 
Fundy  first  equahze  the  mad  rush  of  the 
strugghng  river,  and  then,  during  a  short  period, 
navigation  is  possible  for  the  smallest  craft.  Row- 
boats,  canoes,  yachts,  schooners,  and  tug-boats 
hurry  through,  going  and  coming.  ( Gradually, 
however,  the  current  begins  to  move  upwards, 
beating  back  the  strength  of  the  river,  then 
overwhelming  it,  and  hurling  it  back  u[)on  its 
own  waters — slowly  at  first,  but  increasing  in 
restless  strength  ;  while  the  roar  of  the  conflict 
rises,  and  the  rushing  water  begins  to  foam  in 
mid-current  and  whiten  around  the  jagged  rocks 
along  the  shores. 

Still  the  bay  sends  forward  its  masses  of  water 
to  the  contest,  and  at  the  last,  at  high  tide, 
the  upward  current  pours  through   the   narrow 


this  point  the  river  takes  a  sharp  turn  to  the 
left,  causing  more  whirlpools  and  eddies,  theii 
vortices  yawning  as  if  eager  for  prey.  So,  four 
times  each  day,  the  battle  is  fought,  and  Nature 
shows  herself  in  calm  and  storm ;  and  twice 
each  day  the  river  and  the  sea  yield  and  conquer, 
each  in  turn. 

This  is  a  brief  picture  of  the  falls  at  high  and 
low  tide.  The  two  Indians  intended  to  shoot 
them  when  the  tide  was  at  its  lowest  ebb.  Down 
these  rushing  waters  and  through  the  whirlpools 
they  contemplated  guiding  in  safety  a  light 
canvas  canoe. 

In  the  St.  John  papers  of  the  35th  of  August, 
1898,  and  in  the  morning  papers  of  the  26th, 
the  street  rumours  referred  to  were  printed — 
not,  indeed,  as  an  authentic  fact,  but  as  some 
street   gossip    picked   up    by   the    enterprising 


Front  d\         HERE    WE   SEE   THE    FALLS   AT   THE    BRIDGES,    FROM    WHICH    CROWDS    WATCHED   THE    LIFE-AND-DEATU   STRL'GGl.l..  {I'lioto. 


channel  in  resistless  power,  majesty,  and  beauty, 
flowing  far  inland  up  the  river.  The  downward 
fall  is  even  greater  than  the  inward  flow,  as  the 
river  is  aided  by  the  natural  drop  of  the  channel. 
The  scene  at  low  tide  is  magnificent.  First, 
above  the  falls,  is  the  smooth,  gleaming,  black 
water  as  it  glides  swiftly  towards  the  narrow 
channel.  Then  it  falls  over  some  natural  ob- 
struction or  drop  at  the  bottom  of  the  river,  and 
breaks  into  wild,  whirling,  seething  rapids.  This 
pitch  at  the  head  of  the  falls,  where  the  waters 
plunge  downward,  is  about  7ft.  in  height,  and 
from  here  there  is  a  stretch  of  rapids  and  whirl- 
pools down  to  where  the  railway  and  passenger 
bridges  hang  suspended  over  the  gulf.     Below 


reporter.  Although  many  people  refused  to 
believe  that  the  Indians  would  try  the  foolhardy 
feat,  yet  the  mere  intimation  that  they  thought 
of  doing  so  brought  a  large  crowd  to  the  falls. 
Before  ten  o'clock  the  suspension  bridge  was 
crowded  with  people,  including  many  ladies ; 
and  the  precipitous  cliffs  forming  the  side  of 
the  gorge  were  also  lined  with  spectators.  All 
classes  and  conditions  were  present  —  tourists, 
merchants,  the  ubiquitous  small  boy,  and  the 
loafers  ;  ladies,  gentlemen,  mill  -  hands,  and 
labourers.  They  came  on  foot,  in  carriages,  in 
coaches  and  'buses;  and  the  crowd  flocked  to 
every  point  of  vantage  that  commanded  a  view 
of  the  falls. 


6l  2 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


The  morning  was  foggy,  but  a  little  after  ten 
the  sun  began  to  pierce  through  the  vapour, 
which  hung  low  upon  the  earth.  It  was  a  sight 
to  be  remembered,  to  see  the  vast  crowd 
intently  watching  the  rushing  waters  below  them. 
The  falls  presented  a  scene  of  awful  commotion, 
and  as  the  tide  fell  m  the  harbour  the  violence 
of  the  current  increased. 

The  Indians,  Xavier  Francis  and  Louis 
Mitchell  by  name,  were  evidently  pleased  with 


speed  became  greater  and  greater,  and  at  last 
the  wild,  fierce  current  seized  the  frail  craft. 
The  canoe  seemed  almost  to  fly  down  the 
watery  incline,  and  with  a  plunge  it  went  over 
the  pitch. 

A  cry  arose  from  the  crowd,  "  They're  gone!"; 
but  no— the  light  boat  had  actually  passed  over 
the  worst  place.  Francis  still  maintained  his 
position,  standing  in  the  bow.  Then  the  canoe 
was  seized    by  an    eddy   and   whirled  around, 


THESE    ARE   THE   TWO    INDIANS   WHO  TRIED   TO'  SHOOT   THE    REVERSIBLE   FALLS — 

From  a]  xavier  franxis  on  left  ;  louis  Mitchell  on  right.  [Photo. 


the  sensation  they  were  making  and  the  pros- 
pect of  a  large  reward  if  they  should  success- 
fully accomplish  the  daring  feat  which  they  were 
about  to  attempt. 

The  crowd  was  not  kept  long  in  expectation. 
At  10.30  the  canoe,  with  the  two  Indians 
paddling,  shot  out  from  above  Union  Point,  the 
head  of  the  falls,  and  came  into  view  of  the 
assembled  thousands.  "  There  they  come  !  "  the 
crowd  shouted,  and  the  words  were  taken  up 
and  passed  along  ;  while  the  people,  now  all 
excitement,  surged  forward  on  the  bridge  and 
on  the  cliffs,  so  that  those  in  front  were  in 
danger  of  being  pushed  over  the  abyss  by  the 
pressure  behind. 

The  sight  was,  indeed,  a  thrilling  one,  as  the 
canoe  approached  the  pitch  at  the  head  of  the 
falls.  Francis  stood  erect  in  the  bow,  while 
Mitchell  sat  in  the  stern,  and  they  paddled 
calmly  towards  the  raging  waters  before  them. 
Slowly  at  first,  but  with  ever-increasing  speed, 
they  approached  the  watery  declivity,  and  the 
spectators  positively  held  their  breath  in  silent, 
intense  excitement.  The  Indians  now  seemed 
to  be  bent  only  on  steadying  the  canoe  and 
keeping  it  bow  on.      As  it  neared  the  pitch  the 


broadside  on,  while  another  groan  of  dismay 
broke  from  the  crowd.  A  stroke  of  Francis's 
paddle  averted  the  threatened  catastrophe  ;  but 
only  for  a  moment.  Suddenly,  the  canoe  went 
down  in  another  pitch,  and  the  awful  rapids, 
tired  of  playing  with  the  fragile  craft,  threw  it  up 
almost  out  of  the  water.  Francis  was  bold  and 
skilful,  but  this  shock  was  too  much  for  him. 
He  was  thrown  out,  standing  as  he  was,  and  in 
an  instant  the  canoe  was  upset. 

At  this  awful  sight  the  crowd  lost  all  control, 
and  the  people  shouted  in  wild  excitement  for 
someone  to  help  the  imperilled  Indians.  But, 
alas  !  they  were  beyond  the  reach  of  human  aid, 
and  nothing  could  be  done.  Every  eye  was  now 
strained  towards  the  spot  where  the  canoe  had 
upset ;  and  as  it  turned  over,  one  of  the  Indians 
was  seen  clinging  desperately  to  it.  The  other  had 
disappeared,  but  in  a  moment  he,  too,  was  seen 
struggling  wildly  in  the  raging,"  foaming  rapids, 
with  nothing  but  the  light  paddle  to  help  him, 
and  distant  about  15ft.  from  the  canoe.  The 
crowd  watched  him  in  horror-stricken  silence  as 
he  struggled  hard  for  life.  The  resistless 
strength  of  the  water  tossed  him  about  with 
merciless   buffetings,   but   the   Indian   managed 


SHORT    STORIES. 


613 


THE   SURVIVOR,    LOUIS   MITCHELL,    IN    THE   IDENTICAL   CANOE   USED   IN    THE    FOOLHARDY   FEAT, 

From  a  Photo, 

to  keep  his  head  above  water.  In  the 
meantime,  some  workmen,  who  had  been 
repairing  the  bridge,  lowered  a  rope  down  to 
the  surface  of  the  water,  and  it  was  thought  that 
the  strugghng  swimmer  might  reach  this  last 
chance  of  safety.  The  rapids  carried  him 
quickly  down  towards  the  spot,  but  suddenly 
he  threw  up  his  hands  and  sank.  He  rose 
again  under  the  bridge,  close  to  where  the  rope 
was  suspended,  but  his  strength  was  gone.     He 


sank  once    more,  and  was 
never  seen  again. 

Mitchell  \yas  more  fortu- 
nate. By  a  lucky  chance 
the  current  carried  the 
canoe  in  towards  a  cove. 
It  drifted  out  of  the  rapids 
and  reached  some  calmer 
water  beyond,  the  Indian 
still  clinging  to  it.  He  urged 
the  canoe  towards  the  land 
as  well  as  he  could  by  swim- 
ming, and  was  soon  out  of 
danger  of  being  carried 
down  below  the  bridge.  As 
he  neared  the  shore  two 
men  put  out  in  a  boat  and 
towed  him  to  the  land. 

\Vhen  the  crowd  saw 
that  one  at  least  was  saved 
they  seemed  to  recover  from  the  horror  caused 
by  the  death  of  Francis,  and  a  loud  cheer 
went  up.  Mitchell's  face  lighted  up  as  he 
heard  it,  and  he  waved  his  arm  and  shouted 
faintly  back. 

The  Indian  seemed  none  the  worse  for  his 
terrible  experience.  When  they  told  him  of  the 
death  of  Francis  he  took  the  news  stoically  and 
simply  grunted,  "He  good  fellow;  should  have 
held  on  to  canoe." 


III.— yw^'  Fight  With    "  Jaclio  "  the  Ape. 

By  Sam   Bolton. 

The  author  is  an  officer  of  a  well-known  Canadian  Liner.     AH  will  allow  that  the  adventure  is 

a  very  remarkable  one.     It  took  place  nine  years  ago. 


I  w..\s  only  an  apprentice- 
boy  at  the  time,  and  just  six- 
teen years  old.  I  was  not  very 
big  nor  exceptionally  strong, 
but  just  about  the  right  size 
and  sufficiently  strong  to  make 
a  fairly  even  match  for 
"Jacko,"  en  Indian  ape,  in 
the  terrible  fight  we  had,  some 
eight  years  ago,  one  moon- 
light night  in  the  middle  of 
the  Bay  of  Bengal. 

Jacko,  a  fine  specimen  of 
the  larger  species  of  brown- 
haired  Indian  ape,  had  been 
presented  to  our  skipper  in 
Calcutta  by  a  friend  of  his. 
Our  ship  was  the  Qi/een  of 
England,  a  fine  full  -  rigged 
steel  vessel  of  2,070  tons, 
then  sailing  between  Liver- 
pool and  Calcutta. 


YOUNG    S.\.M    BOLTON,    WHO   WAS   ATT, 
THE    APE. 


Frntfi  n  \ 


\QK¥A)    liV 

{Photo. 


When  standing  upon  his 
hind  feet  the  ape's  height 
must  have  been  about  3ft,  6in. 
Not  very  tall,  you  might  say ; 
but  anyone  who  knows  the 
extraordinary  strength  of  these 
creatures,  and  their  wonderful 
agility,  will  know  that  he  was 
quite  tall  enough  to  be  a  for- 
midable creature  for  a  sixteen- 
year-old  boy  to  encounter 
single-handed. 

Somehow  Jacko,  who  \vas 
docile  enough  with  any  of  the 
other  men,  seemed  to  have 
taken  an  especial  dislike  to  me, 
and  I  could  never  pass  him 
without  being  treated  to  a 
vicious  "  coo-ch,"  and  a  suc- 
cession of  wild  leaps,  any  of 
which  would  have  lifted  him 
right    upon    me    but    for    the 


6i4 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


sudden  tautening  of[his  chain,  which,  tugging  at 
his  neck,  invariably  "  finished  up  "  his  leap  in  a 
disgraceful  way,  as  it  twisted  him  suddenly  round, 
and  brought  him  sprawling  ignominiously  on  to 
the  deck.  He  was,  during  the  fine  weather, 
usually  kept  tethered  to  a  ring-bolt  at  the  fore- 
end  of  the  No.  3  hatch.  Between  this  hatch 
r.nd  the  ^main  fife-rail  was  a  goodly  space  of 
open  deck,  where  was  no  other  obstruction  but 
the  main-deck  capstan — a 
high  "  patent  purchase  " 
affair,  with  a  double  top 
— which  stood  amidships. 

On  the  night  of  my  set-to 
with  Jacko  we  were  some- 
where about  the  middle  of 
the  IJay  of  Bengal.  A 
light  monsoon  just  con- 
trived to  belly  out  each 
sail,  and  heel  our  ship 
over  about  5deg.  or  so. 
A  fine,  clear  night  it  was, 
with  a  bright  full  moon 
above  and  a  mill  -  pond 
ripple  on  the  sea  around. 

The  watch  on  deck  had 
coiled  themselves — as  is 
the  general  custom  in  fine 
weather — along  the  deck 
to  the  lee  side  of  the  house, 
where,  handy  for  any 
call,  they  snored  in  their 
sleep.  The  only  hands 
aboard  with  their  eyes 
open  were  the  look-out 
man,  away  for'ard  in  the 
eyes  of  the   ship   on  the 


fo'c's'le  head  ;  the  second 
mate,  upon  the  weather 
side  of  the  poop ;  and 
myself,  on  the  lee  side. 
At  about  five  bells 
(10.30  p.m.)  the  second 
sent  me  for'ard  to  examine 
the  side-lights  and  report 
upon  them.  He  then 
went  aft,  where,  leaning 
over  the  taffrail,  he  gave 
himself  up  sailor-fashion 
to  his  wakeful  dreams. 

I  went  for'ard,  passing 
Jacko,  who  was  asleep.  I 
then  mounted  the  fo'c's'le 
head,  yarned  awhile  with 
the  look-out,  examined 
the  side-lights, and  finding 
them  burning  satisfac- 
torily, proceeded  leisurely 
aft  along  the  weather  side. 
Arriving  at  the  main  fife-rail  I  turned  to  go  to 
leeward,  and,  utterly  forgetful  of  the  presence  of 
Jacko,  walked  sleepily  past  the  capstan.  The 
ape  awoke,  perceived  me,  gave  his  usual  vicious 
"  coo-ch,"  and  sprang  into  the  air  towards  me. 
Accustomed  to  these  impotent  leaps  I  stood, 
motionless,  hands  in  pockets,  awaiting  the  usual 
absurd  ending  of  the  performance. 

This  time,  however,  the  chain  snapped  close 


THIS   TI.ME   THE   CHAIN    SNAl'l'ED   CLOSE   TO    HIS    NECK.    AND   HL:    WAS    UION    ME. 


SHORT    STORIES. 


615 


to  his  neck,  and,  almost  before  I  was  aware  of 
t!ie  fact,  the  brute's  form,  dark  and  shadow-like, 
came  flying  through  the  air,  and  he  was  upon 
me.  He  alighted  fairly  upon  my  shoulders ;  I 
staggered  to  leeward,  under  the  sudden  weight, 
and  fell  into  the  scuppers,  at  the  same  time 
warding  off  with  my  arm  his  ugly  face  from 
mine.  Brute-like,  he  seized  that  part  of  my 
body  nearest  his  jaws  and  bit,  fiercely,  deep  into 
my  left  shoulder  ;  then,  springing  suddenly  from 
me,  he  leapt  into  the  main  rigging,  swarmed 
aloft,  and  stopped,  a  dozen  ratlins  high,  .to 
grin  and  "  coo-ch  "  at  me.  During  the  whole 
time  of  the  extraordinary  struggle  which  fol- 
lowed I  made  no  sound  with  my  lips — why,  1 
do  not  know.  And  yet  I  was  mightily  scared 
of  the  ape.  I  fancy  it  was  the  suddenness  of 
the  attack,  which  gave  me  no  time  even  to  think 
of  calling  for  help  and  awakening  my  shipmates. 

Jumping  to  my  feet  excitedly,  I  stood  upon 
the  deck,  with  fists  doubled  and  in  boxing 
attitude,  awaiting  Jacko's  next  spring.  Except 
for  the  ape's  low  chuckling  "  coo-ch,"  we  made 
no  sound.  I  was  barefooted,  so  that  even  my 
footfalls  were  noiseless.  Had  I  run,  Jacko  in 
all  probability  would  have  left  me  alone,  but 
seeing  me  standing  somewhat  defiantly  in  his 
accustomed  place,  he  accepted  my  attitude  as  a 
challenge. 

He  came  stealthily  and  cautiously  down  the 
rigging  to  the  top- 
gallant rail,  watched 
me  awhile  from  there, 
and  then  swarmed 
the  royal  backstay  to 
a  height  of  about 
15ft.  —  never  taking 
his  eyes  off  me  all 
the  time.  Here  he 
stopped  and  com- 
menced to  shake  the 
backstay  violently. 
But  apparently  seeing 
the  uselessness  of 
wasting  his  strength 
in  this  way,  he  pre- 
sently stopped,  then 
leapt  into  the  air, 
and  I  saw  his  shape- 
less body,  extended 
arms,  and  doubled-up 
legs  outlined  in  the 
moonlight  as  he 
descended  towards 
me.      Stepping    aside 

to  avoid  him,  I  hit  him  as  he  fell  somewhere 
about  the  chest,  with  my  clenched  fist.  The 
blow  changed  the  course  of  his  flight,  and  his 
body  struck  with  a  thud  against  the  corner  of 


the  hatch.  Thinking  I  now  had  him  at  my 
mercy,  I  sprang  upon  him  and  seized  him  by 
the  slack  skin  at  his  throat.  I  had  reckoned, 
however,  without  a  knowledge  of  the  brute's 
astonishing  strength.  He  put  out  his  arms 
and  clasped  the  back  of  my  neck,  and  with 
all  his  strength  endeavoured  to  force  me  to 
him  ;  gripping  my  waist  at  the  same  time  with 
his  powerful  hand-like  feet. 

^\■ith  Jacko  clinging  to  me,  I  fell  heavily  to 
the  deck.  For  some  moments  we  lay  there 
panting,  but  motionless.  His  strength  was 
such  that  my  arms  fairly  ached  with  the  effort 
to  keep  his  formidable  jaws  from  me  as  I  lay 
there  watching  his  hideous  face  and  teeth. 
His  nails  dug  deep  into  my  neck  ;  his  teeth 
gave  vicious  snaps  in  the  air ;  I  could  hear  his 
breath  forcing  its  way  through  his  throat,  which 
I  had  tried  to  grip  as  I  held  on  to  the  skin 
around  it.  We  must  have  lain  there  some  three 
or  four  minutes,  when  Jacko  suddenly  jerked 
himself  backward,  wrenched  his  throat  from  my 
hand,  and  leaped  upon  the  capstan  to  consider 
the  next  round. 

\\'ithout  giving  me  time  to  rise,  however,  he 
sprang  at  me  again  and  seized  my  left  arm  with 
his  hands  and  teeth. 

Usually  when  a  monkey  bites  he  gives  a  quick 
snap,  and  springs  away,  frightened  at  his  deed  ; 
for   the   average   simian    is   an   arrant   coward. 


JACKO  BUKIED  HIS  TEETH  DEKP  I.N  MV  LEFT  FOREARM,  AND,  WITH  THE  TENACITY  OF  A 

BULLDOG,  KEPT  THEM  THERE." 


Jacko,  however,  departed  from  this  custom,  for 
he  buried  his  teeth  deep  in  my  left  forearm  and, 
with  the  tenacity  of  a  bulldog,  kept  thevi  there. 
I  beat  his  face  with  my  free  hand  and  banged 


6i6 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


his  head  on  the  deck,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  I 
had  no  waistcoat  or  jacket  on,  and  my  shirt- 
sleeves were  rolled  up,  so  that  he  had  the  bare 
flesh  to  work  upon.  I  staggered  with  him  to 
my  feet,  and  actually  carried  him  to  the  hatch 
where,  forcing  him  upon  his  back,  I  beat  his 
body  frantically  with  my  free  fist.  So  close, 
however,  did  he  cling  to  me  with  his 
feet  that  my  blows  told  with  little  effect. 
Seeing  this,  I  raised  the  big  ape  before 
me,  and  holding  my  left  arm  with  my  right 
hand,  rushed  toward  the  capstan,  and  with 
all  the  weight  of  my  body  behind  the  blow, 
crushed  his  head  against  its  iron  rim.  Then, 
though  apparently  not  in  the  least  stunned,  Jacko 
let  go  and  ran  a  little  distance  from  me. 

Had  there  been  a  witness  present  he  would 
have  been  treated  to  a  strange,  if  somewhat 
ludicrous,  sight. 

Picture  to  yourself  a  bright  moonlight  night, 
over  an  open  space  in  a  big  ship's  deck — a  deck 
so  beautifully  clean  as  to  show  a  gleaming  white 
expanse  to  the  rays  of  the  moon.  The  back- 
ground consisted  of  bulwarks,  rigging,  masts, 
spars,  and  sails,  with  the  attendant  mass  of  run- 
ning gear,  blocks,  and  tackles  ;  and  one  of  the 
central  figures  of  the  weird  scene,  a  boy  no 
taller  than  5ft.  2in.,  though  somewhat  sturdy  in 
build — bare-headed,  bare -footed,  and  bare- 
armed — clothed  only  in  a  light  cotton  shirt, 
with  sleeves  rolled  up,  and  a  pair  of  "  Calcutta 
whites  "  ;  his  left  arm  and  shoulder  discoloured 
with  blood,  and  his  erect  little  figure  standing 
with  fists  doubled  up  awaiting  the  spring  of  a 
huge  ape  that  stood  with  his  four  legs  upon  the 
capstan — where  he  had  jumped  after  letting  go 
my  arm— shaking  his  body  to  and  fro  in  a 
terrible  rage,  his  teeth  grinning,  bare ;  his  ears 
and  the  skin  upon  his  brow  drawn  tightly  back, 
and  his  fiery  eyes  widely  dilated. 

Jacko,  standing  thus  upon  the  capstan, 
seemed  for  a  moment  to  ponder  the  situation. 
Then,  judging  from  his  subsequent  actions,  he 
appeared  to  have  resolved  to  "  board  me  from 
behind."  First  he  sprang  from  the  capstan  to 
the  hatch  ;  then,  swift  as  lightning,  he  turned 
and  leaped  back  again — a  leap  ot  some  14ft. 
from  a  hatch  at  least  2ft.  lower  than  the  capstan 
itself.  From  the  capstan  he  jumped  to  the 
main  fife-rail,  tlience  across  the  deck  to  the  lee 
rigging,  and,  lastly,  back  to  the  capstan  again. 

I  followed  his  every  movement,  determined 
not  to  let  him  get  behind  me.  Apparently  per- 
ceiving this,  the  ape  changed  his  tactics.  He 
came  leisurely  down  from  the  capstan  and 
crawled  slowly  and  deliberately  along  the  deck 
towards  me,  until  at  length  he  stopped  within  a 
fathom's  length  of  my  feet.  Then  he  bounded 
upward    and    again    landed    fairly    upon    me. 


He  gripped  my  throat  in  a  manner  that 
was  almost  human  in  style  and  intention. 
He  clasped  his  strong  hind  legs  around  my 
waist,  and  made  a  vicious  snap  at  my  face  with 
his  awful  jaws.  I  ducked  my  head,  barely  in 
time  to  save  my  features,  and  his  teeth  snapped 
in  my  hair,  some  of  which  was  torn  out.  Fear- 
ful for  my  face,  I  put  up  my  right  hand  to 
grasp  his  throat,  my  left  arm  having  by  this 
time  become  somewhat  numbed  from  the  effects 
of  his  savage  bites.  My  hand  strayed,  however, 
or  he  dodged  it,  and  it  went  between  his  teeth. 
He  bit  cruelly,  and  one  of  his  molars  went 
clean  through,  opening  a  vein  from  which  the 
blood  commenced  to  spout  in  an  alarming 
manner. 

The  fight  now  became  a  wrestling  match  ; 
while  no  other  sound  came  from  either  of  us 
save  the  hiss  of  our  panting  breath  and  the 
patter  of  my  bare  feet.  We  struggled  frantically 
to  and  fro  upon  the  deck.  The  blood,  spouting 
from  my  hand,  spread  over  Jacko's  hairy  head, 
neck,  and  face,  until  he  became  a  ghastly  sight. 
I  felt  myself  growing  weaker  from  the  loss  of 
blood,  while  my  powerful  enemy  appeared  to 
be  growing  rapidly  stronger !  We  staggered 
against  the  main  fife-rail.  With  my  growing 
weakness,  fear  came  upon  me — fear  of  the 
horrible  disfigurement  my  features  would  for 
ever  show,  should  I  become  too  weak  to  keep 
the  ape's  jaws  from  off  my  face. 

Now  the  fife-rail  was  studded  with  iron 
belaying-pins,  placed  there  for  the  purpose  of 
belaying  the  crossjack  braces.  One  of  these, 
luckily,  was  free.  I  put  up  my  left  arm,  and 
with  it  forced  Jacko's  head  against  the  wooden 
rail  ;  then  seizing  the  iron  belaying-pin  with  my 
free  hand,  I  raised  it  aloft  and  brought  it  down 
again  upon  Jacko's  brow  with  all  the  strength  I 
could  muster. 

The  second  mate,  wondering  why  I  had  not 
returned  to  report  upon  the  sidelights,  and 
thinking  I  had  probably  sat  down  somewhere 
and  gone  to  sleep,  came  down  the  poop  ladder 
bringing  with  him  one  of  the  poop  buckets;  these, 
by  the  way,  were  always  kept  hung  up  at  the 
fore  part  of  the  poop,  and  in  hot  weather  were 
kept  filled  with  water  to  prevent  the  wood  from 
becoming  too  dry.  It  was  the  mate's  unkind 
intention  to  rouse  me  in  the  time-honoured 
fashion  by  drenching  me  with  its  contents. 
Creeping  stealthily  along  the  deck,  he  came  to 
the  main  fife-rail,  where  he  saw  in  the  moon- 
light a  sight  which  caused  him  to  change  his 
intention. 

He  told  me  afterwards  he  could  never  forget 
the  sight,  even  if  he  lived  to  be  a  hundred. 
Jacko  was  lying  stretched  across  the  coil  of  the 
weather  crossjack-brace,    my    body    being   face 


SHORT    STORIES. 


617 


downward,  stretched  across  Jacko's,  and  a  pool 
of  blood  marring  the  whiteness  of  the  deck  and 
making  ghastly  the  sight  of  our  two  apparently 
inanimate  forms. 

Jacko  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  blow 


"  I  made  my  way  there  and  founa  the  place 
closed    during   the   daytime,    it   being    the   off 
season  :     but    I    hunted    up   the   caretaker.      I 
explained  to  him  what  I  was  after.     His  reply 
was  :    '  I  should  think  I  do  remember  the  brute. 


WHAT   THE    SECOND   MATE   SAW    IX    THE    MOONLIGHT  :    |'  MV    BODY    1- ACE 
DOWNWARDS,    STRETCHED   ACROSS   JACKo'S." 


I  gave  him.  He  was  presented,  I  believe,  to 
the  "  Palace  Menagerie "  at  New  Brighton, 
where,  for  all  I  know  to  the  contrary,  he  is  to 
this  day.  As  for  me,  I  bear  the  marks  of  his 
teeth  upon  me  yet,  and  shall  be  glad  to  show 
them  to  such  Wide  World  readers  as  care  to 
call  upon  me  between  voyages  at  my  home,  near 
Manchester.  They  are  rather  faint  upon  my 
shoulders,  but  on  my  hand  is  a  scar  ^in.  long 
and  Yx'wi.  broad.  Two  of  the  scars  upon  my 
left  fore-arm  each  measure  yoxn.  in  length,  and 
the  distance  between  them  is  2^  in. — a  striking 
proof  of  the  size  of  Jacko's  jaws. 

Thinking  that  Wide  World  readers  would 
like  to  know  what  became  of  Jacko,  we  instructed 
Mr.  Frederick  Bolton,  the  author's  father,  to 
make  inquiries  about  the  ape  at  the  Palace, 
New  Brighton.  We  append  Mr.  Bolton's 
report : — 


You  see  that  finger? '  he  went  on,  showing  me  a 
mutilated  finger — the  middle  finger  of  his  right 
hand.  '  I  was  going  my  rounds  one  day  and 
was  trying  the  g^te  of  his  cage  when  he  sprang 
at  me  like  lightning  and  had  my  finger  in 
his  ugly  mouth  like  a  vice  before  I  knew  what 
he  was  up  to.  V'ou  can  see  for  yourself,  sir, 
the  mess  he  made  of  it.  Another  time,'  con- 
tinued the  caretaker,  '  the  brute  got  out  of  his 
cage  and  it  took  all  the  fellows  about  the  place 
to  cage  him  again.  AVhen  he  first  came  they 
put  him  with  the  other  monkeys,  but  he  killed  a 
number  of  them,  so  he  was  placed  in  a  special 
cage  by  himself.  About  twelve  months  ago  he 
got  so  full  of  rheumatism  that  they  drowned 
him.' 

"  '  How  high  did  he  stand  ? '  I  asked. 

"  '  Well,  sir,'  replied  my  informant,  '  you 
seldom  saw  him  stretched  full  length,  but  he 
was,  I  should  say,  from  3ft.  to  3ft.  6in.'  " 


Vol.  iii.-78. 


6i8 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


IW— The  Ocean    The  Young  Man,  and  Mr.  Bolter's  White  Flannels. 

By  Mrs.  Fred   Maturin. 

It  must  be   admitted  that   Mrs.  Maturin,  as  a  girl,  gave  an  incredible  amount  of  trouble  to  all 
who  had  charge  of  her — as  this  her  latest  reminiscence  amply  testifies. 


"  You  have  a  .sister  married  to  a  Cornish 
Methodist  parson,  meine  Frau  ? "  asked  papa, 
reflectively,  puffing  at  his  long  Indian  hookah, 
and  watching  me  sniffing  in  the  corner. 

"  I  have,  Colonel.  A  most  pious  and  worthy 
creature  is  my  dear  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Bolter, 
and  eminently  fitted  to  have  charge  of  Edith." 

I  sniffed  again.  It  sounded  depressing.  I 
was  Edith,  and  in  fearful  disgrace.  And  Bonn- 
am-Rhein  was  in  an  uproar.  The  once  peace- 
ful seminary,  kept  by  Father  and  Mother  B. 
(thus  were  they  known 
amongst  us  girls),  was  up- 
side down.  A  German 
student,  bearing  the 
romantic  Christian  name  of 
"  Hugo,"  had  fallen  in  love 
with  me — had  told  me  so 
in  a  letter  hung  to  the 
pear  -  tree  on  the  lower 
lawn,  and  added,  in  a  fit  of 
desperation,  that  Father 
and  Mother  B.  were  a  pair 
of  Eselkopfeunerhortigqua- 
lenlige  fools !  Father  B., 
taking  an  unusually  early 
ramble  in  the  garden,  had 
hooked  the  missive  off  the 
pear-tree,  drunk  in  its  con- 
tents, telegraphed  for  papa, 
locked  me  in  my  bedroom, 
and  was  now  sitting  paint- 
ing to  my  father  in  lively 
colours  the  life  I  had  led 
him  and  Frau  B.  since  my 
arrival  from  the  convent. 

"  Serenades,"  said  Father 
B.,  removing  a  needle  from  the  corner  of  his 
€ye  (he  had  some  weird  complaint  which 
paralyzed  his  tear-ducts  ;  and  needles  stuck  in 
at  the  corners  were  the  only  things  that  pre- 
vented his  weeping,  morning,  noon,  and  night) 
— "  serenades  all  night,  and  no  sleep.  Bouquets, 
with  notes  concealed  therein,  all  day.  Strings 
of  students  following  the  School  during  their 
walks.  The  English  Church  blocked  with 
German  students,  and  no  room  for  the  English 
residents  at  all.     And  during  carnival " 

Here,  the  needles  being  out,  Father  B.'s  tears 
gushed  forth,  and  Mother  B.,  fat,  red,  and 
indignant,  took  up  the  strain. 

"  During  carnival  this  once  peaceful  dwelling 
entered  by  main  force — at  least  twenty  masked 


■tut^ 

'f^ 

I-  -^ 

h/ 

■1 

MISS     EDITH    MONEY    (.NOW    .MRS.     FRED    .MATURIN) 
WAS   ALWAYS    Ur   TO   SOME    PRANK    OR   OTHER. 

*  Photo,  by  Fred  Palmer,   Kingston-on-Thaiitcs. 


Students.  My  beloved  husband  seized  and 
locked  into  the  coal-cellar  —  I  pushed  into  my 
bed-chamber  and  the  key  turned  on  me.  The 
girls  chased  round  and  round  the  garden  by  the 
masked  revellers,  and  enjoying  it — yes,  I  blush 
to  say  it — in  peals  of  laughter  1  Your  daughter 
Edith,  here,  in  a  tree.  Colonel  Money,  and  two 
or  three  red-capped  students  swarming  up  after 
her.  Oh,''  concluded  the  lady,  with  a  shudder, 
"ask  me  not.  Colonel  Money,  to  continue  this 

theme.     Ask  me  not  to  describe  how "' 

"  I  won't,"  said  papa, 
hurriedly,  "  calm  yourself, 
meine  Frau." 

"Ask   me  not  to  relate 

how " 

"  Pray  don't, '  said  papa, 

"  I'd  rather  not  hear.     One 

thing     is    certain  —  Edith 

must  leave  this  place." 

"  My  pious   and   worthy 

brother-in-law " 

"  Alfred  Bolter  and  his 
wife  Minna,"  added  Father 
B.,  inspecting  a  needle. 

"  Live  in  a  secluded  spot 
in  Cornwall — near  Land's 
End — where  the  frivolities 
of  this  world  are  unknown. 
Mothers'-meetings,  spelling- 
bees,  and  decorating  the 
chapel  at  Christmas — these 
are  the  simple  pleasures 
that  simple  household 
enjoy." 

Here  I  burst  into  a  loud 
fit     of     crying  —  and     no 
wonder — while   Father   V>.   rapidly  stuck  half-a- 
dozen  needles  into  each  eye  and  then  glared  at 
me. 

This  conversation  took  place  when  I  was 
fifteen,  and  a  terrible  mad-cap.  I  recollect  it 
very  well,  because  it  ended  in  my  being  sent  to 
Cornwall  for  a  year  ;  and  it  was  there,  in  a  tiny 
cove  close  to  the  seaside  village  of  Porthpean, 
that  the  little  adventure  occurred  which  I'm 
going  to  tell  you  of. 

Papa  was  presently  on  his  way  overland  to 
India,  so  when  all  was  decided,  a  maiden  aunt 
from  England  was  telegraphed  for  to  fetch 
me,  and  without  one  line  of  farewell  to,  or  from, 
the  devoted  Hugo  (whom  I've  never  seen 
since,  but  hear   has  grown  fat)  I  was  removed 


SHORT    STORIES. 


619 


•irom  Bonn,  and  dragged,  almost  Dy  lorce,  on  to 
the  Antwerp  and  Harwich  steam-packet  one 
lovely  May  evening. 

I  remember  hanging  on  to  the  gangway  and 
refusing  to  go  on  to  the  boat  ;  and  it  took  my 
.Vunt  Fanny,  the  stewardess,  and  the  captain  to 
induce  me  to  move.  And  when  darkness  set 
in  and  we  were  well  out  to  sea,  I  went  on  deck, 
took  off  my  shoes,  stockings,  and  frock,  and 
threw  them  all  overboard  as  a  slight  revenge 
for  my  sufferings. 

The  commotion  next  morning  when  we 
landed,  and  I  had  to  be 
hurried,  just  as  I  was,  into 
the  train  for  London,  where 
we  were  met  by  my  grand- 
mother —  a  dignified  old 
-dame,  who  nearly  had  a  fit 
— -consoled  me,  somehow, 
vastly.  In  London  I  wrote 
long  letters  to  Hugo,  in 
broken  English,  to  suit  his 
knowledge  of  our  language, 
.and  gave  them  to  a  house- 
maid to  post ;  but  he  never 
got  them,  for  I  have  since 
learned  that  the  housemaid 
•copied  them  to  send  to  her 
own  lover  (who  thought  she 
had  gone  mad),  and  burnt 
the  originals. 

I  next  found  myself  in 
Tny  new  home  in  Cornwall, 
^nd,  kind  as  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bolter  were  to  me,  I  really 
think  I  should  have  pined 
away  if,  after  some  months, 
my  dear  little  sister  Etty 
luid  not  been  sent,  at  my 
earnest  rec^uest,  to  the 
Bolters'  too. 

She  was  about  ten  years 
old  (a  lovely  child),  quite 
as  great  a  romp  as  myself,  and  my  spirits 
now  began  to  revive.  I  raised  my  head  once 
more,  sniffed  the  breeze  for  adventures,  and 
met  one  which  nearly  ended  all  such  for  us  both 
for  evermore  ! 

It  was  a  heavenly  summer  that  year.  We 
used  to  get  up  early,  before  even  the  maid-of- 
all-work  was  awake,  rifle  the  larder,  and  dis- 
appear for  the  day  to  the  coast,  which  was 
about  five  miles  from  St.  Austell,  the  little  place 
where  this,  our  temporary  home,  was  situated. 

On  our  return,  somewhere  before  midnight, 
Mr.  Bolter  used  to  rate  us  ;  Mrs.  Bolter  would 
cry,  and  we  pressed  handkerchiefs  to  our  faces 
—upon  which  the  entire  family,  the  servant 
included,  fell  upon  our  necks,  and  asked  us  to 


IT   WASN  T    ETTY'S     FAULT,    POOR    LITTLE    DEAK — 

OF   COURSE,    HER    BIG   SISTER    WAS   TO    BLAME 

FOR    IT    ALL. 

Photo,  by  Westfield  e-^  Co.,  Calcutta. 


forgive  them,  which,  after  some  sobbing,  we 
consented  to  do.  And  in  a  few  days  we  dis- 
appeared again.  In  fact,  we  did  pretty  much  as 
we  liked  :  but  after  the  horrible  descriptions 
given  of  my  pranks  at  Bonn,  Mrs.  Bolter 
e.vpressed  herself  as  thankful  that  I  proved 
content  with  such  comparatively  harmless 
pastimes  as  paddling  uj)  to  my  neck  in  all  my 
clothes,  which  was  at  this  time  my  pet  amuse- 
ment. 

It  was  a  baking  August  morning,  and  I  rose, 
refreshed,  from  my  bed — where  I'd  just  spent 

three  whole  days  while  my 
wardrobe  dried.  This  was 
such  a  nuisance  that  I 
decided  to  give  my  clothes 
a  rest  and  take  a  bathing- 
dress  this  time — or,  as  we 
had  no  proper  bathing- 
dresses,  some  convenient 
substitute.  So  we  got  up 
at  four,  explored  a  cup- 
board on  the  silent  landing, 
found  two  white  flannel 
suits  of  Mr.  Bolter's,  cut 
the  legs  off  at  the  knees, 
and  the  arms  off  at  the 
shoulders,  for  coolness, 
then  rolled  the  things  into 
a  towel  and  decamped  for 
the  day. 

We  took  it  easily  on  the 
road  to  Porthpean.  The 
country  was  delicious  at 
that  exquisite  hour.  The 
lark  already  carolled  in  the 
blue  ;  the  murmur  of  the 
sea  stole  over  grain  and 
clover  to  our  ears,  and  we 
anticipated  a  glorious  day 
in  Mr.  Bolter's  chopped-up 
flannels. 

We.  reached  the  rugged 
cliffs,  passed  the  still  sleeping  coastguard  station 
(or,  perhaps,  the  occupant  was  inside  having 
his  breakfast),  and  ran,  hot,  and  longing  for  a 
plunge,  down  the  winding  path  on  to  the  yellow 
bay  below. 

But  just  as  Etty  and  I  were  going  to  disrobe 
we  discerned  a  nice-looking  young  man  (a 
gentleman)  sitting  on  a  rock,  doing  something 
with  some  worms.  He  glanced  at  us  with 
interest,  and  we  glanced  at  him,  but  he  didn't 
move. 

\\'ell,  we  couldn't  bathe  in  Porthpean  Bay, 
that  was  evident ;  so,  taking  up  our  bundle 
again,  we  began  walking  round  the  cliffs  (the 
tide  was  out),  and  setded  we'd  bathe  instead 
from  "  the  Silver  Beach." 


620 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


Etty  and  I  had  named  it  thai.  Out  in  a  boat 
we  had  often  noticed  the  shining,  silvery  Httle 
cove,  and  thought  what  a  darling  it  looked.  It 
would  be  lovely  to  run  bare-foot  over  those 
silver  pebbles,  down  the  o.xidized-coloured  sand, 
and  "splash  "  into  the  blue  waves  ! 

So  we  flew  along  the  sands,  and  met  an  old 
fisherman,  who,  seeing  our  errand,  called  out  to 
us  in  Cornish  dialect  to  "  Take  care  of  un  little 
beach  roond  there.  He  be  covered  at  high  tide 
an'  no  way  out." 

It  was  low  tide  now— and  high  tide  a  long 
way  off.  And  what  a  glorious  time  we  had  ! 
Mr.  Bolter's  flannels,  garnished  with  blue  sashes 
--the  jackets  worn  as  tunics — were  most  pic- 
turesque since  their  mutilation,  and  we  basked 
in  the  sun  in  them  a 
time  before  we  entered 
water. 

Then,  when  we  got  in,  we 
stopped — oh,  quite  an  hour, 
I  should  think.     And  when 


long 
the 


I  " 


WHEN    WE   COT    IN    WE   .STOPPED— Oil,    (^LITE    AN    HOUR,    I    SHOULD   THINK. 


we  got  out,  we  basked  again,  paddled  in  pooLs, 
hunted  for  shells  and  shrimps,  and  finally  sat 
down,  half-dressed,  to  eat  saffron-cake  and  wish 
we  had  some  fresh  water. 

I  was  telling  Etty  all  I  remembered  about 
India,  and  she  was  telling  me  all  s/ie  re- 
membered. I  know  we  both  began  inventing, 
so  as  to  outdo  each  other,  and  I  was  thick  in  a 
story  of  a  personal  encounter  at  the  age  of  three 
with  a  Bengal  tiger,  and  the  marvellous  presence 
of  mind  I  had  shown,  when  a  shriek  from  my 
sister    brought    me    to   a    stop,    and    I    looked 


sea  -  wards    where    she     pointed 

The  tide  had  come  ifi  and  cut  us  off  from  the  world 
arou7id !  .... 

At  first  I  wouldn't  believe  it,  and  wasn't  very 
frightened  ;  but  when  I'd  looked  round  a  bit, 
and  found  a  long  belt  of  deep,  deep  water 
between  us  and  Porthpean  Bay  (which,  however, 
we  couldn't  see  from  here),  and  jagged,  inacces- 
sible cliffs  above,  overhanging  and  not  a  foot- 
hold on  them,  I  realized  our  situation,  and  stood 
still  to  drink  it  in.  Neither  of  us  could  swim  a 
stroke.  In  vain  had  papa  paid  F'ather  and 
Mother  B.  to  have  me  taught  in  the  Rhine  baths 
at  Bonn.  ^Vllile  the  rope  was  round  my  waist, 
and  the  man  holding  on  to  the  other  end,  I  was 
all  right.  I  was  all  right,  too,  in  the  shallow 
part,  where,  with  one  leg  on  the 
ground,  I  struck  out  nobly,  shout 
ing,  "  Oirls  —  I'm  swimming 
But  when  the  day  came  on  which 
the  swimming-master  said  I  was 
proficient,  and  could  do  without 
the  rope,  and  (calling  Mother  B. 
and  the  other  pupils  to  witness 
my  performance)  took  it  suddenly 
off  me  in  deep  water,  I  .sank, 
with  deep  gurgles  ;  and  the 
wretched  man  was  all  but  stran- 
gled by  my  arms  when  he  jumped 
in  and  fished  me  out. 

Yes,  I  recollected  all  this  now,, 
with  unpleasant  distinctness  ;  but 
there  was  no  time  to  think. 

Seizing  the  remainder  of  our 
clothes  (we  had  dragged  ow 
some),  but  clean  forgetting  Mr. 
Bolter's  mauled  and  sopi;ing. 
flannels,  we  made  for  the  water 
and  plunged  in  up  to  our  knees. 
But  it  got  deeper  and  deeper  as- 
we  went  on,  and  in  a  few  minutes, 
poor  little  Etty  was  wading  up 
to  her  chin,  and,  at  last,  wa.s- 
lifted  off  her  feet.  I  was  well- 
grown  and  tall  for  my  age,  and, 
coming  to  a  rock,  I  got  her  on 
to  it  ;  then,  throwing  away  the 
clothes  we  had  in  our  hands,  I  hoisted  her  on^ 
to  my  shoulders,  and  once  more  plunged  on. 

But  very  soon  the  waves  broke  very  near  ;//>' 
chin  too,  and  how  hea\'y — how  terribly  heavy — 
Etty  was  !  And  how  she  clutched  my  hair  1 
And  what  was  the  use  of  asking  me,  with  sobs, 
to  "  give  mamma  her  turquoise  ring,"  when  no 
one  would  be  left  to  give  it  ? 

"  Tell  papa,"  said  I, 
send  a  farewell  message  too — it  sounded  well 

Then   slosh   went 


thinking  I  might  as  welt 


"  that  I  died  forgiving  him." 

a  salt  wave  into   my  mouth,   and   I   stumbled. 


SHORT    STORIES. 


621 


over  a  sunken  rock  and  fell  forward,  Etty 
shooting  off  me  into  the  water. 

It  would  all  liave  been  over  with  us  then  but 
for  that  sunken  rock,  which  led  to  another  not 
so  submerged.  I  clutched  Etty  by  her  white 
petticoat  (our  dresses  were  now  floating  away 
towards  France),  and  got  her  somehow  up  on  to 
the  rock.  Then  I  struggled  up  myself.  It  was 
nearly  covered,  but  we  were  now  jks^  in  sight  of 
Porthpean  Bay,  and  so  set  to  work  to  shriek  for 
help. 

'i'he  water  between  us  and  safety  was  now 
well  out  of  both  our  depths,  so  it  was  lucky  for 
us  that  the  young  man  with  the  worms  was  still 
there,  sticking  hooks  into  them.  He  at  once 
grasped  the  situation  and  sprang  up,  a  fisherman 


The  fisherman's  wife  took  us  into  her  cottage 
upon  the  cliffs,  dried  our  clothes,  and  lent  us 
jackets  and  skirts  ;  then  we  walked  home. 

But  I  have  never  seen  the  young  man  again. 
He  hung  round  that  cottage  a  good  while,  and 
now  and  then  I  peeped  out  at  him  ;  but  as  I 
was  still  in  great  deshahille,  it  had  to  be  only  a 
peep.  He  certainly  had  very  nice  blue  eyes 
and  curly  hair.  I  remember  that.  The  fisher- 
man's wife  said  he  was  "  stopping  with  some 
grand  folks  near." 

But  when  we  came  out  he  was  gone,  worms 
and  all. 

I  dreamt  of  him  that  night,  and  of  our 
rescue,  but  who  or  what  he  was,  or  whence 
he  came,  will    for  ever  remain  to  me  a  pretty 


THEY   PUSHED   OFF    A    BOAT,    AND    ROWED   TOWARDS   US   AS    F.\ST    AS   THEIR   ARMS   WOULD   WORK. 


behind  him  ;  they  pushed  off  a  boat,  and  rowed 
towards  us  as  fast  as  their  arms  would  work.  I 
watched  them  in  an  agony,  clutching  my  little 
sister. 

Every  fresh  wave  nearly  washed  us  off  that 
wretched  slippery,  green  rock,  but  the  boat  came 
up  at  last,  and  we  were  hauled  in  just  in  time  : 
the  fisherman  remarking  quietly,  "  What  did  I 
tell  un  ? "' 

It  was  awkward  sitting  in  such  deshabille  in 
front  of  that  young  man,  but  he  was  kind,  and 
looked  the  other  way. 


romantic    mystery— unless  he   ha[)pens    to   see 
this. 

\\'e  never  breathed  a  word  to  the  Bolters 
of  our  adventure.  On  reaching  home  we  dis- 
robed and  sprang  into  bed.  The  family  were 
at  a  meeting  for  providing  the  Cannibals  with 
combinations,  or  some  such  mission.  Mr. 
Bolter,  I  know,  decided  to  send  his  white 
flannels,  and  next  day  a  great  hunt  took 
place.  But  never  did  he  know — and  I  hope 
he  never  may— that  the  ocean  swallowed  them, 
when  it  so  nearly  swallowed  us. 


Life  in  an  Italian  Village, 

Bv  Rainald  Wells. 

An  amusing  account  of  daily  life  in  the  remote  mountain  villages  near    Pallanza.      Lady   porters 

and  gold  mines  in  Italy,  religious  processions,  and  strange  feasts.     A  village  ball,  and  a  funny  case 

of  "playing  at  soldiers."     The  whole  illustrated  by  the  author's  own  snap-shot  photographs. 

backs,  as  seen  in  the  photo- 
graph. 1  was  very  much 
amused  at  the  time,  because 
it  had  taken  two  strong  men 
to  carry  one  of  the  portman- 
teaus downstairs  in  England, 
whilst  here,  in  Italy,  a 
woman  will  put  the  same 
box  into  her  basket  or 
"civvera,"  as  they  are  called, 
and  walk  the  five  miles  quite 
easily,  only  charging  lod.  for 
the  job. 

The  third  photograph  is 
another  group  of  women, 
carrying  the  "  amalgam " 
from  a  gold  mine,  which 
was  being    worked  near  the 

irotn  a\  view  of  iallaxza,  o.\ 

SHORT  description  of  the  life  and 

customs  in  an  Italian  village,  from 

an  Englishman's  point  of  view,  would, 

I    think,   be  rather  amusing   to  the 

majority  of  my  readers.  The  villages 
I    am    about   to   describe    are    situated   about 
thirty   miles   from    the    town    of  Pallanza,    on 
Lake    Maggiore.      They  are   in,  perhaps,  one 
of  the  most  picturesque  of  the  Italian  valleys, 
namely,    the   Vail'   Anzasca.     High    mountains 
bound  them   on 
both  sides  ;  and 
even  the  villages 
themselves     are 
just    about    the 
same   height 
above  sea -level 
as    the    summit 
of  Sn  o  wdon  . 
When   I  arrived 
there    was    no 
carriage  road  to 
Pestarena,  the 
village    I    was 
going  to  stay  in, 
so     I     had     to 
walk     the      last 
five    miles,    my 
luggage   being 
carried     up     by     '^^'^ 

wompn    r\t^    thpir  ^'■'"  i^'i'">  r  k.now  there  were  gold  .mines  i.v  italy?    well,  here  are  the 

wumeil    oil    lllLir      From  dl  WOMEN  carrying  a.malgam  fro.m  the  mine.  {Photo. 


MY      lu<;gage      being 
carried      up      by 

W  O  JI  E  N     ON     their 

l!ACKS." 

From  a  Photo. 


village  I  was 
staying  in.  I 
suspect  that  the 
majority  of  Eng- 
lish people  will 
be  rather  sur- 
prised when  they 
read  that  there 
is  a  gold  mine 
in  Italy  ;  but  I 
can  assure  them 
that  mines  of  the 
precious  metal 
have  been 
worked  in  the 
North    of    Italy 


LIFE     IN    AN    ITALIAN    MLLA(;i:. 


623 


for  a  great  many  years.  In 
winter  sleighing  is  used  for  por- 
terage^sometimes  by  horses  or 
mules,  but  usually  by  hand.  I 
have  seen  as  many  as  forty  men 
harnessed  to  one  sleigh  drag- 
ging up  a  heavy  piece  of 
machiner}'.  The  photograph 
shows  the  kind  of  sleigh  which 
people  use  to  get  about  in. 

Shortly  after  I  arrived  one 
of  the  numerous  feasts  was 
held.  Each  village  has  several 
important  feasts  in  the  year, 
and  each  individual  person  has 
his  own  particular  feast  day, 
according  to  the  saint  he  or  she 
has  been  named  after.  It  is 
kept  much  in  the  same  way  as 
children  in  England  keep  their 


■'  SHDKTLY   AKTtk    1    AKKIVED   O.NE   OF   THE    N  ..   ...    .■_.^^    .■ 

From  a  Photo. 

birthdays.  The  village  feast  begins  in  the  morn- 
ing with  a  procession  of  the  whole  village.  Four 
people  carry  the  image  of  the  Madonna,  and 
pay  5fr.  for  the  privilege.  The  image  at  the 
village  I  was  staying  in  was  about  6ft.  high,  and 
made  of  some  sort  of  terra-cotta.  It  had  a 
most  beautiful  dress  of  light  blue,  covered  with 
gold  and  silver  tinsel.  Each  set  of  four  people 
carry  it  for  a  short  distance,  then  four  more  take 
their  places.  In  the  photograph  girls  are  seen 
in  the  foreground  with  their  veils  on,  which 
they  always  keep  down  during  the  service. 
Behind  them  comes  the  band,  and  then  the 
Madonna  with  the  priests  grouped  round  it. 
During  the  procession  the  women  keep  up  a 
kind  of  chant.     Presently  the  bandmaster  gives 


"IN'   WINTEU   SLEKiHING    IS    USED    KOK 

From  a\  poktekace."  [Photo. 


the  word  for  the  band  to 
strike  in,  which  almost  drowns 
the  chant,  as  it  seems  to  be 
the  ambition  in  the  band  I 
saw  for  each  man  to  try  to 
play  louder  than  his  fellow. 
As  the  procession  winds  along 
past  the  various  little  shrines 
(see  photograph)  to  the 
church,  bombs  and  rockets 
are  sent  up.  The  bombs  are 
fired  from  holes  driven  in 
the  rocks.  They  make  a  great 
column  of  smoke  and  much 
noise,  thus  pleasingthe  Italian 
peasants  greatly.  The  church 
itself  was  very  small,  holding, 
perhaps,  about  150  people. 
A  kind  of  gallery  is  erected 


IJ.NE   <Jf    THE    Lll  ILE   hHKlNES    PASSED    BY   THE    PNOCESSI^jN. 

From  a  Photo. 


624 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


on  feast  days  to  accommodate  the  band,  which 
consisted  of  about  forty  instruments.  The 
interior  of  the  little  edifice  is  very  beautiful. 
The  band  plays  at  intervals  during  the  service, 
tuning  their  instruments  between  times.  After 
the  .service  is  over,  the  congregation  adjourn  to 
various  places  of  refresh- 
ment and  recreation  to 
have  their  feast. 

I  had  my  meal  with  the 
priests  and  a  select  number 
of  village  notables,  (>f  whom 
I  took  a  snap-shot.  I  give 
the  menu  for  the  benefit 
of  English  housekeepers  : 
I.  Sausages  ;  2.  Cocks'- 
combs;  3.  Liver  and  brains; 
4.  Soup ;  5.  Boiled  beef 
chops  ;  6.  Green  peas  on 
toast;  7.  Roast  beef;  8. 
Chicken  legs  and  salad  ; 
9.  Coffee. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  meal  we  were 
serenaded  by  the  band,  until  wine  at  length, 
which  is  the  universal  drink  of  Italy,  was 
served  round.  During  the  afternoon  the  people 
had  a  siesta  until  about  eight  o'clock,  when  a 
dance  finished  the  day.  Now,  a  dance  in  an 
Italian  village  is  a  very  different  affair  from 
one  in  a  London  ball-room — although  the 
dancing  itself  is  quite  as  good,  if  not  better, 
in  the  former.  'I'lie  guests  arrive  punctually 
at  eight,  and  all  the  men  who  can  play  bring 
their  instruments,  which 
usually  consist  of  a  concertina, 
or,  perhaps,  even  a  barrel- 
organ,  if  there  happens  to  be 
one  in  the  village. 

The  dances  themselves  are 
conducted  in  quite  a  different 
way  from  those  in  England. 
When  the  music  strikes  up, 
you  choose  your  partner,  and 
ask  her  to  dance,  which  she 
has  to  do,  or  else  not  dance 
at  all,  as  it  is  quite  against 
Italian  village  etifiuette  to 
refuse  a  partner.  Vou  dance 
right  through,  and  when  the 
music  stops  you  leave  your 
partner,  murmuring  a  thou 
sand  thanks,  and  then  walk 
away  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. Between  the  dances  the 
men  and  girls  sit  apart.  The 
men  all  dance  with  heavy 
boots  on,  the  greater  number 
of  the  footgear  having  big 
nails  in  them  as  well,  which 


1  Hlv    IKItblb  ANU  THE  \iLLAGE    NOTABLES  WHO  I'KOVIDEU 
Froma]  ME   with    SUCH   A   WEIRD    FEAST.  [P/lofo. 


IIHS     IS     THE     DEAR     LITTLE    GIKL    I     UANChU 
WITH    AT   THE    PEASANTS'    BAU.. 

From  a  Photo. 


would  not  improve  a  polished  floor.  The  fioor 
for  some  reason  which  I  have  never  fathomed  is 
purposely  made  rough  by  putting  sand  on  it, 
which  is  watered  periodically  to  keep  the  dust 
down.  I  came  off  rather  poorly  the  first  dance 
I  went  to,  as  I  only  had   shoes  on  for  the  first 

part  of  the  evening.  At  the 
close  of  one  dance  I  found 
I  only  had  the  upper  parts 
left.  The  dancing  is  kept 
up  till  four  or  five  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  some  of 
the  people  not  going  to 
bed  at  all. 

There  are  a  few  rather 
funny  dances.  One  not  un- 
like a  figure  of  our  cotillon 
is  called  the  specchio,  or 
looking-glass  dance,  and  is 
very  amusing  to  watch.  A 
chair  is  placed  in  the  middle 
of  the  room,  round  which 
a  coupk  dance  once  or  twice.  The  man  then 
places  the  lady  in  the  chair,  and  hands  her  a 
looking-glass.  He  then  goes  and  gets  another 
man,  with  whom  he  dances,  and  finally  brings 
him  up  behind  the  girl  in  the  chair.  She  sees 
his  face  in  the  looking-glass,  and,  if  she  likes 
him,  gets  up  and  dances  with  him  for  a  short 
time.  Then  the  man  sits  down,  and  girls  are 
brought  up  in  the  same  manner  for  him  to 
choose.  If  he  does  not  like  them,  he  wipes  the 
looking-glass  with  a  handkerchief,  and  the  girl 
has  to  retire,  with  a  red  face, 
amidst  the  laughter  of  those 
looking  on.  It  seems  rude, 
but  is  customary.  Another 
dance  I  have  never  seen  in 
England  is  called  "The 
Candle  Dance,"  perhaps  on 
account  of  the  amount  of 
grease  flying  about,  as  the 
candle  is  kept  lighted  during 
the  dance.  It  begins  by  as 
many  couples  as  care  to  take 
part  dancing  round  in  the 
usual  manner.  One  man  who 
has  not  acquired  a  partner 
stands  in  the  middle  of  the 
room  with  the  lighted  candle. 
He  suddenly  cries  "  Stop," 
and  immediately  each  couple 
commences  to  walk  round  him 
arm  in  arm.  He  then  cries 
"  Go  forward  "  or  "  Go  back- 
ward," whichever  he  likes,  and 
all  the  men  have  to  leave  their 
partners  and  take  the  girl  in 
front  or  behind  them  as  the 


LIFE    IN    AN    ITALIAN    VILLAGE. 


case  may  be.  Meanwhile 
the  man  with  the  candle 
is  himself  trying  to  get  a 
partner  before  one  of  the 
other  men.  If  he  suc- 
ceeds the  man  left  out 
has  to  take  the  candle, 
but  if  baffled  he  still  con- 
tinues to  hold  it.  Danc- 
ing commences  again  as 
soon  as  everybody  has 
got  his  new  partner. 

The  refreshments  at  the 
dances  are  not  very  elabo- 
rate. The  eatable  part 
consists   of    small   cakes 

and  hot  chestnuts,  the  latter  being  one  of  the 
chief  articles  of  food  of  the  Italian  peasant. 
The  white   and   red   wines   of  the  country  are 


DANClNt;    REiJUlSITES — FLASKS   OF     CHIANTI    AND    Hul'.-N AU.tD 

From  a\  boots.  [Photo. 


625 

very  curious  manner.  It 
begins  with  the  usual  reli- 
gious procession,  followed 
l)y  the  service,  and  then 
comes  the  special  feature, 
which  consists  in  "  play- 
ing at  soldiers,"  although 
the  men  who  take  part  in 
it  are  very  serious  indeed 
over  it.  About  forty  vil- 
lagers take  part,  with 
three  men  as  officers  on 
horseback.  They  are  all 
dressed  in  old  uniforms  of 
the  time  of  Napoleon  I., 
which  have  been  handed 
a  certain  sum  of  money 


J-  loiii  a] 


AT    BANNIO   THE   VILLAGERS    I'LAV   AT    SOLDIERS. 


drunk,  neither  being  very  strong.  The  photo- 
graph at  the  top  shows  a  cask  of  wine  on 
end.  In  the  foreground  are  a  pair  of  "dancing 
pumps."  The  bottles 
on  the  right  are  the  kind 
used  for  the  wine.  The 
conical-shaped  tin  on 
the  left  is  the  apparatus 
used  for  watering  the 
floor.  The  barrel  of 
wine  seen  in  the  picture 
had,  by  the  way,  been 
carried  five  miles  by  a 
woman,  who  danced  all 
the  evening  afterwards! 
At  Bannio,  a  village 
near  Pestarena,  the 
feast  day  is  kept  in  a 


down  from  that  time 

having  been  left  for  the  purpose. 

The  next  photograph  is  a  group  of  the  men 
in  their  quaint  uniforms.  It 
gives  a  very  poor  idea  of  the 
men's  appearance,  however,  on 
account  of  the  absence  of 
colours.  The  fit  also  appears 
better  than  it  really  is,  as  you 
see  men  in  uniforms  which  are 
absurdly  large  for  them.  Some 
of  the  uniforms  are  very  valu- 
able, not  only  on  account  of 
their  antiquity,  but  also  on 
account  of  the  mass  of  gold 
lace  and  other  decoration  on 
them.  I  saw  one  sash  which 
was  said  to  be  worth  i,ooofr. 
There  is  a  band  belonging  to 
the  company,  although  its  re- 
presentative in  the  photo,  has 
not  got  his  right  uniform  on. 
The  play  begins  by  a  parade, 
when  the  droll-looking  "troops" 
are  reviewed  by  one  of  the 
"  officers,"  as  shown  herewith.  Then  the  gallant 
fellows  commence  to  march  round  the  village, 
firing  salutes  with  their  old  matchlocks  as  they  go. 


[Photo. 


Vol.  iii.— 79. 


THE    DROLL-LOOKING        TROOPS       ARE    REVIEWED    LV   ONE    OF    THE        OFFICERS. 


[/'ho  to. 


On   the    War  =  Path   with   Redskins. 

By  James  W.  Schultz. 

The  author  has  married  an  Indian  squaw,  and  lives  in  the  Blackfeet  Reservation  in  Montana.     There- 
fore he  speaks  as  "  one  of  themselves,"  and  here  describes  a  perfectly  unique  experience — a  retaliatory 
raid  of  the  Redskins,  described  in   all  its  stately  ritual  and  picturesque  detail. 


HE  passion  for 
shooting,  I  believe, 
leads  men  into  more 
strange  places,  and 
among  more  queer 
people,  than  almost  any  other 
form  of  recreation  or  work.  It 
was  my  love  for  the  rifle  and 
outdoor  life  that  resulted  in  the 
experience  I  am  about  to  relate. 
The  summer  I  was  eighteen 
I  happened  to  visit  some  friends 
in  St.  Louis,  and  there  met  an 
Indian  trader  from  the  far 
North-West.  He  told  me  won- 
derful stories  of  the  big  game 
which  fairly  covered  the  plains 
and  hills  of  that  far-off  country  : 
and  his  tales  so  excited  my 
imagination  that  I  lost  no  time 
in  sending  for  my  shooting 
outfit,  and  within  ten  days  was 
comfortably  quartered  on  a 
stern -wheel  steamboat,  which 
was  steadily  but  slowly  pushing 
its  way  up  against  the  swift 
current  of  the  Missouri  River. 
I  cannot  here  describe  that 
grand  trip  of  more  than  2,000 
miles  up  the  winding  Missouri. 
If  you  would  know  something 
about  the  splendid  scenery,  the 
immense  herds  of  game,  and 
the  various  tribes  of  Indians  I 
saw,  read  "Lewis  and  Clark's 
Expedition,"  or  Catlin's  "Eight 
Years."  I  found  the  country 
practically  as  wild  as  they  did 
but  one  or  two  passengers  on 
they,  like  myself,  were  bound  for 
a  trading  post  of  the  American 


THIS  IS  THE  AUTHOR,  MR.  J.  \V.  SCHULTZ, 
THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  GUIDE,  ETC.,  WHO 
I.IVES  AMONG  THE  BLACKFEET  —  THE 
NEAREST  PHOTOGRAPHER    LIVES    IIO  MILES 

Frotn  a\  kro.m  this  homestead.    [Photo. 


There  were 

the   boat,   and 

Fort  Benton, 

Fur  Company. 


The  boat,  liowever,  was  not  to 
reach  there  that  year,  for  the 
water  kept  falling  rapidly  ;  and 
at  Cow  Island,  several  hundred 
miles  below  our  destination,  it 
could  go  no  farther.  At  that 
point  we  found  some  "  bull 
trains  "'  awaiting  us  ;  the  freight 
on  the  steamer  was  loaded  into 
the  heavy  waggons,  and  we 
proceeded  overland.  This  part 
of  the  trip  occupied  two  weeks, 
but  every  day  of  it  was  a 
delightful  experience  for  me. 
One  of  the  "  bull  whackers " 
lent  me  his  pony,  and  I  used 
to  ride  ahead  of  the  long  train 
and  shoot  buffalo  and  antelope 
for  the  ever-hungry  men.  We 
arrived  at  the  Fort  at  last,  and 
this  itself  was  worth  travelling 
a  long  way  to  see.  It  was 
about  180ft.  square,  and  was 
built  of  "  adobe,"  or  cakes  of 
sun-dried  mud.  At  each  corner 
was  a  two-story  bastion,  mount- 
ing small  cannon,  and  pierced 
with  loop-holes  for  musketry. 
So  far  as  the  Indians  were  con- 
cerned it  was  impregnable. 
Within  the  thick,  high  walls 
were  rows  of  adobe  houses, 
most  of  them  two-storied,  and 
here  the  factor  and  his  men 
had  their  quarters  ;  here  also 
the  trade  goods  and  furs  were 
kept.  At  the  time  of  which  I 
write  this  Fort  was  the  only  abode  of  white  men 
on  the  Upper  Missouri,  except  one  or  two  mining 
camps  which  were  just  springing  up  in  the 
Rockies,  several  hundred  miles  to  the  south-east. 


•}  ^S"--"  '.3By  I '  f^l!S^Hif^^='^«3^^ 


Front  a] 


AND    HERE    WE   SEE    MR. 


EBva 
SCHULTZ's    RANCH. 


'tmkmtMaa^tim 


[P/u-to. 


ON    THE    WAR-PATH    WITH    REDSKINS. 


627 


I  met  an  Englishman  at  the  Fort  named  Ross, 
who  had  years  before  left  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  in  the  far  north,  and  coming  south 
had  joined  the  Blackfeet,  marrying  one  of  the 
women  of  that  tribe.  These  Indians  were 
camping  near  the  Fort  for  a  few  days,  fitting  out 
for  the  winter's  liunt  ;  and  as  soon  as  they 
finished  trading,  Ross  intended  to  go  south 
with  them  into  the  Judith  country,  where  game 
was  ahvays  plentiful  and  the  winter  comparatively 
mild.  Having  obtained  Ross's  consent  to  join 
him  on  this  expedition  and  share  a  part  of  his 
lodge,  or  "  teepee,"  I  got  out  my  memorandum- 
book  and  asked  him  to  write 
down  a  list  of  such  things  as 
he  thought  I  should  buy.  He 
looked  at  me  quizzically  as  he 
took  the  book,  and  asked  if  I 
had  plenty  of  blankets,  clothes, 
and  ammunition.  I  replied 
that  I  had ;  whereupon  he 
wrote  a  few  words,  and  re- 
turned the  memo -book.  I 
read  :  "Two  good  horses  ;  one 
saddle  and  bridle;  251b.  of 
tobacco;   151b.  of  salt." 

"  What  ?  No  flour  —  no 
sugar — no  bacon — no  anything 
good  to  eat  ?  "  ' 

"  No ;  any  small  amount  of 
such  stuff  as  the  trader  could 
be  induced  to  sell  would  last 
but  a  few  days,  anyhow." 

"  But  what  shall  we  eat?  "  I 
asked. 

"Why,"  he  replied,  "we'll 
eat  just  what  I  have  been 
living  on  for  years :  meat  of 
various  kinds,  cooked  in  various 
ways.  Occasionally  pemmi- 
can  ;  berries,  fresh  or  dried  ; 
and  sundry  edible  roots." 

I  said  nothing,  but  I  quickly 
made  up  my  mind  that  I  could 
stand  such  fare  if  he  could, 
and  straightway  went  into  the 
Fort  to  make  my  few  pur- 
chases. I  got  two  very  good  horses  at  a 
reasonable  price.  I  forget  what  the  saddle 
and  bridle  cost,  but  I  do  remember  that  I  paid 
eight  dollars  a  pound  for  tobacco,  and  two  for 
the  salt. 

Two  days  after  making  my  purchases  the 
camp  "  pulled  out,"  my  bedding  and  personal 
effects  being  packed  on  some  of  the  extra  ponies 
belonging  to  Ross.  It  was  wonderful  to  see 
how  quickly  the  squaws  pulled  down  their 
lodges,  lashing  the  long  poles  to  the  ponies 
which   were   to  drag   them,  and    packing    their 


THE   AfTHOK    HAS 
SQUAW — THIS 

Fiotn 


household  goods  and  effects  on  others.  In  a 
very  short  time  the  long,  straggling  column 
began  to  ford  the  river,  and  wind  like  a  great 
serpent  up  out  of  the  valley  and  out  on  the 
rolling  prairie.  There  were  about  3,000  people, 
10,000  ponies,  and  the  Lord  only  knows  how 
many  dogs  in  this  long  procession  of  wild 
hunters.  Every  child  of  six  or  seven  years  and 
upwards  rode  a  gentle  little  pony  and  helped  to 
drive  the  loose  horses  belonging  to  the  family. 
I'hose  of  less  years  rode  in  their  mothers'  arms, 
or  were  lashed  in  a  travoi — an  A-shaped 
contrivance  of  poles,  drawn  by  a  horse.  The 
cross-bar  was  made  of  two 
poles  2ft.  or  more  apart,  and 
the  space  between  them  filled 
with  loose  net-work  or  slender 
sticks.  In  this  receptacle  one 
could  often  see  three  or  four 
children,  and  as  many  or 
more  pups,  riding  along  very 
comfortably. 
ijt:  For  a  time  after  joining  these 

^^  people  I  suffered  a  great  deal 

from  my  change  of  diet  :  there 
was  a  constant  feeling  of 
hunger,  even  after  eating  a 
large  meal  of  some  kind  of 
meat.  I  became  quite  weak, 
and  not  inclined  to  move 
about.  I  hankered  for  bread 
and  sugar  especially.  I  think 
I  would  have  given  anything 
for  a  plain  apple-tart.  I  used 
to  dream  about  apple-tarts  ! 
After  five  or  six  weeks,  how- 
ever, this  feeling  wore  away, 
and  I  became  as  well  satisfied 
with  a  meat  diet  and  as 
healthy  as  the  Indians  them- 
selves. I  was  much  interested 
in  observing  the  customs  of 
these  strange  people,  and  from 
the  very  first  began  a  compre- 
hensive study  of  their  language, 
with  the  view  of  getting  at  their 
minds  and  learning  just  what 
they  thought  and  believed.  I  was  so  deeply 
interested  in  this  that  I  kept  deferring  my 
departure  for  the  east  and  home,  and  only 
once  in  two  years  visited  the  Fort.  During 
this  time  we  moved  here  and  there  over  an 
immense  extent  of  country,  passing  the  sum- 
mers up  close  to  the  main  range  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  in  winter  camping  along  the 
sheltered  valleys  of  the  streams  several  hundred 
miles  to  the  eastward,  where  the  season  was 
not  so  rigorous. 

The  most   marked  trait  of  the  Blackfeet  was 


MARRIED   .^X    INDIAN 
IS    MRS.    SCHUI.TZ. 

a  Photo. 


628 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


their    love    of    war.       Coming 
from  the  far  north,   about  the 
beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, they  had  driven  different 
tribes    from    the    head  -  waters 
and  tributaries  of  the   Saskat- 
chewan and  the  Missouri.  These 
tribes,  while  they  did  not  dare 
to   venture    to    live   and   hunt 
on    their    ancient    possessions, 
were   continually    sending    war 
parties  to  harass 
the    Blackfeet,   and 
the    latter    in    turn 
were    continually 
sending  out  parties 
of  their  own  warriors 
to    retaliate.       The 
pursuit  of  game  to 
these     people     was 
mere  hard    labour  ; 
the  pursuit  of  man 
was     their     chief 
amusement     and 

their  principal  topic  of  conversation.  I  used 
to  listen  to  the  stories  of  the  warriors,  which 
were  often  very  exciting,  and  wish  that  I 
might  accompany  them  on  one  of  their 
forays.  But  I  could  scarcely  find  it  in 
my  heart  to  go  on  a  murderous  expedition 
against  people  who  had  done  me  no  wrong 
or  harm.  My  opportunity  came,  however. 
Very  early  one  morning  in  June  word  was 
passed  through  the  camp  that  some  of  our 
horses  had  been  stoleri  during  the  night.  A 
few  minutes  later  a  young  man  was  found  on 
the  side  of  the  hill  shot  full  of  arrows  and 
scalped.  More  than  two  hundred  horses  had 
been  driven  off  by  the  enemy,  among  them  my 
two.  From  the  signs  the  raiders  left,  it  was 
evident  that  they  had  killed  the  young  herder 
and  stolen  the  horses  the  evening  before ;  and 
having  so  long  a  start  it  would  be  useless  to  try 
to  overtake  them.  But  that  did  not  mean  we 
were  not  to  avenge  the  wrong.  Far  from  it. 
Heavy  Runner,  one  of  the  most  noted  warriors, 
ordered  the  camp  crier  to  announce  that  in 
three  days'  time  he  would  lead  a  party  against 
the  enemy ;  and  that  those  who  wished  to 
join  him  should  begin  preparations  for 
the  raid.  I  felt  that  now  I  had  just  reason  for 
going  with  a  war  party,  and  straightway  asked 
Heavy  Runner  if  I  could  accompany  him.  He 
gave  a  smiling  assent,  and  I  hurried  home  to 
ask  Madame  Ross  to  make  me  five  or  six  pairs 
of  moccasins.  We  were  to  go  afoot,  and  the 
harsh  prairie  grasses  destroyed  foot-wear  very 
quickly. 

To   earn   the   goodwill  of  these  children  of 


IN    THIS    RECEPTACLE   ONE   COULD   OFTEN    SEE   THREE   OR    FOUR   CHILDREN. 


Nature,  and  to  learn  the  mysteries  of  their 
religion,  I  had  made  them  believe  that  I,  too, 
was  a  worshipper  of  the  sun  ;  and  now  that  the 
time  had  come  to  test  the  truthfulness  of  my 
assertion  I  could  not  draw  back,  and  was  obliged 
to  take  part  in  the  ceremonies  incident  to  our 
departure  on  a  dangerous  expedition.  Heavy 
Runner  chose  an  old  medicine  man  named 
Red  Eagle  for  our  priest.  He  was  to  pray  with 
us  each  day  before  our  departure ;  superintend 
the  "  sacred  sweat  "  ;  lend  us  his  medicine  pipe 
— which  was  supposed  to  guard  us  from  harm 
during  our  travels ;  and  lastly,  ride  about 
through  the  camp  every  evening  while  we  were 
away,  calling  out  the  name  of  each  absent  one, 
and  asking  the  people  to  pray  with  him  for  his 
safe  return.  I  must  omit  a  description  of  the 
ceremonies  held  each  day,  when  the  old  priest 
besought  the  sun  to  have  mercy  on  us  and 
guide  our  steps.  Space  forbids.  Our  last  act 
before  leaving  was  to  be  a  sacrifice  to  the  sun, 
and  for  this  we  were  obliged  to  cleanse  our 
hearts  and  our  bodies.  There  were  so  many 
of  us  that  we  could  not  all  get  into  one  of 
the  hemispherical  sweat -houses  which  had 
been  built  by  the  river,  so  four  of  them 
had  been  constructed  close  together  in  the 
form  of  a  square.  The  frame-work  of  these 
sudatories  was  of  willow,  and  they  were 
covered  with  tanned  skins,  robes,  lodge  linings 
— anything,  in  fact,  to  keep  in  the  steam. 
Women  were  soon  heating  rocks  in  a  great  fire 
near  by  ;  and  when  all  was  ready  we  entered 
the  lodges,  leaving  our  robes  by  the  doorway. 
The  red-hot  rocks  were  passed  in  and  placed  in 


ON    THE    WAR-PATH    WITH    REDSKINS. 


629 


a  shallow  hole  in  the  ground  in  the  centre  of 
the  lodge.  Beginning  a  low  chant  of  supplica- 
tion, the  medicine  man  dipped  a  buffalo-tail  in 
a  vessel  of  water  and  sprinkled  the  rocks  lightly. 
Steam    immediotelv   betran   to   rise  and  fill  the 


the 


"the  .medicine  man  dipped  a  buffalo-tail  in  water  and  sprinkled  the  rocks. 


lodge.  At  the  end  of  the  chant  a  prayer  was 
said,  and  the  rocks  again  sprinkled.  We 
began  to  feel  the  moisture  dripping  from 
us.  Prayer  after  prayer  was  repeated,  inter- 
spersed with  ancient  songs,  and  finally  the 
medicine  pipe  was  filled,  lighted,  and  passed 
around  the  circle — each  brave  as  he  received  it 
imploring  the  sun  for  safety  and  success,  before 
he  drew  a  whiff  through  the  sacred  stem.  The 
pipe  finished,  one  by  one  the  warriors  crept  out, 
hastily  threw  their  blankets  around  them  at  the 
doorway,  and  going  to  the  bank  of  the  river 
plunged  into  its  clear,  cool  depths.  From  there 
everyone  went  to  his  own  lodge  and  dressed. 
Then,  taking  the  article  he  had  selected  as  a 
sacrifice — always  one  of  his  most  valued  posses- 
sions— each  went  into  the  timber,  and  with 
much  prayer  formally  presented  it  to  the  sun. 
The  sacrifice  was  tied  on   to  a  tree  or  bush, 


where  it  always  remained  until  destroyed  by  the 
elements.  My  sacrifice  was  a  fine  hunting-knife, 
with  sheath  and  belt  complete. 

We  were  camped  on  the  A'ellow  River  (named 
by  Lewis  and  Clark  the  "Judith")  when  the 
enemy  raided  us  ;  and  scouts  who  had 
followed  their  trail  away  reported  that 
it  led  to  the  north-east.  We  were,  there- 
fore, satisfied  that  the  raiders  were  the 
Assinaboines  —  a  tribe  of  the  great 
Sioux  nation,  and  it  was  to  be  our 
endeavour  to  find  their  camp  and  get 
revense.  It  was  quite  dusk  when  we 
village  and,  led  by  Heavy 
Runner,  struck  out  over 
the  rolling  plain.  We 
made  a  long,  straggling 
column,  there  being 
eighty  of  us  in  all.  There 
would  be  a  little  bunch 
of  three  or  four  walking 
side  by  side  ;  then  men 
singly  or  in  couples  ;  and 
again  another  group  of 
five  or  six.  A  young 
man,  named  Mam-i-yan 
(Fish  Robe)  was  my 
partner.  He  had  always 
been  very  friendly  to  me, 
and  we  had  hunted  much 
together.  I  was  the  only 
one  who  had  a  modern 
gun  ;  it  was  a  Henry 
repeater  of  "440  calibre. 
The  rest  carried  percus- 
sion-cap smooth-bores 
and  rifles.  A  few  had 
Hudson  Bay  Company 
flint-locks  ;  and  as  aux- 
iliaries many  carried 
bows  and  arrows  and  shields.  No  one  had 
much  impedimenta.  Besides  our  weapons  we 
had  each  a  few  pairs  of  moccasins  ;  a  little 
pouch  of  pemmican — to  be  eaten  when  so 
near  the  enemy  that  we  could  not  build  a 
fire — and  that  was  about  all.  Heavy  Runner 
carried  the  sacred  medicine  pipe.  ^lany  had 
their  war  clothes  and  eagle-plume  head-dresses 
with  them,  which  they  would  don,  if  they  had  an 
opportunity,  before  going  into  battle. 

We  travelled  steadily  due  east  all  night,  and 
when  dawn  came  were  near  a  stream  named 
It-tsis-ki-ots-ope  :  the  "  It  crushed  them  "  creek 
— so-called  because  a  party  of  women  digging 
red  earth  were  killed  by  the  bank  falling  on 
them.  All  about  us  were  herds  of  buffalo 
and  antelope,  feeding  or  lying  down  on  the 
sage-brush  plain.  We  did  not  wish  to  disturb 
them,  for  game  rushing  wildly  over  the  prairie  is 


630 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


a  sure  sign  that  man  is  near,  and  we  wanted  to 
go  through  the  country  quietly  and  unobserv-ed. 
So  we  sneaked  into  the  head  of  a  long  "  coulie," 
or  ravine,  and  followed  it  down  to  the  stream, 
where  we  entered  a  grove  of  cotton  woods  and 
willow.  A  band  of  elk  got  up  out  of  their  beds 
and  stupidly  stared  at  us,  and  at  a  sign  from 
Heavy  Runner  I  killed  two  young  bulls,  which 
furnished  us  plenty  of  food  for  the  day.  After 
a  hearty  meal  of  roast  and  broiled  meat,  two 
men  were  sent  up  on  the  hills  to  watch,  whilst 
the  rest  of  us  lay  down  under  the  trees 
and  slept.  At  midday  the  sentinels  were 
relieved.  About  five  o'clock  we  ate  another 
meal  of  elk  meat ;  and  then  Heavy  Runner 
unwrapped  the  sacred  pipe,  and  we  smoked  and 
prayed,  ^^'hen  it  began  to  grow  dark  we  started 
out  once  more  and  walked  steadily  all  night, 
the  next  dawn  finding  us  among  the  pine-clad 
brakes  and  buttes  of  the  Missouri.  Three 
buffalo  cows  were  killed  out  of  a  small  herd 
found  feeding  among  the  pines,  and  each  man 
taking  what  meat  he  wanted,  we  went  down  the 
hill  a  litde  way,  to  where  we  found  a  spring  ; 
here  we  camped. 

We  were  now  about  thirty  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Musselshell  River,  where 
we  expected  to  find  that  the  enemy  had 
crossed  the  Missouri  with  the  horses  they  had 
stolen  from  us.  This  was  one  of  the  few  fords 
on  the  river,  and  was  known  to  all  the  different 
tribes  of  Indians  in  the  country.  Starting 
again  at  dusk  we  arrived  some  time  before  day- 
light at  the  hill  overlooking  the  junction  of  the 
two  rivers  and  the  ford ;  and  Heavy  Runner 
sent  us  all  over  to  a  thick  grove  of  pines,  where 


we  were  to  remain  until  he  joined  us.  We  had 
intended  to  build  some  "  war-houses  "  here,  but 
found  three  or  four  standing  in  the  thick  timber, 
which  we  took  possession  of.  These  so-called 
"war-houses"  were  built  in  the  shape  of  an 
ordinary  lodge,  of  long  slender  poles  and  brush, 
and  were  always  used  when  in  the  enemy's 
country.  A  small  fire  could  be  built  in  them 
and  not  give  out  any  tell-tale  smoke,  as  a  fire 
in  the  open  would  ;  and  in  case  the  party 
should  be  unable  to  move  when  night  came, 
the  thick  layers  of  poles  and  brush  w^ould 
prevent  the  light  of  the  fire  from  being 
seen. 

We  did  not  kill  any  game  that  morning, 
but  some  of  the  party  had  saved  some  cooked 
meat  from  the  last  meal  ;  and  those  who  hadn't 
ate  a  little  of  their  pemmican.  A  small  spring 
in  the  grove  afforded  us  plenty  of  cold  water, 
but  it  was  strongly  impregnated  with  alkali,  and 
we  drank  sparingly  of  it.  It  was  nearly  midday 
when  Heavy  Runner  came  in.  He  reported 
that  the  party  we  were  after  had  crossed  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Musselshell,  as  we  thought  they 
would,  and  that  there  were  signs,  not  two  days 
old,  of  a  large  mounted  party  having  come  from 
the  other  side  and  gone  straight  over  the  valley. 
AVe  wondered  who  they  could  be,  and  if  they 
were  going  on  a  raid  up  into  our  country,  or  south 
to  the  Yellowstone  River  against  the  Crows. 
The  river  was  very  high,  so  we  were  obliged  to 
make  rafts  by  lashing  old  logs  together  with  our 
lariats,  and  then,  placing  our  clothing  and 
weapons  on  them,  we  swam  and  pushed  thum 
across  to  the  other  side.  We  crossed  early  in 
the  afternoon,   and   killed  a  couple  of  elk,  on 


I'LACING   O.R   CLOTHING   AND    WEAPONS    ON    THE    RAFTS,    WE   SWAM    AND    PUSHED   THEM    ACROSS 


ON    THE    WAR-PATH    WITH    REDSKINS. 


631 


which  we  feasted  ;  while  several  of  the  party 
took  up  the  trail  of  our  enemy  to  learn  which 
way  they  went  after  leaving  the  river.  They 
came  back  in  a  little  while,  and  said  that  after 
reaching  the  level  prairie  the  raiders  had  gone 
straight  north  ;  so  we  were  sure  that  their  people 
were  camping  on  Milk  River,  and  felt  that  in  a 
couple  of  days  we  must  find  them. 

Striking  the  valley  of  this  stream  one  morning, 
we  found  the  trail  of  a  large  encampment  travel- 
ling east.  There  were  the  horse  tracks,  the  marks 
of  the  dragging  poles,  and  the  snake-like  impres- 
sions of  the  travois  as  fresh  as  if  they  were 
not  an  hour  old.  We  concluded  they  had 
been  made  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  pre- 
ceding day,  and  that  we  must  be  near  the 
camp.  We  lay  in  the  willows  until  night,  and 
then  started  down  the  valley.  We  travelled, 
perhaps,  two  hours,  when  we  heard  the  barking 
of  dogs,  and  a  little  later  saw  the  lodges  of  a 
big  camp ;  the  fires  within  illuminating  them 
plainly.  We  halted  and  waited  for  the  people 
to  retire  ;  and,  meanwhile.  Heavy  Runner  issued 
his  instructions.  We  were  to  divide  into  two 
parties  and  search  the  hills  on  both  sides  of  the 
valley  for  the  main  horse-herds  of  the  enemy. 
Having  found  them  we  were  to  drive  as 
many  as  we  could  to  some  point  above  the 
camp,  and  there  leave  them  in  charge  of 
ten  men.  \Ve  were  then  to  retire  to  the 
camp,  using  the  utmost  caution,  and  lead 
out  the  buffalo  or  war  horses,  which  the 
owners  would  have  staked  near  their  lodges.  If 
discovered,  we  were  to  make  the  best  fight  we 
could  and  get  out.  If  not  discovered,  Heavy 
Runner  said,  he  had  a  plan  which  would  give 
us  a  chance  the  next  day  to  avenge  our 
wrongs. 

I  went  with  my  friend.  Fish  Robe,  with  the 
party  down  the  south  side  of  the  valley,  and  out 
through  the  hills.  We  found  numerous" bunches" 
of  horses  directly  opposite  the  camp,  and  in  a 
very  few  minutes  every  one  of  us  had  lariated  a 
pony  and  mounted  him.  We  then  gathered 
several  bunches  into  one  big  band  of  perhaps 
150  head,  and  slowly  and  quietly  drove  them  up 
the  river  to  a  point  at  least  a  mile  above  the 
camp,  where  we  were  soon  joined  by  the  other 
party,  also  driving  a  good-sized  band.  Heavy 
Runner  now  selected  ten  of  the  youngest 
and  most  inexperienced  men  to  herd  the  horses, 
while  the  rest  went  back  to  the  camp.  I  was 
named  as  one  of  the  ten,  but  pleaded  so  hard 
(backed  by  Fish  Robe)  to  be  allowed  to  go 
with  the  party  that  another  man  was  told  off  in 
my  place,  and  we  started  back  down  the  river. 

It  was  now  every  man  for  himself.  As  we 
neared  the  village  the  party  spread  out  and 
encircled  it,  entering  at  different  points.     I  kept 


close  to  Fish  Robe,  and  both  our  rifles  were 
cocked  and  held  so  that  we  could  fire  instantly. 
As  we  stole  within  the  confines  of  the  camp  and 
moved  cautiously  about  among  the  dim  lodges 
I  wished  I  had  remained  with  the  horses.  It  is 
no  use  disguising  the  fact.  It  is  wearing  on 
one's  nerves  to  face  the  enemy  in  battle  in  broad 
daylight ;  but  to  penetrate  into  his  very  strong- 
hold at  night  keeps  one's  heart  in  one's  throat. 
Mine  beat  so  hard  and  fast  I  thought  it  would 
choke  me.  We  strained  our  eyes  trying  to  make 
out  each  faintly-seen  object  about  us.  We 
listened  intently  for  any  suspicious  sound.  So 
near  us  that  we  could  have  slit  the  lodge  and 
touched  him,  some  weary  sleeper  murmured  in 
his  dreams.  A  child  awoke  frightened,  and 
bawled  lustily  until  quieted  by  its  dusky  mother. 
We  heard  a  door-stick  rattle  as  someone  stepped 
from  a  lodge  near  by,  and,  crouching  down,  we 
could  see  his  figure  faintly  outlined  against  the 
star-lit  sky.  Presently  he  went  back  in,  and  we 
moved  slowly  off  in  another  direction.  "  What 
if  someone  is  on  the  watch,"  I  thought,  "  and  can 
see  our  forms  in  the  starlight  ?  "  Every  minute 
I  expected  to  see  the  flash  of  a  gun,  or 
hear  a  bow  twang,  and  feel  the  missile  pierce 
my  ribs.  There  were  one  or  more  horses 
tethered  with  short  lariats  by  every  lodge. 

Presently  Fish  Robe  cut  two  loose  and  handed 
me  the  ends  of  the  ropes,  while  he  went  to 
another  lodge  and  secured  two  more.  Gently — 
ever  so  gently,  and  moving  but  a  few  steps  at 
a  time — we  led  the  animals  out  between  the 
lodges,  and,  finally,  passed  beyond  the  bounds 
of  the  village  with  a  long  sigh  of  relief.  To 
me,  at  least,  the  suspense  and  anxiety  had 
been  fearfully  trying.  When  we  arrived  at 
the  meeting-point,  we  found  the  whole  party 
assembled,  waiting  for  us ;  and  in  a  few  minutes 
we  were  all  on  the  move,  riding  our  horses  bare- 
back and  using  our  lariats  as  bridles.  We  had 
such  a  large  herd  to  drive,  that  it  was  difficult  to 
start  them.  But  once  out  of  the  valley  and  on 
the  high,  rolling  prairie,  we  "whooped  them 
up,"  and  went  thundering  through  the  night 
towards  the  Missouri. 

^\'hen  day  broke  we  were  perhaps  twenty 
miles  from  the  Assinaboine  camp,  on  a  high 
ridge  not  far  from  the  river.  Here  and 
there  on  the  sides  of  the  hills  were  groves 
of  quaking  asp,  and  thickets  of  the  wild 
plum.  Some  of  the  party  soon  shot  a  few 
buffalo,  and  turning  the  horses  loose  by  a 
shallow  lakelet,  we  rested  for  a  time  and  cooked 
some  of  the  fresh  meat — the  first  we  had  had 
for  several  days.  While  we  cooked  and  ate  our 
breakfixst  Heavy  Runner  gave  us  an  outline  of 
the  plan  he  had  before  mentioned.  We  were  to 
mount  fresh  horses — the  best  we  could  pick  out 


632 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


— and  drive  the  remainder  down  the  ridge  to  the 
river.  Then,  returning  to  the  top  of  the  ridge  by 
another  route,  we  were  to  conceal  ourselves  in  a 
big  grove  close  by,  and  wait  for  the  Assinaboines 
to  come  along  on  our  trail.  When  they  had  passed 
us  and  begun  the  descent  to  the  river,  we  were 
to  rush  out  and  attack  them.  Everything  was 
done  as  the  chief  directed,  and  in  two  or  three 
hours  we  were  safely  concealed  in  the  timber, 
anxiously  looking  for  the  enemy  to  approach. 
Most  of  our  party  were  now  decked  out  in  their 
gorgeous  war-dresses,  and  very  fierce  and 
imposing  they  looked.  Their  faces  were  painted 
red,  blue,  or  yellow  ;  and  some  had  all  three 
colours  in  stripes,  dots,  and  varioi:s  other  figures. 

We  had  begun  to  think  that  the  enemy 
would  not  follow  us  after  all,  when  they  sud- 
denly came  in  sight  over  a  neighbouring  hill, 
riding  as  fast  as  their  horses  could  go.  It  was 
a  thrilling  moment  for  me.  We  could  not 
count  them,  but  saw  at  a  glance  that 
they  largely  outnumbered  us.  Like  most 
of  our  party  they,  too,  were  dressed  in 
their  war  finery.  Following  the  trail  we 
had  made,  they  passed  within  three 
hundred  yards  of  us  and  down  over  the 
brow  of  the  hill  out  of  sight.  Then  we 
mounted  and  went  after  them.  Some  of 
them,  looking  back,  saw  us  as  soon  as 
we  reached  the  edge  of  the  hill,  and  the 
whole  party  slopped  and  faced  our 
charge,  beginning  to  fire  their  guns  as  we 
advanced,  and  shouting  their  war  cry. 
"  Don't  shoot  yet,"  Heavy  Runner  called 
out.  So  we  held  our  fire  until  the  two 
parties  had  almost  met,  and  then  poured 
it  into  them.  I  saw  a  number  fall,  and 
the  next  minute  we  were  all  mixed  up  in 
a  hand-to-hand  fight.  Arrows 
whizzed,  and  guns  were  clubbed  ; 
only  the  cooler  braves  taking 
time  to  reload. 

Just  as  I  was  about  to  aim 
at  a  fellow  v/ho  seemed  to 
have  an  unlimited  supply  of 
arrows,  my  horse  was  shot,  and 
down  we  went.  For  a  minute 
or  two  I  was  dazed,  and  when 
I  came  to,  the  Assinaboines  were 
flying  in  all  directions  pursued 
by  our  party.  I  got  up  and 
looked  about  me — fifteen  silent, 
motionless  forms  lay  on  the  side 
of  the  hill.  I  wanted  to  examine 
them,  but  my  rifle  was  gone, 
and  I  sat  down  again  and 
waited.       In    a   little   while    my 


friends 
carried 


began    to    return 


scalp 


or   two, 


from    the   fleeing  enemy. 


Many     of     them 

or    a   weapon    taken 

Others   led    horses. 


whose  riders  were  lying  out  on  the  hills  in  their 
last  sleep.  Presently  Fish  Robe  came  along, 
and,  handing  me  my  rifle,  said  :  "  There  were 
but  three  cartridges,  but  each  one  got  me  a 
scalp,"  and  he  waved  the  bloody  trophies 
before  me. 

"  Where  is  my  brother  ?  "  someone  suddenly 
cried.  That  started  us  looking  up  our  own 
dead,  and  we  found  nine.  Three  men  were 
crippled,  but  able  to  ride.  Every  one  of  the 
fallen  enemy  had  been  scalped ;  we  counted  the 
black  locks  and  found  there  were  thirty-seven. 
Collecting  our  dead,  and  burying  them  as  well 
as  we  could,  we  rode  down  to  the  river,  crossed 
to  the  other  side  with  our  herd,  and  leisurely 
rode  westward  _  towards  the  mountains  and 
home.    Heavy       §      Runner  is  still  alive. 


JUST  AS 


WAS>   ABOUT   TO   AIM    AT    A    FELLOW   MV    HORSE   WAS   SHOT,    AND    DOWN 
WE   WENT. 


iT/je   Fantastic   Carnival  at  Pong^u 


Bv  Kathleen  Schlesinger. 

All  about  an  ancient,  peculiar  festival  held  in  a  remote  part  of   the  Austrian  Tyrol. 

photographs  by  Raimund-Ehrich,  of  St.  Johann,  Pongau. 


Illustrated  with 


^ 


T  scarcely  seems  credible  that  the 
festival  here  illustrated  and  described 
should  have  survived  to  this  day, 
but  fortunately  there  are  spots  on 
this  earth  where  life  is  sull  leisurely, 
calm,  and  peaceful ;  where  the  hideous  shriek 
of  the  railway  engine  is  practically  unknown  ; 
and  where  the  simple,  vigorous  country-folk  still 
indulge  in  the  joys  and  pastimes  which  delighted 
their  forefathers. 

In  the  Austrian  Duchy  of  Salzburg,  high- 
perched  on  the  snowy  Alps,  lies  the  little  village 
of  St.  Johann,  the  scene  of  this  mid-winter 
festival  called  Benhlen  or  Perchtenlaufen^  which 
is  undoubtedly  a  survival  of  the  heathen  worship 
of  Berchta  or  Perahta,  the  consort  of  W'otan, 
and  the  resplendent  goddess  of  light,  love,  and 
productiveness, 
whose  attributes 
and  qualities  vary 
with  her  names 
in  the  different 
districts  of  Sou- 
thern Germany 
and  Austria.  By 
some  she  was 
believed  to  ex- 
tend her  maternal 
care  to  the  souls 
of  new-born 
babes  no  less  in 
life  than  in  death. 
The  people  are 
fond  of  relating 
many  touching 
and  beautiful 
legends  about 
this  guardian 
goddefs  of  the 
little  ones. 

This  B ere h ten 
danceisagenuine 
survival  of  one 
of  the  solemn 
processions  in 
honour  of  the 
goddess,  in  which 
the  people  at- 
tempted to  portray  scenes  from  the  lives  of 
gods  and  men.  At  the  present  day  the  conflict 
between  light  and  darkness,  beauty  and  ugliness 
seems  to  be  the  key-note  of  the  procession 
at  St.  Johann.  During  the  second  week  in 
February,   the  rare  stranger,  hardy  and  resolute 

Vol.  iii.-80. 


enough  to  brave  the  perils  and  hardships  of 
that  mountainous  region,  could  not  fail  to 
notice  in  the  village  a  strong  undercurrent  of 
excitement  among  the  peasants — all  as  busy 
as  bees  in  their  homes ;  while  the  children, 
wild  with  delight,  and  their  faces  full  of 
wondering  curiosity,  skip  hither  and  thither  on 
some  errand  to  a  neighbour  to  beg  a  little 
twine,  some  nails,  or  a  hammer. 

By  midday  on  the  third  Sunday  in  February 
an  expectant  throng  has  gathered  in  the  market- 
place, seeking  points  of  vantage  as  high  as  may 
be,  for  reasons  which  will  by-and-by  become 
obvious. 

The  crisp,  white  snow  lies  thick  on  the 
ground  ;  in  the  trees  glitter  millions  of  diamonds, 
while  the  sun  glances  approvingly  on  the  beautiful 


HK    KX  IKAOKUlN.->KV    IMi^l-SMUN    ^,-;.;i:.i,    ;_  !■     llil.    MAIN    >I1C1-.KI' 
-NOTICE    THE    FOOLS    l.ATTICE-l.l  KE    SHEAKS    TUGGING    AT    ONE 

From  a]  of  the  head-dresses.  [Photo. 


white  land,  bestowing  its 
sunniest  smiles  in  honour 
of  "  the   bright,   the   luminous, 
the  glorious  Berchta." 

Suddenly  an  odd  mixture  of 
brass  band,  cow  -  bells,  and 
shouts,  and  of  the  tramp  of 
many  feet,  announces  the 
approach  of  the  procession,  and  all  heads  turn 
in  the  direction  of  the  somewhat  narrow  street. 
The  camera  has  recorded  the  strange  sight 
that  meets  our  eyes,  dazzling  and  almost 
blinding  them,  as  the  sun  flashes  on  the  tall 
erections  of  scarlet  and  silver  borne  aloft  over 


634 


THE   WIDE   WORLD   MAGAZINE. 


the  heads  of  the  crowd,  sending  out  from  in- 
numerable mirrors  those  fitful  flashes  with  which 
schoolboys  delight  to  torment  unwary  passers-by. 

The  procession  consists  of  ScJwnberchten  (the 
handsome)  and  of  Schiachen,  or  hideous  Berchts 
— no  doubt  in  allusion  to  the  powers  of  light 
and  darkness,  and  presenting  a  most  incongruous 
mixture  of  the  solemn  and  the  grotesque,  of 
dignity  and  impudence. 

Behind  the  band  struts  with  mock  dignity  the 
leader  and  life  of  the  revels — the  Jester,  bearing 
as  his  wand  of  office  a  cow's  tail 
filled    with    sand,    which   he    uses 
liberally  to  keep  the  crowd  in  order. 

Behind  him  walks  the  arch- 
demon  clad  in  hairy  garments  and 
wearing  a  frightful  mask  provided 
with  horns  and  long  ears  ;  he  is 
just  visible  in  the  centre  of  the 
first  photograph.  He  strikes  terror 
into  the  hearts  of  the  little  ones, 
who  shudder  and  hide  behind 
their  mothers  until  he  has  passed 
by ;  but  their  eyes  brighten  as  the 
pride  of  the  village  appears.  This 
is  the  Vor,  or  chief  Bercht,  with 
his  mate.  They  march  along  with 
slow  and  stately  steps.  He  is  the 
most  richly  and  tastefully  adorned 
of  all  the  Schonbcrchten. 

He  wears  a  strange  and  unique 
head-gear,  which  we  are  able  to 
show  in  the  ne.xt  photograph,  in 
which  he  is  represented  in  front 
of  his  house,  ready  to  join  the 
masquerade  at  the  appointed 
rendezvous.  His  father  and 
mother  look  down  at  him  with 
pride  from  the  balcony,  and  his 
wife  and  child  are  on  the  seat  by 
the  door. 

And  who,  you  may  well  ask,  is 
the  maiden  at  his  side  if  not  his 
wife  ?  She  is  his  mate,  but  only 
for  the  one  day,  and  is  at  best  but 
a  counterfeit  maiden.  Truth  to 
tell,  custom  decrees  that  a  strap- 
ping young  lad  must  accompany 
each  of  the  Schonberchten,  and 
be  clad  in  the  national  dress  of  the  Pongau 
maiden,  whom  he  must  so  faithfully  represent 
as  almost  to  defy  detection. 

But  only  think  what  sacrifices  this  entails  ! 
The  treasured  moustache  and  beard  must  be 
ruthlessly  shaved  off  The  young  peasant 
manages  very  often  to  catch  the  lively  grace  and 
archness  of  the  village  beauty,  and  mimics  her 
to  the  life.  In  fact,  he  takes  quite  as  much 
pride  in  his  disguise  as  his  mate  does   in   his 


wonderful  and  fantastic  Berchten  cap.  The 
latter,  by  the  way,  needs  a  little  description 
before  its  beauties  can  be  fully  realized. 

The  two  squares  are  made  of  thin  pieces  of 
wood,  connected  down  the  centre  by  an  iron 
rod,  which  also  acts  as  a  support  on  the 
shoulders  for  the  unwieldy  erection,  which  some- 
times reaches  the  astonishing  height  of  i6ft. 
The  front  is  covered  with  a  scarlet  cloth 
foundation  ;  in  the  centre  of  each  square 
is    fixed    a     mirror,    framed    for    the    occasion 


HE     WEAKS    A 

From  a\ 


STRANGE    AND     UNIQUE    IIEA  IJ-CiEA  K.  '  — 11     IS    MADE   OF    WOOD,    CLOTH, 
MIRKORS,    AND   MONEY.  [Photo. 

with  brilliant  metal  flowers  sewn  on  to 
bright-coloured  ribbons.  Round  this  centre 
ornament  are  arranged  coins  of  the  realm  and 
all  the  silver  and  gold  heirlooms  of  the  family. 
These  may  include  the  dowry  of  the  wife  and  of 
the  bearer's  sisters  if  unmarried  ;  also  numbers 
of  silver  chains  with  richly  jewelled  clasps; 
watches — of  which  five  or  six  are  often  used ; 
girdles  of  coins  collected  one  by  one  by  ances- 
tors and  worn   by  many   blushing   brides.     All 


THE    FANTASTIC   CARNR'AL   AT    POXCAU. 


635 


these  riches,  polished  till  they  shine  dazzlingly, 
are  grouped  round  the  mirrors,  together  with 
bows  of  bright-coloured  ribbons  and  silvered 
leaves,  feathers,  silver  fringes,  and  tassels — the 
whole  surprising  concern  usually  surmounted  by 
the  Austrian  eagle  or  a  crescent.  The  actual 
cap  worn  on  the  head  is  of  crimson  velvet 
similarly  decorated. 

These  occasions  are  naturally  red-letter  days 
in  the  annals  of  the  family,  whose  wealth  is  thus 
displayed  before 
the  admiring  ej'es 
of  neighbours  and 
strangers  ;  and 
for  months  this 
festival  and  its 
wonders  form  the 
chief  topic  of  con- 
versation in  this 
picturesque  and 
remote  Tyrolese 
village.  Thus  the 
pride  of  the  chief 
Eercht  and  his 
whole  family  can 
be  readily  under- 
stood on  the  great 
day.  The  rest  of 
his  costume  is 
but  the  peasant 
moun  ta  i  neer's 
national  dress  of 
green  cloth  and 
black  leather, 
embroidered  with 
silk,  with  just  a 
dash  of  red  in 
the  necktie.  His 
apron,  however, 
must  be  tucked 
up  on  one  side, 
and  his  right  hand 
holds  a  drawn 
sword  of  which 
he  makes  no  use 
whatever  ;  but,  of 
course,  it  adds 
a    little     to     the 

dignity  and  solemnity  of  his  appearance.  The 
back  of  the  huge  erection  forms  a  complete 
contrast  to  the  gaudy,  glittering  front.  On  the 
canvas  which  covers  it  the  local  artist  has 
depicted,  in  bold  design,  the  chief  annual  event 
in  the  mountaineer's  life— the  departure  of  the 
cattle  for  the  Alps. 

In  the  foreground  of  this  picture  are  the  two 
stiff  little  figures  of  the  owner  of  the  homestead 
and  his  wife,  who  might  have  stepped  out  of  a 
child's  Noah's  Ark.     They  stand  watching  their 


gruesome 


THIS    HKAU-OKESS    IS   COMl-OSKl)   OP    ANTLEUS   ANH    CHAMOIS     HEADS, 
From  a\  MICE   A.SU    BATS,    KAGS   AND   SKELETONS,    ETC. 


cattle  and  horses  as  they  ascend  the  winding 
path  to  the  chalet,  which  nestles  in  a  hollow 
half-way  up  the  Alps— that  is  to  say,  at  the 
extreme  top  of  the  monstrous  Bercht  cap  ! 

The  next  photograph  shows  us  another  very 
important  personage  in  the  [)ageant--the  chief 
of  the  "  Schiachen  "  and  his  portly  mate.  In 
this  Berchten  cap  there  is  no  display  of  riches, 
but  the  chief  distinction  here  lies  in  the  amount 
of  ingenuity  which  the  owner  has  displayed  in 

grouping  together 
his 
materials 

The  camera  has 
mercifully  toned 
down  some  of 
the  most  repulsive 
features  of  this 
strange  head- 
dress, and  the 
antlers  and  cha- 
mois heads  almost 
atone  for  the  dead 
birds,  mice,  and 
hats,  and  the 
skeletons  of  moles 
and  ferrets,  inter- 
mixed with  rags, 
twigs,and  feathers, 
with  which  the 
cap  is  decorated. 
The  motley  crew 
of  his  subordi- 
nates lay  no  claim 
to  picturesque- 
ness.  Their  masks 
and  disguises  are 
hideous  and 
grotesque  in  the 
extreme.  But 
who  cares  ?  The 
deafening 
they  make 
their  large 
and  their  yells  and 
jodellings  amuses 
the  crowd  no  less 
than  their  jokes 
and  mad  pranks.  They  have  all  come  out  to 
enjoy  themselves  and  make  merry,  and  every- 
thing pleases  them  ;  they  even  laugh  good- 
humouredly  when  the  fool  with  his  long  wooden 
carnival  shears  carries  off  their  hats  and  caps, 
or  holds  the  revellers  fast  by  their  coat-tails. 
By  the  way,  he  has  been  caught  in  the  very  act 
by  the  tell-tale  camera,  and  the  long  lattice- 
like shears  can  be  plainly  seen  in  the  first 
photograph  tugging  at  the  horny  head-gear  of 
a  "Schiach." 


din 
with 
bells 


DEAD    filKDS, 

\Pliotc. 


636 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE, 


The  procession  perambulates  from  hamlet  to 
hamlet  the  whole  day  long.  The  head  fool, 
who  acts  as  marshal  and  commander  of  the 
forces,  orders  a  halt  when  he  comes  to  a  likely 
spot,  as  in  the  fourth  photograph.  Keie  we  see 
him   standing  in    the  centre   calling  upon    the 


the  dancers  in  their  top-heavy  and  absurdly  high 
head-gear  are  necessarily  slow  and  not  at  all 
graceful.  The  counterfeit  "  belles  "  vie  with  one 
another  and  play  their  roles  to  perfection  ;  but 
then  the  peasant  lads  of  Pongau  are  no  awkward 
country  yokels,  for  dance  and  song  are  second 


THE    HEAD    FOO 

Frotn  d\ 


CALLS   A    HALT   AT   A    LIKELY   SPOT   AND   ARRANGES   THE    DANCE. 
BACKGROUND   ARE   STANDING   ON    A    MOUND   OF    SNOW. 


THE   SPECTATORS    IN'    THE 

\.Photo. 


Berchten  to  make  ready  to  dance  ;  and  forthwith 
the  crowd  forms  into  a  ring,  climbing  on  to  the 
roofs  of  out-houses,  up  trees,  and  gazing  out  from 
all  available  windows  to  witness  the  strangest  of 
all  the  sights  in  this  extraordinary  masquerade. 

The  band  strikes  up  a  lively  tune,  and  the 
Schiachen  are  the  first  to  dance  and  pirouette 
about  through  the  crowd,  cutting  the  wildest 
capers  and  playing  off  their  jokes  on  the  good- 
natured  spectators. 

Then  the  Schonberchfen  and  their  mates  come 
forward  ;  the  music  changes  to  a  slow  rhythmic 
measure,  and  the  wonderful  sight  of  the  '■'^Be?rhfen 
dance  "  is  at  last  witnessed.     The  evolutions  of 


nature  to  them,  and  their  agile,  supple  limbs  are 
as  much  at  home  in  the  maze  of  the  dance  as 
when  springing  from  rock  to  rock  after  the 
chamois  or  the  Alpine  eagle's  nest. 

The  festivities  end  with  a  lively  dance  at  one 
of  the  inns  in  the  evening,  when  caps  and  masks 
are  laid  aside  and  good-fellowship  and  jollity 
reign  supreme. 

In  the  Pongau,  this  festival,  which  used  in 
years  gone  by  to  be  held  every  winter,  is  now  of 
rarer  occurrence,  and  the  one  here  illustrated 
was  the  last;  it  took  place  in  1891.  The 
peasants  find  the  expenses  very  heavy,  and  the 
preparations  take  a  long  time. 


Twenty=Seven   Days  in  an   Open   Boat. 


li\    Cai't.    I  as.    Richards. 


II. 

The    following    is    the    completion    of   an    experience 
limit  of  human  endurance.     We    here  learn   how  the 

Their  condition  was 

E  men  sat  around  moody  and 
>ilcnt.  the  only  sounds  that  broke 
the  death-like  stillness  being  the 
low  murmur  of  the  distant  breakers, 
and  the  occasional  crackle  of  the 
smouldering,  smoke-choked  fire.  Presently 
even  this  small  comfort  was  denied  us,  for 
a  heavy  rain  extinguished  what  little  flame  there 
was  ;  and  when  the  black  embers  gave  no  longer 
even  the  smallest  sign  of  life  we  realized  how 
much  comfort  we  had  found  in  the  smoky 
pretence  of  a  fire,  although  it  had  afforded  us 
but  little  warmth.  But  there  was  no  help  for  it, 
and  so  there  we  sat  motionless  as  the  half-frozen, 
steady  downpour  wetted  us  through  and  through. 
Good  refreshing  sleep  was  out  of  the  question. 
For  my  own  part,  I  only  dozed  a  little  by  fits 
and  starts  ;  but  the  longest  night  must  end  at 
last,  and  just  before  sunrise  the  sleet  shower 
ceased.  We  were  not  long  now  in  completing 
our  preparations,  and  in  the  early  morning  we 
launched  our  boats,  whilst  the  sun  shone  out 
hopefully.  As  the  bright  sun  rose,  so  too  rose 
our  spirits  once  more,  and  as  we  pulled  steadily 
towards  the  outlet  we  felt  vigorous  with  renewed 
life  and  hope.  Although  all  was  calm  and 
smooth  within,  however,  it  was  outside  blowing 
a  fresh  breeze,  and  there  was  a  considerable 
sea. 

Here  our  first  bit  of  toil  commenced,  and  we 
perceived  that  a  long  pull  was  before  us,  the 
wind  blowing  dead  on  shore.  We  laboured 
steadily  at  the  oars  all  that  day,  and  by  night- 
fall had  made  an  offing  of  about  fifteen  miles. 
Fortunately  the  wind  shifted  two  or  three  points, 
enabling  us  to  make  use  of  our  sails,  and  to 
stand  oiT  all  night  obliquely  from  the  shore. 
Regular  watch  was  set  as  on  board  ship — four 
hours  on  and  four  hours  off — an  officer  at  all 
times  at  the  steering  oar,  and  a  man  on  the 
look-out. 

January  the  8th — just  a  week  since  we  made 
the  first  discovery  that  our  ship  was  on  fire.  We 
continued  to  stand  out  from  land,  until  we 
obtained  an  offing  of  ico  to  150  miles,  and 
then,  judging  ourselves  fairly  in  the  track  of 
homeward-bound  ships,  either  from  the  Colonies 
or  the  west  coast  of  South  America,  we  put  out 
our  sea-anchor  and  allowed  the  boats  to  drift. 
Each   morning;  as  we   saw  the 


sun  rise,  our 


spirits  rose  also ;  each  night  as  the  sun  set,  and 


which    probably  represents    the    very   uttermost 
unfortunate  castaways    were    eventually  rescued, 
simply  ghastly. 

darkness  again  enveloped  us,  our  spirits,  too, 
went  down,  and  nothing  was  left  us  but  despair 
— darker  and  blacker  even  than  the  starless  night. 
Conversation  had  never  buen  very  continuous, 
nor  very  lively;  it  flagged  and  flagged,  and 
finally  ceased  altogether.  But  on  Thursday 
night  we  found  something  positively  sickening 
to  talk  about,  and  knew  we  should  very  shortly 
have  something  to  do  ;  perhaps  we  were  near 
the  end.  I'he  sun  set  with  a  ruby-red,  fierce, 
and  angry  glare.  The  sea-birds  were  restless. 
High  above  our  heads  they  circled  round  and 
round  with  never-ceasing  motion.  Everything 
indicated  a  coming  storm.  A  long,  heavy 
swell  commenced  to  roll  from  the  westward, 
and  we  reckoned  we  were  in  for  a  fearful 
ordeal  that  night.  As  darkness  set  in  the 
wind  increased,  until  by  midnight  it  blew  a 
fresh  gale.  From  that  time  until  four  in  the 
morning  the  wind  blew  steadily,  and  we  began 
to  hope  we  were  getting  the  worst  of  it,  but 
we  were  deceived,  for  just  as  daylight  broke 
the  wind  increased,  until  by  eight  o'clock  it  was 
blowing  a  hard  gale.  It  was  now  that  we  found 
how  much  we  owed  to  our  improvised  sea-anchor. 
A  hundred  times  during  the  gale  it  was  our 
saviour.  But  we  had,  on  the  other  hand,  to  regret 
one  serious  omission — that  when  we  left  the  ship 
we  had  neglected  to  bring  away  a  good  supply 
of  oil.  It  is  my  firm  belief  that  a  boat  riding 
to  a  good  sea-anchor  and  properly  managed 
may,  by  dropping  oil  over  the  bows,  ride  out 
the  hardest  gale  that  ever  blew.  The  sea  was 
at  this  time  running  mountains  high,  as  they 
say  in  books  ;  but,  fortunately,  the  waves  were 
true — that  is  to  say,  regular.  At  times,  as  an 
enormous  roller  came  along,  combing  over  its 
foam-crested  head,  it  seemed  as  if  our  small 
boat  must  inevitably  have  been  engulfed.  As 
it  was  we  had  continually  to  get  on  our  knees 
and  clutch  the  thwarts  to  prevent  ourselves 
from  being  thrown  over  the  stern.  And,  besides, 
each  huge  wave  as  it  broke  partly  over  us  left 
our  boat  quite  two-thirds  full  of  water  ;  and 
then  we  had  to  bale  for  dear  life  before  the  next 
one  came  along.  The  extreme  regularity  of  the 
waves  was,  fortunately,  unbroken,  or  we  should, 
without  doubt,  have  been  swamped.  So  we 
went  on  for  another  thirty-six  hours — two  entire 
nights  and  one  day — with  no  rest,  no  sleep,  no 
warmth,  no  food,  and  wet  through  the  whole 


638 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


time.     Every  rnd.h  Was  cold  and  numb,  and  with 
every  bone  aching  acutely;  but  curiously  enough, 
instead  of  despairing  our  nervousness  had  in  a 
great  measure  worn  off,  and,  like  old  soldiers,  we 
were  getting  accustomed  to  staring  death  in  the 
face.     By  midday  on  Saturday  the   wind    had 
decreased  to  a  moderate  gale,  and  we  were  glad 
to  find  that  neither  our  boats  nor  the  sea-anchor 
had  suffered  much,   and   they  seemed   little  the 
worse  for  their  prolonged  knocking  about.      By 
far  our  most  serious  mishap  was  the  loss  of  a 
considerable    portion    of    our    already    scanty 
store    of    biscuit.      The    water    we    had    from 
time  to    time   shipped   had   reduced    most    of 
it    to    a    pulp,    and    it    had    washed    out    of 
the  bags  ;    this   was  a  terrible    business,  for  it 
now   became   necessary    to    reduce    the   daily 
allowance.     We   had   still   enough    to    last    us 
asother  week  at  the   rate   of  a  /m//  a  biscuit  a 
day,  and  everyone  was  accordingly  placed  upon 
half  the  former  slender  rations.     The  remaining 
tins  of  meat  were  ordered  to   be  served  out  at 
the  rate  of  half  a  tin 
a  day  now  ;  and  thus 
the  allowance  became 
for  each  man  per  diem 
halt     a     biscuit    and 
between    20Z.    and 
30Z.  of  meat. 

Owing  to  the  con- 
tinued  lack  of 
nourishment,  and  the 
consequently  im- 
poverished state  of 
our  blood  and  low 
vitality,  we  were  be- 
ginning to  feel  the 
effects  of  the  cold 
much  more  severely. 
The  following  Sunday, 
Monday,  and  Tues- 
day were  very  fine 
and  clear,  but  quite 
without  incident. 
Each  day  was  like  its 
predecessor  except 
that  it  was,  if  possi- 
ble, more  wretched. 
On    Wednesday,    the 

i8th  inst,  just  after  a  bit  of  food  had  been 
served  out,  we  were  startled  by  a  cry  from  the 
mate's  boat — "  Sail  ho  ! "  We  sprang  to  our 
feet  as  one  m.an.  There  !  sure  enough,  on  our 
port  bow,  was  a  large  barque,  about  five  miles 
distant,  standing  in  towards  the  land,  close- 
hauled  on  the  port-tack. 

We  took  in  the  situation  at  a  glance,  and  saw 
that  as  she  was  then  steering  she  would  pass 
some  five  miles  ahead  of  us,  and  that  our  only 


chance  was  to  take  to  our  oars  in  the  hope  of 
cutting  her  off 

How  we  pulled  !  Weak  as  we  were,  we  made 
the  boats  almost  leap  out  of  the  water.  After 
labouring  at  our  oars  for  about  forty  minutes, 
we  perceived  that,  in  spite  of  our  utmost  efforts, 
the  vessel  would  pass  a  considerable  distance 
ahead  of  us  ;  but  on  we  steadily  pulled,  dogged 
but  half-despairing.  At  last  we  were  near 
enough  to  see  the  man  at  the  wheel.  We  could 
see  him  look  alternately  at  the  compass  and 
then  at  the  sails  ;  we  could  distinguish  the  cop- 
per sheathing  on  the  ship's  side  as  her  bow 
rose  and  fell.  We  could  also  see  the  smoke 
curling  up  from  the  galley — telling  of  warm 
food  and  comfort,  and  we  were  at  the  utmost 
not  more  than  Jialf  a  mile  from  her ;  but 
although  so  close,  and  we  could  see  all  so  dis- 
tinctly, unhappily  they  never  saw  us.  On  her 
way  stood  the  barque  majestically,  little  dream- 
ing of  the  scene  of  misery  and  despair  which 
was    being   enacted    so   close    at    hand.      One 


ALTHOUGH    SO    CLOSE,    LNIIAII  1 1.\'     lHhV    .M-\  l.i;    SAW    LS. 


after  the  other  our  men  called  out,  and  then 
shouted  all  together  ;  it  was  of  no  avail.  We 
cried  aloud,  but  we  knew  our  voices  could  not 
reach  her.  On  she  went,  silent  and  spectre- 
like— the  twelve  castaways  craning  their  necks 
in  the  direction  of  the  rapidly  disappearing 
ship.  With  hungry,  eager,  wistful  eyes  we 
watched  her  as  long  as  she  remained  in  sight, 
and  when  she  vanished  there  seemed  to  depart 
with    her    the    last    fragment    of   hope.      E\en 


t\vi::n*tV-se\'en'   days  in  ax  open  boat. 


639 


should  we  sight  another  ship,  we  reflected,  the 
same  thing  might  occur  again  :  we  might  almost 
get  within  hailing  distance  and  yet  be  passed 
unseen.  Blank  despair  was  plainly  written  in 
each  man's  face  ;  strong  men  crouched  down  in 
the  boat,  hid  their  fates  in  their  hands,  and 
sobbed  like  little  children.  I  hope  I  may  never 
see  the  like  of  that  again.  As  for  the  ship,  I 
think  from  her  rig  and  build  she  must  have 
been  an  American.  She  appeared  to  be  in 
ballast,  which  may  account  for  our  seeing  but 
one  man  on  deck,  it  being  customary  to  allow 
the  men  to  work  in  the  'tween  decks  in  these 
cold  latitudes.  Or  they  might  have  been  at 
dinner,  all  hands  taking  that  meal  together  in 
American  ships.  What  a  luxury  pea-soup  and 
salt  pork  would  have  been  to  us  poor  devils, 
although  many  times  we  might  have  cursed  the 
man  who  invented  them  !  For  the  next  two 
or  three  days — although  we  had  at  no  time 
been  in  anything  like  good  spirits,  we  were 
more  than  usually  depressed ;  the  very  soul 
seemed  pretty  well  crushed  out  of  us.  It 
remained  bitterly  cold  all  night ;  the  Antarctic 
sun  seemed  to  give  but  the  merest  ray  of  light, 
and  that  was  frost-bitten.  Sometimes  the  silence 
would  remain  unbroken  for  hours  together. 
"  Hope  springs  eternal  in  the  human  breast," 
they  say  ;  but  at  that  time  we  had  very  little. 
For  my  own  part,  all  light,  all  hope,  all  future, 
seemed  blotted  out  ;  everything  seemed  like 
a  blank,  and  nothing  appeared  to  be  left 
but  to  die — thousands  of  miles  from  all 
I  loved ;  to  die,  and  the  old  folks  at  home 
would  never  know  when  or  how.  To  die 
by  inches,  and  thus  die  a  thousand  deaths ! 
The  last  scraps  of  our  starvation  rations 
were  divided  on  the  morning  of  Saturday,  the 
2 1  St.  This  was  our  last  meal,  and  everyone 
knew  it.  I  can  never  hope  to  tell  you  our 
feelings  as  this  last  mouthful  was  handed  round. 
I  cannot  tell  you  my  own  ;  they  are  probably 
easier  understood  than  put  into  words.  Wretched 
as  had  been  our  morning's  allowance,  it  was  at 
least  better  than  nothing.  Always  hungry — 
desperately  hungry — we  had  looked  forward 
keenly  to  "  breakfast"  time;  but  now  there  was 
not  a  scrap  left.  Under  the  desperate  circum- 
stances in  which  we  were  unhappily  placed,  the 
smallest  bite  of  food  had  gone  a  long  way,  and 
when  Sunday  came  and  dawned  unusually  bright 
and  fine,  it  found  us  after  our  twenty-four  hours' 
fast  breakfastless,  and  with  no  prospects  of 
ever  again  obtaining  a  meal.  V'ears  have 
gone  by,  and  sometimes  all  this  seems  like 
a  hideous  nightmare.  I  have  tried  to  forget 
those  dreadful  nights,  but  I  cannot,  and 
never  shall.  All  that  Sunday  I  thought  of 
home  and  of  my  parents,  and  their  grief  when 


they  found  that  1  never  returned  to  them.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  my  thoughts  were  generally  of 
home  and  my  father  and  mother ;  but  on  this 
particular  Sunday  I  thought  and  thought  until  I 
was  not  quite  sure  of  my  senses :  my  head 
seemed  almost  gone,  so  to  speak.  The  recol- 
lection of  it  all  now  is  so  painful  that  I  am 
almost  sorry  I  .sat  down  to  tell  it  once  more. 
Hitherto  the  sailors  had  occasionally  spun  a 
yarn  or  two  to  help  to  enliven  the  weary  hours  ; 
but,  strange  to  say,  their  yarns  were  always 
full  of  incidents  about  food  :  they  seemed  to 
think  of  nothing  else,  poor  chaps.  On  this 
fearful  Sunday,  however,  I  do  not  think  a 
soul  among  us  said  a  word,  and  so  not  a 
sound  broke  the  crushing  silence  except 
when  the  watch  was  changed.  'l"he  mate  had  a 
valuable  chronometer,  and  by  that  we  kept  the 
watches  regularly.  That  Sunday  each  man 
smoked  one  pipe  of  tobacco  and  had  a  drink  of 
water ;  one  pang  was  mercifully  spared  us,  you 
will  have  observed — that  of  thirst.  Constantly 
wet  through  as  we  were,  and  bitterly  cold  as  was 
the  weather,  we  rarely  drank  any  of  the  water  ; 
indeed,  we  seldom  seemed  to  need  it.  The 
long,  long  day,  "  like  a  wounded  snake,  dragged 
its  slow  length  along.''  The  night  came  at  last, 
and  after  another  long  interval  the  light  of  day 
again  appeared. 

Later  in  the  day  the  wind  freshened  ;  the  sky 
assumed  a  hard,  steel-like  glint,  telling  us  as 
plainly  as  spoken  words  to  expect  a  southerly 
gale.  By  midnight  it  was  fairly  upon  us,  and 
although  the  sea  was  not  so  high  as  on  the  last 
occasion,  the  cold  was  intense.  Hail  squalls 
followed  each  other  in  quick  succession,  and 
these,  although  increasing  our  sufferings,  did  us 
good  service  by  beating  down  the  sea.  Do  you 
not  wonder  why  we  did  not  voluntarily  put  an 
end  to  our  prolonged  and  intolerable  miseries  ? 
It  is  indeed  notiiing  short  of  miraculous  what 
human  beings  can  bear.  Although  baling  was 
often  necessary  and  constant  care  required  at 
the  oars  of  our  tiny  craft,  we  rode  through  the 
night  in  safety.  By  the  next  afternoon,  the 
wind  had  moderated  to  a  fresh  breeze  and 
the  squalls  were  less  frequent. 

During  the  last  few  days  the  cook,  a  man 
of  about  thirty-five,  had  been  very  low  and  ill, 
and  during  the  gale  he  was  able  to  do  very  little 
in  keeping  the  boat  clear.  The  unfortunate 
man  was  now  evidently  sinking  fast.  As  the 
boat  was  riding  head  to  wind,  we  had  placed 
him  in  the  bows,  as  being  the  most  sheltered 
position.  During  the  day  he  had  twice  been 
insensible,  for  a  considerable  time  ;  but  on  the 
squalls  passing  and  the  sun  breaking  forth,  its 
warm  rays  seemed  to  revive  the  spark  of  life 
which  still  lingered  feebly  within  him.     At  about 


640 


THE    WIDE    WOKi.D    MAGAZINE. 


six  o'clock  one  of  the  men  drew  my  attention  to 
the  attitude  in  which  the  cook  was  then  sitting, 
huddled  up  in  the  bows  of  the  boat.  I  directed 
the  man  nearest  to  him  to  try  and  rouse  him. 
On  being  touched,  however,  he  fell  forward  on 
his  face,  and  on  turning  him  over,  we  plainly  saw 
that  at  least  one  of  our  number  was  at  length 
released  from  his  sufferings.  After  making  sure 
beyond  doubt  that  it  was  not  a  third  relapse 
into  insensibility,  the  body  was  reverently 
covered  up,  and  it  was  decided  to  bury  him 
next  morning.  His  pitiful  bit  of  tobacco  and 
four  or  five  wax  vestas  were  too  valuable  to  be 
uselessly  wasted,  and  these  were  taken  from 
their  place  of  security  inside  his  shirt.  And  so 
death  was  with  us  at  last.  There  lay  the  cook, 
poor  fellow  ;  and  I  can  say  with  certainty  that 
there  was  not  a  man  amongst  us  who  did  not 
sincerely  envy  him  his  release.  We  had  come 
to  regard  death  as  inevitable  now — as  something 
no  longer  to  be  regarded  with  terror,  but  rather 
to  be  looked  forward  to  as  a  happy  escape  from 
an  agony  so  long  drawn  out  as  to  be  altogether 
insupportable.  ^\'ednesday  morning  dawned 
fine  and  clear.  About  six  o'clock  the  boats 
were  drawn  up  close  together.  We  had  no 
Prayer-book,  and  only  one  Bible,  but  we  tried 
to  do  our  best  in  the  way  of  a  burial  ser- 
vice. All  the  men  uncovered  their  heads ; 
those  who  could  still  stand  stood  up,  and  the 


IHE    LAST   TREMULOUS   WOKDS   WERE    UTTERED,    OUR   SHIPMATES    BODY   WAS    DKOl'J'ED 

OVER   THE   SIDE." 


first  mate  read  the  thirty-ninth  Psalm.  We 
then  repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer  all  together, 
and  as  the  last  tremulous  words  were  uttered  our 
shipmate's  body  was  dropped  over  the  side  of 
the  boat.  As  we  faintly  uttered  the  words, 
"  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,"  there  was  a 
dead  pause  before  any  man  went  on  to  the  next 
line  ;  and  if  that  moment's  pause  could  have 
been  translated  into  words,  of  what  pent-up 
agony  would  it  not  have  told  ?  The  day  passed 
quietly  enough,  and,  as  was  usual  novv,  in  un- 
broken silence.  If  each  man's  thoughts  could 
have  been  read  that  day,  the  one  uppermost 
would,  I  think,  have  been  as  to  whose  turn 
would  be  Jiext  1 

As  the  day  wore  on  the  wind  freshened — this 
time  from  the  north-west,  and  we  had  a  spell  of 
cold,  thick,  dirty,  rainy  weather.  Most  of  us 
had  by  this  time  almost  entirely  lost  the  use  of 
the  lower  part  of  the  body.  For  some  days 
past  our  legs  had  been  gradually  swelling,  and 
were  now  almost  twice  the  ordinary  size.  They 
were,  moreover,  totally  devoid  of  sensation.  We 
had  little  moving  about  to  do,  and  that  little 
had  to  be  done  by  dragging  our  bodies  along 
with  what  strength  was  still  left  in  our  arms. 
The  upper  part  of  our  bodies  was  terribly 
emaciated,  and  we  could  scarcely  remain  on 
our  feet  during  the  few  minutes  which  the 
short   burial  service  took.     And  yet  we  rather 

welcomed  the  deadly 
numbness  in  our  legs 
as  a  relief  from  the 
terrible  suffering  we 
had  endured  from 
the  cold.  Little  did 
we  know  then  what 
this  numbness  really 
meant,  otherwise  we 
should  have  com- 
bated it  by  every 
means  in  our  power. 
As  we  afterwards 
learnt,  this  torpor  was 
the  result  of  defective 
circulation. 

We  presented,  in- 
deed, a  terrible  sight 
— we  were  surely  the 
most  pitiable  objects. 
Haggard,  unkempt, 
wild,  hungry-looking 
fellows,  with  a  blood- 
sho  t,  fa  m  i  shed, 
fierce  look  in  the 
eyes,  that  was  horrible 
to  see.  Strange  to 
say,  the  biggest  and 
physically      strongest 


^vmnt^l 


TWENTY-SEVEN    t)AYS    IN    AN    OPEN    BOAT. 


641 


appeared  to  suffer  most,  and  were  the  first  to 
become  incapacitated  and  helpless. 

Fortunately  all  hands  were  British,  and  it  is 
but  common  Justice  to  say  that  from  first  to  last 
they,  one  and  all,  behaved  remarkably  well. 
Throughout  the  whole  of  this  terrible  ordeal 
every  order  was  obeyed  to  the  very  last  and  to 
the  best  of  the  men's  ability.  On  Thursday 
afternoon  the  wind  hauled  to  the  south-west, 
still  blowing  fresh;  at  the  same  time  the  weather 
cleared  up  and  the  rain  ceased.  Friday  passed, 
Saturday  passed,  Sunday  passed.  Exactly  how 
they  passed  I  could  never  remember  :  they  seem 
a  blank  in  my  life.  In  a  kind  of  listless,  semi- 
comatose state  we  lay  about  in  every  conceiv- 
able attitude  of  discomfort,  and  in  patient  agony 
awaiting  the  end.  Those  three  days  might 
have  been  three  weeks  or  three  months. 
They  seemed  to  have  no  end,  as  they  seemed 
never  to  have  had  a  beginning.  About  si.x 
o'clock  on  Monday  morning  the  look-out — for 
watch  was  still  kept  regularly — sang  a  hoarse 
"  Sail  ho  !  Sail  ho  !  "  Yes,  there  was  no 
mistake.  The  men 
feebly  rubbed  their 
eyes  and  raisi-d 
their  aching  heads, 
scarcely  roused 
from  their  lethargy 
by  the  most  wel- 
come sound  that 
could  ring  in  their 
ears.  "  Sail  ho  I  " 
What  a  world  of 
meaning  that  had 
for  us.  If  the 
joyful  anticipation 
it  aroused  could 
only  have  realiza- 
tion this  time,  and 
not,  as  in  the 
former  case, 
merely  raise  our 
hopes  to  the 
seventh  heaven  of 
expectant  bliss, 
only  to  dash  them 
down  to  the  lowest, 
deepest  dungeon 
of  despair  I  A 
ship  had  indeed 
been  sighted  from 
the  mate's  boat, 
and  following  the 
direction  of  the 
look  -  out's  finger 
we  saw  a  fine,  full- 
rigged  ship,  under 
all     sail,     bearing 

Vol.  iii.— 81 


AS   THE  SHIl-   KOI.LEO   TOWARDS   US   THEY   LIFTED    US   OUT  ONE    BY   ONE. 


down  upon  us.  We  immediately  took  our 
sea-anchor  on  board,  and  put  out  our  oars, 
determining  to  get  as  nearly  in  her  direct 
track  as  possible.  We  resolved  this  time  that 
they  should  either  see  us  or  run  us  down. 
1  hen  came  some  twenty  minutes  of  the  most 
intense  anxiety,  the  most  awful  suspense.  On 
she  came,  rushing  through  the  water  at  about 
twelve  knots  an  hour.  Nearer  and  nearer  came 
our  salvation,  and  as  yet  no  sign  to  indicate  that 
we  were  seen.  I  believe  that  my  heart  ceased 
beating  when  the  sickening  fear  came  over  us 
that  we  were  again  to  be  overlooked.  At  last 
she  was  within  half  a  mile,  and,  to  our  unspeak- 
able joy — literally  unspeakable,  for  every  man's 
tongue  clove  to  the  roof  of  his  mouth,  and  a  great, 
big  lump  stuck  in  his  throat  and  choked  his 
utterance — we  saw  that  they  were  clewing-up  their 
royals.  The  top-gallant  sails  were  immediately 
afterwards  lowered  away  and  also  clewed  up ; 
and  at  the  same  time  we  saw  they  were  hauling 
up  their  courses.  Beyond  a  doubt  we  were 
seen,  for,  although  it  was  blowing  a  moderate 

gale  at  the  time, 
there  was  nothing 
to  cause  so  hurried 
a  reduction  of 
canvas  on  a  ship 
running  before  the 
wind.  Nearer  she 
came,  and  nearer 
still.  At  last  she 
rushed  pr.^t  us 
about  100  yds. 
ahead.  A  crowd 
of  people  on  her 
decks  sent  up  a 
hearty  and  wel- 
come cheer  as  she 
passed,  and  then 
the  vessel  lowered 
her  topsails  and 
came  to  the  wind. 
That  cheer  was 
the  most  welcome 
sound  I  ever  heard 
either  before  or 
since,  and  as  we 
began  to  realize 
that  we  were  indeed 
saved,  there  was 
not  a  dry  eye 
amongst  the  whole 
lot  of  us.  The 
ship  was  now  to 
leeward,  so  that 
we  had  no  great 
difficulty  in  pulling 
towards  her.  Great 


642 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


care  had  to  be  exetcised,  howeverj  as  to  how  we 
approached  her,  for  the  waves  ran  pretty  high, 
and  a  small  boat  is  easily  stove  in  or  swamped 
alongside  a  big  ship  when  there  is  any  sea  on. 
Very  cautiously,  therefore,  we  got  to  leeward  of 
her,  and  watching  for  a  smooth  place,  finally 
got  alongside.  They  had  lifted  one  of  the  large 
main  deck  ports  in  the  wake  of  the  chain  plates, 
and  at  the  port  stood  two  men,  secured  by  life^ 
lines.  As  the  ship  rolled  towards  us  they  lifted 
us  out  of  the  boats  one  by  one. 

When  all  the  eleven  men  were  safely  aboard, 
the  old  boats  which  had  stood  us  in  such  good 
stead  were  cast  adrift. 

We  were  almost  dazed  when  we  found  our- 
selves once  more  on  board  a  good  ship.  It  was 
now  thirty  days  since  we  had  discovered  the  fire 
on  board  the  San  Rafael^  and  of  these  tivcnty- 
seven  had  been  spent  in  an  open  boat,  and  the  hist 
eight  of  these  had  been  spent  totally  without 
food.  Indeed,  all  each  man  had  eaten  during 
the  entire  month  would  not  have  been 
sufficient  to  satisfy  a  hearty  man  for  two 
days.  As  soon  as  we  were  all  aboard,  the  ship 
was  kept  on  her  course  and  her  sails  again  set. 
In  the  meantime  we  were  carefully  carried 
below,  where  we  were  at  once  attended  to  by 
the  ship's  doctor,  who  ordered  each  man  a  cup 
of  warm  coffee  with  a  glass  of  rum  in  it  and  a 
small  milk  biscuit.  I  am  not  going  to  attempt  a 
description  of  what  I  felt  as  I  took  the  first 
nourishment  I  had  had  for  eight  days.  My  feel- 
ing then  beggared  all  description ;  it  was  as  much 
as  I  could  do  to  restrain  myself  from  making  a 
wolfish  grab  at  the  biscuits,  and  the  other  men 
watched  them  too  in  a  tigerish  sort  of  fashion. 
This  delicious  but  frugal  meal  over,  we  were, 
by  the  doctor's  orders,  now  stripped.  It  was 
found  necessary  to  cut  away  our  long  sea- 
boots  and  trousers  owing  to  the  dreadfully 
swollen  condition  of  our  legs.  l"he  boy  was 
attended  to  first,  and  hearing  an  exclamation  of 
horror  from  the  doctor,  I  looked  and  saw — well, 
I  do  not  wish  to  inflict  the  description  upon  you. 
Mortification  had  apparently  been  at  work  for 
some  days,  and  now  each  man  knew  at  once  that 
the  poor  lad  would  have  to  suffer  amputation, 
so  that  we  became  alive  to  a  new  horror.  I  was 
stripped  next,  and  as  the  knife  was  run  down  my 
boots  I  looked  with  terrible  anxiety  at  my  feet. 
Thank  God,  they  were  quite  sound,  although 
in  a  terribly  bad  condition.  Some  of  the  others 
were  less  fortunate,  for  five  out  of  the  eleven 
were  found  more  or  less  maimed,  and  had  to 
undergo  surgical  operations.  We  were  now 
rubbed  vigorously  with  sweet  oil,  especially  our 


legs,  but  for  all  I  could  feel  at  the  time  they 
might  as  well  have  been  rubbing  away  at  the 
sheet-anchor.  We  were  next  put  to  bed  and  two 
or  three  spoonfuls  of  chicken  broth  given  to 
each. 

We  found  we  had  been  picked  up  by  a 
homeward  ship  from  Melbourne  carrying 
passengers.  The  midshipmen  kindly  gave  the 
three  rescued  officers  a  share  of  their  berth, 
and  the  men  were  carefully  carried  to  the  fore-- 
castle.  In  spite  of  the  doctor's  unremitting 
care,  however,  even  the  best  of  us  were  over 
three  weeks  before  we  could  leave  out  berths.- 
Perhaps  the  greatest  agony  we  suffered  wag 
caused  by  the  returning  circulation  in  our 
extremities.  It  was  truly  dreadful — altogether 
beyond  description.  For  days  my  legs  felt  as 
if  scores  of  red-hot  wires  were  constantly 
probing  .through  and  through  them.  Al- 
though we  got  about  at  last,  we  were 
invalids  during  the  whole  trip ;  and  after  a 
fine  but  somewhat  lengthy  passage  we  safely 
arrived  in  London.  Everybody  was  most 
kind  to  us,  and  the  passengers  contributed 
a  purse  to  send  the  sailors  to  their  homes.  \\'e 
were  still  much  enfeebled  when  we  landed,  and 
every  man  seemed  aged  by  ten  or  twenty  years. 
With  much  emotion  we  parted  from  our  gooa 
preservers.  When  I  reached  home  it  was  over 
seven  months  since  I  had  sailed  on  the  San 
Rafael  from  Liverpool.  My  friends  had  entirely 
given  me  up  for  lost,  and  I  was  welcomed  home 
as  one  who  had  returned,  as  it  were,  from  the 
dead.  Many  events  have  occurred  since  then, 
but  none  yet  has  happened,  or  is  likely  to 
happen,  which  can  obliterate  from  my  mind 
this  terrible  tale  of  the  sea,  in  which  I  was  one 
of  the  leading  characters. 

It  was  over  six  months  after  my  landing  in 
London  that  I  learnt  the  fate  of  the  captain  and 
his  party  in  the  long-boat.  It  appears  they 
reached  some  land  about  fifty  miles  eastward  of 
the  place  where  we  landed,  and  had  gone  ashore 
on  an  island  known  as  New  Year's  Island.  In 
this  dreary  and  desolate  spot  the  bodies  were 
afterwards  found  by  some  natives,  and  from 
their  condition  it  was  evident  that  they  had 
died  from  the  effects  of  cold  and  starvation. 
Who  first  fell  a  victim,  and  who  was  the  last  to 
die,  we  shall  never  know.  They  had  evidently 
preferred  to  take  their  chance  of  being  taken  off 
the  island  by  natives  or  by  some  passing  ship — 
although  the  latter  would  have  been  a  somewhat 
remote  contingency,  few  ships  passing  New 
Year's  Island  sufficiently  close  to  enable  any- 
one ashore  to  attract  their  attention. 


Naia,    the    Witch   of    Rochefort. 


By  Charles  Gkniaux,  or  Paris. 

All  about  a  real,  live  witch — mysterious,  credited  with  supernatural  powers,  and  possessing  enormous 

influence  over  the  peasants.     Naia  lives    in    a   ruined   castle    in  Rochefort-en-Terre,   in   Brittany,  and 

photographs  of  her — all  by  the  author  himself    are  here  reproduced. 


CARCELY  had  I  arrived  in  Roclic- 
fort-cn-'l'erre,  a  delightful  little  town 
in  Brittany,  when  I  met  an  artist  in 
search  of  landscapes. 

"  You're  looking  for  sorcerers  ?  " 
he  said.  He  knew  my  weakness  for  folk-lore 
and  the  like.  "  Very  well,  we  have  here  what 
you  want — Naia  Kermadec,  the  'Witch  of 
Rochefort,'  who  is  known  all  over  the  country; 
only  I  can't  be  sure  that  you  will  be  able  to  see 
her,  for  no  one  knows  e.xactly  where  she  is. 
People  have  met  her  on  the  same  day  at  places 
very  fiir  from  one  another,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
explain  how  such  an  old 
woman  can  travel  so  fast 
over  such  considerable  dis- 
tances. The  good  folks  of 
Rochefort  are  convinced  that 
there  is  something  super- 
natural in  this. 

"They  will  tell  you  that 
Naia  travels  on  a  broom 
through  the  air — or  maybe 
underground — when  she  does 
not  want  to  be  seen  going 
on  her  errands  ;  that  she 
fears  neither  fire  nor  water, 
disaj)pears  when  she  likes, 
and  takes  any  shape  that  may 
suit  her  purpose.  Through 
her  magical  power,  they  say, 
she  attracts  young  people, 
especially  those  who  are  in 
love." 

"How  long  has  she  lived  here,"  I  asked, 
"  and  where  does  she  come  from  ?  " 

"  Old  people  say  they  have  always  known  her 
as  she  is  now,"  returned  my  friend  ;  "  withered 
and  bony  through  age.  They  remembered 
having  heard  of  a  family  named  I)e  Kermadec, 
who  had  the  reputation  of  knowing  wonderful 
secrets,  and  were  suspected  of  having  been  in 
league  with  the  Spirit  of  Darkness.  Well,  Naia 
is  supposed  to  be  the  last  member  of  that  old 
family. 

"  I  have  spoken  to  her  once,"  added  my  in- 
formant, "  and  I  was  astonished  at  her  marvel- 
lous intelligence,  her  knowledge,  and  the  infor- 
mation she  seems  to  possess  in  spite  of  her 
retirement  and  isolation." 


M.    CHARLES     GENIAUX,    WHO    VISITEF)   THE  WITCH 
J-'pom  a]       IN    HEK    RUINED   CASTLE.         [PhotO. 


For  a  fortnight  1  was  disappointed  in  my 
search  for  Naia.  To  all  my  questions  the 
peasants  invariably  answered  that  they  did  not 
know  where  she  was  living  at  present.  One 
morning  at  daybreak,  however,  a  young  boy 
knocked  at  my  door. 

"  Make  haste,  sir,"  he  cried,  "  make  haste — 
the  witch  has  come  back  to  the  old  Manor.  If 
you  like  I  will  take  you  to  the  ruins,"  he  added. 
"  I  know  where  to  find  the  '  Door  of  Hell,' 
through  which  Naia  goes  out." 

I  accepted  his  offer  with  pleasure.  Some 
minutes  later  we  were  proceeding  at  a  brisk 
pace  towards  the  witch's  den. 
The  ruins  of  the  Chateau 
de  Rieux  are  heavily  clothed 
with  ivy,  and  are  situated  on 
an  abrupt  and  rocky  hill, 
covered  with  ancient  oaks. 
Sometimes  Naia  is  seen 
coming  out  of  crannies  in 
the  rock,  and  sometimes 
disap[)earing  in  the  crumb- 
ling towers  or  deep  dungeons 
of  the  mediaeval  stronghold. 
Suddenly  my  young  guide 
maliciously  ran  away,  laugh- 
ing. 1  turned  round  hastily 
to  call  after  him,  and  found 
myself  in  the  dreaded  pre- 
sence of  the  weird  inhabitant 
of  the  ruins. 

There  she  stood  in  her 
majestic  and  withered  ugli- 
ness, solemn  and  imposing  as  a  pythoness 
of  ancient  times.  In  silence  we  looked  at  each 
other.  Her  eyes  inspire  awe  :  they  are  sunken, 
creamy  in  hue,  and  glassy,  like  tho.se  of  the 
dead.  Her  large,  bony  hands  rest  on  a 
thorn  stick,  and  a  kind  of  colourless  shroud 
partly  covers  her  head  and  shoulders,  falling 
down  to  her  feet.  Long  locks  of  white  hair 
escape  in  disorder  from  her  hood.  An  in- 
domitable will  is  impressed  on  her  wrinkled 
face,  with  its  marked  expression  of  intelligence, 
which  is  still  more  striking  than  the  horrid  ugli- 
ness of  her  features. 

Naia  was  sitting  in  a  niche  carpeted  with  ivy, 
and  her  cold  eyes  were  making  a  survey  of  my 
person. 


644 


THE   WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


■  NAIA   WAS   SITTING    IN    A    NICHE   CARPETED    WITH    IVV. 

From  a  Photo. 


I  had  felt  compelled  to  come  through 
curiosity,  railing  inwardly  at  the  witch  and  at  the 
stupid  credulity  of  the  peasants.  Now,  however, 
I  was  awed  by  this  strange  creature,  and  seized 
by  a  vague  oppressive  wonder,  which  made  my 
heart  beat  faster  than  usual. 

"  Have  no  fear,  my  son,  but  approach,"  she 
said,  with  much  dignity  and  an  ironical  smile,  as 
I  stood  motionless  at  some  distance  from  her. 

There  was  in  her  deep  voice  an  unaccount- 
able charm.  It  was  at  once  soft  and  sonorour, 
with  the  expressive  inflections  of  people  accus- 
tomed to  speak  in  public. 

I  told  her  how  curious  I  was  to  get  acquainted 
with  her,  and  I  tried  cautiously  to  induce  her  to 
talk  about  her  "  marvellous  "  powers. 

She  at  once  got  up,  looking  very  tall  and 
dignified. 

"And  thou,  my  son,  dost  thou  believe  in 
supernatural  gifts  ?  "  she  asked. 

I  wanted  to  be  conciliatory,  so  I  answered 
with  prudence. 

"  It  depends.  I  believe  that  certain  mys- 
teries in  Nature  are  not  yet  explained,  but  I 
am  rather  like  St.  Thomas,  who  wanted  to  see 
before  he  believed." 


"  Town  folks  are  such  unbelievers,"  re- 
torted Naia,  with  emphasis.  "  They  know  a 
little,  and  fancy  they  know  all.  I  like 
peasants  best.  I  direct  them  in  their  busi- 
ness, and  they  feel  the  benefit  of  it.  AVhen 
the  priest  is  powerless  the  husbandmen  come 
to  me,  and  I  tell  them  :  trust  Gnami,"  she 
went  on,  "  he  is  powerful ;  Gnami  dares 
Heaven  ;  he  is  stronger  than  death  ! " 
"Who,  then,  is  Gnami  ?" 
"  He  is  the  one  who  obeys  me — the  one 
who  flies  through  air  at  my  order.  Gnami 
is  the  human  spirit  of  man.  I  make  him 
travel  wherever  I  wish.  I  have  only  to 
think  and  he  executes  my  commands." 

"  You  must  be  very  rich,  ^ladame  Naia, 
with  such  a  great  power." 

"  My  son,  thou  speakest  like  a  mortal," 
she  retorted,  rather  scornfully.  "  Those  who 
can  possess  everything  if  they  choose  have 
nevTr  any  wish." 

"  You  have  said  just  now  that  I  was  speak- 
ing like  a  mortal.  Is  it,  then,  that  you 
consider  yourself  an  immortal  being?"  I 
asked. 

"  I  do  not  remember  ever  having  been  a 
child,  and  Gnami,  who  exists  in  me,  cannot 
die,  for  he  is  a  spirit." 

I  could  see  my  questions   were  beginning 
to  tire  her.    She  refused  point-blank  to  answer 
me  when  I  tried  to  penetrate  into  her  secrets 
and  formula  of   incantation.      Still,    before  I 
left  I  persuaded  her  to  let  me  take  her  photo- 
graph, and  told  her  that  it  would  be  published 
in  The  Wide  World  Magazine.     She  smiled, 
and  gave  me  leave  to  come  another  time  with 
my  camera. 

I  wanted  to  acknowledge  her  kindness  by 
shaking  hands  with  her,  but  she  repelled  me 
violently  with  her  big  stick. 

"Stand  back,"  she  screeched.  "Do  not 
touch  me,  for  I  burn." 

At  my  own  risk  I  should  have  liked  to  try 
the  experiment,  but  I  saw  it  was  impossible. 
Country  people  assert  that  they  feel  a  violent 
shock  if  they  touch  her  hand. 

When  a  peasant  is  uneasy  about  his  wife,  or 
any  member  of  his  family  who  may  happen  to  be 
ill,  he  goes  to  Naia  and  tells  her  the  details  of 
the  complaint.  Whereupon  she  makes  a  fire  on 
the  ground,  and  throws  on  the  flames  a  handful 
of  herbs  from  her  pocket.  A  thick  smoke  rises 
in  the  air.  With  dishevelled  hair  and  haggard 
eyes,  panting  and  breathing  hard,  the  witch 
pronounces  incoherent  words,  curses  the  ele- 
ments, and  calls  with  a  strong  voice,  "  Gnami  ! 
Gnami  !  " 

Naia  in  such  moments  is  apparently  insensible 
to  pain. 


NAIA,    THE    WIICH    OF    ROCHEFORT. 


645 


"  I  have  seen  her,"  a  peasant  told  me,  "  as 
truly  as  T  see  you,  placing  her  hands  on  the  fire 
for  several  minutes  and  picking  up  red-hot  coals, 
which  she  crushed  with  her  fingers  and  scattered 
to  the  winds."' 

She  generally  gives  some  of  the  cinders  to 
those  who  consult  her,  with  the  injunction  to 
apply  them  to  the  sick,  whether  it  be  a  human 
being  or  an  animal. 

At  Pluherlin,  a  small  neighbouring  village, 
Naia  saved  an  old  man  from  a  blazing  fire.  In 
vain  his  son  had  tried  to  penetrate  into  the 
burning  house,  where  the  father  was  lying  in 
bed.  Overpowered  by  the  violence  of  the 
flames  the  youth  was  obliged  to  retreat,  and, 
mad  with  grief  and  despair,  was  crying  bitterly, 
when  suddenly  Naia  stood  by  him.  She 
whispered  something  in  his  ear ;  he  nodded 
assent,  and  the  witch,  quietly  entering  the 
roaring  furnace,  delivered  the  old  man  from 
a  fearful  death. 

But  from  that  day  the  son  changed  entirely. 
He    became    a   drunkard   and 
a  reprobate.     It  was  rumoured 
that    Naia    had    made 
him  sell  his  soul  to  the 
Spirit  of  Evil,  as  a  con- 
dition for  the  rescue  of 
his  father ! 


Several  times  I 
directed  my  ramblings 
in  the  country  towards 
the  ruin  of  the  Chateau 
de  Rieux,  where  Naia 
lived.  The  place  suited 
her  as  well  as  she 
suited  it.  It  looked 
uncanny  and  weird,  like 
the  supernatural  being 
who  had  chosen  it  for 
her  home. 

The  castle,  built  in 
the  Middle  Ages  by  the 
powerful  Seigneurs  de 
Rieux — great  and  ter- 
rible warriors — had 
gloomy  cells  and  hiding- 
places,  underground 
passages  and  dungeons, 
where  mouldering 
bones  had  been  found 
among  rusty  fetters. 

But  to-day,  of  all  the 
splendour  of  bygone 
times  there  remain  only 
some  crumbling  walls, 
part  of  a  tower,  and  a 
vast  area  covered  with 


THE    PLACE    LOOKED    UNCANNY    AND    WEIRD,    LIKK    THE   SLFER- 
NATURAL    BEI.NC   WHO    HAD   CHOSEN    IT    FOR    HER    HOME." 

J'rout  a  Photo. 


sculptured  stones,  amidst  an  entangled  mass  of 
tree  trunks,  branches,  boughs,  and  ivy  festoons. 
But  the  underground  part  and  the  secret  rooms 
(known  only  to  the  De  Rieux  family)  are  still  in 
existence.  Naia  is  evidently  acquainted  with 
them,  and  seeks  there  a  shelter  against  the 
weather.  This  explains  an  incident  which 
dreadfully  friglitened  some  country  people  one 
winter  night  when  they  were  coming  back  from 
the  fair  of  r^Ialansac.  in  the  neighbourhood. 

To  take  a  short  cut  they  thought  of  going 
across  the  fields,  and  with  that  intention  went 
through  by-paths  disused  for  a  good  many  years. 
Heavily  laden,  they  were  climbing  the  steep 
hili  leading  to  Rieux,  when  one  of  them, 
stopping  suddenly,  exclaimed  "  Fire  !  Fire  !  " 
in  a  terrified  voice. 

And  sure  enough,  from  the  chinks  in  the 
ground,  flames  and  smoke  were  issuing,  blacken- 
ing and  burning  the  grass  and  bushes  on  the 
surface.  The  peasants  also  said  that  a  strong 
smell   of   sulphur   was    spreading   around  ;    but 

this  may  be  set 
down  as  pure 
imagination. 

When  they  ar- 
rived at  the  farm- 
house, the  church 
bell  was  beginning 
to  toll  for  the 
dead.  On  making 
inquiries,  they 
learned  that  a 
young  girl,  with  a 
bad  reputation, 
had  just  died 
suddenly. 

Summing  up  the  inci- 
dents of  that  stirring 
night,  the  peasants 
attributed  to  Naia  the 
power  of  going  down 
to  hell  when  she  liked, 
and  of  attracting  there 
the  souls  of  people  who 
had  died  in  a  state  of 
sin. 

The  Justice  of  Peace 
of  Rochefort  told  me 
he  had  also  seen  on 
several  occasions  those 
suspicious  clouds  of 
smoke  rising  up  from 
among  the  stones.  The 
most  plausible  explana- 
tion is  that  Naia,  in 
winter,  lights  a  fire  in 
the  underground  parts 
of   the  rums  to  warm 


646 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


herself,  and  naturally  the  flames  and  smoke 
sometimes  penetrate  the  chaos  of  stones  and 
frighten  the  country  people,  who  think  they 
see  an  infernal  fire. 

The  dark  passages  frequented  by  Naia  lead  to 
some  damp,  broken  stairs,  descending  into  the 
depths  of  the  castle. 

On  the  day  I  photographed  this  entrance  to 
Naia's  den  two  quaint  little  Breton  children 
were  playing  in  front  of  the  dark  hole,  not 
in  the  least  disconcerted 
by  its  fateful  and  omin- 
ous renown.  A  large 
piece  of  rock  almost 
bars  the  "  Witch's 
threshold,"  which  is  also 
called  "  Hell's  door."  It 
is  with  great  difficulty 
that  one  scales  that  rock 
to  enter  the  gloomy 
passage  on  the  other 
side.  Nor  could  I  find 
any  means  of  exit  at  the 
end  of  the  corridor,  for 
the  thorny  bushes  which 
tore  the  sleeves  of  my 
jacket  prevented  me 
from  advancing  any 
farther. 

As  I  extricated  myself 
from  their  treacherous 
embrace  I  reflected  that 
Naia's  clothes  must  be 
made  of  very  strong 
material  indeed  to  resist 
such  daily  assaults. 

The  Justice  of  Peace, 
who  has  lived  in  the 
place  for  a  score  of  years, 
told  me   he  has  always 

seen  Naia  wearing  the  same  clothes,  and  never 
noticed  any  change  in  her  face  or  appearance. 
The  merchants  in  the  town  and  all  about  the 
country  affirm  that  "  the  witch "  has  never 
bought  anything  from  them,  that  she  has  never 
been  seen  to  eat  or  drink,  and,  as  for  her 
clothes,  they  simply  never  wear  out  like  those 
of  ordinary  people. 

All  the  information  I  gleaned  confirmed  me 
in  my  belief  of  the  old  creature's  extraordinary 
abstinence.  What,  then,  does  she  live  upon  ? 
No  one  knows,  for  nobody  has  ever  given  her 
anything  in  the  way  of  victuals. 

With  great  impatience  I  waited  for  the  time 
of  my  interview.  At  last  the  promised  morning 
arrived.  A  storm  was  threatening.  Black  and 
heavy  clouds  were  hanging  low  like  funeral 
draperies. 


t^ 


From  a\ 


I  was  directing  my  steps  towards  the  ruins, 
when  a  sudden  shower  obliged  me  to  take 
shelter  under  the  vault  of  an  old  drawbridge. 
Moodily  I  gazed  at  the  water,  flowing  down  like 
little  cataracts  on  the  pebbles  and  green  moss, 
when  the  weather  suddenly  cleared  up,  and  a 
glorious  sun  shone  out  on  the  refreshed  country. 
Rejoicing  at  this  lucky  change,  I  was  prepar- 
ing to  resume  my  walk,  when  all  at  once  a  strong 
voice  called  out  near  me  :  — 

"  Good  morning,  my 
son  I  " 

Quite  amazed,  I 
turned  quickly,  and  lo  ! 
on  my  right  Naia  was 
standing  with  her  arms 
lifted  up  towards 
Heaven,  and  her  eye- 
balls quite  white  in  the 
sunken  depths  of  their 
sockets.  She  was  utter- 
ing uncouth  words  in 
that  Bas -Breton 
language  which  I  do 
not  understand. 

I  own  that,  in  spite 
of  my  incredulity,  I  felt 
for  a  moment  a  kind  of 
irrational  fright  at  her 
sudden  appearance  and 
uncanny  bearing. 

"  Stay  as  you  are, 
please  ! "  said  I,  having 
recovered  myself.  "  I 
want  to  photograph  you 
in  that  position." 

It  was  prosaic,  but 
also  interesting.  With 
good  grace  she  granted 
my  request,  muttering 
the  whole  time.  We  were  alone,  face  to  face, 
she  with  her  tall  figure  erect  and  her  arms  up- 
lifted— I,  under  the  cover  of  my  camera,  look- 
ing at  the  weird  and  fantastic  figure  before 
my  eyes. 

Suddenly  I  thought  I  heard  someone  talking 
behind  me.  I  turned  round  and  the  voice 
became  silent,  but  next  moment  it  began  again 
with  great  volubility.  For  the  second  time  I 
turned  my  head,  but  still  saw  no  one  as  far  as 
ray  ^ight  could  reach.  Very  much  puzzled  and 
mystified,  I  looked  at  Naia.  The  witch  had 
seated  herself  against  a  wall,  her  head  hanging 
down  on  her  breast,  and  her  hands  clutching 
her  stick.     She  looked  as  if  she  were  asleep. 

As  I  looked  at  her  the  voice  which  had 
startled  me  before  now  came  from  above,  and 
seemmgly  from  the  top  of  an  oak.  More  and 
more  puzzled,  I  sat  quite  near  my  strange  com- 


L.M   .1     1.11   11.1:,    i-.KKTON    CHII.DKtN  WKKE    I'LAVIM, 
IN    FRONT   OK   THE   DARK    HOLE."  [Plwto. 


NAIA,    THE    WITCH    OF    ROCHEFORT. 


647 


'  NAIA   WAS 

Frotn  a] 


STANDIN'i   WITH    HEK   ARMS    LIFTED   UP   TOWARDS 
HEAVEN."  \_Fhoto. 


panion,  watching  her  closely.  Her  breath- 
ing was  heavy  and  regular.  She  was 
evidently  sleeping,  for  I  spoke  to  her  and 
she  did  not  answer. 

At  that  moment  a  distant  voice  called 
out  loudly,  "  Naia  1     Naia  1 "' 

"  Do  you  not  hear  ?  Someone  is 
calling  you  I "  I  cried  to  the  ^^'itch  of 
Rochefort. 

All  at  once  the  voices  ceased,  and  my 
unearthly  companion  opened  her  eyes  and 
rose  up. 

I  must  explain  this  strange  scene.  An 
old  doctor  of  the  neighbourhood,  who 
had  taken  much  interest  in  studying  Naia 
and  the  peculiarities  of  her  existence,  told 
me  that  the  witch  was  a  most  clever  ven- 
triloquist. She  made  use  of  her  wonderful 
gift  to  impose  on  the  credulity  of  simple 
folks  who  go  to  consult  her  about  their 
fortunes. 

"I  cannot  answer  thee,"  she  says,  "but 
Gnami,  the  Spirit,  is  going  to  speak  for 
me." 

Then  "  prophetic  "  words  are  heard  drop- 


ping from  heaven  or  coming  out  of  the 
earth  ;  and  the  amazed  countryman 
cannot  do  otherwise  than  believe. 

Xaia's  predictions  have  such  abso- 
lute influence  u{)on  the  simple,  ignorant 
man  that  he  unconsciously  works  out 
their  realization  with  all  his  might,  and 
often  succeeds  by  that  means  in  bring- 
ing them  to  pass. 

"  It  is  in  vain  that  I  have  tried  to 
enlighten  the  country  people  on  Naia's 
doings,"  added  the  doctor.  "  They 
believe  in  witchcraft  and  don't  heed  my 
warnings.  Her  predictions  have  caused 
a  great  deal  of  harm  sometimes,  and 
I  have  a  personal  knowledge  of  a 
premature  death  which  was  the  result 
of  such  '  foretelling.' 

''  I  was  attending  an  old  man  who 
suffered  from  sout,  and  considered 
that  he  might  still  live  on  for  several 
years ;  but  I  was  reckoning  without 
Naia.  That  man  had  a  nephew  who 
was  impatient  to  come  into  his  in- 
heritance. He  went  to  consult  the 
witch,  and  persuaded  her  to  visit  his 
uncle.  So  one  night,  when  the  quiet 
little  town  was  asleep,  Naia  passed 
unnoticed  through  the  deserted  streets 


'•THEY   BEIIEVE    IX    WITCHCRAFT,    AND     DON't    HEED 

MV   warnings" — YOUNG    PEOPLE   WAITING    TO     HAV=: 

From   a\        THEIK    FUTURE    FORETOLD.  [PhotO. 


648 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


and  knocked  at  the  door  of  old  Pieric.  His 
nephew  opened  it,  and,  with  a  feigned  terror, 
pretended  to  go  into  a  swoon  before  the 
apparition  that  passed  over  the  threshold. 

"  The  witch,  wrapped  up  in  a  shroud,  and 
bearing  a  red  light  in  each  hand,  came  towards 
the  old  man's  bed. 

"  '  Pieric,'  she  called  out,  in  a  sepulchral  voice, 
'attend  to  the  salvation  of  thy  soul,  for  thou 
shalt  die  when  the  bells  ring  for  mass  next 
Sunday  ! ' 

"  You  can  fancy  how  that  trick  frightened  the 
poor  invalid  !  Next  day  he  told  me  of  this 
diabolical  visitation,  and  I  could  see  he  was 
almost  out  of  his  mind. 

"'It  is  really  absurd,'  I  protested;  'some 
wicked  person  has  been  playing  on  your  ignor- 
ance and  credulity.  I  certify  that  you  have  still 
many  years  to  live.' 

"'You  say  it  to  comfort  me,'  he  declared, 
with  tears;  'but  I  know  I  am  lost — the  ghost 
told  me  so  ! ' 

"  On  the  Sunday  morning  I  went  to  see  him. 
He  was  very  bad 
and    almost   deli- 
rious.   I  could  not 
help  getting  angry. 

"  '  You  are  a 
fool,  Pieric,'  I 
cried  ;  '  you  are 
simply  killing 
yourself,  when  I 
affirm  that  you 
might  still  live  on 
for  a  good  many 
years,  if  you  kept 
quiet.' 

"  '  I  am  going 
to  die  I '  he  re- 
peated, with  tear- 
ful obstinacy.  '  It 
has  been  i)ro- 
dicted  by  the 
ghost ' 

"I  felt  greatly 
impressed.  l"'or 
many  years  I  had 
been  in  practice, 
but  never  before 
had  I  witnessed 
anything  so  heart- 
rending. 

"When  the 
church  bell  began 
to  call  the  people 
to  mass  Pieric's 
face  became  con- 
vulsed, and  he 
sobbed  aloud  : — 


YVONNKTTE,    THE    PRETTY    LITTLE   GOAT-KKEIEK,    CL 

From  a\  the  veil." 


"  '  Mercy,  O  Lord,  mercy  !....!  am  not 
yec  ready  to  die  !....' 

"'You  shall  not  die,  Pieric,'  I  cried,  put- 
ting into  the  words  all  the  strength  of  my 
conviction. 

"  But  when  the  bells  left  off  ringing  the  old 
man  uttered  a  dreadful  shriek  and  fell  back 
dead  on  his  bed. 

"  You  have  been  told,"  the  doctor  went  on, 
"that  the  witch  can  put  her  hands  into  the  fire 
without  feeling  any  pain.  That  is  true  to  a 
certain  extent,  and  without  doubt  is  another 
trick  of  the  old  crone  to  impose  upon 
country  folks.  It  is  proved  that  a  certain 
astringent  preparation,  mixed  with  a  fat  sub- 
stance, and  spread  on  the  skin,  acts  like  an 
isolating  medium  between  the  nervous  sensi- 
bility and  the  fire." 

I  now  come  back  to  my  own  interview  with 
the  famous  "  Witch  of  Rochefort."  She  had 
taken  me  among  the  ruins  and  we  were  seated 
on  trunks  of  trees  in  a  place   carpeted  with  ivy 

which  she  called 
her  "drawing- 
room."  While  I 
was  questioning 
her,  a  pretty  girl 
called  Yvonnette, 
a  young  goat- 
keeper  who  lived 
at  a  short  distance 
from  the  ruins, 
came  to  ask  for  a 
consultation.  After 
she  had  gone 
happy  in  her 
heart,  and  smiling 
at  the  prophetess's 
predictions,  I 
asked  Naia  if  she 
would  also  tell 
me  my  good  for- 
tune. 

After  some 
minutes  of  medi- 
tation, the  witch 
spoke  like  the 
tenebrous  oracles 
of  antiquity.  I 
was  pleased  to 
find  an  allusion  to 
my  travels  through 
Algeria.  But  how 
could  she  have 
known  ?  And  she 
wouldn't  take  the 
money  I  offered 
her. 


■,IE.S    TO    NAIA    "!■ 


■■  I  I!    r 

[Photo. 


Through  Italy  in   Bedouin   Dress. 


Bv    "  Ibrahim    Effendi." 

The  narrative  of  a  remarkable   wager  made  by  a  well-known  traveller  and  Orientalist.     Written 

by  himself,  and   full  of  humorous  situations. 

the  performance ;  but  to  be  found  out  so 
early  in  the  day  in  so  sorry  a  joke  would  have 
made  me  the  laughing-stock  of  Cairo.  But  as 
time  passed,  I  came  to  discover  that  I  was 
not  the  only  thing  in  the  world  that  occupied 
everybody's  thoughts,  and  I  played  my  part 
the  better  for  my  growing  confidence. 

The  secretary  played  town  mouse  to  me, 
piloting  me  through  the  pitfalls  of  the  gay 
city  of  Alexandria.  He  chose  a  cab,  and 
began  negotiations  by  offering  the  man  half 
his  fare.  \\'hen  he  objected,  we  sat  down 
Arab  fashion  on  the  ground,  and  considered 
the  situation.  Our  next  move  assured  us 
the  victory.  Turning  indifferent  eyes  towards 
another  cabman,  we  made  an  ambfguous 
sign.  It  was  too  much  for  cabby  No.  i,  who 
gave  in  with  a  tragic  shrug,  and  took  us  to 
the  boat  for  half  his  fare.  My  friend  was 
good  enough  to  tip  nii  .at  parting,  with  my 


1  II  I*.    i>     1  tiK 
IHE   WAGER. 


\\  Kl-l.-K -M  >\\  .N       ;  KA  \  tLl.lLK     A.N1>    <  i  :<1  K.N  I  .^  Li^  I      Will'     v\i"; 
HE    IS   DRESSED   IN    THE    IDE.NTICAL    BEDOUIN    DRESS. 


From  a  Photo,  by  Lonibardi,  Skua. 


ONSENSE,  it's  impossible. 
I  bet  you  ten  pounds  you 
don't  get  there  without  being 
bowled  out — and,  mind  you, 
without  speaking  a  word  of 
any  language  but  Arabic,  between  this 
and  Siena."  That  settled  it.  I  had 
just  arrived  from  the  desert  dressed 
as  a  Bedouin,  and  was  discussing  with  a 
friend  the  best  way  of  getting  to  Italy.  I 
rather  prided  myself  on  the  cleverness  of 
my  disguise,  and  had  said  jokingly  that 
I  had  half  a  mind  to  go  as  I  was.  Men 
have  done  more  foolish  things  for  a  bet, 
and  I  was  nettled  at  the  bare  doubt  of 
my  ability  to  deceive  Europeans  with  a 
make-up  that  had  taken  in  the  Arabs 
themselves. 

There  were  few  preparations  to  be 
made.  I  drove  to  the  railway  station  in 
the  character  of  my  friend's  .servant.  His 
native  secretary  took  my  ticket,  while  I 
shouldered  my  mirg  and  gonffa,  and 
lounged  on  to  the  platform.  The  friend- 
liness of  the  ticket-collector  bored  me.  I 
longed  to  get  out  of  Cairo,  and  I  saw 
detection  in  the  eye  of  everyone  who 
glanced  at  me.  The  risk  that  attends 
detection    in   the  desert  adds   dignity   to 

Vol.  iii.— 82. 


'  MR.    WOULD    BE   GRATEFUL   IF    YOU    LET   .ME   THROUGH. 


650 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


through, 
began    to 


own  money,  which  I  laid  in  my  palm  in  that 
truly  Arab  manner  that  impresses  the  donor 
that  his  gift  is  being  appraised  and  found 
wanting.  Nevertheless,  I  blessed  him  with 
suitable  blessings. 

A  serious  difficulty  met  me  at  the  boat.  I 
was  asked  to  show  m.y  passport.  I  could  not 
account  for  myself  except  as  myself,  and  to  do 
this  would  have  broken  the  conditions  of  my 
wager.  The  official  who  barred  my  way  was 
'  well  known  to  me,  but  thus  far  he  had  not 
recognised  me.  Placing  myself  between  him 
and  the  crowd,  I  looked  him  straight  in  the 
eyes  —  possibly  I  may  have  winked  —  and, 
pointing    to    myself,    I 

said,  with  unnecessary  — ■ — 

emphasis,   Mr.  

would  be  grateful  if 
you  let  me 
\\'hen  light 
dawn  in  his  puzzled 
eves,  I  added  in  Arabic 
"'Be  careful  !  "  He 
understood,  and 
assured  his  colleagues 
that  he  knew  my  master, 
and  that  I  might  be 
allowed  to  pass.  "  Then 
why  didn't  his  master 
get  him  a  passport?" 
was  the  not  unnatural 
reply.  My  friend  then 
took  a  desperate  step. 
He  called  the  chief 
man  aside :  what  he 
told  him  I  do  not 
know,  but  the  barrier 
was  withdrawn,  and  I 
was  handed  over  to 
an  all  too  affectionate 
native  policeman  to  be 
piloted  to  the  ship.  I 
would  fain  have  parted 
from  him  on  the  steer- 
age deck,  but  he  willed 
it  otherwise.  A  coun- 
tryman of  his  could  not 
be  allowed  to  leave  the 
land  of  his  birth  with- 
out some  token  of 
goodwill,  and  the  brute 

folded  me  to  his  bosom  and  kissed — yes,  kissed 
— me  again  and  again.  And  what  was  I  to  do? 
I  could  not  kill  him  there  in  cold  blood  where 
he  stood. 

A  steerage  ticket  to  Brindisi  costs  ^^2,  and 
does  not  comprise  board,  nor,  for  the  matter  of 
that,  lodging,  except  in  the  most  elementary 
sense.      My  commissariat  consisted  of  sixpenny- 


I  J., W'A. 


^j 


'^ 


A   VOICE    HAILED   ME    FROM    THE    BRIDGE,    AND,    LOOKING    UP, 
SAW    TWO   OFFICERS    I    HAD    KNOWN     IN   CAIRO." 


worth  of  Arab  bread,  some  cakes,  dried  dates, 
and  forty  eggs,  which,  for  reasons  into  which  I 
need  not  enter,  I  was  glad  to  hurl  overboard. 

I  pass  over  the  details  of  the  voyage.  The  crew 
fingered  my  clothes,  and  cracked  jokes  at  my 
expense,  which  I  pretended  not  to  understand. 
Some  Arab  porters  questioned  me  regarding  my 
faith,  and  assured  me  that  I  should  be  miserable 
in  the  land  whither  I  was  going.  An  Italian 
woman,  who  travelled  with  seven  cats,  three 
dogs,  and  five  game  fowls  (and  let  them  all  loose 
in  our  only  sleeping  quarters),  taxed  me  with 
my  nationality,  persecuted  me  with  questions, 
and   even  tried    to    pull  off    my  head-gear,  all 

of  which  indignities  I 
bore  with  a  Bedouin 
patience  that  ultimately 
convinced  her.  I  even 
treated  her  to  a  dis- 
sertation in  Arabic  on 
the  art  of  training 
hawks,  and  followed 
her  about  the  deck 
until  she  had  heard  it 
all.  Thereafter  she  left 
me  alone.  Once,  in- 
deed, I  had  a  narrow 
escape.  A  voice  hailed 
me  from  the  bridge, 
and,  looking  up,  I  saw 
two  officers  whom  I 
had  known  well  at  the 
club  in  Cairo.  "  Why, 
the  fellow's  got  blue 
eyes,"  said  one. 
"  He's  no  Arab." 
They  pestered  me  with 
questions  in  English 
and  Arabic,  but  even 
them  I  believe  I  con- 
vinced at  last.  At  any 
rate  they  left  me  alone. 
I  felt  some  qualms 
of  conscience  about 
one  of  my  fellow- 
passengers.  He  was  so 
unaffectedly  kind  and 
sympathetic  to  the 
stranger  in  a  strange 
land,  as  he  thought 
me,  and  took  such 
pains,  at  inconvenience  to  himself,  to  commend 
me  to  the  care  of  others  when  he  could  go  no 
farther  with  me. 

"  My  master  "  was  my  shield  through  every 
dangerous  encounter.  Did  a  Jewish  money- 
changer at  Brindisi  want  to  change  my  English 
sovereigns  into  paper  lire,  it  was  my  master  who 
had   told   me   that   I    must   not   take   less   than 


THROUGH    ITALY    IN    BEDOUIN    DRESS. 


651 


twenty-seven,  for  I  had,  of  course,  no  views  of 
my  own  for  or  against  the  transaction.  Were 
there  no  third-class  carriages  on  the  express,  my 
master  had  told  me  to  lose  no  time  even  if  I 
had  to  go  second.  This  master  of  mine  had 
provided  for  every  emergency  by  providing  me 
with  three  documents  :  First,  an  envelope  ad- 
dressed to  my  sister  in  Siena ;  second,  a  letter 
entreating  the  reader  to  give  the  bearer,  who 
spoke  nothing  but  Arabic,  such  assistance  as 
would  lead  him  to  the  house  of  an  English 
lady  (name  mentioned)  ;  and  third,  a  card  with 
"  Siena  "  writ  large  in  red  pencil  to  distinguish 
it  in  my  untutored  eye  from  its  fellows.  When 
I  was  pestered  with  questions,  I  talked  Arabic 
and  produced  my  papers. 

]My  bread  was  very  stale,  my  dates  were  very 
dry,  and  the  only  addition  to  them  was  a  large 
onion,  which  a  Jewish  steerage  passenger,  pity- 
ing my  forlorn  state,  forced  upon  me.  I  had 
to  eat  it,  because  it  was  inconceivable  that  a 
Bedouin  should  do  other- 
wise, but  I  could  well 
have  done  without  it. 

At  Brindisi  the  inter- 
preter pounced  upon  me, 
and  at  once  became  a 
great  man.  He  lectured 
upon  me  on  the  ship  and 
at  the  cafe,  and  proved 
his  marvellous  linguistic 
accomplishments  by 
jabbering  very  indifferent 
Arabic,  while  a  friendly 
grocer  was  wrapping  up 
my  sword  and  dagger  in 
innocent  brown  paper. 

My  reception  at  every 
station  on  the  railway 
threw  the  ovations 
accorded  to  the  victorious 
Sirdar  into  the  shade. 
My  travelling  companions 
passed  the  word  to  the 
people  on  the  platform. 
Tiers  of  heads  blocked 
the  carriage  windows,  and 
men  and  women  clam- 
bered    into    the    carriage 

and  gazed  at  me  over  the  partitions.  My 
Italian  friend  was  human.  He  had  travelled 
with  me  ;  had  seen  me  eat,  drink,  and  sleep  ; 
he  knew  exactly  what  my  camel  bag  contained, 
nay,  even  what  lay  concealed  within  that 
innocent  brown-paper  parcel,  a  sword,  and  a 
dagger — stained,  no  doubt,  with  human  gore. 
He  discoursed  on  me  ;  explained  the  use  of 
everything  I  wore  ;  expatiated  on  mv  qualities, 
and  frankly  admitted  my  defects.     Though  he 


knew  no  Arabic,  he  constituted  himself,  like 
Mrs.  Plornish,  my  interpreter. "  A  man  offered 
me  wine  in  unmistakable  pantomime.  My 
friend  enunciated,  in  a  loud  voice,  the  infinitive 
of  the  Italian  word  to  drink,  and  pointed  down 
his  throat.  I  shook  my  head,  and  the  public 
was  told  that  I  did  not  wish  to  drink — nay 
more,  that  Moslems  did  not  drink  wine,  and, 
moreover,  that  they  married  many  wives,  and 
lived  in  tents.  Then  a  man  got  in  who  put  my 
friend  to  shame,  for  he  knew  one  verb  and  four 
nouns  in  Arabic.  He  was  the  hero  of  the  hour. 
He  said  them  all  to  me  in  varying  order.  I 
had  not  the  heart  to  hurl  him  from  his  pedestal, 
so  I  replied  ;  and  though  he  did  not  under- 
stand me,  we  kept  up  the  comedy  as  if  we 
enjoyed  the  innocent  pastime. 

About  noon  we  reached  a  town  where  the 
train  stopped  for  ten  minutes.  It  was  a  large 
town,  and  every  inhabitant  must  have  been  on 
the  platform.      They  fastened  on  the  carriage 


TROUDINi, 


I  1 1  r,    I-  1-' 


lU    «ITK    A    STICK    WITHIN    AN    INCH    OK    MY   SANDALI-ED    TOES. 

like  a  swarm  of  bees,  and  as  the  minutes  wore 
on,  and  my  stolid  behaviour  baulked  them  of 
the  promised  entertainment,  one  of  them 
tried  to  wake  me  up  by  prodding  the  floor 
with  a  stick  within  an  inch  of  my  sandalled 
toes.  I  began  to  lose  my  temper  as  any 
Bedouin  might  have  done.  But  fortunately 
at  this  juncture  my  Italian  friend  brought 
me  some  bread  and  cheese.  There  was  a 
fresh  scrimmage  for  the  front  places,  for  it  was 


6S2 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


plain  that  I  was  about  to  eat.  It  seemed  cruel 
to  baulk  them,  but  for  the  life  of  me  I  could 
think  of  no  new  way  of  conveying  food  to  my 
mouth.  And  yet,  oddly  enough,  they  seemed 
quite  satisfied.  When  I  put  my  bowl  to  my 
mouth,  and  said,  "  moya,"  which  my  interpreter 
informed  them  meant  "  water,"  their  enthusiasm 
knew  no  bounds. 

Meanwhile,  my  interpreter  had  found  a  friend 
in  a  Uttle  bagman,  to  whom  he  explained  me. 
My  bowl,  he  said,  had  come  from  Mecca,  an 
inaccuracy  which  I  did  not  feel  myself  called 
upon  to  correct.  The  bag- 
n)an  handed  it  back  to  me, 
gently  raising  his  eyebrows, 
and  expressing  by  the 
solemnity  of  his  demeanour 
the  respect  which  he  felt 
for  my  religious  convictions. 
Presently  he  thought  he 
would  try  a  little  conversa- 
tion. He  pointed  out 
objects  of  interest  as  we 
passed,  and  explained  the 
uses  of  the  carriage  fittings. 
Then  he  began  to  prepare 
me  for  the  surprise  of  a 
tunnel.  Eyes  and  mouth 
were  made  as  round  as 
Nature  would  allow.  His 
hands  described  circles  in 
the  air  just  in  front  of  my 
face,  and  he  pronounced 
the  word  "Tunello"  very 
clearly  and  slowly,  biting 
out  each  syllable.  Then 
he  puffed  and  hissed  in 
feeble  imitation  of  a  steam- 
engine,  and  sat  back  to 
await  events.  When  we 
emerged  into  daylight,  I 
found  his  face  almost  touch- 
ing mine,  so  intent  was  his 
scrutiny. 

At  midnight  we  reached 
Bologna,  and  it  was  discovered  that  I  had 
got  into  the  wrong  train.  My  friends 
called  the  station-master,  and  they  settled  the 
matter  between  them.  I  was  to  be  locked 
up  in  the  waiting-room,  and  fetched  when 
wanted.  There  was  a  bench  there,  and  at  last  I 
was  alone,  thank  Heaven  !  Fain  would  I  have 
stayed  there  until  the  morning  train  was  due, 
but  it  was  not  to  be.  They  led  me  out  in  the 
small  hours,  just  as  passengers  began  to  arrive 
for  the  early  trains.  I  think  that  many  of  these 
must  have  changed  their  plans  on  seeing  me, 
and  have  sent  into  the.  town  for  their  friends, 
and  made  a  morning  of  it.     Every  moment  the 


I  111:    '1  1.  ki'  1  -.  .  M 

THE    rOCKtrs    IN    .\1V 

Front  a\         searched  for 


crowd  thickened  until  there  was  not  room  to  turn. 
Every  officer  who  had  been  in  Abyssinia  spoke 
a  few  words  of  atrocious  Arabic  to  me,  and 
presently  the  crowd  began  to  finger  me.  This 
was  more  than  I  could  stand,  and,  shouldering 
my  camel  bags,  which  take  up  a  good  deal  of 
room,  I  began  to  pace  the  platform  as  if  (as  I 
heard  one  of  the  crowd  express  it)  the  whole 
place  belonged  to  me. 

My  train  came  in  at  last,  and  we  were  off. 
The  gentleman  opposite  pointed  out  the  beauties 
of  the  landscape  to  me.  To  every  remark  he 
made  I  replied  "  Quais," 
on  which  he  announced  to 
the  carriage  that  my  "  en- 
thusiasmo "  for  Italy  was 
unbounded,  and  I  imme- 
diately becan\e  popular. 
At  intervals  he  counted  up 
to  ten  in  Arabic  for  mv 
relaxation,  and  if  I  was 
not  amused  it  was  my  own 
fault.  But  a  party  of  card- 
sharpers  created  a  diversion, 
and  for  a  time  I  was  If^ft 
alone. 

If  they  annoyed  me  at 
times,  I  had  my  revenge  in 
my  imperturbable  calmness 
■ — my  only  weapon.  The 
ticket-collectors  in  particu- 
lar did  not  love  me.  First 
I  had  to  be  made  to 
understand  what  they 
wanted  of  me.  Then  the 
basket  had  to  be  put  down, 
the  camel  bags  thrown  off 
my  shoulders,  the  sheep- 
skin laid  upon  them,  the 
pockets  in  my  belt  searched 
for  my  papers,  and  the 
wrapper  of  my  ticket 
leisurely  unfolded. 

At  Florence  the  porters 
sent  for  Cook's  interpreter. 
I  do  not  know  whether  he  suspected  me,  but 
he  tried  every  European  language  upon  me 
that  he  knew.  Then  they  fetched  a  police- 
officer  who  had  been  in  Abyssinia  and  spoke 
Arabic  uncommonly  well.  He  had  a  splendid 
time.  He  assured  them  that  I  was  the  genuine 
article,  an  Arab  of  the  Arabs,  and  though  he 
did  not  understand  the  half  of  what  I  told  him, 
it  did  not  prevent  him  from  satisfying  the  crowd 
with  a  fluent  interpretation  out  of  his  own  head. 
He  escorted  me  to  my  carriage,  and  we  parted 
as  if  we  had  been  life-long  friends.  At  Empoli, 
where  I  had  to  change,  a  lady  used  me 
educationally  for  her  two  children,  whom  she 


Mil  ;.•  M  1  '  i\  J.  ■. 
IJEl.T  tIAU  TO  UE 
-MV  I'APKRS." 


\Photo. 


THROUGH    ITALY    IN    BEDOUIN    DRESS. 


653 


drew  up  in  front  of  me  while  she  lectured 
on  Abyssinia.  The  little  brutes  wanted  to 
fiddle  with  all  my  brass  chains  and  accoutre- 
ments,  but  my  temper  was  getting  short,  and 


from  school,  wrote  Greek  verbs  on  a  torn 
envelope,  in  Greek  he  should  have  been 
thrashed  for,  and  passed  them  to  me  to  win 
applause   for   his   wit   and   his   erudition.       But 


HE  ASSURED  IHE.M  THAT  I  WAS  THE  GENUINE  AHTlCl-E— AN  AKAB  OF  THE  ARABS. 


I  pushed  them  off.  It  grew  shorter  still  when 
in  the  train  a  soldier  told  me  roughly  to 
open  my  coat,  and  even  tried  to  do  it  for  me. 
I  pushed  him  off,  and  he  expressed  his  opinion 
of  me  with  considerable  freedom.  Then  they 
began  to  make  faces  at  me,  and  roar  at  me  in 
every   language   they   knew,   and   a   boy,   fresh 


there  is  an  end  to  every  torture.  The  porters 
were  shouting  "  Siena  !  "  I  shouted  "  Bosta  "  to 
the  cabman.  My  letter  was  examined  at  the 
{)Ost-office,  and  my  cabby  directed  to  my  sister's 
house.  I  had  bought  my  experience  at  a  price 
that  I  reckon  as  far  exceeding  the  amount  of 
my  wager. 


One    Thousand   Miles    on    Mule=Back. 

By  Mabel  Penniman,  M.A. 

Leaves    from    the    Journal    of    an    American    lady   during   an    extraordinary   voyage    fbom    New    York 
to    London   via    Panama,    Lake    Titicaca,  and    Buenos    Ayres,  with    a  rare    collection    of  photographs 

illustrating  South  American  life. 

I. 


account 
endure 
changes 
manner 
\v  h  i  c  h 


OW  that  it  is  over  it  appears  like  a 
dream,  for  I  can  hardly  believe  it 
I)Ossible  for  me  to  have  undergone 
such  hardships  as  I  encountered 
during  that  thousand  mile  ride  on 
mule  -  back,  and  emerge 
from  them  a  strong  and 
healthy  woman.  I  had 
never  been  strong,  and 
came  from  a  consump- 
tive family.  Probably 
the  long  sea  voyage  as  well 
as  the  bracing  air  of  an 
altitude  of  from  io,oooft. 
to  14,000ft.  above  sea  level 
may  in  a  great  measure 
for  my  ability  to 
the  enormous 
of  temperature, 
of  living,  etc., 
I  experienced. 
Three  years  ago  it  was  im- 
possible for  me  to  walk 
even  a  short  distance  with- 
out feeling  extremely  tired, 
whereas  in  the  last  eight 
months  there  was  no  moun- 
tain too  steep  or  too  high 
for  me  ;  no  day's  ride  too 
long  or  too  tedious. 
]\Iuch  of  my  success  in  this 
direction,  however,  must 
be  ascribed  to  the  excellent 
care  and  advice  I  receivt-d 
from  my  ever- watchful 
husband. 

We  left  New  York  in 
March,  1896,  and  had  a 
pleasant  but  tiresome  seven 
days'  voyage  to  Aspinwall, 
which  we  reached  early  on 
a  I'Yiday  morning. 

After  a  short  stay 
of  only  a  few  hours  in 
Panama  we  took  pas- 
sage on  a  steamer  bound 
south.  The  first  port  was  Guayaquil,  Ecuador, 
840  miles  from  Panama,  and  three  days' 
journey.  There  was  an  English  man-of-war  riding 
at  anchor  in  the  harbour,  alongside  the  solitary 
Ecuadorean  torpedo-boat,  which  constitutes  the 


entire  battle-fleet  of  this  nation.  Here  we  took 
on  board  a  large  cargo  of  tropical  fruit  for 
Valparaiso.  On  going  up  the  steps  leading  to 
the  promenade  deck  I   felt  an  intense  pain  in 


the   calf  of 


my 


leg 


THE   AL  rH(JUESS,  WHO  TOOIC   THIS  REMARKABLE  JOURNEY. 

(she    is   the    wife   of   an     important    south    AMERICAN 

J-'fOin  a]  OFFICIAL.)  [Photo. 


con- 

after 
whis- 


Upon  reaching  a  seat  I 
found  that  a  large  taran- 
tula (brought  on  board 
with  the  fruit)  had  bitten 
itself  fast.  After  a  speedy 
removal  a  gentleman 
offered  his  cud  of  tobacco, 
the  juice  of  which  I  rubbed 
into  the  wound,  and  this 
timely  application  pre- 
vented any  serious 
sequences. 

On  the  morning 
Good  Friday  it  was 
pered  around  that  we  had 
a  yellow  fever  patient  on 
board,  in  the  person  of  Jose 
Martinez,  Vicar-General  of 
the  San  Franciscans. 
This  padre,  in  company 
with  his  secretary,  had 
been  sent  out  from  Rome 
on  a  special  mission  of 
inspection  to  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  after  a  visit  of 
some  weeks  to  Ecuador 
had  boarded  our  ship 
at  (luayatjuil  with  several 
more  belonging  to  his 
Order.  His  secretary  ex- 
j)lained  that  the  illness  of 
the  padre  was  entirely 
due  to  his  having  eaten 
the  whole  of  a  pine-apple 
and  eleven  bananas  on 
Good  Friday.  On  our 
arrival  in  Callao  the 
following  day  a  ten  days' 
quarantine  was  pronounced 
upon  the  steamer,  and 
throughout  the  whole  time 
our  ship  was  guarded  by  an 
small  boats  with  old   blunder- 


armed  force  in 
busses. 

Monday  at  eventide  the  sick  man  was  re- 
moved to  an  old  hulk  a  short  distance  away. 
As  he  was  being  lowered  into  the  small  boat  we 


ONE   THOUSAND    MILES   ON    MULE-BACK. 


655 


had  a  good  look  r,t  him.  The  colour  of  his 
face  and  hands  was  as  pink  as  that  of  a  new- 
born babe,  and  his  voice  was  clear,  as  he  gave 
orders  to  protect  his  face  from  the  rays  of  the 
setting  sun.  His  secretary  accompanied  him  to 
the  lonely  place.  Tuesday,  at  9.55  p.m.,  he 
breathed  his  last.  Not  yellow  or  any  other 
fever  had  killed  him,  but  ignorance  on  the  part 
of  the  doctor.  His  body  was  placed  in  a  zinc- 
lined  coffin  and  buried  (supposedly)  in  the 
Island  of  San  Lorenzo,  at  the  entrance"  of  Callao 
Harbour.  We  learned  afterwards  from  indis- 
putable authority  that  the  taking  of  the  coffin  at 
night  to  the  island  was  only  a  ruse,  and  that 
the  body  was  dispatched  to  Valparaiso  and 
thence  to  Rome. 

After    our  release 

we  went  on  to  Lima, 
which,  though  en-  j 
tirely  built  of  mud, 
is  an  imposing  city. 
Even  the  great 
cathedral  on  the 
Plaza  is  built  of  mud. 
A  few  days'  sail  from 
Callao  and  we  landed 
in  Mollendo,  420 
miles  distant,  the 
place  for  embarka- 
tion for  the  Peruvian 
railroad  to  Lake 
Titicaca.  This  is  a 
very  dangerous  place 
to  land  at,  and  the 
roaring  of  the  surf 
may  be  heard  miles 
away.  The  foaming 
sea,  in  a  white  milky 
mass,  dashes  madly 
against  the  rocks 
which  form  a  narrow 
passage  for  the  boats 

to  pass.  A  large  boat,  manned  by  nine  sturdy 
Greeks,  infused  confidence  into  my  womanly 
heart,  and  I  trusted  to  their  skill  to  bring  us 
safely  through  the  seething,  boiling  mass. 

From  Mollendo  the  railroad  took  us  in  ten 
hours  to  Arequipa,  a  distance  of  107  miles, 
the  town  being  built  at  an  altitude  of  7,550ft. 
On  the  section  from  Arequipa  to  Puno  we 
passed  Cruzero  Alto  station,  14,666ft.  above 
sea  level.  When  nearing  Cruzero  Alto 
I  felt  a  slight  pain  in  the  back  of  my  head. 
Shortly  after  a  violent  headache  came,  and 
I  found  it  very  hard  to  breathe.  These  were 
the  effects  of  the  "  sorocho " — a  mountain 
sickness  known  only  in  the  Andes,  and  which 
is  caused  by  the  rare  and  dry  atmosphere. 
I  rubbed  my  head    and  neck  with  garlic,  and 


1  Hl>      IS,      lEKHATS,     THI-.      liri.lllM 
BEVDND      CRUZEKO       ALTO       STATION 

Front  a\  neaklv 


also  sniffed  it ;  relief  came  immediately.  .Upon 
ascending  higher  I  used  ammonia  freely, 
and  at  the  summit  drank  eight  cu[)s  of 
clear  and  very  strong  coffee. 

The  ascent  into  the  high  altitudes  should  be 
made  by  slow  stages.  A  few  miles  farther  the 
railway  passes  nearly  15,000ft.  The  bit  of 
track  shown  in  the  photograph  is  the  highest 
point,  and  from  here  the  railway  descends  to 
Puno.  The  snow-clad  mountains  in  the  distance 
are  part  of  the  Sorata  range  in  Bolivian  territory, 
of  which  Sir  ^Lartin  Conway  has  furnished  such 
a  graphic  description. 

At  nine  o'clock  at  night  we  reached  Puno,  and 
went  directly  to  the  steamer  Coya^  which  sailed 

at  eleven  and  reached 
1  the  other  side  of  the 
lake  in  Bolivian 
territory  (Puerto 
I'erez  or  Chililaya) 
by  six  the  next 
morning. 

Dark  heavy  clouds 
were  nestling  upon 
the  mountains,  and 
heavy  flashes  of 
lightning  were  play- 
ing among  the  m 
when  the  Coya  left 
her  moorings  at 
Puno.  A  peal  of 
thunder,  sharp  and 
terrific,  which 
brought  us  all  to 
our  feet,  rang  like 
the  discharge  of  a 
thousand  guns 
through  the  air,  dis- 
turbing the  sea,  and 
making  it  appear  as 
though  the  moun- 
tains were  lifted  from 
their  bases.  The  storm,  coming  from  all  direc- 
tions, blew  a  hundred-mile-an-hour  gale.  The 
frail  craft  appeared  to  roll  and  reel  and  pitch 
all  at  the  same  time.  Everything  and  everybody 
was  hustled  about  in  wild  confusion.  Everyone 
sought  refuge  upon  the  floor  of  the  saloon,  which 
was  lined  with  a  shrieking,  praying  mass  of 
humanity,  holding  on  like  grim  death  to  the  legs 
of  the  tables  or  any  stationary  piece  of  furniture 
within  reach.  Those  who  had  a  free  hand  at  the 
time  of  a  terrible  thunder-clap  would  cross  them- 
selves over  and  over  again.  Pravers  went  to 
Heaven  in  English,  French,  Spanish,  German, 
Aymara,  and  Quichua.  The  storm  raged  in  wild 
fury  all  night,  and  only  ceased  with  the  dawn. 
These  storms  are  frequent  on  the  lake,  but  often 
the  water  is  as  calm  as  a  mill-pond. 


BIT      OK       I<A1LUA\        I.N        IHE      WOKI.U. 
ON       THE      I'ERUVIAN       KAII.WAY  — 
I5,OOOFT.  \  Photo. 


655 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


I 


::E   TITICACA,    NEAR     PUNO.      ON    THE    LITTLE    ISLAND    A    VALE    PROFESSOR    WAS    BLKIED    IN    i6fT. 
OF   CONCRETE   FOR    FEAR   OF   THE    PERUVIANS    DESECRAl  ING    HIS   GRAVE.  [P/toto. 


The  above  photograph  shows  Lake  Titicaca, 
near  Puno.  On  the  higliest  point  of  the  island 
in  the  photograph  a  stone  may  be  seen,  which 
marks  the  grave  of  Professor  James  Orton,  of 
Yale  University,  U.S.A.  He  died  in  Puno  of 
fever.  With  the  permission  of  the  Peruvian 
authorities  he  was  buried  in  a  cemetery  near  by. 
The  cure,  however,  demanded  an  exorbitant 
price  for  his 
services,  and  fail- 
ing to  receive  it 
denounced  Mr. 
Orton's  body  as 
that  of  a  heretic, 
andinapassionate 
tirade  inflamed 
the  ignorant  and 
superstiti  ous 
Indians  to  an  act 
of  vandalism. 
The  day  after  the 
burial,  in  the  early 
morning,  his  body 
was  found  on  the 
road-side  in  pos- 
session of  the 
dogs  of  the  town. 
A  resident  of 
Puno,  a  noble 
Scotchman,  took 
what  was  left  of 
it,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  some 
of  his  country- 
men buried  it  on 


the  island  i)i  sixteeji 
feet  of  concrete  ! 

Lake  Titicaca  is 
the  largest  fresh- 
water lake  in  the 
world  at  such  an 
altitude.  It  is  157 
miles  long,  50  miles 
wide  at  its  widest 
part,  and  i, 000ft. 
deep.  The  lake  has 
no  outlet.  Our  stay 
at  Chililaya  was  any- 
thing but  agreeable, 
as  we  had  to  remain 
at  the  "  posta,"  or 
post-house.  Our 
room  was  small, 
having  no  windows 
or  doors.  In  one 
corner  there  was  an 
elevation  made  of 
sun-dried  bricks  — 
like  the  house — 
about  2ft.  high,  4ft.  wide,  and  8ft.  long,  and  on 
this  we  placed  our  bed.  There  was  absolutely 
nothing  to  be  had  in  the  way  of  food  or  drink. 
Fortunately  we  had  prepared  for  this. 

While  at  Chililaya  waiting  for  the  coach  to 
La  Paz,  we  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  miraculous 
shrine  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Copacabana,  which 
is  situated  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  but  a  few 


J-roin  a\ 


VIEW   OF    COPACABANA,    A    GREAT    PILGRIMAGE    PLACE   ON    LAKE    TITICACA. 


{Photo. 


OXK    THOUSAND    MILES   OX    MLI.K-IIACK. 


f^57 


hours'  ride  from  Chililaya.  Copacabana  is  the 
Lourdes  of  South  America  for  the  faithful 
adherents  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
Tradition  says  that  after  the  downfall  of  the 
Inca  religion  the  Virgin  appeared  on  the  slope 
of  the  mountain  near  where  the  church  is 
located,  incarnated  in  a  figure  of  stone  which  is 
preserved  in  the  church  at  the  present  day.  To 
this  image  miraculous  powers  are  ascribed.  The 
devout  Indian  seeks  relief  here  from  any  illness 
or  loss.  Women  pray  to  the  shrine  for  the 
blessings  of  maternity  ;  the  blind,  that  they 
may  see  ;  the  cripples,  to  be  cured  ;  and  the 
rich,  to  be  richer  still.  It  is  the  custom  of 
every  newly-elected  President  of  the  Republic 
to  pay  homage  at  the  feet  of  the  Virgin  for  at 
least  eight  days  before  he  undertakes  his 
arduous  duties. 

A  ride  of  forty-five  miles  in  a  large  Concord 
coach  over  a  level  country  brought  us  to  the 
city  of  La  Paz.  Our  ride  was  an  exciting  one, 
as  part  of  the  way  we  had  unbroken  mules. 
Before  the  mules  were  harnessed  we  were  told 
to  take  our  seats  in  the  coach,  which  we  did. 
The  animals  were  in  a  corral — an  inclosure 
made  of  stones.  In  the  centre  there  was  a 
strong  pole  securely  fastened  in  the  ground. 
The  "  postero,"  or  keeper  of  the  post-house, 
entered  the  place  with  a  strong  lasso  in  his 
hand,  and  everything  belonging  to  the  harness 
was  thrown  into  the  yard.  The  harness,  by 
the  way,  was  old,  patched,  and  spliced  with 
pieces  of  wire  and  rope.  The  first  mule  was 
caught,  and  three  Indians  helped  to  pull 
the  animal  to  the  pole,  where  it  was  securely 
fastened  with  its  nose  tied  to  the  ground.  Its 
eyes  were  bandaged  with  an  old  cloth,  and 
then  without  any  trouble  it  was  harnessed,  and 
afterwards  led  to  the  coach,  still  blindfolded.  In 
a  short  time  all  eight  were  harnessed  and  hitched 
to  the  coach,  with  an  Indian  holding  the  cloth 
of  each  one.  ^Vhen  all  was  ready  the  driver,  a 
native,  mounted  his  seat  and  took  the  reins, 
having  his  foot  on  the  brake.  Instantly,  when 
he  released  the  brake  and  yelled  largo,  meaning 
"release,"  each  Indian  snatched  the  cloth 
from  the  eyes  of  his  mule.  The  noise  of 
the  brake,  the  yells  from  the  driver  urging 
on  the  animals,  made  them  leap  as  though  for 
dear  life.  There  were  mules  to  the  right  of 
us  and  mules  to  the  left  of  us,  swinging  and 
scrambling  from  one  side  to  the  other. 

Sometimes  indeed  all  were  in  one  heap  kick- 
ing and  bucking,  frightened  by  the  clatter  of  the 
chains  dangling  around  their  legs.  Fortunately 
the  ro.id  was  level.  We  made  the  fifteen  miles  to 
the  ne.xt  post-house  in  two  hours.  For  the  rest 
of  the  way  we  travelled  on  a  plateau  which,  ne.xt 
to  Tibet,  is  the  largest  and  highest  in  the  world. 

Vol.  iii.— 83. 


Having  a  fresh  supply  of  tame  mules,  we 
jogged  along  in  a  style  quite  the  reverse  of  what 
wc  had  experienced  a  few  hours  before.  The 
driver  had  provided  himself  with  any  amount  of 
stones  the  size  of  an  egg,  which  he  aimed 
skilfully  at  the  hind  quarters  of  the  leaders. 
However,  the  mules  seemed  to  be  used  to  such 
abuses  ;  at  any  rate  no  epithets  such  as  "  mula 
canalla,"  or  "  mula  caraco,"  which  the  driver 
showered  upon  them  in  profusion,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  stones,  would  move  them  a  bit  the  faster. 

As  the  mules  crawled  along,  the  monotony  of 
the  situation  was  only  relieved  by  the  endearing 
terms  which  the  driver  bestowed  upon  the 
animals.  The  wind  blew  at  almost  a  gale, 
driving  the  sand  of  the  "  pampa  "  or  plain 
into  our  eyes,  causing  intense  pain.  Suddenly 
the  driver  stopped  the  coach  and  alighted 
from  his  seat,  saying  we  were  nearing  the 
city.  He  brought  from  a  box  under  the 
seat  the  sole  of  an  old  shoe,  and  with  ..  few 
tacks  and  the  aid  of  a  stone  picked  up  near  by, 
proceeded  to  attach  the  sole  to  the  brake. 
Several  passengers  had  alighted,  and  we  did 
also.  A  short  walk  then  brought  us  to  the 
brink  of  a  precipice,  i,oooft.  deep,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  lay  the  city  of  La  Paz,  sur- 
rounded by  towering  mountains.  It  is  not  the 
good  fortune  of  many  globe-trotters  to  behold 
such  a  grand  panorama  as  lay  before  us.  There 
spread  the  city  with  its  many  churches,  its 
whitewashed  houses  with  their  red-tiled  roofs, 
its  narrow-  streets  and  scanty  vegetation,  and 
with  the  majestic  snow-clad  Illimani  as  a  back- 
ground to  this  enchanting,  never-to-be-forgotten 
scene. 

A  "  vamos  "  from  our  driver  brought  us  back 
to  our  senses.  We  had  forgotten  the  brake  and 
the  fact  that  our  road  led  down  the  precipitous 
mountain-side.  There  was  no  time  to  consider, 
for  when  we  were  all  comfortably  seated  the 
driver  snapped  the  brake,  which  was  sufficitiit 
to  start  the  mules.  Down  we  went  along  the 
road,  which  was  only  barely  wide  enough  for  oiir 
coach  to  pass,  swinging  and  twisting  over  the 
snake-like  track.  One  half-hour  of  this  mad 
ride  brought  us  safely  into  the  city  of  La  Paz, 
which  is  the  principal  commercial  city  of  the 
Republic  of  Bolivia  and  contains  about  50,000 
inhabitants. 

Every  Sunday  morning  the  Indians  from  the 
surrounding  country  come  to  La  Paz  to  sell 
their  produce.  The  streets  are  fairly  alive  with 
them.  The  goods  are  spread  upon  blankets  on 
the  cobble  stones,  as  seen  in  the  photograph 
on  top  of  next  page,  and  neither  weights  nor 
measures  are  used,  the  beans,  peas,  maize, 
wheat,  barley,  potatoes,  and  other  things  being 
sold  at  five  cents,  or  about  a  penny,  a  heap. 


658 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


EVERY   SUNDAY   THE    INDIANS   COME   TO    l.A    FAZ   TO    SELL   THEIR    PRODUCE 

From  a  Photo. 


In  the  Church  of  Loreto  the  Bolivian  House 
of  Commons  has  assembled  at  times  when  the 
Government  has  found  it  necessary  for  political         on  account  of  the  low  price  of  silver,   it  is  a 


more  agreeable,  and  the  third  day 
quite  a  pleasure.  The  evening  of 
the  second  day  we  reached  Sicasica, 
a  small  mud-built  town  surrounded 
by  silver  mines.  It  was  a  feast  day, 
and  I  watched  with  intense  interest 
some  thirty  Indians,  who  were  beauti- 
fully attired  in  fancy  dress,  and  were 
dancing  to  the  most  doleful  music 
imaginable.  The  costumes  were 
made  of  velvet  of  the  brightest 
hues,  and  embroidered  in  the  most 
elaborate  fashion.  Each  dress,  I 
was  told,  represented  the  savings  of 
eight  years'  hard  labour.  The 
dresses  worn  and  the  dances  in- 
dulged in  are  the  same  as  those 
of  the  feast  days  of  the  Sun  under 
the  Incas.  Some  of  the  dancers 
had  on  a  head-gear  made  of  ostrich 
feathers,  the  size  of  a  waggon-wheel, 
as  seen  in  the  photograph  repro- 
duced. 

Two  days  later  we  made  our  entry 
into  Oruro,   which   is   noted  for  its 
rich  tin  and  silver  mines,  and  at  one  time  could 
boast  of  a  population  of  over  100,000;  but  now, 


reasons  to  remove 
the  seat  of  govern- 
ment from  Sucre. 
The  last  Congress, 
however,  passed  a 
law  making  Sucre  the 
permanent  capital  of 
the  Republic.  Within 
the  walls  of  San 
Loreto  153  ])olitical 
prisoners  were  massa- 
cred on  the  night  of 
October  23rd,  1863, 
by  order  of  Placido 
Yanez,  Commandant 
of  La  Paz. 

On  our  journey 
from  La  Paz  to  Oruro 
I  had  my  first  expe- 
rience of  riding  on 
mule-back.  Our  ride 
for  the  first  day  was 
only  thirty  miles,  but 
never  shall  I  forget 
it.  Though  the  road 
was  level  and  the 
pace  very  slow,  still 
I  suffered  untold 
agony,  being  sore  and 
bruised  the  first  day. 
The  second  day  was 


THIS   CHUKCH     HAS   AT    TIMES    BEEN   THE    BOLIVIAN     HOUSE    OF     COM.M(jNS. 
WITHIN    ITS   WALLS     153     POLITICAL    PRISONERS   WERE    MASSACRED    IN    ONE 

From  a]  night.  \Photo. 


forlorn-looking  place. 
From  Oruro  to 
Cochabamba  (for  my 
special  benefit)  we 
travelled  by  stage 
coach,  as  the  moun- 
tain passes  were  steep 
and  dangerous.  The 
coach  was  nothing 
but  a  covered  ex- 
press waggon,  with 
seats  for  six  pas- 
sengers, and  drawn 
by  eight  shadowy 
mules.  Part  of  the 
way  it  was  very  cold, 
and  with  our  rugs  we 
were  packed  in  so 
tight  that  it  was  a 
case  of  one  move  all 
move.  A  crowd  met 
us  at  one  small 
town,  presenting  the 
"diputado" — a  Con- 
gressman, on  his  way 
to  Sucre  —  with  a 
wreath  of  paper 
flowers  ;  and  a  padre 
invited  us  into  his 
house  for  ?ome  lunch. 
We  were  shown  into 


OXK   THOUSAND    MILES   ON    MULE-BACK. 


659 


a  room  with  adobe  seats  round  the  sides,  and  a 
wooden  table  minus  a  cloth,  in  the  middle  of 
which  was  a  huge  tureen  of  soup.  I  should 
imagine  there  was  a  little  of  everything  in  the 
soup,  and  nearly  half  an  inch  of  grease  on  the 


we  had  to  get  out.  As  the  nearest  house  was 
three  miles  away,  there  was  nothing  for  us  to  do- 
but  walk  that  distance.  The  entire  way  was  in 
a  river-bed,  through  which  a  small  stream  of 
water  wound  its  way  in  and  out,  and  which  we 


HEAD-GEAR    MADE    OF    OSTRICH    FEATHERS,  THE   SIZE  OF  A  WAGGON-W  HEEL. 

From  a\  years  to  be  able  to  buy  these  things. 


THE    INDIANS   WORK  FOR 

\Photo. 


top.  We  made  only  a  short  stay,  and  then  went 
on  to  the  post-house,  where  we  found  our  meal 
waiting  us.  I  can't  say  I  enjoyed  it  much,  but 
the  rest  seemed  to.  So  I  suppose  it  was  very 
good.  We  made  such  good  time — thanks  to 
the  stones  which  the  driver  threw  at  the  mules — 
that  we  passed  through  the  town  where  the 
regular  post-house  was,  and  stopped  at  a  small 
farm-house  several  miles  farther  on.  We  had 
been  in  bed  but  a  short  time  when  I  heard 
vinchucas  flying  around  in  the  room,  and  as 
they  are  a  flat-bodied  creature  that  sucks  the 
blood  from  human  beings  and  animals,  I  put 
my  head  under  the  covers,  and  consequently 
slept  but  little. 

\Ve  were  off  next  morning  at  daybreak,  and 
had  travelled  only  about  two  hours  when  the 
axle-box  of  one  of  the  hind  wheels  broke,  and 


had  to  cross  seven  times.  As  there  was  no 
other  convenience  at  hand  in  the  way  of  a 
bridge,  an  Indian  carried  me  over  on  his  back. 

At  first  I  felt  rather  doubtful,  but  when 
I  saw  him  carry  a  20olb.  woman  across  in  this 
way,  I  ventured  to  trust  myself  also.  My 
husband  had  gone  ahead  to  look  after  a  new 
coach,  and  for  nearly  two  hours  I  was  alone 
with  the  Indian,  but  1  felt  perfectly  safe  with 
him.  The  Bolivian  Indian  is  perhaps  the  most 
docile,  industrious,  and  abused  of  creatures. 
The  next  day  brought  us  a  new  coach  and  new 
nmles  from  Cochabamba,  but  the  new  coach 
being  much  heavier  than  the  other  soon  tired 
out  the  poor  animals,  so  that  when  we  were 
w^ithin  sight  of  the  city  they  absolutely  refused 
to  go  any  farther.  We  were,  therefore,  compelled 
to  wait  until  they  sent  again  for  fresh  mules. 


(To  be  concluded  next  month.) 


The    Bogus   ''Rush''  at    Coolgardie. 

By  John  Marshall  of  Kalgoorlie.     Late  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Westrallan 

Gold-diggers'  Association. 

A    graphic    and    thrilling  story  of   the   most   extraordinary  bogus  gold   "  rush  "  that    ever    took   place 

in  Australia.     Told  by  one  of  the  most   prominent   officials   on   the  Gold   Fields,  and  illustrated  with 

portraits    and   photographs.      A  vivid    picture   of  wild    gold-mining   life. 


^^ 


HE  whole  town  of  Coolgardie  was 
thrilling  with  excitement,  one 
midsummer  morning  in  1895. 
Groups  of  men  were  seen  stand- 
ing under  verandas,  and  even 
out  in  the  broiling  sun,  discussing  the  sensa- 
tional find  of  alluvial  gold  reported  to  have  been 
made  "down  south  someway"  in  that  morning's 
local  paper.  The  edition 
containing  the  news  had 
been  speedily  bought  up, 
and  it  was  a  common  sight 
to  see  a  number  of  excited 
miners  grouped  round  one 
of  their  fellows,  who  would 
be  reading  out  to  them  the 
stirring  news  respecting 
the  great  gold  find.  And 
exciting  the  news  really 
was — sufficiently  so,  at  any 
rate,  to  rouse  the  most 
phlegmatic  and  matter-of- 
fact  people,  let  alone  the 
hundreds  of  daring  and 
resolute  miners,  to  whom 
the  news  of  an  extra- 
ordinary gold  find  was  as 
the  scent  of  battle  to  an 
old  war-horse.  "  We  have 
been  credibly  informed," 
said  the  journal  in  question, 
"  that  a  kerosene  tin  filled 
with  gold  was  brought 
into  town  from  the  new 
*  rush,'  and  everything 
points  to  the  existence  of 
a  new  and  extraordinarily  rich  gold   field." 

The  wildest  rumours  were  afloat  as  to  the 
locality  in  which  the  find  was  situated.  The 
only  thing  that  appeared  to  be  definite  was 
that  it  was  "  somewhere  down  south  " — but  pre- 
cisely where,  no  one  knew.  Parties  were  leaving 
Coolgardie  at  all  hours  of  the  night  and  day, 
some  of  them  well  equipped,  others  with  suffi- 
cient supplies  to  last  only  for  a  few  days.  There 
was  a  wild,  mad  rush   towards  the  vicinity  of 


THIS    IS    THE 

From  a} 


AUTHOR,    MR. 
MCCANN   OW 


Widgemooltha,  which  lay  south  of  Coolgardie. 
But,  despite  the  large  numbers  that  were  hourly 
leaving,  the  crowd  of  miners  in  Coolgardie  grew 
greater  and  greater.  The  reports  were  so  sensa- 
tional that  thousands  of  men  from  the  outlying 
districts  —  Hannans,  ^^'hite  Feather,  Black  Flag, 
Broad  Arrow,  I.O.U.,  Roaring-Gimlet,  Menzies, 
etc. — kept  pouring  into  the  town.    Many  of  them 

were  on  foot  and  carrying 
their  "swags"  and  a  few 
provisions.  Others  might 
be  seen  with  wheel-barrows, 
which  they  trundled  labori- 
ously before  them.  Hun- 
dreds were  in  buggies,  or 
on  horse-back  and  camel- 
back;  and  taken  altogether 
they  were  a  motley  crowd. 
But  the  more  prudent  and 
experienced  among  them 
wanted  to  know  something 
definite  before  they  would 
start  out  on  what  might 
prove  a  wild-goose  chase. 
Chafing  with  delay,  and 
burning  with  excitement 
and  desire  to  reach  the 
great  alluvial  find,  tlie  im- 
patience of  the  crowd  began 
to  manifest  itself  omin- 
ously. Scores  of  men  on 
horse-back  and  camel-back, 
as  well  as  on  bicycles,  were 
scouring  through  the  bush 
in  all  directions  looking  for 
the  new  find,  and  hundreds 
of  men  on  foot  were  following  in  their  tracks  ; 
but  so  far  no  traces  could  be  found  of  the 
new  gold  discovery. 

It  was  stated  by  one  of  the  local  journals  that 
a  man  named  McCann  had  given  the  news 
respecting  the  gold  find,  and  that  he  knew  the 
locality.  Then  came  the  unanimous  roar — 
^Vhere  was  McCann?  A  week  of  this  madden- 
ing excitement  had  passed,  and  the  problem 
appeared   to  be  no  nearer  solution  than   ever. 


JOHN     MARSHALL,    TO   WHOM 
ED   HIS   LIFE.  [Photo. 


THE    BOGUS    "RUSH"    AT    COOLGARDIE. 


66i 


The  excitement  was  rising  dangerously,  and  with 
the  large  number  of  exasperated  miners  swarm- 
ing into  town  serious  trouble  was  anticipated. 
Murmurs  against  the  newspapers  for  publishing 
misleading  intelligence  were  loud  and  deep ; 
and,  in  turn,  McCann  was  made  the  scapegoat 
by  the  newspapers.  No  steps  had  been  taken 
by  a  responsible  person  to  locate  the  alleged 
new  find  up  to  that  time. 

Ho«'a  party  was  formed  for  the  purpose  and 
the  result  achieved  was  written  by  me  at  the 
time  its.  follows  :  I  had  been  attending  at  the 
court-house  as  a  juror,  and  coming  down  Bayley 
Street  about  12  o'clock  I  saw  an  excited  crowd 
of  men  trying  to  force  an  entrance  into  the 
offices  of  the    Miner.       They  were,    however. 


eAYLF.Y   STHF 


.  .     MARSHALL     SAW    THE 

I.NTO    THE   OFFICES   OF   THE    "  M 
From  a  Photo,  by   W.   Roy  Millar,   Kalgoorlie. 


resolutely  kept  back  by  the  members  of  the  staff, 
who  mustered  in  full  force  and  prevented  the 
people  from  gaining  an  entrance.  This  crowd 
had,  I  understood,  gone  the  round  of  the  various 
newspaper  offices  trying  to  get  all  the  available 
information  possible  about  the  alleged  find ;  but 
the  news  chey  had  been  able  to  obtain  was  of  a 
meagre  and  extremely  unsatisfactory  kind.  Now 
it  occurred  to  me  that  this  great  excitement — 
which  had  been  gathering  in  intensity  for  some 
time — was  likely  to  culminate  in  some  serious 
disturbance. 

An  angry  feeling  prevailed  against  the  local 
newspapers — especially  against  the  Golden  Age  ; 
and,  to  a  modified  extent,  against  the  Miner. 
These  journals  had  undoubtedly  published  sen- 
sational reports  (particularly  the  Age).,  without 
taking  precautionary  measures  to  gauge  their 
accuracy.  I  watched  the  crowd  swaying  back- 
wards and  forwards  for  some  time.     I  could  see 


that  the  "  spieling,"  or  rough  fraternity,  which 
at  that  time  was  very  strong  on  the  gold  fields, 
was  largely  represented  in  the  crowd,  and 
trouble  was  sure  to  ensue  unless  some  strong 
measures  were  taken  to  prevent  it.  As  hon. 
secretary  for  the  Diggers'  Association,  I  had 
been  trying  to  devise  some  scheme  to  determine 
the  accuracy  of  the  reports,  as  it  was  quite  pos- 
sible that  many  persons  would  sacrifice  their 
lives— getting  lost  in  the  bush,  and  also  through 
want  of  food — should  the  mad  rush  continue. 

A  number  of  the  baser  fellows,  upon  w'hom 
the  impress  of  villainy,  not  honest  labour,  was 
stamped,  were  roughly  using  a  tall  man,  who 
appeared  to  be  much  agitated,  and  whom  I 
learned  was  none  other  than   McCann    himself, 

who   was    blamed 
for     starting     the 
"rush."     Now,    I 
thought,     is     the 
time  to  act,  if  at 
all.       I    therefore 
raised  my  voice  to 
its  highest   pitch, 
and  cried,  "  Look 
here,  boys  !     You 
know   that   I    am 
John   Marshall, 
Hon.  Secretary  of 
the  Western  Aus- 
tralian    Diggers' 
Association. 
Things  are  getting 
serious  !       Thou- 
sands of  men   are 
rolling  into  town. 
The  reports  pub 
lished     by    the 
newspapers  so  far 
appear    to    have    no    foundation    in    fact,    and 
it    is    time   something    was    done   to   end   this 
maddening    doubt    and     uncertainty.       I     am 
determined  to  take  steps   to  locate  the  alleged 
'  rush,'  and  find  out  whether   McCann's  report 
be  true  or  not.     I  shall,  therefore,  call  a  public 
meeting  on  behalf  of  the  Association  this  after- 
noon at  three  o'clock,  and   the  matter  will  then 
be  fully  discussed.     McCann  will  have  to  speak 
out  and  tell  us  what  he  knows,  when  steps  shall 
be  taken  to  organize  a  party  to  go  out  with  him 
and  settle  whether  the  find  be  a  fraud  or  not.     I 
shall  take  charge  of  McCann  and  see  that  he 
turns  up  with  me  to  the  meeting." 

The  idea  caught  on.  When  I  had  finished 
speaking,  I  was  applauded  enthusiastically,  and 
then  the  crowd  dispersed.  Next,  the  bellman 
went  round  announcing  a  monster  public  meet- 
ing on  the  Reserve.  Long  before  the  time 
appointed  an  immense  crowd  of  miners,  store- 


XHNERS    TKYI.NG   TO    FORCE   AN     ENTRANCE 
NER." 


662 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


His 
were 
with 

ap- 


IMMENSE   CROWD   OF    MINERS,    STOREKEEPEKS,    ETC.,    TURNED    UP   TO   WATCH   THE   PROCEEDINGS. 

From  a  Photo,  by  Joshua  and  Divyer,  Kalgoorlie. 


keepers,  etc.,  had  turned  up  to  watch  the 
proceedings.  Punctually  at  three  o'clock  the 
meeting  commenced,  and  after  a  few  preliminary 
speeches,  McCann  stepped  up  into  the  waggon 
which  served  as  a  rostrum,  to  make  his  state- 
ment. His  appearance  was  the  signal  for  a 
perfect  storm  of  hisses  and  derisive  cheers. 

I  felt  sorry  for  the  man.  There  he  stood — a 
big,  broad-shouldered,  brawny  man,  with  heavy 
dark  moustache,  compressed  lips,  and  pale 
cheeks.  His  manner  was  halting  and  undecided 
— he  had  apparently  been  drinking  heavily — and 
he  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  crowds  of 
angry  miners,  hundreds  of  whom  believed  him 
guilty  of  that  greatest  of  all  crimes,  the  originat- 
ing of  a  bogus  rush  ;  and  these  would  willingly 
have  lent  a  hand  to  "  give  him  a  lift  up,"  had 
a  suitable  rope  and  the  opportunity  been  avail- 
able. Although  he  was  nervous  and  agitated  at 
first,  however,  as  he  warmed  up  to  his  subject 
his  speech  became  less  faltering.  He  briefly 
recounted  what  he  had  actually  said,  and  denied 
his  responsibility  for  bringing  about  the  rush. 
Indeed,  McCann  spoke  with  such  an  air  of 
candour  and  assurance  that  many  in  the  crowd, 
even  acute  men,  thought  he  spoke  the  truth. 

I  could  not  help  admiring  the  man's  pluck  at 
the  time,  and  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
the  whole  story,  as  we  subsequently  learned, 
was  a  tissue  of  lies  from  beginning  to  end.  He 
brazened  the  matter  out  admirably,  but  he  ran  a 


fearful  risk.  He 
actually  volun- 
teered to  lead  a 
party  to  the  place 
where  the  alluvial 
gold  had  been 
obtained  ! 
utterances 
received 
rapturous 
plause,  e'^Decially 
when  he  i  Pclared 
his  willingness  to 
lead  a  party  to 
the  golden  spot. 
Here  he  is  at  last, 
they  thought. 
This  is  the  mary 
who  will  settle 
the  great  question 
for  us  !  There 
were"  o.thers  who 
knew  more  than 
appeared  on  the 
surface;  but  their 
mouths  were 
closed.  ]  t  was 
proposed  and 
carried  that  a  party  of  four  be  sefit  out  in  charge 
of  McCann  to  locate  the  alleged  alluvial  dis- 
covery. Subscription  lists  were  at  once  opened, 
and  in  a  short  time  sufficient  funds  were  raised 
to  send  away  a  party. 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting  McCann  was 
handed  over  to  my  charge,  as  it  was  feared  that 
if  he  got  the  chance  he  would  clear  out.  He 
was  on  my  premises  till  late.  During  the  night 
I  rose  to  see  if  he  were  still  in  the  house,  and 
found,  to  my  horror,  that  he  was  missing.  In 
the  morning,  however,  he  turned  up  all  right, 
looking  miserable  in  the  extreme.  I  tried  to 
"  draw "  him,  and  find  out  what  were  the 
chances  of  success.  I  was  not  at  all  sanguine 
after  what  he  hinted  to  me  at  that  inter- 
view. Two  buggies  w-ere  engaged  in  which  to 
travel  to  the  vicinity  of  the  place  wheie  the  gold 
was  alleged  to  have  been  found.  The  four 
members  of  the  party  who  had  been  chosen  at 
the  public  meeting  were  all  determined  men — 
experienced  bushmen  —  and,  withal,  armed  to 
the  teeth.  Also,  they  were  under  solemn  vows 
to  bring  McCann  back  at  all  hazards,  safe  and 
unharmed  if  possible,  but  dead  or  alive.  The 
party  set  out  the  following  morning  amidst  the 
shouts  and  cheers  of  an  immense  crowd. 

After  the  party  started  I  had  much  misgiving 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  step  I  had  taken.  I 
was  weighed  down  with  a  sense  of  the  responsi- 
bility I  had  incurred.     I  knew  there  were  ten 


THE    BOGUS    "RUSH"    AT    COOLGARDIE. 


663 


chances  to  one  that  if  McCann  could  not  locate 
the  alleged  find  he  would  be  either  shot  or 
hanged  on  the  road,  as  there  were  many 
desperate  characters  who  would  willingly 
undertake  the  job.  During  the  absence  of 
the  party  I  interviewed  the  warden  and  in- 
spector of  police.  The  warden  told  me  that 
n  the  event  of  anything  happening  to  McCann 
w  .  1st  in  the  charge  of  the  party  he  would  hold 
t       latter  responsible  for  his  life.     This  was  not 

ileasant  -assurance  to  receive.  Howeyer,  we 
V  le  in  for  it  now,  and  were  determined  to  see  it 
■tnrough.  A  great  many  alarming  bulletins  were 
now  being  received  from  different  parts  of  the 
field.  One  of  them  reported  that  hundreds  of 
men  were  starving,  and  a  relief  fund  was  started, 
which  happily  was  never  needed.  It  was  all 
owing  to  the  grea  McCann  rush.  Fortunately 
for  all  concerned  considerable  amount  of  rain 
fell  about  this  t.-nc,  and  all  anxiety  on  the  score 
of  men  perishing  from  thirst  was  thereby  allayed. 
An  Intelligence  Department  was  organized,  and 
all  persons  who  came  into  town  and  could  give 
any  news  were  expected  to  call  at  the  secretary's 
office. 

Bulletins  were  posted  up  outside  the  ofifice, 
giving  the  latest  news  from  the  seat  of  operation.s, 
and  for  a  couple  of  weeks  the  place  was  literally 
besieged ;  thousands  of  men  hanging  about, 
many  of  them  frequently  calling  for  the  latest 
intelligence.  When  a  man  on  horse-back  or 
camel-back  rode  up  to  the  secretary's  ofiice,  you 
would  see  the  crowd  quickly  gather  and  wait  till 
the  news  was  posted. 
During  the  whole  time  the 
most  intense  interest  was 
manifested,  and  the  whole 
town  was  in  a  simmer  of 
excitement.  I  dreaded  the 
return  of  McCann  with  the 
search  party,  as  I  feared, 
from  a  hint  he  let  fall  to 
me,  that  his  mission  would 
not  be  a  success ;  and  in 
the  then  temper  of  the 
people  it  would  be  hard  to 
say  what  excesses  might  not 
be  committed. 

We  did  not  know  how 
long  the  party  would  be 
away,  and  did  not  care  to 
keep  up  communication 
with  them  in  case  of  their 
task  proving  fruitless,  when 
it  might  become  a  matter 
of  life  and  death  with 
McCann.  We  trusted  to 
the  four  veterans  we  had 
sent  vdth  him,  all  of  whom 


were  tried  men,  to  evade  the  clutches  of  the 
numerous  parties  known  to  be  lying  in  wait 
for  the  unfortunate  deluder,  should  his  attempt 
to  locate  the  alleged  find  prove  abortive. 

The  police  rendered  us  every  assistance. 
Scouts  were  kept  night  and  day  at  the  main 
approaches  of  the  town  to  give  us  timely  warning 
of  the  return  of  the  party.  The  time  passed 
away  slowly.  I  was  hoping  and  praying  that 
the  party  might  return  on  Sunday,  when  the 
public-houses  would  be  closed,  and  the  danger 
of  having  to  contend  with  drink-inflamed  men 
averted.  About  six  o'clock  on  Sunday  evening 
a  loud,  imperative  knock  was  heard  at  my  front 
door,  and  rushing  out  I  saw  that  the  party  had 
returned.  A  word  was  enough  to  inform  me 
the  search  had  been  unsuccessful,  and,  hurrying 
McCann  into  my  place,  I  rushed  through  the 
back  premises  to  the  police-camp,  which  was 
about  fifty  yards  away.  Soon  the  whole  avail- 
able force  of  police  came  down  to  protect 
McCann  at  my  request. 

In  an  incredibly  short  time  after  the  arrival  of 
the  party  the  street  was  crowded.  It  was  agreed 
that  a  report  should  be  drawn  up,  showing  the 
route  travelled  and  the  results  obtained.  This 
took  nearly  an  hour,  during  which  time  the  ever- 
increasing  crowd  was  growing  impatient,  and 
the  angry  men  indulged  in  knocking  loudly  on 
the  door. 

As  time  passed  the  cries  grew  louder,  and 
threats  were  freely  indulged  in.  I  became 
alarmed  for  the  safety  of  my  place,  as  it  seemed 


U/d 


C5'>'«^-V-»*»^ 


.^^ 


^ 


^f^^/i 


^C?P     ^HC^J     /^^  ^    .^^^  I 


V 


THIS    IS   A    FACSIMILE   OF   ONE  OF    MR.    MARSHALL'S    BULLETINS,   JUST   AS 
DOWN    IN    FAVOUR   OF    LATER    NEWS. 


T    WAS   TORN 


664 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


there  was  every  likelihood  of  its  being  pulled 
down.  Now,  I  had  no  intention,  after  working 
so  hard  as  I  had  done  for  the  public  good,  and 
without  fee  or  reward,  to  be  made  a  martyr  of. 
I  accordingly  curtailed  the  report,  and  sending 
out  a  big  case  into  the  middle  of  the  street  to 
serve  as  a  rostrum,  the  party  suddenly  opened 
the  door  and  filed  out.  McCann  wanted  to 
come  out  with  us  to  face  the  crowd,  and  it  was 
all  we  could  do  to  persuade  him  to  go  to  the 
lock-up  with  the  police  for  protection.     Had  he 


fraternity  sang  out,  "  Marshall's  hiding  McCann  ; 
pull  his  place  down  about  his  ears  !  "  I  could  see 
that  the  fury  of  the  crowd  was  now  rising  to  mad- 
ness, and  that  it  only  required  some  restless, 
daring  spirit  to  lead  it  to  commit  excesses i^f  the 
most  awful  character.  Now  is  the  time,  I  thought, 
to  pour  oil  on  the  troubled  waters  and  calrr' 
the  fury  of  the  multitude,  if  possible,  as  t'^'y 
appear  to  hold  me  responsible  for  haul!  -g 
them  of  their  scapegoat  upon  whom  the)  ^  '^ 
to  wreak  their  vengeance.       I  would  boldly  \c  - 


ANOTHER    PARTY  OF    MINERS   OFF   TO   THE   SUHFOSED    "  MCCANN    FIND. 

Freia  a  Photo,  by  Roy  Millar,  Kalgoorlie. 


not  done  so  he  would,   undoubtedly,  have  been 
torn  to  pieces. 

By  this  time  the  crowd  was  the  largest  I  had 
ever  seen  on  the  gold  fields.  When  the  report, 
drawn  up  and  s"igned  by  the  members  of  the 
party,  was  read  out  showing  that  the  alleged 
great  gold  discovery  was  a  cruel  hoax — that  not 
an  ounce  of  gold  had  actually  been  discovered  ; 
that  thousands  of  men  had  been  fooled,  tens  of 
thousands  of  pounds  spent,  and  the  lives  of 
hundreds  of  men  endangered  through  the  sense- 
less babblings  of  a  drunken  fool,  to  whom 
credence  had-  been  given  and  authority  lent  by 
journalists  who  ought  to  have  known  better,  the 
rage  and  fury  of  the  crowd  knew  no  bounds. 

Then  occurred  a  scene  which  positively  baffles 
description.  The  excitement  which  had  been 
pent  up  for  weeks  burst  forth  into  a  torrent  of 
mingled  howls  of  wrath,  execration,  and 
vengeance.  Cries  of  "Bring  McCann  out!" 
"  String  him  up  :  "  "  Pull  his  liver  out  1  " 
"  Tear  him  limb  from  limb  ! "  were  wildly 
indulged    in.      Then    one   of    the    "spieling" 


the  crowd,  I  decided,  and  appeal  to  the  diggers, 
who  I  knew  were  amenable  to  reason. 

But  what  a  task  !     Never  shall  I  forget  the 
curious   feeling   that   passed    through   me  as  I 
stepped   on    to  the  rude   rostrum    to   face  the 
music   of    that   angry    crowd,    in    whom    that 
latent  feeling   of   devilry,   which   lurks    at    the 
bottom  of  every  man's  nature,  had  now   been 
fully    aroused.       I    waited    until     comparative 
silence  reigned,  and  then,  with   the  feeling    of 
one  who   is  himself  upon    his   trial,    I    briefly 
narrated    the   steps    I    had  taken  to  serve  the 
public  interest,  and  that  at  great  expense  and 
considerable  inconvenience  to  myself.  I  appealed 
to  the  miners  not  to  allow   themselves   to  be 
stirred  up  to  deeds  of  violence   by  the  pimps, 
parasites,    and    "spielers"    who   were    in    the 
crowd.     I  laid  particular  stress  on  the  warden  s 
warning,  given  to  me,  that,  in  the  event  of  any- 
thing  happening   to    McCann,    we,    who    had 
assumed  the  responsibility  of  sending  him  away 
in  charge  of  an  armed  party,    would   be  held 
liable.     I  blamed  the  newspapers  for  publishing 


THE    BOGUS    "RUSH"    AT    COOLGARDHi. 


665 


such  sensational  reports  without  first  taking 
precautionary  measures  to  gauge  their  accuracy  ; 
and  I  also  begged  them  not  to  take  vengeance 
on  a  poor  drunken  fool.  I  wound  up  by  telling 
the  crowd  that  as  I  had  taken  the  initiative  and 
considered  myself  responsible  for  the  whole 
affaii,  I  had  requested  the  police  to  take  charge 
of  McCann,  and  he  was  then  in  the  lock-up  for 
safe  I  eping.  It  was  in  their  own  interests  that 
I  h^'Cicted,  and  I  urged  them  not  to  create  a 
dJiJWTbance. 

The  crowd  was  good  enough  to  accept  my 
statements,  and  would 
have  then  dispersed  had 
not  a  nmn  got  up  and 
harangued  tht-m  and 
awoke  their  fury  against 
one  of  the  leading  news- 
papers. After  he  finished, 
a  rush  was  made  for  the 
ofifice  of  the  journal  in 
question  with  the  object 
of  wrecking  it.  Fortu- 
nately, a  strong  body  of 
police,  headed  by  Warden 
Finneity  and  Inspector 
McKenna,  and  assisted 
by  a  large  number  of  law- 
abiding  citizens,  formed  a 
cordon  round  the  build- 
ing ;  and  beyond  breaking 
the  windows  and  doing  a 
little  damage  to  the  out- 
side of  the  place  nothing 
serious  happened. 

Early  the  following 
morning  McCann  came 
to  bid  me  good-bye,  and 
thanked  me  for  saving 
his  life,  as  he  said  he 
thought  it  was  all  over 
with  him.  One  of  the 
party  told  me  that  when 
they  found  it  impossible  to  locate  the  alleged 
rush,  and  it  was  decided  to  come  back  to  Cool- 
gardie,  McCann  had  repeatedly  requested  a 
revolver  to  blow  out  his  own  brains  with.  He 
had  also  some  narrow  escapes  on  the  road  from 
parties  who  were  desirous  of  "doing"  for  him. 
The  party  who  had  him  in  charge  were  deter- 
mined to  prevent  him  from  committing  suicide, 
as  well  as  to  shield  him  from  the  vengeance  of 
others. 

A  few  days  later  a  large  number  of  men, 
accompanied  by  camels,  "teams,  etc.,  arrived 
from    ^\■idgemooltha,    where    they    had    been 


camped  waiting  for  definite  news.  On  the  back 
of  the  foremost  camel  a  gallows  had  been 
erected,  on  which  a  life-size  effigy  of  McCann 
was  swinging.  As  the  procession  neared  the 
town  it  was  joined  by  a  large  number  of  miners, 
and  as  these  marched  up  Bayley  Street  the  whole 
cortege  presented  quite  a  formidable  appear- 
ance. Slowly  it  moved  up  the  street  till  it 
reached  the  square  in  front  of  the  Post  Ofifice, 
and  faced  the  offending  newspaper  office,  where 
the  windows  had  previously  been  smashed.  A 
bonfire  was  then  lit,  and  the  effigy,  which  was 


I'rpin  a\ 


"on    the    foremost   camel   a    life-size   EFFir.Y  OF    MCCANN    WA-^    S'.VINGING    FROM 


A    GALLOWS. 


\Photo. 


thoroughly  saturated  with  oil,  set  on  fire  amidst 
loud  yells,  shrieks,  curses,  and  cries  of  revenge 
on  McCatui  and  the  offending  journal.  Soon  it 
was  in  a  blaze,  the  assembled  crowd  meanwhile 
whooping  and  yelling  with  delight.  When  the 
effigy  was  nearly  Inirnt  out  a  number  of  willing 
hands  tried  to  hurl  it,  burning  as  it  was,  into 
the  nesvspaper  office  in  order  to  set  it  on  fire. 
Fortunately  for  the  whole  town,  however,  their 
efforts  were  abortive,  owing  to  the  presence  of  a 
large  force  of  police.  The  crowd  then  dispersed, 
and  the  last  act  was  closed  in  the  drama  of  the 
great  "  McCann  rush." 


Odds    and    Ends. 

P.„.og«phs  shoeing  strange  P^^es  of  ,ife   «,d  c„rio„^  '^^ZlZlllfl' Jlil^.  Tnt^Si^iTnt 
from  «"°'-°XTenaMe^\^Tc.''.e"«y"^,o'Jo  his  s,gh,-s.e,„g  by  his  own  fires.de. 

afloat,  she  was  beached 
at  a  very  high  tide, 
and  the  earth^iiUed 
in  around  her,  i  ^that 
she  was  several  )„  'is 
away  from  tiie  \vatei 
but  yet  answered  her 
purpose  just  as  well. 

Women  coal-heavers 
in  Dresden!    Dresden, 
the  gay  Art-capital  of 
Saxony,  with  which  one 
associates    everything 
that   is  dainty  and 
beautiful.     Our  snap- 
shot,   however  (taken 
speciallyfor  TheWide 
World  Magazine,  by 
Max  Baum,  of  Dres- 
den),  represents    a 
street-scene   of  every- 
day occurrence  in  the  Saxon  capital.     The  male 
carman,   whose   task  is   practically   at   an    end 
when   the  coal   has  been   shot  mto   the  road, 
stands   at   the    horses'   heads,  while  the   three 
women    coal  -  heavers   shovel    it   up    into    the 
baskets   which    stand    on    stools    at    a    height 
which  seems  more  convenient  for  loading  than 
fillinc^.      The   woman    standing    on    the    pave- 
ment   has    just    returned    from    one     journey 
and  is   readv   to   exchange   her   empty    basket 


.}\  —  E.\cn   : 
From  a  Photo. 


l)OE> 


H  E    photograph     here     reproduced 
shows   a   row  of   Papuans   engaged 
in  preparing  the  soil  for  a  food  crop. 
This  photograph   cannot  fail  to   be 
interesting  'to    all    classes,    and    to 
farmers  particularly,  since  it  shows  the  method 
of  ploughing  in  vogue  in  New  Guinea.      The 
men  stand  in  a  row,  each  armed  with  two  sharp- 
pointed  sticks.    Then,  at  a  given  signal  from  the 
leader,,  each    man   plunges   his  sticks  into  the 
ground,    and   simultaneously 
the  whole  row   turn  up  one- 
long,  if  somewhat   irregular, 
furrow.    As  this  mode  of  pro- 
cedure goes  on  with  astonish- 
ing  rapidity,    quite    a    large 
tract  of  ground  is  "ploughed '" 
in  a  few  hours.     The  idea  of 
the      thing     is     delightfully 
simple  and  ingenious,  and  is 
evidently  designed  to  throw 
as   little   labour   as   possible 
upon  each  individual. 

The  next  photo,  shows  an 
old  sailing  ship  called  the 
New  Amsterdam,  which  was 
moored  in  the  river  at 
Old  Calabar,  West  Coast  of 
Africa, and  used  for  a  number 
of  years  as  a  hulk  for  trading 
purposes.  Eventually  be- 
coming  too   old  to   be  safe 


W  H  1.  N 


E    l.Jl      lUl 


ULD    AS   A   SHIP   AT   SEA   SHE    BECAME  A   SHOP    ON    SHJKE. 

From  a  Photo. 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


667 


■"WOMEN    COAL-HtAVEK.S    IN    UKtSUEN — UKESUEN,    iHE 

From  a  Photo,  by  Max  Bauiii, 

for  a  full  one.  The  road  contains  very  Eng- 
lish-looking semi-detached  villa.s,  standing  in 
their  own  gardens,  and  having  at  most  two 
flights  of  stairs.  It  is  quite  another  matter 
in  the  city  itself,  however,  where  the  tall  houses 
are  let  in  flats,  and  the  lady  coal-heavers  have 
three,  four,  or  five  flights  to  climb  with  their 
heavy  loads.  The  postman  has  paused  in  the 
gateway,  and  in  his  face  we  read  his  good- 
humoured  surprise  that  anyone  should  take  the 
trouble  to  photograph  such  a  very  ordinary 
scene.  This  Athens  or  Florence  on  the  Elbe 
(for  Dresden  has  been  called  both)  is  a  real 
paradise  to  the  lover  of  the 
Arts,  and  a  city  that  appeals 
very  strongly  to  English- 
men. Yet  as  a  contrast  to 
the  gay,  happy  life,  and  the 
general  atmosphere  of  in- 
tellect and  culture  which 
prevail  ;  to  the  pleasures 
of  the  magnificent  opera 
and  countless  concerts  ;  to 
the  priceless  collections  of 
pictures,  statues,  and  gems 
in  the  many  museums,  we 
have  but  to  turn  to  the 
life  of  the  lower  classes — 
to  whom  the  Saxon  capital 
is  a  stern  Sparta.  The 
women,  who  grow  up 
vigorous,  niuscular,  and 
tough— notice  the  brawny, 
bare  arms  of  the  foremost 
woman  in  the  photograph 
— lead  a  life  of  unceasing 
toil,    shared   only  by  their 


pa  t  i  e  n  t  dogs. 
Woman  and  dog 
trot  along  con- 
tentedly together, 
drawing  a  heavy 
load  in  one  of 
the  little  dog- 
carts—  which  in 
this  case  is  no 
misnomer.  In 
the  parks  again 
it  is  woman  who 
is  the  gardener. 
She  digs,  plants, 
and  prunes  the 
trees  ;  she  trun- 
dles the  heavy 
wheel  barrow  ; 
and  yet  her  hus- 
band and  family 
are  not  neglected. 
In  Dresden  the 
much  discussed  question,  "Should  women  work?" 
has  evidently  been  solved  in  the  affirmative. 

One  of  the  most  meritorious  of  the  many 
reforms  for  which  the  British  raj  in  India  is 
responsible  is  the  abolition  of  sutfee  —  the 
detestable  custom  which  decreed  that  when  a 
man  died  his  whole  household,  even  to  the 
domestic  animals,  should  be  burnt  alive  on  the 
funeral  pyre.  In  the  accompanying  photo,  we 
see  a  collection  of  sutke  stones  in  Mandi,  a 
small  native  hill  State  some  eighty  miles  from 
Simla.  'J'hese  stones  are  unique  in  their 
grim    significance ;  each    large   one    stands    for 


CAY   AKT-CAIII  Al.   ub    b.WuNV. 

Dresden. 


W-^,^ 


/:^ 


[/'.'•.'.v.  ^ 


668 


THE    WIDE    WORED    MAGAZINE. 


a  Rajah,  and  eacii  small  one  for  a  woman 
or  baby  of  the  Royal  house.  The  large 
figure  at  the  top  of  each  stone  is  intended 
lor  a  portrait  of  the  deceased  monarch,  and 
below  are  the  effigies  of  all  the  hni)lcss  people 
and  animals  who 
suffered  suitce  a:  ' 
that  particular 
funeral  — ^*t  h  e 
monarch's  wives, 
umbrella  bearers, 
horses,  elephants, 
etc.  On  one  stone 
in  the  background 
no  less  than  sixty- 
four  figures  may 
be  counted  —  a 
truly  a  p  p  a  1 1  i  n  g 
holocaust  ;  while 
the  large  one  on 
the  left  in  the 
foreground  bears 
twenty-six.  These 
weather-beaten 
stones,  with  their 
terrible  records  of 
wholesale  murder, 
bear    silent,     but 

none  the  less  convincing,  testimony  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  authorities  in  ruthlessly  stamp- 
ing out  the  awful  practice  of  suttee  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  India.  The  stones 
stand  beside  a  river,  every  fish  in  which  is  held 
sacred  on  the  off  chance  that  one  or  other  may 
contain  the  soul  of  a  departed  Rajah  ! 

Here  is  a  section  of  a  Californian   big  tree 
which  has  been  nietamorphosed  into  a  very  cosy 


the  relative  sizes  of  the  man  and  the  tree  wilM 
give  the  reader  a  very  good  idea  of  the  immense 
girth  of  the  trunk. 

A  curious  old  custom  is  observed  in  Florence- 
on    Ascension   Day  which  affords  the  greatest 

amusement  "nd 
I  delight  to  the- 
,  .  children.  ,.Fron> 
early  dawn  -/owds- 
of  the  little  ones, 
wend  their  \vS>  t* 
the  beautiful  Gelcl.i 
surrounding  t>e 
city,  their  object, 
being  to  hunt  in 
the  grass  iov griiH, 
or  crickets,  which 
are  put  into  tiny, 
prettily  -  painted 
cages,  such  as  we- 
see  in  the  hands 
of  the  little  people 
in  our  photo- 
graphs.  The  poor 
captive,  fed  ovt 
lettuce  leaves, 
sadly  bemoans  his 
lot  in  a  sorrowful 
chirp  for  ten  days,  when  he  is  generally  set  free 
— if  a  worse  fate  has  not  previously  befallen  him 
at  the  hands  of  his  somewhat  thoughtless  young: 
captors.  But  the  cages  are  kept  year  by  year 
until  the  little  collector  has  grown  up,  when  they^ 
become  to  him — or  her— a  fond  recollection  of 
the  happy  hours  oi  gril/i  hunts  in  childhood. 

If  even   readers  of  The  Wide  \\'oRLr)  have 
ever  beheld  a  more  astounding  photograph  than. 


Illl-t    HAS    BEEN    TLK.NEO     I.NIU     A.N    AIKV 

From  a  Photo. 


jO.M.MtK-HULSl: 


I  J.OULN  1  l:.L    1.111LUK1'.S     Luutvi.Si,    ; 
From  a\  ASCENSION   DAY. 


[P/ioto. 


summer-house.  It  stands  in  the  grounds  of  the 
U.S.  Agricultural -p.epartment  at  Washington, 
D.C.  On  the  other  side  of  the  tree  is  the 
door,  and  a  flight  of  steps  leads  to  the  upper 
rooni,  with  its  tiny  windows.     A   comparison  of 


•-   1  HE   CUICKETS   ARE    PUT    INFO   TINY    1-Al.NTEU   CACiES 
From  a]  AND    KEPT    FOR   TEN    DAYS."  [F/toio. 

the  next  full-page  illustration  we  should  like  to 
inspect  it  at  once.  Truly  it  is  a  photo,  to  be 
handed  round  to  one's  friends  and  relatives. 
It  shows  a  remarkable  "  run  "  of  fish  in  Kelsey 
Creek,  Lake  County,  California.    Only  America, 


ODDS    AND    ENDS. 


669 


? 


-  •  7.'  ■** 


,4 


670 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


so  prodigal  in  natural  wonders,  could  show  such 
an  extraordinary  sight.  Kelsey  Creek  is  a  tribu- 
tary of  Clear  Lake,  a  body  of  fresh  water  about 
twenty-five  miles  long  and  eight  wide,  in  Lake, 
one  of  the  northern  counties  of  California. 
Fish  run  up  the  creek  from  the  lake  in  enor- 
mous quantities  to  spawn  ;  and  when  the  May 
rains  are  sufficient  to  raise  the  waters  they  get 
back  safely  to  the  lake  again.  But  it  sometimes 
happens — as  in  the  present  instance — that  the 
rains  fail,  and  the  waters  run  down,  forming 
gravel  beds,  through  which  the  water  per- 
colates, leaving   the   creek   almost   dry.       Last 


FrODl  a\        A  LISl!.\!;l.N   sack  llUKULE-KACt:  AT  LUXOR — IT  WAS  GOT  Ul'  liV  ANGLO-AMERICAN  RESIDENTS.        \l'llOto 


up  in  countless  millions  -j//.  deep  Ly  actual 
uieasuranent — and  covered  several  acres.  The 
extraordinary  sight  attracted  vast  crowds  of  people 
from  all  parts  :  and  the  neighbouring  farmers 
carted  home  waggon-loads  of  the  queer  catch 
and  fed  their  hogs  on  them.  The  ''hitch,"  by 
the  way,  are  about  the  size  and  colour  of  herrings, 
and  range  from  loin.  to  i2in.  in  length.'"  The 
photograph  is  by  Mr.  O.  E.  Meddaugh,  a  -'rug- 
gist,  of  Lakeport,  the  capital  of  Lake  County. 

In  this  photograph  is  seen  a  number  of  the 
Bisharin  Arabs  competing  in  a  race  especially- 
set  apart  for  them.     The  interesting  evisnt  was 

down  in  t'ui,' 
program  me 
as  the  "  Bish- 
arin Hurdle 
Race."  The 
meji  were, 
however,  put 
into  sack  s 
first,  and  then 
started  off. 
The  sports 
took  place  in 
a  field  a  mile 
outside 
Luxor,  up  the 
Nile,    on   the 


season,  after  the  fish  had  been  going  up 
in  vast  shoals  for  some  time,  a  few  hot 
days  came,  and  the  water  near  the  mouth  of  the 
creek  drying  up  rapidly,  the  fish  were  left 
stranded  in  countless  millions,  forming  a  veritable 
"river"  of  almost  solid  fish  without  any  water! 
What  would  the  British  papers  say  if  a  mere 
narrative  of  this  were  cabled  over  unsupported 
by  this  amazing  photograph  ?  The  fish  is  known 
as  the  "  hitch,"  or  "  forked  tail";  or 
by  the  local  name  of  "  chipall." 
It  resembles  smelt  in  size  and 
colour,  though  it  is  of  no  special 
value  except  as  food  for  better  kinds 
©f  fish,  such  as  bass  and  trout.  .\ 
visitor  at  Highland  Springs,  how- 
ever —  a  summer  resort  in  Lake 
County— has  a  large  ranch,  on  which 
he  employs  many  Indians,  who  are 
very  fond  of  this  fish  :  so  he  had 
several  tons  of  them  dried  and  sent 
wp  to  his  ranch  for  their  use.  It 
has  been  suggested  that  next  year 
the  farmers  should  cut  off  the  return 
of  the  "  hitch  "  to  the  lake,  and  then 
carting  them  off  in  waggons,  use 
them  as  a  fertilizer  on  their  fields. 
An  eye-witness  of  this  amazing  spec- 
tacle writes  :  "The  fish  were  piled 


2nd  I'^ebruary 
last.  It  was  got  up  by  the  Anglo-American 
residents,  chiefly  for  the  fun  -  loving  natives 
themselves.  It  was  well  patronized  by  the 
many  visitors  who  yearly  come  to  Luxor  for  its 
warm  and  beautiful  climate. 

We  usually  associate  emigration  with  the 
crowded  hold  of  a  great  emigrant  steamer,  but  the 
photo,  here  reproduced  shows  us  that  emigration 
on  the  Continent  may  in  some  instances  be  quite 


MANY   ITALIANS 
From  n\ 


EMIGRATE    INTO    FRANCE    IN    THIS   WAV,    LIVING    AND    TRAVELLING 
IN   THE   CARAVAN."  [PhotO. 


ODDS    AND     i:XDS. 


671 


an  idyllic  business — nothing  more  or  less  than  a 
kind  of  gipsy  caravan  arrangement  :  the  "  motive 
power,'  however,  being  out  of  all  proportion  to 
the  size  of  the  travelling  house.  How  the 
microscopic  donkey  seen  in  our  photo,  managed 
to  haul  his  gigantic  load  passes  comprehension, 
but  possibly  the  gentleman  in  the  smock-frock 
lerc  him  a  helping  hand  at  times  by  pushing 
behiod.  Be  that  as  it  may,  a  family  of  Italian 
eiv.igrants  are  here  seen  journeying  from  place 
to  pla':e  in  this  queer  equipage,  halting  every 
now  and  then  for  refreshment,  and  to  allow  the 
poor  little  donkey  a  brief  breathing-space  in 
which  to  graze  and  contemplate  his  enormous 
r'^sponsibilities.  Many  Italians  emigrate  into 
France  in  this  way,  living  and 
travelling  in  the  caravan. 

Next  we  have  a  camel-tight 
at  Kairwan.  The  following 
description  is  supplied  by  an 
€ye-\vitness  :  "  I  have  seen 
strange  combats  between 
animals  in  many  lands,  but 
none  more  remarkable  than 
one  I  chanced  to  light  upon 
in  the  Holy  City  of  Kairwan, 
in  Tunisia.  If  the  Arabs  were 
like  the  Spaniards  and  South 
Americans,  they  would  cer- 
tainly go  in  for  camel-fighting 
as  a  regular  sport.  Even 
cock-fighting  is  not  an  exhi- 
bition of  greater  pugnacity, 
•and  the  trial  of  strength 
between  camels  is  naturally 
on  a  far  larger  scale.  The 
Arabs,  however,  do  not 
approve  of  camel-fighting  : 
firstly,  because  they  are  not 
a  cruel  race,  and  secondly, 
because  the  event  invari- 
ably means  the  loss  of  one 
valuable  animal — if  not  of 
two.  Once  two  camels 
have  begun  to  fight  in 
real  earnest  it  is  impossible 
to  part  them  before  one  at  least  has  been 
killed.  The  cause  is  generally  jealousy  I  But 
though  the  Arabs  do  not  approve  of  the 
fight,  the  sight  is  not  one  to  be  missed,  and 
they  quickly  gather  round  in  great  crowds,  as 
you  see  in  the  snap-shot  reproduced.  The 
camels  begin  by  lowering  their  long  necks,  and 
bending  down  like  bulls  about  to  rush.  Their 
object  is  both  to  bite  and  to  charge.  A 
camel's  bite  is  usually  made  only  with  his  lips, 
but  these  are  of  such  exceeding  strength  that 
they  can  inflict  very  serious  wounds.  The 
important    point    in    a    camel-fight    is    for    one 


beast  to  get  his  antagonist  down,  either  by 
tripping  him,  breaking  his  legs,  or  by  some 
other  judicious  application  of  science.  This 
done,  the  next  thing  is  to  pummel  him  to  death 
with  the  cushion-like  feet,  which  are  like  the 
hardest  boxing-gloves  ever  tolerated  in  a  prize- 
fight. The  owners  of  the  camels  may  be 
discerned  in  the  photograph,  waiting  with  sticks 
in  the  vain  hope  of  separating  the  combatants; 
but  when  once  the  fight  has  regularly  begun, 
it  is  much  too  late  for  any  human  power  to. 
intervene. 

Everyone  has  heard  of  Lourdes,  the  famous 
place  of  pilgrimage  and  more  or  less  miraculous 
cures.      Interesting  indeed   have  been   the  de- 


.\   CAMEL-FIGHT   IN   THE 

From  a\ 


HOLV   CITY   OF    KAIKWA.V,    TU.NISIA — "  EVEN   COCK-FIlJIITI.NG     IS    NOT    AN 
EXHIBITION    OF    GREATER    rUGN.^CITV."  [P/toto. 

scriptions  given  of  the  heavily-laden  "  white 
train"  that  leaves  the  big  Paris  terminus  for  the 
quaint  little  town  in  the  heart  of  the  Pyrenees. 
This  photograph  gives  an  idea  of  the  sad  faces 
one  sees  at  Lourdes.  The  sick  are  laid  out 
thus  in  the  afternoon  to  be  cured  by  the  Holy 
Host  during  the  procession.  The  space  in  front 
of  the  Church  of  the  Rosary  is  kept  free,  and 
the  sick  and  the  general  crowd  form  a  strange 
oblong,  walling  in  this  open  space.  The  priest 
carrying  the  Sacred  Host  walks  slowly  round. 
A  tiny  golden  umbrella  is  held  by  another  priest 
over  his  head.    He  looks  gorgeous  in  his  cloth  ot 


6-j: 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


MCK.    I'll.' iKi..!"^    Al     H^iLKLJb^?^ 


lUt    i.lc_K    AKt    LAIU    (JUT    THUS    IN 
THE    PROCESSION." 


^old.Vestments.  He  paces  slowly  round,  lifting 
lip  the  Host  over  the  sick,  and  priests  and 
crowd  cry  out  incessantly,  and  with  heart- 
touching  pathos:  "Marie,  ayez  pitic  de  nous: 
^eigneur,  guerissez  nos  nia lades."  Last  year, 
during  the  national  pilgrimage,  sixty  sorely- 
stricken  people  are  said  to  have  leaped  up, 
forty  of  which  were  afterwards  proved  to  be 
miraculous  cases.  You  may  call  them  "faith- 
cures,"  or  what  you  like.     But  there  they  are. 

This  wonderful  bore,  or  tidal-wave  (the  French 
people  term  it  "  k  luascaret "),  takes  place  on 
the  Seine,  and  considering  its  wonderful  propor- 
tions, it  is  astonishing  that  this  phenomenon  is 
so  seldom  witnessed  by  English  sightseers. 
Wending  its  way 
up  the  river  from 
Havre,  it  travels 
beyond  Rouen 
before  expend- 
ing its  energy  ; 
but  perhaps  the 
finest  position 
obtainable  for 
viewing  it  is  at 
Caudebec  — 
about  one-third 
the  way  from 
Havre ;  and  the 
time  chosen 
should  be  the 
highest  spring- 
tide    of     the 


Equinox.  The 
thunder  and  com- 
motion  of  the- 
on-coming  waters- 
may  be  heard 
several  minutes- 
before  tlie  great 
wave  itself  a  ni'Pars- 
in  sight,  a'  the 
curve  of  the  rivor,. 
about  a  mile  dis- 
tant; and  a  feeling; 
of  aweandama/ic- 
ment  inspires  the 
onlooker  as  he 
watches  the  huge 
mass  of  water  re- 
lentlessly "gallop- 
ing "'  towards  him. 
Very  soon  it  is 
level  with  and  has 
passed  him,  rush- 
ing along  at  the 
speed  of  a  full- 
trotting  horse,  and 
leaving  a  seething 
and  tumultuous  river  behind,  eighteen  feet  higlier 
than  the  level  in  fi-ont.  On  the  occasion  on 
which  the  writer  witnessed  this  bore,  three  years 
ago,  he  measured  the  distance  from  the  river's 
surface  to  the  top  of  the  quay,  just  before 
the  arrival  of  the  wave,  and  found  it  to  be 
twenty-one  feet.  Persons  of  authority  in  Cau- 
debec stated  that  excursion  steamers  go  down 
the  river  from  Rouen,  oji  purpose  to  meet  the 
zvave,  and  that  the  boats  cut  through  it  and 
mount  to  the  higher  water,  without  mishap. 
The  velocity  of  the  current  on  this  section  of 
the  Seine  is  very  great,  and  the  impact  between 
this  and  the  encroaching  wave  dashes  the  water 
to  a  crreat  height,  with  magnificent  effect. 


THE   AFTERNOON     I    '    lit.    l_LKhD    DLRING 

[Pkoio. 


1  HE   GKEA1     IIDAL    WA\  E    IN    THE   SEINE— 


il'ECIAL    EXCLUSION    STEA.MERS  I.EA\E  ROLEN  ON    HUKl'OSE  TO  MEET  IT- 

Froirt  a  Photo. 


INDEX. 


ADVENTURES  OK  LOUIS  DE  ROUGEMONT,  THE.     (As  Toi.d  bv  iriM-,Eii) 

Illustrations  by  A.  Pearse,  and  from  Ph  tographs. 

ALASKA,  IN  THE  WILDS  OF  

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

ANNOUNCEMENT,  AN   INTERESTING      


3.   "5 

A.  Beverly  Smith.     424 

\\2 


BABOON  HUNT,  OUR 

JUustratTons  from  Photographs. 

BANGKOK,  A  "BANK  HOLIDAY"  IN       

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

BEDOUIN  DRESS,  THROUGH  ITALY  IN 

Illustrations  by  C  J.  -Staniland,  R.I.,  and  from  Phot  graphs. 

BEES,  IN  THE  STRONGHOLD  OF  THE 

Illustrations  from  Draw  ings  and  from  Pliotograp'.s. 

BESIEGED  IN  PARAGU.AY      

Illustrations  by  Xorman  H.  Hardy,  an  J  from  Photographs. 

BOGUS  "RUSH"  AT  COOLGARDIE,  THE 

Illustrations  from  Photographs  and  a  Facsimile. 

BUSHMEN,  CAPTURED  BY 

Illustrations  by  C.  J.  Staniland,  R.t.,  anJ  from  a  Photograph. 


Charles  IVisbey.  155 

Harry  Hillnian.  276 

'' Ibrahim  Epndi:'  649 

Captain  Frank  C.   IVeinyss,  of  the  Catneronians.  420 

...  F.  W.  Giainrt.  498 

John  J/arshall,  of  Kalgoorlie.  660 
D.  H.  Holte.  282 


CANDLE  IN  THE  WINDOW,  THE 

Illustrations  by  Paul  Hardy,  and  from  Photographs. 

CANNIBAL-LAND,  A  NATURALIST  IN     

Illustrations  from  Photographs,  and  Sketches  by  the  .Author. 

CANNIBALS,  CAPTURED  BY 

Illustrations  by  C.  J.  Staniland,  R.I.,  and  from  Photographs. 

CHAMBA  CINDERELLA,  OUR  

Illustrations  by  Paul  Hardy,  and  from  Photographs. 

COLUMBUS  FESTIVAL  IN  B.\RCFLr)NA,  THE... 

I  lustrations  from  Photographs. 

CONGONHAS,  THE  MIRACLE  FAIR  OF 

lUustrali.Mis  frnin  Photographs. 


Mrs.  Fred.  Matiinn  {Miss  Edith  Money).  324 

/v\  //.  Mackellar.  32 

P.  .4.  .mCann.  403 

Mrs.  Fred.  Ma'nrin  and  Miss  E.  11.  I.etvis.  358 

F.   Waters.  366 

//.  Kilbiirn  Scott.  413 


"D.AGO"'       

Illustra  ions  by  Norman  H.  Hardy,  from  Photographs,  and  a  Facsimile 

DESPER.^TE    PLIGHT,  A         

Illustrations  from  Photographs,  and  a  Sketch. 


...  k'yrle  Bellew.       70 
Catl.  II.   V.  Ban  lay,  F.N.C.S.     592 


ECHTERN.-\CH,  TIH:  JUMPING    PROCESSION   AT 

Illustrations  from  Photographs,  and  a  Facsimile. 

ELOPEMENT,  A   TEXAN  

Illustrations  by  Paul  Hardy,  and  from  Photographs. 

ENTOMBED    IN    A    "DRIVE"  

Illustrations  by  N'ormnn  H.  Hardy,  and  from  a  Photograph. 


.Mrs.  Lily  Bridgman.      165 

John  H.  Jones.        24 

...  Louis  .In son.      193 


FALL   OF   THREE   THOUSAND   FEET,  A 

I'lustrations  by  .\    Pearse,  and  from  Phot,  graphs. 


Professo)   Charles  Wolcott.     269 


674 


THE     WIDH    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


FREKZIXG   TO    DKATIl  

Illustrations  by  C.  J.  Stanilanil,  K.I.,  and  from  a  Photograpli. 

FUNFFINGERSI'ITZK,  TIIK    TRAGEDY   OF  THE 

lllustralions  from  Fhctogr.ii)lis. 


Egcrtoii  R.   Young,  of  Toroiifo.     301 
.Mjs.  Norman  Ncntda.      248 


"GODDESS,"  IX    SEARCH    OF    MY 

Illustration-;  from  Photographs  anJ  Drawings. 

GROTTOS   OF   HAN,  THE   GREAT... 

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 


Madame  Cathinca  Ainyrt.     5' 
Williavi  G.  /■itzGer.jhl     ' 


1I(.\1ALA\AS,  STRANGE   SIGHTS    IN    THE        

Illustrations  by  A.  D.  McCormick,  H.  Philip  Co.'nish,  and  from  Photographs. 

HOLY    WEEK    PROCESSION    IN   SEYILLE,  THE         

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

HOME-MADE    BOAT,  ROUND   THE   WORLD    IN    A 

Illustrations  by  W.  B.  WoUen,  R.I.,  and  from  Photographs. 

IIOOK-SWINGIN(]    FESTIYAL   AS    I    SAW    IT,  THE   ... 

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

HYDROPHOBIA,  S.AVED    FROM        

Illustrations  by  Warwick  Goble.  and  from  Photographs. 


Ellis  Griffiths.  3 1 : 
Herbert  Vivian. 

IV.  S.  Gillard.  ^ 

Rev.  [oshiia  Knowles.  585 

E.  H.  Julian.  254 


ICE-C.AYE    OF    DOBSCHAU,    THE    GREAT 
Illustrations  from  Photographs. 


/,.   //.  Eiseninann,  of  Vienna.     525 


"JACKO,"   THE    APE,    MY    FIGHT    WITH 

Illustrations  by  C.  J.  Staniland,  R.I.,  and  from  Photographs 

JINKERS    AND    TINKERING 

Illustrations  from   Photographs. 


.Sam  Bolton.     613 
40 


Ras  de  S.  Ma^nussen 


KHALIFA'S     CLUTCHES,     IN     THE:     ok,     MY     TW 
IN    OMDURMAN  

Illustrations  by  Charles  M.  Sheldon,  and  from  Photographs. 

KHI\A,    MY    CYCLE    RIDE    TO       

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

KIDNAPPING    OF    JOHNNY    CONWAY,    THE  ... 

Illustrations  from   Photographs,  a  Drawing,  and  a  Facsimile. 

KLONDIKE   MISSION,    MY      

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

KOU.MISS    CURE,    THE 

Illustrations  frjni  Photographs. 

KU-CHEN(;,    THE    MARTYRS   OF 

Illustrations  from   Photographs. 

LADY   BULL-FKJHTERS    OF    BARCELONA,    THE 

Illustrations  from   Photogr.iphs. 

LASSO    IS    USED,    HOW   THE  

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

LEECHES,    ATTACKED    BY 

Illustrations  by  Norman   II.   Hardy,  and  from  a   Photograph. 

LEOPARD,    MY    FIRST 

Illustrati  ns  by  th  ■  ,\uthor,  and  from  a  Photograpli. 

LEOPARDS,    MY    BABY 

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

LIFE    IN    AN    ITALIAN    YILL.VGE 

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

LOST    IN    THE    "SEYENTY-MILE "  

Illustrations  by  Norman   H.  Hardy,  and  from  Photographs. 
MADM.ANS  EMBR.VCE,   IN  A 

Illustrations  from  Pbolographs. 

MASAI   .MA.SSACRE,  A 

Illustrations  by  W.  H.  Wollen,  R.I.,  .-»nd  from  Pbotograph.s.' 

MOONGEE,  ON  THE  WAY  TO 

Illustrations  by  Norman  H.  Hardy,  and  from  Photographs. 


ELVE     YEARS'    CAPTIVITY    IN    CHAINS 

Charles  Neufeld.     227,  339,  451,  563 


.  Robert  [..  fefferson,  F.R.G.S.     93,  145 

IV.  H.  Hraincrd.     434 

Mrs.  L.  .4.  Oliver.       43 

Victor  Pilkethley.     293 

ILnry  Mostyn.        75 


Herbert  Vivian.  241 

Hoiuard  Reynolds.  480 

IV.  Hareourt-Bath.  loi 

Walter  H.  Bone.  S3 

R.  H.  .Summers.  133 

Rainald  Wells.  622 

7:    //'.  Hill-son.  531 

Harry  R'emble.  1 74 

Walter  H.  Bone.  181 

M,  -s.  Jack  Bou stead.  388 


INDEX. 


675 


MOSQUITOES,  OVERCOMK  BV 

Illustrations  by  Warwick  (JobU-. 

MULE-BACK,  ONE  THOUSAND  .MILi:>  uN 
Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

MURCIA,  THE  CREAT  "PASSION"  PROCESSION    \T 
Illustrations  from  Phot  graphs. 

MURDER  OF  ISMAIL,  THE 

Illustrations  bv  C.  J.  Stanilancl,  R.  I.,  an  1  from  a  Photograph. 


PAGE 

IV.  M.  Elki)igtou.  171 

Mahcl  Pcujtimau,  M.A.  654 

Herbert  Vh'iau.  491 

Thoiiias  Dickson,  of  Ceylon  309 


NAIA,  THE  WITCH  OE  ROCHEEORT       

llhi-trations  from  Photographs. 

NIAGARA  RAPIDS,   EOR  LIFE  AND  DEATH    IN 

Illustrations  by  Norman  H.  Hardy,  and  from  a  Photograph. 

NIAGARA,  THE  HEROES  OF 

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

NIGHT  TO  RE.ME.MBER,  A     

Illustrations  by  Paul  Hardy,  and  from  Photographs. 


Charles  G^niaiix,  of  Pan's.  643 

Orrin  E.  Dunlap.  305 

Orrin  E.  Dunlaf>.  63 

Mrs.  Fred.  Maiurin.  158 


OCEAN  THE  VOUNG  MAN,  AND  MR.  BOLTER'S  FLANNELS,  THE 

lllustr.itions  by  Paul  Hardy,  ai:d  from  Photographs. 

OCTOPUS,  HELD  BV  AN  

Illustrations  by  Paul  Hardy,  and  from  a  Photograph. 

ODDS  AND  ENDS  

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

OPEN  BOAT,  TWENTY-SEVEN  DAVS  IN  AN 

Illustrations  by  W.  Christian  Symons,  and  from  a  Photograph. 


Mrs.  Fred.  Maturin.     618 

Herbert  Perkins.      606 

106,   218,   331,   442.   555.   666 

Capt.Jas.  Kit  hards.     470,  637 


PEKIN,   .MV  I.Ml'RESSIONS  OF  

Illustrations  from  Photographs 

PERIL  OF  SEAMAN-DIVER  VOUNG,  THE 

Illustrations  from  Diagrams  and  Photographs. 

rONGAU,  THE  FANTASTIC  CARNIVAL  AT 

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

PROFESSOR  AND  THE  BEAR-TRAP,  THE 

Illustrations  by  Chas.  M.  Sheldon,  and  from  Photographs. 

P^GMV  LAND,  THROUGH      

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 


A  If  red  Edmonds.     573 

Major  Charlton  Anne.      137 

Kathleen  .Sihlesinger.     633 

...     O.to  Frank.     485 

..Albert  B.  Lloyd.     55,   185 


REDSKINS,  ON  THE  WARPATH  WITH 

Illustrations  by  .\..  Pe:irsc,  and  from  Photograph?. 

ROOF  OF  THE  WORLD,   MV  ADVENTURES  ON  Tin: 

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 


fames  IV.  .Sehiillz.     626 
A".  P.  Cohbold.     350,  461 


SHARK  HUNT  IN  BRITISH  GUIANA,  A... 

Illustrations  by  W.  S.  .'^tacey,  and  from  a  Photograph. 

SHOOTINC;  THE  REVERSIBLE  FALLS 

lllustr.itions  from  Photographs. 
SHORT  STORIES:— 

A  Si.iP  ON  Snow     .  ...  /■,  b.  Old  field. 

My  First  LEOf.\Ri)  Walter  H.  Pone. 

RoL'ND  TiiK  World   in    ,v    Ho.mk-m.mik  Boat. 

//'.  .V.   a i Hard. 
\\  n  H  Wolves  in  .\  Blizzard    Mrs.  E.  J/owaid. 

OVERCOMK   BY   MoSQUITOES         //'.  M.  Elkint^lon. 
In  a  -Madman's  Embra(  e...  Hanv  A'emble. 

My  Short  Cut  Up  the  Cliffs 

Capt.  B.  de  .Sales  La  Terrierc. 
A  Masai  Massacre  ...        IValter  H.  Bone. 

Freezing  to  Death  ...    Eqcrton  P.   Young. 

For  Life  and  Death  in  Ni.xcara  Rapids 

Orrin  E.  Dunlap. 
The  Mcrdkk  of  Is.maii.    ...        Thomas  Dickson. 


81 
83 

87 

90 
•7' 
174 
■77 

181 

301 
305 

309 


...  ■■•  ...   Chas.  //.  Robinson. 

Frank  P.  Fainveather. 

.\  SiiAKK  HiNi    IN  British  Gtiana 

Chas.  //.  Robinson. 

On  hie  Wav  to  Moon'gee         

Mrs.  Jack  Boustead. 

.\  Splendid  Feat Captain  Cecil Dyce 

Besieged  in  Paraguay     ...       F.    W.   Grauert. 
In  a  South  African  Flood      ...E.J.  Austen. 

How  Wl  Waited  for  Deaih 

Basil  C.  cTEasum. 
Held  kv  an  Octopus       ...        Herbert  Pe? kins. 

Shooting  the  Reversible  Falls        

Frank  K.  Faii~weather. 

Mv  FKiHTWiTH  "Jacko,"  theApe  Sam  Bolton 

The    Ocean,    The    Young    Man,    and    Mr. 

Bolter's  Flannels    ...Mrs.  Fred.  Maturin 


384 
610 

384 
388 

392 

498 
501 
506 

606 
610 

613 
618 


SHORT   CUT   UP  THE   CLIFFS,   MV 

lUuslrations  by  C.  J.  ^taniland,  R.I. 


Capt.  B.  de  Sales  La  Terriere.     177     ^ 


676 


THE    WIDE    WORLD    MAGAZINE. 


SLIP   ON   SNOW,  A         

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

SNAKKS   AND   THEIR   WAYS,  VENOMOUS        

Illustrations  from  Diagrams  and  Photographs. 

SOUTH   AFRICAN   FLOOD,   IN    A 

Illustrations  hy  the  Author. 

SOUTH   SEAS,  CURIOSITIES   OF   THE 

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

SPLENDID    FEAT,  A       

Illustrations. by  Norman  H.  Hardy   and  from  a  PhbtT<grapii. 

TESLIN   TRAIL,   HOW   THE    .\HNERS   CONi^UERED   THE 

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

TOUCH    AND   GO 

Illustrations  hy  Paul  Hardy,  and  from  Photographs. 

TWO    LOVE   AFFAIRS,  AND    HOW   THEV   ENDED    ... 

JUustrations  hy  C.  J.  StaniUind,  R.  I.,  a  d  from  a  Photograp'i. 


UTOPIA,  A  MODERN     

Illustrations  from  Photographs  .aid  lacsimiles. 


I' AGE 

F.  B.  Oldfield.  81 

Claud  E.  Benson.  1 9S 

...  E.J.  Alts/en  501 

Basil  Thomson.      37'j,  509 

Captain  Cecil  Dyce.  392 

Aljrlinter  Lanil>.     476 

. . .  Mrs.  Jack  Boitslead.      548 

...  Kitty  Russell.     5S0 

. . .  Harold  /.  Shepstone .     261 


WAITED    FOR    DEATH,   HOW    WE 

Illustrations  by  Norman  H.  Hardy,  and  from  a  Pnotograph. 

WEDDING    IN   THE   WORLD,  THE   QUAINTEST 

Illustr  t ions  from  Photographs. 

WEST   AFRICAN   SWAMPS,  AMONC;  

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 

WOLVES   IN   A   BLIZZARD,  WITH 

lUu^t  ations  hy  J.  Finnemore,  R.B..\.,  and  from  Photographs. 

WOLVES,  A   TUSSLE   WITH 

Illustrations  by  Paul  Hardy,  and  from  a  Pnotc graph. 

WOLVES   ON   THE   ALTAR,  A    FIGHT   WITH     . 

Illustrations  hy  Chas.  M.  Sheldon,  and  from  a  Photograph. 

WOMEN    NEVER   SPEAK,  WHERE 

Illustrations  from  Photographs. 


...    Basil  C.  d^Eastin/.  506 

/Kathleen  Schlesinf^er.  395 

P.  A.  Me  Can  n.  53S 

Afrs.  E.  Hoivard.  90 

Tom  C.  Newton,  of  Constantinople.  370 

L.  II.  Eisen.'/iann,  of  Frenna.  213 

Mrs.  Herbert  Vivian.  2c6 


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