Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1872-09-27
The Car of Juggernaut.

THE Indian correspondent of the Lon
don Times wrote letter in relation to the
Juggernaut festival, in which he said he
thought the cruel ceremonies hitherto in
vogue were no longer common. In reply
to this, another gentleman writes
"Your Calcutta correspondent has
taken the Juggernaut festival under his
protection, and seems nervously anxious
to prove that self-immolation has ceased.
Nevertheless he has often to report ia
tai accidents" where men are crushed
under the wheels of the car, and not kill
ed or injured in any other way. Having
had very long experience as manager
of zemindaries (estates) in Lower Bengal,
a position which brought me into most in.
innate connection with the people, have
no hesitation in saying that the accident
reported in the Times of the 18th of Au
gust, as having occurred at Serampore,
was a case of self-immolatiOn. A case
that occurred in my own experience will
illustrate the grounds of my belief.
Some twenty-five years ago [ was man
aging a large estate in Lower Bengal, be-
longing to a Hindoo gentleman. In
the chief village of this estate there
was Ruth, or Juggernaut car, which,
having become dilapidated, underwent
rather extensive repairs. These cars
are supported on q number OF
wheels which are invisible externally.
On the day when the Ruth ought to have
proceeded on its journey, the huge multi
tude found it impossible to move it. AS
[ afterwards learnt, the priests had lock
ed the wheels. For two or three days the
people tried to move it, but in vain. AT
last it began to be whispered that hu.
man sacrifice was required to inaugurate
the newly-repaired car A day or two
more, and was told that the victim had
been procured in the person of a leper,
who had sold himself for the sum of e6.
was also told that the Darogah, OF Super
intendent of Police, had been handsomely
bribed, and that he would report to the
Magistrate accidental DEATH I did not
believe all this, especially as my infor.
mant was a woman, who, thought,
might have been imposed upon by what
butyin two or three days more | was in
formed that, to the Joy of the whole cOun
try round about, the Ruth had at last
moved, but that, unfortunately, a poor
leper falling under the wheels had been
cru shed to death 1t was, however
purely accidental occurrence, for after
a most searching inquiry, the Darogah
had so reported. After this experience,
made practice of watching the Ruths,
of which there are great many in Ben
gal, and invariably found when one re-
fused to be dragged by the people, as the
smaller car of your correspondent did,
| its first motion was attended with a seri-
Gus if not fatal accident. Your CORE
spondent thinks the fact that the man
whose thigh was crushed drank gin proves
that he could not be a fit subject for a
Hindoo sacrifice 1t appears he does not
know that all those who swing at the
Churruck Poojah are persons of the very
lowest caste, or, rather, no caste at al,
who are paid by wealthy Hindoos to do
this penance in their stead. The fact of
the man being an outcast is very strong
proof that he was purchased victim, and
this is still further confirmed by the ma
tive-like attempt to divert the suspicious
of the Sahibs by the loudly-expressed
blame of the god for Furnishing him. An
other suspicious circumstance is that the
police had got themselves and the station
magistrates away from the smaller car,
so that there might be no interruption to
what was about to happen"