Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-06-11
A NIGHT IN AN INDIAN JUNGLE,

IT was close upon one O'Clock in the
morning, and the moon shone brightly at
times through the tleecy clouds that were
gliding swiftly across the disk, before the
force of the northeast monsoon. One OF
our torch bearers had vanished, and the
other had allowed his torch to go out,
from careessness or fright, but this did
not much signify as there was sufficient
moonlight for the bearers to see the road;
that is to say, if rutty track through
the jungle could with any sense of pro-
priety be termed road. 1t was
beautiful bamboo jungle that
Jack Waldron and | were travelling
through, and for long time | gave my
self up to watching, with much interest,
the graceful waving clumps of that gigan
tic cane, as we passed them slowly, the
bearers stumbling and kicking their way
over rutS and stones with doletul groans,
and grunts full of misery. | thought to
myself what fine place for pea-towl we
must be in; and then, rejecting that pea
fowl and tigers are not uncommonly
found together, | began to wonder if
there were any of the striped gentry
prowling in the forest; for, although the
word jungle is here used in the common
acceptaton of the Indian term, which
embraces everything arborescent, from
the mightiest forests to the most insig
niticant brushwood, 1t was, in fact, a
bamboo forest we were in, with forest
glades to the right and left of the road,
and having canes of extraordinary girth
and loftiness, even for that part OF India
Smoking and looking out Of the paian
Qrin window in the faint hope of dis
covering some wild animal crossing the
glades in the moonlight, | must have al
most unconsciously got a pretty good
idea of the road, for l remembered it
generally distinct enough atterward, when
hau to travel it under less comfortable
circumstances But there were no wild
ANIMALS to be seen of the kind | was
looking for. Jackals raised their un-
earthly cry now and then in the recesses
OF the Jungle, and the great horned owl
fitted across the road from one patch OF
bamboo to another; but of tigers there
was no sign, which was just as well, con-
sidering that we had left our guns and
rifles at kindly, waiting our return, and
had not even pistol between US. 1t was
hard to get any information out of the
bearers regarding the character of the
road, for they spoke Telegu, and had but
very slight acquaintance with Hlndus-
tani; and, besides this, they were sulky,
so tina, having tried to get some informa-
ton from them in vain gave it up as a
bad job, and throwing away the end OF
my cheroot composed myself to sleep.
| don't think | could have slept more
than half an hour when | was awakened,
this time by the renewed clamor OF the
bearers, who, crowdipg about the door OF
my palanquin, which they had allowed to
fall roughly on the ground, chartered all
together with surprising volubility and
excitement. At first halfasleep as | was,
l could not make out what they wanted ;
but when | gathered that my friend Wal
dron was seized with the cholera | was
alarmed indeed and crawled out of the
palanquin as speedily as | could to render
him assistance. The bearers were all as
frightened and helpless as a flock of sheep
with a wolf in their midst, and | could
see that they were perfectly panc-strlck'
en- On reaching WadrOn's paanquin
which was a hundred Yards or so ahead
OF mine, | found my friend, as | thought,
very i'll, and, as he family assured me
suffering from all the symptoms OF chol.
era. What was to be done? We had nc
medicine but quinine, and it was vain to
look for any. Fortunately, we had
brandy, without which an Indian traveller
rarely journeys, and of this | made Wal
dron swallow p considerable quantity
neat, Then | ran back to call the bearers
20 proceed without an instant's delay but
Imagine my dismay when | discovered
that they had one and all disappeared.
shouted and called without effect. There
was no answer. | ran back upon oul
road for some distance at my best speed
but could see no one. | shouted again
and again, threatened and entreated by
turns, but only to the trees of the forest
Tor not bearer was TO be seen. At last
was obliged to own 10 myself that We
were deserted, and with no little conster