The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-10-03

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formed sort of veneering upon their
bodies, and others again were streaked
with paint as though an artist had been
trying his brushes upon them. Some
We're creeping upon hands and knees,
and bowling at each advance, in accord
ance with their vows, and others were
rolling over and over in the dust with q
result the reverse of solemn to an inf
del spectator. We met one fellow who
held his right arm in the air; he had
held it thus for years, until it had be-
come immovable and useless; the fin
ger-nails were grown to the length of
several inches, and one of them had
penetrated the palm of the hand and
actually protruded on the back. Some
of the fakirs had their breasts torn and
bleeding, and others had lacerated
various parts of their bodies so that the
blood was flowing in visible streams.
All were clad in the scantiest manner
possible, and evidently their tailors'
bills were of little moment. A gift of
a comb to one of these holy men
would have been quite superfluOus, es
their hair was matted in a thick mass
no more to be penetrated by the ordi-
nary accessory of the toilette than is
the side of an ironclad by a nursery
toy gun.
Formerly the fakirs INDUCED in a
| variety of tortures, such as swinging
upon hooks fastened in their backs, sit
ting upon iron spikes, passing knives
through their cheeks, and publicly cut
ting off their fingers and toes. They
never appeared to suffer pain, but, ON
the contrary, assumed expressions of
| delight which won the admiration of
the spectators, and confirmed them in
the belief that the fakirs were possessed
| of supernatural power. Of late years
the authorities have interfered with
these pastimes, rs they have with the
suttee, or widow-burning. so that the
Hindoo festivals are shorn of many at
fractions to lovers of the horrible. But
in spite of the Government prohibition
there is enough remaining to satisfy
any ordinary craving, if l may Judge
by the sights of our day at Allahabad.
About mile from the meeting of the
| waters we were compelled to leave our
carriage, which could not proceed
further through fear of accidents in the
crowd. Our guide hailed the driver of
an elephant, and in less than a minute
We had concluded a bargain, and were
seated upon the back of the beast. To
be exact, l should hardly say as above,
as the animal was equipped with a sad.
die like two sofas of small size placed
back to back, and hanging along his
sides. l took one of these, and my
friend the other, while our guide was
mounted on the elephants rump. He
knelt at the command of his driver, and
we climbed to our places by means Of
small ladder. which was afterward car
ried in front by an attendant, and made
a very convenient battering-ram for
opening passage through the crowd.
The driver sat on the neck of the ele-
plant, and secured obedience by means
of huge spike of iron, with which he
proddcd the animals skull. At first
there was disagreeable rocking that
induced us to cling to our seat with
both hands; by degrees it ceased, or
seemed to cease, and as we gained con-
fidence we began to enjoy the ride.
From our elevated position we could
survey the assemblage at our ease, and
were quite safe from elbowing and con-
slant contact with beggars and other
disagreeable persons. For half doz-
en- reasons at least we were thankful
that we had found and engaged this
novel conveyance.
In solemn and stately way, as though
we were Princes of the blood royal, we
mounted a sandy ridge that overlooks
the bed of the Gauges. and surveyed
the scene. An area mile long by half
| a mile in width was covered with peO-
ple-covered so thickly as to appear
paved with them. Rarely have looked
upon picture more bizarre than this;
thousands upon thousands of people
covering the plain, many shouting and
gesticulating in prayer or praise, and
nearly all moving slowly in one direc-
ton or another. Near the river there
were rows of tents and booths, some the
abodes of priests or fakirs, others serv-
ing as resting-places for the weary, and
others again devoted to the sale of food
or other merchandise to meet the wants
of the faithful. Flags with curious
devices floated over many of these tents,
and gave semi-military aspect to the
scene; our guide explained that the
flags indicated in some instances the
different Provinces of India, and in
others the worship of particular gods.
We advanced through the crowd, which
was opened by the shouts and the lad
der Of our attendant, passing rows
upon rows Of fakirs and other beggars
seated or squatted by the wayside. A
cloth was spread before each for the
reception of the gifts of the benevolent,
and observed that in nearly every in
stance the gifts consisted of few kerr
nels Of rice or other grain. Rarely Was
money given by anybody; few copper
coins were lying before one of the beg
gars, and our guide explained that
these were skillful bats placed there
by the mendicant himself in the hope
that strangers might add to the num-
Der. None of the beggars were pleas
ing to look upon, and as a glance in
their direction was sure to raise q de-
mand for charity, we soon learned to
turn our gaze elsewhere. The crowd
in general came and went; poverty
aboupded, but was not universal, a
some Of the pilgrims were evidently
persons Of wealth, and had q consider.
able following OF attendants. We met
or passed several palankeens, and
sometimes the professions were quite
extensive. A wealthy rajah was poirt
ed out tc Us; his palankeen and its sur
roundings were gorgeous in the ex
treme, and his attendants were not less
than a hundred in number. He had
been to battle in the sacred waters, and
was returning homeward with the con
seriousness of having performed pioua
act which would receive its sure re.
; ward.
As we approached the junction Of
} the rivers the assemblage increased In
density, 80 that our equipage was
) forced to move slowly. A lot Of rata