Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-01-13

| sun shone brightly, and guided by It's art
he struck westward by what seemed an
old and forgotten pata that WAS nearly
hidden now by tall coarse grass and long
Towering trailers.
The inhabitants-for the district was
inhabited, from many indications that
Lonsdsle saw-must have fed, inspired
by false terror of the British troops or
one hand and real terror Of the blood
thirsty D1cOits on the other; and as 8
proof of their recent presence, after pro
ceeding about two miles he came upon g
Zazsi, or rest-house, Of comparatively re-
cent construction-sn edifce only about
four feet in height, built of teak wood
with broad roof projecting all round i,
and Lopsdale, already somewhat weary
with g march that was toilsome, devious
and over very rough ground, in district
strange and trackless, without guide OF
! certainty, among rocks, old water-cuts
and places encountered by the nutmeg
spikenard and bamboo, all growing wild
together, crept therein, and was fsin &c
pass the second night of his freedom
assured that in 1t he would be safe, al
lesst, from any OF the four-footed deni
zens of the place.
For the second time, also, as he had to
be careful of his little store, he examined
it, and partook Of what remained of the
contents OF sabeit given him by the Rs
hoan, consisting of piece of boiled
goats flesh, with a few cherpathis Of
dough, toasted before fire, and mouth
full of shumshei from a little china Fl ssk
the native stimulant, which tastes
strongly of cocoanut Oil and has . greater
odour OF it.
When this food and refreshment was
done there would be but slender chance
OF his procuring more, unless he reached
our gunboats or British shelter of some
kind on the river or the land.
The next morning WAS somewhat ad-
vanced-the hours he knew not, having
| long since been deprived Of his watch
when he again set forth, vaguely but reso-
| lutely, westward; but he had not pro-
coed far from the sequestered zsz,l when
he heard sounds-voices-in his resr,
and while shrinking down among some
| tall grass he could see about fifteen or
twenty armed Dacoits, among them the
gigantic fellow with the tatooed skin and
white quilted frock, coming leisurely
along in Indian file by the kind of path
that led TO the rest-house, into which,
| with the hope of plumber, they all went
on their lands and knees; and then he
stole swiftly away-awsy through the
long grass IS fast as it's tantalizing OBJ
structiveness permitted and his limbs
| could carry him.
To his eyes there seemed something
almost diabolical in the aspect of the tall
Dacoit leader, as he had never before
seen tattooing, which the Burmese gen
orally use about the thighs alone, accord
ing to some travellers; but this man had
it over the most of his face and neck, in
strange concentric rings OF black snd
blue-now the result of lamp black mixed
with the gall of the mirga fish. But Nicolo
Cont refers to the hideous custom so fsr
back as 1925, when he states that all Bur
mese. "both men and women paynte or
| embroider their skInnes with iron pennies,
putting indellible tincture thereto"
Now the women never do it, and in
complexion many of them are as fair and
delicate SIS Europeans.
Just as Lonsdale had quilted that
tedious and exhausting mode of progress
sion among the tall coarse grass, among
which he saw more than one poisonous
snake in dangerous proximity to him, and
reached an angle in narrow rocky path,
by ascending which he hoped to find a
place Of concealment il necessary, an ex-
ultant shout echoed through the little
valley wherein the ZaZsl stood, and he
knew that therein some traces of his re-
cent repast had been detected by the Da-
colts, who now proceeded to beat the
bush, the grass and everything else, in
evident search for him.
CHAPTER LvI-THE TATTOORD BURMAN.
Now for English pluck, aud the muscu-
lar energy born Of outdoor sports in the
cricket and hunting field, and in handling
the oar and the gun. All were requisite
for Lonsdale now.
Upward and onward he toiled, the path
for beaten path it was he pursued
though narrow and half hidden by wild
vines, laurel bushes and cspsicum plsnte,
leading him higher and higher till the
slope became the side Of q lofty and
rocky hill, and exertion strung every
nerve and fibre, and his breath grew
thick and fast, while his heart beat
fiercely with rage and bitterness but
never with despair Or fear.
So on he toiled, keeping well ahead of
them, their voices, and an occasional
random shot following him, for though
assured of being upon his trail
They were not less than fifteen in num-
Der; his revolver shots were only six, anu
all these, if any, might not be successful.
1t was time Of supreme peril, and he
conceived thst he was now somewhere
within ten miles of the Irswaddy.
A succession OF wild yells that pierced
the welkin suddenly announced that they
had obtained sight Of him, and this added
spurs to his steps.
On one side of the path was now Dor
dered by sheer and terrible precipice,
far down below which he could see
poddy and rice fields, intersected by shin
ing water cuts, with here and there
ruined house, and in some places only
gigantic guinea grass, amid which great
gray boulders lay, and coarse looking elks
were grazing.
On the other side rose wall Of rock,
without Granny or crevice into which he
could creep and. there sell his life as
dearly as possible. In some places these
cliffs were bare, and Redeemed by the
splendour of q cloudless sun; in others
they were shrouded by luxuriant and
leafy screens of wild vine, papan fig trees
colours.
Eight, at least, OF the pursuers were
now upon his track, and more than once
their rife shots, making the rocks re-
echo, were sent after him, but went wide
of the mark, As it was evident that these
Dacoits were unskilled in the use of
modern fire arms and the mode of sight
ing them.