Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-15
STRANGE RIDE or NOaROWBIE JUKES
[By RuDYAnD K1p1INe.l

TO exist, though he is the only EugllSil
man who has been there. A somewhat
similar institution used to flourish on the
outskirts of Calcutta, and there is a story
that if you go into the heart Of Bikanir
which is in the heart of the Great lndlaI
Desert, you shall come across not village
but town, where the dead who did no
die but may not live have established theil
headquarters.
And, since it is perfectly true that in tht
same desert is wonderful city where al
the rich money-lenders retreat after they
have made their fortunes fortunes so vas
that the owners cannot trust even the
strong hand of the Government to protec
them, but take refuge in the waterless
sands), and drive sumptuous C-sprine
barouches, and buy beautiful girls and
decorate their places with gold and ivory
and Minton tiles and mother-o' pearl, | dc
not see why Juke's tale should not be true
He is a civil engineer, with head for
plans and distances and things of that
kind, and he certainly would not take the
trouble to invent imaginary traps. He
could earn more by doing his legitimate
work. He never varies the tale in the
telling, and grows very hot and indignant
when he thinks of the disrespectful treat
ment he received. He wrote this quite
straightforwardly at first, but he has since
touched it up in places and introduced
Moral Reflections, thus:
MR.. JUKE BEGINS.
In the beginning it all arose from a
slight attack of fever. My work necessi-
tated my being in camp for some months
between Pakpattan and Mubarakpur-a
desolate, sandy stretch of country, as every
one who has had the misfortune 10 go there
may know. My coolies were neither more
nor less exasperating than other gangs, and
my work demanded sufficient attention to
keep me from moping had been inclined
to so unmanlr weakness.
On the 23d of December, 1884, felt a
little feverish. There was a full moon at
the time, and, in consequence, every dog
near my tent was baying it. The brutes
assembled in twos and threes and drove me
frantic. A few days previously l had shot
one lou1-mouthed singer and suspended
his carcass IN terorem about fifty yards from
nv tent door. But his friends fell upon,
fought and ultimately devoured the body,
and, as it seemed to me, sang their hymns
of thanksgiving afterward with renewed
energy
The ight-headedness which accompanies
fever acts differently upon different men.
My irritation gave way after a short time
1o4o -Vo 1t
huge black and white beast who had been
foremost in song and first in flight through
out the evening. Thanks to giddy head
l had already missed him twice with both
barrels of my shotgun, when it struck me
that the best plan would be to ride him
down in the open and finish him off with
a hog spear. This, of course, was merely
the emi-delirious notion of fever patient,
but remember that it struck me at the
time as being eminently practical and
feasible.
THE START.
/ therefore ordered my groom to saddle
Pornic and bring him round quietly to the
rear of my tent. When the pony was
ready, stood at his head prepared to
mount and dash out as soon as the dog
should again lift up his voice. Pornic, by
the way, had not been out of his pickets
for a couple of days; the night air was
crisp and chilly, and | was armed with
specially long and sharp pair of persuaders
with which had been rousing a sluggish
cob that afternoon. You will easily be-
lieve, then, that when he was let go he
went quickly.
In one moment, for the brute bolted as
straight as die, the tent was left far be-
hind, and we were flying over the smooth,
sandy soil at racing speed. In another we
had passed the wretched dog, and | had
almost forgotten why it was that | had
taken horse and hog spear.
The delirium of fever and the excite
ment of rapid motion through the air must
have taken away the remnant of my senses.
/ have faint recollection of standing up
in my stirrups and brandishing my hog
spear at the great white moon that looked
down SO calmly on my mad gallop, and OF
shouting challenges to the camel thorn
bushes as they whizzed past. Once or
twice, believe, swayed forward on Por-
MICS neck, and literally hung on by my
spurs, as the marks next morning showed.
The wretched beast went forward like
thing possessed over what seemed to be a
limitless expanse of moonlit sand. Next,
remember, the ground rose suddenly in
front of US, and as we topped the ascent 1
saw the waters of the Sutlej shining like a
silver bar below. Then. Pornic Numbered
heavily on his nose and we rolled together
down some unseen slope.
must have lost consciousness, for when
/ recovered | was lying on my stomach IN
a heap of soft white sand, and the dawn
was beginning to break dimly over the
slope down which | had fallen. As the
light grew stronger ] saw that was at the
bottom of a horseshoe shaped crater OF
sand. opening on one side directly on tc
the shoals Of the Sutlei. Ny fever had
altogether left me, and, with the excep-
ton of slight dizziness in the head,
felt no bad effects from the fall over night
IN THE CRATER.
Pornic. who was standing few yard;
away. was naturally good deal exhausted
but had not hurt himself in the least. His
saddle, fayorite polo one, was much
Knocked about, and had been twisted un
der his belly. 1t took me some time Il
put him to rights, and in the meantime
had ample opportunities of observing th'
spot into which had so foolishly dropped
At the risk of being considered tediou,
/ must describe it at length, inasmuch a
an accurate mental picture of its peculiar
titles will be of material assistance in en-
abling the reader to understand wha
follows.
Imagine, then, as have said before, ;
horseshoe shaped crater of sand will
steeply graded sand walls about thirty fee
high. (The slope, fancy, must hay'
been about sixty-fve degrees.) Thi
crater inelosed level piece of land abou
fifty yards long by thirty at its broades
part, with rude wall in the center.
Round the bottom of the crater, abou
three feet from the level of the groun..
proper, ran a series of eighty-three semi
circular, ovoid, square and multilatera
holes, all about three feet at the mouth
Each hole on inspection showed that i
was carefully shored internally with drift
wood and bamboos, and over the moutl
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