Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-07-10
THE SAVAGES OF INDIA,

/ NE OA v AUD VI INDlA.
Go where you will in India, you win
find danger lurking about your hammock
or DIGGING your footsteps. You are not
much safer in large city than in the
country. l was stabbed by a would be
robber almost in the heart of Bombay,
and poisonous spider bit me in one of
the parks of Calcutta and caused me a
months visit to the hospital. Before the
British advent India must have been what
might be termed u paradise-hell. 1t
swarmed with Thugs, dangerous fanatics.
and real lunatics, and no spot was safe
from savage beasts and dangerous rep
tiles Forty years Of progress and civil
ization, with the expenditure of millions
upon millions of dollars in the shape of
rewards have only made certain neigh
borhoods comparatively safe. The Thug
travels no more in bands, and the dan.
gerous fanatic is confined in asylums, but
the tiger, the hyena, the serpent, the bear,
the crocodile, tarantula, and score of
other dangers menace human life every
hour in the day, and will continue to do
SO for centuries to come.
A friend of mine had a summer resi-
dence about nine miles from Lucknow.
and | accepted his invitation to spend a
few weeks with him. He had about 300
acres of land, a large part of which was
forest and thicket, with creek running
across portion of the estate. The idea
in India is to keep cool. Therefore,
every house is built with this idea, being
provided with as many windows as posi-
bic, and always surrounded with
verandas. / had never seen a cobra, ex-
cept in geological gardens, when | went
out there, but was fated to have an adj
venture almost as soon as | arrived. My
bedroom was at a corner of the second
story of the bungalow, and contained
three windows. These were screened
with wire and the sashes taken out. A
hammock was slung to hooksin the cell
ing, and the room was fairly comfortable
even on a very hot night.
On the third morning, just at day break,
/ was aroused from sleep by noise on
the veranda which ran along under my
bedroom windows. My hammock was
within two feet of one of the windows,
and of course the wire cloth admitted
every sound from the outside. As the
grounds were guarded by two chowka-
dars, or watchmen, had no fear of
thieves, and therefore had no arms with
In reach / lay facing the window, with
my face not over thirty inches from the
screen, and was wondering what had
caused the noise, when a big cobra sud-
denly lifted his head against the outside
of the wire, and his eyes looked into
mine. For half minute it seemed as If
my heart did not beat at all. Had the
window been unguarded / could not have
raised a finger to ward off the attack.
The serpent Kissed at me and moved its
hideous head all over the screen, looking
for some break in its surface. 1t bulged
in as it pressed on it. and. knowing how
slovenly work is done by Indian servants.
/ expected it to give way at any instant.
After a couple of minutes the snake went
to the second window, and then to the
third, searching every square inch in
hopes to find way into the room.
After he left the window directly in
front of me I might have dropped out OF
the hammock and got my revolver from
the bureau, but it occurred to me that il
provoked the cobra he would be pretty
sure to make a more vigorous attack.
therefore lay perfectly quiet, closed ny
eyes so that l could just peep at him, and
after going over all the windows second
and third time / heard him crawling
around the veranda. l then dropped out,
opened the door and called to my friend,
and he seized double barrelled shotgun
and passed through the halls until he
found the serpent on the other side of the
house. He had given up seeking an en-
trance by the windows and was mounting
to the roof when charge of buckshoi
fred at close range through the screer
cut him almost in two. No one was al
all excited; the incident seemed to have
no more weight than the visit of bat
A week later two of the servants ac
companied me on a hunt around the
neighborhood after birds. Neither was
armed, and both were barefooted, bare
legged and barearmed. In the marsh,
| ground along the creek shot seyera
birds of the snipe species, and we wer'
| about to cross it when one of the natives
who was in the lead and following path
halted, turned back. and quietly said:
'sWe had better 60 another way
| sahib.n Ht itA
s'But why7" se
because the crocodile might do u
| harm.n
advanced to the spot where he hat
halted, and. at once made out hug
saurian lying in the creek, right acros
i the path, and evidently waiting for som
one to cross. This was not over quartz
Of a mile from the bungalow, and tn
saurian had evidently come down tn
creek from a small lake about two mile
away. made ready to fire at him, bu
one Of the natives touched my arm AM
respectfully said:
ssPlease don't, sahib. If you ange
him he will bring others to make u
! frnl1h1a -