Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1890-07-18
BUTLER PA. FRIDAY, JULY lS. 1890

'In epidernics of the cholera you are
carried to be burnt almost before you are
dead. When you come to the riverside
the cold air, perhaps, makes yoI alive, and
and then If you are only little alive, mud
is put on your nose and mouth ard you
die conelusiyely. If you are rather more
alive, more mud is put; but if you are too
lively they let you 90 and take ron away.
al was too lively, and made protesta-
tion with anger against the indignities that
they endeavored to press upon me. In
those days was Brahmin and proud man.
Now am dead man and eat"-here he
eyed the well gnawed breast bone with
the first sign of emotion that had seen
in him since we met-"crows and other
things. They took me from my sheets
when they saw that l was too lively and
gave me medicines for one week. and /
survived successfully, Then they sent me
by rail from my place to Okara Station,
with a man to take care of me, and at
Okara Station we met two other men and
they conducted we three on camels, in the
night, from 0kara Station to this place,
and they propelled me from the top to the
bottom, and the other two succeeded, and
have been here ever since-two and
half years. Once 1 was Brahmin and
proud man, and now 1 eat crows"
There is no way Of getting outf''
IN one of what kind at all. When /
first came made experiments frequently,
and all the others also, but we have al
ways succumbed to the sand which is pre-
cipitated upon our heads"
''But surely" broke in at this point,
''the river front is open, and it is worth
while lodging the bullets, while at
night"
MAKES HIM LAUGH,
had already matured a rough plan of
escape which natural instinct of selfish
ness forbade me sharing with Gunga Dass.
He, however, OWNED my unspoken
thought almost as soon as it was formed,
and to my intense astonishment gave vent
to long, low chuckle of derision-the
laughter, be it understood, Of a superior or
| at least of an equal.
"You will not'-he had dropped the sir
completely after his opening sentence
"make any escape that way. But you
can try. 1 have tried. Once only"
The sensation of nameless terror and alb
| ject fear which had in vain attempted to
strive against overmastered me completely.
My long fast-it was now close upon ten
o'clock, and 1 had eaten nothing since
tiffin on the previous day-combined with
the violent and unnatural agitation of the
ride had exhausted me, and verify be-
lievc that for few minutes acted as one
mad. I hurled myself against the pitiles:
sand slope. ran round the base of the
crater, blaspheming and praying by turns
crawled out among the sedges of the
river front, only to be driven back each
time in an agony of nervous dread By the
rifle bullets which cut up the sand round
me-for dared not face the death of @
mad dog among that hideous crowd-and
finally fell, spent and raving, at the curl
of the well.
No one had taken the slightest notice o.
an exhibition which makes me blush hotly
even when think oft now.
Two or three men trod on my painting
body as they drew water, but they were
evidently used to this sort of thing, and
had no time to waste upon me. The stu.
alton was humiliating. Gunga Dass, in
deed, when he had banked the embers o.
his fire with sand, was at some pains tc
throw half cupful of fetid water over my
head, an attention for which could have
fallen ON my knees and thanked him, but
he was laughing all the while in the same
mirthless, wheezy key that greeted me OF
my first attempt to force the shoals. And
so, in a semi com atose condition, lay til
noon.
wRETCHED MEAL.
Then, being only man after all, felt
hungry, and intimated as much to Gunga
Dass, whom had begun to regard as my
natural protector. Following the impulse
| of the outer world when dealing with ma
tives put my hand into my pocket and
| drew out fo1r annas. The absurdity of the
gift struck me at once and was about tc
replace the money.
| Gunga Dass, however, was of a different
opinion. "Give me the money" said he
"all you have, or will get help and W.
will kill you!" All this as if it were the
most natural thing in the world.
A Briton's first impulse, believe, is tt
guard the contents of his pockets; but /,
| moments reflection convinced me of the
futility of differing with the one man who
BILE, and with whose help it was possible
that might eventually escape from the
crater. gave him all the money in my
possession, Rs, 9-8-5-nine rupees, eight
annas and five pie-for 1 always keep
| small change as bdkshish when / am in
camp.
Gunga Dass clutched the coins and hid
them at once in his ragged loin cloth, his
expression chnging into something diabol-
ihal as he looked round to assure himsel
that no one had observed us.
'cNow will give you something to eat,
said he.
| What pleasure the possession of my mon
| ey could have afforded him 1 am unable to
say; but inasmuch as it did give evident
delight was not sorry that parted with
it so readily, for had no doubt that he
would have had me killed if had refused
One does not protest against the vagaries
of den of wild beasts; and my compan-
ions were lower than any beasts.
While / deyoured what Gunga Dass had
provided, coarse ehapatt and cupful o.
the foul well water, the people showed moi
the faintest sign of curiosity-that curiosi-
ty which is so rampant, as rule, in an In
dian village.
could even fancy that they despised
me. At all events they treated me with
the most chilling indifference, and Gunga
Dass was nearly as bad. piled him with
questions about the terrible village, and
received extremely unsatisfactory an,
swers. So far as | could gather, it haG
been in existence from time immemorial-
whence concluded that it was at least Q
century old-and during that time no one
had ever been known to escape from it. (I
had to control myself here with both
hands, lest the blind terror should lay