Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-15


Here everything seemed easy enough
The sand hills ran down to the river edge
it is true, but there were plenty of shall
lows across which I could gallop Pornic
and find my way back to terra fr1na by
turning sharply to the right or the left.
AS ] led Pornic over the sands was
startled by the faint pop of a rifle across
the river, and at the same moment a bull
let dropped with shap whit close to
Pornic's head.
There was no mistaking the missile-a
regulation Martini-Henry 'picket." About
800 yards away country boat was an
chored in midstream, and a jet of smoke
drifting away from its bow in the still
morning air showed me whence the deli
cate attention had come. Was ever a re-
spectacle gentleman in such an iDlpdsse2 The
treacherous sand slope allowed no escape
from spot which | visited most involun-
tarily, and promenade on the river 'front.'
age was the signal for bombardment from
some insane native in boat. Pm afraid
that | lost my temper very much indeed.
Another bullet reminded me that | had
better save my breath to cool my por
| ridge; and / retreated hastily up the
sands and back to the horseshoe, where J.
saw that the noise of the rifle had drawn
| sixty-fve human beings from the badger
holes which had up till that point sup
posed to be untenanted. | found myself
in the midst OF a crowd of spectators
about forty men, twentyswomen and one
child who could not have been more than
| years old.
They were all scantily clothed in that
salmon-colored cloth which one associates
with Hindu mendicants, and at first sight
gave me the impression of band of loath-
| some fakirs. The filth and responsiveness
of the assembly were beyond all descrip-
| ton, and | shuddered to think what their
life in the badger holes must be.
RUDE RECEPTION.
Even in these days, when local selfgov-
eminent has destroyed the greater part of
a natives respect for Sahib, have been
accustomed to certain amount of ciyility
from my interiors, and on approaching the
crowd naturally expected that there would |
be some recognition of my presence. Ass
matter of fact there was, but it was by no
means what | had looked for.
The ragged crew actually laughed at
me. Such laughter | hope may never |
hear again. They cackled, yelled, whistled |
and howled as / walked into their midst, |
some of them literally throwing them
selves down on the ground in commissions |
of unholy mirth. In a moment had let |
go Pornic's head and, irritated beyond ex-
preston at the mornings adventure, COM
menced cutting those nearest 10 me with |
all the force | could.
The wretches dropped under my blows |
ba lou for fNla
to walls for mercy, while those yet I'M
touched clasped me around the knees, i'm
ploring me in all sorts of uncouth tongues
TO spare them.
In the tumult, and Just when l was feel
ing very much ashamed of myself for hav-
ing thus easily given way to my temper,
thin, high voice murmured in English |
from behind my shoulder: "Sahibl Sa-
nib! Do you not know me? Sahib, it is
Gunga Dass, the telegraph master"
l spun round quickly and faced the
speaker.
Gunga Dass q have, of course, no hest
tation in mentioning the mans real name)
l had known four years before as a Dec
canee Brahmin lent by the Pnnjab Gov
eminent to one Of the Khalsia States. He |
was in charge of branch telegraph Office
there, and when l last met him was jo-
vial, full-stomached, portly Government
servant with a marvellous capacity for
making bad puns in Englisi.-a peculiar
ity which made me remember him long
after | had forgotten his services to me in
his official capacity. 1t is seldom that
Hindu makes English puns.
GUNGA DAss WAS CHANGED.
Now, however, the man was changed
beyond all recognition. Caste mark, stom-
ach, slate-colored combinations and unc-
tuous speech were all gone. looked at a
withered skeleton, turbanless and almost |
naked, with long matted hair and deep set |
Goldfish eyes. But for crescent-shaped |
scar on the left cheek-the result of an ac-
eident for which | was responsible-I |
should never have known him. But it was |
Individually Gunga Dass, and-for this | |
was thankful-an English-speaking ma
tive who might at least tell me the mean
ing of all had gone through that day.
The crowd retreated to some distance as
| turned towards the miserable figure and
ordered him to show me some method of
escaping from the crater. He held a
freshly plucked crow in his hand, and in
reply to my question climbed slowly on a
platform Of sand which ran in front of the
holes, and commenced lighting fire there
in silence.
Dried bents sand peoples and driftwood
lation from the fact that he lit them with
an ordinary sulphur match. When they
were in bright glow, and the crow was
neatly spitted in front thereof, Gunga Dass
began without word of preamble:
- Il
The alive and the dead When you are
dead you are dead, but when you are alive
you live" Here the crow demanded his
attention for an instant as 1t twirled be-
fore the fire in danger Of being burned to
a cinder. "If you die at home and do
not die when you come to the CHAT to be
burned, you come here"
The nature of the reekipg village was
made plain now, and all that had known
or read of the grotesque and the horrible
paled before the fact just communicated by
! the ex-Brahmin. Sixteen years ago, when
| FIRST landed in Bombay, | had been told
by a wandering Armenian of the existence
| somewhere in India of place TO which
such Hindus as had the misfortune to re-
| cover from trance or catalepsy were con-
veyed and kept, and | recollect laughing
heartily at what / was then pleased to con-
slider a travellers tale.
Sitting at the bottom Of the sand trap
the memory of Watson's Hotel, with lis
swinging punkahs, white-robed attendants
and the sallow-faced Armenian rose up in
my mind as wildly as a photograph and |
burst into loud fit of laughter. The con-
| trast was too absurd
| GrrSGA DAss, STORY
Gunga Dass, as he bent over the unclean
bird, watched me cautiously. Hindus
seldom laugh, and hisssurroundings were
not such as to move Gupga Dass to any
undue excess of hilarity. He removed
the crow solemnly from the wooden spit
and as solemnly devoured it. Then he
continued his story, which | give in his
own words: