New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-06-10
COME ORIENTAL MYSTERIES.
.,.vGE POWERS OF COMMUNICATION.
MASTERED TREES OF INDIA--How THE
,RABs DO BUSINESS WITHOUT WORDS
HAVE THE oRIENTALs USED ELEC-
TRIcAL FORCES THE SECRET
OF DWARFING TREES.


OF DwARFING TREES.
r..s;asring the enlightenment and the spirit
,..,o,tifc research which distinguish the civil
"a Occident Of the present day. it is astonish-
~ that 50 very little should have been accom-
'a,,ed toward the unrave,lng of the mysteries
= tho Orient The ignorance Of the West in
~. respe,t is brought home to us just now with
,,iar force by the total inability Of the British
P,,orItles Of India to account for the daubing
. ,he mango trees throughout a vast portion Of
yrrdostan. with patches OF clay mingled with
- or buffalo hair Notwithstanding all the
..,-,s that have been made 1t has been found
..oossjble to discover the perpetrators of this
.na.,es Of plastering. which has been effected
r,,b the most astounding secrecy and rapidly.
,,.,0o trees extending over an area Of hundreds
:, ,cuare miles have been thus marked during
~ course Of a single night. That it constitutes
MS secret signal or conveys some hidden mes
20 even in the most erudite students of indian
~. and history are prepared TO believe. The
r,gsh recall, not without a shudder that the
,-.,n,e native revolt Of 1857 which literally
,,rred the Deccan In a sea of blood. was imme-
-.,.,sv preceded by the equally mysterious dis
1T, If little unleavered cakes-chupatthies
49,, usrs called among the people of india They
49, ,assed around by unknown hands. and TO
~. Sov the Government has been unable to
's,,,r anv clue as to who baked and who dis
minated them. Equally at sea are the authori-
.I.s as TO the precise message which they were
,..ordsd 70 convey, although the simultaneous
..,h,sak Of the insurrection Immediately after
- IN various parts of India far distant from
',a another has led to the belief that they con-
.,,,,sd some kind of prearranged signal for the
great risng.
noss the tree-smearing embody some similar
,r,sI for warfare AMI bloodshed? That is a
,rss.,on which Is now agtating the mind or the
y.,serj-H.nd Ohe native rendering OF queen
,,o,oria's title Of Empress Of lndia). or her
...ual advisers and Of her people at large Whie
-. ,uhlic press and sentiment In the uhiteu
,,.raono show reluctance TO regard the marking
=, tho mango trees IN the light OF a writing on
cha wall IN the palace Of Beishazzar yet II Is
'as that the English press in India and
N ,bose who are now living in Hlndos'ah' Oh
- -. i've resided there in the past. are disposed
:, accord thereto a most ominous interpretation
n..... .ho, any one else they know the unfor-
giving and revengeful spirit of the Orientai char-
So .na tho inter futility Of imagining that the
memory Of the sanguinary suppression OF inc
~, insurrectjon of forty years ago can ever
t.aNaP
s,,tsc,s Of Queen Victoria. There are few OF
u,o are not imbued with the conviction
cha, the population Of India is merely biding It's
.rs n cast off the British yoke. now more thah
.r., onnressive since the increase of taxation
AVA the interference Of the Government with
49, on,ur, trade. Had the English in 1867 con-
tented themselves with merely hanging or shoo'-
49,, number Of the rebels by way of sautary
Of natives
.,,,nst the British would not be nearly so strong
.,s life Is not esteemed highly in Asia
vs.,a lex talionis is the principle of all justice
...,rs,at,on But what the inhabitants OF
,,s, AZ resent was the course Of the Eng
~ ,.,,ns IN blowing the rebels from
NE spns thus debarring them, according TO OF
.,,,, ideas from all chances Of life hereafter
ranno. do better than TO quote few lines from
hook which has Just appeared in London IL
consists Of the diary and "reminiscences or one
Of the English officers employed IN suppressi"s
the rising The extract relates 10 one 'oi '"e'e
blowing from the gun episodes, and the genera
mentioned IS no other than that Sir Henry nave
lock who was famed as being the most SANITY
and soft-hearted and hgh-bred gentleman Oi '"7
English army. The officer writes:
Tbe,frst man led out was a flne-looklng young
sspoy. with good features and BOLD feSo'u'e
expression He begged that he might hOl ne
bound but this could not be allowed anu 'd
his wrists tied tightly each TO the upper par Va
wheel Of the gun. Then l depressed the illu~H.0
until 1t pointe. to the pit OF the stomach. juI'
low the sternum. We put no shot IN anu 1 s ,at
only one gunner, myself standing ABOUT 'cii Ioot
% the left rear The Young Sepoy looked un-
dauntedly at us during the whole process "a
plnoning; indeed he never fnched for iho,'eHt;
Then ordered the port-fre to be hgh,eu anu
gave the word Fire There was considerable
recoi from the gun and a thick cloud OF smoke
hung US. AS this cleared away we saw Two
legs lying in front Of the gun. but no other sign
0. what had Just been a human being ana d
brave man. At this moment. perhaps IRON SIX
eight seconds after the explosion (and the Same
thing happened on the following occ2sion), Gown
iel the mans head among u.s. slightly blackened.
but otherwise scarcely changed. =. | went over
70 Havelock TO tell him that had carried our MS
orders. AS Jumped across the ditch became
aware that covered from head to Ioot' at
least In front. with minute backened particles OF
the mans flesh. some Of II sticking In my ears
and hair. Ny white silk coat, puggree, belt, e'c,
We're also spotted In this siciening manner. AS l
announced the execution to Havelock caIied
his attention to the state l was In. lie came
through his tent door and. striking sort OF
tragic attitude Of horror. said In a stage voice,
Improving on Shakespeare:
Zen such man. in such a plight.
Drew Priam's curtains in the dead OF night,
And told him that a man was slain
Always ready-witted was the old General!
Nor is It only in India that such secret means
Of communication exist between people OF diverse
race and language. Throughout Asia there exists
sort Of sign volapii which is understood by all
natives engaged IT, trade BY means OF 1t they
are enabled 10 conduct their commercial negotia-
IONS and transactions even though one OF the
parties may hail from the North Of China and the
o'aer from the southenmOst portion Of Arabia
no white man has ever been permitted to acquire
NE art, and what the precise signs are am I'M
able to state But in some OF those great markets
the Orient you can see merchants from the
TWO most extreme portions Of the Asiatc conti-
aent squatting gravey face TO face with their
hands on one another's arms. Not word Is ex-
sAanged-it would be useless-but concealed under
Aase long sleeves the negotiations are In progress
Tue hands OF the one moving up and down the
arms Of the other each motion conveying its
meaning. II Is a species OF Masonic language,
mo under the circumstances II Is not aStOnish-