New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-06


have inspired his pen as. for instance IN the
virgin forests OF Upper Burma. where rare CLEANS
OF sunshine lii up savage scene OF torrent rocA
and tree" where pines. oaks and giant chahkas'
with boles OF eighteen feet in diameter, and long
gray boards of pendent creepers choked the sup
perry path and where camp could DE ihaue
among lilies and rhododendrons" Perhaps the
most interesting parts Of the book the chap
tiers on Tal-fu and Tse-ku particularly TOT 'heH
references TO the work OF the devoted French mis-
sionaries who spoke of Tibet as OF proH'seu
land with an ardent zeal as unquenched al my
after twenty-eght years OF trioulaton as AT
thirty" THE traveller" IT is well said. who
ever he may be- must needs honor these soldiers
Of the faith. whose life Is made up OF seil-ue'o-
ton and perseverance
The transition from exploration to war and the
chase is not violent The traveller. In Cen
trial Asia at least requires most OF the qualities
OF the soldier while his trip is apt to degenerate
into hunt in which he plays the part OF the game
Colonel Pollok's Fifty Years OF "reminiscences IN
India" touches lightly upon the first or THESE
topics and deals very entertainingy with the sec
ond. He went India boy In the days before
the Mutiny and his first recoections have the pro-
nounced flavor OF those early military times Inc
British officer is not always a model OF manners
and one can imagine that his best did not cut much
OF figure in India then. one anecdote OF brutal
ity rewarded IL particularly refreshing. An oNhceI
H. who had struck his matey boy In the presence
Of witnesses was brought by the native belore
cantonment magistrate and fined. zone day wheh
his servant brought him his early cup OF tea II.
jumped out of bed and fastening the door. said:
You Internal backyard, I'll teach you TO maui
me up before a mlgstrate there are no Witnesses
and I'll give you id good thrashing' Inc MA"
pretended 10 cry wping his eyes on MS Sleeve anu
blubbered out: Master sure no witnesses got'
Quite sure replied H. Then said the matey boy
erfx. ma 81
ing and to his establishment. walked into him IN
fine STYLE II had not n chance: his boy was lar
stronger and far better bruser. and Knocked MS
master into cooked hat. The onlcer escapeu
only by a trick worthy OF a Liverpool tough IN
1874 Colonel Pollok went to Burma where he
saw a good deal Of military service. TO HE the'e
he devotes two chapters. filled with anecdotes
some Of them well worth the writing. comments on
native character and customs not particularly ne"
a. nd remarks on the work Of the missionaries. WIN
tho last he Is evidently not in sympathy. and his
comments upon II not very original falr or pro
found. It is when he comes 10 pig-stickns ana
kindred sports that the real interest OF his DOCK
heelns and he gives us excellent chapters on hunt
ing boars elephants rhinoceroses, tigers and all
the other wild beasts Of the jungle. Whether OF
not Thackeray right in saying that the jungle
is the battlefield of play hours II leads straight TO
the Red Ribbon and the Victoria Cross. II Is GER
tainlv true that 1t serves the Briton as an excel
supernuous brutality. AS Colonel Pollok enthusi-
asticauv SAYS Of the gentle art of pigsticking: "A
man nav have slain his hundreds Of tigers he may
have Killed hecatomb OF big game in Africa and
elsewhere. but II he has not followed the mighty
boar he has not tasted the delights OF the most
fascinating and invigorating sport in the world.
Any one may kill tiger by pottIng him from
tree or a machan but II requires man to ride
down and smear a boar" How a man" does this
and also pots his tiger in the most approved style
ono can learn from Colonel POlloks pages. though
the reader who is not n keen sportsman will prob
a bly, find n good deal Of sameness in the incidents.
While the European masters OF Southern Asia
Tins exhibiting their racial vigor in war explora-
tnn the chase and the explota ton Of the natives
the latter are occupied in less exhilaratng labor
millions OF them in the generally unsuccessful
tempt 70 get something TO eat. In India there are
regions where Scarcity" which elsewhere would
he famine. Is chronic and where famine Of the
genuine Indian variety is periodic. The enormous
population has doubled during the present century
without any corresponding development in tho
means Of production and distribution. More than
two-ffths Of the country moreover depends for
food upon the rain-brlnRirg mOHsoons which blow
from April October. II these fail the crops fail;
II they fail notably for several seasons there is no
food at all and the ryot patiently sits down and
dies period Of this character eliminated IN 1891
in one Of the worst famines that has occurred in
70 tho plague and the Afridi war. made the path
Of the Indian administration very thorny Distress
more less intenseard often horrible-hlled large
sections Of the Bombay Presidency. all Of tho Cen
trail Provinces. and the great valley OF the Ganecs
from Ti-rut 20 Rohilkhand. Mr.. Morcwethcr was
sent as Reuters special famine commissioner 10
investigate the state OF affairs and in the discharge
Of this duty he traversel the part Of The az
Giccd regions. His narrative is direct and in
strucive and shows the SIKH Of the trained Jour
nal.stic writer. well as the observation Of the
Inielccnt traveller. Better still /; Is quito devoid
OF scnsational.sm both in what It reports and n
what It infers. though the temptation indulge in
Il must have been very great. The author has q"
as the preface asserts. "as far possible merely
limited at the awful and grewsome sights and
scenes which 1T was his lot TO witness and which
certainly any wordpainting Of his would fail to
accurately portray He has relied upon a series Of
photogra phs taken upon the spot bring forcibly
before the mind S eye Of his readers the state and
condition Of the Oriental who owe their ale
glance to the Queen Empress" And surely these
photographs need no support from words. Nothing
more ghastly and pitiful be imagined than
those emaciated figures Of strong men and little
chidren-especally when remember that they
are but representatives Of millions. There is no
need Of describing individual horrors. To place the
blame for the non-relief Of this misery Is not easy
and Mr. Merewether is not in haste to do IT, The
causes are mainly natural and racial and the prob
lem is one of enormous difficulty The local admin
istration' however. appears in some to have
given occasion for Just criticism
The famine in the Central Provinces was grossly
mismanaged. | collected tangible proofs OF this
daily III ! had 10 hand of reliable and ir-
teiutab'e evidence. which showed only too clearly
uat the 0ficials and those responsible had not and
go not, fuy recognize the gravity Of the situation
WIN reference TO the poorhouse. there be no
doubt that in addition to supineness and mlsman-
az -h'eht mere was decided fraud going and the
poor hopeless and helpless inmates were being
den ntd by paternal government 10 a slow horri-
Die and lingering death by starvation
MT Merewether's comments however. are free
from rancor and apparently from exaggeration
HIS report throughout seems be dispassonate
ana is certainly instructive and highly interesting
As an illustration OF the Oriental temperament
which underes the whole problem and constitutes
It's greatest difficulty the following is unique:
one story wnch shows the blind fatasm OF the
oriental still remains in my memory. During the
last rains family of cultivators living In a small
reed hut by the side Of the line. were one night