Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-09-06
ANIMALS n AS DEsPOTs
TYRAnNnoFsTHE PAMPERto SACRED
Z BEASTS OF ASIA.

II iorH 10 PieceS-H0W the Holy Bull
aE Vietimizes the BoEnr Man.
Ff Readers Of Kipling's "Kim," which
gives better picture of Indian life
than anything else In print. may recall
;fhow; the hero first begged on behalf OF
tho Tibetan yogi. The bazaar woman
to whom he gave the begging bowl
cried:
sE "That bowl, indeed! That COW bel
II He'd basket! Thou hast as much grace
as the holy bull OF SHY. Hc has taken
tho best Of basket Of onions already
:. this morn, and, foosootll, must fiji thy
: }bowl. lie comics here again.
T 1.-The huge, mouse colored Ordinance
i5ull Of the ward was shoulderlng his
tjway through the many colored crowd
IA stolen plantain hanging out Of his
mouth. He headed straight for the
( SEhop, well knowing his privileges as a
: sacred beast, lowered his head, and
pulled heavily along the line of bas-
kets ere making his choice. Up few
.tKim's hard little heel and caught him
Jon his moist blue nose. lie snortcd IN.
/, Idignantly and walked away across the
ltram rails. his hump quiverlng with in.
dlgnation.
See! I hnve saved more than the
bowl will cost thrice over. Now, moth.
SER, little rice and some dried fish
fntop-yes. and some vegetable curry
"a growl came out of the buck OF the
shop. where man lay.
q, "'IIe drove away the bull said the
.gwomnn in an undertonc. 1t is good to
''lgivc to the poor
a kim looked al tho load lovingly.
" :" That Is good. When am In tho
1bazaar tho bull shall not como to this
lhouse. Hc Is bold beggarman'
Indeed, he Is, and he Is only one of
a many. The people Of Indin, Hike those
of other Asiatic countries, are the
slaves Of their sacred animals. There
: Is no tyranny moro outrageous than
!tIthnt Of the animal despots Of ASIA
An English globo trotter of my nc
quaintance was being shown the sights
E OF Bcnnres, tho most sacred city in all
sSIndla, some years ago. AS he passed
Through one OF the narrow, crowded
streets of the bazaar ho met huge
white Brahmanee bull stalking along
as If the whole city belonged to him,
brushing people aside right and left,
and: pushing his nose unhinlercd into
the baskets Of grain, rice and country
! produce which were displayed outside
the little nntive shops.
1t was exactly the kind Of scene de-
scribed SO well In Kim"
Al The bull and tho Englishman met In
Hthe narrow pathway" sidewalk" 1t
slwould be called here, but In India side.
walk and rond are usually indistin-
Z guishnble. Neither would give way,
qsifor both belonged to nm obstinate, self
4inssertivc rnce. Tho bull tried to push
past. The Englishman hit him smart
rap on the nose
Get up. you brutew he cried with
IN enforcing oath.
In moment the bazaar was In an
,lproar. The natives. who moment
Ibefore. had cringed servilely to the
sahib, now crowded around him. with
the passion Of murder in their hearts.
They pelted him with dirt and stones,
chilled him all manner OF vile names
(more numerous. surely, in Indla than
anywhere else on eartD and threatened
most plainly to kill him. Was he not
an in1del dog who had struck the
sacred bull? Death by torture was
surely too good for him. He would
bring curse on the city. The famine
and the plague would come. Their
wives would be childless.
So the talk ran eXcitedly from man
to man. The tumult grew. Tho angry
mob increased to thousands. Had ii
not been for the opportuno arrival of
police patrol OF stalwart Sikhs-
regally, scornful Of Hindoo gods, and
eyer or the Swsntch for such Incidents
as thfs-the globe trottcr would GER
tainly have paid with his life for his
Ignorance Of IIlndoo tdeas as to the
sacredncss Of sacred animals.
Such riots rs this are common
:, enough In India during the winter
tourist season, and 1t ls indeed mar
Vicious that many Americans and Eng
lishmen are not slain. The trouble oc-
ours especially in Benares. the most
fanatical city In the empire, and pos
sibly In the whole world Tho Hindoo
Mecca, as 1t has been called, Is the
headquarters of Bruhmanlsm and the
chiefsstronghold OF the animal worship
which distinguishes that cult There
are sacred animals oil over India, but
nowhere else are there so many Of
Hem as in Benares, and nowhere else
are they held In so much reverence and
nliowed so much license
Anglo-Indlans are often contemptu-
pps 'pf nsativos and native superstltions.
but MO Anglo-Indian would care to
strike sacred bull in Benares Kim
did It In Lahore. III Benarcs 1t would