Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1925-04-24

huenee of peanuts or other mar
cotics,
TIME Lascars were butcherlng a
sheep In the forepeak galley,
and the warm scent of fresh
blood stirred up pandemonium
among the Jungle folk in the cages
lashed to the deck by the forehatches.
The sea was lake of oil and barren
Of ripple, save where the big twin
screws threw astern a long lane Of
swirling, bubbling, phosphorescent
flame. 1t was sitting hottie decks
were like hot plates-and there was
scarcely enough breeze to blow out
match as I Joined Max Schlieman In
the bows.
1t was Schlieman's business to ran
sack creation, poking into and out of
more out-of-theway corners of the
earth than civilization dreams exist,
gathering wild beasts, unheard-of
birds known only to Audubon societies,
and weird, uncanny freaks" for
American dealers. He was strange
man, a German, with odd tricks of
speech and many surprising customs
borrowed from Hindoo and Mussulman
and the savage of remote hill coun-
tries, he was altogether impossible
from a civilized standpoint, but his
rich and varied experiences dlmmed
the Arabian Nights for me.
"Goodl" said Max, pointing with his
pipe to the cages below. Dose fellows
are yelling fine down dere; raw blood
brings back dreams Of liberty, when
they chase and make the kill them
selves Yell and scream, unhappy
ones"
As II In answer, the deep-throated
roars Of Bengal tigers rose in unison
with the cat-like shrieks of leopards
from the far-off Hlmalayas half
thousand Of the little monkeys that die
of inconsistencies gibbered obscenely,
while a fiendish orang-utan ratified
the grating Of his cage and yelled like
a soul In torment. until the mighty
elephants rocked against their chains
and trumpeted in fear A loathsome
hyena laughed as maniac
1t was bizarre ensemble we looked
down upon In the thick tropical dusk.
The 1.-THE, dark skinned Lascars,
naked save for a breech-clOth, grimy
with coal dust or glistening with oil
from the engines the huge elephants
swaylng to and fro in the gloom, the
serpent-like trunks ceaselessly win
moving wisps Of hay over their broad
backs; and the unseen children of for
est and Jungle voicing their unrest. 1t
was hot beyond belief, and the pace of
the ship fOulded the air with reek OF
wild beasts and the smell of the East
from the Lascars' foul kennel in the
forepeak.
"Lascars !" grunted SchIieman, gaz-
ing enviously at the half-dozen naked
forms sprawled in the bows and sleep
Ing peacefully through heat and up
roar; 81 belief Lascar could sleep
In hell and hat sweet dreams. Ram
Singh Ram Singh no" he shouted
above the din to his native helper,
. turn hose on the hathls--elephants
to make them cool Sol"
Gradually the uproar subsidized and
gave place to the orderly, accustomed
noises Of the nlght-the swish Of the
oily sea on the forefOot, the muffled
tramp of the engines, the changing
half-hourly note of the ships bell,
and the monOtOnOus foreign chatter of
the Lascar crew. I lay watching the
heat-lightnlng play all around the
horizon, and must have been browsing,
for Schlieman's voice startled me.
Last time bring along some speci
mems to New York" he said. "our flag
was flying at half-mast You seer
somebody haf died. Is It too hot to
listen why that soul flew away, or will
I tell you a tale which only we two
know, Ram Singh and II Listen, then
my friend.
when / was collecting that time |
travel like the Wandering Jew. Got
i'm Hlmmel freeze In the Hlma-
layas, and nearly lose my life falling
from the Roof Of the World, to get
some snow leopards; later was roast
alive in junges All In the days
work For a year barely existed
I was pariah dOg-and 1t was good
to come to Calcutta again, where !
picked up little Ram Singh. Like IT.
My friend, 50 soon as ! leave the
smell OF the East behind me at Port
Said, do not live until 1t Is In my
nostrils ngaln. Yes; / come back al
ways to answer the call. Europe and
America are too sanltary-too clean.
loaded my cages and elephants on
German frelghter at Calcutta. She
looked like Noah's ark-lf you belief
that extraordinary crulse-and you
would not suspect there was a million
dollars in burlap, jute, hides and pre-
ciOus woods under the matches. tear
my hair when I think Of such trip
II was so hot the decks we're like
stove-llds; and | sit still and see -four
tigers, two leopards, a white elephant
"A giant tusker-dle en- route, to say
holdings Of hundred monkeys
Monkeys, fiddle monkeys, drive me
crazy. As ryots die Of cholera, so die
fiddle monkeys Of what books call
nostalgia; but It is what we know as
observation-disclosures II Is as
deadly as a cobra poison, only slower.
"Der second officer, Engel, was .
man with a pigs head. Lombrosc
would haf called him a mattOid; Ger
tainly his brow, chin and ear were