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Pooree, May 26, 1844

How little is known in England of what a thunderstorm is! At this minute (about ten o'clock in the evening) the rain is pouring down in vast sheets of water rather than in drops. For the last two hours the lightning has not ceased for a minute at a time, whilst the thunder has continued incessantly, varied occasionally by a tremendous crash which bursts immediately above the house and shakes it to its very foundation. Add to this the roaring of the sea and the howling of the wind, and some idea may be formed of the fearful noise now sounding in my ears. But the storm is, in one respect, more fearful here than elsewhere; at this station most of the European houses are blown down once in two or three years – a process which is anything but comfortable to the inhabitants, who are compelled to shiver through the night on the bleak sands, drenched with spray and rain, half covered with loose sand, and afraid to stand lest they should be blown away.

May 29

TEMPERATURE AT CUTTACK AND POOREE

I find that the depth of water which fell in the two hours and a half that the storm continued was one inch and a half, a quantity which in England, I believe, would not fall without many days of rain. But this is a delightful place. The difference of climate between this and Cuttack could hardly be conceived, and yet the distance is only fifty miles. At Cuttack, during the hot season of the year, the inhabitants are obliged to close every door and window at half-past six in the morning, in order to keep out the fearfully scorching heat, neither can they open them again till seven in the evening. Although the air is kept in constant motion by the punkahs, yet, being confined, and also much rarified by the heat, it produces a stifling gasping sensation, which is most painful. At this time of the year too the mosquitoes come into the houses in great numbers, and we are therefore compelled to use the mosquito-curtains at night, which have no opening all round, and the lower edge of which is tucked in with the bed-clothes; you might almost as well be shut up in a box. The intense heat, and the quantity of bad air which necessarily accumulates under the curtains, cause continual headaches and oppression of the lungs.

Well, you start from Cuttack in the evening, arrive at Pooree the next morning, and what a change! The doors and windows are open all day; and although the thermometer generally stands at 89°, yet the incessant breeze off the sea prevents any inconvenience from the heat; indeed, we are sometimes glad to close the doors in order to keep out the air. At night a delicious fresh wind, which frequently renders a blanket necessary, no mosquitoes, no curtains. In the morning we can remain out of doors till eight; in the afternoon we can go out at five.

How rejoiced many persons would be to be able to spend their hot weather at such a place. There are, nevertheless, two great drawbacks to the comfort of Pooree. First, the European houses are all situated on a vast plain of loose sand, extending from the sea as far as the eye can reach in every direction; so that it is considered at Pooree quite impossible to walk. My wife, like most other ladies, rides in a tonjon, a sort of small cab, carried on men's shoulders. I and almost all the gentlemen ride on horseback, or rather ponyback. At Cuttack only rich civilians keep horses; all we poor men are content with ponies. I have three beauties: two of them, Birmah ponies, for the carriage, are of a large size, thick built, very strong, and highly valued on account of their hardihood. It is usual to keep their manes cropped close, but I like to see them long. One carries me very well; the other is a saddle-pony, which does either for my wife or myself. It is bay, with long black mane and tail, very sleek, with thin ankles and arching neck. Indeed, several people who have looked at him say he is the best-built horse they ever saw. He is full of fire and play, jumps about, and every now and then stands upon his hind legs. But he will not bear to be annoyed by strangers. A friend of mine was riding him one day, and teased him so much that at last he reared and fell over backwards with him. The carriage-horses are what is called sorrel-colour.

The second drawback to the comfort of Pooree is rather a curious one, and is, I suppose, caused by the wind and the glare of the sun upon the sands. It is the impossibility for any one to keep awake during the day. Towards twelve o'clock an overpowering drowsiness comes on. Once or twice I have resisted it, and on those occasions I verily believe that in the evening, had I shut my eyes, I should have gone to sleep upon my feet. This is the universal complaint of all visitors to that place. The regular residents get over it.

Talking of the night reminds me of a general habit which would seem very odd to people in England. A person would imagine that everybody is very fidgety at night, and rolls and tosses about a great deal in the very hot weather. To render ourselves more comfortable at such times we have a number of pillows of all shapes and sizes and hardnesses scattered about the bed. At one roll you lay your leg on one and your arm on another, then you turn over to the other side, and then, throwing your feet on to one pillow, you hold another fast under your arm: that won't do, and you roll over on your back, with one pillow under your knee and another under each arm, and so on through the night. I can assure you that, however absurd it may appear, this multiplicity of pillows is a very great comfort on very hot nights, although when you awake you certainly often find yourself and them in very funny positions.

INTERVIEW WITH NATIVE RAJAHS

But now let us describe the journey up the hill, which is situated in the territories of the Rajah of Neilghur; that is, he pays tribute to the English, but governs his territory for himself. Just before we went there, by the advice of the masahibs or councillors, he had been into one of our villages making a great disturbance, whereupon the commissioner, a sort of governor of the district, sent for the Rajah, desiring him to come in to Balasore and explain his conduct. I was with the commissioner when he arrived. The Rajah of Neilghur is a handsome intelligent-looking young man of about twenty. His estate brings him in a revenue of nearly sixty thousand rupees a-year. His brother, who is about two years younger, and full of fun and frolic, is always with him. They came to Balasore with a party of about thirty, three elephants, and twenty horses. The Rajah and his brother, with eight or ten of the masahibs, were ushered into the commissioner's room, where chairs were offered to the two former; the others remained standing. Of course all except the two young Rajahs took off their shoes before they entered the room. Mr. M., the commissioner, who, as I have told you, is the kindest of men, gave them a long quiet lecture, and strongly advised them to dismiss the masahibs and govern entirely for themselves; and he warned them that, if such disturbances occurred again, he should be obliged to send and take possession of the whole territory of Neilghur. They were very submissive and made what excuses they could, but which, in point of fact, amounted to none at all. At last they rose to take leave, and I with one or two others joined them.

I immediately told the Rajah that we were going over to Neilghur on the following day, and asked whether he would provide five hundred coolies to beat the jungle. The Rajah promised that he would procure us the coolies and elephants and make us comfortable. The party then mounted, and really it was a very pretty scene. Both the Rajahs and all their attendants were dressed in the purest white – full loose trowsers, white frocks open on one side of the chest, and white turbans. The younger brother wore a red sash, all the others white ones. The Rajahs had most splendid gold chains round their waists, and three very handsome rings in each ear. The eldest mounted first. His horse, which was very tall and strongly built, was an albino; it was perfectly white, with red eyes. The saddle, which for all natives is made deep and well padded, was covered and entirely concealed by a splendid crimson cloth extending from the shoulders to the haunches. It was surrounded by a deep gold fringe, and reached about half way to the ground on each side. The young man laid his hand on the horse's shoulder, and at one vault sprang into the saddle, the cloth remaining on. This was the signal for every one to mount, and then they all began to show off. Their horses played all sorts of antics; they danced, and plunged, and reared, and capered about, though still under perfect control; indeed, it was evident that all these tricks were the result of education. After some minutes spent in this way, they suddenly started off at full gallop, and tore along at a tremendous rate as long as they continued in sight. They were followed by the elephants in a rough trot.

But I must say something more about these elephants. I was walking through the town with C. the evening before, when we saw the elephants coming towards us. We were both startled, if not alarmed. One of them is said to be the largest in India, and it really did look awful. The others, which were of the ordinary size, looked like young ones by its side. I had afterwards an opportunity of measuring it, and, if I remember rightly, its height was twelve feet eleven inches. It is very old, as Tippoo Saib rode it at Seringapatam. It is quite blind, and it is most interesting to observe its manner of walking or running. At each step its trunk swings from side to side, just touching the ground in front, so that the animal may know if there is any impediment in the way. A part near the end of the trunk is much worn away and quite hardened by this constant rubbing. His tusks are magnificent, but his body is little more than a skeleton covered with skin.

Whilst at Neilghur I saw this monster bathe. A boy took him down to a pond close to our tent. He led him by one of his tusks. When he reached the water, at an order from his attendant the elephant held out his trunk and the lad climbed up it until he reached his tusks. The elephant then raised his head until they were the highest part, when the boy slipped off them on the head itself. The animal then walked slowly into the water until it reached the top of his legs; at a signal from the boy he then lay down, whilst the lad kept on the head, scrubbing both that and his back. At another signal he sank himself lower and lower, until only his trunk and the head and shoulders of the boy were visible. It seemed to enjoy it very much, and was almost unwilling to come out again.

LEAVE BALASORE

We sent our tent on before and started from Balasore at about eleven o'clock in the evening in palanquins. Our party consisted of T., D., B., C. and his son, and myself. We arrived at Neilghur at about three o'clock, and our palanquins were simply set down on the ground that we might finish our night's rest. By the by, when the bearers of the palanquins are changed for fresh men, on taking hold they very often cry out, "Ah! my brother, my child!" but with me they generally make an addition to this – "Ah! my brother, my child, my elephant!"

When they set my palanquin down I turned to look about me. It was very dark, though the stars were shining brightly. The hill seemed to rise almost perpendicularly from my feet into the clouds; a strong blast of cold wind came rolling down its sides, and I was very glad to creep back again into my palanquin and cover myself up with a thick blanket. A little before sunrise I turned out again and roused my companions. We dressed ourselves, loaded our guns and pistols, and started on the ascent, after swallowing a hasty cup of tea and a bit of bread.

SUNRISE – SCENERY

At this moment the sun rose, and none but those who have witnessed the splendour of the oriental sunrise can have an idea of the magnificence of the scene. Immediately in front of us was a broad sheet of water surrounded by dense jungle, interspersed with lofty trees, from which, as we looked, two peacocks came forth to drink. At the back of the lake the hill rose abruptly to the height of nearly a thousand feet, the sides partially covered with trees, but which were interspersed here and there with precipices two or three hundred feet in depth, composed of a dark-coloured rock. From each side of this principal eminence project as it were shoulders, of about half the height, and which, covered with the thickest foliage, inclined round to the right and left so as to enclose us in a sort of semicircle.

We had sent men the day before to trace a path through the jungle, and they had tolerably succeeded. But unfortunately I was weak and far from well, and was completely knocked up before I got half-way to the top. One of our party was a medical man, and he insisted on my not attempting to go any farther. I felt deadly sick, my face was as white as snow, every pulse in my head and chest throbbed as if it would burst, my mouth was not dry but clammy, and when I lay down on a piece of rock I almost doubted if I should ever rise again. However, I soon felt better, descended the hill, got a glass of beer, and lay down in the tent for an hour or two. The others reached the top without much difficulty, though two of them avowed that, if the summit had been a hundred yards farther, they could not have reached it. They were very thankful for some beer and brandy-and-water which I sent up for them. They saw no animals, though in several places traces of bears were observed. The Rajah says there are no tigers in these parts.

We had but little hunting; while we were there one of our party killed a beautiful spotted deer. I shot some peacocks and a jungle-cock. Talking of hunting reminds me of an adventure which I must relate. The commissioner is the stoutest man I have seen in India, although my wife did insinuate the other day that I was nearly as big, but I am not.

The other day Mr. D., Lieutenant H., and the commissioner went out hog-hunting. This sport is always performed on horseback with long spears. The beaters soon turned out a magnificent boar. "A boar! a boar!" was the shout, and up galloped the commissioner and plunged the spear into the animal; but, in consequence of his horse swerving, he was unable to withdraw the weapon, and the boar ran off with it sticking into his back. Lieutenant H. now came up; the boar charged him, cut both the fore legs of his horse to the bone with his tusks, and tumbled horse and man over on the ground. In the mean time the commissioner had seized another spear from his syce, when the boar rushed at him. His horse swerved at the moment that he was making a thrust with his spear, and the poor commissioner rolled over on the ground. Fortunately the boar was nearly exhausted, too much so to charge again; but he did what perhaps no boar ever did before, – he seized the commissioner by the coat-tails as he lay on his stomach. Feeling the snout of the beast, he at once expected to be cut, if not killed, by its tremendous tusks.

He sprang upon his feet; the boar kept hold of his tail. The Commissioner faced about; he had neither pistol nor knife, so he commenced pummelling away at the boar's face with his fist. Now imagine the scene – a man of his extraordinary size with his coat-tail held up by an enormous boar; the Commissioner himself turned half round, and having a regular boxing-match with the ferocious brute. D. came up as quickly as he could for laughing, and with one good thrust of his spear put an end to the fight. The charge of the boar is fearful; he cuts right and left with his tusks, and inflicts the most dreadful wounds.

UNCIVIL TREATMENT OF RAJAHS

And now I must mention some circumstances which to me rendered our expedition to Neilghur very unpleasant; they relate to the manner in which our party treated the Rajah. On the morning of our arrival, after our descent from the hills, he came with a party of horsemen to call upon us. We were just sitting down to breakfast, when I observed the cavalcade approaching. I mentioned it, and proposed that, according to Indian politeness, we should go into the verandah of our tent to receive them. But the principal man of our party said, "Oh! bother the fellow, we can't see him now;" and he sent a servant out to tell him so.

In the afternoon the Rajah sent his man, corresponding to our chief gamekeeper in England, to ask when we should like the coolies to beat the jungle, and to say that he would join us in the hunt. We named the time and started accordingly, found the coolies in readiness, and saw the Rajah and his brother coming upon elephants.

Our party began to move on, when I asked, "Will you not wait for the Rajah?" "I should think not," was the reply; "we don't want the beastly niggers with us." And yet these civilized men were glad enough to make use of these beastly niggers' coolies and elephants. I stayed behind and had some talk with them.

The next day the two Rajahs called at the tent; they entered as gentlemen, and made the usual Indian salutation. With the exception of myself, I do not think one of our party even rose from his chair. In the course of conversation we spoke of the badness of the water we got. The Rajah immediately offered to send a man six miles into the hills to fetch some from a mountain stream. In little more than an hour afterwards, one of our party, feeling thirsty, sent a servant to ask the Rajah whether he had not got that water yet. In India, in speaking to a servant, you use the word "toom," which signifies "you." In speaking to a gentleman you say "ab," which means "your honour." One or two of our party made a point of saying "toom" to the Rajah, which was in fact a great insult. The younger brother called upon us. The chief of our party spoke to him on the subject of the disturbances, although it had all been settled by the Commissioner, and gave him a regular blowing up. And now remember that all this was to a gentleman – an Indian it is true, but still a gentleman, with a fine estate, and about 6000l. a-year, from whom we were receiving every kindness, and on whose land we were hunting. Can it be wondered at that the natives do not like us so well as might otherwise be expected?

The Rajah, I suppose, finding me more civil than the others, gave me a great mark of honour. He took me on his own elephant, while he acted as mahout, and whenever any roughness occurred on the ground he turned to warn me of it. I own that I did not enjoy the honour much. The elephant was covered with a crimson cloth, so that there were no ropes to hold by. The only way in which I could manage was to sit astride. It was really most painful, and I almost doubted whether I should ever be able to get my legs together again. I had two brace of pistols with me. The Rajah appeared very much pleased with them, and, to make up for the rudeness of our party, I gave him one of the pair. He was delighted, and I was sadly laughed at for giving anything to a nigger. His palace is a fine white building on the side of one of the hills.

Cuttack, July 4, 1844

SALT-MANUFACTURE

I have mentioned the manner in which Europeans are apt to alienate the affections of the natives; I will now give you an instance of the way in which the Government seek to conciliate them. It must be remembered that salt is a Government monopoly, that is, no person is allowed to prepare or sell it except by the appointment of Government. The cost to them is about eight annas, or one shilling, per maund of eighty pounds; they sell it for four rupees, or eight shillings, for the same quantity; and yet so necessary is it to the natives, that, if any man does not buy the usual quantity of Government, which is, I believe, about half a seer, or one pound, a-month, for each individual, he is brought by the police before a magistrate and sent to gaol, on the presumption that, as he does not purchase salt, he must smuggle it.

Now the salt-manufacturers receive a portion of their pay beforehand, and the remainder when the salt is ready. They belong mostly to the poorest classes, and their mode of working is very simple, merely collecting the sea-water, and then suffering it to evaporate in the sun. When they receive the first portion of their pay, they are told how much they will receive per maund, for the price varies slightly in different years. Last year they were promised a certain sum; I am not exactly sure how much, but say eight annas per maund; and when they came to the salt-agent for their money, they found that an order had arrived from Government reducing the promised pay to six and a half annas per maund. Of course they were excessively angry, and utterly astonished; for one strong idea with the natives is, that an Englishman will never tell an untruth. I happened to be present at the time; it occurred at Pooree, in the neighbourhood of which are some of the principal salt-works, if I may use so dignified a term.

The proper course for these poor people to have taken would have been, to have brought an action against Government for breach of contract; but this they could not possibly afford. However, the magistrates of Pooree sent a strong remonstrance to Government, and the consequence was, that they authorized the salt-agent this year to renew the contracts at the higher price, much to the delight of the poor salt-manufacturers, who still lost a part of the promised price of last year; yet it is scarcely to be credited that, before the time for the second payment arrived, another order was sent down, reducing the price as they did last year, and thus again defrauding the poor wretches of part of their small pittance, for defrauding it is in the truest sense of the word. All these things are managed by four or five men, who compose what is called the Salt Board.⁶ I may mention that the salt-workers have been sadly disturbed this year by the number of tigers. The natives sometimes keep the claws of those which they are so fortunate as to kill, to make charms to keep off mischief.

RELIGION OF THE BRAHMINS – JUGGERNAT'H

And now I must describe Juggernat'h. To the temple are attached about four thousand priests and servants. Of these one set are called Pundahs. In the autumn of every year they start on a journey through India, preaching in every town and village the advantages of a pilgrimage to Juggernat'h; after which they conduct to Pooree large bodies of pilgrims for the Rath Justra, or Car Festival, which takes place in May or June – the precise time depends on the moon, as does the time of our Easter. This is the principal festival, and the number of devotees varies from about 80,000 to 150,000. About five years ago there were present, on one occasion, not less than 250,000; but that numerous meeting was owing to some peculiar sanctity which is supposed to be diffused once in 200 years. But I ought to have commenced with some account of Juggernat'h himself. He represents the ninth incarnation of Vishnoo. I have often wondered whether the Hindu religion may not, in some portions, be taken remotely from the Christian. One name of Vishnoo is Chrishna; one appellation of Juggernat'h is Sri Teo. This Teo, as Chrishna, became incarnate whilst very young; he was sought after by a king to put him to death. Many children were killed, but he was removed from place to place in safety. He was born amongst the shepherds. The Hindus look for a tenth incarnation, when he shall unite all the world in one religion, and himself reign over them. I believe I am correct in giving these as points of faith amongst the Brahmins; and when we consider that the Hindu religion was probably established long after St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew had visited India, it certainly seems allowable to suppose that some portion of the Christian teaching became mingled with the doctrines of the Hindus. There is one objection to this supposition, namely, that Vishnoo is represented to have lived a very wicked and immoral life while on earth.

No European, Mussulman, or low-caste Hindu is admitted into the temple; we can, therefore, only speak on hearsay of what goes on inside. The idol itself is renewed every twelve years; it consists of a mere block of sacred wood, in the centre of which is said to be concealed a fragment of the original idol, which was fashioned by Vishnoo himself. The features and all the external parts are formed of a mixture of mud and cowdung painted. Every morning the idol undergoes his ablutions; but as the cowdung and paint would not stand the washing, the priests adopt a very ingenious plan – they hold a mirror in front of the image, and wash his reflection. Every evening he is put to bed; but as the idol is very unwieldy, they place the bedstead in front of him; on that they lay a small image, lock the door, and leave him to come down himself, if he can.

Offerings are made to him, by pilgrims and others, of rice, money, jewels, elephants, &c.; the Rajah of Knoudah and the priests being his joint treasurers. About twelve days before the Rath Justra, Juggernat'h goes to bathe; whilst doing so, he is supposed to be bitten by a snake, which causes him to be sick until the day of the festival. During his illness the priests take off his paint and cowdung, and give quite a new coat; so that at the end of the time he appears quite healthy and strong.

On the grand day the three cars, which, I should say, were fifty or sixty feet in height, are brought to the gate of the temple; the idols are then taken out by the priests – Juggernat'h having golden arms and diamond eyes for that one day – and by means of pulleys are hauled up and placed in their respective carriages; to these enormous ropes are attached, and the assembled thousands, with loud shouts, proceed to drag the idols to Juggernat'h's country-house, a small temple at about a mile distant. This occupies several days, and the idols, having rusticated for some time, are brought back to their regular station. The Hindus believe that every person who aids in dragging the cars receives pardon for all his past sins; every pilgrim who dies within five miles of Pooree will be greatly blessed in his next life; and every person who swims out to sea, so far as to see the top of the temple from the surface of the water, secures great blessings in another life for himself, his father and mother, his grandparents, and the three next generations descended from himself! This last experiment, however, is very rarely tried; there are too many sharks to make it pleasant. One man was drowned last year in attempting it. As to the people throwing themselves under the wheels of the car, that I believe to be altogether a European invention. Some occasionally fall accidentally, and are thus killed; but I imagine that self-immolation in this way neither is nor ever was at all a common thing.

I have very little doubt that great wickedness prevails within the temple. In two cases, lately, it is known that murder has been committed there; yet we, who have held the country so long, are not allowed to enter the building. It is said that if we attempted it we should be driven from the district; this I do not believe. Some years ago the priests declared that the god would not leave his country-house until all the English were driven from the province. The officer commanding at Cuttack directly sent word that, if the idol was not brought back on the usual day, he would come and blow both it and the temple to pieces. Juggernat'h immediately came to his senses, and was back in his temple one day before his regular time.

During the period the pilgrims remain at Pooree they are not allowed to eat anything but what has been offered to the idol, and that they have to buy at a very high price from the priests. This food is often very bad, and from that, combined with other causes, the cholera makes sad ravages amongst these poor people.

NUMEROUS DEATHS – EVIL OMEN

At the festival that is just past it is calculated that there were about 130,000 pilgrims. The cholera this year was very mild; but not less than 650 died at Pooree, or between that place and Cuttack. Their bodies are generally thrown out to be devoured by the dogs, vultures, and jackals. One Sunday morning, in coming home from church, we found that three bodies had been thrown out in front of our house; two of them were rapidly disappearing in the jaws of these animals, the other was tossing about in the surf. However, I sent to the magistrate, and he had them removed and burnt. A vast proportion of the pilgrims are widows. In India a widow is not permitted to marry again, but must be supported by her late husband's relations; and it is said that many of those poor women are sent down to Pooree in hope of getting rid of them, and no doubt this purpose frequently succeeds. And to support this system our Government pays 6000l. a-year; equal to the salaries of ten chaplains of our Church. This year an event occurred which the Hindus consider to be very ominous of evil. As they were bringing the god out, one of the chief priests was seized with cholera, and was sick all over the idol. The necessary purifications occupied so long a time, that the procession was not able to start that day.

I have just had a sad misfortune: all my cloth clothes, cloaks, &c., with two or three dozen shirts, flannels, waistcoats, drawers, &c. &c. – in short, everything but what was in actual use – were put away in a large chest. Whilst we were at Pooree my stupid man never once looked at them. When I returned I wanted something out of the chest, opened it, and found that every individual thing had been almost entirely destroyed by white ants – coats, shirts, flannels, were eaten through in all directions; and I think there was, at least, 50l. worth destroyed. I have fined my man two months' pay for his carelessness; but, as that is only 22s., it is a very poor consolation to me.