Across India Part 26

One of the officials at his side is the king's herald, who unfolds a flag of cloth-of-gold, and flourishes it before the people, and there are not less than a hundred thousand of them in the streets. As he does so he announces in good Hindustanee and in a loud voice a proclamation: "_Srimunt Sircar! Khunderao Guicowar! Sena Khas Khel! Shamshar Bahadoor!_"

"Exactly so," said Felix in a low tone.

"I suppose it is not given to outsiders to know what all that means?" added Louis.

"Certainly it is," replied Sir Modava. "It means, 'Behold the King of Kings, Khunderao Guicowar, whose army is invincible, whose courage is indomitable.'"

"Is that in a Pickwickian sense?" asked Scott.

"Not at all, for the Guicowar is as brave a man as ever put a foot into shoe-leather, or went barefooted," replied Lord Tremlyn, "though there is a little exaggeration common to the Orient in the proclamation."

As his Majesty came in front of the veranda the party rose and saluted him with low bows, and the waving of handkerchiefs by the ladies. He responded with a kingly smile and a graceful wave of the hand. The procession pa.s.sed on, and shortly afterwards the booming cannon announced that the moment of the solemn benediction had come. The attentive officials of the court presently appeared with the carriages, and an invitation to the whole company to dine with the Guicowar again at his table.

They had to wait an hour for the king, but they found enough to interest them in observing the coming of numerous other guests. In an ante-room the floor was almost covered with shoes, many of them of the richest material, even with precious stones upon them. Sir Modava explained that Eastern etiquette required that the visitors going into the presence of the Maharajah should remove their shoes, but that Europeans and Americans were exempt from this requirement.

When the party entered they found the king seated in an apartment open to the air of heaven on two sides. All were barefoot or in their stocking-feet except the Gruicowar, who occupied a bench, or platform, at one side. He had removed his state garments, and was dressed in a suit of white linen.

Most of the native officials present were seated on the floor; but the gentlemen of the visitors were invited to sit with his Highness, though only Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava accepted it.

CHAPTER XXVII

VARIOUS COMBATS IN THE GUICOWAR'S ARENA

The party remained a week at the palace of the Guicowar, and every day had a new pleasure or recreation. The king was as familiar with all the members as though they had belonged to his own household. He was sociable with them, and they ceased to be embarra.s.sed in his presence. Even Mrs. Blossom no longer trembled before him, and he was as jolly with the boys as though he had been one of them.

On the day after the Sowari the gentlemen of the party were conducted to the arena of the elephants, which was a large enclosure, reminding those who had seen them of the bull-rings of Spain. It was surrounded by buildings; and on one side, behind a wall, was a vast area of elevated ground from which the people of the town could witness the scenes presented in the arena.

The ladies of the party had made the acquaintance of those of their own s.e.x in the household, and the sports of the day had been discussed among them.

On this day it was to be an elephant fight. The native women did not attend, for they never took part in any public affair. Mrs. Belgrave, as soon as she learned the nature of the entertainment, promptly declined to be present at it, and the others were of the same mind.

To make the best of it, it was a brutal sport. The elephant is a n.o.ble beast, so intelligent that he deserves the consideration of man; and to them it seemed barbarous to set them fighting, even if the animals had belligerent instincts, though they never displayed them in their domesticated condition unless under strong provocation. Some of the gentlemen regarded the exhibition as but little better than a prize-fight; though they all attended the occasion, for the more sensitive ones thought it would be impolite to decline the invitation, especially as the exhibition was got up especially for them.

They were ushered into a large apartment, one side of which consisted of lofty arches, through which the display could be witnessed. At either end of the arena was chained a monster male elephant. A number of female elephants were on an elevation near it; and it seemed as though they were placed there for the same reason that the ladies were admitted to the tournaments of the knights in England and France. It was said that these females had a decided taste for such fights, and possibly the sight of them stimulated the male combatants.

There were a number of men, very slightly clothed, in the ring, who seemed like the _chulos_ of the Spanish arena, though their functions could hardly be the same; and there were many openings in the walls through which they could escape, instead of leaping over the fence, as the bull-fighters do. Some of them were armed with lances, and others with a stick with fireworks at the end.

The Guicowar entered the spectators' apartment, which was already well filled with n.o.bles and the foreigners. He was dressed in white linen, with an elegant cap on his head. He had a fine athletic form, and wore a short beard. He was not inclined to take the special arm-chair a.s.signed to him, but walked about, speaking to his guests, not omitting the boys, to whom he appeared to have taken a fancy.

His Highness gave a signal, at which the mahouts took their places on the necks of the big beasts, and the chains which secured the combatants were cast off. The monsters roared, and, with their trunks elevated, advanced to the affray. They increased their speed as they came nearer to each other.

They rushed together, as Scott expressed it, "head on," and the strangers seemed to feel the shock through their nerves. It was so violent the beasts dropped upon their knees forward.

Then they began to twist their trunks together, and buck with their tusks.

For some minutes the giants wrestled together, but the combat proved to be of brief duration. The party could see that one of them was getting the worst of it, and was inclined to "hedge." In fact, he had had enough of it; but he was too wise to abandon his tactics when it was time for him to retreat. Mustering all his power, he made a desperate effort, and succeeded in forcing the other back enough to turn his huge body without exposing his flank to the tusks of the enemy, and then beat a hasty retreat.

The vanquished brute was removed from the arena, and the victor remained alone on the field he had won; but he had only come to the beginning of his troubles, for there was a second act to the affair. The men, who were armed with whips, fireworks, red cloths, and other instruments of torment, a.s.sailed him. They p.r.i.c.ked him with the javelins, shook the red banners in his face, and fizzed the pyrotechnics before his eyes. They tormented the poor creature till he was furious. He had no adequate weapon for this unequal and unfair warfare.

He chased one a.s.sailant and then another, being as often turned aside from his intended victims by the thorning of the other tormentors. As he became a little more accustomed to the game, he ceased to be diverted from his victim and confined his attention to only one. The red banners, the blows from the whips, and the fizzing of the powder, did not affect him. He pursued his victim till the man was glad to save himself by dodging through one of the narrow doors in the wall, where the monster could not follow him. He b.u.t.ted against the wall, and then pounded the earth with his feet in the fury of his wrath.

If the man had far to run he would inevitably be lost; for the elephant, clumsy as he appears to be, develops great speed of foot when he is excited. An incident was related by one of the n.o.bles to Captain Ringgold as the runner disappeared within the door. A young man who was very swift of foot was closely pursued by the elephant, and had reached the door, when he was seized by the arm, tossed in the air, and came down heavily on the ground. The foot of the infuriate beast was raised to crush his skull, when another man flashed a Bengal light in his face, with the flame almost in his eyes, and the giant bellowed and fled.

At the blast of a bugle all the men in the ring suddenly deserted it. The elephant looked about him for any new a.s.sailant, and was immediately provided with one. A door flew open, and a fine looking fellow, mounted on a magnificent horse, dashed into the arena. After the manner of the _matador_ in a bull-fight, he conducted his steed, prancing in his pride, up to the arch at which the Guicowar stood, and saluted him with the grace of a knight-errant whose head was full of ladies.

The elephant is said to have an especial aversion to a horse; and the tormented beast in the ring at once manifested the prejudice of his race, for he made a dart for him. The horse did not flinch, but stood still till the giant was almost upon him. Then, at the command of his master, he wheeled, and the rider gave the big beast a smart punch with his lance. For a few minutes there was a lively skirmish between them, the horseman p.r.i.c.king him on the trunk or the flanks, and the rage of the elephant was at its highest pitch.

The fleetness of the horse and the skill of his rider kept the latter out of harm's way till the elephant seemed to be exhausted. The Americans thought he had done enough for one day, and the horseman retired. The great beast which had borne the brunt of three combats was allowed to cool off, and then his mahout conducted him to the rest he had bravely won. The n.o.bles in attendance were sufficiently civilized to indulge in betting, and wagers had been made on the various fights in progress. Mr. Woolridge, who was a reformed sportsman, may have been tempted; but he did not feel at home in this kind of sporting, and he did not break through any of his good resolutions.

After the elephant had been removed, there was no little excitement among the a.s.semblage in the veranda, and the betting seemed to be livelier than ever. A dozen officers armed with rifles and lances were stationed about the walls of the arena; and then an iron-bound cage was drawn into the enclosure, which contained a monstrous tiger. The guests wondered if this fierce brute was to be loosed in the arena, and they examined with interest into the safety of the situation. A number of rifles were brought into the veranda, with which the Guicowar and his native guests armed themselves.

"What does this mean, Sir Modava?" asked Captain Ringgold.

"The next battle will be a n.o.ble one, and immense wagers are depending upon the result," replied the Hindu gentleman.

"Is that big tiger to fight the crowd here a.s.sembled?"

"Not at all; but it is such a battle as has never been fought here, if anywhere. His Highness had long desired to see a bull-fight, and he imported four of the finest Spanish bulls his agent could find. The _toreadors_ came with them; but they all refused to fight in this arena, which they declared was not adapted to the purpose, and they went home. Three of the bulls died of disease, and only one was left. A discussion arose as to whether he was a match for a tiger. This battle is to settle the question; and the bets are mostly in favor of the tiger, though the Guicowar, with a few others, places his stake on the bull," Sir Modava explained.

The tiger was released from the cage at a signal from the king. He leaped from the cage, and seemed to be astonished at the sight of so many people.

Three officers took possession of the brute's prison, armed with rifles to shoot him if he killed the bull. No person was in the ring, or within reach of the savage animal. The door by which the horseman had entered was thrown wide open, and the bovine, vexed to the highest degree of wrath, came into the arena with a bounding run.

The tiger had advanced quietly to the centre of it, though with the royal mien of the "king of beasts," as he was here, his eyes like a couple of coals of fire. He caught sight of the bull as soon as he appeared, for he had doubtless killed many a bullock in the jungle. He planted himself on the ground in readiness for a spring. His present enemy saw him at the same instant; but he did not halt, or show any signs of fear.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "The striped beast went up into the air."--Page 263.]

The bull crouched his head, increased his speed, and bounded on the tiger.

At that moment the striped beast went up into the air so quickly that the audience could hardly see how it was done. His horned foe showed that he had not wholly escaped, for his head was covered with blood. But the tiger was not yet defeated. He sprang to his feet, and darted furiously at his enemy. He fastened with claws and teeth upon the neck of the bull, and the king believed that his wager was lost.

But the Spaniard shook him off, and turned upon him again, tossing him higher in the air than before. He came down badly disabled; and the bull, as though it was the finest sport in the world for him, gored him with his long horns till the life was gone out of him. The Spaniard was the victor.

The people shouted themselves hoa.r.s.e; but their cries were in honor of the Guicowar, and not the bull. The victor had lost a great deal of blood from a bad wound in the neck, and it was a question whether or not he would die; but he did not; he recovered, and before the tourists left India Sir Modava learned that he had been killed in a battle with a smaller tiger than the first.

Though the guests said but little about it, most of them were disgusted with these spectacles, and considered them cruel and brutal. They remained their week at Baroda. Those who desired to do so were taken to a hunt one day with a cheetah, in which this animal killed deer and other animals; and on another, on elephants, for tigers. Two tigers were killed, and Louis Belgrave had the honor of shooting one of them. Felix brought down a couple of cobras; and killing them seemed to be his forte. Khayrat invited the party to witness a battle between his mongoose and a couple of cobras his hunters had caught; and he killed them both, one at a time.

They all declined to attend a fight between a couple of coolies, with horn spikes attached to their hands, for this was worse than a prize-fight. But there was no end of amus.e.m.e.nts that were not brutal, and they enjoyed themselves abundantly to the end of their stay. They visited the temples and the palaces of the n.o.bles, where they were received with the utmost attention. Captain Sharp and his wife declared this was the red-letter week of their lives; but the commander of the Blanche insisted that he must take his s.h.i.+p around to Calcutta, and left by train for Bombay the day before the company departed.

The Guicowar resorted to various expedients to retain his guests, with whom he was evidently sincerely pleased; but the commander was inflexible. It was not possible to see a t.i.the of India, and he felt obliged to leave at the expiration of the time he had fixed for the visit, and he begged Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava not to place them in any more courts, or they would never get out of India. The train was prepared for their departure, and, in addition to the compartment cars in which they were to pa.s.s most of their time, a carriage was fitted up, so that all of them could a.s.semble in it; in fact, it was a conference hall on wheels.

CHAPTER XXVIII

AT THE CAPITAL OF THE PUNJAB

An early breakfast was provided for the travellers, and at this repast the farewells were spoken. Speeches were made by all the princ.i.p.al persons of the party of Americans, and by the Moroccan magnate, expressive of the very great enjoyment of the visit, and in praise of the liberality of the kingly host's hospitality. Captain Ringgold returned his thanks quite eloquently.

The Guicowar again enlarged upon the service the commander had rendered to India in saving the lives of two of his best friends, who had also been the friends of his country, and his only regret was that the Americans could not remain longer. Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava could not in a lifetime discharge their obligations to their friends who had entertained them like princes on board of the Guardian-Mother.