Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far East

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER X

  THE FLORA AND THE SNAKES OF INDIA

  The middle of the day was devoted to recreation. It was a very pleasant dayafter the storm, and the ship had again struck into the north-east monsoon.While most of the company were planking the promenade deck, it was observedthat Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan had retired to the library; for thoughthey were very familiar with India and its people, they desired to freshentheir memory among the books.

  Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis on one side of her, and SirModava on the other. All the ladies had declared over and over again thatthe latter was a very fascinating man; but he was a person of discernment,and he could not very well help seeing that the young millionaire had aspecial interest in the beautiful young lady.

  Like a small boy, the young couple ate sugar because they liked it, and notto swell the saccharine importance of the article, and probably never gavea thought to the natural results of their daily intimacy. It is absolutelycertain that they had never indulged in any actual "spooning;" for Louishad never proceeded far enough to call the fair maiden by her given name,without "Miss" before it, precisely as everybody else in the cabin did.They were entirely respectful to each other, and she invariably addressedhim as Mr. Belgrave.

  "Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis and SirModava."--Page 90.]

  They were not as familiar as brother and sister, and doubtless neither ofthem reasoned over the situation, or considered to what it might lead.Though Miss Blanche was with Louis most of the time when they were on deck,and walked and rode with him when they were on shore, she was just as kindand pleasant with all the members of the "Big Four;" and when Louis wasengaged in a special study, as when he was preparing his "talk for theconference," Scott or Felix found a chance for a promenade with her. Buteverybody else on board understood the situation better than those the mostintimately concerned. But no one had any objection, not even Mrs. Belgraveor the parents of Miss Blanche.

  At half-past three in the afternoon the signal was given for the meeting inConference Hall. The ladies would have been glad to hear Sir Modava again;but the commander invited the speakers, and kept his own counsels, so thatthe party did not know whom they were to hear first.

  "There is still a great deal to be said about India, and I am trying todispose of some of the dryest subjects first. Dr. Ferrolan has veryunselfishly consented to make a martyr of himself in the treatment of oneof these topics, though I hope another time to assign him something more tohis mind. Dr. Ferrolan."

  This gentleman was received almost as enthusiastically as the handsomeHindu; for the Americans were disposed to treat all their guests withuniform courtesy, though it was hardly possible not to make an exception infavor of Sir Modava.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, I have to admit that, with the limitations theexcellent commander has put upon me, there is force in what he said aboutthe dryness of the subject. I delight in botany; and it will not be myfault that I fail to interest you, especially the ladies, who are alwaysand everywhere fond of flowers. But I bow to the mandate of the supremeauthority here, and will do the best I can with the broad topic with whichI am to struggle. But I will do you the justice to believe that you allwant to know something more about the fauna of India.

  "I have to observe in the first place that almost one-half of this greatregion is tropical, though not a square foot of it is within three hundredand fifty miles of the equator. In the Himalaya Mountains we have regionsof perpetual snow; and in the country south of them it is more thantemperate; it is cold in its season. You can see for yourselves that in aterritory extending from the island paradise of Ceylon to the frozenregions of the highest mountain in the world, we have every variety ofclimate, and consequently about every production that grows on the surfaceof the earth.

  "Our tropical productions are not quite equal to those that grow on theequator. The coffee, sugar, tobacco, and spices are somewhat inferior tothose of Java, Sumatra, and Celebes. Rice is the staple food of the commonpeople, and has been raised from prehistoric periods. Maize, which Ibelieve you Americans call Indian corn"--

  "Simply corn, if you please," interposed the commander.

  "But corn covers grain of all kinds," suggested the doctor.

  "Not with us; we call each grain by its own name, and never include themunder the name of corn. It is simply the fashion of the country; and if youspoke of corn in Chicago, it would mean maize to the people who heard you."

  "I shall know how to speak to an American audience on this subjecthereafter; but _corn_ and millet are raised for the food of some ofthe animals. Oilseeds, as flax for linseed, are largely exported. Thecultivation of wheat has been greatly improved, and all the grains areraised. In the Himalayas, on the borders of China, teas are grown underEuropean direction; and you will excuse me if I suggest that they arebetter than those of 'the central flowery nation.' Dye-stuffs, indigo, andlac are noted for their quality and their quantity.

  "The native flowers are not so rich as you would expect to find; but thewhite lilies of the water are as pretty as anywhere, and the floweringshrubs are beautiful. Of course, if you went out to walk in the jungle youwould find wild-flowers enough to make a bouquet."

  "But who would do it?" asked Mr. Woolridge.

  "I would for one," replied the doctor. "Why not?"

  "The cobra-de-capello!" exclaimed the magnate.

  "They are not agreeable companions; but we don't make half so much of themas you do, sir. I will not meddle with this subject, as it is assigned toanother, and I have no desire to steal his thunder-box. We have all theflowers of Europe, and probably of America; but they are not indigenous tothe soil, though they thrive very well.

  "Especially on the coast, but of course not in the north, you will findstately palms of all varieties. The banian tree (the English write itbanyan) grows here, and I might talk an hour about it. Something like it isthe peepul, or pipal, though its branches do not take root in the groundlike the other. Its scientific name is the _Ficus religiosa_; for itis the sacred fig of India, and it is called the bo-tree in Ceylon.

  "The peepul is considered sacred by the Hindus, because Vishnu, thePreserver, and the second person in the Brahminical trinity, was born underit. This tree is extensively planted around the temples of the Hindus, andmany religious devotees pass their lives under its shade for itssanctifying influence. It is useful for other purposes; for the lac-insectfeeds upon its leaves, and the women get a kind of caoutchouc from its sap,which they use as bandoline."

  "What in the world is bandoline, Mister?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who hadlistened with half-open mouth after the doctor called the tree sacred.

  "It is quite English, I dare say," laughed the speaker, while Mrs. Belgravewas tugging at the sleeve of her friend in order to suppress her. "Iventure to say you have used something of the kind, madame. Our women makeit of Irish moss, and use it to stiffen the hair, so as to make it lie inthe right place.

  "I must not forget the bamboo, which is found all over India, and even12,000 feet up the mountains. Of course you know all about it, for theslender stem is carried to all Europe and America. As you look at it youobserve that it has the same structure as some of the grasses, the samejoints and cells. It is not sugar-cane, but at some seasons a sweet juiceflows from the joints, which is here called Indian honey. I have no doubtmy young friends have used the bamboo when they went fishing; and the mostexpensive fly-rods are made from its material, as well as canes, and scoresof other useful articles.

  "The original forests which once covered hills and plains have beenrecklessly cut away; and long ago this source of wealth was driven backinto the mountains, to the vast injury of the climate and the water supplyfor the nourishment of the arable lands of the Country. But the Britishgovernment has taken hold of this matter since the middle of the presentcentury, and has made considerable progress towards the restoration of theforests. Not less than 100,000 square miles of land are now undersupervi
sion to this end.

  "India is a vast territory; but it is estimated that not more thanone-third of it is under cultivation, or used for pasturage. Doubtlessthere is much more of it available; but a considerable of it consists ofsteep mountain-sides, of deserts, and the beds and overflow of the rivers.With your permission, Mr. Commander, I will retreat from this prominentposition, after doing the best I could with a meagre subject;" and thedoctor bowed to the audience, while they were applauding him warmly.

  "I think you had better make no apology for your treatment of your subject.I can always tell by the expression of the company whether or not thespeaker is interesting the party; and I am sure you have succeededadmirably. The next feature to which I call your attention is Sir ModavaRao, on snakes."

  The gentleman was received quite as warmly as before; but Mrs. Belgrave wassorry that such a fine-looking gentleman should have to talk about snakes.

  "I fully believe that the Good Father of us all distributed poisonoussnakes over India for a good and wise purpose, though I do not know what itwas; and if I had the power to do so, I should not dare to kill or banishthem all, for I know not what injury I might do my country by removingthem. Many thousand natives die every year from snakebites. Statistics saythat 20,000 perish in this manner. But that is only one in 14,361; and asingle malignant disease has destroyed more than that in the same time.

  "The old woman who was accused of cruelty in skinning live eels, repliedthat she had been doing so all her life, and the eels must be used to it bythis time. We are used to snakes in India, and we don't mind them half asmuch as you think you would if you lived here. The government offersrewards for killing harmful animals, and thousands of snakes are destroyedevery year."

  "Do you think it is right to kill them if God put them here for a goodpurpose, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.

  "Certainly I do. God gave us fire: is it right, therefore, to let the cityburn up when the fire is kindled? God suffers sin and evil to remain in theworld, though he could banish them by a wave of his mighty arm! Shall wenot protect ourselves from the tempest he sends? Shall we permit the plagueor the cholera to decimate our land because God punishes us in that way forviolating the laws he has set up in our bodies?

  "This subject is too large for me to pursue it in detail. I need notdescribe the cobra, for you will see no end of them about the streets ofthe cities in the hands of the snake-charmers. He is five feet or more inlength. His fangs are in his upper jaw. They are not tubed or hollow; buthe has a sort of groove on the outside of the tooth, down which the deadlypoison flows. In his natural state, his bite is sure death unless aspecific or antidote is soon applied. Thanks to modern science, thesufferer from the bite of a cobra is generally cured if the right remedy isapplied soon enough. I have been twice bitten by cobras. The medicine usedin my case was the _Aristolochia Indica_.

  "There is such a thing as a snake-stone, which is applied to the wound, andis said to absorb the blood, and with it the poison; but medical men ofcharacter regard it as not entitled to the credit claimed for it. Achemical expert pronounced it to be nothing but a charred bone, which hadprobably been filled with blood, and again subjected to the action of fire.It is possible that the bone absorbs the blood; but that is not a settledfact, and I leave it to Dr. Ferrolan."

  "I believe it is a fraud," replied the doctor.

  "The color of the cobra varies from pale yellow to dark olive. One kind hassomething like a pair of spectacles on the back of his hood, or it lookssomething like the eyes with which ladies fasten their dress. This hood orbonnet is spread out by the action of the ribs of the creature, and heopens it when he is angry.

  "I had a tame mongoose, a sort of ichneumon. This animal, not much biggerthan a weasel, is a great cobra-killer, and he understands his business.This snake is given to hiding himself in the gardens around the bungalowfor the purpose of preying on the domestic fowls. I found one once, andbrought out the mongoose. He tackled him at once, and killed him about asquick as a rifle would have done it. I think you will learn all you want toknow about snakes as you travel through India."

  Sir Modava retired with the usual applause. As the company returned fromthe platform, a gun from the Blanche attracted their attention.