Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 9: SECOND LETTER · TO THE SAME · Written at Lahor, the 25th February 1665. · Aureng-Zebe having arrived there.
Travels in the Mogul Empire (Constable) 9
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- English
Contents
SECOND LETTER · TO THE SAME · Written at Lahor, the 25th February 1665. · Aureng-Zebe having arrived there.
9.1.1
Concerning the extent, the magnificence, and the mode of ordering the Camp of the Great Mogol. The number of the Elephants, Camels, Mules, and Men-Porters necessary for its transport. The arrangement of the Bazars or Royal Markets, the quarters set apart for the Omrahs or Nobles, and the rest of the Army. The area occupied by the Army when thus encamped. The various difficulties met with and how overcome. The measures taken to prevent robberies. The modes of travelling adopted by the King, the Princesses, and the rest of the Harem. The risks one encounters on approaching too near the Seraglio. The various kinds of Hunting enjoyed by the King, accompanied by all his Army. The number of persons accompanying the Army, and how they exist. MONSIEUR,
9.1.2
This is indeed slow and solemn marching, what we here call à la Mogole. Lahor is little more than one hundred and twenty leagues or about fifteen days' journey from Dehli, and we have been nearly two months on the road. The King, it is true, together with the greater part of the army, diverged from the highway, in search of better ground for the sports of the fields and for the convenience of obtaining the water of the Gemna, which we had gone in search of to the right; and we leisurely skirted its bank, hunting and shooting amid grass so high as almost to conceal our horsemen, but abounding in every kind of game. We are now in a good town enjoying repose; and I cannot better employ my time than in committing to paper the various particulars which have engaged my mind since I quitted Dehli. Soon I hope to conduct you to Kachemire, and to show you one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
9.1.3
Whenever the King travels in military pomp he has always two private camps; that is to say, two separate bodies of tents. One of these camps being constantly a day in advance of the other, the King is sure to find at the end of every journey a camp fully prepared for his reception. It is for this reason that these separate bodies of tents are called Peiche-kanes or houses which precede. The two Peiche-kanes are nearly equal, and to transport one of them the aid of more than sixty elephants, two hundred camels, one hundred mules, and one hundred men-porters is required. The most bulky things are carried by the elephants, such as the large tents, with their heavy poles, which on account of their great length and weight are made so as to be taken down into three pieces. The smaller tents are borne by the camels, and the luggage and kitchen utensils by the mules. To the porters are confided the lighter and more valuable articles, as the porcelain used at the King's table, the painted and gilt beds, and those rich Kargwus, of which I shall speak hereafter.
9.1.4
One of the Peiche-kanis has no sooner reached the place intended for the new encampment than the Grand Quarter-Master selects some fine situation for the King's tents, paying, however, as much attention as possible to the exact symmetry of the whole camp. He then marks out a square, each side of which measures more than three hundred ordinary paces. A hundred pioneers presently clear and level this space, raising square platforms of earth on which they pitch the tents. The whole of this extensive square is then encompassed with kanates, or screens, seven or eight feet in height, secured by cords attached to pegs, and by poles fixed two by two in the ground, at every ten paces, one pole within and the other without, and each leaning upon the other. The kanates are made of strong cloth, lined with printed Indian calico, representing large vases of flowers. The royal entrance, which is spacious and magnificent, is in the centre of one of the sides of the square, and the flowered calico of which it is composed, as well as that which lines the whole exterior face of this side of the square, is of much finer texture and richer than the rest.
9.1.5
The first and largest tent erected in the royal camp is named Am-kas; being the place where the King and all the nobility keep the mokam; that is, where they assemble at nine o'clock in the morning for the purpose of deliberating on affairs of state and of administering justice. The Kings of Hindoustan seldom fail, even when in the field, to hold this assembly twice during the twenty-four hours, the same as when in the capital. The custom is regarded as a matter of law and duty, and the observance of it is rarely neglected. The second tent, little inferior in size and somewhat further within the enclosure, is called the gosle-kane, or the place for bathing. It is here that all the nobility meet every evening to pay their obeisance to the King, in the same manner as when the court is at Dehli. This evening assembly subjects the Omrahs to much inconvenience; but it is a grand and imposing spectacle in a dark night to behold, when standing at some distance, long rows of torches lighting these Nobles, through extended lanes of tents, to the gosle-kane, and attending them back again to their own quarters. These flambeaux, although not made of wax, like ours in France, burn a long time. They merely consist of a piece of iron hafted in a stick, and surrounded at the extremity with linen rags steeped in oil, which are renewed, as occasion requires, by the masalchis, or link boys, who carry the oil in long narrow-necked vessels of iron or brass.
9.1.6
Still deeper in the square is the third tent, smaller than those I have spoken of, called Kaluet-kane, the retired spot, or the place of the privy council. To this tent none but the principal ministers of state have access, and it is here that all the important concerns of the kingdom are transacted. Advancing beyond the Kaluet-kane, you come to the King's private tents, which are surrounded by small kanates, of the height of a man, some lined with Maslipatam chintz, painted over with flowers of a hundred different kinds, and others with figured satin, decorated with deep silken fringes. Adjoining the royal tents are those of the Begums, or Princesses, and of the great ladies and principal female attendants of the Seraglio. These tents are also enclosed on every side by rich kanates; and in the midst of them are the tents of the inferior female domestics and other women connected with the Seraglio, placed generally in much the same order, according to the offices of the respective occupants.
9.1.7
The Am-kas, and the five or six other principal tents, are elevated above the rest, as well for the sake of keeping off the heat as that they may be distinguished at a distance. The outside is covered with a strong and coarse red cloth, ornamented with large and variegated stripes; but the inside is lined with beautiful hand-painted chintz, manufactured for the purpose at Maslipatam, the ornamentation of which is set off by rich figured satin of various colours, or embroideries of silk, silver, and gold, with deep and elegant fringes. Cotton mats, three or four inches in thickness, are spread over the whole floor, and these again are covered with a splendid carpet, on which are placed large square brocade cushions to lean upon. The tents are supported by painted and gilt pillars.
9.1.8
In each of the two tents wherein the King and nobility meet for deliberation is erected a stage, which is most sumptuously adorned, and the King gives audience under a spacious canopy of velvet or flowered silk. The other tents have similar canopies, and they also contain what are called karguais or cabinets, the little doors of which are secured with silver padlocks. You may form some idea of them by picturing to yourself two small squares of our folding screens, the one placed on the other, and both tied round with a silken cord in such a manner that the extremities of the sides of the upper square incline towards each other so as to form a kind of dome. There is this difference, however, between the karguais and our screens, that all their sides are composed of very thin and light deal boards painted and gilt on the outside, and embellished around with gold and silk fringe. The inside is lined with scarlet, flowered satin, or brocade. I believe that I have omitted nothing of consequence contained within the great square. In describing what is to be seen without, I shall first notice two handsome tents on either side of the grand entrance, or royal gate. Here is to be seen a small number of the choicest horses, saddled and superbly caparisoned, ready to be mounted upon any emergency, but intended rather for ceremony and parade.
9.1.9
On both sides of the same royal gate are ranged the fifty or sixty small field-pieces of which the stirrup-artillery is composed, and which fire a salute when the King enters his tent, by which the army is apprised of his arrival.
9.2.1
A free space, as extensive as may be convenient or practicable, is always kept in front of the royal entrance, and at its extremity there is a large tent called Nagar-kanê, because it contains the trumpets and the cymbals. Close to this tent is another of a large size, called tchauky-kanê, where the Omrahs in rotation mount guard for twenty-four hours, once every week. Most of them, however, order one of their own tents to be pitched in its immediate vicinity, where they find themselves more comfortable and are in greater privacy. Within a short distance of the three other sides of the great square are the tents of officers and others appropiiated to particular purposes, which, unless there be local impediments, are always placed in the same relative situation. Every one of these tents has its particular appellation, but the names are difficult of pronunciation, and as it is not within my scope to teach you the language of the country, it may suffice to state that in one of them are deposited the arms of the King; in a second the rich harnesses; and in a third the vests of brocade, which are the presents generally made by the King. The fruits, the sweetmeats, the Ganges water, the saltpetre with which it is cooled, and the betel, are kept in four other tents.
9.2.2
Betel is the leaf (of which I have spoken elsewhere) which, after it has undergone a certain preparation, is given as a mark of royal favour (like coffee in Turkey), and which when masticated sweetens the breath and reddens the lips. There are fifteen or sixteen other tents which serve for kitchens and their appurtenances; and in the midst of all these are the tents of a great number of officers and eunuchs. There are, lastly, six others, of considerable length, for led horses; and other tents for choice elephants and for the animals employed in hunting; for the birds of prey that invariably accompany the court, and are intended both for show, and for field sports; for the dogs; the leopards for catching antelopes; the nîl-ghaus, or grey oxen, which I believe to be a species of elk; the lions and the rhinoceroses, brought merely for parade; the large Bengale buffaloes, which attack the lion; the tamed antelopes, frequently made to fight in the presence of the King.
9.2.3
The quarters of the Monarch are understood to comprehend not only the great square, but the numerous tents situated without the square, to which I have just drawn your attention. Their position is always in the centre of the army, or as much so as the nature of the ground will admit. You will easily conceive that there is something very striking and magnificent in these royal quarters, and that this vast assemblage of red tents, placed in the centre of a numerous army, produces a brilliant effect when seen from some neighbouring eminence ; especially if the country be open, and offer no obstruction to the usual and regular distribution of the troops.
9.2.4
The first care of the Grand Quarter-master is, as before remarked, to choose a suitable situation for the royal tents. The Am-kas is elevated above every other tent, because it is the landmark by which the order and disposition of the whole army is regulated. He then marks out the royal bazars, from which all the troops are supplied. The principal bazar is laid out in the form of a wide street, running through the whole extent of the army, now on the right, then on the left of the Am-kas, and always as much as possible in the direction of the next day's encampment. The other royal bazars, which are neither so long nor so spacious, generally cross this one, some on one side and some on another side of the King's quarters. All of them are distinguished by extremely long poles [cannes très-hautes] stuck in the ground at the distance of three hundred paces from each other, bearing red standards, and surmounted with the tails of the Great Tibet cows, which have the appearance of so many periwigs. The quarter-master then proceeds to plan the quarters for the Omrahs, that there may always be the same observance of regularity, and that each nobleman may be placed at his usual distance from the royal square, whether on the right or on the left, so that no individual may be permitted to change the place allotted to him, or which he expressed a wish to occupy before the commencement of the expedition.
9.2.5
The description I have given of the great square is, in many particulars, applicable to the quarters of the Omrahs and Rajas. In general they also have two peiche-kanis, with a square of kanates enclosing their principal tents and those of their wives. Outside this square are likewise pitched the tents of their officers and troopers, and there is a bazar in the form of a street, consisting of small tents belonging to the followers of the army, who supply it with forage, rice, butter, and other necessary articles of life. The Omrahs need not, therefore, always have recourse to the royal bazars, where indeed everything may be procured, almost the same as in the capital. A long pole is planted at both ends of each bazar, and distinguished by a particular standard, floating in the air, as high as those of the royal bazars, in order that the different quarters may be readily discerned from a distance. The chief Omrahs and great Rajas pride themselves on the loftiness of their tents, which must not, however, be too conspicuous, lest the King perceive it and command that the tents be thrown down, as he did on our late march. For the same reason, the outside must not be entirely red, there being none but the royal tents that can be of that colour; and as a mark of proper respect every tent has also to front the Am-kas, or quarters of the King.
9.2.6
The remainder of the ground, between the quarters of the Monarch, those of the Omrahs, and the bazars, is filled with the tents of Mansebdars, or inferior Omrahs, of tradespeople of every description, of civil officers and other persons, who for various reasons follow the army; and, last of all, the tents of those who serve in the light and heavy artillery. The tents are therefore very numerous, and cover a large extent of ground; though with respect both to their number and the space occupied by them very extravagant notions are formed. When the army halts in a fine and favourable country, which leaves it at liberty to adopt the well-understood rules and order of a circular encampment, I do not believe that this space measures more than two leagues, or perhaps two leagues and a half in circumference, including here and there several spots of unoccupied ground. It should be mentioned, however, that the heavy artillery, which requires a great deal of room, is commonly a day or two in advance of the army.
9.2.7
What is said of the strange confusion that prevails in the camp, and of the alarm thereby occasioned to a newcomer, is also much exaggerated. A slight acquaintance with the method observed in the quartering of the troops will enable you to go, without much difficulty, from place to place as your business may require; the King's quarters, the tents and standards peculiar to every Omrah, and the ensigns and 'periwigs' of the royal bazars, which are all seen from a great distance, serving, after a little experience, for unerring guides. Sometimes, indeed, notwithstanding all these precautions, there will be uncertainty and disorder, particularly on the arrival of the army at the place of encampment in the morning, when every one is actively employed in finding and establishing his own quarters. The dust that arises often obscures the marks I have mentioned, and it becomes impossible to distinguish the King's quarter, the different bazars, or the tents of the several Omrahs. Your progress is besides liable to be impeded by the tents then pitching, and by the cords extended by inferior Omrahs, who have no peiche-kanes, and by Mansabdars to mark their respective boundaries, and to prevent not only the public path from passing through, but the fixing of any strange tent near their own, where their wives, if accompanying them, reside. A horde of their lusty varlets, with cudgels in their hands, will not suffer these cords to be removed or lowered ;
9.2.8
you then naturally retrace your steps, and find that while you have been employed in unavailing efforts to pass at one end, your retreat has been cut off at the other. There is now no means of extricating your laden camels but by menace and entreaty ; outrageous passion, and calm remonstrance ; seeming as if you would proceed to blows, yet carefully abstaining from touching any one ; promoting a violent quarrel between the servants of both parties, and afterward reconciling them for fear of the consequences, and in this way taking advantage of a favourable moment to pass your camels.
9.3.1
But the greatest annoyance is perhaps in the evening when business calls you to any distance. This is the time when the common people cook their victuals with a fire made of cow and camel dung and green wood. The smoke of so many fires of this kind, when there is little wind, is highly offensive, and involves the atmosphere in total darkness. It was my fate to be overtaken three or four times by this wide-spreading vapour. I inquired, but could not find my way : I turned and roamed about, ignorant whither I went. Once I was obliged to stop until the smoke dispersed, and the moon arose; and at another time I with difficulty reached the aguacy-die, at the foot of which I passed the night with my horse and servant. The aguacy-dié resembles a lofty mast of a ship, but is very slender, and takes down in three pieces. It is fixed toward the King's quarters, near the tent called nagar-kané, and during the night has a lighted lantern suspended from the top. This light is very useful, for it may be seen when every object is enveloped in impenetrable darkness. To this spot persons who lose their way resort, either to pass the night secure from all danger of robbers, or to resume their search after their own lodgings. The name aguacy-dié may be translated Light of Heaven, the lantern when at a distance appearing like a star.
9.3.2
To prevent robberies every Omrah provides watchmen, who continually perambulate his particular quarters during the night, crying out Kaber-dar! or, Have a care! and there are guards posted round the whole army at every five hundred paces, who kindle fires, and also cry out Kaber-dar! Besides these precautions, the Cotoual, or Grand Provost, sends soldiers in every direction, who especially pervade the bazars, crying out and sounding a trumpet. Notwithstanding all these measures, robberies are often committed, and it is prudent to be always on the alert; not to rely too much on the vigilance of servants; and to repose at an early hour, so as to watch during the remainder of the night. I will now proceed to describe the different modes of travelling adopted by the Great Mogol on these occasions.
9.3.3
Most commonly he is carried on men's shoulders in a tact-ravan, or field throne, wherein he sits. This tact is a species of magnificent tabernacle, with painted and gilt pillars and glass windows, that are kept shut when the weather is bad. The four poles of this litter are covered either with scarlet or brocade, and decorated with deep fringes of silk and gold. At the end of each pole are stationed two strong and handsomely dressed men, who are relieved by eight other men constantly in attendance. Sometimes the King rides on horseback, especially when the weather is favourable for hunting ; and at other times he is carried by an elephant in a mikdember, or in a hauze, which is by far the most striking and splendid style of travelling, as nothing can surpass the richness and magnificence of the harness and trappings. The mikdember is a small house, or square wooden tower, gilt and painted ; and the hauze, an oval chair with a canopy on pillars, also superbly decorated with colours and gold.
9.3.4
In every march the King is accompanied by a great number of Omrahs and Rajas, who follow him closely on horseback, placing themselves promiscuously in a body, without much method or regularity. On the morning of a journey, they assemble at break of day in the Am-kas, with the exception of those who may be exempted by age or the nature of their office. They find these marches very fatiguing, especially on hunting-days, being exposed like a private soldier to the sun and dust, frequently until three o'clock in the afternoon. These luxurious lords move along very differently when not in the train of the King : neither dust nor sun then annoys them, but they are stretched, as on a bed, in a paleky, closed and covered or not as may be found more agreeable; sleeping at ease until they reach their tent, where they are sure to find an excellent dinner, the kitchen and every necessary article having been sent forward the preceding night, immediately after supper. The Omrahs are always surrounded by a number of well-mounted cavaliers, called gourze-berdars, because they carry a kind of club, or silver mace. The King is also attended by many of them, who go before him, both on the right and on the left, together with a multitude of footmen. The gourze-berdars are picked, good-looking men, of fine figures, and are employed to convey orders and despatches. With great sticks in their hands they drive everybody before them, and keep the way clear for the King.
9.3.5
The Cours follow the Rajahs surrounded by a large number of players on cymbals and trumpets. The Cours, as I before observed, consists of figures in silver, representing strange animals, hands, balances, fishes and other mystical objects, borne at the end of large silver poles. A numerous body of Mansebdars or inferior Omrahs comes next, well mounted, and equipped with sword, quiver, and arrows. This body is much more numerous than that of Omrahs, which follows the King ; because not only the Mansebdars who are on duty are obliged to assemble at break of day near the royal tent, for the purpose of accompanying the King, but there are many who join the train in the hope of attracting notice and obtaining preferment.
9.3.6
The Princesses and great ladies of the Seraglio have also different modes of travelling. Some prefer tchaudoules, which are borne on men's shoulders, and are not unlike the tact-ravans. They are gilt and painted and covered with magnificent silk nets of many colours, enriched with embroidery, fringes, and beautiful tassels. Others travel in a stately and close paleky, gilt and covered, over which are also expanded similar silk nets. Some again use capacious litters, suspended between two powerful camels, or between two small elephants. It is in this style I have sometimes seen Rauchenara-Begum pursuing her journey, and have observed more than once in front of the litter, which was open, a young, well-dressed female slave, with a peacock's tail in her hand, brushing away the dust, and keeping off the flies from the Princess. The ladies are not unfrequently carried on the backs of elephants, which upon these occasions wear massive bells of silver, and are decked with costly trappings, curiously embroidered. These lovely and distinguished females, seated in Mikdembers, are thus elevated above the earth, like so many superior beings borne along through the middle region of the air. Each Mikdember contains eight women, four on a side: it is latticed and covered with a silken net, and yields not in richness and splendour to the tchaudmle or the tact-ravan,
9.3.7
I cannot avoid dwelling on this pompous procession of the Seraglio, It strongly arrested my attention during the late march, and I feel delight in recalling it to my memory. Stretch imagination to its utmost limits, and you can conceive no exhibition more grand and imposing than when Rauchenara-Begum, mounted on a stupendous Pegu elephant, and seated in a Mikdember, blazing with gold and azure, is followed by five or six other elephants with Mikdembers nearly as resplendent as her own, and filled with ladies attached to her household. Close to the Princess are the chief eunuchs, richly adorned and finely mounted, each with a wand of office in his hand ; and surrounding her elephant, a troop of female servants, Tartars and Kachmerys, fantastically attired and riding handsome pad-horses. Besides these attendants are several eunuchs on horseback, accompanied by a multitude of Pagys, or lackeys on foot, with large canes, who advance a great way before the Princess, both to the right and to the left, for the purpose of clearing the road and driving before them every intruder. Immediately behind Rauchenara-Begum's retinue appears a principal lady of the court, mounted and attended much in the same manner as the Princess. This lady is followed by a third, she by a fourth, and so on, until fifteen or sixteen females of quality pass with a grandeur of appearance, equipage, and retinue more or less proportionate to their rank, pay, and office.
9.3.8
There is something very impressive of state and royalty in the march of these sixty or more elephants ; in their solemn and, as it were, measured steps ; in the splendour of the Mikdembers, and the brilliant and innumerable followers in attendance : and if I had not regarded this display of magnificence with a sort of philosophical indifference, I should have been apt to be carried away by such flights of imagination as inspire most of the Indian poets, when they represent the elephants as conveying so many goddesses concealed from the vulgar gaze. Truly, it is with difficulty that these ladies can be approached, and they are almost inaccessible to the sight of man. Woe to any unlucky cavalier, however exalted in rank, who, meeting the procession, is found too near. Nothing can exceed the insolence of the tribes of eunuchs and footmen which he has to encounter, and they eagerly avail themselves of any such opportunity to beat a man in the most unmerciful manner. I shall not easily forget being once surprised in a similar situation, and how narrowly I escaped the cruel treatment that many cavaliers have experienced : but determined not to suffer myself to be beaten and perhaps maimed without a struggle, I drew my sword, and having fortunately a strong and spirited horse.
9.4.1
I was enabled to open a passage, sword in hand, through a host of assailants, and to dash across the rapid stream which was before me. It is indeed a proverbial observation in these armies that three things are to be carefully avoided: the first, getting among the choice and led horses, where kicking abounds; the second, intruding on the hunting ground; and the third, a too near approach to the ladies of the Seraglio. It is much worse, however, in Persia. I understand that in that country life itself is forfeited if a man be within sight even of the eunuchs, although he should be half a league distant from the women; and all the male inhabitants of the towns and villages through which the Seraglio is to pass must abandon their homes and fly to a considerable distance. I shall now speak of the field sports of the King. I could never conceive how the Great Mogol could hunt with an army of one hundred thousand men; but there certainly is a sense in which he may be said to hunt with two hundred thousand, or with any number of which his army may consist.
9.4.2
In the neighbourhoods of Agra and Dehli, along the course of the Gemna, reaching to the mountains, and even on both sides of the road leading to Lahor, there is a large quantity of uncultivated land, covered either with copse wood or with grasses six feet high. All this land is guarded with the utmost vigilance; and excepting partridges, quails, and hares, which the natives catch with nets, no person, be he who he may, is permitted to disturb the game, which is consequently very abundant. Whenever the Monarch is about to take the field, every gamekeeper [Gardes Chasses] near whose district the army is to pass is called upon to apprise the Grand Master of the Hunt of the various sorts of game under his particular charge, and of the places where they are in the greatest plenty. Sentries are then stationed at the different roads of that district, to guard the tract of ground selected, which extends sometimes four or five leagues; and while the army is on its march, on one side or the other, so as to avoid that tract, the King enters it with as many Omrahs and other persons as have liberty to do so, and enjoys, leisurely and uninterruptedly, the sports of the field, varying them according to the nature of the game. I shall, in the first place, describe the manner in which they chase antelopes with tame leopards. I think that I have elsewhere told you that there are in the Indies large numbers of antelopes, very much resembling our fawns in shape;
9.4.3
that they move generally in herds; and that every herd, which is never composed of more than five or six, is followed by a male, who is easily distinguished by his colour. When one of these little troops is discovered, the first step is to have it seen by the leopard, who is kept chained on a small car. The sagacious and cunning animal does not, as might be expected, run at once towards the antelopes, but winds about, hides himself, crouches, and in this cautious manner approaches them unperceived, so as to give himself a fair chance of catching them with those five or six bounds, which the leopard is noted for making with incredible agility. If successful, he gluts himself with their blood, heart, and liver ! but if he miss his prey, as frequently happens, he makes no other effort, but stands perfectly still. It would indeed be useless to contend with these animals in a fair race, for they run much more fleetly and much longer than the leopard. His keeper finds no great difficulty in securing him again on the car ; he approaches him quietly. caresses him, throws down a few pieces of flesh, and, covering his eyes, fastens his chain. During the march, one of these leopards very unexpectedly afforded us this amusement, to the no small consternation, however, of many of us. A troop of antelopes ran through the midst of the army, as was indeed the case every day; but these happened to pass very close to two leopards who were placed as usual on their car.
9.4.4
One, whose eyes were not covered, made so violent an effort as to break his chain, and rush after the antelopes, but without catching any. Impeded, however, in their flight, turned and pursued on all sides, one of them could not avoid again approaching the leopard, who pounced upon and seized the poor animal, notwithstanding the crowds of camels and horses that were in his way, and contrary to the common opinion that the leopard never attacks the prey which he has once missed. There is nothing very interesting in the mode of hunting the nil-ghau, or grey oxen; which, as I before stated, are a species of elk. They enclose them in great nets, which are drawn closer by degrees; and, when the space is reduced to a small compass, the King enters with his Omrahs and huntsmen, and the animal is killed with arrows, short spikes, swords, and musketoons. Sometimes these animals are slaughtered in such numbers that the King sends quarters of them as presents to all the Omrahs. It is curious enough to observe the manner in which cranes are caught. Their courageous defence in the air against the birds of prey affords much sport. Sometimes they kill their assailants; but from the slowness of their movements in wheeling round they are overcome as the number of their enemies increases. But of all the diversions of the field the hunting of the lion is not only the most perilous, but is peculiarly royal;
9.4.5
for, except by special permission, the King and Princes are the only persons who engage in the sport. As a preliminary step, an ass is tied near the spot where the gamekeepers have ascertained the lion retires. The wretched animal is soon devoured, and after so ample a meal the lion never seeks for other prey, but without molesting either oxen, sheep, or shepherds, goes in quest of water, and after quenching his thirst, returns to his former place of retirement. He sleeps until the next morning, when he finds and devours another ass, which the gamekeepers have brought to the same spot. In this way they contrive, during several days, to allure the lion and to attach him to one place; and when information is received of the King's approach, they fasten at the spot an ass where so many others have been sacrificed, down whose throat a large quantity of opium has been forced. This last meal is of course intended to produce a soporific effect upon the lion. The next operation is to spread, by means of the peasantry of the adjacent villages, large nets, made on purpose, which are gradually drawn closer, in the manner practised in hunting the nil-ghaux. Everything being in this state of preparation, the King appears on an elephant protected in places with thin plates of iron, and attended by the Grand Master of the Hunt, some Omrahs mounted on elephants, and a great number both of gourze-berdars on horseback and of gamekeepers on foot, armed with half-pikes.
9.4.6
He immediately approaches the net on the outside, and fires at the lion with a large musketoon. The wounded animal makes a spring at the elephant, according to the invariable practice of lions, but is arrested by the net; and the King continues to discharge his musketoon, until the lion is at length killed.
9.4.7
It happened, however, during the last hunt, that the enraged animal leaped over the net, rushed upon a trooper whose horse he killed, and then effected his escape for a time. Being pursued by the huntsmen, he was at length found and again enclosed in nets. The whole army was on that occasion subjected to great inconveniencies and thrown into a considerable degree of confusion. We remained three or four days patrolling in a country intersected with torrents from the mountains, and covered with underwood, and long grass that nearly concealed the camels. No bazars had been formed and there were no towns or villages near the army. Happy those who during this scene of disorder could satisfy the cravings of hunger! Shall I explain the weighty reason of this long detention in such abominable quarters? You must know, then, that as it is considered a favourable omen when the King kills a lion, so is the escape of that animal portentous of infinite evil to the state. Accordingly, the termination of the hunt is attended with much grave ceremony. The King being seated in the general assembly of the Omrahs, the dead lion is brought before him, and when the carcass has been accurately measured and minutely examined, it is recorded in the royal archives that such a King on such a day slew a lion of such a size and of such a skin, whose teeth were of such a length, and whose claws were of such dimensions, and so on down to the minutest details.
9.5.1
Let me just add a word on the subject of the opium given to the ass. One of the principal huntsmen assures me that it is a tale of the vulgar, and that the lion is sufficiently disposed to sleep without it when he has eaten to satiety. I observed that the great rivers are commonly without bridges. The army crossed them by means of two bridges of boats, constructed with tolerable skill, and placed between two or three hundred paces apart. Earth and straw mingled together are thrown upon the planking forming the footway, to prevent the cattle from slipping. The greatest confusion and danger occur at the extremities; for not only does the crowd and pressure occur most there, but when the approaches to the bridge are composed of soft moving earth, they become so broken up and so full of pits, that horses and laden oxen tumble upon one another into them, and the people pass over the struggling animals in the utmost disorder. The evil would be much increased if the army were under the necessity of crossing in one day; but the King generally fixes his camp about half a league from the bridges of boats, and suffers a day or two to elapse ere he passes to the opposite side of the river; when, pitching his tents within half a league from the bank, he again delays his departure so as to allow the army three days and nights at least to effect the passage. As to the number of people, whether soldiers or others, which the camp contains, it is not easy to determine this accurately;
9.5.2
so various are the opinions on this point. I may venture, however, to state generally that in this march there are at least one hundred thousand horsemen, and more than one hundred and fifty thousand animals, comprising horses, mules, and elephants; that besides these, there cannot be much less than fifty thousand camels, and nearly as many oxen or horses employed to carry the wives and children, the grain and other provisions belonging to the poor people connected with the bazars, who when they travel take with them, like our gipsies, the whole of their families, goods, and chattels. The servants in the army must be indeed numerous, since nothing is done without their assistance. I rank only with a two-horse cavalier, and yet I cannot possibly contrive with less than three men. Many are of opinion that the camp contains between three and four hundred thousand persons; some believe this estimate to be too small, while others consider it rather exaggerated. Accurately to determine the question, the people should be numbered. All I can confidently assert is that the multitude is prodigious and almost incredible. The whole population of Dehli, the capital city, is in fact collected in the camp, because deriving its employment and maintenance from the court and army, it has no alternative but to follow them in their march or to perish from want during their absence.
9.5.3
You are no doubt at a loss to conceive how so vast a number both of men and animals can be maintained in the field. The best solution of the difficulty will be found in the temperance of the Indians and simple nature of their diet. Of the five-score thousand troopers not a tenth, no not a twentieth part, eat animal food; they are satisfied with their kichery, a mess of rice and other vegetables, over which, when cooked, they pour boiled butter. It should be considered too that camels endure fatigue, hunger, and thirst in a surprising degree, live upon little, and eat any kind of food. At the end of every march, they are left to browse in the fields, where everything serves for fodder. It is important likewise to observe that the same tradesmen who supply the bazars in Dehli are compelled to furnish them in the camp; the shops of which they are composed being kept by the same persons whether in the capital or in the field. These poor people are at great pains to procure forage: they rove about from village to village, and what they succeed in purchasing, they endeavour to sell in the army at an advanced price. It is a common practice with them to clear, with a sort of trowel, whole fields of a peculiar kind of grass, which having beaten and washed, they dispose of in the camp at a price sometimes very high and sometimes inadequately low.
9.5.4
There is a curious fact respecting the King which I had almost forgotten to relate. He enters the camp sometimes on one side, sometimes on another; that is, he will to-day pass near the tents of certain Omrahs and to-morrow near the tents of others. This variation of route is not, as you might suppose, accidental: the Omrahs, whom the Monarch honours by his vicinity, must leave their quarters to meet him, and must present His Majesty with a purse of more or less value; from twenty to fifty golden roupies, twenty being equal to about thirty pistoles, according to their liberality and the amount of their pay. I shall say nothing of the towns and villages between Dehli and Lahor: I have in fact scarcely seen any of them. My Agah's station not being in the centre of the army, which often kept to the highroad, but in the front of the right wing, it was our custom to traverse fields and bye-paths during the night, guided by the stars; frequently mistaking our way, and marching five or six leagues, instead of three or four, the usual distance between two encampments, till daylight again set us right.