The faculty will be surprised at the Seik mode of curing a wound received from a tiger, at variance as it is with European practices. They entertain an opinion that, if a person who has been so wounded be allowed to sleep, he will see the tiger in his dreams, and thus lose his heart, and inevitably die. They therefore furnish the patient with the strongest stimulants, and set people to prevent his falling asleep for five or six days. By that time the wounds assume a certain appearance; and they then permit the man to rest. In the instance which I have mentioned, I can answer for the copious use of stimulants, as we supplied the brandy.
Intelligence of a Seik.
The intelligence of the Seik Sirdar Senu Sing, our Mihmandar, had, more than once, arrested my attention. From a perusal of translations, he had acquired some knowledge of our astronomical system, and of the astrolabe, with several other such instruments. He expressed his doubts on some parts of the theory; and asked me to explain the continuance of the pole star in one place when the earth was said to move so many miles daily in its orbit round the sun. Among other information that I was enabled to impart to him, I showed him the thermometer, and explained the nature of the instrument. He immediately had the whole particulars committed to writing: and, where such avidity, and so laudable a thirst for knowledge, were displayed, I could not withhold making him a present of the instrument. This Sirdar was equally expert in the martial exercises of his nation: he handled the bow with grace and dexterity; he was an excellent horseman, and could hit a mark at full speed; and I have seen him touch the ground with both feet at the gallop, and regain his seat. I must mention that his curiosity did not always take a scientific turn; for his wonder had been excited by our art in preserving meat, fish, &c. A ham, which I showed him, was calculated to satisfy his doubts; and he was only contented when he had got a complete recipe for curing it. The Seiks are very fond of hog; and ham bids fair to be a standing dish in the Punjab. By the 11th of July we had left the country of the Kattias, and reached Futtihpoor, where the land is cultivated. Our approach to Lahore seemed to facilitate every arrangement: a detachment of fifty lancers had been stationed in the intervening villages, to assemble the inhabitants, to drag the boats the moment we approached. Our own suite was now increased to about 500 people; and to a drum and fife, which had always been with us, a bugle was added. Such dissonance as was now produced was never heard “at tattoo or reveille o;” and they played at both hours. A Cashmere boat. We had also a Cashmere boat sent for our accommodation, called the “purinda” or bird. It was a complete skiff, about sixty feet long, and pointed at both ends, so that half of the boat did not even touch the water. I am informed that this style of build, not unlike the gondola of Venice, is general in the lake of Cashmere. The crew were natives of that country; and they impelled their vessel by small green-painted paddles, with which they struck the water in a peculiar manner. They were very handsome and athletic men, dressed in red jackets. The boat itself had a square bungalow in the centre, with a flat roof; where we sat during the cool of the evening. She was flat-bottomed; and had her planks clamped with iron. Her motion through the water was tremulous, and by no means agreeable; but the celerity with which vessels of this kind move is acknowledged.
Letter from Lahore.
On the 13th of July, a deputation from the Kardar of Kot Kamalia waited on us with presents of fruit, &c., and a sum of 1100 rupees. A letter was brought, at the same time, from the Maharaja, expressive of his great satisfaction at our approach. The epistle was flowery to a degree seldom met with even in the Persian language; and filled with similes about gardens, roses, zephyrs, and fountains. Every word of a letter which I had addressed to his Highness was declared to be a bud of everlasting friendship; and every letter of every word was a blown rose! But the document would require a translation, and that, perhaps, it does not deserve.
Religious wars of the Seiks.
Neither the congratulations nor munificence of the Maharaja could keep our people well: they were attacked with whitlow; and there were no less than seven or eight of them laid up at once with that painful complaint. They themselves ascribed it to the water; but I was rather disposed to attribute it to a want of it and exercise; for they had had a voyage of longer duration than a trip from India to England. We now entered the country of the Seiks. All these people are either soldiers or husbandmen, like the Romans of old. They were very communicative; and described with much ardour the campaigns in which they have fought, and their collision with the bigoted Euzoofzyes across the Indus. I should hardly expect to be credited if I recorded many of the circumstances that have been communicated to me, and the number of people that have fallen in these religious wars. The Euzoofzyes entertain such hatred for the infidel Seiks, that they often declare themselves “ghazee,” and devote their lives to their extinction; believing that the death of one of them is more meritorious than that of any other unbeliever. As the Seik religion arose some hundred years after Mahommed, they are not certainly supported by their prophet. To use an expression of the Seiks, the Euzoofzyes “laugh at death.” It has been justly remarked, that we know little and care less for the history of such transactions, when we have no connection with the parties concerned.
Deputation.
In the evening of the 15th we reached Changa, about twenty-five miles from Lahore, and were received by a deputation from the Maharaja, consisting of two Seik Sirdars, and Noorodeen Fakeer, of a Mahommedan family enjoying trust and influence at Court. The meeting, as was requested, took place on elephants, five of which bore the magnates and ourselves. Each individual delivered a purse of money in gold and silver, and, by his Highness’ desire, asked for the health of the King of England, and the period that had elapsed since we left London: for the Maharaja, it seemed, believed us to have been deputed from the royal footstool. I replied as circumstances required. The principal Seik, by name Sham Sing, presented a bow. The party also produced a letter from the Maharaja, mentioning that they had been instructed to congratulate us on our arrival, and use every expression which could be pleasing to the sense; and a tissue of flattery ensued, which I confess my inability to describe.
“The seasons,” said the Fakeer, “have been changed to aid your safe arrival; and when it should have rained, the sun shines; but it is the sun of England. You must now consider yourselves at home, and in a garden, of which you are the roses; that such a friendship had now grown up between the British and the Seiks, that the inhabitants of Iran and Room would hear it proclaimed in their distant dominions; that light had succeeded darkness when we merged from the barbarians of Sinde, and that its genial influence had changed the bud into the rose.” I should exhaust a vocabulary if I recorded all his expressions. I replied as well as I could in the same style, asking after the Maharaja’s health; and assured the deputation of our satisfaction at the kindness and attention which we had received in the Seik dominions. Before taking leave, I showed the party the horses, with which they were delighted.