THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM CUDDALORE AND ARRIVAL AT PONDICHERRY—DEPARTURE THEREFROM, AND ARRIVAL AT MADRAS, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE SAME—ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION, CUSTOMS, AND MANNERS OF THE NATIVES—DEPARTURE FROM MADRAS, ON HIS ROUTE TO NAGPORE,—ARRIVAL AT PONAMALEE, AND DESCRIPTION OF THE SAME—HIS DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL AT CUDDAPAH.
After I had thoroughly recovered, through the interest of a young German widow, I obtained my acquittal from the ship, and then proceeded to New Town for my passport. New Town lies about two miles and a half E. N. E. of Cuddalore, and is the residence of the Europeans in that neighbourhood; the houses of the Europeans are generally built of brick and those of the natives of wood. The day after I had obtained my passport I proceeded on my route and arrived at Pondicherry the same evening.
Pondicherry is about four leagues in extent; the houses are built with brick, but the Indians use only wood, in the manner which we call lath and plaster. In a few days after I arrived in Madras, and took up my residence with a friend in Pursevaulkum.
A few days after my arrival I proceeded with my friend to town. Madras, or Fort St. George, is a fort and town of the peninsula, on the coast of Coromandel. It is the principal settlement of the English on the east side of the peninsula, and is a fortress of great extent, including within it a regular well-built city. It is close to the sea shore, from which it has a rich and beautiful appearance, the houses being covered with a stucco, called chunam, which, in itself, is as compact as the finest marble, bears as high a polish, and is equally as splendid as that elegant material. There is a second city, called Black Town, nearly four miles in circumference, separated from Madras by the breadth of a proper esplanade. Madras, in common with all the European settlements on this coast, has no port for shipping, the coast forming nearly a straight line, and being incommoded with a high and dangerous surf. The citadel is situated in the middle of the White, or English Town, and is one of the best fortresses in the British possessions. The town is also encompassed with a strong wall of the same stone as that with which the citadel is built, and is defended by bastions, batteries, half-moons, flankers, and mortars. Opposite the west gate of the citadel are barracks and a convenient hospital for the company's soldiers, and at the other end is a mint where the company coin gold and silver.
I was shortly after engaged as an overseer in the Madras Advertiser printing office, and as an assistant to the Madras Nautical Academy; but not agreeing with my employer I left it, and obtained permission to stop in the country as a free merchant.
Mr. M. R——, with whom I resided, used all his interest to obtain for me some permanent situation under government, but it could not be effected. At length, being tired of an indolent life, I opened a school, which succeeded very well, when I was forced to relinquish it, owing to my ill state of health the confinement and severity of the weather brought on a languishing complaint, which would have terminated in my death had I persisted in continuing in my present employment.
My friend being obliged to quit Madras, left me and his brother in charge of his house. My friends, during his absence, greatly contributed to my amusement, and, in short, spared no expense. One morning, passing through Vessory Bazar, I was greatly shocked at seeing the nabob's elephant take up a little child in his trunk and dash its brains out against the ground; the only reason that could be observed was, that the child had thrown some pebble stones at it; and the only redress the poor disconsolate mother could obtain was a gift of fifty pagodas from the nabob, which is about equal to twenty pounds sterling.
During my friend's absence his mother and brother were carried off with the cholera morbus. The general estimate of deaths through the settlement is at least three hundred and fifty in one day; the natives have been known to sacrifice in one day and at one pagoda, fifty cocks and fifty kids, to appease their angry gods, and, in fact, some of the poor deluded creatures will go with a sword run through their cheeks in the fleshy part, and kept hanging in that position for some days, continually dance backwards and forwards through the different bazars; others have the palms of their hands pierced with a sword; others have their breasts burnt, and others again have an instrument run through their tongue in order to calm the wrath of their offended deities; nor can they, in their opinions, put themselves to sufficient torture.
Shortly after my friend returned, I went to reside with a friend at Royaporum, south of Black Town, and soon afterwards I was engaged as an examiner in the accountant-general's office. After I had been a short time in this employ, I received an order to prepare for my departure for Nagpore, in the service of his highness the Rajah. On my return from the Fort St. George, I was greatly surprised at seeing an old man standing with his bare feet upon two pieces of wood in the form of a pair of pattens, with pointed pegs uppermost; he stood in that position for several days, with the blood running in torrents, and several of those who passed by gave him what their circumstances could well afford. A few days after I was invited to witness an Hindoo ceremony. We took our station at the top of a rich Persian's house, opposite a spacious esplanade and contiguous to a large pagoda; in the centre of the esplanade was fixed a capstern, with a pole about sixty feet long, which was fixed so as to be occasionally raised or lowered. Shortly after our arrival, a native, decorated with flowers, proceeded slowly towards the pagoda with tom-toms, and all kinds of Asiatic music; after he had prostrated himself in the pagoda, the Brahmin, a kind of priest, struck his side with a leather thong till it swelled to a considerable size, and then forced a butcher's hook through his side; he then composedly walked to the machine, and suffered himself to be fastened to a rope and suspended in the air with no other support than the butcher's hook; he went at least three times round a circle of about one hundred feet, and he kept his arms continually in motion during the whole time, fencing and throwing flowers among the bye standers, which were immediately picked up by them and kept as a religious relic. This ceremony is performed yearly for the purpose of those who have lost their cast, and may regain it by voluntarily undergoing this treatment. Eleven of them went through this torturing ceremony.
I now began to put myself in readiness for my departure. On the morning of the 8th I dispatched my baggage and tents, together with a guard of eight peons (native police), which my friends had obtained for me, through their interest with the superintendent of the police. By the time I had taken leave of all my friends, and thanked them for their disinterested protection to a distressed seaman, I proceeded on my route (after receiving several more marks of their favours, Mr. C—— having presented me with an Arab horse, four baggage bullocks, and five hundred rupees, besides several letters of introduction) at eight o'clock in the evening. I travelled about five miles down the Ponamalee Road, and stopped at a village a little below the main guard, a small place with scarcely any fodder for the cattle. On the following morning, at a very early hour, we proceeded on our march, and arrived at Ponamalee about eight o'clock, where I found several of my friends waiting to take leave, as they expected that Ponamalee would have been the first stage.