Anonymous, 1882. The Lieutenant Governor in Kuch Behar. Englishman's Overland Mail 1882 March 7: 10
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| Location: |
Asia - South Asia - India - West Bengal |
| Subject: |
History |
| Species: |
Indian Rhino |
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Anon. 1882. The Lieutenant Governor in Kuch Behar. Englishman's Overland Mail 7 March 1882: 10
THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR IN KUCH- BEHAR. FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. FEBRUARY 25 [1882].
H. H. the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal arrived at Kuch-Behar on the morning of Thursday the 23rd instant, travelling from Calcutta by special train to Kaunia, and thence by tramway to Mogulhat, where he was received by Captain Evans-Gordon, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Kuch-Behar. After crossing the Dhurla river to Gitaldo, the party drove to Kuch-Behar, a distance of 23 miles. The road was decorated here and there with triumphal arches, and extemporised avenues of plantain trees, tokens of cordial welcome from H. H. the Maharaja and subjects to so distinguished and popular a visitor. The Maharaja drove out to meet His Honour about two miles from the Town and accompanied him to the Deputy Commissioner's house, where His Honour staid, being received there by Mrs. Evans-Gordon, and Lord Ulick Browne, Commissioner of the Division.
[23 Feb] After breakfast His Honour made a formal inspection of the public offices of the State, being introduced to various officers, and the day generally was spent in business of this nature, whilst in the evening a large party from the Deputy Commissioner's house, iucluding His Honor, accompanied the Maharaja to view the illuminations of the town in honour of the Lieutenant-Governor. There is no need to strain language to describe the effect of them, as there was but one opinion, and that an honest one, about it—that it was both beautiful and artistic.
[24 Feb] On Friday morning a general move was made into Camp, situated 27 miles distant, on an extensive grass maiden, bordering jungles where tiger, rhinoceros, and buffalo are reported by Philkul Jemadar, the Maharaja head Shikari, to be plentiful. There is a beautiful grass road all the way, and His Honor, driven by the Maharaja, arrived early in the afternoon. The arrangements of the Camp under the able management of Mr. Kneller and others are the perfection of comfort, the large dining-tent, lined with cherry coloured satin, and containing a Round Table of dimensions that even the good King Arthur and his Round Table Knights might have envied (many a good round table night is anticipated here) being perhaps the gem of the design, but it is close run by a magnificent shamiana furnished most comfortably as a drawing room. In fact the Maharaja has received his guests in a right royal fashion that they most thoroughly appreciate, as they do the special object of the expedition, shikar, which daily will be rigidly pursued when the dak that dogs official steps has been disposed of. So far there has been but one day's sport, which was partly spoilt by bad weather, there being a cold wind which ended in a sharp storm that sent the elephants scampering home and drove everybody into ulsters and warm wraps. The bag was not, however, a complete blank, comprising a bull buffalo, a deer, and two boars, but must of the day was repent in beating closely for a tiger, which was not found, though there was ample evidence of his proximity.
The Maharaja's party is made up us follows :—H. H. the Maharaja of Kuch Behar and his half brother. Sir Ashley Eden, Mr. E. Henry, C. S., Captain V. Schalch, A. D. C., and Captain the Hon'ble M. Eden, A. D. C., Captain and Mrs. Evans-Gordon, Mr. H. St. John Kneller, Mrs. C. Wilkins, Dr. and Miss Simpson, Lord llchester, Lord Durham, Sir W. Eden, Mr. Lawlor, M P., and Mr. Charles H. Moore.
March 1, 1882. His Honour has continued to accompany the Maharaja each day in pursuit of sport, and the weather, though variable, has on the whole been favourable and pleasant. The bag has gradually swelled to 73 head all told, including 3 tigers, 3 rhinceroses and 10 buffaloes, and by the end of the week, when the party closes, the total should be a good one. The first view of a tiger was on the second day. Whilst arranging a rhino beat he was seen to coolly skip across the sandy bank of a river into the jungles about 500 yards away. The Field Marshal at once arranged a disposition of forces to encompass his destruction ,and the manoeuvres,whiell would have captured any well conducted tiger, were carried out to a nicety, but the tiger somehow escaped. A buffalo, however, was knocked over, and some rhino were disturbed which afforded good sport in the afternoon, two being bagged. Ou the next day the line got into a herd of buffalo, and a general action ensued to which Gravelotte was a joke. Fox hunting has been described as having all the excitement of war, but only twenty-live per cent. of its dangers. Buffalo hunting is much the same,barring that it has twenty-five per cent more danger, a man's friends being in this case even more dangerous than his foes. However, all is well that ends well, and it only ended badly for eight buffalo. After tiffin a tragedy was only escaped by a howdah's breadth.
A beat was being made through a thick jungle for rhino, and a member of the party, full of Zoedone or innate valour, but with sola topi strangely poised above his head on the ends of his hair, was placed outside where the rhino were expected to break. Seeing the grasses move, he raised to his shoulder a double barrelled, full cocked, loaded rifle, pointed it at the place, and with finger curled round the trigger debated the proper instant to pull. At the moment a noble member of the party (invisible to those outside the jungle) pushing with the beaters through the grasses ten feet over his head, saw to his horror that this weapon of destruction was levelled straight in his face, and was evidently on the verge of being let off. Not troubling about the heavy compliment by being mistaken for a rhino, he shouted aloud, but judging from the unresponsive strong stare behind the stock of the gun that his doom was sealed if he did not take prompt measures, with the inspiration of genius (refraining from the obvious alternative of putting the would-be murderer hors de combat by a well placed bullet) he sought head-first the seclusion which the bottom of a howdah grants, for though, like any English gentleman, he would scorn to turn his back on his country's foes, it is altogether irrelevant to be massacred in satisfaction of the lust for blood of a truculent rhino-phobias. The denouement need not be detailed here, but it is supposed the shooter, actuated by the telegrams he had had in the morning of the suggested abolition of the House of Lords, had in mind to assist his party by iconoclastic operations in detail, commencing with the first Lord handy.
Later in the day three tigers were beaten up, and they were all slain after a very warm quarter of an hour, and though not quite large enough to satisfy the more ambitious sportsmen who will not heed that eleven foot tigers are not as plentiful as blackberries, they made a goodly show in the day's bag.
On the next day the principal event was the death of a large rhino, which brings matters up to the time of writing. All in camp are as jolly as sand boys. The ladies go out every day, being as keen as the men, though they properly hide their faces when blood is shed : and after a tiring day the strains of the Maharaja's band under the able leadership of Herr Konig, and the sweet melodies sung by Mrs.Gordon, are most soothing additions to the comfort of the Camp. By the time this reaches you the Lieut.-Governor will be on his way back to Calcutta, where he is timed to arrive on Monday the 6th, and any further sport obtained before his departure can be written later on.
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The Lieutenant Governor in Kuch Behar
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