THE SCAVENGERS AT DHAPPA 



The gaunt and under-sized bullocks and horses 

 that draw carts and cabs in Calcutta must, I think, 

 shock every one who sees them, as they did me. 

 Naturally their lives, though not by any means 

 merry, are short, and when their span of existence 

 is over they are carted off to Dhappa, on the out- 

 skirts of the city, to be boiled down for what 

 grease can be extracted from their pitifully flesh- 

 less carcases. It is, however, indeed an ill wind 

 that blows nobody good, and the bovine and 

 equine mortality is a source of livelihood to many 

 of the local vultures. In order to observe these 

 birds, I once went with two friends to the scene 

 of operations. The driver of the "gharry," or 

 cab, which we hired, seemed somewhat amused at 

 being told the destination we desired to reach; and 

 certainly, as we reached the trying-down place on 

 the shores of the Salt Lakes, the appalling smell 

 that greeted our noses gave some justification for 

 his wonder at such an expedition. However, to 

 any one ornithologically inclined, the sight was 

 worth the stench. The boiling-vat stood close 

 to the edge of a singularly filthy stream, and 



on the further shores the vultures stood as thick 



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