500 



\ KKTEBRATA 



BASl INDIAN CARRIAGE DEAWN BY ZEBUS. 



into of horns, and others which have only the semblance of them, the external covering being 

 ansapported by bony processes, and being consequently flexible and pendulous. 



The zebus bear a charmed life among the weak and superstitious Hindoos, who venerate them 

 and li«>M their slaughter to be a sin, though they do not object to working them. There are, 

 r, Bome particularly sanctified zebus, who lead an easy life, wandering about the villages, 

 and even the cities, as they list, and taking their pleasure and their food where they like, if not 

 prevented by the contributions of the devout. They may be seen every day wandering at large 

 in the sti f Calcutta, eating rice, grain, and flour in the bazaar; and the utmost a native does 

 when he b< es them honoring his goods too much, is to urge them, by'the gentlest hints, to taste 

 some of the g 1 things on his neighbor's stall. 



Bayard Taylor tells us that "the narrow stre :ts of the city of Benares are obstructed, in the 

 vicinity of the temple, with cumbers of these sacred bulls. The place swarms with them, and 

 tin y are as great a nuisance to it as the mendicant friars are to Rome. They arc knowing bulls, 

 ctly conscious of their sacred character, and presume upon it to commit all sorts of depre- 

 dations. They are the terror of the dealers in fruits and vegetables, for although not always 

 exempted from blows, no one can stand before their horns, and these they do not scruple to use, 

 if necessary, to secure their end. Sometimes, on their foraging expeditions, they boldly enter the 

 . march up stairs, and take a stroll on the flat roofs, where they may be seen looking down 

 with a quiet interesl on the passing crowds below. From these eminences they take a survey of 

 the surrounding country, calculate its resources, and having selected one of the richest spots 

 within their circle of vision, descend straightway, and set off in a bee-line for the place, which 

 they never fail to find. 



•When the fields look promising on the other side of the Ganges, they march down to the 

 river hanks and prevent any passenger from going onboard the ferry-boats until they are per- 

 mitted to enter. They cross and remain there until the supplies are exhausted, when they force 

 8 passage hack in the same manner. The gardens of the English residents frequently suffer from 

 their depredations, and the only effectual way of guarding against them is to yoke them at once, 

 and keep them at hard labor for a day or two, which so utterly disgusts them with the place that 

 they never return to it. It is also affirmed thai they carefully avoid the neighborhood of those 

 butchers who Bupply the tables of the English, having observe.! that some of their brethren dis- 

 appeared in a miraculous manner, alter frequenting such localities." 



