RELIGION AND RIOT 99 



edans objected to this, as a mosque once must 

 be a mosque always, till it tumbles down of its 

 own accord ; so to law they went, and the Hindoo 

 got his decree. Now you may imagine the fer- 

 ment. Thousands of Mahomedans rallied round 

 the old mosque to prevent its demolition ; and 

 thousands of Hindoos supported the new owner, 

 who wanted a house on his land, not a ruin. In 

 addition to this, the Mahomedan's Mohurrum 

 clashed that year with some Hindoo feast, and 

 processions of these parties fought with each other. 

 The Hindoos were bitterly incensed because the 

 Mahomedans, after their forty days' fast, killed a 

 bullock for their feast just close to a Hindoo 

 temple. In revenge, the latter bribed some of the 

 lowest caste sweepers to throw a pig over the wall 

 into a Mahomedan mosque; so the most fervent 

 flames of religious hatred arose, and they were ripe 

 for giving trouble to each other, or to us ; no matter 

 whom. The Police not being strong enough, the 

 Mounted Volunteers were called out, and paraded 

 the streets all one night. One evening about eight 

 o'clock, a rumour reached me that 400 mill 

 employes had struck work, and were marching in 



