Shaka

“ Then Chakkra informed Skag that Kudrat Sharif, Neela Deo's mahout, was the third of his line to serve the Blue God, who was not yet nearly in the ictus of his power and beauty; while he, Chakkra, was the only mahout Gunpat Rao had known—since he came down from the Vindhian trap-stockades, where he was snared. He was about thirty years younger than Neela Deo, the King. Would the Sahib bear in mind that an elephant continues to increase in strength and wisdom for an hundred years? ”

“ Never again while Chaka lived did a conquered force pass the gates of the king’s kraal.
That fight was but one war out of many. With every moon a fresh impi started to wash its spears, and came back few and thin, but with victory and countless cattle. Tribe after tribe went down before us. Those of them who escaped the assegai were enrolled into fresh regiments, and thus, though men died by thousands every month, yet the army grew. ”

“ Then Chakkra shouted:
"Gunpat Rao, prince of Vindha—declares the chase is on! Hold fast,
Sahib,—we go!"
The earth rose up and the heavens tipped. There was no foundation; the bulwarks of earth's crust had given away. The landscape was racing past—but backward—and Nels, yet ahead, was a still, whirring streak. The thing hardly believed and never seen in America—that the elephant is speed-king of the world—was revelation now! No pitch or roll; a long curving sweep this—seeming scarcely to touch the ground. This was the going Skag had called for—a night and a day. ”

“ Now few men remained in the kraal Duguza, for nearly all had gone with the impi, and only women and aged people were left. Dingaan and Umhlangana, brothers of the king, were there, for Chaka would not suffer them to depart, fearing lest they should plot against him, and he looked on them always with an angry eye, so that they trembled for their lives, though they dared not show their fear lest fate should follow fear. ”

“ And afraid for her too. Every day that the Sauk suffered hunger and illness, every time more men were killed, the women would want all the more to hurt the one pale eyes who was in their power. And the men would hunger to take pleasure with her fair-haired beauty. He could not guard her at every moment. How, then, could he keep her safe?
They sat in silence again. The Winnebago Prophet looked pleased with himself. Black Hawk was grim, probably brooding over how badly the war was progressing. ”

“ He said, "The long knives have offered horses and gold to whoever captures Black Hawk. We are not enemies of the Sauk, but we want the long knives' friendship." The man spoke Sauk fluently and without an accent.
"It is a shame that the Winnebago fight on the side of the long knives," White Bear said. "One day they will take your land from you, as they have taken ours from us."
Wave shrugged. "Look what has happened to you, who fought against them."
Red man betrays red man, and only the whites gain. It is as I told Redbird. ”

“ Skag roused from a moment's abstraction to answer:
"Bhanah, I don't remember anything I could talk about to-night, but the hunting cheetah—Nels got."
"The hunting cheetah is one, Sahib; there are many. Telling is in knowledge and in speech; finding is in the man. ”

“ No republic in mankind's ancient history can surpass the Sākiya republic in the magnitude of its influence on world-culture. It had authority over a region which has for two thousand and five hundred years been the Jerusalem of Buddhism, the Tenjiko of the Japanese, and the Tien-chu (Heaven) of the Chinese. Shākya the Buddha (or Awakened) was, as the name implies, a citizen of the commonwealth of the Sākiyas. His father and brother were archons of this state. The common tradition that Shākya renounced princedom is erroneous. For he was not a prince at all, but only the son of a president. ”

“ The huge red howdah rocked as the thief elephant entered the river; a moment more, only the howdah showing. Distantly like the hum of furious insects, Skag heard Chakkra's chant:
"The thief is snared! Holy Nerbudda herself weaved the snare. . . .
The hand of destiny is ours, Sahib. Nay, mine, not thine! Did not the
Deputy Commissioner Sahib say by necessity? . . . Plunge in! . . .
Hai, but softly. Prince of thy kind, take the water softly, I say—"
And Gunpat Rao entered the river at a swimming stroke. ”

“ Shall we make Sacho king?"
"Yes, yes!" they all cried.
"But I do not wish to be king," replied Sacho. "A king is a useless sort of person who merely issues orders for others to carry out. I want to be busy and useful. Whoever is king will need a good attendant as well as an officer who will see that his commands are obeyed. I am used to such duties, having served Zog in this same way."
"Who, then, has the time to rule over us?" asked Agga-Groo, the goldsmith.
"It seems to me that Cap'n Joe is the proper person for king," replied Sacho. ”

“ There are not many of the ancient race of Tcha, and they live so secluded in their mountain fastness that nothing definite is known concerning them. When Chaka’s father was a young man he, with a band of followers, unconsciously invaded the territory of the Tcha and climbed the mountain near their sacred retreat. The atkayma and his men were promptly seized and carried into the hidden city, where all were destroyed except the Itzaex ruler. ”

“ There are those who say that this small space should not be empty space but must be wall or schach (Ros"h in the name of the R"i, Rambam ch. 4) . It must be 7x7 tefachim and taller than ten tefachim (Tur) . The walls, which are taller than ten, must also be made out of materials that can be used as schach (Ra"n the end of ch.1 of Sukkah) . If all of the walls are made of materials that can be used for schach one may sleep even under the walls (commentary of Rabbeinu Yerucham 1:1) . ”

“ Already Skag shared with the natives the attitude of devotion to the great Nerbudda. She was sacred to the people, and to every creature good, for her gift was like the gift of mothers. When all the world was parched and full of deep cracks, yawning beneath a heaven white and cloudless, and rain forsook the land, and every leaf hung heavy and dust-laden; when heat and thirst and famine all increased, till creatures crept forth from their hot lairs at evening and moved in company—who had been enemies, but for sore suffering—then would she yield up her pure tides to satisfy their utmost craving. ”

“ Why does this man come now to tear me away from the only tribe I have known?"
He was surprised to see Star Arrow smile warmly at him. [83]
"This man is your father," Owl Carver declared. "You are a Sauk. A Sauk never shirks the demands of honor. A Sauk is loyal and respectful and obedient toward his father."
"I am proud of my son," said Star Arrow. "He speaks with power before the people."
At that, a hopeless feeling swept over White Bear. Star Arrow was not fighting him, any more than water fights a drowning man. Star Arrow was a current dragging him away from his people, his village. ”

“ If a man hits his foot against a stone, he attributes it to a temporary victory of the foolish spirit.
In addition to all these spirits, there is another. Each clan [62] has a special spirit presiding over its destinies. The spirit is known as “Sakhua,” and all sacrifices to him have to be performed by a puithiam of the clan, and only members of the family can be present.
The Lushais believe in a spirit world beyond the grave, which is known as Mi-thi-khua—i.e., dead man’s village—but on the far side of Mi-thi-khua runs the Pial river, beyond which lies Pial-ral, an abode of bliss. ”

“ Skag looked up and the old cook spoke:
"I, who am speaking to Sanford Hantee Sahib, am Bhanah—entered into covenant before the gods that I am his servant to serve him with my strength, so long as I endure to live.
"I bring from the shining lady who was my mistress, whom may the gods protect! certain messages for him alone.
"The child is dead. Her body lies deep in a metal case beside her mother's, near one of the old bungalows."
"I am sorry to hear that."
"Death does not snare the soul. If she were still here, Nels would not be free to come to my master. ”

“ And when he had ended his prayer with tears, he sees a filthy Ethiopian standing over against his cell and aiming fiery darts at him, with which he was straightway wounded, and came out of his cell and ran about hither and thither like a lunatic or a drunken man, and going in and out could no longer restrain himself in it, but began to hurry off in the same direction in which the young man had gone. ”

“ His province, Saka, is very extensive, and he states with some pride that his power stretches to Sangsang in the east, to the Nevu-la in the south, to the Marium-la in the west, and northwards some days’ journey beyond Kamba Tsenam’s tent.
The illustrious gentlemen were much amused with my 361 costume. “You are a Sahib,” they said; “you were for six weeks the guest of the Tashi Lama; you employ one caravan after another, and leave a quantity of money behind you, and yet are dressed more shabbily than any of your servants.” ”

“ My friend the muleteer, who knew the ways and means of Meshed, recommended me strongly to become a saka, or water-carrier. 'You are young, and strong,' said he: 'you have a good voice, and would entice people to drink by a harmonious cry. You have besides a great talent for cant and palaver, and for laughing at one's beard. The number of pilgrims who come to Meshed to perform their devotions at the tomb of the Imâm is great, and charity being one of the principal instruments which they use for the salvation of their souls, they give freely to those who promise them the best reward. ”

“ Seeing Horace in the hands of a strange native—and certainly recovering—Skag looked away toward Hurda and wonder aloud if Nut Kut would be punished. It was the master-mahout who answered him:
"Nay, Sahib. He has done no harm."
"I'd like to have a chance with him," said Skag.
The master-mahout smiled—a mystic-musical smile, like his voice.
"I have come from my place for a moment," he said, looking intently into Skag's eyes, "for a purpose. We have heard of you, Son-of-Power. The wisdom of the ages is to know the instant when to act; not too late, not too soon. We have seen you work this day ”

“ Immense is the number of incarnations in past ages. The present age is called the happy one, and the number of incarnations is to amount to one thousand. The first four incarnations have already appeared, the rest are to follow. In the modern Buddhistic system Shakya is the last incarnate Buddha.
The systems of Buddhism known in Tibet are the following four, each having again a number of subdivisions.
The first is called Vaibhashika, with four subdivisions, taken from the names of Shakya’s four principal disciples. The followers of this system stand on the lowest degree of merit. ”

“ Had her lie got any one into trouble, had she slandered a companion, she would have seen that sin had been committed; “But what did it signify,” thought she, “whether I said truly that the chaddar had been given to me by my father; or untruly, that it had been given to me by the Mem Sahiba?” As Buté turned weeping to go to her room, the Miss Sahiba heard her murmur between her sobs, “Why does she make such a fuss? What harm could the lie do? it was such a little one!”
The feast of fruit began; plenty of nice kélas (plantains) were spread on the floor. ”

“ But the Sahib will not hold Nels less, for courage or for power? There is not one to equal him."
"Bhanah, we'll put that hope into Nels, against when he hears a hyena."
"That will be with the good hunting-piece in my master's hands, at first—to teach him confidence. Then he will fear—not anything on earth. Then it will be all like the cheetah hills to him. Sahib, it is more satisfying than food." ”

“ But he would never stop missing Redbird and Eagle Feather.
And he would never stop wishing he could live out his life as a Sauk. Inwardly he would always be a Sauk. The Bear spirit would always be with him to guide him.
I failed the Sauk when they needed me. I warned them not to go to war, but I could not make them listen. They need a shaman who will make them listen.
He thought of the many, more than a thousand, who had died [516] following Black Hawk, and a sudden, crushing grief struck him to his knees. ”

“ In the main cabin I found Lieutenant Allerton sitting at breakfast with Captain Steele, Uncle Naboth and Archie. Joe was snoozing after his late watch and Ned Britton was on deck. Behind our guest’s chair stood the handsomest Indian I have ever seen, the Maya he had mentioned to us and whose name was Chaka. Our South Sea Islanders were genuine black men, but Chaka’s skin was the color of golden copper. He had straight black hair, but not the high cheek bones of the typical American Indian, and the regularity of his features was certainly remarkable. ”

“ When the atkayma went away he sent us some soft mats which we spread upon the benches and reclined upon.
It was still dark when Chaka again aroused us. He was accompanied by two tall Itzaex in red robes, who bore lighted torches. A group of Indian maids came behind them with a simple breakfast of fruits and milk.
We first ate and then proceeded to don our equipment. There was a word of protest from one of the priests, but Chaka silenced him and to the amazement of the torch-bearers calmly began to put on his own gas-jacket and electrite outfit. ”

“ But in this case, again, research has shown that the facts are very different. Like the Vikrama era, the Śaka era owes its existence to foreign invaders. It was founded by the Chhaharāta or Kshaharāta king Nahapāna, who appears to have been a Pahlava or Palhava, i.e. of Parthian extraction, and who reigned from A.D. 78 to about 125. [9] He established himself first in Kāṭhiāwār, but subsequently brought under his sway northern Gujarāt (Bombay) and Ujjain, and, below the Narbadā, southern Gujarāt, Nāsik and probably Khāndēsh. ”