A BOY IN INDIA

Taranaki Daily News, 3 June 1933, Page 3

A BOY IN INDIA

NEW PLYMOUTH ADDRESS. EXPERIENCES VIVIDLY RECALLED. ; An address on his boyhood days in India was given by Mr. J. W-’ Spindler at the Frankleigh Park Progressive As- s , sociation’s meeting at New Plymouth on ■ Wednesday. ._ . , Mr. Spindler said,he went to India at the age of two years, his father being a sergeant-major in a cavalry regiment. The family remained in India for nine years, residing in various parts of the country. He had a vivia ecollection of the sport enjoyed by/ the soldiers’ tent- . pegging, rough-riding, and so on, and also spoke of the excitement of breaking in young horses. Native money consist- s . ed of small copper tubes, unstamped, and ; shells, but he could never understand their values. Many of the houses consisted of a frame-work of bamboo, plas- - * tered with mud, and the roof was thatched. They djd not keep out the sand stoirns, and all kinds of vermin got into the thatch, such as snakes and lizards, huge spiders. and scorpions. SNAKE ON BED. It was always necessary to sleep under i ’ a mosquito net Mr. Spindler .recalled ./ ■ that on one occasion he woke up to find ; a snake curled up on the bed above the mosquito net, but fortunately it moved off without striking. Their residence in one part of the country occupied some high ground which gave them a good view of the country between the house and the jungle, and it was quite com- ;, , mon to see cattle suddenly pounced upon by a tiger or leopard. Officers of the different regiments used to shoot th? animals often from platforms, but the natives would hunt them without fire- . arms, using nothing but spears and long knives. He had often seen th£ natives returning to the villages carrying a dead leopard or tiger tied to a pole and then offer the skin for sale to the European . . residents. ■ ■.'•■■i .... ’’trees AND RICE GROWING. Mr. Spindler spoke of tree planting and the rice growing fields, which were enclosed by small embankments so that, the fields could be flooded and hold -the water. Reference was also made to the monsoons breaking and the torrential rains, and Mr. Spindler said that over country which ' had previously been as dry as possible there appeared large fish up to about two feet in length. These were caught by the natives in bamboo traps, but they were not palatable to Europeans. Mr. Spindler, described . the sandstorms of India and the terrific thunder and hail-storms, hailstones being as large as duck eggs. He and his brothers used to go out afterwards to see what birds and small animals had been , killed by.; the hailstones. Mr. Spindler also spoke of the monkeys and jackals and said the latter were not dangerous when in numbers, but it was a. very different story when a jackal was alone. He recounted ;?■ how on one occasion hi father’s horse ■ was injured by a jackal and, despite all possible attention, died in the course of a few days from the wounds in its throat.