We ascended by a giant staircase, half a mile long, overhung by palms and
tropical vegetation. We obtained a splendid view of Bombay from this
eminence, which we should have enjoyed had it not been that the palms
immediately around us were thick with myriads of large black vultures,
gorged with corpses of the small-pox and cholera epidemic, which was then
raging in Bombay. The air was so heavy with their breath that (though
people say it was impossible) I felt my head affected as long as we
remained there. These myriads of birds feed only on corpses, and of
necessity they must breathe and exhale what they feed upon. They
fattened upon what bare contact would kill us; they clustered in
thousands. This burying-place, or garden, was full of public and private
family towers. The great public tower is divided into three circles,
with a well in the middle. It has an entrance and four outlets for
water. First, there is a place for clothes, and a tank, like a huge
metal barrel lying on its side. Here the priests, who are the operators,
leave their garments. A large procession of Parsees, having accompanied
the body as far as this spot, turn and wait outside the tower. The
priests then place the body, if a man, in the first circle; if a woman,
in the second circle; if a child, in the third: in the centre there is
the door, well covered with a grating. The priests then stay and watch.
The vultures descend; they fly round the moment they see a procession
coming, and have to be kept at bay until the right moment.
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