Escape to Pagan (17 page)

“Dogs had a symbiotic relationship with the villagers; they were the sanitary inspectors and gave good warning of strangers, predators or snakes entering or approaching the village. In return they were allowed shelter under the huts. Only occasionally were they fed scraps of offal. Venomous snakes killed in the village were also given to them. The Burmese, a very superstitious race, believed that village dogs also gave warning of evil spirits. In most cases when the village dogs barked at night hysterically, it was probably a leopard or a snake and not an evil spirit. It is said that Indian cat-burglars often covered their bodies with leopard fat to frighten off dogs. Like the Japanese, the Burmese never touched dogs and considered them unhygienic. Dog meat however was greatly prized by the Chinese, Vietnamese and Koreans. They preferred it to beef. This was another reason the Japanese and the Burmese looked down on the conscripted Korean soldiers in the Japanese army.

“When the retreating Chinese Army appeared and began shooting the village dogs for food; a few of them escaped into the jungle. The starving Chinese soldiers were quickly followed by the Japanese (not dog lovers) who always took great pleasure in shooting or bayoneting the village pi-dogs. Quick to learn, these dogs left the villages and formed large packs that hunted the escaped livestock also roaming the countryside at this time. These dogs like the water buffalo, were a potential danger to Europeans.

“This was the dry season and the river was shallow, but to be near any running water was a blessing. We now looked like down-and-outs – raga-muffins, our clothes were tattered and worn and our footwear would soon be useless. The money we had was to buy food, not clothes.

“Your grandmother and I used to wade out to about one or two feet of clear water to bathe, but only where we could see the sandy bottom. I was always afraid of crocodiles and pythons that lurked in the shallows of rivers and jungle pools.”

“Have you ever seen a crocodile or a python in the wild, Mum?” I would sometimes ask out of interest.

“'No, only at Rangoon zoo, but my brothers used to shoot pythons on the Irrawaddy. Large pythons were a danger to their retrieving dogs. My brothers always carried their rifles with them, even on picnics.'

“One morning while walking along the riverbank searching for drift wood, I saw ahead of me on a sandbank what looked like a long piece of coloured material flapping in the breeze. As I got nearer, I found it was the skin of a very large python. Pythons, it is said, are especially dangerous after shedding their skin. I quickly ran back to the hut in case the snake was still in the vicinity.”

Strangely Mother was not fazed by big E-type spiders (mygalomorph). These large arachnids would suddenly blossom aggressively out of their burrows if a foot accidentally touched an invisible trip line at the entrance. They would then raise their thick forelegs and present their long fangs in threat. Mother would pin the large arachnid down from behind with a stick, folding one leg from either side of its thorax and holding them in her fingers, then quickly throw it into the bushes. In Johore Baru after the war, when one found its way into the house, Mum would throw it out of the window, sometimes she had hardly turned her back when the determined arachnid would climb back up again, and glare at her from the window sill.

“Kill it, Mum – kill it, Mum!” I would scream – jumping up and down – like a demented goblin. I still don't do large spiders.

“No, son,” she would say softly with a smile, “poor thing.” She would then repeat the processes despite the fact that these spiders, after being molested, are very willing to bite. These large spiders are a favourite food source of the Khmer people.

“We were fortunate to find different edible plants and crops on the riverbank during our foraging trips including peanuts which we had to dig up. Despite the variety of vegetables that we foraged, I still craved meat and used to dream of all the different meat dishes we used to have every night at home. Savoy grill for breakfast, lunch at one, Tiffin at four and dinner at nine. Most of these mealtimes include meat in the form of pork, lamb cutlets, chicken, partridge, wild duck, snipe and beef. How I now regretted leaving some of that delicious food on my plate.

“There were some large crabs in the river but they were too quick for us and scuttled into deep murky water where we were afraid to follow. We stopped at this fisherman's hut for several days bathing in the morning and in the afternoon before eating what we had found. As food was now getting difficult to find in this area we were forced to move on. We continued our journey along the riverbank and came to a very large area of tall elephant grass. My mother said it would be too dangerous to follow the path through it. We were forced to make a detour around the edge and after a while found ourselves back in scrub jungle near a village that had been destroyed by the Chinese Army. There was a strange smell that hung over this village and several burnt bodies lay by the water well. We moved on quickly fearing that the well may have been contaminated by the Chinese.

“Continuing, we ended up in old paddy fields and walked along the bunds that divided them. The earth was cracked and dry and difficult to walk over in our worn out shoes. After walking about an hour, we could see in the far distance a cattle-patti
[cattle station]
and hoped to reach it before nightfall. Unfortunately night fell quickly and we had no option but to stop and wait for the dark hour to pass. My mother and I sat back to back on the waterproof ground sheet while covering ourselves with the two blankets. You were always tired after a long day and soon went to sleep in my lap.

“When the moon came up we could see just as clearly as daylight, you could read a book in strong moonlight. The river below us looked like a silver ribbon. When the moon rose higher we began to walk to the cattle-patti, it was now lovely and cool. For some reason something made me turn around; silently following us was the large pack of dogs.
We tried to frighten them away but they would not leave; when we stopped they stopped. Suddenly we heard guttural voices. Without realizing it, we were now near the bullock track again, which must have run parallel to the river. We stood still and waited. The pack of dogs suddenly disappeared.

“Thank God you were fast asleep in the sling I had made for you on my back. We could see lights flashing. The only people who would move at night were Japanese soldiers. For a moment we stood frozen till the voices faded in the distance. Turning, we began heading back towards the river. After some time we came to a high bund; climbing over it we sat down and fell asleep listening to the ‘did you do it' birds
[plovers]
.”

Mum used to tell me these birds slept on their backs with their legs in the air – to stop the sky falling on them.

“The following morning, we left early as we were still near the bullock track. We reached the riverbank beyond the elephant grass and waded into the river for a quick wash but moved on as there was no tree cover on our side of the bank.

“Occasionally we saw people in the distance on the far bank of the river and one day came across fresh cloven hoof footprints in the sand made by Japanese soldiers. They had forded the river some time earlier that morning. Thank God they didn't follow the riverbank!

“We travelled along the river without incident for several days, sleeping in places that offered cover and shade. Then one day while washing and collecting water to drink, several indistinguishable shapes floated passed in the water. After closer scrutiny my mother exclaimed ‘My God, Kate – they are human bodies! Covered in tiger prawns – they're eating them!' These bodies had limbs missing. It was impossible to know their nationality. I felt sick to my stomach to think that we had been drinking and washing in water that had flowed over dead bodies. I never ate tiger prawns again.

“Continuing cautiously along the bank, we came upon several more bodies in the river. Then we saw smoke on the horizon. Mother said we should not follow the river anymore.

“That night we slept under lantana bushes away from the river, but were forced back to the river to get water the following morning. The dead bodies had disappeared. We boiled the water. It still tasted terrible.