Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1869-11-19
Hindoo visitors.

Thar OgJeot i, Coming, and Projects for
tie Future Opportunity for Anericaa
Enterprise.
The coming of two Hindoo travellers to
New York is a circumstance of importance,
since it is not caused by any idle curiosity of
travel, but by the earnest attempt OF the
great Indian empire to establish direct COM
munion with us. Hitherto the trade of that
wealthy country has been completely in the
grasp of England, so that there is but one
American house, that of Messrs Bastow &
Co. of Bombay, trading directly. Messrs.
Mooliie Yhackersey, and Toolsidass Jadaviu
express the greatest astOnIShment that a
people so enteprising as the American
should have traded entirely with Hindu
merchants through English channels since
in all the large cities Of India the American
name is known and respected, and the
flower flag, as the Hindoos name the
Stars and Stripes, is accorded unusual vel
come And it is to explain this and to open
the way for future direct commerce, that
these gentlemen have visited our shores.
They are both merchants well known to the
European communities established in India.
They arrived in England well furnished with
letters of introduction from the principal
merchants OF Bombay, surveyed the chief
object Of interest in that country and then
embarked for America, their ultimate des-
tinatiou. During their stay in the Fifth
Avenue Hotel they have visited at least so
of our leading merchants, to whom they
had letters, and have created much astonish-
ment by their easy manners, and perfection
of English. Both are clothed in European
style with the exception Of handsome Turk
ish caps, from which circumstance has
arisen the impression that they are Turks.
The younger, Toolsidass, is about "a years
of age, and perfect English linguist He
is Brahmiu, that is, of the priestly caste,
who are forbidden to eat anything that has
breathed the breath of life, to touch any
thing polluted by the hands of an inferior
caste, or even by the shadow of a passing
man, to drink any water that has not been
drawn in their own veRsels Consequently
lie has lost his caste, and on his return will
be an outcast from among his Brahminical
brelhern But as the Brahmins are now dis
pissed by everybody, and Toolsidass is
wealthy and received on terms of perfect
equality by the English, this will be q mat
ter of little consequence to him.
Mooljie Thackersey the elder, who, by
misapprehension, was styled Parsi, is of
the Baniau or merchant caste. The Hin
doc faith is also very strict with these, and
this gentleman has also by his travels eating
forbidden food, and especially beet, and
flesh of the sacred animal, put himself out
of the pale of the Hindoo religion. The
BaDyans are principally worshipers of Shira,
but they are highly esteemed, are very
wealthy, and form the bulk af the Hindoo
money-lenders, though the Parsis dabble
also in that business. Their influence is
great, since there is hardly village through
out the Bombay presidency where the riots
are not indebted to some wealthy Banian
money-lender who holds lien upon the
growing crops.
These gentlemen say that the interest felt
in American affairs in India is very great,
and they instance that at the death of Pres
ident Lincoln there was scarcely a newspa-
per printed in the three principal dialects Of
Hindoostani, Devanaguri, and Gujrati,
which did not, equally with the English,
publish an account of his assassination, with
short memoirs of his life. American affairs
are cuTiously scrutinized in ludia, and these
subtle men, feeling the weakening of the
English hand, and disliking the strong prob
ability of Russian ascendency are actually
looking forward to American interference
anu hGlp' 1utg tClAdlliiy plOlbcC " GbNC4
into business relations if they find it possible,
and viii visit the cotton growing districts Of
the South to inspect the growth of the cele-
brated Sea Island and long staples, and pos
sibIy to take seed to India, where nothing
but the short staple is known. They have
been busly visiting and re-visiting during
their short stay. On Monday night they
dined with Herr Leopold Schmidt Of the Ba-
den Consulate. Ga Wednesday they started
for West Point, where they are the guests OF
Gen. Pitcher. Thence they proceed to Chi
cago taking Niagara en- routel, where they
will be received by Sub Gen
Clarke; thence to Omaha and St. Louis,
where they will remain for some time col
lecting necessary information before they
proceed with their tour through the cotton
growing States. These they will minutely
inspect, the ginning, cleaning and pressing,
and will in all probability purchase the nee
essary machinery, that at the Apollo Bun
der Bombay being heavy, expensive, and
slow-in fact, English. They will finally
halt in New Orleans, whence they will re-
turn to New York by sea.