Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1873-06-14
About Babies.

4 GREAT MANY curious things happen
to babies. in this round world OF ours,
that readers in general probably never
heard of. One thing is-planting them.
This is done by the dark-skinned women
Of Guinea. and isn't half so dreadful as II
souncs. The mother digs hole in the
Ground, stands baby in il. and then packs
the warm sand around him to keep him
i'm nlace. as YOU would set out rOse-bu>h.
II keeps him out of mischief, anu he can
nlav i'm the sand while his mother works:
All day long he stays in his odd crlo, ana
at night, when she Is done WIN her
work. he is dug out. When this agrlcul-
tural mother wants TO carry BABY ABOUT
she ties him into Il little chair when she
straps to her back. fit is some very
grand occasion, he is dressed neatly IN
stripes of white paint. and Ornamented
| with dozens of brass bracelets and rings
on arms and legs. a funny-loOking baby
he must be, Ifyou don't fancy CRIB OF
| sand for a baby, what do you think OF a
bic shoe stuffed with moss to make it
comfortable?
! The drol! little Laps cradle their
babies i'm that way. The shoe is large, OF
| course, and made of reindeer skin. III
comes up high at the back, like the slip
pers we wear nowadays, and is turned
| up nj the toes. The moss with which 1t
is stuffed is the famous reindeer moss,
soft and white and the odd little black
eyed baby looks very comfortable hang
inc from tree. or slung across its
mothers back. Perhaps this baby who
lives in shoe is no more cOmica1 than
the baby who lives in fur bag-another
sober little black-eyed baby, away of in the
Shivery EsquimauX huts. Besides being
cuddled up in fur-bag at his mother
back. this reund-faced little fellow wears 4
fur-hood, and looks like some strange
kind of animal pecping ont in the world
You may have seen the lndisn baby. ol
papoose. bound flat to a board-poor little
creature! One tribe. the Flatheads
made rude sort of box of bark Ol
willow-work. and wrap the baby-.'lttl,
man." they call HMM piece Ofblanket
strap him tightly to the box, ant
hang it across two sticks. Besides this
the unfortunate little fellow has boarC
bound over his forehead TO make him ;
Flathead.
Even the Russian peasant mothe
cradles her baby on square board huns
from the wall by strings from eacl
corner, like the pan in a balance.
In India the funny little black babc
either sit on their mothers hips and hole
on by cla-ping their hands over he
shoulder. or they take airy rides III
basket on her head. These babies arr
elegantly dressed in armlets, bracelets
anklets. and leglets, Off one might maxi
a word finger-rings, tOe-rings, earrings
ana nOse-rings. As for clothes, they don
need many when they wear SO much jew
elry.
China babies-not dolls, but babe
that live i'll China-are sadly in the wa.
among the poor. Sometimes they are era
died in bag on their mothers back. AM
sometimes they are tied TO the backs o
older children, who 90 about as though
they had no such load. Many poor Chi
nese live in DoatS on the river. and til
baby that comes to such a family is tie,
by a long rope to the mast. 1t is Ion:
enough to let the child creep around. bu
not long enough 10 let him fall overheard
There is another curious custom regard
ing babies which prevails in some part
of China. If one dies, it il not buried, a
older people are ; it is thrown out care
lessly. and crackers are fired off at tn
door. Here and there. at the corners c
streets, charitable people build SINAI
houses with openings to drop the neglect
ed little bodies in, and that is all the bun
ial they get.-Toung Folks for May.