Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-06-13

| ana nave Decu -
When their compliments denote
They are going for your vote,
You can do just as you please,
Bpt-y9H'd better watch your cheese.
Burmese mapPors saFnd nd C4stOms.
It is now generally believed that
the Burmese, and, indeed, all the va
rious races and nations of Indo Chi
ma migrated at remote period from
the pl ateau of Central Asia, and that
they are of mixed origin, possessing
SOME of the characteristics of the
Hindoo (the Cancasiap} and some
also of the Chinaman (MongoD.
Thus in person they are short and
stout, with the small ebliaHe eyes,
high and prominent cheek bones,
and fat, short, and broad nose of
the Tartar, Chinese, and Japanese
races and the craven black" hair,
pearly teeth, and olive brown skin
of the Hindoos and the Malays; and
though of nearly the same stature as
! the latter, they generally possess
the stouter frames of the former.
The Burmese are simple minded,
indolent people frank and courte-
GUS, fond of amusement and gay.col-
ored apparel, friendly among them
selves, and hospitable to strangers.
They appreciate quiet life, smok7
ing and gossipping, and sleeping
throughout tie day, and listening to
wild music and singing through half
the night; "stern" ambition is among
them, indeed very rare. rate of
character. Burmese houses are built
of teak-wood, palm-leaf, bamboo,
rattan, and grass; and are generally
raised upon'piles four or FIVE feet
from the ground, as a preventive
against fevers, bred BY the great
dampness of the climate, and to pro-
vide against the innudations of the
rainy season. Native villagers often
consist of but one long street, run.
ming through perfect jungles of date,
banana, palm or other tropical trees,
and beneath and among these, near
ly concealed from view, are the lit
tie bamboo huts, artfully carved
monasteries, and tapering pagodas
The costume of the Burmese is re-
markably SIMPLE. Both sexes wear
a short white jacket called an enqueI
and the male putso "a piece of silk
or cotton usually the former) and of
gay color lFed or Yellow about a
yard in. width and four or five in
length, which is worn round the hips
while the women wear. a ten1jgle,
which is nearly a square piece of
silk or cloth, sufficiently large to
wrap around the body, but fastened
merely by tucking the outer end
within the other, and consequently
the wearer and discloses nearly the
whole of one leg; but this exhibit
ton being the "custom," is not deem
ed immodest. The men wear gay
colored silk Bananas-gotta6o,t,ags
i'm adjusting which they sometimes
entwist thick lock of hair; the wo-
men wear no head covering. Both
men and women wear their hair
long; the former gather it in bunch
on the top of their head, and the lat
ter comb it straight back from the
forehead, and tie it in knot on1the
back of the head. The men seldom
or never wear any hair upon their
faces, unless it might be very fee
BILE mustache. The sexes generally
walk barefooted though the. women
sometimes wear a sort of sandal
made after the classical Roman
model. The Burmese males are all |
tattooed from above the hips to the |
knees with blackish blue pigment |
and some, besides have punctured
spots upon the upper part of the
body, stained a vermillion color
Tattooing of thighs is a painful oPer-
alton. 1t is done when they are
very young, little at time, and
opium is often administered on such
occasions, and death from an over
dose of this drug or from infama-
tion, are not infrequent. The diet
of the Burmese is both simple and
The general food of
Southern and Eastern Asia is rice. Of
the Burmese we may say that salt
fish, rice and ngapee, and fruits
constitute the solid and substantial
part of their bill of fare, while
betle-nut and the cheroot make quite
an enjoyable desert. The condi-
nent Hgdpee, for which there is
very great demand, it is made of
fish-fish which has arriv-
I'd ut that epicurean stage termed
high" It is sort Of paste which
mixes with rice like the Indian sanc
'htsthes. The betel-nut is extensive
y used, and most houses have about
n near them Erellises of the piper
,etel plant, which is ehewed with
he nut. Smoking il universal and
ontined among both sexes and all
.ges; cheroots of solid tobacco, but
more often preparation covered
With a green-leaf wrapper, and some
f enormous size, are used. Bur-
nese boys take to smoking even
arlier than do the youths Of this
ountry. / have frequently seen !
abes at their mothers breast alter
ating the nourishment of "Nature's
Sile" with pulls and puffs at their
heroots. The natives of Burma do
ot appear to wear so much jewelry /
s the Hindoos, but they delight es- \
'eeialiy IN ear ornaments. The !
ODE of the ear is bored TO hole of I
size-oiten an inch in +.
iameter-and into various articles
re worn; pieces of wood, jewels, or
oils of solid gold or silver. When t