Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-07-13
Dying Hind as and the Ganges.

posing VI Inelr uedu, WHICH lS pIdC-
ticed by the Hindus. The Ganges
is considered a sacred river, and its
waters are believed to possess the
power of healing the sick, sanctfy-
ing the souls of the dying, and
the bodies and souls of
the well from all impurities. 1t is
the longing of every faithful Hindu,
when his final summons shall come,
to pass from the earth to the land
Of the spirits with his feet submerg.
ed in the blessed water of this river,
and with its mud filing his mouth,
ears, and nostrils. Thousands of
the sick and dying are annually |
borne to its shores in their last mo-
ments, that they may have assur-
ance of Immortality through a death |
in it's embrace. After life has de-
parted, the bodies of the Hindus
are burned on the banks dof the
Ganges, and the ashes are thrown
into the stream, or they are placed |
on raft, having lighted lamp at
each corner, and are pushed out
into the current, while the relatives
watch the floating coffin with eager
eyes, until it sinks beneath the
water, or the crocodiles make a
mouthful of it.
During the dry season." says
Mrs. Hauser, "human skeletons,
nicely cleaned and bleached, are
seen scattered on the sand. There
is no telling how many Hindus a
voracious fsh-eater deyours during
lifetime in India. & y 4
One of the strange sights that met
us, as we entered the Hugly river
from the ocean, was the dead bodies
floating by us, with birds standing
upon them. While at Calcutta,
several ladies of our company wished
to go to the railway depot on the
other side of the river, and, before
we could get the boat near enough to
the shore for them to enter it, we
had to push away with our oars
several dead bodies of men and
women that had floated down the
stream and lodged there. 4 =
81 have often seen sick and dy-
ing men and women hurried over
the dusty road to the river. Some
times they were carried on light
bedstead, on mems shoulders, with
only a piece of cloth thrown over
them to protect them from the
fearful rays Of the sun. Some
times they were carried in
carts, without springs, in which
they could not lie down, though too
weak to sit up. They were often
attended only by the driver, who
hurried on the oxen, regardless of
the pain and groans of the dying
one, lest they might not. reach the
river ere life was gone. The eldest
son usually accompanies his mother
on this last awful journey. When
the river is reached she is placed
partly in the water. She must die
now. To return home, to be re-
pulsed by the Holy Mother Ganges,
would be greater calamity than
widowhoOd. Too often the son
hastens her death, lest she should
recover. The last sigh has scarce
escaped, when her body is thrust
out into the stream, to become food
for alligators and vultures."
When inyalids have once been
placed in the Ganges, in expecta-
ton of their decease, they are sell
dom provided with either food or
water, no matter how long life may
be protracted. Should the fresh
air and the change in their situa-
ton produce a change for the better
in their disease, as is sometimes the
case, the circumstance is regarded
as very unfortunate, being inter
preted as an avowal that their souls
are rejected by the Ganges. Mrs.
Hauser repeats the account Of san
aged Hindu mother, who was thus
exposed by the river bank for thir-
teen days, fed only with a little
milk, part Of the time without
shelter from the rains, and part of
the time screened from alternate
drenching showers, or fierce heat Of
the sun by a slight canopy of mats.
For a consideration of twenty-five
rupees the Brahms allowed the old
woman to return home, and her
family to retain their caste, not
withstanding the reproach cast upon
them by the refusal Of the GangeS
to receive one of their number"
While the invalid survives, the
friends usually continue with him
or her through the day, but ateyen
! ing the duty of watching is given
over to a servant, and the relatives
retire to the comfort Of their dwell
I ings. When death is imminent
} mud is stuffed into the ears anC
! nostrils of the moribund, and Gan
a ges water is poured down the throat
( and thus life is hastened in Its exit