The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1876-06-29
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DYING Hlndus and the Ganges.

In her interesting sketches of 1.-THE
Orient and Its People," Mrs. Hauser de-
scribes the mode of disposing of their
dead, which is practiced by the Hindus.
The Ganges is considered q sacred river,
and its waters are believed to possess the
power of healing the sick, sanctifying the
souls of the dying, and cleansing the
bodies ana the souls of the we'll from all
impurities. 1t ia the longing of every
faithful Hindu, when his final summons
snail come, to pass from the earth to the
land OF the spirits with his feet submerged
IN the blessed water of this river, and with
Its mud filling his mouth, ears and nos
Urls. Thousands of the sick and diving
are annually borne to its shores in their
last moments, that they may have the as
surance OF immortality through a death
IN Its embrace. After life has departed,
the bodies Of the Hindus are burned on
the Danks OF the Ganges, and the ashes
are tnrown into the stream, or they are
placed on raft, having a lighted lamp
at each corner, and are pushed out into
the current, while the relatives watch the
noatlng coffin with eager eyes, until it
Sinks beneath the water, or the crocOdiles
make mOuthful of it.
during the dry season." says Mrs.
Hauser, human skeletons, nicely cleaned
ana Dleaehed, are seen scattered on the
sand. There is no telling how many Hin
aus voracious .fish-eater devOurs dur
ing lifetime in India.
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 60 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 tioated
down the stream and lodged there.
II have often seen sick aid dying
men and women hurried over the dusty
road to the river. Sometimes they were
carried on a light bedstead, on mems
shoulders, with only piece of cloth
thrown over them to protect them from
the fearful rays of the sun. Sometimes
they were carried in carts, without
springs, in which they could not lie
down, though too weak to sit up. They
were often atten led 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 &C.
companies 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 repulsed
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 invalids have once been placed
in the Ganges, in expectation of their de-
cease, they are seldom provided with
either food or water, no matter how long
life may be protracted. Should the fresh
air and the change in their situation pro-
duce a change for the better in their dis
ease, as is son etimes the case, the cir
cumstance is regarded as very unfortu-
nate-being interpreted as an avowal that
their souls are rejected by the Ganges.
Mrs. Hauser repeats the account of 'an
aged Hindu mother, who was thus ex-
posed by the river bank for thirteen
days, fed only with little milk, part OF
the time without shelter from the rains,
and part of the time screened from alter
nate drenching showers, or fierce heat of
the sun. by slight canopy of mats. For
a consideration of twenty five rupees, the
Brahmins allowed the old woman to re-
turn home, and her family to retain their
caste, notwithstanding the reproach cast
upon them by the refusal of the Ganges
to receive one of their number"
While the invalid survives the friends
continue with him or her through the
day, but at evening the duty of watching
is given over to servant, and the rela-
tives retire to the comfort of their
dwellings. When death is imminent,
mud is stuffed into the ears and nostrils
of the mori5und, and Ganges waaer is
poured down the throat, and thus life is
fastened in its exit.