The Red Cloud chief., 1877-10-04
In Burmah.

tcI1Suc VI lhC Iui ilVS'. tI
of a circular form. and written from
right TO left. As the language has nei-
Their ~decllnatiOn nOr c. jIgition. II
takes years of hard and patient study
fer Europeans TO master il. Yet the
lowest class can all read and write. and
many of them seem TO have a desire To
obtain information. Not long since. one
bright eyed young fellow asked me con
corning America, apparently with an
idea that it was insignificant little island
in the midst of the sea. Fashion here.
as at home, covers a multitude of
The 'temine' of the BrumeSe feminine
does the duty of the "unmeEtionable,"
of the civilized world. 1t is "A large piece
of cloth or silk. nearly square. 1t is
simply folded and fastened AZ the waist,
and consequently flows partially open
at every step taken by the wearer. dis
closing nearly the whole of one leg-a
leg which even Venus might envy.
Since this is the custom" however. il
is not considered inmodest. An old
book of travel. published in the first
half of the present century, thus dis
courses concerning the t~attoOing of the
men and the dress of the females: The
men of this nation have a 5 ngular Gus
tom of tattOoing their thighs AMI legs
with representation of tigers. cats, and
%1ar npivpnlo Tho nrIuIp nf this nItS-
tom, as well as the immOdeSt dress of
the women, is said to have been the
policy of a certain y Ieen, who, Observ-
ing that the men were DESERVING their
wives and giving themselves up to
abOminable vices. persuaded her hus-
band to establish these customs by a
royal order, that thus, by distiguring the
neil and setting off the beauty of the
women. the latter might regain the af-
fectiOns of their husbands"
The Golden Pagoda stands somewhat
back from the main portion of the city.
In appearance it is a sold mass of ma
sOnry rising tier on tier To "A great
height. 1t is regular and symmetrical
in design, although. perhaps, rather
, eavy at the base. Its lofty summit is
adorned with "A great tu-a fancltul
frame work of iron. which To all ap-
pearance is Us light and graceful AS
fairies work, but which, in reality, Is
very heavy. 1t is sad that on the apex
OF this tn is the most magnificent ruby
in the wOrld-valued at S5o,0oo-a St
quel perhaps to Wilkie Collins MOON
stone" All of this vast mass of mason
ry is Il hickly covered with genuine gold
leaf, and has always been Sd from the
time it was first seen by Europeans. At
ii distance the reflection of the SUM ght
from this great mirror is rs dazzling as
the IL itself. The approach to the
temple is up a dozen or more fl SIts 81
steps, through curious and grot-squely
CaI Ncu passages, ,nc SUES VI "nIUu arc
forever lined with beggar those hpr-
rible, filthy, lOathsOme pests of the
East.
On one side of the temple is a shrine
filled with images of "Rim-Sammy."
the chief god of the Burmese persua-
sion, and idols of brick and mortar, with
a good natured smile on their coarse.
sensual features. III re the devOut Bur
mese pays worship. and deposits Lis
piece or rupees in the money vault for
the especial benefit of his divinity. Ii
is said that walled up within the broad
b ase of this mighty monument are
vaults similar To those Of the prophet at
Mecca, which contain countless treas
ures of gems and gold. the contributions
Of generations of faithful worshiperS.
1t is a fact not generally known that
RangOOn is undermined by numerous
secret passages, open only To the priest
" class of the Burmese, and, deity hid
den behind the idols on the terrace,
where many small pagOdas stand, | my
self have discovered entraDc = 10 these
mysterious passages which app,ar to
lead directly under the gilied temple.
II is rumOred that, beneath TINT seem
ingly solid mass. the heart of the pago-
da is hollow, and there, in its innermost
sanctuary, lit by fl ckering tapers OF
wax. with the wealth of past con on
every side. the holy high priest of Il ~
ali kneels in his devotions. not before a
braz N image, but in the living pres nee
Of his guiding spirit, and. like the Gre
clan at Delphos. waiting the word of
command from the deniz ms Of spheres
where spirit vanquishes matter.