St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-09-21
Letter from India.
To the CaledOn,an :


from America brings us six different
papers from different parts of your land,
but you are always the first to be
greeted, and your story of news, all
about things at home, is always the first
to be heard. | have often thought to
write you, but there seems so little in
India to interest your readers that you
have been neglected. The other eve
ming, however, as | was riding home
ward comfortably in railway car,
was thinking of the changes that have
passed over India during the past
seventeen years-since we first came
here-and thought some note of these
changes might interest our friends in
America, who receive their news
through your faithful weekly visits.
When we came TO India, four months
was not considered long time to spend
on board ship between Boston and CAL
cutta. We sailed on an ice ship, April
10th, and landed August 2lst-glad that
it was not longer. Now missionaries
take steamer to England-twelve days
and then go aboard steamer for
Bombay-twenty-eight days-and thus
by steam reach Bombay easily in forty
or fOrty-twO days. Or the traveller
may take the railway from London to
Dover, cross the straits to Calais, and
take the railway again for Brindisi, on
the southwestern point of Italy, and
from there he finds regular line of
steamers to Bombay. This is the fast
mail route and is about ten days shorter
than the route by steamer from Eng
land. So that should our American
letters sent ''Via Brindisi," make close
connections at each changing point,
they may reach us in thirty days from
st. Johnsbury. The American papers
of June Doth, will reach us to-day,
August 3D., and would probably reach
us one week sooner if marked ''Via
Brindisi." The postage, however, is
more when thus marked.
We are not, however, dependent on
our papers or letters for our general
news of America. The telegraph faith
fully reports news of general interest.
The next day after Hayes nomination,
the news came to India and Tilden's
election was announced here the next
day after election. Then followed the
word doubtful then the Commission
was announced and as state after state
was decided for Hayes, the wires
brought us the news in India. You
have just. now had riOtOus time with
your railway men. What happened at
Pittsburg on July 2Ist and 22d, was re-
ported to us on the Odd, and published
in the dailies of the oath. In exciting
times like the present, persons who dc
not take daily paper secure the tele-
grams daily from some newspaper office
Hundreds of slips in English and Hin
dostani, are daily sent out concerning
the war in Turkey, as the Mohamme-
dams as well as Christians here are in
terested in this war.
These facts will show you how much
nearer India is to all the rest of the
world than she was score of years ago
Our kilograms come daily, mails from
all lands weekly, and we are only thirty
. days distant by steam from the green
hills of Vermont. 1t is wonderful how
the different parts of the world are
coming together, and how each portion
) is becoming interested in every other
But this work has but just begun.
After our four months voyage seven.
teen years ago, we landed at Calcutta
which was the gateway between Indi;
and the outside world. From Calcutta
we had journey of about one Thousand
miles to make, into the northwest. O
this distance we could travel about tive
hundred miles by rail, six hundred more
bv "daik garris"-a four wheeled CLOSED
carriage, drawn by one horse and ar
ranged for two persons, so that they
can sit up or lie down at pleasure-ant
two hundred by palanquin. Fourteen
days of constant travel 10y night ant
dav, brought us to our mission field
T eight hundred miles from Calcutta. W.
had known hard work before, but sucl
tiresome days as these fourteen, we hat
never even dreamed of before. W.
pushed our garris over tiresOme mile
of bad road.
1t being near the close of the rain.
season we found the rivers all overflow
ing their banks, and the pOntoOn bridge
broken, so that we could only cross Ol
a rough native boat, which had to b
- drawn far up the river at starting t.
avoid being drawn below the opposit
landing by the current. In crossing
one such river, the delay of loading AM
'' unloading our garris, and drawing til
!; boat up the river was so great that
long weary night passed before W
= could resume our journey. We ha
also our trial with balky horses whic
' would keep us for hours on a singl
= stage-keeping the rest of our part
e waiting meantime, at the changln
?; house. Thus passed fourteen never-to
,e be-forgotten days. From Lucknow
the first station reached in our mission
= to MOradabad, from which we no.
}. write. it is two hundred miles, whic
in | 4I,o,, trayal1a6 ovap in Es1OOliSr &