Daily Kennebec journal., 1880-04-12

The following from Winthrop boy to MS
father will interest many of our readers;

The following from winthrop DO. W ii
father will interest many of our readers
PoINT DE GALE,
CEyLoy. Nov 1879.
DYaR F.THER.-.The steamship Siam ar
rived o,,ts;de the harbor night before last, ana
il being after sunset we were ooiiseu u
cruise about all night outside, the entrance
to the harbor being dangerous no steaniurs
are allowed to come in after sunset We
we're all up very early sthe next morning 10
see the sights, as we were teid taes w
splendid. The pilot came aboard at day break;
and the prow of the steamer was turned
towards the the land, which much resembles
the Sandwich Islands. The valleys were
covered with eocoanut groves-the largest
cocoanut trees | have ever seen We soon
were in the harbor, and in less than two MN
utes the steamer was swarmed with hundreos
of natives selling curiosities. the most beau-
tifuI workmanship in ivory. ebony. and All
kinds Of choice woods. stones etc
The town of Gale. Ceyioi, is surrounded
by a stone wall forty feet high. on the top OF
which are mounted heavy cannons- Inc Ma
tiye1 90 naked about the town. and any OF
them that do dress at all have only a small
cloth made of palm leaves about the groins.
The Europeans are besiesed by them begging
for money. went yesterday TO the budd-
I ever saw | was followed by twenty young
children begging | had native guide who
told me to throw them some money. the only
wav TO get rid of them; did SO. and 1t was
amusing to see them scramble. They fought
for them as though their life depended on
securing one. The natives will do anything
to amuse Europeans but expect to be well
paid.
On our way back from the country. (for the
temple.is out of town l requested the guide
to get me a cocoanut, being verv thirsty r
wanted lhe milk. eve were passing through
bread fruit bananas and palm tree groves,
also nutmeg and cinnamon. When two
miles off the coast we could smell the per-
fume of spices quite plain.) | could not un-
derstand how | was to get the c0coanut unless
the tree was cut down, for they are nearly
twice as high as the cOcoanut trees in the
South Sea Islands, but the guide called at a
native grass house and they sent big mon
kew up the tree, who in half a minute sent
down a splendid ripe cocoanut.
The temple is an immense building OF oc-
tagonal shape. You must take off your hat
at the entrance and make low and profound
bow TO the great God, Buddhist, the ruler OF
the universe, who is standing before you cut
out of Ceylon woodby a few skilled Cinga-
lesc mechanics.
Around the walls OF tuls Is euSia'So
andpainted everything told them blythe Priests.
For instance one picture will represent heav-
en-. or their idea of it, another hell, still an
other men and women being tortured or sur
rounded by fire. The Cingalese ar" very
smart people notwithstanding they worship
idols.
Their burial is something peculiarly repul-
sve to Europeans. They built high tower
about twenty or thirty feet high across the
top of which are bars about eight inches wide.
The dead are placed on the top of this tower.
naked The vultures pick the flesh off and
then the bones drop down and are buried.
There are very few horses here, owned
only by wealthy people. The natives use
the sacred cattle with large hump on their
back The forests are full of elephants, IL
gers monkeys, porcupines and any amount OF
those dear creatures, snakes. This is only
a few degrees north of the equator, and it
isn't a bit warm. 1t is cold you have a
native who fans one all night and everybody
sleeps outside. If you go out through the day
two natives are in attendance, one to hold
palm-leaf umbrella over your head, the other
to fan.
In Madras is the city to see native life in
India. During the Mahometans' MahOram,
the city was in a constant state of uproar:
such a screechng noise was kept up right
and day, with torch-ight professions, and
dressed and painted up like tigers, and such
roaring and yelling, accompanied by their
horrid band. They appreciate music by the
quantity, not quality.
Last week on my return from Calcutta,
visited the wonderful caves of Elephanta. All
kinds of images were here carved out of sol
id granite and marble, said to have taken a
thousand years:
No European visits India without going
hunting, and last week we had our experience,
and it beats Kangaroo hunting in Australia.
We went into the country about thirty miles
riding on camels. They are splendid travel
ers, being quite gentle and travel very fast.
We stopped and cooked supper and encamped
near a lake of water close by high jungle.
The natives dug trenches for us, and we hid
in them waiting for the boars to come down
to drink after dark. 1t was beautiful moon
light night, and after waiting about two hours
at last they came when they got within. good
shooting range the signal given and we
fired. Two monster boars were killed and
two small pigs. 1t is not much pleasure to
hunt here, there are SO many venomous
snakes.
But of the many novel sights which India
possesses, will tell you in my next.