The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-03-05

Dante himself have conceived any
thing to surpasS SUCH resurrectlo
cut short by such death?
The sn;rd and most ancient mem
her of the curious trinity Of religions
vhich subdividss native India has it
annropriate symbol in the celebrates
csTe-temple on Elephsnta Island
which lies close 20 the mainland
ahont seven miles from Bombay A
r;.it 70 this weird old stronghold o
RTshmin approximation is the tituus
come! to the MohsrreR festival and
the Tower of Silence; but apart alto
gother from its historical and anti
6nsrisn importance the Elephants
lave we'll deserves attention, If only
from tee matchless picturesqueRess
NJ its own aspect and that OF lis
surroundings. Just as the church
clocks of Bon bay are Ginning 6 you
take your seat under the awning OF
tbe tiny steam launch which plies
across the bay from the foot of Apollo
street as often as shere are passengers
enough on hoard to make it worth
while. Away you go. putting and
snorting in and out of a perfect LADY
TinEh of steamers, sbarges, tugs, clip
ners. high-sterned native "bugga-
iovs." and small craft of every kind,
including countless rowing boats.
WHICH seem to be always on the move
without ever arriving anywhere.
The launch's steam power Is of a
decidedly aesthetic kind. and sou
generally take ut least one hour to
ssven miles, no matter how smooth
the water may be, but the panorama
NJ one OF the finest bays in the world,
with the quaint hali-tropical srchitec.
mre OF Bombay on one side and the
glorious mountain landscape Of the
mainland shore on other. is AL ample
atoaement for the delay.
A, length tbs bold riige OF Ele.
nhauta Island, clad from the waters
edge to the very summit in all the
snjendor of tropical vegetation, hangs
Tiobt overhead. The launch runs
along side a little CaussWay Of stone
inst level with the water, and you
lesp ashore at the foot of a great wall
of dark, glossy leaves, piled up ter
race above terrace into the very sky.
The tell, slender palm-royaI. shoot
ing I'D straight as a lance-shatt for
nearly a hundred feet, and then
breaking forth into one great gush OF
green festhery leaves; the broad
leaved teak, whose iron surfcce can
DEFY storms and teas that would rend
the stoutest oak in Britain; TIE grace
.ul fsn-paIm and the spreading mao
90, the tern-like leaves of the ''goIden
mohur," named from the supposed
resemblance Of It's magnificent yellow
flowers TO the quaint old Hindu coin,
which ia now az rare as a Russian
hall-imperiAl; the flaming poinsettis.
the tender green pawn" the vast
umbrella like leaf iofthe banana, the
spiky ca :tus, the endless links OF the
prickly pear, mass
themselves along the slope as far as
the eye can reach. Mounting a par-
row stone stair, almost hidden by the
great waves of dark green foliage that
surge up on either side, you turn a
sharp corner. and come upon a tiny
cluster OF bamboo huts, almost
smothered beneath an enormous pro-
jeetiDg thstch Of palm leaves. Be-
hind these the green hillside is broken
by one huge scar OF bare grey rock,
in the midst OF which. supported by
those low, massive pillars which loom
through the twilight of the great
Hindu temples. as their mighty
founders loom through the dimness
Of prehistoric ages, ysWns the gloomy
entrance Of the famous cave itself.
The Sudden change from the blis-
iering glare of the sunshine, to the
black shadows of the interior is too
to give you a chance of
seeing anything at all for the first few
But gradually the outline
IF a colossal face grows out of the
darkness IN front Of you-a face OF
stern majestic cslmness, grand, pas
lionIess, uDohsnging as the Egyptisn
Sphinx or the giant idols OF Abu Sim
bel. The deep rock niche which |
forms the appropriate frame of this
mighty portrai! leaves nothing else
visible for a time, but at length two
other beads begin to ebape themselves
to right and left of the central image,
and you become aware that you are
face to fsoe with the primeval srinity |
Of Observation-Disclosures, the Creator;
Vishnu, the Preserver, and silva, the |
Destroyer.
We talk complscently of the mar
veis of civilization; but what civila-
ton would not stand abashed in the !
presence OF marvel before which the
whole history of Europe itself, with |
ali It's struggles and achievements.
lhriuks into nothingness. Ages be.
'ors toe first sails of Western com
nerce had dotted the blue waters of
ne Indian OceSn, these shadow
sat entbroued here in the
heart of the mountain as the chosen
symbol of a mighty and ancient
creed, upheld by countless millions
II men. Centuries upon centuries
laVs rolled away since that Time.
Y asst empires have hourished and |
a4en. Toe Afghan. the Mogul, the
Persian, the Mahratts, have swept |