St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-09-17
Ghe Galedonian.
Summer in India.


beautiful fields and the enjoyable eli
mate, which made all nature and every
living thing seem to rejoice. In its
place summer has come, not Yer
mont summer but an "Indiau summer"
not. however, of the kind that our ia
theirs used To talk abOut. 1t is now the
twentieth of June, and since the fit
teenth OF May every thing of grass or
grain kind has seemed almost lifeless.
Nothing in fact is growing except those
trees that extend their roots deep into
the earth. The cold season crops were
all gathered in April, and nothing
more will he sOwn or planted until the
rainy season comes. Now the cattle
roam at large over all the fields pick
ing up anything that they can eat and
day 10y day growing thinner and thin
ner. Everything that cattle eat is dry
and withered. The grass in our yard
is so dry that the yard looks like dry
plOughed field, as nothing green is
seen. The hot winds are blowing so
hot that the air feels like heated
oven The thermometer ranges from
I2j' to I35 in the sun, and from 1O5o
to 100 ip the shade, and some morn
ings stands at so in the house before
the sun is up. In such weather we
have large fans gazing by day and
sleep in the open air on the hOusetOp
no nj nf
rangement by which we let the hot
winds into our houses through grass
wet with cold water, we can keep the
temperature inside our houses at "a
or 90 all through the day.
This is the farmers resting time.
His farm needs no care, his cattle roam
at large aud he has nothing to do at
at home. Hence this is the busy month
i'm the grain market. Hundreds of
carts loaded with grain are seen en-
tering the city early in the morning,
having started from home perhaps at
midnight. Accounts are now settled
with the merchants, necessaries are
bought for home, houses are put in
good repair, farming tools repaired and
everything is got ready for the rains.
Instead of settling up and fixing up
for winter as Nermonters do, the fit
ting up here is for the rains.
'What do you do in such hot wealth
er ?" some one asks. We do IL great
deal of work. Our schools begin ut q
a. m, and there is no better month III
school work than May. Our meetings,
Sunday schools, etc, are held either
at Is in the morning OF at in the even
ing, and it will seem strange to you
that almost the best time of year for
extra meetings is from April LIST to
May Goth. During the day, with those
grass doors placed on the windward
side of our house, kept wet with water
from deep we'll, we are able to write
and translate work that missionaries |
must do-all day long in comparative
comfort The hot nights after the
wind goes down are our greatest trial.
We, however, have enjoyed excellent
health all the season.
June 18th. The season has changed,
wonderfully changed during the past
five days. On the night of the 22nd
cloud arose in the west accompanied |
with thunder aud lightning and with a
gale of wind. At first it seemed To be
only dust storm and clouds on clouds
of dust rolled up one above the other
and swept over the vast plains. From
our house-t top the scene was grand be
yond description. But the storm soon
drove us from our Open-air bedroom,
and We took up our beds and got in.
side the house. Soon all the air was
full of fine dust, which found its way
inside the house and inside every room
and drawer and grated in Our teeth,
making us generally uncomfortable.
This dust storm, however, was soon
by rain which fell in torrents.
rains have Gomez ''The rains have
come - and sounds of the general re-
iOIcing were heard above the noise of
the storm. The next morning even
the grass showed that it had been re-
freshed and before night our yard was
quite green again. All nature seems,
now after three days of rain, to have
had veritable resurrection. The
weather, however, is very uncOmfOrt-
able. There is no wind to blow through
our cooled grass doors, and AS soon as
the rain ceases, the damp, steaming
heat seems almost unbearable. June
IS our grilling month, aud now for two {
months we will be steamed and stew
I'll. 1t does not rain all of the time
-ainy season. 1t rains some nearly t
very day, aud at times we have two !
)r three days of constant rain. so that :
We get some 30 or 40 inches of rain in ,
.hree months. q
As soon as the ground is well moist |
,ned the farmers will have every !
dough in motion, and soon the rice
'rop, and a few other lesser crops of a
grain will be in the ground. Our In 4
liam corn grows fairly we'll this season,
hough wheat will do nothing. As ;
Oon as these rainy season crops are in b
he ground and properly cultivated, y
hen the ploughing commences for the
wheat crop which will be sOwn in Octo-
,er, 81 that for five months to come
he farmers will be very busy all the d
line. Such is summer in India
We in India are all very Glad that