The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-11

being 3 Stranger, l nave a Itte oellcacy In
asking the question, but, thinking I have met q
new phase of life. I much wish to learr what
amount Of foundation there is for the surmise
that a large majority of your property-owners
moved in from the country many years ago,
when it was the custom to allow cattle to run at
large; a custom that was legally made obsolete
long since, though your citizens do not appear
to be aware of the fact. and in their general
inconsistencies for childhood scenes they have,
with one accord, agreed that the confinement of
city life is less felt and the general happiness is
enhanced by the rural character that is given
the city by the ever-recurring view of
the placid cow quietly browsing on the beautiful
strip Of verdure that ornaments your sidewalks;
or by the more personally pastoral sensations
that are experienced when she unmolestedly ru-
inmates in a much closer proximity to their
dwelliEgs-this being an old custom that is ap-
parently preserved for somewhat the same
reaons as is the ancient china, or the old spin
ning-wheel, the cow being, as it were, a sort of
living. moving piece of bric-a-brac.
But, another supposition presents itself In the
thought that a large number of your influential
citizens are of the Brahman belief, they holding
that the cow Is sacred, and therefore is to be re-
iigiousiy nourished and cherished; and, If this
Brahminical solution of the problem is correct,
I can readily comprehend why this animal should
be, as she now seems, a welcome guest on their
lawns and about their doorsteps and windows,
for, with their reverence for ancestors and their
belief in the TRANSPORTATION of souls, the devout
householder can be happy in the thought that it
Is the meekly suffering, repining and transmit
grating soul of some loved and revered grand
mother that is keeping kindly watch over him
through the gentle eyes of the sacred creature.
But whether the brlc-a-brac or the Brahman
supposition be the correct one, I cannot refrain
from suggesting that as the 'variety-in-unity"
theory is a generally accepted one, would it not
be we'll to make q municipal question of this
Park is centrally located. it could be provided
with an artistically rustic Enclosure wherein
could be gathered all your treasured kline, be
they held sacred because they are the embodi-
ment of ancestral customs or of ancestral souls;
and in the center of the park could be erected a
pagoda-like structure sheltering a well made
after the primitive pattern of Jacobs time,
whereat should preside a veritable '.Rebecca at
the well" en- costume, whose office should be 10
quenth the thirst OF these, the city's proteges.
Who Can say that such AT arrangement would
not be unique in the extreme; and as an entice-
ment for excursionists (who always leave money
among youll2 What could be conceived that would
have greater allurements; and what visitor would
dare question the originality of your device for
ornamentlng your public grounds2 And I vouch
for it that there would Immediately arise some
philosophical gentleman through whose re-
formaJory efforts it would be an inconceivably
" R0IlOu Va bA1o OClOI0 4uOidItdpCliS WOulQ
have the enviable reputation OF being the best of
the fne-bred cattle centers on the continent.
OF course there might be some few strict
sectarians who would demur not a little at this
rather homogeneous c~onglomeration of heather,
Jewish and other beliefs that would present
itself at University Park. but in these days of
"liberality" and unity" all sectarianisms
would speedily disappear before the
evident advantages of such q course.
And it is also to be expected that some non-cow-
ownar Tiff thora ha strrh an npa in orp midct1
would grumble somewhat at being taxed for the
maintenance of this public ornamentation, but
there is no comparison whatever between the
moiety it would add to his tax and the sums he
now needs to expend on cow-proof fences, and
for the support Of a gate-keeper to guard his car
riage driveway, and the daily restoration of
broken sod on his lawn, and the large bills of
the florist who replaces the destroyed plants of
spring.
Now. of course all this is only surmise and sug-
gestion, and no offense is intended. and it is sub
mitted merely. for what it is worth; but just
fs1,ov.1 as it is fresh leaving frnm my Z. hand Sl;.ot =
breezy activity Of the cattle ranches of our
boundless West, looks over my shoulder and
with a sheer and a humph! says; well; your
plan is sufficiently unique, as you say, and of
course that "Rebecca at the well1 business
would draw crowds of visitors to the city. but
wouldn't have any of those tame old antediluvian
tableau-like arrangements at all. I'd have some
thing fresh, new, breezy and up with the times,
though | don't blame you for your old fogy sug-
%gestions. begging your pardon, seeing as you
are just from the Orient; but If these folks want
anything at all, they want to institute a regular
set of cattle herders. got up in genuine cowboy
style, with broad sombreros. long cattle whips,
big spurs, bestriding thoroughbred Mexican mus
tangs or Indian ponies, having Mexican saddles,
real lassos hanging from the pom.
mels. That's what's wanted, and they can drive
the cattle from park to park, and from empty
lot to empty lot, and to the raging canal for wa
ter. ETC., and if they send out West for q pro
fessional to teach them, so that they'll do it up
in the true cattle-ranch style. why! it'll make
such a sensation that crowds'l come to see it,
and nobody1l need to spend money for travel in
the West for one of its most distinctive and in
MIGRATING features will be brought right here
to their doors. Why! as a monay-making solu-
ton of the COW problem it simply can't be beat"
A VISITOR.
Lobbyists in Washington.
Washington CorrespOndence. BOSTON TravetIer.