Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-06-30
THE SACRED RIVER.
THOUSANDS OF HINDoo TEMPLES ON
THE BANKS OF THE CANOES.
How this Mighty River Fcrtiiizcs the
Wheat Plains and Excites tho super
stitious worship of the Natives.
TBcnarcs correspondents now York worid.I

| and the click Of my typewriter now taiis
| upon the air in unison with the prayers ana
| the splashing of the thousands OF pilgrims
who are bathing in its waters: Benares Is
the Mecca Of the Hindoos, and the Ganges
| is to the Indian more than the Jordan
| ia TO the Christian. On the top OF
| house-boat, with six red-turbaned,
black-faced, and bare-legged rowers, L
slowly drifted past the bsthing-ghats
this morning. The sun was Just rising.
and over fields of green extending
| for miles away on the left Of the river Its
rays came 10 Gid the brass jars which each
pilgrim carried. 1t turned the semi-oare
brown skins of the men, women, ana chill
| dren 10 a rich mahogany and brought out
| the shadows in the fort-like walls OF the
| temples lining the other side OF the river.
II was scene for painter. The wonder,
full colors of Oriental humanity, mixed
with the glorious red of nature filled one
almost with feeling of worship, and the
muttsring Of the prayers OF thousands
with their strange incantatfons and mystic
rious postures threw an lndescrlDaDle
weirdness over the scene.
Fantastic and foolish as some OF the ac-
tions seemed, / could not forget that this
| spot is to one sixth of the human race tne
| hottest place on the surface OF the whole
world; that out of every six men, women,
and children on Gods good earth one
| believes that if he washes here his
| sins float away on these waters 10 the sea,
and that if his ashes are here burned ms
soul goes straight to Heaven. III the Hin
doc in accents of prayer utters the
name of this river within one hundred
miles Of its BAN Ks the act atones TOR the suns
of three previous lives, and If he mas MS
| head shaved at q point which hes TWO
hours' ride bv train from where am now
writing and the hairs fall into the stream,
for every hair that floats away be Wall nave
| n million wears in paradise. Ihls place is
| Mt Allahabad. where the river Jumna flows
| into the Ganges, and here at certain times
of the year thousands of Hindoos may be
seen on the banks of the river holding
| their heads over the water and allowing
BARRIERS to shave them, as 1t were, into
| Heaven.
THEIR EARLY MORNING BATHS.
And do the people really believe thlsy
| I assure you they do, and their behet Is
| practical one, too. 1t is not a faith without
works. bv any means. This town of Be
mares has population as big as That Oh
| Cleveland. Cincinnati. or Washington.
Just now the mornings are cold and the
air is raw and piercing. 1t is the duty OF
every one of these people to come before
| their breakfasts and battle in the GangeS.
| ] found the banks of the river hled WIN
them this morning. The city lies close TO
| the river, ana lOI lllItt cASiA1
banks are great temples, from the
| walls of which stone steps lead
down into the Ganges, going under the
water and out into the bed of the stream.
Each of these temples has perhaps one
hundred of these steps from its base to
! the water, and these three miles OF such
steps were filed with worshlppers. All
were Hindoos and none were clothed IN
| ANYTHING but the thinnest ofcOttOns. There
were shrivelled old men and women wrap
ped around in the single breadth of dirty
white cotton, standing up TO their waists
| in water and holding their long. thin, bony
arms upward. while with chattering teeth
they muttered prayers 10 the gods silva
and Vishnn. Now and then they ducked
down into the water. and as they came up
they casped and looked colder than ever
There were plump girls. whose nut-brown
skins glistened As the water trickled down
them and whose bright eyes flashed halt
| roguish glance at me between their pray
ers. As they raised their arms noted that
| each had gold and silver bracelets upon
them, and some of the country mmdehs
had bracelets one after another from the
! wrist 10 the elbow, and from thence on 10 the
shoulders. MANY wore great nose-rings, and
as they threw back their heads could see
that their ears were punctured with many
| holes. and that each hole contained bit
of cold or silver. Most Of them. however,
hid their faces, and not few were high
caste Hindoo m4idens. As they stepped
out Of the water their bare limbs shone
under the sunlight, and against the dark
brown background flashed heavy silver
anklets They did not battle with the men,
and as a rule they huddled up in little
groups by themselves. At many of the
temples there were lodges built out over
the river, and here men gathered up
water in their hands aud muttered
PRAYERS over il. Each man and woman
had a brass jar. and as they LETT Their
bathing they carried some of the molly
water TO aid them in their worship in the
temples. There were thousands of maid
servants carving great bowls of Ganges
water on their heads and steadying the
burden with one brown, bare arm as they
walked I'D the steps. The costume OF the
Uindoo is a picturesque one. 1t Is one long
strip of cloth wound about the person &c
that the legs and arms are bare, Some
times bright-colored shawls are added Oy
| the weather. and DrlShJ JurOih cal
covers the head.
Mixed with this gaudy, splashing. sput
tering throng Just above the water were
square benches covered with u.nbretlas a:
| large as the top of a summer house, ant
under these sat wrinkled Odd priests witt
boxes of red paint beside them. Each wor
shipper came to these priests as he hnlsheC
his bath, and the priest dipping his hngel
! into the paint-bOX made one, two, or three
marks uDon his forehead. These marks
were to remain on until the next day
bathing, and they were the signs OF the
gods Among the bathers were peddlers o.
Gauges water. These carry the holy 1uiC
in Jars TO villages far out IN the country
and each pilgrim who comes takes loac
nome to his relatives.
II is wonderful river and how wonder
| ~ Ia 4, Et1n witt ~
understanding the geography OF this 81 T.
continent of India. If YOU Will take YOU
map of Asia you will find that India /:
much the shape of an equllateral triangle
the base of which is the liimalaya Noun
tains and the apex OF which rests in the
Indian Ocean. Each side OF this triangle i
nearly 1000 miles long, and two sides OF II
are almost bounded by water. IL Is coun
try of magnificent distances. From
Calcutta to Bombay is as far as from
London to Naples. or about the
distance that New York is from
Denver. The distance between Iceland anc
Spain is Just about as far as a straight line
from the Himalayas to the apex of the tn
angle. and the area of the whole is equa
to the size of Europe without Russia, OF
! nearly one half of the United States: II
is country of mountains and valleys
The lower part and the greater part of the
centre is an immense table-land, and be.
tween this table-land and the Himalayi
Mountains there is wide strip of vast
: plains, through which the mighty Ganges
runs and the bulk of which has been made
by the rich, fertilizing earth which she ha:
brought down from the mountains.
J There is no doubt that in the far-distant
} past the greater part of India was an island
r and if you could sink these Gauges plain'
} 900 feet downward the sea would rush il
: and the Himalayas would be divided from
! the plateau of South and Central India
These plains are the richest part of India
They are the most thickly populated, anc
it is from them that the great bulk of the
rice and wheat of India comes. The wheat
area of India is increasing year by year
1t is now about equal 10 the wheat area OF
the United States, and its product competes
: with the American wheat in the markets
of London. For this reason these plains
! are doubly interesting to Americans, :. anC
the influence of the Ganges is felt NOR,
and more every year IN the Stock Elk
+, change of Chicago.
The Ganges not only made but she nour
ishes these plains. She is well called by
! the Hindoos Mother Ganga." From hel
source in the Himalayas 10 her mouth in the
Bay of Bengal she has fall of more thar
Il \ 80.