The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-04-11

them on their backs as id other Asiatic coun-
tries The naked little one is set astrIde the
hip of the mother, and it thus rides its way
through part of its first stage of the journey
of life. 1t has to work its way here, rs it were,
and the first food it gets is rice and bananas, and
not mothers milk, the milk Of one COW" or
the bottle of condensed milk, now so common
in America. For four days after the baby is
born the mother is supposed by the Siamese to
be inhabited by devils, and they will not let
the baby come near her. She must lie naked
on the floor, with fire at her back blistering
her skin, and driving, as the people suppose.
the evil spirits away. At the end of this time,
if the baby has survived the rice and bananas,
it is given TO her, but the treatment is such
that it often kills both mother and baby as well.
The people know nothing of the laws OF health,
and the darkness of heathen superstition hangs
like cloud over the whole country.
Siam is the home of Buddhism, and you find
here at its Capital, Bangkok, the purest of the
Simon-pure article. There are $4,000 Bud
dhist priests in the city, and you see them
everywhere. They arc of all ages from 16 to
so, and they go about with shaved heads and
yellow strips of cloth wound around their half
naked bodies. Yellow was the garb chosen by
Buddha when he went forth from his royal pal
ace TO beg his way among men, and yellow was
the garb of thieves and criminals in India.
Buddha in taking it humbled himself, and so
it is supposed to be an evidence of humility
among the priests of Siam to-day. They are far
from humble, however, and they strut about
with cigars or cigarets i'll their mouths or chew
ing the betelnut, going from door to door and
floating from house to house after rice and
presents. Every morning these priests make
a tour of the city. The town is divided up
among them, and each has his rice beat. The
people bring the rice in pots ready cooked and
steaming TO the front porches of their houses,
and when the priest comes along they fall upon
their knees, and raising their hands as though
praying, ask them to accept the gift from them.
The priests are supposed to never ask and to
go away without making any objection if they
do not receive. They stand superciliously as
a rule while the food is dished out to them
and carry it away in a round black pot, which
they tuck under their garment aud carry upon
their hip. Every man in Siam at some time
during his life becomes priest, and the pres
ent King has twice served in the priesthood
When man has done anything very wicked
he goes into the priesthood for a certain num-
Der of years to cleanse himself, and the moment
he puts on yellow he is holy to his family as
well as to all other outsiders, and mothers
often bow down to their boy sons who have
gone into the priesthood. One of the European
Consuls who appreciated the power of the
priests, and who is always doing something to
curry favor with them called a gang of them
into his paror the other day and treated them
to wine, cake aud cigars. During the conver-
sation he noted that the face of one of them
was familiar, and asked him where he had seen
him. The priest replied:
81 have Just entered the priesthood, and l
served as your boatmafi last week"
The lowest and worst cody can become a
priest if he wishes to here in Siam, and his
priesthood is one Of the Simplest OF ways of