Wichita eagle., 1889-10-23
THE BENARES BLUE MEN.
AS THEY WERE SEEN BY "A BlcY-
CLER IN THE CANOES VALLEY.
Indigo Beaten Standing Waist Deep In
the Watts of Purple F1uid-SinginE and
Shouting at Their work-Means by Which
Indigo Is Made Marketable.


Shouting at Their work-Meens by Which
Indigo Is Made Marketable.
Starting from Lahore on Aug. l, 1885,
rode the bicycle southwark to Calcutta, over
about fourteen thousand miles Of what seems
to me to be the finest and most interesting
highway In the world Ny experiences were
many and varied.
When I got well down into the Ganxes
valley, toward Benares, among the swarms
of natives who are always streaming along
the road, began to see men and boys who
were stained deep blue color from head to
foot. Sometimes in the evening I met big
gangs of These blue people as they trudged
along, evidently on the way to their homes
for the night. The only clothing they wore
were breechcloths and turbans, which were
as blue as their bodies.
At first wondered what these men were,
but it soon occurred to me that had reached
the Benares district in the very height of the
indigo season. often passed creaking bullock
Charles carrying heavy loads of the indigo
plant to the factories Sometimes, in a
stretch Of country which was open and inter
sected with roads, could see these stacks Of
dark green indigo plant slowly creeping from
all directions to one point
TEE EEATERS AT WORK.
At length, one morning, l arrived at q
great indigo factory situated near the road
Not far from the factory was the commodi-
Gus bungalow Of the planter, an English
gentleman, Mr.. T, who had had MANY
years experience as an indigo planter As
I dismounted, Mr. T came out, and
promptly invited me to remain with him as
long as I saw fit. The heat vas something
terrific, and, as / was curious to see some
thing of indigo making, l readily accepted
his hospitality for the day.
From the factory, 200 yards away, there
came such a babel of shouts and yells, SEEM
ingly from hundred human threats, that I
stood and listened for moment before fol-
lowing my host to the bungalow.
Upon visiting the factory l saw at once
how my ''blue people, of the road came by
their coloring. We first visited the beating
watts, which were square tanks about eight
feet deep and twenty feet square. Several Of
these watts were ranged side by side, OF rather
one long vat was divided into several by
walls, which were also footwalks. Out Of
these watts came the pandemonium Of howl
ing and shouting that had arrested my atten-
ton at the bungalow. In each vat about
twenty naked natives stood waist deep in
liquid indigo.
"These are the beaters," said Mr.. T.
ga rather wild looking lot, aren't theyr'
I fully agreed with him that they were
wild looking. The beaters in each vat were
ranged in two rows, which faced each other.
Each man was armed with a long handled
wooden spade. With marvellous dexterity
hoth 20
were finging into the air streams of indigo,
which dashed together overhead, and splashed
about the vat and over the beaters in showers
of foam and spray. The heaters melted one
another to extra exertions, sometimes by
a shril chorus and again by frantic yells.
Every man was as blue as a statue Of indigo,
and was covered with foam and splashings
The several watts filed with these blue figures,
who flung the liquid indigo high in air; tho
weird chOruses shouted in shrill cadences;
the flying froth which settled on the laborers'
heads and streamed down their glistening
skins, made scene totally different from any
thing had seen elsewhere.
As we stood and looked on Mr.. T ex-
planned to me the various operations, and
the part that each played in the production
of the indigo of commerce. the finging
and dashing of the liquid about in the air
brings about a chemical transformation.
The fluid, as it comes from the stalks and
leaves Of the plant, is of greenish color.
The wild work of the beaten changes the
tint into beautiful deep blue by oxygena-
ton.
At the same time that it changes in color
the dye stuff held in solution graduates and
settles to the bottom of the watts. When the
heaters have thoroughly performed their
work they climb out of the watts and allow
the contents to settle.
Mr. T led the way to the further end
of the row of beating watts and showed me
one of them which had been settling for an
hour.
Here, You see" he said, 'now it is settled,
the liquor has changed color again from blue
to a smoky green. Except that it is some
what clearer, it looks about as it did before
the beaters began to work on it."
The foreman now came and removed plug
from hole In the wall The green liquid
gradually ran to waste, and there was revealed
at the bottom Of the vat thick, pulpy sedi-
ment Of blue This was the indigo Men
now came with earfhenware jars, which they
filed and carried off TO the boiling room.
Here the indigo was strained through wire
sleeves of fine mesh to remove all impurities,
After it has been strained, the soft blue
mass is poured into big iron kettles and boiled
for two or three hours, 20 evaporste the
moisture and further granulate the in digo.
1t is then dumped into presses and subjected
to heavy pressure by means Of lever and
screw
The presses are square iron boxes. perfor-
ated Ike colander and lined with press
cloths By this process all the remaining
water is forced out that can be removed by
pressure. The indigo is turned out of the
presses in dark blue cakes, which are of
about the consistency OF bar Of soap. Then
it is cut up into commercial squares and i'm
pressed with the stamp of the factory.
The cakes are then removed to the drying
house, large airy shed, provided with .ier
of open shelves Here they remain for e
or three mouthA until they are thorough !
dry, and are then packed in boxes and ship
ped to market The chief Indian emporium
for indigo is Calcutta, whence It is shipped to
foreign markets
Now come this way" said Mr.. T.,
after we had visited the boiling and the dry
ing houses II want TO show you something
Saying this, the indigo planter LED the way
to a set Of vats similar TO those we had al
ready seen. but elevated 80 that the liquor
could be drained from them into the beating
watts.
These he said. "are the fermentinx
watts
In these fsruenting watts the indigo plants
are packed tightly IN layers, q they arrive
In tie bullock ghary,As from the farms
Porous frames are laid on top and The mas