Woman's chronicle. (Little Rock, Ark.) 1888-1???, 1889-05-18

carrying immense baskets, each of which holds
from two TO three bushels full of dirt and produce
on their back. Just above the hotel the road is
being repaired and side of the mountain is being
cut away. The dirt is carried for about quarter
of mile and used in filling up hole in the hill
side 1t is all done by women. Two women are
digging down the dirt with pick-axes and half
dozen are shoveling ibis into the baskets of the
girls who carry it from one place to the other.
These baskets rest upon the back and shoulders of
the girl and they are held there by wide strap
which comes from the basket around and over the
girls forehead. They stand with the baskets on
their backs while they are loaded and one of the
women who is doing the shoyelng has a baby
year old tied tight to her back and it hobs up and
down as she throws the dirt from the ground into
the basket. These girls carry easily 100 pounds,
and was told that one had carried cottage piano
distance of twelve miles up the mountain upon
her back This is hard to believe, but after seeing
the mighty shoulders, the well-knt frames and the
great calves and ankles of the strongest of them |
can believe it.
The men are fully as strong as the women.
They are not so tall as the American Indian and
they are very fierce looking Each wears great
like the Thibetans whom saw at Picking. They
are
NOTORIOUS AS WIFE-BEATERs
and the woman of the Himalayas has as rule
very hard time. Many of the men wear earrings
and the women both before and after marriage,
carry their fortunes upon their persons. They
wear strings of silver coins of the size of 80 and
10-cent silver pieces in rows about their necks, SO
that often the whole front of a womans bust is
covered with them and the poorest working girl
has her earrings of gold and her anklets of silver.
1t seems strange to see woman whose whole waist
is covered with rupees and who has enough jewelry
upon her TO keep her for at least three years,
breaking stone upon roads, and | have, during the
past week, seen at least thousand bare feet and
half bare calves around which were silver and gold
bands which would not form unhandsome brace
lets for our American girls Many of them are
fond of stone jewclry and great many turquoises
are brought from Thibet aud sold here One of
these girls carried my trunk for 5-cent consider
alton upon her back from the station TO the hotel
and see them Flooding up the mountain with
great baskets of wood upon their backs, two of
which would form good load for a mule.
They work all day for what would be the price
of drink in America and their mountain huts
would be considered hard lines for the establish
ment of an American pig Little low huts matched
with straw and not much bigger than store boxes
They do most of their cooking out of doors, sleep
upon the floor, eat with their fingers, and worship
Buddha in a haf-civilized way. Some of them
use the prayer wheel and this seems to be the only
invention they have.
THE PRAYER WHEEL
consists Of a metal box about as big around as one
which holds boot-baciing and about twice as deep
Through it wire is stuck and this is fastened into
handle foot long. Inside the box there is a
roll of prayers written in Thbctan characters, and
Il,n nnf