The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-08-03

BaukS-HoW This Mighty River FeFtiI-
fzes the ~ heat Plains aad ENeites the
/ SuPerstiftsuS worship OF the Natives.
I FBeaauas Correspondence Of the New York World
During the past three weeks | have tray
( clcd GOO miles around the holy GaBges
river, and the click Of my typewriter now
I falls upon the air in unison with the prayers
aud the splashing Of the thousands Of pill
grims who are bathing in its waters.
( Beuares Is the Mecca Of the Hindoos, aud
I the Ganges Is to the Indian more than the
7 Jordan Is TO the Christian On the top Of
F a house boat, with six rcd-turhaned black
faced and bare-lcgged rowers. slowly
[ drifted past the bathing CHATS this morning
T The Sun was Just rising, and over fields OF
green extending fer miles away on the left
Of the river its rays came TO Gid the brass
jars which each pilgrim carried Il turned
( the scni-baFe brown skins Of the men,
women and children to a rich mahogany
and brought oat ihe shadows in the fort
Ike walls 81 the temples lining the other
side of the river Il was scene for =
painter The wonderful colors Of Oriental
humanity mixed with the glorious red of
nature fillcd one almost with feeling Of
worship. and the mattering Of the prayers
of thousands. with their strange incania-
iluus and mysterious P0siups, threw an
indoscribsblc wierJincss over the scvne
FaataStic and foolish a. some IT the ac.
tions seemed. could noi forget tha, this
spot i To oue-sixth of the human race the
holiest place on the suFlace ct the whole
world; that out of every six meu women
and children 90 Gods earth one beleivss
tlsal il be washes here his sins dtat away
on these waters Ia the sea, and that II his
ashes arr here bnracsi his saul gso,,s straight
80 Heaven II the lIindao in accents of
prayer attcrs the name of this river within
eue huodTrd miles q IT, banks The act
atanes ior the sins of three previous lives,
aud II he has his head shaved az a point
which hts two haurs Tidc by train from
where ! am noW writing, asd the hairs iall
inio tho siFeam, fer every hair that a1ats
away he viii have a million years 10 para
disc This plscs Is al Allahahad. where
the river Jumna flows ia che Ganges, and
heEe AZ certain times of the year thousands
of IIisdoos mas he sseu on the banks Of
ihe river holding their heads over the water
and allowing BARRIERS 20 shave them. as il
werc, into Heaven.
TugIR EaaLY MORNING RATHs,
And do the people really believe this
! assure you they d., aud the belief is
practical one too. Il j. no, faith without
works. by any means. This towa Of Be
narcs has a population As blg Is that OF
Cleveland, Cincinnati or Washington.
Just now the mornings arr cold and the
air is faw and piercing. Il Is the dniy of
every enc of lhese people 10 come before
their breakfasts and baihe ia the Ganges.
found the banks of the river filed with
them this morning The city hes close 10
the Fiyer, and for three miles along is banks
arc great Temples, iroa the walls Of which
stone steps lead down into the Ganges,
going under The waier snd out into the
bed of the stream- Esch Of these temples
has perhaps one hundred Of these steps
from is bass 20 the water, aud these three
miles Of such steps we're filed with wor.
shippers. All were Hiudoos, and none
were clothed in anything but the thiuncst
Of cotton There were shriyelled old men
aud women wrapped 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
ehattering teeth they mattered prayers to
the Gods silva aud Vishnn. Now aud
then they dueked down into the water. and
as they came up they gasped and looked
colder than ever.
There were plump girls, whose nut
brown skins .listeHed as che water trickled
down them, aud whose bright eyes flashed
a half rosuish glance at me between their
prayers. As they raised their arms noted
that each had gold and silver bracelets upon
them, and some of the country maidens had
bracelets one after another from the wrist
to 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 punetured with
many holes and that each hole contained
BIZ Of gold or silver Most of them. how
ever, hid their faces, and not a few were
/ high-caste iindOo maidens 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 hathe with
the men, and as 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 and muttered prayers
over it, Each man and woman had brass
jar, and as they left their bathing they
carried some of the holy water to aid them
in their worship in the temples. There
were thousands of maid servants carrying
great bowls of Ganges water on their heads,
and steadying the burden with one brown,
bare arm as they walked up the steps. The
costume of the Hindoo is a picturesque
enc 1t is one long strip of cloth wound
about the person so that the legs and arms
are bare Sometimes bright colored shawls
are added by the wealthier, and bright
turban cap covers the head
Mixed with this gaudy, splashing, sput-
tering throng, just above the water, were
square benches covered with umbrellas as
large as the top of summer house, and
under these sat wrinkled old priests with
boxes ef red paint beside them Each
worshipper came to these priests as he fin
ished his bath, and the priest, dipping his
finger into the paint box, made one, two or
three marks upon his forehead. These