The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-08-17
UTOPIA FOR WOMEN.
In Sumatra They Hold the Reins-
Dresses of Pure Gold.

-
the houses and lands and where gold
and silver are common as the flowers
In the spring, where everybody is
happy and nobody does wrong, is the
burden OF the story that w. j. Shaw
brings from far-off Sumatra. w. j.
Shaw is one of the men who modelled
things in this country when IL was
young and pliabie. He came from
New York in 1S49, and vas about the
first man to hang out a lawyers sign
in San Francisco. He won the cases
that settled the validity of settlers
titles and resulted in the Van Ness
ordinance, and he served as State
Senator in 1854, when it was OF
an honor to be a legislator than IT Is
nov i.
I'm all my years OF travel he said
the other day, II never found a hap
pier people than those who live9sn
Sumatra, in the middle part OF the
island. The people all over Sumatra
are believers in the Mohammedan re-
ligion, but the peculiar customs which
make this particular people unique
aud different from all others are con
fined to one community. Ii would
not be correct to term this branch OF
the Sumatra people a tribe, Tor they
do not live in tribal relations at all,
although there is a chief and under
chieftains. These rulers, however,
are not despots, and ii the people do
not like the way in which they man
age things they dispose oil them very
shortly and put other men in their
places.
although men are the estensible
s.FAs- 49, Tho rnol
rulers. The customs of the country
forbid the giving of a mans property
to his children after his death. III a
man dies, the property he owns Is
given TO his father and mother. The
woman's property, on the contrary, is
given to the children. Probably that
is the custom that is responsible for
the turning over of all wealth of the
country to the women. 1t is the con-
slant aim of the men to enrich their
wives. Each man has but one wife,
and each wife but one husband, and
they live a perfectly moral life. The
teachings Of Mohammedanism are fol-
lowed upon the question of divorce.
The husband has the right to divorce
his wife whenever he chooses. butmust
allow her to retain the properly in
her possession. Divorces are not ire
auent. though, and l believe'that in
proportion to the population. di-
vorces in this part of Sumatra are not
one in sixteen compared to the NUM-
Der in California. The people are
happy there-happy as a be. The
children live at home with their
mother the boys until they are
thirteen or fourteen. and the girls
until they marry. When the daugh-
ter gets married she does not leave
her mothers house. An addition is
built on-a new roof as they call it.
and the newly married girl makes
her home there and brings up her
children. Tine custom, of course, re-
suits in forming large communities
where there are many children. l
know one of these communities where
there were a mother and several
daughters living with their children.
The original house had grown with
each marriage until 1t spread over a
large piece of ground.
when the boys get old enough to
leave home they are taken TO a conf
partment house which Is set aside as
home for them until they wish to
marry. The girl has the right to
choose whom she will wed, a privilege
delegated to her in few Mohammedan
countries. Once married the husband
for the rest OF his life Is his wife's
lover. He lives apart from her aud
visits his home only in the evening
to chat with her and the children.
| All the money he gets-and there is
plenty of Dutch coinage there-he
turns oyer to his sweetheart. She
| dresses herself and the children and
| shoulders all the petty family cares.
HE is bothered only to earn the
| money to pay for the things they eat
and wear. To get things for them to
| eat need not worry him much. The
| portion of Sumatra in which these
| strange people live is very fertile and
productive. 1t is a fine country, with
beautiful mountains and streams and
magnificent scenery. All sorts of fruits
are grown and in the higher attitudes
many of the gralSs.
$40 find dresses for the family must
| be a different matter, for / never saw
such elegantly-attired women as in
these communities. They are very
beautiful, boasting the fairest and
finest compilations and the brightest
eyes. / have seen women there wear
ing dresses OF pure gold, and others
wearing silver gowns. Both these
metals are mined there in Sumatra,
and the natives possess sufficient
knowledge of the arts to sInelt and
form the ingots into wire. The weav-
ing of these handsome and costly
cloths is quite the principal occupa.
ton of both the women and the men.
Never in Christian countries dc
women dress as extravagantly."-
NewdTk Sunday can.
Teaching a Girl to Swim.
In daan yatar undQr rho cara of mr.