The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1891-07-15
WHERE WOMEN RULE.
PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS
REIGN.
How L,fsi is Lived m far.of sumatra.

A country where the women own the
houses and the lands, where gold and
silver are as common as the flowers in
the spring, where everybody is happy
and nobody does wrong is the burden of
| the story that w. H. Shaw brings from
far-off Sumatra.
W. II. Shaw is one of the men whe
modelled things in this country when 1t
was young and pliable. He came from
New York in 1s49, and was about the
first man to hang out lawyers sign in
San Francisco. He won the cases that
settled the validity of the settlers titles
and resulted in the Van Moss ordinance;
and he served as a state senator in 1854
when it was more of an honor to be a
legislator than it is now.
SIN all my years of travel" he said
| yesterday, 81 never found happier peo-
pie than those who live in Sumatra, in
the middle part of the island. The peo-
| pie all over Sumatra are believers in the
Mohammedan religion, but the peculiar
customs which make this particular peo-
pie unique and different from all Others
are confined to one community.
at would not be right to term this
branch of the Sumatra people tribe,
for they do not live in tribal relations at
all, although there is chief and under
chieftians These are rulers, however,
and not despots, and if the people do
not like the way in which they manage
things they dispose of them very shortly
and put other men in their places
Although the men are the ostensible
chieftians the women are the real rulers.
The customs of the country forbid the
giving of mans property to his chill
dren after his death. If man dies, the
property he own is given to his father
and mother. The womans property on
the contrary is given to the children.
Probably that is the custom that is re-
sponsible for the turning over of all the
wealth of the country to the women
sit is the constant aim of the men to
enrich their wives. Each man has but
one wife, and each wife one husband.
and they live 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, but must al
low her to retain the property in her
possession. Divorces are not frequent
though, and believe that, in proportion
to the population, divorces in this part
of Sumatra are not one in sixteen COM
pared to the number in California.
"The people are happy there-happy
as they can be. The children live at
home with their mother-the boys until
they are thirteen or fourteen and the
girls until they marry.
"When tile daughter 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 chill
dren. This custom, of course, res ults in
forming large communities where there
are many children.
81 knew one of these communities
where there was mother and several
daughters living with children. The
original house had grown with each mar
riage until it spread over large piece of
ground.
"When the boys get old enough to
leave home they are taken to compart-
ment house which is set aside as house
for them until they wish to marry. The
girl has the right to choose whom she
viii wed, 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, and visits his home
in the evening to chat with her and the
children. All the money he gets-and
there is plenty of money of Dutch coint
age there-he turns 1t over to his sweet
heart. She dresses herself and children
and shoulders all of 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 which these strange people live
in is very fertile and productive. 1t is
fine country with beautiful mountains
and streams and magnificent scenery. All
sorts of fruits are grown and in higher
attitudes many of the grains,
ITO find dresses for the family must
be differ ept matter, for | never saw
such elegantly attired women as in
these communities, They are very beau
tiful, boasting the fairest and finest COM
plexlons and brightest eyes.
~ have seen women there wearing
dresses of pure gold and others wear
ing silver gowns. Both these metals are
mined there in Sumatra and the natives
possess sufficient knowledge of the arts to
smelt and form the ingots into wire. Tie
weaving of these handsome and costly
clothes is quite the principle occupation
of both women and men,"
-
Well!
4 gentleman living in this county near
Tallapoosa, has well from which he
has been drawing fine quality of n. o.
syrup for several years .-Tallapoosa