Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1891-04-30
SOME SIGHTS IN CEYLON.
CLIMATE AND PEOPLE OF A
FORTUNATE ISLAND.
Midwinter Fruits and Flowers-The Ma
tlves, Their Dress, Wages and
Habits - Religions and
Differing Orig ins.

line spicy breeZeS BLOW OOIC Ger
Ceylon's Isle" had very correct intui-
ton as to the character of the climate
and verdure of that fertile island. 1t
is land of soft Winds q warm sun, q
prolific soil, a splendid rainfall and a
luxuriant vegetation. Its fruits are
famous in a part of the world where
Pomona holds her courts. On the
table OF my hotel, says a writer, in a
letter from Colombo, to-day (and it is
mid-winter here as in the New Worldly
were oranges, lemons, lines, pine
apples, bananas, mangoes, dates, figs,
pomegranates, pears and apples. In
the market were watermelOns, citrOns,
breadfruit, persimmons, rampOotans "a
fruit which looks like huge, hairy
strawberry, but tastes like sub-acid
custard), bo!os, shaddocks, raisins,
cocoanuts and prickly pears. In the
suburbs and the surrounding country
the natives offer you punches of ban
anas at about the rate of five for cent.
other fruits at correspondingly low
prices.
The natives dress according to the
climate, that is to say without super
huous display. The handsome athlete
who draws the rickshaw or man-buggy
employs a breech cloth. The hotel
porter wears turban, neckerchief
and piece of calico around his waist.
Most childsen under wear bracelets
and anklets and nothing else. Modest
women wear a light shawl across the
upper part of the chest, thin petticoat
and several pounds of bangles. Half
OF the chest, all of the stomach and
half of the lower limbs are left uncov-
cred. Until the police interfered the
dervishes and begging priests were
wont to go about naked, but this has
now stopped.
Rents in the European quarters are
small, in the native quarters mere
trifle and in the suburbs next to moth
ing. One of my guides who lives in a
neat little house, with a garden at
tached, pays $40 year and percent
age of the fruit and vegetables grown.
Wages are similarly low. A good
gardener, mason, carpenter or ship
joiner is paid from II to 20 rupees a
month. A hotel waiter (and in Ceylon
the natives regard that position as the
most desirable in the worldly gets ru-
PEGS (S1.9O a month and his board and
lodging.
The morality of the natives is better
theoretically than practically. The
best types officially are the Parsees, or
so-called fire-worshipers, the Moslems
and thu Buddhist Hindustanis. Among
the poor types are the Tamils, Telegus
and Malabars, whose faith is hybrid
between deism and devil-worship; the
lowcaste Hindus, who are Brahmans.
and the Christian converts. The form
er are honest, clean. content and
abstinent; among the latter are some
of the most skillful thieves extant.
They row out for example, as boat
men in the fleets of little boats which
meet every steamer, climb up the sides
Of the vessel and enter the ports like
monkeys. When the apertures are too
small they employ hooked sticks or
short canes, to which is attached a
stout cord, ending in sharp steel
hook. With these instruments they
have frequently despoiled stateroom,
stripped it OF the occupants wearing
apparel, as well as of the bed-clothes
and pillows.
While nOminally the Cingalese are
lazy, the presence of civilization and
the admirable local government by the
English crown are forcing them to be
Industrious to a high degree. This is
manifest in many ways. The small
streams which, coming from the hill
district, once flowed directly into the
ocean have been carefully damned
and dyked so as to form a series of
handsome lakes of fresh water. All OF
the work in the construction was done
by natives under the supervision of
Dutch and English engineers. These
lakes are kept scrupulOusly clean and
every year are increased in size and
efficiency. They undoubtedly have
much to do with the healthfulness OF
Colombo.
The excellence of the roads has
developed travel and so opened new
fields to the unemployed. Riding on
horseback, donkeys or OK carts has
given way to improved modes of loco.
motion. From Europe comes a white
rooted vehicle that is partly carriage
and partly carryall From the Orient
comes the rickshaw, that curious little
go-cart with hood like buggy,
whose propulsive power is man
between the shafts. The carriage
costs about twenty cents an hour and
the rickshaw ten or less. Hundreds
of each are in daily use and add 6
picturesque element to the streets o.
the city and the roads Of the suburbs
The superior endurance of the biped
over the quadruped is we'll shown by
the fact that the carriage horse seldom
goes more than fifteen miles a da,
without being worn out. while tn,
rickshaw man walks and trots from
fifteen to forty miles in the same tim'
and the next morning is as fresh a
ever. Even the awful climate seem
to have no terrOrs to these human
steeds. They are as active in Angus
as in January.