Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-29

| greyhounds, cats of all kinds and rare birds.
| In TACT, all sorts of the richest and rarest
| productions of the East are brought to
| Hurdwar
But, although the merchants and dealers
| in various wares number many thousands,
| the greater part of the throng. is composed
| of pilgrims Some are of the higher caste,
shining in garments made of cloth Of gold
and surrounded by many followers, some
half naked or barbarously ill-clad; here and
there are native priests, soldiers and re-
ligious fanatics, half beggar and half bandit,
and everywhere are mendicants, fakirs and
beggars of all descriptions, many of them
being from filth, distortion or nakedness
the most disgusting objects imaginable.
Amid such congregation of half-starved,
naked, dirty, MANNED and already moribund
people it is not difficult for deadly disease
to gain foothold.
The Shrine a veritable Pandora's Box.
The greatest wonder is that cholera or an
equally dread epidemic should not result
from these fairs every year. As it is, this
is not the first time that Hurdwar's annual
fair has been the spring and center of a
plague that has destroyed thousands OF
lives. Often in the past have the roads been
iammed with pilgrims and tourists fleeing
from some fearful disease generated among
the faithful multitude which had gathered
around the town to sell goods and worship
Vishnu between whlles.
However, if one does not fear contagion,
there is hardly a more interesting place in
the world than Hurdwar at this time.
A visit to the place is all the more interest
ing, from the fact that so few persons from
western countries go there. 1t is true that
not a year a year goes by that some Euro
pean or American does not Journey to
Hurdwar, but the majority of these have
made their stay short, because they find,
suppose, such poor accommodations. The
consequence is that the impression they
have received of Hurdwar and its fair
is as much lacking in detail as a snapshot
photo taken on dark day.
Route the Pilgrims Take.
When the northward bound traveller on
the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway in up
per Hindoostan has left famed Lucknow
about 100 miles behind, he reaches the
town of Shahjahanpur, half-ruined
place, whose chief possessions, are
an old castle and half dozen stately
mosque. At Shanjshanpur commences the
route by which it is usual for pilgrims or
tourists to penetrate the beautiful valley of
the Deyrah Dhoon to Hurdwar, or the more
distant recesses of the Himalayas and the
sources of the rivers Jumna and Ganges.
IL is not dDSOlutelV necessary LDdI tHc LId'-
eler should leave the railroad at this point,
but, if a visit to the town of the great an
nual fair or tour of that tremendous range
of mountains forming the northern bound
ary of India is contemplated, this is the
place to begin it.
Leaving Shahjahanpur, the road almost
Immediately enters Keeree Pass, surely the
portal to one of the fairest regions on this
earth. Before entering this pass the view
of the distant mountains is faint and indef-
mite, but as seen from Keeree the range re-
solves itself into valleys and slopes, rising
tier above tier until lost amid the clouds
that forever hang about the SUBMITS of this
giant of mountain chains.
A Picturesque Road to Travel.
Sometimes the rays of the sun break
through the clouds and for an instant or two
the rocky crags reflect back alternate tints
of silver and gold and then the clouds close
up again, hiding the secrets of this mys-
terious land. As for the road by which the
tourist must travel, it is wild enough, even
so close to the town. The foothills Of the
main range which skirt the road on all sides
are luxuriantly clothed with the richest of
foliage, such as can only be found in the
Indian jungles. Prominent among the
various species of plant life is the acknowl-
edged monarch OF the creepers, scandsnt