The record-union., 1894-12-01
AN ARTIST IN INDIA.
Impressions of Railway Travel
in the Far East.

senger and His Menagerie in Min
iature-Hlndos UrbanIty Contrasted
High Caste Parsonage at His Toilet.
! The Jodhpore and Bikanir mail left
at the usual early hour. l was fortunate
enough to find an empty compartment,
and, in fact, there was no other European
on the train. The life along the road had
lost nothing of its primitive character,
says Edwin Lord Weeks in Harpe1'S
Monthly. At "Metra Road' some be-
lated passengers mounted on camels
were hurrylng 10 catch the train along
the sandy track which led from the dis
tant village. They were perched high
up on the double-seated saddles of the
country, and each pair OF riders clung
fraternaily to each other as they bobbed
up and down, keeping time to the bone
breaking strides of their camels. While
the master, wearing the jaunty little
| Jodhpore turban above his well-oiled
locks, sat in front, the servant took the
back seat, holding aloft in one hand the
camels knelt down, bubbling and moan
ing, while their riders descended and
! hurried In to buy their tickets. Here the
guard telegraphed TO JodhpoTe, that
tilfin might be ready on our arrival, for
| should one neglect to take this precaution
he would probably find nothing to eat
but oranges and fat ''chupatties,' and to
| drink, only cotfee-colOred water poured
! from goat skins. Everywhere IN India,
and more particularly III these native
/ States, people are III the habit or carrying
about with them considerable live stock
! of various kinds. To be more specific,
l refer 10 the mammals and birds trained
to assist III the capture OF game. The
railway handbookS abound with curious
| Information and rules Interesting 10 the
naturalist sheep, pigs, goats, calves
and tiger, panther and cheetah cubs in
cages, and, which are so young as TO be
harmless, if carried by passenger trains,
are charged at double the dog rate for
each animal" "Cats, ferrets, monkeys
ana rabbits, secured with collar and
chain, are chargeable as dogs"
! Prudent natives, when shifting their
| quarters during the snake season, fire.
| quently take along The family mon
goose as precautionary measure. For
! those unfamiliar with this unpreposSeSs-
! ing but harmless little beast IL may here
/ be remarke Ell that he belongs TO the ich-
| neumon caste, and as his vocation is the
]
welcome visitor. He looks something
like an under-siZed otter, is quick and
/ Spasmodlc in his movements, and is often
found under the bed in long-Vacant
Oak bunkalow, whence he suddenly
scuttles away as the door is opened, and
! disappears with a whisk of his tail in
the chimney place or down the nearest
| hole.
At one station four coolies passed along
the platform carrying aloft a "charpie,'
on which repOsed a cheetah, chained and
blindfOlded. When we first caught sight
OF him he was sitting up like a cat, with
his ears lying flat against his head, wear
ing the sulky and injured look which all
felines have under adverse circumstances.
a few passengers who got OFT before we
reached Jodhpore were provided with
falcons and hawks, some of them so
large and bulky as to be rather un-
Wleldly: and while these passengers fun
! bIed tor their tickets, the Dirus sat on
their shoulders, or balanced themselves
on their YoIumInouS turbanS. The train
reached JodhpOre at noon, and made a
/ long halt. In the little restaurant titfin
! for one was ready on the table, and for
! the sum of one rupee was uncommonly
! liberal in quantity. Ham and eggs,
chops and boiled chicken were the prIn-
clpal Items which were inscribed on the
unvaryiug bill of fare framed and hung
on the walls. The environS OF the sta
tions were hardly recognizable, SO great
| had been the change in six years.
! Where all had been sand before there
were now dense gardens. and the dark
| and gloomy green foliage tempered the
rawEeSS of the new stone houses which
had sprung up on every side. Had 1t
not been Tor the distant castle and the
desert ridge, one might have fancied
one's-self in some new suburban town OF
/ the Far West. From this point on. the
line is new, and alter leaving the station
we passed close to the modern palace of
the Rajah, built of dark red stone, with
innumerable white cupolas, and covering
a great extent of ground.
While the train waited at Jodhpore a
| portly ana consequential parsonage en-
tered the compartment, attended as TAR
/ as the door by youth in crimson frock
coat ornamented with black velvet collar
and cuffs and brass buttons, and wearing
yellow plaid breeches and a scarlet tur-
ban. The parsonage wore gold rings on
his toes as well as in his ears, and he was
! followed by several retainers, who spread
out his bedding on the opposite divan,
and after making him comfortable they
all left for their own compartments.
Either from curiosity, or from desire
! to be agreeable-for the Indian who has
not travelled much i'll English-speak-
ing countries still considers it mark Of
! courtesy to show an Interest in his fellow
! mainly viS-a-vis proceeded to open a
! conversation. A1otee, who had been in
stalled on the platform, was called in TO
! interpret, and having explained my OBJ
| ject in visiting Bikanir to my fellow
! traveller, he announced himself to be a
member of the Regency Council of that
State. Nowhere is one thing in which
| the Indian caste system Is more fOrtu-
nate than ours. He who is born to the
purple wears his birthright EN- blaZoned
on his forehead In the shape OF a caste
mark. He has, besides, Distinguishing
! costume, and, moreover, his face shows
the hereditary stamp OF his race, so that
| there is no mlstaking any one OF baser
august order. Either his dress or his caste
mark is equivalent to the legend some
| times seen on patent medicine bottles.
"Io initiate this is felony" and, indeed.
1 it would be felony OF the deepest dye, un-
pardonable in this world or the next. to
infringe on the Rajpoot patent nobility.
! During our journey TO Bikanir the coun-
cilor frequently partook of food, strange
| homeopathic little messes of yellow paste.
pomegranate seeds and sliced cucum-
bers III small glass dishes, while he Cos
| siped with his bearer" who served
them on a tray at his feet. When time
! hung heavy on his hands he would pet
| up aud change some article of clothing.
and late in the afternoon his servants
brought him an entire outfit, assisting
| him first to pull oil his thin under vest.
| showing al eXpanse of glossy brown
| skin. They then proceeded to wind him
| up in a long piece of warm-tinted white
/ u1pSliu Of dalicata II lrnv tax o,,,1 -.