St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1894-10-25
HINDUSTAN.
Everett, Mass

Strange Occurrences in the HimaIayas
Correspondence of the CALEDONIAN]
Some matters in India that have
caused excitement during this year
may interest Vermont readers. First,
OUR SCARE IN TIRHOOT.
In the early summer it was found
that many trees in TirhOOt were
daubed with some kind of mud, and
that in the center of the daub was
found hair, supposed to be cows
hair The mud did not seem to be
from the local soil and the hair was
also mysterious. No one could
ascert ain how or when these trees
were so smeared, but still the work
went forward until much excitement
prevailed. Every newspaper took
up the matter, ana old Indian states
men at home wrote Tor the journals
there, giving many reasons for the
tree-daubing The older Christian
residents IN India, remembering the
former meeting and the mysterious
signs of various kinds that preceded
1t, supposed that another meeting
was being secretly planned. Most,
however, believed that there was
religious significance in the matter
and that it might contain some
secret defiance on the cow killing
question which has caused local dis
turbances during the past year, as
the hair was said to be cows hair.
The general final decision was that
it was an effort to change the shrines
OF the Gauges to some place or places
in Nepaul. The government of India
has during the past two years inter
fered with these shrines, demanding
proper sanitary arrangements, and
taxing the rich priests to pay
sanitary expenses. The reason of
this is the TACT that cholera has of
late years spread over India, and in
one instance nearly all over the
world, starting from the crowds at
these shrines. The cholera scare that
reached New York started at one OF
these shrines. The people coming
together by the hundred thousand,
and Obeylng no sanitary laws, soon
contract the cholera and then flee in
every direction, taking the disease
with them. l have personally wit
messed terrible havoc in such cases.
The government terribly offended all
Brahmins and many Hindus by in
slsting on cleanliness, and levy1ng a
tax to pay tor proper arrangements.
Hence the Hindus may have hoped
to remove these shrines into Nepaul
outside of British control. Nothing.
however, has yet come OF our scare,
The day when the cow worshippers
would have arisen was SO we'll
guarded that all was quiet and the
Ganges is still sacred.
OUR LAKE EXCITEMENT.
Our other excitement of general in
terest was a lake in the Himalava
mountains. During last September,
nearly year ago, d mountain side
broke loose and fell from a great
height quite filing up a valley for
one mile IN length. The sides OF the
mountain were quite steep and this
slide quite filled the valley, causing
. a wedge-llke dam one mile long, one
mile broad at the top, and quite
narrow at the bottom, and 900 feet
high. In this valley was a noun
tain stream, about as large perhaps
as the Passumpsic river, and here
was dam for this stream 900 feet
high, pounded down as no human
power could pound it. All through
the winter this stream formed its
water against the dam and all
through the early summer. 1t at
tracted the attention of the govern
ment and an experienced engineer was
sent to investigate, and his report ac-
cords with the above account. He.
however, said that the dam would
probably give way when full, and
hence bridges were removed, and