Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1895-01-18
AN AMERICAN FAKIR.
HE PRESIDES OVER THE HANuMAN
TEMPLE IN THE HlMALAYAS.

presiding over the Hanuman temple on
the summit of the Jaiko, in the Himalayas.
that | made ready the other day to climb
the 1900 feet to the mountain top in COM
pany of a devout Hindoo.
We found him sitting in front of the
shrine contemplating the fascinating pan
Drama beneath him, the slopes of the
snow abode" with wonderful Simla,
that has risen in the desert almost with
the rapidity of an American city, the green
landscapes dotted here and there with an
cient ruins, small clumps of mango trees
and lonely palms towering in their height.
as If on sentinel duty. He is a powerful
man, In spite Of his age and mode of liv-
Ing, with a strong, almost naughty face.
Around his hips he wore a white linen
scarf, leaving his legs and feet free. A
leopard skin was drawn over his shoulder
and a turban OH his head. The fakir an
swered our greetings in good English. He
spoke slowly, but his words were we'll
chosen.
II am Charles William de Rousette.n
he said. "My father came from the south
Of America to Simla In 1885 and engaged
In the mercantile business. I was born on
board of a sailing vessel flying the stars
and stripes. My mother, long since dead.
came from the north of the Union, but nv
father was of French descent. He was
very successful in trade and gave me the
benefit of what is called by you people an
excellent education.
Among our native house servants was
q Sadhu (disciple) who had originally
served the venerable Brahman in this tenn
pie, n who afterward, upon the death of
the fakir, became his successor. I loved
this good man, and whenever I had occa-
sion to visit him I staid for hours in and
around his shrine. All endeavors to in
terest me in study and in tho life my par
ents and friends wero leading failed. 1
longed for the seclusion II freedom of
the hermit, and n morning, after con-
sulting with the holy man on the noun.
tain, l made good my escape and entered
upon my novitiate, with a staff and beg
gar's bowl as my sole capital. I became a
, rover, a mendicaDt, anything you choose
to call it. The good religious folks fed
me, and the heavens were my cover for 10
long years, during which time Visited all
the remote valleys and all the temples
standing beside the st%upcndous glaciers
until my soul was full Of wonder and awe
. at the work Of God.
I 'Twolve times I worshiped at the holy
sources OF the Ganges, then to return to
Slmla, strewn with ashes and clad in nv
LOCKS, that during my wanderings never
had felt shears. My father had died mean
while, leaving me independently rich. But
what was money to me? I never went near
the official administering my fortune.
After learning of my fathers death l pro-
ceeded at once to this temple and took my
place at the feet Of the holy man. I be-
came his disciple, and when he died, years
after, he nominated me his successor.
IL detest Europeans, not as individuals,
but as members of a degraded community.
I am better off here. AS far as nationality
goes, certainly I belong to the SO called
civilized world, but I would rather die
and rot as a heather outcast thar submit
to the dictations and believe in the teach
ings of the lying, deceitful English clergy,
devoted to all the vices and luxuries ever
invented"
The fakir's business is to receive the
offerings from the natives and divide them
among the apes after deducting his own
share. De Rousette told us the monkeys
Of the Simla region are divided in two
groups, living apart from each other In
different districts of the forest, which they
leave only at the periods of migration, re-
curing every third year.
You should see my friends preparing
for their wandering" said the fakir. "No
English regiment that ever trod Indian
soil moved in such splendid order. They
march indeed as if. drilled BY. the Prus-
slams, and iron discipline is maintained In
the ranks, may their route be ever so long"
1T is said in the valley you possess pros
digious influence over the four handed le-
gions, " l remarked.
II nominate their king, said the fakir,
smiling. His majesty does the rest.
But there they come. Look for yourself"
In an instant the trees and bushes
around the temple were alive with whis-
kered monkeys, leaping from the branches
or walking erect on their hind legs, with
stats in their hands. The ''gros'' of the
army remained on the terrace of the tenn
pie, while one monkey walked gravely
into the sanctum. The fakir took my arm
and led mo in too ''This is the 'Mahar-
ascha Sahib' (king)," he said, "who is
privileged to cat in front of my own fire.
place. The prototype of proud dignity, is
he not?"
His majesty sat down on the furs spread
upon the stone floor n took from the
| hands of the fakir q bowl filled with maize
and wild ginger. Then he began to eat,
slowly and deliberately, paying nc atten-
ton whatever to his audience. The kings
general, called Kotwal, meanwhile kept
order without. He was a big monkey,
nearly as tall and weighty as the ''Sahib"
himself, who stood head and shoulders
above the rest of his tribe. The Kotwal
marshaled his troops with imposing dis
~oretion, and only nee In awhile was it
necessary for him to use the mighty club
be carried In his right paw. Noticed that
he punished monkeys who endeavored to
put away moro than their share by send
ing them behind the front" Actual dis
obedience was invariably punished by the
stick. Not until all ordinary monkeys had
been fed did the general receive his meal,
which, however, consisted Of the best NOR
sells the fakiry afforded. When all had fn-
ished, the monkeys salaamed goodby, to
which the fakir made answer, "Jaob beta"
(Go, my sons).-Simla (India) Cor. Chi.
oago Inter Ocean.
Scientific Progress.
IT notice." said the tall pale girl with