The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-01-16
AN AMERICAN FAKIR.
HE PRESlDEs OVER THE HANUMAN
TEMPLE IN THE HlMALAYAS.

Has Penetrated Occultsm So Far That He
Has Been Made High MuclS-a-muck over
Two Tribes Of Sacred Monkeys-He De-
tests Modern Civilization.
The people horoabout Britishers and ma.
tives, had told mo so much Of the fakir
presiding over tho Hanuman temple or
the summit Of tho Jaiko, in the Himalayas,
that made ready tho other day to climb
the 500 feet to the mountain top in com
pany of a dovout 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
tho rapidity of an American city, the green
landscapes dotted here and there with an
oient ruins, small clumps of mango trees
and lonely palms towering in their height,
as If on sentinel duty. He is 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 on his head. The fa5ir an
swered our greetings in good English. He
spoke slowly, but his words were well
| chosen.
II am Charles William dc Rousette,
he said. my father came from the south
of America to Simla in 1885 and engaged
in the mercantile business. l was born on
| board of a sailing vessel flying the stars
and stripes My mother, long since dead,
oame from the north Of the Union, but my
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
a Sadhu (disoiple) who had originally
served the venerable Brahman in this tenn
pie and who afterward, upon the death of
tho fakir, became his successor. 1 loved
this good man, and whenever l had occa-
sion to visit him 1 staid for hours in and
around his shrine All endeavors to in
terest me in study and in the life my par
ents and friends were leading failed.
longed for the secusion and freedom of
the hermit, and one morning, after con
sulting with the holy man on the noun
tain, | made good my escape and entered
upon my novitiate, with a staff and beg
gar's bowl as my sole capital l became a
rover, a mondicant anything you choose
to call 1t. The good religious folks fed
me, and the heavens were my cover for 12
long years, during which time l visited all
the remote valleys and all the temples
standing beside the stupondous glaciers
until my soul was full of wonder and awe
at the work of God.
"Twelyo times l worshiped at the holy
sources of the GungCs, then to return tC
Simla, strown with ashes and clad in my
locks, that during my wanderings never
had folt shears. My father had died mean
; while, leaving me independently rich But
what was money to me? l never went neal
tho official administering my fortune
Aftor learning of my fathers death pro
ceeded at onco to this temple and took my
place at the feet of the holy man. be
came his disciple, and when he died, years
after, he nominated me his successor.
81 detest Europeans, not as individuals
but as members of a degraded community
am better OF here. As far as nationality
! goes, certainly I belong to the so called
civilized world, but 1 would rather die
and rot as heathon outcast than submit
to the dictations and believe in the teach
ings Of the lying, decetful English clergy
, devoted to all the vices and luXuries evel
inyonted"
The fakir's business is to receive The
offerings from tho natives and divide then
among tho apes after dcducting his owl
share De Bousetto told us the monkey.
l
! groups, living apart from each other II
different districts of the forest which they
leave only at the periods of migration, re
7 curing every third year
p You should see my friends preparing
for their wandering ~ said the fakir. M
English regiment that ever trod Indian
D soil moved in such splendid order They
!, march indeed as if drilled by the Prus
slams, and iron discipline is maintained il
t the ranks, may their route be ever SO long.
IL 1t is said in the valley you possess pro
digiOus influence over the four handed le
g gions, - l remarked.
: Il nominate their king, said the fakir
smiling. His majesty does the rest
But there thoy come. Look for yourself.
In an instant the trees and bushe
e around the tomple were alive with whis
o kered monkeys, leaping from the branche
or walking erect on their hind legs, wit
i staffs In their hands. The "gros" of tn
a army remained on the terrace Of the TEN
20 pie, while one monkey walked gravel
into the sanctum The fakir took my arm
IS and led mo in too. "This is the Mahar
e ascha Sahib' (king), he said, who /
privileged to eat in front of my own fire
place. The prototype of proud dignity, i
g he noti"
4 His majesty sat down on the furs sprea'
upon the stone floor and took from tn
hands of the fakir bowl filed with maiz
h and wild ginger. Then he began to eat
slowly and deliberately, paying no after
tion whatever to his audience. The king
t general, called Kotwal, meanwhile keI
d, order without. He was a big monkey
nearly as tall and weighty as the "Sahib
himself, who stood head and shoulder
1t above the rest of his tribe. The Kutwl
marshaled his troops with imposing dii
cretion, and only once in awhile was
necessary for him to use the mighty clu
d, no carried in his right paw. Inoticed thu
10 he punished monkeys who endeavored I
put away more than their share by senS
! ing thcm behind the front Actual di
+ obedience was invariably punished by II
stick Not until all ordinary monkeys ha
u been fed did the general receive his mea
is which, however consisted Of the bosJ mo
- sells the fokiry afforded. When an had fiji
FeEpI fIa gtrruItava aqlun1upd GOOD nv.