The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-02

sweep the floors. but will be discharged
rather than dust the furniture, which Is
the business of another; the groom VINO
attends to the horses viii not cut the grass
of his caste: one man will do the cooking
but Will not carry dishes nor serve a.
make t the beds Is no bu ms viii not touch the
clothing that is to be washed. while the
man who does the washing and ironing
would not, under any circumstances con-
sent TO act as a domestic servant; ne Is
of a different caste
The Havelock family. being of consider
able Importance was constantly ATTENDED
by twelve to twenty servants. but such was
the cheapness of labor in India at the time
OF Mrs. Barnett's residence that 70 per
month paid the wages of the whole house-
hold. The washing for family OF elsht
or ten persons was done for rupees
month, or about 81. Lady Havelack kept
a dressmaker, or dirjee. In India all the
dressmGkng is done by men, who attend 10
the cutting and fitting. then make the dress
by the best trained seamstress or otner
countries. Lady Havelocks dirJee received
annas day. or about Il cents; came TO
the house to work, did all his sewing on the
porch outside, squatted crosslegged on the
floor refusing to enter. partly because ne
objected to the heat of the house, ana
partly through fear of contamination and
loss of caste, and furnished his own provi-
sions for. as a rule, the natives strongly
object and. in most cases absolutely refuse
TO eat the food prepared for the whites.
SUFFERING FROM HEAT.
Owing to the intense heat of the climate
life without breeze is almost unendurable,
and all the houses of the whites aRd of the
better class of natives are provided with
fans, swung from the ceiling, a wooden
frame, with long strips of muslin depend
ing from it, furnishing the breeze. and
Punkah Wallah or fan man, squatting on
his launches just outside the door, the mo-
tor power by a rope passing over a pulley.
1t is the Punkah Walah's business to watch
the movement of the inmates, and if they
leave one room and go into another he
changes his station and keeps up the move
mentS of the fans all Gay long for about
3 annas. At night he is relieved by an
other Punkah Wallah, who works until
daylight When the heated season comes
on the glass windows frames are removed,
peculiar screens, made of the roots OF an
Indian grass plant, are substituted, and a
Pahnee Wallah, or water man. is engaged,
whose business it is to pass from one Win
dow to another and dash water on the
screens. The evaporation reduces the tenn
perature from ten to twenty degrees in
rooms thus protected, but the European
who, in temporary straits, endeavors to in
duce the Pahnee Wallah to take the place
of the Punkah Wallah is making a grave
mistake, for each job is done by men OF
particular caste and under no circum-
stances will one undertake the work or the
other. All sorts or service were then to be
had at such low rates that person or
even moderate means could live in India in
the height of luxury.
When a European stepped outside his
door a native attendant was always in
waiting with a huge palm-leaf umbrella,
protecting him ct every step from the blaze
of the sun, and for this light service he
received from l to annas a day. When
ladies Travelled in those days they were
carried in a chair closely resembling the
ordinary arm chair in use among us,
suspended on two poles, borne by four
bearers, who went in trot, an umbrella
holder, who galloped alongside, While
footman ran ahead to clear the way. In
hn lie troy linz N
and at regular intervals in the British terri
tory there were established posthouses, at
running ahead to prepare food for the party
by the time 1T arrived. In one case
Mrs. Barnett's forerunner inadvertently
passed a station. and when she arrived
there was no one in attendance and no pro-
vision for her comfort. the footnan being
miles away at the next station.
Provisions In India were then as cheap
as domestic service. chicken cost from
5 to 10 annas, eggs were annaS a dozen,
rice an anna a pound, sugar the same and
bananas an anna dozen. There was plen-
ty of beef and mutton to be had but eau
tion must be exercised, for in that climate
meat will not keep more than a few hours,
and the flesh of animal killed in the
morning must be cooked and eaten on the
same day Funerals were conducted with
what elsewhere would appear unseemly
haste Bodies are buried or burned gem
orally on the same day. or at most, on the
next after death During the frtghtful
cholera epidemic, which occurred While MIS-
Barnett was in India such was the sud-
denness of the attacks that gentlemen and
ladies who breakfasted in perfect health
were dead before night and buried ere
morning The natives. however, appear TO
be as healthy as people in other countries,
and the native soldiers are described by
Mrs. Barnett as tall well-formed men, who
compared well with the soldiers of other
countries The great mutiny was attribu-
table to religious prejudice and the fear
that the English were making efforts to
break down the caste system. There Is
very little danger. this lady thinks, of a
recurrence Of such an outbreak in the In
dian army. and no hope at all that should
army in India is now fer stronger, in pro-
portion to the native. thar 1t was In 1851
ard India has now fifteen thousand miles
of railroad. fact which will enable the
government to transport it's troops to any
desired point with speed unknown at the
time of the great insurrection.