Kansas City daily journal., 1897-02-06
For Morbid Conditions take Beecham's Pill
CITY OF THE PLAGUE.
Description of bombay, Its Commerce
and Its Population.
be ROston AlVertiser.

From the Boston Advertiser.
bombay, the capital of the presidency of
the same name, and the chief seaport in
Irdia, is now the great center of plague
and famine.
1t is situated on the Indian ocean, at the
southern end of the island of Salsette.
which stretches along the shore of the con-
tinent from north to south for a distance
of over twenty miles.
The harbor. which is the safest and most
spacious in all India, and one of the finest
in the world, lies between the city and the
mainland.
buildings, connected first by wagon roads
and since $50 by rail with all parts of the
Indian empire, furnished with docks and
raised to a position of undisputed pre-
em:nence as the chief port of entry and
commercial center of all India.
Steamers sailing daily bring the city into
close connection with Liverpool, London
and the Mediterranean ports.
The weekly mails between India and Eu-
rope arrive at and depart from Bombay
Steamers sail hence to all parts of the
Fast, and sailing ships seek its harbor
from all parts of the world.
1t presents more of the appearance of
European city to the traveller than almost
any other city of the East.
In population Bombay ranks first of all
Indian cities. and among those belonging
to the British empire is exceeded only by
London itself.
The census of 1881 gave a population of
1876 souls-Buddhists and Jains. 1I.SSi ::
Hindus (of all castes and races, 502 S5l :
Mchammedans. 1SS. T13: Parsees. 1881;
Jews. 1921; Christian native, Portuguese
ana European), 42,S21.
The European population by itself. which
is mostly British. numbered nearly 10 so.
Nearly every ASiatic race has contributed
its quota to the census; the diversity of
race and language among the inhabitants
of India alone is very great. and among
the dwellers in Bombay are individuals
from all parts of India, speaking all the
principal tongues which are used anywhere
within the limits of India.
Africans of many tribes, representatives
from nearly every European country. from
America. from China and from widely sep
arated islands of the sea. go to swell the
diversity of the Bombay population.
The number of languages actually used
in Bombay is very great-doubtless Il hun
dreG, more or less.
For the most part. however. the Moham-
mcCans speak the HindoOstani: Hindus are
divided chiefly between the Marathi and
the Cujarathi: the ParSees use dialect
of the latter tongue: while HindooStani,
ovcrstepping the limits of Mohammedan
communication. has become in Bombay, as
largely throughout India, a lingua franCa,
duS of different races become intelligtbie
to each other. and 10 the Europeans, whom
some of them serve in divers capacities.
and who often learn other native Ian
guage.
For purposes of education and business.
English itself is making rapid progress
among all classes.
1t is now not only possible but easy for a
European to live in Bombay. to employ
servants. deal with tradeSmen. purchase
articles in the baZars, engage in business
and converse on all subjects with intelli-
gent natives-Hindu, Mohammedan or Par
see-without knowing Il single word of any
other language than English.