Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-06
NEBRASKA WOMAN IN INDIA
Mrs. jerome W, Egbert Returns from the
City Of Madras.
TALKS OF HER TRAVELS IN THE ORIENT
English People In the city of Madras
Were Enthusiastic over the Amer
lean Victories in the Recent
War with spain.

war WIN spHih.
Among the guests at the Iler Grand are
Mrs. Jerome w. Egbert and child of Madras,
India, and her sister, Miss Thornton OF
Lincoln. Mrs. Egbert is a Nebraska woman
and is proud of IT, Mrs Thomas Of Maiden
is sister and r.. b. Sheridan OF Blue Hill
is her uncle. Mrs. Egbert has spent three
years in India with her husband, who Is
prominent dentist in Madras being in fact,
the only American dental representative in
that thriving city of 100000 Inhabitants.
MIR. Egbert went to India in September,
1896, with the endorsement of the American
Baptist Missionary society, but not as a
missionary. Mrs. Egbert found the climate
very trying and returned to this country
last summer. She is bright talker and
shows in her conversation that she not only
believes in absorbing knowledge during her
travels, but thinks 1t a good idea to be
able to relate matters of interest to those
who are anxious to profit by her experience.
Mrs Egbert, although still young In years,
has trave.ed extensively On her way east
she crossed Europe, glancing at Palestine
studied the topography of Asia and made
herself agreeable to the people of India
familiarizing herself with their customs.
She visited Egypt and watched the sober
Sphinx, learning something new in each
place. On her return to America
she came through China, embark
ing at Hong Kong for Vancou-
ver. She crossed the northwest by way
of the Canadian Pacific, stopping i'm Chicago,
where she spent the winter. In connection
with her life in India Mrs. Egbert said:
when we first arrived in our new home
we thought we would net fike 1t, but after
years of association with the people who rep
resent the English government there we fnd
1t very pleasant place to live ln' Dr.
Egbert has practically no opposition in the
practice of his profession, as the English
and natives are very partial to Americans.
Native dentistry has never reached high
stage of development, the native tooth pull
ers being men who seek to teach the natives
| that black teeth are more beautiful than
white. AS a result they spend their time in
| kaing their teeth, while European dentists
try to save them. Natives suffer greatly
| from their teeth and those OF the upper class
| have great deal Of work done
"Sixth months of the year the governor
| spends in the mountains and we usually ac-
| company him. The doctor has just as much
| work on these trips as he can attend to
| so that he leads very busy life. Whlle N
| Madras he gives certain afternoons regularly
| to the coolies He has an office in dlHerenr
mart of the city where they call upon him
| in great numbers. This is practically all Sne
| missionary work he does, as his time Is
| fully occupied
American Missionaries.
"There are not more than thirty Ameri-
cans in Madras and they are all missionaries.
| Consequently we must seek society among
| the English. Tradesmen are ostraclzed, put
professional men are received cordially. ClNti
service employees and the military form tue
most important factors The governor OF
! the city is Sir Arthur Havelock, a son oil
! the famous general. During the summer
while the Americans and Spanish were fight
! ing, all the English in Madras were inter-
ested in its outcome and especially enthusl
| astic over the victories Of our arms Each
is anxious for an alliance and l believe that
| if the teathen nations of the world are ever
evangelical it will be under the Chrstianiz-
ing influence of American and English rule
We, in India, look forward to an alliance OF
the two cations and hope it will soon become
a reality.
"The cost of living in Madras is great
Luxuries are reasonable, but necessities are
very high. For instance, a lady's maid can
be obtained for S. a month and she boards
herself. She is experienced and has been
| trained to her work. On the other hand, II
| | want pair of shoes l must send to Chi
cago for them. An ordinary house costs $45
a month and the houses usually occupied by
| foreigners are $50. Horses are expensive
| and numerous servants are required, so thai
for ordinary service alone 1t costs about
| $75 or $50 per month. Other expenses are
in proportion, so that one has to have q
good iocome to live.
Good Opening for American Physician
"There is an excellent location in Madras
for an American physician, providing he is q
good one. Only English surgeons practice
there and they are connected with the Eng
lish army The Red Cross society has not
reached us yet with its nurses but the hos.
pital service Is very good, there being sew
eral different varieties Foreigners seem tC
be immune against the plague and leprosy
mingling with the afflicted and in the suf'
fering districts without any injury to theil
health. The purity of our blood seems tc
be responsible for this
Mrs. Egbert does not seem to have beer
impressed with the Chinese. She visited
Canton and other cities. She says they are
not cleanly in their life, their cities being
filthy and in need of governor like Gen
eral Wood. She attributes the immense
suffering from the plague to their careless
ness in living, as they do not seem human
Mrs. Egbert expects to go to Chicago to-
day. She will leave there soon to cross thI
ocean, embarking at some Canadian por
for Paris. She will remain in France unit
next year. Returning to the United State!
and then crossing the country to San Fran
cisco she will visit Hawaii on her way
| home
Spreads Like WildGre.
You can't keep good thing down. News
OF 1t travels fast When things are "tht