The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-06-06

OF green foliage on rising ground where
red-r oofed cantonments seek shelter from
tropical sun, and, browning the whole
landscape. on the summit of the hill Ii
the greatest Buddhist pagoda in the
world, a hundred feet higher than Bunker
Hill monument, or 10000 times its cubic
contents. gilded with pure gold from tor
to bottom. At sight OF 1t, every devout
Buddhist bows himself three times on
the deck, smumbles prayer and counts
his beads; but the number who do 40 is
conspicuously less year by year. This
pagoda will be place Of pilgrimage for
centuries to come, but its glory Is waning
meath Its shadow. THUS shall We say
unto them: The gods that have not made
the heavens and the earth, even they shall
perish from the earth, and from under
these heavens"
got away In the mail train on Tuesday
night for - continuous railway journey
OF ~ miles north to Myitkyina The
nomenalsspeed Of 80 miles an hour, but
IL creeps into Myitkyina at barely II
miles an hour SO one must compose him.
self for journey OF two full days. 1t is
insufferably hot in the Rangoon station,
but one can get iced lemonade which is
decidedly refreshing when one has had
summer weather for two years running
and no ice. Once away from the station.
out across the paddy fields, the wind
blows fresh and the nights In Burma are
always fairly cool. But the engine is
burning soft coal and there has been no
rain for six months. How the dust and
cinders fly Windows must be left open
Tor GOODNESS. In the morning one looks
like stoker fresh up from the hold.
There is little lavstory for each apart.
ment, for the Englishman will have his
comforts and one can wash as often as he
feels inclined. There are well appointed
restaurants along the way. The guard
asks you II you wish meals at the an
pointed places, sells You meal tickets and
telegraphs ahead at the compaEy's ex-
pense. On arrival you find clean table
linen, the tables properly laid, you sit
down with full half hour for d meal.
NO standing, grabbing, gulping heathen-
ish performance as in American railway
restaurants with scant five minutes to
do 1t in. You cannot hurry the Briton
at his meals; railways must make their
meal and place their restaurants where
he can get 1t at the proper time. You
are in Mandalay the next day at noon.
having had a Ecomfortable nights rest,
and spent farsless money. than you would
to travel the same distance In America
What an unspeakahle advance In the pas I
seventy five yearsi When Judson first
went up the river to Ava, the old capital,
1t took him six weeks and cost $500 Now
we do 1t in 18 hours for $500 This
comes OF bearing 1.-THE white mans bur-
den In the East.n The British Raj in
India has been Of Unreasonable public
benefit.
A delightful place this Myitkyina. 1t
Is two degrees north of the tropic Of Can
Ger and has temperate climate much OF
the ysar. 1t was only rs degrees at noon
day, April 9th. After doing month
from 90 to 100 degrees, this seems bless
ed relief. Here the Irrawaddy runs clear
and cold. had never seen it so before.
The mahrseer (Indian salmon) leaps 10
the surface at sunset and the river goes
sw1rling by. Twelve miles farther north
Is the confluence of the Mica and Aiieeca,
TWO rivers OF equal size that form the r.
rawaddy. Where they come from, no ono
exactly knows. They have never been
explored to their source but IL Is generally
believed that they rise In lthe Himaiaya
watershed and that their GOODNESS is
due to melting snow.