Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1900-01-11
Curse of Caste.

| carrying lOaQS Oh DrlchS Oh Lnelr nedus
| in the scorching sun. A woman s
wages for such work is the equivalent
of 10 cents United States money per
day They work from $3.50 a. m. until
5: 80 p. M, with one hour, IL to p. M,
in which to eat their breakfast at their
homes or of street vendors.
One servant enters your apartments
followed by another the first, of high
er caste, directs the other and feels
away above him. The first would not
think of sweeping and arranging hotel
apartments; he is of higher caste, and
only blacks your boots and such.
The coolies that row you and your
luggage ashore would never carry
your luggage; lower-caste coolies must
do that The dirty driver of bullock
cart will take your luggage to the no.
tells, but it must be loaded and IN
loaded for him by separate sets of
coolies.
Every native who sees you arriving
or departing will crowd around you
and extend his hand, expecting a fee.
In the streets the young and old greet
you with their salaam (salutation) and
ask aims.
The people are neither energetic nor
ambitious and prefer to lounge arouns
rather than to work. They stroll
around or work in the boiling sun
bareheaded, apparently unmindful OF
the fierce sun, which is very powerful
and dangerous to Europeans If exposed
to it's direct ways.
Foreign Nationalities.
All nationalities of Egypt and India
are in Colombo, but there are absolute
ly no Cinnamon whatsoever, the Chi
nese not being able to compete with
native labor and grow rich. The jim
rikishamen are natives. The national
tiles from Egypt and India swarm the
chief streets, on which are located
their small shops Their incessant
wall and salutation is Il am waiting
for thee" 'You promised me, )" "Come
inside, just to look, not to buy and
so on. dozen, all at once, persist in
calling every European passer-by.
They are very amusing, at times an
noying, but always so polite as to pre-
clude taking offense. Precious stones
and jewelry are their chief articles OF
| trade.
They are great prevaricators, very
willy and exceedingly shrewd in palm
ing off almost worthless stones in
cheap alloy settings upon passengers
from the various steamships
All the Cingalese, with few excep-
tions, chew the betal leaf and arrac nut
combination. White lime, obtained
from the burnt shells is spread upor
| the betel leaf and chips of dried arrat
nut (grown on the arrac palm) is put
with the leaf and chewed. The com
bination results in a deep-red juice
which colors the lips, the saliva, the
gums, ETC., bright red. The chewers
appear to have a mouthful of blood
It is very hideous at first, but one sool
fails to be impressed with the sight
The betel leaf (there is no betel nut,
is the leaf of tropical vine (creeper)
Light pink-tinted lime is a fad in
dulged in by few Some add severa
cloves, cardamon and a pinch of Leaf
tobacco as a special fiavoring.
An Elephant Hunt.
! Ceylon has no tigers, but it has
large tiger cats, elephants and snake:
galore. The deadly cobra, adder an6
python are the most dreaded of the
reptiles
In the interior of Ceylon l had rather
a novel experience, that of witnessing
an elephant kraal.
Several weeks previously two herds
of elephants had been surrounded by
some $500 native coolies under the
orders of their Ratamahatmayas pre-
paratory to the kraaling. The plot o.
wilderness and jungle surrounded by
the circle of coolies extended over al
area of about 5000 acres.
Every night, by firing blank ammu
milton, kindling fires, beating tomtomi
and loud shouting, the elephants were
driven several hundred yards nearer
to an improvised stockade. This wa!
repeated nightly until the elephants
| were nail q Iullt VI ltSS lIOun Iih'
mouth of the stockade. This chase
sometimes requires more than two
months.
The circle of coolies then opens anC
incloses within its ranks the entir,
stockade. This stockade was built o
stout tree trunks deeply and firmly i'm
bedded in the ground at a distance o
two feet apart. These treeposts pro
jected some IA feet above the earti
and were reinforced by three parable
lines of horizontal crosspieces, secure
ly tied to the posts with wild vines ant
creepers. The whole was furthe
strengthened by series of slantini
braces firmly fixed in the ground ant
having horizontal crosspieces ais
bound to them. The stockade o
"kraa" was about 500 feet square, an,
built in the jungle. with its entranc
disguised to appear as the thickes
part of the jungle. The entrance 70
, the game was from 80 to 20 feet wild
, and at the north side of the stockade.
Beyond the stockade, on the south
opposite its entrance, was "kraa
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