Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-03-29

River-Land Of Regret and
Exile
Hotels IN India are Wretched affairs
says |. E. Thaiman in the Baltimore
Sun. The rooms are swept by a filthy
coolie, who with a bundle of switches
like a South Sea Islander, whips the
mating and fans the dust into cor
aers, but does not clean the room.
towels are unchanged; so you carry
your own towels, and lock them up to
prevent the coolie from drying his
feet upon them While tidying the
room It is notorious fact that they
do use your bathroom and anything
convenient, such as hair brushes
soap. dentifrice, towels, etc.
All articles broken in the dining
room or elsewhere are charged to
guests, and the majority of hotels
insist on calling Y hours day.
Birds hop about the dining rooms
and roost in crevices at top of each
room. the ceilings being usually very
high and without much finishing, with
rafters visible. Lizards crowd undis-
turbed about the apartments, and the
guest may be thankful they are not
snakes.
Salt is heavily taxed, on the princi-
pie, probably, that such taxation
reaches the poorest of the poor, and
none can escape it. 1t is a crime to
extract salt from earth or sea, for it
| is a government monopoly and yields
more revenue than the immense liq-
uor and opium traffic of India. Hotels
grind salt with flour to increase its
bulk until il loses its SAVIOR.
! The Hotel Menu.
| The hotel menu each evening con-
| tains veal, chicken or mutton outlets,
consisting Of remnants of meat and
made into a coarse sausage-like
cake. In each cake a secondhand
bone is stuck, then it is fried and
! served. Chocolate cream is on the bill
| of fare as dessert, a sort of chocolate
colored puddingmade of scraps of thread
served with sauce; and this same dish
|
different name, while the band plays
in great style. Calcutta hotels, at
| least, have one night per week a
guest night" when a band plays, and
| it is safer to invite friends to dinner
on that night, as there always is a
chance OF getting some real ice cream,
| or the like. Yet, these hotels have
the audacity of invariably bringing
! forward a book in which you are
asked to write and sign a fiattering
| testimonial, overlooking with praise
| for the management.
The Servants.
| India is the land of many ser
wants" The head servant is called the
bearer" he has the responsible con-
troll and general management OF all
the servants except the cook. The
cook, the next in Importance, not only
cooks, but buys all the provisions. At
the big hotels ne contracts TO feed
the guests at rupee (32 cents) or
| less per head a day. Another resign
| eddy placid individual sits on his feet
| in the kitchen and washes the dishes.
! The gardener cares for the lawn and
| decorates the table with flowers at
every meal. The Waterman has duties
peculiar TO housekeeping in India, and
shouts at frequent intervals during
| the night to prove he IS awake; but
! he has been known to shout in his
sleep. The ayah or lady's maid, is
the only woman servant IN European
households in India
! II a man keeps a horse, five or
more extra servants are required. One
| is for driving the horse, another TO
see that he does drive it, one to cut
grass. the food of the horse, another
to harness it, fifth to look after the
| carriage, and SO on
Every European, resident or travel
er, rides in India, it being a disgrace
| for any white person TO habitually
walk. When driving from one to
four natives must accompany you. If
| you ride on a small cart driven by
owner one man straddles beneath the
axle az the rear of the cart and hangs
on for dear life. In barouche the
| driver and a native occupy the front
seat. while two footmen stand upon
small steps at rear. The chief at
tendant shouts at those blocking the
vehicles progress. The footmen run
ahead Of your team, shouting and de-
handing right of way, especially at
street corners and curves. The native
people all but fly from beneath the
| horses hoofs and accidents are OF
| frequent occurrence.
The water carrier supplies all the
| bathrooms and the kitchen, besides
watering the shrubs and flowers. By
| hand ne pulls the water from e deep
we'll Another man, the sweeper,
| looks after the rooms and keeps them
clean" At night these menials scat
ter to all the plague spots Of town,
TO return perhaps with sufficient con-
| tagion for the whole family.
4 stranger in India need never
| feel friendless, for at his departure
from each hotel he is surrounded by
a delegation OF farewell Wishers, del
egation Of twelve to twenty servants,
including those aforementioned. They
each know of your intended departure
| almost before you do. Three-fourths
Of them you have never seen before,
but they all expect 'fbacksheesh" from
you. and it is useless to try to get
along without paying "backsheesh'
at every turn. You may engage a
gharry and pay the driver twice his
legal fare, yet he and all the attend
ants will ask for "backsheesh.'
The Punkahs.