The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-04-28

Il vas necessary that his body should
be creuzted. 50 that the teeth and >
fe~ O. the finger bones. Il possible,
should be recoTera4 from the as1es
and sent 20 India. 20 pa committed 70
Tia sacred river % the Ein6oos, the
Gangss. c.. Is they call Il Guagazgee-
Tnis sect 3 not q heather enc Their
are more numerous n India than are
Christians n ether nations. The Hin
zoos are thesis. thev believe in o1a
God Buddhism BrahnfniSn and
BrzhrcIsm are diEere-t In doctrine.
the latter being yery Ike the Christ
an religion
To ct an idea CT the nEceties CT DIFF
ference between the ether ssets IS al
most impossible for one Who does not
understand the Eind1stani Ianglaga.
However. It is apparent that the sect
to which Jim belonged Is partly pagan
lor this ceremony Of cremation has
within Il relics Of ancient pagan bar
barity.
There we're no evidences Of grief. no
tears shed, no tokens OF woe. no Wis
ihIe sorrow. Instead. the turbaned
Hindoos present seemed 10 be imbued
with a sense of duty TO perform the
last Offices for the dead, and 10 them
there seemed 10 be JOY that Jamesa
had gained heaven. or Nirvana, where
the soul would be at rest Their be-
lief being that the fire Iberates the
soul. and that the body. purified by
fire. attains some satisfactory state at
ter its ashes are cast into the sea, for
this reason they always endeavor TO
burn the body near the sea. so mat
the boundIess ocean may restore the
ashes to q condition OF primal exist
ence.
1t is strange that on the first Sunday
in Lent. when hundreds of people were
on their way from mathis and hun
dreds of others were preparing to at
tend sacred services of the day in the
Christian churches here, on the beach
should be erected funeral pile. as II
the year 1901 had been wiped out and
the world flung back into the dark
ages. Yet. after all. grotesque as 1t
might appear, repulsiye and repellant
TO those OF fine sensibilities, these Hin
docs are trying to seek the light and
to worship the same great God whose
name in their language is spelled
Rain.
About a half cord of firewood in two
feet lengths had been brought down
TO the beach by the undertaken, who
took as much care as II he was con-
Quoting the obsequies of a monarch.
The body was enclosed in a rough
box coffin. On the sandy beach. with
in thirty feet of the sea. the Hindoos
began to build the funeral pile. The
wood was laid closely together till a
good foundation had been made. Then
the coffin was placed upon it Then
over and around the coffin the wood
was stacked neatly and compactly.
The body was laid so that it was in
the position of the course of the Gan
ges, the head lying toward the north,
and this was favorable to the fire, for
the wind was southerly When the
pile had been finished old sacks were
placed on it and tar poured over it.
The Hindoos considered that more tar
was needed, and messenger was dis
patched for four more gallons.
The Hindoos now gathered near the
funeral pile. One of their number pro-
duced book of prayer in Hlndustani.
and in reverent tones he read, while
the others stood with clasped hands
and repeated the words as read. When
the additional tar came it was emptied
on the wood, and then the shavfngs
which had been thrust into the inter
stices were touched here and there
with lighted matches. The dense
smoke of the tar was driven OF sky
wards, and in a minute or two the pile
was alight with lurid sheets of flame.
There was little more to be done.
The spectators sat down on the sand
| ard watched the fire grow in strength
| TIL the nile was q glowing red mass.
| Qor a little time the Hindoos seemed
| anxious about the fire. but in an hour
shev. too. sat down. and the tide began
20 come in. creeping forwarI while the
-olling pillows sang the requiem OF
| Iamesa Singh in a monotonous dirge
| Gradually the wood sank into en-
hers and then into ashes, and in three
hours had exhausted Itself. The NOR
/ tai remains of the dead Hindoo had
been reduced to the compass CT an
urn that was there ready to receive his
ashes, and the grewsome ceremony
was ended.
/ Warrnambool is in the heart of one
of the richest dairy districts in the
| world The great stations" (ol
ranches) are stocked with tens Of
, thousands of the finest bred milcf
COWS. the product of which is convey
ed to butter factories and manufac
tured into butter for export. Many o.
these little factories pay out monthly
as much as 5000 pounds sterling, o.
SIS. 900, for milk, and in addition dis
tribute large annual DIVIDENDS to th'
shareholders, all of whom are suppl
ers, for no shares are held by those
not furnishing milk TO the factory. ant
the number of their holdings or shares
are regulated by the number of cow
they own.
To give you some idea of the marke
value OF land in the western district o
Victoria, may simply quote prices oh
tanned few days ago at foreclosure
sale. where the purchaser paid 5
pounds and 10 shillings per acre 10
a great tract of land, which price wa
equivalent to s262.50 per acre.
| Great preparations are now beini
made for the visit of the Duke of Yorl
and the Duchess to the colonies, TO
the purpose of opening the first Fed
eral Parliament of the Commonwealth
of Australia, about which ceremonie
| snail write fully later on
A. &. BROWN.