The Lewiston teller. (Lewiston, Idaho) 1900-1905, 1901-06-27
MOST PECULIAR PEOPLE
1Ae Bicycle Has Nearly Bmameipaesa
the Parsi Women,


fhs Bicycle Has Nearly Bmancipat.a
the Parsi Women.
The most peculiar people Of India
are the Parsis Tor "Parseea" meaning
"Persians'D. who feed their dead to
the vultures upon the Tower Of Si-
lence. They lied to India from Persia
when that land fell Into the hands Of
the Arabs twelve centuries ago. Their
men are the first very singular persons
the traveller sees on board the shin
which takes him to India, their sim
gularity consisting In their long sal
low faces and large eyes, their shiny,
patent-leather-l0Oking, tubular hats and
their long and ugly coats. They are
most numerous In Bombay. but one
meets them In other cities on the ''Bom.
eay side," and in Madras and Calcutta
IN the other shore. They are the rich.
est natives of India. and have made
and still make money in trade.
They are the only Indians, who, as a
body. admire and cultivate Western
progressive ideas, who treat their
women fairly well according to our
ideas). and who permit their widows
to marry again. Their first rule of
life is to practice benevoience, and
no people do this more literally. They
maintain nearly two-score charitable
institutions in Bombay alone. They
are the only people In the world who
do not smoke, and this is because they
will not tribe with fire. which Is sacred
Tn fnn1
they will not in any way contaminate
the earth or water or detile the trees
and flowers. That is why they destroy
their dead without burning the bodies.
They have no beggars among them:
they are m0nOgamists; they are not
caste-ridden Tor rotted). like the Hin.
docs. for they acknowledge two classes
the priests and the people. They
keep New Year day. not only as a relig.
ious fete day, but, much as we do, al
. day for general Visiting. Their WON.
en- are not imprisoned with their serv.
ants or otherwise degraded, but may
be met anywhere and everywhere to
The same extent a. English women In
india So often are these women come.
y. and 70 beautifully are they clad
In such soft and exQuisitely colored
silks-that a. one writer says, 'they
appear a. houris floating about the
Earth in silk balloons, with q ballastine
sf ahklets, necklaces. earrings and Jew.
ary." 1t b no more than fair for the
Pard men to let this be a. It ia. for
they are the ugliest men that crawl
upon this globe.
An English lady advised me to 70
and zee the rich Parsi young women
riding bicycles ON the road beside the
YEA at 4 O'Clock Of any afternoon.
What an idea! The bicycle has 90 rev.
oautonized young w0manhood In Eng
iand that men who return there after
abort absence can not credit their
senses a. they note the change in the
0aadens and their home government.
what VIII 1t door not dO-in Indiaf
Truly that understanding toy has
worked - much OF the change In this
sWift-booted century a. many of our
most important inventions. It has
proved steed which leaps the highest
oars OF prejudice, runs away with the
aeepest-rooted conventions out.
PAGES the plans Of women for their
swn emancipation. try to fancy what
may 90 In India, bat, after all, 1t has
only . few thousands OF Parsis upop
9nom to work.-Harpers Magazine.