Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-22

minor wall, his Jaw dropped and look OF
even more AFFECT terror appeared on nts
weak countenance as he arose and summed
of. Our cook boat, In which Abdul n1d
been cooking his food, and the two women
of the crew doing their work, had, we
found. lost the entire roof. Seeing tnaI
they were on the point OF going over
Abdul had cut the ropes and let the mats
fly to the winds, then guided the boat up
to the dunga and jumped aboard, sobong
and catching his breath. 1t was just BEFORE
our rescue that he appeared, ana we at
once ordered him to work and stopped ms
sobs. We cannot quite understand Abdul.
He seems to have tender heart anu d
sympathetic nature, to rejoice when We re-
joice and to weep even before we weep put
at the same time he Is not above che atinS
in small matters nor, for instance coz
cealing a mango, a fruit which is very dear
in Kashmir, among his dish c,oths Tor
future refreshment. However. ne does
seem better than most of them and Knows
our ways, which is good deal.
An Experience Meeting.
We were greatly concerned about the
old colonel and his boat, and as soon as
the wind died down, which 1T did so sud
denly that it left it's horrid roar in our
ears for several minutes after, we dispatch
ed the second boatman in the little shi-
kara to look him up. At about $50 his
hands and told our experiences. They had
been still struggling In the thick marshes
when the wind came down On them, put
having better boatmen, who saw the dam
ger before the sudden attack, they got their
mats down kept the dunga straight and
succeeded in tying up to bush which
apparently grew from the depths, but
which held them at least until the w1nd
suddenly dropped into the lake. The
colonel advised keeping our three extra
hn
we did, and the next day were poled rapid
ly up channel and down through broad
sheets of lotus and water lily pads into
the canal leading through the city. The
lotus leaves were huge, and we were told
that they are bent into shape and used Tor
hats, and in fact, later on saw one brown
baby with nothing on except bright green
lotus hat stolidly padding in front of his
pretty mother, who was taking load OF
ruSheS down into the town. They are used
also as eating bowls, sewn up at one side
with grass and for various other purposes
We We're rather sorry to leave the fragrant
marshes full of color and the great peas
of tall rusheS AT one place just before
entering the canal we heard sort or
chant one high voice singing the question
as it seemed and another childish voice
the answer in tender minor Tone ana
leaning over and peering through the thlck
mass we could see two small boys, entirely
naked, standing up in their shikara and
singing as they cut the rush stalks, their
heads not nearly as high as the thick
green stems.
Beauty Unadorned.
1t was difficult getting through the canal,
which was crowded with native dungas and
shikaras loaded with water lily pads, which
are fed to the cows and buffalo. They are
certainly picturesque objects, the boats
covered with piles of wildly green leaves
padded slowly by a pretty young woman
who squats at the extreme bow, steering
and padding at the same time, but swain
ed alas, in the most filthy rags. We pass
ed a shilkara which had been temporarily
rooted with chudder of the loveliest leaf
green, the supports being young willow
poles with the green bark on and fringe
of willow leaves hanging out from under
the chudder, the whole brilliant spot of
color on the dirty canal, lined with tumble
down mud houses. AS it was a warm day
the water was full of little brown boys
bathing. splashing and screaming shrilly
and horribly to other little boys miles, ap-
parently further AS we passed under
a bridge we were saluted from above in
English with Good day, SIR an old ex-
perience, but always amusing to us. 1t
seems to be the first English phrase any
native uses, and is used to women and
men alike. We were growing very tired of
the countless bridges, the nasty smells and
the crowded canal, when we saw in the
distance the pale green of willows, and
soon afterward emerged in the Dial, and
soon after that were tied up in our old
favorite haunt beside our island and moat
A little later on we were hailed from afar
with loud cheers. and the big house boat
hove in sight, but what a wreck. All the
balcony had been blown away and also
the outside stairs and the awning of the
shikara was in shreds, and the whole boat
had the appearance of just having man
aged to outlive a very bad storm, which
proved to be the truth, as we found when
at o'clock we assembled in the big boat
for a hearty welcome and d very good din
ner. We have been told since our rather
terrifying experience that there is hardly
a boatman river or lake who does not
lose his head in storm, and that the only
way to restore 1t 10 them is by smacking
them well with a boat pole and giving them
something else to think about. The real
way however, is never to go anywhere in
the afternoon, for 1t is then that these
most terrific winds suddenly come up.
MARGARET STIRLING.