Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1904-05-25

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the buildings are of brick, plastered
and then white washed giving them
a massive and marble look. But the
/, nmes Of the coolies are shackly
| p~ ,ffairs, built of wood or of any
thin = fire would make quick
work. lem. The filth before each
house in certain parts of the cities
is as.follows: a ditch partly covered
and filled with all manner of abom-
inations-the great wonder is that
any escape the plague-then there
are so many lakelets and ponds
green and Astounding in filth.
We visited the Burning Chats"
where they dispose of their dead.
Four piles of wood were on fire,
each representing one or more
bodies. Oh, how sickening the
scent and the idea of ones being
consumed in so open and heartless a
mann +, and further the ashes to be
cast into the river-the receptacle
OF so much that is vile-while all
concerned will say, it is well. Visit
ed a park where stands a famous
banyan tree, l3l years old. Its
shade would invite picnic.
Our next stop was at Benares,
situated on the Ganges and termed
by some the Athens of India, has
been city of sanctity and learnin g
Tor ages. Yes, we looked upon the
river that in our childhood days we
invested with peculiar gifts and Who
soever drank of or bathed in its
waters were almost without sin. On
seeing the more than muddy stream
and realizing the impurities it con-
tains, how the misty belief of early
days loses its lustre.
In this city, found a tolerable
hotel and, best Of all, three rooms
at our command and we shall be
comfortable for the walls are thick
and ceilings high,--two important
measures in such hot climate.
Drove to the Abandoned palece
of the Maharajah, a king in his own
right Of the presidency of Madras,
now residing in the city of Madras.
The buildings are in the form of a
paralellogram, snowy white and
kept in repair. The rooms Of his
200 wives were pointed out. I Won
dered how it was when those same
wives sang the praises of their leige
lord, or possibly raised their voices
inharmoniously one with another,
but no answer came from the closed
and curtained window, marbled
hall or deserted lattice.
The best plan to get good view
of the city is to get boat and guide
and pass along up the broad chan
mel Of the Ganges, for the buildings
front toward the water and the
variety is almost incredible. Here
are palaces Of every shape and in
all stages of decay and at all angles
Of inclination. From some of them
one story has entirely disappeared,
sunk, and others will soon follow,
and the steps leading from the
from water up to them will in
time all disappear. But that will
not matter to them if the river only
flows on.
Among so much that was strange
one place was of peculiar interest,
the Burning CHATS" more extensive
than at Calcutta. Many fires were
burning and on bier form await
ed its publication by fire. Some
one was saying prayers near. One.
of our party at a different time saw
a form awaiting its fate that was
not yet dead, the>eyes were open
and unconsciously the head rolled
from side to side, and the question
remains, did those servants of the
Chat await the natural death before
the victims baptism of fire.. | am
glad | do not know. The bodies of
chilsren three years of age and
younger are not burned, being
without sin they need no purifca-
ton by fire SO are thrown directly
into the stream; also bodies of saints,
protests and holy men. Well is it
that once year the river is flooded
and partially cleaned.
One of the remarkable sig is by
the river side is the countless num-
Der of beings Of both sexes bathing
in the river, or praying by it's side.
A festival was going on as we
looked and listened and such a
crowd was in attendance. They
had some sort of an image decked
with tinsel and possibly precious
stones and at certain hour it was
to be dropped into the middle Of
the middle the stream, not, how
ever, until it was shorn Of all its
adornments. The sacred COWS were
all about the steps, anywhere, ano
they looked well cared for. Their
abode proper is in one of the fine
temples, we looked in one Of them
and an application Of the Ganges
would help the place, also any de-
odorizer.
Formerly monkeys were numer-
GUS among the buildings but they
did SO much mischief that their re-
moval has been tried, but there arc
some left.
The streets are generally crooked.
Many Of the houses are built Of
stone, some being six stories high.
There are shops of every kind and
for every trade. Passed through a
part of the city 1000 years old OF
more with narrow streets and not a
breath Of fresh air. How can people
exist thus? And how glad was 1 TIC
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