Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1904-01-16
THE HIDDEN PEARL.

/ across the breadth OF the land from ka-
rachi to Bombay.
! A cyclist who has ridden round the
world on his bicycle once described it as
I 1900 miles Of the finest cycling track on
earth
1t is made of kunkar a Kind Of stony
growth found Oh sandy ground and re-
sembling sandstone. When ground fine
and mixed with water. this yields Il NOR
tar like substance which gives surface
TO the road as hard and smooth as bill
Hard table.
But once this surface is worn through
the kunkar reyerts 10 It's native sand.
Hence the center of the Grand Trunk
road, which is always kept in repair for
light traffic. is like asphalt. while on each
side Of this track is Il broad lane for
heavy country traffic, where the dry sand
lies Il foot thick and the broad wheeled
OK carts raise pillar of dust as they pro-
cted and leave Il trail like the wake of Il
ship behind them.
On each side of the main track is a
row of trees, and ON each side of the side
track Is yet another row. There are thus
four rows of res5s in all to shield the
Wayfarers from the intolerable heat and
glare Of the vertical sun.
Along this great highway the many
sided life of India flows and cddies 1t
Is peopled almost entirely by the natives
IN Their dirty white cotton clothing, with
bare brown legs showing beneath.
The snhib keeps to his iron railroad
and leaves the people of the country to
tRelr prehistoric slow moving rate of
progress. Here aud there the crimson
garments of the lower class women, and
the different hued trousers of the Mo-
hammedan women in special. make n
splash of color amid the crowd of white
r0hed pilgrims.
There goes the graceful figure of a
woman, straight as IL dart beneath her
BRASS fotah Of water. Better, however,
not to look ut her face: very few of the
Indian peasant women have any beauty
OF feature. and the hard labor of work
III the heldS under an eastern sun leaves
thcm old and shrireled up before their
time
Here comes 4 native lady in burka.
ana YOU could not look upon her features
# you would. The htrka is long.
sllapeiess garment Of unbleached calico.
which completely envelopes the figure
from the crown Of the head to the 1aet:
Il has. laeework mask for the face,
through which only the eyes are visible.
1t Is astonishing now seldom this o. any
other native raiment seems to get
washed. =
herd of goats struggle INTENDED
down the highway. Farther along some
immense cattle with branching horns
black the traffic. 4 fast trotting little
bullock of the humphacked breed. bar.
messed to an ckka. bumps merrily along
the center of the road.
A boy lying Kite cann0ns into the
paSserSby, Two professional singers,
surrounded by a small crowd of women
and children, stand under branching
/ pipal tree. opening and shutting their
mouths alternately &s they give vent to
monotonous chant.
y faktr stalks by" naked except for n
/ loin cloth with long matted hair aud his
! head and body covered with ashes, a
withcred arm held straight in front of
him. Look at those Pathan soldiers with
their haggy white breeches and huge
black puggaris, staggering through the
crowd with the contempt of the warrior
for the country pumpkin.
Along the portion of the Grand Trunk
i winch lies between Allahahad and
Benares. one day in late September two
EngliShmcn were Strolling ut their ease.
II was just at the change of the seasons
when there was still some bite in the sun
III the daytime, and II was not too cold
10 sleep in the open air mt night The
two men were clad in native garh of
dhoti and puggar. partly for lightneSs
and ease in travelling, and partly to con
zeal their fallen fortunes from their own
cumpatriotS.
But though their faces were burnt to
the hue of the natives themselves. their
nationality was evident at Il glance to
the paSSerSby. There Is something in the
swing OF an EngliShnan'S walk that dis
tmguiSheS him from the down-trnddeu
ltmdu. while the size of his chest and
calves alone would mark him out from
the narrow built, red Shauked natives of
the plains
The simple villagers Saaamed To thcm
as they passed. the M0hammedan women
with trousers tight from the knee to the
ankle, the sign ct the oldest profession
IN the world. bestowed on them the lcer
specially reserved for the "SahhS." and
even the soldiers Saluted them Although
they were hut two pennileSS ;ramns.
/ thc'f progress WAS that of the conoucror
/ through conquered land.
Inc men, whose names were Spencer
and Mitchell. were coujuror ana his
advance agent, They had been engaged
N an np-countgy tour when the hot
weather came on. audiences were not 10
he found. funds We're exhausted and
road
i With the hommg instinct of English
men they were making for Calcutta and
the sea. They levied their living from
the country through which they passed
/ The fields Of wheat and grain bv the
/ roadside furnished them with grain
winch they ground between two stones
ana baked into ehupatieS. The mango
tops yielded their luscious fruit to add
Il SAVIOR Ia the frugal meal
AS II grew toward midday ana the
neat of The sun became overpowcrinr
the TWO travellers took refuge in shady
grove, while the villagers retired 90 their
houses for their midday sleep. Spencer
remarked as they sank down under a
=. I'm deuced hungry. \ vegetarian
met doesn't satisfy me at all. | wish |
had something more substantial 10 eat"
Have chew Of opium" said NIifch
Ell. producing a block OF the drug ahout
I'VE inches square from his pocket. Til"
natives say it's very staying"
No. thanks said Spencer. a beef
steak 5 more in my line. Where did Won
get TX l didn't know you were a drug
'a az,