Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-03-11
IN THE SOUTH OF INDIA.
Miss Case of Milwaukee Writes
of Life in the Tropics.
ORIENTAL FASHION IN DRESS.
Natives in Scanty Attire-ChiIdren's
Dress Simplifed-Teacher in
Missionary College.

An interesting letter from Southern
| India has been written to Milwaukee
friends b. Miss Helen Case, daughter of
| Mr.. and Mrs. Il. ID. Case of that city.
Miss Case, who at one time taught
school in Milwaukee, later graduating
from the state university and afterwards
teaching in the high school in Fond du
Lac, went out to India last November to
I'LL position as member of the faculty
of the English and American college
near Madura. The college is under the
jurisdiction OF the American Board of
| Foreign Missions.
The Spicy Breezes of Ceylon.
| Writing from Madura on December 20.
Miss Case says: ION the twelfth of De-
cember at midnight the S. 5. Room, Nord
| Deutscher Lloyd, anchored in the harbor
| OF ColumbO, on the west coast of Ceylon.
L woke with the stopping of the engine,
and putting on my slippers and dressing
gown, went up on deck. Although we
| were anchored quite a way from shore,
there was no mistaking that this was
! Ceylon. 1t was a bright moonlight night
ana the clusters of cocoanut palms could
be very plainly seen on both sides. And
the air was filled with spices. l had
often read of the spicy breezes of Ceylon.
1t has not been exaggerated. The air
/
tuberoSes. Not surprising when the next
day as we went to visit the cinnamon
| gardens, tuberoSeS were sold to us for a
copper by naked urchin.
The next morning, after breakfast.
we babe farewell to our many friends
and to the ship and its crew who had
been 50 good to us. | could have cried
as | stepped off from the Room to the
tender that took us to shore. Such a
glorious voyage that was. | loved the
sea air, the rocking and pitching of the
vessel whether it lulled me to sleep at
night or tossed me about daytimes. |
was thrilled beyond words by the ever
changing colors of the oriental sky and
sea.
We spent whole day at Columbo
and it has truly been called one of the
most beautiful spots on earth. Every
thing is of the most radiant color and
warm light. The dazzling whiteness of
the houses glares in the sun; the streets
are broad and well kept; the roads an
astonishing red. terra Gotta, blood color.
The sky is as blue as though dyed and
the huge tropical flowers make here and
there against the deep green background
large spots of gold and purple. 1t is a
debauchery of vegetation, a frenzy of
color and light
No Shoes or Stockings.
and the people! All natives hardly
European in sight. The Singalcse are
extremely attractive, and such inconl-
parable grace. For clothes the men
have crapery of white linen from the
waist to little below the knees and
out of its scanty folds appear the bronze
body and legs. Some have a Lrapery
thrown over the shoulders and a few
have linen and silk coat. On their
or tortoise shell comb around the
crown The men have long hair done
up in a knot at the back. OF course, all
are barefoot, even the highly educated
and the officials. 1t is one source of
their charm. Their tread has that sup
pleness and softness which the habit of
going barefoot gives. They move with
They do not look savage, as l had
imagined, but have something of the
feminine i'll the pronounced oval of the
face, the arched eyebrows, the lustre of
their large, pleasant mild eyes. out of
whose depths look an unknown soul, re-
mote and impenetrable They are what
you would dream of for this land of
beauty, human flowers of this eternal
summer.
No Bills for Children's Clothing
eve arrived at Madura at s D. m. and
went TO the Chambers bungalow. The
city IS so entirely native, not Il single de-
TAN IS European, and we can walk about
for days and not see one white face.
The streets are crowded with natives of
all castles, women with gay-colored cloths
draped about them and jeweed rings in
their ears, noses and ON their arms,
hands, ankles and toes. Little bows
wear absolutely nothing until they are
about {. Girls often wear only a medal
hung from a cord around the waist in
true fig leaf fashion. l saw lot of
these medals for sale in a shop yesterday
n
The only bearded people in the crowd
are the MOhammedans. The Brahmins
can easily be distinguished by their gen
erai bearing. They are the highest caste,
and they look self-possessed, self-sat-
iShed. .well-fed, intelligent-looking men.
Ihere is very great charm about them
None OF them become Christians, al
though many of them are the mission
aries best friends, because more intel |
llgent than other natives. Most of the Of |
hcials are Brahmins. They go about
even the judges-with nothing but white
loin cloth and a white or coiored silk |
scarf. Many do not wear the upper |
cloth. Nothing on the head except a |
turban. On the forehead the mark of |
silva or Vishnu."
Christmas in the Tropics.
On December 26 Miss Case writes |
Can you imagine Christmas under a |
tropical sky so hot that we couldn't go |
out at noon without topec Birds sing |
ing and flowers in bloom. l wore my |
white dress. All the men wear white |
linen or silk suits. All wear white |
shoes and white pith hats. Every room |
has a punkah, long fan swung from |
the ceiling and pulled by coolie some |
where outside. They are swung all night |
when it is hot. All the beds are en- |
closed in a white net to keep out ZOO |
logical Specimens-mosquitoe bats. liz
a 1G l-ne af4 / Il rv,ff
vet, but there are lizards in every room. |
several i'll sight all the time They are |
harmless and don't bother me now, al |
though they did at first l jumped ten
feet when | noticed the first one, the /
second day | was here. 1t was on nv
dresser. There are large horned lizards
in the garden that bite if they are dis
turbed. Several cobras and vipers were
killed in the compound and no one thinks |
of going out ut night without a lantern