The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-24

With so many dying in a single city land 10000 week in the entire coun- try), India would seem an unsafe place to visit, and yet one would not know except for the newspapers that an cpl demic was raging, so little does 1t af- feet business or social life. There is now in use system of inocuiation which promises to materially lessen the mortality from this disease. A serum IS prepared in which the venom of serpents Is the chief ingredient, and this hypodermically administered has been found almost sure preventative. While the physicians are employing this remedy, the rat-catchers are also busy and about thousand rodents are captured per day, 1t having been dem onstrated that the rat not only spreads the disease. but carries flea that im- parts 1t by its bite.
 Bombay Is the Manchester of India, and the smokestacks of its many cot ton factories give to the city a very business-like appearance These mills are largely owned by Indians and operated by Indian capital.
 On an island near Bombay Is one of the most frequented of the rock-hewn temples, called the Elephanta Caves. This temple Is chiseled out of the solid rock. great pillars being left to sup port the roof. It Is about 130 feet square by seventeen in height and con- tains a number of figures of heroic size. These figures are carved from the walls and represent various gods and demons. The Portuguese Chris tians. seven centuries ago, showed their contempt for these gods of stone by firing their cannon into the temple. While some of the pillars were bat tered down and some of the carvings ran1ninR n qhnW tho Impressiveness of this ancient place of worship.
 No one can visit Bombay without becoming interested in religious sect the members of which are known as Parsees They are few in numbers probably not exceeding hundred thousand in the world, more than hall of whom live in or near Bombay Theirs is the religion of zoroaster
 and they contest with the Hebrews the honor of being the first believers in one God. Their sacred books, the zend-Avesta. are very ancient. and the origin of their religion is placed any.
 where from 700 B. c. to 5000 B. c They not only believe in one God, but they believe in immortality and claim
 to have impressed their ideas upon the
 Israelites when the latter were in bondage In Babylon. The Parsees sec in the world. as well as In the human being, continuing conflict between right and wrong, and they regulate
 their conduct by high ethical sys,
 tenn. When the Moslems swept ovei
 Persia aud made 1t one of the stars ih
 Isiam's crown. a band of Parsees pre- ferred migration to conversion. and like our pilgrim fathers. sought homo in a new country. Tn Bombay they have preserved their Identity for some nine centuries and have made them selves a potent influence in every dp partment of the clty's activity. The! l have their marriage ceremony, thei fire temples and their funeral rites They have sometimes been called fir
 worshipers and sun worshipers, ou
 they simply regard fire as the puresi thing known and therefore accept Il
 as a symbol of the invisible god. Fire Is kept burning in their temples. and when 8 new temple is to be dedicated fire is collected from the homes of per | sons engaged in the principal indus tries and occupations. and this mingled fire is used to kindle another fire and this new fire another until the ninth fire is lighted. and this becomes the altar fire Each fire is kindled with out coming into contact with the form | CT one.