The farmer and mechanic., 1906-06-26
AROUND THE WORLD WITH
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
The Wonders of Western India


serum IL prepared til which tae venom
1T -.EHeHts Is the chief ingredient
aud this ypoi-raicaIly administer d
has been found almos. SURE lrrteits-
tive. While the physicians are
employing this remedy. the Eat-eateh-
ers are also busy. about thou
sand rodents are captured per aas.
i'd having been demonstrated That the
rat not only spreads the disease b4t
carries flea that inDaIts i 5S its
bite
Bombay is the Manchester Of India
ana the snuk"stacks Of it, many cot
ton factories give the city very bus
ness-like appearance. These mills
are largely owned by Indians ana
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 chiseed out
of the solid rock, great pillars being
left to support the roof. IT Is about
80 feet square BY Il in height ana
contains number Of figures of heroic
size. These figures are carved from
the walls and represent various gods
and demons. The Portuguese Chris
tians, several centuries ago, showed
their contempt for these gods Of stone
by firing their cannon into the tenn
pie. While some Of the pillars We're
battered lDNI ana SOlilt VI tile tsiiS
ings mutiiated, enough remains 10
show the impressivrness Of this an
cient place OF worship.
No one can visit Bombay without
becoming interested in a religious
sect the members Of which are known
Is Parsees. They are few in num-
bers, probably not exceeding hun
dred thousand in the world. more
than half Of whom live III or near
Bombay. Theirs is the religion II
Zoroaster and they contest with the
Hebrews the honor Of being the first
believers in one Cod. Their sacred
BOOKS, the Zend-AVeata, are very an
cient and the origin of their religion
is placed anywhere from zoe =. G.. 10
5000 y. &. They not only believe IN
one God, but they believe III immor-
tality and claim to have impressed
their ideas upon the lsraeiites when
the latter We're in bondage in Babylon.
The Parsees see III the world. as Well
as III the human being, continuing
conflict between right and wrong, ANA
they regulate their conduct by 4
nigh ethical system. When the Mos
lems swept over Persia and made it
one of the stars in islam's crown, .
/ band Of Parsees preferred migration to
conversion. and like our pilgrim ia
theirs, sought 4 home in q new country.
In Bombay they have preserved their
identity for some nine centuries and
fluence III every department of the
city's activity. They have their mar
1'iage ceremony, their fire temples,
their funeral rites. They have some
| times been called fire Worshippers and
sun Worshippers, but they simply re
! gard fire as the purest thing known.
| and therefore accept it as q symbol Of
| the invisible Goa. Fire is kept burn.
ing in their temples. and when a new
| temple is TO be dedicated, fire is col
t lected from the homes of persons en-
| gagged in the principal industries and
| occupations, and this mingled fire is
used to kinQle another fire and this
new fire another until the ninth fire is
! garden. are their Towers of Silence.
| lighted. and this becomes the altar
| fire. Each fire is kindled without COM
| ing into contact With the former one.
! The Parsees have a peculiar form
| Of burial, which has come down from
/ in the suburbs Of Bombay, overlook
ing the sea, III the midst of a beautiful
! These are large circular buildings, IS
! or 50 feet high and without a roof.
/ Within the walls is a circular platform
| sloping inward to a Well in the center.
! When a ParSee dies he is prepared for
] burial and borne to this garden. Af
| ter the last rites have been performed
and the relatives and friends have
| taken their farewell, the body is car
! ried within the temple by men APP
| pointed for the purpose, ana placed
| naked upon this platform. AS soon
as the corpse bearers depart. the wait
/ ing vultures, Of which several hundred
make their home in the garden, SWoop
! down and do not depart until the
bones are bare. The Skeletons sun
/ hleached, are washed by the rains
| into the pit in the center. where rich
/ and poor conspicuous and obscure
| mingle their dust together Every san
/ itary pfecaution is taken and a fixed
| rate of five rupees is charged to al!
alike e, the money being advanced from
| a burial fund. where the family can
| not afford to bear the expenses.
The Parsees of Bombay, though they
| wear q dress peculiar to themselves,
| are Of all the Indians most like the
| Europeans and Americans. We We're
! in one Parsee home and the furniture,
the pictures and the library We're such
as would be found in the average
home in our country. Statistics show
that the percentage Of education
| among the Parsees is very much high
er than among any other class Of in
| habitants and the women share the
| educational advantages With the men.
The Well-to-do Parsees have been
conspicuous in philanthropy, endoW-
ing colleges. hospitals and other char
tiles. While they are counted among
the staunchest friends OF the British
rule, they are also among the most in
telligent critics of the government 5
faults Sir Perosha NJ. Mehta the
! leading ParSee orator, is prominent in
the national congress movement. A a
reception given at the hotel, and on
other occasions we had an opportuni-
ty to meet number Of the Parsees
men and women, priests and laymen
and found them abreast with the
times and alive to the problems With
which the world is wrestling today
| cannot close this artaicle without
: mentioning the increasing presence o1
American influence in Som bay. Ar
| American minister, DR.. Nell. is pas
tor Of the principal Methodist church
and the American ngregationalfsts
; have a largely attended school rol
| boys and girles in the city. Many 81
; the students were taken from famine.
/, stricken homes ana are being eiu.
! Gated with American money. There /.
; also her. q school for the blind under
saSraJ akaf1f n