The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-05-27

throughout the world for richness of
tone, and carving in ivory. teak and
sandalwood gives employment to many
artisans. Elephants and images of
EUddha in wood. brass and alabaster
are exposed for sale in all the shops,
and the silks are delicate in texture
and beautiful in color and design.
The Burmese have a large mixture
Of Chinese blood. as is shown by their
features and traits Of character, but
they are darker In color. They are a
cheerful and dociIe people, and their
women have never been the victims of
the seclusion that burdens the life Of
the women Of India. Both men and
women wear gay colors, which lends
picturequeness to the scenes Of the
street In China and Japan we were
amused at the small pipes used by the
men In Burma one is amazed at the
enormous Cigarettes-six inches long
and an inch thick-which the women
smoke
In Burma, as in other Oriental coun-
tries, the streams are the washtubs of
the nation, and a fat stone takes the
place of washboard. 1t was wash
day on the Irawadi when we started
on our boat ride, and the bank of the
river looked like q flower bed, so
bright and varied were the coIors of
the tUrbans and dresses Of the long
rows Of washers. swinging the clothes
nigh above their heads and beating
them upon the stones.
Burma is the home OF the pagoda
one Is never out of sight of them. hut
they differ in shape from those seen
in China and Japan. The Burmese
pagoda is usually circular, though
sometimes octagonaL The largest of
these is known as the Shwe Dagon pa-
fu
pyramidHl cone, with gradually dirnin-
ishing outlines, and is surmounted by
a Il or umbrella" spire of concentric
iron rings, from which hang little bells
which tinkle when moved by the
breeze. This pagoda has a circumfer-
ence Of 1855 feet at the base. rises to a
height of $40 feet. and stands upon q
terraced mound which is itself $50 feet
above the level Of the country around
The upper part Of the pasoda, is gilded
and its base is surrounded by MANY
elaborate shrines containing images
Of Buddha- Here the faithful offer
their devotions during the day and
evening, and the vendors of candles
incense and flowers DO a thriving bust
ness Here, also assemble the lame.
the halt and the blind. to gather their
penny tributes from the passersby.
Mandalay is still more literally SUP
piled with pagodas. At the largest.
the Aracon. one sees repeated the
scenes Of the Shwe Dagon, only the
beggars seem more numerous. At this
pagoaa there is a filthy pool in which
live a number Of sacred turtles. and
they must have charmed lives to live
at all in so foul a place. They rise to
the surface when food is thrown into
the water, but they are so slow in their
movements that the kites which hover
about the place generally snatch I'D
the morsels before the turtles reach
them.
Far more beautiful than the Aracon
pagoda is the group known as the $50
pagcdas This remarkable group
which actually numbers 72s. stands at
the foot Of Mandalay hill and was built
by an uncle Of King Thebaw In the
center Of the group is the usual pago-
da, and around ii in parallel Tectangu-
lar rows. are small square pagodas
each terminating IN a graceful tower
and containing a slab inscribed on