The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-09-16

ested I'm Education--India's Grea,
Mountains Beat the world-Facts
About the Sacred River Ganges-
The Indian Fakirs and Their Work
A Defence of Hypnotism.
Calcutta, India. Sept. 4, 1903.
Correspondence of the Caucasian
Enterprise.
awlways try ter write somethin'
in my homespun way ter please the
women folks, especially my old lady.
No doubt most ov them air more or
less interested in larnin' somethin'
er5out the women ov India az we'll
az ter hear erbout the country an
the men in hit. fer a country that
heZ practically one-fifth ov the entire
population ov the world, in fact,
more than fifth, naturally hez more
or less in the way ov curious people.
One striking thing about the women
OF India liz the fact that they marry
while very young, that bein' one ov
the foolish habits they hev formed
In India. An l wanter say rite here
that no matter whar you find women,
no matter how highly civilized or
how heathenish the people, the wo-
men, most or them, air forever doin'
somethin' foolish. Strange, too, fer
many ov them air smart an they
air good. l can't explain hit.
In India early marriages air the
rule an that liz not only foolish but
the custom haz many disadvantages.
In this county hit is not unusual fer
girls ter marry at 10 an II years
old. / saw one, the former wife ov
an Indian prince, who had married
the second husband an she liz now
but thirteen, mere child. Such
foolishness orter be stopped at once.
But l started out ter tell how the
women ov India dress. The main
article in this line IL called the sarai.
This consists ov long strip ov cot
ton or silk cloth part ov which is
wrapped around the body to form a
skirt, while the rest ov hit is draped
over the head and shoulders in
graceful folds. Hit forms an attrac-
tive costume, prettier than some
dresses. Some ov the wealthier wo-
men embroider the edges ov the gar
ment with either silver or gold, thin
particles bein' used. But this iz not
done in many cases.
The men do not seem ter hev any
particular style in dress. Some ov
them wear somethin' which resem-
bles the old Roman toga. Others
wear a style of trousers seemin' 'ly
made by windin' cloth around the
body and limbs somewhat after the
fashion the women have adopted,
though they look like they have on
pantaloons instead ov skirts, such az
the women wear. There liz awlso a
variety ov coats fer men. A few ov
them hev adopted American and Eu-
ropean styles. But majority wear
a long close-fittin' coat that looks
very much like an ordinary overcoat
that fits rather too closely for COM
fort. But they air large ernuf. The
reason the coats appear to fit so
closely liz because they air cut to con-
form to the shape ov the body in
stead ov hangin' loosely, az a coat
should for real comfort. (I will ex-
plain that very foolishly declined to
take a mail-order course ov instruc-
ton in tailorin' when I wuz young,
hence I am a little awkward when
hit comes to describin' clothin' and
other dry goods.)
Although English capital hez built
the few railroads found in India, an
hit liz a fact that the English air
rite up ter date on things ov that
sort, the railroads here air not much
more than excuses fer railroads. The
country liz thickly settled an there
air 100000 million people to
ride. But they ride but little an the
freight that does not go by water IL
q small matter. Hence the rail-
roads here air not up to the Amerf-
can and European standard. If you
smaller roads an branch lines In
North Carolina you will understand
what I mean when I say they air
about az guide az the best roads in
India If you take a sleeper in this
country you must furnish your own
soap an towel an things an must
depend ON waking up yourself, fer
they air no porters ter wake you up
an brush your clothes or shine your
shoes. But there air other thieves in
India, stacks ov them.
There air a number oy colleges
throughout India an the people air
CROWN interested in education. This
includes medical, law, an technical
schools. But there LIZ some dissat-
fsfaction as to the manner in which
the colleges air managed, an in a
few cases the wealthier people air
sendin' their sons to the United
States to get an education. But the
number who are educated in foreign
countries Is yet very small.
I believe that I spoke ov the won
derful mountain range found in In
dia In q former letter This noun
tain range IL known az the Himalay-
as, an as one ov these peaks. Mount
Continued on Page 81