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

/ kAOm age L..
Everest, liz the highest mountain Il
the world 1T deserves more than
passin' notice. This gigantic noun
tain liz about $4,000 feet high an 1
ANYWAYS covered with snow. It Ike
only few feet ov bein' twice az higl
az Pixies Peak in the Rocky Noun
tains. the highest American noun
tain, an hit liz more than four time
az high az the highest peak in tn,
mountains in Western North Caro-
lima. Other peaks in the same rang.
reach a height of $4,000 feet. Thes.
vast mountains air practically unex
plored for the danger on exposure /;
too great. But they air here fer 6
purpose. Were it not for these vas,
snow-capped mountains an the cool
breezes comm from them much oy
India would be uninhabited, for the
heat would be unbearable
Near the town of Sarnath, just
outside ov the city ov Beuares,
stands the first Buddhist pagoda,
hundred years before the beginnin
ov the Christian era to mark the spot
where Buddha first taught hiz disci-
pies. But the ruins Whereabouts liz
awl that liz left near the old home ov
Buddha, for Hinduism hez taken hits
place, though hit liz no better than
the oId-fashioned idoiatry.
At an around Benares you see
idolatry in hits most repulsive form
even to-day, for the missionaries hev
hardly made start in that portion
of the country. In that locality you
see the devoted Hindu who has prob
ably walked several hundred miles
for no other purpose than to battle
in the Ito him) sacred water ov the
Ganges River. Az hit IL nearly i'm
possible for each individual to visit
the river in person hit seems that
one person often represents a large
number in some way. l saw a
caravan on hits way to the river
Hit consisted ov five elephants,
twelve camels, twenty bull carts an
a number ov horses. A few old an
feeble persons an children wuZ rid
in, but the bulk ov them wuz walk
in, the elephants an other animals
bein' used mainly to transport the
food an beddin' they had brought
erlong. 1 wuz told that this cara
van had come the distance ov a
travel, two months bein' re-
quired to make the round trip, an
fer what? Simply to battle in the
sacred waters of the Ganges. The
banks ov this river liz lined fer long
down to the edge of the water fer
the convenience ov the bathers. You
can hire a boat fer a small sum an
the boatman will row you up an
down the river in the early mornin'
an you can see the heather Hindus
bathin'. Many ov them carry water
pots made ov brass an they take
water home with them or to their
camps if they hev come a long dis
lance. In the river you see the lame,
the halt an the blind, the feeble an
the strong. Among them wuz lep-
er who sought healing in the sacred
water; near him man who wuz
sufferin' with some other disease
wuz dippin' water and mixin' hit
with hiz medicine. regardless of the
filthy condition ov the water az a
result ov the bathin' in hit by thou
sands ov persons, many ov them dis
eased. Such blindnessi Such idola-
try! Such faith! Aside from the
natural pollution resultin' from the
constant bathin', the river is the bur-
ial place for countless dead, an hit
receives much ov the filth ov num-
bers ov cities located ON it's banks.
On the banks ov this river IL awlso
located the burning CHATS where
thousands of sorpses air burned, for
many people prefer to die in the wa
ter of the sacred river and the bodies
air cremated or else they air dropped
into the river an the water takes the
place ov coffin and grave.
LII Iu0 City Wv DICTATES SIduOS IuS
Durga Temple, known az the Monk
ey Temple, OWN to the fact that a
large number of monkeys live in the
temple, they being regarded as sa-
cred. Naturally the buildin' liz az
filthy az hit can be. But hit liz sa-
cred!
Near this city stands an institution
that il striyin' to overcome an blot
out awl this foolishness, this idola-
try. Hit il college, built and man
aged by Mrs. Annie Besant. Hit hez
bin established about ten years and
hez some five hundred students. A
number of English teachers give
their services to this college without
pay.
Allahabad il another important
Hindu city. It liz awlso on the Gan
ges River. The Mogul Akabar built
a fine fort at this point. This IL the
capital ov Agra and Oudth, two ov