El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-04-16

mel and the force of the river viii
scour the course clean.
Coming up to Rangoon the stream
is often several miles wide and the
shores at the mouth so far apart that
we Rugged the north bank We could
hardly see the land on the south. We
passed Syrian, where the Burma OIL
company has its enormous refineries.
and then steamed up toward the city
which. with its lumber yards, rice mills
and shipping, looked more like one of
the great ports of Europe than Asia
Long before the town came in sight We
could see the tall spire of the Golden
Pagoda, and as we steamed closer an
other shaft. of gold came into view. 1t
was that of the Soule Pagoda. Bur-
mese monument which rises high out OF
the business blocks in the very heart Of
the city. Our ship came right up TO
the wharves and we stepped out into
one of the queerest crowds to be found
in all Asia
Cosmopolitan RanSoon.
The city is more cosmopolitan than
Calcutta Cairo or ConStantinople. 1t
is East Indian rather than Burmese. and
lit has people of every nation and of al
most every tribe of the Asiatic CONT
number of Malays, 5000 Europeans,
and more than 100000 indians from all
parts of. Hindustan. The people are of
all colors, black, white. yellow and
brown, and they wear all sorts of cos
tunes. The East Indian coolies are
naked. except for cloth around the
waist and a red or white turban. Their
black skins shine like jet under the
tropical sun. Many of the Chinese are
rich, and they are clad in silks or fine
cottons, while the Burmese strut about
in silk skirts of the most delicate colors,
their heads covered with gorgeous silk
turbans- They wear jackets OF silk or
fine cotton, and move about like human
butterflies here and there through the
crowd In addition there are all halted.
long coated Parsees from Bombay. wOr-
shippers of fire, who are devoted to bank
ing and trading, and lean, skinny black
Chetties, money lenders from Madras,
who wear only sheet of cotton
wrapped around their bare persons
There are indian boys in caps of gold
thread, cotton jackets and waist cloths;
Hindoo women with rings in their
noses. and Burmese girls clad in cot
ton or silk, with plugs in their ears.
The costumes are so many l cannot de-
scribe them.
On the streets.
The traffic about the wharves and
through the city is carried on by
strange animals, and in strange
vehicles. The passenger CAP IS the
gharry, a yellow or black box hauled
by an indian pony and driven by
Hindoo or Burman. The heavy freight
is dragged over the roads in carts by
the bumped cattle of Hindustan, and
great loads of goods are pushed and
pulled along by half naked men, The
men work as hard as the animals, and
the white sweat stands out upon their
black skins as they drag the freight
onward. There are also fine carriages.
owned by the Europeans, and even
automobiles, with HindoO chauffeurs in
turbans ride about in a gharry at
a cost of about 10 cents a trip, and my
baggage was carried from the steamer
TO the hotel on a cart drawn by breech
clouted HindOOS. On the way I saw a
Burman riding a bicycle plated with
nickel. He had pulled his red silk skirt
high up his thighs. and I observed that
he had silver clasps on each leg, Just
over the knee, to hold it. He wore
turban and jacket, and sat straight as
he rode.
This afternoon T. took street car trip
out into the country. The railway was
al overhead trolley, and the cars were
divided into two classes, the first of
which costs double the price of the