El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-19

at the SfWe DagOn Pag0da, the hottest
shrine of the buddhist religion. 1t is
the Mecca OF one-tenth of mankind, and
| the 100000 followers of the prophet
who live here in Burma consider it the
most sacred spot upon earth. The pa
CODA stands on little hill on the banks
i of the Irawadi river in this red-hot town
| of RangOon The sun here is deadly at
! monday, and we get UP with the crows.
. Their cawing begins before day, and the
| light is just coming through the palm
| trees as we sit down in the hotel bed
rooms to our tea, toast and jam before
starting out
A black turbaned Hindu with rat
ike Indian pony carries us in his CHAR
~ through the wide streets of Rangoon.
| We pass half naked coolies on their way
to work; jostle the street waterworks,
! consisting of bare-legged men, who, with
buckets, are sprinkIing the roads; turn
| out for the carts hauled by bumped bull
| locks carrying great loads, and at last
pass through section of fine bunga-
lows in which the better classes live,
and are dropped at the foot of Pagoda
hill.
Morning at the Shrine.
1t is now O'Clock this bright Sunday
morning, and the worshippers are out in
full force Scores of brown skinned,
shaven- headed monks clad in a single
sheet of yellow cotton are going in and
out Of the rest houses along the way
Each carries begging bowl for the rice
offerings which are freely given. We
see scores of worshippers on their way
to the shrine, and at the entrance finu
peddlers Of flowers, incense and candles
to be offered to the gods overhead.
We can see the great pagoda long be-
fore we reach it. Its golden spire kisses
the sky 500 feet above the spot where
We get down from our gharTy With the
hill upon which it stands, the monu-
ment is as tall as the great marble
shaft erected to Washington on the
banks of the Potomac; and as we look
up We are dazZled by the blaze of gold
upon it, and the wonderful structures
which form its base. The sides of the
hill are covered with carved buildings,
each of which is a jewel, and a gorgeous
covered avenue of gold, with ridge roof
upheld by white marble pillars, leads by
stainways to the platform above. The
platform itself covers IA acres. or as
much space as the Pyramid of Cheops.
and it is from this that the gold spire
starts.
But first let us make our way I'D
through the arcades. There is no road
on earth more curious than that which
leads to the shrine It's stone floor has
throughout the ages been polished by
the bare feet of the thousands who have
tramped UP to pray. The worshippers
take off their sandals as they come TO
the entrance, and walk on with them in
their hands. We foreigners keep our
shoes on and mix with the crowd. As
we 60 in we hear the birds sing. Thous-
ands of them have made nests in the
carvings, and they fly back and forth
| through the pagoda from daylight to
dark At night they roost on the gold.
According to the tenets Of Buddhist reli-
gion, it is sin to kill anything that
has life, and the birds know they are in
the house OF their friends
Burning Away Ones Sins.
Going onward we pass booths all the
way. Pretty Burmese girls with plugs
of gold, silver or glass as big as my
thumb in the lobes of their ears, sit
CROSS legged on the mats selling offer
III Hc dIC vi dll
sizes, from tapers as thin as the finger
of 2yearold baby to great cylinders of
wax as tall as the girls who are selling
and as thick as their waists. l buy a
bunch OF tapers and give them over 20
one OF the W7orshippers. She smiles with
delight at the thought of the sins that
viii be washed away as they burn, and
thanks me prcfusely.
A little beyond this we are stopped
, by priest with a nickel-in- the-slot box
slung around his bare neck by a string
He has little brass triangle tied to his
! right index finger, and he strikes upon
bell. The passersby drop coins into the
slot, and thereby acquire merit and
prayers.
Upon reaching the top of the avenue,
which is about 1000 feet long, we turn
and look back upon the gay crowd pass
ing through. 1t is a mass of bright
eolors. The Burmese wear the most
delicate pinks,. yellows and greens. The
men have silk turbans as gay as rain
bow, and the whole is a kaleidoscope
which makes the dark avenue a mass Of
bright hues.
Buddha's Golden Mountain.
But come out on the platform and
look up at the pagoda. 1 despair Of
| describing it. 1t is a mountain of gold
which ends in a spire nearly 400 feet
high. The stone platform where we
are standing would make a half dozen
| blocks of one of our cities, and the
monument alone has at the base cir
cumference of quarter of a mile. That
golden umbrella which you see on the
spire looks small from this point. 1t
is big enough to cover good sized
! house, and it is studded with jewels.
Listen to the golden bells which hang
| about its rim, tinkling In the breeze
The sound is mingled with the singing
Of birds and the rustling of palm leaves.
The umbrella cost more than 100000
when it was made. something like
| generation ago.
Free Gift TO Buddha.
This great structure and all its sur