The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11
Husband Hunting In The Far East
sY FRANK G. CARPENTER.

YOU are in the eyes of the Wofia
i come to India. These British Of
ficials are almost as provincial as the
people of London. They think there Is
only one nation on earth, and that the
British are it. l sat one night at
dinner in the government house al
Rangoon, with a charming lady beside
me- She was the daughter of one OF
the high officials, a Glrton girl, and
from British standpoint, had received
the best of female education. When
she learned that l was an American she
said she knew all about our country
from her brother, who had just travelled
through it.
"Where did he go?" l asked
The maiden replied: He landed In
Montreal and rode for days across
country to Vancouver. That is a big
city, the chief place on the west of
your continent. When he came back
he stopped in another large place call
ed Chicago. He visited most of the
settlements of the United States, and
remained a long time in one at the
north. 1 wonder if you have ever heard
of it? He called it Minnie something.
You must mean Minneapolis?'
said l.
Il think so, but am not sure.
know it had something to do with
fruit"
I did not say Minne-apples-but
Minne-ap- oils"
Eyes, 1 think it was Minneapolis. l
know the first word was Minnie. Is 1t
much of placer
l thereupon told her that Mime
apolis was one of the great cities of
the world, and that it was the flour
barrel of John Bull and had been
spoon-feeding the English for a gen
GRAFTON or more. At this she raised
her eyes, and 1 could see that she did
not believe me.
My pride received another blow the
other day when l spoke to a minor Off
cial of the wealth of our great west and
referred to Chicago and its banking in
stitutions. AS | said this the man in
terrupted me by surprisingly asking:
And do they have banks in Chicago?'
Ignorant Officials
Many of these people know about as
little of Canada as they do of the United
States. I was talking in Calcutta one
day with a Britisher who has a Sir to his
name. He rules one of the largest of
the Indian provinces and his subjects
are half as many as those governed by
President Taft. This man was speaking
of the enormous irrigation schemes of
British India, when he asked me If we
had irrigated lands in the United States,
saying he could not see why land so
we'll watered should need them There
upon l described the Rocky mountain
plateau and mentioned the vast sums
we are using for retaining the desert.
i referred also to irrigation in Canada
and especially to the great undertaking
at Calgary, where the Canadian Pacific
railroad is turning the Bow river upon
1,500,0 900 acres of arid lands and making
them yield like the fertile Nile valley.
Upon that this British official replied:
.'Indeed, l thought Canada was a wet
country! One million, five hundred thou
sand acres ] had no idea there were
any such works in the world! Why. out
here in all India we have nothing like
that in one body, and the government
irrigation works are not altogether more
than 10 times as big as that one in Can
ada. l wonder if you are certain as to
your figures?"
II know, for I have been there said
l. And his honor was polite enough to
pretend to believe me.
Some Social Features
As a rule the officials in the Indian
empire are men of fine education. The
most of them are graduates of Oxford
or Cambridge, and many are officers of
the English army. The majority come
from the better classes of society, and
many from the nobility As to things
Indian and things oriental they are
we'll posted, and nowhere will you find
a civil service whose standard of honor
Is higher
This is a great sporting country.
Every city has its clubs. and the larger
ones have race tracks and grounds for
polo and golf. There are competitive
matches which are attended by the Brit
lsh and high-class natives, and in which
Abe native teams sometimes take part.
This is especially so of polo, which is
patronized by the rajahs and well-to-
do natives. Every large station has its
polo grounds and every army officer
his pony. The races are run with gentle
man riders, and as rule the rider owns
his own horse There is plenty of crick-
ct and football. and as for hunting, that
IS one of the chief sports of the Brit
ish of all classes. The viceroy himself
sometimes goes off for a week or SOS
shooting, and the game includes every
thing from tigers to wild fowl and hare.
Much of the hunting is in the jungle
and mountains and not little in Kash-
mir.
The native rajahs, if one has letters
to them, will often organize hunts, and
to the man rightly introduced every
sort of hospitality is open. There are
dinner parties, dances and private the
atricals at all of the stations during the
season; and the proper dress Is quite as
important here as in London. 1t seems
to me that in most matters of etiquette
society is even more rigid than at home,
the British abroad being stcklers for
form. Every one who gives dinner
has to be careful how the guests are
sent in, or those who should be last
may come first. The members of the
civil service and the army rank at the
top, the high civil service officials pre-
eeding. After them comes the mercan-
tile element, in which classification are
the merchants, manufacturers, lawyers,
planters and missionaries, but not the
Uhopkeepers, who are of class by them
selves.
The military and civil classes are al
ways fighting, and every social center
is q hotbed of their jealousies. A fam
lly's position Is usually governed by
the office held by the man, and in the
higher places the salaries are such that
one can entertain very comfortably.
The military officials are not so we'll
have larger social clubs more fun and
less stiffness.
India ms a Marriage Market
There are two social seasons in In
dia-one In the summer, when every
one who is any one goes to the high
lands. and especially Simla, and the
other in the winter, when the center
IL ic N IN a Ia or Coz