Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-03-04

Calcutta now cndcavoring to obtain
an age limit under which marriage
VIII not be permitted Under pres
.cnt conditions children are engaged
at any time, often at birth or soon
after, and whenever the affianced
husband calls for the bride to be she
has to 60. Often it is Il unicn of
thirty or forty and eight or ten and
a child of such immature years not
being fitted to take up the duties of
th> married state death is often the
result. The latest statistics obtain
|ablc on child marriages in India
cover the year of 1891. and during
this one year there were 2jS. 760
under the age of four YEAR,; 2,20l ,404
between the ages of five TO nine
years and 6.0l6,1j9 from ten to four
teen. Early marriages is another of
India ) curses. England has no
power to change the native laws but
she stopped the throwing into the
Gangcs of the girl babies and also
put her foot down on the burning of
the widows on the funeral pyre of
her late husband but on early marri-
ages she has declined to interfere.
Efforts are therefore being made TO
educate the natives on the subject so
they will see it is for their best inter
estS to abolish child marriages. The
educated natives are in sympathy
with the movement and an effort will
be made to have some prominent
state, perhaps Bengal, to pass an
age limit. Women work just the
same rs the men, and at the station
in Darieeling was woman with
baby on her back piling trunks and
moving baggage just the same as
though she were Of the opposite sex
and had no such encumbrances.
At a quarter Of three on the morn
ing OF Nov. 29th we were called and
after partaking of breakfast com
mcnccd our Journey to Tiger Hin.
about six miles distant and $500 feet
higher or an altitude OF about $500
feet. Some of our party were carried
in chairs, on the shoulders of four
coolies, while others rode n pony. |
chose one of the latter and rs the
weather was much cooler than | had
anticipated, in addition To the heavy
clothing brought along | wrapped
two blankets around my shoulders.
As one was red looked more like Il
SiwaSh than an East Indian. The
moon was so bright it would have
been possible to read n newspaper 10y
its light. The Journey no the wind
ing trail was one shall long remcm-
bcr for you could look down the
mountain side, and around Il curve
would be seen the coolies carrying
some Of our party in the chairs. jus
below them on the hill would be
others on horScback-aoain pony rid
erS and chair bearers would be
mixed. Altogether il looked like Il
wild, wirrd funeral procession slowly
winding It's way TO the place from
which the traveller does not return.
We reached our destination shortly
| before sunrise. The mountains Law
before us in all their beauty and in
the moonlight they presented mag
nificent spectacle. 1t was not till the
sun rose that we saw them in all
their Splendor. The first faint glow
of the morning sun Shonc on Mt
kinchinjunga and in an instant it
seemed to turn from Il snowy white
to Il reddish color. 1t was as though
the artist had painted on canvas Il
snow-topped mountain peak and with
one quick sweep of the brush had
changed the color. kinchinjunga is
ID miles from Darieeling and %, l56
feet in height. Closer at hand were
a number of other mountains, not as
tall as the last named. but ranging
in heighth from eighteen to twenty
two Thousand feet. SO there were
many mountains higher than our
Rainier. Mt Evcrest-thc monarch
of all-was what each and every one
of us wished to see. Although it
was l07 miles away, soon the top OF
its 29,002 feet appeared in sight and
thus we were enabled to say We
have seen the highest mountain in
the world" The view was superb
but to me the Canadian Rockies were
rs beautiful for there the mountains
seemed so close ut hand it seemed
lyou could almost reach OJt and touch
them and they could be seen from the
ground to the peak still they were
not so massive as these. We were
extremely fortunate in being able to
see Everest for one party made the
journey and it rained and was so
cloudy while they were there that not
even the nearest mountains could be
seen, so even though had the upper
berth on the Bengal State Railway
felt amply repaid and shall regard
November 10Th, 1899, rs one of my
red letter days.
While at the hotel in Darjeeling, an
amusing thing occurred. While at
dinner tie head waiter came to the
table | was sitting at and noticing