The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-05-10

clouds above and below me. and 1
could see the ghostiy masses Of va3or
resting in the hollows as houCh taxi
ing q SieSta. AS the sun came up II
tinged them with fire, spottinE the
mountains with gold ~ the same
time there were opalescent clouds 1T
my right and my left. and clouds
overhead. above which. at the breaks.
the snowy peaks could he seen.
On the Mountain Railway.
In coming here from Calrutta I
rode most of the way through the
clouds. The sun was At its hottest
when We passed out Of the plains or
the Gauges and came to the root OF
the mountains. The way up was all
lights ana shadows. Now the sun
shone. and now the rain came down
in torrents. We soon had clouds
above and below us. and farther up
often lost sight OF the engine in the
Napor which enVeloped the train.
l shall never forget that railroad.
1t makes one think OF the TOYS Of
his boyhood. The track is a two-foot
narrow-gauge, the entIne is about
ten feet in length and the cars are
pignlies in comparison with our
American coaches
The way up is a series of cork
screw curves. ZigZags and Us. The
train goes about like a snake and the
cars are so small that they look Ike
the links Of a chain. the ends #
which now and then seem TO touch.
There are a dozen horseshoe curves
every mile and YOU make figure SIS
several times in your drunken climb
up the hill. AS YOU rise YOU can
see the road cutting terraces on the
mountains below. You shoot Under
a Hill and come out into a loop,
and then cross your own track by
n iri6op n3arha3d The -Nc:aT1a
is frequently used and there sra
double Us which elevate YOU from
enc level to another.
The cars do not make more tnan
six miles an hour, They are open
and You can see out on all sides. You
skirt precipicns covered with green
down which you look for a Thousand
feet, and climb along the sides of
Tie mountain above valleys Which are
lost in the plains of PengaL. The
railroad was built upon a wagon road
Which led up from Darjeeling. and
YOU can see as We'll as though YOU
were in a carriage. There are viii
lagos here and there along she way.
and the aims stop now and hen so
that the passengers may pick flowers
and ferns.
Through Jung,c Lands.
In this railroad ride | came through
the torrid and temperate zones and
StSDptd -! H. ii 49, NJ Cdi-
cutta is in the tropics. We rode over
hot plains, through patches Of rice
and bananas, into a Jungle Of bam-
booS, banyans and other tropical TO-
liage. The foothills are lad with
such trees, and the first ranges. reach
ing a mile and a half above the plain
have magnificent forests bedded il
MOSES and ferns. The limbs Of the
trees are loaded with orchids, and
here and there are tree ferns with
trunks as thick as q telegraph pole
and almost as tall, The fern leaves
come out from the top like those
of a palm. AS YOU rise the color Of
the moss on the trees changes from
green to light gray; it hangs from the
branches in clusters not unlike the
moss Of Georgia and Florida and the
green appears to he busted with sill
Yer. Higher still there are hard
woods much like those Of our Amer
lean mountains; the roses bloom and
there are tea plantations clothing the
bills. Tea grows to an elevation Of
almost q mile. The trees and hardy
grains rise a mile higher and It is
not until three miles that the hardy
shrubs disappear. / am told 4 few
flowers are still found at almost four
miles above the sea
Tigers OF The Foothills.
AS we rode through the Jungle
fO0keQ OCT LOT Tie N!CtiS, Nbtth tHE
|trainnen tell me are frequently seen.
There are many Of them iii the low
lands, and they hug the base IF the
mountains. There is a region here
covered with bamboo cane and grass
vhich is infested not only by tigers
but also by buffaloes. bears, deer ana
wild hogs. The cane grows TO a
height Of forty feet and the grass IS
so high tina sitting on horseback you
cannot reach the tops of the stalks.
The tigers are hunted everywhere,
but they are still 50 numerous that.
according to the government records.
eight or nine hundred persons are
killed by them every year. The beasts
do not usually attack men. but il
they once taste human blood they are
crazy for it thereafter. one tiger
i. LnoMn u have Killed eiGhLN Of The