The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1912-01-10


carry your parcels or baggage he will
after collecting the stipulated price,
turn and ask for tip.
Before landing in any of these far
eastern countries one should familiar
ize himself with the money values OF
the country and provide himself with
a good supply of very small change to
be used as tips, as these people are
as we'll satisfied with what would be
"A cent of our money as with 10 or
rs cents, from the fact that they think
yon know the ways if you give small
tips and if you give large ones you
are green and easy picking.
The English have built good rail-
ways between all the important cities
and the irst-class fare is about the
same as ours in America. These rail-
ways are provided with every device
for comfort and safety and one can
see much in short time. All the
large cities have electric railways and
modern waterworks and miles of wide
paved streets and many beautiful
parks and drives. One thing which
strikes us as peculiar is building and
placing all the plumbing on the out
side of the buildings instead of on
the inside. No frost ever comes to
trouble so this is an ideal way to
place the pipes. 1t may interest your
readers to know of the ways in which
the dead are disposed Of in this
strange land. Now, the Parses place
their dead in large place, called the
Town of Silence" of which Bombay
has seven. This building is made OF
stone and is round in shape and has
on it's inner surface sort OF amphl'
theater surrounding a large central
we'll On this amphitheater are three
rows of crypts running around the
circle, of which the outer circle is for
the bodies of men, the next for WON
en- and the inner row for the bodies
of babies and children. We were for
tunate enough to see a body carried
up by the priests and laid on the
crypt for children, as it was child.
We saw the large vultures, as large
as turkeys, swoop down and begin
the horrible meal on the little form,
which is soon denuded of all flesh.
Then after one night the friends go
and push the bones into the we'll into
which is placed in reeds, which soon
distergrade the bones, when they are
washed by pure water running
through a filter of charcoal into an
|other we'll of pure water. The filter
being supposed purify the blood so
that it will remain pure until it again
enters another body, as these people
believe in reincarnation.
Next we visit the place where the
Hindos cremate their dead, and on
my first visit looked at great pile
of logs burning on two large irons
shaped like cross and was told that
OOuy as Ill SdCu pllC. IOAo IASih
that l thought they were doing this
for our benefit, and that no body was
present | soon saw the skull of an
adult slip over a log and exposed I'm
til poked back by native armed with
an iron bar. At my next visit I saw
what they informed me was the body
of girl OF eighteen years of age
placed on the logs and fired. When all
is ashes the hose is turned on and
the ashes washed through an open &C.
ment trough into the sea.
Camels are not used in Bombay, but
small sacred COWS and bulls are used
to haul all materials and they pull it
On twO-Wheeled carts that would be
100 big a load for us without a ton
u two of rock placed thereon.
In closing, about this part of India,
it may be OF interest to tell you of
he money used here. Here all sill
YER coins have the King and Queen
If England on one side, but instead
If pounds or shillings the rupie is the
standard for computation in small
amounts. This coin is the size of our
half dollar and is worth thirty-tWo
and four-tenths cents in our money.
Then the half rupie, the size of our
quarter, then the quarter rupie, the
size of our dime.
Space forbids giving anything more
han mere glimpse of this strange
and and people, but next we go to
Cey:on, and after that return to Cal
,utta, Rangoon and other Indian
points.
DR.. COON.
S. S. Cleveland,
Colombo, Ceylon.
4 1,r f,,l L.,