The Idaho Springs siftings-news. (Idaho Springs, Colo.) 1905-19??, 1915-10-08

we can highly recommend it, for finer
specimens of the female form we have
seldom seen. They are tall, upright,
and splendidly developed, with a
stately walk and carriage of the head,
and their hands, bare feet and ankles
always seemed fine and slender. AS
to their features we can give no opin-
ion as they are extraordinarily shy
of 70; eigners and invariably cover
their faces on our approach with the
cotton cloth which all women wear
on their heads. This is a place of
home woven cotton of browuish
white shade roughly a yard square.
one corner folded under for the front
and the rest hanging down. VIZ sup
pose it has been worn like this since
the dawn of history; but no contriv-
ance has yet been adopted to secure
it to the head so that the cloth con
tinually slips back from the forehead,
and between any other movements of
a kashmiri woman you may see her
face every few seconds as she raises
one slim hand to adjust the head
cloth. We imagine that habit has
made it second nature, but such
garment would soon spoil the temper
of western woman. Apparently.
enough rice is husked for one meal
only at a time. as the process was in
constant operation from earliest dawn
to dewy eve.
The male population are tall and
good looking, of a Jewish cast OF coun-
tenance and. unless tanned by outdoor
work to mahogany color, they are lit
tie darker than a southern Italian.
On the Way to srinaear.
And so we glide along towards Srin-
agar, the capital town, not, however,
without hard work for someone for
it is upstream, and in the spring the
current is strong and swift. We are
propelled by long poles, or when there
is a suitable stretch of river bank
we are towed by four or five boatmen,
assisted by the family of our head
boatman, who inhabits another boat
shared with our servants, in the wake
of our doonga. On our way we have
to cross the largest lake in India. the
Wular, shallow and full of reeds,
weeds. and edible plants, but treacher-
| GUS ioI tOpNtdNS uOuSeDOdlS, vi dCs
| count of their size and shallowness,
and being surrounded on two sides by
high mountains, whence wind and
storms descend with appalling speed
| and viciousness. Here the pluck OF
the Kashmiri boatman does not come
to the front, and he beseeches the
sahib not to venture on the danger
GUS water unless he is pretty sure OF
calm crossing. Perhaps he knowe
best; at any rate we are in no hurry.
SO we consent to be moored to await
the suspicious moment
Autumn is the best time to explore
the city of Srinagar and it's surround
ings, to find out those wonderful old
buildings OF primeval stone, the origin
OF which no man can tell US. Mighty
temples to unknown gods they must
have been, the great slabs of stone
wrought and moved by other hands
than those of the unenterprising Kash-
miri of today, and plans thought out
by more cultured brains. Martund, the
greatest. stands alone on a hillside,
the inner shrine and surrounding
colonnade still visible in mighty frag-
ments; Pandrethan, a perfect little
example, standing in the center of a
deep pool, perhaps shrine to serpent
gods. In the city itself are many
more memories of far off and great
days, well worth finding out; besides
which, in these saunters through the
crowded byways, one sees the people
as they live, and not only the English
speaking, touting and begging crowd
who swarm round the households in
the residency quarter.