Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1917-10-15
Cbe
Peoples Forum
TALKS TO LITTLE FOLKS.
Number I.
(By Henry G. GIlmore.)

(By Henry G. Gilmore.)
My Dear Young Friends: I have
lately been reading about India,
which, as you may perhaps know, be-
longs to Great Britain. The people
in that great peninsula are for the
most part densely ignorant and wor
ship idols. They look upon much of
the animal creation as sacred and
have a special reverence for snakes
and things of that sort. India is a
wonderful country in many ways. 1t
is triangular in shape, as you will see
by single glance at the map; nearly
1000 miles in length, and the high
ast mountain ranges In the world are
to be found in the extreme northern
part of the country. We know in our
own country that there are many high
mountains such as Mts. Mckinley,
Baker. Shasta, Rainier, and so forth,
but great as they all are in the mat
ter of going skyward they are as
nothing compared with the immense
peaks to be found along the whole
range of the Himalaya mountains,
one of which Is more than 10000
feet high, or, in other words, II we
Iad to ascend this particular spur
before breakfast our little trotters
would have Travelled something like
six milesl Just think Of this nice lit
tie trip before sitting down to basin
of porridge (Quaker oats, If you
like), couple of eggs with toast and
anything else to satisfy rayenous
appetite brought on by your six-mile
nearly-upright climb.
In comparing the heights of Eu-
ropean mountains with those of India,
the other day, found that. even put
ting the Pyrenees on top Of the Alps,
] should have to add seven thousand
feet to, these two mountain ranges
before reaching anywhere to the
highest point of the Himalayas. Just
think of that and how cold it must
be, in that region, 365 days in the
year In summer 1t Is awfully hot
in the plains of India and people who
can afford to do so 60 to the Punjaub
and other mountain passes in order
to get away from the scorching rays
of the sun, which literally burn every
thing which come in their pathway.
Charming snakes, with flute play
ing, is both q business and pastime
In India. and the horrid things (as /
call them) dance about with delight
when they hear the music. Fancy
some fine artist spending his or her
time in dosing these reptiles with en-
trancing strains from Mendelssohn,
Beethoven and Chopin to soothe their
snakish feelings before retiring for
the night! The boys and girls of the
United States desire no such COM
pany.
Now I intended from the very first
TO say more about the wild animals
of India than anything else, and ]
proceed at once to do so. am not
going to trust myself to tell you the
story about the snakes and wild
beasts of India, but give you all the
interesting facts and conditions re-
lated by great traveller and lecturer
in the person of Mr.. ]. L. Stoddard,
who some years ago delighted the
psiblic with most instructive illus
trated lectures upon his journeying
in foreign lands. This is what Mr..
Stoddard has to say about the snakes
and wild animals in India that de-
your so many poor suffering people
every year:
"The majority Of people who die
from snake bites in India are peas
ants (poor indeed), whose naked
limbs and feet are exposed to attack
while working in the fields. No 9th
er countryfin the world affords such
opportunities for snake stories, but
I shall confine myself to facts. Ac-
cording to the official reports, more
than 10000 human beings died in
India in 1892 from snake bites and
947 people were destroyed by tigers,
26O by leopards, 1872 by wolves, and