The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1925-08-05


ciety. Washington. D. CO.
n wy HAT might be called st
4 Nv I Main Street of India" is t
. wv great roadway of the age
Z roughly paralleling the foe
hills Of the Himalayas, that stretch
through the heart of Hindusts
from the Afghanistan border in Il
west to the east coast. There
nothing provincial about India's Mai
street. Starting at the Khyber pas.
where the Afghan caravans weave
tenuous thread Of trade between tn
frontier hills, 1t runs to Calcutta
where a goodly share of the world.
shipping is idly swinging to the tide.
OF the treacherous HooghIy.
The railways which parallel its more
than 1,5OO miles. as they parallel many
OF our own best highways, have d.
verted much traffic from the open road
and cooped it up like Grated fowls in
third-ciass cars But the bulloek-cart
stlli rolls on and the motorcar has
made Its presence smelled from the
northwest frontier province to Bengal.
The broad road" of Kiplings lama
and his adventurous chela, Kim, runs
through one of the most thickly pop-
uiated regions In the world 1t Is a
plain road from beginning to end.
FROM the- mud fort of Jamrud to the
docks at Kidderpore. this highway is
low way. 1t passes over the water
shed between the Indus and the
Ganges at an altitude Of less than a
thousand feet, and thence runs along
with the Jumna or the Ganges to the
alluv1ai delta in the midst of which |
Calcutta proudly reigns as queen.
10 The left, throughout the length
OF the road, are the eternal hills. be-
gond which the snow wall of the
worlds mightiest mountains can some
lines De seen. To the right Is the
umble Of low hills which bear various
names, but which, If the peninsula of
ndia were slightly lowered, would
orm the irregular northern base of
n arrow-shaped island, with its point
Cape Comorin, opposite Ceylon.
Although Main street runs through
region of rivers let US not think of
as garden land; for during much
the year 1t Is dusty and dry and
no time does 1t have the lush love
ness which dots the hot southland
lth scenes Of refreshing beauty.
throughout most Of its length frrigs-
on has been developed to a high de-
ee- |,
Hot and Cold, Dry and Wet. :
From the arid furnace of ALI Masjid p
the khyoer, to the steamy Sundar- v
MS, this road is deadly hot at times: nj
along the watershed between In =,
l's two most famous rivers the nights
winter can be bitter cold. even for
'se Monaghan peoples whose heavy
'tumes remind one Of the Himalayan fu
'ws, whence they come. W,
dain street runs from the aridIty of tn
than ten inches Of rain annusllv sa
If the Afghan border, to the region Fl
70 inches, beside the lower Gauges: is
were IT to be continued farther. n 1t
10 soak IN the rains Of Chittagons str
Cherrapunji, where Jupiter Pluvius Tn
always wringing out his heavy slo
lbs Ike washed towels, and whore pa
July, 1851, rain fell at the rate of bes
foot day. Cherrapunji is accus- the
ed to this form of hydraulic min TIL
which Is wearing down the Garo pun
hhasi hills, but with rs feet nj are
In twelve months, 1861 was Ga,
vn, even among those to whom A
Is no novelty, as the year of the gay
ain. 80
roughout the entire plain which littl
8 the great Indian highway the life
annual temperature is between the
Id 7S degrees. In May the mean IT
ERIN Of all India runs so directly Ria,
the Grand Trunk road that one soil,
think that by stepping into the eide
on either side he would run of so
81 degrees to 8S.S on the right min,
'"e NJ. neart OF the continental. aim
!, eo anu coo ON the left as he Giro
aside toward the hill stations once
'reweries which line the lower "Sec
- Tug aiayas from Murres phra
the {