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[ENTERED AT TB1 POET 0>»TCE. IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, BOB TRANSI-OBTATION THROUGH TUB UNITED STATES MAILS AT SECOND CLAES RATES.]
PUBLISHED
TWICE A MONTH.
ATLANTA, GA„ JANUARY 1, 1883.
At the Sncrcd .Streams.
[ Tranelated/rom the German.]
In sailing from Bombay to Madras it is of
ten necessary to sail around the island of
Ceylon. The passage between this and the
main land can only be made by light vessels
at high tide. Our vessel, the Cathey, was
two days in sight of Madras, casting anchor.
A light boat then carried us through the
breakers to the shore. Huge waves, through
which we had to force our passage, made
our prospect of safe landing appear very,
doubtful. Madras is level at the coast, upon
which lies the great city of 400,000 inhabit
ants. A front of magnificent buildings and
business houses lies stretched out to view
which extends for miles. Everything there
presents the appearance of a great and beauti
ful city. A place worthy of mention is its
Zoological Garden. In none of the large
cities of England have we seen a Zoological
garden which surpasses that of Madras. We
saw there the grandest species of elephants,
leopards, lions and tigers. Upon returning
to our ship we were very much amused to
see a crowd of the natives on our deck with
a variety of merchandise for barter, among
which were several tame snakes. A three-
days’ sail then brought us to the mouth of
the Ganges. The portion of land lying be
tween the mouth of the Ganges, near the
coast, is like a forest, in which alligators and
tigers and other beasts are very numerous.
We found also in Calcutta much to interest
and make a favorable impression. Meals at
the great hotels of Calcutta are served in a
very stately manner. Behind every guest
stands a Hindoo with turban, white frock
and embroidered girdle. He hands to the
guest the food which is handed to him by
another waiter. Also, three waiters keep
large fans In motion for the comfort of the
visitors while they eat their meals. After
these services are performed in the dining
room these same servants, still armed with
their fans, follow you to the theater and
take their position behind your seat and
use their fans foryour comfort till the the
atrical performance eloses. Europeans re
ceive particular honors. The Hindoo,
though his head may have become gray, bows
before the European. Beyond doubt, Cal-'
cutta is a beautiful city. The Governor’s
house is truly of kingly grandeur. All pub
lic buildings ore remarkably handsome. In
the evening upon the promenading grounds
may be seen persons from all parts of the
world. The botanical gardens are of special
interest. The noble groups of palms and
various other species of tropical vegetation
always arrest the attention of strtfngers.
From one stalk of the banyan tree a whole
forest may be grown. The boughs grow
downward till they reach the ground, then
take root again, from which another trunk
grows, and so on till a largo area of surfaco
is covered from one root. The banyan tree
is sacred to the superstitious Hindoo. Also
the museum promises to become of much
interest in the future. Calcutta has to-day
700,000 inhabitants. The great moss of its
population are Hindoos. The journey to
Benares is fatiguing and monotonous to tho
traveler, being only relieved by the beauties
of nature. Rice, maize, hemp and tobacco
fields lie right and left, and from behind
them rise green forests and hills. Every
pious Hindoomakcsa pilgrimage to Benares,
which is situated upon tho sacred river Gan-
Here are places, mosques, cupolas,
pagodas, pyramids, temples, ter-
^s-andstonestepslcadfrom these
hi wutors. Whoever dies on
goes Immediately to
iters of the
er if they plunge themselves into the stream;
the dying go painless to the unknown shores.
Thousands of pilgrims daily throng the pas
sages to this river. Men and women of every
age, accompanied by their children, come to
bring their offerings of fruits and flowers to
"Mother Ganga.” Then follow long
prayers, after which they dive into the wa
ter, and then come out and throw their wet
clothes upon-the bushes to dry. The sick
who are unable to come themselves are
brought by friends, who make long petitions
for their recovery; but if they do not recover
immediately the wonder is explained by a
priest, who tells them that "Mother Ganga”
is not well. Upon the terraces under huge
umbrellas the Brahmins sit to read prayers.
The priest keeps the contents of his book a
profound secret. It is said that Benares has
not less than 1,600 temples. The images of
the gods which are in these temples are of
ten gold and silver, ornamented with pre
cious stones. To these they bring drink offer
ings from the sacred stream, snd floral offer
ings with which the temple is decorated.
The European dares only look on at a dis
tance. However, the priest will as readily
accept of his money as he will that of \the
pious Hindoo. In many of the temples cer
tain animals are sacredly honored. In one
of them are a large number of apes. Among
the relics of Mohammedan splendor at Agra
there is a temple built at a cost of sixty mil*
lion marks. It sets on a hill and is 900 feet
long and 300 feet wide. Its spire is gold-tip
ped and is 180 feet high. Marble steps lead
up to the entrance. Inside are eighteen
different apartments. This elegant build
ing is of snow whiteness, being built of marble
and surrounded by gardens, cascades, foun
tains and cypress groups, which add great
ly to its beauty. Upon the inner walls,
which are all of marble, is the most elegant
mosaic work. One never grows tired of
this magnificent sight. The traveler spends
hours at this grand temple, and again visits
it with increased admiration. It would be
impossible for those who have never seen
these realities to imagine how grand a sight
are these noble temples situated upon the
deep silent stream of the Ganges, and all over
arched by the deep blue vault of heaven.—
Mast E. Collins, In Courier Journal.
The Achievements or ItallroadN.
The close of the year is always a time for
reflection upon the eventsof the past, a season
of retrospection. It is then that the mer
chant invoices his stock and balances his
books in order that he may know where he
stands and how ho may provide for the fu
ture. It is not unfitting that we, at this
time, look bock upon the history of railroads
and recall the mighty results they have ac
complished, so that theso grand things may
stimulate all engaged in railroad work to
new exertion and encourage them to hope
for still greater effects in the future.
It is only necessary to go back a compara
tively few years, say to the beginning of the
present century, just after the end of the
second war with England, when all the
European nations lay exhausted and gasping
after the struggle with Napoleon. The
United States was indeed feeble at that time,
and her people, simple in their tastes, in
dustrious and ambitious, were happy,
though poor. Along the Atlantic coast, and
even as far West as tho lakes, were thrifty
towns, which, near tho ocean and the great
rivers, were cities of promise, while, in the
interior, tho settlements were few. Along
tho great rivers of the We-t, tho Ohio, the
Mississippi and the Missouri, tho Indians
still lived and a few scattered forts only
served to remind the observer that the a whlte
man had been there. Further weal was a
boundless plain, unexplored save by the om
nipresent Jesuit missionary, who, with cru
cifix in hand, held life of no account if he
could direct the savage eyes to the Redeemer
of men. The only methods of locomotion
were by flat boats or skiffs on the rivers, and
the stage coach and wagon on land. When
the husband started to ride from New York
to Boston, his wife bade him adieu, not ex
pecting to see him for weeks; and if he
proposed going as far West as Wheeling, she
half expected never to see him again, for she
knew the perils of the journey. The interior
of old and populous States was comparative
ly inaccessible, and the produce of the farms
was unmarketable.
We all know what the country is to-day.
Railroads extend from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, from the great lakes and the snows
of Dakota to the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio
Grande. A perfect network of lines covers
the great States of the Mississippi Valley,
where the unbroken prairie was found thir
ty years ago, and the Eastern States, while
even in distant Oregon there are well
equipped and excellent roads. It is the lo
comotive which has been the power able to
accomplish this startling change, and the
world has advanced more during the last
forty years than during the first 1700 years of
the Christian era. The United States had
poor prospects for the future when the ad
vent of steam opened up a new hope.
Railroading is now a science and has be
come a profession requiring as much study
and genius as that of law or medicine. Take
the number of men employed in the manu
facture of railroad supplies and material, in
the construction and maintenance of the
track, in operating the trains and directing
their movements, in handling and obtaining
the freight carried, in supervising and di
recting the work in all its departments, we
have an army which includes a large share
of the entire working force of the nation.
All business is now dependent upon the
railroads and the highest order of talent
must be employed in the administration of
their affairs.
Railroads have annihilated distance. There
are now no mole plains to be dreaded, nor
mountains to be crossed, nor deserts to be
slowly and painfully traversed, but the tire
less iron steed drags the train equally well
in night or day and requires only coal and
water for food. The traveler may spend to
night in Chicago, the next in St. Louis, or
bo on Sunday in San Francisco and on Sat
urday in New York. Here and in every
land there is no longer any barrier of dis
tance, butall has been done away with. Push
in the shape of electricity has put “a girdle
round the earth” in less than forty minutes,
and "around the world in eighty days” is
something more than a legend.
Farmers and producers have been enabled
to utilize the waste places and New York
can draw its supplies of wheat and meat
from Dakota, thousands of miles away.
Large towns are no longer confined to the
coast or the banks of rivers, but have sprung
up everywhere, for tho railroad has given
them quick and easy access to every market.
On the prairies, among the mountains, in
Oregon, Maine or Florida, or far up on the
Canadian frontier, the sturdy toiler may go,
knowing that he can sell his stock or produce
at his door for a good price.
The capital invested in railroads supports
thousands to whom it otherwise would have
had little value. Trust funds, estates and
endowments are now invested in railroad
stocks and bonds with an assurance that
there will be an income from it. Formerly
land or merchandise were the only invest
ments for capital and money without this
new means of utilization, would have beena
drug to those who could not employ it in
active business.
The effect on the nation at large has been
marked, and by this we mean that the cus-.
toms, manners and habits of our people have
been changed by means of the facilities af
forded by railroads. Travel and the broad
ening, refining influences of social inter
course have abolished sectionalism and pro
vincialism,making us essentially one nation,
united in thought and purpose. There Is no
longer any North or South, East or West,
but one country, to which we all render our
loyal allegiance and which is ottr common
boast This result may be entirely attrib
uted to railroads and their civilizing, enno
bling influence.—St Louie Railway Regieter.
■acred Animals la India.
In every larger city there are walled tanks
where sacred crocodiles await the contribu
tions of the pious. In Benares they subsist
upon the rent of a real-estate legacy and oc
casional donations of the wealthy produce
merchants. But even tho poorest of tho poor
contribute to the support of the sacred
baboons. The bhunder-baboon and the Han-
uman (CereopUheeue entellue) have every rea
son to regard themselves as the primates of
the animal kingdom, and man as a humble
relative, gifted with certain horticultural
talents for the purpose of ministering to the
wants of bis four-handed superiors. North
ern India is dotted with mahakhunde, or mon
key farms, where thousands of long-tailed
saints are provided with shelter, respectful
attendants, and three substantial meals a
day, on the sole condition that they shall
renounce their sylvan haunts and bless the
neighborhood with the influence of their ho
ly presence. Sick monkeys are sent to the
next bhunder-hospital, generally a well-en
dowed and well-managed institution with a
special dhevadar o’ Responsible major-domo.
The little town of Cawnpore has eight such
infirmaries, Benares twenty or twenty-five,
some of them with a sub-division for incu
rables and chronic dyspeptics!—/Vom"CSiri-
aiiticiof Superstition," by Felix L. Oswald,
in Popular Science Monthly.
A Rich Tin Mine.
Of the western half of Tasmania little,
comparatively speaking, is known. Inter
sected by lofty mountain ranges, split asun
der in every direction by precipice-walled
gullies; varied by wide spreading, healthy
plains, the pasturage of which is generally
inferior ; or by vast eucalypti, giant trees,
in many instances attaining an altitude of
more than 300 feet, with a girth of 00 feet
and upward; or,again, by undulating coun
try, so densely covered with scrub as to be
almost impracticable even to an experienced
bushman, and subjected to a rainfall esti
mated at 140 Inches per annum; the far west
of this island has been explored and "pros
pected,” but never settled. There are one or
two camps of timber getters on the coast
line, and in the northwest districts a few
good bits of pasturage have been taken up
for stock-raising, but evidence u( regular
settlement of the country does not exist To
the westward of the Surrey Hills, however,
in the county of Russell, and at a distance of
a hundred miles from Launceton, lies Mount
Bischoff, and here a few adventurers found
tin in 1872. A company was formed, and
workings were begun; an eminent mineral
ogist reported that the mountain was almost
a mass of tin; the ore yielding from 70 to 80
per Cent of pure metal; a large smelting
worx was erected in Launceton, and in the
year 1870 a thousand tons of tin were raised.
Five dollars only have been paid up on each
share, but the present market price from $300
to $350.