Class Book K / Copyright K°. COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. INDIA AND DAILY LIFE IN BENGAL INDIA AND DAILY LIFE IN BENGAL REV. Z. F. GRIFFIN, B. D. FIFTEEN YEARS A MISSIONARY IN INDIA THIRD EDITION AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY PHILADELPHIA BOSTON CHICAGO ST. LOUIS TORONTO, CAN. Copyright 1912 by Z. F. GRIFFIN Published February, 191 2 \^-'(o'o'(o'S PREFACE I AM issuing- this third edition because the second edi- tion is exhausted, and there seems to be a demand for such a book. There are more pages in this edi- tion than in the second. I have given the latest re- ports on the revenue of the country, and also the con- stitution of the new Legislative Council of the viceroy, and the latest revised Protestant missionary statistics. I have briefly discussed British rule in India as I have seen it and know it During our last term of service the unrest was at its height, and we were in the very storm-center of the cyclone. This is referred to from the standpoint from which I have viewed it. I have tried to present the facts and conditions in a plain, simple manner, so that any one can understand the situation as far as possible without actually being on the ground. The book was issued in the first place to answer questions regarding that great country, which every writer consulted took for granted that the people knew, but which, as a matter of fact, in general they very little understood. Simple questions about their build- ings, occupations, mode of farming, productions, char- acter of the natives, religions, methods of mission Preface work, obstacles, etc., are answered in a concise but clear way. I am indebted to Benjamin Aitken, Esq., of Poonah, India, for the facts concerning the new legislative council of the viceroy, and to Rev. Geo. Henderson, of Calcutta, for the revised missionary statistics. My historical facts were gathered from Hunter, Murray, Grant, Sherring, and others. The cuts, with two or three exceptions, are from my own neeratives. Z. F. GRIFFIN. Keuka Park, N. Y., January i, 1912. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Historical Outline 9 11. British Rule in India 25 III. Political Divisions 34 IV. Unrest in India 47 V. European Life in Bengal 54 Vl. RoADS^ Highways, and Waterways ... 64 VII. Architecture 76 VIII. Productions 83 IX. Climate 88 X. Scenery and Sights 92 XL Some Pests of India 103 XIL Some Characteristics 112 XIIL Occupations 126 XIV. A Glance at Hinduism 163 XV. History of Protestant Missions 179 XVI. Mission Work and How Carried On. . 187 XVII. The Prospect for Success 208 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGS Schools of low-caste people assembled for Christ- mas prize-giving, Santipore . . . .Frontispiece A Bengal rural village 5i ^ A Bengal bazaar {business street) 57 Tenting in Bengal 64*^ Off for cold-season work in tents or bungalows . . 64 Bringing in rice sheaves from the Held 66 Bringing rice to market 66 A typical house of the wealthy class, Bengal ^6 A temple of Juggernath 7<5 Building a house for the poorer class yS'"^ The Taj Mahal, Agra 78 A pilgrim preparing his cakes by the roadside. ... 86 Calcutta coolies 86 Procuresses near Kali's temple, Calcutta 94^ Devotees bathing in the Ganges, Calcutta p4 A typical Bengal tank P9 Mission boat 99 Traveling in the mountains. A dandy 102 ^ One of the sources of the Ganges, Himalaya Mountains 102 List of Illustrations PAGB A Bengal barber zuho has found a job lOp A sacred bull, Mohadabc lo^ / Bringing pottery to market /Ji The boy zvho herds cattle ^3^ , Washermen in the foreground; a zmter-carrier on the left 149^ One zcay of crossing rivers, Bengal 14P A szveeper 154 Burning the dead, Benares 154 On the banks of the Ganges, Benares; stone god, Mohadabe 164 Temples on the banks of the Ganges, Benares. . . . 164 A sadu, " holy man," spends his life zi'andering from place to place lyo A devotee, arms rigid lyo Juggernath, zvith his sister and brother, seated on his car 1/2 A pilgrimage by prostrations i/^ * A " holy man " on a bed of spikes ij^ Handling logs for industrial-school zvork, Santi- pore, Bengal 18^ Thatching a bungalozi^ ig^ A typical sazmnill i^^ Zenana teachers starting for zvork igy INDIA AND DAILY LIFE IN BENGAL CHAPTER I An Outline of the History from the Time of the Rig- Veda to the Beginning of the Reign of Queen Victoria as Empress of India THE early home of the Aryans was no doubt somewhere in central Asia. In course of time the country in which they lived became too small for their numerous offspring, and ad- venturous bands left their homes in quest of food or plunder or pastures new. These marauding bands went in different directions, farther and farther from the old home land. Some of them settled in Persia; some of them founded the Greek and Italic nations; some the Celtic and Teutonic races; and others the Slavs of Europe. Others traveled more eastward and southward, and making their way through mountain passes, settled in India. Here they found rich pastures for their flocks and herds, and fertile land which they began to cultivate. But they also found that their right to these lands and pastures was disputed; for others had possession of them, and had occupied them for centuries before the Aryans entered the Punjab. Those who had possession were the aborigines of the 9 / India and Daily Life in Bengal country, who were by no means ready to relinquish their claim. For the Aryans to gain possession, there- fore, meant war and conquest ; but, little by little, terri- tory was acquired, and step by step the conquerors came farther south and east. It was while they were watching their flocks and cultivating their land in the Punjab, that they began the composition of the Rig-Veda. This contains the most ancient records of the Aryan family, and is the source of most of our information of this remote period, extending as it does from 2000 B. C. to 1400 B. C. This is called by historians the Vedic period. This book is really hymns addressed to nature, which the Aryans worshiped; but in the hymns there are so many allusions to domestic and social life, wars, etc., that they form a history of the times in which they were composed. We must bear in mind that the hymns were only composed and sung at this remote period, but not written. They were sung, and handed down from father to son. probably as Homer was by the Greek rhapsodists. It was not until the following age, or what some historians style the Epic age, that these were arranged and compiled. In the Vedic age the Hindus had very few of the customs and characteristics which they have at the present time. This was a patriarchal age. In their simple devotions the head of the family was also the priest of the family, and his home was his temple. The head of the family was also a warrior as well as a cul- tivator and herdsman. Caste had not yet made its ap- pearance; girls had some choice in the selection of Historical Outline 1 1 their husbands ; the cruel custom of burning the widows on the funeral pyre of the dead husband was unknown ; and wife and husband worked together in social equality. The flesh of animals, together with barley and wheat, milk and butter, seems to have constituted their simple diet. There can be no time fixed upon which we can put our finger and say, " At this date things began to change." The change was gradual but sure; for after six hundred years we find that the people had settled in the valleys of the Ganges and Jamna rivers, and were performing pompous and solemn religious rites, which sometimes, in the case of royal sacrifices, lasted for years. This period is called by historians the Epic age. Now we find professional priests have come on the stage, who give discourses on the texts of the Vedas, and who attempt to explain their hidden meaning. The writings of the Hindus, called the Brahmanas, are speculations and explana- tions concerning the Vedas by generations of priests. As these kingdoms increased in territory and popu- lation, they also made advancement in education and in the administration of their government. Men duly appointed collected taxes, administered justice, and led armies to battle either against the aborigines or against neighboring kingdoms of the Aryan family. Members of kings' households learned the art of shoot- ing with bow and arrow, and riding in war chariots, while priests multiplied religious rites and observances. It was during this period that the great Hindu epic, Mahabharata, was begun. It was not written as we have it now, for portions of it have been lost, and later 12 India and Daily Life in Bengal writers have attempted to supply the deficiency, or alter or distort the text, or add mere myth, until, as a historical record of the war it pretends to describe, it is considered of but little value. This is a record of a great war between two powerful races, or tribes, called the Kurus and the Panchalas. There are evidences that other neighboring tribes were also drawn into the great conflict. Though advancement had been made in arts and sciences, they were none less warlike than their forefathers. Though much of the Mahabharata is allegorical, it throws a great deal of light on the customs of the people of that age. It teaches us that caste was beginning to assert itself, but had not formed those insurmountable barriers which later ages witnessed. It shows that the seclusion of women was not practised, but that the highest in rank of these went to witness the public feats in archery and other sports, and that maidens selected their own husbands. It also teaches us that vice was not unknown; for Yudhesthera, the oldest of the Pandavas, who is the most righteous character in the epic, and was w^ell versed in religious knowledge, after he came into pos- session of the kingdom, not only gambled it away, but also staked and lost himself, his brothers, and his beau- tiful wife, Draupadi. From 1 200 B. C. to 1000 B. C, we find the Videhas, Kosalas, and Kasis branches of the Aryan family in- habiting what is now known as North Behar, Oude, and the country about the present city of Benares. These bold races had pushed through the jungles, crossed rivers, subdued aboriginal tribes, and founded Historical Outline 13 strong and powerful kingdoms. The writing pre- served, which throws some Hght on Indian history of this period, is the Ramayana. Like the Mahabharata, scholars claim that it is utterly valueless as a history of any war ; but the side-lights it throws out are valuable in showing the progress made in conquest, as also the elevation to power of the priestly class. The Ramayana teaches plainly that no longer do the Kshatriya, or warrior caste, assert their opinions and their rights to any great extent; but even Rama, the hero of the epic, " though he encounters and defeats a Brahmin warrior, Parasa-rama, does so with many apologies and due submission." Sita, the heroine of the poem and wife of Rama, though purely a mytho- logical character, begins to tell the early tale of woman's complete and uncomplaining subjugation. Though caste lines have been made, there are examples where women have passed from one caste into another, and even married into a different caste. Moreover, dur- ing this time, and up to the close of the Epic period, only three castes were recognized; namely, the Brah- min, Kshatriya, and Vaysya ; and these associated to- gether and ate together, and felt that they were a united people. Though they had extended their territory far down the Ganges Valley during the many preceding centu- ries, they were not essentially a warlike people. They seem to have inherited the devotional instincts of the family as the European portion did the warlike pro- pensities. They had made considerable advance in education, but their schools and colleges were more for 14 India and Daily Life in Bengal religious instruction than anything else. They had discovered the lunar zodiac in astronomy, but their knowledge in this was used more for regulating the sacrifices than for any scientific purpose. Considerable progress was made also in developing a code of laws for the government of the people. From the year looo B. C. to 242 B. C, historians call the Rationalistic period. During these years the Aryans conquered many aboriginal tribes, and ex- pended their kingdom into central India and to the Arabian Sea on the west, and to the Bay of Bengal on the east. This period seems to have been a practical period, and all their writings and teachings in religion and science were reduced to the most concise expres- sions. The literature of this period is called Sutra literature, and the object was to replace the volumi- nous writings of the previous age by aphorisms. This style of literature rapidly spread, and schools sprang up in many places to teach it. These Sutras reduced the extended ceremonials of religious rites of the Vedas to mere manuals. In law we have the code of Manu, defining the duties of citizens, and in social life the Grihya Sutra, defining the domestic duties. Grammars also were written, and rules for pronun- ciation. In this they were in advance of the Greeks or the Romans. The grammar of Panini, in the Sanskrit, compiled 350 B. C., is still the foundation of the study of the language. The science of geometry was discovered and somewhat developed, and the phi- losophy of Kapila is comparable to that of Aristotle in its reasonings. Historical Outline 15 No one can read the literature of this period, or any portion of it, without seeing that caste prejudices had taken a terrible hold, and that the Brahmins ex- ercised their privileges to the great humiliation and detriment of the common people. The oppressions prepared the way for Buddhism. The people were anxious to be freed from the galling yoke of the Brah- mins, so that when Prince Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, announced his principles with regard to the brotherhood of man, they were hailed with joy. Though the Brahmins had prepared the way for the spread of Buddhism, and though the people seemed to flock around the standard of Buddha, it was three cen- turies after his death, which occurred 447 B. C, be- fore Asoka, the greatest of India's emperors, declared it to be the religion of the State. Such was the hold that Hinduism had upon the people. If it took Bud- dhism, which had much in common with Hinduism, three centuries to convert the people, where is the ground for discouragement in Christian missions? Hitherto all the light that has been thrown on In- dian history is gathered from the writings of the Hindus, which are mostly of a religious nature ; but to- ward the close of this period, India began to come in contact with portions of the family which had, many centuries before, drifted westward. Herodotus, the Greek historian who lived in the fourth century B. C., speaks of the Hindus as the greatest nation of the ages. The same writer tells us that Darius the Persian sub- jugated a portion of India, and that his ships sailed down the Indus to the sea. Later, Magasthenes, a / 6 India and Daily Life in Bengal Greek, in the fourth century B. C, came to India and lived with one of the kings, and wrote of its civiHza- tion and conquests. These writings show that all of India, except some of the deserts and some of the mountain fastnesses, had been conquered, and the aboriginal tribes either subjugated and Hinduized, or else driven back into these barren places and mountain retreats. Toward the close of this period other important events were taking place, among which was the inva- sion of the country by Alexander the Great. He en- tered India 327 B, C., and had it not been for the intense heat of the summer and the southwest mon- soon, he might have marched his conquering armies through the whole length of the land. It was not be- cause there were no native armies to oppose him, but because the native kings were jealous of each other, and often would rather espouse the cause of Alex- ander, if a local enemy could thereby be humbled, than unitedly to oppose him and save their country. But the heat was a more powerful enemy than the Indian armies, and Alexander resolved to withdraw from the country. He constructed a fleet upon which part of the army sailed down the Indus, and thence up the Persian Gulf; and part went overland, through Belu- chistan and Persia. He founded some cities during his brief stay, of which the present city of Haidarabad is one. Later, other marauding Greek bands came into the country, and as far south as Oude, but established no kingdoms. Internal dissensions were rife in this period, and Historical Outline 17 there were frequent changes of dynasties. This condi- tion made the inhabitants an easy prey to any strong, warhke, and united people. From the west such a host was coming in upon them. In the year 126 B. C, the Scythian, or Tartar, tribe came down through the mountain passes of the northwest, and estabhshed a foothold in the Punjab. They came to stay and to ex- tend their territory, and it is recorded of one of their kings, Kanishka, that he extended his kingdom as far south as Agra. Valiant kings arose in India to repel and expel these northern hordes, and the struggles were long and the results various. In the year A. D. 515, the great Hindu king, Vikramaditya, arose and regained pos- session of the greater part of India, and established peace, which lasted for two centuries. This was also the period in which the Puranas, one of the sacred books of the Hindus, was written, and it also wit- nessed the rapid decline of Buddhism. In the eighth century A. D., the Rajput, who had hitherto scarcely been reckoned to be within the pale of the Aryan Hindus, rose to power. The founder of this dynasty was a brave general in Gujarat, Senapati Bhalarka by name, who declared his Independence, and, carrying the banner of Puranic Hinduism, established Brahmin supremacy everywhere in India. In the twelfth century A. D., India was ruled by three Rajput kings — Prothu Rai Chohan, at Delhi and Ajmir ; Jaya Chandra Rathore was king of Kanauj, Allahabad, Oude, and Benares; and Bhima Deva was ruler of Gujarat and central India. t8 India and Daily Life in Bengal But the (lays of the brave Rajputs, who had ruled India for nearly four centuries, were numbered. Sha- habuddin Ghori, a Mohammedan conqueror, entered India A. D. 1191, and led his victorious armies through the country. The Rajputs, after making a brave but unsuccessful attempt to save their kingdom, returned to Rajputana, leaving the Mohammedans the undis- puted possessors of the country. Shahabuddin Ghori was a practical ruler, and at once set about the task of thoroughly organizing his kingdom. The name of Ghori's Indian viceroy was Kutub-ud-din, who upon the death of his sovereign established a new dynasty called the Slave dynasty, from the fact that Kutub-ud- din was once a Turkish slave. The great minaret twelve miles from Delhi, which is one of the wonders of the world, was erected in memory of Kutub-ud-din. Other Mohammedan dynasties followed, as they could by intrigue or power gain the ascendency. In 1398 the great Tartar general, Tamerlane, swept over the country, devastating cities and murdering the peo- ple; but when satiated with blood he retired toward central Asia. In A. D. 1526, Baber entered the country and es- tablished the Mogul dynasty. The country was divided into many petty kingdoms, ruled both by Hindu princes and Mohammedan kings. Baber was a lineal descend- ant of Tamerlane, and, like him, was fierce and war- like, and took delight in the task before him. As Sha- habuddin had done centuries before, so he now went from one victory to another, until at his death, which occurred A. D. 1530, he held possession of India as far Historical Outline 19 as Behar in the eastern valley of the Ganges. His son, who succeeded him, was not able fully to hold to- gether the kingdom on account of family dissensions; but his grandson, Akbar the Great, who began to reign A. D. 1556, thoroughly established the Mogul Empire. Of the work of Akbar and his successors we have no time to speak. Suffice it to say that the finest archi- tecture of India belongs to this period. The palace of Delhi, with the peacock throne, was built by one of these kings, and also the Taj Mahal at Agra. This latter is the achitectural gem of the world, and was built by Shah Jehan in honor of his wife, Mumtazi Mahal, whose tomb it is. Aurangzeb was the last of the Mogul kings who ruled with any force or inde- pendence of character, and the empire began gradually to crumble after his death. The rising of the Sikhs and Mahrattas among the Hindus, and the appalling depredations of the Afghans, as they made six successive invasions, were the direct causes which contributed to the fall of the Mogul Em- pire. It may be said to have disappeared, so far as exerting any influence on the country, in 1765 ; though for nearly another century they kept up an appearance of sovereignty. Mohammed Bahadur Shah, the seven- teenth Mogul emperor, and last of the race of Timur, for his complicity in the mutiny of 1857 was banished to Rangoon, where he died in 1862. In the meantime Great Britain appeared on the field, and taking advantage of, or pity on, the utter chaotic condition of the country, began to establish a foothold there with a view of becoming a nation in India. The 20 India and Daily Life in Bengal English had long been in India under the name of the East India Company. This company was or- ganized in A. D. 1600, with a capital of seventy thou- sand pounds, and had purchased some possessions in the vicinity of Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, and had opened up many trading points here and there. The whole of Calcutta, with the surrounding country, was purchased from the viceroy of Bengal. He sold his valuable territory in order to get money to carry out his scheme for the succession of the Mogul Empire. The present Fort William, one of the largest forts in the world, was begun in 1707. Fort Saint David, on the Coromandel coast, had also been erected. With money, a few strong forts, and a few brave soldiers, the English were in a position to take advantage of the conditions as above described. It is not the object of this brief narrative to give a detailed account of the history of the rise of the Eng- lish in India. There are many well-written histories on this subject, and they may be found in almost any bookstore. A few leading facts will, however, be in place. The French had in some places, and the Portu- guese in others, established themselves. The Mahrat- tas and the Sikhs were at war with the Moguls, and other internal wars also prevailed. During part of this time France and England were fighting, which necessarily involved their India pos- sessions. It soon became known that English soldiers were good fighters, so the East India Company was often appealed to for help by one or the other of the many contending parties. At the close of nearly all Historical Outline 21 these contentions and battles, favorable treaties for the English were entered into and new territory was ac- quired. After the company had secured a strong foot- hold, the settled policy was to acquire new territory as fast as possible. The history of the conquest of Ben- gal, and the achievements of Lord Clive; of Warren Hastings and his operations; the first Mahratta war, and the war with Mysore; Lord Cornwallis, and the second Mysore war ; the Marquis of Wellesley, and his settled policy of making the English the one para- mount power in India, and his third Mysore war and second Mahratta war; and the great acquisitions of territory under these administrations — these make very interesting reading, and may be found fully treated in Hugh Murray's history of India, or in that of James Grant, or in any other standard work. The further conquests of Lord Minto, and his consolidation of the conquests of Wellesley; Lord Moira, and his war with Nepaul, by which the hill stations of Naini Tal, Mussourie, and Simla were acquired from the brave and warlike Gurkhas; the war in central India with the Pendaris; and the last Mahratta war — form interesting chapters. Following these eventful times was the first Burmese war, 1 824- 1 826, by which Assam and other portions of the northeast came into the possession of the Eng- lish. During the time of Lord Bentinck, suttee, or the burning of the live widow on the funeral pyre with the dead body of her husband, was prohibited and done away with. In connection with this we may see the elasticity of the conscience of the Hindu. When the 22 India and Daily Life in Bengal order was passed prohibiting this most inhuman prac- tice, a deputation of Brahmins waited on the viceroy, and told him that their consciences told them that suttee was the right thing for them to practise. Lord Bentinck replied : " Very well, follow the dictates of your conscience; but the Englishman's conscience tells him that whoever aids or abets in murder shall be hanged. You burn your widows according to your conscience and we will hang you according to ours." Suffice it to say, no Brahmins were hanged for con- science' sake. Soon after the acquisition of Assam came the Af- ghan war, which resulted in the utter defeat of the English, and in which four thousand fighting men and twelve thousand camp followers perished either in the snowy defiles of Kurd Kabul, or from the knives and guns of the treacherous Afghans. The first Sikh war gave Lahore to the British, and under the administra- tion of Lord Dalhousie, Oude, Nagpore, and parts of the Punjab and Burma, and other possessions were an- nexed. Lord Dalhousie turned the sod for the first railroad, and established in certain parts of the coun- try telegraphic communication. The next important event in the history of India is the terrible mutiny of 1857. The causes of this wide- spread disaffection have been discussed time and again. Whatever may have been the cause or causes, the di- rect occasion was the introduction of the Enfield rifles and the greased cartridges to be used with them. It was rumored among the sepoys (native soldiers), who were both Hindus and Mohammedans, that the grease Historical Outline 23 used in these cartridges was made from the tallow of the cow and the fat of the hog. The hog is unclean to the Mohammedan, and the cow is sacred to the Hindu, so that report was a sharp two-edged sword which cut both ways. It is probable that the real cause of the disaffection lay in the fact that the people saw that Western ideas and ways were creeping into the country, and that in time, unless something was done to check it, their ancient customs and religion would be overthrown. The first overt mutinous act occurred February 25, at Berhampore, one hundred and sixteen miles north of Calcutta. This act was the Nineteenth Bengal Na- tive Infantry's refusing to accept the cartridges. Soon the blood of an English officer w^as shed, which was the signal for the lighting, so to speak, of the fires of war on every hilltop. By May this spirit of rebellion had become so widespread and so rampant, that every Englishman in India felt prepared for any news. It came from Merut and told of the burning of the Eng- lish quarters, and the massacring of men, women, and children by the sepoys. From Merut they went to Delhi, only twelve miles away. But why attempt to tell of the terrible carnage of that year? Delhi, Lucknow, and Cawnpore are al- most synonyms for all that is brave, and true, and suf- fering on the part of the English — men, women, and children; and all that is cowardly, treacherous, and savage on the part of the sepoys. Taking into account the character of the combatants and those connected with them, and the terrible odds against the English, 24 India and Daily Life in Bengal there has probably been no event in the history of any nation of more thrilHng interest than the sepoy mutiny of 1857. Though Delhi fell, it was retaken; though sixty thousand sepoys surrounded the residency at Lucknow, it was relieved by five thousand British sol- diers ; though Cawnpore had witnessed the most terri- ble butchery of innocent women and children ever re- corded, and had come fully into the hands of the rebels, it was not long held. Town after town was reoccu- pied which had been taken by the mutineers, and fort after fort was stormed, until in January, 1859, the echo of the last gun died away, and the last fugitive was chased across the frontier. On the first of November, 1858, at a grand durbar held in Allahabad, Lord Canning, the viceroy of India, sent forth the royal proclamation that the Queen of England had assumed the government of India. Thus was brought to a close the history and existence of the East India Company, the greatest commercial and military company that ever existed; and thus began the reign of Queen Victoria as Empress of India. Religious neutrality and justice were the guiding prin- ciples of the queen, and in no time since the age of the Rig- Veda, have the people of India been so secure in the possession of their property and their civil rights and religious privileges as to-day. In these pages I have tried to give a bird's-eye view of the events of the centuries, the knowledge of which will, I trust, give us a better idea of the people, the country, and the problems before us as Christian workers. CHAPTER II British Rule in India IN the previous chapter I gave a summary of the leading events of the nation, and referred to the occupancy of the country by the East India Com- pany, and the refusal of Parliament to continue the charter of this company, and Queen Victoria be- coming Empress of India. Let us now see how the Indian government is carrying out the pledge which Queen Victoria made to the India people when she became empress in 1858. Broadly speaking, the pledge vv^as this: in matters of religion the government was to remain neutral, but in matters of justice it was to take a firm stand. There are times when these two fundamental prin- ciples conflict. In the mind of the Hindu custom be- comes a religious act. For centuries it was the custom of the Hindu to marry his daughter at a not later age than ten years. Medical missionaries in particular, and in fact the whole missionary body, saw the cruel wrong inflicted on these poor, innocent little girls, and they raised their voices so loud that the government heard and placed the legal age at twelve years. But unless some such wrong is practised the people may worship as they desire. Let us briefly glance at some of the benefits con- ferred on the people by British rule. 25 26 India and Daily Life in Bengal 1. Justice. In courts of law even-handed justice is meted out as far as possible. Now, I do not mean to say that all the people secure justice in the courts. If they did, many a man who is at liberty now would be behind prison-bars. I heard the superintendent of jails in Midnapore say that " the people of India were divided into two classes — those who were in jails and those who ought to be." Of course he was a pessi- mist; for all the people of India ought not to be in jail. Some should be there who are not, and some are there who ought never to have gone there. The great trou- ble is to get at the truth in a case, but when truth can be ascertained by an English judge or magistrate, he judges according to the principles of justice, let it hit whom it will. This the Indian people well know, and this is what the higher class of people do not like. This is something which has never been in their land before. They say, " How is it possible that I, a Brahmin, should be subjected to the same laws as a Sudra?" It is this equality in the eyes of the law that the high-caste people would gladly change. The same thing is true on the railways. If a Brah- min and Sudra pay the same fare they go into the same compartment. The Brahmin's head is high, and the poor Sudra begs many pardons for being forced into the same compartment, but objections are useless on the part of either. And each is finding that no great harm comes to them. 2. Famines. Some of the Indian newspapers try to hold the government responsible for the famines. The lack of rain is the cause of famines, and not even British Rule in India 27 an English government can control the rainfall, but some seem to think it can. But the government does a great many things which tend to mitigate the evil, and even in many cases to avert the evil. Formerly great famines devastated the country in places, and the rulers did nothing. They simply said it was their fate and they accepted it, and the people lay down and died by thousands. Under British rule there are thousands of miles of irrigation canals built, and thirty-two million acres are irrigated when necessary. If drought visits that part of the country which has no irrigation works and famine follows, the government institutes relief works, and in many cases actually feeds those who are too feeble to work. I could give chapters from my own experience along both of these lines of relief. 3. Schools. While it is true that there is no sys- tem of public common schools in India, it is also true that the government is doing much to help the people to an education. Formerly all education was confined to the highest classes, these claiming that lower-caste people had no right to an education. The missionaries began to educate all classes, and the government has boldly seconded their efforts, and the efforts of any Indian gentleman who has enough of public spirit and interest in education or philanthropy to try and es- tablish a school. There are technical schools assisted and some en- tirely supported by the government. There are also normal-training schools, and colleges, and universities which are almost wholly supported by the government. It has been my privilege to be connected with schools 28 India and Daily Life in Bengal in various ways and with different kinds of schools, and in furnishing schools and even building school- houses, and in all my work along this line I have found the government most considerate and helpful. If the government sees a disposition on the part of any one to promote education, it is ahvays ready to do its share. There are officers employed and appointed by the gov- ernment, from inspecting pundits up to inspector of schools, all of which are under the Department of Public Instruction, to see that the work is well done. And the people are beginning to feel the need of an education, and are gradually advancing along this line. 4. Hospitals. I believe I am safe in saying that there is no country in the world which has made such provisions for people who are ill from various dis- eases as India. All up and down the great trunk roads, for thousands of miles here and there, are free dis- pensaries and hospitals for the use of suffering travel- ers. In the large cities there are splendid hospitals on a large scale, many of which are absolutely free if you wish to enter a free ward. There are eye and ear infirmaries, where thousands are treated every year free of cost. We have sent a number of our native Christians to these for surgical operations, and all absolutely free. In one case where the girl had to have an operation for hair-lip, they gave her a set of false teeth. I do not say that all persons who come to these dis- pensaries are treated free, or that their wants are at once supplied. Many of these are in the hands of native doctors, necessarily, and their hands itch for British Rule in India 29 money. If a little is not forthcoming the patient may wait a long time. But this is no fault of the govern- ment. 5. Thugism. The Thugs were a caste of men who robbed and murdered unsuspecting travelers. Before starting out on their wicked errand, they would make an offering to the god Kali, and then their victims would be religiously murdered. During the hot months travelers often start on their journeys at three in the morning. These Thugs would join a company of travelers and allure one to the rear, and then throw a cloth around his neck and strangle him instantly and take his money, and the rest would know nothing about it. This has been wholly suppressed. 6. Telegraph lines. All the cities and more impor- tant towns, and even smaller towns all over the coun- try, are connected by telegraph lines, and the rate is very low indeed. These are not owned by syndicates who fatten from the profits, but are owned by the gov- ernment, and though the rates are so low they return a fair revenue to the country. 7. Postal department. Letter postage is but a cent a letter, and all other postal matter is in proportion. Parcel post universally prevails, and even sending by value-payable post is most common. By this latter method a person can send to a merchant and have an article sent, and the man who delivers the mail will collect the value, and for a small consideration the de- partment returns the amount to the sender. In every town of any size there is a postal savings- bank. Here the depositor gets three per cent on his 30 India and Daily Life in Bengal money, and it is as safe as the government. In this way small sums are saved which would not be other- wise. It is surely a great blessing to the man who earns but a small salary, and also to any person who has no money to lose by the breaking of banks. This chapter could be lengthened into a book if I should write of human sacrifices, suttee, female in- fanticide, and barbarous punishment of criminals sup- pressed, and of the many other things which were in common practice before the English took over the country. I am sure no disinterested person who is acquainted with conditions in India, will say that British rule is not for the good of the great mass of the common people. It is sometimes necessary to antagonize the classes for the good of the masses. A case in point will be the Bengal Tenancy Act. For ages it has been the habit of zemindars (landlords) to rent their land for so much per bega, or let it on shares. If there were a pilgrimage to make, or if there were a marriage in the landlord's family — which is a very expensive af- fair, or if there were a death — which is also attended with expense, the zemindar would simply figure up how much each acre of land 'must be assessed to pay the bills, and the tenants had it to pay. This act was to put a stop to such extortion. Under the old rule, if a tenant refused to pay these extra assessments he was simply dispossessed of his land. This act was to provide that not only could the landlord not levy these assessments, but that he could not dispossess the tenant if he had paid his rent for twelve successive years, and so long as British Rule in India 31 he continued to pay his rent. I happened to be in Cal- cutta on the eve of the passage of that bill, and there was a great demonstration on the part of the landlords against its passage. But the bill passed, and so secured the poor tenants a degree of help. But there are many ways in which the wily landlord evades the law, as I know from experience. It is sometimes urged that there is no sympathy be- tween the English officials and the natives, and that the English are autocratic to a most unpleasant degree. In cases this may be true, but so far as my observation goes it is not true of the higher officials. Where such lack of sympathy exists on the part of the English, it is more with clerks and non-officials. Still, the culti- vation of more sympathy is greatly to be desired on both sides. But while speaking of lack of sympathy, we must not forget that the Indian carries his caste prejudices with him everywhere. He refuses to sit at the table with the highest official. It may be urged that this is on account of his religion. That may be true, but whatever it may be which places one man so much above another that he cannot eat at the same table without becoming unclean, naturally creates a gulf between them. To this question of lack of sym- pathy there are therefore two sides. It is also claimed that the native Indians do not have enough voice in the government of their own country. For my own part, I never saw much force to this argument, though it has been used by native gen- tlemen to good effect, and also by Englishmen in Eng- land when there was some end to be gained. Every 32 India and Daily Life in Bengal office up to commissioner is open to the Indian who can pass the civil-service test. I grant you that these are severe tests. The whole man is taken into the ac- count. His physical, intellectual, and moral attain- ments are carefully considered. The examination pa- pers look very like the curriculum of a well-ordered college, but the tests are the same for all. To show what the real situation is with respect to British rule, and what it would be if ruled by a native king, let me quote a few words from among the many from the '' Indian Social Reformer." In reading this short paragraph, please remember that nearly half of India is ruled by native kings. This is what he says : " There is no native State whose subjects do not cast an envious eye on their brethren across the border which divides it from British territory. Even the most disaffected Indian carries his head somewhat high among his compatriots of the States because of his British citizenship. Educated men, unless employed in the service of the States, find the atmosphere cramp- ing and uncongenial, and are glad to settle down in British India." I am not writing a book on British rule in India. I am trying to say what I have to say in the fewest pos- sible words, but I cannot refrain from saying a word with reference to the partition of Bengal, for this has been assigned as one of the causes of the unrest. Lord Curzon while viceroy thought it would be for the best interests of the country to have the large province of Bengal divided, taking the eastern portion and uniting it to Assam, making a sixth province of British Rule in India 33 eastern Bengal and Assam. None but the purest motive can be assigned for this act. He simply thought the interests of the people could be better looked after than they could be by having the province of Bengal so large. The Bengalese of Calcutta were up in arms, and could not say bitter things enough against the viceroy and his council. Probably the greatest demon- stration ever seen in Calcutta was on the day previous to the passing of the bill. Many thoughtful persons feared a scene similar to the destruction of the Bastile in Paris. It might have been better to let the par- tition of the province remain over for some future statesman instead of adding fuel to the fire already smoldering, but he did the thing which no doubt was for the best interests of the country, and the future will demonstrate it. CHAPTER III Political Divisions and How the Country is Governed INDIA may be said to be divided politically into five divisions: (i) The Portuguese have two or three possessions; (2) the French have a portion, and a little more than the Portuguese; (3) there are two independent States in the northern part, Ne- paul and Bhutan; (4) there are one hundred and sixty native protected States, which embrace one-third of all the territory of India. These are ruled by native kings, who have with them, usually at their capital, a British resident. The work of the latter is to look after British interests, and to advise with the king on all important subjects. (5) There are six provinces directly under British rule, which embrace the most fertile parts of India. These provinces are the Punjab, United Provinces, Bombay, Madras, Bengal, and Eastern Bengal and Assam. It was under Lord Cur- zon that the latter province was created by taking the eastern portion of Bengal and uniting it with Assam, which formerly had been ruled by a commissioner. It was this act of Lord Curzon which made him unpopu- lar with the natives, and gave them an occasion to raise a great outcry against British rule in India. The Punjab has a lieutenant-governor as the high- est resident official. This is also true of the United Provinces. Bengal has a lieutenant-governor and a 34 Political Divisions 35 legislative council. Madras has a governor and two councils, which is also true of the Bombay Presidency. Eastern Bengal and Assam has also a lieutenant-gov- ernor. Aside from these six principal divisions, cer- tain provinces are governed by chief commissioners, as are also the Central Provinces — Berar, Ajmir, and Coorg. Below governors, lieutenant-governors, and chief commissioners, are commissioners. Provinces are divided into districts, and these commissioners have supervision over a certain number of districts; e. g., Bengal contained before the division one hundred and sixty thousand square miles, and had seventy mil- lion people. There were forty-five districts in this province and nine commissioners, giving to each an average of five districts, though all do not have the same extent of territory. The commissioner exercises supervision over the magistrate and collector, and periodically inspects their offices. At the head of each district is a magistrate and collector, who is virtually king under certain restrictions. A district of the aver- age size in Bengal is thirty-six hundred square miles, nearly as large as the State of Connecticut, and con- tains more than twice as many people as there are in Connecticut. Districts vary in size. Midnapore has a population of two and one-half million ; Balasore has a population of one million. The duties of the magistrate and collector are va- rious. He is supposed to exercise a paternal care over the people. He must travel throughout his district ninety days each year, to find out just what is needed. He must look over the roads, visit the hospitals and 36 India and Daily Life in Bengal schools, examine the crops, see if sanitation is ob- served, provide suppHes of rice and drinking water if there is a failure, look after the settlement or re- measurement of lands, which takes place once in twenty years, sometimes settle disputes between large land- holders, receive distinguished visitors, inspect liquor, and opium, and gunja shops, etc., etc. He is also chairman of the District Board, and must sign nearly every document. He has many cases to decide in court, and sometimes acts as an arbitrator. Districts are subdivided. In Bengal, for example, before the division there were eighty-one subdivisions. At the head of each of these is a deputy magistrate and collector, called also a subdivisional officer. He is sub- ject to the magistrate-collector, and refers matters to him when necessary. These are again subdivided into what are called thannahs. The thannah is the unit in the governmental and political arrangement. The whole arrangement is a wheel within a wheel, and yet the clock runs well and keeps good time. In each district there is a kutchery (courthouse) town. In this town the officers of the district usually reside, and here is where the treasury is found. Here are many lawyers, and here is where the people come to settle their grievances. In an ordinary kutchery town one will usually find these officers : ( i ) Magis- trate and collector ; (2) civil surgeon. This officer gets a fixed salary to attend to the bodily ailments of the civil servants of the government. He is at liberty to have also an outside practice. (3) Superintendent of public works. This officer has general supervision of Political Divisions 37 canals, roads, and public buildings. (4) Superintend- ent of police. His duties are to inspect the different police stations and keep the police department in run- ning order as nearly as possible. If the district is a large one, there are also likely to be some officers in the judicial line, as a judge and a joint magistrate. There may be also a superintendent of jails. As a rule these officials are friendly to missionaries, and invite them occasionally to dine with them. The officials mentioned are what are called " society people," and missionaries are regarded as being on a social equality with them. The wives of these officials may also be in the town, but it is more than probable that some, if not all of them, are in England. All of these offices may be filled by natives, and usually some natives are found filling them. Aside from these society people, there are some lower-caste people filling minor positions, as in the post-office and telegraph office. Quite often these are filled by Eurasians,^ and some- times by natives. There is also belonging to this class a district engineer, a police inspector, a deputy in- spector of schools, and one or more salt inspectors. Every officer gets a mileage for traveling ; so many of this latter class, who spend much of their time in going from place to place through their district, add largely to their income. Indeed, it is their duty to do this kind of work, so they are seldom found in the stations. Almost every night of the year the Europeans in government service meet together, either at the club- 1 Part European and part Asiatic. 38 India and Daily Life in Bengal house or in some private house. The time before dark is spent in tennis and conversation, and after dark with music and often dancing. Most Englishmen think " pegging " a necessity, and many indulge to excess. One of the saddest sights to be seen in India is so many fine-looking young Englishmen going down to premature graves through drink. This last remark has no relation to the government of India, and yet is true with respect to many government officials. It is a matter for profound thankfulness that '* pegging " among the higher officials is not, however, so frequent as it was twenty years ago. Another officer who is always to be found in a kutchery town is a munsiff. He is in the judicial line, and tries cases of a civil nature. The Hindus are very fond of going to law, and therefore this officer is a hard-worked man. His courtroom is open every day in the year, except on legal holidays, and he seldom or never gets his cases all off the docket. There are also officers who look after the revenue. The collector is at the head of this department, and he has with him quite a staff as inspectors and clerks. Perhaps there will be no better place than this to make a few remarks upon this question. The revenue of India is $370,518,000^: Land revenue, $105,- 460,000; opium, $27,611,500; salt, $16,533,000; stamps, $22,757,500; excise, $32,681,000; customs, $24,343,500; railways, $62,454,000; other heads, $78,- 677.500; total, $370,518,000. Certainly no missionary 9 These following are tht sources of revenue, and these figures are tftk«D from the latest official report, 1909-1910. Political Divisions 39 could apologize for the opium and liquor trade, and yet it will be seen that the revenue from both of these sources is much smaller than the revenue from the railways, and not one-half of what the revenue is from land taxes. It cannot, therefore, be said that India derives a large part of her revenue from opium and liquor. It is gratifying to note that the revenue from opium is ten millions of dollars less than it was twenty years ago, and that the Indian government has entered into an agreement with China to curtail gradually the ex- portation of the drug to China, if it sees that China is making an honest effort to stop the growing of the poppy. The tax on salt is less than half of what it was twenty years ago, while the revenue from the sale of stamps and also from railways has greatly in- creased. The unspecified heads in the table consist of revenues from income tax, forests, post-office, tele- graph, and an ad valorum duty of five per cent on imports, ferries, pounds, license for carrying firearms, etc. Some may be curious to know how salt is taxed. It is simply in this way : For every pound of salt which is imported from England, mined in the coun- try, or evaporated from sea water, the government requires a certain revenue. There are many places in Orissa where salt water oozes up from the ground and is evaporated by the sun, leaving deposits of salt. It is the duty of the salt inspectors to see that none of this salt is gathered by the poor people, and to see that no sea water is evaporated unlawfully. The revenue from liquor and opium consumed by the 40 India and Daily Life in Bengal people of India amounts to nearly forty million dol- lars annually. The policy of the government in fos- tering these industries, if we may call them industries, is to increase the sale rather than to diminish it. If the government would put her machinery as vigor- ously at work to repress these evils as it does to pro- hibit the illicit making of salt, no doubt drinking and opium eating could well-nigh be abolished. What I have said so far about the government of the country does not cover all the ground. At the head of all this complicated machinery of government is the viceroy. This officer was called a governor- general under the East India Company. He is ap- pointed by the King of England as his representative ; and he, with his council, is the highest legislative power in India. His council has two departments — execu- tive and legislative. Formerly there were six mem- bers in the former and in the latter from twelve to eighteen. Under Lord Morley, the late secretary of State for India, the legislative council was greatly en- larged. Since this was such a burning question in India, and occupied the attention of the statesmen of England for nearly two years, I will give in detail the constitution of this body. Those who are deeply interested in Indian affairs will be interested in this reform. It was considered one of the great advance movements of the century in the Oriental world. I copy from the official report : The legislative council of the governor-general shall or- dinarily consist of sixty members, of whom the number of Political Divisions 41 elected members shall not be less than twenty-five, and that of members nominated by the governor-general shall not exceed thirty-five. Of the thirty-five nominated members not more than twenty-eight may be officials, and there shall be selected non-official persons, of whom one shall represent the Indian commercial community, one shall be from the Mohammedan community in the Punjab, and one from the landholders in the Punjab. The twenty-five elected members shall be elected as fol- lows: By the non-ofificial additional members of the council of the governor of Fort St. George (Madras), two members. From the same class of the governor of the Council of Bombay, two members. From the same class of the council of the lieutenant-gov- ernor of Bengal, two members. By the non-official members of the council of the lieutenant- governor of the united provinces of Agra and Oudh, two members. By the non-official members of the council of the lieuten- ant-governor of the Punjab, one member. By the non-official members of the council of the lieuten- ant-governor of Eastern Bengal and Assam, one member. By the non-official members of the council of the lieuten- ant-governor of Burma, one member. By the district councils and municipal committees in the Central Provinces, one member. By landholders in the presidency of Fort St. George (Madras), one member. By landholders in the presidency of Bombay, one member. By landholders in Bengal, one member. By landholders in the united provinces of Agra and Oudh, one member. By landholders in Eastern Bengal and Assam, one mem- ber. By landholders in the Central Provinces, one member. By the Mohammedan community in the presidency of Fort St. George (Madras), one member. By the Mohammedan community in the presidency of Bombay, one member. 42 India and Daily Life in Bengal By the Mohammedan community in Bengal, one member. By the Mohammedan community of the united provinces of Agra and Oudh, one member. By the Mohammedan community of Eastern Bengal and Assam, one member. 'By the Bengal Chamber of Commerce, one member. It is seen from the foregoing constitution of the viceroy's legislative council, that great pains has been taken to have all communities represented. The viceroy's executive council is composed of five members, of whom three shall be servants of the crown of not less than ten years' standing. Of the remaining two, one shall be a barrister, or a member of the faculty of Advocates of Scotland of not less than five years' standing. The commander-in-chief of his maj- esty's forces in India can also be appointed as an ex- traordinary member of the council, and is generally so appointed. The viceroy is usually a nobleman, and is generally a fair-minded and capable man. His winter home is in Calcutta, and his summer home in Simla, a beauti- ful hill station north — up in the Himalaya Mountains. It is an event in Calcutta when the viceroy and his retinue return there, about December i ; and it is also an event in Simla when they arrive there early in the spring. He is a well-paid officer, and has the satisfac- tion of living in the finest climate in the world the year through. But his responsibilities are great; for in a measure the interests of three hundred million people are committed to him. He must be a man of great diplomatic ability, for there are wars of greater Political Divisions 43 or less magnitude a good deal of the time, and con- quered States or countries must be reconstructed. In his winter tours he must meet many of the kings of the protected States. In their great durbars, or public assemblies, he must listen to their speeches and requests, and reply so as not to give offense nor in any way commit himself if he does not choose to. He is open to the attacks of the native press, and these are often very virulent, for the freedom of the native press is run wild in India. More or less, he must give public receptions, and these must comport with his standing. Through the courtesy of Gen. Samuel Merrill, who was United States consul-general in Calcutta during part of the time we were there, Mrs. Griffin and I had an invitation to one of these receptions, it happening when we were in Calcutta on the eve of our first re- turn to America. The occasion was the visit of the Grand Duke of Austria. It was a very imposing af- fair. Native kings were there, clothed in garments literally covered with gold embroidery and precious stones ; army officers, with bright epaulets ; High-church officials, with their flowing robes and cardinal caps; and hundreds of Calcutta's best society people. The splendor and glitter were quite dazzling to our uniniti- ated eyes. How very weary Lord and Lady Lans- downe were, and how we pitied them ! We went away feeling that, after all, we would rather be simply mis- sionaries to the people, trying by teaching to lift them up, than to be the viceroy of India, who may have the same end in view, but must attain it through such wearisome and conventional methods. 44 India and Daily Life in Bengal The crown also appoints a secretary of State for India, a member of the Enghsh cabinet, who has as- sociated with him a council of fifteen members. These may annul the acts of the viceroy, or inaugurate new measures for the benefit of the Indian people. As a rule, harmony prevails between the viceroy and the secretary of State. The latter with his council re- mains in London. So much for the mere outline of the machinery of government as far as we have gone. The question of schools and government relation to them will be spoken of later on. This question is frequently asked me : *' Are the people well governed? and are they contented under English rule? " I confess I went to India prejudiced against English rule there. I said : " The English are there because they have the might, rather than the right ; and they oppress the people so that they may fat- ten on the spoils." But I have changed my mind. The people are far better governed than they could govern themselves. If their government were in the hands of native rulers there would be little security for justice, life, or property. For two thousand years, under na- tive rule, that was about the condition of things; and native character is no better now than it has been in the past — at least it is not enough better to insure any- thing like good government. All innocent natives to this day much prefer being tried by an English official ; for they expect justice so far as an English judge can find out what justice is in the midst of so much conflict- ing evidence. It is true that many of the natives are poor, very poor; but they are as prosperous and con- Political Divisions 45 tented as it is possible for them to be with their igno- rance, superstition, habits of Hfe, rehgion, and the land rent which must be paid to the landholders and to the government.^ There has been a start made toward self-government in the organization of district Boards, These are analogous to our State legislatures, with, of course, many more limitations. These Boards levy the rate of assessment, appropriate money for roads and schools, care for the pounds and ferries, and many other things of a similar nature. But as a body for lawmaking, or as one having authority of the internal affairs of the district, it is little more than a farce, as I can bear wit- ness after having been a member of one for seven years. It is a very good thing, perhaps, in the way of an educator, and at times as the source of information to the magistrate, who is also chairman of the Board; but it has no independent voice if the chairman does not agree. His wish is the law. s The one criticism upon British administration in India is the enormous salaries of officials and the method of raising part of this revenue, especially that part raised by the sale of liquor, opium, and gunjr.. The viceroy of India gets $100,000 a year ; the governors of Madras and Bombay, each $50,000; the three lieutenant-governors, $45,000 each ; members of the executive council of the viceroy, $35,000 each; judges of the high court, from $25,000 to $30,000 ; members of the civil service, as high as $20,000 ; military officers, from $2,000 to $10,000 ; medical officers, from $3,000 to $12,000. When we remember that there are various other departments, as forest, schools, salt, river and harbor, railroad, telegraph, public works, marine, ecclesiasti- cal, etc., and that proportionably well-paid officers are in all of them, we see the criticism is a just one. Though English officials do receive enormous salaries in India, the oppression of the land tenants is not so great where British rule prevails as where native rule prevails. CHAPTER IV Unrest in India I WAS in India when the first Indian National Con- gress was organized in 1885. Its sitting was in Bombay. The meetings then as now were con- ducted in Enghsh, it being the only language which all the educated people from the different parts of this great country could understand. There was then as now no test of membership, except that the members should be in sympathy with the aims of the congress. Then as now there was no system of elect- ing delegates, but every person who wished to attend and bear his own expenses was permitted to enroll himself as a delegate. I was in sympathy with the movement, for I thought it might go a long way to- ward unifying the diverse people of the land, and might result in bringing to the front the real cause of India's present condition. I was of the opinion then, and the years have only intensified that opinion, that India's greatest need was reform along social lines. There were some of the most thoughtful men of In- dia who were of the same opinion, and a Social Con- gress was attempted along with the National Congress. But the National Congress, which was purely political, so absorbed the attention of the greater part of the members, that all other issues were largely lost sight of in the loud clamor for political rights. 46 Unrest in India 47 The congress is divided into two parties known as " Moderates " and " Extremists." The object of both parties is to criticize government, the one in a moder- ate way and the other in a most rank, seditious way. The Indian gentlemen who support the govern- ment have no place in the National Congress. The Moderates say we want absolute independence, but we want to bring it about in a lawful and constitutional w^ay; while the Extremists say we will bring it about by rebellion and revolution if necessary. The very cry heard on so many public occasions where this class of people are assembled, '^ Bande Mataram," is very suggestive, and calculated to stir up the worst passions of men. " Bande Mataram " was the title of a song composed some years ago by B. C. Chatterje, a Bengali gentleman, in a historical novel, and was sung by certain fakirs when attacking British troops, and always insured victory. It is easy to see wdiat effect such a war cry would have on an excited multitude. It is really a salutation to Mother Kali, the goddess of cruelty. This unrest is not confined to any one place, but seems to be prevalent all over India among a certain class. The causes are not what the leaders of the Indian National Congress would have the people think. It is not that the great mass of the Indian peo- ple are suffering wrongs imposed by the government. They have great and terrible burdens, but they are not so great as under either Hindu or Mohammedan rule, and they are not burdens which the British or any other government could remove. They are more of D 48 India and Daily Life in Bengal a social nature, and such as their priests and landlords impose. If I quote the words of R. C. Dutt, it will have more weight than any opinion of my own, for he was at one time president of the National Congress, and was for many years in the India Civil Service, and is a native of Bengal and a scholar, historian, and poet. He says : '' Without an iota of education, or public spirit, or desire to do good to the people, the typical vil- lage zemindar (landlord) considers it the aim and ob- ject of life to extort the last penny from the impover- ished ryot (tenant)." Again he says: "Poor Ben- gal ryot! Hope for relief from a handful of alien rulers of the country, but from thine own country- men — never ! " Some would have us think that this unrest is wide- spread and all but universal. It is safe to say that nine out of every ten of the people of the land know nothing about the National Congress. Never heard the word! Not one in a hundred is dissatisfied with their rulers, and not one in a thousand is among the agitators. Among the more prominent of the latter are Surendra Nath Banerje and Bepin Chandra Pal in Bengal. Mr. Benerje is a fine orator, and was at one time connected with the India Civil Service, but is now most hostile. Lala Rajput Rai and Ajit Singh, in northern India, were most revolutionary in their agita- tion and were recently transported, but afterward par- doned. Sir Henry Cotton, an M. P. in England, who was once commissioner of Assam, and is even now I believe drawing a handsome pension from the Indian government, is doing much to foster in the minds of Unrest in India 49 these agitators a spirit of rebellion. Keir Hardie, a Labor member of Parliament, recently made a visit to India, and has probably done more than any other one man to encourage these agitators. He was lionized by the leaders of the National Congress, and it is said with them shouted '' Bande Mataram " ! William Jennings Bryan, who recently visited India, criticized adversely British rule in India, which added fuel to the fire. It is impossible to find out just what the people who clamor are clamoring about. Bepin Chundra Pal says in his paper, " We want to be absolutely free from British control " ; while others say, '' The people do not have a voice in the affairs of the government as do the people of other British colonies." But this is a decla- ration more to catch the public ear and create sentiment than to state a fact. These agitators do not want a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Sir Henry Cotton himself said : *' The basis of internal order in India is a patrician aristocracy of indigenous growth to control and lead the lower classes." Would a '' patrician aristocracy " control and lead the people in the interests of the people as well as they are controlled now? The words quoted above by Mr. Dutt might answer the question. Every man with a knowledge of India and its people would unhesitat- ingly say no. Would the constituency of Keir Hardie shout for this patrician aristocracy? Did Keir Hardie know he was standing for principles, in India, when he shouted '' Bande Mataram," which he denounces in England ? Did Mr. Bryan know he was advocating a 50 India and Daily Life in Bengal patrician aristocracy when he denounced British rule in India ? Yet this is what these agitators want in the end. It would still be the few governing the masses, and they would rule them with an iron hand for their own selfish ends. Everybody who is acquainted with Indian affairs knows of the disgraceful row which broke up the In- dian National Congress at Surat. If these men could not with decorum conduct a congress of this kind, how could they govern a nation ? In matters of justice it has seemed to me, as an impartial observer, that the courts dealt more severely with a European offender than with a native for the same offense. It is rare for a European to escape if he commits a crime, while the records of the police show that not one in a hundred of the natives who commit murder are ever punished. Recently an act has been passed by the viceroy's council making it a crime to publish seditious waitings or to make seditious speeches. The freedom of the press and of speech was a thing unknown in India until English rule permitted it. Even now in the native States there is no such thing as freedom of the press, but in those parts of India under British rule the press has been until now absolutely unrestricted, and they have taken this freedom to mean license. The most seditious and revolutionary utterances have been sent broadcast over the land. Every officer, from the vice- roy down, has been more or less a subject for vilifica- tion. There is not a civilized country on the face of the earth where such language with reference to the • ^.^r'S 'T**.^ rt*;.»v* >.^" ^ Bengal rural village A Bengal haaaar (business street) Unrest in India 5) government and its officers could have been used and the offenders go unpunished. These seditious utter- ances have been at the bottom of all riots and murders. The man who threw the bomb at Muzefferpore, killing two English ladies, has been hanged, and a true bill has been found against thirty-four other anarchists in Calcutta, all growing out of these seditious writings. I have talked with a number of educated and influ- ential Indian men in different parts of the country, and with very few exceptions they deplore the agitation. The great trouble has been that those who were satis- fied with present conditions have kept quiet, while the dissatisfied ones have made a great deal of noise, and they did it so long without any protest that they came to think that the whole country was with them. The agitators themselves have a very wrong concep- tion as to the benefits they hope to derive from inde- pendence. The fact is, there are but few thoughtful men among the agitators. Many of them are young men of irresponsible positions. If I give the gist of a conversation between two of these gentlemen and my- self it may fairly represent the dominant thought. These were well-educated men and used English per- fectly. They were around in a quiet way stirring up seditious sentiment in the Hindu villages. Knowing that I was in sympathy with the people of the coun- try, for I was there for only their good, they came to me and wanted to speak in our church. They began by complimenting me on being an American. A " citizen of a free country." I said: " Yes, it is a free country in a way. If one does wrong he is punished there the 52 India and Daily Life in Bengal same as here. We must pay our taxes in America the same as in India, and if we do not the government will seize and sell our land. If we violate laws we will be taken before courts there the same as here. In fact," I said, " I do not see but you are about as free as we are. Your life and property are safely guarded here. If you obey the laws of the land there is none to molest you." Then I said, " Suppose you were free as you wish to be, how would you govern yourselves? " " We would appoint Surendra Nath Banerje as our king." I told them that he would be the choice in Bengal, but down in Madras it would be some one else, and over in Bombay some one else, and up in the Punjab still another, and so it would be in all the six provinces of the country. And then these kings would soon quarrel, and then there would be wars between them. This had been their history all through the centuries of the past. Then I pointed out to them, that if they had a king in Bengal they could not run a government, because they were all divided up into hundreds of social grades, and there was no mutual trustfulness nor any community of interest. Then there were often bitter feuds between the Hindus and Mohammedans, and the British sol- diers sometimes had to step in to prevent great riots. I cannot say that they were converted, but I gave them permission to speak in the church and not a word was spoken about political freedom. Besides the educated and influential men who are in sympathy with the government, there is another class of intelligent men who have never come in contact with Unrest in India 53 Western thought. These are men in remote Hindu vil- lages, who are leaders of their people. I have never talked with one of these men who did not think that it would be a calamity for the British to withdraw from India. It is by no means a general unrest. CHAPTER V European Life in Bengal BROADLY speaking, Europeans in India may be divided into two classes, viz., '' society peo- ple " and those not in " society." The require- ments which admit one into society are va- rious. Blood has something to do with it. If an in- dividual is of a certain standing in the mother country, i. e., if he belongs to the " gentlemen " class, however low down he may commence in India in the service, he is still in society. On the other hand, if he is made of more common clay he must work up to a certain salary before he is admitted. One of our neighbors in Balasore, in the public works department, toiled on through the various grades, but had nothing to do with society people in a social way. He had a beauti- ful wife and a nice family, but in their evening drives and in their calls they in no way mixed with people outside their class. By and by, through strict attention to business, he was promoted until his salary touched the charmed number. This was the '' sesame " which opened the door, and henceforth the privileges of the select few were his to enjoy. By some rule, which I never quite understood, missionaries are " in society." As such, they are entitled to all the privileges of society, as also must they share its burdens. What these are we will consider farther on. 54 European Life in Bengal 55 To begin with, let us look at the life of the non- society people. And here too are various grades and such social distinctions that they can hardly be spoken of as a whole except that they are all out of society. The greater number of these non-society people are '' Eurasians." This is a word meaning part Euro- pean and part Asiatic ; i. e., those in whose veins flows the blood of these two races of people. And here too, there may be various degrees. I have seen Eurasians who wore the white coat and pantaloons and black felt hat, or sola topic — a dress which distinguishes them from pure natives, darker than many natives, and in fact as dark as any native. But a sixteenth or a thirty-second part of European blood brings them out of the native class and puts them with Eurasians, and they are classed, broadly speaking, as European. Many of these are as low in the social and mqral scale as it is possible to be. Some of them live as poorly as the poorest of the natives. They are an unfortunate class as a whole, and are one of the problems for the philanthropist and social reformer. Many of them have but a taint of native blood, and are highly re- spectable and useful members of society. Some who are half or even more native are good people and in- telligent, and occupy useful and responsible positions both in the government service, in mission work, and in business. In communities where a considerable number are found they have their own society. They meet for tennis and dinners, and in a general way ape society people. There are some outside society of pure European blood who freely associate with the 56 India and Daily Life in Bengal better class of Eurasians. I have also seen Eurasians in society, though but seldom. If the Eurasians are educated and receive a govern- ment or some other appointment, they are fortunate, indeed, for a competency is secured to them. If not, they are most unfortunate, for they cannot compete with the native in muscular labor. Society people are the other class. This class pre- sents a brighter picture, for in no country in the world will we find more refinement and greater luxury than we find in India among society people. As with non- society people there are many grades, so with society people there are great distinctions as to wealth and at- tainments and mode of living. In the chapter " How India is Governed," I told of some of the different officers and of their work, salary, style of living, etc. Let us now, for the time-being, forget any distinctions there may be in the grades and see them as a whole in their social and domestic life. I shall make no attempt to describe European life in Calcutta. In the first place, I am not sufficiently ac- quainted with it ; and, in the next place, if I should tell all I could, more space would be taken than the limits of this chapter will allow. I do not think that Cal- cutta life is really typical. Let us take either of the two cities in which we lived, Midnapore or Balasore. Both of these are " sta- tions," and are fairly representative. Here are a judge, a collector and magistrate, a civil surgeon, su- perintendent of jails, superintendent of public works, superintendent of police, it may be a joint magistrate, European Life in Bengal 57 and a number of other minor officers, and the mis- sionaries. The thing considered necessary for almost the very existence of Europeans in India is the early morning exercise. This is usually in the form of a drive or horseback ride. The cook is on hand early in the morning to prepare the chota-hazri (small breakfast), which consists of perhaps a cup of tea or chocolate, a banana, a slice of toast, and a boiled egg. The syce (groom) is there to get the horses or ponies ready, so that as soon as convenient one may commence the morning exercise. A half-hour's gallop on horseback sends the blood bounding through the veins, and makes one feel fresh and strong for the work of the day. Un- less duties are very pressing, most Europeans will spend from one-half to an hour in this kind of exercise. In another chapter I will speak of the domestic duties of the missionary's wife. What is true of her is also true to some extent of some of the society women, and especially those of limited means. Others pay but little attention to domestic affairs. They have competent servants to look after the buying and the preparation and serving of food. These same servants are also fully competent to see that a proper share of profits goes into their own pockets (figuratively speak- ing, for they have no pockets to speak of). The morning exercises being over, each man enters upon the duties of his office. I have also spoken of the kutchery. To this you will see the various officials going whose duties call them there. It happens in some parts of India that for three months they have " morn- 58 India and Dady Life in Bengal ing kutchery " ; i. e., the offices and rooms of the va- rious departments are open from 6 a. m. to 12 noon. This is during the hottest months of April, May, and June. When there is morning kutchery, work is con- tinued until noon, when the various officers go home and have their bath and breakfast, indulge in a mid- day nap, and are ready by 5 p. m. for the evening gathering. This will be as good a place as any to say that every bedroom has a bathroom attached to it. The floors of these are pucca, so that you may use water freely with no fear that it will leak through the floor. There are also conductors to carry the waste water away. Usually in these bathrooms there is one large earthen vessel, which will hold from four to eight pails of water, and two or three smaller earthen jars. The large vessel is placed on the floor, and the smaller ones on a ledge which separates the compart- ment where we bathe from that in which we dress. The bathing Is done by either pouring the water over one or by getting bodily in the large vessel, sometimes both ways. Some people have a servant both to pour the water over them and also to dry them, but usually the bather himself does this. Nine months in the year there is midday kutchery; I. e,, from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. In this case bath and breakfast are taken before going to work, and often a bath after the day's work is done. Now let us come to an hour in the day to which all society people look forward with pleasure, and for which it seems some of them live, and but for which life in India would to many be an intolerable burden. European Life in Bengal 59 I refer to the evening meeting at the clubhouse, if there is a clubhouse, or at some official's house if the station is too small to afford a clubhouse. Usually by five-thirty, and often before, the frequenters of the club will begin to assemble. Here is a tennis court, or perhaps more than one, and inside the building are bil- liard tables, tables for cards, sideboards for liquor, ta- bles for dining, and a room for dancing. Not infre- quently there is a large field near-by for polo playing. While daylight lasts the people are generally occupied with tennis, either as active participants or as specta- tors and commentators on the game. Some indulge in conversation. If it happens to be both gentlemen and ladies who are together, the men think they must oc- cupy their portion of the time by " small talk " to en- tertain the ladies. Men highly educated and capable of conversing on almost any subject intelligently and interestingly, will stoop to the most silly talk when conversing with a lady. I never understood the reason for this. It is not because the ladies are not capable of sensible conversation, as I can testify from personal experience. There is one peculiarity of twilight in India, and that is that there is almost none of it. The sun may be shining now, but in a few moments it has dropped behind the horizon and in a little time it is starlight. This fact in nature often stops a game half-played. Tea has been served and also something which both " cheers and inebriates," and now the party sit in easy- chairs and sip their tea and whisky and soda. There are very few men who do not take their '' pegs " freely 60 India and Daily Life in Bengal — and alas! many of them much too freely. Many a fine specimen of a man goes to an early grave from too much strong drink. His friends say, *' The beastly climate " ; or, " He had a touch of his liver." The climate is chargeable with many things for which it is not to blame. The ladies also frequently indulge, and some of them even to excess. Of course, they do not get drunk or disorderly, by any means, but I have seen them visibly influenced by wine and brandy and water. In our own station, for example, the evening was spent by society people in singing, banjo or piano playing, billiards, and sometimes cards. Station dinners are frequent; or, if not for the whole station, for smaller parties. To these dinners missionaries are frequently invited, and would no doubt be more frequently invited if they would more often accept the invitations. When the lieutenant- governor or any high official visits the station there is usually a State dinner, and at these functions after- dinner toasts are the proper thing. Sometimes the people indulge in small theatricals, and some very creditable playing is done. To be as happy and jolly as possible, and have the days swiftly speed by, is the desire of the heart of nearly every English official in India. I would not say that they are faithless in the discharge of their duty. On the other hand, they are, as a rule, faithful in the work given them to do. Society people in India, like those of England, are very particular concerning matters of etiquette. For example, if a person comes into the station it is European Life in Bengal 61 proper for him to call on all the people in the station of his class. If he does not call on any families he has told them plainly that he does not care for any social intercourse with them. We will say that the newcomer has moved into the station. He may be the magistrate. Almost the first thing, he will mount his dog-cart and make his calls. He drives up to the door and hands his card to the servant he may see. The servant, even though he is a sweeper, understands the meaning of this, for the native servants are quick to catch on to European etiquette. The servant hands the card to the lady of the house if there is one, if not, then to the gentleman, and a *' salaam " is usually taken back by this same servant. The word salaam is a common one in India and has many meanings. Sometimes it means " thank you," or it may mean " you are welcome," or it may mean a rebuke. In this case it means, " tell the gentleman to enter." Gentlemen always rise to meet gentlemen or ladies. The man makes but a short call, but he has done his duty and opens the way for you to call on him. On leaving, people never say, " Now come and see me." You are expected to go and see them. If you do not, the way is barred for any further social relations. Sometimes there is a good deal of jealousy in a sta- tion, and especially if a high official comes and leaves out some of the people from his list of expected calls. If a man and his wife call, or a larger party, a servant is ordered to bring on tea and biscuit, and the whole party will sit about the teapoys (tables) and sip the delicious India tea from delicate china teacups. 62 India and Daily Life in Bengal The biscuits are imported from England and Australia in hermetically sealed tins, and are of different brands and very palatable. In all well-regulated households a quantity of these is always on hand. The matter of personal appearance is as much sub- ject to society rules as anything else. A lady must not be seen by callers in a loose morning gown though it completely cover her person, while exceedingly low neck and short sleeves are all right for an evening- party. A gentleman will not come into the presence of a lady in his shirt-sleeves, unless it be at tennis, and then a white flannel shirt and no coat is quite proper. If your shoes are canvas and white, they should be made more so by applications of whiting; if black, the leather should be clean and shining. It is almost an unpardonable sin to appear in company with one's shoes not properly cleaned. These things are not matters of taste, but standards by which men are measured. European life in India would be far from complete with no reference to the children. In the first place, there is no doubt but the children are left far too much to the care of the native servants. The girl baby or child will have a female attendant (ayah), and the boy a male attendant (bearer). These do all the labor connected with the care of the children. They dress and undress them, feed them, bathe them, put them to bed, go with them for rides, drives, and walks, keep them out of the sun, play with them, receive the approval or disap- proval of the children with meekness, and often their European Life in Bengal 63 blows in silence. These servants are supposed to take the best of care of the children, who in turn become veritable little tyrants. It often happens that, when the parents suppose the children are having a delight- ful morning outing in the fresh air, they are off down in the native village at the home of the ayah or bearer, breathing the foul air ever present in these places. If foul air were all they inhaled, it would not be so bad, but vile conversation is often heard and unchaste sights are seen, until the young life is contaminated before it is able even to reason or scarcely talk. If the child is restless or fretful, the chances are that opium will be administered on the sly, for many of the natives think opium is a medicine which will cure all ills. Eternal vigilance on the part of the parents is the price of the health and morals of European children born and reared in India. It is generally customary for the mother to take the children home to England, and stay with them during the school days. Now, however, there are excellent schools in Darjeeling, Nina Tal, and Landour for European children, and the climate is all that one can desire. But the moral influence one can only escape by leaving the country. To put in a single chapter of twenty pages or less what might fill a volume is, of course, impossible. I have given a glance at the landscape. We catch the prominent points, the hilltops, the lakes, and streams, and deep gorges, but the details — the trees and grass, the houses, fences, and flowers — we must leave imagi- nation to supply. E CHAPTER VI Roads, Highways, and Waterways INDIA is a country of extremes, and the statements made by different people are so very different that we often think somebody is stretching the truth. It is safe to say that India has the worst and the best roads in the world. As an illustration, let me give a bit of personal experience : At one time I wanted to visit a bungalow, or rest-house, which was in quite a remote part of the district. Near this bungalow, as is very often the case, was a police outpost and thannah. The name of the place was Bhograi. I had never been there, so I knew nothing of the road, but was told by several natives about there that it was only six miles from where I was camping, that the road leading to the place was good, and that I would have no trouble in reaching my destination. Traveling in the middle of the day is not safe at any season of the year on account of the heat, so I waited until about 3 p. m. before starting. I took with me a bhangy wallah, which means a man with a bam- boo pole across his shoulder, to the ends of which are suspended by means of ropes two burdens of equal weight. This man went to carry provisions, water, and some blankets for bedding. I had also a cook with a few, very few, cooking utensils, and a man to look after the pony. Two of my native preachers 64 Tenting in Bengal Off for cold-scasun work in tents or bnngaloK's Roads, Highways, and Waterways 65 were with me. I mounted the pony and away we started in fine style. We had not gone more than a mile before we came to a large tidal river, and as there was no way to get the horse across except to swim him, which was un- safe on account of the deep mud on either side, I sent him back with the man who cared for him, and the rest of us got in a dugout and crossed the river. Be- fore I could land I had to take off my shoes and stock- ings and roll my pantaloons up as far as possible. This was made necessary on account of the deep mud through which we must wade before getting on dry ground. We helped each other, and wallowed through as best we could. I found a place to wash my feet and legs, and putting on my shoes we started out briskly for our bungalow, which was now but five miles away. We had not gone very far over the rice fields be- fore we came to a tidal khal. These are natural canals making back from the rivers and the sea. When the tide is in they are full, and when out they are empty. There is always plenty of mud in the bottom. This time the mud and the water were a foot deeper than we had calculated on, with a corresponding re- sult to our clothing. As we found these khals nu- merous, we gave up putting on and taking off shoes and stockings ; and, barefoot and with shoes and stock- ings in hand, we went on, winding now through the narrow street of a village, again through a khal, and then through a rice field, and did not reach our bunga- low until nine o'clock. We found it stripped of every piece of furniture; so, getting a few sheaves of rice- 66 India and Daily Life in Bengal straw from the village, we made our bed upon the hard stone floor and rested, contemplating the luxury of traveling over " good roads." To reach most of the Hindu villages of southern Bengal during the rainy season, one would pass through a similar experience. The produce is taken in and out on the backs of bullocks, the shoulders of men, and the heads of the women; and one may look in almost any direction, and he will see these coming and going over the little winding dams, which separate the small rice fields from each other. These are the lowest grade of roads, and constitute three-fourths of all the roads. The next higher class of roads are the kancha roads of the country. Let us understand the words kancha and pucca before we go any farther, for they are such significant words that they have become Anglicized. Kancha means incomplete, and pucca the opposite. Kancha may be applied to a poor road, to unripe fruit, to a man who lacks a little in intelligence, to a poorly constructed house, or to a poor job of work of any kind. The greater portion of the country roads of America would be called kancha in India. These roads may be found every five or six miles apart, leading out from some larger village to a main trunk road, which runs, I think, through every district in the country. One is liable to many different kinds of experiences in traveling over these roads. In Bengal they are usually narrow turnpikes, and the bridges are quite often made of wood. The floods may wash the turn- Bringing in rice sheaves from the Held Bringing rice to market Roads, Highways, and Waterways 67 pike away, or the natives may steal the planks from the bridge. If one starts with an ox-cart or a horse- cart over one of these roads, he is not quite sure how far he can go. Especially is this true in the rains, or immediately after the rains. But when we come to the pucca roads, we come to the best that can be made. Take the pilgrim road for an example. It starts, we might say, as far up as Delhi, and runs down through the country to Puri. It is a thousand miles long. The roadway is from one hundred to a hundred and fifty feet wide, and the turn- pike is forty feet wide, and from two to ten feet high. It has metal put upon it, either gingta, a hard nugget of limestone, or laterite, a mixture of iron and stone. These are spread upon the road, then thoroughly satu- rated, and beaten down by men with iron beaters and allowed to bake in the hot sun. This is a pucca road, and is almost as hard and smooth as dressed stone. Peepul, banyan, and mango trees are planted along the roadside, so as to furnish grateful shelter to the traveler. Many of these were planted years ago by the government, and are now so large that they form in places beautiful avenues. All of the public roads are built and maintained by the government. People do not pay their road tax by doing a day's work as at home, and then putting in a day on the road, all inside of fifteen hours. One path-master does not throw up an embankment and another tear it down, but compe- tent engineers have charge, the work is let by contract, and when completed it is inspected. No one who is acquainted with Indian character and ways of doing 68 India and Daily Life in Bengal things will say that the money appropriated is all honestly expended; but it is, comparatively speaking, fairly well expended, and the good roads are kept in good order, and other roads are being constantly im- proved. The bridges on these turnpike roads are either iron or brick, and very substantial. No description of a road would be complete, es- pecially for Bengal, without reference to the ferries. We must bear in mind that this part of the country is level, and the banks of the rivers are usually low, so the difficulty of making bridges is great. Then again, the very heavy rains fill these more than full, so that sometimes they are many times their usual width. Therefore ferries are in most places substituted. Do not think of a Brooklyn ferry, or even of a Western river ferry of this country, with an anchorage up stream, but of a ferry propelled by men with long bam- boo poles, whose principal business is not to see how quickly they can get you across the stream, but rather to see how much time they can consume, and how much baksheesh they can get out of you. This, of course, does not include the toll for the use of the ferry. As one side at least of almost every river has a low, sandy bottom, the ferry is propelled until the bottom strikes the sand; then planks are put down, and the cart and carriage are run out into the water, and the traveler sits on the hands of the boatmen, who unite their strength to carry him out to dry ground. We do not so much object to putting our arms around the neck of each of these men, but sometimes the ladies would rather be excused. But it must be done, all the same. Roads, Highways, and Waterways 69 Then the sand is deep and wide, and the oxen or horses cannot draw the load, and must therefore be assisted. These boatmen are always ready, for a consideration, to help turn wheels. Europeans can get across rather quickly, say in from one to two hours, but sometimes the poor native cartmen have to sit in the sand from six to eight hours, awaiting their turn. Aside from roads, the government has made canals as highways in many places. Some of these answer the double purpose of a watercourse for boats, and irriga- tion for the rice fields, and some are for irrigation alone. Both classes of canals irrigate thirty million acres. Any man has the privilege of putting a boat on the canal, but must pay a lock fee according to the capacity of his boat and the distance he goes. Among the provisions made by the government for its officers are rest-houses along these roads and canals. These are called bungalows and are classified as inspection bungalows and dak-bungalows. At the latter a cook is kept, and one can always order a meal. At the former one must furnish his own cook and food. There are very few dak-bungalows in Bengal. These buildings are situated on as desirable a site as can be found, and are about ten miles distant from each other. They are generally divided into two apartments, each consisting of one room and a bath- room. The furniture for each apartment consists of one bedstead, one table, two or three chairs, and some- times a stand and a commode, and a large earthen jar for bathroom purposes. In traveling, therefore, a per- son must take with him his bedding, food, light, water 70 India and Daily Life in Bengal for drinking, and anything else he may need in a jour- ney. At any time of the day or night he may go to one of these bungalows, call up the watchman, and take possession, providing the building is unoccupied. The right of occupancy depends upon the grade of the officers occupying it. Any European has a right to the building, if unoccupied, by paying one rupee a day. When five or six people wish to stay at one bungalow over night, where there are only two beds, some amu- sing and interesting experiences take place. The only time I ever was in jail over night was on an occasion of this kind. We were going to our an- nual meeting at Midnapore. There were six of us in company, and we had planned to stop at a certain bun- galow. We thought our large wagon would furnish a bedroom for two, and the two beds of the bungalow would do for the rest of us. As we came near the bungalow, tired and hungry, the shades of night were gathering. We congratulated ourselves that food, shelter, and rest were not far away, but a little closer view disclosed the fact that the building was full to overflowing of English officials and their wives. We moved on to the bazaar, took our supper under a tree, and found a shelter for ourselves ; i. e., we men in the jail near-by, while the ladies slept in the wagon. RAILWAYS. The first railroad in India was completed in 1853. It ran from Bombay to Tanna, a distance of three miles. During the mutiny of 1857- 1858 the govern- Roadsy Highways, and Waterways 71 ment saw how badly it was crippled for want of means to transport the soldiers, and firmly resolved that if the country should ever see another mutiny it would not be thus unprepared. As soon, therefore, as the mutiny closed, the scheme of Lord Dalhousie, which had previously been before the country, was at once acted upon. This plan was to have a few trunk lines traverse the country, connecting the large cities and the military stations, and then construct shorter roads, as feeders, to connect with these. From that small beginning of 1853 the work has gradually, but for India rapidly, extended. In 1878 there were eight thousand miles of railroad, and in 1890 sixteen thou- sand miles. It may be of interest, since this part of the public works has advanced so rapidly, and since govern- ment critics have made so much of the way the rail- ways are exploiting the people, to speak more fully of these. The statesmen of India saw that railways were a necessity if the country was to be developed. All must now admit it, though at the commencement a tremendous opposition was manifested on the part of the people. Indeed, it is fairly presumed that the building of the first railway had more to do with pre- cipitating the mutiny than any other one thing. Now all the people see their great advantage. Seeing the necessity was one thing, and building the roads another. The native gentlemen of means would not put their money into anything so uncertain as a railway. Eng- lishmen were afraid to invest, for they had no assur- ance that the people of the country would patronize a 72 India and Daily Life in Bengal railway. At length the following plans were evolved. There are four distinct plans by which railways are built, so far as the funds are concerned : 1. *' Guaranteed lines." The government said to capitalists : " You build a railway through a certain section of the country, and we will guarantee you four per cent and in some cases five per cent on your invest- ment. We reserve the right to have a director on the Board to look after our interests. We shall also have half of the percentage over and above your guaranteed interest. We also reserve the right to take over the road after the expiration of the time for which we have guaranteed you the interest, by paying to you the cash you have actually invested." This was a fair proposition, and secured some of the best roads there are in the country. 2. " State lines." These are built by the govern- ment outright. It equips the road, and in some cases runs it. In other cases the road is leased for a term of years. 3. '' Assisted lines." The government makes certain guarantees with reference to interest, but each road proposed is considered by itself, and assisted according to the merits of the case. 4. " Native State railways." These are built by the kings or rajahs of independent native States. I have said that the government reserved the right to buy back the roads. As a matter of fact, the gov- ernment has taken back eight of the best-paying roads of the country. The East India, the finest road in the country, was taken over in 1880, and the Great North- Roads, Highways, and Waterways 73 ern Peninsula, with its three thousand miles o£ track, in 1900. In most cases the old companies are working the lines on a percentage. The roads are well built. Steel rails weighing from seventy-five to eighty-five pounds per yard are laid, and the ties are for the most part iron *' chairs." The average rate of all classes of passengers is less than one-half a cent per passenger per mile. This low aver- age is reached by the great bulk of the travel being third-class, but the rate in the intermediate is less than one cent per mile, and these are very comfortable com- partments. Notwithstanding these low rates, the average of all the roads in India pays over five per cent on the investment. Some pay ten per cent. One may argue that cheap labor may account for it. But there are seventeen thousand European employees, and the pay of these is large. Last year there were two hundred and seventy-one million passengers, who traveled on an average forty miles each, and only one hundred and sixty-four of these passengers were killed. Add together the killed passengers, employees, and suicides, and there is a total of one thousand six hundred and fourteen. Under Lord Curzon six thousand two hundred and fifty-five miles were built, and under his successor. Lord Minto, about four thousand miles. There are now thirty thousand miles completed and several thousand in process of construction. The platform at each station is as long as the train, and is considerably elevated above the track for the 74 India and Daily Life in Bengal whole length. In the more important stations, it is nearly on a level with the floor of the *' carriages," and so is very convenient. When the train comes to a halt the guards open the doors, and the passengers get in and out. Those get- ting in are looking for their ** class " ; for the train has usually four classes of carriages. First-class is very fine — more commodious than, and fully as elegant, as our drawing-room cars. The second-class is only half the price of the first, and is good enough for any per- son. The intermediate costs half the price of the second, and is very good. Most missionaries ride in these compartments. Eight people can sit in one, but so few Europeans travel intermediate that usually each one can have a whole seat to himself when sleeping- time comes, for there are two shelves above which can be let down for this purpose. If the compartment hap- pens to be full, one does not sleep in very much com- fort; but even then there is more room than in a sin- gle seat in an American car. The next class below is third-class, and the price is but half the intermediate. The seats are simply boards, and the people are usually so crowded that lying down is impossible. They are necessarily com- partments for zenana women. All third-class pas- sengers, whether coolies or Brahmins, are hustled into their places as soon as the cars stop. At first the Brahmin looked horror-stricken at being put in the same compartment with a low-caste man, but he must go all the same. High and low have found that no harm comes to either by sitting together, so the rail- Roads, Highways, and Waterways 75 roads have not only afforded cheap facilities for travel, but have been a great educator. RIVERS No one can look at a map of India without being impressed with the thought of how important a part the rivers form of the great highway for commerce. Probably there is no river in the world where such a variety of shipping can be found as on the Ganges River, between Calcutta and the sea. The Ganges River is larger than the Mississippi, and the Indus is one of the great rivers of the world. The Brahmaputra, though carrying a less volume of water than the Ganges, is about as long. In fact, these three rivers rise near the same place, though they drain nearly all India. There are a few large rivers which empty into the Bay of Bengal on the east coast, but these do not compare with the rivers mentioned. One strange thing about these latter is that at their mouth there is no harbor. There is not one natural harbor on the whole east coast of Bengal. In another chapter I have spoken of the boatmen. CHAPTER VII Architecture WHAT kind of houses do they have in In- dia ? " I could not answer that question in a single sentence. In general, the houses may be divided, into pucca and kancha. These words are used in the same sense as when ap- plied to roads. Then there are peculiar styles of build- ings, according to the use which is to be made of them. The mosques and tombs of the Mohammedans are not at all like the temples of the Hindus. Minarets, round- topped, cone-shaped domes, and arches characterize the former, while sharper pinnacles and domes characterize the latter. In large cities there are blocks not very dif- ferent in appearance from buildings in England and America. There are some very beautiful buildings in all of these three styles. The greater number of the Hindu temples are built of brick, and plastered with lime-and-sand mortar out- side and in, on the walls. Generally, in addition to the plaster, there are figures in stucco work both in- side and outside, representing different things in their mythology and sacred books. According to our tastes, these figures often represent lewd subjects. The better class of native gentlemen's houses are built of the same material as the temples. Very little wood is used in the construction of any of these build- 76 A typical house of the wealthy class, Bengal A temple of Juggernath Architecture 77 ings, and in temples often none at all. Where doors are required, scantlings, four inches square, are taken to make the frames for the same. These are tarred to keep the white ants from eating them, and so put to- gether that the ends at the top and bottom fit into the solid brick wall a foot or more. All partitions are made of brick from the foundation, the same as the outer walls, and built up with them. The floor is made by first putting in earth enough to raise it up a foot or more above the level of the ground. After this is beaten down as hard as possible a layer of brick is put down, and upon the brick is laid a thick coat- ing of material made of equal parts of broken brick, gravel, lime, and coarse sand. This is wet, and beaten day after day until it becomes very hard. Lime is then wet, ground between two stones until it becomes like putty, and then plastered on the floor, and trow- eled, and wet, and beaten until it is almost as hard and smooth as marble. This is the way the floors of nearly all the houses of the missionaries, native gen- tlemen, and English residents are made. Some very fine residences and buildings have floors of porcelain, English tile, or marble. If the house has two stories, the upper floor is made by putting heavy timbers or iron beams from wall to wall, about three or four feet apart. From beam to beam light timbers or irons are put a foot apart, and on these a square native tile is laid double thickness, and so laid as to break joints. Then the same broken brick, lime, and sand are used, and put down in the same manner. The roof is put on in the same way. 78 India and Daily Life in Bengal This explains why we can go upon the housetop to sit, and even to sleep at times. It often happens that white ants make their way up through these brick walls and devour the wooden beams which support the chamber or the roof. After a time the beams are eaten to a shell (for one can never see the white ants at work), and then comes the interesting work of " changing a beam." The natives are slow and awkward, so lime, brick, dust, and litter are about for many days. Also much ordering and loud talking are heard, for every man wants to boss the job. It often happens that the walls of a house are made of brick, while the roof is made of thatch. The most beautiful and costly buildings belong to the Mohammedan style of architecture. These abound in northern India, and are either mosques, palaces, or tombs. The palaces of Delhi and Agra are exquisite works of art; the tomb of Akbar at Secundra, near Agra, is magnificent; the tomb of Edmud-ud-dowlah is a perfect gem ; but the Taj Mahal, built by the Em- peror Shah Jehan in honor of his favorite wife, eclipses them all. The gateway is a magnificent structure of red sandstone, but serves only as a fit entrance to the tomb itself. From the gateway to the Taj are marble walks, with a hundred fountains on one side, and tall cypress and many other kinds of beautiful trees on the other. The tomb stands upon a double platform. The first is twenty feet high and a thousand feet long, and is made of red sandstone. At each end of this lower platform is a mosque made of the same material. The second platform is built in the center of the first, is Building a house for the poorer class The Taj Mahal, Agra Architecture 79 three hundred and thirteen feet square and eighteen feet high, and is built of pure white marble. On the four corners of this platform are marble minarets one hundred and thirty-three feet high, with winding stair- ways in the center, from bottom to top. On the top is a balcony, and the outlook from this is perfectly en-- chanting. In the center of this platform rises the Taj, one hundred and eighty-six feet square, with the cor- ners, to the extent of thirty-three feet, cut off, forming an irregular octagon. In the center is the great dome, fifty feet in diameter and eighty feet high. Exactly under the center of this dome are the marble sar- cophagi of the emperor and his wife. The light is ad- mitted through trellis work, wrought exquisitely in slabs of white marble, producing the most soft and chastened effect. In many places precious stones are inlaid in many kinds of designs. The echo is not the least wonderful thing about this structure. If one stands by the marble coffins and sings, he will be surprised at the melody which comes back to him from his own voice. As it begins to ascend, it sounds like the very lowest notes of a great pipe organ, but as it ascends, it becomes more distinct and musical. The higher it rises, reverbera- ting from side to side, the more soft and sweet it be- comes, till at last, as it dies away in the top of the dome, one might fancy the angels were whispering his song back to him. I have thought how very like to this are the sorrows of life — harsh and discordant at first, but as they ascend heavenward they are robbed of their harshness, and at last they come back to us glorified. 80 India and Daily Life in Bengal We went into the crypt of the Pantheon at Paris to see the resting-place of Victor Hugo, Voltaire, and Rousseau, and the guide for a consideration wanted us to hear the echo of this place, but it bears no com- parison to the echo of the Taj. Some one has said that the Taj is '* a poem in marble." But let us pass from poetry to prose, from this fairy place to the common houses of the people. There is only one Taj, and one Imimbarrah, and a few palaces, but there are millions of houses of the common people, and nineteen out of every twenty of the people live in these common houses. Let us proceed to build one. We first count our money to see what kind of house it is to be. If we have five dollars we plan accordingly, and if we have twenty-five dollars we can do much better. Suppose it be the latter sum. We call men whose business it is to build mud walls, and tell them how large a house we want, and how many " hands " there will be in the walls. After a good deal of bickering, they agree to take the customary price of eight cents a hand for lay- ing up the walls. That is, the walls are to be seven and one-half feet high, and for each foot and a half in length of this wall they are to have eight cents. We furnish them with two or three large, heavy hoes, a half-dozen waterpots, and a long string of twisted grass or jute, and they are ready to build the house. First a string is put around where the outside of the walls are to be. This is secured at the four corners by pins driven into the ground. Inside of this string is another, the distance from the outside string which the Architecture 81 thickness of the wall is to be. The ground between these two strings is dug up, wet, and worked by the feet and big hoes, until it becomes a mortar. It then bakes in the sun until it is hard. A little way outside the walls a hole is dug, from which mud is taken to build the walls. First a layer a foot high is put on and allowed to stand a week or so, that it may be hard and dry. Then another one is put on, and so on, layer after layer, until the wall is the desired height. Bam- boo poles are put on for rafters, and these extend about three feet over the walls. Across these rafters split bamboos are tied about two inches apart. Upon this the rice-straw is laid smoothly, and fastened to its place by another strip of split bamboo. The fastening is done by putting a long bamboo needle, which has a string attached to it, down through the straw, around a rafter, and up over the split bamboo, tying the string securely. If the outside walls were twenty by forty feet, it does not argue that the roof will cover all that space. Two cross walls are made, leaving an open court in the center. There is but one outside door, with a few small holes for windows. Around the out- side of the house is a mud veranda, covered by the projecting roof. This veranda is the reception-room for men who may call, and especially for strangers. There are a few wooden bars put in the windows, and a small door to keep out the cold air in winter and to keep in the smoke. The cooking is frequently done in one corner of the room, allowing the smoke to get out the best way it can. In northern India, as also in southern India, we see 82 India and Daily Life in Bengal very little straw thatching. There tile is used. In fact, most of the native shops in Calcutta are covered with tile. Many of the aborigines live in huts covered with grass, or the leaves of a scrubby palm. The roof and walls are one and the same, and the people enter these houses by crawling into them. We see, therefore, that there are all kinds of buildings in India, from the hut just described to the Taj Mahal, which took twenty thousand men twenty years to build. CHAPTER VIII Productions, Natural and Otherwise BENGAL is, strictly speaking, a rice country, and northern India a wheat country. These two grains are the staple of the dishes of the peo- ple. A number of varieties of the pulse family grow on higher and more sandy land. Some of the grains of these are as large as our common pea, others are much smaller. These several varieties have dif- ferent names, but in general are called dal. A good deal of millet and of inferior grains of that kind is raised north. Flax is raised, and oats and corn, on the lower ranges of the Himalayas. There is quite a variety of roots. The sweet potato does well on the plains, and the Irish potato in the mountains and on the west coast. There is a large kind of radish which may be eaten either raw or cooked, and which is produced in large quantities. Artichokes, yams, and the roots of the caladium are also articles of food. Many kinds of vegetables grow well. There is a large variety belonging to the gourd family, as squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, and muskmelons, citron, and other varieties not produced in America. Almost all kinds of European vegetables may be raised in Bengal and farther north in the winter season. The eggplant is extensively cultivated in many parts of 83 84 India and Daily Life in Bengal Bengal in the winter. There are many other kinds of native vegetables with which we in America are wholly unacquainted. All European vegetables are very tasteless in India compared with the same thing in America. A great variety of fruit is raised, but as a rule a great variety is not grown in any one place. Bananas are the most common. Pineapples, custard apples, mangoes, jack-fruit, bael, papayas, and guavas are, aside from bananas, the principal fruits of Bengal. Assam produces oranges and lemons; and a large sweet orange is grown, as are also sweet limes, farther north. The Afghans bring down fresh grapes, apples, raisins, and nuts. Cocoanuts grow more or less in many parts of the country. Sugar-cane plantations abound. The natives manu- facture a coarse brown sugar, from which they make their native sweets, and from which also great quanti- ties of refined sugar are produced in Calcutta and else- where. Jute and opium are among the exports, also oils of different kinds, as cocoanut, mustard, and castor oil. Sheep, goats, cows, and buffaloes are among the most useful and common of animals. From the milk of the cow and the buffalo the natives make a butter which, when melted and clarified, is called ghee. This is most important, as it enters into almost every well- cooked meal, whether of the European or the native. In Calcutta and other large cities which have rail- road communication with other parts, almost every kind of these fruits and vegetables may be found, but Productions 85 in the more secluded and remote places the question of getting a variety to eat at times becomes a trouble- some one. At Balasore we could get mangoes in May and June, custard apples in July and August, jack-fruit at the same time, and also pineapples, while bananas grew the year round; but the supply was liable to be short, and if so we must go without. " What do the people eat ? " This is a most common question. We could answer it in a general way by say- ing they eat about what the country produces. There are some things a good Hindu will not eat. He never takes life of any kind, and therefore will not eat flesh of any kind, except, in some places, fish. Then a third of the people do not get enough of the plainest kind of food to satisfy their hunger. These must eat the cheap- est things they can get In the mango season this fruit is eagerly eaten from the time it is as large as a plum, up to the time it ripens. When ripe it is as large as a large apple. It is not because the country does not produce enough for the people to eat that many do not have enough, but because they are too poor to buy it. There are millions of bushels of rice and wheat shipped from India every year. Leaving out the very poor, who do not have regular daily meals of cooked food, let us see what those eat who do. In Bengal boiled rice and boiled split peas, called dal, is the principal thing. The rice is boiled, and the water turned off into a separate dish. The rice is then put back again on the fire for a few minutes, when it comes off dry and fluffy. In the dal some mustard oil or ghee, and salt, pepper, and other spices are put. 86 India and Daily Life in Bengal The natives take their rice and put it either upon a brass plate or a banana leaf, make a hole in the center, into which they turn the dal, and then proceed to mix the whole together with their fingers. Their table is a grass mat spread upon the floor over which may or may not be spread a cloth, and their chairs are their legs crossed under them. The male members of the family eat first, while the other portion waits upon them. The women have their meals afterward, if there is enough for all. In place of the dal they frequently make a curry with either vegetables or fish for a foundation, having otherwise about the same seasoning as the dal. Onions and huldee (a pungent root) enter into almost all of their well-cooked dishes. They make a pudding from rice, milk, and sugar, seasoning it with camphor. This is eaten only on rare occasions. The wealthy are very fond of sweets, and eat a great many. They have a very great variety of these. If a person calls on a native gentleman, and he wishes to be very cordial, he sends out a servant to the bazaar to bring in a tray of mixed native sweets. Many Europeans do not care for these, but I was very fond of them. The water turned from the rice of the last night's dinner consti- tutes the breakfast of most of the laboring people in the rice districts. In upper India wheat is ground whole and baked into cakes; this takes the place of rice in Bengal. "What do you missionaries eat?" Rice, dal, and curry, are much more largely eaten in India than in America ; but, aside from these, if one lives in a city like Calcutta he can get many of the same things he can get F *_-.. jj^^j^^Kmni^ ^jiR-'^^^^ Rl^HP*^^^^^^H i € -• ' J^^^m^p*r^^^. — "" *'» ^ ^^""j^jgHttRiLt j^ y^ pilgrim preparing his cokes by the roadside Productions 87 at home; i. e., if he has the money, for what is not pro- duced in the country is imported from England, Aus- traha, and the United States. But back in remote stations it is a very different thing. As I said, you are for fruits largely dependent upon local supply, which may fail. No beef can be had, and but little mutton and fish. Chicken, poor and tough, is the only thing one can be sure of in the meat line, and even then he must look sharp or the supply may run out. Gen- erally one can get what eggs he needs, and milk, if he keeps his own cows. We have taught native Christians how to milk to suit us, and could buy milk of them. We never think of using the milk from an ordinary Hindu village. They have a way of cleaning dishes and flavoring milk which we have not been educated into liking. One can get about what bread he needs, but it is not very good; also in the winter, vegetables from the garden; and in the rains, native vegetables. As a rule, the eating habits of the natives are simple, and so are those of the missionaries. I would hardly recommend any person, however, to go to India for the sake of what he might get to eat. Some years ago the government started near Ali- gurh, in north India, an experimental dairy farm, and called Edward Keventer, an expert from Sweden, to manage it. He demonstrated that good butter could be produced in the country. After this fact was es- tablished, Mr. Keventer bought the plant from the government and has greatly enlarged the business, so that now good butter may be sent by rail or parcel- post to any home in India. CHAPTER IX Climate YOU may have in India almost any kind of cli- mate your means and taste may suggest. In the north you may go up the Himalaya Moun- tains until you come to the fields of perpetual ice and snow. These are not the ordinary snow-capped mountains, but those grand ranges whose cold summits seem to pierce the very sky. It is not necessary to go to the top of these ranges to find eternal winter. The top, in fact, was never reached by man or beast. Even the birds in their loftiest flights never scaled the heights of such mountains as Everest, twenty-nine thousand feet high; or Kanchanjanga, twenty-eight thousand feet high. Ten thousand feet below the top of these you could build your snow house and live as the Eskimo does, if some great glacier did not carry your house away. If you did not like this, you could go to the south of India, where you would have sum- mer the year around. So warm is it here that the chilly wind is scarcely ever felt, and the blighting frost is never known. On the plains between the mountains of the north and the perpetual summer of the south, there is almost every degree of climate. In the Punjab summer is hot, but shorter, and the winter quite cold. In the northwestern provinces, the heat of summer is more 88 Climate 89 intense than it is even farther south, on account of the hot winds blowing off the sands of central India and Rajputana. It is not an uncommon thing for the ther- mometer to register 120° on the veranda. The rains here close earlier, and refreshing, cool nights are ex- perienced by October i. Ice, one-fourth of an inch thick, is formed on some of the coldest nights, and this cooler season lasts longer than in Bengal. On the plains of Bengal and Orissa we never have frosts or snow. The hot season here begins with the change of the wind from the northwest to the southeast. When the latter wind is really established the hot season is upon us. This is usually about March i. The longer the wind blows the hotter the season becomes, so that April, May, and the most of June give us our hottest months. The thermometer wnll range from 90° to 100° in the house most of the time during these months. We are liable to have a few thunder-storms in May, which are most refreshing after the hot, dry winds of March and April. About June 1 5 or 20 we look for a break in the sea- son. Dark clouds in the northwest, loud claps of thunder, and some hard winds tell us the rains are approaching. These are more or less constant until November. At the beginning they are refreshing. The air is cooler and the grass springs up green and fresh. In July the rains are more constant, and the sun comes out between showers, often very hot and sultry, and one begins to feel the depressing influence of the humid, hot atmosphere. In August the fields are full of water, and rivers have overflowed their 90 India and Daily Life in Bengal banks; tanks and ditches are full, and the ground is so filled that it sometimes seems as if the very earth were turning into a bed of mortar; the atmosphere is full of moisture, and still it rains. As September comes there is no cessation, but rather an increase. The rank vines growing up the trees and beside gar- den walls, and sometimes running up the sides of your houses and over the gate-posts, droop their leaves to shake themselves from their shower-bath; trees are in mourning; and the very grass has lost heart, and no longer tries to stand erect. Shoes, har- ness, trunks, books, and everything that can gather moisture is covered with mold. And still it rains. White ants with wings fly at night into your house, and gnats of all kinds so fill the air in the vicinity of the lamp that at times you can hardly keep them out of your mouth or eyes as you try to read aloud. These large white ants with wings sometimes want to share the gravy and roast for dinner, and when you find a few of them in the dish you lean back and wish audi- bly that the rains were over. October comes and showers are less frequent. You someway feel a difference in the atmosphere. It is about as hot, and there is nearly as much mud, but still you feel that autumn is coming. Some morning you wake up early and find a northwest wind blowing in your room, and you exclaim with joy, " The winter is coming ! '' In an hour it is back again in the south, but you know the cold season is approaching. There is sometimes a war in the elements, and this is also the season for cyclones. At last, however, the wind is in Climate 91 the northwest to stay, and as it blows down off the snow and ice fields of the Himalayas you begin to feel new life coming back to you. The sky is so blue, and the atmosphere so clear, and the rice fields so golden, and the cattle so sleek and fat, that all feel like re- joicing over the changed condition and the prospect before us. But alas ! this is also the season of fevers, and so severe and persistent are these, that of all the deaths in India, though we hear much of cholera and smallpox, ninety per cent are from this cause. The missionary now begins to plan for his country tours, and the farmer to gather in his harvest. Of these I will speak in another chapter. CHAPTER X Scenery and Sights ^HE great diversity in climate suggests a di- versity in scenery, and so there is. Suppose we begin at the mouth of the HugH River, which is one of the principal mouths of the Ganges, and go up this river as far as Calcutta, just as we did when we went to India, then take a trip into the country by road, and we get an idea of Bengal. We are on shipboard, and are seeing India for the first time. Our good ship drops her anchor near the pilot brig, at the mouth of the river, and the pilot steps on board to take charge of her up the dangerous and treacherous channel. We are so full of expectancy that we do not sleep much, and early in the morning are on deck. Soon all is commotion. The tide will soon be rising, and we must run up with the full tide. The order is given to raise the anchor, and the little steam winches begin such a rattling that little else can be heard. But the bay ! Are our spirits so joyful because our long voyage of fourteen thousand miles is so nearly over, or is the water the most beautiful we have ever looked at? The bay is as placid as a sea of glass, and the great red sun comes up and turns this sea of glass into a sea of melted gold. To the right and left, at a great distance, the dark-blue coast line can be seen. 92 Scenery and Sights 93 We start with the rising tide. The shores on either side begin to converge, and soon we are in the channel of the river, and flying up at the rate of eighteen miles an hour. Objects on both banks can be distinctly seen. I said to my wife, who had been in India before, " Wife, what a lot of hay the people in this country must use." She said, ''What makes you think so?" I replied, " Why, look at the haystacks." '' Those are not haystacks; those are houses!" Here and there, all along either side of the river, might be seen clusters of these houses, some of them simply farmers' houses, and some of them villages in which were shops and stores. The thatch which made the roofs of these houses was the '* haystacks " which I saw. On the banks also could be seen palm trees, sometimes a sin- gle lonely tree, and sometimes clusters of palms — palms of various kinds, such as date, palmyra, and cocoanut. Here was a grove of mango trees, and there an orchard of bananas, and yonder clusters of beautiful, feathery bamboos. And such a scene on the river! Great ocean steam- ers from almost every country in the world; large ships being towed up and down by giant tugboats, and native crafts of all kinds. Sometimes we would pass two native boats fastened together, loaded with straw, and so loaded that nothing of the boat was visible ex- cept the scaffolding at the hinder end, upon which the man stood who held the long oar used for a rudder; and sometimes boats loaded almost to the water's edge with native pottery, brick, fruits, etc. Sometimes they were propelled by all but naked oarsmen walking back 94 India and Daily Life in Bengal and forth upon the prow, as they pulled the huge oars, and somethnes by sails — square, oblong, or three- cornered; black, white, or yellow; whole, patched, or in tatters. As we approached Calcutta, the river was fairly alive with steamboats of smaller burden. Some of these were bound up the river for Assam, and others up the various rivers forming the delta of the Ganges, while still others were coasting steamers. At length our steamer fastens to the buoy, and we are immediately surrounded by a score or more of small native boats — dingeys and green boats. The boatmen swarm upon the deck, notwithstanding kicks and cuffs from the officers of the steamer, and in an unknown tongue begin to talk to us. They want to take us ashore, and in due time we are landed on the bank. Literally hundreds of coolies are waiting here, and each wants a hand in taking our things. We become almost distracted in the babel of noise. Here too stands the tikka garrie (carriage for hire), and each driver clamors for our luggage, and unless we look sharp will get a portion of it. And now we are in Calcutta, the capital of British India, and In many respects one of the most wonderful of cities. It, with Howrah on the opposite side of the river, contains a population of over a million people. This city is not easily described, but must be seen to be appreciated. There are streetcars and ox-carts, beautiful carriages containing ladies and gentlemen of the highest social position, and all but naked coolies, side by side. Here is a palace, in which are all the luxuries and beauties which wealth and a refined taste Procuresses near Kali's temple, Calcutta Devotees bathing in the Ganges, Calcutta Scenery and Sights 95 suggest, and within fifty feet the watchman at the gate, cooking, eating, and sleeping in a room eight feet square. Here are most magnificent European stores, and but a few feet away a native sitting in a Httle room dealing out his wares. Here are the Eden gardens, with electric lights, fountains, and exquisite music fur- nished by the viceroy's band, and not far distant the vender of native sweets in his shanty, sitting over his pot of boiling oil making his candies. Here is a French theater and almost across the street is Chandnee ba- zaar, with its hundreds of tile-roofed one-story shops, and labyrinth of streets not more than four feet wide. From narrow Bentick Street, with its numerous Chi- nese shops and the rattle and din of native life, you come out on the great beautiful Maidan. This latter is an open park, consisting of many hundreds of acres of land, lying between Chowringee Street and the river. It was once covered with native villages, but these were bought by the government and torn down. The Maidan is worth going a long way to see. It is a dead level piece of ground, with here and there a cluster of trees and many beautiful roads, but is mainly a grass-plot. On almost any evening of the year, ex- cept when it is raining, you may see every kind of a turnout imaginable. Some cartmen are returning from their work, with their little bullocks and carts. Then perhaps a Chinese comes arrayed in red and green silk, his long queue hanging down behind, sitting in his beautiful barouche, while two elegant horses, with gold or silver-mounted harness, are driven by his coachman. Here comes an Englishman in his high- 96 India and Daily Life in Bengal wheeled dog-cart, driving at a breakneck pace, and there another on a bicycle. Here come four Bengali gentlemen, with spotless white clothes on, heads bare, chains of heavy gold, studded with precious stones, holding their watches in a conspicuous place — carriage, horses, and harness to rival the viceroy's, footmen be- hind and coachman in front. There goes a poor Eura- sian family, six of them, in a tikka garrie. Look at the horses; they are small and poor, and the harness is tied together with strings. The driver from his lofty seat is leaning forward, making frantic motions with his whip, as if the whip would compensate the horses for the lack of grain. But the scamp does not intend to drive fast; he only wants you to think he is driving the horses at their utmost speed. Look over there, and you see two Parsees, erect and proud, having on their peculiar stovepipe hats, and just behind them are two Burmese, with red silk handkerchiefs tied tight across their foreheads. Here are some zenana mis- sionaries in their phaeton, and yonder two padries (preachers), while just beyond are two coolies, with large baskets on their heads, hoping a stray job may turn up. Scattered all through this crowd of people are the watermen, with their leather bags of water on their hips, sprinkling the streets and trying to keep the dust down. We will leave Calcutta and take a trip of two hun- dred miles out into the interior. We go on the broad turnpike road before described. We look off to the right and left and see a level plain, with here and there what appears to be a grove. If we look at this plain a Scenery and Sights 97 little more closely, we find it to be cut up into an in- finite number of rice fields, separated from each other by little dams a foot high and a foot wide. The fields are in size from two to twenty rods square. If we pass along this road in the month of May, after a few show- ers have softened the surface, we shall see the plowmen at work with their primitive plows, following each other around the little field. Sometimes these plowmen are very happy, and their songs, as one after another takes up the refrain, and their voices rise higher and higher, are very pleasing. If you go along this road a little later, you find the farmers sowing their rice; and, later still, when the rains are well on and the rice well up, you will see them either transplanting by hand or plowing up by the roots that which is growing. The latter drops to the bottom of the water, takes new root, and the stock of rice is more vigorous than it would otherwise be. Still later you see the field dotted with men pulling up the tares. These men have on a covering for their backs and heads made of the leaf of the palm, which forms a protection from the rains. Stooping as they must to weed up the grass, nothing but their legs and this covering is visible. This makes them look like huge pelicans scattered over the field. Pass along this road in December, and you see men and women with sickles cutting the ripened grain, and bullocks bearing it away on their backs to the house. If you go to what appeared from the road to be a grove, you will find it to be a village — simply a cluster of farmhouses. Let us now enter the village along with the farmer, who at evening is bringing in his sheaves. 98 India and Daily Life in Bengal We find that he has around his house and yard a hedge made of the most thorny material he can find. Through the opening, which is used as a gateway, his bullocks go, and their loads are dumped promiscuously around the dooryard. In this yard the rice is stacked, and here it is also trodden out by the bullocks after the harvest is all in. On the verandas of the houses a ma- chine is constructed called a dhinkie, by treading on which the women hull the rice. It works on the prin- ciple of a mortar and a pestle. When they press down with their feet the pestle is raised, and when they slip off their feet it drops into the mortar. Long before daylight, through the winter season, the sound of these dhinkies may be heard in every village. Now that we are in the village, let us look around. We find there is one street, perhaps ten feet wide, running through it. For centuries people and bul- locks have trodden this same narrow street, and the rains have washed it, and the hot winds of summer have sent its fine dust in clouds into the air. No wonder, therefore, that sometimes it is three or four feet lower than the houses and yards on either side. In the rains this street is often knee-deep with water and mud, with no chance to get away except by evapo- ration. In the yard of this farmer there may be a mango tree, and in the adjoining yard a tamarind, and in the third a cluster of bamboos. It is these trees which deceived you at a distance, and made you think you were seeing a grove. If you come to the village in the morning you may see a woman coming out of the house, bearing in her hands two earthen water- I '""■wtip A typical Bengal tank Mission boat Scenery and Sights 99 jars. She has a dirty white cotton cloth around her body and over her head. At the sight of you she turns her head and pulls her cloth over her face, so as almost to hide it, and hesitates and wonders whether she would better go back into the house or proceed on her errand. You walk on with no intention of molesting her, and she proceeds to the village tank. Do not sup- pose this tank is some nice piece of stonework, and that a cool stream of living water is constantly pouring into it. It is simply a great hole dug in the ground by some rich gentleman, perhaps five hundred years ago. It is replenished from year to year by the heavy rains of summer. Every village must have its tank, for there are few wells in this part of India, and water, and much of it, is a necessity. Let us follow the woman, but at such a distance as not to attract her attention. She has with her two, and possibly three, earthen water-jars. They are shaped at the bottom like the larger end of an egg, and at the top have a mouth three inches in diameter. She goes to the water's edge, puts down her jars, and sits down herself on her heels. She then takes a green stick which she has brought with her, six inches long and half an inch thick, with one end of which she be- gins to scrub her teeth. The Hindus are said to be very clean, and cleaning the mouth is among the neces- sary things before eating. But she has reason to clean her teeth, for she has been chewing a dirty substance called pan, a mixture of tobacco, betel-nut, spices, and lime, and her teeth are black and her lips red. She therefore scours her teeth thoroughly, and then pro- 100 India and Daily Life in Bengal ceeds to rinse her mouth. When her teeth are cleaned, she goes out a Httle way into the tank and takes her bath, for this is also a prerequisite to eating. This finished, she gets her water-jars, wades out a little farther into the tank, brushes away the dirt with her hand or the bottom of her jars, fills them with water, and takes them to the house to cook her breakfast. The men come in later from the field, their mouths as filthy and their bodies more dusty, and go through the same process of purification. They are then prepared to eat the breakfast which the tidy housewife has pre- pared for them. In some villages there are separate tanks in which to bathe, but I should say this was the exception rather than the rule. All the plains are not rice fields. Some of them are barren and sandy, and produce little more than thorny bushes, stunted grass, and huge hills of white ants, with here and there a solitary tree. Other places are quite heavily wooded, sometimes with a thick under- growth of vines and brambles, and sometimes not. Along the coast are other kinds of jungles. In these grow tall grass and reeds, and a kind of stunted palm, and the whole is covered at times with water from the river or tides from the sea. Here is a hiding-place for tigers, leopards, and hyenas. Large rivers are abundant, and we cross them either in a ferry or a rowboat in going down the great turn- pike road, over which we are traveling. Within three hundred and sixty-five miles of Cal- cutta is Darjiling. Between the plains of Bengal and the mountains of Darjiling the contrast is as great as Scenery and Sights 101 can be imagined, as to both climate and scenery. These two places may illustrate the difference between the plains and the mountains in other parts of India. Silaguri is three hundred and fifteen miles north of Calcutta, and is the railroad station at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains. Here we take a very narrow- gage road, and climb the hills for a distance of forty- eight miles, the first forty-four of which have a grade of two hundred feet to the mile. For a few miles out of Silaguri the ascent is gradual, and the rank vegeta- tion reminds you that you are in a hot, damp atmos- phere, and on very rich soil. The trees have leaves almost as large as your hat, and rank vines climb up around them to their very top, and then reach out their long arms from every branch as if seeking something else to cling to. Sometimes they find it, and the trees are woven together by these huge vines. As we as- cend we see broad valleys filled with wild bananas, bamboos, and palm trees of a most luxuriant growth. Farther up we find mountain oaks and fern trees; and still higher, oats, corn, and potatoes are cultivated. On the broad slopes of many of these mountains there are tea plantations. We are greeted with the face of the old familiar yellow dock, and for once it seems like a friend. Also patches of white clover smile upon us here and there. This also is the very paradise for roses. Our flannels, which we put on at the foot of the hills, no longer feel too thick; but on the other hand, we begin to put on additional wraps, and even then can hardly keep warm. The railroad is a masterpiece of engineering. In 102 India and Daily Life in Bengal some places it goes zigzag up the mountainside by running forward and then switching back on a higher grade; in other places it forms a loop at the point of some hill, and comes back over its own track twenty feet above, and then goes on up the same hillside it came over but a few moments before. Sometimes as it goes round a point you grasp the seat of the little open car, for it seems as if you were going to be pitched to the bottom of the deep gorge at your side. At Ghoompahar you pass the highest range on the rail- road, and for the next four miles the descent is gradual to Darjiling. This is the city where the government of Bengal resides in summer, and where the people sometimes come when worn out by the heat of the plains. It is seventy-five hundred feet above the level of the sea. The scenery here is grand beyond descrip- tion. There are broad valleys whose hillsides are dotted here and there with a village, or with primeval forests, tea plantations, or fields of potatoes and corn. There are gorges through which rushes a mountain stream, and high precipices over which leaps a water- fall. Every ravine, and gorge, and hillside produces very beautiful ferns, moss, and lichens. Then the mountains are around you on every side, and range is piled upon range, until the climax is reached in Kan- chanjanga, which sends its peak up twenty-eight thou- sand feet above the sea level. On a clear day this stands out before you, glittering in the sun like a moun- tain of burnished silver, and ten thousand feet of it can be seen lying under its thick mantle of eternal snow — a fit winding-sheet for a dead mountain. Traveling in the mountains. A dandy One of the soi/rrp.<: nf flip fZni CHAPTER XI Some of the Pests of India SOME things which we regard as pests and an- noyances are really blessings. So it is with some of those things in India which plague us. For the time being, however, we will take the superficial view, and see what things annoy us and how they do so. The white ant would no doubt be put down at the head of the list If this were the place I might write a chapter on these little animals, but I will now speak of them only in the briefest way. The eggs which produce these little creatures are laid two or three feet underground by a great nasty-looking white grub, the size of a man's little finger. When the insects are first hatched they are about an eighth of an inch long, of a creamy white appearance, and resemble a louse in shape. These grow to be one-fourth of an inch long, and then make their way through the streets, avenues, and halls of their colony up to the surface of the ground, and keep on building up until sometimes they have a house eight feet in diameter and ten feet high. They go here and there on foraging expeditions, either under the surface or in sealed arches, which they con- struct on the surface of the ground. They always devour everything within their reach which can be eaten. Since they always work in the dark, and on f03 W4 India and Daily Life in Bengal the inside, we seldom see their mischief until it is too late to remedy it. If they want to eat a straw, or a bit of leaf which is too small for them to eat from the inside, they cover it with their earthy secretion and then devour it. They can make their way up through brick walls, and eat the door- jambs and wooden beams of the house. I have told you how the floors of the pucca houses are made, and yet these little creatures will often find a way up through the floor and get into our bookcase, and chests, and trunks, unless we keep a strict watch for them. They will sometimes destroy a pair of shoes in a single night if they happen to come across them in their search for food. Though they annoy us they are not an unmitigated evil ; in fact, they are a great blessing. For thousands of years they have brought up from the subsoil their secretion and spread it as a dressing for the soil, on straw, and leaf, and dead grass. When, in the begin- ning of the rains, they change their form and come from their nests by millions, it is a happy time for birds and fishes. They are enlarged to four or five times their former size when they swarm, put on wings, and seem happy for a brief hour. Their wings come off and they drop in field, or road, or ditch, or tank, and birds and fishes feast for once at least. The secretion of the white ant contains a fertilizer of great value, as the writer has demonstrated, and many a field which has nearly been abandoned to the white ant might become a veritable garden. The crows would come next. They are as nearly omnipresent as anything with earthly limitations can Some Pests of India 105 be. The cawing of the crow very early awakens the villager from his sleep, and reminds the missionary or civilian, who may, perchance, be dreaming of home, that he is still in India. It is not an uncommon thing to see one or two crows on the back of cows or bullocks as they graze in the field. There seems to be some- thing in the skin, or lurking in the hair, which furnishes the crow a dainty morsel. When these same animals lie down, we may see the crow picking at their noses and inside of their ears. When the animal protests, the crow hops back, takes a look out of the corner of his eye, and watches his chance to renew the attack. When we feed our hens or cattle, we must look sharp or the crow will get more than his share. When the man is setting the table, a crow may perch himself on the top of the open door and watch the process. He will turn his head to one side and then to the other, to see how many things there are that he would be willing to eat. When he sees something which he would like, and which he thinks he could carry, he looks all around to see if the coast is clear; and when he satisfies him- self that such is the case, he swoops down, and with his beak or claw carries his meal up into a tree or some other safe place. One morning I bought from one of our Christian women some eggs, which she put on my study table. I was writing, and would now and again get up to go into another room or out of doors. I finally noticed that the number of eggs seemed less, but there were no broken shells nor any evidence that anybody had been in the study. Finally, a crow making off with one just / 06 India and Daily Life in Bengal as I came into the room convinced me who was the thief. The crows are fond of ripe fruit of all kinds, so that fruit must be picked before it is fully ripe or be watched very closely. Woe betide you if for any rea- son you shoot one of these birds. In a very few mo- ments the air will be black with crows, flying here and there in a frantic manner, and cawing so loudly that you expect to see your neighbor come in to see what has happened. But even these are a blessing, for they are among the scavengers of the country. Monkeys are a pest with no redeeming quality that I could ever observe. There are many varieties in the country, and each particular place seems to have some different variety; but they are a nuisance be the kind what it may. The Hindus adore them, so their life is quite safe, as no person cares to kill them and incur the displeasure of his Hindu neighbor. In our part of India the large, black-faced, gray, long-tailed mon- key abounded. There is nothing in the fruit or vege- table line that these monkeys will not eat, so we must wage a constant war with them if we would have a garden or an orchard. They are exceedingly cunning. In the heat of the day, when they think everybody is taking a nap, they are after their dinner. They enter the garden stealthily, looking one side and the other as they come. When they come to a row of peas or anything of that kind, they stand on their hind feet, and with both front ones quickly fill their mouths. A few monkeys in half a day would utterly ruin a garden or strip an orchard of its fruit. They are very saucy at times, and even dangerous. Some Pests of India 107 One day at the noon hour, while we were resting, one of our Httle girls came into our room screaming and frightened almost to death. A large monkey had come into the bedroom where she was sleeping, though it was upstairs, and taken hold of the foot of the bed and shaken it violently enough to wake her up. When she awoke, there stood that great black-faced fellow showing all his teeth. Hindu prejudice would not have kept me from shooting him if he had not left the room too quickly for me. They will sometimes dispute our right to pass along a path. In that case discretion is the better part of valor. Once some of our orphan boys at Midnapore were stoning some monkeys which were up in a banyan tree. One old fellow came down, walked up to the foremost boy, seized him by the shoulder with one hand and with the other boxed his ears. The boy was frightened badly, but the monkey was perfectly serene. Snakes are reptiles which people are not fond of as a rule. In this country we have an exaggerated idea of the snakes of India. There may be places where they are numerous, but I have not seen them. The cobra is a dangerous snake, so that Europeans generally carry a lantern when they go out after dark; but, after all, you will seldom see one. We are cautious because their bite is fatal. I have been around a good deal in Orissa and Bengal, and have not in fifteen years seen more than ten or fifteen cobras running at large. There are some centipedes and a few scorpions, but with care one need experience no harm from them. Only once in the fifteen years I have been in India, was 108 India and Daily Life in Bengal I bitten by any of these poisonous creatures, and that was by a centipede which was in my hat. He had secreted himself within the walls of my sun-hat, and I did not know he was there until he informed me. We never really know why dogs are spoken of in Scripture as being among the vile things which shall never enter the gates of the beautiful city until we visit the Orient. There is not a redeeming quality about a dog here. You could not by any possibility in- duce one to drive out a cow or a monkey from the garden. He never did such a thing in his life, and would be astonished at you if you should try to have him do such a thing. The more you tried to have him, the more he would go in the opposite direction. The dogs here are nearly all of one kind — yellow or black in color, with hair short and straight, nose pointed, forehead very receding, head and tail drooping, lean, surly, and often scabby. They never have a pleasant face or a wag of the tail for anybody. They leisurely walk about the streets and bazaars, and even into our houses, ready to pick up any stray morsel of food. The natives have a way of raising their hands as if they would strike them, but as they seldom do the dogs care very little for these false motions. When we try to frighten them away in the same manner, they simply stand and stare at us. When, however, we can convince them by a whack with our cane that we are not making false motions, they can yelp and howl as loudly as any dog. Their bark at night is anything but soothing, and especially if a person is inclined, through fever or nervousness, to be wakeful. One A Bengal barber zvho has found a job !W« .Iff ■flHHHHk -r t , A sacred bidl, Moliadabe Some Pests of India 1 09 barks, and then another and another, until you think they are barking for a prize, and the one that can bark the loudest and longest gets it. The bark is not really a bark such as we hear in this country, but more of a howl. They do something of the work of the scav- engers, but the jackals could do that better and save the annoyances the dogs bring. Many of them are owned by no one. The Hindus never kill anything, so of course the dogs are allowed to multiply as much as they like. The government recognizes them as a nui- sance, and very wisely puts a bounty on their heads. Once a year the low-caste people (maters) in some dis- tricts set apart a day for killing dogs. They will take a large bamboo club which they hold by both hands, allowing it to hang down their backs. In this way they walk about the streets and bazaars. The dog sees nothing of the club, as they manage to keep their faces toward him. They wait until his attention is taken up by something to eat or smell, when they suddenly bring the club down with great force on the neck of the un- suspecting animal, and he soon dies. The Brahmani bull may be classed among the pests. Some one, perhaps on account of some peculiar mark- ings, has in his early days devoted him to the calling of a sacred bull, and so he has wandered about through the streets, belonging to no one in particular and to every one in general. He usually is found around the temple, and goes in and out at pleasure. He goes into the green rice fields, or to the shop where grain is kept, and helps himself. He of course is always fat and saucy. If he sees in the garden of some Euro- no India and Daily Life in Bengal pean some choice heads of cabbage, he forms his plans for a feast when the shades of night shall settle down. One of these animals persistently visited our garden in the middle of the night, until finally, upon the ad- vice of the magistrate, we captured him and made him over to the city. His lordship was greatly humbled when he had to come down to drawing cart loads of garbage. There are some other things which greatly annoy us, but which are not peculiar to India except, per- haps, that they flourish there to a greater extent. Among these are the little red ant, the mosquito, lice, bedbugs, and fleas. Some of these, more or less, are liable to prey upon us the year round. Every Euro- pean, all the year, provides himself with a mosquito curtain for his bed. This protects him fully from the mosquito, unless some member of the body happens to be against it, but unfortunately affords no protection against the other insufferable insects. In some places tigers and leopards are quite abun- dant. These destroy cattle, and sometimes human life, though as a rule they do not molest people, unless sorely pressed by hunger, but run from them as do all other wild animals. The bear is very fond of sugar- cane, and comes from the jungles to help himself dur- ing the season. In a few places wild elephants commit depredations now and again. After all, these things sound a good deal worse than the actual experience with them really is. Perhaps we could hardly class insane people with pests, and yet this will be as good a place as any to say Some Pests of India III that these are left to wander about at will. There are a few asylums, but rarely are persons committed. There is, however, no such proportion of insane as in this country. If there were the land would be a veri- table gehenna. The same is true of lepers. These go here and there,* and even engage in trade and sit on the verandas of people's houses. For these there are a very few asylums also, but no law for segregation. To accomplish this would be beyond the power of the government. H CHAPTER XII Some Characteristics of the Natives DIFFERENT parts of India, no doubt, produce different types of men, but what I shall say will be of the Bengali as I have observed him. He is exceedingly polite and, as a rule, does not want to say anything which he thinks you will not want to hear. This leads him many times into telling what we call lies, though he does not define a lie in that way. As an example : Suppose you are go- ing along a strange road, and inquire of a man the distance to a certain place. He naturally thinks you want that distance to be as little as possible, so he tells you it is two miles when he knows it is six; or, he may raise his chin in the direction of the place and say it is just in sight, when It is four miles away. For this same reason he seldom disagrees with you. If he cannot really assent he will keep quiet. In a public way some of them are fond of discussion, but in their homes they seldom oppose you. This disposition makes you feel that you can seldom depend on what they say. When we were trying to get land to erect a mission house in Contai, I went to see the sub- divisional officer, and told him what we wanted to do. He said that he was delighted that we were coming, that Contai was a wicked place and needed something of the kind, and he would be pleased to assist in any 112 Some Characteristics 1 13 way that lay in his power. I thanked him very heartily, but was sure all the time he would not help, but hinder. And so the sequel proved; for we had to get help from the English magistrate or impedi- ments would have been placed in our way all along, and we would never have gone to Contai. We call this kind of talk lying, but they define a lie as mean- ing something like this : If I tell you something, and you sustain financial loss through my untrue state- ment, that is a lie ; but if I tell you the distance is two miles when it is four, that is no lie, for you would have to travel over the distance whether it was two or four miles. Their saying it was two miles did not cause me any additional travel. This disposition to please is prominent when self-interest is not involved. Always put this down as an exception to every rule. According to our ideas, the native is a very untruth- ful man. Doctor Pentecost made this statement, though in little stronger terms, and was taken to task by the native press for it. I think Doctor Pentecost was not far wrong. If I had had no experience myself, the attitude of the people toward each other would con- vince me of this. They seldom trust each other's word. In matters of business they have so little confidence in each other, that a bargain is considered of no value until money has exchanged hands. A man may agree to do a thing, but if you have given him no money he considers himself under no obligation to do it. They say of us sometimes, " You are very green," because we trust their word, and that we ought to know that all men are liars. I do not say that they are all vicious 114 India and Daily Life in Bengal liars, but the tendency is so much to conceal, and there is so much want of frankness, that it is unsafe to de- pend upon their word. Out of this has grown their way of answering a question. We seldom hear them answer a question direct. Almost always it is an- swered by asking another. You say to a man, " Will you buy this cow? " '* Where would I get money to buy a cow?" he would answer. Or you say, ''You did not come to work yesterday?" He would reply, "How could a man work who had a fever?" This sounds impertinent, and is very trying at first, but you find this is their way of answering questions. The manner in which they can ask and answer questions without fully committing themselves, is simply mar- velous to the people of the blunt, plain, practical nature of the Anglo-Saxon. In matters of deal they are without a conscience. The limit they will ask for a thing is the amount they think they can get for it, regardless of its market value. This is nearly a universal rule. We think a man a Jew here if he add twenty-five per cent to his real selling price, but it is not an uncommon thing for them to ask three hundred per cent more than they expect to take. This is especially true if they think you do not know the real price, or if you are so situated that they know you must buy. The general rule is that they ask you just double what they in the end expect to take. They are very shrewd in bar- gains, and resort to many tricks to make a few cents. They can adulterate equal to the Yankee in some things. Water goes in milk, small gravel in rice, and Some Characteristics 115 sand in sugar. They can fill their native fabrics with starch, and put putty in defective furniture. They have studied the art for centuries, and according to the number of their products will not be outdone by any other nation. If they are very untruthful, they also have a faculty of getting out when caught in a lie as easily as can be. In fact, it is almost impossible to prove a falsehood on any of them. You may think you have a chain of evidence that will surely convict the man of a wilful, deliberate lie, but you find your chain a rope of sand, and you are left in the dilemma rather than the man that has lied, even though your own eyes form part of the evidence. They have very little inventive genius, and hence are no organizers. They are imitators, and can make almost everything if you give them a pattern. We find them in machine shops making engines, and in various vocations where one would think genius was required; but they work from patterns. They have had armies large enough to have annihilated the Eng- lish, but could not plan a battle. They can run steam- boats and railroad trains, but they can go only so far as they have learned. If the unexpected arises they are in a dilemma. If a cartman break the axle of his cart when he does not happen to have another with him, he will squat dow^n and put a sheet over his head, if it be winter, and there he will sit for hours waiting for something to turn up. He really does not know what to do, and it takes several hours for the idea to get through his head that he must go to some village and hunt up another axle. 116 India and Daily Life in Bengal Revenge is a disposition abnormally cultivated, and it lurks in the bosom where you least suspect it. A family feud is handed down fourteen generations. For the sake of getting revenge for a trifling injury, they will jeopardize a person's life. Sometimes they will set fire to one's house, and the roof being of straw it may happen that the inmates cannot escape, but are consumed in the burning building; and if they escape, their all is gone in the loss of their home. The most serious charges are brought in court for the sake of being revenged over some real or fancied injury. The Hindus are proverbial for going to law. Two things actuate them : one is the desire for revenge and the other the love of distinction. Just opposite our house in Balasore were two courthouses, in which there were at least five places where cases might be tried. These courts were filled the year round. Not that all the courts were in session all the time, but some of them were, and often three or four of them. Aside from these, the judge came occasionally to hold criminal courts of a higher grade in the circuit house. From morning until night, week in and week out, the cry of the crier could be heard as he called out the name of parties in the case, or the name of some wit- ness. A man hardly thinks he belongs to a respectable family unless he can boast of at least one long-drawn- out lawsuit. I shall remember a long time a conver- sation I had with one of our new converts. He had been a poor man and common laborer, but had married a woman who also had employment. The two re- ceived a good salary, so that he could lay by a dollar Some Characteristics 117 a month. He had been working for me, but did not come for some days. Finally, when he came, I asked him why he had not come the past week. He straight- ened up as if he were a man of a great deal of impor- tance and said, " Sahib, I have a lawsuit on hand." The inconvenience the people suffer on account of these cases is very great. They will walk twenty or thirty miles to be present on the appointed day for their suit, and then wait perhaps two or three days for their case to be called up. They have little money to use, and many times have hard fare during the days of waiting. Especially is this true in the case of many witnesses. When the case is called, for some trivial reason it is postponed ten days or a month, when all wend their way home, to return again on the ap- pointed day. Then, again, it may be postponed, and so on it goes month after month, until sometimes a whole year is consumed in this kind of work. The satisfaction that each party gets out of it is, that the other party suffers as much through these long jour- neys and tedious waitings as they. Every time the case is postponed there is an additional cost. The lawyers have a habit of receiving a fee from each side. I think this is peculiar to India. If they are in a lawsuit, they think if they can fee their op- ponent's lawyer with a larger amount than he can, the lawyer will be more interested in their case than he will in the case of his client. The people have a way not only of assuming that they are innocent until proven guilty, but of actually thinking they are innocent. When an accusation is 118 India and Daily Life in Bengal fully proven they confess, but are very careful to con- fess only what has been proven. When they confess and ask forgiveness, and you assure them that they are forgiven, they think that the forgiveness wipes out not only the guilt but the deed itself, and restores them to the position they were in before the sin was committed. Often have I seen great surprise ex- pressed when I have refused to restore to some per- son the work in which he had shown himself to be a defaulter. The people are slaves to custom. All that need be said by you as a reason for doing what you do is, " This is our custom." This puts a stop to any argu- ment. You will very seldom hear any other reason given for doing anything. This of course obstructs all progress. I was very well acquainted with a native judge in Midnapore, and had frequent conversations with him on different subjects. He was a well-edu- cated man, and spoke English fluently. I asked him one day what his opinion was in regard to child mar- riage. He could not speak too strongly against it. He was sure the race was enfeebled by it, the mortality of the country increased, and a great deal of mental and physical suffering inflicted on the young child wife. I knew the judge had two or three young daughters, so I said, " Judge, you are not going to conform to the custom, are you? You know what is right; I hope you will follow your convictions and set your countrymen an example." He said, '' This is our custom, and what can one man do to oppose it? If I would not marry off my daughters at the proper time Some Characteristics 119 I should be in disgrace, and as I could not endure this I must do as the rest do." I said, a little warmly, " Judge, if a man like you, with both a knowledge of what you ought to do, and a social position that would help you greatly if you attempted any reform, and also with independent means, will not follow your con- victions, who do you expect will lead in reforms?" He confessed he ought to, but could not. The posi- tion of this gentleman is the position of many. Many of them would be glad to break away from their cus- toms, in some things, but they bind them as with a chain of steel. Yet, after all, how much are Americans different? We say what we would do if we were in their place, but would we? Our women must wear high-heeled shoes, though it is as injurious to health as the bind- ing of the feet of the women of China. Fashion points the way, and we all walk in it whether we want to or not. There and here we need reformers who have the courage to withstand bad customs. The people are very fond of display. This is shown in the case of the rich by the number of servants they can keep, the gold jewelry and precious stones they can wear, and the dash and glitter of their turnouts as they go for a drive. It is seen in the poor by the amount of jewelry they put on, even if made of shell, lac, glass, or brass. They think the clanking of the heavy pieces of their jewelry denotes about as much distinction as some of our ladies do by the rustling of their silks. On great festival days the streets are bril- liant with red and yellow garments of the women. 120 India and Daily Life in Bengal They make garlands of large red and yellow flowers to festoon their houses and adorn their persons. The average native is a hard-working man. Many think because they live in a warm climate, they are like the African or other tribes who will only work when compelled to, but such is not the case. Indeed, they often work under circumstances that would try the pluck of many an American. It is true they are " to the manner born," and can endure heat that the European cannot, but still the heat affects them, and the cold even more. In the hot months they will get up and start on their journey at two o'clock in the morning. This is a regular custom among cartmen and pilgrims. Very early in the morning, also, you will find them in their fields. It is true there are lazy people there as here, but they are the exception. They are a frugal people ; they love to make a dis- play, it is true, but that is only on occasions. They have big dinners for friends and kinsmen, but these are not frequent. Ordinarily their meals are of the plainest kind, and their dress of but little expense. Though most of them are poor, they try very hard to lay by something for a time of still sorer need. This is not laid by in money, but jewelry, which can always be sold for the market value of the gold or silver it contains. They will pinch themselves, and almost starve before they will draw on their little store laid by. Many of them are very anxious for an education, and especially an English education. In Madras many of the common coolies can speak English fairly well, and in Calcutta almost all native merchants have a fair Some Characteristics 12/ knowledge of English. They are also very fond of airing their English, and some use it very amusingly, as the following letter, written by a Bengali babu to Dr. O. R. Bachelor, of Midnapore, will show: My Dear Godfather: My registered note addressed to your name has been sent by post to Midnapore during you had gone to America. An answer which gave by Mr. Z. F. Griffin gave me much sorrow, for your answer reached me at that time. In the November last an information has been given me by Mr. Coldren at Balasore of your returning from there to Midnapore. Therefore I send this registered note for your answer. It is proposed by many learned and gen- tlemen of your kindness to helpless men in their wants, de- pending on their saying, I am going most respectfully to in- form you my want. I have descended from a Hindu tribe; forty-five years of my age, my mother was put at the point of death. My father is always unkind and surly fellow. . , You will be remarkable to the story of my much above men- tioned that his principle duty is that his sons will be dunce. . . My godfather, you shall have tried to get post under the police and postal department. I hope if you kindly recom- mend the superintendent of these offices, they must appoint me at any post of my worthy. It is very important to let you know that you should not hate me though being a Hindu. I am going to wait your true refuge. I may be baptized after which if I will be had any post under my office. If you please and kindly try get me a post without preachership, I will be baptized unless I cannot. . . I am your dear godson, They do not care for know^ledge so much for its own sake as for what it will bring to them financially. The great ambition is to pass the entrance examination in the university, or to try to pass. They will boast as loudly of having tried and failed, as of having tried 122 India and Daily Life in Bengal and succeeded. After passing and receiving an ap- pointment, they seem to think they have reached the goal. They seldom continue any course of study, but pass their time after office hours in conversation or games. They have remarkable memories. Away back, thou- sands of years ago, they learned their sacred books and handed down the contents by memory, and that has to some extent been kept up all through the cen- turies. The priests begin very early in life to commit the shasters, and they can sing for hours from memory the verses of some of their poetical writings. The whole nation has been developed along that line, for those who could not read or write have had to depend on their memory for their knowledge of facts. They are an eloquent, poetical people. Their imagi- nation is vivid, and their language being rich in words they find no trouble in giving expression to their thoughts. Some people in America who listened to the addresses of the representatives of the Hindu religion and the Brahmo-Somaj at the World's Parliament of Religions, can testify to this fact. Some of the most eloquent men I have ever heard are natives of India. They are very quick to see a point, even though the thought be covered by the words of a parable or a com- parison. Even the most ignorant have not only a poetical turn of mind, but can also understand the point in an argument. Being not overscrupulous as to the exact facts, they can embellish a narrative and make it very telling. They are great lovers of home. If a person were Some Characteristics 123 simply to pass through the country and observe the number of people away from home, either for the sake of work or on a religious pilgrimage, he would at once think these people care nothing for home. But they do. It is true they have no such homes as we have; where husband, wife, and children come around the same table or hearthstone, figuratively speaking, yet the wife loves her husband, and in many cases he is no doubt fond of her. The mother also loves her chil- dren, and the children the mother. It is a great trial to the family when the little wife, ten or eleven years of age, is taken from the home of her father and mother. It is also a trial when they start off on their long religious pilgrimage. They well know that the chances are they may never return, so as they take the last look at the old home, even though it be humble, it is with many a heartache. It is often difficult to get them to leave the place of their birth, even though they may better their condition by so doing. Often only when hunger stares them in the face can they be in- duced to do so. Another very commendable custom is the way they have of providing for their joint families. This does not beget the greatest enterprise, but provides a home and food for the indolent, the unfortunate, or the un- employed in the family. If a man has half a score of sons, each one brings his wife to his father's house, and here they all live from a common purse. If only one in the ten has employment, he will cheerfully hand over his wages each month to his mother, who is queen in her realm — the house. Sometimes as many as a hun- 124 India and Daily Life in Bengal dred persons have a common home, and no one of the hundred will want as long as any one of the number has anything to divide. The Hindus are a very devotional people. They expect every man to have a religion as much as a nationality. With them it matters little what their morals may be, but they are still religious. Every man must do certain things in the religious line when these things are demanded, and if he be a good ortho- dox Hindu there are many duties to perform. They make him observe certain days, and send him on long pilgrimages, and make him give of his substance, though that may be but little. It matters not what the demand, he must comply. Visit Muttra, Brindaban, Benares, Hurdwar, Puri, and a hundred other shrines, and you will be convinced that the Hindu is a very re- ligious man. He is master of the art of disorganization. It seems impossible for him to grasp the idea of organization. This may account for many things in his history. To illustrate : It was my misfortune to have a good deal of building to do, and especially during our last term. It is true I had a foreman who was supposed to look after the work, but he was also a native. I knew their weakness, so happened around as often as possi- ble. Sometimes I had as many as forty people at work. I would often find the masons standing for want of material. Too many carrying brick and too few mor- tar. I would readjust matters and get all running like clockwork. If I should go away and come back after an hour, I would find all my arrangements upset. In Some Characteristics 125 every walk of life you see this cropping out. Things are done by the slowest and hardest methods. Perhaps there is no one trait of character which gives the missionaries more real heartache than the ingratitude of the people. It was my duty to feed famine sufferers for nearly three months, and also to care for famine relief works, and the amount of work which such things involve is not a little, and the an- noyance, and at times really sickening experiences, are not a few. In both of these measures I took the initiative, and yet no manifestation of gratitude on the part of any of these did I see. At different times, in trying to shield persons from the oppression of others, I have not only done a lot of work, but at times been to considerable expense and annoyance, but with no apparent response. Doctor McDonald tells us in one of his books, that the rea- son is the Hindu believes that there is no such thing as disinterested kindness, and if you do a kindness you are only paying a debt contracted in some previous existence, and therefore there is no occasion for grati- tude. CHAPTER XIII Occupations I AM often asked, " What do the people do ? " That question cannot be answered in a single sentence. If we would see them as they are, we must glance at their separate occupations. The largest class in Bengal are farmers. Only five out of every hun- dred live in the cities. When we remember that in England sixty-six, and in America twenty-two out of each hundred live in towns and cities, we see more clearly the rural nature of the Indian people. I have told you something of what these farmers produce. They require but a few tools to do their work. A plow with a single handle, a sickle, a heavy, short-handled hoe, and a yoke of bullocks, are about all that is neces- sary. If they need to irrigate the land, a few more things are required. If they irrigate from a tank or a river, a scoop is made of woven bamboo splints. On each side of this a rope is attached, by means of which two men raise the water, simply by a sort of swinging motion. If it needs to be raised higher, sometimes a sweep is constructed. In northern India thousands of wells furnish the water for irrigation. Bullocks raise the water from them. These are exclusive of the many irrigation canals. Bullocks plow the fields, carry in most of the grain, tread it out, and carry both straw and rice to 126 Occupations 127 market on their backs. With these diverse duties, the farmer hardly has the last of his straw carried off before he has to begin plowing again. Landholders are men whose forefathers had large estates, which the government has allowed them to keep by paying a certain annual land rent. These landlords do not work their own land, but let it to ten- ants. The former live on the fat of the land, and many of them have been very oppressive. There are many who cultivate no land, but live by working here and there as they can find a day's work. These are called coolies, and their pay is about five cents a day, and they board themselves. The ambition of nearly every country coolie is to get a piece of land which he can call his own, though in reality no person can absolutely own land in India. Many small farm- ers do coolie work when they can get it to do. There are in the bazaars manufacturers of different kinds. No steam or water-power is employed, but all work is done by men, women, or bullocks. Large quantities of brass are used in dishes. This is melted and run into a mold of the required shape, after which the articles are cut and polished. Some very nice work is done in this way, and some beautiful Carved brass- work is turned out from Benares, Moradabad, and other places. The people are very fond of jewelry, and often hoard their money in this way, so there are many goldsmiths and silversmiths in the country. Very little gold is in circulation in India, and the reason assigned is that every gold coin is at once locked up in jewelry. These 128 India and Daily Life in Bengal smiths, with a hollow bamboo branch for a blowpipe, a pot of charcoal, a file, and a pair of pincers, and two or three other rude instruments, will melt the gold and silver and fashion it as you wish. Some of the finest work in the world in these metals is done in India. One peculiarity of these smiths is that they can blow a constant blast of wind through their blow- pipe. The breath enters the nose, goes into the lungs, and out of the mouth in a constant circuit. This may seem incredible because we cannot do it. But they can, and do. The blacksmith sits on his heels and pounds out his wares; i. e., what of them he doesn't burn up. He is not the man who shoes the horses and bullocks. He makes the shoes and another tradesman comes to the stable to put them on. He is a little too high up in the social scale to blow his own bellows, so another man sits on his heels to blow the bellows. A blacksmith shop can be improvised any time inside of half an hour under a tree. The bellows consists of two goat- skins, with two flat strips of wood, sixteen inches long, so fastened to each skin that when the man takes hold of one, by putting his thumb over one strip and his fingers over the other, he can open it. When he opens it, of course the air rushes in, and he blows it out through an iron nozzle at the other end by closing his hand and pressing down on the skin. He has two skins which he alternately opens and closes, so making a constant blowing at the fire where these nozzles come together. To make the place for the fire, all that is needed is a little stiff mud plastered around the Occupations 129 nozzles of the bellows and a heavy stone to hold them down. With a basket of charcoal, a heavy piece of iron for an anvil, a pair of tongs, and a hammer, he is equipped for business. I was rude enough to laugh outright the first time I saw a blacksmith at work. When a brick-mason begins a job, his first work probably will be to make his brick. When taken from the mold that holds but a single brick, they are spread around upon the grass to dry. When enough are dry they prepare to burn them. This is not done as we burn brick. They make as many walls a foot high and eight inches thick as they want arches. These walls are as long as the kiln is to be wide, and about fifteen inches apart. Into this open place, between these sev- eral little walls, they put dry firewood. Now they be- gin to build up the rest of the kiln, putting the bricks over the wood in such a way that they will not fall when the wood burns out. So it goes clear to the top, mixing together brick and wood. Sometimes they put in pieces of logs, eighteen inches in diameter. When it is all laid up, fire is set to the fine wood below, and inside of twenty-four hours all of the wood in the kiln is ablaze. When the wood is consumed the bricks are burned. The brick-mason next prepares his lime. First in order is to have the stone. In our part of India this was simply nuggets of limestone, called gingta, and was usually gathered by women. They find it lying around in waste places and in ditches. It is not found in all places, and the supply, even where it is found, may become exhausted, so at times it must be brought 130 India and Daily Life in Bengal long distances in carts or otherwise. After the gingta is gathered it must be burned. For this purpose a round kiln is made from four to eight feet in diameter, four or five feet high, and open at the top. In order to have a draft, two or three openings are left in the wall at the bottom. First a little straw and dry wood are put in, then three baskets of charcoal and one of gingta. In this proportion the charcoal and lime are put, until the kiln is full, when it is set on fire. When the charcoal is consumed the lime is burned. Wood may be used instead of charcoal, but more is required. One strange thing about the burning of brick and lime, is that these masons will not set fire to their lime-kilns nor their brick-kilns. They say the fire will destroy life in the lime and the brick, and they must not take life. They are consistent enough to cause some one of a lower caste to start the fire. Walls are laid somewhat as they are in America, only very slowly, and with a great deal of water. The masons have a little straw wisp beside them and a jar of water. These are used every now and again in sprinkling the walls. Often a course of brick is laid on the outside and inside of the wall, and the place be- tween is filled with water, which is allowed to remain until absorbed by the brick, while they work upon some other part of the wall or retire for a smoke. May this not account for the fact that their buildings will some- times stand for more than a thousand years? They make beautiful cornices and all kinds of stucco-work with this lime. It is hardly necessary to add that they take their time to do a job. The wages of a Bringing pottery to market The boy zvho herds cattle Occupations 131 brickmason in the country districts is from eight to ten cents a day, and he boards himself. The making of pottery is an important industry. Water is brought in earthen jars, people cook in them and use them in various other ways. The material is coarse and the construction rude, still they answer their purpose. These craftsmen, like all others, sit on their heels to do their work. A great deal of this pottery is wasted, and caste is accountable for part of it. Many of the pilgrims buy a little half-cent or quarter-cent earthen dish to cook their rice in, and after dinner either throw it down and break it, or leave it by the tree or rest-house where they were. We might think that the next man who came along and wanted to boil his rice would pick up one of the dishes and wash it and use it. But he does not. He doesn't know what low-caste man may have used it, so he proceeds to buy one for himself. In this way millions of earthen jars are destroyed. They have a custom also of breaking, once a year, all vessels in their houses made of this material. Almost any day you may see men and women bringing great loads of earthen jars to market. Weaving is accomplished by means of the rudest kind of tools, and is all done by hand. I am not speak- ing of cotton and jute mills established by English capital, but of natives as they work. The thread is prepared after the most primitive methods, and is then stretched under a tree the length which the piece of cloth is to be. Under this tree it is often woven. The natives make all kinds of cloth (chiefly of cotton). 132 India and Daily Life in Bengal from the coarse and strong, such as is worn by the Santals, to the fine worn by the higher-caste women. Tussar-silk, made from cocoons found in the jungles, is one of the industries. How they can make such fine fabrics as they do with their rude tools is a mystery. In the vicinity of the Himalaya Mountains a good deal of coarse woolen goods is made, and Cashmere is noted for the finest shawls in the world. The hand- looms of India cannot compete with the steam looms of Manchester, so that weaving does not furnish the occupation for the people which it once did. Many who now weave their own cloth buy Manchester yarn. A very low-caste people are the shoemakers, who are also the tanners. Animals which die are skinned by the sweepers, and their skins are taken to the shoe- makers. These also get skins from the Mohammedan butchers. They tan them by making them into a big bag, and filling these with a liquid made from barks of different kinds steeped in water. The skins in this way are suspended over a large earthen vessel into which they drip. They make some pretty good leather, but it has the peculiar property of shrinking rather than stretching with use. If our shoe fits us nicely when it is new, we m.ay be sure it will be too small after a few months. If we wish to have one of these country shoemakers make us a pair of shoes, we call him to our house. When he gets ready he comes, and takes for a measure a strip of paper. He cuts this off, making it the length of our foot. Then he measures the instep with the same piece of paper, tearing the edge to make the mark. We ask him when he will have the shoes Occupations 133 done, and he tells us, " Day after to-morrow." He stands around as if he were not quite ready to go, and we ask him what more he wants. " I want a little money for expenses," he says. If we don't know the custom of the country, we perhaps may tell him that when he gets his work done we will pay him ; but if we do know the custom, we will know that we must give him something in advance or we will never get our work done. We may refuse to give it to him, and he may promise to do the work, but it is probable that he will not do it. If we do give him a little money in advance, he does the work when he gets ready. Only after one has lived in India a few years can he under- stand the expression, " Lie like a shoemaker." Have plenty of patience and perseverance, and we will get our shoes after a while. There are merchants of all kinds. If, for instance, you should go down the streets of Balasore or Mid- napore, you would see a line of shops on either side of the road. These are all small and but one story high. Some of them are pucca and some mud houses. The man who sells goods usually sits on a grass mat on the floor, or on a large low table. He may have beside him a large cushion on which to recline. If he can get the article you wish without getting up, he will do so ; if not, he will get up. You would find one man selling cloth of various kinds; another, different kinds of oils — as kerosene oil, from both Russia and America, cas- tor oil, cocoanut oil, mustard oil, and various other kinds of a coarser nature, which the natives eat and which they also use to rub on their bodies in the winter 134 India and Daily Life in Bengal season before bathing. This man would also have rosin, gums, and paint. The next man perhaps would sell candies, which he makes on the spot from sugar, flour, melted butter, and sour milk. With one or more of these four articles, and a few spices in differ- ent combinations and in different ways, he will make a great variety of sweets. The next man may have a shop for English goods. He keeps a little of almost everything, even though his shop is but eight feet by ten. We may go and inquire for something which we don't expect to find short of Calcutta, and as likely as not he will find the very thing we are after in some dusty corner. The next man has grains of all kinds — as rice, wheat, and dal of different varieties. The peo- ple are very fond of parched rice, so this is found in many shops. They make it by putting a certain kind of rice in an earthen jar, building a brisk fire under it, and stirring it with a broom splint while it is popping. Sometimes they put molasses with it and roll it into balls. It is very palatable when fresh. There are persons also lounging around courthouses whose only occupation is giving testimony in court. For twenty-five cents you can hire them to swear to anything you desire. In the census returns of 1890, a large number gave this as their only occupation. Little justice is found in the courts; for, in the first place, you cannot believe the testimony. A magistrate in Balasore told me he never pretended to believe the witnesses. He simply listened to both sides, and then made up his mind to what he thought might be prob- able. There is also little doubt that many of the native Occupations 135 magistrates will accept bribes in one way or another. English officials do their best to prevent bribery and corruption, but the tide is very strong in the other direction. The boatmen are quite a numerous class in Bengal. Thousands of them live in their boats. They may have some other place they call home, but most of their time is spent on their boats. At a point above the Howrah Bridge, a hundred and twenty thousand boats pass in a single year. They handle their boats very skilful- ly, and sometimes recklessly. I was going up on the steamship Bassein once, and as we neared Calcutta we saw a native rowboat coming toward us as if it would pass in front of us. I feared, as I saw them coming, that they had mistaken our speed, and so it was, for instead of passing in front they struck our side wheel and instantly their boat was in splinters. They swim like ducks, and no one was lost. I was told afterward by the captain that they got a good sum of money for damages. Also I was told that it is not an uncommon occurrence. When a boat is about worn out, they sometimes manage to have it struck by a passing steamer. Of course no one could prove that it was purposely done. While we find no native sailors who are Hindus on English ships, wx find plenty of Hindus on their own boats. Mohammedan sailors are found in large numbers on European ships. They are treach- erous and cowardly in a dangerous storm, and cannot be depended on in an emergency. Though they are skilful in running their own boats, they sometimes give us trouble when they run our mission boats by what 136 India and Daily Life in Bengal we used to think was their stupidity. Their pretended stupidity is often a deliberate plan to secure some ad- vantage to themselves. In Orissa there are many tidal rivers, and the coast canal crosses all these. At all these river crossings there are locks, which must be entered while there is plenty of water in the river. Sometimes in crossing they would delay the boat through various pretexts, until they were just too late to enter the lock on the opposite side. This would secure a rest to them until the next tide came in. You might be greatly incon- venienced by the delay, but it mattered little to them. Here, again, you have a chance to exercise the grace of patience. We must not overlook the mahajan. The word literally means '' great man," and so he is. He is the money-lender. This may be his sole occupation, or he may do this in connection with some other business. Sometimes goldsmiths are money-lenders. The regu- lar rate of interest among the natives is two pice on a rupee per month. As there are sixty-four pice in a rupee, two pice a month would be one-thirty-second of the principal per month, or nearly forty per cent per year. It is little wonder that when a poor man gets into the hands of a money-lender he is often there for life, and sometimes becomes not much less than a slave to him. The note given is equal to a chattel mortgage, and will take the last thing a man has if the holder sees fit to crowd him. Custom is an iron law in India, and the custom is to spend large sums on the marriage of a daughter. On such occasions the money-lender is Occupations 137 often called upon. This is one of the ways to account for the poverty of the people. No one could live opposite a police headquarters, as we did for nine years, without realizing that police- men are a factor not to be overlooked in speaking of occupations. The lowest grade of these is the chauke- dar, or village watchman. These men are armed with a tough bamboo pole six feet long, on the end of which is a spear. They go around the village at night and call out now and again at the top of their voice. I have often told them that they call out so as to give the thief a good chance to get away. So far as being a pro- tection against thieves is concerned, in our part of the country they are absolutely worthless. In northern India, Europeans employ one of the thief caste as a watchman, and then they are safe though the watch- man sleep all night. In this they show a good deal of shrewdness and policy. The next above the chaukedar is the Bengal police. These men enlist as persons do in the army, and have regular military drill. They are distinguished by their blue drill pantaloons, shirt, and headcloth. I would not depreciate any part of the government machinery of any worth, but I have had pretty good chances for knowing, and I have no hesitation in saying that they are about as big a set of rascals as could well be found. Possibly they help preserve the peace, but I doubt it. On the other hand, they bring many innocent people into the law courts. They are supposed to have crimi- nal cases to report frequently, but if these cases do not come under their observation they don't have much 138 India and Daily Life in Bengal trouble in getting up one. But they are more noted for hushing up those which ought to come to the sur- face than for trumping up cases. The palms of the polioeman's hands itch for coin, which will work wonders for the guilty man, and withholding this no one need expect much help. Let me give a personal experience to illustrate this: I took with me to India a very nice, valuable watch, which came to me from a dear younger brother, whom death had taken from us. I had a little pocket on the wall near the head of the bed where I hung my watch at night. It often happened that I left it there through the day also. One day I went to get it and it was not there. People said, " Tell the police," and so I did. They at once came to the house. It was not the ordi- nary policeman in a blue drill suit, but a man a grade or two higher, having on white drill with two or three red stripes across his sleeve, a white headcloth fringed with red, and around him a leathern belt with a brass buckle. Along with this head man came a writer and an ordinary policeman in blue. This latter had to come to carry the ink bottle and a little roll of brown paper, on which were to be noted some of the impor- tant things necessary to be known in the case: First, " Which door would the thief be likely to enter ? " As there were seven to the room, it is probable he had some trouble in deciding, but at last the writer was told what to record in this connection. Then, " How far did the pocket hang from the bed? " The distance wa-s roughly estimated and recorded. Then the color of the pocket must be carefully noted. This was very Occupations 139 important. It was not only red like the fringe of his headcloth, but a much brighter red. Several other things of equal importance were observed and care- fully noted. With a profound bow he departed, care- fully to consider the records he had ordered made, with a promise to call again the next day. The next day he came to reassure himself that his observations of the previous day were correct. Find- ing he had made no mistake, he again withdrew with a promise to call again soon. The next day he came to announce his conclusions; namely, that some one acquainted with the premises, and some one with a knowledge of the fact that I had a watch, had probably stolen it. This was a long step in the right direction. The next conclusion was that no one would be more likely to have this knowledge than some of the serv- ants, and therefore some of them had it. If they had it, we would better search their houses for it, which he proceeded to do, but found no watch. I gave him no fee, and no more effort was made to find my watch by the police. The native Christians, with myself, decided who the guilty man was, and a month afterward two of our native preachers found him and recovered my watch. These men walk about with their clubs hanging by their side, and strike terror into the hearts of many of the poor, ignorant people. They often buy things of the farmers at their own price, and vague rumors are sometimes heard that often they never pay for what they get. This is without doubt true. Perhaps, on the whole, it is better to keep them as policemen than to 140 India and Daily Life in Bengal discharge them, and let such a bad class loose on so- ciety. The garrie wallah, or cartman, must receive a little attention. His cart is made of two large wheels, five feet in diameter, a wooden axle, two large poles in the shape of a letter V (only with a much more acute angle), with the point eight feet in front of the axle, and the two ends running back of the axle eight feet. At the point the yoke is tied with a strong rope, and over the axle is the cover. This is made by bending green bamboo strips, tying other strips across them, and spreading palm leaves over the whole. This covering makes a good protection from rain and sun. The yoke is simply a straight pole with a loose pin in either end, and the bullocks are generally small cat- tle, with a hump on their necks just in front of the shoulder blade. In northern and southern India the cattle have long ears, and are much larger than in Bengal. The hump catches the yoke as soon as they begin to draw. If the cartman is very fond of his bul- locks, he will have them tattooed in many places on their bodies with different figures. This is done by burning them with a red-hot iron. If he is able, he will have a string of cowries ^ around the base of their horns, and a sweet-sounding bell on the neck of each. A hollow bamboo, a foot long, is fastened to the cover to hold oil for greasing his cart and his bullocks' horns, while on the top of the cover may be seen his box and earthen jar for cooking and feeding purposes. The driver loads his cart so as to allow a heavy 1 A small shell used as money. Occupations Ml portion to rest on the necks of his bullocks, and when ready to start he sits astride the V-shaped tongue, sticks his toes into the belly of each bullock, gives them a blow with his club of a whip, seizes each one by the^ root of the tail with his thumb and finger, and shouts to them. If this will not start them nothing will. While on the road the cartmen often cook, feed their bullocks, and eat under the shade of a tree, and sleep under or in their carts. All teaming is done by the faithful bullocks. Horses draw only people. There is also quite an array of domestics connected with every well-to-do household. The native gentle- men are very fond of making a display of these. In the eyes of their fellow-countrymen their wealth is determined by the number of people they can have around their houses. You call on a native gentleman, and you will be surprised to see the number of serv- ants that will make their appearance at one time or another. I never could tell what they all did. English officials have a good many, but missionaries reduce their staff to the lowest number possible. But before I speak of the duties of these domestics, let me say a word as to their necessity. The question is asked, " Why do missionaries keep servants? Why do they so soon forget their simple habits of living after they get to India? I may as well say a few words now as at any time on this subject. In the first place, missionaries have been, as a rule, people who in the home land had sim- ple habits. In the next place, they are, as a rule, in- telligent and conscientious people. These two facts 142 India and Daily Life in Bengal ought to be a guarantee that they would not unneces- sarily indulge luxurious habits. They keep servants because they are a necessity. They pay for them from their own pocketbooks, so of course would not keep more than were needed. The country is very hot, so that we cannot put forth more physical effort than is necessary to do what is needed in connection with our missionary work. If we did our own work, it would be at the expense of the cause we were sent to serve. I contend that it is no more right for our wives to neglect their mission work for their housework, than it would be for a school-teacher in this country to be making her dresses and aprons during the hours of teaching. The missionary's wife is paid to do mission work, as a teacher is paid to teach the school. It is true there are some duties she cannot relegate to serv- ants, but she can have them wash her clothes, and make them, and do many other things which she does herself in America. '' If necessary to have some, why have so many ? " For the same reason th'at if we have one we must have a number. With their caste ideas one will not do the work which belongs to another. A cook will not sweep, and a gardener cannot cook, and a tailor cannot wash clothes. Members of one class cannot do the work of another, and would not if they could. We must, therefore, have separate people to do these various kinds of work. We must bear in mind that they work very cheaply and board themselves. Besides all this, there are so many people who are struggling for an existence, and who can hardly keep their children from Occupations 143 starving, that from sheer pity we would employ them as much as we possibly could. Many of them are good and true, and one becomes quite attached to them. They are also at times a great trial. Having said so much as an explanation for their necessity, let us look at their work. Let us begin with^ the bearer. This man is supposed to look after the children and keep them from running into the sun, dust the furniture, keep the mould off our books and shoes during the rains, fill the lamps, buy material for annual repairs, look after these repairs, and do many kinds of work in that line, so that the man of the house may not be tried every hour in the day with these things. As natives go, he is a pretty faithful man, but you have some trials with him. When he cleans the books he may put them in wrong end up, and in his efforts to keep others from cheating you he is apt to do it himself. Then you are never quite sure about the children. We may find one of them out in the sun with no hat on, which never should be allowed. If we chide the bearer, he will tell us the child ran out itself, and would go, and what could he do? So, while the bearer looks after things in general, we must look after him in particular. The butcher comes. He is a Mohammedan, of course, and has with him a small boy who carries, on a flat, dirty tray, made of split bamboos, some meat. He plants himself in the back door so as to attract our attention, and when he gets our eye, makes a low salaam (bow). We go to him to see what he has, and he tells us it is a nice piece of lamb, and he picks K 144 India and Daily Life in Bengal it up and turns it over, and points out the fat, if he can find any, and assures us that it is young and tender. We tell him we fear it is not lamb but goat. He em- phatically declares it is lamb, and asks if we ever saw wool growing from a goat's leg, and then points tri- umphantly to the wool near the foot, which he did not take off. We are sure he is right, and buy his lamb. Don't be at all surprised to find that the wool was carefully sewed on a goat's leg, by which process goat is readily turned into lamb. Here is the gardener. We must have a little house built in the garden for him. It need not be large — ten feet square will do, but he must have it in order to keep people from stealing the fruit and vegetables. He watches the fruit as it ripens, and plucks it before the crows, or monkeys, or bad boys do. He is sup- posed to board himself, but intends to get all the fruit and vegetables he needs out of the garden. Each morning he brings in the fruit and vegetables, taste- fully arranged on a flat woven bamboo tray. He is a gardener by caste, and rarely does anything else but work in fruits, vegetables, or grains. But of all servants the cook, next to the sweeper, is the most important. The cook-house is at some dis- tance from the house, and no European woman could walk back and forth between this and the house very much in the hot sun. The cook is, therefore, left a good deal to himself. This suits him well, for he can then do about as he likes. There is in the house a sort of pantry, in which all the provisions are kept under lock and key. The lady of the house makes up her mind Occupatio ns 145 what she wants for the different meals of the day, and gives her orders to the cook early in the morning. He comes to the pantry with his dishes and she comes with her keys. He gets rice, dal, onions, sugar, cracked wheat, potatoes, if there are any, salt, and ghee. He sometimes says he has not enough salt or sugar or ghee. She may give him more, or may say, " That is surely enough for one day." He says nothing, of course, but takes his things and goes. At dinner you find that things which required salt are too fresh, or things which required sugar are not sweet enough, and the ghee is nearly minus in some things. You may suggest to the cook that the dinner is tasteless. He tells you very meekly that he is very sorry, but it is impossible for him to make things sweet without sugar. The next time you let him take about what salt, sugar, and ghee he asks for. You see the man has a family at home, and they like salt in their rice and ghee in their dal. You know that what of these your dinner lacks has gone into his, but you are helpless, and must make the best of the situation. One may say, " Why not dismiss him when you know he does such things, and get another ? " The fact is, we would not better our condition if we did. The man has been with us a number of years, so that he and his family are well fed. The chances are the new man and his family would be lean and poor. You can see what would fol- low. The cook comes very early to the house to pre- pare the morning meal. This is very simple. It may be a piece of toast, a boiled egg, and a cup of tea. 146 India and Daily Life in Bengal He churns our butter in a pickle bottle by shaking it vigorously. The butcher takes the leg of mutton we bought to the cook, and it was he who showed you the piece of lambskin which was sewed on the leg of the goat. He may show it or he may not. That will de- pend entirely on whether it will pay him to do so. We must remember that there is a good deal of power in the hands of the cook. Let us walk out quietly to the cook-house, and put our ear to a crack in the door and listen. If we listen sharply, we may hear some- thing like this : Cook. " How much did the mem-sahib give for this mutton? " Butcher. " One rupee." Cook. " This is not mutton, it is goat." Butcher. " You don't know mutton from goat. That is a sheep." Cook. '' Do your sheep fasten the wool on their legs with a thread? " The butcher sees he is caught, and smiles, and the cook says, "I want more dusturi." ^ Butcher. " I am giving you now two pice on the rupee, and that is the regular custom." Cook. "A man who makes his money as you do, by selling goat's meat for mutton, can give three pice on the rupee." The butcher refuses, a quarrel ensues, and the cook, always greatly interested in our welfare, brings the leg to us, shows the trick, and tells us to dismiss this man and get an honest butcher. ' Dusturi is the money paid to servants by any person who sells goods of any kind to Europeans or wealthy natives. It is one thirty-second of the value of the article. The cook buys for the table, and gets his dusturi, the hostler for the horses, and gets his, etc. This all comes out of the purchaser. Occupations 147 Almost all the natives do their cutting of meats and vegetables by means of a knife shaped something like a sickle. One end of this is fastened into a board fifteen inches long and four inches wide, and so fixed that the edge is toward them. When they want to cut any- thing for cooking they squat on the floor, put one foot on the board to hold it solid, and proceed to cut. This kind of knife is found in every native house. The cook is not encumbered with many garments while at his work. Three yards of factory cotton tied around his loins will answer. When we see him come into the dining-room with a paper in his hand we know he is after money, and wants to render his account. We are surprised that all the money we gave him a few days ago is gone. But there it is in black and white : Rice, so much ; dal, so much ; and so on to the end of the list. Many of the smaller things cost but one quarter of a cent, but the whole takes all the money and leaves us a little in his debt. We know he has cheated us, and we think perhaps that we will do our own buying. The next day we go to the bazaar for this purpose, but the men in the bazaar cheat us so much worse than our cook did that we are quite willing for him to continue. We had a Mohammedan cook whose name was Jesso. Chicken is the principal meat, and Jesso bought the chickens. One day my wife, who was fond of the leg, after eating one looked for the other. It was not to be found. She called the cook and inquired into the matter. Jesso said, " Chickens are very scarce these days, and this one with one leg is all I could find in the market." 148 India and Daily Life in Bengal There is a small piece of cloth which may be said to be the badge of the cook. It is a yard long and half a yard wide, and he usually carries it on his naked shoulder. It answers a great variety of purposes, among which is straining milk. This is not by order or consent of the lady of the house, but the way he does when alone and unmolested. They never want to see any milk wasted, so insist on squeezing out with their thumb and finger the last drop. We may have told him a score of times that we would much prefer a few drops less milk and a little less dirt, but the next time he strains the milk it is the same thing. As showing another use to which this piece of cloth may be put, let me tell a little incident which was told us at the tea-table the day it occurred. The victim was Mrs. Boyer, our neighbor just across the street. She was feeling a little languid so asked the cook to make her a cup of coffee, which he proceeded to do. It was so very nice that she asked for a second cup. The cook told her he was sorry that he could not make her any more, for the reason that he had no more milk. She said, " I thought you had a quart of milk," and the cook replied, " So I had, mem-sahib, but the boy spilt it on the cook-house floor, and all I could sop up I put in your other cup of coffee." We can't say that these cooks are really dirty men, but they do things differ- ently than we do in America. But they are faithful in many respects, and in spite of all their faults we like them. House cannot be kept without the dirze. This is the man who sews. He comes in the morning at nine Washermen in the foreground; a zvater carrier on the left One way of crossing rivers^ Bengal ^ Occupations 149 o'clock, and stays until five. He never wears his shoes inside the house, and never takes off his cap. He has a bit of grass matting, three feet by six feet, which he takes from the corner of the room and unrolls. Lei- surely he proceeds to sit down with his legs crossed under him. He has a little box which he unlocks, and takes from it his scissors, needles, pins, cloth, etc. He is now ready for operation. He is a pretty good imita- tor, and insists that he can make anything you want if you will give him a pattern. Sometimes he does very well, and sometimes he spoils the garment. He never will acknowledge that a garment is spoiled, and insists that a little alteration would make it all right. He is very fond of his midday nap, and we shall be sure to find him some hour of the day fast asleep. The wife can't sit over him all the time. If she could she might as well do the work. He generally is carrying on a lit- tle business by himself at home, so a yard or two of print seldom comes amiss. Even thread and needles and pins can be used. These he can quietly slip in and under his garments at convenient times. If we think needles and thread go too fast, he tells us needles are poor, and they don't put as much thread on a spool as they used to. We learn what Paul meant when he said, Take " joyfully the spoiling of your goods." Every Monday morning the washerman comes. The housewife has a book to keep her accounts with him, which she brings out while he proceeds to count the soiled clothes. '' One, two, three, four — four sheets." This is marked down. Then towels are counted. It may be at this tim.e some one asks for the 150 India and Daily Life in Bengal mem-sahib, and her attention is taken away for the moment. This is his opportunity to put in an extra garment. If he is caught he says he made a mistake in the count, but if not he is a garment ahead, for he brings back only the number marked. After all are counted he rolls them up in a big sheet, puts them upon his head, and carries them to the tank, or river, where they are pounded over stones, or poles, or slabs, and boiled in a coarse soap with water until they are clean. In this process buttons are torn off and the color is taken out of prints and calicoes. If there are some good pearl buttons on the garments he may cut some of them off, then declare they were lost in the washing. They are again counted and checked off when he brings them back, and if they tally, all right, but if not he agrees to make them right. Half of them are now made over to the dirze to mend tears and sew on but- tons, and the rest are put away. You must have a man who is called a syce to at- tend your horse. There are many reasons for this. In the first place, the horses are generally so vicious that, being used to the natives, a white man could not har- ness or saddle them. In the next place, there are no hitching-posts, and if there were we would not dare hitch our horse, for whatever was movable might be taken before we got back to our carriage. Again, we cannot afford the time to attend to our horse when we can hire it done for five cents a day, and the man of course boards himself, as do all the rest of the servants. Each day the man has to go and find grass where he can ; and all through the dry season with a sort of spud Occupations 151 he digs it up by the roots. This is washed in the tank, or river, and brought home. The horse also eats dan- nah, the grain from which dal is made. The syce and his family eat dal, and could easily eat the horse's share, so we must have the horse brought to the house and see him fed. This is not always possible for us to do, and therefore the man often gets some of the food the horse should have. But when we think that the man is really hungry enough to eat raw peas, we can hardly be- grudge him the little he may steal. In giving an account of the occupations, we must not overlook the punka wallah, for he is necessary to the very existence of the European in India. A punka is a contrivance for keeping the air in motion in a room. This is made by taking a pole, say five inches in diame- ter, and anywhere from ten to twenty feet long, and suspending it from the ceiling by means of hooks and ropes. It hangs down four or five feet from the ceil- ing, and is swung back and forth by means of a man pulling a rope which is attached to it. To the pole is tacked a heavy frill about eighteen inches wide, and it is this which keeps the air in motion as the punka swings back and forth. This man is the punka wallah. I fancy I hear some one say, " Do you have some one to fan you ? " Truth compels me to answer yes to that question. This is one of the " luxuries " of the missionaries' life that we sometimes hear about. I have told you something of the climate, and the work of the missionary is spoken of further on. But we will have to emphasize one or two things before you will see the necessity of a punka wallah. When the 152 India and Daily Life in Bengal wind gets in the south the temperature of the atmos- phere rapidly changes, so that by April we must close our doors by nine o'clock, and sometimes earlier, to keep out the outside wind, which feels at times like the air from an oven. You may fancy yourself shut up in a room where the thermometer will be from 90° to 100°, and not the slightest motion in the air. It is true we are not all in our houses by this time in the morning. Those who have gone out to the zenanas, or the villages, or schools, do not get in before ten o'clock; but some members of the household are in the house and the punka must go. We dress thinly, and yet if we get out of a room where the punka is, in a very few moments the perspiration will begin to ooze from every pore in the skin. English officers, whose salaries are large, start their punkas in a number of rooms, and keep them going night and day for seven or eight months. Missionaries, whose salaries will not admit of this, economize their punka pulling as much as possible. But punkas we must have to some extent if we are to live and work at all. It often happens during the rainy season that not a breath of air is stirring night or day. At such times as this we must have punkas at night also. The punka wallah is not an unalloyed blessing. We often have such a trial with him that we think we will get along without him, but a day of such an experience causes us to decide to choose the least of two evils. Let me try to take the reader through one night's experience. We retire at ten o'clock, when our night men are supposed to be on hand. They are probably Occupations 153 there, though they may be late. We He down with our thin night suit on, and the punka starts. We are com- paratively comfortable, though io° cooler would suit us much better, and we go to sleep. By and by we awake with a feeling of suffocation, and we find our clothes wet with sweat and the punka standing still. Then we call out, " Punka tannow ! " which is an order to pull the punka. It may move, and it may not. If it does not, we get up and take hold of the rope and give it a pull. Our man who is pulling is off in another part of the house, or out on the veranda, but even in his sleep he holds on to the rope, so our pull at his rope awakens him. He suddenly comes to the conclu- sion that he has been sleeping, and begins to pull most vigorously. It may be he pulls so hard to convince us that he has been wide awake all the time. At all events, he now pulls so hard that the breeze on our damp night clothes makes us feel chilly, and we must call out to him to pull more slowly. This he is quite willing to do, and so it swings more slowly and keeps on growing slower and slower, until finally it stops again. Then we know our man has again gone to sleep. We again go through the process of awakening him, and again our punka is pulled spasmodically. We keep on this way for half an hour, and then go out where the man is and convince him that he has been sleeping, and that he must wake up thoroughly and keep awake. It may be we tell him if he can't do better we must get some one else. Now he is thoroughly aroused and pulls steadily, and we retire and go to sleep again, only to repeat the experience an hour or 154 India and Daily Life in Bengal two hence. We get up in the morning feehng that we have not slept more than half the night, and wish that we could just for one night lie down on a bed and pull a blanket over us, and sleep without the '* luxury " of a punka wallah. There is no class of people in all India which is so absolutely essential as the sweepers. If they knew their power and would combine, they would command any kind of a salary, for no other caste would under any circumstances do their work. Their duties are to sweep the house and yard and attend to the bathroom work. There is a maidservant, the ayah, who makes the beds and attends the smaller children. All in all, the servants are as faithful and honest as so many per- sons would be in America, if they were often pinched with hunger. There are many trials in connection with so many people about the house, and one often wishes conditions were different. But since they are as they are, we make the best we can out of them. We like the servants, as a rule, and they become attached to us. They are very polite, and seldom give us a saucy an- swer. They will bear a great deal of hardship and fatigue without grumbling, and our interest is always paramount with them, next to their own. Their wages range from one dollar to two dollars and a half a month, except in the larger cities, where they are more. Most of the servants we had were with us a number of years, and when we left some of them prostrated them- selves at our feet, and wept as if their hearts were breaking. ;:i^ ■ Q m \s > r'x^S^^ Occupations 155 The carpenter comes next. He is the man who makes anything, from the rude doors and door- jambs in the mud houses, to bureaus, bedsteads, chairs, and beauti- ful inlaid boxes in artistic designs. He sits on his heels in his shop or on the mud floor of his veranda, and there he executes his work. His tools are not many. A small saw with hooked teeth, which he pulls toward him to saw his boards, is quite necessary. His joints are cut by the use of a mallet and chisel, instead of a saw. His plane usually has a rough edge, like the edge of a sickle, so it works more like a rasp on the surface of a board than like a smooth plane. He bores not with brace and bit, but by means of an instrument which resembles a large scratch awl. It is a diamond- pointed bit firmly set in a handle, which handle has a number of grooves turned upon it. Then he takes a round stick, say a half-inch in diameter, and about two and one-half feet long, and to each end of this stick he ties a strong string, leaving it quite loose. This string he winds twice around the handle of his bit in the grooves turned for this purpose, and once around his thumb. Now he takes hold of the stick with the same hand and holds it firmly, and then moves his hand back and forth. This motion of course turns the bit the same as a belt turns a wheel, only it turns the bit one way and then another, according as his arm swings backward and forward. This cuts a clean, nice hole through the hardest of woods. He has a variety of sizes, as we have different-sized bits, only none of them exceed a half-inch in diameter. If a larger hole is required a chisel is used. 156 India and Daily Life in Bengal The school-teacher is a man we must by no man- ner of means overlook. He is a very important per- sonage. He is a man usually highly respected in his village. He is not made of common earth. He be- longs to a class by himself. He is '' to the manner born." He may be extremely poor so far as money goes, yet he has quite an important bearing. There are many grades of teachers. I do not speak so much of the modern teacher, who has perhaps been to Eng- land, or is at least a graduate of the Calcutta Univer- sity and who now is in some college, and teaches the English classics in the English language, but of the old-fashioned teacher. This man goes to a village where a school is needed, and after finding some shed, or finding enough people who will contribute to build one, he organizes his school. He finds enough pupils who will agree to give him a handful of rice and a little fruit, and some ghee and salt, etc. Each does so, that his bodily wants may be supplied. Some may even agree to bring in a few cents a month. His re- ward comes when he gets his pupils to pass the gov- ernment examinations. If he has a large school and is a good teacher, he may get at the end of the year fif- teen or twenty dollars, besides the rice, etc., which the pupils give him. With this wrapped up in his cloth, he goes back to his native village and enjoys life with his wife and family during the long vacation. Let us go into his schoolhouse and study the situation. It may be simply a shed with a thatch roof, and mud walls up half-way to the roof on three sides. The floor is of earth. The teacher unrolls his mat and takes his seat Occupations 157 on the floor. Now he makes on the hard earth floor a letter with his chalk. He tells them all to make the same thing, and then tells them it is Kaw. They all sing at the top of their voices " Kaw." And then the next is made and its name pronounced, and the school in unison after him call out its name. So on they go until they have learned the two hundred and fifty let- ters and combinations in their alphabet. A well-drilled school sounds like the roar of a waterfall. Schools with more modern-trained teachers and under mission supervision are conducted somewhat differently, but you would scarcely hear a pin drop in any of them. To study quietly or teach quietly seems to the natives quite out of place. There are rich bankers and brokers, as well as whole- sale merchants of all sorts. In all large towns and cities money-changers abound. They have a small room opening on the street in the more public thoroughfare, and here the men sit on a grass mat on the floor beside their money boxes. On the floor about them are coins of all kinds and de- nominations, in value from the eighth of a cent up to one hundred dollars or more. For the sum of half a cent and upward they will change money to any amount desired. Jugglers are seen now and again, though like the snakes of India they are not so numerous as people imagine. These usually go two together, though some- times there is quite a camp of them. They carry a very small drum which has a peculiar sound, and one al- ways knows of their approach by the vigorous beating 158 India and Dady Life in Bengal of this drum. Some of their tricks are quite clever, and the people are very fond of seeing them perform. About once a year I allowed them to set up in our yard for the entertainment of ourselves and all the village people. The priests are a numerous class. I have no good word to say of them. They serve the idols, taking good care to serve themselves in the meantime. Lazy, greedy, licentious, are the adjectives which in gen- eral apply to them. Palky bearers were a class with which formerly more than now the travelers had to deal. It takes six of these men to each palky, four carrying at a time and two to change. Sometimes eight men are required. The vex- ations incident to this mode of travel and with these men is a subject too prolific to deal with in detail. The old-school Bengali babu still clings to his palky, for it affords him ample room to sit with his feet folded under him, or to recline on his cushion, both of which are favorite attitudes. No modern innovation of seats where one's legs have to hang down for him. I would like to speak of the lawyers at some length, but suffice it to say that they are not unlike the profes- sion as Christ knew them (Luke 11:46). Take the natural temptations to lawyers and couple with that the depraved and cunning character of the Orient, and you may imagine what the product would be. All who have lived in a kutchery station have seen the army of clerks as each day they wend their way to the courthouse. A more satisfied lot of men never lived. Some have passed the university-entrance test, ^ Occup ations 159 and others have tried and failed — ^both equally credi- table in the mind of the native. They now have a position at from two dollars to twenty or thirty dol- lars per month, and what more can a soul desire ? The clerk has a very pompous swing when he walks; is dressed, in addition to other garments, in red or blue- striped socks and patent-leather shoes. He has on a white shirt, and a thin white dhuti around his loins, and a white muslin cloth thrown loosely around his shoulders and neck. He is in no hurry when he gets into his office. His seat is generally on a mat made of grass. He lays aside his extreme outer garment, and proceeds first to unroll his grass mat and then to un- lock his wooden or tin box. This contains his reed pen and earthen ink bottle, and a quantity of brown paper. He dips his pen deeply in his ink bottle, and then throws the superfluous ink on the mat. *' A work- man is known by his chips," and a mat well spotted with ink denotes a vigorous workman. He needs no desk on which to write. The top of his box will do, or more likely he will hold his paper in one hand while he writes with the other. Speed is not aimed at, but accuracy is. His accounts must be correct to a fraction of a cent. When his day's work is done he wends his way home, and removes these superfluous garments with which modern civilization has compelled him to be clothed, and with the covering nature gave him, with a little addition of man's manufacture about his loins, he lies on his divan, or sits cross-legged on his mat, and smokes his hookah and chats and eats, gam- bles sometimes, and so lives in his native simplicity L / 60 India and Daily Life in Bengal until the duties of another day call him away. And thus his life passes. He has little ambition to rise, unless it be for the more money there may be in it. The herdsmen are those who keep cattle and have milk and ghee (clarified butter) for sale. Their chil- dren drive out the cattle to the commons in the morn- ing and back to the enclosures at night. They are sup- posed to look out very sharply that none of the cows eat the heads of rice as they pass the rice fields, and yet many a tender morsel of rice is nipped by them as they go and come. A cow gives milk only as long as the calf sucks, and always the calf must have a little before the cow is milked. These habits cannot be changed even in the herd of missionary cows. The cows in Bengal are for the most part small, and give about a quart of milk, more or less, at each milk- ing. The milk jar is sweetened and purified by hold- ing it over the smoke of some burning cow manure, dried thoroughly for that purpose. A little of this manure is also supposed to give the milk a better flavor. This is why we can never use the milk from the Hindu villages. We insist that our milkmen shall have clean vessels to milk in, but the Hindu cannot understand such absurd customs. Buffaloes give a very rich milk, and are used largely in many parts for both their milk and ghee. Chowl wallees are rice women. Carrying rice is a distinct industry. These poor women go to the farmers round about and buy the unhulled rice and hull it, and carry it to market (sometimes a distance Occupations 161 of six or eight miles) upon their heads or hips, and sell it at enough advance to get small pay for their labor. Long lines of these poor women may be seen almost any day during the cold season bringing their rice to market in this way. There are fishermen in India as in other countries. The rivers abound in fish, and almost every tank has its fish, and in the Bay of Bengal fish are very nu- merous. In no country can better fish be found or a greater variety. They are caught mainly by seines, and from the bay are spread out on the shore to dry. The natives do not mind if the fish are a little old. In fact, they are rather fond of a stale fish, just as some people like Limburger cheese. The barber is the man with a bag by his side, in which are his shears and razor, and a knife for cutting toenails and fingernails. He may always be told by this badge. The poorer natives will hail him as he passes along the street, and both proceed to squat on the ground or sidewalk, while the barber proceeds to shave his customer. One cent pays the bill. No soap is necessary, and a little water put on by the finger is all that is needed. This same barber, or some other, comes to the home of Europeans and does the barber- ing for the man of the house. For two rupees per month he will shave a person two or three times a week, keep his hair cut, and trim his nails if requested. There are also those who get their living by cut- ting wood from the jungles, and bringing it to market for sale. Also men who make charcoal, and bring it many miles on their shoulders and sell it for fuel. / 62 India and Daily Life in Bengal Here in this great country are three hundred miUions of people who want to Hve, and the greater number of them are strugghng to hve. They are, as a rule, hard-working and painstaking. They are selfish, to be sure, and sharp at a bargain, but no more so than many of the people of Christian countries. Their in- terest in the welfare of the man who employs them is deep and genuine, and especially if they have been many years in one's employ. Their burdens are often very heavy, but uncomplainingly they bear them. Christianity would do much to lighten their burdens, and we pray that the toiler of India may soon see and accept the better life. CHAPTER XIV A Glance at Hinduism THERE are many languages spoken in India, many nationalities represented, and adherents to many kinds of religions. Away back at the very dawn of history, fifteen or twenty centuries before Christ, when our Aryan brothers first entered India as invaders, there were hordes of peo- ple scattered over its fertile plains. These aborigines were worshipers of evil spirits. They thought it bet- ter to appease the wrath of the evil spirits, their en- emies, than to invoke the blessing of the good spirits. Though many of these tribes have been grafted into Hinduism, they still retain some of these practices. Hinduism is not what it was three or four thousand years ago. The Hindus were never monotheistic, but were formerly much nearer so than now. Then they said : " Suerja, the sun, drives away the cold and gives us light, and should receive adoration; Indra, rain, makes our rice and millet and grass grow, and should be worshiped; Agni, fire, is powerful, and should be an object of our devotions." In Vedic times they reasoned thus, and had but thirty-three gods — eleven in heaven, eleven on the earth, and eleven in midair. Gradually they came to believe that everything was but a manifestation of supreme power, or a part of the supreme power, and should be worshiped; and so 163 164 India and Daily Life in Bengal their thirty-three gods multipHed into thirty-three millions. The Hindus are idolaters. The more educated do not wish to be classed with those who worship idols, and there are defenders of Hinduism in America and England who do not call them idolaters. I have more than once talked with educated Hindus, who claimed that they were not worshiping the idol but God, which the idol represents. They say : ** As you Christians believe that God is in everything and every- where, so do wx; and therefore he is in this brass idol and in this tree which we worship." That sounds very well, but two things must be borne in mind in this connection: and the first is, they do not think God is in everything and thus worship him, for the priest must put on the mark before an image or a tree be- comes an object of worship. The other is that the great mass of the common people think the idol itself has the power to hear and to help. Before the Aryans settled down to till the soil, they were but wandering herdsmen, and their wealth con- sisted of their cattle. Even after they became culti- vators they were anxious to increase their herds. The faithful bullock plowed their fields and bore upon his back their burdens, and the cow gave them milk and butter. If any object was worthy of adoration, it was these faithful animals; so the cow and the bull early became sacred in the eyes of the devout Hindu. The image representing a crouching bull is called Mahadab, and means, literally, " great god." We find a great many such images. Some of these are of gi- On the banks of the Ganges, Benares stone god, Mohadabe Temples on the banks of the Ganges, Benares A Glance at Hinduism 1 65 gantic size, as the one near the Well of Knowledge in the city of Benares; others are small. Some are kept in public-places, and others in temples and private houses. A queen who lived near our mission in India, reali- zing that her end was near, had brought to her side her favorite cow, and taking its tail in her hand passed quietly and contentedly into the spirit land. Motherhood is the one great thing to be desired on the part of a wife in India; and no disgrace, scarcely, is greater than that of being childless. Such women are taught that if they perform a proper wor- ship at the shrine of Mahadab they may become mothers. There are many things in connection with the worship of this image of which I cannot speak, for with our ideas of decency they would be considered obscene in the extreme. The Hindus attach great sanctity to certain places, and think a visit to these places will in some way bring great good to them. Among the most noted of these is Benares. What Mecca is to the Mohammed- ans, or Jerusalem to the Jews, that is Benares to the Hindus. I was once on the train in the same compart- ment with two well-educated native gentlemen, going up from Mogul Sarai to Benares. As soon as the minarets of its mosques and the spires of its temples came in sight, they exclaimed, " Behold our sacred city ! " Built upon the high and sloping banks of the Ganges River, from a distance it presents a beautiful appearance. Closer acquaintance, however, removes the delusion. But to the devout Hindu, the very sight of / 66 India and Daily Life in Bengal it brings raptures of joy; for if he can but bathe in the sacred Ganges, in this the hoHest of cities, great merit is put down to his credit by the god who keeps a care- ful record of all our good and bad deeds, and offsets the one by the other. What wonder is it then that, for miles along its banks, priests may be seen sitting every day in the year under their large umbrellas to receive the offerings of the pilgrims who have come from all parts of India to bathe in Ma Ganga — Mother Ganges ? Here too are the burning-places to which the dead are borne from as great a distance as possible; for if their ashes can be sprinkled on the holy river the day of their complete redemption will be hastened. Sometimes aged people come here to die. A ride in a boat, gently floating with the current, in the morning, for a distance of four miles, down by these bathing-places, will make impressions never to be forgotten. There is devotion enough to awe you into silence and meditation, and disgusting sights enough to sicken you at heart and stomach. It may truly be said of many of the Hindus that they are " weary and heavy-laden." They seem extremely rest- less, as if in possession of the knowledge that they are a long way from God, and are trying to find their way back to him. Many of them spend the last years of their lives in going from one shrine to another. Some of them are satisfied with visiting a single shrine. There are places of established merit, and there are others for which priests and pandas are trying to work up a reputation. Brindaban has long been one of the most sacred, its priests claiming for it even A Glance at Hinduism 167 greater sanctity than that of Benares itself. It is a city full of temples, and Seth's Temple is the most beautiful and costly of them all; in fact, the most costly Hindu temple in the world. The king of Jeypore is building one now at Brindaban which will be a rival to the celebrated Taj Mahal. When I was at the place, a few years ago, five hundred men had been at work on it five years, and it was still far from being com- pleted. Here also come pilgrims in great numbers. Four miles from Brindaban is the city of Muttra, on the river Jumna, between Agra and Delhi. This is the reputed birthplace of Krishna, considered as an incarnation of Vishnu. On the plains near the city he fed his herds, and numerous relics of antiquity attest the sanctity with which the place is invested. Krishna was no doubt a hero, strong and brave in battle, as well as too full of craft and cunning for his enemies to succeed against him. He defended the city of Muttra against eighteen attacks by the father-in- law of Kansa, and finally, after complete victory, sat and rested here on the banks of the Jumna. From be- ing a hero he gradually became transformed into a god, and is now as extensively worshiped as any. The word beshram means resting, and therefore beshram ghat means the resting--place, or stairs. Being the spot where Krishna rested, devotees visit it from all parts of India. At this ghat several things of unique interest are seen, though widely different in their nature. One is the tall pillar near-by called Suttee Bourge, or the pil- lar of suttee. It is a memorial pillar erected on the / 68 India and Daily Life in Bengal spot where a live queen was burned beside her dead husband. Then there are the huge turtles which abound, and to feed which seems to be part of the duty of the pilgrims. The turtles will jostle each other in trying to get the lion's share of the parched rice thrown to them. Equally curious are the " weighing arches." Kings and princes making pilgrimages to this place have on some occasions erected arches, fastened scales to the top of them, and weighed them- selves against so many pounds of silver, avoirdupois, giving the money to the priests. Far up toward the northwest of India the river Ganges emerges, clear and cold, from the mountains into the plains ; and a city called Hurdwar is built upon its banks at this point. Brahminical teachings have attached great sanctity and importance to this place, and here also every year come thousands of pilgrims. Once in twelve years the place has especial virtues, and in this year hundreds of thousands visit it. The railroads are taxed for weeks to their utmost, carrying people in stockcars, crowded together as thickly as possible, as well as on the regular trains. Thousands also go on foot; for more virtue lies in making a pil- grimage on foot than by train. The day that I visited the place was sadhus' day. The word sadhu means holy man, or devotee. These men had congregated from different parts of the coun- try to the number of two thousand or more. Many Europeans also were present, among them the present Czar of Russia, who was then making a tour of India. Very early in the morning I was awakened by the A Glance at Hinduism J 69 shrill notes of a wind instrument corresponding to our clarinet. I made ready my camera to take a photo- graph, but found it impossible to get near on account of the multitude of people. They began their exercises by a sword performance, and then were marshaled into line for a procession. First came sadhus on richly caparisoned elephants, these were followed by those on camels, then some on ponies, and, lastly, others on foot. I was told that they were to cross the pon- toon bridge, so stationed myself at the nearest available point to get a photograph. The only remarkable thing about this day's worship was that all day long these men, to the number of at least two thousand, paraded the streets of the city as naked as they were the day they were born, in the presence of a multitude of men, women, and children. Another thing essentially connected with their re- ligion is the belief in the transmigration of souls. That doctrine is simply this : When a person dies only his body dies, and the spirit, which was in the body, had previously been in some other body and would again go to another body. All sin, they say, must be punished, and the suffering we have in the flesh is a punishment for past sins. They may not be the sins committed in this body, but in some previous body. We argue, if sorrow comes to us here it may all be rectified in the future life. They argue that it comes from the past life. We are inspired through suffering and trials to hope on ; they have no incentive to hope. They say when they have been born enough times, and suffered enough to atone for all sins, then they will be 170 India and Daily Life in Bengal absorbed and become a part of God. More than four million births, in different forms of life, are ordinarily necessary fully to purify the soul. But supreme acts of penance can have a great deal to do in cutting short these cycles of births. Hence we have the sadhu, or devotee. A close view of a sadhu reveals a man with an un- shaven face and uncut hair. Often his hair hangs down in a matted condition to his waist, or lower. His body is covered with ashes, and he has on but the scantiest bit of cotton cloth around his loins. In win- ter a very coarse blanket is thrown over the shoulders and hangs down the back. The villagers light a fire for them, if it is winter, under some tree, and here they sit, eat, and sleep. Sometimes the sadhu crouches on a bed of sharp spikes, several hours a day, while in his hands he holds his sacred beads on which he calls over the names of his gods. The badge of his calling is a pair of iron tongs, which he uses to lift the coals of fire to put on his pipeful of gunja; for all of this class stupefy themselves by smoking this terri- ble drug. Sometimes their long hair is coiled on the top of their heads. They may at times be seen with one hand held up until it becomes fixed in that position, and some- times even both hands are thus extended. The poor fellow who is pictured in the illustration had had his hands in this position for twelve ydars when I took the photograph. I said to him, *' Don't your arms pain you ? " " Not now," he replied. '' When I first began they '^ c^ ;^ A Glance at Hinduism 171 pained me so I could not endure it, and so I had to tie them up, but after they became fixed they did not hurt any more." On entering the low door of a house he must bend his body, allowing his hands to enter first. The com- mon people do these singular creatures homage, and even the better educated and wealthy often bow down to the earth in front of them. As I was coming up the street with this man, a babu (native gentleman) came out and saluted him, and asked him to stop a moment until his son should come out. Soon the son came. He was a young man, well dressed, and attending the government college at Balasore. He at first put his hands together in a sup- pliant attitude, and made a low bow to the sadhu. But that would not do. The sadhu told him to pros- trate himself in the dust, which the young man at once proceeded to do. Then the sadhu put his foot upon him to emphasize his humiliation. The underlying idea in pilgrimages is this doctrine of transmigration of souls, and penance is more often performed in this way than in any other. Among the many images worshiped, few occupy a more prominent place than Juggernaut. He is simply a hideous, armless, legless, carved piece of wood. There are several legends which attempt to account for his form, and also for the sanctity of the town of Puri, called also Juggernaut, in the southern part of Orissa, where he originally appeared. At Puri is his greatest temple; but in many, and in fact every town in Orissa and Bengal, his temples are seen. 172 India and Daily Life in Bengal The word means '' lord of the world," and the great virtue of a pilgrimage is to see him rather than to worship. As our house was on the great pilgrim road, we had opportunity of seeing and conversing with many of the pilgrims. Every day hundreds, and many days thousands, of these poor creatures could be seen go- ing to or returning from Puri. If we asked them what benefit they hoped to get from a sight of Juggernaut, they would reply "' Mukti " (freedom from sin). At all times of the year pilgrims go more or less to see Juggernaut, but in much larger numbers when what is known as the rath jatra, or car festival, is to take place. This is the occasion of the annual ride of Juggernaut. There are in fact three days during which the idol is exposed to public view. The first is the bathing festival, when he is taken from his temple, and, on a lofty platform in the presence of a vast multitude of people, is bathed by the priests. They bathe themselves every day, but their god only once a year, so not being used to cold water he is sup- posed to take a severe cold. He is therefore taken back and put into his temple for ten days, when he is again brought out, and by the assistance of the priests is made to walk up the inclined bridge from the ground to the platform of his huge car. He is placed under a canopy made of different-colored cloths, and his car is fes- tooned with flowers. By his side sit his brother Bala- rama and his sister Subhadra, or they may have sepa- rate cars. Three ponderous ropes, a thousand or fifteen hundred feet long, are attached to the car, and these A Glance at Hinduism 173 are laid along the street as far as they will extend. When the priests and musicians have assembled on the platform of the car, and the people have taken hold of the ropes, to the number of sometimes ten thousand, the officiating priest gives the order for the car to move. The musicians, with drums and horns and cymbals, and other kinds of instruments, more designed to produce noise than harmony, begin to play, and the people begin to shout, and the great car begins to move. It is a monstrous, unwieldy affair, and with nothing to guide it but the ropes, often does damage to build- ings along the streets. Juggernaut is taken to a neigh- boring temple, where his maternal aunt is supposed to reside, and after staying there a week is again placed on his car, though with much less enthusiasm on the part of the people than on the first occasion, and is taken back to his own temple, where he sits until the next year. In the city of Puri pilgrims congregate to the num- ber of from one to two hundred thousand to witness the rath. When the return festival is over, they begin to disperse. To get a correct idea of the sufferings of the pilgrims during their long journeys and their stay at Puri, one must see them. The rath occurs usually in the month of July, when the rains are well upon us and there are but scant accommodations for the people, and many have not the means to provide themselves with shelter even if shelter could be had ; so thousands sleep under trees on the damp ground, thus bringing on cholera and other destructive and contagious diseases. To see a sick or dying or dead pilgrim lying alone, 174 India and Daily Life in Bengal deserted by his friends, under the shade of some banyan or peepul or mango tree, is a most common sight. This temple at Puri is supposed to be the richest shrine in all India. It employs seven hundred pandas, or Hindu missionaries, who go, two and two, into the villages all through India, to tell the poor, ignorant people of the great virtues of Juggernaut, and so per- suade many to go on a pilgrimage who otherwise would not go. The pandas make a careful inquiry into the finan- cial standing of every one who engages to go on a pilgrimage; this list is handed to the priests at Puri, and each one is charged according to his wealth to see Juggernaut in his temple; none, however, being admitted for less than twenty rupees, or about six dollars. If they have not this amount, the priests lend it to them, taking as interest an equivalent to three cents on a dollar per month. This is regarded as a sacred obligation, and binding upon the individual and his children and successors for fourteen generations. The priests often extort the last cent pilgrims have, and they are allowed to start home, not knowing where the next meal is to come from. They sometimes go on a pilgrimage by prostrations. The person making this kind of pilgrimage will stand in the road, put his hands together in a suppliant at- titude, offer a short prayer, and then prostrate him- self in the road, reaching out his hands as far as pos- sible, and with a spike, which he carries in his right hand, makes a mark in the dust or mud, as the case A pilgrimage by prostrations A '' hr^U, 111 n 11 /11J n 7-1/^/7 n-f chlhz-'C A Glance at Hinduism 175 may be. He then gets up, puts his toes to this mark, says his prayer, and again prostrates himself. Three miles is the utmost distance a man can go in a day in this way, and more often he can go but a mile. These people sometimes are three years in making this kind of pilgrimage. One morning in the month of May, one of the hottest of our months, I met one of these men who was will- ing to talk. Often they take a vow of silence, and speak to no one for the whole time occupied in a pil- grimage; but this man stood as soon as I began to talk to him. I said, " Do you think God is pleased to see you suffer as you do this morning ? " Said he, " Yes, he is." " But you are one of God's children, and he is full of love for his children, even though they have gone a long way from him in sin." " No," said he, " God is not full of love; he is very cruel." Words were useless; for the man had set his face toward Puri, and after resting a moment resumed his long and weary journey. Only in this way, ac- cording to his thought, could he appease his god. While it is true that the people can worship in their own dooryard before the toolsy plant, and can worship under green trees, still they have thousands of temples. Some of these are but the rudest of shanties, and some are magnificent structures, and es- pecially so if looked at from a distance. Many of them are covered with stucco-work from bottom to top. 176 India and Dady Life in Bengal These figures represent scenes in their mythology, and to us, whose education is so unhke theirs, often seem vulgar, or to have a suggestion of lewdness. Sometimes the adornments on the inside are vile in the extreme, as I know from personal observation. In fact, we must not suppose that a Hindu temple is for the Hindus to worship in. They are for the idols and the priests. In the morning the priests perform the worship in the temple, and come out and sit on the porch, and smoke their pipes, and chew their pan, and gossip, and bathe in the tank near-by; but they do not say comforting words to the poor, and weary, and heavy-laden. They do not try to lift the loads off shoulders which are all but crushed; but on the other hand, lay heavier burdens upon them. No glance at Hinduism would be at all complete without a reference to caste. Caste is social distinc- tion, based not upon wealth, position, education, or character, but upon birth. It is perfectly natural for people of like tastes to associate together, and so the bigoted Hindu tells us that Christian nations have caste. I have more than once been told by them that there is just as much caste in England as in India. There can be no doubt that there is too much of a caste feeling growing up in some places, even in our own country, but it is very different from the caste of India. There is nothing to prevent the people in the highest circles in this country from going down into the slums and helping raise up the fallen. In fact, they are doing that very thing, and year by year are doing more of that kind of work ; but not so with the A Glance at Hinduism 177 caste people of India. A high-caste man does not want to touch a low-caste. He must on no account eat with him. If he does, he becomes an out-caste. When some of these men in our Parliament of Re- ligions, in Chicago, said that they laid down a plat- form which they thought was broad enough for all to stand upon ; namely, " The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man," they were loudly cheered. I have many friends among the high-caste gentlemen of the city of Balasore, in which we lived; but truth compels me to say that they know practically nothing of the principle of the "brotherhood of man." Caste and that principle are at variance. The reader will have observed that I have made no attempt to define Hinduism philosophically. I have simply told of a few things which many of the Hindus do. No man can define Hinduism, not even the priests or pundits. In fact, some of the best-educated Hindus claim that it is not a religion at all, but rather a social system. Certain it is that a person may believe what he likes, and yet be a good Hindu. He may worship all the idols in their system, or worship none; he may be a monotheist, or an atheist, or even a Christian at heart, and yet be in Hindu society. It is different in different places, and is not at all consistent with itself. It is even contradictory. But these things do not trou- ble the Hindu mind at all. He can believe that black is white and that white is black, while at the same time each retains its original color. Wherefore attempt to define such a svstem, or rather, want of system ? Caste 178 India and Daily Life in Bengal is its essence. Destroy that and it is gone. The rea- son why caste is the essence of Hinduism is because the Brahmins are the highest caste, and to be supreme is more than all else. It is quite possible that they attach to it the sanctity of religion in order to main- tain this social supremacy. CHAPTER XV An Outline of the History of Protestant Missions A GREAT many centuries ago, Syrian Christians existed along the Malabar Coast (northwest- ^ em coast of India). When Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese navigator, went to India early in the sixteenth century, he found these Christians with their own chieftain and their own distinct government. They were in no way connected with Hindu rulers. To this day they have their priest, and bishop, and Sunday service, and liturgy, such as the Patriarch of Antioch used, and are called, wherever known, " St. Thomas Christians." The Syriac version of the Scriptures was brought to India about A. D. 325. The Portuguese planted a few mission stations a number of centuries ago, and in 1642 the Dutch be- gan work in Ceylon. But what I wish more particu- larly to speak of are the missionary efforts either within the past century, or of those efforts which led to the activity of the past century in missionary work by Protestants. To the Danes first belongs this honor. In 1705 two young Germans, Bartholomew Ziegenbalg and Henry Plutschau, were sent to Tranquebar, a city about two hundred miles south of Madras (on the southeast), to commence mission work among the Hindus. These men were scholars and devoted to (79 180 India and Daily Life in Bengal their work. In those early days there were many more difficulties to contend with than there are now. Often they were in sore need of money, and at one time Zie- genbalg was imprisoned for four months. When he came out, he found that the work he had been gather- ing up to that time was all broken up. But though cast down he was not destroyed, and with character- istic energy he began his work over again. Six years after his arrival in the country, he had completed a translation of the New Testament into the Tamil lan- guage. His literary and evangelistic labors were abun- dant, but not of very long duration, for in 1 719 he died, mourned by three hundred and fifty-five Christians whom he had rescued from heathenism. The same year three other new missionaries came and joined the mission, among whom Schultz received the mantle of Ziegenbalg. The latter had translated the Old Testament as far as the book of Ruth. Schultz completed it. He was not confined to Tamil, but studied other languages, and translated portions of the Bible into Telugu and Portuguese, and the entire Bible into Hindustani. He began work in Madras, and extended it to other towns with a zeal which was consuming. In Madras, after fifteen years of work, he had seven hundred Christian persons in his congre- gation, to say nothing of his work in Tranquebar (on the coast of Madras) and elsewhere. July 30, 1750, Christian Friedrich Schwartz ar- rived in India. He was a man of deep piety, great zeal, broad education, excellent judgment, humble spirit, with but few wants, and with an affectionate History of Protestant Missions 181 and loving nature. It is no wonder that the people were drawn to him. The natives loved and revered him, the Hindu king of Tanjore (in southern India) appointed him as guardian to his adopted son, while the British government appointed him arbitrator be- tween itself and the haughty Hyder Ali, who had taken possession of the kingdom of Mysore and was spread- ing terror in every direction. " Let them," says Hyder, " send me the Christian Schwartz, for he will not deceive me." The Tanjore mission was founded by him, and mission stations all along the line were greatly strengthened. The native Christians of Tran- quebar, Madras, Cuddalore, Trichinopoli, and Palum- cotta numbered fifty thousand when Schwartz, '' the apostle of India," in the year 1798, after forty-eight years of uninterrupted service in the mission field, died. William Carey came to India in 1793. His field of labor was far removed from that of Schwartz, as he came at once to Bengal. It cannot be said that he was really the pioneer in mission work in Calcutta, for Kiernander, a Dane, had preceded him and had met with some success. But the coming of Carey was an important event in the history of Protestant missions in Bengal, and in fact in all India. When he first proposed to his brethren in England the plan of giving the gospel to the heathen, he met with but little sym- pathy. Still, in the face of opposition, he succeeded in organizing the Baptist Mission Society in 1792, and he was appointed its first missionary. Almost from the beginning of his work in India, he met with 182 India and Daily Life in Bengal opposition from the East India Company. To get to India at all, he was obliged to come in a Danish ship, as the company refused him passage in any of theirs. Upon his arrival in the country, he at once began the study of the language, but as the receipts of the so- ciety which sent him out were very small, want was staring him in the face. He went to the Soonderbuns, and thought to farm some and at the same time in- struct the people. But the air of the Soonderbuns was poisoned with malaria, and he was obliged to go else- where. He accepted a position in an indigo factory in Malda (about midway between Calcutta and Darji- ling). He remained here for five years, and during that time translated the New Testament into Bengali, and preached a great many times. In 1799 four Eng- lish Baptist missionaries (Marshman, Ward, Bruns- don, and Grant) arrived in Calcutta, but when they let their object be known, the governor-general determined to send them back to England. They put themselves under the protection of the Danish governor. Colonel Bie, at Serampore (near Calcutta), who gave them help and sympathy, and also refused to surrender them to the East India Company. Carey determined to leave his work at the indigo factory and join them. Thus began the work at Serampore, so famous in the history of missions. Here the missionaries entered into a compact to have all things common, and after purchasing a large house and printing-press, went heart and soul into that work which has made their names famous in history. Their time was occupied in preaching in the villages and streets, printing the History of Protestant Missions 1 83 Bible and portions of it in Bengali, answering inqui- ries, and explaining the Christian religion to those who came to the house to hear. Their first convert was baptized in 1800, in the presence of a vast con- course of people, and in the following year they com- pleted the translation of the Bible in Bengali. Carey, on account of his linguistic abilities, was appointed professor of Sanskrit, Bengali, and Marathi in Fort William College, first at a salary of $3,000 a year, which was afterward increased to $7,500 a year, all of which was thrown into the common fund of the " Brotherhood " at Serampore, and which was of in- valuable help to them in their work. When Carey began his lectures in Bengali as professor, there was not a single prose work existing in that lan- guage. Now there are thousands of volumes flooding the country. These missionaries set the noble example of put- ting their heel on the head of the serpent, caste, at the very beginning. At the first communion service the cup was given to a low-caste man before it was to a Brahmin convert. This chapter is designed to be no more than a syn- opsis of the history of Protestant missions in India. Sherring's history will give the reader details of mis- sion work, its rise and development in different sec- tions of the country, and the different fields of the different societies. From these beginnings the work has extended, and the methods these early missionaries adopted are the methods, with variations, in use at the present day. 184 India and Daily Life in Bengal From time to time other societies, both from England and America, have planted mission stations east, west, north, and south, until there is at the present time a network of centers from Ceylon in the south to the Punjab in the north, and from Assam in the east to the river Indus in the west. It is true, vast numbers have no intelligent idea of Christianity, and millions have no idea at all except to know there is such a religion, but the centers are occupied and the light is radiating. We have no statistics of an earlier date than 185 1. Then there were 91,092 Protestant native Christians in India. In 188 1, or in thirty years, they had increased to 417,372; and ten years later, according to govern- ment statistics of 1891, to 559,661. NAME OF DENOMINATION. Baptist Congregational Episcopal Presbyterian Lutheran Methodist Moravian Woman's Societies Supplement Converts not connected with any of the above societies Total 6 o 10 2 6 13 7 3 3 4 I 49 DC a'S^i 129 76 203 149 125 IIO 16 808 oj m u '^ c v« wo o boa • a *ji— Its 640 666 119 584 413 677 23 4122 133,122 77,466 193,363 34,395 62,838 32,381 398 ISO 559,661 History of Protestant Missions 185 It would be very interesting, if this were the place for it, to give a brief outline of the forty-nine societies now operating in the country, — ^tell the fields they oc- cupy, the native and ordained agents of each, and the Christian communities of each. We will, for the sake of reference, group the cognate bodies together, re- gardless of the countries from which they came, and give a summary of statistics. The statistics of this table are condensed from the statistical report of the Decennial Missionary Conference of India, given in 1890. The following are the number of Protestant mission societies at work in India: in 191 1, Baptists, 8; Con- gregationalists, 3 ; Church of England, 7 ; Presbyterian, 17; Methodists, 5 ; Lutheran, 11 ; Disciples of Christ, 4; Friends, 2. Aside from these, there are fifty-four other societies at work along the same lines, as Chris- tian Alliance, Seventh-day Adventists, Pentecost Mis- sion, Church of God, Salvation Army, Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A., British and Foreign Bible Society, Tract Society, etc. There are many forms of work besides the direct preaching of the gospel, as hospitals, sanitariums, theological seminaries, publishing houses, industrial schools, training homes, homes for fallen women, homes for the blind, schools of all grades for general education, etc. I herewith submit the revised and up-to-date Chris- tian statistics. Compare the statistics of twenty years ago with these figures. These are from the cen- sus report, 1909-1910: Roman Catholics, 1,065,725; 186 India and Daily Life in Bengal Romo-Syrians, 333,040; Anglican, 296,034; Jacobite- Syrian, 242,210; Baptists, 222,026; Lutheran, 159,- 858; Methodists, 66,602; Presbyterians, 39,964; others, 248,854; total, 2,664,313. Of this number, it will be seen by subtracting the Roman Catholic communicants there is remaining i,- 265,548 Protestants. Twenty years ago there were 559,661. Nearly three hundred per cent in twenty years. And this numerical increase does not tell half the story. The way has been prepared, the field is white, and reapers may gather a golden harvest. Vil- lage after village is ready to accept Christianity. Workers, reapers is the need of the hour. CHAPTER XVI Mission Work and How Carried On DURING the time I have been in India, I have had the privilege of visiting a number of mis- sion fields besides our own, and have also had an opportunity of observing their methods of work. I find that most mission societies work along on about the same lines, so when I speak of our work, and perhaps of some personal experiences, they may be taken as representative of mission work in general so far as methods are concerned. Places where mission work is established are called either " stations " or " outstations." A station is the place where one or more missionaries live ; where there is a Christian church, and usually more or less of other lines of work. An outstation is a place connected with the station; i. e., under charge of one of the mis- sionaries of the station. There may or may not be a branch church or a school. There are lines of work in proportion to the size of the place and its impor- tance. In nearly all of the larger stations there is a native pastor as assistant to the missionary pastor. He is ordinarily a faithful and competent man, except that, as a rule, he lacks executive ability. In the church the services are conducted, upon the whole, about the same as they are in their respective denomi- nations at home. In some of our churches all the 187 / 88 India and Daily Life in Bengal people sit on the floor on grass mats, while in others the women sit on the floor, and the men and boys on chairs and benches; while in still others, and especially in the large cities, all sit in chairs or pews. In our own mission the great majority of the people in our churches sit on the floor. This is the way they sit in their houses, so they prefer it to any other position. The service is conducted in the vernacular language of the place. There are one hundred and twenty lan- guages and dialects in India, so there are that many languages, or nearly as many, used in the services of the churches. In our mission there are four Indian languages besides the English used. The two princi- pal languages are those derived directly from the San- skrit, and these, therefore, are very similar; namely, Bengali and Oriya. Hindustani is a language which is generally understood by the better-educated natives all over India. This is used at times, and especially in preaching to up-country pilgrims. The fourth is the Santali, and entirely unlike these other three. It be- longs to another family of languages entirely, as the Santals were among the aborigines of the country, hundreds of years before the Sanskrit came into India. Our churches are built either of brick or mud, like buildings described in a previous chapter. The win- dows are of plain glass, if there are any glass windows. More often there is nothing in the windows but heavy, strong shutters. The seats are not upholstered, and the floor is not carpeted, save at times with grass mat- ting or large coarse cloth spreads. In country churches usually a temporary mat is spread just for that Mission Work ^"^ How Carried On 189 particular service. The worshipers, as a rule, come dressed in clean white cotton clothes. There is some exception, but only enough to make a pleasing variety. Some of the women may have on yellow or purple silk, and some of the children bright red. A few of the more wealthy men may have on a black or tussur-silk chapkan.^ Those wearing the latter garment will have on pantaloons, while the greater number wear the dhute.^ The cloth of the women, whether it be pure white with a border of some bright color, or silk, is the sari.® The women have some jewelry on their wrists and fingers, and if vain and of means may have a heavy silver chain around the hips. Let us stand, if you please, at the gate in front of the church as the last bell on a Lord's Day morning is calling the people to worship. See them come from their homes and file along the narrow streets of their villages. Watch them as they enter the church, until it is nearly or quite full. Let us go in ourselves and look around. Here are the men and boys on one side, and the women and girls on the other. Perhaps we are surprised to see them so separated, but we must remember that among the Hindus the men and the wo- men do not sit together, nor eat together, nor walk along the street together. If a man and his wife are traveling together, he usually walks before her carrying an umbrella over his head, while she comes behind. If there is a baby to carry, she has it. Our native Chris- 1 A long coat worn by the native men. 2 A cloth five yards long which is wound around the loins and covers the legs to some extent. 3 A cloth five yards long wound around the body, and coming over the head. 190 India and Daily Life in Bengal tians cannot in a single generation cast all their prej- udices behind them, and sit with their women folks on the floor. They are learning more and more the true relationship of the family. A generation hence we shall probably see them all sitting together, but now we do not. We shall see behind the desk the dark- faced preacher, and hear him read from the same book we hear read in this country. Its precepts and promises find the same echo in hearts there as here, for like temptations and burdens come to them. He lifts his heart and voice to the same God for a blessing upon his flock. He prays for himself, that he may be able to speak the word in plainness and in love, and with the fulness of the Spirit. He reads a hymn. It may be a transla- tion from an English hymn, or written by one of the native hymn writers. I may say in passing that some of our native Christians are excellent hymn writers. It was Chrishna Pal, Carey's first convert, who wrote the hymn beginning with this verse : O thou, my soul, forget no more, The Friend who all thy sorrows bore; Let every idol be forgot, But, O my soul, forget him not! The congregation all join in singing the hymn. We are not used to their music, so it may sound discordant to us, and at times there is discord; but after we get used to their singing we rather enjoy it. The minister announces his text and preaches a sermon, good, bad, or indifferent, the same as we may hear in America. Usually, however, they preach with eloquence and Mission Work and How Carried On 191 fervor. It would not always happen that the native pastor would be preaching. If the missionary pastor were in the station, he might be preaching. If we would realize the benefits Christianity has conferred on these people, contrast their appearance and character with Hindus of the same social grade. There are those among English officials who de- nounce missionary effort and native Christians. I have seen some such. The trouble is they have not been looking for the best types. The story is told of one such going home to England. On the ship was also a missionary returning. The official was not slow in denouncing the native Christians. " In fact," said he, '' I have never seen a genuine native Christian." He had been a great sportsman, and talked often of his tiger hunts and the number he had shot. The mission- ary said to him one day, ^' I have been in India twenty years, and have never seen a tiger. You say you have seen many. You have been in India five years, and you say you have never seen a native Christian. I have seen many. You have been looking for tigers, and I for Christians. We have both found what we have been looking for." All our native Christians are not faithful. Some- times they do not come to the prayer meetings and other social meetings of the church. There are some who quarrel, and it is not impossible to find those who will cheat and even lie. I have heard of such things in churches in America, where for all our lives through we have been taught of Christ and his pre- cepts, and where good influences instead of evil have N / 92 India and Daily Life in Bengal surrounded us. But while there are the unfaithful, there are also the faithful ones. There are those who will suffer as much persecution, and endure as many hardships, and are as abundant in labor, as those of any land or in any age. In every station there are more or less schools to be looked after. There is no such thing as co-educa- tion, except with very small children; therefore the Christian boys' schools and girls' schools are separate institutions. There is a secretary for each. There may be a separate one for each, or one person can be secretary for both. The secretary is the important of- ficial in a school there. He has the financial responsi- bility, pays the teachers, collects the fees and fines, makes returns monthly to the government of attend- ance and receipts from all sources, etc. The government is liberal in its grants to mission schools, and is deserving of the thanks of all mission- aries. In consideration of these grants, it reserves the right to inspect schools and prescribe text-books. It is better for the schools that they should be subject to government inspection, for the teachers do better work, and the pupils have a better standing. There is quite a large range of text-books, so that suitable ones can be had. I can say, after having been secretary of a number of schools for many years, that I never suf- fered inconvenience nor had my plans thwarted by government interference. In our Christian boys' schools there are always Hindu and Mohammedan boys as well as Christian boys. Every morning our school was opened with the reading of the Bible, singing, and Mission Work and How Carried On 1 93 prayer. We cannot compel Hindu or Mohammedan boys to be present at these, but as a matter of fact, they are generally there, and frequently take part in these exercises. The last year we were in Balasore, a Hindu boy took the first prize for proficiency in Bible study. We aim to put Christian teachers in these schools as far as possible, but it often happens that we can get a better teacher among the Hindus than we can avail- able men in our Christian community. There is a vast difference between putting a Hindu teacher in one of our Hindu schools, and putting a Hindu teacher in a Christian school under missionary supervision. A Hindu teacher in these little Hindu schools may in five minutes after the missionary has left the school (after inspection) counteract anything he may have said by explaining it away, or making it apply to their religion. In a Christian school it is very different. The teacher's work there is not to teach religion, but secular branches of study. He in no way interferes with the religion of his pupils. If he is a Hindu and should speak against the Christian religion, there would be any number of boys to report him. He would not jeopard- ize his position by doing so. Besides, the Christian boys in the school have other Christian influences thrown about them in the home, and Sunday-school, and church. To teach the principles of Christianity is not the object of the school. The object is to give the boys a good education, and for this purpose a good teacher is necessary. I would say that we should put the best teachers we can get in our Christian schools, 194 India and Daily Life in Bengal but put only Christian teachers in our little Hindu schools. The object desired must govern our action. Almost every missionary must spend from one to three or four hours a day at his writing-desk. He has quite an army of Christian workers, and with each of these he must keep an account. If he is a secretary of a school, he has all reports to look after and make out for the government, and to keep the school ac- counts. He must make out his estimates for his work for the home society, and his report to it. He has many personal correspondents. From all over the home land, more or less, there are coming requests for something to read at the mission society or the yearly conference. The editors of our papers and magazines say sometimes, and, in fact, often, '' Write us more articles." Then, in addition to this, many missionaries do a great deal of literary work. School books are written, and tracts of different kinds in the vernacular, and translations are made from English books. When we remember that when Carey began his work in India, a century ago, there was not a single prose work in Bengal in the vernacular, and no literature of a pure character at all, and that now the Bible has been translated into almost every dialect, and thousands of books and tracts can be had, we can see that somebody has done something in the literary line. Then also the missionary has contributed to the literature of the world by giving us works on science, philosophy, re- ligion, etc., of not only India, but all other countries into which he has gone. In almost every large station there is some attempt Thatching a himgaloiv A typical sawmill Mission Work and How Carried On 1 95 to teach the Christian boys and girls some useful trade. These industrial schools, or an industrial department to the day-schools, are becoming a necessity. The government is also seeing this, and offering very liberal grants to efficient schools of this kind. These are especially needed in Christian communities, for we want Christian artisans as well as teachers and preachers. Every preacher and teacher ought to know how to do something more than simply to preach and to teach. If the people can get hold of this idea, a long step will be made toward India's redemption. The people have been in the habit of thinking that if a man is a clerk or a teacher, he must not soil his hands with manual labor. As a result, there are thou- sands with a good education who have no employment, and are of no use to society. The aim in establishing these industrial schools is not only to teach a useful trade, but to teach that manual labor, even for a preacher or a teacher, is far more honorable than idle- ness. Nearly all missions have schools of a higher grade, and some have theological seminaries and colleges. Missions need the best-trained men they can get. Hinduism has able scholars, and Christianity must be able to put men of intellect in the field. It is still the '' foolishness of preaching," but the preaching of such men as Paul had a wonderful influence on the heathen mind. Through the schools of various grades our native Christians are pushing their way to the front very fast. In proportion to their numbers, they are outstripping all others in government examinations. 196 India and Daily Life in Bengal Through the law of the " survival of the fittest," Christianity must make its way. But we are not to conquer by that slow and natural process, but by the might of God's Spirit. A prominent place is given to Sunday-school work, young people's meetings, temper- ance societies, meetings for mothers, teachers' meet- ings, etc. No effort is being spared to put our Chris- tians on a higher plane intellectually and spiritually. Aside from the work for our native Christians, a great many kinds of work are being carried on for the conversion of the heathen. There are schools for poor Hindu children here and there throughout the cities and towns. These are called " ragged schools," but really they should be called naked schools; for, as a matter of fact, many of the children come naked, or nearly so. You may find these schools in various places, — sometimes under the spreading limbs of a banyan tree, sometimes on the veranda of a house, and sometimes in a house built on purpose for them. The teacher may be a Christian man or woman, or a Hindu. These schools are, as a rule, under the supervision of some lady missionary, and she visits them as often as possible to inspect the work being done, and teach Bible verses and stories and the catechism. The great event in the year with the children of these schools is the annual distribution of presents. Friends from England and America send out dolls, patchwork, and various other things, so that this occa- sion is made possible. Some lady of the station pre- sides to distribute the presents, and the superintendent reads out the names. When Phulmani, Malati, Sun- Zenana teachers starting for zvork Mission Work and How Carried On 197 dari, Haramani, and many other similar names are called off, the possessor goes forward to receive her present. It is almost needless to say that on such oc- casions they are dressed in the best the house can af- ford. When they receive their presents, each makes a low bow, which is about the only demonstration observed. The work of the zenana teacher is important. A glance at the life of these women and their homes will, I think, convince us of this. The zenana in Bengal is the home of the high-caste women. These women are married even before they are women. At the tender age of eleven or twelve years they go to live with their husbands, whom they may never have seen before, and in the selection of whom they have had no choice. This is done by the parents. The time for the wedding is when the village astrologer says the sun, moon, and stars are auspicious. It is a great time in the home of the bride the day she is married, for all the relatives and friends must be feasted, and the air is filled with the music of the village band, and garlands of flowers adorn the house and premises. But it seems to us that the happy days must be over when the marriage ceremony is over; for the little girl-wife is put in a palky * and carried to the home of her husband's father, which to her is a strange house. Here she is placed under the care of her mother-in-law, who may treat her kindly or who may not. If we can believe half we hear, the latter is more likely to be her lot. 4 A long box with poles at each end and with doors at the sides, by means of which people are carried on the shoulders of men. f98 India and Daily Life in Bengal Her husband stands by his mother rather than by his wife, so is it any wonder that many days and nights are spent in loneHness and crying? Not only is there but Httle joy in the home, but she is shut out from all the beauties of the outside world, for she is a prisoner now for life. The house may have a number of win- dows, but they are high and barred, and there is but one outside door, which she must never approach. From the court in the center she can see some grass and flowers which may be growing in it, and always the sky overhead, but that is all. If she ever returns to see her mother's home, it must be in this same palky, with a colored cloth tied closely over it so that she cannot even look out. Until recently none of these women could even read or write, as the Hindus did not think it necessary to educate girls. Our lady missionaries wanted to enter these homes, and a way was opened through the desire of the native gentlemen to have their wives learn fancy work. Mrs. Mullins, of Calcutta, was the first to gain access to these prison homes by agreeing to teach the babu's wife how to make embroidered slippers, with the privilege of teaching her at the same time to read the Bible. That was the key which unlocked the door, and it has remained open ever since. If you were in a mission station at Midnapore or Balasore, you would see each morning either a large covered wagon, or a number of native carts, coming to the home of the superintendent, and from here start to the bazaars. Either all the native Christian women teachers would congregate here or at some point on Mission Work and How Carried On 199 the road, where they could be taken up. In these con- veyances they are taken down in the vicinity of the zenanas, where they separate, going two by two into the houses. They teach the women to read, write, sew, and embroider. They must learn to read before you can put good books into their hands. The object of this work is not only to brighten their lives for to-day, but to open the door of their hearts for the entering in of the Light which will help to brighten their lives all through the years to come. Each morning also you might see the superintend- ent starting off on her rounds to visit these same houses. She must see that faithful work is being done by the teachers, and look to the progress of the pupils in secular and religious knowledge. This is her op- portunity really to accomplish the work which is up- permost in her heart — the bringing of her pupils to Christ. Another part of the work is the sending out of Bible women. These women are lay preachers really, and go from house to house just as the zenana teachers do, only they do not go so much to the homes of the rich, and their work is not to teach reading and wri- ting, but to evangelize. They sit upon the verandas, or; in the rooms, and read the Bible, sing hymns, talk, and pray with the women who gather around them. They find many sad lives, but are sometimes able to inspire hope by telling the story of Christ's life, and what he came to do for those who accept him. Connected with almost every mission is at least one orphanage for both boys and girls. These of 200 India and Daily Life in Bengal course are separate, and the girls' are generally the fullest, as people will always part with their girls first. These are filled from various sources. Sometimes the mother dies, and the father cannot care for all the family. Sometimes both die, and the children either hear of these homes for the homeless, and wander to them themselves, or some one brings them. Some- times the police find a child by the wayside. In this way they come, and are provided with a home, and are cared for and educated. Some of our best workers come from these homes. Bazaar preaching is also carried on in all the larger stations. The bazaar, we must remember, is the busi- ness part of a town, so bazaar preaching is simply street preaching. This work is always done in the evening, and for two reasons. One is, it is cooler, and we can work with no fear of the sun ; and the other is, we can meet the people. The principal meal of the day is eaten just before the people retire at night, and they come to the bazaar to buy food for this meal and for the following day's dinner. This is why we can find people in the evening. There are also, in larger sta- tions, rest-houses for pilgrims where, for a few cents, they may cook and eat and rest for the night, or even at times for a few days. We may, therefore, always meet more or less of these at our preaching stand. The question has often been asked me, '' How do you conduct bazaar preaching?" In the station in which we lived, Balasore, there were two principal bazaars, and in each of these we had a preaching stand. These stands were simply platforms of brickwork, and Mission Work and How Carried On 201 situated in the most public places in the bazaars. At about six o'clock I would meet one or two of the native preachers at one or the other of these stands. We might have with us a man to sell tracts, or we might ourselves have some. We would begin by sing- ing a hymn, or playing upon some instrument. The music would attract the people, and from the shops near-by or the market square they would begin to gather around the stand. It might be pilgrims would be passing, and hearing the singing would stop. When the singing was over, we might offer a short prayer, or read a few passages of Scripture, or proceed at once to address the people. We must always bear in mind that we are preaching to people who know but little, and often nothing, of the Christian religion, therefore our preaching must be simple and explanatory as a rule. If it would attract attention, it must abound with illustrations. This might serve as one : " Midnapore is north of us, and Cuttack is south. If you were walk- ing south and wanted to go to Midnapore, what would you do?" The answer would come back from the crowd, " Turn around and go In the other direction." Then you apply your illustration : " Heaven is a pure place, and God is pure, but if you are walking in sin you are going away from this pure place. What must you do to go to heaven?" "Turn around." Then we may tell them of Christ, who is the way to the Father. Simple Bible illustrations and parables are always profitable. The story of the Prodigal Son al- ways arrests their attention. Personal experiences are good; and especially if some self-righteous, conceited 202 India and Daily Life in Bengal young Brahmin wants to argue. Tell the people how your life, your hopes, your ambitions, your desires, have all been changed. Tell them how, by accepting Christ, he has saved you from the love of sin, from the guilt of sin, and from the power of the Evil One. Now you may say, '' Here is a young man who says Hindu- ism is as good as any religion. Let him get up on the platform and tell you how it has saved him from a sinful life, and changed the current of his life entirely." Of course he has no experience of that kind, and usually he has nothing more to say. We do not always have an orderly crowd. There may be lepers there, who have business in view. They catch your eye, and reach out their distorted hands for a little money. Some man wants to sell a cow^ or a goat by auction, and thinks that crowd would be a good one to bid. You must tell him that for the time being this is a preaching stand, but when you leave he can use it to auction off his cow. Some young men from the college who are studying English may want to tell what they have learned against Christianity from Ingersoll's or some other infidel works. Brahmin priests may be there to oppose. Their craft is in danger, and they must not sit quietly by and see it destroyed. Pilgrims are there. These have gone long journeys, seeking rest and freedom, and are weary and heavy-laden both with a sense of their need and the fatigue of the way. To invite such unto the One who said, *' Come unto me, all 3^e that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest," is a blessed privilege. Sometimes they come. All the Mission Work and How Carried On 203 seed sown is not sown on good ground, neither is it all wasted. As in the parable of the Sower, so it is here. I have known of a number of conversions as the result of bazaar preaching. In many respects country work is the most enjoyable and inspiring of any work the missionary has to do. As a rule, it is carried on in the cold season. We al- ready know what this is like. The telling of our mes- sage to those who have never heard it adds new in- terest to the work. ''How is it conducted? Tell us all about it," are questions I have to answer often. When the rains are over, and the fields are dry, we overhaul our tents and put them in order, look over our books and tracts and order more if necessary, see what food supplies we have, and notify our native workers when we are going to start. Our carts are secured for a month, and are brought to the house to be loaded. Our tent-poles are tied under the cart, and a stretcher or cot-bed put on the cover. Inside we put bedding, tents, books, food, and water, a change or two of clothes for ourselves, and many other things. Two or three lanterns, and as many bottles of kerosene oil will be tied to the slats of the cover. Each of the native brethren has a box, with a blanket and a shawl tied on the top of it, which he wishes to put in some place. With difficulty you find a place for these. The man who drives the bullocks has a bundle of wood to cook the bullocks' food (and his own), an old oil tin in which to boil it, a box, and a bundle of straw. We readjust and get these in or on. "Are we ready to start?" No; here comes the cook 204 India and Daily Life in Bengal with a box of cooking utensils, six chickens tied to- gether by the legs, and his own box. We offer a silent prayer for more grace and patience, and with strings and twisted straw gtt these disposed of. " Now hitch on your bullocks, and let us be off quickly, for it is getting very late." Then tlie cartman comes and asks for a little oil to grease his cart. '' Have you not greased your cart yet? Why did you not grease it before you loaded it? " The question may have just a little of an impatient sound in it, if we are not careful, but we proceed to get the oil ; for he tells us, " In this country it is the custom to grease carts after they are loaded." We get two or three men to help, the cart is greased, the driver lifts up the yoke, and tells the bullocks to walk under their burden; he gets astride the tongue, gives each one a blow, and we are really off. The objective point is at first some bungalow, or a village where there is none. If the latter, we find some shady knoll if we can, and here we pitch our tent and make ourselves as comfortable as possible. Our native brethren have a tent close beside ours. Before retiring we ask them into our tent, read a portion of the word, and each joins in prayer and asks God's blessing upon us and the work we are to do in the village. We get in our cot, and tuck our mosquito netting as carefully around us as possible, for we do not want any stray centipede or scorpion as a bedfellow. We do not fall asleep at once, for there are many sounds outside the tent. The jackal, which has a keen scent for good things to eat, has come a mile to get a bit of the Mission Work and How Carried On 205 chicken we may have left from dinner. Half a dozen others are with him, or he is calling to them from a distance. His shrill bark is not conducive to sleep. The dogs in the village — lean, cross, scabby dogs — seem to think something unusual has happened, and they keep up a constant barking. Not far away is a village temple, and the priests and their sons are sing- ing from the sacred books. The music is in a high key, and sounds like the song of the plowboys. Is it the singing of priests or the singing of children in the Sunday-school ? Are we in India or America ? Some- times it seems like one, and sometimes like the other, and we awake with the sun shining through the open- ing of our tent. The cook prepares us a little break- fast, and we are ready for the work we came to do. We hail a passer-by, and inquire for the head man in the village. He tells us his name, and shows us where he lives. We go and call on him. If he is a friendly man ; i. e., friendly to us, he will come out and put his hands together, raise them to his forehead, and make a low bow. Then he brings out a piece of grass mat- ting, and asks us to sit down. The veranda on the outside is the reception-room for all men who are not members of the family. His name may be Hori Pra- sad Das. We talk to him of his crops, cows, and chil- dren, and a few things of this nature, and then perhaps ask him if he would like to hear some good news. He always likes to hear good news, and we tell him the best news ever told the world : "As you have sacred books, so do we; and our book tells us of God and how he created man, and how 206 India and Daily Life in Bengal man by sin went far away from God. It tells us of God's great interest in man, and how he tried to bring man back to him by sending his Son into the world, who took our nature, and was tried and tempted as we are, but did not sin. He had compassion for the sin- ful and suffering, and did all he could to help them. He gave the world the best teaching it has ever re- ceived, and the people who live the nearest these teach- ings are the best and happiest. If all would accept him and live by his teachings, it would turn our sorrowful world into a heaven. At last he was sacrificed as an offering for sin, and he arose from the grave, and now lives to help all who want to come to him and follow after him. He is the great Teacher, and he wants us all to become his disciples." We talk like this to Hori Babu, and while we are talking many of his neighbors gather in his yard, and sit down upon their heels to listen. We may ask him if he would not like to accept this Teacher as his teacher. He would tell us, probably, " What you say is very good, and those are certainly good teachings which Christ taught ; but if I should accept them and become a Christian, my land- lord would dispossess me, and my wife would disown me, and my children would not call me father, and my people would cast me out." It is a difficult thing for poor Hori, and yet some accept; not at first, but after repeated efforts. Then a little school is started in his village, and a Christian man is put in it, and they work with Hori's family and neighbors until a church grows out of that small beginning. In this way little lights are being kindled here and there, and they are grow- Mission Work and How Carried On 207 ing larger, and penetrating farther into the darkness around. Just when the rays from thousands of centers shall cross each other, and all India be enveloped in the *' Light of the world," none of us knows; but the time is surely coming, and may be much nearer than even the most sanguine of us think. May God hasten the day! CHAPTER XVII The Prospect for Success A RETURNED missionary lady was asked to prepare a paper in one of the recent May anniversaries in London, on the subject of " Discouragements in Mission Work in In- dia." She went on the platform, announced her sub- ject, and simply said " There are none," and sat down. There are some, yea, many obstacles; and coming events so cast their shadows before, that it sometimes seems darker than it really is. But the prospects are as good as the promises of God. Let us glance at a few of the hopeful signs : The opposition of the Brahmins is encouraging. There was a time when they ignored missionary ef- forts, or smiled at their futile attempts. They were like men in a fortress gray with age, and strong, who were watching a few pygmies trying to batter down the walls. They said, like the Samaritans who saw the Jews trying to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, " What do these feeble Jews? " They said, " Hindu- ism is old, and strongly entrenched in the lives and customs of our people, and we are a conservative na- tion; therefore, what will the efforts of these few missionaries amount to? " But their indifference has turned into opposition in some places, and that of the most bitter kind. 208 The Prospect for Success 209 Only a few years ago the Madras Hindu Tract So- ciety was organized to counteract the influence of Christian tracts. It was not the purpose of this society so much to set forth the excellences of the Hindu re- ligion, as it was to oppose the Christian religion. Not very long ago, in the city of Benares, a great meeting of the Brahmins and pundits was called for the pur- pose of devising ways and means to stop the progress of Christianity. It was first a meeting of fasting and prayer, and then they discussed their plans. They said, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.' Their women enter our homes, and are turning away the hearts of our wives, and the teachers in the schools are perverting the minds of our children, and our ears are filled with their bazaar preaching, and their books and tracts are going as silent messengers into our homes. Unless we adopt their methods, we shall be left behind in the race." So they issue and distribute their tracts, and preach in the bazaars against Christianity, and often try to disturb us in our preaching. They forget that it is the living Christ and not methods which is the source of success. They may try to attach Christian methods to a lifeless religion, but they cannot restore it to life. The people are becoming unsettled religiously. They have the Brahmo-Somaj, the aim of which is to reform Hinduism; and the Arya-Somaj, which promises to restore to the people primitive Hinduism. Theosophy and sundry isms find here a hotbed in which to grow. They want something they haven't got, and are grasp- ing for it here and there. 21 India and Daily Life in Bengal There is a feeling on the part of many of the peo- ple that Hinduism is to die, and that Christianity is to be the religion of the country. Often in the bazaar while preaching we hear this confession, " Christianity is to be the religion after a time." " Why, then, will you not accept it? " " We cannot," they say, '' come alone, but when all the rest of the villages get ready to come then we will come." The more thoughtful ones know that there is no power in Hinduism to elevate the people or to make them better. I was once in my cold-season work visit- ing a large village, at the head of which was a very in- telligent man. In the course of a conversation with him, I said, " Babu, I want to ask you a few questions about the Hindu religion." " Very well," he said, " ask anything you wish." " Are your people more truthful than they were many hundreds of years ago? " He replied, " No, I do not think they are truth- ful. In fact, you can hardly find a really truthful man. We have a proverb that says, ' If a man will not lie, neither shall he eat.' " " Are your people more honest and upright in their dealings than they were a thousand years ago?" *' I do not think they are as much so. You can hardly find a man who will not take advantage in a deal," he replied. *' Are your people more chaste and virtuous ? " " There are very few pure-minded people." " How long has Hinduism prevailed in this coun- try? " I asked. The Prospect for Success 211 '' Three thousand years or more," he repHed. " If you have had Hinduism for so many years, and your people are getting no better, but, as you confess, worse, when are they to be made better by Hinduism? " He said : " We have no hope for our people in this age. Our sacred books tell us of an age of truth, and when that comes we shall be made better." It gave me great satisfaction to say to him, '' The age of truth is already here. When Christ came and be- gan his great work, he said, * I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.' The age of truth that you have been look- ing for is found in Christ, and all that you hope from that age is found in him." Caste is the great strength of Hinduism, and those rules are evidently weakening. Caste is a chain which was forged by the higher classes to be put upon the necks of the lower classes. They are finding out that the chain forged for the necks of others is a most gall- ing chain upon their own necks, and many of the more thoughtful ones would be more than glad to have it broken, I was once detained for two days in company with a native gentleman in a small canal boat, waiting for the Calcutta steamer. I had with me my cook and a basket of food, and he had a cook with him and some native foods. Our meals were prepared separately, but when brought in we each shared freely the food of the other. During these tedious two days we became very commu- nicative, and he told me freely of his family affairs, which were, briefly, something like this: He had five 212 India and Daily Life in Bengal daughters and one son, and belonged to the caste next below the Brahmins. The marrying of his daughters to suitable men in his caste had cost him all he had earned or could ever hope to earn, though he was get- ting a splendid salary from the government. The caste rules of the Hindus compelled him to get husbands for^ his daughters in the same caste, and these husbands brought a big price. If he could go outside his caste, he would have no difficulty ; but as it was, he was bound hand and foot. He denounced the system as galling and iniquitous. The fact that he freely ate with me showed how little he regarded it. At length the steamer came along, and we found on board a native deputy magistrate from Balasore. This was early in the morning before we had eaten our morning meal. I told my man to prepare me some tea and toast, and then turned and asked these two native gentlemen if they would not allow me to have some toast prepared for them. Of course they refused. I did not expose the man who had been freely eating my bread the day be- fore. Then he was with me, and now he was with his fellow-caste man. We kept in this boat until we got to the end of the canal at Gewakallie. As the boat was not going up until morning, the deputy magistrate and I hired a rowboat to take us across to Diamond Harbor, where we could get the train for Calcutta. This was a ride of several miles, and on the way sup- per-time came, and each of us brought out our lunch- baskets. Now the gentleman who so graciously re- fused my offer of food in the morning was ready to share with me the contents of my basket, while I The Prospect for Success 2 13 helped him eat his native sweets. In the presence of each other neither of these native gentlemen would touch my food, but away from each other both would. So it is. Thousands of the educated people despise caste, and yet they are held to its rules for fear of each other. I called once on a native civil surgeon, who was act- ing for the time being for our European civil surgeon of Balasore. I said, " I suppose, doctor, you com- pleted your medical studies in Europe." He replied, " No ; fool that I was, I did not go to England. I had a great desire to, but our caste rules prevented it, and I observed them to my great detriment. I have put before me an insurmountable barrier to any fur- ther promotion. I have wished a hundred times I had gone in spite of them ; in fact, it is a daily cause of re- gret." When such a feeling becomes general, caste will go, just as their houses go after they are all eaten up with white ants. Only a shell remains, which is ready to crumble to pieces. Our army of native helpers is a most encouraging feature in the work. There was a time in the history of every mission when there were no native workers^ and how the hearts of the missionaries leaped for joy when they got perhaps only one or two, and these of an indifferent quality ; but those days are past. Every mission has some, and many missions many of these. Some of them are educated, talented men, and many of them are men of zeal and deep piety, and would be an honor to any pulpit in any country. One of our own native preachers, Suchied Ananda Rai, I would 214 India and Daily Life in Bengal be proud to put in any pulpit in America if he could use English as well as he can Bengali. Chundra Lela also is an illustrious example of what Christianity can do for the race. In another chapter I have spoken more at length on the different branches of Christian work carried on through the help of these native agencies. Our native Christians are pushing them- selves to the front, and it is only a question of time when they will exert a great influence in the country. The Hindu must be converted, or make way for the superior class, which is by the power of the gospel being raised up out of their midst. Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Feb. 2003 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION