Edith Dunham

“ Travellers in India often say that in that country the most magnificent and the meanest objects are found side by side. A beautiful palace and a miserable little hut are seen together, or a wonderful bit of carving beside cheap red or yellow glass ornaments.
Carts like the one in the picture are very often seen at Agra, the city where so many wonderful buildings are found. There are many interesting things in India that we should like to see; you know it is a very large country, and there are many different kinds of scenery; and in some places it is very beautiful. ”

“ Except at these times Porto Rico is a beautiful place; flowers bloom all the year and the fields are full of growing things. A great deal of coffee grows there on large plantations. You know that Porto Rico belongs now to the United States, and every afternoon at sunset in the large cities a band plays “The Star Spangled Banner.” While it is being played the flag is lowered and the men take off their hats. ”

“ It is a very beautiful island, and the roads, winding along between palms of many kinds and strange plants, with bright coloured birds and butterflies fluttering in and out among the leaves, are wonderful. ”

“ The native people have a rude sort of knife with which they scrape the pulp from the fibre, after which it is dried in the sun and then prepared for shipping.
There is also a very fine fibre that the natives sometimes get in small quantities, out of which they weave a soft material that looks something like silk. This fibre brings higher prices than the coarser, but there is not so much of it to be had.
It is very interesting to see the people at work, getting the hemp ready for market: almost everything is done by hand, for no machinery has yet been made which can do the work so well. ”

“ They are wonderful to look at; it seems as though they must always have been there, like the big rocks and hills; but men built them many, many years ago—long before the invention of any of the machinery that people use now to lift stones. The biggest pyramid of all was built for the tomb of a king. Travellers often climb this large pyramid, but it is not very easy, as one has to step from one big stone to another. ”

“ The vineyards on the sides of hills or mountains are planted row after row, only a few feet apart, and each row a little higher than the one before it. Every vine is like a little tree by itself, with a trench dug around it to catch the water when it rains. ”

“ See how small their feet are, and yet they are very large compared with the feet of the ladies in higher classes, who could easily wear dolls’ shoes. Chinese shoes, the ordinary ones, are made of cloth; so when it rains the Chinese do not like to go out and get them wet.
Let us follow these people to Shanghai and see what the city is like. It is a great shipping place, and the harbour is filled with queer-looking boats called junks. Shanghai is a busy place, and the streets are always crowded; in the native part they are extremely narrow and dirty. ”

“ You know it is in what is called the Sand Belt of North Carolina. All along the eastern part of the state the country is low and flat, much of it sandy, with here and there a swamp; but farther inland it is good farming country with fine soil. North Carolina has a wonderful climate, and it is so warm and pleasant that a bigger variety of plants grow there than in almost any other state. We should like to see peanuts growing, shouldn’t we? They grow in great abundance here. ”

“ From Stereograph, copyright by Underwood & Underwood, New York
[22]
A CARABAO TANDEM IN LUZON
Oh, look at these strange animals with such wide-spreading horns! Do you know what they are? They are named “carabaos,” and are sometimes called “water buffaloes” because they are so fond of the water. Often through the day they go into the rivers or lakes and splash about; and if they are kept too long from their bath they are likely to go mad and become dangerous. They are very powerful animals and are used a great deal in the Philippine Islands in place of horses, to do farm work and draw carts. ”

“ Along the Mississippi River in some places banks called levees have been built, to keep the water in its place, but often after a heavy rain there is so much water in the river that the levees are broken, and then great damage is done. If the river did not sometimes carry off houses these overflows would not be so bad, for the water leaves a kind of mud on the fields, which makes things grow faster and better. ”

“ The country is hilly, and when walking one no sooner gets to the bottom of one hill than he begins to go up another. Korea is famous for its paper, which is very strong and does not tear easily. The houses have partitions and windows of oiled paper. Glass is quite uncommon.
Looking down into Seoul, the chief city, from the wall one is reminded of a bed of mushrooms. ”

“ You know so many people want ostrich plumes that it takes a great many to supply them all, and there are ostrich farms in Florida and California, as well as in Mexico and other countries. The first plumes are cut from the birds when they are about six or seven months old, and then about twice a year until they are very old. ”

“ This elephant comes from Khaipur, a state in the western part of India. It is a very hot part of the country, and we should probably not be able to live there more than four months in the year, as the rest of the time it is intensely hot. Many of the Hindu people of Khaipur own large numbers of oxen, camels, sheep and goats; so they do not settle in one place to live, but go about, stopping wherever they find good pasture-lands. ”

“ In olden times the northern part of Scotland was owned by the Highlanders, who lived by raising sheep and cattle, and by hunting. They were divided into clans, or large families of relatives, and were very loyal to one another. Many stirring tales are told of these old times; probably you will read them some time. Now most of the large estates in the Highlands are owned by English or American people, who spend a short time there every year in shooting and fishing. ”

“ Sometimes a terrible storm comes up on the desert; the wind blows, and drives great clouds of sand before it, making it almost impossible for a person to see. In a storm like this the people have to keep moving and to try to get out of the storm, for if they stayed in one place the sand would soon cover them. ”

“ Dublin is the principal city and is a very beautiful one, with fine houses and buildings. Exquisite lace, made by the peasant women, comes from there, and a kind of cloth called Irish poplin, made of silk and wool. It rains very often in Ireland, so the grass and foliage are bright green, for which reason the island is sometimes called the Emerald Isle. The Irish people say, “In England it rains all day; in Scotland it rains all night ”

“ Mississippi is one of the states where it is warm weather most of the year; the Gulf of Mexico is just south of it, and the breeze across the water is soft and mild. It rains a great deal in the southern part of the state, and there are many rivers, so the land is overflowed very often. ”

“ A great many tulips, hyacinths and crocuses are grown in Holland. It is a great gardening country; every bit of ground is cultivated, and the kingdom is like one big garden crossed by many canals like silver threads. ”

“ Raisins and wine also come from Malaga in large quantities. They are both made from grapes—raisins by drying the grapes in the sun, and wine from the juice of grapes; so you see how many must be picked every year. Figs and almonds grow in Malaga, and olives. All these things, you know, grow only where it is very warm and sunny. If we went to Spain we should see many olive trees. ”

“ Florida has water on three sides and there are many beaches of course, but the coast is flat and sandy, with reefs and sand bars that go way out into the ocean, so there are not many good harbours for vessels. ”

“ Tribes of people called Bedouins live around there; they do not settle in any one place to live, however, but roam about from one part of the wilderness to another. They sometimes act as guides to show travellers the country. ”

“ Perhaps all these people are going to the tobacco fields, for as you know, a great deal of tobacco is raised in Cuba, and cigars and cigarettes are made in large quantities. Many other things grow there, too. Some plants which belong to tropical or very hot countries grow close beside those found also in colder climates ”

“ Many cottages in Ireland are like this, of stone or earth with the roof thatched with straw; but a great many have no windows except holes cut in the walls, and the door is so low that one has to stoop to go in. ”

“ In olden times the Egyptian people did much carving, and painted a great deal too, so their houses and buildings were all beautifully decorated and coloured. You have probably seen Egyptian designs many times in the museums near your home, or in books, haven’t you? ”

“ In the long, cold season the father sometimes makes a sledge like the one in the picture. It is made of pieces of wood, with runners of ivory from the tusks of walrus, and sometimes with pieces of reindeer horn. The whole is fastened together with straps made of skin either from the reindeer or seal. It takes a long time to make a sledge, for the Eskimos do not have very good tools to work with, and have to work slowly. Usually the sledges are drawn by dogs. ”

“ There are many kinds of animals and insects in Cuba, too; some of the insects are quite troublesome and we should not care to have them come near us. If one is making a collection of insects, Cuba is a good place in which to find different varieties. ”

“ Market-day is a great event; everyone must go, and of course all the people in the country places try to grow the choicest vegetables and fruits, and raise the very best fowls. The flowers, too, offered for sale, are beautiful and very fragrant ”

“ A volcano is not a very pleasant neighbour, should you think so? Many of the islands of the Philippines were formed by volcanoes under the sea, that have thrown up masses of lava until a new island was made. ”

“ There are not many cities in the north, and if we kept going toward the middle of the country we should still see only a few, but we should see many farms where beetroot is grown, from which they make sugar. ”

“ The hills near Jericho are not very attractive to look at: they are covered with stones, and not many trees or flowers grow on them; but some of the hills in Palestine are beautiful, with large groves of olive trees, and masses of green foliage. ”

“ As many as twelve often draw a sledge, and they run very rapidly over the ice and snow, while their master keeps them in order with his long-lashed whip.
[10]
IN THE OLD PARK AT NARA
See these happy Japanese girls enjoying their ride through the park, in ’rickshaws. They look very comfortable and cool in their kimonos, don’t they?
The park they are riding in is at Nara and is such a beautiful place! It is there that a very tame herd of sacred deer is kept. Nara is on the island of Hondo, Japan, and is a very old city, famous for its carvings, cutlery and toys. ”

“ Dotted here and there are pretty little villages with houses painted in bright colours, and everywhere are windmills with huge sails. They are used to grind corn and to pump the water from the canals, and in addition to being so useful are very picturesque. ”

“ Ceylon is such an interesting place to visit! There are ever and ever so many plantations where tea is grown, and rice, too. The labourers who work in the fields, and who draw the ’rickshaws we see in the picture, are called Tamils. ”

“ The elephants in the picture belong to a Maharaja or great prince, and they have come from Rewah, a little state somewhat north from the centre of India. You know India is a very large country and it is divided into states, some large, some small, each of which has a native ruler. ”

“ Ostriches are queer-looking birds, aren’t they? See Oliver W.’s long neck, and his feet with only two toes, the outside one having no claw. It is wise to keep away from those feet, for ostriches sometimes kick, and very powerfully, too. ”