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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1901)
Among the Natives of Holland's Best -Managed Colony (Copy light, lil, by Krank (J. Carpi liter ) BANDONti, Jam Ann -I l.Spuclal 'orri'Hminlt'tii ' of Tin' lice I am 'bight' d Willi In mi It shows li.it c inii;lii ilo In Hiii l'lilll lilni h iiinl I 'in lo llli ii Tin' Dutch liavn maili' HiIh Island ii very (ianli'ii of I'M ul). It Is a putadltic of the triiili H. IIMll IH, I bclll.'VO, till! in i h L lii'iiiilirul spot tin (I'iiI'h green rnrlli. It Is nf tlir am charmler iih many of tin' Philippine islands, ami Itn iniiiititiiliiH an' nut iinllki' those of I 'nt tu ltlc.ii, although tny uri' grander ami higher Java Ih in an I' tliu cqil.Uor t hail miy if "iir inliiiiliil km hsIoiis, lull a great part nf it li.i si a Km il i Innate, ami tlm llnllamkia 'hero 1 1 1 1-1 v ll Ih lint trim that Ami Means ami Mower ganloiis In doing your shopping ThM Is ho all over Java. It Is delightful liny I, Mr W.-ll. Ah far an I . tin keo tin- forelgneis live hotter hero than al home No city In nul lum! compares with Handling for comrort ami I ilimlit whcihcr there ar any In which tlm children uru moio healthy uml tin; poo plu inoii' prosperous. 'I'hn Dutch girls are plump ami fat babies ahoiiml. Tlm ehll 'lun enjoy Hi oinsolvus. 1 have met nianv purlieu of I r 1 a riding Id -voles aii'l have seen Hcvernl uiroinnb.b s IMug i.lung over i lie ( H'cllciil mad of the Mind. Von inn luy anything l"i wiiiii In ihe t hh mil ill" llviiiK Ih as good iih that of lltiropc How would yon llku a liotel which fur nishes Its guest-: Kin cocktails freo twice a wk WRv' jHw cooiciNt! is donh oi'tsidi: 'nil': um si:s i annul live In the tropics. The highlands of the I'hlllpplneH are healthv, anil llan iliiiii;, f i otii where I ilate (hit Idler, wonlil lio u heal III resort If It conlil lie ilroppcil ilown 11)11111 Um IT II t It'll StlltCH. TIiIh country Ih a laml nf niniiiilaliiH. Tin le Ih a range running through II fnnii (lie ciiil to the other, ami It has more vol canoes to the square tnlle than almost any laml on the globe. I wIhIi 1 conlil show you the nionutnliiH through which I rule com ing here, dn all Hides of mo were extinct volrnnocH rovereil with green ulniest to their leH. The lower HlnpcH were tiirnood wlHi rice Holds, ami iiliovo them pines anil fmiHlH extending on mid on until lint In the i ll hiIh. Now we crossed plains as fer tile iik Did Nile valley upon which water hulfalocH ami fat cattle fcil. now we shot through groves of cicoamit trees ami wiiiml iiir way about through the rice ter races In places the rlco wits Hooded ami the trees which lionlereil the tlelils wore iloiililnl. making other trees tutncil upside ilon ii In the water. We passed liumlreils of villages of huts mailt' of platted biinhno, went by ten pl.iiiliitlons ami coffee planta tions ami on past forests nf tpilnine tries, and at hiHt catuu to this town mi a beauti ful plaliati twenty-live tulles In width sur rounded liy mountains. In I lie I tenet of .linn, Handling Imh uIh nt IIO.OUO people, and of tlicsu l.fiOO arc Hiiriq cans. The remain .or are Jiivaneso with a jpiiukllug of Chinese and lmlf ciiBteu. The city Is a erv liitnn U a 1 garden. The ho. nos of the fori Ign rs aro Hhadud by the ginmliMl trcts of 1 1 i . tropica. They are surrounded bv Inwis .m velvety and as will ki pi ns those of old IIiiKluml and (ho wide drives whlih bad no to the more preteulloiM homes am In twee. i inns of royal palms, s mo mine than a h m dted fiot high The furelKiiers live in vil lus, Willi walls mid porticoes of snow white, loofed with red libs. Many of the houses are InrKO. They are all of oue-slorv and exceedingly comfortable. Kvon the stores are villas. They urn sot back from the street, with vards In front of them and palms and tropical llnwcrs or namenting Ihelr vi'r.imlas. Tliere Is one Just opposite my lintel shaded hv a tree whoso wlilo-spreadlng blanches cover about one-fourth of an acre, while on Its Kre.it trunk scores of oribldH are growing. At the base of the tree are tropical plants In pots of red clay, uml as you ku Into the store It In by some curious dwarf palms growing In tubs on the veranda. That In a Jeweler's shop. A little farther on Is a drug store In a similar garden and If you would buy Krocerles. clothliiK or bookB you will have to walk throiiKh palm trees day? That Is what I k. t at thu Hotel llo uian here In llamlnni: The IiIk tiottlo Is set out on the table on the liotel veranda, with bitters beside It, and you take as much ns you nieast. The bottle contains Hol land Kin so old and so hot that two tnblu spooiifuls would kIvo a clKar Indian an ap petite. The cocktails are drunk by both woinin ami men, and they are, I am told, fiirnlslud free nt all Ihe holds. In ad dition, I he llviiiK is good mid exceedingly cheap. Hire at llotnan's I pay : KUllders, or about V- a day, and everythlm; is lu i hided. This Kivcs me also my hath morn IliK and evening. There me sttlUKS and teeter boards on the lawns for the children and all soils of gymnastic conveniences. The hotel has a bllllaid room and reading mom. mid every Knest has a sitting room ami bedroom on the ground Hour. i uxt I lie alltes. The natives of Java live very simply. A few uf tho chiefs and nobles have houses llko the Kiiropeaus, mid tho regents have palaces which are largely kept up by the Koverninent, but tho Brent mass live In lints of woven bamboo, thatched with palm leaves. Tho walls of many of tho houses are Just llko basket work: they aro woven In great sheets mid sold by the yard. I frequently boo a pair of brown, bare legs trotting nloiiK enrrylug tho wall of a house. The wall Is bent double; It entirely con ceuls tho man within, mid looks much like the cover of nn emigrant wagon moving along upon legs. The native part of Handling Is outside the fi reign section. It Is a bamboo village mid contains about IM.OOO piople. It Is di vlded up Into streets and alleys, each hut having Its little garden about It. Tho houses are all numbered and the govern uiciit In ops a record of every family. Nearly all tho houses are small, on tho average not mure than llfleen feet square, ami so low nt iho front that you have to st.op in enter them. The thatched roofs overlmng, covering tho verandas In front of the houses and sometimes the seats nroiind the sides The ordinary house contains but one or two rooms, a recess In the rear forming the sleeping placo for tho family. The poorer houses have nn beds, for tho people sleep on tho Hour. Tho cook stove Is a clay bowl with n draft below It. Tho cook ing Is done outsldo tho house except In wet wenther, mid as tho stove Is portable this Is uislly arranged. Country uf lllouex, Tho houses in different parts of Java aro much the same The Island Is as big ns the Btalo uf New Vork ami Its 25,(iU0,0UU people llvu In vlllngis. You sue no liousis scat lend imr ihe laudscapi Tin re ale u burns In He Melds and n buildings whit ever i.utniib' ihe Inswi-. iXiipting ill ill. tobacco, stigur ami indigo pl.ini.itlt us. Tin rt, are souietimis sin ds on high poles In thu rite distilcts, but these aie used merely as watch huiB"S to kei p the birds uway from the crops. The piople walk long distances to their woik. They labor In gangs ami are often paid a sharu of the crop, bringing the sheaves of rlco homo with them fiom thu Harvest. Almost every house has a rlco granary conueuled with It. Tlm is something llko a corucrlb, sloping out nurd us It goes Up and ellilltlK in a tli.iiih'd roof, which makes it quite plciur esi,u. The rice Is stored uway III the hlnaf a nd tlircsli.il out as tietiletl by tile 1.111.11 with pestle ami mortar. Many of the h .usus have pigeon coops on pubs t reeled bt'Sldo them, liiiul.ilUle eill - ion - of the hoiiheH below. Thu J.ivanesu breed many pigeons. They havo strings hanging from the plguui In.uscs to thu gioiiiid, by which they communicate with i he birds. Thu government keeps a record of tho Mllugts as well as of the houses. Thu gato io every street has a number on It and, l vcniure, thu olllelals tan lull Just exactly how many pioplu llvu In each street ami house. Miiliiiiiiiiicilaiilsin in .lata. 1 visited thu gieal Mohamiui dan moiinie ere al Bandung ami had a chat with some r thu priests in charge or It through my ii rpleiur. The un.sque Is a beautiful hue building with many white i ultimo I ophildlng Its portltots ami with a Hull ii.ua' "I w.ii.'i B' p.iratlng It fiom thu coum . , I inn I. i- . ei p enough, howuver. tu nt -ssiiate ili.ti nil it 1 1 go In shall take olf their shoes. I wa told that I could Miter If I would mine in bar f .oted ami It v.as thus that I paddled tl.rmg.i thu iimaL and tranquil up thu wide steps of this sliilue of Mahomet. Here I met an old fel t( w In a Inng gown mid white luibnti who walked with mo through the mosiiiu. We v allied up thu steps Into a room about ZlIU feet square, lighted from the top by heait tihapeil windows coveied with a wrought li mi grating. The Hour was of black mar ble ami at tho back was a pulpit of white ml gold, where the I man stood and called t the prayers Tliere were mats before Ins pulpit and upon them several baie riioicil .latnli.se wire llsug and falling III lieir devollui's 1 am told that the pious Mi hammeilans here pray live times a tlav They begin at da t break ami pray again at noon, at p tu . nt ii mid al night l.ll.l- I'llllllllll MlllllllllMICllllllN. The mass of natives aro very loosu as o their religious observances The men l ldin go to thu mosque mid their .Moliam .1 danism Is uf a character inure llku that ( cur Sulu Islanders than that of Arabia nd Turkey The head of the religion Is tut' ii 1 1 n ii of Holo, a state of interior Java. This man bus n similar position to uur sul i.iii of lllll. The piople look up lo llllil ..ml have faith In his divinity. Their respect I ir him IneiiasiM. however, In proportion in the distant!' they live Hum him. the . h.ii 1. ns of lobi being more lax even tl . n thus" i f tt't si .la. a Among other features of Javanese Mo haiumeiimilsm Is an abhorrence of pork. Tho people will not eat this meat, for they i t iiHltler It unclean. Not long ago a native chief had a Mohammedan killed. He was supposed .o bo a salut. After his death tho people dollied lilni ami began In pray ovur his grave, whereupon the chief burled a hog In thu grave mid the people prayed thero mi mure. The Dutch olllidals tell me l hey have more triublc with the Mohimiiieilaii fa muli s than with any other class of natives, ami for tills reason they ill-it ourngo the pilgrimages to Mioca which aro now and then made by the Hadjis. It l-t round that the people look up tu such men after their t ft ii i it. They think they havo stipei natural pint i is. a fil the Hadjis use this feeling to create, trouble with the government. In fait, nearly every rebellion In Java has been fomented by tlicsu men. livery Java nese Mllagi has Its priest who acts In some matters us Judge. He had to do with mar ritigts, dlvori es uml funerals, ami also with tho circumcisions which are common in many parts of thu country. Vallte Chiefs mill .'Nnlitili. ! Ilml that there are distinct ranks of society In Java. Thu country has Its rich uml Its poor, Its aristocrats ami plebeian. The lower classes respect the upper and allow them to rule, ami the Dutch have tuki'ii iiilvautage of this by working entirely thioiigh the chiefs. Right next to the miiMiio Is the home of the native regent of sumo of It. it Is a mllu trail; with a Hue grandstand mid hundreds of bamboo sheds or shelters on poles nearby In these sheds thu natives sit eross-leggi d to wutdi the races. The gianilstands aie luigily given up to thu rich, thu nobles mid ihe Hiiro ptnns At ilo races the chief purse is l.uOu gulltltrs, uml horses from all pans i,f the Island take pall. Some i.f the nam. . bu N have their own stithies, especially Hie Bill tans of Solo ami DJokJa. There ate often f.O.uoo people pri heiit al the meetings The horses are Australian horses and ponies from Java ami th surrounding Islands The ponies are fi.und best f. r cidliary travel mid they are largily usul ly the army. Tiny can travel over ihe rice lands where the bcavli r lu.rsi s will sink HikmicIi NATIVK KICOKNT AND SKUVANT Ikindt.ug. a Jnwimso who receives from the govi riiiueiit 1.200 guilders, nn amount equal to $l!sO of our money per month, as well as many presents fiom his own people. I don't know how largo his totul lucomu Is. but It must bo gnat. He has tho ills iidvantngc. however, of having to support all his relatives. Whenever n native gots n fat olllco or maki s a rich strike of any kind his poor lelatlLiis from everywhere come ami squir down upon lilni. This Is so in many other parts of thu far east. It Is especially so In (-lilna, whuro n rich man often has to support hundreds. In Canton, for Instance, I met one millionaire who was keeping 100 of his sisters, cousins and aunts uml Ihelr llltlo ones, ami gritting his teeth as he dltl so. The regent i f Handling has a largo colony if buildings about his house for his rela tions, lie gets as many of thorn as hu can In thu government service, thus rullovlng himself. Ho lives well and, 1 venture, i-pentls the greater part of his Income. There Is a raco track outsldo the city which probably enables him to get rid uf It may be that we shall have lo use pi me in the IMlilippiues for the same reason, h' nrt Iii.iiiN In Hie Wni'lil. Ami this brings me in th" ro.ids . f Java They nre by all i dds the l.isi tf any i nun try of the world, and thai nolw Ithsinnillng Java Is on the tdge i f the equali r In i ne of tho rainiest parts of the globe. What Is needed mole Hum anything else fir the de velipimnt of the Philippines ami Pi.rto Klco Is good roads. The I Hi I eh f. uml Java much as ih.. Philippines are now. They or ganl.eil a system of road building mid fi recti tho natives to eairy it out A certain mm nut of labor hud always been given lo the chiefs by the natives. This labor was applied to toad building. Hat Ii mail uus required to work so miinv diys n year en public Impioveuicnts and the resull Is th' good system of highways found In Jata lo day. Most of the ri nils are inn a 'iiml.ed They are ballasted with br. ken sti ne-i gi'Liiml lo the size of a nut mid rolled huh nth with heavy Iron rollers Knell side of I lie roatl has Its gutter ill (Coilliliucil on Highth Page.) IN J.WA TWKNTV-KlVi: MILLION PKOI'I.R UVR IN VIU.AORS