so that we no longer suffered so much from the heat. At last our
splendid steamer plowed its course up the majestic Ganges, the sacred
river with its one hundred mouths, on whose peaceful bosom millions and
millions of human bodies have been carried to the ocean. For a distance
of eighty miles we sailed up this wonderful river, and on either side
we could see cities, temples, palm groves, and large crowds of people.
On October 15th we arrived at Calcutta, where I was received by the
American vice-consul, and comfortably quartered in the Great Eastern
hotel.

CHAPTER XVI.

India--Its People, Religion, Etc.--The Fertility of the Country--The
Climate--The Dwellings--Punkah--Costumes--Calcutta--Dalhousie
Square--Life in the Streets.

This is India, the wonderful land of the Hindoos. Africa had appeared
strange to us compared with Europe and America; Asia seemed still more
so. The Hindoos have a high and very old civilization, but entirely
different from that of Europe and America. The country is named after
the river Indus. It is hardly equal in area to one-half of the United
States, but contains a population of more than two hundred and
sixty-nine millions, eighty-one millions of whom are Mohammedans, one
hundred and ninety millions Brahmins, two millions Christians, three and
a half millions, Buddhists, Parsees or fire-worshipers, two millions
Sikhs, and the rest are Jews or adherents of unknown religions. Queen
Victoria of England is Empress of India, and the country is ruled in her
name by a viceroy. It is divided into three great presidencies, viz.,
Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, and these are again divided into a number of
districts and native principalities. In order to maintain her supremacy
in India, England keeps an army of about two hundred thousand regulars,
of whom a little over one-third are English and the rest natives; and
beside these there is a large militia and police force. Most of the
native soldiers hail from the mountain districts. The most prominent of
them belong to the Sikhs and Gourkas, two Indian nations. The Sikhs are
tall, stately fellows, in my opinion ideal soldiers for a standing army.
The Gourkas are smaller in stature, but very energetic and hardy; and
both are renowned for their courage and endurance. It is said that a
Gourka soldier would rather fight than eat, while a Sikh takes the
matter more philosophically, and eats first and then fights. All native
regiments are comman