AN INDIAN SOLDIER.
There are more rumors of trouble in India. In and about Bombay there is a strong feeling of discontent among the natives because of the plague measures. You will remember what was written in July last in The Great Round World about the curious customs of the different races in India; how they refuse to depart from these customs for fear of losing caste, which they hold more dear than life itself.
The great Sepoy Mutiny was partly occasioned by the use of cartridges which were thought to have lard on them; from these cartridges the native soldiers had to remove the ends before putting them in the muskets, and they said that it was intended that they should bite off this larded end and thus lose caste.
Many of these natives will not drink milk, others will not touch lard, and none of them must eat food prepared or handled by certain persons.
In order to stop the spread of the plague, certain rules had to be made, and it is these rules which cause so many outbreaks among the natives.
The population of India is enormous, and a general outbreak would necessarily be a very serious matter.