A BATTLE ROYAL WHICH ENDED FATALLY FOR ALL CONCERNED—THE SNAKE KILLED THE KITTEN, AND THE MOTHER, COMING TO THE RESCUE, KILLED THE SERPENT, BUT SUCCUMBED HERSELF TO THE SNAKE’S BITE.
From a Photograph.
The top snapshot on the next page was taken during a tramp through the jungly district around Sourabaya, a small town in Java. The picture shows a Javanese woman washing her child under a falling stream of water. Evidently the youngster is not enjoying the performance, and evinces his disapproval of the proceedings by kicking out in all directions and struggling vigorously. As a result of these contortions the outline of his body in the picture is rather obscure. It is interesting to note how the water has been brought to the rudely-constructed circle of masonry which serves as a reservoir. Having no system of pipes to facilitate the distribution of water, the natives fall back on Nature to assist them in this direction. They cut down betelnut trees, split them in half from top to bottom, and scoop out the inside substance, thus making a series of cylindrical troughs. These are dried in the sun, after which a number of them, joined end to end and placed at a gentle slope, will convey water from any natural source to within convenient distance of a village or group of houses. The end of one of these artificial water-courses is seen in the picture.
“YOU DIRTY BOY”—A JAVANESE MOTHER WASHING HER CHILD IN A “HOME-MADE AQUEDUCT.”
From a Photograph.
Here is a curious little snapshot from Java. The ancient cannon seen in the photograph is situated near the railway station at Batavia, the capital of the island, and is believed by the natives to possess the peculiar power—particularly strange in the case of so incongruous an object as a cannon—of enabling childless married people to raise a family. In pursuance of this strange belief many offerings are placed by the superstitious near the cannon; three are seen in the foreground of the photograph. Another legend which attaches to this particular gun is to the effect that when it and another piece of ordnance, which is also situated somewhere in the island, are brought together, the Javanese will become a great and independent nation.
AN ANCIENT CANNON TO WHICH PEOPLE MAKE OFFERINGS IN THE BELIEF THAT IT ASSIST THEM TO RAISE A FAMILY.
From a Photograph.
In the eastern half of Bavaria, on the borders of Bohemia, lies the so-called Bavarian Forest. This part of the country, although it boasts beautiful scenery, is seldom visited by tourists, probably for the reason that the charms of the region are little known even in Germany. This part of Bavaria has been in many ways untouched by civilization, and owing to its seclusion from the outer world some very strange customs are still in vogue, strongly reminding one of the Middle Ages. One of these strange customs, strictly observed by the population, is the way in which they keep alive the memory of their dead by the erection of what are called “totenbretter,” or “death-boards.” These are wooden planks cut in the shape of tombstones and roughly painted. Sometimes they bear also the image of a saint. They are erected—often in a row of thirty and more—on the roadside, in fields and meadows, near chapels and crucifixes, in the village streets—in short, everywhere; they are even nailed to houses and barns. They do not mark burial-places, as might be supposed. As soon as a person has died the corpse is put on a board, and there it lies in state until it is put into the coffin shortly before the funeral. These boards, then, are the so-called “death-boards,” and after the funeral they are cut into a suitable shape, and decorated with an inscription containing the name of the deceased, his age, and, in most cases, some lines of poetry. These short poems, which are, of course, meant in sober earnest, are occasionally very amusing. The boards are then stuck somewhere near the road, or in the fields, where they sometimes accumulate to an alarming number. In the poorer districts these boards are not always cut into shape and painted, but are simply deposited just as they are at the foot of some crucifix, where they remain untouched until they moulder away. It must be admitted that the custom, though interesting, seems open to objection from a hygienic point of view, nor is it very exhilarating for the tourist to be reminded of death wherever he may turn.
BAVARIAN “DEATH-BOARDS”—THEY DO NOT MARK BURIAL-PLACES, AND ARE TO BE FOUND IN ALL SORTS OF ODD SITUATIONS.
From a Photo. by Kester, Berlin.