LIFE IN BURMA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18446, 6 January 1922, Page 8

LIFE IN BURMA.

• ENGINEER’S WIFE’S EXPERIENCES. DAYS IN THE JUNGLE. Interesting; ; phases of life in Burma are revealed by'-Mrs _ Harley Hooper, who has recently arrived in Melbourne after living seven yearn in the jangle. She is (says the Herald) the wife of a well-known mining engineer,--who during the war was engaged jn the production of wolfram at Kanbank, v about 80 miles from Tavdy, the centre^of 1 the 'wolfram mines, which gave England her chief supply. Five days of ndventjtrojig ; happenings wore experienced on I tlujir MfiitWard journey after their' departure from Rangoon by coastal steamer. The first night at dinner the equanimity of the passengers was somewhat disturbed by •the captain’s monkey dropping from a rafter into-,,Sirs Hooper’s soup. Their next' move was by motor-boat, in P which'5 they: travelled one day; then (changed to dug-outs. These are open boats With a. keel hollowed out of ’a tree, and as the rivers were in flood and running high, they Had a perilous two days. Bullock carte aye not the most comfortable things to ride, in,,, but it was their only available means ; ;for the next stage, and during the day they used them they forded no fewer than 20 rivers, then across on arm of the sea in sampans, and then to bullock carte again, which took them right into the heart of the I-jungle. Some idea of the advancement iniade : , during their stay there can bo gauged by the fact that when they returned to Australia it took them eight hours to cover -the distance, on this occasion by motor 'car. ; LIVED IN PALM LEAF HUT. Mrs Hooper lived for seven months in a palm leaf hut, round which wild animals prowled at night, and often was the only white woman among hundreds of .Indians and Chinese coolies, engaged in working tho mines. Barmans are seldom employed,-os they are not fond of work. Tho Burmese women arc more emancipated than the Indian, land are of a bright and happy disposition!; . , . Commehting on the revolutionary campaign theiS,* of which news .was cabled this week, Mrs. Hooper said: “It is'-"regrettable that, after having guarded India’s cities so well, the Government has allowed the extremists to get into ‘ Burma. Left to themselves, tho Burmese are loyal, easy-going, and simple folk,' with no inclination for fight and strife. I should think that the burning of -the Royal barge bias taken place on tho Royal Lakes at Rangoon. ; -Although the cable leads one to suppose tb£#cident happened at Mandalay, j seen it there on another gala ■ ooraisionv-.-floating about the . Jakes like a Largo gold bird. It is always towed by various .-native craft representing different v castes, v , u On theso festive (lays the banks are thronged with natives in their many--coloured loonghees with their silk parasols . soaring above like so many tropical butterflies." HOUSEKEEPING IN THE JUNGLE. The woman who goes into the jimgle ;' os Mra s 'Hooj?er did, can be regarded as

bo me thing of a heroine, for not only has ah© malaria, cholera, and other dread diseases to contend with, but the awful monotony of the rainy season. For five months the rain never ceases, and it is then that the ingenuity of the housekeeper is taxed to the utmost. She has to order her stores six months ahead, and transport takes a month. Then the worries begin, how' kJ keep the sugar from the ants, which swarm everywhere, also to prevent it from turning into water, to prevent the flour from turning musty, and to cope with cockroaches, centipedes, and other pests which swarm everywhere during the rains. Everything mildews, and even the hair is never dry, so that looking after wearing apparel alone, which has to be dried every day over charcoal braziers, is quite a business. ~ The one big compensation for many disadvantages, is the excellent service of trained and faithful servants. Mrs Hooper is a keen gardener, and in the lovely garden round her home with the thick jungle in the background, grew beautiful blooms, alongside bananas and pineapples. Meat is altogether deleted from the menu in Burma, the principal substitute being chicken, but after haying fowl twice a day for 365 days, a good steak would bo enjoyed. . , If the Burmese woman is tired of her rice diet, she goes out and gathers some ground orchids, which, mixed with pumpkin flowers, make a delicious curry.