Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1884-05-01
SIAN AND ITS PEOPLE:

'ndo-China. and is nearly as large as
9ur State of Texas. The country con-
sists for the most part of mountains.
swamps and jungleS- The great river
Meinam traverses its center. and mum
dates the valley through which il runs
Wild animals abOsnd in Sism. and Of
these the elephant is the most famous
Il Is highly priced. being really indis-
pensable in threading the jungles Be
fore the introduction of firearms ele-
phants were nsed for war. but now they
are chiefly valued for transportation.
In President Lincoln's time the King
.. Siam. that is, the father of the pres
ent King, showed his kindly feeling To-
ward the American people BY writing n
long letter to our Government. in which
he proposed to send donation OF sc :
eral pairs of elephants to stock the for
eSts Of the South. He recommended
them as beasts Of burden. and liable TO
travel through woods and jUngies
where no ca-t-roads had vet been
made" aad proceeded at length to
give directions for their care and
ctlture-
The sacred white elephant. which is
not really white. but sort of light ma
hoganv color, is sand to be -ariety pc
cuiiar to Siam. The nag Of SIAM is a
white elephant on n red ground. The
animal itself is an object of venerS.;On.-
beisg considered 10 be the incarnation
Of future Buddh He has building
to himself connected with the palace.
and ten or twelve keepers to wait on
him he is fed upon fresh grass and
bananas served in rich dishes. and is
covered with ornaments. his tusks be-
ing encircled with rings of pure gold.
The people of Siam number about
Eve millions. Of whom less than d II
are Siamese. the remainder being Chi
nese. Malays and Laos. They are for
the most part ignorant and degraded
Their religion is Buddhism. and its
priests are lazy, mercenary and corrupt
men. and its temples are often the CEN
tiers Of vice Yet there is much that is
interesting about the Siamese- They
are affectiOnate in their families. are
witty in conversation. and are less
given TO falsehcod than most Oriental
people They are very fond of play,
and spend half their time in amuSe-
ments. As result. the iTork of the
country has gone largely out of their
hands. The energetic. ubiquitous John
> Chinanan has stepped over into the
possessions OF bis seif-indulgenr neigh>
Dor. and has quietly availed himself Of
the latter's unimproved opportunities
Having absorbed the commerce Of the
country and much Of is productive in
duStry. il looks as il ne might before
long obtain the Government rs we'll
The Government Of Siam is 4 hered-
itary monarchy. and there are two
kin-s re;gning Together. The first or
supreme King" as he calls himself. Is
the real and absolute ruler. The second
King has his own palace, and dispOSes
of one-third Of the revenue. but has no
real voice in the Government The
late Kings. who were brothers. were
quite remarkable men, sHd seem 10
have possessed plenty Of the energy
and industry usually lacking in the
Siamese character Bcscre coming TO
IN, throne the first King was a Bud
dhist priest. and devoted himself 10
study. He was very enthusiastic as
tronomer. and in fact came to his death
In 1868 in consequence Of exposure sDd
excitement in viewing a solar eclipse.
which he had himself accurately calcu-
lated. II is evident that he was less
well-informed regarding sections of this
mundane sphere than of the motions OF
the heavenly bodies. since it was he
who proposed TO visit a herd of ele-
phants upon the dOminions Of Uncle
sam He was very pedant;c and self
eonceited. and prided himself on his
knowledge of English. which he used
in a yery amusing manner. The sec
Ond King was equally able and more
practical, devoting himself tO military
matters and TO natural science Both
Of the Kings were led by their thirst for
knowledge TO cultivate friendly relations
with the American missionaries. Among
the latter there were some who had a
practical ac i;;..intance with various me
chanical arts. and these the two broth
ers frequently called 70 their aid They
were eager 10 introduce al the inn
prOvemenis Of advanced civilization. al
though they rejected the religion from
whenCe that civilization springs.
Travellers tel OF the odd contrasts of
new methods with ancient barbaric Gus
toms to be met with in Siam on every
hand. Visiting the erudite English
speaking astronomer King. they were
received with great courtesy. sat ou'
European chairs and found themselves;
in the midst of English books and pict-'
urcs- Rut not one of the Kings own
mobiles nor any of his numerous wives
and children dared 10 sit or even stand
in the rovai presence. These must en-
ter the palace crawling like reptiles.
and. however long the audience. must
lie upon their faces OF squat like toads
upon the pavement. The mobiles had.
however. this consolation. that while
they could never stand upright before
the King. neither might their own re-
tainers stand upright before them. IL
: still true in the greater part of Siam
that each order croIcbes and crawls be-
lore one that is higher. An inferior
speaks Of himself TO a dignitarv as
your slave-a hair-a little least"
The present first King abolished the
custom of prostrat on early in his reign.
He is even more progressive than his
father. having adopted the European
dress and done away with many BAR
barrie practices. In 1873 he issued
proclamation of religious liberty in
which these sentences occur: III any
one is of the opinion that the religion Of
the Lord Jesus is good. let him hold TO
IL freely. Whenever there is Govern
ment work. persons who hold TO the re-
hgion of the Lord Jesus must perform
IL" He moreover provided that Chris
Sans Shonii NOT ha forced IN rroskr nm
Sunday. The present second King is
the son of the former second King. and
his name is George Washington He
has. of course. . long list Of names. but
he always writes George Washington
first. He can hardly be spoken of as
King. for his cousin. the first King.
holds the reins of Government entirely
in his own hands. and has made his own
brothers heads of departments. so that
the second Kings position VIII not CON-
pare with that held by his father.-&
y ExamtRer.