Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-05-16

w S1Cu ACaIS 10 WE w. tSS
To make us all glad and gay.
You moon. you may stay in bed now;
You sun. you may wander ana roaln;
We've plenty of sunshine at home!
Il. E. Richards. IN Youths Companion.
THE LAND OF THE WHITE ELE.
PLANT.
Siam is a wonderfully interesting
country. 1t is a part of what is called
Indo-China, and is nearly as large as
our State Of Texas. The country on
sists for the most part of mountains,
swamps and jungles. The great river
Meinam traverses its center, and lnun-
dates tho valley through which it runs.
Wild animals abound in Siam, and of
these the elephant is the most famous.
1t is highly priced, being really indis-
pensable in threading the jungles. Be-
fore the introduction of firearms ele-
plants were used for war, but now they
are chiefly valued for transportation.
In President Lincoln's time the King
OF Siam, that is, the father of the pres
ent King, showed his kindly feeling to-
ward the American people by writing a
long letter to our Government, in which
he proposed to send a donation of sew
eral pairs of elephants to stock the for
ests of the South. He recommended
them as beasts of burden, and sable to
travel through woods and jungles
where no cart-roads had yet been
made" and proceeded at length to
give directions for their care and
culture.
The sacred white elephant, which is
not really white, but q sort of light ma
hogany color, is SAID to be a variety pc
culiar to Siam. The flag of Siam is q
white elephant on a red ground. The
animal itself is an object Of veneration,
being considered to be the incarnation
of a future Buddh. He has q 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
five millions, of whom less than half
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 atfectionate in their families, are
witty in conversation, and are less
given to falsehood than most Oriental
people. They are very fond of play,
and spend half their time in muse
ments. AS a result, the worb of the
country has gone largely out of their
hands. The energetic, ubiquitous John
Chinaman has stepped over into the
possessions of his sclf-indulgent neigh
Dor, and has quietly availed himself of
the l%atter's unimproved opportunities.
Having absorbed the m of the
country and much of its productive in.
dustry, it looks as if he might before
long obtain the Government as we'll.
The Government of Siam is a hered-
itary monarchy, and there are two
Kings reigning together. The first or
supreme King" as he calls himself, is
the real and absolute ruler. The second
King has his W 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, and seem to
have possessed plenty OF the energy
and industry usually lacking in the
Siamese character. Before coming to
the throne the first King was a Bud
dhist priest, and devoted himself to
study. He was a very enthusiastic as
tronomer, and in fact came to bis death
in 1865 in consequence Of exposure and
excitement in viewing a solar eclipse,
which he had himself accurately calcu-
lated. 1t is evident that he was less
well-lntormed regarding sections of this
mundane sphere than Of the motions of
the heavenly bodies, since it was he
who proposed to visit q herd of ele-
plants upon the dominions of Uncle
Sam. He was very pedantic and self
conceited, and prided himself on his
knowledge of English, which he used
IN a very amusing manner The Sec
ono King was equally able and more
practical, d%evoting himself to military
matters and to natural science. Both
OF the Kings were led by their thirst for
knowledget to cultivate friendly relations
Win the American missionaries. Amonp
Ine lal'er thefe were some who had a
practical acquaintance with various me-
'chanlcal arts, and these the two BROTH
ers frequently called to their aid, They
were eager to introduce all the i'm.
Provements of advanced civilization. AL
hough they rejected the religion from
whence that civilization springs.
Travellers tell of the odd contrasts of
new methods with ancient barbaric ems
toms to be met with in Siam on eyerv
hand. Visiting the erudite Englisb.
speaking astronomer King, thew wero
received with great courtesy. sat on
European chairs and found themselves
IL, mra the midst n Of English books and pict.
ures. But not one Of the Kings own
mobiles nor n of his numerous w Gmn
ana children dared to sit or ever stand
IN the royal presence. These must u ~
.er the palace crawling like rentil el-
l and Ia however long the audience, must
upon the pavement tn -, '"auo