Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-07-22
FAR DISTANT SIAM.
LIFE IN THE AMPHis Ious AND FILTHY
CITY OF BANGKOK.
A Queer Land and People-Cholera . Con.
slant yisitor-A Few Hundred Euro
pean Residents-Pers0nal Audi
ence with the King.


Washington Cor Cincinnati Times-Starl
Gen. j. A. Haldeman, the first United
States minister ever sent to Siam. and the
only one, is in the city Just now. He is here
on leave OF absence, for he finds it ALSO
lutely necessary to come home and escape
from the climate and other uncomfortable
features II life in Siam. Il have been in
bad health he said to your correspondent,
a. he sat in his comfortable room at the
Arlington. at is hard sort Of life to lead
there. The climate is very bot. and the
surroundings anything but healthful or
comfortable There is no drainage in the
city of Bangkok. where was located, and
the city is as filthy a. is the river on which
it is situated, and on which q part Of It
floats"
IL Bangkok a floating city, thenT'
In part, yes. There are q cool many
houses built on raft. Tue city, you see, is
on bUth sides of the river, and extenls out
into it The heat there is 50 intense that
there is necessity for fighting it in every
way posi- lie. and so many houses are built
on these RATS. The houses are Of bamboo,
a ars most OF tho of tdat country. Yes,
the city is so much On the water, and in it
that a very large share Of the travel and
traffic about the city is done in boats
There are a few carriages belonging to
the king and his chief officers. and
to the English and other Europeans there,
but they are few. Very much Of the travel
i, as have said. done in boats 1t is not
always the most agreeable. for the river is
as filthy as the land. You meetd dead horses
and dog, and filth Of all sorts floltiny down
the river, and perhaps an hour later as you
congratulate your elf that it has gone by
forever, you meet it floating back with the
rising tide Yes. there is almost every
thing there. includin, cholera. which is al
most always present in grestcr or less de-
gree"
@what sort Of people ara they, gen
erals'
MIXED. very much mixel OF course tho
bulk are Siamese, but there are many thou
>anis Of Chinese, sprinkling of English
and French, who have jealous eye on each
other relates to Siam. The Siamese, it ID
believed. are originally Of the same stock as
the Chinese, hut 30 far back that the re-
semblance is not striking. They eat rice the
same as the Chinese do, but not in the same
way, for the Chinaman eats it with his chop
sticks, while the Samese eats it with his
fingers taking it up and out Of the dish with
the ends of his fingers, and SO conveying it
to his mouth This of course refers to the
common people. The better classes. the
king and those near him, and the weather.
and more intelligent, live in pretty good
style and have many Of the methods Of the
Europeans, from whom they have learned
many OF the customs Of their home life. and
from the missionaries. who have introduced
a good many OF the arts Of civilization"
There are some Europeans thsre thenl'
'Oh, yes, hundreds of them, though many,
OF course, are mere adventurers. and not
the class Of people that it is pleasant TO mset
as representatives of ones own civilization.
There arc no more, perhaps, than 100 or 200
English speaking people in Bangkok, not
native to that country, who are esps cially
agreea BILE associates"
What sort Of a man is the king, person.
eIlyl
"A rather intelligent, bright young man
Of So small of stature, with black mustache,
hair parted in the middle, black eyes a
good address, and easily approached. l
had no difficulty in reaching him
whenever l so desired. He seemed
rather glad to receive visits Of this nature,
ard was by no means SO exacting or cers-
monious as he was reported to be. For in
stance. l was told that l must Fever turn
my back upon him while in his presence, as
it was a very grave breach Of etiquette
Well, was not accustomed TO this sort of
thing. / am. as you see, a very large man,
weighing some 23i pounds, and for ms to 60 |
backing about AMI running the risk Of
over something i, quite danger |
Gus, as we'll as uncomfortable. So l said |
that it was not the custom in our coun- |
try and was not lone in audience, with our |
president, and while / was quite willing |
I'M ho
paid our president at homo l would |
ask to follow the custom Of my |
So in my audiences I talked |
until l had said all wanted to saw. and |
without waiting for the king to terminate |
the interview in the formal way they have |
there, ro>e, took leave in the usual form Of |
words. and bowling to him turned and |
walked TO the door. where / turned an
bowed again tefore Passing out This sort
of performance astoni he'd the Europeans
there wei! as the natives very much. but |
it seemed to please the king. He was a.
ways very cordial to me, shaking hands |
with me after the English fashion when
called, talking plea, antly AMI quits unre-
serveily, and at ono time, when on an ele- |
plant hunt. l was not only invited to be a /
of the royal party, but was given
= ,eat beside the king"
"How does the king dressf'
after the English fashion, with coat
closely huttoned, sash, some decorations
on his breast, and carrying a sword. On
the throne he wears a different dress, an
coat and a curious high pointed
zap a sort of a crown. which gives him a
rather curious appearance to those unac-
to the sight"
And the people, how do they dressi7
The better classes wear a sort of coat.
cloth fastened about the waist and tucked
down between the legs and fastened to the
belt at the back, AMI in some cases shoes
and stockings. The masses, however, omit
both the shoes and stockings. wearing
simply the garment Of which l have spoken.
The weather there, you see, is very hot AMI
clothing is a burden Nobody wear, linen
Or cotton shirts there except on extraordi-
nary occasions, simply a thin wooden shirt