The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1885-03-20
THE LAND OF THE WHITE ELE.
PLANT.

PLANT.
Siam is wonderfully interesting
country. 1t is part of what is called
Indo-C China, and is nearly as large as
our State of Texas. The country con-
sists for the most part of mountains,
swamps and jungles. The great river
Meinam traverses its center. and inun-
dates the 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 table 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 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 venerat:on,
being considered to 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
i've millions, of whom less than half
are Siamese, the remainder being Chi
nese, Malays and Laos. They are for
the most part ignorant snd degraded.
Their religion il 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 afEectionate 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 amuse-
ments. As result, the tDork of the
country has gone largely out of their
hands. The energetic, ubiquitous John
Chinaman has stepped over into the
possessions of his self-indulgent neigh
Dor. and has quietly availed himself of
let .fsvn
Having absorbed the commerce of the
country and much Of its productive in
dustry, it looks as If he might before
long obtain the Government as well.
The Government of Siam is q hered-
itary monarchy, and there are two
Kings re;gning together. The first or
s'supreme King" as he calls himself, is
the real and absolute ruler. The second
King has his own palace, and disposes
d 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 Bud
dhist priest, and devoted himself to
study. He was . very enthusiastic as
tronomer. and in fact came to bis death
in 1868 in consequence of exposure and
excitement in viewing solar eclipse,
which he had himself accurately calcu-
lated. It 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 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 . very amusing manner. The sec
0nd 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
practical acquaintance with various me-
chanical arts, and these the two broth
ers frequently called to their aid. They
were eager to introduce al the inn
provements of advanced civilization, al
though they rejected the religion from
whence that civilization springs.
Travellers tell 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 on
European chairs and found themselves
in the midst Of English books and pict-
ures. But not one of the Kings own
mobiles nor any Of his numerous wives
and children dared to sit or even stand
in the royal 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.
h0R0vor. fh}a cancellation. that Whfln