The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-07-03
AT HYDERABAD.
A Peculiar Indian City Whose Population
Goes Armed to the Teeth.

Goes Arn6u TO Ine AeeIns
Hyderabad is unquestionably one of
the most peculiar and interesting cities
of India, although of no ancient foun-
dation and possessing 10 very remarka-
BILE buildings. Koolub Shah, who Gre
ated this capital, having migrated from
Golcondah for want of good water,
called it after his favorite Bhagmati,
and beautified the place with stately
mosque and the picturesque edifice
called CbGhar Minar, or the flour Min
arets," through the archways of which
the main traffic Of the bazars still passes.
Outside the gray and white walls
of the city runs the river Musah, in
stony channels which are filed with a
turbid flood during the rains, but at
other seasons trickle feebly with chain
of shallow pools, where elephants battle
and the town washing is DANGEROUSLY
done. This rocky stream is spanned
by three broad bridges, separating the
Hindoo suburbs from the town
proper, wherein all-or almost all-is
Mohammedan in character The long
whitewashed streets of the capital, with
their shop fronts formed by Saracenic
arches; the mosques occurring at fire.
guent intervals; the tall sculptured
minarets seen constantly rising above
the city roofs; the sign-boards bearing
Persian, Arabic or Hindi inscriptions;
the names of the shop-keepers, and the
multiplicity of beggars on the mosque
steps and at the gateways, give the gen.
eral impression OF sort of Indian Da-
mascus or Cairo. This is intensified by
the busy throng blocking up the main
streets with perpetual tide of life; for
here one sees perpetually the snow-white
turban of the "true believer" mingling
with the red tarbosh of the Mohamme-
dan negro and the green caftan worn
by the Syed, or the Hadji, who has made
bis pilgrimage to Mecca.
This population goes armed, as has
been said, to the teeth-to the stomach,
to the back and legs, the neck and head.
In truth. it is hardly less the fashion to
wear pistols, sabers, daggers, guns and
spears in Hyderabad than to carry UNI
brellas in Piccadilly. At the guard
house sit the Arab troopers, with long
matchlocks held spearwise between the
knees, and cotton fuses smoking. The
Moslem ''masher," as he caracoles down
the bazaar, strokes his mustaches with
the blade Of his sword; the noble on
his elephant lays his crooked tulwar
across his knees; the messenger goes
down the street with the letter which he
is 10 deliver stuck into the sheath
of his silvec-hafted knife; the dealer
squats at the shoe-mart with lapful OF
poignards rafting against his rupees;
and every fifth or sixth shop sells lethal
weapons. The whole capital gives the
idea of being, as it were, ION hall
cock" and ready to go off at touch
into turmoil and revolution. 1t is, how
ever, only an idea; and, though tho
populace has decidedly an Independent,
free and easy manner not witnessed
elsewhere, and although a European
might be somewhat carelessly jostled
here and there if he walked through
the more crowded of the bazars, there
is no sign of turbulence or want Of
civility that l could notice, and broils
are SAID to be of singular infrequency
But the word, ''the spirit of the steel, '
is certainly worshiped in a way which
would have vexed Thucydides, whC
writes in his First Book that no civil
lied citizens should "carry iron" Tit
armorers will show you jOhurddrS, o.
watered blades, worth five thousanC
rupees; SerobiS, with edges carved; alb
baSSiS, sort of Persian rapier; GSiIS
nimchaS, tegahs, kirichiS, dhopeS ant
ndWaz bhaniS, these last being murder
ous-looking scim.tars, which have tn
outer edge of the lunette sharpened
Their blunderbusses bear fancy name
also. such as Sher buchG, tiger
child" and SAT SblbGn, ''line-sweeper,
and then there are jdmbaiS, with hand
les made of the cancels snews; SibbinS
carried by Arabs; batarS, affected b,
Pathans; the peSb-khGtS, worn by Rohil
las, with little villianous knives name
bichyGS, or scorpions" and karOLiS
tiny implements of anger and hatre,
which you can hide in the palm of tn
hand, n,aruS, wrought of black buck
horn; and the savage pointed chura an
crooked Sdtd7rG. In fact a volum
might be written upon the varieties {
deadly elegancies to be seen in the Hy
derabad bazars. Cor London Telegraph