The National tribune., 1889-04-25
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE WASHINGTON c. THURSDAY APRIL

visit to store making clothes for the Siamese
army, saw that all of the tailor5 were Hindoos.
Long &C wned, dark-faced, dark-bearded men,
their tail, thin frames shown out in striking
contrast to the short, bunchy Siamese, and their
sober air as they sat upon the floor and seWed
away, with hardly look at US, was quite i'm
pressive.
have already described the costume of the
Siamese men and women, but / see new and
strange outfits every day. The Turkish-bath
towel of white cotton and brigbt-eolored stripes
is a favorite with both sexes as a waist-cloth,
and as shawl to throw over the shoulders
or in the case of women to bind around the bare
breasts. | have seen many for whom two Of
these towels made a full suit of clothing, and
others who were satisfied with one.
Siam is the land of the white elephant, and
the most extrayagant stories have been told of
how the people worship this beast Barnum
made small fortune in exhibiting white
elephant throughout the United States year
or SO ago on the ground that it came from
Siam, aud remember my disappointment upon
going to the circus to find that the famous
white animal was not white at all. 1t had
a skin the color of a Maltese cat aud it was
notified with spots like leper. l have the
same story to tell of the elephants of the Kings
royal stables at Bangkok. / visited these to-
day, and found four great beasts bound with
ropes to strong posts, each kept by brown
skinned, halfnaked man, who cheWed betel-
nut and squirted the juice out on the ground
as we looked. Each of these elephants were
about 13 feet high, and one was almost as large
as Jumbo They were rough, unframed, angry
looking animals and the largest one is, am
told, very dangerous. Their color is gray, rather
than white, and the change in the skin is the re-
suit of disease which maddens the beast and
makes it exceedingly dangerous An insane
elephant is called in the East rogue elephant
and | learn here from the parties who sold
Jumbo to the English at Singapore that he was
insane when he was sold, and that all of these
so-called white elephants are insane. These
stables of the white elephants of the King are
in long, low building of many sheds, each of
which is big enough for one elephant. When
ever white elephant is found it is sent here
to Bangkok, and is given place IN the palace
of the King. When the King goes out in his
royal professions he often rides upon one of
these elephants, aud the white elephant may
be called the royal animal of Siam, The flags
of the country bear white elephants picture
upon them, and some of the coins have the
figure of an elephant upon their face. There
are two golden elephants at the doors of the
main entrance to the Kings palace, and one of
the most noble orders of Siam is that of the
White Elephant.
In the Kings little army there is band of
elephant troops, and the interior travelling of
some parts of upper Siam is done upon ele-
phants. a good roadster will make about five
miles an hour, and will travel whole day and
night without firing The driver sits upon the
head of the beast, aud the passenger rides in a
sort of cage on his back. The motion is
swaying one, and it produces the same sea-
sickness which is found upon camel back.
All the elephants in Siam belong to the King,
nd oil Of tho of fbR his
There are few used in Bangkok, and l saw
none outside of the palace. The beast has
been the royal beast for centuries, and in times
past il was it is said, customary to treat white
elephants like gods. They had their special
attendants, were covered with clothes of royal
purple velvet. and had their tusks bound with
gold bands Gold chains hung upon their
nccks, and theaters and concerts were given to
delight their ears. The theory of Buddhists is
that the souls of the noblest and the greatest
upon dying pass into the bodies of white ami
mails and that the bodies of these great dust
coored beasts must contain the soul of some
mighty King or hero of the past, who by his
power may protect the persons or Kingdom in
which he lives from harm if he will.
Siam is the land of cremation. All people
here burn their dead and the soul of him whose
corpse is not burned is supposed to go directly
to hell, and to slave there forever to dog
faced god whose body is that of human, and
whose feet are ever in the birthstone flames.
The uncremated dead are compelled to carry
water in baskets over long bridge to pour
upon these hot feet, and they are denied fur
ther transmigration of soul. The most de-
graded Of Buddhist belief prevails here and
the Siamese are q nation of priests. Cremation
is thus the only means by which they can go
on through their transmigratons, until they
at last reach the Buddhist heaven, Niryana,
and it is the crOwning event of q lifetime. 1t
costs more here to die than to be married, and
an Irish wake is nothing to the festivities of a
frst-class Siamese funeral. As | write this
/ letter. the sound of the carpenters near by is
plainly heard. They are knocking up q grand
funeral pyre, and are building structure
grauder than the weli-to-do Siamese house. A
/ nobleman has died. His body has been kept
| for some weeks, and it is now to be burned.
| All of the clan will celebrate the occasion, and
| there viii be music and theaters and feasting
| The King of Siam lost his wife and daughter
! by drowning some years ago. The whole ma
/ tion went into mourning, and the remains were
| kept for 10 months and were then eremated
/ with ceremonies which cost more than $780,
! 000. The cremation ceremonies lasted more
! than a week, aud during the whole 10 months
| between the death and the final burning pray
| ers were recited each day by priests for the
/
! and placed in two urns, one inside the other,
upon a great altar The outside one of these
urns was of pure gold; the inner one was OF
copper, and they had holes through the bot
TOM so that the liquids could be drawn off each
day. At the final crematons great temple
was built for the purpose and hundreds oi
thousands were present The foreign Consuls
were all invited aud there was rope-walking
| music, theaters, and the King scattered gold
and silver among the people. There was 8
grand funeral procession, fireworks lion and
tiger dances, and the whole was more like
great fair than funeral. The bodies were
finally burned, after eight days of such shows
with sandal wood, the end of each stick tipped
with gold-leaf, the fire being lighted by TIT
King himself from the holy fire that has beel
burning for more than an hundred years il
one of the temples. The ashes were taken b.
the King and put in gold urns, and carried
away to the storehouse of royal dust in the pal
ace, and placed beside other urns containing
the dust of his family for several generations.
4 a. =.