Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-09
THEY ALL LIVE LIKE KINGS.
Lavish Expenditure of Money by
the Rajahs of India
A FORTUNE IN A SINGLE JEWEL
Incomes OF Two Million Dollars q
Year with the Absolute Power
Over Their suhjocts-Queer
Sights in india.
The Great Rninh Of Jeypore.

The BEE. The traveller who would see In
ria as IL is must go out OF the regular line
and enter the native states. There is In
Hindostan a territory nearly one-fifth the
size of the United States and containing a
population Of more than ffty-six millions,
which is governed by raiahs. These rajahs
have power OF life and death. They have
revenues OF their own, lexy taxation as they
please and organize their people and armies
on a different basis from the English portion
of India They are subject IN a certain
Fense to the English aud most OF them have
English officers attached to their establish
ments. They arc feudatory states to Eng
land, and England does not allow them to
war on each other. nor can they have any re-
lations with foreign states. If o rajah mis-
governs his people or oppresses them the
viceroy Of India rcproves him and IL he does
not come to time secures his removal These
states, however, have none Of the new GUS
toms of English India. Few foreigners visit
chem and the people are substantially the
same as they were years agO-before the
railraod and the English desire for business
came in to grind them up in the mortar of
modern civilization. One-third of the whole
territory of India is possessed by such raiahs
and their subjects make up one-fifth of the
Inhabitants.
These raiahs live as grandly as did the
kings of northern India in the past and the
English merchants of India cater largely to
their wants. Some of the finest jewelry
Btores in the world are here in India, and
mder every glass counter you see barbaric
oewelry set with diam onds worth a fortune.
] saw two rings yesterday, one worth two
and the other four Thousand dollars. The
first was a diamond about the size of a
hickory nut, set around with a cluster of
small diamonds rs big as peas and the whole
affixed to a finger ring, containing enough
gold to make a hunting case for Water
bury watch. The other was the same size as
70 gold, hut the central stone WINS ruby
fully as big as e. chestnut, and the diamonds
pbout it were very beautiful. The tops OF
Fhree rings were as large around as old cop
per cents, and as looked at them asked
The jeweler who would wear such
GORGEOUS AND UNwIELDIY eBIRcTs.
He replied:
'"Oh, we sell these to the rajahs They
want the most extravagant jewelry, ana
some of them fairly cover themselves with
gems"
At another store was told that n raiah
bad just been IN and given an order for 200
yards of satin at so yard. He wanted this
70 paper the walls of room in a new palace
and thought nothing of pasting 81, 600 upon
the plaster. The sultan of Johore, when I
visited him in his palace at Johore, had
ropes Of gold about twice the SIZE of q
6lothesline about his wrists, and upon his
1neers were diamond rings. The fingers of
fhe right hand was covered from the
knuckles to the first Joints with rings set
with diamonds and emeralds, so that a dia
Inond alternated with an emerald all over his
hand, and the whole made a blazing fist of
white and green. On the left hand the
Fingers were covered with rings in the same
manner, save that costly rubies took the
place of the emeralds. AT Delhi was shown
p dressing gown set with precious stones
which cost s3,500, and which had just been
made Tor raiah, and here at Jeypore,
1hrough the courtesy of one Of the most
noted raiahs OF India, / have had chance to
vistt his pulace, to get q glimpse of his won
0arful stables, to take q ride on one of his
oDiirt elephants, and to see the life and bust
hess of his capital city.
Jeypore is one of the northwest provinces
pf India. 1t is n days ride from Bombay, not
tEr OF from the borders of Afghanstan and
sumo distance south of Cashmere and the
Himmalaya mountains. 1t has population
about rs large as that of Ohio. and its
The capital is the city of Jeypore. in which l
em writing 1t is said to be the finest native
City OF India, and it IS certainly like no other
City have ever seen. 1t is
BIGGER THAN OMAHA,
Denver or Kansas City. and it is laid out as
regularly as the city of Washington. It's main
btreet is two miles long and one hundred and
twenty feet wide, and this is intersected at
right angles by other streets of the same
width, ana the whole is cut by narrow streets
Into rectangular blocks. Tho roads are
better macadamized than those of any city of
the United States. They are as hard as stone
md smooth as floor. The houses on the
main streets are regularly built, and some
En1ah OF the past laid out the city and made
the property holders build after fixed regula-
tions. 1ti more like Spanish city than an
Indian town. The houses come cl Sc to the
sidewalks and they have balconies over them
with oriole windows jutting out at the second
stories above arcades which run below from
house TO house; they are almost altogether
two story buildings, and the painting of the
whole is u delicate pink Imagine miles of
pink houses with latticework windows
Through which you may now and then see the
ayes of high caste Hindoo damsels. Let nut
brown fingers here and there clasp the lattice
work and through larger hole lot here and
there an arm peep out. In some Of the bal
comics you see turbaned men and boys sitting
dressed in the richest of garments and beside
them Hindoo maidens, their faces covered
With shawls and their eyes peeping out
through the cracks
Below in the decades are shops in whioh,
sitting cross-legged with goods piled around
ehem, are merchants selling the thousand
end one things used by the people, and out
bp the street rushing here and there, moving
elong leisurely, now chatting, now talking
business, Is the most motley throng of native
men and beasts you will find in any city.
tere Is little caravan of camels--long
legged, gaunt, bumped animals ridden
by bare legged men in turbans,
who bob up and down as the camel
rocks it's way along. Many of the camels
are led and the drivers ride them with rope
eRatened into their noses. They sit on the
hump and pound the camel with whip or
cloth There is one camel ridden by q
woman. Her bare legs, clad in bracelets,
IRE astride Of the hump. and her one eye
peeps out as she directs the driver where to
Lead the beast. Here is one carrying stones.
Great long Tags are tied on each side of the
hump, and be goes along with his lip
down, pouting
LIKE SPOILED CHILD.
Here Is smother being loaded with lumber,
aud as the rafters, one after another are
tied to his back, he blubbers and cries like a
baby, and as you look Mt him you see the
Fears rolling down from his proud, angry
eyes. Here is one with O turbaned soldier
or his back, and there Is another ridden by
o boy. On up the street you see an elephant.
u belongs to the rajah, and its rider is one
Df the servants OF the palace who Is taking
tbe beast out for exercise. Here are thou
ennds OF bullocks with humps over their
shoulders, the sacred cows of India doing
Qnty as pack horses Their backs are loaded