Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-07-05
Seeing the Elephant.
STORY OF Ride on Rajah's Fayorite
Beast, Which Was Trained
For Service.
Ioere We're No Flies on the Camel
Driver Who Was Met on
the Road.

X
which the ralsh owns" says writer who
has visited 1udis. Some of them are a.
big as wss Jumbo. They have yrss.
brass chains about their necks. Their
tusss are cut of shout half wsy m and
they are bound with heavy brass risys
One OF them has q sort of a tattoo work
On Its great ears and forehead made in
the patterns OF cashmere shawl, and
they are altogether bigger than sny ele.
plants l saw IN Siam or Rurmsh. At the
invitation OF the rsjsh' secretary took
8 ride recently on one of them. wanted
to visit the ruins of the old palace and
city OF Amber, which Is located in the
nils about four miles from the city, An
eisphsnt was sent from the palace to the
foot of the hills in the morning and when
arrived shortly after noon | found it
waiting for me. Ii was the biggest of
the rslshs elephants, the one which
bad great brsss-oound tuSss and the
cashmere shawl pattern ears and fore
mead, sdd upon cts head there sat Il
Hindoo elephant driver in bright turban
and gown. He held q prod-lise steel
hook In his hand and his bare, brown legs
elias ped the elephants neck just back of
the ears. He made the elephant sneel as
our carriage drove up and second ser
want took step ladder from its side and.
leaning this against the beast, We mount
I'd up the walt-llke side of the kueelins
elephant AMI took our seats on the
eus'on.o saddle upon its too. Caution
ing me to hold on, the driver then gave
the elephant thrust with his prod and
the great beast climbed to his feet and
started on III swinging walk up the
mountain. The mo'lon WAS a swsyiny
one ano he vent slnug at q round pace,
seated as high up IN the air as nnu n we
were on the root of n village house. The
servants who trotUed along on the road
below seemed vecy far down end the mo
ton at first vas half sea-sick ore
After half mile | got used to il, however,
and began 10 eri y the strange ride.
From the top of the elephant | could
see the walls of the city % Amber, climb
ing the h!i'-ides, and away up the moua
tHlns stood this deserted ruins of a for,
covering many acres and apparently IN
Is good condition now as wheu il vas
built wears ago. BLOW this was the
mighty palace OF Amber, oserluukluy a
oeautltul lake and surprising in beauty
an, OF the ruins of the Rhine or Danube
al along the road were the wild courtry
scenes of native India. Here the mon
Keys jumped from tree TO tree and NJ one
time great long tailed ape hoppe
across the road Just in front of the ele-
phant SO that the beast swerved, almost
throwing me from my seat. In some OF
the FIELDS and woods | saw wild peRcocks
presding their gorgeous tails out in tn,
rays of the sun, and along the slopes of
The mountains below the great palace
saw wild hogs. The road was lined with
hedges of cactus twelve feet high in some
places and at the lake at the foot of the
hill on which the palace is built saw a
half dozen great, black crocodiies sleep
ing in the sun.
The travel along the road was Ms curl
Gus as the wild ANIMALS of the country,
and We have passed camel after camel
ridden by men, boys, and women.
shall not soon forget the shabby trick
which one camel driver served us. The
flies were very bad. They swsrmed about
the elep plant by thousands and persisted
In attacking my eyes and face when M
hands were both occupied, one in holding
on and the other in trying to keep off the
rays of the sun with an umbrella. This
camel driver was as badly sWicted with
flies a. L was, but upon nearing the ee
plant he whipped up his camel and then
pulling his long, white turban from his
head he swept both sides of his camel
rs he passed US. The fl :es left his camel
ana came to the elephant, and his laugh
rung out on the air a. he trottei ahead.
After ride of several miles up the hills we
reached the great palace of Amber, which
is one of the most magnificent ruins of
India, and which is now occupied at times
by the raiah of Jeypore. 1t WAS at one
time the center of a great city, but now q
village of HndoO fakirs is all tina. ia left.
| attended the sacrifice of goat within
il and then remounting the elephant rode
back to Jeypore.
This afternoon / visited the museum
of Jeypore. The rajah has one of the
finest museums in India, and the building
containing it is far finer than that of the
museum of Boston and of the Central
park muse um of New York. The artists
are still at work upon it snd its fine ex-
hibit Is being improved daily. The diff
ferent art schools of the world are repre-
scented in the frescoes on the walls, and
the rajah eDdeavors in it to educate his
peop pie. 1t has already ha6 more than
1000, 900 visitors sin ,s it's establishment
few years ago and it exchanges with the
great museums OF L Irope. | asked the
curator why he did not exchange with
America, and he replied that he had not
thought of doing SO. The collection
hsre is, however, very fine as an exhibit
of Indian work, and l think Prof G.
Brown Goode. the head of our national
museum, may find some valuable things
at Jeypore. The museum is especially
wonderful as being that of a native rsjah,
and when l think of this mans art
schools, his public library, his good
streets and his apparently well-manaped
government, / won@'r whether come
other states in India uld not be a. W IL
off under native rulers rs under the EGG
lish."