Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-10-17
or the REFLECTOR.
TO THE FAR EAST.
THE KINGS GROUNDS, Ell

reseneing halves, quarters and Fights of
a tickal. Before the new coinage
tickal come in the tickal was bar
of silver about half an inch broad
and nearly one-half inch thick, cut into
exact Isles, given blowi to round or
shape it and stamped and then you had
the currency of the country in pure
silver. 1t is peculiar looking money.
There are large quantities of teakwood
and rice exported from here and as the
bar ia so shallow vessels have to load
about so miles from the town which is
a great Inconvenience as all the cargo
is brought down in large boats of about
$50 to 200 tons manned by Chinese
sailors, The cargo is slowed in the
vessel By Chinese who stow as they like
and do just what they please, and the
captain and officers have to keep civil
tongue else they would get nothing
done, which sometimes is very hard to
bear especially from a Chinaman and
they car. grossly insult people as well
as a white man. The king they say
will not have the bar removed as men
of war could come up and take the
place from him. 1t only shows his ig-
norance.
The king is the head Of the religion
buddhism of the country and goes
annually in great state to visit the
watts or churches, where all the head
officials have to visit him. His palace is
one side on the river and it has large
water frontage. Some of the watts are
across and down the river and to visit
these there are immense state bays OF
canoes about 100 feet long and pulled
by so to 80 rowers dressed i'll blue. The
oars are gilt and there are several people
standing up holding sort Of scepteI
like broom) which they keep going
up an down to mark time. The king
sits in the centre, under a canopy.
Seeing about 20 of these boats going
down the river is very pretty sight.
The heir apparent or crown prince,
boy Of nine years, follows the king en-
nearly all state occasions. The crown
prince is not the oldest son of the king
but the oldest Of the queen WHO'S half
sister 20 the king. The queen must be
of royal family SO they keep it in the
family Wit! vengeance.
The writer saw the Crown Prince at
the circus with his numerous brothers
and sisters and almost All army of re-
tainers. They all imbibed coffee and
ate sweetmeats and did not take very
much interest in the performance. |
saw the so-called white elephants in
the palace grounds which are held to
be sacred. The white is dirty cream
or lavender color. One of the circus
people told me it was disease that
caused the sO-called white elephants.
The town is along the bank of the
river and, rs 1 said previously, extends
for about five miles. Thers is one long
street, little back from The river,
along which carriages run, dirty and
dusty. Now they have a train and ii
goes with four hcrSeS and the drivers
take such delight i'll il! When l ~as
there they galIuped The whole time amd
would not stop to take up or put down
passengers until they finished theiI
journey. They do not or will not I'M
derstand the use of the brake. They
are trying to introduce railways, but 10y
water is the principal means of lOcomO-
ton as almost every house keeps It's
boat or steam launch.
l never saw so many steam launches
in any place before; it is truly wonder
full. All the merchants live on the
banks of the river in fine large (barns)
bungalows with nice grounds around
them. Some of them have their rice
mills adjoining, also their saw mills.
The husk of the rice and also the saw
dust is used as fuel for the steam en-
gines and what they cannot consume
is carried away in heaps and burns all
the time. numbers Of acres of it. You
cannot walk across it whilst it is burn
ing else you would sink down into it
and the dust is so fine you would be
suffocated and burned, leaving no trace.
Cows, dogs and pigs very often get into
it and cannot be rescued and are burnt.
1t is said that when the Chinese have
a spite against anyone they seize him,
tie his hands and feet and throw him
into the smOuldering heap and that is
the last of him; dead men tell no tales.
There is another curiosity here and
that is floating houses on the banks of
the river, moored to posts and which
rise and fall with the tide. The houses
are built mostly on floating pOnto0ns;