Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1889-08-21
THE WONDERS OF INDIA.
BeJewelled RaJahs and Streets Bet
ter Paved than American Ones.

ter Paved than American Ones.
The traveller who would see India as
II IS must go out of the regular line
and enter the native states. There is
in Hindostan territory nearly one
hfth the size of the United States and
obtaining a population of more than
hfty-six millions, which is governed by
raJahs- These rsjahs have power OF
life and death. They have revenues of
their own, levy taxation as they please
and organize their people and armies
on different basis from the English
portion of India They are subject in
- certain sense to the English, and
most of them have English officers con-
nected W tn their establishments. They
are feuiatory states 10 England. and
England does not allow them to make
war upon each other. nor can they have
any lations with foreign states. If ~
aIah misgoverns his people or oppres-
ses them the yiceroy of India repEoves
him ana IL he does not come to time
I secures his removal. These states,
/ however, have none or the new Gus
toms of English India. Few foreign
ers visit them and the people are sub
istantlsily the same as they were years
ago-before the railroad and the EnI-
llsh desire for business came in to
grind them up IN the mortar of modern
civilization.
COVER THEMSELVES WITH GEMS.
! One-third OF the whole territory OF
India Is possessed by such rajahs and
their subjects make up one-tifth OF the
inhabitants. Their united armies
amount 10 SOC, 900 men and their gross
yearly revenues are about $50, 900, 900.
These rajahs live as grandly as did
the kings of northern India in the past,
and the English merchant of India
cater largely to their wants Some OF
the finest jewelry stores in the world are
here in India, and under every glass
counter you see barbaric jewelry set
with diamonds worth a fortHne. l saw
Two rings, one worth two and the other
four thousand dollars. The first was a
diamond OF about the size of hickory
nut, set around with a cluster OF small
diamonds as big as peas, and the whole
affixed to finger ring, containing
enough gold to make a hunting case for
Il a Waterbury watch The other WAS
the same size as to the gold, but the
central stone was a ruby fully as big rs
Il chestnut, AMI the diamonds about it
We're very beautiful. The tops of these
rings were rs large around as old cop
per cents, and rs l looked at them |
asked the jeweler who would wear such
gorgeous and unwieldy objects. lie
replied:
''Oh, we sell these to the rajahs.
They want the most extrayagant jew
elry, ard some of them fairly cover
them selves with gems"
At another store l was told that
raj jah had Just been in and given an
order for 2O0 yards of satin at $40 a
yard He wanted this 10 paper the
walls OF room in 4 new palace and
thought nothing of pastIng this $1,000
upon the plaster. The sultan OF ia
lhore when 1 visited him In his palace At
lahore had ropes OF gold about twice the
size of a clothes line about his wrists,
and upon his fingers wore diamond
rings. The fingers OF the right hand
we're covered from the knuckles to the
| first joints with rings set with diamonds
and emeralds so that diamond al-er-
mated with an emerald all over lls
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 en-
eralds. At Delhi was shown a dres-
sing gown Set with precious stones,
which cost S35, 900, and which had just
been made for rajah, and here at Jey-
pore, through the courtesy of one OF the
most noted raJahs OF India, / have had
IA chance to visit his palace, TO get
/ glimpse of his wonderful stables, TO
take 4 ride on one Of his court ele-
plants, and to see the life and business
of his capital city.
| THE CITY OF JEYPORE-
! Jeypore is one of the northwest prov
inceS of India. 1t is "A days ride from
Bombay, not far off from the borders
of AfghanistAn and some distance south
of Cashmere and the Himalaya noun
tains 1t has a population about as
large rs that OF Ohio, and its rajah in
come amounts to S!.0)O,O 600 "A year.
! The capital Is the city Of Jeypore in
which | am writing. 1t is said TO be
the finest native city of India, and 1t IS
certainly like no other city L have ever
seen. 1t is bigger than Omaha, Den
yer OF Kansas City, and is laid out as
regularly as the city of Washington
Its main street is two miles long and
I2O feet wide, and this is intersected
! at right angles by other streets of the
same width and the whole Is cut by
narrow streets into rectangular blocks
The roads are better macadamlzed
than those of any city of the United
: ates. They are as hard as stone and
rs smooth as a floor.
/ The houses on the main streets are
regularly built, and some rajah OF tie
p;Ist laid out the city and made the
property holders build after fixed reg
ulaticnS. 1t Is more like a Spanish city
than an Indian town. The houses
come close to the SIDEWALKS, and they
have balconies over them with oriole
windows jutting out at the second sto-
ries above arcatles which run below
from house TO house; they are almost
altogether two story buildings, and the
uainting of the whole Is 4 delicate pink
Imagine miles Of pink houses with lat
tIce work windows, through which
YOU may now and then see the eyes oil
the high castle Hindoo dansels- Let
nut brown fingers here and there clasp
the lattice work and through larger
hole let here and there an arm peep
out. In some of the balconies you see
turbaned men and boys sitting dressed
in the richest of garments and beside
them HIndoo maidenS, their faces COW
cred with shawls and their eyes peep
ing out through the cracks.