Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1892-12-23
THE CITY OF JEYPoRE.
THE CAPITAL OF ONE OF INDIA's
wEALTHIEST PRINCES.

tory-People Who Labor tor Five
Cents a Day.
T EYPORE is the capital and resi-
dence of one of India's wealthiest
G. princes. The Maharajahi's estate
covers Is, 900 square miles and
has population Of 2, 500, 600 souls. The
city of Jeypore is encircled by a crenel-
lated wall with seven gateways. These
are all we'll guarded during turbulent
times in India. The city is ty pically
Indian, with crowded streets and bazars.
In the centre is the Maharajah's palace,
beautiful gardens and pleasure grounds
adorned with fountains, tropical trees,
plants and flowing shrubs. The palace
and grounds occupy one seventh of the
walled city, and are surrounded by
high embattled wall built by Jey Sing
when he left Amber.
One of the interesting sights in Jey-
pore is the observatory built by the cele-
brated royal astronomer and founder,
Jey Sing. 1t is one of the largest in In
dia, and is remarkable even to this date
on account of the many curious instru-
ments, dials, gnomons, quadrants, ETC.,
built of solid stone. Some of these as
Economical instruments are hundreds of
feet in height and in diameter, and of
great interest to astronomers. Many of
the instruments are unknown to scien-
lists at the present. day, although they
served the purpose of Jey Sings wonder
fully accurate calculations and observa-
tions.
The Royal stables are also of consider
able interest. These cover perhaps ten
acres of land, with stalls ON each side
and large exercise grounds in the center.
There are several hundreds OF fine
horses, some of choice Asian blood from
all parts of the country, of various build
and color, from the finely spotted Arab
to the graceful delicately limbed Deccan,
the fleet-footed Punjaub mares and
blood-bay English troopers. Each hsrse
has special attendant and each atten-
dant-knight of the horse-has several
servants. Each horse is double quilted,
although the temperature ranges ninety
degrees to 100 degrees Farenheit. All
of them are too much blinded and ham
pered and most ruinously fat. They
stand upon clean dirt in spacious stalls.
Each horse is tied-not by its head and
neck as we do, but by its feet. Around
the fetlocks are fastened leather bands
to which ropes are attached, so that the
animal can neither paw, strike nor kick.
The ropes from the hind feet are
fastened to a stone pillar some twenty
feet away. If In spite OF this these noble
animals will surge about, lateral ropes
are fastened to each foot SO that the poor
creature cannot nxbve m any direction
more than six inches. Should they still
be uneasy large hood is drawn over
their heads and eyes to keep them quiet.
The horses are fed on mixture of meal,
brown sugar and butter, which makes
them as fat and plump as porker,
regular roly-poly ponies used much too
little. Several of the finest are kept
constantly saddled and richly caparisoned
to be ready at moments notice, for
the Prince brooks no delay; anything he
wants must be supplied at once.
The hundreds of attendants are paid
four rupees month (S1.29), and by the
time they pay their board and clothe
themselves there is not much left for
their families out of four cents day.
The average wages per day in India is
from three to five cents-prices not at
all exhorbitant when one considers that
most of the men raise large families, pay
house rent, etc., to say nothing of lux
uries, such as betel nut. Even with
these prices of say four cents day the
people are happy and contented and one
never hears of trades unions nor strikes.
Besides these ample stables the rajah
has twenty-five huge Indian elephants
for excursions. These noble beasts are
about twelve feet high and of enormous
size. A car is strapped on the elephants
back and whole family rides on one
animal. To mount an elephunt is quite
task. The animal is made to kneel,
and then, by means of stepladder, one
climbs into the car on his back as if it
were house. When one is comfortably
seated, with the shade drawn to keep of
the sun, the elephant swings along at an
easy gait of twenty miles an hour. Our
elephant was richly comparisoned with
gold embroideries; his ivory tusks were
set with jewels and clasped with gold
en- band, for he was one of the Princes
favorites.
The Maharaiah also keeps another lot
of elephants which we did not like the
looks of. These are the fghters-huge,
powerful fellows, with sharp tusks and
vicious eyes. They are trained to fight
anything and everything, but especially
the wild elephants in the mountains.
They charge at these at full speed and
plunge their tusks into their antagonists
and gore them to death. An elephant
fight is part Of the royal sport in India,
and not one to be missed if one has the
opportunity to witness one.
Jeypore is also famous for its enamel
works and the cutting and setting of
garnets and other precious stones found
in the State. The native school of de-
sign is exceedingly interesting. Here
children are sent as apprentices for five
years before they can earn anything, bui
the work they do in copper and brass is
unexceiled in any part of the world.
They sit on the ground with piece of
brass beld by their toes, small hammer
in one hand and small piece of steel in
the other, and with these cru le imple-
ments they will hammer and hammer
until they finish highly ornamental vase
or cup, the equal of anything we saw in