Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1893-08-10

SLAMS PAVILION AT THE WORLDS FAIR.
vailing fashion, stained a repulsive
black. Like most nations having
little beard, they regard this feature
as a blemish, and early in life care
fully extract all the hairs from their
faces. Except small tuft on the
top of the head, the Uranium is shorn,
while the clothing, as is common in
Eastern and torrid countries, is of an
exceedingly airy and primitive char
acter.
.a4 Bangkok q Singular City.
Bangkok, the capital, is in many
respects singular city. Its popula-
tion is estimated all the way from
500, 900 to 1000, 900, and is curiously
mixed and cosmopolitan. Siamese
and Chinese predominant in it's
streets, though the Malays are also
very numerous, and frequent Euro
peans in it's streets demonstrate
the presence of Western civil
lization and interest. They are,
in fact, the leaven of Siam,
and to their influence and the spread
of Western ideas are due the various
improvements noticeable in the great
city, from which political power pro-
ceeds to the utmost boundaries of
Siam. The army is differed by
Europeans, chiefly English and Danes,
the navy is commanded by Euro
peans, and of the many business en-
terprises in Siam, most of those
which connect it with the outside
world are superintendent by Euro
peans. There is little love lost, how
ever, between the native and foreign
elements of society, and the intense
hatred felt for all foreigners by the
large Chinese population may at any
moment prove disastrous to all for
eign interests. English, French,
German, Russian are all alike to the
low-class Cinnamon, who cannot dis
tinguish between their languages,
and all are hated alike. There is
every reason to believe, therefore,
that the presence of hostile fleet in
the river may at any time excite the
passions of the populace to an uncon-
trollable degree and mob violence
~
unknown in Western lands
Bangkok is the Eastern Venice.
Formerly all it's houses were built on
the land. but the prevalence of chol-
era many years ago SO alarmed the
Government that it ordered the
houses on the banks to be abandoned
and directed the people to live on the
river itself. Thousands upon thous-
ands of houses were consequently
built on RATS and moored to the
banks of the river, and although the
policy of river houses has been to
some extent modified by the Govern
ment, no inconsiderable part of the
capital is still on the waters Of the
Menam. The houses are Of slight
materials, constructed on bamboo
RATS, each attended by canoe, for
to the river resident of Bangkok a
skiff is as indispensable as street
car to the suburban resident in an
American city. Formerly the right
to build on the banks was reserved to
the king, nobility, clergy and privi-
legged characters. This right has
been greatly extended and now Bang
kok has spread it's limits on both sides
of the Menam. The most striking
features of the city are the palaces
and the temples. The former are
located ia a citadel securely fortified
against sudden attack or prolonged
siege, and comprise the palaces of the
two kings and a variety of temples
and other structures pertaining to
the court. AS the frs: king has about
5000 women attached to the court in
one capacity or another, the palaces
are, as may be conjectured, very
roomy. Prominent among the at
tendants are the amazon guards of
the harems. They are women trained
to the use of arms and employed
to guard the kings wives, and when
ever a lady of the harem ap-
pears in public, she is attended
by retinue of these female
soldiers, who answer with their lives
for her seclusion. Several very mag
nificent temples are within the limits
Of the palace walls, the most remark
able being that of the Sleeping Idol"
and that Of the Emerald Idol" The
Sleeping Idol is statue $50 feet
long, overlaid from head to foot with
plate gold, in many places covered
with inscriptions and representations
of the transmigrations of Buddha.
Not far away is the palace of the