Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-06-20

The room covers a vast extent. its cell
ing being at least fifty feet from the floor.
II is longer than the East room at the
White House and as wide as a theater.
At the back there is a rostrum, upon
which the king sits at such times on a
golden chair. under royal umbrellas up
held by servants. Around the room run
ming along the walls and extending some
distance out from the ends there is a very
thicket of COLDER trees and bushes These
little trees have their trunks and branches
| plated with gold. The leaves are of solid
Gold, as are also the smaller twigs. They
are made by the cunning gold workers of
the different provinces, and are sent by
the governor and subordinate officials In
different parts of the kingdom as presents
on one side of the room I saw a number
OF silver trees among the gold ones, and
II seemed TO me that the amount of metal
required to make them must have been
worth a fortune.
The Queen and the Harem.
1t is according to law for the king to
take one of his half-sisters as a wife and
to make her his queen. This keeps the
royal family comparatively pure as only
her sons can ascend 10 the throne. The
present queen is, | am told, about fifteen
years younger than the king. She is said
to be a very progressive woman and to
help him considerably in the management
of his government. She directs his house
hold establishment and rules the. harem.
Her majesty is a fair type of the best
looking SiameSe maiden.
She has a light brown complexion, oily
which consists of black bristies. like
those of a shoe brush. standing out all
over her head. Her majesty smokes c-
garettes, as do all the ladies of her harem,
and she is very fond of chewing the betel
nut. Betel nut chewing is common among
all classes in Siam. This nut is the green
nut of the Areca palm. In some respects
It makes you think of a green walnut. 1t
is cut into little pieces and mixed with
tobacco, and pink-colored lime, the mixture
forming the cud, which Siamcse ladies chew
with more gusto than any of our American
Betel chewing is far more disgusting
than wax chewing. As the fair betel
chewers masticate their toothsome cud its
juice colors the saliva red. and their
mouths seem to be filled with blood. Their
teeth become, as black as jet and their lips
Siam are a sign of beauty. The people
have a saying that any dog can have
rich enough to afford the betel nut who
can have beautiful black ones. Not only
the queen, but also all the ladies of the
harem chew. l visited n large store right
near the palace. which furnishes the ladies
much of their finery. their sweetmeats and
their articles of toilet. Among other things
are little cups about the size of a shaving
mug. Every one of the kings wives has
one or two, and each lady keeps one al
ways by her side. lifting it to her lips from
time to time and squirting out into it her
surplus saliva. Every lady of the harem
has also her betel box. This is for the ma
terials of chewing. Some of the boxes are
of silver. and those of the king and queen
are set with Jewels. During my stay in the
kings store l asked some questions as to
the fashions affected by the queen and the
other ladies of the harem. l was told that
the favorite costume of the kings wives
Is the surong or waist cloth. falling to the
knees, and a Jacket Of silk. / saw many OF
the jackets in this store. They are loosely
made, and were decorated with ribbons and
Swiss embroidery. The man told me that
most of the women preferred to go bare
footed, and that most of them wore ankIets
of gold Tho king EppnG hot u-ann m nnd
two hundred ladies in his harem. They are
selected from the best families of the coun-
try, and l was told that the mobiles of the
court were anxious TO have their daughters
taken up by the king, as through them
they were able to secure fat jobs and Off
cial favor. The rules governing the kings
household establishment are very rigid. No
woman can go outside of the palace with
out his permission, and her days of royal
%. II a woman has not had children. she
becomes one of the waiting maids of the
younger wives. new girls being brought in
every year. The last king had an even
larger harem than the present one. His
wives came from China and India, as well
as siam, ana he was anxious, 1t is said, to
add some well bred English girls to his
gallery of beauties.
Modern Progress in Siam.
With so many wives, you would think
the king would be able to do little outside
his own family. He does a great deal. He
has "A cabinet of twelve members and many
subordinate officials, although he settles
I AiEt HloSL important maIIHIS nlfnSpl1. MOI
a dollar can go out Of his treasury without
his signature. While l was in Bangkok a
young American who had been teaching
the kings children wanted his salary. The
treasury officials knew that il was due. but
II could not be paid until his majesty came
hack from his trip TO the interior. Chul-
alongkOrn is the most progressive monarch
Siam has ever had. He has taken up with
foreign ways and has to a certain extent
her of the international postal union. 1
saw the pOstmen delivering letters, and l
was able to register mail which l sent to
America, There Is now an electric railroad
in Bangkok. and within the past few years
several steam railroads have been con-
structed. A number of new roads have
been surveyed. and there is one being built
from Bangkok TO Korat, about l65 miles
INTO the interior. Connection will event
ually be made with Burmah. and at no
distant date We shall be able TO travel
throuS out Farther India by rail. At pres
ent a large part of the interior transporta-
ton has TO be. done upon elephants. the
only beasts which are able to make their
way through the thick jungle. The king
ease. 1t is not etiquette. however, for him
to use anything else than his own language
during his audiences. and for this reason
he win have an interpreter during his trav-
els in this country.
The Land of the White Elephant.
The elephant is the royal beast of Siam.
You see elephant pictures on all the flags.
The old coins a an elephant printed on
them. and the white elephant, in fact,
forms what you would call the coat of arms
of the king. The Siamese are Buddhists.
They believe in the transmigration of souls.
They think that the souls of their heroes
or greatest men go into elephants, and of
the very greatest into the white elephants,
1t was for this reason that white elephants
were worshiped in times past. To-day the
kin keeps a number of white elephants in
his palace stables. I asked to be shown
these beasts during my visit to the palace.
/ expected to ind the animals decorated
with gold and purple and fastened with
golden chains. l was shown something far
different. The stables were dirty wooden
sheds. and the elephants were tied with
rough ropes TO wooden posts. The keepers
in charge of them were dirty and there was
no sign Of royalty about them. The ele-
plants themselves looked freckIed. They