The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1897-06-18
FROM A FAR COUNTRY.
Miss Mary Clarke writes from the Orient
u letter which all her old Friends
will read with Pleasure.
Teheran, Persia,
country.
April 80, 1897.

Teheran, Persia,
April 80, 1897.
EDITOR REGISTER: 1 appreciate
your kindness in sending The lola
REGISTER, and have often thought of
sending you letter for it's columns.
1 have not done so through fear that
you might not care to print it, but l
send you now these few thoughts
which you can make use of or not as
you please.
A few days ago 1 viewed the funeral
procession of the late Shah. Although |
all the former kings of the Ksjar
dynasties are buried in Kum-a
sacred city 60 miles south of Teheran
he mausOleum of Nasir-i-Diu has
been built in the shrine of Shah |
abdul Azim-One of the suburbs of
the capital-where he was assassinat-
ed a year ago. The assassination
occurred May |, 1896. AS the Persians
reckon time by the lunar month.
April goth was the anniversary of
that day. The procession as two
have taken place on that day but it
rained. and rain is so rare in Persia
that it is a sufficient reason for putting
off any event, so the Obsequies were
postponed for two days.
The procession started from the
drill square at one O'Clock in the
afternoon. Most of the foreigners in
the city gathered on the balcony of
The Imperial Bank to watch the pro-
ceedings, but American enterprise led
some of our colony to take carriage
and drive perhaps mile from the
city gate. All this distance and as
far beyond as we could see the road
ON either side was lined with people.
They were mostly men, but an &C.
casional woman and child was to be
seen.
The crowd reminded me of "circus
dayn in America. A friend of mine
who has lived in one place in Indiana
for thirty-tive years and in the Olden
days was a country physician, once
said to me Ordinarily L should say
that knew every man, woman and
child in Marshal county, bat when
circus comes to town l stand in perfect
amazement, wondering where the
people come from" So with this
crowd. In that long drive and wait
of an hour and a half missionary
gentleman who has been in Teheran
for more than ten years saw only
three people whom he knew. L pre-
sumo there are 1000 carriages in this
city and yet as we sat waiting the
people gathered around to look at our
carriage with open mOuthed curiosity.
The procession as we viewed it took
about half an hour in passing, and
was as follows:
l. A bout IS camel-howitzers. They
dress in ancient Persian costume and
were picturesque sight. About so
of them carried guns, the rest con-
stituted the band and gave specimen
of ancient barbaric music with
fiageOlets and drums.
2. The Cossack artillery. Five
guns, each drawn by six horses and
six horsemen preceding each of the
, guns.
8. 500 COssack cavalry.
4. A COssack band playing Euro
pean funeral march.
| 5. A "tackteravan" Glitter carried
by mules) covered with black and
ornamented with gold. This con-
tanned the body of a brother of the
late Shah who died suddenly at the
3 races few days ago.
6. The Shah's."silver-sticks."
Z. The funeral-car, covered with
colored flags, plumes and wreathes-
the most barbaric thing in the entire
pageant. Several "mollahs" (priests
of Islam) and "sayids" descendants
of Mohammed) walked beside the car.
s. A Persian band playing Persian
3 dirge.
= 8. A large number of important
} people in carriages and on horseback,
= 10. The "rabble.n who as fast as
the procession passed them, closed in
t after them.
3 The present Shah is said to have
3 followed the body of his father twelve