St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-04-26
A PRINCE OF INDIA.
The Great State i'm Which Even N Minor
POtentate Lives.

Inc Wreut Btntc HI w HIGH hNch ~ MthOE
Potentate Lives.
American interest in India has been
stimulated by the appointment of an
American girls husband as Viceroy OF
Victoria's Indian Empire. In the Cen
fury recently, Mr.. r. D. Mackenzie de-
scribes his personal experiences "At the
Court of an Indian Prince"-Sir Zadick
Mahammed Khan Abassie, 6. c. S. l.,
Nawab Of Bahawalpur. The enormous
extent of the empire over which Lord
Curzon rules is illustrated by this &C"
count of one of its petty divisions; for
His Highness, the Nawab, is the great
man OF strip of territory only about
three hundred by one hundred miles in
size, which forms one of the minor states
oil Rajputana. Yet his wealth is enor-
nous, and his surroundings magnificent.
The Nawab is man about thirty.slx
years old, six feet tall, and well proper
toned; he has dark and prominent fea-
lures, long black curly hair, beard cut
close, and very long dropping mustaches
curling into ring at the ends. He is
extremely sensitive, has strong will
and constitution of iron, and is intensely
suspicious and jealous, the natural re-
suit of his position.
Except on special occasions, the Nawab
dresses in white muslin trousers, very
wide and baggy, silk or cloth coat and
waistcoat, and silk and gold turban.
His pockets are numerous, and their con-
tents surprising. 1t is common thing
for him to wear two or three watches,
and very beautiful ones they are. This
does not astonish one so much as the
fact that he possesses no less than seven
teen hundred watches of all descriptions,
and is constantly purchasing Others. He
has already some remarkably fine Jewels.
His crown weighs nine pounds, and is
mass of diamonds set in silver, with a
row of very large pear-shaped pearls as
pendants around the base. He has
sword the jeweled scabbard and hilt OF
which are valued at five hundred thou
sand dollars. He wears some extraor-
binary rubies and uncut emeralds at
tached to chains Of rubies and pearls
that he wears as necklace. He has
also a set of fifteen uncut rubies as large
as the largest Of the emeralds. They are
historic gems, with the names of the
Mogul emperors engraved upon them.
They are very irregular in shape, and
measure FULLY one and one-half inches in
diameter. The robe, sash and pendants
seen in the portrait are the insignia OF
the "Star of India"
He is never without pocketful Of gold
mohurs and rupees. gold mohur is
coin that is not in circulation as money ;
but it is custom among native princes
to present these coins to friends, and to
receive them as presents, on certain cere-
monial occasions. 1t is OF pure gold,
and varies in size and value from twenty
to fifty rupees A rupee is silver coin
about the size of fifty cent piece, but
according to the present rate OF exchange
is worth only about twenty-five cents.
The Nawab leads a very active but
whimsical life. His greatest passion is
hunting, consisting of shooting, pig
sticking, and hawking. He is an excel
lent shot, especially if the game is NOV
ing rapidly, and l should be afraid to
say how many wild bears he has killed,
pig-sticking being sport not generally
INDUCED in by Mohammedans. He, like
most Indian princes, has killed his tiger
He is equally skilled in telling story
and his English, though slow and meas
ured, is very good. From the time he
was FIVE years old he was under an Eng
lish tutor, appointed by the British gov
eminent.
At the death OF his father, the former
Nawab, the whole state passed into the
hands of the British government unit
the young Nawab, coming OF age, was
placed on the throne and given ful
powers to govern his six hundred thou
sand subjects, together with severa
crores of rupees, which had accumulated
in the treasury under the administration
of the English. Ca crore is 100000
rupees, or 100 laos, lac being 100, OOC
rupees.
it is only natural that the young prince
once in possession of his great wealth
should desire to spend it, and the result
was that four new palaces were built al
the capital of the state, Bahawalpur
and at an old town about thirty mile!
distant called Ahmedpur, the former resi-
, dence of the Nawabs of Bahawalpul
since 1927. Two of these palaces wer'
built in the styles that have already de
scribed.
The Nawab has body.guard of fou
hundred mounted men, nearly all iron
Baluchistan, wild, dirty, and mos
picturesque set, and the best and tn
most reckless riders l have ever seen
He maintains only one squadron OF cav
airy and half regiment of infantry, bu
has two thousand domestic servants
and three hundred shikarees, or hunters
distributed over the whole state, who's
duty it is to send news to the Naval
when game is found in their locality, ant
to keep poachers from trespassing. H
has also stable Of one hundred ant
fifty Arab, English and Australian
. horses, and two large river-steamers ar
} held in readiness for six months at tim
on the Sutlej, which forms the northern
. boundry of his state for distance
about two hundred miles.
The Nawab's present income is abou
fifteen laos of rupees year. He is al
absolute monarch, holding the power
signing life or death sentences on GRIM
nails. The administration of state a
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