Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-03-11
A PRINCE OF INDIA.

American interest IN India mas peel
stimulated by the appointment OF an
American girls husband as viceroy OF
Victoria's indian empire. In the Cen
fury for March, Mr.. r. D. Mackenzie de-
scribes his personal experiences the
Court of Ar Indian Prince'-Sir Zadlck
Mahammed Khan Abassie, G. c. ). L.,
Nawab of Bahawalpur. The enormous
extent Of the empire over which LORD
Curzon rules is illustrated by this &C
count of one of it's petty divisions; for
his highness, the Nawab, Is the great
man of a strip of territory only about
800 by $50 miles in size, which forms one
of the minor states Of Rajputana. Yet
his wealth is enormous, II his sur
rounding magnificent.
The Na,wab is a man about 80 years
old, six feet tall and we'll proportional;
he has dark and prominent features,
long, black curly hair, beard cut close,
and very long dropping mustaches, curl
ing into a ring at the ends. He IS ex-
tremely sensitive, has a strong will n
constitution of iron, and is intensely sus-
picious and jealous, the natural result
Of his position.
Except on special occasions, the Nawah
dresses in white muslin trousers, very
wide and baggy, silk or cloth coat and
waistcoat, and silk-and-gold turban. His
pockets are numerous, n their contents
surprising. 1t is a common thing for
Hllll " NSol " VI ~ NN>HN~
very beautiful ones they are. This does
not astonish one so much as the fact that
he Possesses no less than LOO watches
Of all descriptions, and is constantly pur-
chasing others. He had also some re-
markably fine Jewels. His crown weighs
nine pounds, and is a mass of diamonds,
set in silver, with a row OF very large
near-shaped pearls as pendants around
the base.
He has a sword, the jeweled scabbard
and hilt of which are valued at $500, 600.
He wears some extraordinary rubies and
uncut emeralds attached to chains of
rubies and pearls that he wears as a
necklace. He has also a set of 10 uncut
rubies as large as the largest of the en-
eralds. 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 a half
inches in diameter. The robe, sash and
pendants are the insignia OF the star
Of India"
He is never without a pocketful of gold
mohurs and rupees. A gold mohur is a
coin that i snot in circulation as money;
but it is a custom among native princes
to present these coins to friends, and to
| receive them as presents, on certain GER
emonial occasions. 1t is of pure gold,
and varies in size and value from 20 to
30 rupees. A rupee is a silver coin about
the size of a. 50-cent piece, but, accord
ing to the present rate of exchange, is
worth only about % 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 boars he has killed,
pig-sticking being a sport not generally
INDUCED in by Mohammedans. He, like
most Indian princes, has killed his tiger.
He is equally skilled in telling a story,
and his English, though slow n meas
ured, is very good. From the time he
was 5 years old he was under an English
tutor, appointed by the British govern
ment.
At the death of his father, the former
NaWab, the whole state passed into the
hands of the British government until
the young Nawab, coming of age, was
placed on the throne and given full
powers to govern his 100000 subjects, to-
gether with several crores of rupees,