The Indianapolis journal., 1903-03-22
AN EASTERN NOBLEMAN.
HIS HIGHNEss, IBRAHIM, SULTAN OF
JOHORE, TO VISIT Us.
Malasian Ruler, Who Is Said 20 Be
Very Rich, Progressive and
Well Educated.
st. Louis Renublic.

st. Louis Republic.
His Majesty. Ibrahim. Sultan of Johore,
expects to visit ST. Louis next year to see
the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, to
meet President Roosevelt, for whom he
has the admiration of one who would like
to emulate him. and TO see the great Amer
lean cities.
To the people of the United States this
young monarch should be as interesting as
We shall be TO him. He is a Malay. Amer
leans think of these people as a sort of
savage race Of low intelligence and cruel
propensities, with Unborn tendency to
murder. Americans will see in his Majes-
ty, Ibrahim, a good type of what the best
type Of his race cousins, the F'ilipinos are
capable Of becoming. He is, in the first
place. the only native Independent ruler
left on the Malacca Peninsula that strange
and ittle-known land that stretches south
east toward Sumatra from the Asiatic
mainland. between farther India and
Siam.
Most Of the peninsula is under Siamese,
French or English control. At it's very
point, commanding the route of travel be-
tween the Indian ocean and the China
sea, is the British city and settlement of
Singapore. To the north of Singapore.
taking in the whole width of the penin-
sula for about $50 miles, is the state of
Johore. Ibrahim's capital is fifteen miles
northeast of Singapore. 1t is not much of
a town, even as East Indian capitals go.
But the Sultan is wide-awake, up-to-
date young man. He is not yet thirty years
OF age. He Is q Mohammedan, and, as
ruler. is priest as well as king to his sub
jects. Like many another Mosiem SOW
ereign, however, he has had an English
education. and speaks our language as
policy of Abubaker. his late father, whom
he succeeded a few years ago, in develop
ing the resources of his country.
RAILROAD IN JOHORE.
There is railroad traversing Johore
from east to west. tapping the richest
forests of tropical hardwood and the spice
plantations. Native merchant vessels of
the Malacca state are busy with his king
dom's considerable commerce.
The young Sultan visited Europe In 1901
to see II he could enlist British capitalists
and engineers in project that Sultan Abu-
baker had In mind.
This project contemplated the building of
a railroad the whole length Of the penin-
sula, connecting Singapore and the city of
Johore with Burmah and tapping the ST.
ames provinces of Igor. Sengora, Kedah.
British protected districts of Perak, Selan-
gor. Kalang, Pahang. Jelebu, Sungel.
UJong, Sri Menanti, Jumpol Johol. RAM
bau, Jelai and Segamat. Whether he sue
ceeded or not in that enterprise has never
been made known. At all events. he took
kindly to the life in western Europe He
was treated with the customary honors in
England and saw reviews and attended
formal levees He was taken around Lon
don by one of the younger princes. Then
he escaped" as he said, to Paris. He
was there for several months and followed
his bent.
All Eastern mobiles have a firm belief in
the American maxim that "Good Ameri-
late it into vernacular of their own.
They prefer, however. to go there while
living
Sultan Ibrahim may have-indeed, he is
hore. That did not prevent him from pay
ing a bachelors attentions to more than
one young woman in Paris. One of these
was Miss Fairfax. Of New York, an opera
sional name of Christian Audrey" The
Sultan gave dinner in her honor. In her
honor, too. he wore all his jewels. He was
dressed in the uniform of a field marshal,
with the orders of his own court, the rib
bon of the Legion OF Honor and a British
order. He wore ropes of pearls and clus-
terS Of rough-set rubies and sapphires and
strings Of huge diamonds that dazzled the
company whom he had invited to his hotel.
The Maison Doree had sent a staff Of
cooks to provide. according to the Snltan's
order, 1.-The finest dinner possible in Paris -
The favors were immensely valuable
gems The most noted men and women Of
artistic and literary Paris were present.
Miss Fairfax is tall, slender brunette,
with 1.-the figure and serene vivacity
of manner that charmed the young despot.
He told his friends that he was captivated
by woman OF her type, because the
women of my country run to fat"
DT.AvEn TIJE DOT Y OE
Paris pays small attention to the diver
sions of visiting Kings. and Tbrahim was no
exception. The only occasion on which he
figured in the newspapers, aside from the
Fairfax dinner. were two. One was when
he was riding on the bois with Miss Tyler.
The lady's horse stumbled and fell. The
horses neck was broken. The lady was
somewhat hurt. The Sultan played well the
part of a gallant gentleman, picking up
Miss Tyler and having her conveyed home.
The other Partisan news item concerns a
gift Of a magnificent sable cape that cost
Sos, 900 and bolero of diamonds and pearls,
valued-by the chroniclers. at least.-,at the
prodigious sum of 100000. He gave them to
a Spanish dancer who had given perform
ance for small party of his guests. There
are many men and women, too, in Paris to
whom he made "trifiing" presents in token
of his appreciation of their zeal in making
his stay pleasant. These gifts were of jew
elry or of rare Oriental carvings and OBJ
jects of art-always very nearly of priceless
value. This is not a very bad record for a
prince who Is free from viZiers and imams
for the first time in his life.
The Sultan is aristocratic in appearance
and bearing, affable, but dignified. He
shows teeth as remarkable President
Roosevelt when he smiles. He is six feet
tall broad shouldered and erect, OF power
full frame. He is dark of complexion, and
has a quick, flashing, obseryant eye. He
wears a small dark mustache and his hair
is brushed up like Aguinaldo's. The Fill
pino's face, however, would look plebeian
beside the fine-drawn features of the Malay
monarch.
Ibrahim is a mighty sportsman. He is a
crack polo player, and there are frequent
matches in Singapore and Johore between
British and Malay teams, in which the lat
ter are as often victors as not Polo is a
game of Persian origin. to which Orientals
take kindly. The Sultan is also a deadly
shot with a rifle. The native shikarees of
ion' of the Britisher who shoots the tiger
from an elephants back. They have quite
another feeling toward the sportsman who
takes his life in his hand and goes on foot
to find and meet the royal beast.
Sultan 1brahim does his tiger hunting in
the latter fashion. Many huge elephant s
head and regally-striped tigers skin are
kept as trophies in the palace at Johore of
his prowess with the gun. He hunts the
bear with rife and knife, and has scar on
his shoulder from hand-to- hand fight with
a bear. He pursues the wild pig on horse
back with the lance. a trick taught him