The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-03-17
AN INDIAN RAJAH.
The characteristics of a True De-
seendant of the Raiput Kings.

scendant of the Rajput Kings.
You NAV have been to Simla. and If
so you viii know that all the surround
ing country is split up among numer-
Gus small rajahs, whose territories con-
stitute what are officially termed the
Punjab hill states. They are queer
little kingdoms-a narrow green valley
and a fringe of LOFTY mountains. Their
rulers are equally queer. They all lay
claim to the royal blood of India, that
Of the RajDut race. and look down
from the mighty grandeur of their
thrones on the homespun- rugged
hill folk over which they rule. 1t was
in one of these states, namely, Bushire,
that met the subject of this article:
Turning sharp corner on the hill
road, 1 suddenly came upon his capital,
wedged in between two hills. A very
dirty place 1t was, but the raiah. al
though he had a palace there-a wood
en- affair conspicuous with gilt and
CLASSIFIED two marches further on.
and admired his sense in doing so.
I left the capital. RamDur, and pro-
ceeded to where the monarch ruled.
place called Sarahan. Before left
Rampur / received a most affectionate
letter from the rajah. He addressed
me as his very dear and esteemed
friend, and expressed a very dellrium
of joy at the prospect of seeing me-
reached Sarahan dead tired-it was
very hard march up and down. and 1
felt clad that I was not an official in
this Rampur rajah business. The next
morning after a free interchange of
letters at intervals of twenty minutes
commencing at g.. a. Special courier
came to announce the immediate
arrival of his highness. The inevitable
hubbub OF conversation heraldad his
arrival. and I hurried out on to the
veranda to greet the ra1ah.
I saw mob of frieze- dressed hill men,
wearing Dolly Warden" hats, four of
whom were carrying litter on which
their sovereign lay. The litter would
have diSgraced a Liberian republic vol
unteer ambulance corps. His highnesS
got out, and carefully kicked off his
shoes, displaying a pair of regulation
army socks-a touching tribute to the
king emperor'S forces He was a tiny
man, not more than four feet ten inches,
and wore cheap tinsel HindoO cap, and
a red Velveteen robe that needed a wash
badly. He came toddling up to me, ad-
dressed me in perfect English and SEEM
I ed delighted to see me. 1 regarded him
curiously- He was now an old man. In
his younger days he was what the
Arabs politely called THE Father of the
Bottle and had reputation for OPP
preston. I produced some whisky and
pressed it on him, when, to my aston
! ishment he refused True, the hour
| was $50 m. and the month June
| but, in view of his past foibles, his re-
! 1usal aStoniShed me. / then discovered
that the passion of his old age was jam.
eaten preferably with a spoon from the
| pot. Sweet biscuits were also a joy to
him. and tea as provided by the sahibs,
and not as sold by the local bunnia
| (shopkeeper). rs
| The old man was very deaf and CONVEX
sation difficulty. He gave me a nasty
shock He was examining a rife, and 1
] happened to be looking away for a min
ute. When 1 again turned to him l saw
| that he had produced a cartridge from
| his pocket and had put it into the weapon
and was holding it pointblank to the door,
where a gaping crowd was gazing at US.
Rajah or no rajah, that was too much for
me, and [ snatched the rifle from him.
| He picked it up few minutes later and
tried the same thing again. Then. l did
my best to get rid of him. The tea and
Jam were packed away, and his highness,
seeing nothing Forthcoming, rather sui
| len1y went off. That the last I saw
| of Shumsher Singh, rajah of Bushire, who
still rules his state and screws the taxes.
There are funny stories about him-of
how one sahib fed him, high caste Hin
doc. on the best of Chicago timed beef
and how another humorous sportsman, in
answer to the inevitable question which
the rajah always asks: What is the time
by your honor's watch?' prompetly ans
wered 5 instead of 10 o'clock. He has a
fair revenue, as his state is large, and
stretches up to the Tibetan frontier. The
scenery is fine, the deOdarS wonderfully
grand. His forests are leased to the i'm
perial government and all that ShumSher
Singh has to do is to sit in what he terms
his camp palace and draw the revenue
from his overtaxed people--London Mail.