The farmer and mechanic., 1910-07-12

gereus that their tusks have been cut
off and the ends bound with brass
rings Those beasts have brass
chains around their necks- They are
tattoed on their foreheadS and ears
in the patterns of cashmere shawl,
and when taken out for the rajah they
are covered with fancy trappinss and
have brass chains around their necks.
During my stay in Jeypore | have
had ride on one OF these royal
beasts. At the invitation Of the secre-
tary of his highness L Travelled by one
To the ruined city of Amber which is
situated in the hills about four miles
outside Jeyp0re. The elephant was
brought to ms. shortly before noon.
At the command Of its Hindoo driver
who sat upon its head, ii kneeled
down for ne, and | climbed To its
back by stepladder. There was a
cushioned saddle on top with bars at
the side. and the driver showed me
how to hold on while the beast climb
ed TO his feet. The elephant raised
himself upon one leg at a time and
bobbed back and forth like a ship
in a storm. The motion was a
swayinS this way and that. and | be-
came half SeaSick as we wound our
way up the mountains. In front of
me was the driver. with his brown
legs ciapped over the elephants neck
Just back Of the big f1apping ears. He
had a sharp steel hook in his hand.
and with this he stirred up the great
beast, and now and then made him
trOt.
After a time I got used to the mo-
ton, and when We were out in the
country and climbing the hills ! began
to enjoy my strange ride. ] had to
watch out, however. for every now
and then som ething made the beast
shy. At one place monkey ran
across the road and long-tailed ape
jumped through the branches Just
over our heads, whereupon the ele-
phant swerVed and almost threw me
out Of my seat. At other places we
saw Wild peacocks, and among the
trees wild hogs were feeding.
BY and by We came to the ruined
city of Amber, which a generation or
so ago was the capital of the state of
Jeypore. 1t is now quite deserted and
the monkeys play in its ruins. 1t was
once a magnificent city, with fine
residences big business quarters and
temples and palaces But one of the
rajahs Of the past became dissatisfied
with his surroundings and decreed
that the capital should be moved down
to the plains, and the result was the
pink city Of Jeypore, of which L may
write in the future.
The Viceroy and the Rajahs.
AS to the relation these native rulers
hold to the British government /
must say before closing this letter that
the vicaroy and and his high officials
do not fear them. The anarchistic de-
monstrations and the unrest have SO
far been in the British states rather
than elsewhere and today native In
dia is quiet. During my stay in Cal
cutta I called st the state department
and had a talk with Mr.. Harcourt
Butler, its secretary. Said he:
."The native rulers are giving US no
trouble and in fact, they are aiding
in keeping things quiet. Many OF
them are enterprising. They employ
civil engineers and are trying to de-
velop the country. Some are building
irrigation works. some tabl1ShInS
factories and nearly all have schools
Of one kind or another. In some Of
the states newspapers are published,
although the rulers reserve the right
to abolish such at any time and to
Danish their editors.
FRANK CT. CARPENTER