Show ietm ettQJ ffiill t fl Tlrt AVri legation unit He Qvttr Counliy ami mil Illiicli 1 t II III Ktfrtitnl tl Look at Hit Clfy of Jlanftot and ill Tliwtandi of lloatlHl Itomei The Siamtst 1rolt and ltaa > Tht Oitai tht llttet Ottr Uril flied MIl Legation Tht SUmttt al a Nattvr of llHddUilt nar Wtminal Temple and tht Slttting JludJhfl Shmi Iroireilite Ktiltr IIit Greg II tilth and rntmnota Income I tow lie Citletli till 1 avtirTht Dan ftr IMtci Menacti IIi Gwitrr So > tttit ff HfKt Shuttle If gaauanA Clanet at lAo Quests and a lies ads He Itarttn = = = C srrrr Cercupvdnm al 115 liw5 I P WASIIWOTON Juno A ThcSlameic I IT nrcx nnxloustohave the ftlcnilililp < tJ4nc1n Sam unit they have notjiven Kf their Idea of cslablislng a legation it here They want the United Stoics to I nfiltVtrn In inline oil the Invasions I fifT e French who own countries ad I I jolnine f them niul Ihty will lend some I u their ablest men here to pave the 5 way Slum Is one of Ihe least known I I fof the great countries of Asia and they f the-y people here nrc reading up tliit I I I lImp may talk Intelligently to these I princes of the hat east It lies you Ii know at the lower part of the penin sal aof hither India nnd Ills cut up liy 110 Gull ot Slam The mighty liver I lenam runs IhroiiK It from north to i fJouth nnd llio whole country Is I n net voile uf canals In I the winter a large putt of It Is covered with water inJ the people go from house to house and I I from place to placo In boats The city I ol Ilangkok which lies on the Mcnam Babout twentyfive miles font Its mouth I Ms the Venice of the fa fast It con I I halos 1 a half million Inhabitants nod n i hundred thousand of these lute In I i houses which float upon the ualer Ilangkok Is In fact a sort of river city mid III Is stretched for a distance of ten miles up I and down the banks of the Menam Stunt Is about four times ns big as the Mali of New York It contains con-tains about 10000000 people and the country and the people body and soul belong to nl the lkirOI Tim I king has the right to every mans labor nnd any woman whom he calls must enter AI his I harem He I his the mot arbitrary Ii power of soy fchof the east and l bets I lII II I ts one of the rich monarchic of the ft world His palnca In Ilangkok Is I a magnificent structure with golden elephants ele-phants guarding Its entrances It lias twemvlivc acres of ground about It s and nWhl said tlut 5000 people live within the palace walls Tie King Is l I ald to have 300 wives but the queen who Is the chief of these is his majestys half sister She Is A very 1 < bright wonun and has made herself 1 noted for her charily She rules the harem and when I was In Slam I was I told that she smoked cigarette and cheued the betel nut THEY VVIlt CIIKW TUB DIUtL The new SUmeM legation r will undoubtedly un-doubtedly be betel chewvn Every one In i Slam lIrs addicted to this I habit and there Isn I big store Juil opposite to the palace of the king In Ilnngkok I Irh which I I win shown ilnting I my stay I there a I lot of little chIns spittoons about the klieof a shaving mug This slate Cup I piled Ihe palace wllli goods and these pilloons uete ustd by the ladle of the harem for the e wctorallon of held juice Hie Iltlel nut 10 l a natlvcnSiam III Is about as big unit blaik walnut and II has a jireen akin Jllsieldln pieces 1 the I slie of n hickory nut and In Is 1 r a toft Jponxj natuir having a bitter avtrlgent taste the I Siamese mix I this nut with lime and tobacco The lime is I colored red and Itli carried about In green leaves limlne mixed his mild the Siamese chew nud spun and spits and chen IIA day lung I It make the Ire I teeth I black I and tIme Juice which the people electorate Is us red ns blood re f lleA orn nn i li I saw both I men and women using It 1 when I was in Slant and I ua told that babies were given ll almost as soon in they acre weaned lloth women and men tmoke In Slam and children are taught to tin If cigarcttei in toon at rolIr Ir rr inR they are old enough lo crawl I II any ladles come wllli tOe icintion they will probably be smoker nnd betel cheuers and of he kings harem hilf of the women have black teeth The Siamese say that any dog can hive white teeth but only thoca who are rich enough to buy the betel nut cm have black ones omits FIRST IIUDDIHSr IEiATION This legation vv III be lime first foreign mission if pure Iluddhlsts which has ever comet < Washington The minis tin from Utirope are lo a large extent Catholics The Chinese arc Confucian IsIs The Japanese are liberal freethinkers free-thinkers nnd the Koreans about the same Iluddhiim Is I the religion 01 Slam and every man ol any prominence promin-ence there has been 01 some lime o hii life n lluddhlsl I priest The king I Tr fr fa himself was nt one lime a priest and he once shaved his head and gave up his crown and harem to wear a > ellow cotton scarf about his waist and gu about fasting and praying Any one who wool to become a priest In Sinm can do no In A moments notice The result Is I that when a man gets Into fi Rulli dlflicullles i eA enters the priest hood 1 and in this way his debts are forgiven hint I After they have remained re-mained here for some time they come I out mid slut Intci InKinei anew When a nAn Inn done anything wicked he ROCS into the priesthood lor n mtain number ol > ears to cleanse himself ami this becoming n lluddhlst priest Is one of the simplest methods of Siamese I divorce AlmJh I man who enters the church has the right to dismiss his wile and when he cornea out again at the end 1 of a few months or n year he can mon her again or not ax lie chooses Till IIOMK oc nunmitsvt Slam Is I the home ol Puddhism and while I wu In llangkok I saw the purest of the Simon pure article There areS are-S ooo lludtlhist priests in the Siamese capital and these are ol all ages from sixteen to eighty They go about lllh shaved heails und yellow strips ol cloth I feII olJr wound about their halfnaked budics and they chew the Intel and smoke cigarettes as they go hculnr from house to house The city Is divided l up among these beggars Iich priest has Itha beat and at every elixir he nets nn otlerlng I of 1 rice or of something I I else of this kind I visited the lluddhUt lent pie while I wan In Ilnngkok Thiv are cosily cond l description There dlrltI Is one right near I the kings tulncr I which has < ioocw worth of gold leaf on one 01 Its chilies and In nuolhrr temple there Is an Idol 1 made of jewels and pure gohl < It Is about a foot high antI eight Inches wide When It was being made while the metal was yet In the crucible I crysuli lupites sapphires sap-phires I rublci nnd diamonds I were sllr cd i into It nnd More this idol tho king coon every morning and worship I could fill this paper with sheet rlplon of the wonderful templet of Slam nnd In one liuddhist temple I found the Hour covered with n nutting of woven silver wire It 1 wu dirty from lime bare feel of Ihe priests nnd as I went out I noticed that the door was ebony Inlaid mothcrof pearl In another Inn pie I fouml on Image of lluddha asleep This hinge 1 was ijo feet long oust the soles I ol its feet by actual uurement w ere eighteen feet from toe to heel A twostory cottige Is I often I not more than eighteen fret liigh If this lluddha lay outside such a one on Ins back 1 his big toe would be on a parallel wllh the lightning i rod Of late yean n number ol Infidels have sprung op In Sino and It may be that our new legation will 1 lon11 1 d13roi list I to their fnth Their religion ns It Is taught nt Ilangkok is full of irrors and I was told there tlut the people believed the enrlll to It I e Hat and that their explanation of the light loc II ning I Hash was that It came from the Intend ol n giant of the clouds who angry nt his wives vis throwing hatchets at them through the air A rxOIXBMlVl KULEK The sending of a legation I to Washington Wash-ington Is another evidence of Ihe progressive pro-gressive spirit of Chululankorn He otW III is one of the brightest of the Asiatic I rnlers nnd he has dime much to advance ad-vance civllUatluil In Slam 111 I has put telegraph lines Ihrought a great part fl arllg IIT ISI of his kingdom There Is now a streetcar street-car line In Iltngkok and Ihe city has electric lights It used to be that the money used in Slim was downs shells or silver and guld buttons I tia king tin adopted a coinage making I money much the same as that of our I lie hiss n mint of his own and lie Import Mexican dollars and rants thesu Into I coins for the me nf his people The unit of value In Slam Is the itut anl the chief silver coin used is about the Uo of n hall dollar He has a post ofhce dciMttmcnt and Slam belong to III 15t1 I the International IHtal Union While I I was In Ilangkok I met Ihe letb nil his rojnl college and 1 aw a wmdir huh museum In the grounds tf the tMlicc Thu l king talks EnglIsh and he Is I Ihlnl Ing ol building a ntilroid t which I will open up the Interior ol Ins I rich kingdom Slam Is Hill of valuable ie source It has mighty fnrasti of leak wood and Its mines contain the finest of gold stud silver The king hiss an iiicumo of JI uuooooo n year mid I he Is I said to Imvv about fjoouoouu stored aWAY In his coffers He his his own secretary of the treasury but hu signs all his cm ll check J himself until I hots Iht to be n very Kite btislncM man He J l has Ins cabinet just lit our President hits and he had lilt wr dLpnment I late depirlnicnt Interior dtpirtment and agricultural department His I CJimlry Is divided up Into I rtyone provinces presided over by giernors and be run things to suit hllllf making mak-ing such appointments as he cliuoies HOUR UUBKK TAX US The people of Slim are lanaI for nil they are worth Everything under lIsa sun has to pay it percentage lo nine guv ernmentand a great part of the lev time of the king I conies AII Iron the K mibllng cutabllshments The people isa < n lu lion of gambler and the gambling taxes bring In half n tnllhm dollar a year The taxes are all fanmd LIII ns arc also the people who as slaves of th king I are ordered llll work lor him ij apart of the > ear It Is only i the I Chinese Chi-nese who are not subject lo Midi sir vice and they are released from it by the pavment h ol n poll tax There are lnA 11h stoop Chinese In Slam and 1 it is Mid they are fast swallowing up the country They 1 arc smarter than the Siamese I In a business way and they ninny Siamese wives nnd settle down thcr lot life All the governors ofSiani make proems I t1 1 1jj do lo the king and they sometimes I pay their taxes in the shipe nf xold nnd silver brushen In the audiinre chamber cham-ber of the palace I law around room tree and brushes of gold The leaves of time trees were ol 1 pure cold while IOn I the trunks are heavily l I plated 1 t with cold C sominaaidnnfthte room there were a number of silver trees and I wins told Ilint these were a part of the ears of fcrlngsto his l majesty J from hlt governors gover-nors SIAIIS UANOFKH I heard a diplomat who Is I utll potted In Asiatic mattem discuss lait night the rcaion why the king sent Ins 1 legation II llI to Washington Slid ie he limo King of Salt ll very anxiousUo strennlheu his relations with foreign owen lie realizes llio danger I wlcn constantly I menaces his country from III ceographl cal position It Is the meat of the sandwich sand-wich of farther India One slice of this sandwich belongs lo Ioco 1 and In cludes Cochin China The other slice I belongs 10 Great Ilnlaln and it lakes tip I lisa provinces of lltirmah Slam lies In the center and III Is richer than either lloth franco anil Dieland are land hungry and they look I wllh greedy eyes n7I k on Sum It Is one of the richest plums which Mill hang on the tree ol barbarism In I the far cant It produces crop after crop without Ihe I aid of manure nnd 1 It sliljis inlllbns ol dollars worth of lice pepper and cattle every > ear TUB SIAHPSK ARMY What kind of an army has Stuns I asked I There was no navy there when I visited the country I The army Is nothing to speak oust sign the reply livery in in IMS to serve the tunic for three months in the year but there Is I nu armed militia In case of a war with lngland or ante Slam I could nut do much and Its chief safely lIen In tho let that neither of lhe e great countries want the other to have it I suppose ll eventually will be divided between Ihim and If It should It would bo much iKtter fur Ihe people As It is i lust are practically slaves while under 1 ranee or Knglnnd they would be free I have no I doubt but I that the king appreciates the situation and lit probably think that if he lisa i legations i OArbro other capitals 1 these two nation will he less Inclined to Impose Im-pose upon hintt MOW TIIK KINO LOOKS The King of Siam Is I slill a young f Ir t ai odU man He will be I forty ear old on the ustol September lie Is not over he fuel high but he Is I very straight and well formed In his court drew he wears n vast fortune of jewels Ills head Is I crowned will n golden pjrnmld of iewels lie puts on upon slate occasions oc-casions n coat vest and I biocadcd surong which are just loaded down wllh Jewell and I was told lhit he often wore upon slate occasions precious stones which were worth n million dollar The Siamese do not wear pantaloons and the surong which they lie about the waist and tuck It In at the luck takoi their place The 1 king wear silk stocking sliues which are pointed like those ol the Turk and his 1 costume is n beautiful one He I Is not n bad i looking man his I face u olive or OWL tIn tie are black his I acl forehead I Is l high r and lnseCS are slightly almond In shape He has A little mustache and the Ilsicheot of Milfblack hair lie Is very fond ol his wife I mean his half sister wife and hem he-m a great deal of the crown prince The crown prince Is still a boy but he I has been show a number of times to people 1 and ho Is said I to have remarkably Rood sense Just outside of Ilangkok there Is a pilace which belongs to him and the boy Is 1 being educated in such A way that trh will I probably make a fit ic lc successor ol lila father SIAMK WOSIKN I wonder whether the members of the legislation 1 will ever bring their wives to iiashlu Ion > If they do we will have n decided sensation provided they come In their native costume The common Siamese women wears only n surong and a Turkish I towcL The surung goes J ll hJ around her ualst and between her legs and the Turkish towel 1 Is I wound about her bust and shoulders Now anti then he take off the towel and Is I satisfied with the u visit g She tetchy wear shoes and a girl tinder eight years old often vveatH nothing but a string around I her waist The better classes wear more cosily clothing I and some ol the ladles 1 Itoro a strip fl ihin cotton which Ihtty leA r lightly around the body under Iho arm pits oust fatten wills n knot just over the bust raving I the shoulder nnd neck entirely bare Some of the ladle nf the harem wear upon stale occasions Kurapenn clothing ami others add to r irlr iIIh iI I ir Ih Ihe siirong n IOOM jacket trimmed with Satan I embroidery nnd ravened with I > ows of ribbon set on In rows They I nil weir bracelet on their wrists and anklets on their legs and not n hew of them are quite pretty The Siamese girl are thr menu graceful I women In thin world Thin joints are very supple I I and a pirt of their idurallon Is I innilc ut > of liendlng their joints back and forth to make them so They are alt shorthaired short-haired ami when young they are as I plumpaipailrldge and as straight as the palm trees of their own beautiful I land 1 As they grow older they I become wilnkted and ugly and Ihe most of them tuin their teeth Ironi chewing the belel Only Ihe fewest of them are educated and I dont think that they would be happy In our high Trenchheel shoe and they would niv If bound In by nur cornets and crinoline One of the prettiest women In Siam Is I the imcen She lias idiot hair like her Siamese sisters and her teeth would l be pretty I if she were not addicted to betel nut chewittg enl Is r nearly I the I same age as Ihe king and It Is 1 said that her maniage was lo a certain extent a mnrrinie of love It seems strange to think 1 that n man should all I In love with his Miter but volt must remember that m IJ lle the I King of Siam came ol a firmly of eighty lour children and he had Ihirt four half brothers and forty nine half sister The custom of Slam requires lint llho royal blood shall be kept purr And for > ears the kings have I nm old l married Ihelr sisters It Is I considered an honor BIIIOIIK the noble families ol Slam to have u daughter ill the harem of the king and the only woman that him king Cdlsnsit Al rllblo tim laos lit f Siusi lrsghl I tsotluec I Ills court Is I one of Intrigue and plotting and a government oIlier who lien a daughter in the haivm can thus better bold the friendship of the king and can keep himself posted II 11 ial ni lneeJ f nn nil that Is I gulng on In Ihe palace The last I king Fad wives from China and India and be mted to add an Kngllsh girl to his gallery of Iwautlcs rIme women of the harem the to a certain extent together In the palace And they arc considered passe at the ago of tuinlyfive At this time If they have no children they become Ihe waiting maids of the > ounger wives of the king and the stock Is replenished > early whit the lloucr of the beauties ol Slam I HANK Ci CARIKNTFR |