&L (jMlersFlyOte r Dense I
Jangles, Magic Isles Fringed With
Cocoanat Palms in Tropical Siam
Told Br LOWHLJb THOMAS.
(Copjjinkt, 1(24.)
From Salf«* to Waaghnk m the
most romantls and polsrdul leg of
the entire journey round the world.
Her* the American
airmen were nearer
the equator than
at any other point
along their route.
They were flying
through tr o p 1 c a 1
•klea over the re
glona aaldom visited
by travelers from
tha weet. Below
them were Jungle
stretches where
no white person had
ever been either by
land or by air. And
they were winging
their way over
thro* of the moat romantic countries
In tha whola of the mysterloua conti
nent of Aala—Cochin, China, ancient
Cambodia and Siam, "the kingdom of
the whit* *lephant.“
At th* rat* of a hundred mllee an
hour. In airplane* more marvelous
than the maglo carpet created by
the Imagination of the oriental story
Heller, these six aerial navigators
from America were flying over Marco
Polo’s faroff “land of the Golden
Chersonese.”
V Over Tropical Jungle*.
“A* w* left the jungle of ancient
Cambodia behind us and cut across a
*orner of the Gulf of Siam, this little
known arm of the China sea was
a glassy sheet of sapphire blue. But,”
adds Commander Lowell Smith, “as
though to prevent the acene from be
coming monotonoua the Creator of
this fascinating world, round which
we were flying, has dotted the Gulf
of Siam with a hundrer magic Isles,
fringed with tall cocoanut palms and
White sandy beaches. The jungle be
yond the shore line of many of these
tropical Islands looked go dense that
It surely would take a day to hack
one's way through a mile of It. Some
however, were nearly devoid of Jungle
gnd covered with long, waving ele
phant grass that made them look as
gmooth as well-kept lawns up where
We were.
“Flying lower to get a better view
Of them, we explored them with a
view to coming here on our honey
moons that is. if any of the rest of
us are ever going to be as fortunate
as Erik and Jack in winning favor
in the eyes of the fairer sex. Erik's
sweetheart flew along with him on
the instrument board. Printed on
celluloid, to protect It from the salt
spray, from the blizzards of the
north and from the typhoons and
monsoons of the tropics, her picture
was his mascot and Inspiration all
the way around the world.
"After landing on the Menam river
at Bangkok, and dodging about be
tween junks sampans and house
boats, and nearly colliding with ban
yan trees anti carcasses of animals
floating toward the sea, we spent the
rert of the afternoon working on the
planes. Fortunately a few minor re
pairs were necessary. This gava* us
an excuse to remain over for a day in
the capital of Slam before flying on
across the Malay peninsula to the
Bay of Bengal So some of us spent
the night on the destroyer, while the
others, tempted by thoughts of nice
hods, insect proof nets, and electric
fans, went up to the Royal hotel of
Bangkok, hoping to escape the mos
quitoes and other sleep destroyers
that take ihe joy out of life on every
river in the tropics.
Unman Bodies In River.
"Nejct nmrning while making our
repairs on the cruisers, 'Les' happen
(d to he looking down the river and
|.'ur the body of a baby bobbing past
With the current. Much agitated he
called the attention of some English
people who had come out In a launch
to look over the planes Thev smiled
and replied that they were surprised
because we had been In Bangkok so
many hours without seeing more
human bodies floating down stream.
It seemed to be an everyday occur
rence, merely a little touch of local
color to which they had become so ac
customed they no longer paid any at
tention.
"We were delighted with the Sla
mese, and particularly Impressed by
the Intelligence, courtesy, and charm
of the upper classes. We liked them
tha Instant we met them. In fact,
the welcome of Bangkok was »o
warm that one# again our planes
were In danger of being crushed by
hundreds of sanpans. But the Sia
mese officers strung circles of police
boats around each cruiser for pro
tection.
Good Siamese Air Force.
“Just before we Blurted ashore
With Mr. Dickinson, the American
charge d'affaires, a squadron of
planes appeared over the cocoanut
palms and banyans. Right down the
Menam river they flew In formation j
When directly above us they dipped
and gave us the salute of the Bla
mes* royal air force. Siam la Indeed
* land of cantrasts. Called 'Ihe Ven
tee of tha east' hern use moot of the
dwellings are built on piles along can
als. everywhere around ns were
quaint dugout canoes and sampans
filled with nuked people, while over-1
head flew tho pirplanes Introduced j
by King Rims VI , an Oxford man,
and the first Asiatic potentate to he
educated In (he Occident.
“I Imagine we saw nearly as much j
dining one day stay In Slam as many
Visitors see In a week, The repre j
«enlut(ves of King Rama, tha officers
91 the Siamese royal air force, and
OUr own countrymen escorted us
about the city. First thev took ns to
tho Internationally famous palace of
the monarch of this tropic realm.
“As we passed the golden elephants
nt Ihe outer portsl the troops of the
king of Slam were there to welcome
iis. 1T|> the marble siulrcase, and
through great carved doors of leak
We entered a vestibule with a 4(1 foot
cellin'- whose teal: walls wi re hung
With thp coals of n ail of ancient
Hi,am. From there w W'-re ushered
Into the council room whete 1. nga of
Siam recline on a ; olden couch to
receive advisers and envoi Rehind
this combination throne and divan
bangs a portrait of i half naked
Buddhist pontiff who, villi sheer'
head snd hslf-ctosrd < es, looks
down upon the Assemblage
"Although we pass Javanese, Rur j
Ui»s*. Cambodians, Malays, Chinese,
Shan, Was. Karri and Japanese on
tha canals and tamarisk lined streets
of Bangkok, the stats religion of the
Siamese Is Buddhism. Every youth In
Slam is obliged to become a monk
for a time just as the boys In Europe
an countries are compelled to serve In
the army. Of the 8,000,000 people in
the country more than 80,000 are
Buddhist monks, in fact, there are
nearly 20,000 Buddhist temples, gold
en-spired pagodas. and fantastic
teak monasteries.
Palace Impressive Sight.
“From the council room the gener
als, admirals, ex-prime ministers, and
other dignitaries who were showing
us the sights of Slam took us into
another chamber, where we saw two
hug# and exquisitely carved elephant
tusks, end then as a final climax
they marched us Into the throne
room, with Its lofty celling of inlaid
glass. Its frescoed walls of glittering
gold leaf, Its dazzling crystal candel
abra, Its marble mosaic floor, and the
king of Siam's throne under
neath a nine story, pagodalike struc
ture covered with gold. The oriental
magnificence of this palace, and the
fact that we, the heroes of the
Ariblan Nights, had flown here
through the sky. made us feel like
modern Aladdins, and we had to
pinch each other to make sure we
were awake.
"Although the king business Is get
ting to be one of the most difficult
a%d hazardous Jobs In the world, per
haps only a trifle less dangerous than
a job In the United States air service
as a test pilot at Dayton, being king
of Slam has Its compensations. For
Instance, every woman In the coun
try belongs to him. according to the
custom of the country. In fact, all of
his subjects are slaves. But In reality
Slam Is ‘Muang Thai,’ which, trans
lated, means 'Land of the Free,* The
Siamese are modest, however, and
do not call their country ‘the home
of the brave.*
White Elephants Too Costly.
"From the king’s palace with Its
golden, tiled roof ws were taken to
the stables of the royal white ele
phants. As a matter of fact, we were
as Interested In seeing the king’s
flock of white elephants as anything
else In Slam. But this was our one
disappointment In Bangkok. They are
not white at all—merely a sort of
sickly pinkish. In other words, albino
pachyderms.
“The white elephant Is still the
royal animal of the country, but
ever since the present Oxonian mon
arch ascended the throne, took unto
himself only one wife Instead of 80,
introducing typewriters, phonographs.
American automobiles, airplanes, and
expert advisors from the United
States and Europe, the white ele
phants of Slam have been attended
with less and less pomp and circum
stances.
“Whereas It was only a few years
ago that whenever a so-called white
elephant was located In the Jungle,
he was captured, tied with sllkce
ropes, assigned a group of Siamese
counts, barons, and marquises to
serve as his valets, bathed with per
fumed water, given tender shoots of
grass, cane, and bamboo, and trays
of wheat cakes and syrup to eat.
water scented with the fragrance of
jessamine to drink, elevated to a peer
age at court, baptized by the Bud
dhlst priests, and assigned a corps of j
uniformed attendants with palm leaL
fans to keep the flies and gnats away j
from the royal face. Those were sure
ly palmy days for the white ele
phants of Slam. In fact the cost of,
maintaining these pinkish, pachy
derms In royal fashion was enough to
bankrupt many a Siamese nobleman.
And It was thus that the expression
‘to have a white elephant on their
hands’ came Into existence.
Absolute Monarch.
“But times are not what they used
to be In Slam, according to the brief
conversation we held with the few
scrawny-looklng white elephants In
the royal ^tables. For Instance, we
visited one Buddhist temple where we
saw a statue of St. Peter at one of
the gates and a statue of a Dutchman j
smoking a pipe at another. But there
Is one quant little custom that we i
were glad to discover was a* popular
today as It ever was. I refer to the
custom of beheading. The king la an
absolute monarch, one of the few
left on earth. And as a special honor
a beheading bee was arranged for us.
This gay event was to have taken
place a fortnight later, but was mov
ed up Just for our benefit. However,
we sent our regTets at not being able
to visit the ’playground’ where these
frolics are alwajs held In Bangkok.
We explained that w# never attended
beheadings unless we were given the
light to say who was to lie beheaded
“Before concluding this one dnv
jaunt around Bangkok, the longest
sight seeing tour that we had time to
make from the time we left America
until our return, we stopped to psv
our respects to the ranking Siamese
who happened to he In the city.
AVhen we were ushered Into his draw
Ing room, to otir astonishment we saw
a picture of our own General
Mitchell, assistant chief of air service
occupying the place of honor on the I
prince’s table. General Mitchell had,
been there on a tiger hunt only a few
weeks before and every one In .Slam
was loud 111 praise of the man
who fought so hard to mal e 1 lie pen
plo of America appreciate the far!
that the world has at last reached
the era of travel by air.
“That night we elept on the de
stroyer In order to be ready for our
long flight across Malaya to Burma,
'on the rood to Mandalay'."
Iteuil the next installment of 'the
thrilling story of ftio round tlie-worlil
flight in The (lip,'ilia Ibe tomorrow.
Mrs. Ailor I)icH in Arizona;
Brought lo Stella for Burial
Htella, Inc, SJ.—Mrs. Katt Ailor,
who rll»i| jit the home of her grand
da tighter, Mrs. Thomas Jackson, In
I'reseott, Arias , wsm brought back here
(his weil; for but hi! In Stella ceme
tery lirBide her tin*hand, who died 13
years ago. IHdcr J. W. Sapp preach
c d the tuner,11 per vie© at the Christian
church In Stella.
Mrs. Ailor was horn In Ohio In IH4I
ind had lived In nr near H’elln for 40
years. Ifer death resulted after a
week s Illness following a stroke of
paralysis. ^
I ■ ■ Thompson-Belden * - Thompson-Belden
SORQSIS Shoes Reduced
Broken Lines from Stock
595
From our regular stock of footwear we have
taken all models in which the line of sizes is
broken. These pumps represent excellent foot
wear values when priced at 5.95.
Black satin slippers
! Patent strap pumps
Gored pumps of patent leather
Patent and black kid pumps with buckles
Low heeled oxfords of black or tan calf.
STREET FLOO*
-—---<—
Clearance of Fine Silks
This Season’s Stock Reduced
Silk Chiffon Velvet Best Velveteen
40-inch imported French velvets, black, 86-inch velveteen of the very best qual
navy, brown and taupe; C QC ity, brown, tan, old blue, navy, O 9Q
reduced to, yard..i,,.. black and taupe...
All Silk Canton Crepe Romaine
40-inch canton in street shades, includ- 40-inch satin finished crepe Romaine—
in* black and ivory. An excep- O OQ soft and drapy for afternoon and O QC
tionally at the reduced price_evening gowns. Reduced to, yard
All Silk Charmeuse Satin Canton
An excellent quality, and 40 inches wide. 40-inch all silk satin canton, of good
Offered in brown, navy and 1 QC weight, in the colors predicted 1 QC
black. The reduced price, yard.. best for street wear. Yard.l.*JJ
STREET FLOOR
Lower Pr
Mean
i
For the merchandise sold
stock, carefully selected, ah
stocks, seconds or imperfect
Each year in January we *o'|
stocks that have been meet
buying, and therefore left fine,
Cash customers rec<Iv?
as do charge patron* u
establish personal aej
conveniences of the *hr)
system. I
Not the Largest Reductions in
Thompson -Beldent
The Annual January
Sale of Linens
Friday, January 2
One of the greatest events of the entire year—
we import direct—the prices reflect the saving
Fine Linen Damask Table Cloths
With Matching Napkins
Most exceptional values In beautiful round designs:
Empire Scroll, Rose, Chrysanthemum and Laurel Band.
--3* — ■ I
Greatest Fur iVewJi
An Extraordinary!
200 Luxurious!]
2x2-yard cloth, 1A QQ 2x8^-yard cloth, IQ QQ
reduced to ... reduced to .. ..10»U*7
2x2l/^-yard cloth, 10 QQ 2x4-yard cloth, OA QQ
reduced to .. reduced to.C*L,QJ
2x3-yard cloth, 1C QQ 24x24-inch napkins, 1C QQ
reduced to .. reduced to . U»0*f
22x22-lnch napkins, 1 O QQ
reduced to, dozen ....10.0*/
Extra Special!
^ Air*-~ ^ ^ * ** &
Double Savings to You—
Savings on regular prices now. plus
savings over higher prices later
100 Table Cloths
300
All pure linen cloths of 68x68-inch size.
One of the greatest values in the Jan
uary linen sale.
100 Dozen Napkins
g89
John 8. Brown & Sons' reliable nap*
kina of all pure linen. Buy there at the
January price.
Leopard Cat
*395
The very newest sports coat, with collar
and ouffs of the finest, softest natural
dgrk raccoon. A misses' model.
Broadtail
7
With akirt trimming, puff cuff, and
crush collar of Viatka dyed squirrel, this
model coat of American broadtail ia
stunning on one who wears a amall
miaaea’ size.
Cinnamon Caracul
A cinnamon brown caracul coat of
straight slender lines becomes a wonder
ful bargain at 245. when the collar,
cuffs and border arc of cinnamon fox.
A very
kolinsk
periori
origina
Collar,
marten
seal Ci
ming.
h
Any w
model
fluffy 1
Two m
this re
muskra
the oth
effect.
Entire Stock of Fancy Linens
Discount 20 j°ercent
No piece has been reserved, because it is too beautiful—every
( piece of fancy linen may be had at this discount price.
Madeira: table cloths, luncheon cloths, center pieces, tea cloths,
bridge sets, buffet sets, scarfs, doilies and napkins.
Mosaic: luncheon cloths, tea cloths, scarfs and napkins. Vene
tian Lace: Scarfs, center pieces, doilies. Italian Crash Linen:
bridge sets, scarfs, oblong doilies, napkins, buffet sets and vanity
sets.
Towel Values!
Huck Towels
19c
200 dozen towel* of a very good quality
huck. j
Linen Towels
50c
200 dozen towels of all pure linen luick
with hemstitehed hems. .
Turkish Towels
23c
300 dozen striped Turkish towels.
Bargains.
Heavy Turkish
79c
Kxtra heavy hath towels of a quality
that will wear and launder well.
STREET FLOOR
