In addition to swords, fabrics and who-knows-what-else (the collection is stored in the National Archives if you want to see it), King Mongkut also told Lincoln he was sending a herd of elephants. Yup. Elephants. The king thought they would be of great assistance in settling our country.
Lincoln handled his refusal with exceptional grace, telling the King that because of our lack of tropical climate, he didn't feel the elephants would thrive as they deserved.
Too bad. We could have been the land "where the deer and the elephant play." Oh, and bridge players play.
