THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
IN MEMORY OF
CARROLL ALCOTT
PRESENTED BY
CARROLL ALCOTT MEMORIAL
LIBRARY FUND COMMITTEE
IN THE FAR EAST.
IN THE FAR EAST
Jlavnttitie of (Exploration anb Jl&tenture
IN COCHIN-CHINA, CAMBODIA,
LAOS, AND SIAM.
i'Y THE AUTHOR OF
" The Arctic World," " The Mediterranean Illustrated,"
,t-c. <t-c.
WITH TWENTY-EIGHT FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
LONDON: THOMAS NELSON AND SONS.
EDINBURGH AND NEW YORK.
l8 79 .
I. THROUGH LAOS TO CHINA,
II. EXPERIENCES AMONG THE CHINESE, ... ... 106
III. RETURN TO SAIGON, ... ... ... ... 133
IV. DR. MORICE AND THE MEKONG, ...
V. M. MOUHOT IN CAMBODIA, ... ... 176
2218707
IN THE FAR EAST.
CHAPTER I.
THROUGH LAOS TO CHINA.
CONSIDERABLE portion of the Indo-
Chinese peninsula is occupied by the
extensive country of Cambodia, or Cam-
boja, known to the natives as Kan-pou-chi. It
extends from lat. 8 47' to 15 N., along the basin
of the Mekong, Makiang, or Cambodia river ; and is
bounded on the north by Laos ; on the south, by
the Gulf of Siam and the China Sea ; on the east,
by Cochin-China ; and on the west, by Siam. For-
merly it was independent; but since 1809 it has
been included within the empire of Annam, except
the province of Battabang, which belongs to the
kingdom of Siam. But since the French established
themselves at Saigon in 1858, and have gradually
10 COURSE OF THE MEKONG.
obtained a controlling power in Annam (or Cochin -
China), their influence has also extended to Cam-
bodia.
The largest river of Cambodia, and of the whole
Indo-Chinese peninsula, is the Mekong, Makiang, or
Cambodia, which, rising in the mountains of China,
under the name of the Lan-tsan-kiang, flows in a
south-easterly direction across the province of Yun-
nan ; thence, under the name of the Kiou-long,
traverses the territory of Laos ; and afterwards, as
the Mekong, intersects Cambodia, dividing the Annam
portion from that which belongs to Siam ; separates
into several branches, and finally falls into the
China Sea, after a fertilizing course of about fifteen
hundred miles. Its two principal mouths are those
of the Japanese and Oubequum channels. There
are several smaller mouths, however, the southern-
most of which is situated in lat. 9 30' N., and
long. 106 20' E.
Very little was known of this great river until
the French had made themselves masters of Saigon.
It has since been explored in parts of its course by
M. Mouhot, Lieutenant Garnier, and others. The
country which it waters possesses many features of
interest; and the scenery through which it flows is
A FRENCH EXPEDITION. 11
often of a romantic and beautiful character. The
manners and customs of the people dwelling on its
banks are not unworthy of consideration ; and we
propose, therefore, to carry the reader with us on
a voyage up this magnificent stream, penetrating,
under the guidance of Lieutenant Garnier, into
hitherto unexplored parts of Cambodia, and even
into China itself.
In 1866 the French Government determined on
despatching an expedition to explore the upper
valley of the great Cambodian river, and placed it
in charge of M. de Lagree, a captain in the French
navy. M. Thorel, a surgeon, was attached to it as
botanist ; M. Delaporte, as artist ; Dr. Joubert, as
physician and geologist ; and among the other mem-
bers were Lieutenant Garnier, to whose record of
the expedition we are about to be indebted, and
M. de Carne. After a visit to Ongcor, the capital
of the ancient kingdom of the Khmers, with those
vast memorials of antiquity described so graphically
by M. Mouhot, the expedition proceeded to ascend
the great river, passing the busy villages of Corn-
pong Luong and Pnom Penh the latter the resi-
dence of the king of Cambodia. Here they aban-
12 BOATING ON THE MEKONG.
doiied the guii-brigs which had brought them from
Saigon, and embarked themselves and their stores
on board boats better fitted for river navigation.
These boats or canoes are manned, according to
their size, by a crew of six to ten men. Each is
armed with a long bamboo, one end of which termi-
nates with an iron hook, the other with a small
fork. The men take up their station on a small
platform in the fore part of the boat, plant their
bamboos against some projection on the river-bank,
tree or stone, and then march towards the stern;
returning afterwards on the opposite side to repeat
the process. This strange kind of circular motion
suffices to impel the boat at the rate of a man
walking at full speed, when the boatmen are skil-
ful at their work, and the river-bank is straight
and well defined. The master's attention is wholly
occupied, meanwhile, in keeping the bow of the
canoe in the direction of the current, or rather
slightly headed towards the shore. It is obvious
that such a mode of navigation is liable to many
interruptions, and cannot be commended on the
score of swiftness or convenience.
On the 13th of July the canoes took their
departure from Cratieh, and soon afterwards arrived
FORMIDABLE KAPIDS. 15
at Sombor. They then effected the passage of the
rapids of Sombor-Sombor no great difficulty being
experienced, owing to the rise of the waters. Beyond
this point the broad bed of the great river was
encumbered with a multitude of islands, low and
green, while the banks were covered with magnifi-
cent forests. The voyagers noticed here some trees
of great value the yao ; the ban-courg, the wood
of which makes capital oars ; and the lam-xe, which
should be highly prized by the European cabinet-
makers.
On the 16th of July the voyagers again fell in
with a series of formidable rapids. The sharp and
clearly -defined shores of the islands which had
hitherto enclosed the arm of the river they were
navigating were suddenly effaced. The Cambodia
was covered with innumerable clumps of trees, half
under water ; its muddy torrent rolled impetuously
through a thousand canals, forming an inextricable
labyrinth. Huge blocks of sandstone rose at inter-
vals along the left bank, and indicated that strata
of the same rock extended across the river-bed. At
a considerable distance from the shore the poles of
the boatmen found a depth of fully ten feet ; and
it was with extreme difficulty the canoes made way
16 A WEARY VOYAGE.
against the strong, fierce current, which in some
confined channels attained a velocity of five miles
an hour.
Storms of wind and rain contributed to render
the voyage more wearisome and the progress slower.
It was no easy task at night to find a secure haven
for the boats ; and the sudden floods of the little
streams at the mouth of which the voyagers sought
shelter, several times subjected them to the risk of
being carried away during their sleep, and cast all
unexpectedly into the mid-current of the great river.
They slept on board their boats, because the roof
was some protection from the furious rains ; but
these soon soaked through the mats and leaves of
which it was composed. The weather was warm,
and thus these douche-baths were not wholly in-
supportable ; and when the voyagers could not
sleep, they found some consolation in admiring the
fantastic illumination which the incessant lightnings
kindled in the gloomy arcades of the forest, and in
listening to the peals of thunder, repeated by a
thousand echoes, and mingling with the hoarse
continuous growl of the angry waters.
Such are some of the features of the navigation
of the lower part of the Cambodia. But our limits
(002)
THE LAOTIANS DESCRIBED. 17
compel us to pass over several chapters of Lieutenant
Gamier' s narrative, and to take it up after the
voyagers had crossed the boundaries of Siam and
Cambodia and entered Laos.
Lieutenant Garnier describes the Laotians as gen-
erally well made and robust. Their physiognomy,
he says, is characterized by a singular combination
of cunning and apathy, benevolence and timorous-
ness. Their eyes are less regular, their cheeks less
prominent, the nose straighter, than is the case
with other peoples of Mongolian origin ; and but for
their much paler complexion, which closely ap-
proaches that of the Chinese, we should be tempted
to credit them with a considerable admixture of
Hindu blood. The male Laotian shaves his head,
and, like the Siamese, preserves only a small tuft
of very short hair on the summit. He dresses him-
self tastefully, and can wear the finest stuffs with
ease and dignity. He chooses always the liveliest
colours ; and the effect of a group of Laotians, with
the brilliant hues of their costume set off by their
copper-tinted skin, is very striking. The common
people wear an exceedingly simple garb the lan-
gouti, a piece of cotton stuff passed between the
legs and around the waist. For those of higher
(602) 2
18 LAOTIAN COSTUME.
rank the langouti is of silk ; and is frequently
accompanied by a small vest buttoned over the
chest, with very narrow sleeves, and another piece
of silk folded round the waist as a girdle, or round
the neck as a scarf. Head-gear and foot-gear are
things little used in Laos ; but the labourers and
boatmen, when working or rowing under a burning
sun, protect the head with an immense straw hat,
almost flat, much like a parasol. Personages of high
rank, when they are in " full dress/' wear a kind of
slipper, which appears to inconvenience them greatly,
and is thrown off at the earliest opportunity.
Most of the Laotians tattoo themselves on the
stomach or legs, though the practice is much more
prevalent in the north than in the south. The
Laotian women do not wear much more clothing
than their husbands. The langouti, instead of being
brought up between the legs, is fastened round the
waist, and allowed to hang down like a short tight
petticoat below the knees. Generally, a second
piece of stuff is worn over the bosom, and thrown
back across either the right or left shoulder. The
hair, always of a splendid jetty blackness, is twisted
up in a chignon on the top of the head, and kept
in its place by a small strip of cotton or plaited
SLAVERY IN LAOS. 19
straw, frequently embellished with a few flowers.
Every woman ornaments her neck, arms, and legs
with rings of gold, silver, or copper, sometimes
heaped one upon another in considerable quantity.
The very poor are content with belts of cotton or
silk ; to which, in the case of children, are suspended
little amulets given by the priests as talismans
against witchcraft or remedies against disease.
Strictly speaking, polygamy does not exist in
Laos. Only the well-to-do indulge in the embar-
rassing luxury of more wives than one; and even
with these a favoured individual is recognized as
the lawful spouse.
Unhappily, slavery prevails, as it does in Siam
and Cambodia. A debtor may be enslaved, by judi-
cial confiscation ; but the " peculiar institution" is
chiefly recruited from the wild tribes in the eastern
provinces. The slaves are employed in tilling the
fields, and in domestic labours; they are treated
with great kindness. They often live so intimately
and so familiarly with their masters, that, but for
their long hair and characteristic physiognomy, it
would be difficult to distinguish them in the midst
of a Laotian " interior."
20 FISH-CATCHING PROCESSES.
The Laotians are a slothful people, and, when not
rich enough to own slaves, leave the best part of
the day's work to be done by the women, who not
only perform the household labour, but pound the
rice, till the fields, paddle the canoes. Hunting
and fishing are almost the only occupations reserved
for the stronger sex.
We have not space to describe all the engines
employed for catching fish, which, next to rice, is
the principal food of all the riverine populations of
the Mekong valley, and is furnished by the great
river in almost inexhaustible quantities. The most
common are large tubes of bamboo and ratan,
having one or more funnel-shaped necks, the edges
of which prevent the fish from escaping after they
have once entered. These apparatus are firmly
attached, with their openings towards the current,
to a tree on the river-bank, or, by means of some
heavy stones, are completely submerged. Every
second or third day their owner visits them, and
empties them of their finny victims. The Laotians
also make use of an ingenious system of floats,
which support a row of hooks, and realize the Euro-
pean "fishing by line," without the help of the
fisherman. There are various other methods adopted,
A SUDDEN STORM. 21
such as the net and the harpoon; and in the em-
ployment of all these the Laotians display consider-
able activity and address.
Let us now accompany our French voyagers in
their further ascent of the river. As we have
already hinted, its navigation is not without its
inconveniences, and even its dangers.
One evening, for example, they dropped anchor
at the mouth of a small stream which, in foam and
spray, came tumbling down from the mountains of
Cambodia. After supper they lay down to rest on
the mats which covered the deck of their vessels.
Black was the sky, hot and oppressive the air; all
around were visible the portents of a coming storm.
The distant roar of the hurricane failed, however, to
disturb the sleepers, who were spent and overcome
with the fatigues of the day. But at last they were
wakened effectually by a " thunder-plump." which
quickly flooded their canoes, and drove them upon
deck.
In the midst of the elemental disorder, they
became aware of a hoarse growling sound ; the
waters were violently agitated, and a great crest of
foam rapidly advanced towards their feeble barks.
22 THE FLOOD SUBSIDES.
In a few moments it was upon them. It swept
clean over the voyagers and their canoes, and those
of the latter which had been carelessly moored
were borne down the rushing tide. At first an inde-
scribable disorder prevailed ; cries of distress rose in
every direction ; the canoes dashed violently against
one another, or came into collision with uprooted
trunks floating on the surface of the storm-tossed
waters. Fortunately, the danger was quickly over;
and as every boat had contrived to grapple some
branch or rock, the voyagers discovered at daybreak
that, whatever injuries these had sustained, no lives
had been lost. The furious gale they had heard in
the distance had raised the waters some twelve feet
during the night; but the inundation subsided as
rapidly as it had risen.
Under the shade of wide-branching trees, and
closely hugging the shore, the expedition continued
its voyage. The neighbouring forests were remark-
able for their luxuriant vegetation; troops of apes
and squirrels of various species gambolled among
the mighty trees, among which rose conspicuous the
superb yao, the king of these forests, the trunk of
which shoots up, free from knot or bough, to a
height of eighty or one hundred feet; and out of
THE KHON CATARACT. 23
which the Laotians hollow their piraguas. In the
morning a wild beast now and then came down to
the river to drink; and night was rendered hideous
by the cries and trumpetings of deer, and tigers,
and elephants.
At length the voyagers came within hearing of
the tremendous roar of the Khon cataract. Their
boatmen, brisker than on ordinary occasions, hauled
or propelled their vessels through a very labyrinth
of rocks, submerged trees, and prostrate trunks still
clinging to earth by their many roots. They knew
that their hard labour was nearly at an end, and
that at Khon the expedition would dismiss them, as
fresh boats would be required above the cataract.
As for their homeward voyage, what was it ? To
ascend the river had been the work of a week; the
swift current would bear them back in less than a
day.
The cataract of Khon is really a series of mag-
nificent falls, of which one of the grandest is caused
by the confluence of the Papheng. There, in the
midst of rocks and grassy islets, an enormous sheet
of water leaps headlong from a height of seventy
feet, to fall back in floods of foam, again to descend
24 A PLAGUE OF LEECHES.
from crag to crag, and finally glide away beneath
the dense vegetation of the forest. As the river at
this point is about one thousand yards in width, the
effect is singularly striking. But still more impos-
ing is the Salaphe fall, which extends over a breadth
of a mile and a half, at the very foot of the moun-
tains. In order to examine it at leisure, Lieutenant
Gamier engaged a Laotian to conduct him to an
island lying just above it. Before starting, the
guide made certain preparations, of which Gamier
could not understand the necessity, in spite of the
Laotian's efforts to explain them. Rolling up about
his waist the light langouti, he plastered his feet
and legs with a composition of lime and areca juice.
This precaution proved to be far from useless; for,
on landing on the island, they found the soil covered
with thousands of leeches, some no larger than
needles, but others two inches and a half to three
inches in length. On the approach of the strangers,
they reared themselves erect upon each dead leaf
and blade of grass; they leaped, so to speak, upon
them from every side. The thick coating which
the Laotian guide had so prudently assumed pre-
served him from their bites; but Garnier, in a few
moments, was victimized by dozens of these blood-
A VIEW OF THE CATARACT. 25
suckers, which crawled up his legs and bled him in
spite of all his efforts. He found it impossible
to get rid of his determined antagonists; for one
leech which he tore off, two fresh assailants seized
upon him. Glad was he when he caught sight of
a tall tree. He made towards it, scaled its trunk,
and, when out of reach of his foes, set to work to
deliver himself from the creatures which were feast-
ing at his expense. Throwing off his clothes, he
removed the leeches one by one, though it was
not without difficulty that he loosened their hold.
Even his waistband had not arrested their march,
for he found that one audacious persecutor had
actually reached his chest.
He felt more than repaid, however, for all his
sufferings, when he arrived within sight of the
cataract. With a breadth of two thousand yards,
a prodigious mass of water came down in blinding
foam, roaring like a furious sea when it breaks
against an iron-bound coast. At another point, the
flood was divided into eight or ten different cascades
by as many projecting crags, richly clothed in leaf-
age and vegetation. Beyond, nothing could be seen
but one immense rapid, a roaring, tumultuous
deluge ! The sandstone blocks and boulders which
26 VISIT TO BASSAC.
encumbered the river-bed were completely hidden
by the whirl and eddy of the waves; and their
position could be detected only by the foam on the
surface, or the vapour floating wreath -like in the
air. Further still, a few black points, a few ridges
of rock, and a chain of small islets, stretched across
to the opposite bank, which it was impossible to
approach, and where, apparently, the cataract seemed
to attain its greatest fury. Such was the great fall
of Salaphe, a scene of sublime grandeur, convey-
ing the idea of everlasting strength and power.
While preparing to continue their ascent of the
river, Lieutenant Gamier and his companions
visited Bassac, one of the most important towns in
Laos. It is situated in the heart of the richest
tropical scenery; and the members of the expedition
found it impossible to ramble in any direction with-
out coming upon some fresh and beautiful land-
scape, or some object of the highest interest. The
mountains which surround Bassac are clothed to
their very summits with vegetation; and down the
shadowy glens which furrow their rugged sides
sparkle bright, pure streams on their way to the
all-absorbing Mekong. The people of Bassac are
IN PURSUIT OF GAME. 27
a mild and peaceable race, and they received the
strangers with cordial hospitality. The time was
spent most agreeably in paying and receiving visits ;
in excursions among the beautiful scenery of the
neighbourhood, the choicest "bits" of which they
transferred to their sketch-books; in studying the
manners and customs of the inhabitants; and in
essaying their skill as marksmen against the wild
denizens of the forest.
The larger game are generally caught by the
hunters of Bassac in nets or snares. The chase on
a grand scale is almost unknown. In the forests,
however, the hunters sometimes call in the elephant
to thqir assistance; they are thus able to get close
to the wished-for prey, as the latter do not take
alarm at the approach of an animal so well known.
Lieutenant Gamier tells us that he enjoyed his
sport in a modest fashion. Sometimes he spent
whole days in traversing the dried-up swamps, in the
shade of dense masses of trees bound together inex-
tricably by every kind of liana and parasite. To
such places resort numerous companies of peacocks
and wild fowl during the hot season; but their
pursuit is always difficult, and frequently dangerous.
Indeed, the Laotians cherish a belief that the tiger
28 A MOUNTAIN EXCURSION.
and the peacock are always found in the same
localities.
One evening, seated at the foot of a tamarisk-tree,
the fruit of which a troop of squirrels was busily
crunching among the branches overhead, Gamier and
his comrade, Dr. Thorel, took counsel together; with
the conclusion that, on the day following, they
would undertake a mountain excursion, and boldly
attempt to scale one of the most elevated peaks.
Accordingly, at dawn they started, attended by their
usual escort a native, christened Luiz.
With swift feet they crossed the rice-plantations
and marshes that separated them from the foot of
the mountains ; and by a narrow winding track
reached the bed of a dried-up torrent, where they
halted for a brief rest. Thence, plunging into the
forest, they slowly climbed the precipitous heights,
occasionally confronted by a rugged steep, or an
immense mass of rock that seemed likely to baffle
all their aspirations, but was eventually conquered
by combined skill and resolution. The forest soon
changed its character ; the rarefaction of the air forced
itself upon their notice; the daring adventurers rose
above the clouds and vapours of the plain. On
DETAILS OF THE ASCENT. 31
arriving at a narrow ledge of table-land they halted
for breakfast. The first requisite was fresh water ;
rare enough at that season of the year, and at such
a height ! Close beside them, however, was the
channel of a spent burn ; and a careful search
among the rocks revealed to them a pool, sheltered
from wind and sun, brimming with crystal water,
and tenanted, moreover, by some mountain-eels,
small but delicious. The pool being very shallow,
a supply of the eels was soon obtained.
It did not take long to kindle a fire. The eels
were dexterously grilled ; and a savoury and sub-
stantial repast concluded with a dessert of wild
bananas. Kefreshed and invigorated, the mountain-
climbers resumed their enterprise ; and along a
narrow crest, so narrow that two persons could not
walk abreast, made their way through a labyrinth
of vegetation. With watchful eye, and hand on
trigger, they advanced. Suddenly a strayed pea-
cock flew in front of them ; but as their position
was unfavourable for taking aim, they allowed it to
pass by. They reached at last a kind of natural
staircase, the ascent of which was rendered incon-
venient by the showers of pebbles, loosened by their
feet, which rolled to right and left over the preci-
32 A SPLENDID PANORAMA.
pice. All at once further progress apparently was
rendered impossible by a mass of withered brush-
wood ; which, on examination, proved to be the den,
happily deserted, of a wild boar.
Beyond this point the crest or ridge grew sharper
and sharper ; the shattered and accumulated rocks
were held together only by the lianas which close-
clasped them; and the adventurers were forced to
crawl on their hands and knees, holding on by
plant or crag. At length the brave effort was
crowned with success. They gained the mountain-
top, and enjoyed a panorama of wonderful beauty,
in which peaks and forests blended their various
hues, and wide green plains expanded in the golden
sunshine, and the pagodas of Bassac rose like island-
pinnacles out of a sea of verdure. The glorious
picture, in all its variety of form and glow of
colouring, was one on which the eye of man had
never before rested ; it was a picture of abounding
fertility as well as of beauty and grandeur, and
suggested the idea of almost inexhaustible resources,
which in some future time may be developed by
the enterprise and civilization of the West.
In the course of their descent the explorers
gained a broken ridge of rock, overshadowed by the
MOUNTAIN-PEAK NEAR BASSAO.
RETURN TO BASSAC. 35
branches of a stately tree, the roots of which clung
round the weather-worn stones, and seemed to hold
them together. At their approach, a swarm we
might almost say a cloud of green pigeons whirled
and fluttered out of the depths of the green foliage ;
returning to their resting-places after a few aerial
evolutions. The ground beneath was strewn with
small fruit, to which the pigeons are extremely
partial ; and showers continually fell about the ex-
plorers' heads, loosened by the movement of the rest-
less birds. With a little patience, they brought down
half a dozen of the feathered spoilers ; and then,
through the forest shadows and down the mountain-
declivities, they pursued their homeward march.
The following evening, Gamier and Dr. Thorel
were invited to join a young Laotian in his walk.
The latter led them across a pleasant breadth of
garden-ground to an open space, strewn here and
there with ashes and the refuse of wood-fires. Be-
hind a clump of tall bamboos, some fifty spectators,
seated in an oval ring, surrounded a couple of
wrestlers, and displayed a lively interest in the
various phases of their strife. At a few paces dis-
tant, three 'men were engaged in rekindling a fire
36 LAOTIAN ATHLETES.
which had died out for lack 'of fuel. Some bonzes,
or priests, clothed in full long robes of yellow stuff,
were viewing the spectacle from afar, or wending
their way towards the neighbouring pagoda. Two
or three women crouched on the ground, amidst
baskets of fruit and large earthen vessels full of
rice-wine, intended as refreshment for the spectators
or the heated athletes.
Among the bystanders was conspicuous a Lao-
tian, attired in a langouti, and silken vest of daz-
zling colours, and sheltered by a parasol held over
his head by a boy standing in the rear, who
warmly encouraged one of the combatants, while a
portion of the assembly evidently backed his an-
tagonist. The struggle was protracted. Betting
took place vigorously, and considerable sums were
wagered on both sides. The white men seated
themselves apart, in order to study in all its details
a scene so full of animation. It was impossible not
to admire the suppleness of the two athletes, robust
young men, trained to the combat from their very
infancy ; impossible not to take an interest in the
skill and agility with which they eluded or en-
deavoured to surprise one another. Sometimes
they paused, face to face, and regarded each other
A STRANGE FUNERAL CEREMONY. 39
with fixed gaze, slightly curving their loins or shoul-
ders ; a moment, and they leaped from end to end
of the arena, assuming theatrical attitudes and,
when occasion offered, dealing a vigorous blow of
the fist which reddened the sun-bronzed skin.
Their Laotian friend informed our travellers that
they were witnessing nothing less than a funeral
ceremony ! In Laos, cremation is the universal
custom ; and the mortuary rites of a Laotian of
rank generally terminate with a gladiatorial combat,
at the conclusion and on the very site of the process
of cremation.
The national rule is, that the corpse of a Laotian
mandarin shall be preserved for several days in its
shroud within the proper mortuary -hut. Friends
and kinsmen assemble therein, and console them-
selves as best they may with abundant eating and
drinking; a custom which prevails elsewhere than in
Laos ! It does not appear that the Laotians regard
death with any particular apprehension. Their
special anxiety is to prevent the evil spirits from
obtaining possession of the souls of the dead, and
playing them malignant tricks. During the day
these spirits will not attempt anything ; but at
night they gain courage, and to shelter the deceased
40 THE FUNERAL PROCESSION.
from their manoeuvres seems to be no easy task.
However, by means of numerous prayers, and more
particularly by keeping up a tremendous clamour,
it is generally possible, the Laotians believe, to avert
their disastrous influence.
For this purpose all the bonzes of the neighbour-
hood are summoned ; and taking up positions around
the bier, they chant aloud their invocations. By
day, and especially by night, the family assist them
in keeping watch. The women decorate the coffin
with floral offerings, as well as with ornaments of
wax intended to facilitate combustion. The men,
armed with gongs, tomtoms, and any other instru-
ment they can seize upon, accompany, as noisily as
possible, the chants of the bonzes. " Harmony " is
not the object aimed at ; but to secure the maximum
of noise.
When the day appointed for the final ceremony
arrives, the uproar is redoubled at early morn, as a
signal to the friends and relatives of the departed,
who make their appearance in full costume.
A procession is then arranged for the purpose of
carrying the corpse to the place of burning. The
bonzes lead the way, the seniors coming last. Then
follows the coffin, supported on the shoulders of a
THE FUNERAL PYRE. 41
dozen young men, and surmounted by a kind of
bamboo canopy, embellished with flowers and foli-
age, and destined, like the coffin, to be consumed on
the funeral pyre. The men march next, with the
wealthiest and most influential of the kinsmen of
the deceased at their head. The rear is brought up
by the women and children, carrying long bamboos
ornamented with banderoles of various colours, which
are planted in the ground during the process of
cremation.
The pile is reared at one extremity of the burial-
ground, where bamboo poles and the trunks of aged
palms have been linked together with long lianas to
form a kind of aerial barrier against the invasion of
the evil spirits. It is composed of pieces of wood
of equal length, carefully arranged in intercrossed
layers, and it rises to the height of a man's shoulders,
so that the bearers, passing half to one side and half
to the other, can deposit the coffin without effort.
The men gather round in a circle; the women stand
a little in the rear. The bonzes recite their prayers,
and receive once more the offerings which the rela-
tives of the deceased never fail to bring for them
and their pagoda ; after which the chief priest
mounts the pile, and standing erect, with hands
42 PROCESS OF CREMATION.
extended over the coffin, pronounces with a loud
voice a concluding prayer.
As soon as he has descended, the attendants set
fire to the resinous materials placed under the pile.
A dazzling jet of flame shoots aloft, and soon en-
velopes the coffin. The ornaments are consumed in
quick succession ; the pile breaks down in a mass
of flame and smoke ; and into the midst falls the
corpse, released from the charred and burning coffin.
Yet, painful as this spectacle seems, no native ex-
hibits the slightest emotion. The work of com-
bustion is allowed to complete itself, and no one
touches the ashes of humanity throughout the day.
The women depart, while the men follow the presi-
dent of the ceremonies to be present at the gla-
diatorial show in honour of the deceased which we
have already described.
The voyagers next made their way to Oubon,
where they arrived in time to witness the corona-
tion of the king. The chief of every village, and
the leading men of every province, and indeed all
the inhabitants, had been invited to " assist" in
the ceremony. On the morning of the appointed
day, the strangers were deafened by an uproar of
CORONATION OF THE KING. 43
drums and gongs and other unmusical instruments.
The noisy orchestra surrounded the palace ; while
tlie royal procession wound through the streets of
Oubon, and defiled into its square or market-place.
Mounted upon an elephant of great size, which was
armed with a pair of formidable tusks, the king
made his appearance, encircled by guards on foot
and on horseback, and attended by his great digni-
taries mounted like himself. A train of smaller ele-
phants followed, carrying the court ladies. The
cortege finally directed its course to some spacious
pavilions erected for the purpose, where the bonzes
of the royal pagoda were offering up their prayers.
A few minutes passed, and another tableau was
presented. The king was seen enthroned in the
largest pavilion. He arose, and, escorted by his
principal officers, advanced into the middle of a wide
platform, where the bonzes, still uttering their
prayers, gathered about him. He threw off his
clothes, replacing them by a mantle of white cloth.
Then the bonzes drew apart, so as to open up a
passage for him ; and he proceeded to place him-
self, with his body bent into a curve, immediately
underneath the sacred dragon. Prayers were re-
commenced, and the king received the anointing or
44 THE VOYAGE RESUMED.
consecrating douche; while a dignitary who stood at
one corner of the dais set free a couple of turtle-
doves, as a sign that all creation, down even to the
animals, should be happy on so auspicious a day.
When the water which was contained in the
dragon's body had completely douched the royal
person, new garments were brought, over which was
thrown a large white robe ; and he returned to his
place in the centre of the hall. A grand banquet of
rice, and cucumbers, and eggs, and pork, and deli-
cious bananas, washed down by copious draughts of
rice-wine, concluded the day's proceedings ; and in
the evening the town was lighted up with fireworks,
while bands of singers and musicians traversed the
streets.
Lieutenant Gamier, after a brief rest, resumed his
exploration of the Mekong, passing through scenery
which previously no European had visited. At
night he and his companions halted at the most
convenient spot, lighted a fire, cooked their meal of
rice, and took their rest under the curtain of a
starry sky, or beneath such shelter as they could
hastily run up. Fatigue assisted them to a speedy
slumber ; yet their repose was often disturbed by
MOUNTAINS OF LAKON. 47
the cries of the wild elephants which, in large num-
bers, roamed among the hills on the other side of the
river, or by the roar of some tiger prowling along
the bank. During the day their attention was
sometimes diverted from the contemplation of the
strange and picturesque scenery which surrounded
them, by the necessity of piloting their boat through
the rapids and whirlpools that obstruct the naviga-
tion of the river.
In this way they proceeded to Kemarat and Pen-
nom ; and, across an immense plain, remarkable for
its fertility, followed the course of the river, which
runs due north and south, broadening into a lake
of such dimensions that its boundaries cannot be
detected by the naked eye. One morning, as the
mists cleared off, they were surprised at the appear-
ance, on the northern horizon, of dim azure forms,
resembling the deception of the mirage, or clouds of
fantastic outline, or rather a mass of medieval ruins,
with lofty towers and pinnacles, and shattered ram-
parts. The natives informed them that these were
the mountains of Lakon, at the foot of which they
would arrive on the following day. They found it
difficult to believe in the existence of such moun-
tains, the configuration of which grew stranger and
48 ARRIVAL AT LAKON.
more fantastic as they drew nearer to them ; some-
times exhibiting sheer precipitous declivities, some-
times overhanging masses, while sometimes each
summit appeared cloven into deep and shadowy
chasms. These enormous rocks of marble of dif-
ferent tints have been heaped up in awful confu-
sion by some convulsion of the terrestrial crust ;
and forced, by an inconceivable subterranean effort,
through the sandstone formation which underlies
the superficial strata of the country.
Round the projecting angle of the mountain-mass
the river lightly sweeps ; and then its broad waters
reflect the huts and pagodas of the important town
of Lakon. The bank was lined with the barks of
traders and fishers ; ample nets, suspended to rows
of bamboos, dried in the open air. Sheds erected
for the convenience of voyagers, piles of wood and
merchandise, and loaded rafts, gave an air of anima-
tion and activity to the approaches to the town.
Our voyagers, well pleased to regain the society of
their kind, made haste to unload their boats, while
native porters carried their luggage to the house set
apart for their accommodation : it stood on the mar-
gin of the river, overshadowed by the branches of a
huge mango-tree. Here, as soon as the work was
A GLANCE AT THE TOWN. 49
done, they stretched themselves on the floor, post-
poning until the morrow their exploration of the
town.
At daybreak they were aroused by the noisy
gong of a neighbouring pagoda. Already the river-
bank and the town showed signs of life and move-
ment. Curious faces were gathered round the
strangers' hut. A large bag of rice, fruit, fish, and
some buffalo-steaks dried in the sun, arrived, sent
by the mandarin provisionally intrusted with the
charge of supplying their wants. The fresh genial
morning tempted them forth, and they went from
end to end of the town, which seemed both wealthy
and populous. The pagodas were numerous, the
huts well-constructed, the gardens green and admir-
ably kept. The inhabitants appeared free and happy.
Behind the town, in an open space on the border of
the rice-fields, some bands of travellers lay encamped
under roofs of interwoven foliage. The principal
street, which ran along the river-bank, was shaded
everywhere by the trees and creepers of the gay
gardens that skirted its entire course. It made a
pleasant promenade, as through each opening in the
rich glossy foliage could be seen the white sands of
the shore, the calm crystal river, the forest thickly
(602) 4
50 AN ANNAMITE SETTLEMENT.
crowding the opposite bank, and, beyond, the long
line of the marble mountains.
After this excursion, our voyagers returned to
their hut, which they found an object of attraction
to all the curiosity-mongers of Lakon. The most
distinguished ladies of the town had assembled to
see the strangers, and oifer in exchange for Euro-
pean ornaments their richest fruits and freshest
vegetables. If Gamier and his companions were
surprised at their appearance, they were still more
surprised to find in the crowd a group of twenty
Annamites, who had emigrated from the French
colony of Cochin-China, and had been established
at Lakon for some years. As Garnier's escort was
also composed of Annamites, the scene between the
compatriots thus singularly brought together was
one of unbounded ecstasy. Gamier went on a visit
to the little Annamite settlement, which repeated in
every detail the villages of Cochin-China. In each
hut was to be seen the tiny domestic altar, with its
lights, and incense, and small statue of Buddha, and
broad bands of red paper, inscribed with Chinese
characters and symbolical designs. There, too, were
the large central table, a mother-of-pearl plateau, a
complete "tea-equipage" (to use the late Lord Lyt-
ANNAMITES AT LAKON.
THE MARBLE MOUNTAINS. 53
ton's phrase), and a bed surrounded by mosquito-
curtains. And no less conspicuous was that want of
cleanliness, both in dwelling and person, which char-
acterize the natives of Cochin-China.
We cannot describe all the objects of interest at
Lakon, or all the excursions which Gamier made in
its neighbourhood. The geologist and botanist of
the expedition adventured a visit to the Marble
Mountains. With a guide and a couple of elephants,
they crossed the river, plunged into the forest-depths,
and found their way to the quarries, where blocks
of marble are excavated for the purpose of being
made into lime of a dazzling whiteness. Then they
penetrated into the grottoes and caverns with which
the mountains abound. As they advanced, the
scenery became more and more picturesque, and
more and more savage : high rugged peaks rose
above the forest trees ; bushes and lianas and para-
sitical plants decked with festoons every rocky pro-
jection ; here yawned a gloomy chasm, there towered
aloft a mighty and awful precipice. But the scene
of scenes burst upon them after they had threaded
a gloomy maze of trees and intertangled bamboos.
Two immense walls of sombre rock, several hundred
yards in height, enclosed a broad ravine, which, at
54 THE MARBLE MOUNTAINS.
the further extremity, opened on a bare and- shin-
ing plain. On the left, the wall extended to a great
distance, forming a long line, decreasing in elevation
through the natural effect of the perspective. That
on the right towered above a pile of enormous rocks,
heaped together in the wildest confusion ; it seemed
to turn like the enceinte of a strong fortification,
and was terminated abruptly by a vertical line,
broken by numerous gaps. Between these lofty
barriers lay a barren plain ; afar, some miniature
pools glittered with a magical effect in the " pale
moonlight." The prospect was closed in the dis-
tance by the steep declivities of lofty mountains,
surrounding and shutting up, as it were, this gigantic
" cirque " or amphitheatre. About three hundred
yards from the entrance rose two vertical rocks, like
a couple of slender spires, or rather like two enor-
mous tapers rose to a prodigious height, isolated,
and emerging from a clump of luxuriant verdure
which flourished at their feet. One of these rocks
was fully nine hundred feet in elevation. The other
was not so lofty, and seemed to have partially fallen,
the ground being everywhere strewn with its wreck.
From this remarkable spectacle the French savoiif*
proceeded to inspect a superb grotto excavated in the
NATURAL PILLAR IN THE MOUNTAINS OF LAKON.
PALM- WINE. 57
great wall of cliff, near the two pillar-like masses.
By climbing some rocks they obtained an entry into
it, and found it to form a spacious hall, varying
from forty to eighty feet in height, of great depth,
with a rounded, vaulted roof. The ground was
thick with stalagmites ; while stalactites of the most
various shapes depended from the vault, and glit-
tered, like so many mirrors, in the light of torches.
A day or two afterwards, Gamier and his friends,
in returning from a walk in the environs of Lakon,
encountered some Laotians carrying vessels of bam-
boo, filled with a liquid which at first they supposed
to be water. On tasting it, however, they dis-
covered that it was the wine of the country ; sweet-
flavoured, and by no means disagreeable to the
palate ; not unlike, indeed, the product of some of
the Rhenish vineyards. It was palm-wine, freshly
made ; and to enjoy its bouquet and full flavour it
should be drunk in this condition, for it will not
keep more than four-and-twenty hours without fer-
mentation. The Laotians offered to conduct the
strangers to a neighbouring plantation, where they
might observe the different processes of its manu-
facture. The offer was accepted, and the party soon
58 HOW THE WINE IS COLLECTED.
arrived at a clearing which was thickly planted
with great borassus palms. To collect the wine,
which is, in fact, the sap of the tree, nothing more
is necessary than to make an incision in the middle
of the head of the tree, at the point where the leaves
branch off, and suspend beneath a bamboo, into which
the sap falls, drop by drop. In order to reach the
summit of these huge palms, which are straight and
smooth as the main-mast of a ship, the Laotians have
invented a simple and ingenious process. They
transform the palm into a veritable ladder, by attach-
ing to the trunk, with small strips of flexible ratau,
projecting laths of bamboo, which, jutting out to
right and left at intervals of twelve to fourteen
inches, form so many " rungs," and enable the ascent
of the tree to be rapidly and easily accomplished.
But we must no longer tarry at Lakon. We
must once more launch the boats of our adventurous
voyagers, and continue our exploration of the great
river. It waters a populous country, and large
towns are of frequent occurrence on its banks. We
pass Houten, with its pagodas, its mountains, and
green \\mxls; S.miabury, with its rude pottery-
manufacture; verdurous islands and shining sand-
TAPPING THE BORASSUS PALM.
A RUINED CITY. Gl
banks; and the mouths of the many streams which
help to swell the abundant volume of the Mekong.
From Saniabury the French expedition proceeded to
Bouncang, a large and beautiful village at the mouth
of the Nam San; thence to Nong Kay, where a
Buddhist tat or pyramidal landmark, erected to indi-
cate a sacred spot, or to enshrine a relic, has been
washed away from the shore, and now lies half sub-
merged, like a wrecked ship; and thence to Vien
Chan, where the river widens into a channel of a
thousand yards in width, before it enters the moun-
tain region. Vien Chan, now a heap of ruins, was
the former metropolis of the kingdom of Laos ;
and relics of antiquity spread over a considerable
area testify to its ancient prosperity and splendour.
The remains of the royal palace are interesting. It
does not seem to have been built of very durable
materials, the walls and staircases being faced with,
and the pavement and flooring composed of, bricks,
wood, or a kind of cement; but the entire struc-
ture still exhibits a certain elegance of character,
and a remarkable wealth of decoration the columns
of wood have been tastefully carved and profusely
gilded; and the whole is embellished with mould-
ings, and arabesques, and fantastic animal- figures.
C2 THE BUDDHIST TEMPLES.
The absolute silence reigning within the precincts
of a city formerly so rich and populous, was, how-
ever, much more impressive than any of its monu-
ments ; more impressive even than the deserted
topes or Buddhist temples which raised their domes
in the shadow of the surrounding forest.
These, abandoned by their priests, and con-
structed of the same materials as the palace, are
rapidly decaying. The rapid vegetation of the
tropics, which softens happily the pitiful aspect of
Desolation with its flowers and verdure, lends to these
ruined sanctuaries, at a distance, a delusive air of
age; tall grasses grow everywhere about the sacred
precincts, creepers and parasites twine round each
column, and vigorous trees force their crests through
the shattered roofs in search of light.
The most considerable temple is Wat Pha Keo,
the royal pagoda. Its timber facade, delicately
wrought, and sparkling with those plates of glass
which the Laotians and the Siamese cunningly
mingle witli their gilding in order to produce a
greater effect of brilliancy, shines forth in the midst
of the forest, gracefully framed with blooming lianas,
and profusely garlanded with foliage. Gold has
been unsparingly lavished on the sides of the square
WAT SISAKET. 65
columns which supported the half-shattered roof;
and a Byzantine style of decoration, very remark-
able in effect, has at one time covered every inch of
space. Though this mode of ornamentation is by
no means lasting, it is very charming; and the
numerous pagodas in Vien Chan thus embellished
produced, at a distance, a wonderful impression of
dazzling magnificence.
To the north, in the midst of the forest, is situ-
ated a smaller pagoda, which has undergone but
little dilapidation, that of Wat Sisaket. In its
interior a number of small statues of Buddha are
enshrined in gilded niches, which cover the wall
from floor to ceiling, rivalling the terraces of Boro
Bodor, the celebrated Buddhist monument of Java.
Before the altar was elevated a candelabrum, remark-
able for its originality of design and exquisite finish
of workmanship. A few paces distant from the
pagoda was situated the library, an indispensable
appendage of all the temples of Laos ; it was partly
destroyed. As no native was near, the French
explorers clambered up the worm-eaten pillars which
supported and isolated from the soil the flooring of
this literary tabernacle: in the interior some sacred
books were scattered about; they were composed of
(602) 5
66 A BUDDHIST MONASTERY.
long narrow strips cut from the leaves of a particular
species of palm, gilded on the edges, and stitched
together in books. Each contained seven or eight
lines of that rounded writing peculiar to the peoples
of the Indo-Chinese peninsula ; which differs, as is
recognized at the first glance, from the writing of
India properly so-called, though derived from it.
Finally, attached directly to the pagoda, the
travellers found a rectangular gallery, opening
internally on a court, its walls covered, like those
of the temple itself, with small niches containing
Buddha statues. This was the vihara (chon-Jchon
in Laotian), or monastery, which served as the resi-
dence of the priests ministering in Wat Sisaket.
Some miles above Vien Chan, the Mekong enters
a narrow valley, which is sharply defined and en-
closed by two ranges of high hills. Its waters, hitherto
majestic and tranquil, which had peacefully unfolded
silver coil after coil over the vast plateau of central
Laos, now accelerated their course, and tumbled and
eddied among the rocks, ever restless and ever noisy.
The noble river, which had previously measured its
breadth by thousands of yards, now shut up within
two barriers of constantly-increasing elevation, was
MONASTERY OF WAT SISAKET.
A DANGEROUS PASS. 69
now contained in a channel which rarely attained
to five or six hundred yards in width, and from
which it was no more to escape. In dry seasons it
occupied only a small portion of this space, and it
had presented a rugged and broken surface of rock ;
a grand mosaic, where fragments mingled of all
the metamorphic formations, marbles, schists, ser-
pentines, even jades, curiously coloured, and some-
times admirably polished.
As the travellers advanced the river grew nar-
rower, and, with a width of three hundred yards
and a depth of twenty-five fathoms, flowed through
a wild and wooded valley, uninhabited except by
the animals of the forest. They passed the mouth
of the Nam Thon; after which they came upon a
dangerous series of rapids, where the foaming waters,
hurled and driven from side to side, and swung
round projecting rocks, and driven against the foot of
precipitous banks, rushed downwards tumultuously,
with all the clang and clash of billows breaking
against a reef. To thread this water-labyrinth, it
was necessary to obtain the assistance of a pilot
from a neighbouring village; and even he was un-
willing to promise that the boats of the expedition,
light and small as they were, could be carried up to
70 AT MUONG MAI.
the next Muong, that of Xieng Gang. The boats,
however, were unloaded, and the stores transferred
to the shoulders of sturdy natives, who bore them
along the rocks; while others towed the boats with
many a lusty pull through the whirl and foam of
the rapids. But so laborious and so difficult was
the task, that two whole days were spent in effecting
the passage of a few miles.
At length they reached Xieug Gang, or, as it is
also called, Muong Mai, the "new Muong," which
is one of the most important centres of population
on the left bank of the Mekong. The river here
broadens considerably, and its waters are as peaceful
as those of a woodland pool. Opposite to the town
rises a beautiful chain of green mountains, in a series
of gently-sloping terraces; and these are intersected
by delightful Eden-valleys, finely wooded, enamelled
with flowers, and brightened by the silver thread of
a little brook. The village, or town, is well built;
the houses are very lofty; and the inhabitants are
employed, according to the season, in the manufac-
ture of cotton and the cultivation of rice. The
principal pagoda, situated on the threshold of the
rice-fields, near a grove of graceful corypha palms,
is richly ornamented in the interior, and, among
A CENTRE OF TRADE. 73
other curiosities, contains an ancient carved porte-
cierges of wood. At the time of Garnier's visit,
some Birman traders had displayed the contents of
their packs on the steps of the temple, and were
selling to the natives their bright-coloured cotton
stuffs and English hardware. A road having been
made westward from Houten, Huong Mai is only a
hundred leagues from Moulmein, which lies in nearly
the same latitude, and is, as the reader knows, an
English colony, and a busy commercial port, at the
mouth of the Saluen. From this point spread
over the interior of Laos the Peguans, or Birmans
of the British possessions, whose knowledge of the
wares most readily purchased by European mer-
chants, and the high price at which they sell to the
natives their English goods, enable them to accumu-
late considerable wealth.
Resuming their northward route, and bent upon
tracing the river up to its mountain-source, they
passed through a fertile and picturesque country,
which has been made known to the Western nations
by the enterprise of the traveller Mouhot. Leaving
behind them the mouth of the Nam Lim, and
diverging somewhat to the west, then again to the
74 ARRIVAL AT PAK LAY.
north, the voyagers arrived in the neighbourhood of
Pak Lay, where they fell in with a M. Duyshart,
a Hollander in the service of the king of Siam,
and employed by him in a series of geographical
researches, who was descending the river to Bangkok.
They exchanged scientific notes, and it appeared
that Duyshart had surveyed the course of the Cam-
bodia or Mekong for one hundred and twenty miles
above Luang Prabang.
A few hours after this interesting rencontre, the
French expedition crossed the boundary-line of the
kingdom of Luang Prabang, and reached the extremity
of the great rapid of Keng Sao. Successfully steer-
ing their course through its rocks and islets, they
arrived at Pak Lay, a romantically-situated village,
buried in the deep shadows of the primeval forest.
To the north of the village, and almost hidden by
the trees, is situated a small pagoda, entirely deficient
in the accessory buildings which usually surround
a temple at Laos, but better placed for the purpose
of assisting the self-absorption of its priests and
votaries.
As the voyagers proceeded up the river, they
now began to notice a gradual change in the char-
RICE-FIELD AND PAGODA AT MUONG MAI.
FISHING-STATIONS. 77
acter alike of the inhabitants and the vegetation.
The calcareous mountains which dominated over the
river-valley assumed the most irregular and fan-
tastic forms, and forced it into a constant succession
of broken curves and sharp angular turns. At
times a mass of marble suddenly projected its high
precipitous cliffs, which the river bathed with waters
sometimes foaming, sometimes tranquil.
The Mekong was not at its full height at the
time our voyagers ascended it: a great part of its
bed lay bare; and a person, on landing, before he
could reach the bank had to traverse wide spans
rugged with rocks. Here and there spread immense
sandbanks, on which were erected large fishing-
stations veritable towns of bamboo already aban-
doned by the fishermen in anticipation of the quick-
coming rise of the waters.
For three days the expedition continued its course.
Not a single hut was visible anywhere. The only
incidents of their voyage were the rapids, which
occurred at intervals of three or four miles. These,
for the most part, were formed by the shingle and
rocks accumulated at their mouth by the numerous
streamlets which the river here receives. By dint
of vigorous exertions, the native boatmen " poled "
78 MODERN CAPITAL OF LAOS.
their light barks through each swift current. At
times the scene was illuminated by the arrowy
flashes of a storm-swept sky; and peals of thunder,
resounding among the mountains in multitudinous
reverberations, mingled with the roar of the waters.
Hail frequently fell in heavy showers during these
gales, which lasted usually about half an hour, and
abruptly lowered the temperature four or five
degrees.
The river's course was remarkably direct, and lay
almost due north. At certain points it completely
filled its bed ; its breadth was then reduced to about
one hundred and fifty yards ; and the hills which
bordered it were of so regular an appearance that
the stream assumed all the features of an artificial
canal. A series of miniature cascades flashed their
silver spray in all directions, as they descended the
verdurous slopes.
Luang Prabang, at which our voyagers in due
course arrived, is the modern capital of Laos. It is
picturesque and pleasant to the view, and enjoys the
advantage of a favourable situation. Its houses are
very numerous, and are arranged in parallel lines
around a small central hillock, which, like a dome
A PICTURESQUE SCENE. 81
of verdure, rises above the mass of gray thatched
roofs. On the summit a tat or dagoba elevates its
sharp arrowy pinnacle above a belt of trees, so as to
form a landmark for all the surrounding country.
Upon the terraced declivities of this quasi-sacred
eminence are situated several pagodas, the red roofs
of which are vividly denned against the sombre
green vegetation. At the foot of the cliffs, which
are about fifty feet high, stretches a row of perma-
nent rafts, on which numerous huts are erected, com-
posing beneath the town a kind of second town or
river-suburb, connected with the capital itself by
zigzag paths, shining like white ribbons in the dis-
tance. Hundreds of boats of all sizes move rapidly
along this floating city ; while large and heavy rafts,
coming down from the upper waters of the river,
seek a convenient nook for mooring and unloading
their cargoes. At the foot of the cliffs a crowd of
boatmen and porters hurry to and fro; and the hum
of voices mingles confusedly with the murmur of
the stream, and the whisper of the palm-trees which
wave their feathery crests upon its smiling and fer-
tile banks.
After a brief sojourn at this interesting and lively
city, the French voyagers, animated by their desire
(602)
82 UP THE RIVER.
to open up a new channel of commercial enterprise,
and discover a practicable route from Cambodia to
China, resumed their ascent of the Mekong. They
found that, above Luang Prabang, it narrowed con-
siderably, and resumed its wild and romantic aspect.
The mountains on either hand exhibited a succession
of bold, dark, cloven crests ; their lowest terraces,
impending over the river-banks, being frequently
ornamented by a pyramid, the tomb of a pious bonze
or the shrine of an imaginary relic, the slender form
of which harmonized well with the character of the
landscape.
Passing the confluence of the Nam Hou, they
came upon the cavern of Pak Hou, which the Bud-
dhist priests have covered with religious decoration,
and adorned with the gifts of munificent pilgrims.
Thence they proceeded to Ban Tanoun ; and from
Ban Tanoun to Xieng Khong, the second in im-
portance of the towns of the great province of
Muong Nan. There they experienced some difficulty
in obtaining permission to enter the Burmese terri-
tory ; and, moreover, they found that they had
nearly reached the limit of the navigable portion of
the river. Few are the obstacles, however, which
cannot be conquered by resolution and energy; and
m
AT HUONG LTM. 85
on the 1 4th of June the expedition left Xieng Khong
in six light boats, drawing but little water, and
continued the ascent of the river, which here bends
to the westward, and flows across an apparently
boundless plain. It is crossed near the town or
village by a graceful but slender bridge of bamboo,
from which may be obtained a charming view of its
graceful sweep through a luxuriance of tropical vege-
tation.
At Huong Lim the expedition were compelled to
abandon their boats. Its members found themselves
there in the midst of a population differing in race
from any they had previously met with. They
seem, these Mou-tsen, to be of Caucasian origin.
Their costume is very complicated, and even taste-
ful ; and the tinsel and embroidery with which they
cover their persons gives them a certain resemblance
to the inhabitants of some parts of Brittany. The
head-gear of the women has, at all events, the merit
of originality. It consists of a series of rings of
bamboo, covered with plaited straw, and fastened on
the top of the head. The brim of this kind of hat
is enriched over the forehead with silver balls ; above
are two rows of pearl-white glass beads ; on the left
86 A CAUCASIAN PEOPLE.
side depends a tuft of white and red cotton thread,
from which issues a loop formed of strings of many-
coloured pearls. This coiffure, which is capable of
infinite modifications, is completed with aii abun-
dance of leaves and flowers. The women also wear
a tight-fitting bodice, the sleeves and edges of which
are trimmed with pearls, and a short petticoat
reaching to the knee. The legs are wrapped round
with leggings, which begin at the ankle, and cover
the whole of the calf. These leggings, too, are
ornamented with a row of pearls about half-way
up. The toilette is completed by ear-rings of col-
oured beads or balls of blown silver, bracelets, belts,
collars, and shoulder-belts crossed over the bosom.
As for the men, they wear the usual turban, loose
short pantaloons, and a waistcoat with silver buttons.
With both sexes a necessary addition to the attire is
a kind of cloak or mantle of leaves, in shape like a
book half-open, which is fastened to the neck, and
in rainy weather is brought up over the head like a
loose cover. The women, when carrying burdens,
add to their already complex costume a wooden
board across the shoulders, so made as to fit into the
neck ; and to this is suspended the basket contain-
ing the load. In front the board is kept in its
FOREST ROAD NEAR MUONG L I M.
PLEASANT TRAVEL. 89
place by cords, which are attached to the waist-belt
or held in the hand.
Having obtained the necessary authorization to
push their researches further, the adventurers set
out from Muong Lim on the 1st of July, with an
escort of natives carrying their instruments, provi-
sions, and stores. At Puleo, finding the demands of
the porters more than their limited funds could
afford to meet, they reduced their baggage to the
smallest possible proportions, and were thus enabled
to dispense with the services of some of their attend-
ants. They found the banks of the Cambodia fre-
quented by numerous caimans, whose eggs are col-
lected and eaten by the inhabitants. By day the
journey was rendered pleasant through the constant
succession of novel scenes. They made their way
over a hilly and richly-wooded country, occasionally
coming upon cotton plantations of exceeding rich-
ness ; at other times upon delicious rills of crystal
which spread their silver network over a fresh green
expanse of flower-enamelled sward. Then they
crossed a stretch of fertile rice-fields ; and again they
plunged into fresh glades, where a path wound in
and out of clumps of palms and tropical trees, and
90 HOT WELLS DISCOVERED.
waving ferns and rare flowering shrubs grew in
luxuriant masses. But sometimes, at night, their
experience was rather painful. They generally con-
structed a rude shelter of boughs and interwoven
leaves ; but this was often insufficient to protect
them against the heavy rains that fell during passing-
storms, and was useless, of course, as a defence
against the legions of leeches and mosquitoes which
haunted the forest-depths.
After leaving a place called Siem-lap, they arrived
on the borders of a half-dried torrent, the rocky bed
of which was strangely bare of vegetation. The
stones, among which a thin thread of water found
its way, wore a curious appearance ; they were white,
and covered with saline incrustations. The travel-
lers tasted the water ; it was warm. The three or
four sources of this singular stream rose, a short
distance off, at the foot of a wall of rocks : as they
escaped among the shingle they exhaled a cloud
of vapour, and their temperature was shown by the
thermometer to be not less than 154 F.
Through a beautiful ravine they made their way
to the picturesque village of Sop Yong. The richest
and most magnificent vegetation imaginable grew
close to the very edge of the river, and the travellers
A SIGN OF CIVILIZATION. 93
were frequently compelled to take to its waters,
swollen as they were by the constant rains, and
breast as best they could the violence of the current.
The next stage after Sop Yong was Ban Passang,
which is described as an agglomeration of villages
situated on a fertile table-land, in the heart of a
rice-growing district. It is situated in the territory
of Muong Yong, the chief town lying further to the
westward. For Muong Yong the travellers set out
on the 7th of August. They traversed a plain
abundantly watered by streams which all flow into
the Nam Yong, a branch of the great river. Over
the chief of these little tributaries, the Nam Ouang,
is thrown a wooden bridge ; and this agreeable ac-
commodation, a very great rarity in the land of the
Laotians, pleasantly surprised our gallant explorers ;
they looked upon it as the sign of a more advanced
civilization, which . before long would exhibit itself
more completely. A considerable portion of the
plain was laid out in rice-fields ; the rest was all
swamp and morass. They passed by several villages
which wore an unusual aspect of ease and comfort.
Pagodas with curved roofs attracted the eye, and
bore witness to the influence of Chinese architecture
and the vicinity of the Celestial Empire.
94 ARRIVAL AT MUONG YOU.
At Muong Yong the expedition was delayed until
the 8th of September, owing to the difficulty of
obtaining the permission of the king of Birmah to
cross those Laotian territories which are now included
within the borders of his extensive dominions. The
interval was occupied in short excursions in the
neighbourhood, and in studying the manners and
customs of the inhabitants. It was with no small
pleasure, however, that the French adventurers took
their departure, and continued their bold advance
into regions of which European geographers knew
but little. Their route led them to the important
town of Muong You, where they paid visits of
courtesy to the principal mandarins, the Burman
representative, and the king of Muong You him-
self. This prince received them with dignified hos-
pitality, and entertained them at a banquet, which
was "served up" in magnificent style, and with
a dazzling display of gold and silver plate. He is
described as a young man of twenty-six, with a
graceful figure and handsome countenance. He
was attired in a dress of green satin, embroidered
with red flowers; and the fire of the rubies which
hung pendent from his ears illuminated the silken
reflections of his rich costume. He was seated on
ENTERING CHINA. 97
cushions glittering with gold tracery. Around
him were ranged in respectful attitudes the man-
darins of the palace ; at his feet, the sword and
vessels of gold, finely wrought, which are the sym-
bol of royalty.
From Muong You the expedition struck across a
romantic country as yet provided with but few
facilities for travellers to Xieng Hong, where new
impediments were thrown in the way of their fur-
ther progress. Having obtained admission to the
presence of the king, they succeeded, however, in
obtaining the royal favour, and made their way
along the valley of the Nam Yong, which is bounded
on either hand by lofty mountains, to Muong La,
or, as it is also called, Se-mao, situated on the
frontier of China ; that mysterious land which has
preserved its own strange civilization intact for
upwards of two thousand years, and still offers a
sullen resistance to the progressive influences of the
West.
Once upon Chinese territory, they found their
march comparatively easy. Order reigned every-
where ; and in all directions could be seen the evi-
dences of a constant and energetic industry. At
Pou-eul, a village of salt-pits, with its smoke, its
(602) 7
98 CHANGE OF SCENE.
dusky houses, its hoarse sounds of active life, our
travellers felt that they were once more in the midst
of a thriving civilization, and could almost have
believed that they were located in a small industrial
town of Europe. Numerous convoys of asses, mules,
oxen, and horses ascended and descended the long
sloping street along which were erected the different
factories, carrying thither wood and charcoal and
cordage, and carrying away salt. Above the village
rose a pagoda, crowning the summit of a hill so high
that the murmur of the life below could not reach
it. Groves of pines stretched far away on either
hand; and along the declivities were ranged abun-
dant rice-fields, situated one above the other in
symmetrical terraces.
The expedition had now left the valley of the
Mekong, and were wholly uncertain whether the
route prescribed for them by the Chinese authori-
ties would bring them again in contact with the
great Cambodian river. We propose, however, to
follow M. Gamier, as his wanderings led him through
a country hitherto unknown to Europeans.
In the early part of November our adventurers
struck the right bank of the Pa-pien-kiang of the
Chinese, which is apparently identical with the
THE FORTRESS OF THE EAST. 101
Nam-La, an affluent of the Mekong. Thence they
ascended into the table-land of Yunnan, rendered
familiar to English ears in connection with the enter-
prise and murder of Mr. Margary ; and reached
Tong-kuan, or "the Fortress of the East," a
strongly-built town, with a large garrison, posted on
a commanding ridge between two river -valleys.
Afterwards they crossed another considerable stream,
the Poukou-kiang, and continued their march through
valleys and over hills where the industry of man
has softened the wilder features of the scenery,
and made the wilderness to blossom like a garden.
In a few days they made their appearance at
Yuen-kiang, where they seem to have been wel-
comed with almost royal honours. The town is
large and populous, with every indication of
commercial activity and wealth. It has several
handsome pagodas, which have something of
the Buddhist type about them. The markets are
well supplied with provisions of excellent quality
and low price. Oranges are almost "given away ;"
and potatoes are so cheap and plentiful that an Irish
peasant would think himself in an earthly paradise.
The country around the town is highly cultivated;
cotton being largely grown, and mulberry-trees for
102 DESCENDING THE HO-TI-KIANG.
the silkworm nurseries. A rich and radiant plain
is watered by the stream of the Ho-ti-kiang, which,
opposite the town, measures about one-fifth of a mile
in breadth.
At Pou-pio M. Gamier hired a light canoe, and,
in company with some trading barks, began the
descent of the Ho-ti-kiang, which for some distance
swirled in a narrow channel between mountain-
walls of two thousand five hundred to. three thou-
sand feet in height. Each torrent which rent these
rocky barriers brought down with it an immense
quantity of stones and pebbles, that encumbered
the river-bed with shoals and banks, and pent up
the waters in foaming rapids. M. Gamier was
bound for Lin-ngan, but these numerous obstacles
greatly impeded his progress. But by degrees
the river-bed broadened, the heights receded on
either hand, and the stream flowed with a full
and tranquil current through a gently undulating
country, well cultivated, and studded with populous
villages.
In due time he reached Lin-ngan, where, as the
first European who had visited it, he became an
object of special attraction. An inspection of the
town showed him that it was neatly and regularly
ARRIVAL AT LIN-NGAN. 105
built, and of rectangular form, measuring about
two thousand yards in length, by one thousand in
breadth. In the centre were gardens and pagodas
decorated with much taste ; and a large and fully-
stocked market was a scene of very picturesque
animation.
CHAPTER II.
EXPERIENCES AMONG THE CHINESE.
| HE attentions which a curious populace
lavish upon a stranger are apt to become
a trouble and a burden, as Gamier
experienced, when, after an interesting survey of
the environs of Lin-ngan, he returned to the town.
His steps were closely dogged by crowds of idlers
and sightseers. On his arrival at the pagoda where
lodging had been provided for him, behold ! the
balconies, the towers, the very roofs, were thronged
with wondering eyes.
As he entered the court, the multitude pressed in
upon him, and hemmed him up at last in a narrow
space, where they evidently designed to hold him
fast until their curiosity was satiated. Angry and
ashamed, he bore their scrutiny for an hour ; when,
his strength and patience giving way, he made
a sudden exit into his lodgings, closing the door
ATTACK BY THE CHINESE. 107
of the court behind him. It proved, however, an
insufficient barrier against the surging throng. They
broke through it in a second, and were with dif-
ficulty kept back a little by Garnier's small escort
of soldiers, who had attended him from Yuen-kiang.
The lieutenant succeeded at last in closing the door.
Then loud and long were the reproaches which the
rearmost ranks heaped on those in front for having
recoiled before a barbarian from the West !
A stone, hurled through the grating, struck Gar-
nier full in the face ; others followed, until there
seemed every likelihood of his undergoing the tor-
tures of the ancient punishment by lapidation ! Yet
he yielded not an inch, but leaning against the door,
which shook before the storm of missiles, seized
his revolver, and fired it in the air. Firearms of
such deadly powers are not known at Lin-ngan, and
the crowd, in the firm belief that by discharging his
weapon Garnier had virtually disarmed himself,
recommenced their volleys of stones. He fired
again, and again, and again ; and the people, terrified
by a weapon which apparently was inexhaustible,
fell back in a panic, and the danger proved to be
past.
Soon afterwards Garnier was joined by the rest
108 FROM YUNNAN TO MONG-KOU.
of the expedition; and setting out from inhospitable
Lin-ngan, the little company of explorers proceeded
on their way to Yunnan, the capital of a province of
the same name.
Yunnan is a town of some importance, with a
very numerous and industrious population. Every
thoroughfare presents a scene of the liveliest activity.
The town is surrounded by a high and massive wall ;
and from the south gate extends a long broad street,
lined with shops, each of which has on its front a
sign in gilded characters, while the interior is filled
with wares of extraordinary richness and variety.
Some Jesuit missionaries are stationed here.
The travellers now entered the green valley of
Kon-tchaug, through the leafy shades of which
tumbles a sparkling, noisy stream, while on either
hand rise venerable trees, with trunks bent and
contorted as if by some sudden convulsion. Thence
they ascended to Mong-kou by a difficult road, wind-
ing round the precipitous flank of a wind-swept
height, the summit of which, some twelve thousand
feet above the sea, was capped with snow. Wild and
romantic was the character of the scenery, reminding
the travellers of that of Switzerland. At intervals
the expedition met with a check to its progress
VALLEY OF KON-TCHANQ.
A WELL-CULTIVATED DISTRICT. Ill
from the jealousy of the Chinese officials, but resolu-
tion and tact overcame every obstacle. Through
the broad valley of Tong-chuen they debouched on
a small but well-cultivated plain, where the solid
embankment of the bed of a torrent formed a kind
of causeway, raised seven to ten feet above the sur-
rounding level. From the sides of this elevated
dyke issue numerous canals, which distribute the
fertilizing waters of the stream over all the thirsty
fields. Here, as in many other districts of China,
the patient industry of the labourer has transformed
a devastating force into a fountain of wealth and
fecundity. The aspect of the plain is very grateful
to the eye. Yellow clusters of the colza mingle
with the white or purple corollas of the poppies.
From the ridge which terminates it is visible a deep
cleft in the barrier of mountains that stretches far
along the horizon. This is the valley of the Blue
River, locally known as the Kin-cha-kiang, or
" River of the Golden Sand."
Our explorers came upon this river on the 31st of
January. It rolled its clear deep waters in a ravine
two thousand feet below them. Their route, however,
still lay along the mountain-sides, and they suffered
severely from the rigour of the cold and the heavy
112 LAKE OF TALY.
storms of snow which beat continually upon their
devoted heads. On the 3rd of February they
crossed the most elevated point they had reached in
all their wanderings, the barometer indicating an
elevation of nearly ten thousand feet. Then they
began to descend, each stage opening up to their
enraptured gaze a succession of glorious mountain-
views, relieved by occasional glimpses of finely wooded
valleys, and of bright streams that leaped and bounded
in their haste to join the great river of the plains.
As they descended the temperature necessarily grew
warmer, and out of the inclemencies of winter they
rapidly passed into the genial airs of spring.
On the 29th of February, from the summit of the
col which forms the little valley of Kuang-tsa-pin,
they discovered the lake of Taly, one of the finest
and grandest pictures which had excited their
admiration since they entered on their expedition.
The background consists of a lofty chain of snow-
capped mountains, at the foot of which the blue
waters of the lake break up the plain into a maze
of low promontories covered with gardens and
villages. A short descent brought them to the
borders of the lake, which they passed to the north-
ward in order to reach its eastern shore. The many
CROSSING A RAVINE.
FORTRESS OF HIANG-KUAN. 115
villages through which they took their way ex-
hibited the cruellest traces of devastation. Only
the cultivated fields seem to have been spared, and
these presented a flourishing appearance. In due
time they arrived before the gates of the fortress of
Hiang-kuan ; which, erected at the very base of the
mountain, and on the margin of the lake, completely
barred the passage. There they learned from the
mandarin in charge, that he would not allow them
to continue their journey, until permission had been
obtained from the sultan of Taly. This reached
them on the following day ; and, on the 2nd of
March, the journey was resumed. They passed
through Hiang-kuan, the walls of which bathe on
the one side their feet in the waters of the lake, and
on the other ascend the flanks of the mountain, which
forms a tremendous precipice, rendering the defile
very easy of defence.
Beyond, the shore of the lake again expanded
into a magnificent plain, in the centre of which is
situated the city of Taly. At the southern extrem-
ity of the lake the mountains again close in upon
its waters ; and this second defile is commanded by
another fortress that of Hia-kuan. Hia-kuan and
Hiang-kuan, surrounded by massive crenelated ram -
116 A DISAGREEABLE INCIDENT.
parts, are the two gates of Taly. Defended by
brave men they would be impregnable, and render
access to the city impossible except by water.
A great paved causeway crosses the plain of
Hiang-kuan to Taly. Escorted by ten soldiers, the
French travellers entered the latter city by its north
gate. In a few moments an immense crowd gathered
in their rear, and lined each side of the great street
which traverses Taly from north to south. Having
arrived in front of the sultan's palace a crenelated
building of sombre and severe aspect they halted
to parley with a couple of mandarins who had been
sent to meet them. During this vexatious pause
they were surrounded and pressed upon by the
crowd, and a soldier violently snatched off the hat
of one of the strangers probably in order that the
sultan, who was regarding them from an upper
balcony, might the better see his face. This in-
solence was punished immediately by a blow which
drew blood from the aggressor's countenance, and
gave rise to an indescribable tumult. The inter-
position of the two mandarins, the resolute attitude
of the Annamites, who grouped themselves around
the French travellers, and unsheathed their sword-
bayonets, arrested, however, the hostile demonstra-
ARRIVAL AT TALY. 117
tions of the crowd, and they reached without further
contretemps the yamen assigned to them for a resi-
dence, situated at the southern extremity of the
town.
Immediately after their arrival, a mandarin of
higher rank than any they had previously seen pre-
sented himself as the formal representative of the
sultan, and asked who they were, whence they came,
and what they wanted.
Through the medium of one Pere Leguilcher, a
Jesuit missionary, who had accompanied them,
Gamier replied, that they had been sent by the
French Government to explore the countries watered
by the Lan-tsan-kiang ; that having arrived in
Yunnan some months ago, they had learned that a
new kingdom had been established at Taly, and had
desired to pay their respects to its ruler, with the
view of opening up commercial and friendly rela-
tions between France and him. Some explanations
of the scientific object and really pacific character of
their mission were added. Gamier offered an excuse
also for having only presents of small value to offer
to the sultan ; and for being unable, along with the
officers of the expedition, to appear before him in
suitable costume, the length and difficulties of their
118 THE FRENCHMAN AND THE MANDARIN.
journey having compelled them to leave behind al-
most all the baggage. The mandarin replied veiy
graciously that there was no need for apologies on
that score, and that as they were, they would be
welcome. To prevent mistakes, Gamier then asked
for details as to the ceremonial observed at an audi-
ence of the sovereign. It was customary, said the
mandarin, to make three genuflexions before the
sultan. On Gamier objecting to this servile homage,
he consented to allow the French usage, with the con-
dition that no one carried arms into the august
presence. After an interchange of compliments, the
mandarin took his leave, while the Frenchmen re-
mained enraptured with his cordiality and straight-
forwardness.
Before long he returned, accompanied by a ta-seu
that is, by one of the eight great dignitaries who
compose the council of the sultan. Both requested
Lieutenant Gamier to repeat the explanations he had
previously given as to the objects of the expedition ;
and he did so, in the fewest words possible. " You
were not, then, sent expressly by your sovereign to
Taly?" "How could that be," replied the lieu-
tenant, " when at our departure nobody in France
THE SULTAN'S ORDERS. 119
knew that the town had a king ? " They then re-
quested M. Garnier to intrust to them, for the pur-
pose of showing them to the sultan, the Chinese
letters, of which he was the bearer, to the king of
Se-chuen. To this he consented ; and they with-
drew, apparently quite satisfied.
The first night at Taly was undisturbed. The
lieutenant's intention was, if all went well, to leave
his companions to rest themselves for a few days in
the city ; while he and Pere Leguilcher pushed for-
ward to the banks of the Lan-tsan-kiang, about
four days' journey, and ascended that river as far as
Li-kiang-foo, where the remainder of the expedition
would rejoin him in due course.
At nine o'clock next morning, when he was col-
lecting all the information necessary for the execu-
tion of this project, a messenger came from the sultan
to fetch Pere Leguilcher. He did not return until
noon, and then his face was overclouded. The sultan
refused to see them, and had issued orders that they
were to quit the city on the following morning, and
return by the route they came. " Make known to
the strangers," he had said, " that they may seize
all the lands bordering upon the Lan-tsan-kiang,
but they will be compelled to halt on the frontiers
120 THE SULTAN AND THE PRIEST.
of my kingdom. They may subjugate the eighteen
provinces of China ; but that which I govern will
cause them more trouble than all the rest of the
empire. Dost thou not know," he continued, "that
it is but three days since I put to death three
Malays ? If I grant their lives to your companions,
it is only because they are strangers, and on account
of the letters of recommendation which they carry.
But let them hasten their return. They may have
sketched my mountains, and fathomed the depths of
my rivers ; but they will not succeed in conquering
them. As for thee," concluded the sultan, in a softer
tone, " I know thy religion, and have read its books.
Mohammedans and Christians are brothers. Return
to thy place of residence, and I will make thee a
mandarin, to the end that thou mayst govern thy
people."
Throughout the interview, the father was kept
standing, and not allowed to speak ; overwhelmed
with questions to which no reply was permitted,
interpellated and hooted at by the crowd.
To what circumstance, says M. Gamier, was so
abrupt a change attributable ? Undoubtedly to the
influence of the military advisers of the king, who
would be unable to believe in a purely scientific and
THE EXPEDITION FOILED. 121
disinterested mission. A despotism sprung from a
revolution, abhorred by the masses whom it over-
whelmed with imposts, existing only through terror
and crime, is forced to be cruel and suspicious. The
official relations between the French explorers and
the Chinese authorities had placed the former, with
regard to the sultan of Taly, in a delicate position
which justified his mistrust.
During the rest of the day, the travellers were
visited by a great number of Mohammedan function-
aries, actuated by curiosity or a desire to watch
their doings. They thought it prudent, therefore,
to abstain from sketching or taking notes. About
five o'clock, the sultan sent for the chief of their
escort ; who returned soon afterwards, and said that
he had orders to conduct them back to Hiang-kuan
on the following morning. He showed M. Gamier
at the same time a sealed document, which he had
to convey to the mandarin of that fortress. A few
presents attached him to the interests of the French
explorers, who arranged to start with him at day-
break and avoid traversing the town. For Gamier
feared lest, the sultan's suspicions and anger being
known, the crowd should break out into open
hostility, or a few soldiers attempt to satisfy their
122 A NIGHT OF SUSPENSE.
ruler's secret desire without actually compromising
him.
At nightfall, the lieutenant took care to see that
all the weapons of his party were loaded, and in-
structed them what steps to take in case of a surprise.
He sought, by liberal promises, to secure the com-
plete fidelity of the porters.
The night was spent in a painful condition of
expectancy. A sentinel had been stationed at their
door, who followed them each time they went out.
M. Gamier dreaded every moment the arrival of an
order to prohibit their departure, and transform their
temporary confinement into definite captivity. About
eleven o'clock one of the great mandarins of the
sultan sent to inquire by what route they intended
to return ; and received for reply, that they did
not know. The night passed without any other
incident.
At five in the morning they were on the march,
well armed, and carefully grouped ; they turned
the city of Taly by the south and east, and with
scarcely a halt crossed the twenty miles that separ-
ated them from Hiang-kuan. As they were about
to enter the first gate of the fortress, the chief of
their escort stopped them, and said he was ordered,
LEAVING HIANG-KUAX.
pending the arrival of fresh instructions from the
sultan, to lodge them in a small yamen which he
obligingly pointed out.
Gamier pretended to regard as a special act of
courtesy what was evidently neither more nor less
than a disguised sequestration, and replied that, after
the cold welcome he had received at Taly, he could
not accept the sultan's hospitality. Unwilling,
however, that this hurried retreat should look too
like a flight, he added that if the mandarin of Hiang-
kuan had any communications to make, he would
await them in the little wayside auberye where he
had rested on his way to Taly.
The Mohammedan officer objected that he would
be assuming a grave responsibility if he allowed any
such modification of the sultan's orders. But Gamier
was resolute ; having determined, if necessary, to
force a passage before he could have time to arouse
the garrison of Hiang-kuan. While the sultan's lieu-
tenant put his horse at a gallop to forewarn the
governor of the dispute which had arisen, Gamier
led his little company through the fortress gates,
without encountering any fresh obstacles, arid in a
few minutes was encamped at the auberge already
spoken of, with the open country before him.
124 THE RETURN JOURNEY.
He had scarcely arrived when the governor of
Hiang-kuan sent for Pere Leguilcher. He offered
him an enormous price for the revolver which
Garnier had intended for the sultan, and stated that
he had orders to furnish them with a new escort, and
two mandarins to accompany them to the frontier,
and regulate the stages of their journey; and further,
that they were to pass the night at Hiang-kuan, and
wait until the following morning for the arrival of
the said mandarins and escort.
Garnier replied that he would make a present of
the weapon, but that he did not sell arms ; that in
his journey he reserved to himself full liberty of
action, and that he cared nothing at 'all about the
mandarins and the promised escort. This he con-
clusively showed by starting in the evening for
Ma-cha, a village situated at the northern extremity
of the lake.
On the 5th of March the journey was continued;
and by nightfall the expedition reached the town of
Kuang-tia-pin. Their arrival was immediately made
known to the commandant of the neighbouring fort,
who sent for Pere Leguilcher. The good monk was
filled with alarm at the thought of the probable
THE MISSIONARY'S ALARM. 125
results of the interview. The commandant might
have received orders to separate from their inter-
preter the little company of strangers ; who, left to
themselves, unacquainted with the language and
ignorant of the customs of the country, might the
more easily be entrapped into an ambuscade ! On
the other hand, the route lay underneath the guns
of the fort, and it was imprudent to come to an open
rupture with its governor. They contented them-
selves, therefore, with replying that the evening was
too far advanced for a visit, but that Pere Leguil-
cher would accept the invitation next morning.
This answer did not satisfy ; and three soldiers
presented themselves with orders for the father to
follow them.
The poor missionary, overcome with terror, thought
that his last hour had come. It seemed to him as
dangerous to resist as to obey. M. Gamier had to
decide for him ; and he repeated to the soldiers the
reply already given, and desired them to be content
with it. They insisted on their instructions with
all the insolence and astonishment inspired by a re-
sistance to which they were unaccustomed. Alarmed
by their threats, which Pere Leguilcher understood
much better than his companions, the missionary
126 PRUDENCE AND PRECAUTION.
wished to comply ; but Garnier detained him, while
his Annamite attendants showed the soldiers " the
way out." The latter retired, vowing that they
would return in great force, and that the heads of
the strangers should soon be adorning the posts in
the market-place.
By this time the travellers had become accus-
tomed to such " brave words," and gave little heed
to them. They took, however, the necessary pre-
cautions : each man received a revolver in addition
to his carbine, and even Pere Leguilcher consented
to equip himself with carnal weapons. All the
approaches to the auberge were guarded, and the
utmost vigilance was maintained throughout the
night. They were but ten in number ; but as each
was equipped with carbine and revolver, they could
discharge seventy shots without reloading, which
would suffice to keep at a respectful distance a
whole regiment of Mohammedans. But no enemy
made his appearance.
At daybreak, after having passed in review before
them, all their porters, and appointed the town of
Too-tong-tse as a rendezvous, Garnier and his com-
panions, on horseback, escorted the Jesuit missionary
ARRIVAL AT THE MISSIONARY'S RESIDENCE. 127
to the gate of the fortress. They then informed the
commandant that the father had come to pay the
desired visit, but that it could not be prolonged
beyond ten minutes ; if at the expiration of that time
the father had not returned, they would come in
quest of him. This peremptory message was in-
tended to produce an impression on people accus-
tomed to see everybody trembling before them.
Such language to them would be terrifically novel !
It had a good effect. The governor of the fortress
contented himself with communicating to Pere
Leguilcher the order he had received from Taly to
escort them to the frontier. The father replied in
the words which Garnier had addressed to the gover-
nor of Hiang-kuan, and his interlocutor did not insist;
he even begged him to shorten the interview, for fear,
he said, he should overstay the time allotted, and
arouse the impatience of the "great men." And so,
an hour later, the whole party arrived in safety at
the worthy father's residence, where they enjoyed
ten days of entire rest, rendered necessary by the
fatigue and emotion they had recently undergone.
On the 7th another messenger arrived from the
fort, with a request that Pere Leguilcher would come
" alone " to consult with the governor on the stages
128 ABOUT THE TALY LAKE.
of the travellers' journey. No notice was taken of
the communication.
In spite of the rapidity with which M. Gamier
had been compelled to pursue his march, he con-
trived to collect some interesting particulars of the
country, its inhabitants, and resources.
The lake of Taly, situated at an elevation above
the sea-level of upwards of seven thousand five hun-
dred feet, measures about twenty miles from north
to south, with an average breadth of two miles. Its
depth is very considerable, exceeding three hundred
and twenty feet at some points. There appear to
be several islands scattered towards the south-east.
The level of the lake is higher than that of the
neighbouring rivers, and its overflow may possibly
help to feed those on the north and east, which
belong to the Blue River basin. Ostensibly it pours
forth its waters at its southern extremity by a river
which empties itself into the Mekong. At the mouth
of this river, which is not navigable, stands the fort-
ress of Hia-kuan, already spoken of. Shortly after
issuing from the lake, it divides into two branches,
but these unite again lower down. During the rainy
season the waters rise fully seventeen feet ; in the
THE LAKE FISHERMEN. 129
dry season, the chain of the Tien Song mountains,
on the western shore of the lake, send down a suc-
cession of violent squalls, which greatly impede its
navigation. This chain, the elevation of which is
estimated at sixteen thousand feet, is clothed with
snow for nine months in the year. On the oppo-
site bank rises a mass of heights belonging to a
range of inferior importance. Between these moun-
tains and the lake some richly-cultivated fields slope
gently to the edge of the deep blue waters.
The lake abounds in fish, which are principally
caught by birds trained for the purpose. The pro-
cess adopted is better than that known in Europe as
de peche au cormoran.
The fishermen set out at early morn, making a
tremendous din and clamour, so as to awaken the
attention of the numerous troops of birds slumbering
around them. They embark on board flat-bottomed
boats, each provided with a well, which they allow
to drift along slowly, while one of them, stationed
at the bow, throws into the water enormous balls of
rice. The fish hasten in immense shoals to enjoy
the banquet ; and the fishing-birds, flocking round
the boats in great numbers, dive and reappear imme-
diately, each with a fish in its bill. As fast as they
(602) 9
130 THE MIN-KIA POPULATION.
fill their pouch, the boatmen empty it into the
interior of the bark, leaving to each winged fisher
just enough to satisfy its appetite and encourage its
ardour. In half an hour each boat is loaded, and
the boatmen hasten to dispose of their stores at the
nearest market.
The plain of Taly formerly contained upwards of
one hundred and fifty villages, which the sultan
has attempted to repeople almost exclusively with
Mohammedans. The eastern shore is inhabited by
the Min-kia and Pen-ti populations, who are
descended from the first Chinese colonists whom the
Mongolian dynasty sent into Yunnan after the con-
quest of that province. The Min-kia come from
the neighbourhood of Nankin. The women do not
mutilate their feet ; and the young people of both
sexes wear a kind of bonnet, of original form, orna-
mented by a silver pearl. Evidence of their admix-
ture with the former inhabitants of the country is
found in their costumes and language. These ancient
Chinese emigrants are treated with contempt by
pure-blooded Chinese ; and hence results an antag-
onism which not a little contributed to ensure the
neutrality of the Min-kia, at the beginning of hos-
THE MOUNTAIN TRIBES. 131
tilities between the Mohammedans and the Impe-
rialists. But, after a while, the despotic and violent
acts of the rulers of Taly exasperated even this
pacific race ; and, led by an energetic chief named
Tong, the Min-kia long maintained a successful
resistance against the Mohammedans. Tong fell in
battle in 1866, and the conquerors pursued his
family with merciless vengeance. At present, the
natives of the districts contiguous to Taly, dis-
organized and without a leader, submit to, while
hating, the domination of the sultan. The Pen-ti
occupy more particularly the plain of Tong-chuen,
north of the lake, and the district of the Pe-yen-tsin.
Their costume is original and characteristic.
Under different names, the Lolos, or representa-
tives of the autochthonous race, inhabit the summits
of the mountains, and assert their independence.
With their continual forays they harass the dwellers
in the plains. Certain districts in the vicinity of
Pien-kio pay to one of these tribes, the Tcha-Su, an
annual sum by way of blackmail, in order to secure
their cattle. Even this payment, however, does not
protect them from occasional depredations ; and they
cannot claim, when their herds are carried off, more
than half their value.
132 MINERAL TREASURES.
A considerable trade is carried on between Taly
and Tibet, consisting of imports of kuang-lien, a
bitter root much used in Chinese medicine, woollen
stuffs, stag-horns, bear-skins, fox-skins, wax, oils, and
resinous gums. Exports from Yunnan include tea,
cottons, rice, wine, sugar, mercery, and hardware.
The industrial production of the kingdom of Taly
has diminished considerably since the war. Formerly,
it was of much importance from a metallurgical point
of view. The copper mines of Long-pao, Ta-kong,
and Pe-iang are the most valuable in the whole
country, where are also found deposits of gold, silver,
mercury, iron, lead, and zinc. At Ho-kin paper
is made from bamboo. The stems of the plant are
made up into bundles of equal length, which are
peeled and macerated in lime. They are afterwards
placed in an oven, and steamed for twenty days;
then they are exposed to a current of cold water,
and deposited in layers in a second oven, each layer
being covered with a coating of pease-meal and lard.
After another " cooking," they are converted into a
kind of paste, which is extended on trellis-work in
excessively thin layers, and dried in the sun. In
this way the manufacturers turn out their sheets of
a paper coarse and uneven enough, but very stout.
CHAPTER IIT.
RETURN TO SAIGON.
'HE French expedition, finding further pro-
gress impossible, resolved at length on
retracing its steps to Saigon, and accord-
ingly set out in that direction on the 15th of March.
On the 3rd of April it arrived at Tong-chuen,
where Lieutenant Gamier heard of the death of his
chief, M. de Lagree. Four days later, the gallant
little band, several of its members suffering from
fever, resumed its march. On the 9th, M. Gamier
crossed the deep swift waters of the Ngieoo-nan in a
ferry-boat, which runs on a cable moored from bank
to bank. On the llth he reached Tchao-tong.
Here he and his comrades met with a kindly
welcome, and were lodged in the house of a native
priest, who had charge of the few Christian inhabi-
tants of the town. The crowd, as usual, displayed
an extraordinary amount of curiosity and impor-
134 AT TCHAO-TONG.
tunity. The tche-hien, or administrator of the
Tchao-tong district, paid them a visit immediately
on their arrival, and invited them to dine with him
on the following evening. The repast included
fourteen courses at the least, to say nothing of the
cucumber-seed, the mandarinas, and the li-tchi, served
up as preliminaries. There was nothing, however,
peculiarly worthy of the attention of gourmands,
except a dainty dish of pigeons' eggs, and a parti-
cular kind of fish, caught in a neighbouring pond,
the flesh of which had a peculiar flavour. During
the repast, the ladies of the household closely scruti-
nized the features of the strangers through a lattice,
laughing heartily at their awkwardness in using the
Chinese utensils.
Tchao-tong, like all Chinese towns of importance,
is surrounded by a bastioned wall, of rectangular
plan, measuring about a mile and a half each way.
Considerable suburbs prolong to the north, east, and
west the streets which abut on the gates of the
town. The latter has never been captured by the
Mohammedans, and its inhabitants cherish a fierce
hatred against the rebels of Taly.
The plain of Tchao-tong seems to be the most
extensive in Yunnan, and is carefully cultivated a
ARTICLES OF COMMERCE. 135
large portion of its area being appropriated to the
growth of poppies for the manufacture of opium.
Its inhabitants complain of want of water ; and, in
fact, their only sources of supply are some tiny rills,
almost dry in the hot season. There are extensive
deposits of anthracite and peat. A small pond,
abounding in fish, lies to the south-west.
Tchao-tong is one of the most important commercial
entrepots between China and Yunnan. Enormous
convoys of raw cotton, of English or native cotton
stuffs, and of salt from Se-chuen, are here exchanged
for the metals tin and zinc more particularly fur-
nished by the environs of Tong-chuen, the medi-
cinal substances which come from the west of
Yunnan and the north of Tibet, and the nests of the
coccus sinensis, which yield the pe-la wax. This
insect breeds on a species of privet which grows in
the mountainous parts of Yunnan and Se-chuen,
and is thence transported to other trees favourable
for the production of wax, which flourish in the
warmer lowlands. Necessarily, these nests must be
conveyed from point to point with great rapidity,
lest the newly -hatched insects should die before
arriving at their new abode ; they are stored away
in large baskets, divided into numerous compart-
136 THE JOURNEY CONTINUED.
merits, and their bearers frequently accomplish thirty
or forty leagues at double quick marching step.
Resuming their journey, M. Garnier and his com-
panions traversed a country of great beauty, studded
with villages, and broken up into romantic high-
lands and wooded valleys, watered by copious rivers.
On the 20th of April they reached Lao-oua-tan, a
busy town on the Huang-kiang, at the point where
the navigation of the river begins. Here they
embarked on board a large boat with a capacity of
thirty to forty tons, and began the descent of the
river, admiring the skill with which the Chinese
carried them through the successive rapids. In a
couple of hours they arrived at Pou-eul-tou, a small
port on the left bank, where Garnier and his com-
panions landed, while their baggage and a part of
the escort continued the journey by water. Garnier
pressed forward through a truly Arcadian valley
to Long-ki, the residence of the Vicar-Apostolic
of Yunnan, Monseigneur Ponsot. It is needless
to say that he was received with the warmest
hospitality.
The next stage was Siu-tcheou-fou, a lively and
busy town, where several Roman Catholic mis-
MERCHANT TRAIN IN YUNNAN.
THE BLUE RIVER.
sionarics are stationed. Thence, in a couple of
junks, the travellers descended the Blue River to
Tchong-kin-fou, the great commercial centre of the
province of Se-chuen. Resting here a while, they
then continued their voyage to Han-keou, entering
a region which has been carefully explored and
described by officers of the British navy. The
river all along its course presents an animated scene,
the junks ascending the stream being towed by
boatmen on the banks, who time their steps to a
rude and noisy song. M. Gamier arrived at Han-
keou on the 4th of June, and once more entered
upon the enjoyment of the comfort and security of
civilized life, after a long, difficult, and perilous
expedition, in which he had added largely to our
knowledge of a region of vast commercial resources.
On the 10th he embarked on board a steamer for
Shanghai, arriving there on the 12th. After a
week's stay he set out for Saigon; where he pre-
sented himself on the 29th, and was received with
the honours due to his courage, his patience, and his
perseverance. He has shown that the Mekong must
hereafter become an important highway of commerce,
and one of the great channels of communication with
Yunnan and Tibet.
CHAPTER IV.
DR. MORICE AND THE MEKONG.
|E owe some additional information respect-
ing the great river of Cambodia to Dr.
Morice, who travelled in Cochin-China
in 1872.
Of the Annamites, the inhabitants of Coch in-
China, he says at the outset, that his first feeling
with respect to them was one of disgust. Those
faces more or less flattened, and often devoid of all
intelligence or animation ; those livid eyes ; and,
especially, that broad nose, and those thick upturned
lips, reddened and discoloured by the constant use
of betel-nut, do not answer to the European ideal of
beauty. But after a long acquaintance with them,
he, as is the case with other Western visitors, began
to discern a glimpse of meaning in most counten-
ances, and even to make distinctions between the
ugly ones. He met with some eyes which were not
ANNAMITE LADY AND HER SERVANT.
CHARACTER OF THE ANNAMITES. 143
oblique, some noses which had an almost Caucasian
character, and his repugnance gradually disappeared.
Still, from the most favourable point of view,
they are a race of low stature and unprepossessing
appearance ; feeble, deficient in stamina, and never
likely to make a noise in the world. Their French
rulers grow into giants when compared with these
ihvarfs ; and their muscular energy is far inferior to
that of Europeans, whether owing to natural causes
or to want of hygienic knowledge. As for their
complexion, while some are deeply tinted, others are
quite wan and pale. In two respects only can the
Annamites be said to surpass their masters : in their
ability to row ten hours consecutively, and in the
impunity with which they can encounter the burn-
ing rays of a tropical sun.
As for their character, it is that of a people whom
slavery, ignorance, and sloth have rendered poor,
timid, and apathetic. Yet they are capable of being
raised to a higher moral and intellectual standard.
They have many serious defects, it is true ; they
are deficient, for example, in the artistic sentiment.
Even of the latter evidence is found in some sur-
prising mural paintings, which reproduce, with lov-
ing fidelity, all that is bright and living in nature.
144 THEIR DRESS AND HABITATIONS.
birds, insects, flowers. But, as a rule, the Annam-
ites are insensible to the arts. Their shrill mono-
tonous music is terrible to a cultured ear ; and it
may be doubted whether ours is agreeable to them.
Of sculpture they know only the rudiments ; their
poetry is indifferent ; the} 7 - cannot dance. Their
literary research is confined to an acquaintance with
a few Chinese characters ; and their scientific ac-
quirements are a blank.
Then as to their attire. They never abandon
their clothes until they fall into rags and tatters,
though they are insufficient to protect them against
the variations of their climate, and more particu-
larly against the keen frosty mornings of December
and January. Their huts or hovels, nearly all built
upon piles, half in the water and half in the earth
or mud, are singularly unhealthy. The cultivation
of rice, and their occupation as fishermen, have ren-
dered them almost amphibious. Water rises fre-
quently to the floor of an Annamite house, particu-
larly in high tides, but it does not discompose the
owner ; who, in such an event, crouches contentedly
on the domestic hearth, or rocks to and fro in his
rude hammock, murmuring some monotonous air, or
smoking a cigarette shaped like a blunderbuss.
THE PLAIN OF THE TOMBS. 145
At Saigon (or Sai-gun), the French settlement
and seaport, situated at the mouth of a river of
the same name, the traveller finds much to interest
him. The Botanic Garden, for instance, will well
repay inspection, stocked as it is with rare, beauti-
ful, and curious specimens of tropical vegetation.
Close at hand lies the so-called Plain of the Tombs ;
the scene, a century agone, of numerous battles
between the inhabitants of Lower Cochin-China and
the Annamites ; and, between 1860 and 1864, of
several engagements between the Annamites and the
French. The uniformity of its vast expanse is
broken by a number of mounds or tumuli; some on
a modest, others on a splendid scale. Constructed
of earth or brick, they are covered with a kind of
cement, on which are depicted in vivid colours the
figures of fantastic animals and impossible plants,
while the name and titles of the deceased are in-
scribed in conspicuous characters.
Here, one day, Dr. Morice chanced to be the spec-
tator of an Annamite funeral, which is always cele-
brated with a certain amount of pomp, and attended
by a numerous train of mourners. The coffin is
planted in the centre of a small portable house,
(602) 10
146 THE GECKO DESCRIBED.
made of paper painted in brilliant colours, and cut
into curious shapes. A score of bearers carry this
miniature temple, resting upon their shoulders the
bamboos which support it. A company of persons
with torches scatter along the road their prayers to
Buddha, traced on golden and silver papers, and set
fire to them. In the rear march the friends and
relatives of the departed, some uttering forced
lamentations, all smiling "in their sleeves;" for
these singular people are never so moved by their
sorrow that they cannot laugh at a jest, or at any
incident of which they immediately seize, as by in-
tuition, the comic side.
Here too he saw some geckos : indeed, they were
numerous enough to be considered the genii of the
place. Inhabiting the forests and waste places, as
well as the huts of the Annamites and the houses of
the French, this large lizard, so common in Cochin-
China, is one of the animals which give to the
fauna of the country its peculiar character. Does
the reader know what a gecko is like ? If not, let
him try to conceive of a gigantic terrestrial sala-
mander ; its skin, of a bluish-gray, covered with a
quantity of tiny tubercles rising in the middle of an
ITS FAMILIARITY WITH MAN. 147
orange-tinted patch ; its great eyes having a large
gold-yellow iris ; while, owing to the sucker-like
lamellae that line the under surface of its feet, it is
able to walk easily on the smoothest surfaces, and
utterly to defy the laws of gravitation. Its cry, to
which it owes the name given to it in every lan-
guage, is curiously sonorous ; and when first heard,
fairly startles the hearer. A shaky grumble or
grunt serves as prelude ; then, five, six, or eight
times, lowering its voice regularly half a tone on
each occasion, it jerks out its cadenced notes, which
are sometimes written gecko, and sometimes tacke ;
the performance terminating with a grunt of satis-
faction.
The gecko grows as familiar with man as the
domestic cat or dog, entering human habitations
freely, and rendering valuable service by the eager-
ness with which it devours flies, spiders, and other
insect-plagues. During the day, it lurks generally
in some obscure nook or dark corner ; but at dusk
sallies forth in search of prey, running up or down
the steepest walls with wonderful swiftness, and
giving utterance to a quick shrill noise by smacking
its tongue against its palate. So flexible is its body,
that it can adapt itself readily to any depression or
148 ABOUT THE MARGOUILLA.
irregularity in the surface of the ground, forming
apparently a component part of it. This deception
is facilitated by its dulness of colouring. It is a
home-keeping animal, and never strays to any great
distance from the lair which it has chosen. Despite
its ugliness and its cry, which at night, when a
dozen are heard replying to one another, becomes
insupportably wearisome, it is one of man's most
useful allies in the animal-world, and merits his
respect.
A word as to the formation of its wide feet. All
the toes are broadened considerably at the edges,
and their under surface is divided into numerous
transverse laminae, from which exudes an adhesive
fluid. Its claws are sharp, crooked, and retractile
like those of a cat.
Another animal of the same group, but much
smaller, and closely resembling the tarenta of which
the Toulonese are so afraid, is the margouitta, the
" con- tan-Ian" of the Annamites. It inhabits trees
and houses with equal complacency. Every even-
ing, when the tapers are lighted, it may be seen
promenading along the ceiling, where it pounces
upon the insects, uttering from time to time its
short cry of satisfaction, which may be translated
EXCURSION TO KHOLEN. 149
by the syllable toe ten times repeated. It is partial
to sugar ; but as it is the inveterate enemy of the
mosquitoes, no one begrudges it a dainty morsel
from the sugar-basin.
From Saigon Dr. Morice made an excursion to
Kholen, the second town in size and population in
Cochin-China. It lies about three miles from Saigon,
but is connected with it by a line of villages, of
pagodas, and of the country-houses of the wealthier
Chinese merchants. Kholen is the centre of all the
Chinese commerce of the colony. The amount of
rice, stuffs, and products exported from China, which
is sold there, almost passes belief ; and the stranger
surveys with interest the animation of its busy
streets, and the numerous Chinese junks and Annam-
ite sampans moored alongside its quays.
Among its peculiarities may be specialized its
parks or preserves of crocodiles. A barrier of long
and solid piles surrounds a space of about twenty
square yards on the river-bank ; in the mud and
slime thus enclosed, and regularly inundated at high
water, sprawl from one hundred to two hundred
crocodiles. When the people wish to sacrifice one
of these monsters, two of the piles are lifted up ; a
1 50 HATIAN-OF-THE-ROSES.
running knot is flung round the neck of the largest
of the herd, which is then hauled outside ; its tail
is fastened close to its body lengthwise ; its feet
are cut off, and used to garnish its back ; the jaws
are tied together with ratan ; and these vegetable
bonds are so firm that the huge creature is incapable
of movement, and can offer no defence. As for the
flesh, though rather leathery, it appears to have a
certain value, and is not so strongly impregnated
with the odour of musk as some writers pretend.
On Annamite tables it figures as a favourite dish.
From Saigon Dr. Morice's next excursion was to
Gocong, which lies in the centre of a district famous
for its rice-fields. Thence he made his way to
Hatian (or Cancao), of which he gives a lively de-
scription furnished to him by a French colonist :
" Hatian-of-the-Roses is a small gem of flowers
and verdure ; magnificent pagodas, wooded hills, the
limestone mass of Bonnet-a-Poil ; everything which
one finds nowhere else."
But, says Dr. Morice, he forgot the fever.
There can be no doubt that Hatian is a lovely
spot. It is situated on the borders of a lake which
opens into the Gulf of Siam ; a lake bordered on
THE PEPPER-PLANT. 153
the west by ranges of green hills, luxuriantly clothed
with magnificent trees. To the east extends a vast
plain, in the centre of which rises the isolated mass
of limestone known as the Bonnet-a-Poil. The
fields are enamelled with flowers and studded with
flowering bushes ; and winding paths lead through
a succession of scenes of the most various beauty.
The plant chiefly cultivated is the pepper-plant.
On a soil raised several feet above the ordinary
level are disposed parallel rows of sticks like those
which are used in the Kentish hop-gardens, and
round each of these coils a vigorous plant. It takes
five years for a plant to become productive. Maize
is also cultivated, but not> to so large an extent.
While Dr. Morice was at Hatian, its Annamite
inhabitants celebrated their feast of the Tet or New-
Year's Day, in which are oddly mingled the religious
rites of Buddhism, and the worship of the manes of
their forefathers, the fear of the devil or Maqui,
and the noisiest possible manifestations of popular
mirth. It lasts at the least seven days, with the
rich much longer; and the entire settlement gives
itself up for this period to the most unrestrained
enjoyment.
Before each house, on a table covered with a mat.
154 FEAST OF THE TET.
is to be seen the offering of meat and drink, rice-
spirit in a small white porcelain teapot, tea, betel
with all its ingredients, fish, various kinds of Annam-
ite vermicelli, roast duck, a quarter of pork, rice,
bananas, and oranges. All this display is set out
with flowers; then a couple of small tapers are
lighted, and the manes, or domestic spirits, are
respectfully invited to come and take their share of
the consecrated love-feast. More : on a plate sup-
ported on a moderately high post, other and more
delicate offerings are displayed, composed generally
of a bouquet of only two species of flowers, the one
violet-tinted, the other yellow. As they are seen
everywhere, it is probable that a symbolical mean-
ing attaches to the union of these two flowers.
Moreover, the rich plant an areca, the poor a large
bamboo, in front of the various oblations, and to
the top of each fasten a tiny basket of ratan,
divided into five compartments. Finally, the altar
of Buddha, which forms an indispensable appendage
of every hut, is decked out with special pomp ; and
strips of yellow, red, and violet papers, inscribed
with Chinese characters, are affixed to every door.
These are intended to avert the presence of the
evil spirit during the new year.
AN ANNAMITE PASTIME. 155
Meantime everybody, clothed in their best attire,
men, women, and children, that is to say, in a
striped tunic and pantaloons blue, red, yellow, violet,
green, often with the two legs of different colours,
sallied forth to exchange greetings, or amuse
themselves as best they might. Among the pas-
times most in favour were the following. Javelin-
throwing; in which a long lance of black wood was
made to pass through a ring suspended from a post
about three feet high, and this at a distance of six
to nine yards. This game, which resembles the old
Scotch exercise of tilting at a mark, requires con-
siderable skill on the part of those who engage in
it. Still more popular, especially among women
and children, was the swing, single or double.
And it was not without astonishment that the
traveller found here, in the far East, a kind of
" merry-go-round," such as we see at our fairs and
holiday fetes, with a score of persons enjoying its
revolutions. There was also the game of shuttle-
cock, which was launched either with hand or foot.
In the midst of all this turmoil might be heard the
monotonous tomtom, the isolated sounds of some
three-stringed guitars, and especially the sharp
reports of petards, which are indispensable at every
156 THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES.
festival, and resemble sometimes the file-firing of
infantry.
For this great yearly revel every Annamite saves
up his money for months, and when it comes he
disburses his little store most conscientiously. Fre-
quently an itinerant troop of actors comes at least
in the principal towns to contribute its part to the
general rejoicings. As it is the wealthy citizens
who in turn defray the expense of its representa-
tions, we need hardly say that they are very largely
attended. The plays included in their repertory
are always of a noisy character, and plentifully
sprinkled with coarse jokes, at the expense of the
military mandarins, husbands, and especially the
Chinese. Actors hideously painted, with the view
of giving them a formidable appearance, perform in
desperate combats, diversified by guttural cries and
heroic poses of the most ridiculous character.
During his sojourn at Hatian, Dr. Morice paid a
visit to a singularly constructed edifice the ancient
Chinese palace of the Maqueuou. This Chinese
worthy, it is said, was a simple fisherman; but as
the products of his avocation did not enrich him
with sufficient rapidity, he began to cultivate a little
THE FOUNDER OF HATIAN. 157
ground, and started a pepper plantation. One day,
while digging, he turned up a store of money, a
supply so ample that it enabled him to bring over
to Hatian a large number of his compatriots. He
trained them, enrolled them, practised them; and
the result was that, one fine morning, Hatian,
enriched and largely increased in population, de-
clared itself independent of the empire of Annam,
or rather Cambodia, and raised Maqueuou to the
throne. He built for himself a splendid palace, and
lived for many years afterwards, enjoying the rare
pleasure of witnessing the realisation of his dreams.
But when he died his organizing genius died with
him. Hatian was again annexed to the empire, and
the palace fell into ruin ; only its four walls are now
extant.
The European stranger visits the spot with a
feeling of respect for the memory of a bold and ener-
getic man. With some difficulty he clears a path
through the luxuriant vegetation, and arrives in
front of walls of Cyclopean solidity. Two vast
halls, almost choked with balsam, daturas, castor-oil
plants, parasites, and refuse, form the entrance. Then
come four smaller apartments, in better condition,
and each provided with a great circular window.
158 MAQUEUOU'S TOMB.
Here some geckos have established their abode,
saluting the stranger with astonished glances and
piercing cries.
Next comes an immense chamber, almost exactly
square; and several tombs or memorial buildings
are here overshadowed by venerable trees. The
highest, raised in honour of Maqueuou himself,
consists of successive courses of masonry, diminish-
ing gradually from base to summit. Unfortunately,
built of bad materials, it has been seriously injured
by the action of the sun and the rains. A swarm
of bees was domiciled in one of the crannies; and a
tree, the seed of which had probably dropped from
the bill of some wandering bird, soared upward
from the very apex of the pyramid. Four smaller
monuments, all oblong in shape, and traditionally
appropriated to Maqueuou's family, are scattered
around the former. They still bear traces of the
carving with which they were formerly decorated.
Solitude and silence prevail within the precincts
of this vast ruin. The geckos, the birds, and a
squirrel or two, are its only inmates.
Another remarkable object is the so-called pagoda
of Maqui, or the devil. Dr. Morice was greatly
surprised to see appended to its walls a complete
AN UNPLEASANT GUEST. 159
series of water-colour sketches, on very stout paper,
representing the tortures of an Inferno which would
bear comparison with Dante's. The satellites of
the Annamite devil are shown in those pictures as
engaged in the variety of occupations which the old
medieval legends attributed to the imps of Beelzebub.
They are roasting, impaling, cutting to pieces, and
Haying the guilty; throwing them into caldrons of
boiling water, grilling them over fires, and flinging
them to the hungry jaws of enormous tigers.
That Hatian is not without its unpleasant-
nesses, Dr. Morice discovered in an unexpected
fashion. Some workmen, in pulling down an old
wall, came on the lair of a large serpent, which lay
in " multitudinous coils " hatching its store of eggs.
As everybody knew Dr. Morice' s zoological tastes,
the workmen sent him immediate information of
their "find," and he quickly arrived on the spot,
armed with a stick and a long and strong pair of
nippers. Had it not been for its eggs, the animal
would probably have retreated; but it remained
rolled up in its hole, showing only its spotted and
dusky-coloured head. To seize its neck with his
nippers, was Dr. Morice's instant manoeuvre; and
then, to the great terror of the Chinese workmen,,
160 A COBRA CAPELLA.
he raised it up bodily, and proceeded to carry it off
in triumph. Meanwhile, the irritated creature dis-
charged at its captor's forehead a jet of liquid, from
which, at the time, he felt no disagreeable sensation.
On reaching home, Dr. Morice deposited the reptile
and its eggs in a chest lined with straw; which he
nailed down carefully, and raised above the ground
on vessels of water, as a protection against the attacks
of ants. Then, and not till then, he washed his fore-
head, bathing, with due caution, the part touched by
the fluid discharge ; but still not believing that the
serpent was one of the venomous kind. He troubled
himself no more about his prisoner until, a few days
later, he found in his chamber four tiny serpents,
which he took up in his hand, in spite of their
angry hissing. These he transferred to a glass jar.
The next morning, wishing to examine them, he
was unpleasantly surprised to find them rearing
their head erect and expanding their neck laterally ;
and still more disagreeably surprised to detect on
the neck thus expanded the characteristic V. They
belonged to the genus of the spectacled serpent, the
naja of India, the dreaded cobra capella!
Dr. Morice hastened to bore some large holes in
the chest containing the serpent and the eggs, and
MOTHER AND PROGENY. 161
by means of these he introduced into the interior a
quantity of burning sulphur. When, after a suffi-
cient time had 'elapsed, he opened it, he found the
mother and eighteen young ones suffocated, while
four eggs still remained intact. How had the others
been hatched ? The circumstance was a novel one,
for it was supposed that only the great serpents
the pythons and boas hatched their eggs. At all
events, it was an interesting fact that this animal
had remained faithful to its brood. Among the
sixteen young serpents, only one was a female, and
most of them had already once changed their skin.
They were about thirteen inches long, and their
fangs were clearly discernible. Dr. Morice felt that
he had good reason to be thankful that he had not
been wounded by the cobra capella when he so
rashly pounced upon it.
We next find our unwearied travellers under-
taking a journey to Chaudoc, which is situated near
the mouth of the Mekong. On both banks of the
river, but more particularly on the right bank, are
arranged the numerous Annamite huts; and above
them frown the grim walls of a fort, which is in
itself of the size of a small town. The province, of
(602) 11
162 AT VINH-LONG.
which Chaudoc is the capital, includes one hundred
and five villages, and has a population of eighty-
nine thousand souls, of whom eight thousand are
Cambodians and sixteen thousand Malays.
Five days later Dr. Morice was at Vinh-Long, the
fort of which is equal in magnitude to that of
Chaudoc. In the rear of the great muddy moats and
embankments of earth, sustained by huge piles, rise
the officers' barracks, and the entrenched redoubt
containing the soldiers' quarters and the hospital.
Bamboos and tall grasses have overgrown a portion
of the immense enclosure, and in their tangled mass
enormous pythons are frequently killed, while the
najas lie asleep in the dank inextricable vegetation
of the trenches. The town itself is not without a
certain agreeableness of aspect; its broad, straight
streets are shaded by gigantic cocoa-nut palms.
Still continuing his explorations in the districts
watered by the mouths of the Mekong, which forms
a considerable delta, traversed by innumerable canals
and branches, Dr. Morice arrived at Tayninh, which
lies to the east of Saigon. It lines the river-bank
for some distance ; the houses of the Annamite popu-
lation being built, not of mud and clay, as in the
THE " BLACK LADY." 165
western districts of Cochin-China, but of good solid
timber, and with much care and good taste. Their
roofs are also of better construction : instead of the
leaves of the water-palm, a close fine thatch is used,
to which the action of the atmosphere soon gives a
pleasant tint of age. Flourishing coffee-plantations
surround the town, in the rear of which spread the
shadows of a mighty forest, that spreads far up the
sides of a chain of granite mountains of moderate
elevation. The highest of these is the " Black
Lady " (Nui-ba-dinJi). On the summit, in a pic-
turesque nook, stands a celebrated pagoda, the cells
of its bonzes being excavated out of the neighbour-
ing rock. The pagoda owes its repute to the
neighbourhood of a miraculous spring ; and this
spring rejoices in a legend, which may be told as
follows :
A bonze of indescribable holiness, who loved to
offer up his prayers in the high places of earth,
climbed the mountain one day in order to make his
devotions on its lofty summit. Despite his sanc-
tity, however, he was human ; and as the moun-
tain was of great elevation and equal barrenness,
he soon grew faint with hunger, but more particu-
larly with thirst. Disdainful, like all sages, of
166 THE PERPETUAL FOUNTAIN.
purely physical needs, he had not taken the precau-
tion of providing himself with these precious neces-
saries of food and drink, which are the first thought
of ordinary mortals. What was he to do ? He
began to pray ; and lo ! as he prayed, an enormous
rock, which reared its dark front before him, was
suddenly cleft open, and revealed to his delighted
gaze a crystal spring falling into a basin of stone.
From that time the well has never ceased to pour
out abundant waters, which heal all the diseases of
humanity ; though, strange to say, men, women,
and children still die in Cochin-China !
Ten minutes' climbing brought Dr. Morice face
to face with this perpetual marvel. His companions
hastened to drink copious draughts of the fresh cold
water ; but Dr. Morice, rejecting the legend, and
having less confidence than he ought to have had
in temperance principles, resorted to his pocket
flask, poured out a glass of French wine, and drank
to the majesty of the glorious mountain.
On another occasion Dr. Morice took part in an
exciting adventure, which ha I a painful issue. A
tiger, whose depredations had become intolerable,
having carried off the best dog of one of the best
TIGER-HUNTING. 169
hunters of the country, it was decided that he must
undergo immediate and condign punishment.
The tiger is not often hunted in Cochin-China,
where the elephant, that living fortress, does not
place at the disposal of the European its high shoul-
ders and formidable tusks. The inhabitants gener-
ally resort to snares.
" An expedition having been resolved upon, we
surrounded," says Dr. Morice, " the hill which served
as a retreat for the monster. More than one hun-
dred and fifty natives were present, shouting, gesti-
culating, and creating the most awful clamour which
ever troubled a tiger's siesta. As for us, the French
inspector, a French soldier, and myself, we were in
the plain, sprinkled with small mounded graves,
which extends behind Tayninh, and waited in
patience until it pleased the tiger to show his preci-
ous skin. It seemed to be his opinion that the
boldest policy was the best ; for in less than half
an hour after we had drawn our noisy cordon he
emerged from the wood, and advanced towards us.
He was received with a rolling fire. Of our four
balls one at least struck him, for he made a move-
ment of pain, and turned towards the soldier who
had accompanied us. That our movements might
170 THE SOLDIER AND THE TIGER.
be more free, we had separated at some distance
from one another. The soldier immediately leaped
upon a mound about three feet high, and with his
loaded gun in his hand bided the wounded animal's
onset. A second ball from the inspector's rifle hit
him ; but disregarding this new provocation, and
yearning for his prey, he dashed towards the tumu-
lus. With one bound he was at its foot, where he
reared himself erect. Then took place a strange
and lamentable scene, which showed how even the
bravest lose their self-possession when face to face
with these terrible beasts. That the soldier was a
man of courage, numerous incidents had proved: it
was he who had shown the most ardour in organiz-
ing the expedition ; he had in his hand a first-rate
rifle, and only the length of his arm apart was the
white chest of the tiger, which seemed to await his
death-dealing bullet. Well, for a few seconds he
contented himself with striking the outstretched
paws before him with the butt-end of his musket.
The tiger extended his body, seized with one of his
claws the unfortunate man's leg, and began to drag
him off."
"A man touched by a tiger is a dead man," says
a German naturalist ; " and it is useless to risk the
VISIT TO THE MARKET-PLACE. 171
life of another in an attempt to snatch from the
cruel beast the mutilated victim whose sufferings
will soon be terminated by death." Such cold-
blooded reasoning never prevails on the scene of
action. Both the doctor and the inspector pursued
the tiger as he still hauled along their comrade's
body ; and two bullets, more fortunate than their
predecessors, arrested his course for ever.
On examination, they found that their unfortu-
nate companion had sustained a severe wound. Dr.
Morice amputated his thigh in the hut to which he
was transported ; but, whether from loss of blood,
which Europeans can ill afford in tropical latitudes,
or from the violence of the shock to the nervous
system, he died that same night.
From this painful scene it is pleasant to turn to
the market-place of Tayninh, with its various speci-
mens of the human race. Cambodians are toler-
ably numerous ; their comparatively tall stature,
their dark skin, their thick and heavy lower jaw,
their hair cut close like the bristles of a brush, and
especially their air of passive savagery, give them
an appearance totally different from that of the
Annamites. The two races detest each other cor-
172 ANNAMITE AND CAMBODIAN.
*P
dially. The Annamite, proud of his lighter com-
plexion, of his more advanced civilization, to say
nothing of the numerous defeats he has inflicted on
his neighbour, looks upon him as little above the
Moi's or wild people of the mountains. The Cam-
bodians are savages, he says, whose nature is radi-
cally bad and vicious ; they think nothing of law
or order ; they are stupid, and almost devoid of
reason. On the other hand, the Cambodian, with
his gloomier and more silent disposition, his deeper
religious sentiment, regards with compassion the
volatile Annamite. A cordial understanding be-
tween the two peoples will hardly ever be possible.
The Cambodian, in spite of his somewhat coarse
features, is more Hindu than Indo-Chinese ; and
both his language and his writing have affinities
with those of the aboriginal inhabitants of the great
Indian peninsula. He is the morose and untam-
able denizen of the hills and woods ; while his
neighbour is the sociable and light-humoured inha-
bitant of the plains. Unhappy is the Cambodian !
Hemmed in between the Siamese on the one hand,
and the Annamites on the other, who together have
robbed him of his richest provinces ; rendered sta-
tionary by the operation of a feudal law which
THE CHINESE ELEMENT. 175
prevents him from acquiring lands of his own, a
vigorous hand is needed to support him, and enable
him to preserve his autonomy, while the ameliorat-
ing influences of European civilization are gradu-
ally brought to bear upon him.
Such are the two races which occupy the pro-
vinces watered by the lower branches of the great
Cambodian river. In the large towns and seaports
is found a considerable admixture of the Chinese
element. Trade and commerce are almost entirely
in the hands of Chinese merchants, who, here as
elsewhere, exhibit an extraordinary amount of
patience, industry, and thrift ; and, here as else-
where, untiringly amass large and even enormous
fortunes. They preserve their nationality unaffected
by the conditions in which they are placed; always
a people apart, and always as distinct from the races
around them as are the Jews from the nations of
Europe.
CHAPTER Y.
M. MOUHOT IN CAMBODIA.
|UCH of the interesting and valuable infor-
mation we have acquired of late years in
reference to Siam, Cambodia, and Laos,
we owe to the indefatigable labours of Henri Mouhot,
the eminent French naturalist, who penetrated into
regions previously unknown to Europeans in the
years 1858, 1859, and 1860, and devoted himself
to the service of Science with equal ability and zeal.
He finally fell a victim to his heroic ardour being
seized with fever while on his way from Na-Le to
Luang Prabang, in Laos, on the 19th of October
1861, and dying, almost alone, with the exception of
two faithful native servants, on the 10th of November.
He spent nearly four years in exploring the
interior of Siam. As his biographer tells us, he
first travelled through that country, then entered
Cambodia, and afterwards made his way up the
TEMPLE OF ONGCOR. 177
Mekong as far as the frontier of Laos. There he
visited one of the wild and unconquered tribes
which occupy the border-land between Cambodia
and Laos and Cochin-China. Crossing the great
lake Touli-Sap, he extended his researches into the
remote provinces of Ongcor and Battambang, dis-
covering some immense ruins of high antiquity, and
more particularly those of the Temple of Ongcor
the Great, which, with its terrace, portico, galleries,
and peristyles, is perhaps a monument unparalleled
in the world. The bas-reliefs with which it is
adorned indicate considerable artistic skill on the part
of those who designed and executed them. But
what impresses the observer, not less than the beauty
and grandeur of the various parts of the huge pile,
is the size and number of the blocks of stone of
which they are constructed. In a single temple as
many as fifteen hundred and thirty-two columns !
What means of transport, as Mouhot remarks, what
a multitude of workmen, must such an enterprise
have required, seeing that the mountain whence
the stone was extracted is thirty miles distant ! In
each block may be seen holes an inch in diameter,
and an inch and a fifth in depth, varying in number
with the size of the blocks ; but no traces of them
(602) 12
178 TEMPLE OF ONGCOR.
are found in the columns and sculptured portions
of the glorious structure. According to a Cam-
bodian legend, these are the impressions of the
fingers of a giant, who, after kneading an enormous
quantity of clay, cut it into blocks and carved it,
and then converted it into stone by pouring over it
some wonderful liquid.
"All the mouldings, sculptures, and bas-reliefs,"
says Mouhot, "appear to have been executed after
the erection of the building. The stones are every-
where fitted together in so perfect a manner that
you. can scarcely see where are the joinings ; there
is neither sign of mortar nor mark of chisel, the
surface being as polished as marble. Was this in-
comparable edifice the work of a single genius, who
conceived the idea, and watched over the execution
of it ? One is tempted to think so, for no part of it
is deficient, faulty, or inconsistent. To what epoch
does it owe its origin ? As before remarked, neither
tradition nor written inscriptions furnish any certain
information upon this point ; or rather, I should
say, these latter are as a sealed book, for want of
an interpreter, and they may, perchance, throw
light on the subject when some European savant
shall succeed in deciphering them."
JOURNEY TO UDONG. 179
From the Mekong valley M. Mouhot passed into
that of the great Siamese river, the Menam, visiting
the province of Pechaburi. Thence he returned to
Bangkok, and after suitable preparation started on
an expedition to the north-east of Laos. His wan-
derings took him to Phrabat, Saohaie, Chaiapume,
and Korat. Returning to Chaiapume, he struck off
in a westerly direction, and visited Poukieau,
Monang-Mouna-Wa, Nam-kane, and Luang Prabang,
capital of West Laos. At the time of his death he
was bound for the provinces south-west of China.
It will form, we think, a useful supplement to the
account of the Mekong given in the preceding pages,
if we condense M. Mouhot's narrative of his partial
ascent of that great river.
We will take up our traveller's route at Kamput,
on the sea-coast, where he had an interview with the
king of Cambodia, and obtained carriages to convey
him to Udong, the capital. Udong is situated about
one hundred and thirty-five miles to the north-east of
Kamput, and four miles and a half from an arm of the
Mekong which forms the Great Lake. After travers-
ing a marshy plain he and his followers entered a noble
forest, and " under green leaves " proceeded to Udong,
180 A CAMBODIAN PALACE.
resting at night in stations provided for the accom-
modation of travellers. These are about twelve
miles apart, and are not only spacious but handsome.
The road all the way proved to be in excellent order,
and averaged from eighty to one hundred feet in
width. A broad track in the middle is reserved for
vehicles and elephants, while on either side extends
a belt of turf, covered with shrubs, and bounded by
the lofty and majestic trees of the forest. On draw-
ing near the capital, M. Mouhot saw that the
country exhibited signs of cultivation : fields of
rice waved luxuriantly, and the country residences
of the Cambodian nobles were surrounded by beau-
tiful gardens. The capital was protected by a large
moat, surmounted by a parapet, and enclosed by a
palisade ten feet high. There were no sentinels at
the gate, however, and M. Mouhot entered unchal-
lenged ; nay, more, without let or hindrance passed
into the palace-court of the second king of Cam-
bodia.
This distinguished personage soon heard of the
stranger's arrival, and despatched a couple of pages
to summon him to his presence. Mouhot would
have excused himself on the plea that his luggage
had not arrived, and he was not in suitable attire.
MOUHOT AND THE KING. 181
He was told that the king had no dress at all; and
before he could invent a second excuse, the king's
chamberlain arrived with a more peremptory mes-
sage. Mouhot, therefore, repaired to the palace,
the entrance of which was guarded by a dozen
dismounted cannon, and was shown into the audience-
chamber, the walls of which were whitened with
chalk, and the floor paved with large Chinese tiles.
Here, waiting for the king's appearance, were col-
lected several Siamese pages, from twenty-five to
thirty years of age, all dressed alike in a langouti
of red silk. As the king entered every forehead
touched the ground. His manner was graceful and
self-possessed, and the questions he asked were
pertinent and sensible. Was M. Mouhot French
or English ? What was his business in Cambodia ?
What did he think of Bangkok ? Then, with all
the ease of a European sovereign, he held out his
hand for Mouhot to kiss ; and the latter withdrew,
well pleased with the interview.
An inspection of the city showed him that it con-
tained a population of about twelve thousand souls ;
that it consisted in the main of a street one mile
in length ; and that the houses were built of planks
or bamboos. It presents a very lively appearance,
182 A BUSY SCENE.
however, from the numbers of persons who are
drawn to it by considerations of business or plea-
sure. " Every moment," says Mouhot, " I met
mandarins, either borne in litters or on foot, followed
by a crowd of slaves carrying various articles : some,
yellow or scarlet parasols, more or less huge accord-
ing to the rank of the persons ; others, boxes with
betel. I also encountered horsemen, mounted on
pretty, spirited little animals, richly caparisoned
and covered with bells, ambling along, while a troop
of attendants, covered with dust and sweltering with
heat, ran after them. Light carts, drawn by a
couple of small oxen, trotting along rapidly and
noisily, were here and there to be seen. Occasion-
ally a large elephant passed majestically by. On
this side were numerous processions to the pagoda,
marching to the sound of music ; there, again, was
a band of ecclesiastics in single file, seeking alms,
draped in their yellow cloaks, and with the holy
vessels on their backs."
From Udong, with waggons and elephants pro-
vided by the king, M. Mouhot proceeded towards
the Great Lake. The road was in excellent con-
dition, and at some points built up more than ten
THE GREAT BAZAAR OF CAMBODIA. 183
feet above the level of the low, wooded country
which borders on the great arm of the Mekong.
The watercourses were spanned by handsome bridges
of wood or stone. At Pinhalu, a village on the
right bank of the river, is the residence of the
French Vicar- Apostolic of the Cambodia and Laos
mission. Here our traveller embarked in a small
boat for Pemptielan, situated on the Mekong, about
forty miles north of Pnom Penh. The branch which
he descended was fifteen hundred yards wide, and its
banks were inhabited by a tribe called the Thiames.
Pnorn Penh, which Mouhot reached after a perilous
voyage, is the great bazaar of Cambodia. It con-
tains a population of about ten thousand, nearly
all Chinese ; while double that number of Cochin-
Chinese and Cambodians live upon the river in their
boats. An active trade is carried on here in rice,
fish, glass, brass wire, and cotton yarn.
Just below this busy town M. Mouhot's boat
passed into the main channel of the Mekong the
"Mother of Rivers" and began to ascend it,
steering towards the north. Shoals of porpoises
accompanied it, occasionally bounding out of the
water with a lively splash ; red - billed pelicans
watched for their finny prey from the reedy
184 ASCENT OP THE MEKONG.
banks ; and storks and herons stood in silent medi-
tation.
The current of the Mekong, as we have already
stated, flows with great rapidity, and renders navi-
gation slow and laborious. It took M. Mouhot five
days to pass the island of Ko-Sutin ; and the rate of
velocity increasing as he advanced to the northward,
he was seldom able to accomplish more than two
miles a day. On arriving at the rapids and cata-
racts he was compelled to abandon his boats and
embark, with his followers and stores, in light canoes;
and even these it was necessary at times to carry
ashore, and convey along the bank on men's shoul-
ders until a smooth part of the river was gained.
At Pemptielan Mouhot landed, and delivered to
its mandarin a letter from the king, ordering him to
furnish the traveller with all the appliances requisite
for his overland journey. He immediately started
him on his way with a suitable number of waggons
drawn by oxen, but the soil in the forests was so
marshy that they were continually sinking in some
deep slough, from which they could be extricated
only by the greatest exertions. Thus their progress
was limited to sixty miles in five days. At length
he reached the village of Brelum, in the centre of
RESIDENCE AT PEMPTIELAN. 185
a district occupied by the savage Stiens. Here, in
order to study their manners and the physical
features of the country, he remained three months,
though it is difficult to conceive of a situation less
pleasing to or suitable for a man of European culture.
The gloomy forests around were infested with
elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers, buffaloes, and wild
boars. More formidable, because less easily avoided,
were the snakes, scorpions, and centipedes which
swarmed in every direction, and constantly made
their way into the houses. Brelum, however, is the
seat of a Roman Catholic mission, and from its head,
Father Guilloux, the traveller received a cordial
hospitality which alleviated the dreariness of his
sojourn.
He describes the Stiens as dwelling in villages,
each of which forms a distinct and independent
community. They love "the deep shade of the
pathless woods," where they live on the products of
their bow and arrows. They work with great skill
in iron and ivory ; and the women weave and dye
a delicate stuff, which they wear in the form of a
long loose scarf. In the neighbourhood of their
villages, if the country be open, they cultivate
various kinds of vegetables and fruit-trees, as well
186 THE RICE CULTIVATION.
as rice, maize, and tobacco. In the fields thus
planted they spend the rainy season, building small
huts, raised above the swampy ground on piles a
protection at once from the swollen waters and the
leeches, the latter of which are a plague of no incon-
siderable proportions.
There is a certain peculiarity in their method of
cultivating rice. On the beginning of the rains the
Stien selects his piece of ground, and with nimble
hatchet clears it of its growth of bamboos, but not
attempting to meddle with the large trees. As soon
as the canes have dried he sets fire to them, and in
this way clears his ground and manures it simul-
taneously. Then he takes two long bamboos and
lays them in a line on the ground ; with a dibble in
each hand he makes on either side a row of holes
about an inch and a half deep, at short distances.
Having finished Ms share of the work the man retires
to enjoy his ease, while his wife enters on the scene,
and from a basket slung to her waist dips out a
handful of rice, a few grains of which she drops
into each hole with equal neatness and rapidity.
No more is necessary. Nature does the rest. The
heavy rains soon wash the soil over the holes; and
the heat of the climate soon causes the seed to
ABOUT THE STIENS. 187
germinate. Meanwhile the cultivator sits and smokes
in his hut, or proves his skill with bow and arrow
at the expense of the goats, apes, or wild boars.
At the end of October is reaped the harvest.
Generally, for some weeks previously much priva-
tion and distress are experienced, and the improvi-
dent Stien, who never takes thought of the morrow
in the season of plenty, is reduced to feed upon wild
roots, maize seeds, young bamboo shoots, and even
serpents, bats, and toads. For this sorry fare the
Stien compensates himself as soon as the harvest is
gathered. A general feasting commences: one village
inviting the inhabitants of another; oxen being freely
slaughtered; and eating and drinking prevailing from
morn to night, and almost from night to morn, to
the sound of tambourine and tomtom.
Like the Annamites, the Stiens wear the hair
long, but twisted up, and fastened by a bamboo
comb, with a pheasant's crest on the top of a piece
of brass wire by way of ornament. They are mostly
of tall stature, strong, and well-limbed ; with regular
features, thick eyebrows, and a good forehead. Their
hospitality is abundant, and a stranger, on his arrival,
is immediately entertained with rice-wine, a pipe of
188 THEIR EESPECT FOR THE DEAD.
peace, and a fatted pig or fowl. Their dress is sim-
plicity itself, a long scarf about two inches wide;
and even with this they dispense when " at home "
in their cabins. They have neither priests nor
temples ; and their religion appears to consist of a
belief in a supreme being called Bra; to whom, on
occasions of calamity and suffering, they sacrifice a
pig or an ox, and sometimes a human victim.
They are very careful in burying their dead; and
a member of the family of the deceased invariably
visits the grave daily, to sow a few grains of rice for
his sustenance. Prior to any meal, they spill a little
rice for the same purpose; and similar offerings are
made in the fields and places which the dead were
accustomed to visit. Plumes of reed are attached to
the top of a long bamboo, and lower down the stem
are fastened smaller bamboos containing a few drops
of wine or water ; and, finally, on " a slight trellis-
work raised above the ground" some earth is laid, with
an arrow planted in it, and a few grains of cooked
rice, a leaf, a little tobacco, and a bone spread about.
The Stiens believe that animals have souls; that
these wander about after death; and that, therefore,
it is necessary to propitiate them, lest they should be
troublesome and vexatious. Sacrifices are accord-
.THEIR HUNTING WEAPONS. 189
ingly offered, in proportion to the size and strength
of the animal ; and the reader will conceive that
in the case of an elephant they are on a very grand
scale. The North American Indian, it may be re-
marked, cherishes a similar superstition in respect to
the bear and the buffalo.
According to M. Mouhot, a Stien is seldom seen
without his cross-bow in his hand, his knife slung
over his shoulder, and a basket for his arrows, and
the game they bring down on his back. In the
chase he displays the most untiring energy, gliding
through the woods " with the speed of a deer." In
the use of the cross-bow practice brings perfection.
For the larger animals the arrows are steeped in a
poison which is described as being peculiarly rapid
and fatal in its effects.
The Stiens, let it be said in conclusion, are, like
most savage races, exceedingly partial to ornaments,
and particularly to bracelets made of bright-coloured
beads. The men usually wear one above the elbow,
and one at the wrist ; but the women load both
arms and legs. Brass wire and glass ornaments
form their currency ; a buffalo or an ox being valued
at six armfuls of thick brass wire, which is also
about the price of a pig. A pheasant, however, or
190 HUNTING THE TIGER.
a hundred ears of maize, may be procured for a
small piece of fine wire or a bead necklace.
Both men and women perforate their ears, widen-
ing the hole annually by the insertion of plugs of
bone or ivory fully three inches in length. A
plurality of wives is allowed to the chiefs and richer
men of the tribe ; the poor are content with one
wife, simply because they cannot afford to maintain
a harem.
About the fauna of this portion of the Mekong
valley little need be said, and that little we shall
confine to the tiger, which is as strong and ferocious
as his celebrated congener of Bengal. Yet a couple
of men, with no other weapons than pikes, will fre-
quently sally forth to the attack. When the object
of their daring enterprise is discovered, the stronger
of the two hunters lowers his pike. Sometimes, if
not emboldened by hunger, the tiger refuses the
challenge, and bounds into the forest shade ; more
frequently he charges with a sudden rush, and then,
if the force of his leap do not carry him over the
head of the hunter, he falls upon the pike, which
the hunter raises by pressing the handle on the
earth. Immediately his companion rushes forward,
A CIRCLE OF PIKES. 191
and plunges his weapon into the animal's flank ;
then the two, by sheer force, pin him to the ground,
and hold him there until he dies. If the first man
miss his aim, and break his pike, his death is cer-
tain ; and not seldom his comrade also perishes.
But generally a tiger-hunt brings to the front all
the men of the village, together with volunteers
from the neighbouring villages. Led by the most
experienced among them, they track the animal to
his lair, which they proceed to enclose with a circle
each man being posted at a convenient distance, but
so as to leave no space unguarded through which the
tiger may escape. " Some of the most daring then
venture into the centre," says Mouhot, "and cut
away the brushwood, during which operation they
are protected by others armed with pikes. The
tiger, pressed on all sides, rolls his eyes, licks his
paws in a convulsive manner as though preparing
for combat ; then, with a frightful howl, he makes
his spring. Immediately every pike is raised, and
the animal falls pierced through and through.
Accidents not infrequently happen, and many are
often severely hurt ; but they have no choice but to
wage war against the tigers, which leave them no
rest, force the enclosures, and carry off domestic
192 LAKE TOULI-SAP.
animals and even men, not only from the roads and
close vicinity of the houses, but from the interiors
of the buildings. In Annam, the fear inspired by
the tigers, elephants, and other wild animals, makes
the people address them with the greatest respect ;
they give them the title of ' grandfather ' or ' lord,'
fearing that they may be offended, and show resent-
ment by attacking them." It is a pity that poets
and romancists, when enlarging on the joys of a
savage life, its freedom from the restraints of civil-
ization, and the opportunities it affords for com-
munion with Nature, omit all reference to its incon-
veniences, such, for instance, as the immediate
neighbourhood of an elephant or a tiger !
After a sojourn of three months among the Stiens,
M. Mouhot returned to Udong by the route which
he had previously followed. Of Pnom Penh, he
says that it is situated at the confluence of the
Mekong with its tributary, which he proposes to
name the Me-Sap. This arm or tributary it is
which forms the great Cambodian lake Touli-Sap ;
an immense sheet of water, upwards of one hundred
and twenty miles in length, and four hundred miles
in circumference, and as full of motion as a sea.
RUINS OF BUDDHIST TEMPLES. 193
Its shores are low, and covered with half-submerged
trees; but in the distance may be seen a magnificent
range of mountains, with the clouds resting on their
summits.
To the east of the Great Lake lies the province of
Ongcor, or Nokhor, in which, and along the banks
of the Mekong, lie ruins of immense grandeur, bear-
ing witness to the ancient wealth and populousness
of the kingdom of Tsiampois (Cochin-China). To
the most remarkable of these monuments, the great
temple of Ongcor-Wat, we have already alluded.
Its founders are unknown. Ask the Cambodians,
and they reply : "It is the work of Pra-Enn, the
king of the angels ; " or else, " It is the work of
giants ; " or, " It was built by the leper King ; " or,
" It made itself."
Two miles and a half to the north of Ongcor, on the
summit of Mount Bakheng, rises another magnificent
Buddhist temple, not less than one hundred and
twenty feet in height. At the foot of the mountain
two stately lions, each formed, with its pedestal, out
of a single block of limestone, keep watch in the
silent shadows of the forest-trees. Thence dila-
pidated stone staircases lead to the mountain-top,
from which a view of singular beauty and extent is
(602) 13
194 ON THE MOUNTAIN-SUMMIT.
obtained. On the one side are visible the wooded
plain and pyramidal temple of Ongcor, with its
noble colonnades, and the mountain of Crome, the
horizon being bounded by the shining waters of the
Great Lake. In the opposite direction extends the
long mountain-chain, the quarries of which, it is said,
supplied the materials of the temples ; and among
the dense masses of foliage at its feet glimmers a
fair and silvery lake. The entire region is now as
lonely and deserted as formerly it must have been
full of life and cheerfulness. The solitude is dis-
turbed only by the occasional song of bird, or wild,
unearthly cry of beast of prey.
A smooth surface has been obtained on the top of
the mountain by laying down a thick floor of lime.
At regular intervals are four rows of deep holes, in
some of which still stand the columns that formerly
supported two roofs, and formed a corridor leading
from the staircase to the body of the building. The
arms or branches of this gallery were connected
with four towers, built partly of stone and partly
of brick. In the two of these which are in the best
preservation are kept large rudely-fashioned idols,
evidently of great antiquity. In one of the others
is a large stone, with an inscription still visible ;
M. MOUHOT'S DESCRIPTION. 195
the figure of a king with a long beard is carved
upon the outer wall.
A wall, says Mouhot, surrounds the top of the
mountain, and encloses yet another building quad-
rangular in shape, and composed of five stories, each
about ten feet high, while the basement story is two
hundred and twenty feet square. These stories form
so many terraces, which serve as bases to seven ty-
two small but elegant pavilions ; and they are em-
bellished with mouldings, colonnades, and cornices.
M. Mouhot describes the work as perfect ; and is of
opinion that, from its good state of preservation, it
must be of later date than the towers. Each pavilion,
it may be assumed, formerly contained an idol.
On either side of the quadrangle ascends a stair-
case, seven feet wide, with nine steps to each story,
and lions on each terrace. The centre of the terrace
formed by the last story is simply a mass of ruins
from the shattered towers. Near the staircase lie
two gigantic blocks of fine stone, wrought as smooth
as marble, and shaped like pedestals for statues.
[So far from M. Mouhot. It will be interesting,
however, to supplement his description with the
details given by Lieutenant Gamier.
196 GARNISH'S DESCRIPTION.
The ascent of the so-called mountain, he says, is
easily accomplished : after a little time the traveller
arrives at a kind of platform excavated in the rock,
the surface of which appears formerly to have been
carefully levelled with cement. A small brick build-
ing attracts the eye ; it is erected over the imprint
of Buddha's foot, the gilding and outlines of which
are, like the building itself, of very modern date.
But we soon discover, in the rock, numerous holes
which served as foundations for the columns of the
temple; and beyond, some of these columns are still
standing. If we follow up the traces of this colon-
nade, we arrive at an enclosure which was opened
of old, perhaps, by a monumental gate ; but there
are not sufficient vestiges extant to enable us safely
to reconstruct this part of the edifice. Within the
enclosure, and symmetrically placed on either side
of the colonnade, we find two ruined buildings; and
in their interior numerous statues and fragments of
statues have been carefully preserved by the inhabit-
ants. Continuing our exploration westward, we
arrive at length at the foot of the principal monu-
ment. This consists of five terraces excavated on
the crest of the hill in exact gradation. Their
general plan is rectangular, and one recedes behind
A MASS OF RUINS. 197
the other at least thirteen feet. We ascend them
by means of staircases constructed in the middle of
each side, and guarded by stone lions mounted upon
pedestals. At the angle of each terrace, and about
thirty feet from each staircase, are raised admirably
built little turrets, sixteen feet in height. Each of
these sixteen turrets contains a statue.
In the centre of the upper terrace is a platform
or base, about three and a quarter feet high, and
measuring one hundred feet from north to south by
one hundred and three feet from east to west. On
this base were raised of old the towers which domi-
nated the neighbouring country. But it is occupied
now by a mass of ruins. By carefully examining
them, we are able to make out that these towers
were three in number, of which the central was the
largest, and that they faced the east. The view
from the summit of the ruins is truly enchanting.
At our feet extends the verdurous sea of forest, its
vague and undefinable murmurs just audible to the
attentive ear. In a northerly direction the dense
forest-shadows stretch far and far away until lost
in the dim horizon ; and the eye seeks vainly to
discover in its midst the crests of some of the lofty
monuments of Ongcor. To the south-east, however,
198 A PICTURESQUE PANORAMA.
the towers and colonnades of Ongcor-Wat are clearly
marked out upon the great open plain ; and the
few groves of palms and clusters of fruit-trees which
surround it give to the landscape an Oriental char-
acter of poetry and grace. Westward, a small lake
reflects in its glassy surface the surrounding ver-
dure. To the south we catch glimpses, through the
warm vapours which veil the horizon, of the Great
Lake.
What a fairy-like aspect, from the summit of these
towers, must the mountain itself, in the old time,
have presented, with its lions, and its turrets, and
its staircases of stone descending even to the plain
and to the city of Ongcor-Thom, with its ramparts
and its innumerable gilded towers, which the forest
now covers with its vast monotonous shroud of
verdure !
From the extent of the debris accumulated at
the foot of the monument, we may conjecture that
formerly a double row of buildings of brick sur-
rounded it ; these were probably occupied by a
garrison or a numerous military guard. The posi-
tion of Mount Bakheng with reference to the neigh-
bouring city made it a kind of Acropolis ; and
doubtless it was so used from the very foundation
MOUHOT AT BANGKOK. 199
of the city. But while Mouhot ascribes the monu-
ment which it supports to the very infancy of
Cambodian art, the leader of Gamier' s expedition
considered it of later date. The fashion of the
ornamentation and the style of the architecture
seemed to him almost identical with those of other
Khmer ruins. Moreover, in his opinion this archi-
tecture sprang into existence, so to speak, all at
once ; was complete in itself ; had neither a period
of development nor one of decay ; as if it had been
introduced from without by a conquering race, which
afterwards had been swept away by some sudden
catastrophe.]
After a careful survey of the ruins of Ongcor and
Ongcor-Thom (or " the Great"), M. Mouhot returned
to Bangkok, and made preparations to visit the
north-eastern provinces of Laos.
While at Bangkok he witnessed a succession of
fetes, of which he records details so interesting, that,
by way of digression, we venture to transfer them
to these pages.
The river Menam, he says, was covered with
large and handsome boats, gay with gilding and
gorgeous with elaborate carving ; among which the
200 A ROYAL PROCESSION.
heavy barges of the rice-merchants, and the small
craft of poor women carrying to market their betel-
nuts and bananas, seemed out of place. It is only
on such occasions as these that the king, princes,
and mandarins display their wealth and pomp. The
king, when Mouhot saw him, was proceeding to a
pagoda to make his offerings; and was followed by
his mandarins, each in a splendid barge, with rowers
attired in the brightest colours. In their train came
a number of canoes filled with red-coated soldiers.
The royal barge was easily distinguished by its
throne and canopy, and by the profuseness of its
carving and gilding. Some of the royal children
sat at the feet of the king, who waved a recognition
to every European he saw.
All the vessels lying in the river were dressed
out with flags; while every floating house had an
altar erected, on which various objects were placed,
and aromatic woods burned with pleasant odours.
In the court barges the various dignitaries, mostly
men of " good round paunch," lay indolently upon
triangular embroidered cushions spread on a kind
of dais. They were surrounded by officials, women,
and children, either kneeling or lying flat, and
holding the golden urns which are used for spit-
MOUHOT'S JOURNEY TO KHAO-KIIOC. 201
toons, or the golden tea-pots and betel-boxes. Each
boat carried from eighty to a hundred rowers, wear-
ing a large white scarf round the loins, and a red
langouti, but leaving the head and greater part of
the body bare. They lifted their paddles simul-
taneously, and struck the water in excellent con-
cert ; while at the prow stood a slave with an oar
to prevent collisions, and another at the stern em-
ployed an oar for steering purposes. At intervals
the rowers raised " a wild, exulting cry of ' Ouah !
ouah ! ' : while the voice of the steersman, in a
louder and more sustained note, rose above the rest.
From this holiday city, however, M. Mouhot
tore himself away, and entered on his lonely and
hazardous journey. He soon reached the pure
breezy air and picturesque scenery of the mountains
of Nophaburi and Phrabat, and ascended the Menam
to Saoha'ie, the starting-point for all caravans going
to Korat. He thence continued his voyage to
Khao-Khoc, which has been fortified by the king
of Siam as an asylum in case of a European inva-
sion of the south. Here he resided for some months,
on the borders of a vast unexplored forest, studying
the manners and customs of the Laotians. In Feb-
202 " ACROSS COUNTRY."
ruary 1861 he arrived at Chaiapune. It was not
until he had encountered and conquered obstacles
that would have broken the heart of any man less
enthusiastic or less courageous that he succeeded in
making his way to Korat. As he describes it as
"a nest of robbers and assassins, the resort of all
the scurn of the Laotian and Siamese races," the
rendezvous of " bandits and vagrants escaped from
slavery or from prison," he would hardly have
found it a pleasant resting-place ; and as soon as
he could obtain a supply of elephants for himself
and his followers, he resumed his journey, striking
across the country to Poukieau.
Here he ascended gradually a range of moun-
tains abounding in resinous trees and frequented by
deer, tigers, elephants, and rhinoceros. This chain
extends directly north, continually increasing in
height and breadth, and throwing off numerous
spurs towards the east, where the deep shadowy
valleys collect their waters, and pour them into the
Mekong.
Throughout this mountainous region elephants
are the only means of transport. Every village,
consequently, possesses one of these valuable ani-
mals ; some no fewer than fifty or a hundred.
THE ELEPHANT " AT HOME." 203
Otherwise, intercommunication would be impossible
for seven months out of the twelve. " The ele-
phant/' says Mouhot, "ought to be seen on these
roads, which I can only call devil's pathways, and
are nothing but ravines, ruts two or three feet deep,
full of mud ; sometimes sliding with his feet close
together on the wet clay of the steep slopes, some-
times half-buried in mire, an instant afterwards
mounted on sharp rocks where one would think a
Blondin alone could stand ; striding across enormous
trunks of fallen trees, crushing down the smaller
trees and bamboos which oppose his progress, or lying
down flat on his stomach, that the cornacs (drivers)
may the easier place the saddle on his back ; a
hundred times a day making his way, without
injuring them, between trees where there is barely
room to pass ; sounding with his trunk the depth
of the water in the streams or marshes ; constantly
kneeling down and rising again, and never making
a false step. It is necessary, I repeat, to see him
at work like this in his own country, to form any
idea of his intelligence, docility, and strength, or
how all these wonderful joints of his are adapted
to their work fully to understand that this colos-
sus is no rough specimen of Nature's handiwoi'k,
204 AT LUANG PRABANG.
but a creature of especial amiability and sagacity,
designed for the service of man."
After leaving Korat, Mouhot crossed five con-
siderable rivers, the Menam-Chie, the Menam-
Leuye, the Menam-Ouan, the Nam-Pouye, and the
Nam-Houn, all tributaries of the mighty Mekong;
and the last-named river he once more reached, at
Pak Lay, in lat. 19 1C' 58", on June the 24th,
1861. The Mekong here is much broader than the
Menam at Bangkok, and dashes through the moun-
tain ravine with the impetuosity of a torrent and
the roar of the sea. Its navigation between Pak
Lay and Luang Prabang is interrupted by several
rapids.
Luang Prabang, where Mouhot arrived on the
25th of July, is a pleasantly-situated town, occupy-
ing an area of one square mile, and containing
a population of eight thousand. The mountains
which, both above and below it, enclose the broad
and copious Mekong, form at this point a kind of
circular valley or amphitheatre, nine miles in dia-
meter, and, with their woods, and luxuriant verdure,
and lawny slopes, combine in a picturesque pano-
rama, reminding one of the Alpine lakes.
The town extends on both banks of the stream,
THE RIVER NAM KAN. 205
but chiefly on the left bank, where the houses sur-
round an isolated mount about three hundred and
fifty feet in height, covered by a pagoda.*
An important tributary of the Mekong, the Nam
Kan, skirts on the east and north the little hill at
the foot of which Luang Prabang is situated, and
divides the latter into two unequal parts, the larger
of which lies to the south of the point of confluence.
The banks of this stream, for a considerable distance
inland, are lined with an uninterrupted series of
pagodas and great gardens, in the latter of which
the betel-nut is cultivated, and peaches, plum-trees,
and oleanders flourish: a sign that the traveller here
enters a very temperate region, where the fruits and
plants of Central Asia may be successfully cultivated.
In the southern district of the city is placed the
palace of the king, an enormous aggregate of huts,
enclosed by a high and strong palisade, and forming
a rectangle, one side of which is contiguous to the
base of the central mount. As this sacred hillock is
there almost perpendicular, the ascent to its pagoda-
crowned summit is effected by a flight of several
hundred steps excavated in the rock. A daily and
* A fuller description of Luang Prabang, as given by Gamier, who visited it
six years after Mouhot, will be found on page 78.
206 COMMERCIAL LIFE AT LUANG PRABANG.
excessively animated market is held under some
sheds situated near the junction of the Nam Kan
and the Mekong; but they are insufficient to accom-
modate all the vendors, and open booths, stalls, or
shops are prolonged for upwards of half a mile in a
wide street parallel to the river.
M. Gamier remarks that this was the first market,
in the European sense of the word, which he had
seen since leaving Pnom Penh. This sudden activity,
he adds, and comparatively considerable commerce,
to judge from the numerous and diverse types which
at Luang Prabang represented all the nations of
Indo-China and India, were obviously due less to a
change of race or increased product of the soil than
to a radical difference of government. The coun-
tries of Southern Laos, in their era of independence,
had been celebrated for their wealth and commercial
enterprise ; but Siamese tyranny and monopoly
have blighted their prosperity. If life be reviving
at Luang Prabang, it is because the Siamese court
have awakened to a perception of the fact that a
milder rule was essential for so powerful a province.
The foundation of Luang Prabang appears to date
only from the early part of the eighteenth century.
No reference to it occurs in the careful account of
HISTORICAL NOTES. 207
Siam compiled by the Jesuit missionary La Loubere
in 168788. Its distance from the theatre of the
wars which desolated Indo-China in the eighteenth
century, greatly contributed to assure its prosper-
ity, and was probably one of the principal causes
which led to its foundation. Its government skil-
fully contrived to obtain the nominal protection of
China, by sending an envoy once every eight years
with a couple of elephants, as a sign of homage;
and it has secured the goodwill of the Annamite
empire, by consenting to pay a small triennial tribute.
The mountainous country to be traversed before an
army can reach Luang Prabang, and the energy
which its population owes to the admixture of
numerous savage and warlike tribes inhabiting the
borders of Tonquin and Laos, invest this province
with exceptional means for resisting aggression on
the part of Siam.
But we have exhausted our space; and, after
leading the reader into territories which have before
them a splendid future, and following with him
the course of the great Cambodian river into regions
almost unknown to Europeans regions the resources
of which are immense, but need the science and
208 DEATH OF MOUIIOT.
energy of Europe for their development we must
bring our narrative to a close.
We have accompanied Mouhot to Luang Pra-
bang. Thence he returned to Pak Lay, where, he
says, he had the pleasure of again seeing the beau-
tiful stream which he had come to regard as an
old friend. "I have so long drunk of its waters/' he
writes ; "it has so long either cradled me on its
bosom or tried my patience, at one time flowing
majestically among the mountains, at another muddy
and yellow as the Arno at Florence."
Ee visiting Luang Prabang on the 25th of July,
he left it again on the 9th of August. A few months
later his adventurous career, as we have already
stated, was terminated by an attack of jungle fever.
Hitherto, it has been to the research and adven-
ture of French travellers that geographers have
principally owed their knowledge of the Mekong.
Let us hope that before long some Englishmen will
follow in their steps!
THE END.
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