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! 
 
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 the PUBLIC, and is conceded by ALL to be the very BEST " TEACHERS' 
 BIBLE " in the market. 
 
 From the " SUNDAY SCHOOL TIMES." 
 
 In an OXFORD BIBLH one Is always sure of a good thing. The OXFORD 
 PRESS has done good service by the issue of these TEACHERS' BIBLES, 
 with their full and admirable series of helps. So far as we can see, the 
 new fac-si mile series of Oxford Bibles for Sunday school Teachers is, all 
 things considered, better suited to the wants of the Sunday School 
 Teacher than any other series yet offered to the public. In typography, 
 paper, binding, varied and excellent helps to study, these Bibles are with 
 the very foremost; and their range of styles and prices gives a choice to 
 all. 
 
 From the " NORTH-WESTERN ADVOCATE." 
 
 OXFORD BIBLES are printed from standing type, not from plates. 
 The OXFORD PRESS cast their own types, make their own paper from rags 
 only, and bind their books themselves. The manipulation of a genuine 
 OXFORD BIHLE, both as to paper and binding, will satisfy the most minute 
 scrutiny. The clearness of the printed page leaves nothing to be desired. 
 As to the binding, the book may be doubled flat back, may be thrown 
 down and evc'/t trampled upon, without a leaf starting, or it may be 
 suspended by a single leaf without sustaining injury. The back of 
 the book is so supple it cannot be broken, and in order to take the book 
 to pieces, the leaves must be torn out separately. The paper itself posses- 
 ses a toughness which cannot be surpassed, but the binding will, for 
 durability, outlast the paper. The information contained in the Notes, 
 etc., is nearly all new, or rewritten in such a way as to embrace the 
 greatest amount of knowledge in the smallest compass. The most emi- 
 nent scholars and professors of OXFORD UNIVERSITY" have been employed 
 on these articles, and they have been revised by the most eminent 
 Divines, so as to make the matter as perfect as possible, and acceptable 
 to all. 
 
 For Prices, Sizes, etc., zee next ptigcs. 
 
 THE OXFORD BIBLE WAREHOUSE, 42 BLEECKER STREET, NEW YORK.
 
 PRICES AND SIZES 
 
 OF THE FAC-SIMILE SERIES OF 
 
 ' J8ible0 
 
 WITH 50,000 REFERENCES. 
 
 PEARL 24mo. (Size 4 x 5^ x i% inches.) Postage, 9 cents. 
 
 NOS. 
 
 500 -French Morocco, gilt edge, stiff covers, silk book mark. $i 50 
 
 501 French Morocco, " circuit covers, " " '75 
 
 502 Venetian Morocco, " " " 2 oo 
 
 505 Persian Morocco, " flexible covers," " a 10 
 
 508 Imitation Seal Skin, " Divinity circuit, silk sewed, lined 
 
 with leather, and band 2 50 
 
 510 Turkey Morocco gilt edge, stiff covers 260 
 
 511 Turkey Morocco, " flexible covers 2 60 
 
 512 Turkey Morocco, " circuit covers 350 
 
 515 Levant Morocco, " Divinity circuit, kid-lined and band, 
 
 silk sewed, flexible back 4 60 
 
 PEARL 8VO. (Size 4 x6X x i^ inches.) Postage, 12 cents. 
 
 815 Levant Morocco, Divinity circuit, kid-lined and band, silk 
 
 sewed, flexible back $5 75 
 
 816 Levant Morocco, Divinity circuit, kid-lined and band, best silk 
 
 sewed, flexible back 7 25 
 
 RUBY 16mo. (Size 4 x 6% x 1% inches.) Postage, 12 cents. 
 
 565 Levant Morocco, Divinity circuit, kid-lined and band, silk 
 
 sewed, flexible back .$5 25 
 
 566 Levant Morocco, Divinity circuit, kid-lined and band, best silk 
 
 sewed, flexible back, red and gold edges . . 6 75 
 
 Other styles are in preparation and will be ready shortly. 
 
 NONPAREIL 16mO. (Size 4 x6# xi inches.) Postage, 12 cents. 
 
 600 French Morocco, gilt edges, stifT covers, silk book mark $2 35 
 
 601 French Morocco, " circuit covers, " 2 75 
 
 605 Persian Morocco, " flexible covers," " 275 
 
 608 Imitation Seal Skin, " Divinity circuit, silk sewed, lined 
 
 with leather, and band 3 50 
 
 610 Turkey Morocco, gilt edges, stiff covers 3 25
 
 NOS. 
 
 611 Turkey Morocco, gilt edges, flexible covers $3 25 
 
 612 Turkey Morocco, circuit covers 45 
 
 615 Levant Morocco, " Divinity circuit, kid-lined and 
 
 band, silk sewed, flexible back 5 75 
 
 616 Levant Morocco, Divinity circuit, kid-lined and band, best silk 
 
 sewed, flexible back, red and gold edges 7 25 
 
 NONPAREIL 8vo. (Size \% x 7 x i & inches.) Postage, 16 cents. 
 
 66 1 Turkey Morocco, gilt edges, flexible covers $4 25 
 
 665 Levant Morocco, Divinity circuit, kid-lined and band, silk 
 
 sewed, flexible back 6 75 
 
 666 Levant Morocco, Divinity circuit, kid-lined and band, best silk 
 
 sewed, flexible back, red and gold edges 3 25 
 
 Other styles are in preparation and ivill be ready shortly. 
 
 MINION 8vo. (Size 5 x 7% x i) inches.) Postage, 18 cents. 
 
 705 Persian Morocco, gilt edges, flexible covers $4 25 
 
 708 Imitation Seal Skin, gilt edges, Divinity circuit, silk sewed, 
 
 lined with leather, and band 5 25 
 
 710 Turkey Morocco, gilt edges, stiff covers 500 
 
 711 Turkey Morocco, " flexible covers 500 
 
 715 Levant Morocco, " Divinity circuit, kid-lined and 
 
 band, silk sewed, flexible back 7 50 
 
 716 Levant Morocco, Divinity circuit, kid-lined and band, best silk 
 
 sewed, flexible back, red and gold edges 1025 
 
 718 Seal Skin, Divinity circuit, kid-lined and band, best silk sewed, 
 
 flexible back, red and gold solid edges. . . 14 oo 
 
 LARGE MARGIN, MINION 8vo, FOR MSS. NOTES. 
 
 Postage, 28 cents. 
 905 Persian Morocco, gilt edges, stiff covers f-7 5 
 
 910 Turkey Morocco, " stiff covers . ...1050 
 
 911 Turkey Morocco, " flexible covers. ... 1050 
 
 915 Levant Morocco " Divinity circuit, kid-lined and 
 
 band, silk sewed, flexible back 1400 
 
 For samples of type and further information apply to all Booksellers, 
 or to 
 
 THOMAS NELSON & SONS, 
 Agents for the Oxford University Bible House, 
 
 42 BLEECKER ST., NEW YORK.
 
 BLAIKIE (Rev. W. G.), D.D.-BIBLE GEOGRAPHY. With 
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 BIBLE HISTORY, in connection with the General History 
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 Socialand Religious Life, ismo, cloth, $1.50. 
 
 COMPER GRAY (James).-CLASS AND DESK (The). A 
 Manual for Sunday School Teachers. 4 vols. i2mo, cloth, $5.00; or 
 sold separately, each, $1.25, namely: 
 
 Vol. i. The Old Testament Genesis to Esther. 
 
 Vol. 2. The Old Testament Job to Malachi. 
 
 Vol. 3. The New Testament The Gospels. 
 
 Vol. 4. The New Testament The Epistles. 
 
 DICTIONARY OF SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES, with 
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 GREEN (Rev. S. G.).-LECTITRES TO CHILDREN ON 
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 EARLY GENIUS, As Illustrated by Bacon, Galileo, Newton, Cim- 
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