Through the Buffer state; a record of recent travels through Borneo, Siam and Cambodia

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THE UNIVEROIT/ OF IvIlCHIGAN UBRARIE

TEIEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

PRINTED BT
BPOTTUWOQDE AND CO., KXW-flTBIR BQUAltX

LONDON

H.K.H. Prince Kkommuh Damrono of Siam.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

A BECOBD OF BECENT TRAVELS THBOUGH

BOENEO, SIAM, AND CAMBODIA

BY

BUEGEONMAJOR JOHN ^AOGREGOE, M.D.

INDIAN MEDICAL SBEVIOB

AUTHOR OF
OIBDLE OP THE GLOBE/ A DE8CBIPTIYE POEK IS TEN CANTOS;
'toil and TSAYEL/ a PB08B NABBATITE, ETC.

' To me more dewr^ congenial to my hea/rt,
One native cha/nn than aiU the gloaa of art *

Goldsmith

LONDON

F. V. WHITE & CO.

14 BEDFOBD STBEET, STBAND, W.C.

1896

All righti reierved

63c3^(^^--?3^

DEDICATED

TO HIS BOTAL mGHNESS

PRINCE KROMMUN DAMRONG

lONISTBB 07 THB INTBHIOB 0? THB BXUOTB KINSDOK

OF THB VHITB WTiBPHANT

JOHN M^CGBEGOB

PEEFACE

Just as this book is issuing from the press, the entangle-
ments of the Bu£fer State are being amicably settled
between Great Britain and France. And as the French
have had it all their own way, it is to be hoped they will
generously release the poor patriot, Fhra Yott, who was
sentenced, when I was travelling through the country, to
twenty years of penal servitude for the fearful crime of
defending his native land, and whose name is mentioned
more than once in the following pages. Far be it from the
purpose of this volume to suspect the prophetic foresight of
the powers that be in coming to this agreement with
France, but there is no doubt it has taken people of all
political opinions by great surprise.

We have handed over to France the British province of
MoNQSiN, formerly belonging to Upper Burmah, and are
withdrawing our outposts there. We have also agreed to
France wresting from Siam the provinces of Angkor and
Battambong, through both of which I travelled about the
time of the Franco-Siamese crisis, and which are two of
the most important provinces throughout all Siam. It is
in the Province of Angkor that the wonderful but little
known ruins of Angkor- Wdt are situated ; and they are
described in detail in this volume. And not only this,
but France has also acquired the town of Chantaboon
(as well as the surrounding province), near the Gulf of

Vm THROUGH THE BUFFEB STATE

Siam I and the town of Chantaboon is the most flourishing
port in the country with the single exception of the capital
town of Bangkok itself. ( Vide map, page 54.) We can only
hope that this so-called ' Rapprochement ' with France will
lead to the good understanding which we would all wish
to see between the two countries.

J. MACGBEOOB.

Lo2n>OM : FehrvMry S, 1896.

V

CONTENTS

CHAPTER' I

PAGB

The Pamirs and Persia — The Land of the White Elephant — The
' Bajah Brooke ' — A Tumbling Sea — Infallible Cure for Sea-
sickness — Arrival in Borneo — Beception at Euching — The
Bajah of Sarawak — C!onrtship at Kuching — Ciollision of the
' Little 'XJn '—Trip up the Sadong — Orang-outang and Long-
nosed Monkeys 1

CHAPTER II

The Sago Palms — Trip to Literior — The Mines of Tegora—
Underground Caves — 'For oh, it was so dark, so dork' —
Subterranean Stream — ^A Tight-fitting Passage— Edible
Birds' -nests— Their Peculiarity — The Birds that Build them
— The^'am-^'amof John Chinaman 8

CHAPTER III

A Bough Climb — The Dyaks at Home — Their Village Golgothas
— Their Head-hunting Sports — Same Suppressed by the First
Bajah Brooke — Deafening Gongs— Dancing with the Dyaks —

The Bemote Missionary— Parting with Mr. D The

Battang Paths of Borneo — The Pitcher-plants and Traveller's
Palms — Their Uselessness 16

CHAPTER IV

A Sloppy March — Bloodthirsty Leeches — An Awkward Tumble —
A Planter on the Mountain Side-^Abdoola the Laggard-
Climbing Serappi — A Misleading Aneroid — Technicalities of
Tea — Monkey-brand Coffee — Betum to Euching — Story of
* Dr. Meyer from Melbourne ' — ^Farewell to Sarawak . . 24

X THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER V

Remarks on Sarawak — The Original Rajah Brooke — His Roving
Disposition — His Hatred of John Company — The Projected
* Schooner * — Discouraged by his Father — ^His First Croise —
He tried again, and became a King ! — His Father's Death —
Remarks on the relative value of Wealth and Friendship —
The Rajah's Character and Chequered Career — Murder of
Muda Hassim — Ross, the King of the Cooos Islands . . S4

CHAPTER VI

Return to Singapore — The steamship * Independent ' — My Ger-
man shipmates — Chinese Chow-Chow— Frightening evil
spirits — Gregorivitch, the Russian officer — Arrival at Bang-
kok—Jackson the pilot — * Don't you smell it ? ' — Ocean-
butterfly Fort — The * John Baptist Say * — French and British
men-o'-war at Bangkok — Chinese New Year — The British
Flag — King Chulalongkom — Description of Bangkok — My
Dutch * Casual ' — Toasting the German Emperor — Visit to
Koh-si-chang — Landing there of French troops — The Siam-
ese Navy 4&

CHAPTER VII

Captain Bertuzzi — Away for Phrabat— The Menam River —
Swarming with Fish — Arrival at Ayouthia — Chang the China-
man — Tramp to Phrabat — • Gie's Peebles for Pleesure ' —
The Din in the Distance — The Priests and the Players—
Don't Sleep on the Outskirts— The Nose and the Conscience 6&

CHAPTER VIII

Toilet al fresco — Chang with the Hare-lip— His Vanity — An
Unsuspected Stranger — Comparisons of Languages — Bud-
dhism a Religion of toleration — Visit to the Real Phrabat or
Sacred Footprint — Watching the Worshippers — History of
Phrabat — ^First discovered by a king — Defects of the Foot-
print — * A Blind Man's Blot *— Description of the Buddha —
Judging his size by Inductive Philosophy . . . . TS*

CHAPTER IX

Return from the Shrine — * My Father was an Englishman ' —
Lost sight of the Missionary — The Menam a Misnomer —
The ex-tutor of the Crown Prince — Captain Bertuzzi Im-
prisoned — West and Valloo — Search for Passports — The

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE XI

PAOS

Royal Palace — The Emerald Buddha — Prince Damrong —
White Elephants— Trial of Phra Tott— Short Cat to the
Biillennium . . . . : 87

CHAPTER X

Phra Tott continued — The charges against him — Their pmiish-
ments — Siamese judges — Prince Bitchit — Phlegmaoy of Asia-
tics — Its moral effects — Qhewing the cud — Moors and Arabs
in Europe — The smoking lady 99

CHAPTER XI

My passports at last — Departure from Bangkok — Supplies left
behind — ^Landing at Paknam — Uncomfortable cabin — Dis-
turbing influences — A welcome message — ^Reaoh Pechim —
Corporal of the Guard — Chowmuang of Pechim — Twenty
sons and thirty daughters — Prolific royalties — The strolling
players— Siamese superstitions 104

CHAPTER XII

* March, march, Ettrick and Teviotdale' — ^Bivooao in Open
Fields — The La6s Mountains — A Melting Atmosphere — til-
lage of Chandakan — Initiating Priests— Straggling Bullocks
-—Country Waggons and Country Tracts — The Forbidding
Mudfish — Tactics of Tactoo — Its Geographical Distribution —
A new-bom Baby — Vicarious Lying-in — A Dying Sufferer —
The Evils of Quackery .116

CHAPTER XIII

West and his ghost stories — Warlocks of Wattan4 — Their Aqua,
fontand — Siamese shanties — Dropsy and its diagnosis —
Love-making philtres — The prowling Pontianas— ' Gog-og-
oo 1 ' — Pontianas pursuing West — Arrival at Arranh — Origin
of 'Farrang' — Crossing the watershed — ^A gay villager — A
modern distillery — The web and the weaver — ^A bantering
wife— The Lady of La6s 126

CHAPTER XIV

The parasitic parricide — Its mode of germination — Two-tree
Tank — ^Abandoned village — Foul-drinking water — Dissensions
in the camp — *■ Amn't I a man, too ? ' — A bump on the rump
— Valloo, the dark delinquent — Forest camp-fire — Valloo
vanishes — The Tragedy of an Omelette — Valloo recovered —
Helplessness of native coolies 136

XU THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER XV

PA«S

Arrival at Sisophon — The ancient Kingdom of Earner — Sisophon
a frontier garrison town — Scarcity of water ^Where now
the Pitcher-plants of Borneo ? — Cocoanut milk as a substi-
tute for water — ^Village of Penhom-Sok — Going astray — The
young Ghowmuang — China a paradox — Ceremony of Eohn-
chtUc — Monster bird with four legs — A Chinaman and his
wives — Milk at a discount — ^Reaoh Siam-R^p . . . 145

CHAPTER XVI

Ancient ruins of Angkor- W&t — ^March thereto — Don Quixote and
Sancho Panza — A plague of Mosquitoes — The Moon being
eaten by Rahii — Description of Rahii by Father Sangermano —
His great size — Not big enough to swallow the Moon— A
partial Eclipse — Invisible at Greenwich— Angkor- W&t rele-
gated to Owls and Bats-rThough I ate the Lotus I did not
forget my Country I ........ 156

CHAPTER XVII

Description of Angkor-W4t Ruins — Its Ancient Grandeur — Its
Bas-reliefs — ^An old world Tug-of-war — An undeciphered Tab-
let — Bomb-bom^ — Scattered Sculptures — Angkor-Th6m —
Rozinante comes down — ^Angkor- W&t Built by Angels —
Compared with Borobodo in Java — Borobodo a Buddhist
Shrine — Overlapping of Symbob'c Sculptures — The same of
Religious Forms — The Theory of Evolution and Devolution —
The Cannibal who first ate an Oyster — First View of TeU-
S&p— The * Roderick Dhu ' and the * Lady of the Lake ' . 163

CHAPTER XVIII

Mirage Village — ^Wife * o'er the Border *— An afternoon Visit —
Eampong-Eham — Native fishing-nets — A rough day's work —
Tyndall and the sound of falling Waters— Relapsing into
utter Barbarism — Charab, the Chatterer — ^Reach region of
Modem Cambodia — Pr^am-Pr^stong — Fishing d la mode
with the Boat's Tiller — Trawling and other Methods— Peli-
cans and * The Ancient Mariner ' — Cha/rdb^ the Jingo— Cast
away at Night-time — Mode of Mooring Boats — It's all
Specific Gravity 179

CHAPTER XIX

Landing at Chunnok-Tr6an— Chinese praying paper— Why do
devils wear shoes ? — Outlets of Tel6-S&p — General remarks
on ditto — Tel6-S&p's future prospects— The Giantess and the

• ••

THEOUGH THE BUFFEE STATE XIU

PAQS

Pig — ^A truant husband — Floating down the river— Beach
Eampong-Chen&ng — ^A Frenoh frontier village-r-Beoeption
by the Frenoh — ^Where, where was Captain Bertuzzinow?
—Mispronunciation — * Mossoo, Mussoo Docteur ' — Steam
launch *Cambodge' — ^Arrival at Penhom-Penh — ^Kn^sh
the coming Volapuk- But Gaelic shall never die . • . 190

CHAPTER XX

Description of Penhom-Penh — ^What is a pagoda ? — ^A work of
merit — ^Promotion to Nirvana — Effects of pagodas oil scen-
ery — ^The great pagoda of Penhom-Penh — ^French Governor
of the Kingdom of Cambodia — ^Atenuse, my secritadre pecu-
Uer — ^Boyal palace of ?Penhom-Penh — Kohn-Chdk again —
King Norodom the Second — His habits of life — ^Unable
to visit him — ^Luang-Prabang — View of the Buffer State . 202

CHAPTER XXI

Farewell to Penhom-Penh — In England they drink scandal and
tea — ^In France, coffee and brandy — The * Nam-vian ' — The
Irrawaddy and the Mekong compared — Shallow coast of
Cochin-China — Beach Saigon — The Caf6 Anglais — Noor
Khan the Mohammedan — The steamship * Schwsdbe ' — Com-
mej;0ifQ interests of Great Britain and fbrance in Siam — ^Pro-
gressive character of the Siamese — What to do with the
servants — ^Valloo turns trump — ^Becomes a Frenchman — ^A
peculiar advocate — The town of Saigon — ^British bunkum . 208

CHAPTER XXII

Valloo converted against his will— Bite of a mad dog — ^Valloo
again in trouble— Could not possibly part with Valloo, my
ijub steed — Cape St. James and Poulo-Condor — The s.s.
* Tibre ' — ^Her French captain — * Oh, yes, yes * — ^Indian con-
jurers — ^Bobbery of my gold watch — Conjurers confined in
cells — The Baron and his jewels — The guilty thief — Sen-
tenced to two years* imprisonment — ^Valloo becomes the Old
Man of the Sea 217

CHAPTER XXIII

The country mouse — Saigon and Singapore contrasted — Singa-
pore the City of Rickshaws — Steam no match to two-legged
ponies — Mrs. Bumble and the Rickshaws — ^Beasonable inqui-
ries — The fate of Captain Bertuzzi and of Phra Tott —
The French and Chantaboon — ^His Highness the Sultan of

XIV THBOUGH THE BUFFBB STATE

PAOB

Johore— An *At Home' with His Highness— The recent
breach of promise case — Gtoneral opinions — The sighing Pene-
lope and lost Ulysses — Parting with Jimm/y — ^His varied
accomplishments — Thoughts of becoming a Mahdi . . 226

CHAPTER XXIV

Old Malacca — Its change of hands — St. Xavier's corse — ^The
town's decay and its cause — Malacca the * Blighted Gity ' —
Malacca and Madras compared — Its equable climate— Its
shallow anchorage — ^Ancient and modem Argosies— Cities
struggling for existence 2d5

CHAPTER XXV

XJntrayelled travellers — Uncomfortable passages — Malacca Best-
house — Ancient Cathedral — * Upper Crust Club' — Mount
Ophir — Its Scripture basis — Ehlang and Qualo-Lumpor —
The coffee and tin industries — The future of John cSiina-
man 289

CHAPTER XXVI

The Orang-Bukits — ^A primitive people — Their poisoned darts —
The effects of clurvoyance — Their ^olian harps — ^Loath-
some leprosy — Visit to general hospital — ^Foundering of
steamship * Setthi ' — Saved by the bite of a mad dog — The
durian and mangosteen 248

CHAPTER XXVII

Mandalay revisited — Scenes of lang syne — Changes of Mandalay
and surroundings — * Britannia : a Dream ' — The vile Kabyoo—
The wounded Corydon — Two golden rules — Married on a
wooden leg — The Woundouk of Bham6— A real ruby ring —
The Burmese crown jewels — Travelling hints on Burmah —
Stranded on the Irrawaddy — Mr. Streeter and the Burmah
R)>Vy Mines 266

CHAPTER XXVIII

Benefits of travel— Bacon's opinion — ^Advice of the Author —
Beading compared with observation — The Indo-Chinese
race— Original divisions of mankinds-Presumable origin of
the Indo-Chinese— Religious tenets — The Mohammedan
Malays — Habits of the Indo-Chinese — Their social system
— Minor differences among themselves — ^The barber in East-
em nations — *The Maid of Mandalay' — First fiddle to
MamdaUi/y Herald 270

TEROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

XV

CHAPTER XXIX

FliOB

Oalcniift the mother of thieves — Trip to Darjeeling — ^A lost
cashboz— Predicaments of penury — ^From blunder to
blunder — My last rupee — My own master again — Beooyery
of cashboz, broken and robbed — Advice to intending travel-
lers — The value of money— Lord Love verstu Lord Lucre —
Mount Everest in cloudB — ^Beauty of Darjeeling scenery —
Philosophical conclusions of * Through the Buffer State ' • 388

^'■ r

^^^^■■w »

-—'-I'

LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS

-•o«-

HJR.H. Pbince Ebommun Dahbong .... FronUspiece

Two BuTHE Dyaes To face p. 22

Map of Southebn Siam „ 64

cobfobals of the guabo „ 110

pABAsmc Pabbicides , 136

Gbound Sketch of Angkob-WIt Buins .... 164

Lake Dwelling on Tele-Sap To face p, 180

The *Lady of tee Lake* ..... „ 198

YaIiLOO, the DaBE DELINQtTENT .... „ 224

H.H. THE Late Sultan of Johobe ... ,, 230

Laos Tbibesman ,, 272

The Maid of Mandalat „ 282

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER I

Stand, stranger, Btand and say whence come,

And whither duly bound ;
And whence the pass by which you roam

On this forbidden ground.

I come from out the stormy North,

And go where Fate may guide ;
My only passport is the blade

That hangeth by my side.

TTie Old Crusader.

The Pamirs and Persia— The Land of the White Elephant— The
* Bajah Brooke ' — ^A Tumbling Sea — Infallible Care for Sea-siok-
ness — ^Arrival in Borneo — Beception at Euching — The Bajah of
Harawak— Courtship at Euching — Collision of the * Little 'Un '
— Trip up the Sadong — Orang-outang and Long-nosed Monkeys.

Would it be the Pamirs, or would it be Persia ? was the
question as my leave was at last becoming due. In Persia
there were ancient ruins and hoary old tales. In the Pamirs
there were neither ruins nor tales ; but there were plenty
of hoary old mountains, covered with eternal snow, and
promising to make tales in the future, when the Musco-
vites will make that wonderful march of theirs through
their frowning passes ; though what they will do after that
need not be dwelt upon in this faithful record.

And so I sometimes pictured myself groping among the
rains of Babylon, and sometimes climbing the Karakoram
range, till at last I found myself free, and at that very time
quite a different kind of country began suddenly .to attract
public attention. This country was none else than ths

B

2 THKOUGH THE BUFFEB STATE

Land of the White Elepliant. If it did not possess the
winning attractions of massive mountains and mouldering
ruins (some of which it really did, as the reader will see) it
at any rate possessed the charming atti ciotion of novelty to
a greater extent than either of the others. For both the
Pamirs and Persia had of late years been extensively
travelled over by various travellers, with their henchmen
behind them, whereas I was going as a wayward wanderer
without any protection at all.

And so I was off as fast as the tralin could carry me.
After the various tossings and tumblings incidental to a
sea voyage, and passing Christmas at sea, we duly arrived
in the pretty port of Singapore, where I intended to make
arrangements for my future journey. While casually
glancing over the advertisements of one of the local news-
papers therej I noticed among others the sailing advertise-
ment of a ship called the * Eajah Bfooke,' and wondered
where she would be trading to. Though my real destina-
tion was Siam, yet I had long wished to pay a flying visit
to Borneo, and this ship, I thought, would be trading to
the very portion of Borneo which I particularly wished to
visit. I found that my surmise was correct, and I shall
therefore describe my short visit to Sarawak or Eajah
Brooke's Territory before proceeding to describe my more
extended journey through the wilds of Siam.

The name of Rajah Brooke is vaguely known to some
people as a bygone restless rover, who founded a little
kingdom somewhere in the Eastern seas ; but the name of
his particular territory is comparatively unknown. I
naturally thought that a ship bearing his name was not
unlikely to be trading to the possessions of the late rajah.

Only the large regular ocean liners go to the wharves at
Singapore, on account of the heavy dues. The smaller
steamers, and almost all the sailing ships, lie in the harbour
outside, some of them at considerable distances away from
the shore ; and among them all was the * Rajah Brooke.'
When I went out in the harbour to see her in a Chinese
surf -boat, she looked a smart little craft of some five or six
hundred tons, and one of the cleanest vessels of her kind in
the whole of the Singapore Bay. The captain was on board
too, and hoped I should go with the ship to visit Sarawak
or Rajah Brooke's Territory, Three evenings afterwards I

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 3

was on board the ' Rajah Brooke ' as she was steaming out
of harbour bound for that interesting country.

The ship had very little cargo on board. It was also
the north-east monsoon season in the China Sea, which
is the stormy season in that locality, instead of the south-
west monsoon, which is the stormy season in India and
surrounding regions. The * Rajah Brooke ' therefore tossed
about quite to the satisfaction of the captain, who, I think,
said he had never been sea-sick ; yet not at all to the satis-
faction of a mere land-lubber like the writer, or of the only
other European passenger on board the ship. The latter
happened to be an up-country oflBcial of the very land I
was going to visit ; and though the trip was altogether too
'boisterous for making much of his acquaintance on the
voyage, yet I afterwards found him a very hospitable and
obliging friend.

The captain was quite sympathetic. But sympathy is
mostly thrown away on nauseous passengers during their
first forty-eight hours on a stormy sea. The greatest kind-
ness is to be let alone, and I think it is a very good precept
to follow in the great majority of cases, though of course
there are exceptions, as to every other precept under the
sun. The best thing to do, in short, is to do nothing at
all. Father Time, and that beautiful recuperative power
of Nature, are by far the best physicians, and will gene-
rally put everything right in the end. If not, I, as a
physician my'feelf, will recommend one infallible cure,
namely — Go ashore and stay there.

In due time we were sailing up the river, already for-
getting the discomforts of the passage, during which I was
thrown out of my bunk two or three times. And after
twisting away for some twenty-five or thirty miles, between
muddy banks fringed with luxurious verdure, we were at
last blowing our horn to announce to the inhabitants of
Kuching, the capital town of Sarawak, that the gallant
* Rajah Brooke * was coming, as she usually did twice every
month.

The arrival of the * Rajah Brooke ' is quite a red-letter
day in the calendar of Kuching, and every European and
quasi-FiVLrope&'n. in the place, wend their way down to the
wharf to give her a welcome. Not that she ever carries
many European passengers, for the place is too far oat

b2

4 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

of the way for the ordinary tourist ; and so the stragglers
that find their way to Sarawak are few and far between.
But the people go to see the * Bajah Brooke ' in her own
proper person, as well as to see her popular captain, who, I
found, was known over here under the pet nickname of
* The Greek.' Then as Christmas comes but once a year,
so the * Bajah Brooke ' comes but twice a month ; and her
visits are therefore rare enough to impart a tinge of novelty
to her repeated arrivals. She also carries news from various
quarters of the world to this remote region, as well, no
doubt, as a lot of Singapore gossip through the genial
captain ; and so when to all this is added the freshening
stinga which everybody drinks to the health of everybody
else on the quarter-deck, it is no cause for wonder that the
repeated appearances of the ' Ba. jah Brooke ' are looked upon
as a genuine source of joy to this lonely community.

There are about a dozen Europeans in Kuching, almost
all of them being officials in the Sarawak Service, and I
had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of at least
three- fourths of them before I landed from the ship. There
is a small resthouse recently erected in the town, to accom-
modate up-country officials when visiting the capital. But
there is no provision whatever for the weary wanderer,
for the very plausible reason that there be no weary
wanderers to require the same. I was prepared, however,
for this contingency, as I had my tent with me, ready to be
pitched whenever or wherever required « But there was no
occasion for it this time, as among the passengers that
came on board the 'Bajah Brooke' was the amiable Dr.

F , the Principal Medical Officer of the Sarawak State,

and he at once took me in hand in this strange land of
exile.

The original Bajah Brooke himself is as dead as
Queen Anne ; and the present Rajah, who is a nephew of
the original one, was in England at the time of my visit,
being represented at Kuching by one of the Residents, of
whom there are some half a dozen, scattered here and there
throughout the Sarawak Territory. Like his uncle, the
present Rajah is very fond of the natives, over whom he is
practically the king. And the Dyaks in return regard the
Rajah with great veneration, though perhaps not quite
^ith as much as his uncle before him. The Rajah there-

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 6

fore is quite careful of his dusky subjects, to whom he
behaves in an old patriarchal manner.

But the people of Kuching, whether Djaks, Chinese, or
Malays, are said to be very fond of gallantries in the dark,
like many other people beside them, and are greatly given
over to the habit of ' meet me when the sun goes down.'
Moreover, they are said to make the chief portion of their
courting in small boats, which go under the name of sampcms
all over the Malayan Archipelago. These small boats flit
about the harbour in the dark, at the will of the afflicted
ones. It is therefore the concern of the Rajah that no
harm will happen to them. For that purpose, there is, I
believe, a standing order of the port of Kuching that
no steamer is to move in or out of harbour in the murky
hours between shadow and shine, for fear of injuring
these frail craft, with their interesting and sometimes frail
occupants.

This rule was set aside on one occasion during my visit,
and not at all with the happiest results. Up the Sadong
river, some sixty or seventy miles round the coast from
Kuching, there are flourishing coal mines from which the
Kajah receives a considerable portion of his revenues ; and
the Sadong district too is one of the few places in Sarawak —
indeed, one of the few places in the world — where lives the
celebrated manlike ape known as the Orang-outang,'

The Resident, who was acting for the Rajah at tliis
time, took into his head to visit the Sadong district, and
further, decided to start at the very murky hour of three

o'clock on the Sabbath morning. Dr. F was going on

the same trip in his own professional line, and I was very
pleased to accompany him as his guest, as I hoped to be
able to see not only the coal mines, but also our elder
brother of the orang-outang in his native wilds, for the
very meaning of the word * orang-outang ' in the Malay
language is the ' Man of the Wood.'

The little ship in which we intended to sail was called
the ' Adeh,' which, being translated from the same language,
means the * Minor ' or the * Little 'Un,' and she was at the
time lying out in the middle of the stream. The Doctor
and I went on board the ' Adeh ' about midnight, and the
Resident followed soon after. It was a dark, rainy night,
^d after a while I laid myself down on a bench under thQ

6 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

awning and beside one of the paddle-boxes, bo as to be
able to watch the little ship manoeuvring out of harbour,
when she started later on. With the exception of native
craft, there were only two other ships in the port at the
time, the * Rajah Brooke' moored to the wharf, and tho
* Aline ' moored in the river a little lower down. The latter
is a pretty little ship of three or four hundred tons, and com-
bines in her own person both the flagship and the yacht of
the Rajah, as she is the only armed vessel in the country.

The hour arrived in due course, and we were shortly
afterwards, as I thought, going full-speed down the river,
when I was suddenly startled with a great crash beside me,
for the * Little 'Un 'had fallen foul of the * Aline," the fluke
of one of whose anchors caught in one of the paddle-boxes
of our ship, and was fast tearing it to pieces, at my very
elbow. * Stop her,' I heard some gruff voice shout out in
the dark, and the * Little 'Un ' stopped. We had now got
clear of the * Aline,' and soon discovered that the anchor of
the latter had not only torn away the woodwork of the
paddle-box, but had also twisted two or three of the iron
bars of the paddle wheels, and that we could not proceed
any further. ' Drop your anchor,' shouted the same gruff
voice again in the dark, and we dropped our anchor
accordingly.

Captain M , a brawny Scotsman, is at one and the

same time master-mariner, chief engineer, and top-sawyer-
in-general on board the * Little 'Un,' and he began to work
in real earnest to put matters right again. It was no fault
of his that we had fouled the ' Aline,' for wasn't the vessel
being piloted at the time by the far-famed and skilful
Cadia, who had passed all his life in these quarters ever
since he was caught as a boy in a pirate prow that had
fared rather badly in a conflict with the late Rajah ? Nor
was it the fault of Cadia , either. It was the fault of the
thick dark night and the swift- flowing current. But

M , who worked with wonderful energy, managed to

replace the twisted rods by spare ones on board, and we
were nearly ready to start at daybreak. And thus we paid
for the forbidden fruit of sailing out of Kuching at three
o'clock on the Sabbath morning against the orders of the
port, though, luckily for all, there were no love-making
sampans sunk, nor anybody injured in any way.

THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 7

In the afternoon we reached our destination up the
Sadong river. It rained incessantly all that evening, all
that night, and all the next morning. And so I succeeded
in seeing neither the coal mines, which I did not particu-
larly care to see, nor yet the orang-outangs, which I wished
to see very much.

It would have been very interesting to watch a group
of these * elder brothers ' discussing their dinner of fruit on
the top of the tall branches, for this peculiar manlike ape
is very confined in his geographical distribution, as he is
only to be found in certain portions of Borneo, and to a
very limited extent in the island of Sumatra, from which
he is said to be rapidly dying out. He has not yet been
interviewed by the wonderful Professor Gamer, as his
brother, the gonlla of Africa, has been. But his time is
no doubt coming, and I hope the learned professor will be
able to understand his language thoroughly, though some
captious critics declare that he cannot talk to his favourite
gorilla* yet, let alone an orang-outang, whose language
must be much more refined and complicated.

Besides the orang-outang, there are various other mon-
keys in Borneo, notably the Long-nosed Monkey {Nasalis
La/rvatus), which is entirely confined to this island, and
which, though not so high in the scale as the orang-outang,
is even more striking in his own way. For whereas almost
all monkeys are wanting in nose (though not in * cheek *),
the only specimen I saw of this moxikey possessed a long
fleshy humanlike nose, that would do credit to the most
nosey old Jew.

8 THROUGH THE BUFFER STkTE

CHAPTER II

For oh, it was bo dark, bo dark,

That grim and gruesome lair ;
With ne'er a gleam of light to mark

The wild beaBts crouching there.

The Bohhera* Betreat.

The Sago Palms — Trip to Interior — The Mines of Tegora — Under-
ground Caves—* For oh, it was so dark, so dark * — Subterranean
Stream— A Tight-fitting Passage — Edible Birds'-nests — Their
Peculiarity — The Birds that Build them — The jam-jam of John
Chinaman.

And so we turned back again without being able to accom-
plish anything except seeing a goodly portion of the country,
and having an accident to make things look a little more
lively. The trip also brought me in contact for the first
time with sago in its native form ; for more than half the
sago of the world comes from Borneo alone. Docs the
reader know what sago is ? I confess I didn't exactly ; and
I afterwards asked others, who ought to know as well as
myself, and they were fully as ignorant, if not more ^o.
Had I been asked I might probably have made some ran-
dom reference to the sago palm ; but I might have felt
puzzled as to what part of it constituted sago. Is it the
root or is it the fruit ? It is neither root nor yet the fruit,
but the pith of the stem, or what practically constitutes the
counterpart of the runt of the common or garden cabbage.

These sago palms take seven or eight years to come to
maturity, ajid are watched at that time for their forth-
coming virgin blossom. At its very first indication the
palms are cut down near the ground, when by far the
greater portion of the stem is found to consist of a crude
semi-transparent and semi-solid substance, from which the
sago of commerce is in due course prepared.

When in Sarawak, I was fortunate in being able to see
cdore pf the country thaji I could fiit first have reasonably

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 9

expected during my short stay in the island. A day or
two after my return to Kuching, I was able to start on a
fresh journey. Among the principal productions of the
province may be specially mentioned that of mercury and
antimony, while small quantities of gold are also extracted
by Chinamen by the process of washing. The old Borneo
Company have the monopoly of both the antimony and
mercurial mines. The Borneo manager of this company,
whose ordinary residence is at Kuching, took an opportu-
nity at this time of making one of his periodical visits of
inspection to these mines, and kindly invited me to go with
him. After steaming up the river in a small launch some
fifty or sixty miles from the sea, we arrived at Busau, and
had afterwards to travel nearly twenty miles through a
forest country, and over a very difficult and slippery path-
way, on which I had my first experience of the battari^
roads of Borneo, of which I shall speak later on.

Before nightfall we reached the Tegora mountains in
which the mercurial mines are placed, and put up with the
young engineer in charge of the mines. Though a fairly
abundant metal, mercury is not at all a very widely distri-
buted one, and these Tegora mines have been among the
most productive anywhere. The very richest of all are in
Spain and Austria ; and from them is obtained almost all
the mercury of commerce in Europe, while the TegOra
mines of Borneo supply most of the needs of the Far East
through the Hong Kong market.

The metal exists here both in the pure or virgin state,
in the form of minute silvery globules, which may be seen
oozing here and there through the rock, or making its pre-
sence known in red patches of cinnabar on the broken rock
surface. The place where the metal abounds is very steep,
and is so honey-combed by the mines, that it is by no
means an easy task to inspect them thoroughly, as we did
the next morning. The principal quany pierces through
the mountain from one side to the otJier, in a very irregular
and breakneck fashion. After inspecting the mines and
watching the Chinamen blasting the rocks with dynamite,
we returned to Busau, where the antimony mines are situa-
ted. And there my companion parted with me, and kept on
to Kuching back sbgain, while I remained with the official
in charge of the foundries here for further information.

10 THKOUGH THE BUFFEE STATE

The engineer of the Teffdra mines, who had entertained
txs the preens night, camfto see ^ friend of Bnsau the
next day, and on the following one the three of us paid

a visit to Mr. D , my quondam shipmate on the *■ Bajah

Brooke,' who was living only four or five miles^way from us.

Borneo abounds greatly in what is known as ' edible
birds'-nests,' of which I had often heard, though I had never
seen any of them. And some of the caves, in which the
birds build these peculiar nests, were within two or three

mUes of Mr. D 's residence. None of my companions,

though residents of Borneo, had ever taken the trouble of
visiting any of these caves, thus proving what I had often
noticed before, namely, that people take very little interest in
interesting matters, when they have the misfortune of being
placed, as it were, under their very noses. But I prevailed
on two of them to come and visit these caves with me. For

D , who previously knew of my intentions, had already

made the Dyaks prepare the necessary arrangements. But

Mr. M would not take the trouble on any account, and

as matters turned out, he was quite right in his decision.

After a walk of two or three miles through most bewil-
dering jungle, we at last reached the ridge of hills in which
the caves were, and there we found our friends the Dyaks
waiting our arrival. We had a good hard climb before we
reached the entrance to the caves, which were situated, as
usual, in limestone mountains.

I fancy that all large underground caves are to be found
in limestone formations only, and I had previously visited
perhaps the two largest and most famous of them all,
namely, the Jenolan Caves of Australia and the Mammoth
Caves of Kentucky, in the United States. I need not
dwell upon why it is so, as that would lead me into a laby-
rinth of geological detail, like the caves themselves.

Another peculiarity of these caves is that there is gener-
ally a stream of water running through them somewhere or
other. Such is the case with the Jenolan Caves and with
the Mammoth Caves ; and such also was the case with the
caves we were now visiting. The Dyaks, the aborigines of
this portion of Borneo, are themselves quite familiar with
such caves, as the robbing of the birds'-nests forms a great
portion of their livelihood, and a great portion of their
daily toil during a certain season of the year. Besides, the

* f

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 11

taxes derived from the sale of these nests form a peroeptible
and integral part of the yearly revenues of the Sar&wak
State Territory.

On this occasion the Dyaks were amply provided with
torches, each consisting of a number of strips of resinous
wood, held together in conical bundles by means of thongs
made of bark. The burning ends of these torches are the
wide ones, and the Dyaks regulate the amount of light by
these strings of bark, so as to economise the torches when
detained in the caves.

When but little light is required, they slip the rings of
bark towards the wide burning ends of the torches, and by
thus pressing the strips of wood together, they lessen the
supply of air and of light accordingly. When the amount
of light requires to be increased, they slip the rings back,
the burning ends open up from one another, the torches
are rapidly swung round the head two or, three times
through the air, and forthwith begin to bum brightly. The
simple Dyaks, of course, know nothing of the reason why,
yet they practise this method as if they were quite familiar
with the scientific laws of combustion.

We groped and groped with these torches through many
a devious and tedious passage under the ground, and some-
times waded considerably more than knee-deep in the
lukewarm water of the stream. When we had thus groped
and groped for nearly three-quarters of an hour we were at
last within reasonable limits of the birds'-nests that we went
so far to see. And then we reached a narrow, irregular, up-
and-down passage, with a deep pool of water at the bottom of
it, and how to get through it became the question of the day.

The Dyaks, though hardy and lithe enough, are con-
siderably smaller than the average of Europeans, and they
were also familiar with these caves. So they got through
this passage without serious difficulty. My two young
companions were also more than usually slender and grace-
ful, and they too forced themselves through this passage,
though not without a great expenditure of sighings and
squeezings. Though of only ordinary size myself, they
were both much slimmer than I was at that time, and it
was rather puzzling for me how I was ever to wriggle
myself through this nasty underground passage.

But the eye of the needle, through which the other two

12 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

Europeans had already passed, would never be abandoned by
me^ at any rate, without a very serious effort. And so I made
the effort, and did get through at last, after a vast amount
of toil and trouble. The passage itself was perhaps twelve
or fifteen feet from top to bottom, and when I reached the
middle of it I thought I was safely anchored there, without
the possibility of going either up or down. But I finally
reached the top, and when I did so I found a couple of but-
tons torn off the breast of my braw tight-fitting kakee coat,
so very tight indeed was the constriction through which I had
just forced my way, and how to get down through it again on
our return was a riddle I did not at all care to think about.

And so we reached the locality where the birds'-nests
really were. The Dyaks had previously prepared for our
visit at the request of Mr. D , and had erected tall
primitive scaffoldings of bamboos to reach the different
galleries and crevices of the caves. And then they began
to climb them and grope along, torch in hand, to get at the
nests they were searching for, much to the disturbance of
the poor little birds, that objected to the rude intruders
with noisy declamation.

They managed to get only a fair number of nests, as
this was the very fag end of the nesting season, and this
cave was also the very last one to be searched during that
period, and known to the Dyaks themselves Tinder the
name of the New Cave, as it had only lately been dis-
covered, or, at any rate, exploited for birds'-nests.

Needless to say that it had never been visited by the
pale-faced European before, and probably never will be
again. The floor of the caves at this particular spot was
covered with birds* guano, probably for several feet deep.
But they said that the guano from these caves throughout
Borneo is not very valuable, as it rapidly loses its ammonia
and other active properties on exposure to air, though it is
difficult to uncferstand why it should be so with this more
than with other guano from various quarters of the globe.

After waiting for a long time watching these climbers
over our heads, visible only now and again through the
glare of the torches, we thought at last it was high time
for us to be retracing our footsteps. We would have been
getting anxious about the fate of the torches by this time
too, and fearing we might be left where Moses was when

a^'-*

E3"

THEOUGH THE BtJFFER STATE 18

the light went out. Bat the Dyaks themselves showed no
uneasiness on that account, and of course they knew their
own business.

And then rose the unpleasant question of how we were
to return, and how to get through that horrible passage
again. It was a tight enough iit to get up through it,
but to get down through it was far worse. For every one,
who has ever climbed rocks in his youth, will easily re-
member how much more easy it is to climb up than to
* climb down ' on theses occasions. No wonder, then, that

it occurred to me that Mr. M , who stayed at home,

was a much wiser man than I was after all, for he could
never have managed to force his portly and well-favoured
figure through that constricted communication. But if we
were all equally wise, would wisdom be so highly valued ?

Observing our dilemma on the return journey, the
Dyaks, who knew the ramifications, of .the cave, brought
us through a looped passage, by means of which we could
avoid the narrow straits referred to. This was a longer
way, and required a good deal of creeping and horizontal
squeezing, but was not altogether such a tight fit as the
previous one. In fine, we were all vei^y glad at last to
emerge from these dark and straggling caves, and to reach
open daylight once again, after enduring for several hours
this sort of underground burial.

There were but few stalactites in the cave, and the best
thing of that sort that we came across was in the shape of
a pillar of limestone, about the size and shape of the pillar
in the Jenolan caves that is known as * Lot's Wife.' This,
I need scarcely say, was a stalagmite, rising from the floor
of the cave, and not a stalactite, hanging from the roof.

The birds that build the peculiar nests that we went to
see are a species of swallow, of a glossy black colour, with
the usual pointed wings, and characteristically forked tails.
They are of much about the same size as the common
swallow of northern climates, and are probably permanent
residents of these regions, instead of being migratory birds
like our swallows. In the Eastern Hemisphere they are
mostly confined to the Malayan Archipelago and neigh-
bourhood; and abound especially in Borneo and Java,
which may be called their native habitat.

The peculiarity about the 'edible birds'-nests ' is the

14 THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE

fact that they are mostly constructed of a glairy viscous
substance, which is either a secretion of the bird itself, or
consists, as some maintain, of partially macerated food
from the crops of the birds, and poured out at a certain
stage of maceration. And thus the nests consist of shallow
cup- shaped cavities, truncated, as it were, at the side where
they are attached to the rocks, exactly like brackets to the
wall of a room ; and consisting of an elastic, semi-trans-
parent, and gelatinous material.

There is always a certain amount of down mixed up in
the substance of the nests, and their commercial value is
in inverse proportion to the quantity of this downy adulte-
ration. The very best nests have a minimum of down, and
are on that account known as * white nests.' Those we
were able to obtain were only of a medium quality, with
a fourth or fifth part cut oflF, as it were, where they were
glued to the rocks. The nests are also best when occupied
by eggs only, for later on, when the brood becomes hatched,
the edible walls of the nests become hard, sapless, and
much less valuable as a table delicacy.

The Dyaks take away these nests two or three times
during the nesting season, and then let the birds alone to
bring forth their brood in peace and quietness. Tlie nests
first built are the best ones, and every succeeding lot dete-
riorates by a greater admixture of downy feathers. As this
then was the very end of tlie nesting season, the nests
could scarcely be expected to be of the very best quality.
There were but few eggs among them, and I was only able
to procure one of them unbroken, which I brought with
me, and which afterwards went bad, so that I had to
throw it away. It was rather smaller than the. egg of a
lark, and of a pale pinkish colour. It may be remarked
that it is not the eggs which are relished so much as a
delicacy, but the substance of the nests themselves. The
eggs in any individual nest are said never to number more
than two or three, so that the birds probably breed several
times during the nesting season.

When we returned to Mr. D 's bungalow, late in

the evening, we found that the Dyaks had taken there not
less than three nests, with the young birds still alive in
each of them, and with only one bird in each nest. All the
young birds were pretty full-grown : and one of them, as

THROtTGH THE BUFFER STATE 15

he sat contentedly in his nest, with his bill resting on the
edge of it, looked nearly as large as one of the parent birds.
And what struck me as rather curious was that all the
birds — including the big one, which I am sure could fly —
had their legs glued to the floor of the nests, so that they
could not tumble off even if they tried. The young birds
were sure to die, poor things, and I thought how nicely
they would look stuffed in situ ; but they were all left on
a table in the 'verandah during the night, forgetful that
there were cats in Borneo as everywhere else, and so, when
we got up in the early morning, there were the nests, but
where were the younglings ?

These birds break their trammels, no doubt, when they
are strong enough to take to flight properly. There are, of
course, various birds that build their nests in lofty situa-
tions, but I am not aware of any others whose young are
glued down in this way till they are able to take care of
themselves ; and I therefore submit this remark, to be con-
firmed or disproved by future observers.

These strange birds'-nests are considered the real jam-
jam by the wealthy Chinese over the Far East, who pay a
high price for them, too, especially the * white' variety
already spoken of. They literally hold the first place among
delicacies to the Chinese palate ; while next to them, and
before any other tit-bits, come the fins of sharks and sun-
dried cuttle-fish ! It is therefore no great wonder that we
esteem the heathen Chinese as a little * peculiar.'

Europeans seldom eat these nests, except for mere
curiosity ; and it was for this sake of novelty that we got
some of them prepared the morning I left Kuching for
Singapore, and in real orthodox Chinese fashion ; for John
Chinaman seasons the bird's-nest soup with sugar, while
Europeans prefer to season it with salt, in the way that
some of the Gentiles prefer porridge. Mine was seasoned
with sugar ; for when a person is inquiring into John
Chinaman's delicacies he should of course do so in John
Chinaman's own recognised way, and prepared in this way
the bird's-nest soup is decidedly* toothsome. It is of a
mucilaginous consistency, and the small glairy fragments of
nest scattered here and there throughout it impart to it a
flavour like that of turtle soup, so much in favour at Lord
Mayors' dinners.

i| n iBi anq I II I ^ ww^w>^r^H^pii- II m^>i 11 ■■. I ^

16 THBOUQH tHE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER III

We started on a wild-goose chase,

On a wild-goose chase at a merry, merry pace ;

Bat ere the race was ended,
The hunters broke the sporting rules,
And some of the very best John Bulls
Had argent need to go to Poole's ^

To get their breeches mended.

The Wild-goQse Chase.

A Eough Climb— The Dyaks at Home —Their Village Golgothas —
Their Head-hunting Sports — Same Suppressed by the First
Bajah Brooke — Deafening Gongs — Dancing with the Dyaks —

The Remote Missionary — Parting with Mr. D — The Battang

Paths of Borneo — The Pitcher-plants and Traveller's Palms —
Their Uselessness.

One of the things that I particularly wished to do was to
spend a night in one of the priniitive Dysik villages, away
entirely from the trammels of civilisation ; and my quondam

shipmate, Mr. D , was able to gratify this curiosity,

as he was going on duty in the direction of one of the said
hamlets. So the next morning we left his bungalow at
Bhaku, called again at Busau on our way, and after
paddling up the river for a mile or so, we broke off over-
land in the requisite direction, with some Dyak youths to
show us the way, and to carry whatever necessaries we
required to bring with us.

The village of Sing hi is situated on several eminences,
scattered here and there on the spur of a mountain, tho
highest eminence of which is quite a thousand feet or more
above tho general level of the plain below ; so that the

^ Poole is the fashionable West-end London tailor, especially for
riding breeches ; and I hope he will feel duly grateful to the author of the
* Wild-goose C^ase ' (whoever he may be) for this honourable mention of
his name

'''^''^mm9ffmmmmmmmmi''mmmm^^mm^mmm'^^^^

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 17

village wa3 by no means an easy task to get at. The path
i^as extremely steep, and sometimes consisted of the roots
or trunks of trees, notched here and there to give some
sort of precarious foothold to the climber.

In choosing a few articles of wear and tear for this
inland journey, I unfortunately by mistake picked out of
my kit a couple of kakee riding-breeches, very tight at the
knee, arid I had every reason to regret tie mistake before
the journey was ended ; for I had already burst one of them
during my scrambles over the rocks of the TegOra mines,
and the other was sorely put to the test in my efforts to
reach the very steep hill- village of Singhi. However, by
dint of perseverance, and after a great deal of puffing and
panting, we duly arrived at the Barook^ or head-house of
the village at l^st.

It must not be supposed that this Barooky which is to
be found in every village, is really the house of the head-
man, or Orang-kaya of the same ; oh, no. It is rather the
house where the Dyaks keep the heads of their decapitated
victims, and the general rendezvous of the male population,
where they used to hold their councils of war, as well as
their' general palaver, or bitchdra, as they call it in that
country. Not long ago a Dyak who had not killed some-
body and possessed himself of his skull, was held but of
smsdl alccount by the fair sex of his tribe. It is said that
it did not matter materially whose it was^ though prefer-
ably, no doubt, an enemy's. But lacking that, the £^ull of
a friend, or even of one's great — ^great grandmother-in-law
would serve the purpose. The lovelorn swain must, at any
rate, have a single skull to present to his fair one, and if
he had several, so much the more merrily was he welcome
to her bosom.

In the time of the first Bajah Brooke, head-hunting,
as they called it, was abolished in the province of Sarawak.
And it is very amusing to read in his * Life ' of the repeated
applications of the Dyaks to him, to be allowed to take a
few heads — only a few — as if they were children asking to
be allowed to play with toys.

But the Kajah was always obdurate, and his usual
reply to them is equally amusing ; they would not be al-
lowed, he would say, to indulge in the fine game of head-
hunting within his dominions, but they w'ere at perfect

Q

18 THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

liberty to take a voyage over to Singapore, and chop off
the heads of the people there, knowing full well that this
arduous undertaking was not within the sphere of practical
possibilities. And when on the pleasant topic of head-
hunting, it must not be supposed that it was only the
Dyaks alone who indulged in this pretty pastime. For
even Jehu, King of Israel, g9t not less than seventy
skulls of the sons of Ahab sent to him for a present in.
baskets !

Yet though the practice of head-hunting has been abo-
lished some time ago, there were sundry skulls still preserved
in this headhouse, some of them suspended on strings, while
others were carelessly lying about here and there in out
of the way corners. And with these savage emblems of
victory, the villagers would not part on any account what-
soever. The headhouse, where we passed the night, con^
sisted of only one large capacious room, with a fireplace
for cooking in the middle of it, and with a floor consisting
of split bamboos. The floor was raised several feet aJx)ve
the ground, as is usually the case in these swampy and
sultry climes ; while the ground of the empty space below
was covered with all sorts of filthy abominations, among
which pigs wallowed with grunts of great satisfaction, as
everything valuable (to a pig) is always dropped down
through the chinks of the floor into this cesspool receptacle.

There, in that headhouse, Mr. D mnd myself re-
mained during the rest of that day and the succeeding
night. When the Dyak villagers came to know that pale-
faced white people had come among them, they flocked
round in great numbers, and began to beat the gongs in
the headhouse "with much vigour. And what a beating of
gongs it was ! There were six of them of different sizes,
and therefore of different pitch and tone, hanging in a cer-
tain place, and aU of them being beaten by young lads
armed with sticks for that purpose. It was a deafening
sound, of which they never seemed to tire, and which any-
body but themselves would very soon get heartily sick of.
For the most confirmed neurotic that was ever startled by
the skirl of the bagpipes, would consider them but the quiet
music of the spheres, when compared with this dreadful
beating of gongs, and the squealing of pigs below, coming
in as interludes of the drama.

THKOUGH THE BUFFEB STATE 19

After a long while the din abated a bit, and the two of
ns had our frugal repast, squatting cross-legged on the
bamboo floor, and surrounded by quite a crowd of curious
onlookers. Thereafter the bitchdra again commenced, when
everyone seemed so very wise and so very voluble in ex-
pressing his own very wise and profound opinions, and
never listening to his neighbour's.

The Dyaks are quite a lively and loquacious people, and
apparently very fond of gossip and conversation, Mr.

D , who understood their language, and whom they

seemed to treat like an elder brother, had endless questions
to answer : and the genial manner of the Dyaks towards
him, though they had never seen him before, was very
interesting to observe. For the Dyaks, besides being
naturally a genial race, do not look upon themselves as a
conquered people. They invited, they say, the Rajah them-
selves at first, and chose him to be their ruler of their own
freewill and accord — ^which, I believe, is really the case so
far as the Dyaks themselves were concerned.

When the bitchdra had gone on long enough we were
anxious to see some of their native dances. But they were
very shy to begin. Even the Orang-kaya^ or headman of
the village, encouraged them both by precept and example
by dancing himself, but without much success. There was
one young lad wJlo appeared eager enough to get some one
to dance ^th him, and rather than see him* disappointed I
went to dance with him myself. But a little jumping
about barefooted 6n the rickety bamboo floor goes a long
way ; and I was not dancing very long when one of the
bamboos suddenly twisted, and I sprained my right ankle
in consequence. * Served him right for dancing with the
Dyaks,' some uncharitable reader will probably say. And
I can only say in reply that it is a poor heart that never
rejoices, and that I only indulged in this very wicked (?)
pastime for the sake of encouraging the Dyaks to dance,
and not from any personal predilection to* high jinks
myself.

Then a graceful young Dyak, who seemed rather bash-
ful at first, took up my place, and the pair of them kept on
dancing for a long time, writhing and twisting themselves
in a very odd way. For this was a war-dance, if you
please, and each of the combatants was armed with a kris^

C2

20 THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

or sword of the period, to show off his agility and prowess.
But even at their best these dances of Eastern lands look
very feeble to one who has roamed o'er the mountains afar,
and after seeing a good many of them in various lands, I
really think a good Highland fling is worth the whole pack
of them put together. Truth to tell, the Asiatic does not
possess enough agility, nor yet enough sensibility of the
poetry of motion, to make a very graceful dancer, and
these turnings and twistings of theirs are vain and unprofit-
able as the very merest of chandelier crawls.

It was getting very late at night, but still that endless
hitchdra went on, and everybody began to get very friendly
with everybody else under the mild influence of some little
ginevre that we had brought them. Two of them huddled
themselves quite close to where we two were squatting
down, with their eyes blinking, yet earnestly discussing
what was to be done on the morrow, as my companion and
I were then going tp part, and one of them, they said, was
to accompany each of us on our way. Indeed, watching
these amusing people it was hard to conceive that they
would be guilty of cruelty and bloodshed. Yet such are
the effects of traditions and customs over the human heart
that, taken from any given standpoint, it is difficult to
judge fairly of the various practices prevalent among the
different races of mankind.

By three o'clock in the morning most of our visitors
had gone home, but enough of them still remained to keep
up that palaver of theirs, of which we were by this time
getting heartily tired. We laid down at last, but could
scarcely sleep a wink with that incessant jargon going on
around us. For it must be as hard for a Dyak to hold his
tongue as it is said to be for a woman by those who are too
fond of talking themselves.

During the course of the evening we got an invitation
that rather surprised us ; for it was from an Italian mis-
sionary who 'was living on a spur of the mountain lower
down, and of whom my companion knew nothing, as he
had only been lately appointed to that district, and had
never been at Singhi before.

Some nine or ten years ago, when stationed at Bham6,
on the interior borders between Burma and China, another
missionary took people by even greater surprisei There

•^■^^n^^ ^^v

THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 21

was a standing order that none were to go outside the
stockade of that far-away comer without being armed and
in parties only, as the surrounding country was at the time
in a very disturbed state. But one fine evening, as the
people were listening to the band immediately outside the
stockade, who suddenly turned up but a missionary from
China, unarmed, unfriended, and alone, while he was also
dressed in the orthodox garb of the heathen Chinee, includ-
ing even the ridiculous pigtail. He had crossed from China
over the intervening Kachin mountains, and had been
detained for some time by one of the Sawbwas or Chiefs of
that country, but there he was, safe and sound at last. As I
happened to be writing to one of the Anglo-Indian papers
at that time I made honourable mention of this soldier of
peace in one of my letters. Though he did not really know
who had written about him he suspected me, and was very
angry, as he said I had praised him too much ! Wherever
one goes throughout the dark corners of the earth, if he
happens to meet any European at all, he is almost sure to
be a missionary of some denomination or another, and a
later experience of my own on this same trip will be faith-
fully recorded hereafter.

We were not able to accept of the missionary's kind
invitation to put us up that night, for we were already
settled down in this veritable Golgotha, or place of skulls ;
and in fact we really had gone to the village for the very
purpose of doing so. But we would call, we said, in the
early morning, which we did. And when we did call we
found him living on a lower spur of the mountain than
where we had passed the previous night. He could speak
English fairly well, and though an Italian by birth, he was
then engaged in connection with a French mission, the
name of which I quite forget.

He did not seem to suffer from any persecutions from
the simple Dyaks because of his religious opinions. For
the Dyaks, poor bodies, have scarcely any religion at all of
their own, and though good enough at the bitchdra, or
gossip- talk, they can scarcely be counted among profound
philosophers. He was not able, however, to enlighten
many of the parents, but had some twenty children in
school with him, whom he boarded, clothed and fed, and
whom he hoped to bring up in the true Catholic faith.

\

22 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

His great trouble, he said, was about funds (a not very rare
kind of trouble with the great majority of people), for the
parents thought they were obliging him greatly by allow -
ing him to teach their dusky urchins, and so they not in-
frequently asked boons and favours for themselves on the
strength of this obligation. We had ^ome coffee with him
that he grew in his own garden, and after, the usual dose of
palaver we took our way.

Here also Mr. D and myself had to separate, as he

was turning back again to his lonely bachelor's home,
while I went forward on my journey. Our blithe young
Dyaks of the previous night were there ready for us in the
morning, as fresh as paint ; and two of them accompanied
me as guides and to carry what little luggage I happened
to have with me. The path before us was said to be
extremely difficult, if not entirely impassable, at this rainy
season of the year. However, though the tramp in front
of us was not very promising, * where there's a wUl there's a
way.' The ankle that I had sprained the previous night
gave me not a little concern, as it began to pain me going
down the mountain side. But after I got down to the
swampy plain, and warmed to the work, it did not give me
half the trouble I anticipated.

Yet this road was hard to travel, and it leads me there-
fore to make a few remarks on what are known as the
hattang paths of Borneo. These at best are of the most
primitive kind, twisting through dense primeval forest, or
stretching over swampy marshes and bogs of every descrip-
tion. When these bogs are too boggy even for the Dyaks,
they cut down some large bamboos or more substantial
trees, and stretch them end to end across the morasses.
These are the battangSj from which the paths derive their
name. They are frequently so covered with mud and
water that they cannot be seen, and are, moreover, so
slippery that it requires quite an education to become an
expert bog-trotter among the battang paths of Borneo.

I proved but a poor apprentice on these paths, as I was
continually slipping off the hattcmga into the deep, deep mud
beside them ; while the little Dyaks, though carrying my
luggage, kept their foothold with wonderful tenacity. But
besides their life-long familiarity with these paths, it must
-be said in addition that they were barefooted, as well as,

Two Bt-tTHK DVAKS.
<*d viih a "Kris" or Malay Sword.)

w^^^^^^^^fimm

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 23

perhaps, that in their case, as in the case of others, Provi
dence tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.

On this road might also be seen some fine specimens of
the pitcher-plants of Borneo, whose flowers, so to speak,
sometimes grow to the capacity of a pint or even a quart
measure. They are invariably full of water and entirely
useless and out of place in a country like Borneo, where it
always rains except when it snows, the latter of which, of
course, it never does. In such a place therefore these
pitcher-plants are quite superfluous in the economy of
Nature. For though it is quite possible for a man to starve
in Borneo, yet it requires a great stretch of the imagination
to fancy a man dying from thirst in this very rainy
island.

Another plant, the Traveller's Palm, is equally abundant
in Borneo, and equally useless. This palm, at a height of
fifteen or twenty feet from the ground, begins to spread
out its long fleshy leaves in two opposite sides of the stem.
And as the lower leaves are gradually larger and larger
than the upper ones, their disposition imparts to the
plant the appearance of a perfect fan, with a long handle
comprised of the stem of the palm. The leaf-stalks of
these leaves, especially the lower ones, grasp the greater
portion of the circumference of the stem where they join it,
and are necessarily gouged out for that purpose. The
hollow thus formed is always full of water in Borneo, as it
is always raining there ; and I one time broke off one of
these leaf-stalks that contained in its hollow a bottle or
two of water, or perhaps even more. But cui bono ?

For these palms are only found in very moist climates,
where water is always plentiful. And besides, if the water
contained in the hollow of these leaf-stalks were urgently
required, how was the traveller to get at it ? — as he could
seldom reach the very lowest of the stalks without artificial
means. Nevertheless, they might possibly be useful in the
scorching deserts of Africa or Arabia, where, alas ! they are
not found. And as the watery fluid is not a secretion of
th^e plants themselves, but purely accidental, they could not
thrive anywhere but in moist climates, as would be the case
also with the pitcher-plants just mentioned.

24 THROUGH THE BUFFEU STATE

CHAPTER IV

Before we climbed the moiintams, the mountaina, the moaniaius,
Before we climbed the mountains, they looked so proud and tall

But by the time we scaled them, we scaled them, we scaled them,
By the time we scaled them the mists had veiled them all.

Fitful OleamB,

A Sloppy March— Bloodthirsty Leeches — An Awkward Tumble — A
Planter on the Mountain Side — Abdoola the Laggard — Climbing
Serappi — A MisleadingAneroid— Techilicalitiesof Tea— Monkey-
brand Coffee— Return to Euching — Story of *Dr. Meyer from
Melbourne ' — Farewell to Sarawak.

But let us return to our battangs. Well, whenever I did
return, I found it so hard to stick to them that I gave them
up at last as a had joh, and had consequently to wade,
sometimes nearly to the waist, in mud and water. Our
progress was therefore necessarily slow. But at last we
thought it high time for us to be approaching our destina-
tion, as we were now beginning to climb the hills again ;
and the end of our journey this time was to be the bungalow
of a coffee planter whom I met at ll^uching, and whom
I promised to visit on my random jouriiey.

I had brought no servants with me from India, as I
knew they would only be a burden to themselves and to me
in these countries, by reason of their ignorance of the
languages and other causes. But I had reason to regret
this decision before I returned to that country again — as
my carelessness in personally looking . after my property
resulted to me in serious loss, which will be duly related
later on. For this excursion, however, I was provided
with a Malay servant, who spoke a few words of broken
English, and whose name was Abdoola.

Abdoola was not very strong, I thought, and appeared
to feel the journey much more than the Dyaks, though they
were carrying burdens, while Abdoola had nothing to carry
except my coat, which I found uncomfortably warm for me.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 25

But ths roving and seafaring Malays are really most at
home in boats and ships, and are almost out of their element
on an inland journey like this one. Each of the two Dyaks
carried a fairly heavy portmanteau, hanging down his back
from a strip of bark passing round the top of his forehead,
for this is the way that the Dyaks invariably carry burdens
since the time of the Flood. Arrived at last near the
trunk of a large tree, that was lying along our path, I
asked Abdoola how long we were likely to take yet. He
consulted the Dyaks and replied that we should only take
half an hour. * Well, Abdoola,' cried I, * if well only take
half an hour more, well sit down and have a smoke.' And
suiting the action to the word, we flopped down on the
dead trunk beside us. While in the act of admiring my
mud-covered boots, I noticed peculiar little worms wriggling
through my stockings round my ankles, and taking off
my boots hurriedly, I found my legs covered with leeches
sucking away in great style. I had caught them when
tramping through the swamps, and had not felt their bites
during the exercise of walking, for the bites of leeches
are not very painful at any time.

The half hour of which Abdoolah told me stretched out
to nearly two hours. The mountain side here began to
be covered with a taller and more open forest, and with
much less of the tangled undergrowth so common in
countries like Borneo. Further up still, a number of large
trees had been cut down, whose decaying trunks were lying
about in every direction across guUeys and streams. There
was another pa^, the Dyaks said, but they had chosen the
shorter, though much more difficult one. It would probably
have been better for us to have taken the long road under
the circumstances, as it was surer and more easy, even
if slower and longer. Over and across these trunks of
treesi then, we had to- make our way as best we could, and I
frequently nearly tumbled off them, as they were extremely
slippery on account of the rain, and the decaying vegetable
mould with which they were covered.

When passing across a hollow on one of these trunks I
at last did tumble off, and fell into a heap of black rubbish
some five or six feet below. I might have been badly hurt
by the fall, if there had been stumps of trees under me.
But fortunately there were none, and no harm was^ done,

26 THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE

exoept that I got covered nearly all over with the mould
that had already fallen from the rotting trunk. Soon after
we stopped, as we had now reached the lower boundary of the
plantation, where the coolies were gathering the coffee beans
into a shed, and I could not help reflecting how foolish it was
for me to be undergoing these physical fatigues, without any
necessity whatever. But this much must be said in favour of
travel, namely, that in the great majority of cases, the stings
of travel are known but by their wings, while the pleasures
thereof remain longer behind.

We reached our destination at last. When we got
quite close to the bungalow, I looked out for my friend
Abdoola, as I had got very dirty with the fall, and
Abdoola was carrying my coat, which had not been soiled
at the time. But Abdoola was not to be found. Nobody
travelling through Borneo can be expected to look much of
a masher, when ifie is on the tramp. But I had got so very
dirty that I wanted my coat badly to improve matters a bit,
before intruding myself on my host, who was a perfect
stranger. So there we sat waiting for Abdoola's arrival.
He at last turned up panting away, and with such a rueful
countenance that I am sure he will not go t^ climb hills
again in a hurry. He also looked very wrathful, as if we
had left him behind us on purpose, whereas he had really
fallen back from sheer fatigue, and nobody else noticed the
fact till I required the coat he was carrying.

On that mountain side, then, I stayed with Mr. G

for the next few days. I had no intention of climbing
mountains on this journey for the sheer sake of cKmbing
them alone, as I already had my share of that kind of fun.
But I was now at Serappi, a spur of the Mattang, the
highest mountain in this part of Borneo, and reported to
be 4,500 feet in height, or about the same height as Ben
Nevis. The top of it also was said to look into the Dutch
portion of Borneo, as well as on the range of mountains
that separate Dutch Borneo from the Sarawak possessions.
And so, as I happened to be there, I wanted to climb
this mountain, and have a peep into the territories of our
Ketherland neighbours.

Mr. G had an aneroid which had not been used for

some time, and which marked his bungalow at Mattang at
1,200 feet high. So there would only be 3,000 odd feet to

THEOTJaH THE BUFFER STATE 27

climb, and I would like to take the aneroid to £est it. A
climb, of only 3,000 feet may seem a mere nothing, but it
is often .a much harder task than is generally supposed by
those who have never tried it, who, I presume, comprise
the great majority of the interesting human race.

TJp we went, then, myself and two Madrassees (or

Klings, as they call them in this country) that Mr. G

kindly lent me from the estate. ' He would have come up
himself, but was at that time very busy ; besides which he
was far too heavy for a mountain climber, and was fami-
liarly known among his friends in Sarawak under the
synonym of * The Strong Man,' for everybody in Sarawak
appeared to have some good-natured nickname or other.
On the lower slopes of the mountain there was a sort of
pathway, cut there by the late Rajah, but in several places
higher up the tall grass sometimes closed over our heads
as we made our way throuc^h it. The ascent also was steep
enough in some places, a£d sometimes passing over preci-
pices, which would look dizzy enough but for tibe abundant
vegetation that helped to cover their nakedness.

However, we reached the top of Serappi, and looked
at the aneroid to see how high it was. To my surprise,
the aneroid only marked it 2,600 feet. It is next to im-
possible to calculate the heights of mountains by the mer^
amount of personal fatigue incurred in climbing them, or
by the length of time taken up on the journey. But,
having started in the early morning from an elevation of
1,200 feet, it was hard to believe that we had only
ascended 1,400 feet more. I tapped and tapped the case
of that aneroid, and again and again laid it down to settle
quietly. But there the indicator pointed, and would not
budge. For the barometer stood at 26*92, and pointed to
a height in the margin nearly represented by 2,600 feet.
The thermometer was up to 93° Fahr. when we reached the
top, but soon after went down to 86®, which in very truth
may be considered a very high temperature on the top of a
mountain.

It might be doubtful whether the mountain was really
4,500 feet high, but it was simply impossible that it was
only 2,600 feet. Not long before this I had climbed the
mountain in the pretty little island of Penang, which is
said to be 2,500 feet, and I was certain, at any rate, that

28 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

the top of Serappi was much higher from Mr. G 's

bungalow than the top of Fenang Hill from the Waterfall
Gardens. There, then, we waited for more than an hour
to see if the aneroid would correct itself. But we might
have waited as long as we liked, and be none the wiser,
so far as that aneroid was concerned.

The view from the top was also by no means satisfac-
tory. Mountains are very funny in their way. They are,
I think, too much like Asiatic beauties, in being so fond of
hiding themselves behind the veils of mists and clouds.
And, indeed, it is very disappointing, after taking the very
fatiguing trouble of climbing a mountain, to find that all
these pains and penalties have been undertaken for nothing.
And Serappi was no great exception to the rule on this
day. Sometimes, however, the mists would roll asunder in
great crumpled white fleeces, and would then reveal glimpses
of the hilly range separating Dutch Borneo from the
Sarawak State, while at other times were revealed glimpses
of the sea in the opposite direction, as well as of Kuching
in the distance down below. The mountain itself was
thickly covered with forest to the very top, and with
numerous ferns, while occasionally we came across violets
of sorts, and even with orchids, of the most delicate tints
and shades.

After having luncheon on the top of the mountain we
had to come down again, like the French king of old, and
feeling very much puzzled about the aneroid, not knowing
what was wrong with it, if it was wrong at all. Then we
watched it at the bungalow itself, and found that the very
same elevation that marked 1,200 feet in the morning, now
marked only something under 1,100 feet on my return in
the evening. There could be only one conclusion then,
namely, that the aneroid was out of order for some reason
or another. Aneroids, indeed, are not always the infallible
indicators of heights that some people imagine, even when
they are supposed to be in good enough order, as the expe-
riences of Mr. Whymper have amply shown on the Andes.
For he found that the different aneroids were so liable to
vary, that he had to take the mean readings of three or
four of them, in order to arrive at the proper conclusions
with reference to heights.

Soon after our return I found that I had again been

THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 29

attacked with those horrid leeches, as I had been in the
swamps a day or two previously. There is something so
bracy and breezy about mountains that the very mention
of them inspires one with energy, and one would scarcely
expect to be attacked by leeches on them. But on this, as
on many other mountains, there are swampy patches here
and there over which we had to cross. And, besides, these
leeches live among the branches and leaves of trees, quite
independent of the swampy regions. They are not exactly
the leeche,s of the physician, so familiar to us, but I should
think they are quite as sanguinary in their disposition.
And, if they are found to be equally useful, there is an
inexhaustible store of them to be found in Borneo and the
islands round about.

They will tell you in Sarawak that these leeches see you
coming^ but, whether they do so or not, they at any rate
seem to hea/r you, judging from Dr. Russell Wallace's expe-
rience of them in another locality, and recorded by him in
his interesting book, *The Malayan Archipelago,' written
nearly thirty years ago. This is what he says in one par-
ticular place : —

* We passed through extensive forests, along paths often to one's
knees in mad, and were mach annoyed by the leeches, for which this
district is famoas. These little creatures infest the leaves and
herbage by the side of the paths, and when a stranger comes along
they stretch themselves out at full length, and if they touch any part
of his dress or body quit their leaf and adhere to it. They then
creep to his feet, legs, or any other part of his body, and sack their
fill, the first pancture being rarely felt daring the excitement of
walking. On bathing in the evening we generally found half a dozen
or a dozen on each of us, most frequently on our legs, but frequently
on oar bodies ; and I had one who sacked his fill from the side of
my neck, but who labkily missed the jugular vein. There are many
species of these forest leeches. All are small, but some are beauti-
fully marked with stripes of light yellow. They probably attach
themselves to deer and other animals which frequent the paths, and
have thus acquired the singular habit of stretching themselves out
at the sound (sic) of a footstep or of rustling foliage.*

The above remarks might appear to be an exaggerated
* traveller's tale,' but they are really the remarks of a wide
traveller and a distinguished man of science. At any rate
these little creatures left their marks on my legs for weeks
afterwards ; for when leeches are rubbed off, instead of
being allowed to gorge themselves and drop off, they leave

F

80 THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE

their so-called ' teeth ' in the woands, which are liable on
that account to inflame and fester.

The rest of the time I stayed with Mr. G I gene-
rally spent doing nothing, but occasionally pottering about
the plantation to improve my knowledge, not only of coffee,
but of tea also, for he happened to be growing both of these
useful commodities ; so that I am now quite a past-master
in the mysteries of Orange Pekoe, Souclhong, Conjou, and
Bohea, though I shall not disturb the equanimity of the
reader by inflicting their description upon him.

The inquiring mind, however, may be enlightened on
what is known among planters as Monkey coffee. Most of
the coflee has hitherto been grown on the mountain sides of
tropical climates like India, Brazil, and Ceylon, as it was
not known till lately that it would condescend to grow on
the mere plains at all. The vicinity of these coffee planta-
tions, then, is generally covered with virgin forests, the
very home and dwelling-place of grinning monkeys of
various kinds. Monkeys are notorious for having a sweet
tooth, and great delicacy of taste also ; and it is needless
further to say that they are therefore very fond of coffee
berries. The coflFee berries, too, when they are first ripe
enough to be plucked, are fine and fair to look upon, and
quite calculated to win the affections of both men and
monkeys.

Perhaps Jacko does not care so much for their good
looks as for their good quality, and in his own 'cute,
thievish fashion he generally feeds on the very best coffee
berries of the gardens that his honour frequents. But
he only swallows the pulp round the seeds, while the seeds
themselves are rejected. Hence certain places that Mister
Jacko frequents are sometimes literally strewn with these
choice seeds, which are by far the best of the best pos-
sible quality, as Jacko is a great connoisseur in his choice
of berries. I accidentally came across this valuable piece
of information, which I now offer to the' reader gratis.

For at the time I was staying with Mr. G one of his

native gaffers had gathered bags of these much-prized
seeds, and concealed them for his own evil purposes ; and
as freely I have received the information, even so do I
now offer it for the reader's enlightenment. And if this
straggling book will at all serve its purpose, and go through

THEOUaH THE BUFFEB STATE 81

at least fifty editions, I shall expect by-and-by to see on
every post and pillar a famous advertisement, in glaring
red letters, recommending everyone to ' Ask for the Monkey
Brand.' The reader is probably already familiar with the
'Monkey Brand' of soap that * won't wash clothes,' but
perhaps he has never before heard of the * Monkey Brand *

of coffee ' that cheers but does not inebriate.' Mr. G

is the only planter in the whole of the Sarawak possessions,
and as he is an excellent host and a very amiable person
(forbye being a brither Scot !), I am sure I wish him every
success in his undertaking.

But it was now getting high time to say good-bye both
to Mattang and Sarawak. From our lofty eyrie on the
side of the mountain, we could see through our glasses the

* Rajah Brooke' lying again at Kuching, and the burly

* Greek ' walking up and down the quarter-deck, ready for
sailing on her usual voyage to Singapore ; and so, on a fine
warm, sultry, and very rainy morning, I started back to
return to Kuching. There is quite a network of small
sluggish streams in this portion of Borneo, as the littoral of
the island is mostly composed of alluvial ddbria washed
down from the mountains during the lapse of ages. One

of these streams came within a mile or two of Mr. G 's

residence, and there in a creek was the brand-new boat
that was going to bring me back again.

The crew consisted of three Malays (by far the most
amphibious race in the East), and of one African Somali,
another race with whom I had been fairly well acquainted
some years before. And the poor Somali, with his coal-
black skin, looked very disconsolate and out of place among
these Bornean brownies. Mr. G had only quite re-
cently settled down at Mattang, and the boat, as I said,
was fresh and new ; for it was while finishing it off at
Kuching, before bringing it home, that I happened to have
the pleasure of meeting him for the first time. And the
trip that she was now taking, to convey me to Kuching,
was her veritable maiden voyage. I can only hope, then,
that the ' Mermaid,' as I called her, will live for a long
time, and will make many and many a voyage yet, with
more valuable cargo.

On reaching Kuching I found that the * Rajah Brooke '
was sailing the next day for Singapore, and with her I said

82 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

farewell to Borneo. Just before leaving Kuching I was
told a funny story that was held back from me while I was
still living there. As already remarked, the stragglers that
visit remote Borneo are not very many. But about two
years before this time one of these rare birds did manage
to visit the island and passed himself off as ' Dr. Me^er
from Melbourne.* In this way he imposed on Dr. F — ' — y
who took him into his house with the same feeling of
brotherhood as he showed myself on the present occasion.

'Dr. Meyer from Melbourne' was the best of good
company, had gone through a lot of adventures, and quite
charmed the unsuspicious people of Kuching with his
winning ways and pleasing manners. He was an adept at
whist, and sang like a mavis. In short, he could show a
wrinkle or two to the most accomplished of the Kuching
community. Besides, he was delightfully communicative
of his private affairs, was a millionaire in fact (for all
Australians are millionaires), and was also engaged to an
American heiress — for all American maidens are heiresses,
of course !

In this way he passed a fortnight at Kuching in a very
pleasant manner, nobody suspecting or caring to question
whence he came or whither he was going. But at all
events he was going to send bales of all sorts of valuable
materials to Kuching, when he returned to civilisation

back again, including a Persian carpet for Dr. F 's

sitting-room. And so the time glided away, and * Dr.
Meyer from Melbourne* at last took his departure. He
was not long gone, however, when his friends here saw in
the newspapers the hue and cry being raised after a noto-
rious swindler, one of whose many aliases was * Dr. Meyer.'
He was evidently a man who had played many parts, and
had quite easily gulled the simple people he was living
with.

Nobody knew what eventually became of him, or
whether he was caught or nofc. But it was generally be-
lieved that he went to Sarawak to escape the clutches of
the law, and that he probably hoped to escape into the
interior, perhaps into Dutch territory. On reaching Ku-
ching, however, he found himself in a cul-de-sacy from which
there was no practicable outlet, save returning by the way
he camoi whieh he finally did. So all the valuable presents

mmmff^^^^^i^mm

THROUGH THE BUFFEK STATE 83

never arrived, and neither a Persian carpet nor a Persian
cat ever reached the Doctor, who was so kind to him during
his stay. Yet all the people at Kuching were very pleased
that he behaved himseH so decently when living with them.
They prided theihselves greatly on this, and perhaps ascribed
the fact to their own very exemplary precept and example
in reforming the unreformed. But perhaps * Dr. Meyer '
thought otherwise. He probably thought that the amount
of swindling he could do in Kuching would not be worth
the trouble, and he wisely let it alone. Was this then

another * Dr. Meyer from Melbourne,' and was Dr. F

to be again imposed upon ? Let us hope not.

34 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER V

He lived and died zniBimderstood,

Tet true as he was brave,
And now in silent solitude

He moulders in the grave ;
E'en so shall monlder in the dust
The noblest hearts — ^for so they mnst.

The Hero*8 Epitaph,

Bemarks on Sarawak— The Original Rajah Brooke— His Roving
Disposition — His Hatred of John Company — ^The Projected
* Schooner '—Discouraged by his Father— His First Croise — He
tried again, and became a King !— His Father's Death — Bemarks
on the relative value of Wealth and Friendship — The Rajah's
Character and Chequered Career — Murder of Muda Hassim —
Ross, the King of the Cocos Islands.

Haying thus briefly recorded my own short journey through
Sarawak, it may not be out of place to refer in general terms
to this interesting country, and its still more interesting
founder. Sarawak, then, is on the north-west coast of
Borneo, between four and five hundred miles almost due
east of Singapore, and is nearly as large as England in
superficial area. The island of Borneo itself, of which
Sarawak forms only a part, is said to be the largest island
in the world, with the exception of the island-continent of
Australia ; but some maintain that the island of l^ew
Guinea is as large, if not even larger.

The remote interior of both these tropical islands is
very little known, and this remark is borne out by the fact,
if fact it is, that the highest mountain in the world, Mount
Hercules, has quite recently been discovered in New Guinea,
and is 32,000 feet high, against the 29,000 odd feet of Mount
Everest in the Himalayas, which has hitherto been con-
sidered the loftiest peak on this puny globe of ours. Moun-
tains are prominent and obtrusive objects, are they not ?
And that the highest mountain in the world should remain

THEOUGH THE BUEFEE STATE 86

tindiscovered till this late day of the nineteenth century
must surprise not a few people, and goes far to show how
much New Guinea has yet to be explored. I have seen
this statement made on several occasions in Anglo-Indian
and other papers lately. I do not know who discovered
Mount Hercules with its matchless 32,000 feet. But be
that as it may, one thing remains certain, and that is that
nobody will ever be able to climb it, as the highest point
yet reachod by man is only twenty- two thousand feet.*

^"itty years ago Sarawak formed a part and province of
the then extensive territory of the Sultan of Brunei, a
town and state of that name to the north-east of Sarawak,
and from which the whole of the great island of Borneo is
evidently called, the word * Borneo ' being in fact a corrup-
tion of the word ' Brunei.' This old state of Brunei has
become extremely contracted of late years, partly by the
encroachment of Sarawak on the one hand, and partly by
that of North Borneo on the other. A chain of mountains,
culminating in Kinnabaloo, 14,000 feet, runs through a
great portion of Borneo, and separates for the most part
Butch Borneo from the Sarawak State, as well as h*om
Brunei and North Borneo, all of which territories are
placed in the north and north-east of the great island.

By far the greater portion of Borneo, by no means ex-
cluding Sarawak, is covered with dense jungle and im-
penetrable virgin forest ; and the climate of it is so rainy,
every day and Sunday, that instead of the island being
called by the corrupt name of Borneo, it ought really to be
called Daily-drizzle Island. During my own short stay in
that region, I scarcely ever saw the sun all the time, and

^ After writing the abdve statement I happened to come aoross Sir
William MacGxegor, the present Governor of British New Guinea. He
^ewof the rnmour, and said it sprang from a romance written some years
ctgo by some Captain Lawson. I afterwards took the trouble of hunting
out the very book in the library of the British Museum, and have now much
pleasure in nailing this lie to the counter, as lies are so easily set aeoing,
<Ad so hard to stop again. Brave old Mount Everest I Tou still hold your
own, and will probably do so till the great day when the elements will bum
with fervent heat, and the islands wHl flee away — ^and the mountains will
iiot be found any more. Vide ' Wanderings in New Guinea,' by Caiptain
^' A. Lawson, page 158, where the following statement is made : — * I caJ-
ctdated that it was 80,000 feet high ; it proved to be 82,788 feet above the
Boa level, or 80,901 feet above the surrounding country.' The above sen-
tence then is the nonsense from which the error has sprung, and the
press marks of this book in the British Museum are 10,491. ee. I. .

d2

86

THBOUGH THE BUFFEE STATE

when going about anywhere, I generally got drenched to
the skm. A small official prints the 'Surawak Gazette,' is
published monthly at the capital town of Kuching. And
as I was travelling there at the beginning of the year, I
came across the annual number of tibis Gazette, in which
were given the statistics of the previous one. And the fol-
lowing table, copied from that paper, will show the reader
a bird's-eye view of the monthly rainfall, as well as of the
total rainfall for the year in question, which was said to be
about an average one.

Month

Ing.

Month

Ins.

January .

. 27-71

July

. 14-73

February .

. 9-88

August .

. 7-91

March

. 10-82

September

. 7-82

April

. 1211

October .

. 16-75

May.

. 10-34

November

. 19-70

June

. 12-06

December

. 25-63

Total rainfall for the year = 175-46 inches.

The reader will the more easily appreciate these figures
when I remind him that the average yearly rainfall of rainy
Great Britain is only between 30 and 35 inches.

This great and incessant moisture, in the presence of
such heat and profuse vegetation, leads to a considerable
prevalence of miasmatic fevers, as well as of Beri-heri^ a
somewhat curious ailment which is rather common in this
country. This disease of Beri-beri, which is rare in Hin-
dustan, appears to prevail under the climatic conditions
that obtain in Borneo, namely, heat and moisture, in the
presence of profuse vegetation ; and its real nature, like
that of many more common complaints, has hitherto been
but little understood.

The population of the Sarawak State is said to be con-
siderably under half a million ; so that the country is ap-
parently very sparsely inhabited. Indeed, nothing seems
to retard the growth of population more than thick jungles
and impenetrable forests, wherever on the earth's surface
they are to be found. For the bleak moors of the North
and even the barren steppes of Central Asia produce a
much ipore numerous and a far manlier race than these
luxurious and evergreen climates.

This population of Sarawak consists mostly of Dyaks,
the native alsbrigines of the country. But there iM also a

conBiderable sprinkling of Malays and Chinese, the last of
whom rebelled once against tiie first Bajah, burnt his
house, killed a lot of people, including a few Europeans, and
very nearly took away the Rajah's own life. But the Rajah
was one too many for them, and finally brought them into
subjection. It is not, however, in them that the traveller
to Sarawak is. most interested ; for he can see plenty Pig-
tails all over the East, without going to Sar&wak for that
purpose. His interest will naturally be more in the Dyaks,
the original people of the place, and the very particular
concern of both the late and the present Rajahs.

The Dyaks are short in stature, but a well-knit and
brown little people, scarcely to be distinguished from the
Malays, who live among them along the coast, and to whom
they must be very nearly allied in racial descent, as I shall
mention more fully in a future chapter.

Their habits of head-hunting have already been alluded
to, and are happily now but mere memories of the past, at
least as far as the Dyaks of Sarawak are concerned, who
live a happy, peaceful, lazy life, under their beloved sover-
eign. His Highness Rajah Brooke the Second. They did
not appear to me to be at all so primitive or savage as the
conceptions I had previously formed by reading about them.
And to the stranger they look frank, genial, and intelligent
enough.

Yet they have scarcely any religion of their own, but,
like the R^ Indians of America, they believe in some
* Great Spirit ' they call Jiwati, who is a tremendous big
bogey in his way. Their lingual vocabulary is also said to
be extremely limited, with individual words having very
many, and entirely different kinds, of meanings — ^just the
same as among ourselves.

But what is rather amusing among them is that a
father is called after his son, instead of a son being called
after his father, thus being a living and breathing example
of a child being the father of the man, which people
generally consider as a mere poetic flight of fancy. For
whenever a man has got his firstborn son and gives him
a name, he himself is no longer known by his previous
appellation, but by that which he has given to his child,
who repeats the same process when it comes to his turn to
have a child of his own.

88 THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

Deer are rather numerous in Borneo. And so another
funny custom the Dyaks have consists in the fact that if
the cry of a deer is heard roundabout on the night of a
marriage, the marriage therewith and thereby becomes null
and void : because they think the children, I presume, of
such a uiion would I as timid in dagger aTthat .ery
timid animal. And we all know that various primitive
races prize the flesh, and especially the heart, of ferocious
animals, like the lion and tiger, under the false impression
that, by eating their flesh, they become brave like these
animals.

I have heard of various other customs noted among
them, but most of them, I think, will be found on closer
scrutiny to be customs common to the Dyaks and to other
tribes, in the same state of civilisation, separated some-
times from one another far and wide over the world. But
the best trait in the character of the Dyaks, as recorded
by those who know them best, is that they are punctiliously
truthful, honest, and of a naturally kind and affectionate
disposition, in spite of all their ancient love of head-
hunting, which seemed to come to them as & sort of second
nature.

How the original Bajah Brooke came into the posses-
sion of Sarawak has been the cause of much vehement and
angry discussion, which frequently led to such damaging
accusations against him as must often have embittered the
Kajah's life. And, moreover, his position in Sarawak was
so unique that a few words about the same may not seem
out of place here,

The original E>ajah Brooke was the son of an Anglo-
Indian, who must frequently have shaken the Pagoda tree
to some effect in those days of fat rajahs, and when the
rupee was worth two and sixpence instead of the inglorious
shilling it is only worth now. He was half Scotch, half
English by blood, and his interesting though chequered
career does inflnite credit to both sides of the Border, if even
for nothing else than his splendid tenacity of purpose,
through good and evil report, of which he had more than
the usual share.

He was of an adventurous disposition from his early
youth, and began life in the Honourable East India Com-
pany, or John Company, as it was more colloquially called

-J

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 39

at ihe time. He was wounded in some action or other, and
returned home to recruit his health. He does not seem
ever to have taken kindly to soldiering, as his restless spirit
could but ill brook the dull routine of regimental life. And
he was not therefore in any great hurry to return to India.
He arrived, however, at last in ' The Land of Regrets,' but
found, probably not to his regret, that he would be over
five years absent before he could take up his appointment in
the north of India. This was the extreme limit of absence
from duty on any plea whatsoever, and I think that most
people will agree that the terms were liberal enough in every
conscience.

But he had no love for the service, and he therefore
threw up his commission and sailed for England from
Madras vid China, which must be acknowledged to be a
very roundabout way of doing business when in a hurry.
A letter from him to one of his sisters at this time, and
quoted by Miss Jacob in her book, * The Rajah of Sarawak,'
reveals his inward feelings at this period of his life : —

* How delightful the thought/ he writes, ' of once more meeting
yon, my dear sister, and meeting you free from the shackles which
have bound me ! I toss my cap into the air, and my commission into
the sea, and bid farewell to John Company and his evU ways. I am
like a horse that has got a heavy clog oft his neck, and feels himself
at liberty to gallop or feed wherever his inclinations may prompt.
Come what may, I am clear of that creature in LeadenhaU Street.
Here goes a puff of my cigar, and with it I blow the Company to the
Devil or anywhere else, so they trouble me no further.*

He saw something of the Malayan Archipelago on this
voyage to and from China, and after reaching home he
resolved to make this the scene of his future labours,
though he would no doubt be equally willing to meet with
adventures anywhere else, so long as John Company
troubled him no further. His mind got completely taken
up with the project of a ' schooner,' with which he was
going to do wonders, and roam among these tropical
islands, to the advantage of the world in general, and of
the barbarous natives of the islands in particular. But
there was one serious obstacle in his way ; and that was
an obstacle that has curbed the career of many an aspiring
youth before him, and will no doubt do so after him also.
In short, he had no money

40 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

His father had plenty, but, then, he was not dead yet.
And consequently the son could not freely get at the hoard.
In the book above referred to there is an amusing quota-
tion from a letter of his, on this all-absorbing subject : —

* I feel existence a load that I would fain be quit of, were it not
for some affections and f atore prospects. I do what I can to interest
myself in what is going on around me, and keep my mind fixed upon
the " Schooner plan/' to which I have dedicated myself blindly.
Often and often I say to myself, " Can I not bear the tedium of life
till this time arrives (sic), when I shall be able to give scope to my
spirit of adventure ? " Sometimes this will keep me going, at others
I droop and give all up in despair.'

In the book from which this is a quotation, there is
nothing that comes out more prominently than the Kajah's
domestic affections. Yet here he is at the age of tlurty,
secretly, and no doubt unconsciously, longing for his
father's death, in order to be able to give scope to his
spirit of adventure, as he himself tersely puts it. And
though he would certainly be shocked if anybody told him
so, yet there is no doubt that he was yearning and longing
to come into what he considered his own, for he was
the only surviving son, though there were two or three
daughters.

Before leaving India on the journey I am now humbly
trying to describe, I knew a young official who had recently
applied for leave home, on the plea that an aunt of his,
who was making him her heir, was going through the pro-
cess of slow dying, and he was, he said, anxious to soothe
her passage down the stream of Avernus. For some reason
or other the leave was not granted at that time, and he
was still remaining when I returned to India back again.
* Hallo,' I said to him, * you here still ? Hasn't your aunt
died yet ? ' * No, and it's very strange,' he replied, * for
two other aunts have died since ' — but apparently not the
one that was to leave the money, which I tMnk was rather
a pity.

When one calmly reflects how often people long for
other people's death for the sake of their filthy lucre, he is
compelled to acknowledge what a mighty god Mammon is
in this mercenary world. And I have, therefore, some-
times thought that, from a worldly point of view, another
verse might be almost added to the Sermon on the Mount,

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 41

namely, * Blessed are they who die poor, for they leave no
legacy, and their friends will mourn for them.'

The EAJah's father was not at all in favour of what he
considered his son's whimsical views of life, and regretted
that he had now no fixed aim or profession. But as
Delilah wearied out Samson, even so did the future Bajah
Brooke weary out his father, though the latter confessed
that he felt ' very much in the dark as to the nature of
the proposed scheme.' And so the son was at last ahle to
fit out his precious ' schooner ' of 290 tons, and loading
her with whatever he thought necessary to soothe the
savage breast, he gaily sailed away in search of gold and
fresh adventures. But like many another great enterprise,
his first efibrt was a complete failure. He reached the
enchanted regions right enough, but things went against
him, and he had to come back again, without his darling
* schooner,' and a much poorer, but by no means a wiser
man.

Rajah Brooke, however, was not a man easily subdued.
What he lost in purse he gained in experience, which is by far
the best practical way of learning anything. And during
the voyage he became familiar with some places, as well as
with the ways and manners of the primitive natives.

At last his father died, just to oblige him, and he then
came into his own in peace and quietness. He was- left a
^^air fortune, which would have kept him comfortably at
home all his days, rocking in a cradle and sucking his
thumbs, if inclined in that way. And most people, I think,
would prefer to settle down comfortably, whether to suck
their thumbs or not, rather than run after vain adventures
in far away lands ; for Bajah Brooke was at this time
over forty years of age. Nor can it be denied that,
though his life would have been less romantic, it would
have been far more happy, for the Bajah actually died a
poorer man as regards actual money than he was when he
started again on this project ; while during the whole of
the rest of his life he was a veritable shuttle-cock in the
hands of Mrs. Grundy.

No sooner did he come into his own than his love of
adventure revived anew, if it really ever did flag for a
inoment. He bought another 'schooner,' and again sailed
away in search of fresh fame and fortune. On this journey

42 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

he reached Sarawak in Borneo, and he remained in connec-
tion with this territory daring the rest of his life, though
he actually died at home.

In a cursory description like this, it is not intended to
follow out the whole of his chequered career. Many main-
tained that he was an unmitigated pirate, while others as
strenuously maintained that he was a devout philanthropist.
He certainly led to the violent death of many seafaring
natives in these regions, whom he and his friends called
pirates, and whom his enemies called by a different name.
His detractors pointed out that at the very best he was
but a pirate punishing pirates, on the principle of a thief
catching a thief, and that therefore hanging was far too
good a punishment for him.

If these charges were true, then Eajah Brooke would
certainly be one of the most dangerous and insidious
pirates, and a scourge to humanity. Yet it is hard to
conceive of him as a bloodthirsty pirate, as he was too
romantic and Quixotic in his ideas to hurt the weak, and
would much more probably be found fighting windmills in
their defence.

That he was a bit of an adventurer there is no doubt,
in the best sense of that much abused term. He would
put matters to the touch, as it were, and stand by the
issue. This is not an ignoble quality, and it is the truest
definition of adventure. Chinese Gordon, it is said, used
to maintain that Great Britain was created by her adven-
turers, of which he was himself, in this respect, no mean
example. Small blame to Bajah Brooke, then, if he was an
adventurer of this better sort

How many young people, both before and after him,
have gone to the gorgeous East in search of fame and for-
tune ? And how many of them, alas ! have had to turn
back with enlarged livers and their tails between their
legs ? The process of this disillusionment is steadily going
on before our very eyes at the present moment, and will go
on for ever as long as Fortune will be such a shy maid and
Fame so skittish. Nay more, Brooke had to turn back
twice in the draggle-tail condition mentioned. But he
tried yet again and became — a king !

It cannot be denied, however, that he got his first foot-
ing in Sarawak by means of the strong hand. He had

■:A

THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 48

rendered some service to Kajah Muda Hassim, the Governor
of Sarawak, and uncle to the then reigning Saltan of
Brunei, to whom Sarawak then belonged. And the said
Rajah had been making fair promises to Brooke, which he
was in no great hurry to redeem. But the question came
to a pitch at last, and this is the way in which Brooke
himself writes upon the subject : * Bepairing on board the
yacht, I mustered my people, and explained my intentions
and mode of operation ; and having loaded the vessel's
guns, and brought her broadside to bear, I proceeded on
shore with a detachment fully armed, and taking up a
position at the entrance to the Bajah's (Muda Hassim's)
palace, demanded and obtained an immediate audience.'

And thus without any bloodshed the future Bajah
Brooke took possession of Sarawak on the 24th day of Sep-
tember, 1841. The aboriginal Dyaks were at the time in
rebellion against the Malay Sultan of Brunei; and his uncle,
Muda Hassim, the Governor of the Sarawak province, was
unable to bring them into subjection again. It was under
these favourable auspices that the roving James Brooke
arrived on the scene with his inevitable schooner, went to
the front inland, near the village of Singhi already men-
tioned, and in a pitched battle, in which one man was
killedj he brought the Dyaks into a more amenable frame
of mind.

These were the services rendered by Brooke, and in a
good-hearted mood Muda Hassim promised Brooke the
Governorship of Sarawak, which at that time comprised a
comparatively smaller extent of country than it does now,
lying for the most part along the course of the Sarawak
river, of which the native village of Kuching formed the
principal township, as it does to this day. But on further
consideration Muda Hassim, as I said, was not in any
violent hurry to redeem his promise, till Brooke at last,
as he says himself, brought the schooner's broadside to
bear.

But then and afterwards Muda Hassim and his brother
Muda Mahomed were Brooke's firm friends. They finally
both returned to Brunei, leaving Brooke in possession at
Sarawak. And there their friendly proclivities towards
the white stranger eventually resulted in the cruel murder
of the two of them, at the instigation of their nephew, the

I

44 THROUGH THE BUFEEB STATE

Saltan of Brunei, who was probably more of a far-seeing
politician than either of his victims.

But Brooke could not help some people getting attached
to him, for it was his fate in life to make some very fond
of him, while others hated him like poison. This quality
in a man may, I think, be esteemed more or less of a dis-
tinction in itself, for your mere milk-and-water wee bodies
are incapable of kindling either frantic love or frowning
hatred.

Thus his life was by no means a happy one, for he was
much traduced by some of the public press, and often found
himself the subject of heated discussions. But he stuck to
his colours till the very last. And whatever other people
thought of him, the simple-minded Dyaks adored him.
They looked upon him as a great deliverer from the
oppression of the Sultans of Brunei. And now that he is
dead they declare that his great spirit resides in a mountain
not far from Kuching, ever watchful of the welfare of his
dear little brownies. Though so venturesome a soul, he
appears never to have been a man of strong physique, or to
have enjoyed robust health either in Sarawak, or during
his visits home. He died at last in England at the age of
sixty-five, a poorer man in mere worldly wealth than when
first he went to Sarawak. Sic transit gloria mundi 1

The only other British subject that offers any favour-
able parallel to Rajah Brooke by becoming a little king in
a foreign land was a man named Boss, a native of Shetland,
who became ruler of the Cocos Islands to the south-west of
the island of Java. Ross was an able-bodied seaman, whose
ship was wrecked among these islands, and some of the crew
were drowned. The survivors chose Ross as their leader
in contending against the natives. This they successfully
did, till one occasion when Ross and some others were on
the war-path. On their return they found that their home-
staying friends had rebelled, and had chosen another leader.
Ross with his few friends attacked them at once, routed
the rebels, and became king of the Cocos Islands, where
his descendants rule to this day. The protection of the
British fi^g (for which, by the way, the late Rajah Brooke
was so very anxious) has lately been accorded both to
Sarawak and the Cocos Islands. But while thus becoming
an integral portion of the great British Empire, they have

SBB

-1

TflBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 45

reserved to themselves a measure of Home Rule liberty,
which ought to be satisfactory to all the parties con-
cerned.

The original Bajah Brooke never married ; and though
he died a poor man as regards mere cash, yet he left a fine
heritage to his nephew, Mr. Charles Johnson, who assumed
the name of Brooke, and is now designated His Highness
Sir Charles Brooke, of Sarawak, and second of that ilk. He
was in England during the time of my visit, but when he
is in Sarawak he is monarch of all he surveys. He entirely
follows in the footsteps of his uncle, the Great B^jah, and
is said to be very particular about his insignia of office, the
gold umbrella, to be held over him as he crosses the little
river of Kuching from his residence, the Ustana, to the
Hall of Judgment, for the Rajah is a veritable Moses in this
respect, without even having a priest of Midian to help
him. The province has grown apace since the original
concession was made, and the revenue has increased con-
siderably, though not perhaps at the rapid pace that the
eager old Rajah at one time anticipated.

The country is kept in order by a small police force,
mostly of Indian Sikhs, scattered here and there over the
land. And there are also four companies of native Dyak
troops, known as the Sarawak Rangers, commanded by

Major D , a retired British officer, who takes the

greatest interest in his lively little levy. This little corps
has everything complete, from the commanding officer down
to the drummer boy, and even a national anthem that goes
under the very melodious and patriotic name of ' Riayrax /'
whatever that may mean.

46 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER VI

On a tossing ship and a tumbling sea,

We stemmed the waves frae our ain cotmtree,

Not knowing, alas 1 if we e*er again

Should live to return on that sounding main.

The Exile's Lament,

Return to Singapore — The steamship * Independent ' — ^My German
shipmates — Chinese Ghow-Ghow — Frightening evil spirits —
Gregorivitch, the Russian offioer— Arrival at Bangkok — Jaoksdn
the pilot— 'Don't you smell it ?*— Ocean-butterfly Fort— The
* John Baptist Say ' — French and British men-o*-war at Bangkok —
Chinese New Year — The British Flag — King GhulaJongkom —
Description of Bangkok — My Dutch * Casual * — Toasting the
German Emperor — Visit to Eoh-si-chang— Landing there of
French troops— The Siamese Navy.

But here we are of an early morning going into the bay
of Singapore back again. I did not wish to go ashore
there, as I was anxious to get as soon as possible up to
Bangkok, the capital town of the Buffer State of Siam,
from which this volume receives its name, and which was
then, and is now, very much in evidence before the public,
as the possible cause of a war between Great Britain and
France. I also wanted to be in Bangkok during the
Chinese New Year there, for the Celestials form the most
important section of the population of Bangkok, and are
said to observe this festival better than in China itself, on
the principle that the further we roam the dearer is home.
And, indeed, true to this principle, the Scotch festival of
St. Andrew is far better observed in remote Calcutta than
it is in Edinburgh.

When the * Bajah Brooke ' dropped anchor in the harbour
of Singapore, there were several ships flying the Blue Peter,
as an indication that they were sailing that day ; and the
gallant captain (the Greek) was good enough to place one

THBOUGH THE BUFFEB STATE 47

of his boats and crew at my disposal, to nnd out if any of
these ships were bound for the port of Bangkok. I went
on board a steamer called the ' Labelle,' but neither a belle
nor a beauty was she. The captain of the ship was on
shore, and the two or three Europeans I met on board did
not at all encourage me to proceed to Bangkok with the
^Labelle.'. She was only a coalship, they said, and carried
no passengers ; which one could easily believe from looking
at the ship's iron decks, covered with the coal dust which
they were just shipping, as well as the smudgy faces of the
speakers themselves. One of them casually remarked that
further out in the harbour there was a German ship that
was going to Bangkok, that she was faster than the
'Labelle,' and that she was leaving at once, while the

* Labelle ' would not go till the next day or the day
after.

On going on board this ship, the German captain of
her, too, was on shore, but the mate said that the captain
would make no objection to giving me a passage ; and
within a couple of hours thereafter I was on board the

* Independent ' with all my property. The captain of the
ship had come on board by this time, spoke English
fluently, and had no objection whatever to my taking a
passage. But there was someone else on board who
required to be consulted. This was the Chmese supercargo
or compradore of the ship. The * Independent,' like the

* Labelle,' was entirely a cargo boat, and was chartered by
Chinese merchants for a certain period, so that the captain
sailed the ship wherever these good people desired. .The
Chinese supercargo tried to make out that it was a great
favour to give me a passage ; and when he discovered that
I had no ticket or papers from shore, he shook his head
sadly. How could he give me a passage without some
papers from shore, and how could he know that I was not
a fugitive from justice — another * Dr. Meyer from Mel-
bourne,' in fact ? But though the heathen Chinee may be
very fond of justice, there is another little talisman that
be is fonder of still, and that is the almighty Mexican
dollar, which is the current coin in the Straits Settle-
ments.

After satisfying himself about the justice portion of the
business, and also about the dollars, the heathen Chinee

48 THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

was good enough not to offer any further difficulty. Like
the * Labelle,' the * Independent ' had no cabins for
passengers, but I had to pay Johnnie almost the same fare
as for a passage in a first-class ocean greyhound. How-
ever, when a thing has to be done, there is no use haggling
about it, especially with a Chinaman, when he knows that
he is master of the situation. Fortunately there was a
small house over the stem of the ship, which we may con-
veniently call the round-house or wheel-house, and which,
besides the reserve wheel, contained two small compart-
ments, separated from one another by a thin partition.
The captain's proper cabin was amidships, but in one of
these two compartments he had an extra bed ; while in the
adjoining one the captain, first mate, and chief engineer
messed together. The captain then put the small com-
partment with the bed in it at my disposal, and I was also
made welcome to mess with the three of themselves.

' The ship was not able to sail till daybreak the next
morning. She was entirely on water-ballast, without any
cargo whatever, and was going to Bangkok for orders. We
got strong head winds against us in the Gulf of Siam, and
the light ship tossed about very much, but I was getting
too used to tossing by this time to be entirely upset by the
process. Through our unexpected delay that night at
Singapore, and because of the strong winds blowing against
us in the Gulf of Siam, we were later than we expected in
arriving at the bar across the mouth of the river Menam,
on which Bangkok is situated, twenty -five miles farther up.
The passage was too rough to be caUed pleasant ; but my
foreign shipmates were very obliging, and helped to make
up by their kindness for what I lost in mere material
comfort. There were only seven Europeans among them
all, the rest being Asiatics, mostly Chinamen. All the
Germans spoke English, and said that they had learnt
English at school, and that they had often sailed in English
vessels with English crews. They even gave their orders
in English when directing the Chinese to do anything, and
their very compasses were of British manufacture.

As we were approaching the land one afternoon, I saw
a group of Chinese eating their chow-chow with their chop-
sticks on one of the ship's hatchways, and I tried to get a
snap shot at l^em with my kodak in their interesting

THfiOU^H THE BUFFER STATE 49

entertainment. But immediately they saw my designs
upon them they dispersed at once, and were not at all cus-
posed to figure among my collection of ' strange animals
that I have seen.' The captain, however, induced them to
endure the operation, and I took what I hoped would turn
out a good photograph of themselves and their chopsticks.
Soon afterwards I took a photo of my three messmates, but
I found that before taking the second one, I had not turned
the spool round, and therefore, the two photos would be
impressed on the same sensitive film. So the photos had
to be taken again, much against the inclination of the
Chinese, though they did not make any outward disturb-
ance about it.

It is funny to note the objection of some primitive
people to their portraits being taken. They sometimes
fancy that if you possess their portrait or shadow, you
become possessed of the power to injure them at your
pleasure. Many well authenticated cases have been
recorded about this superstition, which in reality underlies
the idea of * burning in efl&gy,' a species of diablerie still
existing among ourselves. One of the saddest and strangest
of these stories connected with portraits is that recorded of
a Redskin chief, named Mahtochuga, as related in Sir John
Lubbock's * Origin of Civilisation.' The portrait of this
chief was taken in profile by an Englishman, and it there-
fore depicted but half of the face sideways. His rude
followers were wild about this, saying that their chief
Mahtochuga was never afraid of looking any one full in the
face ; while his rival chief and enemy Shonka (* The Dog ')
said that the photographer knew very well that Mahtochuga
was a coward, or half a man, and so took the portrait in
this way. This led to a fight between Mahtochuga and
Shonka, in which the innocent Mahtochuga was killed, while
in revenge his followers killed both Shonka and his brother
—all on account of that paltry profile photograph. Indeed,
the susceptibilities of savages are oft«n so strange and
ridicolous, that it is not always easy for the traveller to
avoid treading unintentionally on their tender corns.

The kodak, I am sorry to say, turned out a great failure,
apparently from the film being too old, a fact which I had
no means of knowing at the time. If I were taking photo-
graphs in beaten tracks, this would have mattered little,

60 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

but I had taken such trouble to procure interesting ones, in
out of the way places, that their want of success was a great
disappointment for me.

The captain and chief engineer of the ship were really
Danes by blood, as they belonged to the province of Schleswig-
Holstein that has only lately been ceded from Denmark to
Germany. They were, therefore, in sentiment more Danish
than German ; for it is far easier to attach countries than
to win the hearts of the inhabitants. The chief engineer
sailed under the very Scotch name of Boss. Gne day I
alluded to his name, and said that he must be descended
from some Scotchman who settled in Denmark some time or
other. But to my surprise he did not rise to my flattering
suggestion, but remarked that the Kosses in Scotland must
be descended from those of Denmark. I leave this weighty
question to some Bosses that I know, and hope they will
be able to decide which of the Rosses had a boat of their
own at the time of the Flood, the Danish ones or the
Scotch ones, though I have a shrewd opinion of what their
decision will be.

And this reminds me of another little story. That's the
mischief of stories. They hang by one another's noses and
tails like a string of Arabian camels. Some years ago I was
sailing across the Pacific from Japan to America, and among
the passengers was not only Miss Nellie Bly, the famous
American racer, but also a Russian admiral and his aide-de-
camp, who was a lieutenant in the Russian Kavy, and
whose name was Gregorivitch, which was exactly my own
name, the ' vitch ' at the end of his name corresponding
precisely with the * mac ' at the beginning of mine. By the
unchivalrous laws of ray country, my name, for nearly two
hundred years, could not be borne under the extreme
penalty of death ; and many bearing it wandered and died
in foreign lands, rather than forsake the same. Could this
then be a Muscovite descendant of the ancient clan Clan-
Alpine 1 The aide-de-camp spoke English very well, and I
asked him one day, for amusement. But he claimed no
descent from the Land o' Brown Heath !

We were later in arriving at Bangkok than we, at first
expected, on account of the high winds against us on the
voyage. But we were at last making land at eight or nine
o'clock at night, and carefully on the look-out for the lights

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 51

ship off the month of the river. This was also the Chinese
New Year's Eve, and as the ship was so light, we hoped to
be able to get across the bar, and procieed to Bangkok with-
out delay ; a programme that would have suited me well
enough, as I should be in Bangkok to see the Chinese jinks in
celebration of that event, and which I rather wished to wit-
ness. We made out the lightship in due course, and sailing
slowly up to it, we blew the ship's horn with a great
flourish.

But for a long time there was no sign of recognition
whatever from the lightship, so that we had to drop our
anchor. It was only then that we could see a boat putting
off from the lightship, and steering our way. This was one
of the pilot boats, and the captain called the pilot by the
name of Jackson. It was too late to ta^e the ship up that
night, he shouted, but he would be on board by daybreak
in the morning. I felt rather annoyed at this, as I had
lost the Chinese New Year at Bangkok in spite of all my
energy, and for this I blamed the laziness of the pilot in
taking such a long time in coming out to the ship. He did
not come on board at all, and was just leaving the ship's
side back again. * Hullo, Jackson ! ' I shouted to him from
the bridge. *You have been rather sleepy to-night on
account of the Chinese New Year.' * Who's that ? ' replied
Jackson, in a gruff, angry voice. * Oh, never mind,' I sf>id,
*it is only an old shipmate.' *A11 right, then,' rejoined
Jackson, * I'll see you to-morrow morning ; ' and therewith
the oars of the boat splashed in the sea, and Jackson headed
for the lightship, while we turned in to sleep till the morrow,
for my good intentions had failed this time again, as they
bad frequently done before.

In the very early morning there was Jackson before me
on the bridge, but unfortunately he could not recognise in
me the long lost shipmate that he expected. I excused
myself for coming on to the bridge, but as I was a stranger,
and wanted to watch the steamer going up, &c., &c. — but
Jackson did not mind in the least. On the contrary, he
became quite genial and talkative, for as a matter of fact
he had little to do, and would probably find his way up to
Bangkok with his eyes closed. For except at the bars at
the mouth of the river, the Menam, or ' Mother of Waters,'
though twisting about a good deal, is quite easily navigated

x2

62 THROUGH THE BUFEER STATE

up to Bangkok, there being scarcely any shoaLs on the way,
and the banks being abrupt and uniform. So the pilot
could afford to speak or listen at his pleasure ; for Jackson
is not only the oldest pilot, but probably also the oldest
European resident in this remote land, and knew everything
about everything and everybody else up here. He had
been originally a sea captain, and was one of the first small
batch of three or four European pilots, established and
licensed to navigate the Menam thirty-eight long years
before that date. The others had all died off, and Jackson
alone was left behind, like Ossian after his brave comrades ;
and though he was now the oldest of the pilot service, over
seventy years of age, and with a game leg, he still retained
his youthful ways, with plenty of grit and game in the old
salt still. He was very entertaining, and occasionally spoke
in a slow sotto voce tone of voice that reminded one of
Byron's Lambro — 'the mildest mannered man that ever
scuttled ship or cut a throat.'

But far be so base an imputation from my friend
Jackson, whom I had the pleasure of meeting several times
afterwards at the Oriental Hotel, at which I was staying.
It was he who told me of the peculiar bar at the mouth of
the Menam river — that there is never more than thirteen
or fourteen feet of water over it at the highest floods, and
not more than three or four feet at the lowest ebb-tides ;
and that the tides are so very erratic in their disposition,
that no reliable tide-tables can be previously made for the
high and low-water tides on this peculiar river.

When we started in the morning there was not a
breath of wind blowing, and the ship was going dead slow
at first. But shortly after, or about 6.30 a.m., the land
breeze reached us, and I never felt a land or sea breeze
before that announced its coming more abrupt and un-
mistakable. Jackson sniffed the breeze as the war-horse
sniffs the battle. * Don't you smell it 1 ' ejaculated Jackson,
* it smells so fresh and cool.' It was certainly slightly cool,
but to me it smelt neither fresh nor pure, but as if it were
blowing across the very sink of iniquity. And though
Jackson's nose had got used to it during thirty-eight long
years, that's what it really was, as anybody should be able
to understand who knew the lie of this country. The
land about Bangkok for miles and miles is simply reticU"

THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 53

lated with a net- work of foul canals and klongs that flow
up and down slowly with the tide. When the tide is out,
the exhalations from these klongs do not at all consist of
otto of roses ; and when the land breeze from over these
klongs suddenly blows with a whiff across the purer sea
air, it is not so fresh as Jackson fancied ; at least I
thought so, very decidedly, and some of my readers may
yet get the opportunity of judging for themselves.

After crossing the bar of the river, we passed to our
left a fortified island called Phi-sua-Smud, which in Eng-
lish means the Ocean-butterfly Fort ; (Phi =s fort ; stui =
a butterfly ; and ^S^mt^^ ocean). This is a strange name
for a stronghold, because butterflies, even the social ones,
are more noted for their charms of colour than for their
courage in danger ; and as for the ocean-butterfly, why, I
never heard of it before. * Never-give-in Fort,' though
not so melodious, would be a much better name ; but alas !
it iprould not be a true one here, as this same Ocean-
butterfly Fort had been smashed up by the French men-o'-
war only a short time heiore. It lei this same Jackson,
too, who had piloted the French ships on that occasion,
when they forced the Menam and steamed up to Bangkok,
an act that caused no little commotion at the time, and
was supposed to have brought Great Britain within
reasonable prospects of a war with France.

Jackson at that time was piloting to Bangkok a small
steamer of 150 tons, called the * John Baptist Say,' which
was the only ship then regularly trading between Bangkok
and Saigon, the capital town of French Indo-China. The
French gunboats put some officers on board the 'John
Baptist,' and then followed in her wake in the dark, while
the Ocean-butterfly -Fort opened fire on them. The French
gunboats coming on behind were more .the object of the
Fort than the humble 'John Baptist,' as Jackson said
that he could hear the cannon balls whizzing over his head,

* but,' said he, * not a bl one of them hit me ' — as if it

would only be a mere scratch if they did. But though not
one of them hit Jackson himself, yet the * John Baptist '
got her baptism of fire on this occasion ; for one of these
despised cannon balls hit her between wind and water,
and she began to sink so rapidly that Jackson had to
ruA her ashore, and was there and then made a prisoner

'

54 THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

by the Siamese, along with everybody else on board the
vesseL

They afterwards raised the ' John Baptist Say ' (to give
her full name), and we passed her further up the river,
covered all over with mud, and looking very sorry for
herself. But with this exception the Ocean-butterfly Fort
does not appear to have done any great execution, for
shortly afterwards some shots from the French gunboats
caught hold of its corrugated-iron roofing, and tore it
away in such a manner that it fell down on the men
working the guns below, and killed several of them on the
spot. So the Ocean-butterfly Fort was silenced, and the
French gunboats proceeded up to Bangkok without any
further molestation — and so did we on this more peaceful
journey.

An incident that caused quite a flutter in the news-
papers took place at this time. One of the French men-
o'-war was said to have fired across the bows of H.M.S.
^ Swift,' and to have ordered her out of the harbour. But
what really occurred was that the French senior com-
mander intimated to the British ship, for her own in-
formation, that he was going to open fire on the Fort if
necessary. It appears true, however, that some French
gunboat did fire across the bows of the ' Swift,' apparently
by mistake. For after the French ships reached Bangkok,
the captain of the gunboat in question said that in the
dark he did not know he was firing across a British ship
at all, and expressed his regret for the accident. This is
what I was told in Bangkok itself from people who ought
to know, and I believe it is the true version of the
story.

The event, however, took place quite shortly after
another unfortunate accident had occurred in West Africa.
It will be remembered that, on that occasion, a native war
party under French officers opened fire by mistake, and in
the dark too, on a small native party under British officers.
The unfortunate attack was repulsed, and several officers
and men were killed on both sides, including the young
French commander, who only lived long enough to explain
his fatal error, as he had mistaken this party for a party
of native rebels that he was in pursuit of. That these un-
fortunate accidents should happen about the same time

A

t^eko

5!

(5

THEOUaH THE BUFFER STATE 65

tended to aggravate the importance of them in the eyes of
the public, and led some people to believe that they were
intended as a challenge by France, whereas they were
merely hapless accidents.

But when dwelling upon these warlike topics, we must
not forget ^bout the Chinese New Year. The * Indepen-
dent ' did not go up all the way to the city of Bangkok that
morning, but old Jackson took me in his pilot boat, and
landed me safely at the Oriental Hotel, which I made my
head-quarters during my stay there. There were only two
men-o*-war in the river at this time, namely, one British
gunboat called the * Linnet,' and one French gunboat called
the * Aspic' The French ship was anchored near the
middle of the stream, opposite the French Legation ; and
the * Linnet ' occupied a similar position, a cable's length
higher up, and opposite the British Legation. Both ships
were within a few hundred yards from the landing place
of the hotel, which is situated on the riverside a little below
the French Legation.

Shortly after our arrival Jackson and I went to sit in
the verandah among a lot of people gathered there, and
consisting mostly of ships' officers of various nations.
Suddenly they all got up to watch a steam-tug that was
passing the landing-place. She was going up the river, and
tugging after her quite a string of unwieldy rice-boats, by
no means an uncommon sight at Bangkok. But what
roused the curiosity of the onlookers was that this tug, as
well as the string of rice-boats, were all gaily decorated
with British flags, as they proceeded on their way. How
the Chinese got a hold of so many of these flags nobody
knew, but they were evidently meant as a demonstration.
And when on the subject of flags, I think there is no flag
in the world so flne as the British flag. That little Jack
in the comer gives an air of sauciness to it that is quite
beyond compare.

' 'Tis only a flimsy fabric, 'tis only a tattered rag,
But the angels' eyes grow brighter at the sight of the British flag.'

Now this was the Chinese New Year's Day, and I had
lost the Chinese New Year's Eve, with all its feasts and its
lanterns, by our delay in the river during the previous
night ; and it appears that some of the Chinese in a merry

66 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

mood, after last night's orgies, took it into their heads to
make this great display of British flags from mere cussed-
ness, and from nothing else. It was currently reported
at the time that France was going to annex Siam, or at any
rate as much of it as she could, and the demonstration was
evidently intended to convey the impression that, if there
was to he a partition, it was the British flag and not the
French, that these holiday-makera preferred to follow.
Thus the procession of tug and rice-boats with their
borrowed or stolen flags proceeded past the British and
French gunboats, much to the amusement of the spectators
on shore, and probably viewed with different kinds of
feeling by the onlookers from the two French and English
ships. Not that the Chinaman loves us, for that he
doesn't. But he has got a keen appreciation of the almighty
dollar ; and as he is a shrewd and mercenary kind of
animal, he prefers our free-trade system to the protective
system of France. That's it, and nothing more.

The kiug is dead — long live the king ! Well, the king
of Siam was reported to be dead that very morning. But
as this curious king has been reported to be dead so often
of late, he must possess the nine lives of a cat and one life
more, and there may, therefore, be some prospect of his
recovery.

He was certainly keeping himself very secluded at this
time, and no European physician was alJowed to see him
at all, though at one time I had some hope of being able
to visit the king on the plea of consultation with somebody
else. He was rather unfortunate in his medical attendance
then, as he had just lost Dr. Go^van, whom he is said to have
trusted more than anybody else, and in more ways than in
mere medicine alone. King Chulalongkorn, therefore, had
no adviser at all, and hence the constant rumours about his
death, which was supposed to be kept secret for political
purposes. These rumours crop up at the very present
time. And I hope the evil prophets will be encouraged,
for it may safely be prophesied of these false prophets that
if they only keep prophesying long enough, their predic-
tions will eventually become true, as the poor king is bound
to die some time or other, like everybody else.

That night I met a roving Dutchman at the dinner
table, and we both went out alterw^ds to ^ee what cpul4

THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE 67

be seen of the remnants of the Chinese New Year feast.
People said it was dangerous to be running about the
Chinese quarters at night, and at such a season. But it
wasn't j and we drove through the town, as well as the
walled city, right into the palace gates four or five miles
away. That's all, however, we had for our labour ; for the
festivities, whatever they were, had taken place the
previous night, their New Year's Eve, and were all over by
this time.

On these gay occasions the Chinese expose in their
houses, and sometimes on tables in the streets, great
displays of meats and drinks, which they devoutly offer to
the shades of their relatives and ancestors who have joined
the majority. The latter obligingly descend from the
realms above, and silently partake of the spiritual portion
of the sacred offerings, while they leave the mere material
and grosser parts untouched, and without any marks of
their finger ends or chopsticks whatever. It is not easy to
conceive of much spirituality contained in a dead leg of
mutton, or more particularly of pork, of which Chinamen
are so passionately fond. But opinions differ vastly in
matters spiritual as well as in matters carnal, and at any
rate this custom pleases Johnnie, as well as the shades of
his ancestors, and is therefore satisfactory to all concerned.
Besides, Johnnie's offerings are in the morning as he left
them at night, and he eats the material portion himself,
or distributes them among his poor r.eiglibours, none of
whom ever misses the spiritual essence of these dainty
viands.

Occasionally, however, a stealthy pariah or village cur
comes silently on the scene, and runs away with the leg of
mutton. But that's another story ; and, curiously enough,
although Buddhists believe in transmigration. Chinamen
never suspect that these poor dogs may possess the very
souls of the ancestors to whom the offerings are being
made, otherwise they would not beat them so mercilessly.
Strange though this superstition may seem to us, yet it is
one of the widest prevalence throughout the world.

All that we could see of the feast consisted of gaily
dressed Chinamen squatting here and there by the sides of
the bazaars, and steadily indulging in their pet passion of
g^mbUng, to which no other wtion is so addicted, ^ire^

58 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

works were also popping off here and there with great
briskness, for this is the favourite way, all over the East,
for scaring evil spirits, who appear to be particularly afraid
of detonating crackers and squibs of every kind. Before
going to Singapore, the last voyage of the * Independent '
was from Hong Kong to Bangkok, and more than half the
value of her cargo was composed of these rockets and
cracking substances in general — all of them for this coming
event, the Chinese New Year in Bangkok and surrounding
country, which, unfortunately, are being quite overrun by
these almond-eyed intruders.

We can't quite know why evil spirits should be so
frightfully afraid of fire and sound, as they are presumably
quite accustomed to them, but that they are so is a very
common opinion throughout most of Asia, an amusing
example of which appeared not long ago in one of the Anglo-
Indian papers. Many of the more primitive natives of
India attribute childlessness in married women to the machi-
nations of jealous evil spirits ; while the best way to frighten
them off, and become as fruitful as Rachel, is to set a house
on fire / The spirits are awfully afraid of the heat and the
crackling and the terrible blaze. It is not at all necessary,
as one would think, that it should be your own house you
should set on fire. Oh, dear, no ! Your neighbour's house
will do ev^n better, and in the case alluded to, the woman
yearning for offspring set fire to a house actually on the other
side of her village. I have not yet heard of the physio-
logical effect of this smart manoeuvre, but she was imprisoned
by mere matter-of-fact British law for committing a very
serious misdemeanour. But whether evil spirits are afraid
of noise or not^ men certainly are, and hence the yell
recommended in charging an enemy, in the hope of demoral-
ising him. Why, the very walls of Jericho, once upon a
time, fell down to the blowing of rams' horns.

But, though I lost the Chinese New Year, I was yet in
ample time for a still more interesting festival. For on
the 20th of that same month there was to be a full moon,
and on that same full moon was to occur the yearly devotion
and homage paid by pious Buddhists at Buddha's sacred
footprint on the holy hill known as Mount Phrabat. This
place is some one hundred and fifty miles from the sea by
the river route, and thither. Siamese pilgrims from all parts

THBOUaH THE BUFFER STATE 59

of the country foregather in their thousands at this par-
ticular period.

On my * ticket-of -leave ' from India only Borneo and
Bangkok were recorded, but this was only because I was
afraid I should not be able to get any further. Yet I
devoutly hoped, if I reached the latter place, that I should
be able to 'jockey the ghost,' and smuggle myself into the
interior in some way or another.

One great difficulty was to procure servants, and though
I was willing to content myself with only an interpreter
and a cook, yet I found it very hard to secure either of
these useful functionaries.

And so, when looking out for servants, and waiting to
witness the great pilgrimage to Mount Phrabat, I made
use of my time by prowling promiscuously about this curious
city. Bangkok is popularly known as the * Venice of the
East,' though Venice would certainly object to being called
the * Bangkok of the West.' Europeans imagine that all that
is romantic and old is to be found in the ' gorgeous East.'
This is quite a mistake, for though a certain amount of
narcotic glamour and mystery is no doubt associated with
the sultry Orient, yet, for right down romance, give me the
* breezy West ' instead of it. It is to a great extent the
imagination of the West, and the exaggerations of mere
travellers' tales, that have invested the East with by far the
greater portion of its glamour, especially because it was at
one time considered so mysterious and so far away. And
when reading such curious travellers' tales as those of Sir
John Mandeville and others, one wonders at the fertile
humbugging imaginations that these early travellers were
blest with, and how easily they imposed on the ignorant
community. At any rate, Bangkok in respect of romance
contrasts unfavourably with its western equivalent, for here
there is no St. Mark's, no Bridge of Sighs, nor memories of
either Doge or Bucentaur, with all their historical and
romantic associations. Bangkok, in short, is almost com-
pletely wanting in history ; and what is anything without
that?

There are certainly plenty of canals, and plenty of gon-
dolas and gondoliers after their own fashion. The ground
on which the town is situated is quite closely intersected
by these canals running in various directions, and greatly

60 THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE

facilitating the means of communication. Small puffing
steam launches, and these native craft form quite a feature
of the city, and to a great extent supply the place of wheeled
carriages in less watery localities. The immediate banks
of the river are thickly packed with the usual wooden
houses for miles and miles, while a great many of these
houses are floating on the water, and so movable from
place to place, that their inhabitants may aptly be com-
pared to the tortoise that carries bis home upon its back.
And it is somewhat amusing to see some of the smallest
of these houses actually bobbing up and down from the
wash from the launches steaming alongside of them. These
floating houses are the very mart of Bangkok, and the
river itself may be looked upon as the High Street of the
city.

On land there is only one street worthy of the name,
and this long street leads from near the Palace enclosure,
for at least three or four miles, to the southern outskirts of
the city, and running all through its course nearly parallel
with the riv^r and only a few hundred yards away from it.
The rest of the streets, especially outside the walled city,
consists for the most part of comparatively short oflshoots,
passing here and there ; for the city, though said to contain
500,000 inhabitants, has no great inland depth in it, but is
spread in a straggling way along the banks of the river,
especially the left bank, on which by far the greater portion
of the town is situated. This inland portion, comparatively
narrow though it is, is much divided by intercommunicating
canals, which, as already said, serve the purpose of both
streets and drains in less amphibious cities.

The tide flushes these canals, or klongs, as they are
called, twice every twenty-four hours ; but yet they appear
stagnant and muddy enough to look upon, as the water is
generally rendered impure by natural as well as unnatural
causes. These repeated flushings of the canals by the tide,
however, conduce greatly to the salubrity of the city of
Bangkok. Like most Eastern capital towns there is a Walled
city, occupying but a portion of the whole area, and in the
centre of this walled city is the Palace of the King. When
Mandalay was taken in 1885, the Burmans looked upon
the Golden Palace of King Theebaw as the hub or physical
centre of the universe, But though they were wrong, it had

THROUGH THE BUFFEll STATE 61

as much right to be considered the centre of the universe as
any place else. Some people call London the hub of the uni-
verse, which shows what meagre conception such silly people
must have of the immensity of the universe ; for, granted
that the universe has no bounds (and man is incapable of
conceiving that it has), then it naturally follows that there
can be no centre where there is no circumference.

One day my Dutch ^ casual,' as I called him, and myself
went down to Paknam at the mouth of the river, this being
the only piece of railway, twenty-five miles long, in the
whole kingdom of Siam : though they are at present pro-
ceeding with more extensive speculations of that same kind.
This short railway is so narrow, that it is really more of a
steam tramway than anything else ; and here the cars run
up and down to Paknam three times a day. We went
down particularly to see if we could manage to visit the
Phi-sua-Smud, or Ocean-butterfly Fort, which had been so
much damaged quite recently by the French men-o'-war.

When we arrived at Paknam, we found the primitive
little station arrayed in all the glory of bunting and Chinese
lanterns of every description, and with a long table and
chairs arranged on the platform. Apparently there was
some great banquet to take place, and, seeing these decora-
tions being superintended by a couple of Germans, we in-
quired what the business was all about. There are a goodly
number of Germans in Bangkok, and all over the Further
East, for that matter ; and these preparations, they said,
were being made to celebrate the birthday of the German
Emperor, and the feast was to come off that same night.
The day was not exactly the Emperor's birthday, but the
celebration had been postponed till this date on account of
the recent death of some valued member of the German
community at Bangkok. Immediately behind the middle
chair, which was the place of honour, the German flag was
hanging gaily from the wall, with the British flag to its
right and the American flag to its left, which were rather
pleasant to look on, though these flags formed but a small
part of the entire decorations.

We did our best to get a boat to row us o'er the ferry
to the Ocean-butterfly Fort, which was on a small island
near the opposite side of the mouth of the river, but we
could not succeed. It was a very hot, sultry day, as most

62 THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE

days .must be at Fakn&m, and we had to turn back
thoroughly roasted with the blazing sun, and at war with
all humanity. We could not get back to Bangkok till four
or five in the evening, and had therefore to wait at the
station till then, without any comfort whatever.

Need it be said that we were as thirsty as thirsty could
be, and that we wanted a drink badly ? We went into
what we supposed to be the station-master's house, but
could not get anybody to hear us, however loudly we bawled ;
for the people, including the Germans, as it happened, were
soundly enjoying their afternoon sleep.

By the time we returned to the station platform again,
who did we see but the Chinese waiter who used to attend
on us at the hotel, and who was in charge of the German
creature-comforts, which had all been supplied by the
Oriental Hotel, where we were staying. We conjured this
heathen Chinee to give us a drink out of the Teutons'
abundance, and as we drank it to the health of the German
Emperor, we found it very soothing, for the weather was
uncommonly hot and stuffy, and we had been a long time
going about in the blazing sun. . The Germans at last woke
from their slumbers, like giants refreshed, and we told them
of the liberties we had taken with their supplies under the
pressure of necessity. And thus it was that we tapped the
German feast and drank to the health of the German Em-
peror on that occasion, even before any of his own subjects
at Bangkok, however much they might drink at the feast
that was coming off in a few hours later on.

My ' casual ' was going to Singapore, and, so as not to
be idle, I went with him as far as the island of Koh-si-chang,
about thirty miles from the mouth of the Menam river.
This island is only a few miles from the mainland of Siam,
and is rather important, as it really constitutes the seaport
of the city of Bangkok itself. It cannot be more than a
couple of miles long, nor more than a mile or two broad, and
is hilly in physical features, being mostly composed of lime-
rock formation. At the north end of it is an elevated
prominence, which has lately been converted into a signal
station, with the pretentious name of Phra-chula-chom-pla,
opened in 1891, and already fissured at the top ; while some
four or five miles directly north of the island is Tenfoot
lighthouse, a melancholy and lonely-looking rock, with a

THROUGH THE BUFFEB STATE 68

light said to be raised only ten feet above high-water mark,
and hence its name.

There is a fairly good harbour in the island of Koh-si-
chang, formed partly by the said island, and partly by a
couple of smaller islands between it and the mainland.
For the greater part of the year, all ships trading with
Bangkok take in and discharge here ; for as the bar acroas
the mouth of the Menam only admits of thirteen or fourteen
feet draught at the most, by far the greater part of the
imports and exports has to be transhipped at Koh-si-
chang. Consequently several ships may be seen in the
harbour, working their cargo, and surrounded by quite a
number of handsome lighters, built of pure teak wood, which
carry the bulk of cargoes between Bangkok and Koh-si-
chang.

The Siamese custom-house officer, who boarded the
ship and spoke good English, was good enough to take us
ashore in his boat, as my ' casual ' went ashore with me for
a visit, before his ship proceeded on her way. This Siamese
was quite an authority on the recent occupation of the
island by the French, who took down the Siamese flag, and
hoisted their own tricolor instead of it ; and then in a few
weeks abandoned the island altogether. Our informant
was probably the principal Siamese resident on the island,
and the look of terror with which he described the way in
which the French seamen took possession of the island,
and made himself a prisoner, had something very serio-
comic about it. But after landing and making him and
others prisoners, the French appear to have treated their
prisoners kindly enough ; and if it is true that imitation
is the sincerest form of flattery, this man must have
thought a lot of the Frengh invaders, judging from the
corrugated eyebrows, and the shrugging of shoulders, with
which he explained what occurred on that important
occasion.

The day after arrival, we climbed to the flagstaff on
Phra-chula-chom-pla peak, and were told that the ascent is
nearly 700 feet, and consists of 980 steps of concrete ;
though why they did not make the full thousand of it, I
don't know. We asked the keeper if any strangers ever
paid him a visit on his lofty domicile. * Never any,' he said,
|or probably the sailors, by whom the harbour is mostly

64 TflROUte THE BtJFFEn STA'TE

frequented, are fonder of climbing masts than of climbing
mountains. Kor was he yet provided with the usual
'Visitors' Book,' with which such places are generally
supplied ; and I therefore sent him one from Singapore,
when I arrived there months later on. From the top of
this hill, whose long Siamese name we need not repeat
again, there is an excellent view of the surrounding sea,
the harbour, and the hilly mainland of Siam ; but though
the scenery is pleasing and varied, it is nothing particularly
grand.

On the south-east end of the island there is a short
promontory jutting out for a little distance into the sea.
On this pretty situation, Chulalongkorn, King of Siam and
of all the White Elephants, had just been building a royal
palace for the enjoyment of himself and his numberless
wives. The spot was very well chosen, and the palace,
which was mostly constructed of teak wood, was about
three-quarters finished, when, alas ! the ferocious French-
men came, and threw everything topsy-turvy ; the builders
ceased work, and ran away for fear of the enemy. And
it was then stoutly maintained by those who knew best,
that the promising building would never again be resumed,
nor brought nearer completion. In truth, Asiatic potentates
have often an ^infortunate knack of taking buildings in
hand like this one, and then of leaving them half finished,
as if they get tired of them, the same as children do of toys.

Besides all this there is every reason to abandon the
unfortunate project, according to the opinion of some
superstitious cronies ; for is there not an ancient Siamese
prophecy, that when the King of Siam goes te live within
sight of the sea, then his glory and his sceptre will rapidly
depart, and Siam will no longer exist as an independent
kingdom ? For the purpose of fulfilment of this sad pro-
phecy, Bangkok itself is already dangerously near the fickle
element, as it is considerably within twenty miles of the
sea as the crow flies. This prophecy, of course, like others
of its kind, is mere rubbish and idle superstition. But
how often has this same superstition, by its own very folly,
brought about the fulfilment of its dreaded prognostications ?
Ayouthia, about one hundred miles up the river, was the
ancient capital of Siam, but it is now in ruins ; for the city
was capt«red by the Burmese in 1767, 'and it was since

th]&ough the buffer state 66

1

then that Bangkok became the capital of the kingdom ; so
that, as already stated, it is a city almost altogether devoid
of any eventful history. But this far and no further, so
says the augury, for only another step, oh king, towards
that beautiful and treacherous domain, and, Ichabod — thy
glory has departed ! I hope not, however ; and I only
mention the silly tale as the tale was told to me.

Finally, this pretty little island of Koh-si-chang is a
sort of watering-place for the jaded people of Bangkok, but
not nearly so much as one would expect, judging from its
pretty situation. But the island labours under the awkward
drawback of having no springs of fresh water, so that it has
to depend on rain-water stored in iron tanks, or on water
imported all the way from the mainland. And so much
does the little community on the island feel the want of a
reliable supply of fresh water in the island itself, that a
party had lately been exploiting in search of the precious
thirst-quencher, but wit^hout success, though in one or two
instances they bored artesian wells down to a depth of
nearly 200 feet. The Siamese navy for some reason or
other is nearly altogether ofi&cered by Danes, taken out of
the merchant services. * One of these Danes was super-
intendent of the searching party at Koh-si-chang, but
apparently without his divining-rod ; for on one occasion,
when making experiments with explosives, he blew off three
or four of his fingers and seriously injured one of his eyes.
He was a fellow passenger on the small tug that brought
me to Bangkok back again. Having incidentally mentioned
the Siamese navy, I may here remark in passing that the
whole of the fleet may generally be seen a few miles up the
river, above the European gunboats, and opposite the royal
palace enclosure, one side of which sweeps along the river's
bank. The navy, all told, consists of eight or nine ships,
mostly wooden, and of various sizes ; and none of them, I
suspect, is very formidable to a formidable enemy.

F

66 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER VII

Hark, don't you hear it, away, afar ?
Hurrah, hurrah, 'tis the din of war ;
'Tis the din of war ? — ^'tis only the hum
Of heathen idolaters beating a drum I

Ths Tinhettle Hero.

Captain Bertuzzi— Away for Phrabat— The Menam River^Swarming
with Fish — ^Arrival at Ayouthia — Chang the Chinaman— Tramp
to Phrabat — *Gie's Peebles for Pleesore' — The Din in the
Distance— The Priests and the Players — Don't Sleep on the Oat-
skirts— The Nose and the Conscience.

And thus I returned to Bangkok before the noon of a
certain day, preparatory to my going to witness the
pilgrimage to Mount Phrabat, for which I had been waiting
all this time. But still no servants appeared ready to
undergo the task of crossing the interior with me. Before
going to Koh-si-chang, there was some probability of quite
a suitable companion going with me, who knew Siamese
thoroughly, and this was none else than the ex-tutor to the
Crown Prince of Siam, who had just lost his appointment
by Court intrigue, and was anxious to see something more
of the interior of this comparatively unknown country,
before returning again to his native land.

I was too late for the usual breakfast hour at the hotel,
but just as I was going into the dining-room to have a late
breakfast, I was told that somebody wished to see me.
And this person was Captain L. Bertuzzi, who was very
anxious to go with me across the country. He was an
Italian by birth and la rover by profession, had been a sea
captain, a coffee planter, and several other things besides ;
and from the fluent way in which he spoke English, it was
evident enough that he had been a good deal among
Englishmen. He also professed to speak French, German

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 67

and Siamese, and was really, I thought, the very one I
wanted.

The hotel had one capital new launch, among others,
which I was bringing up the river with me so far as it
could go in the direction of Phrabat ; and she was at this
time putting up steam for starting immediately after break-
fast. And so I took Captain , Bertuzzi to have breakfast
with me, and to talk the matter over, as there was none
else in the dining-room. I was dressed in knickerbockers,
and felt in very good humour, as I was now at last going
to start for Phrabat. In the middle of our rapid conversa-
tion the stranger broke forth with, 'I suppose you're a
Scotchman ? ' * Yes,' I replied, * but how did you know » '
' An Englishman would probably know at once, but he, a
mere foreigner, how could he know ? I naturally expected
it was from my name or speech, but it was from neither.
It was only because I had *dark hair and grey eyes ! ' — a
personal distinction which I never knew before to be con-
fined to the stormy North.

Yet, however complimentary, I could not engage him
on the spot, because I was leaving the arrangement with
the hotel manager, and because the previous proposals with
the ex-tutor to the Crown Prince were still hanging fire ;
so, as I was just starting for Phrabat, I left him to make
any further agreement with the manager of the hotel.
Immediately after he had gone away, one of the visitors
of the hotel came up, and asked if I knew anything about
my proposed companion across the wilds of Siam. Of
course I knew nothing about him, except that he appeared
a very smart, intelligent person. He then told me that this
same Captain L. Bertuzzi was at this very time being
watched by the police for murdering a native at Chanta-
boon, a town something like a hundred miles further south,
and at present occupied by French troops ; and, moreover,
that he was trying to go with me to escape secretly out of
the country. This revelation put me on my guard, and the
hotel manager was to]d on no account to engage Bertuzzi,
whether innocent or guilty, as he might either get arrested
on the way, or might lead to serious trouble among the
natives of the wild interior.

I proceeded about noon to the holy Mount Phrabat ia
a capital new steam launch, with a crew of four natives.

68 THEOUGfi THE BUFFER STATE

and a temporary Chinese cook. She steered very well, and
as the little wheel that guided her was placed quite near
the stem, I passed most of the day in holding her on her
course myself, blowing the whistle to warn the native craft
out of the way, as if I had been on the river as long as
pilot Jackson himself. But when the sun set and the moon
rose, I did not find the task such an easy one, as moon-
light, I found, was very deceptive in judging distances.
And so after going dangerously near a collision once or
twice, I resigned my temporary command to the proper
authority.

We proceeded gaily in the silvery moonlight, for it was
only one day short of the full moon at which I hoped to
be at Phrabat. This river, the Menam, is swarming with
fish of various kinds, which the launch kept continually
disturbing out of their early slumbers, to make them
suddenly jump out of the water. Several times they nearly
jumped into the launch, and we sometimes tried to catch
them in their jumps, but were not smart enough to do so.
At length one of them nearly jumped into my lap. Later
on at night, and when I had fallen asleep, three more of
them performed the same feat of jumping on board, so
swarming is this river with the beautiful finny tribes. I had
travelled over the Irrawaddy through Burmah for over a
thousand miles from the sea, and sailed over some portions
of it five or six times, at different seasons of the year, but
never saw anything like the same display of fishes as on the
Menam ; nor anything else on fresh water, except perhaps
on Lake Tel^-Sdp, which I shall describe when I reach so
far. I noticed also that the banks of the Menam, for a
long distance above Bangkok, are more thickly inhabited
than the banks of the Irrawaddy above Rangoon. We
reached Ayouthia about midnight, and here I expected to
pick up a Chinaman who spoke English, and who was to
accompany me to Phrabat in the capacity of interpreter.

Ayouthia, as mentioned before, was the previous capital
of Siam, but was destroyed and sacked by the Burmese in
1767. Indo-Chinese countries are rather fond of changing
their capital towns, without any very evident reason.
Kings are often very vain people, especially Asiatic ones ;
and they sometimes fancy they are not grand enough,
unless they start a town on their own account. Thus there

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 69

are half a dozen places which at one time or another were
the capitals of Burmah. Penhom-penh has only recently
become the capital of Cambodia. Tokio is only the capital
of Japan for less than twenty-five years, and even Pekin
has not always been the capital of China. But Ayouthia
was not abandoned by the whim of potentates, but by the
inexorable decree of fate.

After picking up the interpreter at Ayouthia we went
on, and reached Tarua in the early morning. This was the
place where had congregated all the boats of all the
pilgrims who had come to Phrabat by water ; and there
was such a crowd of them that it was not an altogether
easy matter to effect a landing. The holy Mount Phrabat
itself was nearly twenty miles inland from this place on
the river's bank. There were no riding elephants procur-
able, but by a stroke of good luck we were able to get two
carts, with two buffaloes in each of them, and for which
fancy, prices were demanded at this particularly busy
season, especially that I was a Farrang, or European
foreigner, with nothing to do but to throw away money.
It was useless to cavil at this, as we need not travel so far
east as Phrabat to find that supply eoid demand are the
great and glorious twin gods of commerce. The owners of
the buffaloes would not start in the heat of the sun, as
these water buffaloes, strange to say, cannot stand the sun
at all.

Bullocks in this respect are far superior, but the fact is
that these extremely lazy and ugly water-buffaloes have a
good deal of the hippopotamus about them, and are never
so happy as when wallowing in the mire of lakes and rivers,
with only the tips of their noses above the water. Besides,
this was a frightfully hot day, as I knew to my cost, con-
fined as I was to my smaU launch, with her awnings almost
touching the top of my head whenever I stood up. The
owners were induced to start at last — much earlier than
they would have started of their own accord — and, oh,
how slowly they did travel ! The water-buffalo, wherever
you see him in the East, is positively the laziest beast in
the world, in addition to that other * illigant ' accomplish-
ment of being about the ugliest. We stopped two or three
times on the way to rest these bi^utes, that could scarcely
at aa:iy time b^ s^id to be in motion, Theii tl^e drivers

70 THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

would take large mouthfuls of water and squirt it repeatedly
over the buffaloes, after the manner of an ether spray, in
order to cool these animals. The day faded, and Diana
rose again, a clear silvery goddess, sailing her circuit without
a speck or stain throughout the whole of the pure pale sky.

The buffaloes went so slowly, and the carts jostled so
much, that I could not endure to remain in my hooded crib
for long at a time ; and when the moon at last rose, and the
heat fell down a bit, I walked most of the way like a true
palmer, with neither sock nor shoon. One of my boots was
hurting me, and the track at this time was so dry and
travelled over by so many thousand barefooted pilgrims,
that it really felt rather soothing to my toes. An attack
of fever and ague was naturally expected to follow this in-
discretion ; but, like many another bogey of which people
are afraid, it never made its appearance. The road, or
rather the broad pathway, leads at first through cultivated
fields, near Tarua, and then through forests, often in the
form of an avenue bordered on either side by various kinds
of trees, among which long and graceful feathery bamboos
were a prominent feature, sometimes forming almost an
arch across the path. '

Mount Phrabat, though a very interesting place, and
probably quite under a hundred and fifty mUes' travel from
the sea, has been but seldom visited by Europeans. During
my stay at Bangkok I experienced what I had sometimes
experienced before. When on an uncomfortable journey
like this, you will meet such a lot of people that * would so
wish to go with you ; ' but when the time comes, they prefer
to warm their toes by the fireside ; though in Bangkok it
must be confessed they require but little of this latter
luxury. Hence the energetic vagrant sees, and very fre-
quently knows, more about the countries that he visits than
fifty mere lazy gaberlunzies, who live years in the same
regions without any higher aim than the gathering of
almighty dollars — when they can get them ! I am aware
that this is preaching heresy against the opinions of some
old fossils, but it is a fact all the same.

*Gie'8 Peebles for pleesure,' said the patriotic old
Scot, after he had been a week in Paradise. Well, what-
ever Peebles may be like, it must be confessed that nobody,
except, perhaps, a very devout Buddhist, will ever visit

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 71

Mount Fhrabat a second time for the mere ' pleesure ' of
doing . so ; a remark, however, equally true of many other
places equally interesting and equally uncomfortable. My.
Chinese interpreter and myself were thus tramping bare-
footed in front of the buffaloes, when Chang, as I called
him, drew my attention to a peculiar din in the distance
far away. It sounded at first like the confused buzzing of
insects, such as one hears often enough in Eastern lands at
certain times of the year. But soon came the sound of
the clashing of cymbals and the beating of tom-toms,
mingled with the distant murmur of voices, that made it
plain enough that it was insects of the human species that
accounted for it all. It was near midnight at the time,
and this at last was the holy Mount Phrabat, at which
neither Chang nor I had ever been before, or will likely
ever be again.

By the way, Chang, my Chinese interpreter, did not
like to be called by that name, as he was rather a stickler
on the importance of proper names ; but, as I could never
keep his real name in my memory for two minutes, I had
to adopt this course of a nickname. He was a tall, strapping
fellow, with a very pronounced hare-lip ; and as very tall
people are notorious for their vanity (especially when with
a hare-lip), Chang, as became such a personage, resented
the liberty I was taking with his name. But when I humbly
told him that I could not keep his real name on my tongue,
that he was very strong and tall, and that there was a
coiintryman of his, a Chinese giant, called Chang — in short,
when I told him that it was on account of his big size
that I called him Chang, I hit the nail of vanity straight
into his temples, and he succumbed forthwith. So easy,
indeed, it is to conquer the world — if we only knew how !

But though it was Chang's ears (for he had rather large
and flabby ones) that first caught the noise, it was I, un-
fortunately, that first picked out the evil odour, which be-
came very unpleasant as we walked further into it. This
was, however, in the day's work ; for I did not visit Phrabat
with the expectation of sleeping on downy beds sprinkled
with rose water, but prepared to take matters as I found
them, and with the best grace I could muster. We took
the carts well into the outskirts of the seething throng, and
then Chang and I went to see what was to be seen. Chang

72 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

was not a bad interpreter, but he had the fault of being too
good a linguist, and therefore fonder of showing off his
own attainments than of interpreting my simple questions.
Chang, in fact, was too good at both Siamese and English,
and, like other good people of his kind, he was not averse
to showing off his own goodness in this respect ; for interpre-
ters, after all, are only mortals, in spite of all the profound
learning that their heads contain.

There was a tremendous crowd, walking promiscuously
to and fro along the narrow paths and passages of this
unique locality ; and for almost all of them the naked earth
formed their sleeping couch and the heavens their canopy.
But I am sorry to say that they did not at all seem to be
thinking of religion. True enough that in one place we
discovered a yellow-robed phra^ or priest, with shaven head,
and holding forth to the people in peculiarly modulated
tones, something like the bleating of a lamb. He was not
preaching in the manner we call preaching, or giving his
own opinions on religious concerns ; but was rather reciting
(like the parson who steals his sermons) and rehearsing
portions of the ancient Pali scripture, which all the priests
and most of the laity get up by heart ; for it must be re-
membered that the whole male population here must to a
certain extent be priests some time or other. This phra had
a goodly congregation listening to him, but nothing very
extraordinary. On moving at random further round some
comer, we came across a much bigger and more fervent
crowd — for they were listening to a play ! thus reminding
one of the old saying, that where God builds a church, the
Devil builds a chapel, and that, also, the latter has generally
the larger congregation.

Chang said that the play was very dirty, and it must
have been dirty for Chang to say so ; for a play is generally
very gross before an Asiatic thinks it either lewd or immo-
dest. And so I had the good fortune this time of seeing
the gestures and grimaces without understanding their
import. Though this pilgrimage is undertaken as a homage
to Buddha, it must not therefore be supposed that it must
necessarily mean a humble spirit and a contrite heart.
Yet the subdued lights of the countless tapers burning in
the open moonlight, the babel of voices, and the eternal din
of musical instruments, bad a very pleasing, if not edifying,

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 78

effect on a stranger visiting Phrabat for the first and only
time. For this was the night and this was the hour at
Phrabat, the holiest place of the Buddhist religion, which
numbers more worshippers than any other religion in the
world. We were not able to find out that night where the
famous real footprint of the Buddha was ; nor did we know
that we should be permitted to see it, even if we did know-
where it was. It would probably have been more interesting
to have seen it that night, as it was the climax of the
ceremony, but we were of course groping in the dark and
feeling our way. And so Chang and myseK, after various
aimless wanderings, had to return at last to the carts again.

I felt the stench at first very acutely, and made Chang
and the drivers remove the carts further away, as I thought
that this would lessen the evil, but it rather increased it.
However, after the buffaloes were taken out, I laid down
in one of the carts and soon went fast asleep. Some time
later Chang, the evil genius, woke me up, and said that he
was told it would be safer for me to take the carts inside
than leave them in this comparatively lonely spot, where
they could more easily and more secretly be attacked.
There could be no reasonable objection to a proposal like
this, and so after telling Chang to take the carts wherever
he liked, I laid down and tried to sleep again. He brought
the carts, and me in one of them, to near the middle of
the great gathering, where a number of other carts were
also congregated. To my surprise at first, I found that
the stench here was less offensive than at the outskirts,
but the reason was not far to seek, on reflecting on the
mode of conservancy at this holy place. No wonder that
the holy city of Mecca has been proved to become a
dangerous focus of cholera during the pilgrim season ;
and Plft'abat is another Mecca, though resorted to by
Buddhist instead of Mohammedan worshippers.

There was another potent reason why I did not feel
the stench so much, and that was because I was getting
used to it, as eels are to be flayed. This accommodating
power of the nose is a wonderfully wise provision, for
without it life, under certain conditions, would become
intolerable. Tlie nose in this respect may be aptly com-
pared to the conscience, for though both the conscience
and the nose give timely warning, yet if their admonitions

74 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

are disregarded, they cease to warn, or do so with a
feebler voice. And so they accommodate themselves to
the necessities of the situation, as their purport in the
main is not to make the present life either miserable or
unhappy. In this respect we can personify the nose and
the conscience, and fancy them respectively upbraiding
reason after the following fashion : —

I've warned yon once, I've warned you twice,

But yon so heedless grew,
That when in vain I warned you thrice,

Then I got heedless too.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 75

CHAPTER VIII

They bowed and vowed,

And vowed and bowed,

That rude-looking mstic, and pagan crowd ;

And racked their bones,

With sighs and groans,

Before their grim idols of stocks and stones.

The Idolater.

Toilet al fresco — Chang with the Hare-lip — His Vanity — An Un-
suspected Stranger— Comparisons of Languages— Buddhism a
Religion of toleration- Visit to the Real Phrabat or Saored Foot-
print—Watching the Worshippers— History of Phrabat— First
discovered by a king — Defects of the Footprint — * A Blind Man's
Blot ' — Description of the Buddha — Judging his size by Inductive
Philosophy.

Though late (or rather early) of retiring, we were not
late in getting up in the morning. The natives felt
curious as they watched me making my simple morning
toilet, and eating my equally simple and frugal breakfast.
But what fetched them most was when I began to shave.
Indo-Chinese of the male sex, and of all sorts and condi-
tions, are so generally deficient in the way of beards, that
they sometimes cherish a hair or two growing out of the
top of a wart, as if they were of real personal attraction.
No wonder then that they were amused to see me shaving,
with all the facial contortions essential to the proper per-
formance of that most poetic operation. But though they
laughed and giggled away, they appeared to be very good-
humoured, and why should they not laugh as much as they
pleased?

After these functions were over, I wanted to take a
photo of Chang with my kodak, but felt awkward in asking
him, as I was afraid of hurting his feelings. Kot that
there was any fear of Chang objecting to his shadow being
taken, for such reasons as already noted in a previous

76 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

chapter, for he was one of the ever-increasing army of
Orientals, that are too civilised and too 'like master/ to
have any compunctions on that score. But I was afraid
that he might object on the score of his hare-lip. I
had therefore to resort to stratagem, which, as it turned
out, was not at all necessary. The four Siamese boatmen
had been left behind with the steam launch at Tarua, but
there were two Chinamen with me at Phrabat, namely, a
Chinese cook that I had taken all the way from Bangkok,
who scarcely spoke a word of even * pigeon ' English, and
Chang, who spoke English remarkably well, in spite of his
natural difficulty of pronouncing the labials to perfection.

To avoid Chang taking any possible offence, I proposed
to take the photo of the two of them together, though I
really only wanted Chang's alone. After setting them
together in this way, I asked them to separate a bit, so as
to get the cook tacitly out of the field of view. But no
delicacy of this kind was at all necessary, as Chang, with
a lordly wave of his hand, spurned away his brother pigtail,
with the remark that he would like a photograph all to
himself, without the encumbrance of his less remarkable
countryman. He then put on his very best smile, curled
his upper lip, or rather what remained of it, and I took
his photograph. I am sorry it turned out such a failure,
like almost all the photographs I took with that stupid
kodak. Chang, to tell the truth, was more than usually
vain, I think, of his personal appearance, and except
the pronounced blemish alluded to, he was really a fine,
active, and intelligent fellow. But I felt rather sorry for
him when the moment of disillusionment came, for he was
all the time labouring under the impression that I was able
to hand over to him the image of his handsome person at
once, which of course I was not able to do. And what
havoc he played with the hearts of the simple Siamese
maidens on that pilgrimage ! for he appeared quite a gay
Lothario among them all.

Here I was, all by myself, at this religious excitement,
among those swarming heathens, without a single European
within a long distance off, although there is no excitement
or hatred so strong as the fanaticism produced by religious
iqipressions. But a surprise awe)*ited me in the early morA-

1?HR0UGH TffiE BUFFEU StAtE 77

ing. After taking Chang's photograph, he and I were
wending our way among the carts, when I caught a glimpse
of a wonderful solah-topi, or sun-hat. The natives of the
East are fond enough of heavy, unwieldy turbans and pug-
garees to cover their heads with, but that solah-topi never
graced the attic regions of a mere native. That was cer-
tain beyond dispute. The particular solah-topi mentioned
is never seen in India, and seldom or never west of the
Malayan Peninsula. It is so very big, especially at the
back, that it requires a very big man to set it oiF to advan-
tage ; and as it is so seldom seen elsewhere, it may be con-
sidered a speciality of Bangkok and surrounding country.
Its proportions are out of all reckoning, and the largest and
roundest moon-face looks under it like a mouse peeping out
of a haystack.

But when I did get a glimpse of the underlying fea-
tures, they were white and pale enough in every respect.
The stranger's cart had just arrived, so that I was alone
during the night right enough ; but yet his presence sur-
prised me. Shuflfling my way through the carts in this
person's direction, 'What in the world are you doing here 1 '
I exclaimed, as if I had suddenly come across an old com-
panion on the top of Mount Everest. * Well,' he replied,
' I guess I am trying to spread the gospel among the hea-
then.' Yes, the inevitable missionary again ! And as he
satisfied all curiosity as to his purpose, there remained none
as to his nationality, for that saucy phrase of 'I guess'
settled that once and for all, and pointed him out as a free-
bom American. He had been slowly travelling during the
night so as to be at Phrabat in time to distribute among
the natives the gospels in their native tongue. Each of
the gospels could be had separately, and I noticed that he
charged a small sum for each of the copies, with some cer-
tain exceptions. The amount was such a mere trifle, about
a halfpenny or less, that I wondered why it was worth his
while to charge for the copies at all, when he charged so
absolutely little for them. His reply was satisfactory
enough, namely, that the natives would value the book
more, and would feel more inclined to read them when they
realised that they paid for them, that they cost them some-
thing, and that they were now their own undisputed pro-

78 THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

perty. How human this feeling ! And I fancy it is not
at all confined to natives of the East.

Rev. Mr. C said that some of these gospels had

been translated (for the first time, I think) by Hmiself, and
that he found the translating business rather difficult, as
the Siamese language, he said, though apparently primitive,
is really a figurative one ; so that literal translations of some
passages became meaningless or uncertain. This can easily
be unlerstood. For there is no valid reason why a primf-
tive language should not be a highly figurative one. Hebrew
is a primitive language, yet what language can be more
figurative? Indeed, many learned people maintain that
poetry, the particular province of figurative language, is
rather marred than otherwise by the modem encroach-
ments of science and art, with the exact and too rigid
vocabulary to which they give rise. The great Creation
around us, the heavens and the earth, the land and the
sea, and the joys and sorrows of the human heart, have
always been with us, and have always been, and always will
be, by far the truest sources of figurative inspiration.

As Siam itself is suggestive of a transition country
between Burmah and China, so do the Siamese alphabetical
characters appear to be a sort of a transition stage between
the simple and beautiful round character of the Burmese
and the irregular, pictorial character of the Celestial Empire.

I noticed at Phrabat that the priests, of whom there
were crowds, had no more objection than the mere laity to
possess themselves of these gospel pamphlets, for the Buddhist
religion in this respect differs wonderfully from the Moham-
medan one, which is the most militant religion extant.
The only marked exception to this rule, as regards Buddhism,
exists in the case of Thibet, where the Buddhists are very
reserved and seclusive, partly on religious grounds, and
partly, probably, for political reasons. Besides, Thibet is
the region where the Mahatmas prevail, with Koot-Hoomi
at their head, and, perhaps, Madame Blavatsky at their tail,
and they no doubt influence the people of Thibet in their
hostile attitude to strangers, who woidd fain venture to peep
below the hood of their holy lamas. But in all the rest of
the Budidhist world toleration is very common throughout.

In Burmah, indeed, and I think in Siam, everybody at
some period or other of his youth becomes a priest^ from the

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 79

king downwards, and he can cease to be a priest whenever
he chooses. But when a priest, he has to wear the charac-
teristic and sacred yellow robe, be known as a phoongyee in
!^urmah and phra in Siam, and he must beg his food and
live in a monastery known as Kiung and Wdt in these
countries respectively. In this way, these monasteries are
not for religious instruction only, but are also the recognised
seminaries for secular education. And so well do they
carry out the latter portion of the programme that, as
regards Burmah at any rate, elementary education is more
generally disseminated there than in almost any other coun-
try in the world.

After accompanying Mr. C for some time while he

was distributing his tracts Chang and I began to prowl
about on our own responsibility. And at last we fell in
with the very temple where the famous footprint of the
Buddha was placed. It is only a comparatively small
temple, called the Medop^ whatever that means, rather
handsomely built on the spur of a hill, and with doors
inlaid with mother of pearl and other gems of various
figures and designs. This is the place, then, where Buddha
placed his footstep, during a hasty visit to earth some cen-
turies ago. The doors were shut when we arrived, and
surrounded by a crowd, as one sees round the doors of a
theatre during the first night of a promising play, or round
a bank door on the morning of its going to faU ! Chang and
I mingled freely with this crowd, scarcely iiqagining that
they should allow my unhallowed footsteps to enter the
sacred temple itself. But I would try. Shortly after-
wards the door opposite which I was standing was opened,
and I was carried inside with the crush, whether I would
or not. Here, then, at last, before my very eyes, was the
very holy footprint of Phrabat that I had come so far to
seek.

It appeared that Gotauma Buddha paid a visit in the
fiesh" to Siam some centuries ago, and in proof of his pre-
sence he left the print of one of his holy feet here, deeply
imbedded in the solid rock. The place that he chose for
this great manifestation was the northern, or north-western
spur of a short isolated range of hills, that extend in this
region in a general direction of north-west and south-east.
Xt was no less a personage than the king of Siam himself

80 ^HROUGfi 1:HE buffer STATE

who first discovered the sacred footprint. Though he wflii
a usurper, and had murdered the previous king, yet the
great favour shown him by this revelation was enough to
cover a multitude of sins. Neither is it revealed how king
Phra-chow-song-tam proved that the footprint really be-
longed to Buddha, or whether the king saw Buddha himself
as well as the footprint. This is rather a pity, as we have
no authentic account as to what sort of physical semblance
Buddha bore at that time. But people must not too nar-
rowly question the truthfulness of kings, and as king Phra-
chow-song-tam (I love to dwell upon the pretty name) did
not condescend to do so, I shall humbly endeavour to
enlighten the reader as to what sort of fleshy form Buddha
bore during his transient visit to this highly favoured
country. But that's in the sweet by-and-by.

At any rate they built a temple in that very spot, and
called it Phrabat, which being, interpreted from Siamese
means simply a footprint, or the footprint, that is to say,
the holy footprint ; while they called the temple they built
themselves by the name of Medop, for reasons which I dinna
ken. Scattered here and there, in the neighbourhood of
this Medop, are various other * works of merit,' as they call
them, and pagodas of the usual kind, so dear to the heart of
the Buddhist co-religionists. It was after climbing one of
these pagodas to get a good ' level ' photographic view of
the Medop itself, that the natives at one time gathered round,
expecting that I should fall when coming down. And
though I did not fall, yet it was a pity that the photograph
turned out such an utter failure after the trouble I had
taken to get it. This, then, is the sacred place of annual
pilgrimage, not only for the Siamese themselves, but for all
the surrounding tribes who hold by the tenets of Buddhism ;
and the pilgrimage always comes off" at this time of the year,
and culminates with the full moon, which on this occasion
had happened the night before.

And so, after the place was filled, every one approached
and made obeisance at the sacred footprint, whenever he or
she was able to come near enough to the edge of it. I
quietly got near it myself at last, squatted down in a very
devout way, with my right elbow resting on the raised
rim of it, and watched the people as they came and went.
The hollow representing Buddha's footprint here is almost

THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 81

exactly five feet long, while it is eighteen inches broad at
the toes, and fifteen towards the heel. And I should say
that the impression is fully two and a half, or even three
feet deep. The devotees approach this impression devoutly,
each provided with a piece of gold lea^ carefully folded over
in grosser material, while sometimes the worshippers have
small sticks decorated with miniature flags, on which rude
figures are drawn of serpents, crocodiles, dragons, and
so forth. Each worshipper as he approaches the edge of
the Phrabat, or Footprint, goes down on his knees, and
places his hands palm to palm with the thumbs pointing
upward, something as a swimmer does before diving. He
then repeatedly raises his hands in this position to his fore-
head, and mutters some kinds of runes appropriate to the
occasion.

This custom of Buddhists of placing their hands in this
position is so common among them, even as a form of saluta-
tion to their fellow mortals, that it is strange that no verb
has ever been invented in English adequately to express it.
It is not plapping of hands, for that involves noise and re-
peated action, nor is it folding of hands, for that involves the
idea of grasping. For want of a better word, then, I shall
use the word ^ palming^ to express this attitude, and to ^pcUm*
the hands will be understood in this book to mean the
placing of hailds together, palm to palm, in the position just
described. For instance, when a Burmese or Siamese
servant is speaking with deference to some lordly superior,
he does not respectfully stand up in the presence of the
great one. He does the very opposite. He flops down on
his knees, with his body bent forward, and ' palms ' his hands
in profound humility and attention, in front of his fore-
head.

As I watched these simple people muttering their
mystic runes, and casting their little oflerings of gold leaf
into the footprint receptacle, I could scarcely refrain from
asking myself, * What is religion ? ' Opinions differ, so
much about it, though it is the profoundest and most
important of all themes, and on which hang by far the
most vital of all issues — the final destiny of man. Not
that the Buddhist ideas of the final destiny of man are
very much like ours, but that is a d^ep and wide subject
that cannot be touched here. As already remarked, the

82 THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

edge of the footprint is a little raised above the level of the
ground around it^ as the Buddha's foot probably made a
splash, and so raised the margin of the solid rock ; and
resting my elbow on this edge, I could have remained
sitting there as long as I liked, so far as any interference
on the part of l£e worshippers was concerned. For
nobody seemed to take any heed, though they watched me
with not a little curiosity when I was outside. And so
when each did his share, as he thought, of this divine
worship, he retired to the open air again. And I followed
in due course.

Fixed on the inner wall of the Medop, there is a plate
model of the footprint, covered aU over with the inevitable
gold leaf. And the best description of this plate would be
to suppose it to form the sole of the boot that Buddha
wore on the occasion. It is about a couple of inches thick,
and of the superficial area already recorded. The under
surface of the plate, or that which would be next the
ground, is divided into a number of separate areas, im-
pressed with various symbols possessing different virtues.
Besides this plate, preserved in the holy shrine itself, there
are a few consecrated casts of it in other places in Siam,
and considered so holy that, though they are not altogether
esteemed as sacred as the real article, yet several smaller
pilgrimages are made to them by people who have not so
many sins to cleanse, oi- who cannot or will not otherwise
affoid to undertake the greater pilgrimage to Fhrabat itself.
One of the very holiest of these casts is to be found in a
temple at Faknam, where my Dutch * casual ' and myself
tapped the German birthday feast on a previous occasion.

From an artistic point of view there are several defects
in the Buddha's footprint, as represented in this cast, and
which I hope all pious Buddhists will pardon me for
pointing out. In the first instance, it is so large and
shapeless as to belong to the class of feet facetiously known
as * flippers,* for nobody admires large flat feet even on
women. Again, all the toes are exactly the same length.
Wherever you wander through the Buddhist world, you
will always find the images of Buddha with not only the
toes but also the fingers all of the same length. Tapering
fingers, falsely supposed to represent sense and culture, are
entirely absent from the images of Buddha, and yet

'W-J***^

■■o ■» ■'9 >" I

THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE 83

Buddha was a great aesthete. But putting aside the toes
and fingers, what really offends the dilettante observer is
the entire absence of an instep exhibited by this . sacred
footprint, for the cast that represents it is as fiat as the
fiippers of a seal. People do not sufficiently consider the
vast importance of the instep in the human economy.
Buddha, in fact, would not have passed for a common
recruit in a marching regiment, his feet being so fiat, and
so destitute of instep. The importance of the instep is one
of these coming events that has not yet been fully recog-
nised ; but that is because the world is still in its infancy.
We have been advancing a bit lately though. Palmistry,
of course, is already an old and most reliable science ; and
recently the tips of the fingers, and more especially the
thumbs, are marked out as unfailing indications of identity
and character. Why the thumb more than the other
fingers ? Surely the index finger, from its very name,
ought to be the better indicator of the two, and if it isn't, ,
the thumb should be called the index finger, and the index
finger should be called the thumb.

Not long before leaving India on this journey, I was
much afflicted with a new craze, and though it was far
from my own seeking, I wish good luck to it. This w^
nothing short of taking the finger impressions in Indian
ink of every recruit passed into the ,army, in order to
facilitate the recognition and recovery of deserters. The
majority of these impressions that came under my observa-
tion looked to me uncommonly like one of Mr. Gladstone's
blind man's blots. Why, I could not distinguish a man
from a woman by them !

Scientists, again, seldom think of the instep, yet this
much neglected feature is one of the most important,, and
its time is coming like Christmas. For it is the instep that
more particularly imparts these numberless peculiarities of
grace and carriage, that comprise a great part of true
physiognomy. Observe that man with the brisk step and
energetic spirit. Turn him up, and you will be sure to
find a high instep. And that fellow with the slow steps
and fiabby features. Well, you needn't turn him up, poor
beggar, for he has flat flippers. You may depend upon
that without requiring to adopt the process of turtle-
turning at all. It is not the flat feet that reflect the flabby

o2

84 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

face, but the flabby face that reflects the flippers. Why
are the fair sex, especially the French, so fond of high-
heeled boots ? Just to give them an extra swagger by an arti-
ficial instep. They never think that this is the case, but
it is. The time will come when people will be valued by
their instep, and yet Buddha, according to this plate, has
no instep at all. It must not be forgotten, however, that
the nose has quite lately got into great prominence (as it
should) in matters anthropological, judging from last year's
annual gathering of the British Association, and that the
' nasal index,' as they call it, is fast becoming the index of
many other qualities besides. This nasal index has sprung
from India, ^too, the original starting-point of many other
myths. But it is strange that it never struck the lecturer,
that a sharp nose is not always a sign of intelligence, as it
hsLS from time immemorial been associated with approach-
ing dissolution, and the babble of green fields. However,
I shall stick to my last — or rather to my instep — as by far
the more important factor of the two, but I must leave ib
for the present to the calm contemplation of the thoughtful
reader, without going into any further details.

Now let us begin to dissect the Buddha, or rather to
construct him from the means at our disposal.. His foot-
print, I say, was five feet long, eighteen inches broad at
the toes, and fifteen at the heel. Ajad what do we gather
from this ? Wait and see. By the power of natural
induction inherent in the human mind, man is capable of
arriving at certain conclusions, based upon certain definite
premises.

It was by this divine faculty that our old friend
Robinson Crusoe concluded, and concluded rightly, that
some people landed on his lonely island, from the discovery
of human footprints on the sandy shore. It was from this
faculty that the famous naturalist, the late Professor
Owen, concluded the previous existence of a gigantic bird
(the Dinornis) from simply getting hold of a single
shoulder blade or so. And not long thereafter, several
skeletons of this kind of bird, which he had described
unseen, turned out of their cold, cold grave, just to please
him, and to please me too, when I saw one or two of them
in New Zealand on a later occasion, looking like the
skeletons of great big camels. It was thus that James

■^ife!»^'V>

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 85

Watt conceived the brilliant idea of the steam-engine by
witnessing a storm in a tea-kettle, and that the mighty
intellect of Sir Isaac Newton grasped the profound law of
universal gravitation by watching an apple fall from a
tree. Assuredly there is nothing great on earth but man,
and nothing great in man but mind.

Finally, it was in this way that the ancients calculated
the size of the mythological hero, Hercules, though I do
not quite know how fine and large they made him. And
hence arose the figurative classical expression of * Ex pede
Herculem,^ which may be briefly stated as the method by
which to judge of unknown quantities by quantities
which are already known. It is thus that I have calcu-
lated the size of Buddha at the time he visited Phrabat,
and here he is.

Speaking in general terms, a masher six feet high
should have a foot ten inches long. It should really be a
little more, but let that pass, as the figure ten is a Con-
venient one, and I must have due regard to the feelings of
my imaginary dandy. His shoulders should be one foot
ten inches broad, or a little more. Now, if a ten-inch foot
gives one foot ten inches for breadth of shoulders, what
breadth of shoulders should a flipper ^yq feet long give ?
It is a question of simple proportion, and the breadth of
shoulders should be exactly eleven feet. By ]bhe same
method of calculation, the height of the Buddha should
be thirty-six feet ! Think of it. It is not so easy to
calculate the cubic bulk or displacement of Buddha, as he
might have had a wasp-waist or a pot-belly, which would
make all the difference. He died, however, it is said, after
he was eighty years old, and by surfeiting himself too
heartily with pig's pork, of all other foods for a slender
waist ! Taking, then, one consideration with another, I
have calculated that the cubic bulk of Buddha, when he
visited Phrabat, must have been about the same as a dozen
or fifteen large white elephants. No wonder that he made
a deep impression on the solid rock. Such be thy God,
O Sir Edwin Arnold !

While I cannot help smiling at the sylphlike pro-
portions of Buddha at this time, I must not forget to
mention that his footprint is not the only one of note in
the legendary lore of the world. There is said to be a

86 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

footprint of Adam on Adam's Peak in Ceylon, which he
left there as he stepped from that (supposed) Garden of
Eden over to India across Adam's Bridge. The Hindoos,
however, maintain that it is not the footprint of Adam
but of Brahma ; and I am sure I cannot make up my
mind as to which of the two legends is the correct one.

While lately rambling on the Appian Way outside
E.ome, I came to a small church where they showed me a
piece of marble on which were imprinted, according to the
faithful, the impression of both feet of our Saviour side by
side. The impressions are somewhat larger than natural
size, and beautifully impressed on the soUd marble. This
took place when Christ, after the Resurrection, met St.
Peter escaping from Rome for fear of his life. St. Peter
said to him, ' Dominey qtw vadis f ' (Lord, where are you
going 1) Christ replied, * Venio iterwm, cradfigi ' (I come
to be crucified again). Thereupon St. Peter returned to
Rome for whatever fate might be awaiting him there. It
was on this marble that our Saviour was standing at the
time. Such is the tale ; but the Bible, I think, says no-
thing of St. Peter having ever visited Rome.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 87

CHAPTER IX

This man would guide you ; would lie ?
I cannot see how could he,
But yet beware that should he,

The day you'll ever rue ;
For by the great Apollo,
The victim's blood will follow,
And scream from hill and hoUow

With shrieks of horror due.

The Guilt of Blood. •

Return from the Shrine — * My Father was an Englishman * — Lost
sight of the Missionary — The Menam a Misnomer — The ex-tutor
of the Crown Prince— Captain Bertuzzi Imprisoned — West and
Valloo — Search for Passports— The Royal Palace — The Emerald
Buddha— Prince Damrong — White Elephants — Trial of Phra
Yott — Short Cut to the Millennium.

And then we returned from the fair. The whole of
this month is counted for righteousness by the Siamese in
the way of pilgrimage to Phrabat, but the day of the full
moon, and that preceding and following it, are esteemed
the three principal days. As this was now the day after
the full moon, there were vast crowds that evening on the
road from Phrabat back to Tarua again ; and it was there
that I had left the steam launch ' Guin^vre ' and her crew.
I knew that some of the rickety country carts were not
unlikely to break down on the journey, and that a block
and obstruction might be the natural consequence. I was
therefore anxious to leave as soon as we could, and, if
possible, to keep in front of the other carts. But the
drivers could not be prevailed upon to start before the cool
of the evening, for fear of injuring their precious buffaloes
by the heat. However, when the multitude of carts did
manage to start at last, ours was among the first half a
dozen to do so. The missionary and his cart were coming
along with me a portion of the way, but somehow or other

88 THROUGH THE BUFFEU STATE

I lost sight of him later on. We stopped three or four
times at small villages, to rest the lazy buffaloes ; and as it

was very droughty weather, Mr. C and myself, with

more zeal than discretion, indulged in eating raw cucumbers,
when we could find them, so as to keep us as cool as
cucumbers are supposed to keep people.

In one or two of these places we noticed what we
thought was a' young Siamese girl, hovering round us with
more than usual curiosity. Observing this, we at last
made signs to her to come and sit down beside us on the
verandah. But she turned up her nose indignantly at
this proposal. The missionary then spoke to her in Siamese,
when she again turned up her nose and replied in a pet,
'My father was an Englishman.' We then discovered
that the father of this girl was really an American, a
fellow-countryman, therefore, of my present * casual ' com-
panion, and that this girl could speak more or less English,
thou£:h in manner and dress she looked lust like a Siamese
girl oi the period, performing the sacred duty of a pilgrim-
age to the Buddha's holy footprint.

Then the moonlight night came on, but yet our pro-
gress was unpleasantly slow. We reached Tarua back
again some time after midnight. I had by this time lost
sight of both the missionary and of * My father was an
Englishman.' -His cart was quite near mine for a long
while, but whether it eventually broke down and fell to
the rear, I was not able to make out. Where he was
going to I did not exactly know, but I wanted to say
good-bye to him, or, if he was going down the river any-
where, I would have given him a passage on the * Guin^vre '
towards his destination. So Chang and myself waited
on the bank of the river at Tarua for fully an hour,
but I never saw the missionary again. And to this day I
do not know what has become of him, whether his cart
really broke down, whether he was spirited away by the
Siamese, or whether he himself spirited away * My father
was an EQglishman.' The reader must not think that I
am making this remark seriously, as I have always had a
great opinion of the courage and self-sacrifice of mission-
aries, though others, I know, consider missionaries and
mischief-makers as equivalent terms. I only make the
statement for a laugh, which, indeed, often does good to

w'^mmmmi''''i'''immKl^tmmfmmm^mmmmm^^

THEOUGhH THE BUFFER STATE 89

one's soul. At any rate, I would willingly myself have
run away across the country to the China Sea, with my
two Chinese servants, but, alas ! they would not run away
with me.

It was then I realised the great topographical advan-
tage that Phrabat possessed over Bangkok, as a starting-
point from which to cross the wild interior of Siam. But
I was helpless, for I had only taken supplies for this journey
alone. Besides which, I had no servants, for the two Chinese
who came with me to Phrabat had only intended to
come with me for this trip alone, and were by no means
prepared to face the more interior wilds of the country. At
this time of the year the stream at Tarua is only a small
tributary that falls into the Menam lower down, and was
quite shallow. So we ran the * Guin^vre ' on a sand-bank
once or twice, but managed to get her off again without
any damage, and reached the ancient capital of Ayouthia
in due course ; and here my friend Chang returned once
again to his ordinary course of life, instead of breaking
the hearts of the simple Siamese maidens up the way of
Mount Phrabat.

I stayed for a little while at Ayouthia to see some
of its ruins, and climbed to the top of some tall old
building to have a look round the country. The city
was abandoned in 1767, and is now almost entirely in ruins.
It is virtually situated on an island, with the network of
the river surrounding it on all sides. This portion of the
country is in fact a mere mesh-work of land and water.
Though the real meaning of the word Menam is Mother of
Waters {Ma, Siamese for Mother, and nam, for water), yet
the Menam is by no means a large river. The Ked Indian
word Mississippi has, I think, something of the same
meaning, and apparently with much greater right, as it is
the longest river in the world, and rivals the Amazon itself
in the amount of water it brings to the ever- craving sea.
Indeed, the Menam only deserves the name of river after
the confluence of these many streams below Ayouthia ; and
as such, it is not more, than one hundred and fifty miles
long, if even so much ; while the other Mother of Waters,
the Mississippi, has got the magnificent length of 4,350
miles !

The real great river in these regions is the Mekong, of

90 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

which the British public have heard so much of late, and
of which they are not unlikely to hear still more in the near
future, in connection with the Franco-Siamese question.
But I shall not say anything more about it here, till I
reach there myself on this rambling journey. Having
done with Ayouthia, then, we kept on to Bangkok, where
the * Guinfevre ' safely arrived without any further misad-
venture.

When I reached Bangkok I found that the arrange-
ments with the Crown Prince's tutor had fallen through,
as he had become too anxious to get home as soon as he
could, and could not therefore join in such a wild-goose
chase as mine apparently was. I was sorry for this in a
way, because he spoke Siamese fluently, and by going
together we should be much more comfortable in many
ways. Besides, I had for some time back relied on his
coming, and did not, therefore, exert myself in procuring
an interpreter, so much as I should otherwise have done.
But when looking on the business from another point of
view, I was not sorry at all. For a person may be a good
tutor, but yet a poor traveller, and I should be sorry to be
hampered by anyone who might not be prepared for any
hardship or emergency that might occur on the journey.

I also found on my return to Bangkok that my late
would-be companion, Captain L. Bertuzzi, had lust been
clapped in prison i^endi^ trial for the fearful crime of
murder. Somebody else, however, came to the rescue.
The same gentleman who had previously warned me against
Bertuzzi now stepped in again, and said that he would try
and get an interpreter who would be prepared to accompany
me, and this he did the very next day.

The following morning there appeared on the scene a
small Eurasian, who looked quite a boy, but who was
really much older and wiser than he looked. He wore one
of those huge hats, to which I have already alluded, and
he looked so very small under it, that he reminded me of
the puny little heir and the great steel helmet in the
Castle of Otranto. But it might turn up rather handy, as
on the journey he might be able to use it for a bed at night,
and for a sunshade during the day. However, I was not
in a position to pick and choose, but to' take the goods the
gods provided, and take my chance as to how they would

mmm^mmimmmmmmm

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 91

turn out. Besides, it is a difficult task to judge at first
sight of what stuff a man may be made of. The name of
my proposed interpreter was West, and his mother was a
Siamese lady, while his father was an American, exactly
the same as ^ My father was an Englishman ' (already alluded
to in this chapter). Indeed, I think that West's father
was one of the pilots that originally started the business
with Pilot Jackson, abeady more than once honourably
mentioned in these pages.

West now in his turn procured through one of his
friends the services of a Madrassee cook, named Yalloo,
who will probably make the reader smile before the end of
the story ; and I was now as happy as the proverbial king.
I had at last obtained all I wanted in that line, and my
only fear was that they would desert me before starting ;
and so I was naturally anxious to start at once.

I had now to procure passports to permit me to proceed
through the interior of the country. Some said that a
Siamese passport was not worth the paper on which it was
written when I did reach the wild interior, but I subse-
quently found that this was a mistake, and that my passport
was of great use to me. Moreover, if anything really did
happen, I was anxious to have the passport in my possession,
to prove that I was practically authorised to enter the
interior. The difficulty, however, at this time was to get
a passport, and not as to whether it would be of any value
when I got it.

I duly applied to the British Consul, who appeared lack-
adaisical enough about it, while I was now getting fidgety to
start without delay. I also wished to have an opportunity
of visiting the King's Palace before I left, but, though I
wrote to the consul on this subject, I was not able to do so.

I intended to start on a certain day if I could at all
manage it, but there was no sight of the passport, though I
had applied for it four or five days before. The morning,
therefore, before my proposed start, I went to the British
consulate to inquire, but there was no word about my pass-
port. One of the assistant consuls met me in an outer
room, and told me that the Siamese private secretary to
the Minister of the Interior was then with the consul on
some business in an inner room, and so I waited till he came
out. He spoke English well, and, as he was just then

92 THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

returning to thQ Palace, he faithfully promised to speak per-
sonally to the Minister of the Interior about my passport,
and that it would be forwarded without delay.

I was now starting without being able to visit the Palace
after all. That same day, however, some friend came to
know of this, and said that he would see what could be
done that evening. (He was an English official in the
Siamese Government service.) In the evening the two of
us drove up to the Palace accordingly, and I was able to see
whatever any visitors are allowed to see within the Palace
precincts ; for the very interior, where the King lives with
his fair ones, is never of course seen by any traveller, nor
by anybody else save the inmates thereof. The Palace was
very interesting, and well worth a visit. I once saw the
Golden Palace of Mandalay, after being just vacated by
King Theebaw, the last King of Burmah ; and I also at
another time made one or two assaults on the Imperial
Palace of Pekin, to see what the Celestial Emperor was
like, but I am sorry to say that I was ignominiously repulsed
on each occasion. I am not able, therefore, to speak with
confidence of the Imperial Palace of Pekin ; but I am able
to say with certainty that the royal Palace at Bangkok is
vastly superior to what the Golden Palace at Mandalay was
at its best.

To a European who has never been in the so-called
* gorgeous East,' and whose eyes are more accustomed to
solidity than to glitter and glare, it is not easy to describe
the Palace at Bangkok. There are, of course, the inevitable
pagodas covered over with gold leaf, as becomes the royal
residence of a Buddhist country ; and one entire pagoda is
said to be covered in with gold sheet, and not with the
tissue gold leaf only. But I have my doubts about this,
though it was impossible to say from a mere cursory inspec-
tion of it like mine. The finest structure of all is the pagoda
containing what is known as the Emerald Buddha. Except
for the purpose of airing the interior, or for the admission of
a very occasional stranger, the doors and windows of this
pagoda are never open, for fear of tarnishing the decorations.
This was also said to be the audience hall of the king on
very important occasions. As we happened to visit this
pagoda as the sun was just mellowing the evening sky, the
effects on the interior were very pleasing.

999apiP

THEOUQH THE BUFFER STATE 98

The walls and roof are covered over with frescoes of
various designs, representing historical and allegorical scenes
connected with Siam, and the import of which is to a great
extent lost on a mere European. The doors and windows
are also massive, and beautifully inlaid with mother-of-pearl
and more or less precious stones. But the distinguishing
feature, in particular, is the Emerald Buddha, which is
placed on a gorgeous structure some fifteen or twenty feet
above the ground, and is said to contain a valuable emerald
in its forehead. But the Buddha, which is a small one, is
placed so high above the spectator that he scarcely gets a
good view of even the Buddha itself, let alone the emerald.

And so we two prowled about, along with another official
we picked up at the Palace itself. Later on, the three of
us went into a club within the Palace enclosure. This was
a club to which all servants of the Siamese Government of a
certain standing were eligible, whether Siamese or Euro-
peans ; and Mr. C , who brought me there, belonged to

it himself. When standing in the billiard-room of this club,
who came into it but the man of all others that I wished to
see, and this was His Royal Highness Prince Damrong, a
name, by the way, of somewhat equivocal signification, & it
were an English one. He was brother to the King of Siam,
and was also Minister of the Interior of that remote kingdom,
so that it was he who granted or refused passports to travel
through the wilds of the country. He remembered about
my passport at once, about which his private secretary had
told him, and said iliat it would reach me in the course of
the same evening. He asked me a few questions about my
prospective travels through the country, and I congratulated
him on his fluent English ; and so the Prince betook himself
to billiards, while the three of us duly took our departure.

It was after this that we went to see the White Ele-
phants, which are considered so sacred in Buddhist countries.
There are said to be fifteen or twenty white elephants
within the precincts of the royal palace of Bangkok, but we
only saw five, as we considered the careful inspection of ^ve
sacred white elephants quite enough at one time. When
we went into the keddah, or stables, where they were kept,
we found that each had a separate stall for himself, entirely
shut off from the stalls of his fellows, so as to prevent them
tickling on,e another with their tusks, which are rather

94 THROUGH THE BUFFEE STATE

d9Jigerou8 weapons to scratch with. These five elephants
were considered the choice of the lot, and were arranged on
one side of the keddah, while the others were arranged round
the comer ; and as we had seen enough, and it was growing
late, we did not go to see the others at all. Moreover, one
elephant is so much like another, even when they are sacred
white elephants, that you don^t know where the difference
comes in.

When we entered the first stable, the mahout in charge
of the sacred animal shouted the words choukj chouk, to his
elephant, when that intelligent creature solemnly raised his
trunk in front of his nose, and saluted us with great pre-
cision. The salutation of this sacred white elephant is the
one depicted on the cover of this volume. Perhaps I should
not say that the elephant raised his trunk in front of his
nose, because an elephant's trunk is his nose, and a variety
of other things besides. All the elephants we visited
saluted in the same way in obedience to these mysterious
words of chouk, chouk. Beauty is not the special point in
favour of elephants, as they are altogether too unwieldy to
be things of mere beauty only. The massive head, the
large, ragged, and jagged ears, the coarse, pachydermatous
hide, and the small, oblique, piercing eyes cannot by any
manner of means be called beautiful. Yet they are wise
and shrewd, as well as strong ; and they are often very
gentle and afiectionate in their disposition. And I may
state that it was from these very same stables that the
docile and famous white elephant, 'Jumbo,' originally
came, as a present from the King of Siam to Her Majesty
the Queen

It was for a long time thought that elephants would
not breed in captivity. But they do occasionally. They
take a long time to grow, twenty or twenty-five years, and
the few of them brought up in this way become extremely
tame. I once saw a young one, two or three years old,
that used to abandon his mother, to partake of the hospi-
tality of Indian servants in the way of plantains, potatoes,
and such-like delicacies. His mother was one among others
that used to pass daily along a certain road in Mandalay,
on some work or other ; and hence the many temptations
to her precious little baby, that used to follow her in her
daily pursuits. But when she would miss him and call for

^i^m^^m^m'^r^^^m^^^mm^t^ww^'''^

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 95

him, or when he himself would think he was playing the
truant too long, off he would immediately start with a
peculiar trot and whimper of his own.

Well, if beauty is not the distinguishing quality of
elephants in general, it is certainly not the strong point of
sacred white elephants in particular. In the first place, they
are not even white, for they are much nearer being black
than being white anyway. The five that we saw possessed
a colour that is seldom admired by any one, and that is a
colour generally known as mouse-colour. In some places
the hide exhibited more or less pronounced patches of a
pinkish hue, which is highly valued among elephants, but of
which I saw but little on this occasion, though I have often
seen the pinkishness alluded to among water-buffaloes in
various parts.

Indeed, these sacred white elephants looked to rae very
much like other elephants, only more so. I have heard it
said that there is some peculiarity about their huge flat feet
(without an instep), and that there are some other minor
distinctions. But even then it is hard to account for the
devotion paid to them. We do not admire people who have
six toes or the colour of a mouse. Yes, but these people,
you know, are not sacred white elephants. Intelligent
Siamese Buddhists deny that the Siamese go the length of
worshipping white elephants. But there is no doubt they
look upon them with great awe and veneration. Indeed, I
have read in a book (and it, therefore, must be true,
though I scarcely believe it) that the principal white
elephant in Siam ranks very high in the order of precedence
in that kingdom, which is as follows : — King, first queen,
chief white elephant, crown prince, <fec. !

We were just leaving the Palace as the sun was setting.
As we were passing out, a band of Siamese minstrels were
playing the Siamese national anthem, and the great royal
ensign was being hauled down on the flagstaff ; and in this
fashion we quitted the Palace precincts, well pleased with
our random visit there.

During my short stay at Bangkok this time a legal trial
was taking place, of which the reader has probably already
heard, lids was the trial for his life of a Siamese official
named Phra Yott, and I was able to attend the court during
his first days of trial. A brief notice of the case may there-

96

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

fore not be out of place here, as the cause that led to it was
the occasion of much internal disturbance in Siam itself at
this very time. It was also the ostensible reason why the
French men-o'-war silenced the Ocean-butterfly Fort, and
forced the Menam up to Bangkok, and why French troops
occupied the island of Koh-si-chang, and still occupy
Chantaboon. While yet most important of all to us, it may
be counted as remotely the cause that is said to have brought
Great Britain and France on the verge of war not long ago,
and may do so again in the near future, for unfortunately
this last ' cloud in the East ' has not yet altogether vanished
away.

So the trial of Phra Yott was admittedly a very im-
portant one ; and so far as the casual observer could see, the
case may be briefly summarised as follows : — ^The French
recently occupied a district of north-east Siam named
Kamoun, and of which the above Phra Yott was the civil
commissioner. This region is in the vicinity of the Upper
Mekong river, and is said to form a portion of the larger
province of ILuang Prabang, of which more will probably
be heard during the settlement of the Buffer State between
the eastern territories of Great Britain and France. The
French seem to have occupied this district of Kamoun with-
out any bloodshed, and so Phra Yott's occupation, like
Othello's, was gone. Later on Phra Yott was sent by the
French out of the portion of the country which he previously,
governed, accompanied by his assistant, Luang Annarak, and
some forty or flf ty followers, all unarmed. The exodus was
escorted by a French inspector of police, named Grosgurin,
in command of some twenty Annamese soldiers serving
under the French Government.

All went well for the first four or five marches, till the
parties reached the village of Kieng Chek, where they stayed
two or three days on account of the illness of the French
petty officer in charge. At this place, however, Phra Yott
met some Siamese troops, who were on their way up to
reinforce him, and with orders to him to resist the demands
of the French in Kamoun. The party of Phra Yott and of
Grosgurin, both at Kieng Chek and on the previous march,
appear to have occupied different camping-grounds, though
near one another.

Phra Yott maintained that he had not submitted to tha

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 97

French occupation of hid country, that he became the crea-
ture of circumstances for the time being, and that he was
deported from Kamoun against his will by the French
authorities. He could offer no resistance when the Siamese
party remained unarmed. But having now received his
reinforcements, and his orders to resist the French, he accord-
ingly refused Inspector Grosgurin to command him any
further.

It seems that it was Phra Yott's assistant, the said
Luang Annarak, that first gave out this decision, whereupon
Grosgurin, who was at the time ill with fever, sent for
Luang Annarak, and promptly placed him under arrest,
perhaps as a hostage for the future behaviour of Phra
Yott's party. At any rate Phra Yott, now with his armed
men, went over to Grosgurin and demanded the release
of Luang Annarak, which was refused. It was then that
the firing on both sides began, and evidence varied as to
which party fired the first shot, but the firing eventually
resulted in the death of fifteen or sixteen of the French
native party, as well as of poor Grosgurin, who was the
only European among them. The loss on the Siamese side
was less, but I forget it. This was the whole business that
eventually led to such complications.

The ordinary observer, unacquainted with the quips and
cranks of mother Themis, will naturally conclude that much
of the guilt of Phra Yott depended on the circumstances
under which he acted. If he was simply taken by the
French, as he said, deposed from his authority, and ousted
out of his country, he ivas compelled to submit for the time
l)eiiig, for the simple reason that he could not help it.
When assistance arrived, however, with orders to resist, if
he should be accounted guilty because he did resist, then
many a fine and brave patriot has in past ages deserved to
be hanged. Nay more, Phra Yott denied that he had even
given the order to fire at all, and that the 7)iel4e began
without any instructions from him whatever.

The French, on the other hand, maintained that Phra
Yott was a bit of a tyrant, who opppressed the natives over
whom he ruled, and who were therefore very glad to get
rid of him. This may or may not be true, but it is one of
those vague kinds of complaints that anybody can make
against anybody else with whom he is not on amicable terms.

H

98 THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE

Besides, the accusation had no bearing on the case what-
ever, as it was not pleaded that he was oppressing any
people over whom the French had any jurisdiction in any
way. Granted that he was an oppressor, and there is
no evidence that he was, is it likely that the French
deported him out of his own special country on this account ?
They wanted his district — and that was all. And so the
f Ate of Phra Yott will be told in a future chapter, as it does
not conveniently come in within the compass of this
one.

This hypocrisy on the part of governments would be very
amusing were it not so cruel, and is too prevalent among
ourselves to blind the eyes of anyone who is not bom blind, or
does not care to see. It hcas led to the death of poor Loben-
gula, the African chief, although as a ransom for his poor
life he gave 1,000^. (perhaps all he had) to a couple of cruel
hounds clothed in white English skins ; and every lover
of justice must regret these outbursts of false-righteous
indignation on the part of governments, when they have
some poor beetle to crush, in the way of untutored races.
There is a good deal of the cowardly bully about govern-
ments, as about individuals. They pounce upon the weak,
while they shrink from the strong.

And, moreover, goodness and badness are only com-
parative. If every state that governs its people better
than its neighbour were therefore and on that account
entitled to annex the same, the said neighbour's territories,
we should soon be on the straight way to the Millennium,
provided of course that the other states would not object.
The logical conclusion of such a state of aSTairs would
naturally be that the bad states would be annexed by the
good ones, the good ones by the better ones, and the bebter
ones by the one only best of all. This is a consummation
devoutly to be wished, but will it ever happen ? I am afraid
we shall have to look for the Millennium in some other direc-
tion.

THROTOH THE BtTFFER STATE 99

CHAPTER X

They heaped upon his hapless head
All sorts of crimes, and sternly said

'Twas he who stirred the strife ;
While he declared that all the while
His conduct was devoid of guile.
Though now, alas ! in durance vile

He pines away for life.

The Ill-fated Patriot.

Phra Yott continued — The charges against him — Their punishments
— Siamese judges— Prince Bitchit — Phlegmacy of Asiatics — Its
moral effects — ^Chewing the cud — Moors and Arabs in Europe —
The smoking lady.

Phra Yott was arraigned before a criminal court, composed
of six Siamese judges and presided over by H.R.H. Prince
Bitchit ; and the charges laid down against him were
categorically as follows : —

(1) V/ilful and premeditated murder, committed by himself or by
his orders on a French officer, called M. Grosgnrin.

(2) Wilful and premeditated murder, committed by himself or by
his orders, on an unknown number, supposed to be between sixteen
and twenty -four Annamite soldiers, being a part of the detachment
commanded by the said Grosgurin.

(B) Severe wounds or bodily harm, wilfully inflicted by himself or
by his orders, on Bhoon Chan, Cambodian interpreter, and on Nguyen
Van Khan, Annamite soldier.

(4) Robbery, committed by himself or by his orders, of arms and
ammunition, and also of the personal effects of M. Grosgurin and of
the Cambodian interpreter, Bhoon Chan, and of eighty-two piastres
which were in the latter's trunk.

(5) Arson, committed by wilfully setting Are or ordering to set
fire to the houses where M. Grosgurin and his soldiers were quartered.

All the aforesaid crimes being aggravated by the circumstances
that the nature and gravity of these crimes were such as to create a
cause of war between Siam and France.

And as I am on the categorical tramp, I may mention

h2

100 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

the punishments by which his crimes were punishable by
Siamese law, and which were duly laid down in connection
with the case ; and these were in their order : —

(1) Death.

(2) Mutilation.

(3) Scourging with fifty

strokes.

(4) Imprisonment, and at the

expiration of the term of

condemnation to cut grass
for the elephants.

(5) Quadruple fiiie.

(6) Triple fine.

(7) Double fine.

(8) Simple fine.

And from these eight different sorts of punishments, the one to be
selected which is in proportion to the case.

Such, in plain English, was the formidable array of
crimes and punishments which poor Phra Yott had to con-
tend against on this important occasion.

The court- room, where the case was tried, was in one of
the large public buildings within the enclosure of the walled
city ; and it was only a comparatively small room, though
honoured with so great a trial. On the elevated dais sat
the six Siamese judges, in the centre of whom sat and pre-
sided H.R.H. Prince Bitchit. To the right hand of the
court and below the dais sat the French advocate, the
French consul, and a French legal expert, who had come
all the way from Saigon to watch the case. To the left of
the court and facing the French party sat the defending
pleaders, consisting of an English and a Cingalese lawyer,
while the Crown Prince's ex-tutor acted the part of inter-
preter, in preference to coming with me through the wilds
of Siam. Immediately in front and behind the judges was
the Recorder's table, with three or four people sitting at it ;
and this party seemed to me to act the part of a * butTer
state ' between the other two parties, and thus prevented a
fresh collision on the floor of the court house.

Last, but jiot least, there sat in front of the Recorder's
table no less a personage than Phra Yott himself, wlio was
being tried for his life for all these crimes mentioned above,
and who was the immediate cause of all this huUaballoo,
the echoes of which have not yet quite died away. It is
needless to say that he was the .observed of all observers.
He was dressed in a blue coat and waistcoat, and a skirt
that bore some distant resemblance to a kilt, but folded up
behind in Siamese fashion, while on his feet he wore the
daintiest little pair of pumps, and the long white stockings,

mBmmmfmmfmammmmmm'SfmBmmmmmwfaBmmsBSF^ssf^fm

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 101

reaching above the knee, which are so very much affected
at the present time by the real Pink-'uns of Siam.

There's Phra Yott for you, and make the best of him.
He s^t only a few yards in front of me, and was as cool as
the proverbial cucumber, chewing his betel all the while
with appreciative gusto. He did not appear bloodthirsty
or ferocious in any way, and had nothing in his appearance
to distinguish him either as a felon or a hero. After the
usual preliminaries had been gone through, and after Phra
Yott had pleaded * Not guilty ' to the series of charges laid
against him, he left the Recorder's table, and went to sit
beside his counsel to the left of the court, and still under
the guard of a Siamese soldier, who always stood behind
him.

By this time he had got tired of chewing his betel-nut,
and so he calmly took out of his pocket a great big cheroot,
and commenced to smoke it there and then ! The scene
would strike any European with surprise, if unacquainted
with the ways and manners of Eastern nations — to see the
prisoner, tried for his life, and yet pulling away at his
cheroot in the open court, as if the results of the trial
were a matter of mere indifference to him. Most
Europeans would have their throats a little too dry for
smoking under the circumstances, and I should have liked
very much to have possessed the brush of a ready artist, to .
depict the scene which I am now trying to describe with
the more humble material of a scribbling pen. I hadn't
even my kodak with me, and to have a * snap-shot ' at a
court of justice with a kodak would be outrageous indeed.

It is difficult to know whether to praise or to blame the
marked coolness of Asiatics in situations like this one.
Whether they think it is fate, which they cannot avert,
and to which they must therefore meekly bow down ; or
whether it is mere physical insensibility, the results are
equally notable. Their indifference probably arises from a
combination of these causes. For the Asiatic is certainly
more of a fatalist than a European is, and he is also less
highly developed in his nervous organisation, being more
of the salamander sort of disposition, so to speak. These
qualities prove of great value in sickness to him at times,
while at other times they are his very bane without an
antidote.

102 THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

By this means the Asiatic, like the Salamander, recovers
wonderfully from wounds and surgical operations, which
would kill Europeans on account of their more sanguine
disposition, and more inflammatory blood, not to mention
the baneful effect of alcoholic stimulants, which the Asiatic
in his primitive state seldom or never touches. But on the
other hand he yields sooner to exhaustive diseases, says it's
his kismet (fate), and makes it so. Why, then, can't
Asiatics as a rule face Europeans on the battle-field ? for
certainly they love life and fear death less than their pale-
faced fellow creatures. Just in part because they are
fatalists, and want therefore the mental and physical
courage that defies both fate and man as long as it is
possible to do so.

Kor must we ever lose sight of that indefinable some-
thing known as * moral influence,' for no people are ever
cocksure of victory from well-known antagonists ; and the
moral influence in such a case is tremendous, as it tends to
make the strong stronger and the weak weaker. Why, it
is this idea of moral influence that prompts John Chinaman
to fire crackers to frighten away the devils, that prompts
the soldier intentionally to shout when charging an enemy,
and that prompts a dog to bark when gathering the sheep !
Yet we must all bow down to fate some day or another,
because we cannot get out of it. And while talking in
this high falutin style, we must not forget that Europe
was at different times nearly overrun by the Moors of
Africa and Arabs of Asia ; and that the flower of Europe,
the Crusaders, fell for several generations in their vain
efforts to wrench the Holy Sepulchre out of the hands of
mere infidel Saracens.

But the smoking portion of Phra Yott's drama brings
to my memory another smoking reminiscence, illustrative
of the difference between Asiatic and Europeans in matters
of modesty and taste, as well as in matters of more serious
import. In 1887 the Queen's Jubilee was celebrated in
Mandalay, then newly annexed, and people from far and
near gathered round to see it. In the building where the
proclamation was to be celebrated, there was a temporary
structure erected to serve the place of a dais or platform.
And on this raised platform was Sir Charles Bernard, the
then Chief Commissioner of Burmah, along with thosQ

^^^^^r^^^^^?^^i9mmm^^m;'W^m9^m(^^'-^^^mm'm^'wimi^i^^^iww^^^mm^^m^m^mmim^m^^mm'^^^^'^im^mimmm^a^mmm^

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 103

whose rank or vanity led them, so to speak, to seek the
top story. Conspicuous in the front row on the said
platform might be seen a Shan sawbwa or chief, with two of
his wives, one on each side of him. European petbicoats had
scarcely yet invaded these remote territories, and all the
European officials were dressed in uniform, or in the absence
of uniform, were wearing the best dress they could muster,
while Sir Charles himself wa^ decorated in all his bravery
of gold lace. He rose to make a well ordered and
apparently well studied address. He spoke slowly, and
appeared a little nervous on the occasion, for he was not
only proclaiming the Jubilee of the Queen, but also the
permanent annexation of Upper Burmah to the British
dominions.

Suddenly when he was in the middle of his speech, I ob-
served the elder of the two Shan ladies clapping her hands
two or three times, as is the fashion with the great people of
the East, when calling their servants. She was promptly
attended by a young boy (or was it a girl ?), who made his
way across the lower floor, immediately in front of the
platform, till he reached opposite his mistress. She wanted
something which he fetched and gave her, and soon after,
my beauty was smoking and fuming away in great style,
with a big cheroot in her mouth.

The sight of the Chief Commissioner arrayed in all his
glory, delivering his important address, and this lady of the
land smoking and puffing away within a few seats of his
right elbow, looked highly ludicrous, and brought many a
titter of applause from those of the audience capable of
appreciating the incon£;ruity of the situation.

II J
r'

104 THKOUGH THE BUFi-EE 8TATE

CHAPTER XI

Before you start on your campaign

Look well unto your larder ;
For armies on their bellies^ fight,

And aye will fight the harder,
When they have quite enough and more •
Of rations of all sorts in store.

The Soldier'a Complaint

My passports at last — Departure from Bangkok — Supplies left
behind — ^Landing at Paknam — Uncomfortable cabin — Disturbing
influences — A welcome message — ^Beach Pechim — Corporal of
the Guard — Chowmuang of Pechim — Twenty sons and thirty
daughters — Prolific royalties — The strolling players — Siamese
superstitions.

But what has become of my passport all this time ? Well,
the passport promised by Prince Damrong did not arrive that
night after all ; but, sure enough, it did early the nest
morning, and I was very glad to get it. Besides this
Siamese passport I also procured another one from M. le
Myre de Yilers, the French minister at Bangkok, in case
I should travel through the French territory of Cambodia.
This same M. de Yilers is the French minister that, at the
time of my writing, is making such a noise in Madagascar,
and is evidently an ardent promoter of the extension of
the French Colonial Empire.

I could now see my way gradually getting clearer. I
had advanced to West and Yalloo a portion of their pro-
spective pay, in a guardless impulse of sudden generosity,
as I felt so pleased to get them engaged at last. Second
thoughts afterwards suggested to me that I had probably
made a mistake, and that this very engagement ' bounty '
of mine might not unlikely ruin the very purpose for

1 This has now become a physical as well as physiological fact ; at any
rate as regards the Thin Bed Lme.

■F PI . -"W-^^

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 105

which it was intended. Both of them had now the
' bounty ' in their pockets, and if they wished to abscond,
how should I be able to get a hold of them in such a city
of klongs and canals as the city of Bangkok ? I was not
so much afraid about West as I was about Yalloo. The
day I engaged him, I told him to remain about the hotel,
in case he might be wanted at any time. He faithfully
reported himself the same evening, but he was not very
steady on his pinSj as he had gone to the bazaar, and had
there been in company with Sir. Simon Shumshoo, the John
Barleycorn of eastern nationalities, and had there
apparently spent his advance freely.

I seriously warned him, and he promised, of course.
But I had got suspicious, and I now began to think what
I ought to have thought about before. Before engage-
ment he had shown ine a certain number of characters
from people he had previously served, and if I had kept
these, or could now get a hold of them, I would feel more
confident that Yalloo would come up to the scratch when
the moment of starting came round. I could not get a
sight of him for the whole of next day, as I suppose ho
was suffering from a headache ; but West, who found out
where he lived, was able to wriggle the characters out of
him, and then I felt more at ease about Yalloo.

The paddy-boat tug, with which I intended to sail,
was starting at noon of the day on which I got my Siamese
passport, and I was anxious not to miss her, as I was now
losing time by any further delay. This kept me busy all that
morning in making whatever arrangements were necessary.
West and Yalloo presented themselves faithful to their
promise. I had previously drawn out with the hotel
manager a list of what I would require, and subsequently
got the luggage, and, as I thought, the supplies, on the
landing place, ready to be shipped into the small launch
that was to carry us to the larger tug, for the latter had
promised to whistle for me when she approached the hotel
landing, in dropping down the river.

Under these happy prospects I was having my last
luncheon in the hotel, and the hour was high noon ; when
I suddenly heard the warning whistle, and went hurriedly
on board. We were off at last then, with West and
Yalloo as gay as crickets. I thought nothing of my

A

106 THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

supplies, for who ever thinks of ham and eggs when sailing
out of harbour on a voyage of discovery ^ But West did
think about the creature comforts, and asked me about
them. I gave him the paper list on which they were
recorded, and he went to take an inventory. He came
back to say that no supplies had come on board at all
with the exception of a few tins of preserved soup !

My joy was immediately changed into mourning j for
what on earth could be done? We had been steaming
down the river for a couple of hours by this time, and were
approaching the little village of Paknam already men-
tioned. To ask the tug to return to Bangkok was out of
the question, for she was a regular trader, duly advertised
in the papers, and cram-full of Chinese and other
passengers, besides what little cargo she could carry. It
was a very bad beginning to a journey of this kind, and
augured but ill success to us. Indeed, the country was so
disturbed at the time of starting from Bangkok, that there
were not wanting evil prophets there, who predicted the
direst results to our little unprotected expedition, and
were ready to lay down their bottom dollar that we should
never reach the China Sea, but would have either to turn
back, or perhaps get killed on the journey. These evil
prophets, however, were happily and I hope pleasantly
disappointed, as the mere existence of this volume is
enough in itself to confirm and testify.

We were then very awkwardly situated, however, and
did not know what on earth to do. To proceed without
any provisions at all would be courting almost certain
failure, and it would never do to return back again. We
could have landed at Paknam and again returned to
Bangkok by the steam tram car, but I could not endure
the idea. For once West and Valloo had returned to
Bangkok again, who knew but that they might give me
the slip altogether 1 And though I certainly intended to
use them as Izaak Walton was wont to use his frogs,
namely, as if I loved them, yet now that I had them in
my clutches, I should feel very sorry to lose sight of them
again on any pretext whatever.

I induced the skipper of the tug to put in to Paknam
all the same ; and West and myself went on shore to
forage for food. All we goujd get of any service to us con-

THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 107

listed of a few crabs and water-melons, the former of which
were very good. It was getting very late in the evening,
and the skipper of the tug was getting very urgent to start.
We had scarcely left the river's bank when a steamer of
the Scottish Oriental line, called the * Devawongse,' hove
in sight on her way to Hong Kong. It was only a few
hours ago that I had said good-bye to the captain of her,
as I was starting from the hotel. I knew the ship would
anchor for the night off Mosquitto Point just opposite, sis
all out-going ships do. So we hailed the * Devawongse,'
and went on board of her as soon as she came to anchor.
But the captain unfortunately had little of what would be
of any use to me on such a journey. There was therefore
nothing to do but go on and trust in Providence, for I had
detained the little tug far too long already.

Night fell apace. The tug *Hong Kong' would be
some twenty or thirty tons, or perhaps even more, as it is
difficult to judge of the size of ships by the naked eye only.
Her cramped deck was literally strewn with passengers
and passengers' luggage, and she was by no means a first-
class clipper wherewith to travel. There was a sort of
sheltering hood in the middle of her, and on each side of
the ship, beneath this hood, there were two narrow bunks
for her crew, and for any benighted passenger, willing to
pay extra for the privilege of stowing himself away in one
of them. The only seat, or rather bench, in the ship was
the lid of the water-tank, placed immediately to the right
of the man at the wheel, while on the other side of the
steersman was a broken chair without any back to it.

Such was the craft in which I proceeded from Bangkok
to Pechim. Perplexed as I was about my provisions, I
forced my narrow cork mattress into one of these bunks,
and then squeezed myself inside after it. It was an
unpleasant place to sleep in, for it was intolerably hot and
stuffy, and still worse, it was so full of fleas that I was
soon driven out of it again. I then turned somebody out
of the broken chair, and took my place beside the man at
the wheel, who was steering his tug from the front of the
hood, and within a few feet of the bows of the little vessel.
Between him and the said bows were some half a dozen
Chinese passengers, lying quietly on the deck, and all of
them apparently fast asleep. There was a slight choppy

108 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

sea on, nothing to speak about, bat enough to make the
little craft toss more or less in the trough of the sea, and
to make the sea spray occasionally splash over her low
bulwarks. I was feeling a wee bit squeamish at this time,
with the tumbling of the tug, when she took a sudden
lurch, and shipped a sea that soon dispersed the sleepers,
and rather cured me of the nausea,, by watching the
heathen Chinese scootling about in the water.

Later on the same night we made the entrance to the
Bang-pak-kong river, up which we proceeded, and the banks
of which were for some considerable distance in quite a
twinkle-twinkle of fireflies, so common in swampy low
ground like that along which we were now sailing. This
river, we found, assumed different names according to the
portion of the country through which it passed, and higher
up still, the Bang-pak-kong is known as Fechim-Menam
or Pechim river. Though the word *Menam,* therefore,
literally means the * Mother of Waters ' in Siamese, it is
evidently used as a kind of general term for any main
stream whatever. And as people's ideas of a main stream
must differ immensely according to their range of know-
ledge, even so must differ the general meaning of the word
Menam ; for the Menam itself that waters Bangkok, and
which according to Siamese notions is above all others the

* Mother of Waters,' would scarcely form ^ first-class
tributary to some of the very largest rivers in the world,
and is not nearly so large as the Mekong on the east side
of Siam, which has the much less pretentious meaning of

* Boundary Water,' and of which more anon.

I felt drowsy at last, and, stretching myself on the lid
of the water-tank, I soon forgot fireflies and fleas, as well
as my provisions and heathen companions, and fell soundly
asleep. The next day we called at a place called Fatrieu,
where I made a cursory inspection of a large rice-mill
belonging to the owner of the * Hong Kong ' tug. There
was said to be a solitary European at this place. We did
not happen to see him during our short stay, but we after-
wards saw in the papers that he was murdered a short time
after our visit. Indeed, crime was said to be rather rife in
Siam at this particular period, though the reports thereof
were probably much exaggerated.

Later on the same day, the tug took in tow several of

_ •• *

mrt^^^^^^m^^amm^^mm^mmmmmmm

THEOUGH THE BUFFEll STATE 109

those unwieldy paddy-boats, which did not tend to acce-
lerate the very modest speed with which we started. Yet,
in spite of the rice-boats, I spent the greater portion of that
day in the capacity of the man at the wheel, to while away
the time ; and I can now almost claim a pilot's certificate
on the Menam, the Bang-pak-kong, and a portion of the
Mekong, as the reader will see when we get there.

During the following night we arrived at Pechim, with
no less than five rice-boats still hanging to our stem. It
was at Pechim that I was going to land for my cross-country
journey, and this was the ultimate limit of the voyage of
the *Hong Kong.' It was too late to go on shore that
night, never knowing where to go. But on waking up in
the morning from my water tank, like a hot- weather walrus,
I was pleafed and Lrprised to 'find a Siamese me^n^er
waiting for me. This was a servant from the acting
Governor of Pechim, who had received orders from Prince
Damrong, Minister of the Interior, with instructions to
make every necessary arrangement for my overland journey.

This Was a very pleasant surprise, because at the time
of leaving Bangkok, I did not know there was any telegraph
communication between Bangkok and Pechim at all. Nor
did West know, no, nor even the learned Valloo. But ib
was true, all the same. I went with the interpreter to see
the Governor shortly afterwards, and he came with us to
show the rest-house where we were going to put up during
our stay at Pechim. These rest-houses — some of them, of
course, more primitive than others — are to be met with in
various places over the whole of Siam, and are known in
the language of the country under the name of sala ; and
the sala at Pechim is about the best of them all.

Shortly after reaching this sala 1 received another
equally welcome message from the manager of the hotel at
Bangkok, regretting the mistake about my provisions, and
offering to send them in another tug that was sailing in a
day or two, if I would wait at Pechim to receive them.

I need scarcely say that I was very glad to receive the
last- mentioned message, as it relieved my mind considerably ;
and though the mistake at Bangkok kept us at Pechim for
four whole days, it was the only reasonable thing that wo
could do under the circumstances. And for the intending
traveller the moral of this unhappy tale is, that when bound

110 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

on a random journey like this, he ought to look at every-
thing for himself; as, after aU, it is he who really suffers if
anything goes seriously wrong, For though the mistake
on this occasion occurred probably through the negligence
of the hotel servants, yet I had to blame myself in not
checking the articles before starting, or even asking West
to do so. But this is the twice-told tale of being very, very
wise after the event, and I shall therefore say no more
about it.

So there we stuck at Fechim for four whole days, feeling
the time very long, and wishing very much to be jogging
on our way. The acUa at which we put up was as com-
fortable as could be expected, and is probably one of the
best throughout the country. There was a bedstead in it,
of elaborate construction, and so large as to contain a couple
of giants at least, with a few of their wives and concubines.

On the evening of our first day at Pechim, a small group
of Siamese youths came up to the salay and began squatting
themselves down about the verandah. On inquiring who
they were, we were told that they were our guard during
our stay at Pechim. They consisted of eight unarmed
Siamese soldiers and two ordinary king's messengers. To
confess the truth, they were more or less of white elephants
to me, and I should much have preferred to have been
quietly left alone, or with two or three at the most. After
it got dark, as there were so many of them about the open
verandah, I told West to give them a gentle hint that a
couple of them would be quite sufficient to watch during
the night, and that the rest of them might go home. But
the corporal of the guard said that they could not go home
without the necessary orders from their own proper au-
thorities. As this was a praiseworthy trait of discipline I
said no more on the subject, as any further suggestion upon
my part might possibly be misunderstood, and I was anxious
to avoid any misunderstanding of any kind whatever.

On waking the next morning at early dawn I went out
on the verandah, and there were my innocent young guards
all fast asleep. They were, in fact, mostly raw recruits,
who had lately come into Pechim from the outer-lying
villages to learn the goose-step for the first time. And
from what I could learn from West's interpretation, there
was a kind of conscription going on then, and for the first

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 111

time in the history of the kingdom of Siam. This was
probably on account of the hostilities that were then
pending between this country and France.

As we had nothing to do at Pechim, we sometimes
wandered about the straggling town on the bank of the
river. Pechim appeared an old place, and to have been at
one time more prosperous and larger than it is at present.
It had been walled in and more or less fortified at some
previous period, and there was still remaining a kind of
walled citadel, where the * chowmuang ' of the place lived
almost alone.

He is not far from the madding crowd, however, as
the citadel, such as it is, is quite beside the bazaar on the
right bank of the river, called here by the name of Pechim -
menam. It was this * chowmuang' that was to provide
transport for us, and his particular office I found difficult to
understand. My interpreter tried to make out that * chow-
muang * meant a * little king,' as he used to say ; or, say, a
feudal lord or country laird.

He was not the governor of Pechim, for that functionary
had just gone down to Bangkok with the Governor of the
province of Battambong, probably to consult on political
matters at this grave crisis with the French ; as Battam-
bong was one of the rich provinces of eastern Siam over
which France was then casting amorous eyes. Neither was
he the second governor, for he was there as large as life,
living on the opposite side of the river. I say * as large as
life ' advisedly, as he was much the largest Siamese I have
ever seen ; and his name was Phra Pitsac,* while the chow-
muang's name was Phya Yo-athai, Phya is a higher
personal rank than Phra in Siam, while there is no hereditary
rank at all in the country except those of the king and
princes. This second governor was nearly six feet high,
and, as he was also big made and fairly fat, he would prob-
ably weigh fifteen or sixteen stone — quite a phenomenal
height and weight for the Siamese, who, though often well
knit together, are generally short, and seldom run to ex-
cessive corpulence.

But the chowmuang, who was an old man, probably over
seventy years of age, appeared superior to either of the two
governors, whatever his real office was. He might be the
feudal lord of the soil, but not necessarily, as I afterwards

112 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

«

came across chowmuangs in small villages, who could not
possibly be feudal lords, and in fact my inquiries about the
business were rather a failure, as I did not like to carry
them to the verge of curiosity.

I knew that something of the same kind of system
prevailed in Dutch Java, where everything is done through
the WoodanaSy or native chiefs, but really originating with
the Dutch so-called Residents in their districts, who literally
recommend, but practically command, whatever instruc-
tions have to be carried out. The same sort of system also
prevails to a certain extent throughout British India. But
these cannot properly be compared with the system obtain-
ing in Siam, as both India and Java are conquered
countries, ruled over by alien authority, whereas Siam
is an independent country (and I hope it will remain so)
with a homogeneous people, without any racial differences
between the rulers and the ruled.

At any rate, the old chowmuang of Pechim came one
morning to see us at the sola, and next evening I returned
his visit inside his citadel, accompanied by West, as I
always was, for purposes of interpreting. He appeared
quite a genial old greybeard, and very willing to do all he
could to make us comfortable.

Throughout that journey how often and often have I
repeated the very same questions and received the very
same replies ? West did not understand this at first, and,
like Chang at Phrabat, instead of interpreting my questions
and vice versd, he would answer. them himself without any
further reference. But when I explained to him once or
twice that these questions were frequently put for the mere
sake of talkee-talkee, or having something to say, he seemed
to see through the business better, and improved in this
respect as we went along.

I forget now how it was that, among other topics, we at
last fell into the topic of wives and children. This would
be a forbidden subject of conversation in India, both among
Mohammedans and Hindoos alike, as they are very reticent
about these matters. Not so, however, with the frank and
free Buddhists, among whom the fair sex enjoy all the
freedom prevalent among Western races, with neither harem
nor purdah to confine them, and without let or hindrance
to their conduct in general affairs. This freedom of the

IPPHP^^WWP^^^P*

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 118

women is indeed a marked and pleasant feature in the
social life of both Burmah and Siam.

I understood from the chowmuang that there was np
law forbidding a Siamese from having quite a number of
wives, but that most people were content with one only,
except of course the king, who was rich, and could have
as many as he liked. When I told him that no one in my
country was allowed to have more than one wife, not even
the king himself, he was rather amused ; and his merriment
was still further increased when I told him that quite a
considerable portion had never a wife at all, and included
myself among the category.

I casually remarked that with so many wives the king
of Siam must have a lot of children, when he replied that
he did not think he had so very many, only about twenty
sons and thirty daughters ! I do not know, indeed, how
many children the king of Siara has got, nor do I suppose
that the chowmuang knew either. But the present king's
father had eighty-four children, which should surely secure
his posterity unless massacres should be resorted to to a
very enormous extent. While visiting the King's Palace a
few days previously, I saw five young yellow boys walking
along, and each with a servant behind him. My companion
recognised them, and I asked him who they were. They
were five sons of the present King Paramindar Maha
Chulalongkorn. They were all about six or seven years of
age, and must have been born within two or three years of
one another, so that they must almost all have had difierent
mothers.

But prolific in this way as are the kings of Siam, they
are beaten hollow by the late Moung Lohn, King of Burmah,
and father of Theebaw, the last king of that country, who
required to be deposed a few years ago, and who now lives
a harmless enough life in India, without any further
opportunity of cutting off the heads of his cousins and his
aunts. King Theebaw himself, when we annexed the
country, had only five children in five years of married life,
and three of these had already died. But the pious monarch
of immortal memory. King Moung Lohn, had 110 children,
namely, forty-eight sons and sixty two daughters, from
fifty-three recognised wives, besides his offspring from odds
and ends of concubines !

114 THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

No wonder that such kings are liable to become silly
yet Solomon, who must have been a most henpecked monarch,
was also the wisest. Under such a condition of affairs fare-
well to domestic affection, and a long farewell to domestic
happiness and peace. A person must possess a vast amount
of the milk of human kindness, who can afford to distribute
it in such endless ramifications. For no man, though even
a king, can love so many wives and children ; nor can so
many wives and children love one man, though even an
emperor !

The chowmuang was very intelligent, and had a map of
Siam hanging on the wall of the verandah ; and he had a
very fair idea of the bearings of places depicted thereon.
We were examining my proposed route to the ancient ruins
of Angkor Wdt ; and as he traced it out with his forefinger
on the map, there could be no possible doubt about his rank,
as one could easily see by the length and transparency of
his finger nails.

It was getting late in the evening before we left the
chowmuang, and West and myself turned back again through
the long straggling street of the main bazaar, ^e Siamese,
like the Burmese, are extremely fond of the drama, and
especially of plays of a comic or burlesque character. They
generally act in the open air, or nearly in the open air, and
their stage decorations are of the simplest and most primi-
tive kind. On our way back we met a company of these
actors, powdered and painted in great style, and preparing
for a play that evening at the corner of a street. There
were lots of masks and false faces, with other paraphernalia
of the stage. I tried on some of these masks, but none of
them were big enough. Some of them were intended to
come down over the head, and at last I got one big enough
to sKp over mine. It was obviously intended for a stage
monarch, as it was very gaudy, and surmounted by a
miniature pagoda. The eye-sockets, however, did hot hit off
my eyes, and I could scarcely see at all when having it on.
But pretending to be a terrible bogey, and playing Blind
Man's Buff with the actors, I am sure we gave as much
pleasure to the spectators as if it were a real play.

They are also great believers in superstition and demon-
ology in the town of Fechim, and we saw some houses in
the outskirts with buttressed cactuses in front of their doors,

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 116

to guard them against evil spirits. It is a strange belief
among many uncivilised people, that evil spirits can only go
in a straight line, the same as is said to be the case with
mod dogs.

One would think that evil Spirits, beiu); so canny, would

116 THBOUaH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER XII

Onwards on, there's no returning,

Till the goal is reached afar ;
Though thy lips be parched and burning,

Think no more of fair Braemar.

The Highland Becruit.

* March, march, Ettrick and Teviotdale ' — Bivouac in Open Fields —
The Lids Mountains — A Melting Atmosphere — Village of Ghan-
dakan — Initiating Priests — Straggling Bullocks — Country Wag-
gons and Country Tracts — The Forbidding Mudfish— Tactics of
Tactoo — Its Geographical Distribution — A new-born Baby-
Vicarious Lying-in — A Dying Sufferer — The Evils of Quackery.

The expected tug arrived from Bangkok at last, and we were
so anxious to make a start that we actually left Fechim at
four o'clock in the evening, the acting governor coming down
to see that the transport was all right. I had pitched my
tent once or twice near the sala, to show my new servants
how to pitch it again when required, and was rather sur-
prised when the governor said he had never seen a tent
pitched before. This tent I afterwards abandoned, as I
found it too cumbersome and unsuitable for the journey.

There was no elephant transport, which is quite a com-
mon means of conveyance in Siam, for the governor of
Battambong, as well as the head governor of Pechim itself,
had quite recently gone to Bangkok, and they had taken
all the elephants with them. As the ground was flat with
pathways for wheeled carriage, we contented ourselves with
three carts, which were afterwards found to be insuflBcient,
and were increased to five. The carts were different from
those we had at Mount Phrabat, and not nearly so good ;
but they were the best we could find, and we could not there-
fore justly complain. They were skeleton carts, with their
sides composed of upright bamboo bars, and graduaUy
widening above ; so the floors of them were much narrower

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 117

than their tops, and they were also very long in proportion
to their breadth. They were, in short, the usual carts com
mon in this portion of the country for carrying rice, which
of course is the staple produce of Siam ; and they are gene-
rally loaded with this rice after their ends and sides are
protected with matting, so as to prevent the rice from
escaping through the openings between the bars.

We were so late of starting that we could only cover
six miles before nightfall, and had to bivouac in the open
fields. But we had made a start, and that was everything.
The night was warm enough, to be sure, so that we were in
no great danger of catching our death from cold, though
we were liable enough to catch the malarial fever which is
rather common in this as in all other tropical swampy
countries. In fact we travelled through the country at
about the hottest time of the year in Siam, where April is
the hottest month, whereas June is the hottest month
of the year throughout the greater portion of Hindustan.

But at this particular time I considered myself seasoned,
like the conspirator Catiline, who was said to be equally
patient of both heat and cold. For 1 had been less than
six months in Europe during the previous eighteen years.
And of the rest I had passed some three years in Aden,
that delightful spot which is said to be separated from the
unmentionable place by only a thin sheet of brown paper,
and I had even passed a portion of the merry month of June
on one occasion, along with only one other European, in a
grass hut in a cholera camp on the outskirts of Jacobabad,
which at that particular season of the year is the real place
with the thin paper partition, and not Aden, the evil of
whose climate has been very much exaggerated. Nay,
more, I had been during that time in Canada too, when
the thermometer was going down 55°-60° Fahr. below
freezing-point. So that I had therefore endured the two
extremes, as it were, of heat and cold, without feeling very
much the worse of either the one or the other.

The whole journey in this respect offered a remarkable
contrast to the one I had been previously meditating —
namely, the lofty Pamirs, with their towering mountains and
eternal snow. However, I subsequently came to prefer this
one for the sake of its greater novelty, if for nothing else, as
there had been plenty pioneers among the Pamirs of late.

118 THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

We bivouacked in the neighbourhood of a small village
called Wat-Kit^tt, where some of the inhabitants came out
to see us, and some half a dozen of them brought their
sleeping mats out with them, and stayed with us during the
whole of that iiight, lying down peacefully on their mats
within a hundred yards of where I was trying to sleep in
the open on my cork mattress. We started at daybreak
the next morning, and, after fording a tributary of the
Pechim river, we duly arrived at the village of Chandakan.
These two marches were comparatively short ones, and
were by far the shortest we had on the whole journey, for
it would have been a mistake to try long marches on the
first few days out.

During our second day's march we came in sight of
some of the Ldos mountains, to the north and to our left-
hand side. They looked between 2,000 feet and 3,000 feet
high from the route we were taking, with a regular even
summit, stretching for miles and mUes away, like the top
of an elevated plateau, but I could fancy they were not
quite so smooth as they looked to us in the distance.

The weather was very warm, and, after lying down on
the bamboo floor of the soZa, I found myself getting un-
commonly hot, and gradually bursting into a profuse
perspiration. Perspiration is supposed by some people to
be an indication of health and physical vigour. Nothing
could be further from the truth ; for, except in the ca.se of
very fat people, anything over ordinary perspiration is an
indication of weakness, and not of strength. But I had
not grown so suddenly more than usually weak, nor more
than usually fat, and I could not account for this uncom-
fortable perspiration that I found creeping over me, as I
felt like fat Will Waddle when he got his bedroom over
the baker's oven. The cause^as similar too, for, on getting
up and looking around to account for the roasting, I found
Valloo cooking my dinner immediately below the place on
which I was lying down*

The village of Chandakan is a straggling and large one,
with houses along each bank of the tributary which we
had just forded, but with most of them at a dutance of a
mile or more from the east bank of the stream. Our next
march was a very long one, as we covered twenty miles or
even more. The bullocks also proved recalcitrant on this

,1 «f ^1 n La I HUH -^v^v^Mi^-^P^v^^p;^

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 119

journey, so that we were very late in arriving at our desti-
nation. Invariably getting up at the very dawn, we gene-
rally managed to start at or before sunrise, and on the
next morning at ten o'clock we found ourselves at a village
called Bang-yan, and there we stayed to have our simple
breakfast and let the animals have a rest.

We stopped longer than we expected, for at this village
we witnessed the ceremony of preparing young aspirants
for the Siamese priesthood. There were five candidates,
four of whom would be under twenty years of age, while
the fifth would be considerably over fifty. We mentioned
before that a good pious Buddhist may become a priest or
cease to be a priest at pleasure. But a candidate must go
through those ceremonies all the same, and as long as he
remains a priest must conform of course to the rules of the
order, of which celibacy is one, and living on alms is
another. Three older * phras,' or priests, were putting the
neophytes through their facings, which consisted of much
muttering and posturing of various kinds. The word * phra,'
by the way, though generally used for a priest in Siam, is
by no means confined to that order, but is also a title of
rank among the laity, as in the case of Phra Yott, for
example, who was not a priest but a civil ofl&cial. Indeed,
the king himself is a phra, and his full title is Phra Bat
Somdetch Phra Paramindr Maha CHULALONaEOBN Chula
Chom-KJao Chow Yuhua, which I hope the reader will be
able to remember better than the writer. But, in case he
cannot, he will naturally be pleased to find out that His
Majesty the King of Siam is generally known under the
name of Chulalongkorn only.

The elder priests were kneeling, and, when ques-
tioning the cancHdates, screened themselves by a large fan
which they placed between them. Part of the trial con-
sisted of vows and responses from the candidates, and
partly in repeating long rigmaroles of something, which
were probably passages from the ancient Pali writings.
Then the company, led by the priests and neophytes,
marched in procession three times round the small temple,
but yet the ceremony was not over. I tried to take a snap
shot at this procession with my camera, but it was not
successful. And I wanted badly to take the photo of one
of the neophytes, who looked rather picturesque with his

120 THBOUGH THE BUFFEB STATE

shaven head and new canonicals, but the ceremony took too^
long, and we had to go away before it was all over.

we had opened the bullocks from the carts, as we
generally did during our midday rest, but every one seemed
so intent on this ceremony, that the bullocks were allowed
to go astray, and we took some little time to fmid them
again. We managed to start at last, leaving the priest-
making ceremony still going on, and arrived on the banks
of a stream within a couple of miles of the village of
Papr6ng, where we put up for the succeeding night.
Shortly after leaving this shelter, we had to ford the stream
three or four hundred yards higher up, and as the banks
were very steep, it was with some difficulty that we were
able to get the carts across it.

About half-way on the march to Sakh^ we crossed
another ravine that gave us some trouble, and the carts at
last began to break down. Next day we arrived at
Wattan^, after a very tiresome journey, as the carts were
continually breaking down, till at last one of them got
completely disabled by one of the wheels coming off, so that
its contents had to be carried in on the shoulders of the
drivers. Yet the Siamese get on with these rickety carts
well enough, for though they are always breaking down,
the drivers are always ready with their choppers to set
them up again, out of the forest that almost invariably
surrounds them.

We were now approaching a portion of the country sup-
posed to be destitute of water at this time of the year, as
we were travelling through it at the very end of the pro-
longed dry season, when all the water was supposed to be
lapped up by the sun. We therefore cut down several
joints of the largest bamboos we could find in the forest, so
as to fill them with water in case of emergency. Indeed,
these hollow bamboos are the usual means of carrying
water in this country when going on a long journey. And
when cutting them down, one could not help observing how
very suitable they were for the purpose. They are so light
and so easily cut and trimmed, whfle a couple of joints of
the very largest of them, after boring a hole through the
soft partition between them, can readily contain a con-
siderable quantity of water. The interior surface of these
hollow bamboos is also so beautifully clean, and of such a

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 121

rich cream colour, that when you put water into them,
they ahnost invite you to drink without your being par-
ticularly thirsty, provided of course that the water itself is
good, which is not always the case. I need not mention
the numberless purposes to which the universal bamboo is
put by the children of the tropical forest, for they are very
various, and have already been described by travellers over
and over again.

At Wattand we got some fresh fish which was very
repulsive to behold, but very excellent all the same.
Valloo at first hesitated to cook it for me. The fish, I
think, is not uncommon in Siam and elsewhere, and I
bespeak it to the wearie wanderer when it is very fresh and
he is very hungry. I forget the name of it, but am sure I
have often seen it in bazaars both before and after this
time. It lives by burrowing into the mud at the bottom
of lakes and tanks, hence its very muddy appearance ; and
it is frequently caught by stamping with the naked feet,
and in this way feeling for the fish embedded in the
mud.

I afterwards on this same trip came across the very
same fish, at the house of a planter, with whom I put up
for a few days, near the old town of Malacca, on the
Malayan Peninsula. He showed me where he used to keep
this fish in a large cistern partially filled with mud and
water ; and he declared that when let loose on the ground,
they would find their way to the nearest mud pond, with
the homing instinct of a carrier pigeon. I even think he
told me that he saw an example of it himself, but I cannot
trust my memory, and it may spund to the reader as
dangerously bordering on a traveller's tale. Be this as it
may, the fish is certainly very tenacious of life on dry land,
and is no doubt very shrewd in finding out his way.

This was Saturday evening, and we rested the next day
at Wattand, putting up in a small shelter with attap or
dwarf-palm roofing, which in fact is the usual mode of
roofing in this countiy. After nightfall I heard the shrill
cry of a tactoo within a few feet of where I was lying down.
It was there sure enough in the roof beside me, but I could
not see it in any way, as these peculiar lizards are invariably
' shy of revealing themselves in public. As the shelter
altogether was but a small tiny shanty, I thought I should

122 THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

be able to get hold of this tactoo, to know what manner of
beast he was, as I had never been able to see a tactoo
properly, though I had often enough heard one. But
though I offered a reward for any one who would catch it
for me, nobody would try to catch the beast, as they said
it would. bite them. I have only seen a tactoo once, and
not very well then ; but people who have properly observed
it say that it is beautifully marked, with green bars across
the back, and to be altogether a pretty lizard of about a
foot long with a broad flat head.

I mention the tactoo on purpose : (1) because it is like
the heathen Chinee — so peculiar, and (2) because of the
wrong idea prevailing about its limited geographical dis-
tribution. This lizard is to be found in no portion of
India, and Englishmen first came across it when we first
occupied a portion of Lower Burmah, after the first
Burmese war, and before we were at all acquainted with
Siam. It was so peculiar and characteristic, that it was
immediately supposed to belong to Burmah, and to Burmah
alone.

As a matter of fact, however, the animal has got a
fairly wide distribution, for I have myself heard if not seen
it in Upper and Lower Burmah, in Siam, Ldos, Cambodia,
and, if I mistake not, on the southern coast of the island of
Java. Tjillitjap (pronounced * Chillichap '), the remote
corner on the south of Java, in which I think I once heard
the tactoo, and on the climate of which I commented at
the time, has since been abandoned by the Dutch garrison
there as uninhabitable, thus verifying what I thought of it
when passing through the place as a mere stranger, some
years ago, and without knowing anything at all then about
its vital statistics (vide *Toil and Travel,' p. 139).

So much then for the tactoo's supposed confined localisa-
tion. Its cry is so peculiar that when once heard it can
seldom be forgotten. The animal is very fond of concealing
itself among the roofs and rafters of dwellings, as well
as among the branches and foliage of trees. And wherever
it is, it is sure to make itself heard, though very shy of
showing its colours.

The noise it makes begins with three or four sharp
strokes with its tail on whatever object to which it may bie
sticking at the time ; then there is a short pause^ to be

THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 128

followed several times by the peculiar, almost articulate
cry, from which it generally receives its name in the
d&erent countries which it inhabits. Though it is known
to us as tactoo, on account of its cry, it is known in Siam as
Tokd/y for the selfsame reason, wMle in other places it is
known as tau-tau. I had frequent chances of hearing this
lizard on this journey, and listened carefully to hear what
it did say ; and there is no doubt that what it tries to say
resembles the word * tokdy ' more than any other. But perhaps
it changes its language with the country, like the people
themselves, and that it says ' tactoo ' in Burmah and ' tokdy '
in Siam. Meanwhile the particular tokdy, then under dis-
cussion, hearing his fate plotted in this open manner, soon
gave us the slip, and we neither heard nor saw him any
more.

As we halted at Wattana for a whole day, we prowled
about the village to while away the time. We at last came
across a small grass hut, and found there a mother and
a newly-born baby. The child had been bom the night
before, and when we crept inside, and squatted down on
the grass floor, we found the mother as glib and talkative as
possible. She was already sitting up on her humble litter,
and did not seem at all much the worse of her late
adventure. Immediately beside the shakedown was a brisk
fire (hot though the weather was), and on the top of this
Are was a great pot, from which the patient was constantly
helping herself with some infusion or other. The litter was
so near the fire that the poor woman perspired freely,
which her frequent potations from the pot rather increased
than otherwise.

She drank such quantities of this fluid that we naturally
inquired the reason why, and then found out that all
women in this interesting condition drank freely of this
liquid, for the purpose of what I cannot explain here in the
unconventional language in which it was translated to me.
I therefore had a sip of it myself, to see what it was
like, and found it but slightly coloured and of a distinctly
astringent taste. They had several chips of wood in the
pot, from which they prepared the infusion, while a stock of
the same material was lying near the bed for replenishing
purposes. And so we took a few of the smaller chips with
us, and also the next day made the guide show us in

124 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

the forest the kind of tree from which these chips were
prepared.

None of the men in the village ever put in an appear-
ance to molest us in any way. But the women-folk are
said to be brimful of curiosity, and accordingly one of them
peeped in to have a look at us, with a child about six
months old in her arms. Both the women kept up a running
conversation with the interpreter, with a cordiality that
I envied, for I was entirely out of it, except the few
remarks that West would explain now and then. We
found that this roasting of the mother, and her frequent
potations, were the custom among women in this condition,
and that it had to be endured for several days to promote
rapid recovery ! This particular one was to be kept
separate like this for a fortnight, after which she was to
return to her usual mode of living again. Both the newly-
born infant, and the other one in arms, were girls, and as I
was going away, I placed a silver ticcU in the tiny little
palm of each of them, and expressed, through the inter-
preter, a hope that the young daughters would live long
and marry fine husbands, an expression of sentiment that
appeared to gratify both the parents.

These terrible ordeals must tell heavily against poor
women on these important occasions, for many of them are
not only senseless but absolutely dangerous ; and at the
best appear very ludicrous to people with their eyes a little
more wideawake. Among some of the Dyaks of Borneo,
which I had so lately visited, as well as among various
other tribes, still more curious customs prevail about child-
birth and children, such as the custom that when an infant
is bom, it is the father and not the mother that lies up
and begins to complain ; for almost immediately after, the
mother goes about her business, while the father gets (?)
very ill, and betakes himself to his sleeping mat, there to be
the object of sympathy and congratulation. It is a merciful
providence with such simple races, that childbed among
them is a matter of far less serious concern than among
races more advanced in civilisation. In this respect, at
least, the specific curse of Mother Eve seems to have faJlen
much more lightly on them, poor bodies ! This particular
process of what may aptly be called Vica/rums Lying-in
is very wide-spread over the world, and perhaps prevailed

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 125

at one time in France, as it is scientifically known in Europe
under the French name of La Couvade.

But it is as natural to die as to be bom ; for when we
visited some other dwelling there was quite a different tale
to tell. On ascending the few steps that led to the bamboo
floor of this house, we noticed a boy of nine or ten years
of age lying on a mat, and quite senseless. Yery little
observation was required to see that he was suffering from
hydrocephalus^ or water on the brain, and that he was in all
probability dying. It looked so helpless and pitiable a
sight, that I felt very sorry I could do nothing to relieve
his distress, and could not help reflecting on the universality
of that dread tyrant Death, for we meet him wheresoever

we go.

Thou art where billows foam,

Where music melts upon the air ;
Thou art around us in oar peaceful home,

And the world calls us forth-^and thou art there I

So sang the gifted Mrs. Hemans, and there are but few
of us who have not felt his bitter stings.

I had a small case of medicines with me to guard against
contingencies, and the villagers would sometimes come to
know this, and that I was a Medicine-man; and it was
natural that they should ask for medicines from the strange
physician, whether there was anything wrong with them or
not. But I put a stop to this practice at an early stage, for
the very good reason that I detest quackery, and could not
reconcile myself to be giving quinine tablets for a pain in
the stomach, perhaps, or paregoric elixir for a stitch in the
liver. France in this respect is far ahead of us, as she
discountenances all quack doctors and patent drugs. Medi-
cine, no doubt, is a convenient profession to travel with
through wild regions, as it tends to conciliate the natives,
and there is also the delightful advantage, that before your
prescription has time to do much good or harm, you are
possibly jogging along on your journey, with the pleasant
prospect of never seeing your patient again. However, all
the medicines on earth could not save this poor boy, and
on inquiring about him before starting next morning, I
was not surprised to hear that he had died during the
night.

126 THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER XIII

A merry crew they were indeed,
Who never would to aught give heed,

And always seemed so gay ;
You'd think, to look upon the crew.
They never had a thing to do,

Except to laugh and play.

T7m WeaverB* Wives.

West and his ghost stories — ^Warlocks of Wattan& — Their Aqtia
fonta/na — Siamese shanties — Dropsy and its diagnosis — Love-
making philtres — The prowling Pontianas — * Gog-og-oo I ' — Pon-
tianas pursuing West— Arrival at Arranh — Origin of * Farrang '
— Grossing the watershed — ^A gay villager — A modem distillery —
The web and the weaver — A bantering wife — The Lady of L&ds.

It was daring this halt at Wattan^ that West, the inter-
preter, suddenly burst upon me as a teller of ghost stories,
in which he faithfully believed. I'm a bit superstitious
myself, and it was then that I discovered that West was a
great believer in witches, warlocks, and all sorts of hob-
goblins.

During the course of that last trying da3r's march, I
must have spoken roughly to one of the drivers, as the
transport had been giving us such a lot of trouble. I
forget what I said exactly, but it broke no bones, and must
have been very harmless to the driver, as it must have been
spoken in English. West warned me, however, and said
that the people about here were known to be very revenge-
ful, and that though they would not klQ us on the spot^
perhaps, they would do so afterwards, as they were very
skilful in witchcraft.

One particular method which, he said, tbey had of
killing people, was by poisoning the drinking water of the
wells in such a way that the person who drank of it did
not die then, but at whatever time the poisoners liked, so
as to take away suspicion from the criminals. Though I

itmmmmmm

THROUGH THE BUFFEE STATE 127

could believe they could poison the water, even without
witchcraft, I could scarcely believe they could regulate the
fatal event, even with witchcraft. It would be too much
like the clockwork of an infernal machine, with which the
sorcerers of Siam have not yet become acquainted. Of
that I wa& certain, but I should like to hear what West
thought about it. I was lying as usual on the cork mat-
tress, on the bamboo floor, with a hurricane lamp beside
the pDlow, while West was leaning against one of the large
posts that passed through the floor, and on to the roof of
the shanty.

But to avoid repetition, perhaps it is as well to give a
brief description of these dwellings, premising that the same
description is equally true of Siam, Borneo, Burmah, Malay
Peninsula, and various other equatorial places that I need
not mention. These climates being generally moist and
swampy, the ground is often soaked or even flooded with
water. And so the houses are constructed on piles firmly
driven into the ground. And the number of these will of
course vary according to the size of the building and the
pleasure of the builder.

In the great majority of cases, the floor on which the
family Hve is raised five or six or more feet above the
general level of the ground. This floor at times consists of
planks of wood, but much more frequently of split bamboos
placed side by side, and levelled out by pressure. There is
seldom or never two storeys to a house in the country dis-
tricts, but the floor is often divided into compartments,
separated from one another by matting partitions, or by
split* bars of the ever- useful bamboo. But though the
houses consist of only one storey, yet one portion of the
floor may be fixed to the supporting posts on a slightly
higher or lower level than another portion. There is
scarcely ever any furniture, and as there are no seats, nor
stools, nor chairs, the people, except when they are working
outside, pass their days and nights squatting down on mats
or on bare bamboo floors, or sitting on a more raised por-
tion of the floor with their feet dangling to a lower
level one.

Mats, skins, water-pitchers of dammered bamboo lace-
work, comprise most of the furniture in any of the houses,
while the roof and walls invariably consist of grass or of

128 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

(Utap made of palm leaves, and stretching between the
rafters, as well as between the upright poles already men-
tioned. Sometimes there is no fireplace on the raised floor,
and sometimes there is. When there is, it is only for
cooking purposes, and never with the idea of keeping one
warm ; for that, indeed, would be superfluous in most of
these climates. The hearth, when there is one, consists of
baked clay in the middle of the floor, and surrounded by
fenders of any wood that comes handy. Leading up to
this inhabited floor, there will be a primitive ladder of a
certain number of rungs tied on by thongs of bark, or per-
haps there will only be a piece of timber with notches here
and there, for the naked feet of the people to get hold of.

Such is the typical dwelling in any of the countries noted,
and in many others besides. Except in the large towns,
the houses are seldom arranged in any regular order, and
it is therefore often very difficult for the sti-anger to get
any satisfactory idea of the size of a village, as the houses
are built anyway throughout the forest, so that when you
are visiting one house, you may not be able to see any of
the others. Needless to say that these combustible houses
frequently get on fire, but they are so easily rebuilt from the
forest, that there is seldom much wailing about their
loss. It was West's ghost- stories that led me into this
digression.

Well, there was West, leaning against one of those
supporting poles, with the lurid lamp- light shining in his
face, and quite convinced that the poisoners of Wattand
could give any of us their ctqua fontana, and arrange that
we should just die on the precise day on which their
worships would please. I felt sceptical at first if West was
in earnest ; but he was, as could easily be seen by his
serious face. I therefore asked him to sit down and tell me
what other strange things they did in these queer countries.

It was Saturday night, and we were resting on the
morrow after a hard week's work, so that a ghost story
would be very refreshing. The light, being behind my
pillow, left my face in shade, and fell with a dim religious
tinge on the interpreter's serious countenance. This was
lucky, as I must have frequently appeared very grave when
I did not at all feel so.

One of the most successful methods of poisoning adopted

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 129

by these warlocks consisted of fids of flesh taken out of the
rump of a live elephant. Neither mutton nor beef is of
any good for this purpose. These fids of elephants' flesh
are beaten with a stick, while repeating sundry incantations
over them, till they get reduced to the size of small balls,
when they acquire the curious property of flying about
anywhere at the operator's will. They are, however, gene-
rally harmless, except under certain conditions ; and they
generally go to work by making noises about the house of
the victim, after the usual method of a good old * Brownie '
of more northern countries. Then, some time or other, the
victim asks unguardedly, *Who is doing that noise 1' or
some words of that sort, when one or more of the attenu-
ated fragments immediately jumps down his throat without
further ceremony. It is then that the trouble commences,
for the balls gradually swell to their former size, and as
they are quite indigestible, after all the curses heaped upon
them, no wonder that the patient soon dies in great agony
by a general swelling, which is always mistaken for dropsy
by the doctors — but isn't.

Among the most interesting remedies possessed by the
witches of this country was an aromatic oil procured from
a dead person who 'died in confine,' as the interpreter
always put it. By rubbing this oil over the eyebrows a
person can see through anything, even through a stone
wall. It is a good thing that the preparation of this oil is
such a secret among the witches, as it sometimes might
reveal far too much to people. And then there was of
course the philtre or love-potion, which by rubbing over a
coin before giving it to the only girl that ever you loved,
she immediately abandons all and follows her lover. My
informant did not know whether this philtre had any effect
on the sterner sex, as he was not so interested on that side
of the question. He also gave me a portion of the recipe
for this valuable preparation ; but as I doubt if it is com-
plete, and as it might play havoc with the hearts of some
readers, I naturally hesitate to write it down here. Most
of the ingredients, moreover, would be quite inadmissible
in plain English print, though I could get over this diffi-
culty by resorting to Latin for the occasion. On the whole,
however, I think it is better that the prescription should
perish in its own stew |

K

130 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

But of all others tho Pontiana was my informant's pet
aversion for a ne'er-do-weel sort of warlock, for he had had
personal experience of this malignant kind of spirit himself.

* " Pontiana 'T I said ; ' that's almost like Pontianak, tho
name of the big town in Dutch Borneo.' * Yes,' he replied ;

* and that's because there are so many Pontianas about it/
' And pray go on,' continued I, ' and tell us all about the
Pontiana. The Pontiana, then, according to the story, is
essentially a woman who ' died in confine,' as West used
to put it) and a most malignant creature she is. But to
prevent her evil pranks from having full play, a pin is
always driven through the sole of each foot before burning
or burial. This precaution prevents the Pontiana from rest-
ing comfortably on the ground, although it does not pre-
vent her from roosting among the branches of forest trees.

Though bom in Bangkok, West had travelled a bit, and
had accumulated a certain amount of information of
sorts, especially of the diablerie kind. He was at one time
living at Singapore, for instance. On one unfortunate
occasion, when Hving in that city, he and a friend of his,
on a bright moonlight ni^ht, went out into the outskirts of
the town to shoot flying-foxes, a variety of the very largest
kind of bats prevalent in parts of the East. They suddenly
heard the shnll voice of the Pontiana shrieking, *Gog-og-oo ! '
Courageous though they were, they immediately took to their
heels, for who could listen unmoved to the fearful voice of
the Pontiana 1 They were, however, promptly pursued by
the * Gog-og-oo ! ' of the fiend, till they reached the in-
habited suburbs.

His friend had unfortunately got the start of him in
their sudden stampede, and, what is more, he kept it ; so
that the Pontiana, with her * Gog-og-oo ! ' kept fluttering
about his ears in the most maddening way, although he
could see nothing. At last, in his despair, he remembered
that evil spirits were dreadfully afraid of gunpowder, and so
he let ofl his musket, which was on full- cock at the time ; and
no sooner did he do so than the Pontiana vanished at once.
Yet, though he and his friend had thus narrowly escaped
the clutches of the Pontiana, they had not escaped the atten-
tion of the police, for a few of them, having heard the report
of the gun among them, promptly arrested both himself and
his friend in the very midst of their frantic excitement.

THEOTJGH THE BUFFER STATE 181

However, after telling the native police that they had
just been pursued by a Pontiana, and that the gun had
gone off by accident, they were allowed to proceed on their
journey without further molestation, secretly vowing, no
doubt, that they would never again go out to shoot flying-
foxes, let the moon shine never so brightly. Such were
some of the stories to which I listened that Saturday night,
and which vividly brought home to me the simple-minded
kind of caravan with which it was my lot to be travelling
through this remote country.

On Monday evening we arrived at Arranh. Through-
out the last few days' journey we occasionally got glimpses
of the Ldos mountains to the north, but the forest on our
way was generally so thick that we could not see any gre^t
distance on either side of us ; but on the last journey we
appeared to be leaving the mountains behind us altogether.
We were very well received by the chowmuang of .^UT3.nh,
and I told West to ask him if he had ever seen a *Farrang'
or European before. He had seen one Farrang in his life,
he said, and that was .Ave or six years ago when a Farrang
came to the village, and that he did not know whence he
came or whither he was going. His servant who was
sitting on his marrow-bones behind him confirmed his
master's statement, and said that he had seen the same
Farrang, but none of the others present had ever seen a
European before.

It is strange that the word * Farrang,' almost univer-
sally applied to Europeans in the East, really means a
Frenchman, which sounds rather odd, as far more English-
speaking people than French travel through remote Eastern
regions. Yet such is the case ; and even in India, so long
in our own possession, the word generally used is Ferringhi,
which is only a corruption of the word Farrang. This vil-
lage of Arranh was the largest since we left Pechim, and
contained perhaps thirty or forty houses in all, situated on
both sides of a river with high precipitous banks.

We were now in an interesting locality, for we had just
crossed over the watershed that separates the streams that
finally fall into the Gulf of Siam from those falling into the
Mekong river, and finally into the China Sea. For the
river, near the source of which Arranh is situated, goes
to the great lake Tele-Sap, of which more anon, and £rom

K2

182 THBOUGH THE BUFFEB STATE

which proceeds the river that finally falls into the Mekong
at Penhom-penh, the capital town of Cambodia.

We, that is the interpreter West and myself, invariably
prowled about the villages in the cool of the evenings,
whenever there happened to be a village to prowl about ;
and so we did about Arranh. We put up on the north or
left bank of the river, but later on crossed over to the other
side, to have a look at the place, being guided about by an
old villager who seemed to be the boss of the village, next
to the chowmuang himself, and who appeared a little ' ele-
vated ' at the time of our visit.

The people throughout our journey hitherto appeared
very sober and steady, and if I offered anything to an occa-
sional chowmuang, he would only taste it, and pass it on
to some one else. Arranh, however, appeared more or less
an exception to this rule. When prowling about the houses
on the other side of the river, what did we come across but
a woman preparing the native liquor known generally as
Shumshoo, but known under the name of Larong in this
region.

We wanted to see how the thing was done, by lifting
off one large iron pot that seemed placed over the mouth of
another one. But the old woman would not let us do so,
saying that it would spoil her brew ; so we did not insist,
as I was always anxious to avoid giving any cause of
offence to the natives in any way. While straggling still
further on, and still guided by the old villager, we came
across another woman, just preparing for the same business,
and in the act of placing the apparatus in position. This
simple form of still may exist or have existed in our own
country. But as I never saw it before, I may briefly de-
scribe how the thing is done in this remote comer.

There is first a trench dug in the ground, a few feet long,
and gradually deepening at one end. In this deeper end
is placed a wooden fire, and over it is placed the apparatus.
This last consisted of two large pots, each capable of hold-
ing a few gallons of water. One of the two pots is filled
with rice in process of fermentation, mixed with a consider-
able quantity of water, in which the rice has probably been
soaking for some days previously. ,This pot is placed im-
mediately over the fire, and over the mouth of it is placed
the upper pot of about the same size, and with three or

jiui^j.^jj. — MJ9ov«asnaBp;?e59B9

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 183

four holes in the bottom of it. The rim of the lower pot,
along which the upper pot touches it, is hermeticallj sealed
by means of wet cloth placed between. There is thus an
open communication between the two pots by means of the
holes in the bottom of the upper one.

The upper pot is quite empty, with. neither water nor
rice ; but through the side of it, about the middle, there is
a small round hole. Through this hole, from the inside, is
placed a narrow tube, ending outside in a small spout, and
on the inside enlarged into a round slightly hollowed disc,
placed flatly in the pot, and the edges of which nearly
touch the sides of the pot roundabout. The mouth of this
upper pot is closed hermetically with a hollow nietallic lid,
in which cold water is placed on the outside, and easily
replenished whenever it gets warm, so that it answers the
purpose of a condenser.

This constitutes the whole apparatus which, when I saw
it working, seemed equally simple and efficacious. And
this is the way the thing is done : the Are is lit and heats the
lower pot, and the steam containing the delicious larong
passes through the holes into the upper pot, thence rises to
meet the cold under surface of the lid, and immediately
condenses and falls in drops on the flat disc mentioned.
From this the gathering fluid passes through the tube
piercing the middle of the upper pot, and from the spout at
the end of it the larong drips, drips, in precious little dew-
drops, into whatever vessel is placed to receive it. There
is your shumshoo or larong for you, ready for action, and
you may take it or may leave it, just as you please. I
tasted a little of it on this occasion, and did not think it
particularly palatable.

We then returned to our own side of the river, over a
rickety and creaky wooden bridge, that was fully twenty-five
or thirty feet above the bed of the river, which was then dry,
or only with dirty -looking yellow stagnant pools of water.
But the height of this bridge indicated plainly enough how
this river rises in the rains, till it eventually overfloods the
country. When we returned to the northern side, I tried
my hand at weaving. I have already described how the
houses are raised on posts, and that the inhabited floor is
generally several feet above the ground. The space beneath
that floor is open all through, except the supporting poles,

184 THROUGH THE BUFFEB STATE

and contains all sorts of questionable articles, such as the
sucking-pigs and squealing grunters mentioned when treat-
ing of the Dyaks of Borneo. On this journey we some-
times met with primitive handlooms in these open spaces,
and more than once I tried my 'prentice hand at weaving ;
and 80 I did on this occasion.

The loom was very small and the web very narrow.
My legs were not particularly nimble in working the foot-
strings, and my hands too were coarse and clumsy in
passing the shuttle to and fro, while the thread was so
Une and easily broken, that I repeatedly broke it without
feeling that I did so. This state of afiairs did not at all
seem to please a middle-aged woman to whom the web
belonged. She was a little shy at first, but afterwards
came up in a bantering way, and catching hold of me by
the shoulders, tried to take me away from the web, which
I was evidently spoiling. I returned the compliment by
catching her in turn, and trying to seat her beside me on
the plank, so as to teach me how to weave properly, much
to the amusement of the people who were looking on.

This woman had never seen a European in her life
before, and I only mention the incident as an indication of
the genial disposition of this simple race ; for it looked
more like an old-world lover's quarrel than a squabble with
a purpose. By this time, too, I was indeed becoming quite
proficient in the language, and was specially fluent and free
with such phrases as Kopjai (thank you), Lakdn (good-
bye), S'dbhhai (how are you 1) and Soe ngain (you're very
pretty!).

Further on our way we met two girls, ten or twelve
years old, and one of them stopped to speak to our merry
old guide. She was his daughter, he said, but that he had
a bigger and a prettier one than that. We soon reached
his house, and there on the verandah was the buxom girl
of which he spoke, without being at all overburdened with
overflowing drapery. The interpreter talked to her for a
little while, and from the hearty way she laughed I con-
cluded that the conversation amused her not a little.
Thereafter the rhyming Jingo seized me, and thus I
jingled to the Lady of Ldos : —

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

The Ladt op Lifts,

' YoQ wesj- but little garmeutB oi

My prett; heathen maid.

You weoi but little garments o.

•^-^/^•^"•^

186 * THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER XIV

Oh 1 sad was my heart when my wife ran avay,
But soon it was equally blithesome and gay,
When onoe I disoovered that now I was free.
Without such a slovenly slattern as she.

Ths GraM Widow.

The parasitio parricide— Its mode of germination— Two-tree Tank —
Abandoned village — Fool-drinking water - Dissensions in the
camp — * Amn't I a man, too ? ' — A bump on the rump — Valloo,
the dark delinquent — Forest camp-fire— Valloo vanishes— The
Tragedy of an Omelette — Valloo recovered — Helplessness of
native coolies.

The next inhabited village was nearly forty miles away
from us, but we hoped to cover the distance in two marches,
in spite of impediments. So we made a start in the very
early morning, as we invariably did, with the regularity of
clock-work ; for we turned in early, and the labourer's sleep
is both sweet and refreshing. Not very long after leaving
Arranh we got into more open country, compared with the
forest that had almost continually surrounded us for several
days past, and we could just see the last of the Libs moun-
tains receding in the distance far away behind us.

Before noon we made our usual halt near a small, muddy
tank, which would probably be considerably larger during
the rainy season, but was at this time of year nearly dried
up. While Valloo was cooking I lay on my back under
the shade of a large forest tree, and gazed dreamily towards
the sky. I observed that the tree bore two kinds of leaves,
and that there were actually two kinds of trees with only
one stem. It was, in short, a particularly good example of
those parasite trees that one occasionally meets with in the
Malayan Archipelago and elsewhere, though I don't remem-
ber its name, if ever I did know. I called West over to
point it to him as a curiosity. Sut West, casting his eye

Pabasitic Parricides.

"H

THEOUGH THE BUFFEB STATE 137

in the near distance, said that there was another of th6
same kind over yonder. It could not be, I thought, as the
tree in the distance displayed only one kind of foliage.
Yet the interpreter was right, as we discovered on going
over to it. For there were two of those peculiar trees
within one or two hundred yards of one another, and con-'
spicuous to the traveller, as there were no other forest trees
about the tank at alL

The main difference between these two trees among
themselves consisted of the fact that the parasite on the
tree under which we were lying was in its infancy, while
the parasite * over yonder ' had already crushed its foster
parent and was growing in its place. This variety of
parasite resembles the Rata of Kew Zealand in being a
parasitic parricide, or killing the foster parent that rears
it ; but whether their mode of germination and other
characteristics are the same I am unable to say. This, at
any rate, is a remarkable tree in its n>ode of growth, which,
in these two instances, could be judged with some accuracy,
as the two trees were in two distinct stages.

The seeds of this kind of tree are carried into the forks
of the branches of other forest trees, the usual mode of
transport being probably by birds. Here decayed vegetable
mould gathers round the individual seed, and it takes root
firmly, stretching most of its string-like filaments towards
the ground, along the bark and stem of the poor deluded
foster parent. From the same seed branches also spread
outwards and upwards, so that the tree actuaUy consists of
roots and branches, without any stem in the proper sense of
the term, though the roots eventually join in such a way as
to put on the appearance of a single solid stem. For the
long, slender filaments of roots eventually reach the ground
here and there along the stem of the victim. There on
the ground these roots fix themselves firmly, and grow so
thick individually round the parent stem that they eventu-
ally appear to coalesce, and hold the foster stem enclosed,
as it were, in a cylinder, the hollow of which grows less and
less, till the foster stem is at first crushed, and finally decays
and disappears altogether.

This is an interesting and remarkable fact in the vege-
table kingdom, and which shows that the struggle for exist-
ence goes on inthe vegetable.as well as in the animal world.

1

188 THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

The parasite at last entirely replaces the original foster
tree, and spreads its branches far and wide, while the united
rootis put on the appearance of a single, solid, though not
very smooth stem. It finally looks like a large forest tree,
something in general appearance like a mango, with out^
spreading heavy branches, but never a very tall stem. In
another village (Kalian) I believe we saw one or two
specimens of this treacherous tree after the last remains of
the original tree had completely disappeared.

But the special thing of interest in the two trees now
under observation was, that the one we noticed first was a
very young parasite, and that only a few of its cord-like
roots had as yet reached the ground, while several other
filaments were making their way in t^at direction all
round the foster parent's stem. On the other hand, the
roots of the other tree had long ago reached the ground, had
grown so thick roui\d the parent stem that they had parti-
ally coalesced, and in the fatal cylinder thus surrounded the
stem of the poor victim was already quite dead. And so
were the branches, for they grew neither buds nor leaves
any more, while both they and the stem were alike gradu-
ally fading out of existence.

It must, however, take many, many years from the first
lodgment of the parasite seed till the final disappearance
of the unfortunate foster parent. If anyone, then, happens
to travel in the direction of * Two tree Tank,' as we called
it, any time during the next twenty years, he will cer-
tainly be able to see for himself both these parasites, with
one if not the two foster parents still clutched in their
faithless arms. The strange trees cannot possibly be missed,
as they are the only trees on the pathway between Arranh
and Sisophon, and only some nine or ten miles from the
former place.

We had already begun to feel the want of potable water,
for the water both here and at Arranh was thick and un-
drinkable. We had with us a large and simple filter, that
could contain a couple of bottles of water. But the thick
fluid here filtered through it so slowly, that it was almost
useless to us. That same night we reached about half-way
between Arranh and Sisophon, near the site of an old village
that had been abandoned some years ago ; and it may be
remarked that deserted villages in these countries disappear

mi^t^w^mmm^f^^mmmmef^mmm^mm^^m

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 189

rapidly, on account of the perishable and movable nature
of the bamboo material of which they are mostly composed.
The only vestige of the previous village now visible was a
water pond, that was gradually filling in with mud and
dehrisj and was filthy beyond measure.

Camping out for the night at the same place we met a
small party of natives with some water-buffaloes, which
had been let loose, and on going over to look at the con-
dition of the pond, we found it was only twenty or thirty
yards across, and that it was mostly covered with the
vegetable fungus that sometimes grows on the surface of
dirty water in these low latitudes. Wading in this vege-
table fungus were the water-buffaloes of the natives, with
only their noses above the water, and blowing and puffing
away, as is their usual custom when they can wallow
in muddy water, which they love so much. The water
looked so foul and repulsive, that Valloo had to cook the
humble chotvpatties, or wheaten bannocks, with a bottln
of soda-water, a little of which we had with us in case of
emergency.

Valloo asked in the evening what he was to cook for
dinner, and seeing that he had fresh eggs in a basket, he
was advised to make an omelette among the other delicacies
of the sumptuous banquet. Though we were not at all
scarce of provisions yet, we were naturally anxious to make
use of whatever eatables we came across on the journey, as
we could not possibly know when some serious difficulty
might come across our way. When the banquet came up
at last there was no omelette, and Valloo said that the
sab (meaning West) would not allow him to cook it. I
thought this strange, but did not care to say anything
about it, except telling Valloo that in future when I told
him to do anything, he was to do it, whatever the sab said,
or at any rate to tell me about it at the time.

Thereupon Valloo went away, and I thought no more
about the business. A little while later, however, West,
who was lying down in the dark in one of the carts, came
out and asked if Valloo had been using his name during
the conversation. I prevaricated a little, and said that
Valloo had not made use of his name, which was literally
true. But he remarked that he thought Valloo meant him
when he used the word sa5. I then told him what Valloo

140 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

had said, as he was speaking in Hindustani^ which West
did not understand.

I was very desirous of keeping West and Yalloo on
good terms with one another, as they were my only com-
panions. But dissension appeared in the camp at a very
early stage. In our marches the sun was very trying during
the day, and, as the carts had hoods and were not full, I
left one of them nearly empty for West and Yalloo to
occupy during the most oppressive portion of each day's
journey. It was for this purpose, and to keep them light,
that I had increased the number of the so-called carts from
three to five. But these two servants did not pull on well
when thus jumbled together in one cart, and West evi-
dently did not like poor Yalloo to be packed with him, so
' huppish,' indeed, is human nature in all its grades and
conditions.

On recognising this feeling, I got the waggons so arranged
that each of them could go into separate ones, when oppressed
by the heat. This difference, however, led to an ill feeling,
which I was sorry to observe. Yalloo being the weaker
vessel, I felt a little inclined towards him, especially that
he was more alone, as he did not know the language of this
country. I was myself then the only companion that he
had ; for, though his mother tongue was Tamil, he could
speak Hindustani to me after a fashion, for I have never
been particularly proficient in that language myself. This
proffered kindness to Yalloo, however, failed in its pur-
pose, like the good intentions of many other people : for
Yalloo unfortunately took advantage of it.

A few days previously he came up to me with a com-
plaint against the interpreter, and concluded his speech
with the very quaint Hindustani expression of Ham nae
admi hai hhi ? ' ( Amn't I a man, too ?) Though I should
be sorry to deny the poor beggar the proud prerogative of
being a man, yet the expression surprised me, as I had
never heard it from a native before. It was evident enough,
I thought, that Yalloo was getting cocky. Moreover, I
plainly saw that Yalloo on this occasion was not telling me
the truth, and I told him so with such good effect that he
went away penitent enough, and with the usual entreaty of
Maf kdro, sab (Forgive me, sir), that so frequently ends
these interviews. Well, I forgave him on the spot, and

n^M^^^V^HWa^^sv

THBOUaH THE BUFFER STATE 141

told him not to be making a fool of himself, or that worse
might happen.

When West, then, on this occasion said that Valloo was
not telling the truth, I called Valloo back again, and then
again became convinced that he was misleading me a second
time. Suddenly remembering the Mdf kd/rOy saby of a few
days before, and the way I had freely forgiven him, T regret
that I got very much annoyed, and, rising from the matting
on which I was lying down, I inflicted on Valloo a smart
harmless kick on the rump with my bare toes, that had
neither shoe nor stocking on at the time, and' again forcibly
enjoined upon him not to be telling me lies.

Valloo yelled and vanished, still rubbing the offended
member, and I lay down and thought no more about the
matter. Before putting out the light I had an occasion to
call for Valloo ; but Vslloo was not to be found, and no
amount of calling could bring him back again. At first I
jthought that Valloo might have sulked for a moment, but
when he did not turn up, I got somewhat anxious about
him. Though never in the habit of being unkind to natives,
yet who knew what had become of Valloo ?

Valloo was a Madrassee, and the natives of India, in
their otherwise normal health, are in the habit of carrying
with them enormous spleens that are extremely brittle — an
affection, strange to say, very rare among Europeans in this
peculiar land of contrarieties. People are particularly
prone to suffer from slight injuries when affected with this
kind of spleen, which bursts on the slightest provocation,
landing the aggressor into all sorts of pains and penalties.
I, of course, knew of this weakness, and, on the principle
of * live and let live,' I had seldom or never touched a
native. Yet who knew but that this might be a very
serious exception, which might undo all previous leniency ?
for natives are said to die for spite sometimes, so as to let
in their unkind masters under the section of the criminal
code that is headed ^ Murder and Homicide.'

The camp-fire of the travelling natives already men-
tioned was burning brightly four or five hundred yards
away from us, and perhaps Valloo in his sulks had gone
over there to soothe down his wrath. And so we sent mes-
sengers over once or twice, but neither the messengers nor
(he strangers could see suiything of Valloo. Our resting-

J ^i^

142 THROUGH THE BUPFEB STATE

place here was nearly clear of forest, for almost the first
time, and with only a few bushes between us and the camp-
fire of the strangers. Over we all went at last — drivers,
interpreter, guide, and all ; and we diligently searched the
bushes, and cried for Yalloo long and loud. But —

Though * Valloo, Valloo,* oft we cried,
Yet Valloo never once replied.

At last I grew quite uneasy about my dark delinquent,
and could scarcely sleep a wink through the whole night.
The reader, reading this simple narrative in a cosy nook,
may laugh over this business, and I cannot now help smiling
over it myself. But it was at the time far from a laughing
business in those lonely wilds. Yalloo, I feared, was foolish
enough to do anything silly, and if he had really run away
I felt certain that he would never reach back alive. For
he could not speak the language of these Ldos tribes, and
he was also* considerably taller, thinner, and darker than
the natives of this country, who feel not a little contempt
for the natives of India.

He was, therefore, I thought, probably fleeing from a
condition of comparative safety to almost certain death.
For as long as he remained with the caravan he would
probably be safe enough, as the natives were not likely to
attack us, and, if they did, poor Valloo would not be the
principal object of their fury ; whereas, being now a soli-
tary wanderer, a deserter from his master, and unable to
talk the lingo, his life would not be worth a couple of days'
purchase among them This naturally made me anxious
about him. I would be in duty bound to report his loss
whenever I reached the outskirts of civilisation again, and I
could picture myself arraigned at a court of justice — as well
I might be — for the untimely loss of this fair and promising
fellow citizen. And, oh, that bump on the rump, how I
regretted it !

I felt so anxious about him that I was up some time
before daybreak, to see if he had returned to camp. But
though the morning returned, returned no Valloo. We
always had native guides from place to place, and our pre-
sent guide had come with us from Arranh, which we had
now left nearly twenty miles behind. One of the drivers
said that he knew the way to Sisophon, and so we sent the

'^^^^t^^^^m^r^'^^^^^'^^w^gfW^'^'^^^f^^fmm^m^mimmmmmmmm^mmmmmmmmmmmmmm^H

THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE 148

guide back to Arranh with all the speed he could manage,
with instructions to the chowmuang to do all he could to
catch the dark delinquent, and send him back safely to me,
for which he, the chowmuang, would have his reward.

So the guide started back again, and we prepared to
resume our journey, as the only thing to do under the
circumstances. But the guide had not gone back more than
half a mile, when our attention was drawn to something
in the distance. Who was this but Valloo, who had been
lying down during the night in the long grass half a mile
or more away from us ; and there was the guide along
with him. For he had caught Valloo, who was then in
full retreat, with a bundle of some rubbish sliing across
his shoulder, and with a bottle of water like Hagar when
she fled into the wilderness from the presence of Sarah.
I went out to meet him, to make sure with my naked eyes
that it was really Yalloo, and nobody else that I was
seeing. On meeting me he was evidently afraid of getting
a drubbing, which he richly deserved ; but I was so thank-
ful to get him again, that I felt more inclined to kiss his
swarthy features than to punish him in any way. I
encouragingly clapped him on the shoulder, and told him
not to be afraid ; whereupon the valiant Valloo suddenly
burst into a flood of tears. This episode I have taken the
liberty of calling The Tragedy of cm Omelette^ which, though
amusing enough to write about, was far from amusing to
me at the time.

West and Valloo got on better, I think, after this
unpleasant occurrence, and I was very pleased to see it, as
their petty little bickerings sometimes annoyed me ; for
West was a little too peevish to Valloo, while Valloo on
his side was a * wee bit daft,' as they say in France. I do
not know to this day how he managed originally to reach
Bangkok from India, but he was by no means an ideal
rover. It is said, with some appearance of truth, that the
greater bulk of coolies that emigrate from India's coral
strand have no idea whatever where they are going to ;
and though I did not think of asking him, I am certain
that Valloo, though a Madrassee, had not the faintest
notion in the world as to whether Madras was north, east,
south, or west of the country through which he was now
travelling.

144 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

There is good reason to suppose, says the SjUttrday Evening
Journal, that an emigrant often has no idea where he is going, bat
the GoTernment does its best to protect him. The recruiter tells a
man that he will take him to an exceptionally sacred shrine of
Juggemath, and gives him an advance of money. When the coolie
ngent asks the coolie in clear terms if he wants to go to Jamaica,
the recruiter whispers, * Say yes ; the sahibs speak of Jamaica when
they mean Juggemath.*

And as for poor Valloo, he probably thought that, in
order to travel across a strange country, he had only to
close his eyes and see rainbows in his retinas ; but he found
it quite a different task in reality. So much then about
Valloo for the time being, for he will crop up again by-
and-by.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 145

CHAPTER XV

Wearie wanderer, faint not yet,

Though the fates look dark and drear ;
Think not yet thy star has set.

Though it shines not bright and clear ;
Trust in the arms that are mighty to save
From depths of the sea and the gloom of the grave.

The Wearie- Wanderer

Arrival at Sisophon — The ancient Kingdom of Earner — Sisophon a
frontier garrison town — Scarcity of water — Where now the
Pitcher-plants of Borneo ? — Cocoanut milk as a substitute for
water— Village of Penhom-Sok — Going astray — The young Chow-
muang — China a paradox— Ceremony of Eohn-chuk — Monster
bird with four legs — A Chinaman and his wives — Milk at a dis-
count — Reach Siam-R^ap.

We arrived at Sisophon late that evening on account of
our awkward delay in the morning. We were now in a
different country altogether, though still within the juris-
diction of Siam. For we had left Siam behind us some
days before, and our journeys of late were through the
country occupied by the Ldos tribes, who mostly occupy
the mountains to which I have several times alluded, while
some of them have descended to the lowland plains to the
south ; and it was among these latter that we had been
wandering of late. Our last night's halting-place was in
fact the boundary spot between the Ldos tribes and the
ancient Kingdom of Cambodia or KumeVy as the natives
themselves call it, and this was the reason why that village
had been deserted, as the people on either side of the
boundary would not let the people on the other side of it
live in peace in this interm^iate spot. And so both
Sisophon and Arranh are nearly twenty miles away from
this boundary line, the latter in Ldos and the former in
Kumer or ancient Cambodia ; or rather, I should say, to

L

146 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

speak by the card, that the present Cambodia onoe belonged
to the ancient Kingdom of Kumer.

The very name even of the ancient Kingdom of Kumer
is scarcely know to Europeans; and the history of it is
much wrapt in the mists of tradition and fable. Story says
that it was once the most powerful country in the Far East,
not even excepting China, and it is in Kumer that there
still exist by far the moat remarkable ruins in further Asia,
to which I shall refer more in detail by-and-by. This
ancient kingdom is said to have once extended, not only
over the portion of the country now described as Kumer
or Cambodia, but also over Tonquin, Annam, Cochin-
China, and Siam, even including the Malayan Peninsula.
But its glory has departed long ago, like that of many
another ancient country.

The same river on which Arranh is situated passes also
through Sisophon, and is there known as the Sisophon-
menam, which proves clearly, as mentioned before^ that the
word * Menam,' though literally meaning the * Mother of
Waters,* is conventionally used for any main stream whatso-
ever. This same river flows on to the great lake Teld-SAp,
and on a tributary of it to the south-east is situated the
town of Battambong, the largest town in this portion of
Siam. Sisophon itself, though not so large as Battambong,
is larger than any of the villages through which we had
passed on our way through the Ldos country, and is a
frontier military station. Here lives, when he's at home,
the Governor of the province of Battambong (or Pratta-
mong, as the natives pronounce it) ; but he was at this
time at Bangkok on some business or other.

Sisophon is the furthest town east, in this latitude, that is
held by a Siamese garrison, as by a recent convention (1893)
between France and Siam, the provinces of Battambong and
Angkor are to be considered neutral territory, not to be
occupied by troops of either nation, though it is not denied
that the provinces and their revenues essentially belong to
Siam. Sisophon was decidedly more picturesque than the
villages through which we had lately been passing, as there
were several small hills and hummocks in its vicinity,
though none of them of any great consequence.

Next day we left Sisophon, and after the usual midday
halt, arrived the same evening at Prah-nit-prah, where we

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 147

came across some fruit-trees, including pomegranates and
the well-known cocoanut trees, the former being still un-
ripe, while the latter were in full fruit. This made us more
or less independent of the foul water which was our portion
for some time back. Where were then the Travellers' Palms
of Borneo, and the Pitcher Plants thereof ? They were
nowhere to be found, for they only grow where there is no
need of them, and where it drips, drips, drips every day
without ceasing. After Prah-nit-prah, we were always
coming across odds and ends of cocoanuts about the vil-
lages, and we used to take numbers of them with us in the
carts, in order to slake our thirst by the way, as the
weather was uncommonly hot at the time.

We must have drank the milk of scores and scores of
them during the next few days, and I gradually got so
familiar with them that I could easily distinguish between
a good and a bad one, a young one and an old one. We
opened them with a chopper, and I noticed that the thick
outer covering of the young ones is much softer and more
homogeneous, cutting up like hard cheese ; while that of
the older ones was much tougher and more fibrous. The
young ones were also heavier, and more valuable to us, as
they contained more milk ; whereas the older ones con-
tained less milk, but more meat inside. For when the nut
gets old, the outer covering grows harder and more ropy,
while the milk inside is gradually deposited to increase the
white substance or meat portion, which gets thicker and
thicker at the expense of the milk, till there is compara-
tively little of the latter remaining. But we did not re-
quire the meat, and a little of it goes a Ibng way, as it is
particularly filling at the price.

The bad quality of the water depended, of course, on
the unfavourable season of the year we were passing
through, when the water was nearly dried up everywhere
in these regions. For at other times nd seasons there
would be no lack of water, as a considerable portion of the
country is actually deluged during the rainy season, and
for some time thereafter. However, as we could not change
the seasons of the year, we had to adapt ourselves to matters
as we found them.

Our next night's halt was at Penhom-s6k, a village to

which we went by mistake, through some blunder or other.

l2

148 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

The portion of Kumer through which we were now passing
was much more open and cultivated than our route through
Ldos ; for though we frequently passed clumps and patches
of trees, there was not that same interminable forest as we
had lately come across. The country also appeared more in-
habited, as shown by tracks and pathways branching here
and there to different villages, whereas among the Ldos
tribes there was scarcely ever a branching path to either
side, which went far to prove how sparsely inhabited that
portion of the country must necessarily be.

The chowmuang of Fenhom-s6k came to see us shortly
after our arrival, and was a young man of not more than
twenty-five or thirty years, whereas most of the other
chowmuangs were old, or at least middle-aged men. It
was after reaching Fenhom-s<5k that we found we had gone
astray, and that we should not have gone there at all. We
had no map, and perhaps the young chowmuang was not
very familiar with maps, if we had them ; but he was quite
able to point out on the floor the relative positions of Siso-
phon, Fenhom-s6k, and Elalldn,;and to prove that, in order
to get to the last-named village, we had now to travel over
two sides of a triangle instead of one, which, he said, was
not at all necessary. He was quite correct in his explana-
tion, and as he traced out the route with his beautifully
long clear nails, anybody could see that he was a person of
importance.

This young chowmuang was much more familiar than
most of the othe^rs we had come across, and observing
Yalloo, that prince of che^Sy in possession of such quantities
of enamelled plates, cups, and saucers, he thought he might
get some of them. But we could not give him any then,
though he was told he would be welcome to the whole lot
when the journey was at an end. These simple people are
by no means bashful in asking things, but remarkably
frank and open on such occasions. However, there is one
blessing in the fact that they are seldom hurt by refusal.
This same habit, I am told, is very common among the
Dyaks of Borneo ; but with those who know them best,
they possess the reputation of being extremely honest ; and
that though they would not hesitate in asking for a thing,
they don't mind being refused, and that they never dream
of stealing anything, however much they may like it. This

'^m^'^^^t^^^^i^^B^^mmmm^^^^^fmmsssamf9K!^mmm9ZS99

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 149

is a great blessing. I went to Borneo for the purpose of
seeing some of the most depraved savages, but I returned
with a different opinion, in spite of their childish passion
for head-hunting, and a few other harmless recreations
which we need not talk about»

As this random narrative proceeds, it will be seen, much
to my regret, that all people are not so honest as the
Dyaks of Borneo, or the simple-minded people of the king-
dom of Kumer.

After lying down that night (for we generally did so
early) we were disturbed by the beating of tom-toms and
the music of minstrels. We dressed again and went to
see what it was all about, when we found that none of the
stars had fallen, but that the young son of one of the prin-
cipal villagers was in preparation to undergo the solemn
process of Kohn-Mbh on the morrow. Generally speaking,
there is no caste in any of the Buddhist countries, thus
offering a great contrast to the Hinduism of Hindustan ;
and though various grades of rank are bestowed on indi-
viduals, there is no hereditary rank whatever outside the
king's family. There is a remarkable exception to this in
China, where people are often ennobled after they are dead,
an amusing example of which took place in the case of Sir
Robert Hart not long ago, when not only himself but his
dead father and grandfather were ennobled by the youiig
Emperor, and I hope that the grandson, if not the grand-
father, will duly appreciate the honour.

Yet, in spite of this funny paradox on the part of China,
which is more than usually paradoxical in most things, the
previous statement holds generally true, till Japan some
twenty years ago began to adopt Western methods, includ-
ing pot-hats and breeches. Japan, however, much as it is
deservedly admired by Sir Edwin Arnold and others, can
scarcely be called a typical Buddhist country, because,
though Buddhism is more prevalent than any other religion,
yet it is not even the State religion, but Shintoism, a kind
of religion that is not easy to define, and to which the Em-
peror of Japan himself belongs. Perhaps this may partly
account for the greater homogeneousness of these races ; but
be the cause what it may, there is no doubt that the Burmese
and Siamese are among the most genial of races that one
can meet anywhere.

150 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

Well, then, it was a young son of one of the village
magnates that was to undergo this ceremony. These youths
, have got their heads shaved while they are young boys, up
to twelve or thirteen years, except a small tuft on the top
of the forehead, like the tuft on the scalp of the Ked In-
dians. About the age above stated, this tuft is removed
with due religious (?) ceremonies ; and then the hair is
allowed to grow all round, and the boy becomes a man, for
these sons of the tropics ripen early in life. It is cynically
said among us that the tailor makes the man ; but in these
places it is evident that it is the barber that does so. I
am glad that it is the Siamese and such like harmless boys
who have got this tuf b on the top of their heads, for if it
were British ones, it would be sad to think how often it
would lead to their heads being kept * in Chancery ' while
striving with other boys equally pugnacious.

To cut off these tufts, or Kohn-cIiUks as they are called,
at the holy Mount Phrabat is a very sacred business, and I
saw several of them when up there ; but it is not always
easy to perform the sacred office at that holy place, as it is
a far cry indeed from Penhom-s6k to Mount Phrabat and
vice verad. Though the real ceremony was coming off the
next morning, we stayed a little while with the merry-
makers, with their music of khongs, tapbns, ranhta, basilis
and tom-toms^ the mere mention of which is sure to enliven
and enlighten the reader, and which really discoursed a
weird and wild kind of music, which was far from being
unpleasant to listen to.

Next morning, just as we were starting, we heard
a blunderbuss go off, which was the announcement that the
ceremony had just been performed. These ceremonies must
be common enough among the Siamese, though I never saw
it among the Burmese, their next-door neighbours and
co-religionists. It is prevalent, however, among all the
Cambodians as well as the Siamese ; and when visiting the
Palace at Bangkok, I was pointed out the preparations for
this same ceremony on one of King Chulalongkom's sons,
while on one of the two occasions I afterwards visited the
King of Cambodia's palace at Penhom-p^nh, this same cere-
mony was actually taking place on one of King Nor6dom's
sons. So that the ceremony of Kohn-chiik must be of very
frequent occurrence with these extremely prolific royalties.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 151

Shortly after leaving Fenliom-s6k that morning, we
opened on an extensive plain, interspersed, as far as the eye
could reach, with enormous ant-hills, some of them three or
'four feet high, and looking in the distance like miniature
troops in loose skirmishing order, or like the 'standing-
stones ' of Druidical associations. And this leads me to a
story, brief if not pithy. Once upon a time we were
dwelling in tents among hills in the far north, and
surrounded by hostile tribes. A little while before they
had cut up a small outpost some five miles away from
headquarters, by coming down from their mountains
suddenly in the middle of the night, and as suddenly
disappearing there again. But at the time referred to, the
troops were going out the next morning in that same
direction, for the purpose of firing at improvised dummies,
which had been previously erected here and there by
parties told off for the purpose. That night, when enjoying
a quiet smoke after dinner, outside the mess tent, a warning
suddenly came in that the tribes were upon us. Imme-
diately some troops were on the move to meet the enemy.
But behold, it was only their own innocent dummies that
they were going to fight with, and which were coming
down upon us in this loose skirmishing order. I forget
now who brought in the first news, but the false alarm
at any rate turned out a ridiculous fiasco.

There were thousands on thousands of these large ant-hills,
extending for over twenty or twenty-five miles ; and so, as
the particular locality of Penhom-s6k had seldom or never
been visited by Europeans, I took the liberty of calling the
locality by the name of * White Ant Plains ' ; and there
must be such countless millions of ants in this vicinity
as to render a great part of the ground quite unfit for
cultivation.

That night we reached Kalldn after crossing two streams,
the banks of which were so steep that one of the drivers
got injured when crossing over one of them. Kalldn itself
is situated on the further east of these streams, mostly
on the left bank ; and the river, so far as we could learn,
was the one we had previously come across both at Arr^nh
and at Sisophon.

This being another Saturday night, with nothing to do
on the morrow, the interpreter whiled away the time

T

1

152 THROUGH THE BUFFEB STATE

by a fresh instalment of ghost stories ; but as we have
so many other things to speak about, the reader will have
to content himself with the instalment already given.

The Wa where we put up at Kalldn was not &r from
the chowmuang's house, and in the evening, before it
got dark, and before sitting down to the ghost stories,
I wandered about the village alone to see what it was like,
as the interpreter had gone away somewhere to forage for
provisions. When thus prowling near the chowmuang's
house and not knowing it was his, I saw a very funny little
bird, quite callow, with scarcely any feathers. But what
was most surprising about him was the very strange
possession of not less than four legs. A bird with four
legs I had never seen before, and so I tried to catch
this curiosity. The people round about, seeing me trying
to catch the bird, came and helped me, and we did at last
manage to catch him. West turned up soon after, and the
chowmuang said that the bird had been received two
or three days previously from another village, as a pre»nt
to his young son of four or five years old. The biid itself
could only be a week or two old at the most, and might
turn out anything, though 1 had a shrewd suspicion that he
belonged to the common or garden barndoor fowl.

But whatever species he belonged to, common or un-
common, what was certainly not very common about him
was the possession of four legs, two of which, however, were
useless, though nearly as large as the normal ones, and
projecting behind in a very curious and awkward way,
as the supernumerary claws were always catching in some-
thing or another. The bird being such a curiosity, the
chowmuang was willing enough to part with it, as he
probably thought it might bring evil fortune over the whole
household. And so, after giving a small present to the
young son in exchange, we got one of the chowmuang's
servants to make a cage, and I brought ' Jimmy ' (as I called
him) with me, with the intention of giving him as a present
to some zoological garden or other ; but I had to part with
him in Singapore, as will be noticed in due course.

Here, almost for the first time since we left Pechim, we
came across Chinese ; for though the prolific Johnnie
almost overruns the more valuable parts of Siam, as the
rabbits do in Australia, yet he is not fond of travelling on

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 158

h^ own account for the mere fun of doing so, and one
would therefore scarcely expect him in such unprofitable
regions as those we had lately been traversing. A certain
one of these Chinese seemed a person of consequence in
Kall^, and kept a shop, to which we paid a visit and were
rewarded for our courtesy by a present of fresh eggs, which
ValloQ duly converted into an omelette, as on another
memorable occasion.

It seemed, therefore, that the inland Siamese, Ldos
tribes as well as the Kumerese or Cambodians, were
familiar with the domestic fowl, a familiarity which will
not surprise anyone to hear. But what will probably sur-
prise many people to hear is the fact that these very same
people never make any use of milk in any shape or form
whatever. They did not breed sheep or goats, so far as
we could see, and the jungly nature of the country would
probably preclude the breeding of sheep, at any rate. But
they breed plenty of cattle — for the sake of the bullocks
only ; and, as a matter of fact, cattle, next to rice, form,
perhaps, the greatest export from Siam, from which scores
and scores of them are shipped at Bangkok every week in
the year.

Milk being the natural food of man in his early infancy,
and the first for which he has any natural liking, it seems
strange to us that any people could exist, familiar with
domestic cattle, sheep, or goats, and still remain ignorant
of milk and its useful ingredients of butter and cheese.
Yet this is the fact, not only here but throughout the
greater portion of Eastern Asia.

The Chinaman referred to had a Kumer wife at Kalldn,
from whom he had five children ; and I am not quite sure
but he had two Kumer wives. At any rate, he frankly,
almost proudly, told us that he had a Chinese wife and one
child * o^er the border ' there, in his own Celestial Empire,
where he had left wife and child while pursuing Dame
Fortune in the kingdom of Kumer. Among his other
accomplishments, the interpreter spoke Chinese apparently
as well as Siamese itself, and he asked the Chinaman if
his Chinese wife, with the dainty little feet, would not be
jealous of the Kumer one, and vice versd, when the China-
man dismissed the idea with a lordly wave of his hand.
He occasionally visited the Chinese wife, he said, and there

1

154 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

was no jealousy whatever between his wives — oh dear no;
which goes far to show that women in the East are not
built on the same model as their Western sisters. But the
statement may be taken for what it is worth, being made
by an interested party and a Chinaman to boot, for women
are women all over the world, however much they mask
their nature by custom and stifle their feelings by the grim
law of necessity.

Siam-R^ap was our next intended destination, and was
said to be nearly forty miles away ; and so we started from
Kalldn early on Monday morning, hoping to reach Siam-
K^p some time on Tuesday evening, which we did, after
staying a night on the way. The track was very soft and
sandy on this journey, for though the White Ant Plains
extended even beyond Kalldn, we afterwards traversed a
portion of the country sometimes flooded during the rains
by the great lake Tele-Sdp, of which we shall speak shortly,
for we are now approaching quite near it.

Siam-R(^ap was perhaps the lai^est place on our journey.
It is impossible, however, to give a fair idea of the popula-
tion of these places, where no census is ever taken ; and
the population of Indian villages warns one of how futile
the attempt might be, as they generally contain at least
three or four times the number of people that the ordinary
observer would put down to them. Not, however, that
there is any great comparison between the teeming honey-
comb villages of India and this very sparsely inhabited
country. Further, to show how difficult it is to judge of
population when there is no proper census taken, it is only
necessary to mention that Whitaker's Almanack for 1894-5
gives the population of Siam at four millions, while the
* Bangkok Directory ' for the same year gives it as nine
millions, and adds that ' the actual population in all prob-
ability far exceeds that number.' Whi taker's Almanack
is probably under the mark, but it is really impossible to
say.^

Like Pechim, Siam-R^ap contains a fort, with its wall

^ While passing these pages through the press, I again consult
Whitaker's new Almanack for 1896, just out, where it says that the popu-
lation of Siam is * variously estimated at 7^ to 88 millions ' I — thus sup-
porting the opinion previously expressed in the text, and also proving
how uncertain the statistics of this country are.

\ THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 155

evidently built of vitrified bricks, looking like pumice-stone,
and in a very good state of preservation. This town of
Siam-R^ap is supposed to be very ancient ; but with the
exception of the wonderful ruins in its vicinity, and which
we are just approaching, and perhaps the fort, there is but
little to distinguish it at the present period from any other
equally large town throughout the rest of Siam. The
morning after we arrived here we had a host of visitors,
curious to see the strange 'Farrang,' and more curious still
to see the strange bird with the four legs, the sight of
which amused them considerably.

156 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER XVI

The day grew dark and darker still,
And natnre seemed to droop and die
When aJl at once was heard the shrill,
Wild shrieks that rose and rent the sky ;
And then Uie pagans 'gan to prance,
Like maniacs m a mystic dance.
And blood like water freely flowed
To quench the thirst of that grim god.

The F<Ual Eclipse.

Ancient ruins of Angkor-W4t— March thereto — Don Quixote and
Sancho Panza— A plague of Mosquitoes— The Moon being eaten
by Bahti — Description of Rahii by Father Sangermano — His great
size— Not big enough to swallow the Moon — A partial Eclipse —
Invisible at Greenwich — ^Angkor- W&t relegated to Owls and Bats —
Though I ate the Lotus I did not forget my Country 1

We were now within six or seven miles of the curious but
comparatively unknown ruins of Angkor-WAt, by far the
most inaccessible and most interesting ruins of Further
Asia. The few English people who have ever heard of
them are under the impression that they are situated in
Modern Cambodia ; but they are really placed in the
ancient kingdom of Kumer, or Ancient Cambodia, the
history of which is so much wrapt in obscurity, and are
some forty or fifty miles north of the northern boundary
of the modern country.

We had scarcely ever met a pony during the whole of
our journey across the country, for the children of the
forest have but little use for this kind of animal. Nor
would they have been of much service to us even if we had
them, as, contrary to the general prevailing opinion, they
are generally such mere cats that there would be no
pleasure in riding them ; while our marches were other-
wise so slow and tedious that, as we had generally to keep
within touch of the baggage, riding on such animals would

THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 157

be even more tedious than walking itself. But one of the
officials at Siam-B^p lent us a couple of ponies, and on
them Sancho Fanza the interpreter and myself proceeded to
the ruins in due course. Here, indeed, a pony was of some
real use, as the pathway was so soft and sandy as to make
walking as tiresome as walking along a sandy sea-shore.

We sent out the baggage during the day, but as the
march was only a short one, we did not start ourselves
till the afternoon, and we reached the ruins at early twi-
light. There, on one of the eastern gates of it, on the
second landing, I watched the full-orbed moon slowly and
solemnly rising out of the far-away flat forest, to the still
farther east of the ancient shrine. It was an impressive
sight enough for the solitary stranger visiting these strange,
out-of-the-way ruins, but a still stranger spectacle was to
follow that same evening. We put up in one of the usual
wattle sodas near the ruins, and on ground that looked very
swampy and feverish. It was frequently remarked on the
journey how little we had suffered from mosquitoes. But
here was a very marked exception, for the mosquitoes
were swarming and buzzing round us in crowds ; and there
is nothing better calculated to disturb one's equanimity than
the incessant buzzing of mosquitoes.

True enough that when the blood gets thin by pro-
longed residence in tropical climates, the bites of the
mosquitoes do not raise those angry lumps that they do
when the blood is sanguine and pure. But still, people
continue to look on them as old enemies, whose biting and
buzzing they cannot easily endure, however long they re-
main in malarious countries. After dinner, then, we began
to make ready our mosquito curtains. But when we
opened mine, behold it was full of holes, however they
happened to come there. It is much better to have no
mosquito curtains at all than to have one with holes in
it ; for the mosquitoes are wonderfully clever in getting
in through these holes, but not at all so expert in getting
out of them again, even if they tried to do so, which they
seldom do.

We extemporised supports for these curtains, of a
primitive kind, so as to hang over the mattress which was
lying on the bamboo floor, and were trying to patch up the
holes with some fine twine that we had. West pinching the

158 THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

holes between his fingers and thumb, while I tied the knots
around them. Though the ruins themselves have been
abandoned times out of mind for religious purposes, yet a
large number of Buddhist priests live near the ruins, and
inside the wide moat that surrounds them alL

After dinner, then, when engaged in this useful but
prosaic process of knot-tyini;, we suddenly heard tremen-
dous shouting and tom-tomming a little distance away. We
went out in a hurry to see what the uproar was about, and
found a group of natives, with their tarn toms and other
instruments, actually baying at the moon, which was going
through the interesting ceremonial of an eclipse !

Most of the people of the country through which we
had travelled spoke more or less Siamese, though their own
tongue might be that of Ldos or Cambodia, as the case
might be. At least, those who came in contact with us
spoke enough of it to supply our daily requirements. But
the priests here spoke no Siamese whatever, but only the
language of their own country. We had provided, how-
ever, for this contingency by procuring at Siam-K^ap the
services of a Kumer guide and interpreter, who coiild speak
Siamese to the interpreter already along with us ; so that
conversation now became considerably mixed before it
reached my ears in the English tongue.

We asked them what they were making such a fearful
noise for, when they pointed to the moon, which we had
not noticed before, and said that a black man called Rahii
was eating it up, and that they were making this deafening,
din to frighten him away. Strange that all races think
black men worse than white ones, even when they are not
white themselves ; and we ourselves paint the Devil black,
though some people say that he is not so black as he is
painted. So strong is the idea of colour among some of
the simpler races who believe in a future life, that they
pin their faith on becoming white men in their next stage
of existence, if they behave themselves properly in this
one.

But when the natives on this occasion mentioned the
name of the black man Rahii, a faint glimmer came into my
memory that I had read or heard of Rahii before, and after
returning where I am now writing 1 was still further
enlightened on this profound subject. It happened in this

THEOUGH THE BUFEEE STATE 159

way. Several years ago, when in Upper Burmah, I came
across a curious old book translated from the written manu-
scripts of an Italian priest called Sangermano, who served
as a missionary in Burmah about a hundred years ago, and
long before we had any footing in the country at all.

The other day I was casually looking over this book a
second time when I suddenly came across my friend Bahii,
and noticed that I had previously noted on the margin of
the book the worthy father's description of him, and this is
what I had read and marginally noted some nine long years
before : —

We must now speak of the eclipses of the sun and moon, of the
phases of the latter, and the causes that produce them. It has been
mentioned above that the Burmese, besides the seven principal
planets, admit of an eighth called BaM, which is opaque and dark,
and for that reason invisible to us. The size of the monster is 4,800
juzena. Its body measures 600 jitzenay its breast 12 juzena^ its head
900 juzena, its forehead and mouth 300 juzena. The size of the feet
and hands is 200 juzena, and that of the fingers 50 juzena. When
this monstrous planet is instigated by envy towards the sun and
moon, probably on account of their clearness and splendour, he
descends into their respective paths, and, opening his horrible mouth,
devours them. Should he, however, retain them for any length of
time his head would burst, as both the sun and moon irresistibly
tend to prosecute their course ; he is therefore obliged, after a short
time, to vomit them up. Sometimes he places them under his chin,
at others he licks them with his tongue, and sometimes covers them
with his hand ; and thus are explained the total and partial eclipse
of the sun and moon, together with their immersion and emersion.
Every three years Bahd goes to meet the sun, and every six months
the moon.

To enlighten the reader still further, more particularly
as to the size of Rahii, it may be mentioned that a Burmese
juzena is about eight miles long, so that he can calculate
the size of Rahii in plain English for himself. And it need
only be said here that he is far and away a bigger bug than
Buddha, even according to the ex pede measurements given
in a previous chapter. But fine and large as Rahii is, yet,
if his measurements be carried out rigorously in English
miles, it will be found that he is not nearly big enough to
swallow either the sun or the moon.

It will also be observed from the above that the super-
stition about the black man Bahii is common among the
inhabitants from Burmah to distant Kumer, and even

160 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

further, for it is prevalent among some tribes in India, from
which the name Rahd probably started at first, and means
the 'ffobbler' or 'seizor/ Indeed India seems to have
been uie cradle of a great many myths and mysteries. The
occurrence of this eclipse was on March 21st. It was
again almost exactly full moon, for we had just taken four
weeks and a day to cover the distance from Mount Phrabat
to this remote portion of Indo-China. We watched the
eclipse for a long time with not a little interest, while the
natives were trying to frighten Rahii away, which, by the
way, they did at last, and no doubt thought themselves
wonderful magicians at the end of it all.'

It was a partial eclipse, thanks to the native torn-
tomming, for we watched it till we were quite sure it was
on the wane again. But we were probably asleep before it
entirely cleared away, as the whole business must have
occupied several hours altogether. I wondered at the time
whether the eclipse would be down in almanacks or not, and
whether it would be visible at Greenwich ; but judging
from the great difference in longitude, I concluded that it
could not possibly be seen in the British Isles, as it would
be broad daylight in that favoured country during the
whole time that the eclipse would be seen.

Roughly speaking Angkor- Wdt is about 105^ east of
Greenwich, and is therefore almost exactly seven hours
anterior to it in point of time. The middle of the eclipse
was between nine and ten o'clock at night, which would
correspond to two or three o'clock in the day in the British
Islands, and therefore the eclipse could not possibly be
visible there as it would be broad daylight. Since return-
ing from the journey I have looked in an almanack for this
purpose, and find that the event is noted right enough, but,
as I suspected, put down as invisible at Greenwich. It
was really an impressive sight to watch this unexpected
eclipse at this out-of-the-way and unfrequented old ruin,
with the atmosphere as still as death, and without speck or
cloud throughout the whole vault of Heaven. And so I
marked down the event as a somewhat interesting red-
letter day in the course of my life.

We spent the best part of three days wandering about
these wonderful ruins, but were driven off at last by the
mosquitoes, such are the fuzzy-wuzzy little things that are

''^■P^^^U!' " . »?^?I"W

"'^•li*"

THEOUGH THE BUFFEE STATE 161

capable of marring our contemplation of the old and
romantic.

The ruins of Angkor- WAt are sometimes known under
the name of Nakkon-WAt, the latter being the more common
name in Siam, while the former is the name used in Kumer
itself, as Angkor is the name of the province where the
ruins are, and the word wdt means a temple, or, rather, a
monastery, like the Burmese word kiung. It takes some
time to make one's self fairly acquainted with this extensive
and complicated structure, and I despair of imparting to
the reader a fair conception of what it is like, as it bears
no resemblance to any other kind of building with which
he is likely to be familiar.

We were up very early the next morning, wandering
about the place, but instead of meeting phras^ or priests,
sitting on their knees, palming their hands and muttering
some nonsense ^in tifue orthodox style, we, alas ! found
sweepers gathering in baskets the bats' guano that had
fallen during the previous day and night. How, indeed, had
the mighty fallen ! And to what base uses can the most
sacred objects be put at last, like Caesar filling a bung-hole,
or the sacred Angkor- Wdt being made the solitary habita-
tion of owls and bats ! Alas, alas, the mutability of all
things under the sun !

The building must have originally been built for a mon-
astery, though nobody in the country itself knows anything
about the business, except in the way of tradition and fable ;
and as it is now entirely deserted, and seldom or never
visited by the natives themselves, it is no wonder that these
creatures make it their home and habitation, where the
bats may sometimes be seen suspended from the roofs of
the corridors, to which they impart a very foul and un-
flavoury smell. Though to describe a great ruin like this is
a very difficult task, yet I annex a ground plan of the place
for the reader's edification.

The ruins are placed on what is practically an island,
three or four miles round about, and surrounded on all
sides by a small river, or, to speak more correctly, with a
wide artificial moat communicating with the small river
Khontai-Khom, on which the town of Siam-Reiip is situated,
six or seven miles further down towards the south. Across
the said wide moat, on the west side, is a large, wide and

162 THBOUGH THE BUFFEB STATE

stone-built causeway that completely divides the moat at
that place, without any passage for the water, unless it flows
over it, as it probably does at certain seasons of the year.
This is the only way of entrance on foot to the sacred island,
which is elsewhere all surrounded by the moat already men-
tioned, and which looked very beautiful at the time of
our visit, as in some places it was literally covered with the
handsome oriental variety of water-lily known as the * lotus,'
and which was then in full and varied blossom.

This magnificent lily abounds in various parts of the
East, and varies considerably in colour, from a dark pinkish
hue to nearly pure white. It is above all others the sacred
flower of eastern lands, in whose worth and praises so many
fables have been told and songs have been sung ; and it is
certainly a very pretty sight to see a whole field of them
floating gracefully on the surface of the water. I was aware
of the ancient lotus-eaters, who forgot their country by
eating of this seductive lily ; but as we don't eat lilies, I
did not hitherto know what part of it they ate, and treated
the whole story as a mere fable. But here I discovered,
for the first time, that the lotus really grows a kind of more
or less succulent fruit of a peculiar conical shape, and
which was freely eaten in this country. And so I, too, ate
one of them, and with much fear and trembling, lest I also
should forget my country. But why, man, bless your soul,
I was more homesick after eating it than I was before 1

THKOUaH THE BUFFEB STATE

168

CHAPTER XVII

Is this tho sacred shrine

Of days of old langsyne,
Where priests and vestal maids v/eie \vont to bend the knee ?

Alas 1 how ruined now,

With ne'er a knee to bow,
But left to bats and moles, and lone as lone could be.

The Buined Abbey.

Description of Angkor- W4t Buins— Its Anoient Grandeur — Its Bas-
reliefs — An old-world Tug-of-war — An undeciphered Tablet —
Bomb-bomb —Scattered Sculptures— Angkor-Th6m — Bozinante
comes down — Angkor- Wat Built by Angels — Compared with
Borobodo in Java — ^Borobodo a Buddhist Shrine — Overlapping of
SymboliQ Sculptures —The same of Beligious Forms — The Theory
of Evolution and of Devolution — The Cannibal who first ate an
Oyster— First View of Tel6-SAp— The ♦Boderick Dhu'and the
* Lady of the Lake.' \

Abound the ruin, and some three or four hundred yards
away from it, there is a wall twelve or fifteen feet high, and
in an excellent state of preservation. It is impossible to
follow this wall all throughout, on account of the dense
jungle growing about it here and there. But I followed
the outside of it as well as I could from the south-west
comer to the south gate, and counted 753 steps, represent-
ing half the length of the wall in a west-east direction.
Making due allowance for the more or less tortuous way
that I was compelled to take, this rough measurement
would make the wall in this direction something like three-
quarters of a mile long. Our Kumer guide said that the
walls, as well as the buildings, were square, with equal
length of sides ; but whether he was right or wrong about
the walls, which we were not able to measure thoroughly,
we found that he was quite wrong about the buildings
themselves, for I measured them afterwards, and found
that, with the exception of the central platform, they were

h2

164

THROUGH THE BUFFEB STATE

really oblong in figure, with the longer ddes directed east
and west, and the shorter ones north and south, as may be
seeli from a glance at the accompanying ground plan.

Inside the park-like wall is another wall, only a few
feet high ; and inside this again, only a short distance

1

GBOUIO) PLAN OF ANOKOB-WAT BUINS.
From a Sketch by the Autfwr»

(1) Ordinary causeway, leading across moat into the Ruins. (S) Elevated main
entrance. (8) Roofed stone staircase, leading from first to second platform. (4)
Stone staircase, but not roofed, from second to third platform. (5) Towers at
comers, 4ko., of the rarious platforms. (6) G-reat oentral tower, being the highest
point of the Ruin. (7) Stone stairs leading from comers, d^c, of platforms, there
being two at each comer. (8) Roofed outer corridor, the outer wall, as it were,
consisting of a double series of pillars, and on the iuner wall, facing outwcuxls,
are placed the beautiful bas-reliefs, nearly half a mile in extent. (9) Roofed
corridors of second platrorm. (10) Roofed corridors of third or central platform,
which is quite square. (11) Temples in the outer court. (12) Temples iu the
inner court.

from it, is the magnificent ruin itself. I happened to have
a measuring tape with me, twelve yards long, but by
attaching a piece of twine to it we were enabled to get a
length of twenty-seven yards. With this combination we

-?-Sw

THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE 165

measured the building as shown in the figure, and the
measurements may be relied on as correct enough for all
practical purposes.

By looking at this figure the spectator will see that
though the outer contour of the building is oblong, and also
the second platform, yet the central or third platform is a
complete square, some sixty -three yards wide on each of
its four sides.

Neither of the outer two walls alluded to as separate
from the building is represented in the figure at all, nor, of
course, is the surrounding moat — only the ruin itself, then,
and nothing more. The building is so complicated and
extensive in its structure that it would be difficult to
describe it, even by pens more familiar than mine with the
ins and outs of architecture. The outer walls of the
building, represented in the diagram by double lines (8),
are on a raised platform ten or twelve feet from the general
level of the ground ; and from the middle of the west wall
(to the reader's left), the causeway (1) leads to the raised
main entrance (2) of the structure. The spaces between
these two lines (8) represent the roof of the corridors,
supported on the outer side by a double row of columns
(represented in the figure by the outer line), and on the
inner side by a substantial wall (represented in the diagram
by the inner line), on which the extensive bas-reliefs are to
be seen.

These bas-reliefs are raised three or four feet above the
ground, and are about four or four and a half feet wide.
Speaking roughly, they look to the naked eye about half as
wide again as the frieze of the Greek Parthenon, to be seen
in the Elgin Rooms of the British Museum. The sculp-
tures are somewhat less * relieved ' from the general surface
than the bas-reliefs just mentioned, but they are apparently
quite as finely chiselled and in a much better state of
preservation.

It was on this inner wall that the measurements of
705 feet by 588 feet were taken, extending from the outer
doorpost on the one side of the building to that on the
opposite side.

Bas-reliefs abound on the walls almost everywhere
throughout the ruin ; but it is on the outside of this inner
wall of the corridor that they are particularly abundant

166 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

and extensive. Taking the sum of the four sides, there is
nearly half a mile of almost continual sculpture on these
four walls alone ; and representing various scenes, most of
which are of a warlike character, while one side in
particular is occupied by what appears to be a tug-of-war
on a large and ancient scale. Scores of men on one side
are doing their utmost to pull over exactly the same
number of men on the other side, while the umpire, or
whoever he may be, represented by a larger figure than the
rest, is seen in the middle between the two contending
parties, and sitting on the back of a turtle, whatever
allegorical meaning that fact may contain. It is obvious,
then, that the wish of each party is not only to pull over
the other one, but also to turn the turtle. The expression
to ' turn turtle ' is generally understood as mere modem
slang, but here it was exemplified since ancient days and
cut into the stone.

On some other side, the bas-reliefs represent warriors
fighting with shields, spears, bows and arrows, war-horses
and war-chariots ; or perhaps a group of prisoners and slaves
led captive by their conquerors ; and though I looked
with care, I could not see any weapons so modem as even
a mortar or a Brown Bess ; for these figures only represented
the feats of the brave days of old, when there was man to
man and steel to steel. The few representations of horses
were particularly good, as if drawn from quite a different
stamp from the samples of the equine species that exist in
the country nowadays.

While sajring this about the equine species of Indo-
China at the present period, I know I am going against the
generally received opinion that the ponies of this country
are a very fine breed. The mistake has arisen from seeing
an occasional fine pony in places like Saigon and Bangkok.
These fine ponies, however, are the pick of hundreds, while
most of them are very small. As a class they may
practically be considered as a second-rate edition of the
Pegu ponies of Burmah, which latter may be counted as
the best of this particular variety of horseflesh.

But perhaps the most interesting of all these sculptures
is the one to be seen in the middle of the east side of this
same wall. This piece is a few feet from the ground, and
is about four or five feet high, and somewhat more in a

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 167

horizontal direction. It consists of engraved writing which
is still fairly distinct, and which we were told had never
yet been satisfactorily deciphered. If the inscription could
be read aright it might throw some real side-lights alike on
the building and the builders.

The first half of the double line leading from the main
entrance, and marked (3) in the figure, represents a flight
of stone steps leading up to the second platform ; and all
the other double lines represent roofed corridors (8), (9),
and (10), between pillars on the outer sides and walls on
the inner ones. The central square, suri^ounded and crossed
in a crucial way by roofed corridors (10), is reached from
the west by a very steep and long flight of stone steps, and
both at the corners and in the middle are similar flights of
steps, as represented in the figure, the flights at the comers
leading in two different directions, as duly laid down in the
diagram. This, as will be seen, is an exact square, approxi-
mately 189 feet on each side along the inner wall of the
corridor ; and each of the four angles of the square is sur-
mounted by a tower (5) of big stones, while in the very centre
is the biggest tower (6) of all, beneath which is a vary large
figure of Buddha, in profound contemplation as usual, as
well as with the flat feet and orthodox toes already com-
mented on in these pages.

The guide was anxious to bring us to see what he called
the homb'homb. This was a small room only a few feet wide
along the side of the second platform, and its virtue con-
sisted of the fact that it gave out a peculiar echo. And
yet it was scarcely an echo either, as the surrounding walls
were too near the speaker for that purpose. When speak-
ing, the voice sounded as if the person were speaking into
the mouth of a very great boiler, with a very narrow neck ;
and on tapping the breast smartly with the, closed hand,
the chest emitted a sound, as if it were quite empty, without
any lungs at all, and to which physicians apply the term
* emphysematous.' The guide was very proud of his bomb-
bomb, as he called it, but I did not think much of it. The
sound must be the merest accident, without any previous
design whatever on the part of the ancient architects. A
very marked echo was once pointed out to me in a narrow
passage in the mausoleum of the famous Chinese emperor
Yungl6, who, with several other Chinese emperors of the

168 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

Ming dynasty, is buried some twenty-five or thirty miles
to the nortli of Pekin. But this echo, also, is probably an
accident, and not at all the result of profound fore-
thought.

On the first platform, halfway between the north-west
comer of it and that of the second platform of Angkor- Wdt,
there are the ruins of a largish temple (11), and a similar
one is to be seen between the south-west comers of these
platforms respectively The same process (12) is repeated
on a smaller scale between the same angles of the second
and third platforms. We looked for the same kind of
temples to the north-east and south-east corners of these
platforms, but the temples were never represented on the
east side at all.

The amount of earth required to fill in these
platforms must have been enormous, as may be seen at a
glance at the length of the sides of the first platform,
roughly calculated at 705 feet by 588 feet, and of the second
platform, 405 feet by 345 feet. As the general run of the
country is quite flat about Angkor- Wdt, this vast accumula-
tion of earth leads one to the conclusion that the great moat,
which converts the locality into an island, must really be
mostly artificial, and that the earth taken out of it must
have been used to fill in these separate platforms during
the progress of the building.

Otherwise the building is entirely composed of stones,
including walls, floors, roofs, windows, doorposts, and what
not. The windows are formed of round upright columns of
stone, worked in a way that makes them look as if they
had been fashioned in a turning lathe. And it is between
the intervals of these ornamental stone bars that the light
of heaven is admitted from the outside.

The size of the stones varies according to the purpose
which they serve ; but they may generally be described as
distinctly ponderous. Sometimes a single stone or two forms
the side of a door or one of the numberless pillars sup-
porting the roofs of the extensive corridors. But who
carried them, or how their great ponderosity ever got there,
is a question not easily answered.

The quality of the stones seems to vary greatly, from
the hardness of granite to that of freestone, sandstone, or
even laterite. The building seems to have been very much

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 169

used before being finally deserted, and the worn condition
of some of the flights of steps bears ample testimony to the
countless priests who must have trod on them during the
past ages. These steps reveal a lateritious formation, even
to the casual observer, whereas the great heavy stones in
the walls would give one the idea of being composed of a
much denser and more enduring material.

Sculptures are to be met almost everywhere throughout
the ruins, those in sheltered situations being, of course, much
better preserved than those more exposed to the elements,
as many of them are. The building altogether is more
remarkable for its great extent and elaborate sculptures
than for its height, and the central tower, which is the
highest part of the building, is probably not much more
than two hundred feet high, if even quite so much. On
this account the first view of Angkor- WAt, when walking
towards the main entrance, is not particularly imposing, as
it nowhere presents a bold, prominent front to the observer ;
and it is only after looking well over it that the visitor is
struck with its magnitude and original grandeur.

There are several other ruins scattered here and there
throughout the jungles of this country jv and next to Angkor-
Wdt the largest is Angkor-Th6m, sometimes called Nakkon-
Luang by the Siamese. It is only three or four miles to
the north of Angkor-Wdt, and is surrounded by the same
kind of extensive wall noted in connection with Angkor-
Wat, but said to be still more extensive, and to enclose
scores and even hundreds of acres. Angkor-Th6m and the
other ruins in that portion of the country are supposed to
represent the remains of the capital town of ancient Kumer.

The path from Siam-R^ap to Angkor-Wdt, and es-
pecially that from Angkor- Wdt to Angkor-Th6m, passes
through a very magnificent forest with some very large
trees, conspicuous among which may be seen the splendid
Dammer-pine, from which the dammer of commerce is ob-
tained. Though the trees that supply the dammer are
called pines, yet they do not appear to be pines at all, or
perhaps the resin known as dammer may be obtained from
different kinds of trees. Among other purposes, the natives
themselves use this dammer for making torches, as well as
for making their boats watertight, just in the same way
that we use the pitch obtained from the pitch-pine ; and

170 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

their water vessels are also invariably made by close-fitting
wickerwork of bamboo slips, soaked and seasoned in this
resinous dammer till they get as watertight as the skin of
a whale, besides being extremely light to carry. They
extract the resin from these big trees by chopping a gap
into the side of it near the ground and placing smouldering
embers in the hollow so chopped out. The resin then oozes
down and gradually accumulates in this hollow till taken
away by the owner. We saw several of these great trees
scorched in this way during the journey from Angkor- Wdt
to Angkor-Th6m, and in the hollow cleft of one pi them
there still remained a quantity of the brown dammer resin
not yet taken away.

During this trip, as during the previous one to Angkor-
Wdt, both Sancho the interpreter and myself were gaily
riding on fiery steeds. As we approached the main gate
of the vast, park-like enclosure, we found the floor of the
gateway raised a few feet from the ground by a large
number of big stones, some of which were not in such
regular order as they doubtless were when originally laid
down. Sancho, who was a very light squire, got over it
on his Dapple easily enough, and I hoped that my Bozin-
ante would rise to the occasion also ; but he came down
in the effort with me still sitting on his back. I expected
to be violently shaken ofi' when he struggled on to his legs
again, but the poor little beast never did struggle, but laid
quietly there till I came off at leisure. This was only our
second mount on the whole journey, and did not encourage
us to make much further use of these small creatures in the
future.

Angkor- Th6m is much more in ruins than Angkor- Wdt,
and is also probably less extensive, though equally massive
in its architecture, if not even more so. It is also on a
different plan from Angkor- Wdt, and is less easily traced,
on account of its completely tumble-down condition.
What remains of Angkor-Th6m now would rather point
to some great private residence than to a monastery like
Angkor- Wdt ; but it need not be described in detail, as it
is so completely in ruins. Several other less extensive ruins
are scattered about, but require no particular mention here,
as I was not able to visit them ; and none of them are so
extensive as either Angkor- Wdt or Angkor-Th6m.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 171

t

And now, gentle reader, have you been able to follow
the description of Angkor-Wdt ? Well, if you have, I am
very glad to hear it, as I have scarcely been able to follow
it myself when writing it. But let us return to lighter
themes.

Nobody, as I said, knows with any certainty who built
Angkor-Wdt, or at what period of the world's history the
work was originally constructed. It cannot possibly be the
remains of the Tower of Babel (!), for the fable about
Angkor- Wd,t is that it was built by angels, which would at
once do away with the Tower- of-Babel theory, for the
builders of it could not be angels, anyway, or they would
not have been dispersed as they were.

The fable proceeds that there was once a king of the
country called Prak^t-Maldia, and this king of Kumer was
the son of an angel, and this son of an angel was very pious
and good to the destitute ; in fact, he was a real Gha/rib-
purwar (friend of the poor), as they say in Hindustan.
And the kind angels his half-brothers and sisters, and his
cousins and his aunts, were all anxious to do the good king
a good turn for his piety and goodness. And so one fine
morning the good king woke, and beheld Angkor- Wdt !
There it was, built during the night by his angelic relatives,
and ready for the good king to occupy. And the good king
was so very, very good, and so humble and self-denying,
that he did not like to live in such a splendid palace, and
he asked the consent of the angels. Aiid the angels, they
' gave their consent. And when the angels had given their
consent, the good king handed over the beautiful building
to the ph/ra8y the pious monks, and he himself Hved ever
after in abstraction and retirement.

Such is the fable about the building of Angkor- Wdt.
Some of the large stones have a round shallow hole in them,
almost exactly like that driven into stones before blasting,
but our trusty guide said that this was the, place where the
angels caught the stones when placing them in position.
Only the very largest stones have this peculiar mark at all,
and there is generally one hole only in each stone, so that
the angels that built Angkor- Wdt must have had one finger
only, or at most one finger and a thumb. Something of the
same kind of story, but not actually the same, was told me
when visiting the famous shrine of Borobodo in the island

172 THROUGH THE BUFFEK STATE

of Java Bomn years ago {* Toil and Travel,' p. 136). But in
that cajae it was only men who built the dirine, and they
took only three days to do it by the great favour of the
Buddha, and without the noise of maul or hammer.

Both Angkor- Wdt and Borobodo are doubtlessly
Buddhist ruins, and as the Buddhist religion is only some
550 years older than the Christian one, it follows that
neither of these buildings can be quite 2,500 years old.
But whether the one or the other of them was built by
angels it is very difficult to say. Neither of these magnifi-
cent buildings, however, is probably older than the sixth
century of the Christian era. Sir Stamford Raffles, who
was Governor of Java during the British occupation of
that lovely island, speaks of Borobodo as probably the finest
ancient monument in the world, and in his * History of Java,'
as quoted by Kussel Wallace, concludes in this fashion about
it:—

The amount of human labour and skill expended in the great
pyramids of Egypt sinks into insignificance when compared to that
required to complete this sculptured hill-temple in the interior of
Java.

If Sir Stamford Baffles had seen Angkor- Wdt he would
give it the preference over Borobodo, large and massive
though it is. But at the time of Sir Stamford Raffles — which
is not very long ago either, the ancient ruins of Angkor-
Wdt had probably never been seen by a European. The
style of the buildings is essentially different, of course,
Angkor- Wd,t being a monastery, while Borobodo is a solid
structure without any interior. In short, it is a cairn on a
gigantic scale, and belongs to a class of structure technically
known under the name of stupa. Yet the labour expended
over Angkor- Wat has probably been much greater than
that expended over even the Borobodo, as, I think, most
people would admit who happened to see the two ruins.

As I had previously seen the Borobodo in Java, as well
as Angkor-Wdt in the kingdom of Kumer, I took the oppor-
tunity of visiting the Pyramids of Egypt on my way home.
The Pyramids, though more massive, are not so elaborate
in workmanship alls either Borobodo or Angkor-WAt. If all
these ruins, the most magnificent of ancient times, were dis-
covered recently, and nobody knew anything about them,
Angkor- Wdt, in the opinion of most people, would take the

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 178

first place, with the great Pyramid of Cheops third. It
must, however, be admitted that the Pyramids are far
older and of more scientific importance than either q£ the
others.

It is strange that so shrewd an observer as Sir Stamford
Raffles should ascribe the monuments of Java to the Hindoo
religion ; and in this opinion he is apparently followed by
Dr. Russel Wallace, who, however, says that he did not see
the best of them himself. But neither Dr. Wallace nor Sir
Stamford Raffles was probably familiar with the monuments
of India, the original home of both Hinduism and Buddhism
alike. And there is scarcely any monument, even in India
itself, to be compared in their own way with the two monu-
ments under observation ; for the monuments even of Agra
and Delhi are of comparatively modem origin when com-
pared with these ancient ruins.

Not because India is not so old as either Java or Kumer,
but because the ancient Indians, both Buddhists and
Hindoos, went in more for artificial underground caves,
such as the well-known Elephanta caves in a small island
in the Bombay harbour, and the Ellora caves, a couple of
hundred miles north-east of Bombay, which are the largest
artificial caves to be found anywhere. But whatever some
of the other monuments of Java may be, Borobodo certiainly
had never anything to do with the Hindoo religion. It is
in fact a solid stupa, typical of the Buddhist religion, and
by far the most magnificent of its kind in existence, just
the same as Angkor- Wdt is the most magnificent old
monastery in connection with that faith, or with any
other.

The stupa form is probably the most ancient memorial
of Buddhist worship, from which the modem white and
gilded pagoda has been latterly developed ; and the oldest
of them all is the stupa known under the name of Samath,
four or five miles away on the outskirts of Benares, where
Gotauma Buddha is said to have first begun to preach his
doctrines. But that stupa is a mere cairn compared with
Borobodo ; for though Buddha was born in India, and first
promulgated his religion there, yet Buddhism seems never to
have prevailed over India itself to the same extent as it did in
Ceylon, Java, and Further Asia. And, as if to confirm the
beUef that Borobodo is a Buddhist shrine, we once came

174 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

across a very small temple in Java, not far from Borobodo,
vriih a large image of Buddha, as typical and complete as
any to be seen in Burmah or Japan, even to the length of
his finger nails. ^

It is probable, then, that most, if not all the ancient
monuments of Java, are of Buddhist and not of Hindoo
origin. It must not be forgotten that the styles of sculp-
ture, and other peculiarities of the two religions, are not
always distinct in every detail, but that they sometimes
encroach upon, and overlap one another. The occurrence,
for instance, of an image of the Hindoo goddess Durga
among the ruins of Java would by no means prove the
same ruins to be of Hindoo origin. And with regard to
the caves of India itself, for another example, it is generally
admitted by antiquaries that it was the Buddlusts who
were the first cave-diggers in this ancient country. Yet
in the Ellora caves, the largest in India, sculptures sym-
bolical of Hinduism and Buddhism are to be found in
different portions of the same caves. And indeed it is not
in architecture and sculpture alone that different religions
overlap one another. For it is so with even the tenets of
religions (a much more important matter), as may easily be
seen from the remnants of Druidical paganism that still
remain among ourselves, after fourteen or fifteen centuries
of Christianity.

As the Borobodo, in short, is the king of solid struc-
tures, so is Angkor-Wdt the king of monasteries — only
more so. The Buddhists have a weakness in building their
monasteries in a rectangular fashion, with courtyards
inside, even to this day ; and I was at one time living in
the monastery connected with the Arrakan Pagoda near

1 I have left these paragraphs as they stood in my manascript, which
was written far away from a good library. But while thus venturing to
disagree with the supposed authority of Sir Stamford Raffles, on the
authority of my own personal observations in various Eastern lands, I am
very pleased to find that I was unconsciously confirming it. For on reacb-
inff once again Britannia's rugged shores, I took the opportunity of con-
sulting Sir Stamford's ' History of Java,* and in vol. ii. p. 66, found the
following conclusive passage : * With respect to the remains of architectural
grandeur and sculptural beauty which I have noticed, I shall simply
observe that it seems to be the general opinion of those most versed in
Indian antiquities, that the large temple of Borobodo (a corruption perhaps
of Bar^ Buddha or Great Budh) and several others, were sacred to the
worship of Budh.'

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 175

Mandalay, which was built on this very principle. We
were in fact living in the rooms from which the priests
had just been ousted as a temporary measure. But though
bearing some resemblance in its rectangular mode of
construction, this monastery was no more to be compared
to Angkor- Wdt than the Sarnath near Benares could be
compared with the Borobodo of Java. All the temples in
Benares, the holiest city in India, could in fact be ac-
commodated in the vast park-like enclosure I have already
mentioned in connection with Angkor- Wdt.

Putting aside the angelic theory, it is curious to know
how Angkor- Wdt was really built. It is a long, long dis-
tance away from the sea, and no stone or quarry of the
kind contained in it can be discovered at all within a
reasonable distance, as almost all this particular portion of
the country is composed of alluvial deposit only.

And then as to who built it. The present inhabitants
of Kumer, without being mere degraded savages, are
certainly as simple and non-inventive as most people ; and
the whole of their brains put together (and well shaken up)
could not execute so excellent a design as the ruins of
Angkor- Wdt, to save their very souls. Is this, then, the
same kind of people as lived in Kumer in ancient times ?
The same remark applies equally well to Java, when its
ancient ruins and present population are compared and
considered. Are, therefore, the present inhabitants of Java
and Kumer the descendants of more civilised ancestors, or
are they a different people altogether from those who
devised and built the mysterious monuments to be found
in these countries? Sir John Lubbock is probably too
bold when he writes on this subject : —

*That existing savages are not the descendants of
civilised ancestors. That the primitive condition of man
was one of utter barbarism.'

But the terms * savagery ' and * civilisation ' them-
selves are of such wide and vague significance, as not at
all easy to be properly defined ; and, like religion, people
might argue indefinitiely about them without coming to any
satisfactory conclusion. Many people will think that if all
restraint and example were withdrawn, it would only be
too easy for human nature to relapse, if not into utter bar-
barism, at least dangerously near it.

176 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

Sir John Lubbock is apparently an out-and-out evolu-
tionist. But one hesitates to abandon 'the grand old
gardener and his wife/ till at any rate he gets something
equally good to put in their place, and this is scarcely
supplied by the oyster, the jelly-fish, or even that funny
little crystal that the funny little German philosopher is
keeping up his sleeve. When Dean Swift said that it was
a bold man who first ate an oyster, he ought really to have
said that it was a bad as well as a bold man who first did
so ; for by the modern theory of evolution (which, by the
way, had not been evolved in Swift's time), he was really a
most loathsome cannibal, eating and devouring one of the
'Ancient House' from which he himself was lineaUy
descended.

But neither Darwin nor even his antagonists seem
ever to have conceived the idea that whatever involves a
hypothesis may also involve an antithesis. Granted for
argument's sake, that the story of the original horticultural
couple is not true, how do these philosophers know but
that man was the first organism created, and that all the
other forms of life may have literally descended and
degenerated from him, instead of ascending towards him )
This theory seems never to have entered the heads of the
wise men ; and I give it them therefore for what it is
worth, as a sop for the next meeting of the British
Association, and with the hope that they will call it the
theory of 2)6-volution, as opposed to ^-volution ; or, if they
like — The MacGregor Theory !

It must always be remembered that progress, in what-
ever sphere, is the result of an effort, while degeneracy is
but the result of mere negation. To keep the engine
going, whether mental, physical, or vital, you must needs
feed it with the food convenient for it. To let it play
itself out, you have simply to do nothing. Restrain your
hand from feeding the helpless infant, and you need not do
anything more, for the infant decays and dies as a matter
of course. Only take away the spark of life, and the body
naturally crumbles into the dust whence it came. Should
God but withdraw His mysterious hand from this beautiful
universe, Cosmos would at once become Chaos. Why has
the Perpetual Motion never been (Jiscovered ? Because it
presumes to go eternally of its own free will, without any

THROUGH THE BITFFEB STATE 177

effort— without a feeding-bottle, so to speak. And this I
fancy, it can never, never do, for it can't get on without it

But let us resume our march to Siam-R^ap, for now we
must direct our course southwards towards modem Cam
bodia and Cochin-China. After staying at Siam-R^ap one
more night on our way, we duly proceeded to Lake Tel^-
Sdp, which hterally means ' The Great Lake,' as it is really
one of the largest lakes in Further Asia, though compara-
tively so little known. For Asia, though abounding in lofty
mountains and noble rivers, is wonderfully deficient in
large lakes, as compared with America, or even with Africa
After tramping seven or eight miles, we met the boats that
were intended to take us through the whole length of Tel^
Sdp, for they could not get up to Slam -Rap itself, as there
was not enough water in the river at this season.

The two boats were the * Roderick Dhu' and the 'Lirlv
of the I^ke' The « Roderick Dhu ' was theCger aS
heavier of the two boats, and had a complement of four
oarsmen, whereas the ' Lady of the Lake,' being lighter and
more graceful, had only three. West, Valloo, and the
Kumer guide went into the larger one, as well as most of
the luggage; while the little bird 'Jimmy' and myself
stayed m the smaller and handier craft. Though onlv
eleven persons all told, we were of diverse tongues There
was Englis^ which West and I spoke, and nobody else ;
there was Hindustani, which Valloo and I spoke ^verv
badly), and nobody else ; there was Siamese, which West
and the new guide spoke, and nobody else ; and, finally
there was the Kumer language, which the guide and crew
spoke among themselves— and nobody else. And thus it
ha,ppened that it was through the tedious process of ner-
colation that we were able to communicate at all with one
anottker ; and thus we floundered and blundered alono-

Roughly speaking, each of the boats would be twenty to
twenty-five feet long, and six or seven feet wide in the
middle, where it was covered with a kind o^ matting hood
*"i,*i P™*«e*»°'' from the sun by day and the dews by night
while the fore and after parts were left exposed for the nur'
poses of rowing Neither of the boats had any maste or
sails, as at this time of the year the wind was expected to
bbw against us aU the way-and so, indeed, it did. The
Roderick Dhu was more complex in its interior, but that

R

178 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

of the 'Lady of the Lake' oould be covered over with
several separate pieces of bamboo framework that served
the purpose of hatches, and when these pieces were placed
in position, the ' Lady of the Lake ' presented a flush deck,
so to speak, from stem to stem. It was therefore entirely
open to the breeze coming from either of these directions,
though the hood in the middle obstructed the breeze from
either side. And so it was across the middle of the boat,
under this canopy, and over this bamboo so-called deck,
that I stretched my mattress, and spent the next eight
days to cDme.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 179

CHAPTER XVIII

There's a lady on land and a lady at sea,
To make a man happy as happy can be.
But the ' Lady of the Lake ' is the lady for me.

Trifflea in Triplets.

Mirage Village — Wife *o'er the Border '-^An afternoon Visit —
Kampong-Eham — ^Native fishing-nets — A roagh day's work —
Tyndall and the soand of falling Waters — Relapsing into utter
Barbarism — Charab, the Chatterer— Reach region of Modern
Cambodia — Pr6am-Pr6stong— Fishing a la mode with the Boat's
Tillfer — Trawling and other Methods — Pelicans and * The Ancient
Mariner ^—>-Charaby the Jingo — Cast away at Night-time — Mode
of Mooring Boats— It*s all Specific Gravity.

When we had got everything on board, we found that both
the boats had taken the ground, and required a deal of
yelling and shouting before we got them off again ; and
then we floated down the river in our little light canoes,
like the nigger minstrels from old Kentucky's shore. A
little later on we reached the lake, and there at last was
the great Teld-Sdp in front of us, in all its muddy glory.
In the distance, a mile or two from the shore, we could see
a real village that looked very odd so far away from land,
and assumed the appearance of a mirage on the surface of
the water.

This being another Saturday, we got the boats moored
at this amphibious-looking village, and there stayed the
whole of next day, before making our first start across the
treacherous waves. The house near which we moored the
boats belonged to the principal amphibian, who was a
Chinaman, and was in fact a fish-curer, who bought the
fish from the Kumer fishermen. We got quite accustomed
to these queer villages later on, but none of them looked
so queer as this one, on account of its novelty on first
presentation. These villages are all only temporary

n3

^^

180 THROUaH THE BTOFER STATE

structures of the most flimsy character, built of bamboos,
and supported on piles firmly driven into the muddy
bottom, and roofed with the usual palm-leaves.

Our visit happened to be at the very height of the fishing
season. For it is only when the water is comparatively
low that the fishing is carried on, and in less than a month
after this the rain would come, the lake would rise and
swell, and the very village itself would be deep, deep
beneath the surface of the waves ; so that it would be
nothing more than a mere name without a habitation. No
great damage would be done, however, as the houses are
practically worth nothing, except the supj^orting piles,
which would remain till the water would subside again,
and then the wattle houses would easily be built on the top
of them, and the fishing and everything else would go on
as merrily as before.

West, who spoke Chinese, was made very welcome by
this Chinese fish-curer, and lived with the family during our
brief stay. The Chinaman made us all welcome, but as I
could not speak the lingo, I preferred to remain on board
the ' Lady of the Lake,' and climb up from it now and again
to have a chat under difficulties through the interpreter.
There were two or three other fish-curers at this village,
all of them Chinese, but this was the principal of them all.
He, too, had a Kumer wife and family, as well as a Chinese
wife and family ' o'er the JBorder,' the same as the Chinee
we previously met at Kalldn. In this case also the wives
were not a bit jealous of one another, and I did not care to
ask the Kumer wife, lest it might cause domestic broils
after I left the locality.

He was curing, he said, eight different kinds of fish,
which he did by drying them in the sun on the ample
bamboo terrace around hi^ bamboo house. And the
reason, of course, that these queer villages exist at all is
the extreme shaUowness of the lake towards the shore,
preventing boats coming near it when loaded with fish.

In the darkening twilight I withdrew my boat from
the houses into the open, so as to let her swing to the
breeze. Soon afterwards there was far too much of a
breeze, as it began to blow so strong that I could not
trust the rickety moorings, and as I slept alone in the boat,
I had to get them strengthened lest it might be blown

Lakr Dwelling on TsLfe-SAp,

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 181

across the lake during the silent watches. , And as it
turned out afterwards, I did get blown away in this
manner on a future occasion, though not at the present
one, for we found this lake rather squally during our passage
through it.

These squalls surprised me at first, as there are no
mountains at all near the lake in this region, the general
aspect of the ground being as fiat as possible ; and I can
only conclude that the squalls occur here as on the plains
of hot countries generally, by the heating of the soil during
the scorching hot season, which was here at its very
hottest ; and that the squalls extend over the lake for
some distance from the shore, if not right across it. The
Chinaman said that these squalls became more and more
frequent till the very bursting of the periodic rains,
exactly the same as takes place over the arid plains of
India, and gives rise to those whirlwinds and sand-storms
familiarly known in that country under the expressive
name of * devUsJ

Next afternoon we went in a small dug-out to visit the
houses of some of the fishermen a little way off, and found
them primitive enough. They were arranged in rows, and
each house in a given row communicated with its neigh-
bour over stretches of creaking and bending bamboos,
across which only an expert could trfeivel with safety, and
worse even than the frail Dyak bridges of Borneo. After
trying this mode of progression, we very soon got tired of
it, and were glad enough to get back to the boats again,
with the dug-out half -full of water, as the weather got so
squally while we were away, that the waves splashed into
it. The * Lady of the Lake ' had also been tumbling about
on her own account, resulting in the breaking of one of
the lamps, a matter of no great importance on ordinary
occasions, but quite a different affair in our wanderings,
when we could not get another to replace it.

As it was very hot, even though squally, I resorted
to a bath in the lake that same day. But the water was
only waist deep, and was so muddy, and the bottom so
soft, that I thought I should not bathe in the Tel^-Sdp in a
hurry again. Yet I did bathe in it frequently afterwards,
sometimes as often as three times a day, just for the sake
of having something to do ; and fortunately, though there

182 THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

were more than plenty fish to nibble at one's legs,
there were no Yoracioos crocodiles to devour people
altogether.

The water of the lake at this village of Chongkan^t
was very filthy, as all sorts of abominations found their
way into it. We asked the Chinaman whether they ever
attempted to purify it in any way before drinking it, when
he replied that they did not, that the water was very good,
as the fish about the village ate up everything. And so
they ate the dirty fish, with as much relidb as King
Norodom of Cambodia swigged his magnums of cham-
pagne.

The dawn of Monday morning appeared at last, and
soon after we unloosed our moorings, waved good>bye to
the Chinaman, and sailed on our first lake journey. And
so we rowed away, passing interminable fishing stakes be-
tween us and the shore, which we kept two or three miles
to our left. The lake seemed actually swarming with fish,
and in the early morning one of them jumped into the
^ Lady of the Lake ' to wish us good luck ; and so we
cooked him for breakfast for his kind good wishes.

That night we reached the floating and fishing village
of Kampong-Kham without any occurrence worthy of
remark. The village, though not so large, was a replica
of Changkan^at, that we had left in the morning. It was
dark when we got there, but on getting up next morning, we
saw some fishing nets hanging to dry on the bamboo
railings that stretched between the houses, and went over
to see what they were like. They were composed of
tanned twine, with meshes of about the same size as thpse
used for sea trout along our own coast, and were seven or
eight feet deep. Their length, of course, would vary at
pleasure, and we then saw that the most usual system of
fishing on the lake was by trawling, as I shall describe
more in detail when I shall have gone in for the business
myself.

Our next day's trip was a very trying one, and it began
to blow and thunder and rain in a very pronounced
manner. Two or three times were we compelled to moor
the boats, and thrice did we try to make progress again.
We had to give it up at last, without being able to make
a fair day's journey. For though we tried hard to reach

THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 183

the shelter of the next fishing village, we were quite
unable to do so, and had at last to moor the boats two or
three miles away from land, ' and take our chance for the
morrow. The squalls would not last very long. They
seldom do. And soon after, the weather would be as calm
and serene as before. But as long as they did last, the
boats, being flat-bottomed, tumbled about like tubs on the
waves. The lake also being very shallow, only a few feet
even out here, and the water being fresh water, the waves
would rise rapidly with the wind, and as rapidly subside
again when the wind was over.

I watched some of these heavy rain-pours in the lake
with some little interest, for they were as heavy as almost
any raindrops I had previously seen. Professor Tyndall
had died not long before I left India, and in one of his
obituary notices I had read that he was the first to point
out that the noise made by falling waters was due to the
minute air-globules contained in the same. No doubt rain-
drops in their descent take up air both in solution and sus-
pension, but, watching these great liquid blobs flopping in
millions in the lake around us, and making their peculiar
blobby sound, I thought that the mere impact of the water-
blobs themselves would be quite enough to account for tlie
blobbery, if Tyndall had not said otherwise.

A little bird apparently got blown from the land by the
squalls this day, and settled down on the boat's head, but
flew away when we tried to catch him. By the time that
the night shades had fallen, the wind was quite calm again,
and the water without a ripple. We asked the Kumer
guide if this was the beginning of the rainy season. But
it was not, and would not be yet for nearly a month. This
was a dreary enough night, as everybody got drenched to
the skin with the rain, and looked very miserable. Besides,
I had just run out of my tobacco, and of the flour with
which the gallant Yalloo used to cook my bannocks. No
wonder, then, that we felt miserable. In fact, we were
rapidly relapsing into utter barbarism, eh, Sir John Lub-
bock?

The new Kumer guide that we brought with us to
Angkor-Wdt and through the lake was rather interesting
in his way, and full of superstition, like most others of his
kind. At night the boats were usually moored only a few

184 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

feet from one another, and, whenever the shades fell, he and
West kept up a continuous noisy chatter, every philosophic
opinion of West being clinched with the wonis charab,
charab by his new companion. The words charab^ charab
began to ring in my ears at last, and I asked what they
meant, when West said the English word for chovrab was
the word ^ good ' ; that, in fact, it was used in conversation
as we use the words * very good, very good ' — as an expres-
sion of consent to the speaker. The meaning of the word
charab in Hindustani is ' bad,' just the very opposite of its
meaning in Siamese ; and so we nicknamed the new guide
with the name of Charab during the rest of the voyage ; and,
as the oarsmen took it up, it has probably stuck to him ever
since. There is much efficacy in a good nickname judiciously
chosen. For here was this Kumer guide rejoicing in the
name of Charab^ because the word meant * good,' while a
Hindoo would be highly offended by it, because the very
identical word meant * bad ' in his vocabulary.

We had now actually left behind us the southern bound-
ary of that portion of Kumer, or ancient Cambodia, that now
belongs to Siara, and were steering our way through the por-
tion of the lake within the limits of modem Cambodia, of
which the puppet king is still alive. Among the crew of
the 'Lady of the Lake' was a young Kumer lad, who could
not be more than sixteen or seventeen years old. He was
a gay, cheerful little fellow, but his incessant labour at the
oar must often have tired him out ; and he had been taken
on board by the rest of the crew because he was an orphan
boy who had lost father and mother when a mere child. I
therefore frequently took a spell at this young lad's oar, in
the mornings and evenings, when the sun would not be too
overpoweringly hot, so as to relieve the young lad from the
weariness of doing too much, and myself from that of doing
too little.

The men rowed in the open sun in the space before and
behind the hood in the middle of the boat, and, of course,
no European would row in such a position in the heat of
the day, if he could possibly help it. The Cambodians
row like the Siamese, and they all do so standing up and
looking forwards, like a Venetian gondolier. This style of
rowing, though looking difficult at first, is not really hard
to learn, and, after a few trials, I could row fairly well for

THBOUaH THE BUFFEE STATE 185

a short spell, but could not stick to the business like the
crew, who kept on jogging at it with exemplary perse-
verance.

On Wednesday afternoon we reached Pr^am-Pr^stong",
on the west side of the lake, for here the two sides of it
approach one another within six or seven miles in a kind
of hour-glass constriction, after which the lake broadens
away again in a south and south-easterly direction. We
arrived early at this village, and were fortunately in good
time to see the people trawling for fish. A net like the one
I have described, and some one or two hundred yards
long, passed, but was not stretched, between two boats.
The boats kept moving slowly onward, keeping their dis-
tance from one another, and dragging the net after them.
The slack of the net naturally bulged away behind, and in
the middle of this bulging portion was a kind of cul-de-sac,
or big, narrow-necked bag of the same network material.

In the hollow formed by the bulging out of the net
behind, a couple of men walked in the shallow water in
front of the nets, as they were being slowly dragged through
the water by the boats, and each of them was armed with
a thickish stick. Whenever any of the fish, which appeared
to be pretty abundant, got caught in the meshes of the net,
it immediately began to splash vigorously, when one of the
men hurried over to get a hold of it while still entangled ;
and then, after catching it, he dealt it two or three smart
blows on the head with the stick, and so killed the fish,
and placed it in the receptacle just noted. Fish must have
very weak heads, as they are so easily killed by smart blows
on their empty skulls.

This was rare fun, we thought, and on the principle of
doing in Cambodia as the Cambodians do, I went over the
side of the boat, nearly as nude as the natives themselves ;
and, arming myself with the tiller of the * Lady of the
Lake,' began to help the fishermen in their work of
slaughter. And so did West, the valiant Valloo, and the
chattering * Charab.' And there I smote the fish on the
head with great precision, as if I had been brought up to
the business, much to the amusement of the rustic natives.
We enjoyed ourselves immensely this evening, after being
kept inactive so long in the boats, and we got as much
fijsh as we wanted for our trouble.

186 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

Most of the fish were about the size of a sea bream and
not at all unlike it, but thinner and deeper in shape. In
this same place, a little later on in the evening, we also
saw some people setting fishing lines, and waded over to
see what they were like. In general idea they were like
what is known as small-lines in the north of Scotland, but
with snoods only six or seven inches long, and with rather
rude hooks. But then I suppose the fish in lake Tel^-Sdp
are not so canny (1) as the Scotch fish, and are silly enough
to be imposed upon by anything. The bait on all the hooks
that we looked at consisted of fids of fish, which is pro-
bably the only bait available along the muddy shores of the
tideless Tel^-Sdp.

It is evident then that the fish is caught in several ways,
by hooks, by nets, by fishing stakes, and by spearing, which
last practice is mostly confined to the rivers that flow into
the Tele-Sdp towards the north, and to the largest of which
I have already referred, as passing through Arranh and
Sisophon, and finally falling into the north-west of the lake
below Battambong.

So wonderfully abundant, indeed, is the fish in this
lake, that when the latter retires after its usual annual
flood, the fish is frequently left high and dry on land during
the process, and in sufficient quantity to serve as manure
for the soil, which, however, one would think is rich
enough without it.

There were any number of fish -eating birds in this
neighbourhood, and, indeed, all over the lake, including
large flocks of pelicans, flamingoes, and other birds that I had
never seen before ; for the lake throughout must be a grand
feeding-ground for all fish-eating birds. At this place we
also saw large numbers of porpoises gambolling about.
Once or twice on the journey I tried to shoot one of the
pelicans. But I killed none, as they generally kept too
far away, and the boat bobbed about too much in the
water.

*Charab,' who was delightfully officious, deprecated
very much my trying to shoot the pelicans, and said that
if I did so a storm was sure to follow. Such are the
superstitions of various lands about the shooting or killing
of certain birds and animals ; for this was only another
version of the story of the albatross, and yet it is very

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 187

doubtful if 'Charab* had ever heard of the * Ancient
Mariner,' or the misfortunes that befell him after shooting
that bird of evil omen.

* Charab ' was a bit of a Jingo, and seemed very easily
alarmed. But whether he was really so, or only pretending,
in order to enhance his own business and personal import-
ance, I am unable to say. He was also such an incessant
talker, that, as his mouth was always full of the abomin-
able pansupariy his intonation was none of the clearest.
This inveterate habit of Indians and other teastem races
to chew their betel -nut and leaves is a very vile one, and
leaves their mouths so sloppy and foul when chewing this
favourite condiment of theirs. But neither among the
Indians, nor yet among the Burmese, is this habit carried
to such an extent as it is in Siam and the other parts we
were now travelling through.

* Charab ' was very anxious that we should not stay at
Pr^am-Pr^stong during the night, as he said this part of
the country was infested with Chinese robbers ; and that
a little while ago a boat belonging to a friend of his had
b<'en plundered in this locality, and that the crew had to
abandon the boat to save their lives, and let the Cantonese
robbers carry off everything of value in the boat. West,
who alone could speak to him, seemed to give credence to

* Charab's ' story, and, under the circumstances, there was
no use being too punctilious. However, it was too late to
leave our moorings, as it was now getting quite dark, and
we were two or three miles away from land.

During the first portion of the journey I was generally
armed, and seldom slept without a loaded revolver beside
my pillow, as a precaution against treachery on the part of
the natives. But the latter had almost invariably received
me with such unfailing goodwill, that I had lately dropped
this practice as being too much of the Captain Bobadil stylf^.
This night, however, at the importunity of both West and

* Charab,' I gave them my shot-gun and a few rounds of
cartridges into their boat, in order to give a warm welcome
to the Chinese raiders, and also kept myself prepared for
any surprise. Nothing happened. But it is only right to
say that the great majority of these accidents occur when
people are off their guard, without taking any precautions
for their personal safety. Yet though the robbers did not

188 THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

oome to attack * Charab/ another accident happened which
might have proved equally inconvenient.

At night-time everybody went on board the ' Roderick
Dhu/ leaving me alone to my private cogitations in the
* Lady of the Lake.' When starting on this part of the
trip, West was invited to put up at night in the same boat
as myself, if he liked to do so. He preferred, however, to
stay in his own boat, and he certainly had a more pleasant
time of it there, as he and 'Charab' were always busy
laying down the law on some important subject, for ' Charab'
seemed a real prince among chatterers, in spite of the quids
of pansupari that so frequently bulged out his cheeks and
marred his eloquence.

This particular night the wind began to blow hard, and
what did it do at last but drive my boat off her moorings,
when I was alone in her, and fast asleep. They did not
seem to keep a very good look-out on the other boat, in
spite of their dread of the Chinese robbers, and so none of
the men saw my boat driven away in the dark. Fortunately
one of them woke up by the tossing of their own boat, and
on looking about he missed mine. They immediately gave
chase and recovered my boat at last, while I was still as
sound asleep as Jonah. It would scarcely have been a
pleasant sensation on waking in the morning to find myself
alone, alone, all, all alone ; alone on this wild, wild lake,
perhaps out of sight of any shore ; and with neither food
nor fire, as everything of that sort was aboard the other boat.
Thus the accident of being cast away, which I considered
as a possible contingency on my first night at Tel^-Sdp, at
last took place, and it was fortunate for me that it ended
so harmlessly.

The wind subsided after a while, and the boats were
brought back to their former mooring ground after some
little trouble, during which the 'Roderick Dhu' injured
her stern. Having been so ruthlessly awakened I could
sleep no more that night, but sat up till daybreak, watching
the clouds scudding across the moon, which was then on the
wane, and had only ri^en a short while before. I did not
wonder much at the boat drifting away from her moorings.
The wonder was, I thought, that she did not do so oftener,
for the moorings of these boats are of the most primitive
character. They simply consist in driving into the soft

THEOUGH THE BUFFEB STATE

189

muddy bottom one or two long poles, which each boat carries
for that purpose. This alone shows at once how shallow
the greater portion of the lake is at this season, when we
could moor in this fashion two or three miles from land.

It was curious to note the easy way in which one of
these comparatively light men could drive these poles a
couple of feet or more into the muddy soil by only laying
their own weights upon the upper end of them from the
gunwale of the boat. And yet when they went overboard
themselves, as they sometimes did, they did not appear to
sink so deeply into the mud after all. But experience
teaches fools, and much more so men of ordinary common
sense. I used to notice when I went myself to bathe in the
lake that, when the water was shallow, I invariably sank into
the muddy bottom more than when the water was deep, and
came up, perhaps, to my shoulders ; and when I thought
about the matter the reason was not far to seek. When
the watfer was shallow the soft, deep mud had to bear all
my weight above the water-line, and I therefore sank
deeply ; whereas, when the water was deep enough to come
up to my shoulders, the greater part of my weight was
already nearly buoyed and balanced by the water itself,
and I tripped along the muddy bottom with a light, fantastic
toe. * Eureka ! ' said I. * I have found it. Why, it's the
' old, old tale of specific gravity after all.' And so, when
these rough piles got driven into the slimy ooze, they held
their grip tenaciously, especially when two were driven
together in slightly different directions. And, as a matter
of fact, the boat on this night got cast away, not by the
poles losing their hold, but by the rest of the gear breaking.
So much, then, for the crude but serviceable method of
mooring boats on the remote inland lake of Tel($-Sap.

190 THBOUOH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER XIX

* Jjet me,' he cried, ' onoe more again,
(}o tread my Mother Earth,
For there be perils on the main,
And oh, by Jove, that berth
Id cramped enough to make one roar
With pangs and paina — ^let*8 go ashore.

Tfie Landlubber'8 LulUiby,

Landing at Chunnok-Tr^n-- Chinese praying paper — Why do devils
wear shoes ?~ Outlets of Tel6-S&p — General remarks on ditto —
TelS-S&p's future prospects— The Giantess and the Pig — A truant
husband — Floating down the river — ^Beach Eampong-Chening
— A French frontier village — Beception by the French — Where,
where was Captain Bertuzzi now ? — Mispronunciation — * Mussoo,
MuBsoo Dooteur * — Steam launch * Cambodge * — Arrival at Pen-
bom-Penh — English the coming Yolapuk— But Gaelic shall
never die.

After duly repairing the stern of the * Boderick Dhu,'
which detained us some little time, we at length proceeded
on our way, coming in sight of a few hills in the distance
to the south. The lake, indeed, though generally known
as Tel^-Sdp throughout, is yet divided by the natives into
three different portions, known under three different names,
namely, Tel^-Sap (proper), comprising the portion to the
north of the constriction noted at Pr^iim-Pr^stong ; Tel^-
Chamuid, the portion widening to the south-east ; and
Tel^-P6kh, the portion more directly to the south, and at
this low- water season a good deal separated from the other
two portions by a series of islands, which are all covered
over during the rains.

On Friday we stayed for an hour or two at a place
called Chunnok-Tr^an, and were able to go ashore for the
first time since leaving Siam-R^ap, for this village was really
a terra-Jirma, and not a couple of miles away like most of
the other villages. In this fishing village there were any

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 191

number of Chinese, who apparently formed the greater
portion of the people. This also was the last of the fishing
villages of any considerable size. The lake all through
simply swarms with fish of different kinds, and it is doubt-
ful if any other two rivers in the world excel the Menam
and Mekong rivers, as well as lake Tele-Sdp, in their abund-
ance of the finny tribes.

We rambled among the bazaars whenever we got ashore,
and got a packet of Chinese praying paper, very cheap.
You don't know what a Chinese praying paper is ? Well,
at a certain time of the year, these valuable papers are
burnt by the pious Chinese of the interior as an offering
to the * devils.' That was the interpretation I got from West.
On the particidar praying paper in my hand were imprinted
various designs of what the * devils ' (sio) would receive when
these papers were burnt.

West had already puzzled me in his usage of the word

* devil ' in connection with his ghost stories, and it was not
till this occasion that I discovered the meaning which he
attached to it. I noticed on the paper in my hands various
representations of useful articles, such as a chair, a candle-
stick, a pigtail, and various articles of clothing. But what
struck me most was the figure of a pair of shoes. I remon-
strated with West why they should be offering anything to
devils, as they were very wicked, and deserved no offering or
goodwill of any kind. I could, however, see the use of a
candlestick, and even of a candle, if the devils could get
them by burning these papers on which they were depicted,
as they are supposed to be in a dark place. But I could
not see the use of the articles of clothing shown on the
paper, and as for the shoes, they were simply preposterous.

* Why,' cried I, in a burst of righteous indignation, * why
do they offer anything to devils, for they are the enemies of
mankind, and never do. any good ; and why the shoes — for
surely they are in a hot enough place not to require them ? '
Then West explained that the * devils,' as he called them,
were the «ouls or ghosts of departed relatives, and this also
explained why he used the same term to the Fonteanas
that ran after him on a previous occasion.

We left Chunnok-Tr^an later on in the day, and that
night moored near two small islands. There was some
di&culty on this occasion for the first time in getting good,

192 THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

soft enough ground to stick the poles in ; so the mud, like
everything else, has its own special uses, of which the casual
observer is not always aware. The lake widened again
beyond these islands, and after crossing this portion a few
miles wide, we entered the largest eflSuent of the
great lake Tel^-Sdp after a fairly good trip, taking it all
round ; though it must frankly be confessed that the
memories of things done are more pleasing than the doing
of them.

The water flows out of Tele-S^p by various channels, to
join the great Mekong river, of which newspaper readers
have been reading so much not long ago, in connection with
the Franco-Siamese troubles. The whole of this portion of
the country is traversed by quite a network of water-
channels, that divide and subdivide, and then join again in
every possible manner, the same as the Menam does in
the latitude of Ayouthia, only . on a more extensive
scale.

We followed the largest of these channels which de-
bouches into the Mekong at PenhomrPenh, the capital
town of the kingdom of Cambodia. As the word * Menam '
means Mother of Waters^ so the word * Mekong ' means the
Boundary Wetter, though at this time of day it is rather
diflBcult to know how it originally acquired that name, as it
really at present, or till very recently, forms no boundary
of any country whatever, but on the contracy flows
successively through South-west China, North -eastBurmah,
and then through Siam, Cambodia, and Cochin- China, where
it finally falls into the China Sea.

It was through this principal outlet from, Tel^-Sdp that
the * Roderick Dhu ' and the ' Lady of the Lake ' proceeded.
It varied much in its progress, according as it received
tributaries or gave out some to the water channels ; and
many of these channels are of course obliterated as such
during the rainy season, when the lake rises and covers a
large amount of area that was island and dry land when we
were passing through.

A peculiar feature about these communications between
lake Teld-Sdp and the great Mekong river is the fact that,
in the slack or dry season, the water flows from the lake to
the river, and at the height of the rainy season, from the
river to the lake in the opposite direction. This is a strange

THROUaH TflE BUFFER STATE 198

£act, it it is a fact, and I believe it is. Roughly speaking,
the lake will be a hundred or a hundred 9Jid twenty miles
long at this time of year, but of course varies greatly
according to the season. During the rains it covers a far
greater area, iiooding a large extent of country, more especi-
aUy in a westerly direction.

The extremely muddy water of this lake (even at this
time, when the inpour from the tributary rivers is at its
lowest), as well as its very shallow character and general*
flatness of the surrounding land, naturally suggests to one
that this portion of the country is of very recent geological
formation ; consisting, as it does, for the most part of simple
alluvial deposits brought down from the Eastern Himalayas
during comparatively recent geological ages. The greater
portion of Siam south of the Ldos mountains, along the
southern border of which we crossed the country, and the
greater portion of Cambodia also, consist of this recent soil,
rich in rice, swamps, forests, and fevers.

^nd doubtless at a comparatively early future geological
period the great lake Tel^-Sdp will be sapped out, and be
mostly dry soil filled in by the continuous debris ; and then,
except during the periods of inundation, its place will only
be represented by river communication only. And while
thus anticipating the future physical aspects of this portion
of the country, one cannot help casting a glance behind, and
picturing to himself the past history of the same.

In this retrospect it requires no great stretch of the
imagination to fancy that when those wonderful ruins of
Angkor-Wdt and Angkor-Th6m were built, the locaKty may
not have been nearly so far from the seaside as it is at pre-
sent. 'N&j more, granted that things go on gradually as
they now do, without any serious telluric disturbance, it is
even possible to predict that the time will come when the
greater part of the Gulf of Siam itself will be dry land by
this same process of gradual deposition. For even already,
this great gulf, one of the largest in the world, is so abso-
lutely shallow, that any ship with ordinary length of cable
can actually anchor in almost any part of it all the way
from Singapore to Bangkok, a distance of something like a
thousand miles.

The deltas formed at the mouth of the Menam and the
neighbouring rivers of Tachim and Meklong (not Mekong,

194 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

p1ea<;e observe), are rapidly and perceptibly gaining on the
narrow northern portion of the Gulf of Siain from year to
year. And so recent is the geological formation ou which
Bangkok itself stands, that the shells of the moat common
shell-fishes have been fcmnd buried as much as twenty feet
below the surface. Indeed, the greater part of tins south-
eastern comer of Asia may be called a mere modem country
in the geological signification of the word.

But we had now left the great lake behind us, and were
holding our course to Kampong-Chendng. On the way we
came in sight of a couple of hills a few hundred feet lugh ;
and hills being so rare hereabouts a fable was invented to
account for their origin. They were not, however, created
by angels like Angkor- W4t, but by a giantess and — a pig !
* Charab,' indeed, was not quite sure whether the giantess
was an angel or not, but^she was at any rate a little above the
common standard, thou^ she had the frail weakness of mere
ordinary folk, namely, the weakness of falling in love. Her
affections were misplaced too, like those of many others who
are neither angels nor giantesses ; for her choice fell upon a
mere ordinary man quite unworthy of her.

For shortly after the honeymoon this wicked man
appears to have grown tired of his unwieldy partner, and at
last he ran away from her, as if he were a mere ordinary
person of mere modem times. The giantess was cut to the
quick by the conduct of her unfaithful husband, and started
after him mounted on her favourite pig. But her husband
had started on a pony, and, having got the lead, kept it. It
would be highly amusing to watch the giantess pressing the
pig, and to listen to the musical falsetto squeals of the latter.
X et all the efforts of the giantess and piggy-wiggy were of
no avail, for on reaching the left bank of this river, the pony
with the truant husband had already swum across it. And
there the giantess with a true lover's sigh, and the pig with
a true piggy-wiggy groan, laid themselves do^n and died.
And there they still lie, and no mistake, in the form of the
two hills mentioned. This story of the chattering * Charab '
must of course be quite true, for the hills are still there to
testify to its truthfulness ; and what else on earth could they
possibly be but a giantess and a pig ?

That evening we reached Kampong-Ghendng, where some
Europeans were said to reside, because Kampong-Chen&ng

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 195

is the frontier village, occupied by the French in this part
of Cambodia. The boatmen had worked hard to be sure to
reach the village before dark, and as we found ourselves in
ample time for that purpose, they dropped their oars to have
their rice, while the two boats glided gently along with the
current. At last we could make out a larger house than the
rest in the middle of the village, near the bank of the river,
and we naturally concluded that this was the house of the
Europeans, and so it was.

There we let the boats float along. When we reached
near enough, and while I was standing in front of the hood
of my boat, we could make out three or four Europeans
spying the two boats, and evidently wondering who in the
world could we be. Whenever we landed I took with me
West and Valloo, and hurried to meet the strangers who
were still standing on the verandah of the big house, and I
broke the ice by expressing a hope that they spoke English.
But they apparently could not, and so the conversation got
more puzzling than ever. In this rempte Eastern comer,
to see white people exactly like one another, and yet requir-
ing to speak to one another through the interpretation of
Asiatics, was very edifying — especially to the Asiatics.
And so the conversation went on from French to Cambodian,
from Cambodian to Siamese, and from Siamese to indifferent
English, or vice versd. And then I began to think of Cap-
tain Bertuzzi, whom I had left a prisoner at Bangkok, and
who would have been very useful on this occasion.

When landing from the boat I had forgotten the French
passport, which I had taken the precaution of getting at
Bangkok, in case I should pass through French territory.
When thus conversing with diflficulty, I understood one of
the officials to be directing another to telegraph to the
French authorities at Penhom-Penh the sudden arrival of a
perfidious Briton from the far north. I then remembered
about my credentials, and detaining the official for a
moment, sent West to get the passport out of my cash-box.
They were then apparently satisfied, and I understood them
to agree among themselves that there was no necessity for
telegraphing. Yet they did telegraph after all, as I found '
out not long afterwards.

They kindly asked me to have pot-luck with them at
dinner, and I was glad to do so, in spite of our incompati-

o2

196 THROuan the buffeb state

bility of tongues ; and after a little while we got on won-
derfully weU, for one of them in particular spoke some
little English, though it was very difficult to understand
him from the way he was pronouncing it, as he had
evidently learnt it from books.

The senior of the three belonged to the city of Lyons,
where President Camot was assassinated not long after-
wards, while another of them belonged to Ajaccio in the
island of Corsica in the Mediterranean, and was really an
Italian by extraction. Suspecting that I did not know
where Ajaccio was, they brought over a small atlas to
point it out to me. ' Oh yes,' I said, * Ajaccio is in Corsica,
where Napoleon was bom.' They seemed to brighten up
at the mention of Napoleon, who threw such a lustre over
their country not a hundred years ago.

My casual hosts, as I said, knew a lot of English words,
but it was the pronunciation that caused the trouble.
For they had learnt them from books ; and books, though
very useful in their way, are quite incapable of imparting
the niceties of pronunciation of any language whatever.
Nor need we wonder at this. For it is only the other day
that the English have found out the proper way of pro-
nouncing Latin, which they have been mispronouncing for
the last thousand years or thereabouts ; that is to say,
since first the Northerners came to know anything about
that classic language at all. They brought over a biggish
book written by somebody named Saunderson, who had
evidently emigrated to France for his own if not for his
own country's good ; and his book was intended to smooth
for Frenchmen the thorny way of learning English. The
first sentence one of them read was, * The locksmith was
very ill, but was cured by the doctor,* and it would require
a very 'cute doctor indeed to understand what the sen-
tence meant as pronounced by the speaker.

I glanced hurriedly over certain pages of this book,
but though it was doubtless a good book of its kind, it
was far from being infallible. In a series of English
words arranged in vertical lines on a certain page, their
phonetic French pronunciation was given opposite them.
In the same series were the words 'four' and 'for,' the
one at the top, the other at the bottom of the line, and I
saw that they were both phonetically spelt in French by

THROUOH THE BUFFER STATE 197

the letters f-o-r-e, Now, no educated Englishman pro-
nounces the words * four ^ and * for ' in exactly the same
way, nor either of them phonetically as f-o-r-e. To while
away the time and say something, I pronounced these
words for them as they ought to be pronounced, and in
order to show further how difficult it is to pronounce
English from the mere spelling alone, I took up the word

* four ' again, and successively pronounced the words * four,*

* pour,' ' sour,* and * tour,* rolling my r's into chariot-
wheels, to bring out their true Scotch flavour, and ex-
plaining how d,ll these words are differently pronounced,
though identical in both vowels and final consonants.
The Frenchmen gaped, and perhaps thought to themselves
what an excellent schoolmaster I should make to teach
Frenchmen English, oblivious of the fact that I should first
have to learn French myself.

And so the night passed, till I thought it was high
time for me to be thinking of retiring. They cordially
offered to put me up, but as people in outlandish places like
Kampong-Chendng have to rough it a good deal them-
selves, and have seldom much spare comfort, I preferred
sleeping in the ' Lady of the Lake,* which had now become
a kind of home to me. ' Charab,* the Jingo, was always
afraid of robbers, and partly on his suggestion, we hauled
the boats some fifty yards out into the stream, in order to
swing clear to the breeze and current.

By this time I had got some tobacco, to prevent
relapsing into utter babarism, <&c. ; and after hauling out
into the stream, I was having a quiet last pipe sitting in
the stem of the boat before withdrawing under my hood.
I was not long sitting there when I saw all my quondam
companions coming down the wooden staircase of the
house, with lanterns in their hands, and walking to the
river*s edge. When they reached this spot, one of them
began to wave a piece of paper over his head, and to shout
across the water, 'Sir, Sir, Mussoo, Mussoo Docteur,
telegramme, telegramme (waving the paper) Govemeur,
Cambodia, Penhom-Penh, steamer, steamboat, come to-
morrow, bring Mussoo to Penhom-Penh ; * and with the
last word he made a sweep with his hand down the river
in the direction indicated.

I pould not make out i^t first what pn earth he cpul(3i

198 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

be driving at^ and I called West in the other boat with
his superior gift of tongues. At last, and after several
repetitions, we concluded that they must have telegraphed
to Penhom-Penh after all, and that they had received a
reply that the Governor of Cambodia was sending a
steamer up the river to bring me down to Penhom-Penh.
I thanked my courteous hosts with all the ^mercies' I
could muster, and withdrew beneath my hood, not feeling
quite sure that I quite comprehended the conversation.

But when I woke in the morning and peeped out of
my shell, there, sare enough, was the pretty steam-launch
the * Cambodge ' waiting to bring me down to Penhom-
Penh, having arrived at Kampong-Chendng in the course
of the night. I went ashore for a short while, to say good-
bye to the kind French officials, and to have a hurried
look round the place. Kampong-Ghendng certainly did
not seem a very enviable place to spend one's days in ;
and little do comfortable people at home realise the
monotony and weariness of living in places Kke this
one.

Kampong-Chendng was quite a large village, on the
bank of the river. The latter would be rising shortly, and
then the site on which the French wooden house was then
placed would be covered with water. They had already
prepared for this by having the open under portion of the
house packed full of large bamboos, which are always very
buoyant, of course. And so when the river would rise
and the water would come, the house, like another Ark,
would float on the top of these buoyant bamboos. It
would then be taken into a small creek in the vicinity and
anchored there like a ship till the rain would begin to
abate down again. As one of the strangers showed
me this contrivance, and comically shrugged his shoulders,
and contracted his eyebrows d la France^ I began to
think that Kampong-Chendng was a particularly fine
place to live out of.

But the good launch * Ga9ibodge ' had got up her steam,
and it was time for me to get on board. There was now
no further use for either the * Roderick Dhu' or the * Lady
of the Lake.' Nor was there for the chattering * Charab '
and his doughty crews ; for they had done their duty and
might now turn home again. And as the 'Cambodge

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 199

steamed along the two humble boats before turning round,
and ' Gharab ' and the boatmen asumed the usual attitude of
palming their hands in front of their faces, in saying
good-bye, t felt a kind of sorrow in parting with them.
* Poor children of nature,' thought I to myself, * perhaps
you are more innocent and faithful than people who lay
claim to greater pretensions.' But the * Cambodge ' soon
turned her nose down the current, and Kampong-Chendng
and all connected with it rapidly faded out of sight for
ever.

We left Kampong-Chendng at about eight o'clock in the
morning, and reached Penhom-Penh about four o'clock in the
evening. Supposing the * Cambodge ' to have steamed ten
knots an hour down the current, this would give the
distance by river between Kampong-Chendng and Penhom-
Penh at about eighty miles. Penhom-Penh itself, the'
capital town of Cambodia, is situated on the Tel^-Sdp
tributary as it falls into the main body of the great Mekong
river, and this is the largest tributary that the Mekong
receives in this region. Most of the town, including the
King's Palace, is on the right bank of the Tel6-SAp branch,
but nuDfibers of houses are also on the left bank, above the
angle formed by the junction of this branch and the main
river.

The house of the French Governor was quite near the
landing-place, and when I went to thank him for sending
the * Cambodge ' up river for me, we found that we could
not understand one another. This, however, did not
prevent him from putting me up during the three days that
I stayed at Penhom-Penh. Like many another capital
town in the East, Penhom-Penh is not the old capital of
the country, but Udong, a dilapidated place further up this
branch, and which we passed on our way down. And it is
here that the mother of the present king lives to this day.

M. Marquant, the French Governor, was an old bachelor,
and the only person who lived with him then was his
private secretary, or secretaire peculier, as they say in
France. Neither of them was proficient in English, and
I felt a little awkward at my inability of conversing
intelligently with them. My only excuse was the consoling
reflection that it is simply impossible for any traveller to
know the language of ^every people he may meet in his

200 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

wanderings, and that the French had as much right to
learn English as I had to learn French, though I cm going
to learn French some day.

Indeed, the French are quite the worst linguists in
Europe, worse even than the English. Not because
Frenchmen cannot become linguists, but because they don't
care to take the bother. French till very recently was the
most prevalent of all the European languages, and is so still
on the continent of Europe. So that Frenchmen hitherto
had not the same incentive to learn foreign languages, for
it is of comparatively recent years that the country has
taken to colonisation on anything like a large scale.

English, on the other hand, has lately been taking the
wind out of the sails of all the other European languages,
by this very process of colonisation. We neither know nor
.appreciate the debt due in this respect to the random rover,
nor how much the language, as well as the general
prosperity of the nation at larse, owes to commerce and
private enterprise. These wanderers do not always bring
the most classical English to the lands they visit. That
would be superfluous, for the populace of any country do
not learn a foreign language with strict observance to
grammatical rules. They sometimes do not know their
own grammar, and their British interlocutors do not
always know theirs. But yet it is the bargainings and
dealings of Englishmen with natives of far-away countries,
that help on the English tongue more than anything else
This is quite a mercenary view to take of the business, but
it is the true one. The natives comprehend that it is for
their advantage to learn English, and many of them do
learn a smattering of it in one way or another on that
account.

The Chinese, the most conservative of nations, speak
more English in port-towns than they do of any other
language except their own. True, it is ' pigeon ' English, by
no means easily understood by the stranger. But there it
is, and it spreads and improves as it goes along. Yet the
number of people in the world who speak English at present
is not nearly so large as the number of people who speak,
say, Chinese or perhaps Hindustani. But English has now
got such a lot of widely-spread and separate focuses, that it
is quite within the sphere of possibilities for it to become

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

201

the universal language, and real international volapuk of
nations. This does not mean, however, that all other lan-
guages must die a sudden death on that account, for lan-
guages take a very long time to die. It is doubtful, for
instance, if the Gaelic of the Highlands of Scotland was
ever spoken by a couple of millions at any one given time.
Yet it has continued to live on and on since the beginning
of the world, and will probably do so till the end of it.

202 THBOUOH THE BUFFEB STATE

CHAPTER XX

Thero once was a woman who lived in a shoe,
With plenty of money and nothing to do,
And how to expend it I'm blest if she knew.

• • • • • a • a*

She asked of the prophet, she bothered the priest,
Her rapture of soul having nobly increased,
Then built a pagoda— and slowly deceased.

Eastern A necdotes.

Dcsoription of Penhom-Penh — ^What is a pagoda? — ^A work of merit
— Promotion to Nirvana — Effects of pagodas on scenery — The
great pagoda of Penhom-Penh — ^French (Governor of the Kingdom
of Cambodia — Atenuse, my secretaire pecidier — ^Boyal palace of
Penhom-Penh — Kohn-Chilk again — King Norodom the Second —
His habits of life — Unable to visit him^Laang-Prabang — View
of the Buffer State.

The capital town of Penhom-Penh is not a very large one,
nor is it particularly beautiful or romantic. It is said to
contain fifty thousand inhabitants, though the visitor would
scarcely think so, and it has lately been greatly improved
by the French authorities. The town, they say, receives its
name from an old wojnan named Penh, who spent all her
wealth in building a pagoda here. The word * Penhom '
means a * hill ' in this language, and enters into the names of
some other places that we travelled through, such as Penhom-
Sok, the village that we visited when we went astray. Pen-
hom-Penh, then, means ' Mother Penh's Hill.' It is not a
hilly place by any means, according to our ideas of hills,
but there is a small mound on the outskirts of the town,
about as big as the grave of a fairly- sized giant ; and it is
on this hill that Mother Penh built the beautiful pagoda.
But she, poor woman, went the way of all flesh, and till the
French took the country over, the pagoda was getting sadly
out of repair.

Some readers may not know what a pagoda really means

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 203

and I don't know that I understand all about it myself.
But it may be roughly described as a monumental cairn,
built to the honour and glory of Buddha, the chief character
in the Buddhist religion. The building of a pagoda is what
the Buddhists call a ' work of merit,' because it goes further
than any other good work towards expediting the builder
to the attainment of Nirvana or personal extinction — that
sound, sound sleep from which there is no awaking.

The pagodas vary immensely in size, from the simple
white conical cairn on the top of a hillock, to the great
Shway-Dagon Pagoda at Rangoon, one of the largest shrines
in the world. Monasteries are sometimes connected with
the very largest pagodas, as with the Arracan Pagoda near
Mandalay, where I once occupied the room of one of the
priests. But by far the largest number of them are solid
structures only, without any interior, and of no use on earlh
save the toil and trouble of building them.

It is comparatively few of them that contain an image
of the Buddha, or are resorted to for religious purposes.
They are simply 'works of merit,' great and small, that
make smooth and rapid the way to the utter annihilation of
the builders, surely neither a noble nor devout consumma-
tion to be prayed for by aspiring humanity. Yet it is the
principal ingredient in the Buddhist religion all the same.
Again, though there is great merit in building a pagoda,
there is none whatever in repairing one after the builder's
death. It is his work of merit alone, and nobody else has
got anything to do with it, either then or thereafter.

It would only be reasonable to suppose, when a fine
pagoda had been built, and the builder had died, that his
surviving bosom friends would naturally like to keep his
memory green by repairing his pagoda. But it is not so ;
and except in the case of the very largest pagodas, which
become more or less public State property, the pagodas are
allowed to decay with the death of the builders. If you
wish then to reach the utter extinction of Nirvana in a
hurry, you must build a pagoda for yourself, for the mere
repairing of your friend's will avail for nothing to either
his shade or yours, when you start on your mysterious
journey. It may not be absolutely necessary for a Buddhist
to build a pagoda to attain Nirvana in the long, long run, but
the building of one, and especially a big one, will do much

204 THBOU0H THE BUFFER STATE

to hurry on the expedition. Henoe the rich presumably
require fewer incamationB and tranamigrations than the poor
in arriving at the final silent shore.

The effects of this belief lead to an enormous number of
these pagodas being scattered broadcast over these lands,
and the country certainly seems more pleasing on account
of them. Burmah, however, in this respect surpasses all
other countries, for it is pre-eminently the country of
pagodas. The deserted town of Pagan alone, on the left
iMmk of the Irrawaddy, is said to contain not less than ten
thousand of these crumbling monuments ; and when seen
from the deck of one of the river steamers, when the river
is up, the whole place looks like a great cemetery covered
with conspicuous whited sepulchres.

The pagoda of Penham-Penh is one of the very finest.
It is not entirely a solid cairn, like most of the smaller
ones, but has got rooms, niches, and recesses in it ; and it
is deemed extremely sacred by the inhabitants. On this
account, one of its rooms, I was told, was used as a native
court, as the inhabitants have got such superstitious fear
and veneration for it, that none of them within its pre-
cincts dare deviate trom, telling the truth. Wonderful
pagoda I Would that there were more of your kind, that
would make people at all times to tell the truth. Old
Mother Penh, therefore, has done a good work of merit,
and has probably achieved annihilation long ago on account
of it.

Her swell pagoda, though, was rapidly passing away
into its own Nirvana, or extinction, when the French
came on the scene ; and they, good Catholic Christians
that they are, restored the pagoda thoroughly, without
probably ever thinking that by doing so they would sooner
reach Nirvana or not. And now the Penhom-Penh
pagoda is the principal spectacle of Penhom-Penh.

Next perhaps in interest is the King's Palace, which,
however, is nothing very much of a show, as compared
with the Palace at Bangkok, or the Golden Palace of
MandaJay, even before the latter was desecrated, and con-
verted into mere Government offices.

Before arriving at Penhom-Penh we were told that
there was an Englishman living there, but the Englishman
turned out to be a German, who kept a store up there.

THROUGH THE BUPFEB STATE 205

and who spoke English very well. The first evening of
our visit to Fenhom-Penh, I understood that next morning
they would get an interpreter for me during my stay.
This was a large-boned native of Martinique, nearly as
dark as an African, but with joyous good nature beaming
through his nearly sable features. Next evening I drove
down to the Palace along with the private secretary, with
Atenuse, the Martinikan, acting the part of interpreter
between us.

Atenuse spoke English rather well, and said, I think,
that he was a bom British subject, though he was then an
ardent Frenchman, and a clerk in the Penhom-Penh
High Court. At the Palace itself we met even a Cambodian
who spoke English. He had been sent to Singapore by the
last king, to be educated there, and was how the chief
man at the treasury of Penhom-Penh. He had not spoken
English for years, he said, and that I was the first English-
man he had ever seen at Penhom-Penh. By-and-by he
may see plenty of them, passing through Penhom-Penh on
their way to Angkor- Wdt.

The Palace, taken as a whole, is too modern to interest
the traveller much, for the most prominent part of it has
been built mostly in European fashion by the French
themselves. And though this doubtless does not diminish
the comfort of the same, yet it lacks the charm of quaint-
ness. I was very keen on paying a visit to the King ; but
though the Governor, I believe, wrote him for that pur-
pose, I was not able to see His Majesty, on the plea that
hd was not well. His Majesty, King Norodom the Second,
they say, is seldom seen by anyone, as he confines himself
to the Palace, and spends most of his time in his harem,
smoking, and drinking magnum-bonums of champagne.

Till recent years the kingdom of Cambodia owed more
or less suzerainty to the larger kingdom of Siam. But
the courts of the two kingdoms did not pull well together,
and when the French came on the scene, the new king
of Cambodia threw himself into the arms of France, and
thereby cut off his own nose to spite his own face. King
Norodom, the present king, has the honour, if honour it
may be called, of being the last king of Cambodia, for he
is to be succeeded by no successor ; and it may be em-
phatically said of him that he reigns but does not govern.

206 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

He. is a mere puppet, who used to get a thousand dollars a
day from the French in exchange for his kingdom ; and
whaterer his kingdom may be worth, this is far too high
a price for His Majesty Norodom the Second.

During my short stay at Fenhom-Fenh Atenuse, the
Martinikan, was always at my disposal, and in fact became
my secretary peculiar/ I paid a visit with him to the
King's bathing-house on the side of the river, which was
much out of repair, as I fancy that His Majesty and his
harem seldom bathe there now. We also revisited the
Falace when they were going to perform the inevitable
ceremony of Kohn-chiik on one of King Norodom's sons,
who had just come of age for that function of haircutting.
Quite a crowd of natives thronged about the gate and
thoroughfare, along which the procession was to pass ; but
after staying in vain for a little while, I could not wait
any longer for fear of losing my dinner. The ceremony of
Kohn-ch^ must be going on pretty frequently in the
palaces of Siam and Cambodia. Yet His Majesty King
Norodom the Second is not nearly so prolific as some of
the kings mentioned on a previous page, as he has only
eleven sons and nineteen daughters — quite a small quiver-
ful in comparison.

Near the Mekong, a good deal further north than
Fenhom-Fenh, was the scene of Phra Yott's feat of arms,
that had landed him in such trouble at the time I left
Bangkok, and near the same is the portion of country that
is the present subject of dispute between Siam, France,
and Great Britain. I should have wished very much to
have visited this identical locality, but unluckily I was not
able to do so. The means of communication up in that
direction were extremely slow at this time of year, and
anything but extremely sure. Besides, alas ! my time was
not my own, and I feared that my leave from India would
expire when I should perhaps be locked up in these
remote regions. I had, therefore, reluctantly to abandon
this project.

Suffice it to say here, then, that in that latitude the
British possession of Upper Burmah extends in an easterly
direction across the Mekong, in a belt of land seventy or
eighty miles across from north to south. It is between this
belt of land and the French Indo-Chinese province of

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

207

Tonkin, that it seems so desirable to place some neutral
zone, to act as a buffer to both countries. And it is there-
fore the particular comer of the country that has lately
contributed to acquire for the whole of Siam the sobriquet
of the Buffer State, after which this narrative receives its
appropriate designation. The original intention was to
place this strip of ground under the dominion of the
Celestial Empire, but at the moment of writing, John
Chinaman is getting such a drubbing from the dapper little
Japs, that I am afraid this arrangement will fall through,
as the Son of the Heaven has at present quite enough to do
to look after his own wide and loosely-jointed dominions.

The day before I was going to leave Penhom-Penh the
Governor gave an entertainment to some of the French re-
sidents of the place, and here I was fortunate enough to come
across one or two people who spoke English, and with whom
I was therefore able to chat more freely than with the
others.

'

208 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER XXI

Toii*d mftke me a oitixen ; well, to be sorei
'Tie more than I ever oould hope to procure ;
But why for the boon do 70a force me to pay ?
An honour ia none that is bought in that way.

The Ready Beipon»e.

Farewell to Penhom-Penh — In England they drink scandal and
In France, coffee and brandv — The * Nam-vian * — The Irrawaddy
and the Mekong comparea — Shallow coast of CSochin-Ghina —
Beach Saigon — The Cai6 Anglais—Noor Khan the Mohammedan
— The steamship * Sohwalbe * — Commercial interests of Great
Britain and France in Siam — Progressive character of the Siamese
— What to do with the servants — Valloo tnma tramp— Becomes
a Frenchman— A peculiar advocate — The town of Saigon — ^British
bunkom.

It was now high time to say good-bye to M. Marquant, the
Governor of the kingdom of Cambodia, who had taken me
down from Kampong-Chen^ng, and entertained me during
my short stay at Penhom-Fenh. For the steamer ' Nam-
vian ' was out there in the confluence of the two rivers, and
was sailing away to Saigon that early morning.

The Mekong is already a large river before receiving
the Tel^-Sdp tributary at f enhom-Penh. It then, however,
becomes a much larger one. But it soon afterwards splits
into two, and the confluence arising from the two rivers
coming from the north, before splitting into the two rivers
flowing to the south, is known to the French under the
name of * Quatre Bras.' It is next to impossible to judge of
the size of a river by sailing through a portion of it only. At
New Orleans, for instance, near where the mighty Mississippi
debouches into the Gulf of Mexico, nobody would think
that it is the longest and the second largest river in the
world ; and comparatively small rivers, during certain
stretches of their course, put on an appearance as if they
were really the mighty mothers of waters.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 209

I was familiar enough at one time with the Irrawaddj,
the beautiful riyer that flows through Burmah from one end
to the other, and was with the first expedition that ever
ascended so far up as Mougoung, some ten or eleven
hundred miles by river from the sea, and till then never
visited by Europeans. And over the greater portion of it
I sailed several times. But judging of the Mekong at
Penhom-Penh, I should think it is fully as large, or even
larger than the Irrawaddy, while no one knows precisely how
long either of them may be, as the remote sources of both
alike are hidden among the mists land mysteries of the
mountains of Thibet, flowing and tumbling among those
undiscovered glens and gullies, from whose bourne no
European traveller has as yet returned.

But while giving the Mekong the credit of being pro-
bably larger, it is neither so straight nor sq navigable as the
Irrawaddy. There are twists and turns in botii of them,
of course, as in every other river in the world, but those in
the Irrawaddy are comparatively few, while the navigation
of the Mekong is also much marred by the rapids that occur
further up in its course. The Irrawaddy, too, splits and
squanders less than the Mekong, and keeps pretty well
together till quite near the Bay of Bengal, whereas the
Mekong splits nearly as high up as Penhom-Penh itself.
This point, however, is in favour of the Mekong, for even
after giving off this large and navigable oflshoot, it still
remains a large river itself, and navigable to deep-draught
vessels all the way to the above-mentioned city. Indeed,
the captain of the ^ Nam-vian ' said that the ship drew
sixteen feet of water, and there is no steamer of the Irra-
waddy Flotilla Company with anything near this draught.
But the whole of this portion of the country, like the
greater portion of Lower Siam, is entirely rich alluvial soD,
amply supplied with natural waterways, being cut up in
every direction with quite a network of intercommuni-
cation.

The ' Nam-vian ^ was comfortable enough, and had none
of those unwieldy 'flats' on either side of her that so
seriously impede one's speed up the Irrawaddy, or at any
rate that u6ed to do so once upon a time. The captain of
her also spoke English, which was aaiother point in the

p

210 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

ship's favour.^ I had always thought that we were a
much less temperate nation than the French ; but there
was the real state of matters on the authority of a French
copybook ! How I pitied the poor Frenchmen, swigging
away at their brandy and coffee, while we were going in for
scandal and tea Only.

We called at several places on the way down the
Mekong, which require no particular mention here, and
reached Mytho about two o clock in the morning. This
river port is connected with Saigon by rail, which, with the
exception of a small piece in Tonquin, is the only railway
hitherto in all French Indo-Ohina. Nearly all the pas-
sengers left the ship here, and went to Saigon by rail, while
I stayed with the ship so as to go round the coast, as there
was nothing to be seen in going on to Saigon by land at
night-time. The only incident of note that occurred
during the short trip was in the case of a Chinaman, who
was being brought to Saigon as a prisoner for trial, and
who, though handcuffed, jumped overboard during the
night, and was probably drowned.

Every river has its bar as every Jack his Jill, and so
has the Mekong. And, therefore, when we reached to-
wards the mouth of the river, we had to wait an hour or
two for the return of the tide, before we should be able to
cross the bar. And then we sailed into the open China
Sea for some considerable distance, as the coast along here
is very shallow for a long way out. There is sometimes a
heavy swell on this coast, and the * Nam-vian ' required all
her deep draught to get through it all. The coast is also
so sandy and shifty that it requires careful watching, and
the ship this time was actually guided by buoys and stakes,
when ten or twelve miles away from the land. By-and-by
we entered the comparatively small river on which Saigon
is placed, the most twisty of its kind ; and that same after-
noon I landed safely in the neat little town of Saigon, the
capital town of all the French possessions in the Far East.

I had been told at Penhom-Penh that there was a caf^

1 Here I met Saunderson's exercises again, but in mannscript this
time ; Exercise No. 9 particularly amused me : En Angleterre on aime Is
the avec du pain et -du heurre : en France on prefere le coffee et la
Veati de vie — In England they like tea with some bread and butter ; in
France they prefer coffee and brandy. On reading this sentence my heart
bounded with joy.

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 211

at Saigon where they spoke English, and which was called
the Caf^ Anglais on that account. And as Atenuse, my
secretary peculia/r up there, had telegraphed to this caf^, I
found someone from it waiting at the pier when the ship
arrived, and to the Caf^ Anglais I repaired in due course.

It was kept by a man named Noor Khan, one of the
purest and best of Mohammedan names ; and I was a little
surprised to find the name so far away East, though people
of all creeds and colours wander largely about nowadays.
If there is one tenet better than another in the Mussulman
faith, that tenet is — * Thou shalt not drink,' otherwise it is
essentially a sensual religion, whose very paradise is full of
carnal pleasures and black-eyed Susans. The principal
Mohammedan precept then is, ' Ye may kiss yer lass, but ye
maun na drink yer glass, and ye may aye whastle on the
Sawbath.'

On coming downstairs the next morning I met Noor
Khan in tow with two officers from ships in the harbour,
and swigging away at beer with keen appreciation. Npor
Kiian spoke English well, and invited me to join them.
But beer had always a too fattening effect on my flesh
and a too flattening effect on my spirits ; and, besides, it
was too early in the morning to take anything. Nay more,
I was shocked to see a Mohammedan with the thoroiagli
name of Noor Khan drinking away like a mere ordinary
Christian. *You, Noor Khan,' I said, *an ancient
Mohammedan, and swigging away at beer ; I'm ashamed '
of you.' And then Noor Khan immediately laid out to
abuse Mohammed and all his belongings. I had a shrewd
suspicion, however, that Noor Khan was no more a
convert from Mohammedanism than I was, for the simple
reason that he never was a Mohammedan . He was a middle-
aged man, of a rich olive complexion and good features —
but he was no Mohammedan. He had probably adopted the
name as rather an aristocratic one, and I have a shrewd
suspicion that Noor Khan was aA Indian Portuguese, who
had originally started from Goa, near Bombay, and whose
real name might possibly be Fiedro Desouza.

When sailing up the river on the day of arrival, we
passed a small German ship called the ' Schwalbe,' lying at
the river-side. It has already been described how the little
ship * John B. Say' was sunk by the Ocean-butterfly Fort,

p 2

212 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

while guiding the French men-o'-war on their way to
Bangkok. This small ship of one hundred and fifty tons
was then the only regular ship plying between Bangkok
and Saigon, and she made the round voyage once every four
or five weeks. When she was sunk and disabled, there
was no French ship to take her place, and this same
'Schwalbe' was chartered for a season by the French
(Government from a German company, in order to carry the
mails between the two cities.

We were, therefore, glad to see the ' Schwalbe,' as she
would be leaving for Bangkok in two or three days at the
latest. My agreement with West and Y&Uoo was that they
should have full pay and passage paid, till such time as they
would reach Bangkok back again. But, behold, on making
inquiries, we found that the charter of the * Sch walbe ' had j ust
expired, that she was no longer on the run between Saigon
and Bangkok, and that, in fact, there was no direct com-
munication at all by sea between the two places at this time.

The ' Sch walbe ' would be eight or nine hundred tons, and
therefore a ffreat improvement on the ' John Baptist ' with
her wretched one hundred and fifty tons only. One or other
of them represented the whole regular tonnage plying be-
tween French Indo-China and Bangkok, the capital city
of Siam ; and after the ' Schwalbe ' dropped, there was no
communication whatever till a ship would arrive in the Far
East, which was then being built on the Clyde. This state
of matters contrasted very much with tiie prompt and
efficient communication established between Bangkok and
the British possessions of Singapore and Hong Kong.
Instead of a monthly communication, as lately with Saigon,
Bangkok has regular communication with Singapore at
least twice a week by the Blue Funnel line, besides any
number of outside ships like the ' Independent,' in which I
had sailed myself. And, again, there is a regular weekly
conmiunication with Hong Kong by the Scottish Oriental
line, possessing about a dozen ships with an average of a
thousand tons, and the handsomest little vessels of their
kind I have ever seen.

By far the greater portion of the industry of Siam is
also in British hands, like the large railway they are at
present constructing between Bangkok, Ayouthia, and
Koiftt^ and which will be opened within a year or two.
According to the last official Blue B<M>k issued by^ th%

THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE 21 S

British Goyemment on the Franco- Siamese question, it
was shown that 87 per cent, of exports and 97 per cent, of
the import trade of Siam were with Great Britain.

This book does not wish particularly to dabble much in
politics, as there are plenty of irresponsible babblers running
about, who only too readily rush into those thorny paths
where wise men fear to tread. Tet I cannot help saying
here how deeply interested the British nation must neces-
sarily be in the affairs of Siam, whose annexation by
another European Power would be a serious blow at both
the prestige and commerce of our country in the Far East.
Besides, Siam — next to Japan — is by far the most pro-
gressive nation in the whole of the East ; and it would be
a pity, then, that such a promising child of civilisation
should be smothered in its infancy.

It was very disappointing that the 'Schwalbe' had
stopped plying to Bangkok, as this was the way I intended
to send, the servants back to where they started from, and
the only way now open was to send them round by Singa-
pore, and so on to Bangkok. The ' Schwalbe ' was sailing
for Singapore in a day or two, and would bring them on
their journey so far. She was sailing a little too soon for
myseU, as I wanted to stay seven or eight days at Saigon ;
but the interpreter was anxious to go with the * Schwalbe,'
as he was like a fish out of water at Saigon from his ignor-
ance of French, though he was glib enough in the Siamese
and Chinese languages. Indeed, though he was a very
small man, he had a very large head, that looked almost
bigger than his body when the great helmet was on, and I
should think that he' had a special aptitude for languages,
though hitherto imperfectly developed.

Their duties were practically finished when we came in
touch with the French at Kampong-Ohendng, so that I
had now no further use for them. Paying them up there-
fore till the probable date of their arrival in Bangkok, and
for a few days more, in case of unforeseen detention, they
were free to proceed with the * Schwalbe,' if they liked.
Valloo, however, had appeared to me such an ultra-foolish
lad, that I took the precaution of giving all that was due
to him to the interpreter, for handing it over to Valloo's
wife on reaching Bangkok, leaving Yalloo himself with
only enough to take him along. To secure his interests
still further, I took a receipt for the money from West,

214 THROUGH THE BUFFEE STATE

and gave it to Yalloo, so that he could lawfully claim his
own when he reached his destination.

And thus we peaceably parted, as they were going with
the 'Schwalbe' that day to Singapore, and I naturally
thought I had seen the last of them. Later on that same
evening, who suddenly burst into my room but the inevi-
table Valloo ! I was quite surprised, for I thought he
should be gaily steaming down the river by this time, and
he was so excited that I could not make out what was up
with him, as he tossed his long lanky arms a;bout in a very
edifying fashion. Whatever else was wrong with him, it
was evident that Yalloo had been paying court in the
bazaar to his friend Lord Shumshoo, for that was certain.
He held a slip of paper in his hand, which he gdve me, and
though it was written in French, a language with which I
am not very conversant, as the reader already knows, I
concluded from it that Yalloo had become a French citizen
— which he had 1

The image of his poor little wife came at once to my
memory ; for the day we started from Bangkok she came
to the pier with a tiny little infant in her arms, to say
good-bye to her husband ; and thinking even then that
Yalloo had not done the best with the advance bounty,
the very last act of grace I did before stepping on board
the launch was to give her a few ticdla, and tell her not to
be afraid, and that her husband WQuld come back again all
right. Was Yalloo then going to forsake his little wife
and to live at, Saigon ?

He was so excited that I could not well make out what
he was driving at, nor was I at all sure that he was telling
the truth. I concluded, therefore, that he was purposely
forsaking his wife ; and though she might be no beauty, still
she was his. In real righteous indignation I got hold of him
by the arnf, gently pushed him outside the door of the room,
and earnestly prayed him never to see my face again.
And so Yalloo, poor beggar, went away crest-fallen enough.

The door of my room was nearly over the bar of the
caf^, and being then open, I heard people in the bar talk-
ing English, and on leaning over the banister, I concluded
they were talking about Yalloo, though they did not of
course know his name. I went down to inquire. A
marine engineer had just landed at Saigon, and had seen

THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 215

that Yalloo had not been permitted to go with the
' Schwalbe/ as he was a native, and had no proper docu-
ment to leave the colony, while West was allowed to
proceed without him. Nay more, he had seen Yalloo being
converted into a French citizen very much against Yalloo's
will ; and that the French officials had taken not less than
seven and a half dollars of his pocket money in exchange
for that proud privilege, which was duly certified by the
slip of paper that Yalloo had given me.

I did not know whether to laugh or cry, to see YSUoo's
citizenship so eagerly sought after. But though Y&Uoo
was by no means an ideal servant on a journey like this,
yet I never disliked him, as I thought he was only a little
' dafb,' and people are seldom unkind to poor daft bodies.
I called Yalloo back again, as he was still lingering about
the caf^, and I then became his real ma-hap, or his mother
and father, as they say in Hindustan, for I was duty bound
to protect him in his distress.

I tried hard to get back for him the seven and a half
dollars of which he had been unjustly deprived, but without
success. They were nominally worth thirty shillings to
him, quite a large sum for a person of his means.

I went to the British Consulate to get his wrongs
righted, but the Consul was not in. But I saw him the
next day, and he sent his first assistant wit^i me to the
French Emigration Of&ce to get back the almighty dollars
for Yalloo. I soon saw that in the Consul's assistant,
Yalloo had a very poor advocate to plead his cause ; for
he was always consenting with his confounded ' wee, wee,'
to whatever the French official would say. I got so
disgusted at last that I took Yalloo away, recouped him
for his loss myself, and was done with the business.

A few days afterwards I drove out with the British
Consul to a sort of summer-house he had five or six miles
out of Saigon. On returning to his house in the evening,
who was there waiting for him but the chief assistant,
accompanied by his wife and sister-in-law, neither of whom
could speak English. And during the conversation I
discovered, though the Consul's assistant possessed the
good old Irish name of O'Connell, that he was bom at
Fondicheirry, a small French possession on the Coromandel
coast of India, that his wife was French — and that he was

216 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

a Frenchman himself ! No wonder then that Y&lloo had
so poor an advocate, and that he had lost his dollars, or
that I had vicariouslj lost them in his place.

I had been in Saigon some years before this time, and
though the town in the interval had not grown remarkably
in size, it had done so in beauty. The trees that line so
many of the thoroughfares had grown apace, and had
converted not a few of them into beautiful avenues. A
large creek that during my previous visit passed from the
river through a portion of the town, and seriously
obstructed tibe passenger traffic, had now been entirely
filled in, and actually formed the principal boulevard of the
whole place, at the top of which one of the military bands
played twice a week.

There is not a military station in the whole of British
India to which Saigon would yield the palm in regularity,
cleanliness, and artificial beauty. This is saying a great
deal, for military stations in India are particularly well
looked after. As regards natural beauty, however, Saigon
does not profess to possess any. It is situated on the right
bank of the Saigon river, some fifty miles by river from the
sea, and is built on a swampy and feverish patch of ground
nearly overflooded* in the rainy season, and all of it is as
flat as ditch-water. The idea of the town is planned on a
most magnificent and extensive scale, and Crovemment
House is one of the very finest European residencies in the
whole East.

But the houses throughout the planned-out town do not
rise so rapidly as might be wished to fill in the vacant
spaces, and there are empty gaps here and there, especially
toward the outskirts, that give the town a vacant and
incomplete appearance. British towns in the East rise so
much more rapidly. So I have heard it so often and often
said ; for in this respect, at any rate, we need not pray God
to give us a good conceit of ourselves. And so, though
the statement is true in general terms, yet we are so
accustomed to vaunt about our own honourable selves that
it is only right to say that some of them donH rise so
rapidly after all. Is Madras growing by leaps and bounds 1
And what of the ancient city of Malacca, once the
greatest emporium, in Orient lands? But I shall reach
Malacca by-and-by, and tell you all about it.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 217

CHAPTER XXII

The Baron, the Baron, he tore his hair,
The Baron was wrathful beyond compare.

• ••••••

And why was the Baron so wild with rage,
That nothing on earth could his wrath assuage ?

• ••••••

I'll tell you the reason, the why, and the what,
'Twas only because — ^they had stolen his hat I

The Bouncing Baron,

Yalioo converted against his will — ^Bite of a mad dog — Yalloo again
in trouble — Gould not possibly part with Yalloo, my Arab steed
— Cape St. James and Poulo-Gondor — The s.s. * Tibre' — ^Her French
captain — * Oh, yes, yes * — Indian conjurers — Robbery of my gold
watch — Conjurers confined in cells — The Baron and his jewels —
The guilty thief — Sentenced to two years' imprisonment — Yalloo
becomes the Old Man of the Sea.

Saigon is the largest French military station in the Far
East, bat as a military station it is not so large as some
military stations in India, none of which, however, is very
large, when viewed from a European point of view. From
the civil and commercial view, it may be looked upon as
part of the much larger native town of Chalon, which is
only four or five miles away, and with which it is connected
both by water and by a narrow railway. Viewed in this
light, Saigon is more important than it really looks in
itself.

It has got beautiful shady drives in and out of the
town, fine Zoological and Botanic Gardens, and a nice
theatre, better than any in India, and the companies of
which are subsidised by the French Government. What
would the British Mrs. Grundy say if we began to subsidise
theatres from public funds ? After these, the most charac-
teristic things about the town are its open-air cafh and its
fine shops. Though Buonaparte called us a nation of
shopkeepers, the French are just as shoppy.

218 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

Indeed, commercial enterprise, shops or no shops, and
that restless love of adventure, have conduced to Britain's
greatness quite as much as the mere vanity of military
glory ; for our country, without being so military as some
other countries, is as martial as any of them, which is the
proper thing to be. There are many wheels within wheels
in a great community, and though the man best at making
money may not, perhaps, be the best to make a hero, yet a
great nation must comprise both, as well as fools, knaves,
clowns, and philosophers.

The only Englishman who lived at the Caf^ Anglais

was Mr. W , a marine engineer, who first told me of

Yalloo's involuntary naturalisation. The poor fellow was
down enough on his luck himself, as he had lately been bitten
by a mad dog, or a dog supposed to be mad ; and he had gone
all the way from the British island of Fenang to be treated
in French Saigon after the Fasteur method. It took him
something like a fortnight to go through the whole process
of rabbit-brain inoculation, and he was still staying
at Saigon when I left that place. I shall tell later on
how the life of this engineer was probably saved by his
trip to Indo-China, apart altogether from the Fasteur
cure.

Having now done all I wanted to do in Saigon, I prepared
to depart in a small ship called the ' Tibre,' belonging to the
Messageries Maritimes Company, the largest French Marine
Company, and perhaps the largest shipping company in the
world. This little ship ' Tibre ' leaves Saigon for Singapore
and vice verad every fortnight, alternating in this respect
with one of the great ocean liners of the same company,
and establishing a weekly communication between Singapore
and Saigon in each direction east and west.

By sailing eastwards by this local mail from Singapore
to Saigon, the traveller would have a week's stay at Saigon
and surroundings, and could then sail by one of the 'Mes-
sageries Maritime's ocean liners on to Hong Kong, China,
and Japan. In the opposite direction westwards, the
traveller would land from Hong Kong at Saigon from one
of the said ocean liners, stay a week there as before, and
then proceed to Singapore by this local mail. This trip is
well worth doing, as a change from the beaten tracks ; and
if the traveller goes to put up at the Caf 6 Anglais, please

I

THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 219

give my respects to that arch-Mohammedan, Mr. Koor
Khan, and tell him I am very well.

The * Tibre ' was by no means a very small ship, nearly
a thousand tons, and she was this time lying out in the
river, a short distance from shore. And so Yalloo and
myself got a shore-boat, put our luggage into it, and went
gaily on board the * Tibre' on a certain early morning.
When getting my luggage arranged m one of the cabins of
the ship, I learnt that they were taking Valloo on shore
again ! That fatal slip of paper they had given him
against his will, and for which he had to pay seven and a
half dollars, also against his will, was now becoming a
veritable thorn in the flesh of poor Yalloo. If he had
been my private servant (which he was), without this crass
piece of paper, there would be no obstacle in his way at all.
But by this unfortunate document he had practically
become a Frenchman, and as a native, he could not leave
the colony without a fresh passport.

This was a fine kettle of flsh that we were in now.
The official, who pressed for taking Yalloo on shore, knew
that I had taken him across the wilds, knew that he had
been made a Frenchman by mistake and against his will,
but yet he said that he could do nothing, as he had to
carry out the port regulations. The ship was just going to
start with the mails, and there was no time to go to the
Emigration Office, even if it were open so early. And so I
was at last to be parted with Yalloo, my mettled Arab
horse— my beautiful, my brave !

But not a bit of it. For when it came to the very
pitch, I told the official that I could on no condition part
with my servant, and that they must return my luggage to
the boat again, as I would not go with the ship without
him. The official* was taken aback by this announcement,
and probably thought that it was carrying officialism too
far to prevent a servant going with his master, because
they had made him a fellow citizen against his will. At
last he said that as he was sure he was my bond fide private
servant, he would permit Yalloo to go with me, although that
fatal slip of paper made him a French citizen, till exchanged
for the usual passport. And so the valiant Yalloo at last
was free. I don't blame the French officials for this, as of
course they were only carrying out the letter of the law,

220 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

and I only mention the incident as a part of the comedy
of errors that were always following in poor Yalloo's foot-
steps ; for I shall onoe again have to take him on the
platform at Singapore, and then dismiss him for ever.

There appear to be several ways of approaching
Saigon from the sea, as this portion of the country is so
much traversed by water chaimels. The route by which we
entered from the sea by the ' Nam-vian ' was not the same
throughout as that by which we reached the sea by the
< Tibre.' For the < Tibre ' reached the sea near Gape St.
James, where the French have a sanatorium, as well as
large telegraph offices, and it communicated with Saigon
by land through a trunk road forty-seven miles long,
though the direct distance is only twenty-five miles. We
stayed in the offing for a short time, and it is a pretty little
place as seen from the sea, with a rough background of low
iiiUs behind it. But it is so exposed during the south-west
monsoon that ships are not able to call there during that
season.

Early next morning we called at a small French mili-
tary outpost called Foulo-Condor, which is also exposed to
the south-west monsoon, but not so badly as Cape St.
James, as there is an island (or poulo) in the offing that
shelters the harbour to a certain extent. Three French offi-
cers and the wife of one of them were going to this out-
post, and went ashore that early morning, and so I was
left alone in my glory with the captain of the ship.

The enormity of a crime must mainly depend upon
motive. I sincerely hope so. For I was often and often
guilty of the lie confirmative during that short voyage.
The captain of the ship was the only one who dined in the
saloon, and as I was alone with him for the next three
days, I am sure it would make a cat purr with pleasure to
see our ludicrous attempts at conversing with one another.
The numberless times that I repeated the trite expression
of ' Oh, yes, yes,' when never understanding a word of
what the captain was saying, will not, I hope, be counted
against me. Nor was the gallant captain himself to be out-
done in politeness, with his frequent ' Wee^ tvee, Musaoo,
wety weCf Mu8800y' when equally ignorant of what I was
trying to say. But we got fine weather, and landed at
Singapore in due course.

" F«

THBOUGH THE BUFFEB STATE 221

On the way between Borneo and Bangkok, though the
* Bajah Brooke ' called at Singapore, I did not go ashore
there at all. Nor did I wish to do so, even if I could.
For at that particular time I had a real Macpherson-
'gainst-Mactavish kind of feud against Singapore and all
its belongings ; and I shall tell you the reason why. The
episode, indeed, should really form the first chapter of this
narrative, but that J did not like to begin my story with a
record of robbery, though I am sorry to say I shall be com-
pelled to conclude it with one.

On the way down from Calcutta to Singapore at the
beginning of this journey, a young traveller came on board
our ship at Penang, who had been ill there for some time,
and was still so on coming on board the ship. The day we
landed at Singapore he came into my room at Raffles'
Hotel to have a chat, and who turned up at the same time
but a set of Indian conjurers, anxious to show off their
skill in legerdemain. Indian conjurers were no novelty
to me, but as the traveller was a stranger in the East, I
allowed the conjurers to come into the room and exhibit
their talents, instead of showing them off in the verandah,
as is the usual custom.

They went through the performance, including the
' basket trick,' creditably ; and, after being reward^ for
their sleight of hand cleverness, they went their way.
And so did the stranger, saying he would come back in the
evening, so as to have a drive out together. But when I
began to dress for the occasion, behold my braw gold
watch, which had been placed on the dressing-table, was
gone. There could be no doubt, I thought, as to who the
thieves were. My watch must have been spirited away by
the black art of Uie conjurers. We telephoned at once to
the police head- quarters, and had the conjurers followed up
and promptly arrested.

This was Saturday evening. The stranger got very
excited over the business, and seemed sorrier than I did
myself about the loss of the watch ; for he knew that it
was for his amusement, more than for my own, that I
had allowed the conjurers to come into my room. We
both went at once to the police-office, where I made a
declaration about the loss of my property, while my
oompftaion was ready to swear blaok and blue that he saw

222 THROUGH THE BUFEEB STATE

the watch lying on the dressing-table when he was in the
room.

And the end of it all was that the conjurers, consisting
of two men and one woman, were all locked up in the police-
office cells that same night ; for who could have committed
the crime but they ? The only other possible person, we
thought, would be the room servant, whose movements, as
a privileged person, would not be observed in and out of
the room. Detectives were sent on the trail of the watch
at once, but without success.

Communications between Singapore and Borneo were
so few and far between, that I could not afford to miss the
' Rajah Brooke,' which was going to sail on Tuesday evening.
I returned to the police-office on Monday forenoon, to con-
firm the statement that I had made on the previous Satur-
day, and there met the conjurers, who had been brought
out of the cells for identification. But the evidence was
not strong enough to convict them, for none could swear
positively that any individual one of them stole the watch,
though we were, we thought, morally certain that one of
them mibst have stolen it. The conjurers were again re-
manded to their cells, but as I was bound to go with the
' Eajah Brooke,' and could not personally stay to follow up
the prosecution, they were released a day or two after-
wards.

The robbery being duly reported in the Straits news-
papers, it became known in the locality, and the upshot of
it all was that the conjurers got hounded out of Singapore,
and probably found their way back to their native town of
Madras once again. But by that time I was far away in
Bonjeo.

I was particularly sorry to lose the watch, for it had
been given me as a keepsake by a Dutch lady, for services
rendered in a moment of emergency, after she had fallen
into a boiling quagmire in the wilds of New Zealand, when
traveUing there with the writer some years before. I
would naturally, therefore, not part with it for a great
deal more than its intrinsic value. But it was gone like
decayed love, never to return again. This is why I had
the Macpherson-'gainst-Mactavish feud against Singapore,
and the reader will doubtless say that I had very good
reasohl ».

THEOU^H THE BUFFER STATE 228

A still more serious robbery took place in this same
hotel two or three months afterwards, and, strange to say,
it occurred in the very same set of rooms that I then
occupied. Baron Something, the Austrian Ambassador to
the court of Japan, was on his way east to take up his new
appointment, and occupied these rooms (No. 41, avoid
them !) during his few days' stay at Singapore.

And when the Baron woke one fine morning he found
that not only his gold watch was gone, but also other
trinkets of some considerable value. And when the Baron
missed his property, he raged furiously and tore his hair as
only barons can do. And when the Baron had torn his
hair so frantically, as only barons can do, there was a
great hue and cry through the hotel to catch the thief
and recover the Baron's property. And the hotel people
began to think of the conjurers, who had stolen my watch,
but they were not to be found, for they were in another
land. And when the conjurers could not be found, they
made search among those who could be found, namely,
the servants of the hotel. And when they made this
search, where did they find the Baron's property but in
possession of the Chinese mcUee, or gardener of the hotel,
whom nobody at all suspected. And so the Baron recovered
his property and his temper, his hair grew again, and he
went on his way rejoicing, while the gcurdener got rigorous
imprisonment with hard labour, for a period of two long
years !

Now could this same thievish gardener have also stolen
my watch from the very same rooms (No. 41, avoid them !) ?
He could have easily come in through the back room with-
out being observed, as he did on the other occasion. And
the poor conjurers, who were hounded out of the place, were
they innocent after all ? Who knows ? But whether they
were or not, the coincidence clearly shows how liable to error
pur very shrewdest suspicions may be, and how careful we
should always be in forming our opinions, and in drawing our
conclusions, for the conjurers may have been innocent after
all.

The first thing I looked for after arriving at Singapore
this time was for a ship to take Yalloo to Bangkok back
again ; and I was not long kept waiting, as there was a
ship leaving for that port the very next day. I got a ticket

224

THBOUaH THE BUFFEB STATE

for y&Uoo in the agent's office, and engaged a surf boat
to land Y&Uoo safely on board his ship, which was lying
out in the harbour. The chief officer was in charge, and
the ship was sailing in an hour or two ; but he said that
though the ticket was all that he would require, the emigrant
agen^ when he came on board, would not let my servant
go unless he had the necessary paper for doing so. Why,
this was Saigon over again, and yet this was a free colony
of the much vaunted Land of Liberty.

These restrictions on the movements of the natives may
perhaps be necessary, but they must be very irksome to
these poor people, who can scarcely call their souls their
own. I hope, therefore, that they believe in the doctrine
of Fore-ordination, for the poor beggars can scarcely be
expected to believe in the doctrine of Free-will. By this
time indeed poor Yalloo was becoming a veritable Old Man
of the Sea on my back, and I could not get rid of him.
There was no use of waiting till the emigrant functionary
came on board, to plead Yalloo's cause, for I had had enough
of that at Saigon. The only thing to do was to take Yalloo
ashore again in a hurry, which I did. And after going to
the wrong office once or twice, we finally got hold of the
right one. Here I procured the necessary pass for Yalloo,
returned with him back to the ship again, and she was
shortly afterwards sailing gaily out of the harbour with
Yalloo on board.

And so I saw the last of the valiant Yalloo, who
sometimes made me very angry and sometimes made me
laugh. During the time he was with me, though he had
no chance of becoming either a Rooshian or a Prooshian,
he might easily have become a Frenchman ; but yet he re-
mained an English-man, much to the honour and glory of
the British Lion. And long before these pages can appear
in print, he will probably have talked over and over again
to his little wife (and the baby) about his wonderful
adventures with the white stranger, from whom he ran away
in the wilds of Ldos, but who proved his true friend in the
hour of his need.

Valloo, the DkKK Delinquent.

Thoiffih '■ VMloo. Viilloo '■ oft iM cried,
Y« ViUoo ami onw replied.

■\

I

I >

I

^l^^^pa^^MW

THEOUGH THE BUEFEB STATE 225

CHAPTER XXIII

She sits on a rock, and the wind through her hair
Eternally sings from the fragrant sea,
' And now and anon she repeats in despair :

'My tme love returns not again io me ;
Illy lover returns not to me again,

From over the waves of the raging sea,
Oh, why don't the steeds with the foaming mane
Betum not my true-love again to me ? '

The Sighiiig Maiden.

The country mouse — Saigon and Singapore contrasted — Singapore
the City of Rickshaws — Steam no match to two-legged ponies — Mrs.
Bumble and the Rickshaws — ^Reasonable inquiries — The fate of
Captain Bertuzzi and of Phra Yott — The French and Chantaboon
— His Highness the Sultan of Johore — An * At Home * with His
Highness — The recent breach of promise case — General opinions
—The sighing Penelope and lost Ulysses — Parting with Jimmy—
His varied accomplishments — Thoughts of becoming a Mahdi.

Being essentially a country mouse, I prefer the country to
the town, and one glimpse of Nature to an age of Art.
But when I go to the town, I like to see the little rodents, the
town mice, gnawing and sawing away at their various
pursuits ; some of them gnawing at wood and some at iron,
but all hoarding the gold, when they can get it. In this way
Singapore was satisfactory enough, as everyone looked in
such a suspicious hurry, as if fearing that everyone else was
going to steal his gold watch and jewels from him. It
contrasted wonderfully with Saigon that I had only left
a few days before. And it made me think that there must
be something attractive in business, besides the mere
hoarding of gold. There were the gallant ships out in the
harbour, and here on shore were the busy, busy town
mice that supplied them with their merchandise.

Singapore, indeed, is a pretty sight, not so much the town
itself, the business part of which is too cramped, but the
beautiful broad harbour, with such a lot of ships in it every

Q

226 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

day in the year. But what particularly distinguishes
Singapore is its jinrickshaws. Various cities in the East
receive nicknames from certain predominant peculiarities.
Thus Calcutta is nicknamed the * City of Palaces/ Bombay,
the * City of Ducks ' (that is to say, Bombay Ducks), while
Madras is the 'Benighted City,' On the same principle
Singapore is the * City of Kickshaws.' There is probably
no other place with the same number of rickshaws, and
generally speaking they are very good ones too. Not in
Hong Kong, not in Shanghai, and not even in Japan itself,
I think, has the institution of rickshaws grown so great.
I was riding in one of them some day, and noticed that the
number of another one going on in front of me was con-
siderably over 6,000, though the population of Singapore is
considerably under 100,000 inhabitants. This surprised me,
but I was afterwards told that nearly 8,000 rickshaws run
daily on the streets of this tropical city.

Not very long ago an enterprising syndicate who
believed in the blessings of steam started extensive steam-
cars over the city. But they had to shut up shop shortly
after. For the two-footed ponies in the jinrickshaws actu-
ally worked the iron horse off his legs. Nay more, jinrick-
shaws have become quite fashionable. Only the other day,
and if you suggested a ride in a jinrickshaw to a woman
of quality in Singapore, the woman of quaUty would turn
up her nose at you. But all that is changed now. The
governor of Singapore was away at this time, but I was told
that his wife had lately taken to riding in a jinrickshaw and
keeping a private stud of Chinese two-legged ponies for that
purpose, just for fun. Mrs. Bumble, the woman of quality,
immediately followed suit, and if you now suggest a ride in
a jinrickshaw to Mrs. Bumble, far from turning up her nose,
she makes it look quite archaic (that is to say, with an arch)
with the happy pleasure of anticipation. Such are the
freaks of fashion.

But to speak in earnest, a good jinrickshaw is really a
pretty little carriage, with its elegant wheels and its brass
shiny mountings ; and there is no reason why any one
should turn up his predominant feature at it. As a rule
they will cover the ground nearly as fast as four-wheelers,
such as the four-wheelers one meets at Singapore. The two-
legged ponies are almost invariably Chinamen all over the

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 227

Far East, with the single exception of Japan, the country
from which the jinrickshaws originally sprang. They are
generally strong sturdy men, but yet perspire a little too
freely in such sultry climates. By constant exercise the
calves of their legs get so developed, and their hips so plump,
that they move between the shafts with all the ease and
elegance of sturdy little Highland ponies.

When I reached Singapore I turned up the back numbers
of several papers, to make up for lost time, and see what
had occurred when I was in the wilderness. There were
two persons that I wished particularly to know about, and
these two distinguished people were Captain Bertuzzi and
Phra Yott : both of whom I had left in the clutches of the
law on my leaving Bangkok. As regards Captain Bertuzzi,
I am glad to say that he stood his trial and was honourably
acquitted, the verdict being (1) that there was not sufficient
evidence that it was he who killed the native, and (2) that
he was at any rate only acting in self-defence when attacked
by two natives, one of whom got fatally stabbed in the
scrimmage. I was glad to see this, as I could scarcely believe
that my would-be interpreter across the country was a
hardened criminal. Indeed, the short article I read about
his case exonerated him so completely, and dwelt so much
on the supposed dangerous condition of the country at this
particular time that I cut it out, intending to give it
verbatim here. But unfortunately I lost my cash-box after-
wards with this slip of paper, and many others in it, as will
be duly recorded in the proper place.

And what of Phra Yott ? His fate was very different.
When I left Bangkok, the general impression there was
that the seven Siamese judges would sacnfice him to appease
France. But the judges did nothing of the kind. Prince
Bitchit and his fellow judges acquitted Phra Yott on every
count of the indictment. France was neither pleased nor
appeased by this. She got Phra Yott tried again by a
mixed court, and this tribunal sentenced poor Phra Yott to
twenty years' penal servitude.

Poor Phra Yott ! perhaps you are a patriot. If you are,
and if you only knew it, you should try and comfort your-
self with the reflection that some of the best and bravest
patriots have suffered for their country even a worse fate
than yours before now ; although it must be confessed that

q2

228 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

twenty years are a long time wherein to chew the cud of
bitter fancy.

The Siamese town of Chantaboon, something like a hun-
dred miles south of Bangkok, and, next to Bangkok itself,
the most important port in the kingdom, was occupied by
French troops when I was in the country, and they are still
there at the time of penning these pages. The ostensible
reason for occupying the town at all was Fhra Yott's action,
and it was held out that when Phra Yott's case would be
finished, so would be finished the French occupation of
Chantaboon. But there they still are sitting — still are sit-
ting — like Edgar Allan Poe's raven, although Phra Yott
has been sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour,
probably for life. The story goes the round that the French
will not leave Chantaboon tUl Phra Yott has served his
twenty years' penal servitude, as the full measure of his
crime will only then be wiped out. This story, of course, is
too ingenious to be true. But it may be safely said for one
thing, that if the French will not vacate Chantaboon for the
next twenty years, they will not do so till the Greek
Kalends, and that if they don't do so within a reasonable
period, the question of Chantaboon is likely to become
quite as important as that further north, because Chantaboon
. is comparatively speaking within a stone's throw of Bangkok
itself, and the river, of which it is the principal port, is the
natural outlet of both the provinces of Angkor and Battam-
bong, already alluded to.

There was comparatively little for me to see at Singapore
this time, as I had been there several times before. There
was, however, one notable exception, and that was His
Highness the Sultan of Johore. Some years ago I went
over to his capital of Johore itself, from which he takes his
designation, but he was then in Europe, for he dearly loves
the North, like many other people. Johore is at the extreme
southern point of the long and narrow Malayan Peninsula,
and is practically the furthest south point of the whole vast
continent of Asia. It is separated from the small island of
Singapore by a sound only a mile or so wide, and the drive
across the island from the town of Singapore to Granji Pier
opposite Johore is under twenty miles, and is a particularly
pleasant one.

I intended to go over this time once again, as the Sultan

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 229

was at home. But while staying at Singapore there was
an announcement that His Highness was going to have an
* At Home ' at his town residence, on the outskirts of
Singapore itself. This would do away with the necessity
of going over to Johore, as I would attend the * At Home '
instead. I wished to see His Highness, partly because he
was a very interesting person in himself, and partly because
he was very much before the public when I started from
India, on account of his very amusing breach of promise case.

The Chinese two-footed ponies in the rickshaws are
obtuse enough in their intellect — all ponies are ; but the
drivers of the four-wheeled *groaners' are vastly worse.
If you told them that you were going to Jericho, they
would instantly take upon themselves to drive you there.
But they are extremely bad at reaching their destination if
you do not know the way yourself, especially if you cannot
speak the * pigeon.' Our driver on the evening of the
Sultan's ' At Home' was particularly dull of comprehension ;
but by patient perserverance we reached the Sultan's palace
at last, probably among the very last arrivals.

Mrs. Brown-Potter, t^e once famous American beauty,
had already sung her song, for she was then at Singapore
with a company of strolling players, and was acting for the
time being at the Town Hall, and the function of presen-
tation had also been already over. I was sorry I was so
late, as I wished to be presented to His Highness, which,
however, I afterwards managed through the English aide-
de-camp attached to His Highness's person. The Sultan
appeared afiGftble and simple enough, as he moved to and fro
among his guests. I did not expect to see any ladies at
this function, as I was afraid His Highness would be un-
popular with the fair sex, on account of his having so
recently jilted an English lady. But not at all : His
Highness was very popular in Singapore, and all the be&uty,
as well as the chivalry of the place, were there in all their
bravery.

His Highness was a man considerably over sixty years
of age, of a light olive complexion, and so gentle and mild
in his manners that no one would expect him to play the
part of a wicked Lothario in breaking women's hearts. He
would be considered small of stature for a European, but
quite the average height of the race to which he belongs, as

230 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

he is a pure Malay by blood, and very few of this roving
race are of anything like tall stature. And they are also
far more uniform in height than Europeans, as they seldom
differ from one another in this respect for more ijian two
or three inches at the most.

His Highness, who was very popular in Singapore,
spoke English thoroughly well, and was quite European in
everything except the red fez on the top of his head, as
became a true and faithful follower of the Prophet. He
gave these * At Homes * now and again, and they were im-
mensely popular when they came off. But the mere occur-
rence of this ' At Home ' naturally gave rise to gossip about
His Highness ; and his recent jilting affair would have
revived again, even if it had died out, which it had not at
this time.

Like many another personage of exalted rank, he de-
lighted occasionally to drop his greatness and his rank, and
go about incognito, under an assumed name, as if he were
mere ordinary flesh and blood like other people. And
nothing could show both the humility and fascination of
His Highness better than th^ way in which he stormed the

citadel of Miss M 's heart, for he was then living under

the very ordinary name of Mr. Albert Baker, an English
name that bore a convenient resemblance to his own real
Malay name of Abu Bakhur.

The Sultan had a large revenue, but his heart was
larger still. And he was, therefore, very expensive in his
mode of living, especially when he went among his friends
in the North, where he spent a considerable portion of both
his time and fortune. The natural consequence followed.
His Highness was in debt. Many people regretted the late
breach of promise case, more for the sake of the Sultan
than for the broken-hearted one, who suffered so grievously
by the conduct of her truant lover, Mr. Albert Baker, of
that ilk. The trial of the case lately in England will still
be in the memory of many readers, and it will also be
remembered that it elicited one important fact, namely,
that though the Johore territory is under British protec-
tion, yet that the Sultan thereof is practically an indepen-
dent prince, over whom the British law-courts have no
jurisdiction whatever.

This fact, though gratifying to the Sultan in a way,

TfiEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 231

has yet done him some harm. His lavish expenditure
having, as I said, depleted his treasury. His Highness
wished to' raise a loan of 100,000Z., as his friend John Bull
has had to do on more than one occasion before now. But
when the wary capitalists came ;fco know by this breach of
promise case that they would have no legal claim against
him, if he refused to pay up, they closely tied their purse-
strings, and would not advance him the money he wanted.
This was a pity ; for it put a check on the large-heartedness
of His Highness. If he had married the broken-hearted
one, they say, this fact of non-liability to pay would never
have come out, the capitalists would have gladly lent him
the loan, the sighing one would be comforted, and would,
after all, be only one more or less in his already extensive
harem ; and, in short, the world would go on merrily as
before. But all that is changed now. The lone one is
sighing on the shores of England, and whispering to the
breezes, * Will ye nae come back again ? ' for her lost
Ulysses ; while Ulysses himself, poor fellow, is stranded on
the Calypso of Singapore. So much for love.^

But I must now descend from sultans to chickens.
For I had now to part with Jimmy, my jolly little bird
with four legs, mentioned on a page before. I refrained
from mentioning him much in this narrative, as I wanted
to give him a page of peroration all to himself. This was
the callow bird without any feathers, but with four legs,
that I caught at the remote village of KalMn, and that
proved a valuable pastime to me during a portion of the
journey, as he very soon turned out the most pettable of
pets. During my trip on the great lake Tel^-Sdp, time
hung heavily on my hands, and the ogre of weariness
peeped at me through her spectacles now and again. I
could not always be reading, for my eyes would grow tired,
nor could I always be writing, as the * Lady of the Lake,'
notwithstanding her pretty name, was not at all well
adapted to clerical purposes. And though I jotted down
the little incidents of the journey, these took up very little
time, while this book, * Through the Buffer State,' was then
in the womb of futurity.

^ This genial Malay prince died shortly after this chapter was written,
but as nothing ill-natured has been said about His Highness, the text is
allowed to stcuid.

232 THKOUOH THE BUFFER STATE

In short, I was suffering from having too little to do, a
very irksome complaint, which is much more common than
is generally supposed, even by the sufferers. Under these
circumstances I occasionally amused myself by making a
pet of Jimmy, who was seldom in his cage, except during
the night, or when the raging winds would blow. By far
the greater portion of my time was spent lying on my
back, on a folding cork mattress stretched across ^e boat,
under the shade of the hood, and almost my only occupation
was reading the few books I had brought with me on the
journey, some of which I read twice over. Jimmy was
never happier than when perching on one of my knees,
which was generally raised above the other one when ]ying
down. Failing that, my breast was the next best perch he
could think of, and his continual purr of pleasure, like
that of a cat, was quite edifying to hear.

His only aversion was my eyeglasses, at which he would
peck fiercely to take them away. But on these occasions
he was remanded to his cage for punishment, as bad boys
are sent into comers when they misbehave themselves. If
I happened to walk from one end of the boat to the other,
poor Jimmy was sure to follow, and when the wind would
blow a little too hard for him, he would nestle in the
calmest nook he could find by my side^ like a sensible
little puppy.

But the best thing of all that he did was to pick rice
seeds out of my ears. Mahomed's pigeon that was
supposed to personify the Holy Ghost, by whispering
wisdom in the ears of the prophet, when he was only
picking millet seeds out of them, was really nothing to
Jimmy. Had he four legs, for instance ? No. Then he
wasn't like Jimmy. And Jimmy could pick out seeds
quite as well, though I am not prepared to say that he was
always whispering wisdom in my ears, for he was too
intent on the seeds to be then whispering anything. I was
always intending to take a photograph of the odd-looking
Jimmy. But he was so ugly that I was waiting till he got
a little bigger and handsomer, and got a few more feathers
on his back. And the result of it was that I forgot about
it in the end altogether. Nor did it matter, as almost all
the photographs turned out an utter failure.

Indeed, Jimmy was so queer and so docile a bird, that

•w

THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 233

I was seriously thinkuig of setting myself up as a new
Mahdi, with Jimmy to whisper wisdom into my ears, the
same as Maiiomed's dove did in his. But on further reflec-
tion, I came to the conclusion that, however dignified it
would sound to be a Mahdi, yet it had its drawbacks.
For life would be too tedious to be always playing the r61e
of a false prophet. And so I gave up that idea, and now I
was going to give up even Jimioay himself. He had grown
apace when he was with me, having plenty to eat, plenty
to drink, and nothing to do ; and having nothing to do
probably agrees with chickens.

He was a callow being almost entirely featherless when
I got him. But the feathers eventually began to grow,
and so did his supernumerary legs. What have Darwinians
to say on the effects of so-called * sport ' in the establishment
of permanent species ? For the variations of species depend
on ornament as weU as on utiUty ; and some hens might
really think Jimmy both beautiful and ornamental on
account of his odd lanky le&^s. Or had all chickens
originaUy four legs, and wis Ji^mjr only reverting to the
original type ? Was his case in short one of Evolution or
Devolution ? Some one may be able to solve this conun-
drum, though I cannot.

But Jimmy was rather backward in some things, for by
the time I parted with him he had not yet declared his
sex, so that I am quite unable to say whether his name was
really Jimmy or Jinny.

Everybody liked Jimmy, and when the Frenchmen at
the outpost of Kampong-Chenang first saw him, they raised
their hands in wonder, shrugged their shoulders, and
exclaimed, * Phenomenon, phenomenon I ' But alas, I had
to part with Jimmy. As I then expected to be going home
at once, my first intentions were to take Jimmy with me,
and hand it over as a curiosity to the Zoological Gardens,
or some similar institution. But here I had to change my
mind.

The valiant Valloo, daft though he was, was very fond
of Jimmy ; but now that he had left me, who would look
after the bird ? For I had enough to look after myself, as
I was now going to be without servants till I reached India
back again, and I had some rough travelling in front of me
still. For Jimmy's own sake, then, I gave him as a gift to

234 THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

the Singapore Zoological Gardens, where Jimmy is at this
moment perhaps, crowing on some nice little dung-hill of
his own. Mr. Iliddley, the curator of the (hardens, pro-
mised that he would be looked well after ; and if his new
master will be as fond of him as his old one, poor little
Jimmy will have no reason to complain. Good-bye
Singapore ; farewell Jimmy and Yalloo !

^»'^^P^*^^^^FW^^^"^>^i»"™»^^^"^^^«

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 235

CHAPTER XXIV

'Tis melancholy sure to see

The sites and scenes of old renown,
The roofless halls that wont to be

The glory of some ancient town ;
Now fallen to such low degree,

A^d unto dust slow crumbling down,
But yet possessing still to me

Romance and beauty all their own.

The Ha/nd of Time,

Old Malacca — Its chzoi^e of hands — St. Xavier's curse — The town's
decay and its cause — Malacca liie' Blighted City' — Malacca and
Madras compared — Its equable climate — Its shallow anohora^
— Ancient and modem Argosies — Cities struggling for existence.

And now to all intents and purposes I was homeward bound,
though considerably delayed on the way by known and un-
known causes. Though the time at my disposal did not
permit me to visit Luang-Prabang in the north of Siam,
yet my rapid journey down the Mekong from Kampong-
Chen^g to Fenhom-Penh, and from Penhom-Penh to
Saigon saved me a good deal of time, of which I was now
anxious to make the best possible use in another direction.
And how could I do this better than working my way back
along the Malayan Peninsula, and visiting among other
things the historical city of Malacca, at one time the most
important city of the East under European control, but now
a* mere wreck of ruin and decay ?

It was when the Portuguese ruled the waves that
Malacca first came into fame and prominence as the great
mart and emporium in the Far East. Then the Dutch, in
their day of grandeur, took it from the Portuguese in 1641 ;
and, last of all, in 1793, we in our turn took it from the
Dutch, in our day of grandeur, which has been waxing
stronger and stronger ever since, and will do so till the end of
the world. It was in this city of Malacca that the celebrated

3'

1

236 THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

Portuguese missionary, St. Xavier, laboured for many years,
but found it so hard to convert the natives (as many a devout
missionary has found since) that he is said to have left it,
after literally shaking its soil off his sandals, and cursing it
as a God-forsaken and wicked place.

He then went to Goa, at that time the headquarters of
Portuguese India, and still at this fag end of the nineteenth
century remaining a Portuguese possession, while the
greater portion of the rest of India has passed away into
other hands. If St. Xavier really cursed Malacca in this
old apostolic manner, his curse would certainly appear to
have had some effect, judging from the dilapidated condi-
tion of the place at present. The stranger visiting it now
will find it hard to believe that it ever was a very impor-
tant commercial centre ; yet there is no doubt that it was
so once.

The city that has now dwindled down to less than 20,000
inhabitants is situated on the open sea face, without even
the slightest bit of a creek or bay, let alone a harbour, for
shelter. The want of a good harbour seems to be a great
drawback to the growth, and especially to the stability of
cities, and it is the main cause why Madras, for instance,
has lately allowed herself to be so much outstripped both
by Calcutta and Bombay in the race for progress. For,
like Malacca, it is situated on an unbroken sandy coast, the
coast of Coromandel, on which the long rollers of the Indian
Ocean eternally roll and comb and break with an ever-
ceaseless roar. So that as Madras is called the * Benighted
City/ Malacca may aptly be called the * Blighted City,'
seeing that the curse of St. Xavier has had such terrible
effects on its future career.

One advantage Malacca has over Madras is the fact that
it is situated in a part of the world in which raging winds
scarcely ever blow, and in which the ocean seldom or never
roars. ^It is a very different case with Madras, for it is not
at all infrequently the scene of storms and tempests of a very
violent character The present writer was there ten years
ago, waiting for a passage to Rangoon, when a cyclone was
expected by the meteorologists to burst over the city, and
the ships were duly warned and actually sailed out of the
anchorage for safety, as they would have a better chance in
fighting the element in the open sea, than when riding at

■TV

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 237

anchor in the so-called Madras Boads. The storm came on
sure enough, and from the verandah of lipport's Hotel
I was even able to watch one or two of these ships fighting
the gale, only a few miles from the land.

But not only that storms do not blow in this region,
but the island of Sumatra, stretching away to the north,
though invisible from Malacca itself, effectually shelters it
from the long ocean rollers to which Madras is so exposed.
What strikes the stranger most, however, is the extreme
shallowness of the Malacca anchorage. Why, it's as
shaUow, if not so muddy, as lake Tel^-Sdp itself. The
small coasting-ship * Neera,* with which I went there, had
to anchor a mile or two from the land ; and the water is
so shallow all the way out, that a fine long bridge stretches
direct from the shore for more than half a mile into the
shallow sea. European residents in Malacca will tell you
that the coast must have been much deeper at one time,
and that the bottom must have silted up during later ages.
This view cannot be the correct one, for granted that no
particular convulsion followed the curse of St. Xavier,
there is nothing about the harbour to fill it up to any
appreciable degree, for the small river on which the town
is placed could never have been of any material importance
in bringing dSris down with it, as is the case with larger
rivers like the Mekong or Menam, for instance.

The rea3on is really to be found in the fact that Malacca,
though important enough in its day, would not at its best
be called a very great city in ours, and in the other fact
that in those olden days, the ships were really very small
and very probably beached on the sandy shore when
waiting for cargo, as is done with mere fishing smacks at
the present period. People scarcely realise the vast dif-
ference in size between ocean-going ships in those days as
compared with these.

Some twenty years ago the author happened to be the
surgeon of the Peninsular and Oriental steamship ' Aus-
tralia,' then the queen of the Peninsular and Oriental
fieet, and said to be the finest ship that had ever gone to
Indif^ at that time. But she was only 3,600 tons. While
writing these pages, only a score of years afterwards, the
' Caledonia,' the new queen of the same fleet, is 7,500 tons,
or somewhat over double the size of the * Australia.' Nay

288 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

more, he was on board the * City of Paris,' when that great
ship nearly foundered in the Atlantic in 1 890. She was 1 0,5GO
tons ; and though the biggest and fastest ship then in the
world, she has since been eclipsed both in size and speed hy
the ' Campania,' as well as by the * Lucania,' all of them
built on the Clyde except the 'City of Paris.' I only
mention these facts in order to show the vast strides that
are being made in shipbuilding of recent years. Why,
Columbus crossed the Atlantic in the 'Santa Maria,' a
caravel of a hundred and fifty tons ; and no ocean-liner,
however big and however fast, will ever again achieve so
splendid a victory.

Malacca is the oldest of our present possessions in the
Far East, being a British dependency for almost exactly a
hundred years at the time of writing this narrative ; and
it has never made much progress since the Portuguese had
it, or perhaps since St. Xavier shook his sandal shoon
at it in execration. When the pretty little island of
Poulo Penang was first occupied, the town of Penang
immediately began to cut out the town of Malacca, as it
was a more convenient port of call for ships to and from
the further East. And when we acquired the island of
Singapore, the go-ahead town of that name rapidly began
to cut out both Penang and Malacca. Such is the fate of
cities as of men ; they have their entrances and their exits,
and have to struggle on the stage of existence on the
principle of the survival of the fittest, like everything else
in the world.

The town of Malacca is familiarly known in the Straits
Settlements under the nickname of 'Sleepy Hollow,' on
account of the absolute dulness of itself and all its sur-
roundings ; yet this ' Sleepy Hollow ' will always remain
an interesting place, for it has not only given its name to
the Straits, which are the key to the Far East, but even to
the whole peninsula on which it stands, which is generally
known to foreigners as the Malacca Peninsula. But let us
go ashore and see what Malacca is like.

THROUaH THE BUFFER STATE 239

CHAPTER XXV

Come, show me the mines where the yellow gold
Was wont to be gathered in days of old,
The gold of old Ophir that decked the Queen
In garments resplendent with sparkling sheen,
That fringed the rich robes that Queen Sheba wore,
When Solomon reigned in the days of yore.

Queen SJieba.

Untravelled travellers — Uncomfortable passages — Malacca Best-
house — ^Ancient Cathedral — * Upper Crust Club * — Mount Ophir —
Its Scripture basis — Ehlang and Qualo-Lumpor — The coffee and
tin industries — The future of John Chinaman.

Though there are several small steamers running up and
down this coast, there are seldom more than four or five
Europeans on board any of them for crews, and they
scarcely ever dream of going ashore at Malacca, which is
so far away from the anchorage, and with nothing to do
when people get there. I have always been fond of sailors,
and think them the bravest people in the world. Yet I
cannot help saying here that, taken as a class, they are
the most untravelled travellers on the face of the earth.
With some few exceptions, they seldom see anything at
all of the countries they visit, except the harbour and its
more immediate surroundings. Most of them will tell
you that they hate the sea, yet they get so accustomed to
be on board their ship that she becomes their home, and
they seldom le^ave her.

A captain of an American ship was travelling with
me once across the Pacific as a distressed seaman, sent
home by the American consul at Hong Kong, after losing
his ship on one of the Caroline Islands. His ship was
not a big one, he said, something under a thousand tons,
but he was sorry to lose her, as he had steadily risen in her
from an ordinary sailor to be master of her. Did he i^ot

240 THBOUOH THE BUFFER STATE

feel the time long at sea 1 Yes, he did. Bat all the same,
when chief mate of this same fated vessel, he had been over
two whole years trading from port to port, without ever
taking the trouble to go on shore. And yet how many
gallant and romantic young lads run away to sea — to see
the vxyrld /

Though the master of the ' Neera ' was by no means
familiar with * Sleepy Hollow/ as he called it, yet he was
aware that there was a rest-house there, and there I went.
The rest-house alone went to show that lodgings ought to
be had cheap in the town of Malacca, for in its time it
would have been quite a fine big residence, looking out on
the ever-melancholy sea, though few people resided there
now. These rest-houses in the Malayan peninsula are
kept up in exactly the same way as what is known as
Traveller's Bungalows in India, and are entirely the pro-
perty of their government. This one was looked after
by a Madrassee who spoke Hindustani ; but had visitors
so seldom that he was also a subordinate in some Govern-
ment office, which did not at all tend to improve his cater-
ing for his occasional visitors \ and I was rather out of it
now, as I was without any servants of my own.

The only other person living in the ^t-house at this

time was Mr. B , the Assistant Resident of the

Malacca province, who had just come to Malacca, and was
waiting for his own house to be got ready. The rest-house
not only contained accommodation for occasional, very
occasional wanderers, but also contained the station
library, with a fair assortment of books and papers of
various kinds. The rest-house was a fair example of many
other houses in Malacca, solidly and well built in former
days, but now with a great many apartments to let, and
without any immediate prospect of being crowded with
lodgers.

The most conspicuous object from the sea, and in fact
the most interesting object in the whole place, is a fine old
ruined cathedral, built during the palmy days of Portu-
guese occupation, on an elevated plot of ground not far
from the long pier and the landing-place, and now surely
though slowly crumbling down into dust and ashes. On
• going to visit this ancient ruin, I came across many flat
grave-stones on the floor 9f the cathedral, with inscrip-

'^•m^^^^fgfmm I 1^1 pi *■• V iiaqiww^Vl " », '.^ ' .' ' ■'• "•▼\" ■'• "^ ^1

THEOUGH THE BUFFEE STATE 241

tions on them, and no doubt covering the bones of some
who were distinguished in their day.

The one, however, that attracted my attention most,
referring as it did to the most distinguished of them all,
was a ^ab on the wall, of comparatively recent origin.
This tablet stated that St. Xavier, the celebrated Portu-
guese missionary already mentioned, had died, and that his
body had been placed there (apparently in a niche), in the
year 1553 — nearly three hundred and fifty years ago. This
statement on the slab does not tally with the story that he
shook his sandal shoon at the place when he went to
India. But, perhaps he afterwards regretted and returned
again to remove the curse, but couldn't. I think the
general impression is that this famous divine died in Goa,
and in the bookless place where I am now writing I am
unable to find out which is the correct version of the story.
But there in Malacca, at any rate, is the slab to his me-
mory, according to which his body was laid there in 1553.^

This ancient and interesting cathedral has no roof
now, and is no longer used for the purpose of piloting to
the world to come. Yet strange to say, a portion of it
is still used for pilotage of a more sublunary nature ; for
this portion now constitutes the Malacca lighthouse, that
ruides the ships of the present day into the Malacca
goadstead during the dark hours of night.

One evening I went with one or two others to have a look
round the place. We first visited the Malacca Club, where
some half a dozen people were congregated, smoking, drink-
ing, or playing billiards. After it got dark we went into
another place, up a couple of flights of narrow, dark stairs.
*'IIullo,' I said, * is this another club ? ' * Yes,' said one of
my companions with a cynical smile, this is the * Upper Crust
Club.' There are only between thirty and forty pure Euro-
peans throughout the whole of the Malacca Province, and cer-
tainly not more than twelve or fifteen in the ancient town
itself ; and yet Malacca had two clubs. Could the petty dif-
ferences of rank be drawn out to finer issues ? and what ridi-

^ So far as I could afterwards find out, the true facts of the case are,
that St. Xavier died and was first buried in China, and was buried after-
wards in this cathedral at Malacca, and finally that his body was taJcen
away and buried for the third time in Goa, on the Malabar coast of India,
where his ashes remain for the present. Query : How much of St. Xavier's
ashes ever reached Goa ?

R

242 THKOUOH THE BUFFER STATE

cttlous vanity life most be to require such artificial meansto
maintain its importance ! This Upper Crust Club consists
of the Resident, Assistant Resident, Residency surgeon, chap-
lain, government engineer, and a practising barrister ; and
that's all. However, we played pool that evening, and I
was delighted to win a whole live almighty Mexican dollar
from the Upper Crust Club of Malacca.

During my short stay at the rest-house, almost the
only European planter in the province happened to come to
Malacca on business ; and having put up at the rest-house,
he kindly invited me to visit his plantation in the interior
of the country. He lived some twenty -five or thirty miles
straight inland in a due easterly direction, and I was only
too pleased to go with him. There he had a tapioca planta-
tion and factory, which I went over with some curiosity,

as I had never seen a tapioca factory before. Mr. S

had only recently bought this estate, and was going to make
a fortune out of it — which I hope he will. The great size
of the tapioca tubers must exhaust the ground very rapidly,
but there is plenty of virgin soil in this locality to be culti-
vated in endless succession.

The mere planting of tapioca is simple enough. But it
is only a small portion of the business, from the time that
the cuttings are first planted in the ground, till the tapioca
is turned out in the factory, and separated into its different
varieties according to the qualities of each. Few people
know the varied and often complex processes of labour
required to produce some of the simplest articles of daily
use, and I have already confessed that I did not know
myself that sago consisted of the pith of a palm till I went
over to Borneo to gain that piece of knowledge ; for the
maxim of * live and learn * is a very wise and useful one. It
was Mr. S who kept in a cistern a supply of the mud-
fish that looked so ugly and tasted so sweet, when I was
crossing the wilds of Ldos, as already recorded in a previous
chapter.

The whole of the Malayan Peninsula is fairly moun-
tainous, with the ranges generally extending from north to
south, and more or less in line with the coast on either
side. Some ten or twelve miles from the residence of Mr.

S is a conspicuous mountain, possessing the very biblical

name of Mount Ophir, and supposed by some to be the

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 243

Mount Opliir from which King Solomon got his gold when
building the Temple at Jerusalem. This supposition cannot
be true. In those ancient days of limited navigation, it was
a far cry from Palestine to Malacca ; and the name, indeed,
is more likely, to have been given to the mountain by the
first Portuguese, who may perhaps have discovered gold in
its vicinity.

But further than this, the Bible does not use the word
mount or mountain at all in connexion with Ophir. The
only passages in sacred scripture, so far as I know, that
refer at all to Ophir are the following : —

1 Kings xxii. 48 : ' Jehoshaphat made ships of Thar-

shish to go to Ophir for gold : but they went not ; for the

ships were broken at Ezion-geber ; ' 2 Chronicles, viii. 18 :

' And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships,

and servants that had knowledge of the sea ; and they

went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence

four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them

to King Solomon ; ' also ix. 10 : ' And the servants also of

Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold

from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones ; ' the

book of Job xxii. 24 : ' Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust,

and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks ; ' and

last of all, but far from least, the beautiful forty-fifth psalm,

and ninth verse : —

Among thy women honourable,
Kings' daughters were at hand ;
Upon thy right hand did the queen
In gold of Ophir stand.

It will be observed that none of these passages (and
there may be more), mention that Ophir was a mountain ;
nor, indeed, does any o£ them mention what it was. Sailing
up the coast northwards, this Mount Ophir is very con-
spicuous and very deceptive in its appearance ; for by the
time you reach Malacca you fancy you have left it iajr
behind you to the south. The reason of this is that ordinary
small atlases give one the idea that the west coast of the
Malayan Peninsula is almost due north and south, which,
indeed, it nearly is in its general bearings, but is far from
being so in several individual places. When sailing up the
coast to Malacca, the course is pretty nearly north-west.
So, when you travel to Jazin, where I w;ent on this occasioQ

b2

244 THBOtJGH THK BUFFER STATE

almost directly on the way of Mount Ophir, yon fancy you
are going south again, -whereas you are really going almost
due east.

I was nearly tempted to climb this mountain, and should
certainly have done so if I thought there was anything
romantic or Biblical about it. But as I knew that there
wasn% and as I had already reached within three or four
thousand feet of the highest climb on record, it was scarcely
worth my while to scale the paltry 4,000 odd feet of Mount
Ophir for the sake of ' doing' it. I would much prefer to
go on the principle of ' Excelsior,' or go one better, so to
speak.

And thus I left Malacca and the Upper Cnist CQub.
The construction of a railway had just then been sanc-
tioned by the British Government, to connect Malacca and
the general railway system that is being so rapidly pushed
on uirough the entire length of the Malayan Peninsula,
and which will eventually extend from Moulmain, in the
south of Burmah, all along this long peninsula to Johore,
the southern extremity alike of the Malayan Peninsula and
of the great Continent of Asia itself. The Malaccians hope
that Malacca will then begin to flourish again, and I can
only hope that their hopes may be realised.

We proceeded then to Port Dickson, farther up the
coast, and later on to Elhlang. The steamers along this
coast are very wretched, with the exception of one or two.
I was in four of them, and they were all uncomfortable,
and two of them were not intended to carry European
passengers at all. However, the traveller is bound to put
up with these discomforts if he wishes to travel as he
ought, for he cannot be always luxuriating in buns and
pancakes when roughing it in this way.

When wandering through the Malay Peninsula, as was
my usual custom when passing through other plsices, I
began to learn a few words of the language of the country,
to be of course forgotten almost at once when the journey
was over. Like many other languages, I found that tlie
Malay language abounded in slang, just the same as our
own. We all know how such words as burke, boycott, &c.,
became common English words. And I found almost an
exact parallel to the latter term in the Malay tongue. For
instance, according to a Malay vocabulary in the possession

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 245

of one of the skippers with whom I sailed, when a man
was transported or put in Coventry for any crime, he was
said to be * bombayed.'

Under this funny word ' bombaia ' was attached a note
of explanation, saying that the word originated from the
former custom of transporting criminals from Malacca to
Bombay, when the criminal was said to be 'bombayed,'
just as we might use the term * botany-bayed ' in our own
country not very long ago. ' I do not know myself that
prisoners ever were transported from Malacca to Bombay,
and I rather incline to the opinion that the reverse was
the case, namely, that prisoners from Bombay were often
transported to the Malay Peninsula, as they are to this day
to the Andaman Islands, in that same direction.

It is interesting to notice how certain words of certain
languages travel, and take root here and there in distant
soils. I have already alluded to the word ' Farrang ' all
over Further Asia as meaning a European stranger, though
it originally meant a Frenchman only. The same may be
said of the Portuguese word * companha,' a courtyard or
enclosure, long ago introduced into the East during the
Portuguese predominance there, and still existing in British
India under the form of ' compound,' the enclosure round a
bungalow, as well as in Further Asia, where, in the form of
' kampong,' it has come to mean a village — as, for instance,
Kampong-Chen^ng, where I first met the Frenchmen in
far-away Cambodia, and which means the village of
Chenang. The Bengali word * sycej' a groom, is understood
from j^ghanistan to Yokohama, in Japan. Many other
instances of the same kind might be quoted, and I shall
therefore only mention the English word * boy,' which is
understood aJmost all over the East to mean a native
servant, who may be far indeed from being a boy.

I reached Khlang at last, a name hitherto, quite
unknown in my geographical vocabulary ; and so was
Quala-lumpor — a much more impo];1}ant place, as it is the
principal town in the province of Selangor, over which
there is a sultan, but which is practically under British
rule. Both Selangor as a province, and Quala-lumpor as a
town, are much the most flourishing places on the main-
land of the Malayan Peninsula. Khlang is but the port
of Quala-lumpor, and is comparatively a small place, twelve

246 THROUGH THE BUFFEE STATE

miles farther down the small river than l^e principal town,
with which it is connected by rail, a commodity of which
there is a good deal in this province, either building or
built.

At this time Selangor, more especially the neighbour-
hood of Khlang, was very much before the public as the
coming country for the coffee industry. Coffee at the
present moment is the real paying concern, though not
very long ago it could hardly pay the cost of producing
it. But times have changed. I wonder what the world
would do if times did not change now and again. And
the great cause of change here has been the abolition of
slavery in the empire of Brazil, aggravated by the late
political troubles in that same country. This condition of
affairs, combined with the insecurity of property consequent
on the recent civil wars, has caused the coffee industry to
languish in Brazil, at least for the present. A few years
ago and Brazil produced three-fourths of the coffee of the
world, but now it produces scarcely any at all.

It has also been lately discovered that coffee does not
require the cloudy hillsides which were at one time deemed
an absolute necessity for its production. This is particularly
the case with Liberian coffee, which is by no means a high-
land plant, and even prefers the rich, muddy loam of the
lowland plains. And a richer or loamier soil than that
around Khlang would be hard to find anywhere. Hence
the rush in Selangor at this time for coffee allotments, to
which even old Ceylon planters were eagerly turning their
attention. The recent rush for coffee-planting is, of course,
only a temporary one that will gradually calm down. For
the supply in due time will adapt itself to the demand, and
prices will naturally fall in consequence. But for those
who have coffee concerns in good working order it must be
one of the most paying of industries just for the time being.
While I was at Khlang, a price of twenty or twenty-one
dollars per picul would give a handsome profit ; but the
price of coffee at Singapore then was over forty dollars per
picul, and went up to forty-four since. So coffee, coffee, is
at present the magic word for making money, though how
long it will last I am not able to say.

Quala-lumpor is finely situated among hills and hollows,
but otherwise savours very much of a busy mining town.

"IF

'•"^^

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 247

The houses of the few Europeans are placed on pretty knolls
and hillocks here and there, with good scenery around them,
while the Residency occupies the best coign of vantage among
them all. A sesnery devoid of sea, lake, dr river is always to
me wanting in something, and Quala-lumpor is wanting in
all these, except the tiny river that flows on to Khlang ; but
otherwise the locality is very pleasing.

The great industry of the province is tin, tin, tin ; and
tin, indeed, is the most important industry throughout the
whole peninsula, though gold and other metals are also
found here and there. This metal, tin, is found in Selangor
in the form of black oxide, distributed in coarse, heavy
grains in the clayey soil near the surface, so that the
vicinity of Quala-lumpor is quite covered with these shallow
excavations in search of this precious ore, which is easily
reduced to the metallic state and ready for export.

The labour is all done by the Chinese, who also own a
great deal of the wealth and property of the place. Indeed,
the Chinese are a wonderful race. They swarm through
the whole of Siam, where they form a far more important
commercial element than the Siamese themselves. They
force their way through the mountain passes between their
own country and Upper Burmah, and eat away the poor
Burmans out of the land of their ancestors. In Australia,
if their immigration had not been timeously checked, they
would have multiplied till they and the rabbits only would
have been left in possession of the land. They are, in
short, a veritable plague of locusts, before whom the other
nations of the East cannot possibly hold their own from an
economic point of view.

As a rule, they are a quiet, thrifty people, and I hope they
will excuse me for saying that they are occasionally the
vilest of thieves. Many people at home think that in these
foreign possessions of ours all the riches belong to our own
countrymen, while the natives are never anything but
hewers of wood and drawers of water. Let them go to
Singapore or Penang, and there they will find that by far
the greater portion of the wealth of these towns belongs to
the Chinese population, who are as much foreigners in these
places as we are ourselves. Let the heathen Chinese be
abused as they may, yet they form a very important item
among the puzzling problems and premonitions of the future
ages.

248 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER XXVI

Oh, Death, how Bearchless are thy ways,

Thy laws how secret and profound !
Thou sparest one for many days,

And for his sake another's aiawued. ;
Bat bear in mind, capricions elf,

Against whose shafts there's no safe shield,
That even thou must die thyself ,

And onto Life thy spoil most yield.

Life and Death,

The Orang-Bakits— A primitive people — ^Their poisoned darts — The
effects of olairvoyftnce— Their iBolian harps — Loathsome leproKy
— Visit to general hospital — Foundering of steamship * Setthi * —
Saved by the bite of a mad dog— The darian and mangosteen.

When putting up at the rest-house at Khlang, I acci-

dentaUy came across a brother of Mr. S , who had put

me up at Jazin in the Malacca Province. He was goin^
in extensively for both pepper and coffee plantations, and
lived only a few miles away from Khlang, on the opposite
side of the little river. I went to see him one day, and he
gave me to understand that there was a small village a few
miles off, the people of which were Orang-Bukits, the
primitive aborigines of the Malayan Peninsula, and he was
also good enough to accompany me there for the purpose of
interpreting for me. These people generally roam about
the forest without any fixed or permanent abode, and the
more advanced Malays in former years used to hunt them
down like the beasts of the field.

Except a small portion belonging to the kingdom of
Siam, the whole of the Malayan Peninsula is now under
British rule and protection. Since that happy day the
Orang-Bukits are allowed to live in peace and quietness,
and they are gradually getting to settle down in little
villages like the one we were visiting, which consisted of
only a few houses on the top of a low, flattish bill. Fron^

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 249

a cursory view of those I saw, it would be folly to attempt
a description of these aborigines, who are scattered here
and there over the whole length and breadth of the land,
receiving diflferent names in different localities, but all
essentially the same race.

They are generally supposed to be among the most
primitive of all races ; but as regards the few of them that
I saw, I could not wedl make out any marked ethnological
differences between them and other odds and ends of
humanity that I had previously come across. They were

said to be very truthful and honest by Mr. S. , who

had some of them occasionally working on his plantation,
and that they were very accommodating in the way of food,
as nothing came amiss to them, from rats and snakes to
roots and leaves.

They have got some idea of music, too, to calm their
savage breasts, and they stick up in the open parts of the
forest long hollow pieces of bamboo, with slits cut in them
here and there ; and these bamboos act the part of real
^olian harps as the wind blows over them. I have seen
some of these bamboos sticking up, and have listened to
their music ; but during the two days that I went in that
direction, the wind was altogether too calm to bring much
music out of even an ^olian harp itself.

Various written descriptions have been given of the
many, many uses to which bamboos are put by uncivilised
races in tropical climates, but I don't remember ever seeing
any mention of them in connection with musical instru-
ments. Yet here it was. Nay more, small hard slips of
bamboo comprise the very sounding-boards of the musical
instrument called ran^t, alluded to on a previous page, but
a description of which I cannot wait to give here.

like the Dyaks of Borneo, they shoot their game with
poisoned darts, which they throw from peculiar hollow tubes,
or blowpipes, generally known under the name of stopatans.
When we went to the house of the chief of the little tribe,
I tried hard to wheedle him out of one or two of these
sdmpatans, but nothing at first would prevail on him to
part with them, as the Orang-Bukits have scarcely risen
yet to a due appreciation of the almighty dollar. At last,
after a good deal of clairvoyance, and telling him all sorts
of nonsense through Mr. S. , who translated, I was able

7

250 THBOUOH THE BUFFER STATE

to ooaz him oat of a couple of his beet simpataiiB for a
consideration.

He had only a few of the poisoned darts with him, and
as I wished to see how quickly the poison killed, I wanted
him to shoot with one of the darts an innocent hen that
was quietly scraping away for her liyelihood. But this the
savage would not do—and perhaps he was right. His son
gave me into the bargain a few poisoned darts, and in a
few days afterwards prepared for me a fresh supply of darts
and of the poison they use on the tip of them. This poison
they prepare from an extract made from the root of one
tree, aca-epoh^ and the leaves of another, tunik. These
s^patans and upas poison, or whatever it is, are still in
my possession, but I have never been able to throw the
darts myself from these blowpipes, which these savages
were able to do easily to a considerable distance.

We then adjourned to one of the other houses, and here
we met an object of the deepest misery, in the person of a
young girl under twenty years of age, of this same tribe,
lying on the floor and actually dying from leprosy. It was
a most pitiful sight to see this young girl, with her legs and
arms partly shrivelled away, and deformed and cramped by
this most loathsome of all diseases. How countless are the
ways of human suffering ; and how little comparatively has
human skill accomplished yet to put an end to them !

A day or two afterwards I met Dr. W , the princi-
pal Medical Officer of the Selangor State. He was then,
with only one other European surgeon, looking after a
large State hospital of something like 500 beds, and with
every requisite apparatus. He had several cases of leprosy
on hand, which is rather common among the Chinese tin>
miners ; and he said that leprosy, above all other com-
plaints, was pre-eminently the scourge of Selangor and the
peninsula throughout ; and moreover, that there was a
village farther down the sea-coast to the south where
lepers married and were given in marriage, with the result
that almost everybody in the village was a leper. Many
eminent physicians have puzzled their heads in vain to
find out the true cause of leprosy. But they are apparently
as far from it as ever.

When I landed at Fenang from the German ship
Teutonia,' I inquired after the steamship ' Setthi,' as I

THROUGH T^ BUFFEE STATE 351

wanted to pay a visit to the great pearl fisheries of the
Mergui Archipelago ; and the route of this ship was be-
tween Rangoon and Penang, calling at one or more of these

islands on her voyages to and fro. Mr. W , whom I

left under treatment at Saigon for the bite of a mad dog,
was the European engineer of this little ship, which
belonged to a firm of Chinese merchants. And I promised
him, when leaving Saigon, that I would try and take
a passage in his ship, if I could hit her off when I reached
Fenang, for she left Penang only once in every three
weeks.

Mr. W reached Penang before me, duly cured, I *

hope, if he required a cure, which I very much doubted.
But on the particular voyage of the * Setthi ' from Ran-
goon to Penang where he was to join her, she was caught
in a cyclone near Rangoon, and foundered with a loss o£

over fifty human lives. If Mr. W had not gone to

Saigon on account of the dog's bite, he would to a
certainty have been on board his ship, and would have
been drowned. And thus the life of Mr. Woodworth of
that ilk, chief engineer of the steamship ' Setthi,' is pro-
bably unique in, history, as having been saved from a
watery grave by the bite of a mad dog !

There was one curiosity I was able to gratify on this
journey, and which I often wished to gratify before, but in
vain — and this was the desire to be somewhere about the
Straits Settlements when certain fruits peculiar to the
Straits were in season. It looked as if I were going to
miss the opportunity this time again. But, luckily, by the
time I reached Penang on my way back the fruits in ques-
tion had already ripened. Among others, there are two
fruits in particular that grow in the Straits Settlements
and surrounding, and nowhere else.

There is a general notion that the climate of these
Straits Settlements is like that of India, or that of any
other tropical hot place. This is far from being the case.
Generally speaking, the greater portion of India, except
during the monsoon, has got a very dry climate, where
month passes after month without speck or cloud in the
burnished sky. The Straits Settlements, on the other
hand, has got a very cloudy, moist, and even rainy atmo-
sphere almost all the year round, while the heat never

252 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

rises so high as in most parts of India during the hot

The manffOiteen and durian, the two fruits in question,
love a moist, shady climate, and are actually frizzled out of
existence in climates where the atmosphere is not almost
invariably humid. They therefore refuse to grow in India,
or almost anywhere else except in the doldrums near the
Equator. These two fruits are far less known to the
ordinary traveller than is generally supposed ; and that
was the reason why I wanted to see them at their best,
and why I write about them at all here, for they come
into season at a time when the traveller who values his
comfort is well out of the tropics, and the same may be
said of the mango of India and elsewhere, which is never
seen by the visitor in the pleasant cool season.

Among those who have tasted it, there is no fruit about
which tastes differ so much as about the du/rian. It is a
large fruit, not very unlike a pineapple when at a little
distance, but it is nearly round, and not elongated like the
latter, and the outer surface is armed with hard, blunt
spines, instead of the soft outer texture of the pineapple.
The rind is also so hard, and the fruit so large and heavy,
that, as it happens to grow high up on large forest trees, it
has been known before now to cause death by falling from
the tree on the bald pate of some unfortunate native
pedestrian walking quietly down below, though I am not
sure if any of them ever happened to kill a European.

When this hard rind is properly cut open, the interior
is seen to consist of four or more compartments each com-
partment filled with three or four seeds of about the size of
a chestnut, imbedded separately in a thick, viscid substance
of about the same consistency and appearance as very thick
yellow cream. This latter pulp is the edible portion of the
fruit, having each lump covered with a thin, gauzy white
film that serves to separate each compartment from its
fellows. It is as to the value of this cream-like pulp that
opinions so vastly differ that some Europeans who pass
their best days in the Straits never taste it, or only taste
it once, but never again ; while others, on the other
hand, consider it the real jam-jam and manna of the
wilderness.

It is confessed, however, even by its devotees, that it is

THROUGH THfi BtlFFfiB STATE 258

a fruit that requires a little tiine to be appreciated, and
that grows on one only by acquaintance. I was not long
enough in its company to put this last quality to the test,
but I could quite see that one requires to be educated up
to it, for it is by no means a real relish on first trial.
Every offensive smell in the dictionary, from garlic and
onions to sulphuretted hydrogen and rotten eggs, has
been hurled at the head of this unfortunate fruit, and it
cannot be denied that occasional whiffs float sometimes
across the atmosphere of an undescribable and overpower-
ing quality. These puffs blow when they list, and come and
go at their own sweet pleasure, like the sighings of zephyrs
turned upside down. They are like the incomplete
blendings of several incompatible smells before being
finally amalgamated. So powerful is this smell to the up-
turned noses of over-sensitive people, that the presence of
the fruit in the same room with them is as unbearable as
the presence of a cat to some other peculiarly constituted
individuals.

On the other hand, to the prominent organs of other
chosen people this fruit smells like real perfume and tastes
as rich and luscious as ambrosia itself. To some people it
occupies a medium position between these two extremes,
for though they find the flavour certainly high, yet they
can both smell and eat it without any great compunctions
of conscience, and gradually get fond of it. Personally, I
was not long enough acquainted with the durian to bring
about this happy state of matters. But that it is esteemed
a valuable fruit is shown by the high price paid for it,
more especially by the rich natives ; for when I was in
Penang then, the friiit was just beginning to come into the
market, and you could not get a good ripe one much under
half a dollar, or, say, a shilling or so.

The character of the mangosteen, the other localised
fruit of the Straits, is different, for everybody likes it ; and
many people who can't endure the durian near them think
the mangosteen the finest fruit of any. I was not quite
such an utter stranger to the mangosteen as to the durian,
for we had met before on more thaji one occasion ; but this
was when the mangosteen had got a little old, for there is
scarcely any other fruit so delicate and perishable as this
one.

254 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

It is about the size of a small mandarin orange, with
a darker and muck tougher rind, -which, however, cuts
fairly easily to the knife, and exposes the interior fruit
from which the rind, when it is ripe, is quite free. This
inner fruit is almost exactly the size of a golf ball (so much
in fashion when I pen these lines), of a pearly, clear white-
ness, and divided into four or more segments, after the
manner of an orange and other fruits of the kiad. Some-
times the segments are five, six, or even more, in number,
and if you wish to know how many segments the interior
fruit contains before opening the rind, you have only to
look at the top of the unopened fruit, and there you will
see the remains of the original flower-cup, or calyx, divided
into parts that correspond with the number of segments of
the fruit inside. Generally speaking, the fewer the
segments the better the fruit, as the individual segments
are likely to be larger.

Each of these segments may contain a seed, but when
the mangosteens are very good, these seeds are almost
entirely cuUivcUed out of existence, so that scarcely any-
thing remains but the pulp alone. And even when one or
two seeds remain, they are so soft that they are generally
eaten with the rest of the fruit, to which they impart no
disagreeable flavour whatever, unless the mangosteens are
bad and the seeds harder than they ought to be.

This, then, is the fruit that is esteemed by many even
above the famous mango of India and other places, with
which, however, it has nothing in common, except the
more or less resemblance in name. But there is no fruit
so variable in quality as a mango, from the ropy, turpentiny
variety of dry up-country climates, with its hard, thick
stone in the middle of it, to the truly luscious mangoes that
grow where the soft zephyrs blow from the sea on the
Malabar coast of India, with a seed as thin and flat as a
pancake, inside a pulp too luscious to be described.

It would be as easy individually to pick out the beauty of
beauties at a beauty show as to pick out to the satisfac-
tion of everyone the fruit of fruits in an all-comprising
fruit market. In the first place, fruits, just Hke beauties,
possess various and often opposite kinds of virtues ; and
secondly, the tastes of the judges luckily differ immensely
among themselves. I fancy, therefore, that a complete

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 255

consensus of opinion about the fruit of fruits is as impos-
sible as about the beauty of beauties in an all-comprising
beauty show.

Notwithstanding the resemblance in names, the mangoes
and the mangosteens, as I said, have but little in common.
If one therefore gets a surfeit of mangosteens for a month,
he would probably prefer a mango from the capricious love
of change inherent in human nature ; and after a month of
mangoes he would probably, for the same reason, prefer a
mangosteen, a pear, or perhaps some other fruit. But taking
one thing with another, as the cat said when he was
licking up the cream, I think that a very good mango is
the king of all fruits, though there are several people who
can't abide it.

There are other curious fruits in the Straits with which
I got supplied at this time for the sheer sake of novelty,
such as the lansit, the ramput^n and the jack-fruit ; but
these are not so confined to the Straits Settlements, nor
are their merits so often discussed by those who come in
contact with them, as to require any special description
here.

256 THBOUaH IHB BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER XXVII

Time passed, and I retraced again

My steps to scenes of old.
And looked and looked, bat looked in vain,

For friends now dead and cold

Beneath the silent mould ;
While e'en the hills scarce seemed to me
The same as they were wont to be.

The Bover^a Betum.

Mandalay reyiBited — Scenes of lang syne — Changes of Mandalay and
sorroandings — * Britannia: a Dream'— The vile Kabyoo — The
wounded Corydon — Two golden rules — Married on a wooden leg
— The Woundouk of Bham6 — A real ruby ring— The Burmese
crown jewels — Travelling hints on Burmah — Stranded on the
Irrawaddy — Mr. Btreeter and the Burmah Buby Mines.

And now we had left all the Straits Settlements behind,
and were on our way back again to Rangoon in the
British India steamer * Nuddea,' the commander of which
I had known long ago, bat had not seen for twelve or thir-
teen long years. He had also enough mangosteens on
board, which was another recommendation in his favour,
1^0 that we had plenty of opportunities of judging of their
quality, as well as of the seeds and segments they contained.
And there was plenty of room, too, on board the ship, for
there were only two other passengers, one of them a
Roman Catholic priest, and the other a mariner who had
been nearly lost in the cyclone in which the ill-fated
' Setthi ' went down. And thus I landed at Rangoon.

Having a short time still on hand, I could not think of
returning to India without revisiting Upper Burmah (and
Mandalay especially), where I had at one time spent
nearly a couple of years of my life. Much had changed.
Instead of going up and down by river, for instance, as
on previous occasions, one is now able to reach Mandalay
from Rangoon in about twenty-four hours by rail. Man-

THKOUGH THE BUFPEE STATE 257

dalay was not what it was. Poor King Theebaw's Golden
Palace had been altogether converted into mere public
offices and officers' quarters.

The monastery in connexion with the Arracan Pagoda,
from which the Burmese priests, or phoongies, had been
temporarily dispossessed, and where I lived on that occa-
sion, was now in possession of the monks again.

The tank in its vicinity, from the steps of which we
once used to feed the turtles swimming about, was just as
it was before, and I fed the turtles once again, probably for
the last time, and cooeyed to them to come to their banquet
as on previous occasions. The pagoda itself was unchanged
save for a fresh cover of paint, and of gold-leaf on the
image of Buddha ; and there were the young Burmese
maidens, or minkalays, some of them on their knees adoring
Buddha, and some trying to sell their petty merchandise in
the long passages, and all of them, as usual, in the best of
good humour. And last of all there was the great image
of Buddha himself, the most sacred image of Buddha in all
Burmah, and lately decorated with fresh gold-leaf, and
looking as fresh as paint, but as grave and thoughtful as
ever, with the fingers and toes all of the same length, just
as I had left them years ago.

But the Incomparable Pagoda, the largest pagoda in
Upper Burmah, was gone, as it had been burnt down to
the ground a few years before. And the large image of
Buddha half-way up Mandalay Hill, had also been de-
stroyed by fire in the prolonged interval. And there was
no signal station on the top of the Hill any longer, for all
these things had now been abandoned in these piping days
of peace. The walled and moated royal city of King
Theebaw had itself been all vacated by the Burmese popu-
lace, and with the exception of the Golden Palace, there
was scarcely anything to be seen of the previous state of
matters.

The extra-mural portion of the town, which was always
the larger, was now larger still by reason of the addition
to it of the former intra-mural inhabitants, and the other-
wise greater growth of the capital city, following in the
footsteps of peace and prosperity, with the many advan-
tages tiiat follow in their train. The streets in which pigs
and paiiah dogs used to wallow in dirt and mire, in searqh

8

258 l^HKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

of what ofTal they could find, were now cleajied, gravelled,
and some of them even macadamised, though a good deal
of dust was still flying about at this broiling time of the
year. And yet, with all these improvements, it was not
like the former Mandalay, nor half so interesting, in a way,
to me.

I wished very much to revisit Bhamd, on the inland
borders of China, where I had once spent a good many
days ; but here again Father Time checked me, as he had
previously done with regard to going to Luang-Prabang, in
Siam. As my time was getting short, I could not depend
on the certainty of communication on the Irrawaddy, as
the steamers are always running on sandbanks at this
season of the year, and sometimes remaining there for
days. So my designs in the direction of Bham6 had to be
abandoned.

At the very beginning of January 1886, I went up to
Bham6 for the iirst time, in a notorious ill-steering stem-
wheeler called the ' Kabyoo,' commanded by a Dane called
Temdrop, and reputed to be the worst ship of the Irrawaddy
Flotilla Company. Bham6 had just been occupied for the
first time by British troops a few days before. The few
other passengers who went with the ' Kabyoo ' from Man-
dalay were dropped here and there at the small outposts
that were then being established, while I alone was going
up all the way to Bham6.

It was shortly before then, in 1889, that the so-
called ' Bussian Scare ' took place, and it was still fresh in
my memory. For it was among the transport corps
sending up commissariat supplies to oppose the Muscovite
advance that the cholera broke out near Jacobabad, to
which I have already cursorily alluded when speaking of
that cholera camp as the greatest grilling I had previously
endured. And it was from there I went to Burmah. I
might be pardoned, therefore, for not being in the most
friendly humour to Bussia at this particular time. And
so, as I was alone with only the master of the ship for the
last two or three days of the trip, I wrote ^Britannia : a
Dream,' just to while away the time. And as it has been
lying dormant in my manuscript for the last nine years, I
may as well repeat it here, if only * as a change from bad
prose to worse verse.

TKROUGH THE BUFFEE STATE 259

BBITANNIA :
(a dbeam in anapests).

Behold, as I slept at the evening tide,

I dreamt of Britannia's matron-Hke mould,
Her hand being extended away from her side,

Above the fair heads of a triple of bold
Young rovers — the first with a rope in his hand,

The second with stoord at the point of present.
The third being fully equs^y brilliant and grand.

With knowledge displayed on eaoh f aur lineament.

Her brows were surrounded about with a wreath,

Whence one brilliant diamond shone with a blaze
That rivalled the sun, as it flashed from its sheath.

And dazzled the foe who should venture to gaze ;
She held the brave flag of the Bed, White, and Blue,

And waved it with pride o'er her dutiful sons,
And viewed them as mothers are wonted to view

The features and forms of their own little ones.

John Bull, with a smirk on his jovial face,

Exactly the same as portrayed in Pimch^
Was standing beside with commendable grace.

And holding before him a ponderous bunch
Of all sorts of implements, sUver and all.

Which straightway he laid at Britannia's feet ;
' Now take it, my dear,' he exclaimed, ' at your call

I'd lay down my life and my service complete.'

A flerce-looking Lion and Unicorn stern,

A Harp placed between them, sat silent in front.
And oh, by their aspect one well might discern

How eager tiiey were for the battle's red brunt !
Their tails were aye wagging affectionately.

To those gallant lads that had made them such pets,
And judged by appearance and strength, you could see,

'Twere not very safe to enrage them with threats.

Beside their big brothers were other brave boys.

And promising yet to be mighty in deed.
To all die wild winds who had tossed their own toys,

To stand by their side in the hour of, their need ;
Across the wide seas they had come from afar.

Determined to stand for Britannia's right,
Each eager to join in the conflict of war,

And all to be foremost and boldest in fight.

s2

260 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

AinidBt the proad scene stood a peace-loving sage,*

Chief conncillor he at Britannia's will,
A iar-sighted Solon, whose wisdom and age

Pronounced and proclaimed him a sage of great skill ;
Though well-versed in classics and ancient lore,

Yet well could he wend through the maze of finance,
For all kinds of talents combined in the store

Of learning that shone from his noble old glance.

He looked to his front with complaisance the while,

His hat in his hand and not far from his Queen,
His countenance lit with a genial smile,

To witness the lads' imperturbable mien ;
For well did he know, in event of a war,

They'd fight long and hard for Britannia's sake,
And teach the aggressor, be 't Sultan or Czar,

Before her bright presence to tremble and quake.

The angels looked down from their lofty abode.

And fluttered their wings with approving delight.
Proclaiming their friendship, as sanctioned by God,

And steadfastly sealed by Imperial right ;
While skirting the clouds in their garments of snow,

Saint Patrick, Saint George, and St. Andrew were seen
With hands joined in hands as they looked down below,

On this very rare incomp^able scene.

Britannia thanked Mr. Bull for support.

Approved the advice of her councillor hoar.
And blessed her brave boys in that genial sort

Of tone that goes straight to the heart's inner core ;
The lads stood attentive before their manmia.

Each prompt to obey her maternal behest,
Her will being to them an inviolate law,

For all to observe as the bravest and best.

Away in the distance a grisly old Bear,

And other queer creatures were crouching low down,
Of dingy appearance and mangy, rough hair.

Without any birthright to ancient renown ;
They snarled at the pets, though afraid to advance.

Excepting by stealth with their tails 'tween their feet.
Being sorely afraid they would lead them a dance,

Before they were able to make their retreat.

The Bear was an envious beast of the field.
And had a rough rabble of ragged recruits,

Irregular levies imperfectly * wheeled,'
And mean-looking knaves from the tail of the brutes.

^ Mr. Gladstone was in power when this poem was written.

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 261

They envied Britannia's stately desmesne,

And wanted to pounce on her progeny fair,
Bat oh, by their dastardly mien might be seen

They ought to be cowering home in their lair.

With heart-winning smile and a toss of her head

(And yet, gentle reader, no wanton was she),
Her locks in profusion were instantly spread

Around her fair bosom, dishevelled and free ;
Down dropped from her tresses a beautiful flower,

A mingling of Shamrock and Thistle and Rose,
And there on the ground in unconscious power.

It lay for a time in its fragrant repose.

* The gauntlet is down,' she intently exclaimed,

* And woe to the caitiff who dares take it up.'
The Bear made a grab, though he looked very maimed.

While all his vile horde made uproarious who-o-o-p.
I saw as the sailor-lad sprang to his spar,

I saw as the soldier his sword girded on.
The stvdent retired to prepare for the war

Victorious forces from sources unknown.

A gay, gallant navy was sailing the sea,

A proud-marshaJled army was marching on land,
And there in their thousands the brave and the free

Stood calmly awaiting the word of command ;
'Twas given, and then the loud roar of the guns.

And clash of the sabres, were heard from afar.
And fierce in their onset, Britannia's sons

Advanced to be foremost in order of war.

I saw till the clouds had surrounded them all.

And foeman and friend had been mingled in one ;
But sure, when they lifted their death-screening pall,

And darkness gave way to the rays of the sun.
That Albion's heroes the field would possess.

As often their sires had possessed it of yore.
And stand on the ground in their stem loveliness.

The foe at their feet by the far-distant shore.

Oh ! fierce was the struggle, and long was the strife.

While war-horse and warrior rushed through the field,
And sadly appalling the carnage to life.

Where blue-bonnets waved, unaccustomed to yield ; ,
The clouds rolled in this wa^ and that way again.

As swayed the battalions at times to and fro,
But never I doubted, though thousands were slain.

Our troops in the end would discomfit the foe.

2()2 Tiiiiordir the buffer state

I listened, and heard, the renowned British rash,

So famous on many a death-stricken day,
When boldly our Boldiers pressed forward to crash

Whatever opposed their victorious sway ;
The enemy now were commencing to reel,

When order came forward to forge through the fight,
And then it was shown how the cold British steel,

E'en now, as of yore, put the foemen to flight.

At last the loud roar of the cannon was still,

And silence prevailed like the silence of night.
The clouds were uplifted away to the hill.

And there stood Britannia's sons in their might ;
No mirth marred their mien, as they gazed on the dead,

Who never again would engage in a war.
While comrades were laid in their gory low bed.

To sleep their long sleep from their hamlets afar.

I saw till the Bear was laid prostrate below.

The Lion above in majestic disdain,
Awaiting the order of weal or of woe,

To let him go free or to crunch out his brain ;
Britannia suddenly stood on the ground.

With bonnie blue eyes, and the flag in her hand,
While silent and stern stood her offspring around.

To hear her next wish and obey her command.

I woke — and my ship was just dropping her chain

In some unpronounceable port in the East,
And much did I marvel and wish to remain

Asleep till the grand panorama had ceased.
Methinks I still see them bespattered with gore.

The live and the dead in their dread panoply.
And lovely Britannia come to restore

The peace that the Bear had declared to defy.

It was some years after writing the above verses that
I went up to Siberian Russian myself for the first time,
and liked the Russians very much. But then I could
not like them half so much did I not love my own country
more.

After we anchored by the river's side the night before
we reached Bham6, having finished these verses, I repeated
them to the skipper, for want of anything else to do. He
seemed to like them and asked if I would print them. I
told him I would, and would send him a copy ; which I
now do forthwith, in order to show him how well I can

THROUGH THE BtlFFER STATE 268

keep my promise, though delayed for the quite appreciable
period of ten long years !

In the evening, before it got quite dark, the two of us
went on shore, and through a village whose name I now
quite forget. There we picked up a young Burmese lad
who had lately been shot right through the knee-joint. He
himself belonged to Moulmein, in Lower Burmah, and was
up in this high latitude cutting teakwood for his employers,
when he was so dangerously wounded. We took him with
us up to Bham6, and I wanted to cut off his leg, as the
only means of saving his life. But he wouldn't hear of
this.

Among many others, there are two great rules in
military surgery that came in on this occasion: (1) *In
penetrating gunshot wounds of joints, amputate ; ' and the
sooner the better, as there is little or no chance of saving
the limb. This is a very wise rule — a real golden one. (2)
* Never amputate without the consent of the patient.' This
rule is not so golden, and may occasionally be a very foolish
one. The first of these rules is based on the premises of
Science, while the second is based on tjiose of Morals, which
are not always easy to define. But I am not here going to
discuss the merits of them, as that would be out of the sphere
of a descriptive narrative of this kind.

Shortly after occupying Bham6 the writer opened a civil
hospital for the benefit of the poor ignorant natives, and
invited the sick and the lame to come and see. Nothing
conciliates the hostile natives more thAn the belief that you
really desire to do them good, as I well knew from previous
experience ; and. I had a certain amount of public funds
placed at my disposal to help the more urgent cases.

The Burmese lad who stuck out against the amputation
was dying by inches, and would have died long before
but for his youthful frame and his cold-blood Asiatic
constitution, which, as already mentioned, stands surgical
injuries better than the hot, inflammatory constitutions of
Europeans. However, the lad was at last reduced to a
mere skeleton, when, almost saying he would ne'er con-
sent, he consented to the amputation. The poor youth
made an excellent recovery, and in a couple of months
thereafter he was as fat and plump as a chicken.

His was one of the cases which required the kind of

^^■-^

264 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

monetary aid referred to. And so, after preparing for him
a nice wooden leg that any warrior might feel proud of, he
hobbled down to the river-side as proud as Punch, and duly
went on board the steamer that was going to carry him on
his journey. His case being rather a helpless one, on
account of having only one leg, his passage was paid aU
the way, and a few rupees given him as pocket money in
case of emergency. And so he left Bham6, probably feel-
ing very grateful.

But he had got so fit and fat, as I said, that with the
exception of the leg he was better than ever. And so when
he again reached the viUage from which we took him at
first, who did he meet but the only girl that ever he loved.
He had lost his leg in the wars ; that was true enough, but
he had also lost his heart to his sweetheart. And so he left
the ship, forgot his friends and relatives in Moulmein, and
lived at that remote village with the darling of his heart —
for Love was still the lord of • aU ! O woman ! thou art the
real lotus that makes men forget their country.

As this was the first amputation ever performed in
remote Bham6 (for the Kachins had not yet begun to give
trouble) the natives watched the progress of the case with
curiosity, and apparently expected that the operator should
not only be able to take off a leg, but even to make another
leg grow in its stead. Such at any rate was the story sent
from Bham6 to one of the Anglo-Indian papers, and which
was gravely copied in part by no less serious or scientific a
weekly than the British MedicalJournal, which writes under
date November 27, 1886, as follows : —

The repugnance with which Oriental races regard surgical opera-
tions is well known. The extent to which it prevails in parts of
Burmah may be seen from a statement of a Bham6 correspondent of
the Pioneer, From this it would appear that the majority of natives
prefer to die rather than submit to the knife ; and many suffering
from severe gunshot wounds, or fractures of limbs necessitating
amputation, have told the surgeons they prefer death to mutilation.
This is not from religious scruples, but purely to distrust and aver-
sion to the knife. At the same time, they will scar their bodies all
over with the actual cautery, or wear holes into their flesh by the
continual application of blistering fluids and mineral caustics. The
results of these continual cauterizations, which are much used by
the Shans as preventive and not remedial agents, are the formation
of numbers of huge sores, ulcers, and warts of perfectly phenomena

THEOUaH THE BUFFEK STATE 265

dimensions. With English medicines, the correspondent observes,
they become familiarised comparatively soon ; and after they have
seen the beneficial effects of selfrevident remedies, such as febrifuges
and aperients, they run to the other extreme, and demand medicines
to cure burns, scars, lame legs, and missing toes and fingers. Surgi-
cal science has not proved, from a Burman's point of view, sufficiently
practical in its results to convince him of its efficacy.

It is related that the first surgical case Dr. MacGregor, then civil
surgeon, had at Bham6, was that of a gunshot wound through the
knee. It being found impossible to save the leg, it was amputated
and healed most successfully. On recovery the patient was provided
with a wooden leg, and stumped about the bazaars paying visits to
his friends, who of course had given him up as a dead man. The
sight, however, was not encouraging to the Burmans, who said they
had never seen a man with only one leg. They thought that perhaps
it was better that the man's life had been saved, but at the same
time, unless the English medical man could make a new leg grow in
place of the missing one, he was not justified in cutting it off.

The present writer does not know who the writer of
this statement could have been. Like many good stories,
however, there is no foundation for it in fact, so far as he
knows, as he never heard of these funny expectations till
he read about them, not only in one but in several news-
papers. But this was at the very beginning of affairs. Some
time afterwards, when the Kachins began to rush down
from their mountains, the Burmans might have plenty of
opportunity of seeing surgical operations of various descrip-
tions performed at this remote outpost of Bhamo.

One other anecdote from Bham6, and I have done with
it. People died in Burmah as everywhere else, even before
the vile Ferringhi went up there with his curses of civil-
isation. And, shortly after going to Bham6, we found
that the Burmese Woundouk of the place was very ill —
that he was, in fact, suffering from an advanced stage of
the disease that is said to have killed the late Czar of
Russia.

The case of the Woundouk was incurable, and, after due
trial, he was recommended to go down to Mandalay for a
change. The Woundouks were provincial governors under
the old native regime, and there were only four of these
magnates throughout the whole of the country altogether.
This was the governor, then, of the North Province of
Burmah, of which Bham6 was the centre. A few days,
however, before he was to sail for Mandalay, I had to start

266 THJ^OUGH THE BUFFER STATE

on the Mougoung expedition. I went to see him in the
evening before we were going to start, and had Captain
Temdrop of the * vile Kabyoo ' for interpreter. And so,
when I was taking my leave of the Woundotik, never to see
him again, he gave me an apparently valuable ruby rii^ in
token of past kindness and attention.

I was highly pleased with this real ruby ring from the
Woundouk of Bhamo, the veritable ' last of the Mohicans '
that was ever to hold sway there. The ring certainly looked
very beautiful with its soft, twinkling ruby lustre, while on
each side of the central ruby was a small, flashing diamond.
The stone was certainly very valuable if it tt}<i8 a ruby, and
who in the world could doubt that it was, seeing that it had
been given me by the last Woundouk of Bham6, and when
he expressly said so ?

But one fine day during the expedition curiosity, aided
by evil counsellors, tempted me to take the stone out of its
setting, which we did with some little trouble, and found
that to the best of opinions the stone was only a garnet —
which I believe it really was. How I hoped that the
Woundouk of Bham6 would recover ! And I still wonder
whether he intentionally deceived me, or whether he had
himself been imposed upon, and had given me a garnet
under the impression that it was a real, valuable ruby.
However, I still valued the ring as a memento and a
curiosity.

Times soon began to get harder, and my Madrassee
servant could not stand the hard work. He therefore got
conveniently sick, and I had to send him back again to
Madras at the first opportunity. Shortly afterwards I
missed the Woundouk^s ring, with the small diamonds still
sticking in it, though the quasi-ruby had been removed,
and I suspected that the slimy servant had taken it with
him. One of the other servants knew where he lived in
Madras, and I wrote him on the subject, and in due course
received the audacious reply that he did take * the ring with
the two white little stones,' but that I had given it to him
as a present. I answered that if he did not return the
ring at once, I should report him to the Madras police.
But there's many a mile between Bham6 and Madras,
and as the false servant knew it, he did not even reply
to my second letter. And such was the fate of the

THEOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 267

'real ruby' ring presented to me long ago by the last
Wo^mcUmk of Bham6 when he was sorely stricken, even
unto death.

While staying at Mandalay this last time, the air was
full of rumours about the ex-King Theebaw's lost regalia.
It will be remembered that, on the taking of Mandalay in
November 1885, the crown jewels were supposed to be
stiOlen out of the Golden Palace, and it is not known to this
day what has become of them. But, just at this time, there
was great gossip about the confession in England of a dis-
charged soldier of the Hampshire regiment, who confessed
to have been on guard at the Palace during the first night
of occupation, and to have stolen the crown jewels in com-
pany with a comrade who had since died. They buried
the treasure under the ground, and a sentry box was soon
afterwards raised over the identical spot ; so that he and
his comrade were consequently unable to recover the valu-
able prize which they had actually stolen when mounted on
guard duty.

If true, it was a grave crime. But looting was said to be
so common at this time, that, according to one source of
information which I have seen in print, these men were not
worse than others, and that the general and staff who first
occupied the Palace, and the latter of whom were said to
number exactly the figure forty, were known as * Ali Baba
and his Forty Thieves,' on account of the looting propen-
sities of the staff, though not of the general himself. These
rumours were probably unfounded or exaggerated.

But here was this corporal coming out to Burmah, with
the permission of the home authorities, to recover the
jewels that he and his now dead comrade had hidden in the
earth, and of which he was himself to get ten per cent, (zd
valorem. This, it must be confessed, would be a funny
method of rewarding burglary by a British soldier when on
guard duty. He was even declared by some to have already
come out, and to be actually staying in secret at the very
hotel at which I was putting up myself. But the story
died away like a baseless vision, and whether the discharged
soldier made a confession or not, the crown jewels of
Burmah have not been recovered up to date.

From the small and indifferent hotel ^commodation at
Mandalay, it is evident that pleasure-seeking tourists and

268 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

travellers have not yet found oat the beauties of Burmah.
Yet it is a pretty country, and quite as interesting as India,
to which such crowds resort during the cool season of the
year there.

The best way to visit Burmah is to travel by rail from
EAngoon to Mandalay, the whole journey now being made
in about twenty-four hours. And then, if time permits,
proceed to Bham6 by river steamer. If the famous Ruby-
Mine Mountains are desiredtobe visited, the traveller should
land at Khanyat, and procure ponies tiliere for the journey
up the mountains, some of which are over six thousand feet
high. But this is a long and hard trip at present, and the
Buby Mines have lost much of their romance, since they
don't produce rubies, or only very few.

Some years ago, the well-known London jeweller, Mr.
Streeter (or rather the then Mr. Streeter's son, who is now,
I think, Mr. Streeter himself), was with me on the Irra-
waddy on his way to the Buby Mines,'before they were
rented from the Government of India by a syndicate, of
which the Streeters were the principal partners. Our ship,
called the * Amherst,' went on a sandbank and stuck there
three days, possibly in order to prevent Mr. Streeter from
taking over such a ticklish concern. Mr. Streeter, however,
did not read the warning in the proper Hght, and a Httle
later on he and I were taken off the ' Amherst,' and were
landed at Khanyat, whence Mr. Streeter proceeded to the
Buby Mine's. The consequence was that the said syndi-
cate rented the Buby Mines from the Government at a
yearly rental of four lakhs of rupees, a sum that at that
time represented 30,000^. a year ! Hitherto, however,
the undertaking has proved a disastrous failure, though
some cheery prophets say that there are better times
coming.

But whether the traveller visits Bham6 and the Buby
Mines or not, he should invariably come down the river
from Mandalay in one of the Irra waddy Flotilla Company's
steamers, all the way to Bangoon, or at any rate to Frome,
as the Irrawaddy is a particularly beautiful river, more
especially along some of its higher reaches ; though, unfor-
tunately, in the tourist season the river is at its lowest
mark, with its banks sometimes so high above the level of
the water as to interfere with the general view of the sur-

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 269

rounding country. Burmah of course is particularly the
land of pagodas, for wherever you go you come across them,
and to the stranger their white-sepulchre appearance looks
quaint and pleasing, while the inhahitants of the country
are a most genial kind of people, if one could only under-
stand them.

270 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

CHAPTER XXVIII

I travel and travel for evermore,

I travel on sea and I travel on ^ore,

I clamber the mountain and scamper the glen

And visit the wilds and the haunts of men ;

Yet, somehow or other, wherever I stray,

My heart's in the Highlands— for ever and aye.

Seather BeU$.

Benefits of travel — Bacon's opinion— Advioe of the Author — ^Beading
compared with observation — The Indo-Chinese race — Original
divisions of mankind — ^Presamable origin of the Indo-Chinese —
BeUgious tenets — The Mohammedan Malays— Habits of the Indo-
Chinese — Their social system — Minor differences among them-
selves — The barber in Eastern nations — * The Maid of Mandalay '
— First fiddle to MandcUay Herald,

There are various kinds of travel — travel for health, travel
for pleasure, travel for knowledge, and travel for adventure.
The benefit of travel, no doubt, depends not more on
the travel than on the traveller himself ; for true it is
that a wink is as good as a nod to a blind horse, and
equally true it is that on an entirely ignorant traveller
travel is mostly thrown away. To such a one the Pass of
Thermopylffi or the Plain of Marathon would be only a pass
or a plain, and nothing more. And so he travels through
land and sea with his eyes open outside and his mind shut
within, often caring little and learning less of the interesting
objects around, excepting for the sheer sake of 'doing'
them. Such people are occasionally met with, but only very
occasionally, and by no means represent the great bulk of
travellers, who are, as a rule, as well educated and informed
as any of their class, or any class of the community, so far
as that is concerned.

* Travel,' says the universal Bacon, * in the younger sort
is a part of education ; in the elder, a part of experience.

THEOUaH THE BUFFEE STATE 271

He that travelleth into a country before he hath some
entrance into the language, goeth to school and not to
travel/ Bacon ought rather to have said that mankind
should be always in school, from the first dawn of intelli-
gence till the hic-jacet of the grave. Bacon himself, though
perhaps no great traveller, caught his death when travelling
and experimenting on the preservative powers of snow on
a common barn-door fowl that he had killed for the purpose.
In fact, while travelling he anticipated the freezing cham-
bers of the present-day shambles and slaughter-houses
throughout America and Australia.

Be that as it may, travel is probably the best, as it is
certainly the most costly, system of education, and at all
ages, except the very youngest, on which its benefits are
comparatively thrown away, as very young children are
more or less in the condition of the blind horse stated above.
It is no great good without a certain previous groundwork
of information ; but, given that, then travel becomes a most
effective training school. It adds to one's knowledge in a
way that the best book-lore can never do. To read about a
thing and see it with one's own eyes are quite two different
things ; for the effect of reading is vague, often incorrect,
and generally transitory, while that of seeing is clear, more
lasting in character, and if not always correct, the fault is
not in the stars of the observer, but in the observer himself.
Ideas pour in through the eyes, the ears, and other senses,
without as much as announcing their arrival, so silent and
subtle is their influence.

Even the doubting Thomas believed when he saw with
his own eyes and felt with his own fingers. ' Once upon a
time, at college, I used to pore a good deal over Roman
antiquities, which I did not very well understand. And
how I used to bless the Bomans, that they ever existed, to
give me such an amount of toil and trouble. Only the
vaguest ideas remained in my memory about them.

But on my way home, quite lately, I at last decided to
visit in person this ancient empress of the world, about
which I had read so much and remembered so little. So I
spent my last Christmas there, the best ten days I have
spent for a long time. By attcniding some of Dr. Forbes'
peripatetic lectures, and by engaging an intelligent demon-
strator for myself on certain occasions, I came to learn more

272 TimOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

about Rome in these ten days than I had previously done
in twice as many months. For some of the things that
used to puzzle me before were now plain enough before my
very eyes. And I now quite believe that there was such a
person as Julius Giesar, or somebody else of the same name.
And at the present moment I can easily recall to memory,
not only Rome itself, but also my frail old guide, wrapped
up in a mantle that might well serve for a Roman toga^
lounging back in his seat as we drove along, and com-
placently repeating to himself the words of St. Paul, ' I am
a Roman citizen.'

The general tendency of books is to exaggerate, that of
travel to correct the imagination, and impress the mind
more deeply and thoroughly, being the result of experience
as distinguished from vague and vapoury opinion only.
Hence it is that the conceptions of natural objects by the
student in his study are seldom true to the facts and
realities. You cannot impart a true conception of a moun-
tain to one who has never seen one. He must see it first.
You may bring him daily to gaze in picture galleries, where
images of mountains may be displayed, yet he cannot re-
cognise a real mountain when he sees one. The best of art
is but a poor, flimsy thing in comparison to Mother Nature.

While quitting the shores of Burmah, probably for ever,
it may not be out of place to make a few general remarks
upon the Indo-Chinese race, among whom I had lately
been sojourning, and among a portion of whom I had lived
for some considerable time previously. Doctors are known
to differ, and so do ethnologists, about the varieties of the
human race. For while some of them divide the race into
five or six, or even more varieties, others restrict it to only
three, on purely scientific grounds alone, and apart alto-
gether from the Biblical authority of Shem, Ham, and
Japhet. These three main types are of course the Cir-
cassian, the Negro, and the Mongolian. The last classifi-
cation is as likely to be true as any of the others.

As regards colour alone, it is certainly a most plausible
theory. For black is the opposite of white, while yellow is
a kind of half-way house between. Yellow seems as
necessary a point to start from as either black or white ;
for the mere mingling of black and white blood would not
produce the true yellow colour of the Mongolian, but some-

LaSs Tribesman.

iS—iKcifilalfrgluiiraitct!

Te/iatfattaj

MROUGH THE BtJFFllR STATE 273

thing entirely different. Yet all the colours that we come
across may be derived from a mingling in certain propor-
tions of these three principal colours.

The many more or less pronounced local varieties, scat-
tered here and there, are mostly the results of conformity
to surroundings and other minor causes. It is found, for
instance, that though cold climates are favourable to the
maximum vigour of both body and mind, yet a too rigorous
climate stunts the development of both mind and body
alike. Hence, therefore, the existence of the small squat
I aplanders not so very far away from the Scandinavians,
one of the most vigorous of races.

There are certain races, however, that are such great
anomalies, that some naturalists would ascribe to them a
primary place for themselves among the varieties of the
human family. The Papuans (the natives of New Guinea)
are nearly as black as the true typical negro of Africa, and
they resemble them also in their curly hair and their light-
hearted disposition. But while agreeing with them in
these respects, they differ widely from them in form and
feature. For instead of the stout build, the thick lips, the
fiat nose, the protruding jaws, and the receding chin of the
typical negro, they are of a light and lithe frame of body,
and with decidedly Circassian or even Roman-nosey
features. In their geographical distribution they are far
away alike from the Circassians of Europe and the negroes
of Africa, and are much more in proximity with the Mon-
golians of Asia, with whom they have but little physical
aflinity. And how they got to New Guinea is a conundrum
that can only be answered by supposing that they had a
boat of their own at the Deluge, or that there must have
been some tremendous terrestrial disturbance since the
first appearance of man on the face of the earth.

Various other anomalies might be quoted, like the hairy
Ainos of Japan, the Negrettoes or natives of the Andaman
and Philippine Islands, &c, ; but a few are enough at a
time. Ethnologists, not many decades ago, conjectured that
the various families of the human race could best be classi-
fied according to the measurements of their skulls, and this
new science they call Craniology. There was naturally
quite a rage for human skulls among scientific people. If
they did not manage to get them otherwise, they would be

274 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

in danger of chopping them off the shoulders of innocent
people, like the Dyaks of Borneo when in search of a wife,
while they (the hypocrites) said that they were all the time
in search of Mother Wisdom, quite a demure but essen-
tially lovable old woman withal.

And so they gathered skulls, skulls, skulls, in pots, in
pans, in bags, and in baskets, from all parts of the world.
And when they had gathered these skulls together in quite
gruesome Golgothas, then they, the scientists, began to put
their own heads together also, in order to arrange and
classify the other skulls. And when the wise people had
put their own heads together, they found that after gather-
ing all these heaps of skulls from all parts of the globe,
yes, they found that the skull classification came to nothing
at all. Thus Craniology, as a prime factor for the scientific
classification of the human race, fell to the ground, and
broke like a rotten egg — and there let it remain for the
present.

The terms *Indo-China' and * Indo-Chinese ' are
comparatively modem ones, and have come mostly in vogue
since the French occupation of Cambodia and Cochin-China
during the latter half of the present century. They have
no further meaning, so far, than merely the country and the
people between India and China, and more especially those
east of Burmah, between it and the China Sea. There are
good scientific reasons, however, for including both Burmah
and Siam, not only as comprising that portion of the world
between India and China, but as also including a people
more or less homogeneous in their physical characteristics.

These people, the Indo-Chinese, are probably no primary
or original division of the human race, but they have
certainly as much right to be considered such as some
other divisions adopted by ethnologists. They are probably
a comparatively modem race, and inhabit, in part at least,
a geologically modern country. As a race they are likely
less ancient than the Aryans of India (the mild Hindoos),
on the one hand, and the true Mongolians (or heathen
Chinese) on the other. And, moreover, they have in all
probability sprung from a blending of these two races,
which are now separated from one another by these new
children of their own production.

To speak in general terms, throughout the whole vast

THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE 275

stretch of this country, from China in the north to Cape
Cambodia in the south, and from India in the west to the
China Sea in the east, the inhabitants are essentially the
same stock, and only distinguished among themselves by
merely local peculiarities, arising in the progress of ages.
It is the same race also that inhabits Java and the
Malayan Peninsula, and the very head-hunting Dyaks of
Borneo themselves belong to this great Indo-Chinese
family.

The race, as a race, is distinguished by a brown colour
of skin, varying considerably in shade, but seldom so fair as
that of the typical Mongolian, and seldom so dark as that
of the typical mild Hindoo, from whom I presume the race
to have originally started. In stature the Indo-Chinese
are shorter than the Mongolians, and even than the Aryans
of India. But they are much better built than the latter,
and have actually well-developed calves to their legs, which
Indians scarcely ever have. Their stature is also very
uniform, seldom varying among themselves more than an
inch or two, and few of them ever attain to the average
height of the Europeans.

They have broader and less regular features than the
Indians, and have a slight obliquity of the eyes, but never
amounting to the true Mongolian type, and frequently it
is scarcely discernible at all. They are also perceptibly
prognatlwus, with the front of the two jaws meeting one
another at an angle, and protruding somewhat ; and I have
seen some in which this protrusion of the jaws was very
marked indeed.

The men of the race are generally quite innocent of a
beard, though occasionally some of them produce a few
straggling hairs which they cultivate with great assiduity,
and stiU more occasionally they are able to produce a
moustache, though never quite of Lord Dundreary pro-
portions. Their hair is long when they allow it to grow,
and of a rich glossy, raven blackness. Their Umbs and
figures are well proportioned, though not very large, and
they have small neat hands and feet, the true imprints of
nobility according to some people's silly ideas.

Though their features are perhaps not^so regular as
those of the Aryans, their expression of countenance is
not at all unpleasing, and they are of a frank, genial, and

t2

276 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

humorous disposition. These are their chief characteris-
tics of form and feature.

Thej are ahnost invariably Buddhists by religion, and
believe that the happiest consummation to be wished for
by the most devout amongst them, is the attainment of
Nirvana, which means nothing short of utter annihilation
of individuality. Some of the most primitive tribes of
this Indo-Chinese race have scarcely any religion at all,
while one of its most important branches, the Malays, are
all Mohammedans.

More than one ethnologist have given the Malays a
distinct place for themselves as a principal family of the
human race ; but they are really nothing else thain Indo-
Chinese modified by circumstances. The Malays in past
ages were the people who dwelt near the sea ; and people
who live near the sea-coast are naturally greater rovers
than the more bucolic inhabitants of the interior, even
when belonging to the same race and country. And thus
the Malays, above all other Asiatic tribes, became the
greatest rovers and pirates in the East, extending their
predatory operations all the way from India to China.

Their love of roaming' brought them in contact with other
reamers in the Mohammedans from Persia and Arabia, and
even from Africa. The consequence was that the Malays
adopted the religion of the strangers, and became a widely
scattered Mohammedan race, for they practically inhabit
the sea-coast of the greatest portion of the Malayan Ar-
chipelago as well as of the Malayan Peninsula, both of
which derive their name from the Malay race.

Whatever may be the reason, they differ considerably
from the rest of the Indo-Chinese in their disposition, for
they are a quiet, demure people, who seldom laugh or
smile. They have also the reputation of being treacherous
and cruel, but modem opinions differ materially on this
subject. The opinion has probably spread from people who
came a^cross Malay pirates, and of course pirates of all
races are more cruel than ordinary people.

Granting the common origin of the Malays and the
rest of the Indo-Chinese people, this gravity of their dis-
position becomes more curious when viewed from the
standpoint of their religious faith. The Buddhist religion
professed by the great majority of them, cannot on the

THKOUaH THE BUFFER STATE 277

face of it be a very cheery religion, seeing that final ex-
tinction is the great goal it places before its adherents ; for
the human soul, wherever it is, must surely shrink back
upon itself, and startle at destruction.

On the other hand, the Mohammedan creed, embraced
by the Malay portion of the same race, promises ample
rewards to the faithful in the way of dark-eyed houris and
sensual pleasures, which, according to their standard, is
the pinnacle of bliss. It might, therefore, be naturally
expected that the Mohammedan Malays would be the more
buoyant and joyous lot of the two, with such hopes in front
of them,while the Buddhist looks forward to nothing. more
than perhaps a series of transmigrations followed by ex-
tinction. Yet, whatever is the reason, it is not so. For
the Buddhist acts upon the principle of the ancient text
of which he never heard — * Let us eat and drink, for to-
morrow we shall die.'

That the Malays belong to the Indo-Chinese race there
can be no possible doubt, though they may not be so pure
as the rest of their racial brethren, because they must have
mingled more with the other races with which they were
continually coming in contact.

With this Malay exception, the Indo-Chinese are also
noted for their free and easy habits of life, and they have
the reputation of being profoundly lazy. The countries
which these people inhabit are rich in the mere simple
necessaries of life, like rice which constitutes the staple food
of most Eastern nations ; and as long as the Indo-Chinese
gets enough for to-day, he cares but little for to-morrow.
This kind of temperament, though amiable enough in some
respects, and exceedingly fortunate to the individual, is yet
the curse of a race. And it will eventually lead to the
total extinction of this interesting and agreeable people by
their elder brothers, the MongoUans of China, with their
thrift, their energy, and their power of multiplying where-
soever they may go. It is rather a pity that this genial
people should be entirely supplanted by the heathen
Chinese, but, as matters stand, .this is certainly the outlook
of the race in the near future.

Socially, the Indo-Chinese resemble their Mongolian
jMir^i-ancestors in having no caste of any kind ; and therein
they differ widely from their other ^r^ancestors, the

278 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

miserable Aryans of India, whom the system of caste has
made one of the most contemptible of races, and ever a
weak prey to whomsoever chose to conquer and oppress
them.

Hereditary rank is also rare among the Indo-Chinese
peoples outside the reigning families, though personal dis-
tinctions are freely distributed among those who deserve
them ; as in Siam, for instance, where the grades of dis-
tinction from below upwards comprise Nai, Khum, Jyaang^
Ph/ta, Phya, Chauphya, and Khom, The last is the highest
title of all, and is included in the name of the present
ruler of Siam, whose full designation will beat that of the
Duke of York's son to fits, and moves as follows — Phra
Bat Somdetch Phra Paramindr Maha Chulalongkom Phra
Chula-chom Ellao-Chow Yu-Hua ! Whether this want of
hereditary titles can account altogether for the more open
and frank disposition of the Indo-Chinese, it is not easy to
say. But it certainly encourages the individual to think
himself no better nor worse than his neighbours, and there-
fore to be less cringing and contemptible in his general
behaviour \ so that, taken as a race, they may be summarily
described as equally poor (as regards mere treasure), equally
lazy, and equally cheerful and happy, like the jolly beggars
of the ancient legends.

This genial race is also noted for the entire freedom of
the women, who indeed are sometimes perhaps a little too
free, and who are usually more industrious and energetic
in worldly affairs than the men themselves. Marriage
among them is a looser knot than even with our American
cousins, and morality in their eyes is not considered so
great a virtue as among Europeans. But I don't care to
tread on this delicate ground ; and notwithstanding a few
drawbacks of this nature, they are essentially a lively and
genial people.

In minor matters of taste and so forth, the different
nationalities of which this race is composed vary naturally
among themselves. For instance, the Burmans, male and
female, universally wear their hair very long, and they are
very vain and proud of it, gathering it in great heavy queues
on the top of their heads. Their next door neighbours,
the Siamese, on the other hand, invariably crop their hair
quite close, both male and female.

THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 279

This close cropping of hair enables the observer, in a
measure, to take better stock of the shape of their attic
regions ; and it often occurred to me that their skulls are
rather deficient behind, as the backs of their heads go up
almost straight from the napes of their necks, with scarcely
any bulging backwards at all. In short, they do not
possess much of an * occipital protuberance,' a term made
familiar to the public by the late Ardlamont murder trial.
Phrenologists say that the intellectual organs of the brain
are mostly placed towards the front of the head, while the
baser passions are placed behind, as they ought to be,
towards the * occipital protuberance ' just mentioned. But
judging generally of the Siamese and La6s tribes, their heads
look as if they had no baser passions at all, and as if they
were therefore all intellect. Yet, in spite of all this, I am
not at all sure that they have got entirely rid of the old
leaven in the blood, while as regards their intellectual
qualities, they have never yet done anything wherewith to
startle the world.

Again, whereas the Burmese males are invariably and
elaborately tattooed from the waist to the middle of the
thighs, and the intervening Shans are tattooed stiU further
down the legs, the Siamese and Cambodians do not go in
for this kind of adornment at all, or only to a very trifling
extent, as Europeans themselves occasionally do. The
Burmese women, as I said, wear their hair long and gene-
rally have beautiful and abundant tresses, of which they are
immensely vain, while their Siamese sisters always crop
their hair very short indeed, in spite of the exhortation of
St. Paul to the women in Corinth, but of which, however,
the poor women of Siam have never heard.

So that as the masculine gender in Siam are mostly
beardless, it is sometimes not altogether easy for the stranger
to distinguish the men from the women, especially when
they are young folk. I was struck with this resemblance
more than once, and made one time a remark to that
effect to the philosophic interpreter ; when he replied that
the Siamese women have the comers of their foreheads
shaved ; and, says he in addition, ' Can't you know them
by the way they walk ? ' Perhaps I should, but I didn't.
I have already remarked that the barber, instead of the
tailor with us, makes the man in Eastern countries, when

••^

280 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

he cuts off the Kohn-chiik or top-knob at a certain age.
But why, I then found that the barber makes the tvomen
also, by elaborating their graceful foreheads. Indeed, the
barber with Eastern nations is a very necessary personage,
and no wonder that he so frequently figures among the
tales and legends of these very barberovs countries.

Last of all, the Burmese, male and female, smoke,
smoke, smoke from mere infancy, till they get so weak and
old that they cannot suck any longer. And the size of the
green cheroots that you see in Burmese ladies' pretty
mouths quite puts you off, as they distort their ruby lips
out of aU reckoning. On the other hand, the Siamese and
Cambodian women seldom, if ever, smoke. This is certainly
a blessing.

But they are such slaves to the constant chewing of
that horrid stxiff panmipari (a mixture of areca nut, betel
leaves, lime, garlic, and other horrors), that their mouths
are always reeking with it ; and, in combination with their
somewhat prognathous jaws, it makes them look so slobbery,
and their speech so blubbery, that they sometimes do not
look at all particularly kissable. There they are for you,
then, gentle reader ; the Burmese maiden or Minkalayy
.with her long raven tresses, and with her big cheroot
in her mouth ; and on the other hand the Siamese damsel
or Phuing-aoWy short cropped, and chewing her large quid
of pcmsupa/ri. And so you may take your choice.

On first going up to Upper Burmah in 1885 people
were much struck with this inveterate habit of smoking,
even among women and children. Some time afterwards
a newspaper, called the Mcmdalay HeraM, was started up
there, and, for the sake of amusement I made an effort in
its pages to sing the praises of ' The Maid of Mandalay,'
hoping thereby to wean her from her smoking habits ! And
as the reader may feel curious to know what sort of a girl
she was, I may as well trot her out here again for his
personal inspection, premising that the words Nam U voo
mean * I don't understand you,' and that they are the very
first words the stranger learns after landing in the country.

THKOUGH THE BUFFER STATE 281

THE MAH) OP MANDALAY ; OB, NAM LE VOO.

To the Editor of the Mandaiay Herald.

Sib, — In your praiseworthy efforts . to establish the first English
newspaper in Mandalay, let me offer you what will probably be you
first contribution from the Muses, and wish good luck to th
* Mandalay Herald ' and the * Mandalay Maid.'

Oh, darling dear, I wish you would
Throw £at cheroot far out of view,

It surely cannot do you good,
And iU becomes your beauty too ;
But all she said was : Nam le voo.

Must I behold your ruby lip.

Created for caresses due.
Which Mercury himself might sip,

So grossly marred with garlic hue ?

But all she said was : Nam le voo.

I rather like a pouting maid.
For maids were made to pout and pooh,

But you your bonnie mouth degrade
By sucking of tobacco stew ;
But all she said was : Nam le voo.

Your slender fingers might entwine
Some fairer ware than what they do.

Or might be even clasped in mine,
If that cigar afar you threw ;
But all she said was : Nam le voo.

I'd cease to puff that horrid fume.
If you were I and I were you.

Nor ever more the weed consume,
But all my days the bane eschew
But all she said was : Nam U voo.

As merry as the month of May,
And gentle in your manners too,

A pity 'tis your winning way
Your hateful habit should undo ;
But all she said was : Nam le voo.

Oh, maiden mine, so fresh and fair.
With laughing eyes so bright and blue,

And lovely locks of raven hair,
Your mouth is like a chimney flue ;
Bat all she said was : Nam le voo*

282 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

I like to see yonr jaunty air,

And kiltie shades of varied hue,
TbAt whiles reveal the neatest pair

Of ankles bare that e'er I knew ;

Bat all she said was : Nam le voo.

A pity that vonr fragrant breath,
And lips designed to bill and ooo,

Ton hopelessly should do to death,
And spoil yoar favours how to woo ;
Bat all she said was : Nam le voo.

Ton are so iUigantly bound,
That from your neatly rounded queue,

A single fault can not b« found,
Down to your dainty sandal shoe ;
But all she said was : Nam le voo.

Oh, pray do not a bellows make

Of that which was intended to
Be sweeter than the sweetest cake.

Though even baked with fragrant dew ;

But all she said was : Nam le voo.

m

I spoke and spoke, and she replied,

I made my bow and said aoUeu,
My pretty precepts she defied,

But whiffed away that maiden true ;

And still she warbled : Nam le voo.

And thus the Maid of Mandalay,
Trip, tripping on toe-tips withdrew,

And I resumed my weary way,
Still thinking of her een sae blue,
And her sweet charming Nam le voo I

Many years afterwards, when I reached Mandalay on
this journey, I met the same paper stiU growing in wit and
wisdom. And as the above song was the first effort of the
Muses that ever appeared in its pages, I hope, when it be-
comes the real and only ' Herald of the Far East,' its pro-
prietors will be pleased to place me on the Civil Pension
List, as being their very own original first fiddle.

The Maid of Mandalav.

THBOUGH THE BUFFEE STATE 283

CHAPTER XXIX

There was a low thief of Calcutta,
' Who saw a man open and shnt a
Bich cashbox, and said
To himself, * 111 be dead,
If I don't steal the swag from the gudda.' ^

Limerick Bhymes (Oriental Edition).

Calcutta the mother of thieves — Trip to Darjeeling — A lost cashbox —
Predicaments of penury — From blunder to blunder — My last
rupee — My own master again — Becovery of cashbox, broken and
robbed — ^Advice to intending travellers — The value of money —
Lord Love versus Lord Lucre — Mount Everest in clouds — Beauty
of Darjeeling scenery — Philosophical conclusions of * Through
the Buffer State.'

But I must now let the globe-trotters and the maids of
Mandalay £ght out their own battles, as I must be sailing
from Rangoon, encounter heavy monsoon weather in the
Bay of Bengal, and land at last in Calcutta.

O Calcutta, thou City of Palaces and Mother of
Thieves ! There were still some few days to spare after
arrival here, and how could' they be better spent than by
paying a visit to Darjeeling, reputedly the grandest and
most beautiful of hill stations throughout the whole of the
Himalayan Range, and therefore probably throughout the
whole world. After two or three days' stay at the Great
Eastern Hotel, thither therefore I proceeded, but soon
wished that I hadn't.

* See Darjeeling and die ' is a very old phrase. * See
Naples and die ' is another one. But there are so many of
these places, the sight of which is said to be worth dying
for, that I quite discredit the whole lot of them. I have
seen both Darjeeling and Naples, and still hope to live a

^ Qudda is Anglo-Indian slang for a gowk. Literally in Hindustani
means — a moke.

284 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

few years longer, unconsumed by their overpowering
splendour. To confess the honest truth, I would much
prefer never to see any of them at all, than give up the
ghost for such a silly reason. And I fancy that the in-
ventors of these pretty phrases had not themselves died at
the time, or they might have a different tale to tell. Now
however, that they have died, and they Iiave seen Darjeeling
or Naples, what have they now to say on the subject f

I had no servants till I reached Bajputana in the
north-west of India, while I was still in the far-away north-
east of that extensive country. I was in plenty of time for
the train at the Sealdah Station ; and my luggage, as I
thought, being all put into a certain compartment, I
strolled up and down the platform till it was time for the
train to start. It was early in June, just the very height
of the season at Darjeeling, and so near the end of it that
scarcely any people were going up then, as being too late.
I was therefore, evidently, to be the only European
traveller by this train ; or at any rate the only one
travelling with a first-class ticket, while there were no less
than four different first-class compartments on the train.

Shortly, however, before the train was to start, some
natives began to put the luggage of some other passenger
into my compartment, and I mildly remonstrated with
them, seeing there were so many other compartments
empty. But they said they were told to put the luggage
into this compartment, probably by the railway servants ;
and as I had no right to object, I said nothing more on the
subject. This luggage got mixed with mine, but that is
nothing unusual, and I never suspected any harm.

At last the other passenger and myself went into the
train, which started immediately after. Chatting along
after leaving Calcutta, I discovered that my companion
was a railway engineer, and was one of the engineers of the
railway over which we were just passing, He left the
train at Naihati, the third or fourth station out of Calcutta,
and just after the train had started again, I looked to see
if my luggage was aU right, and lo, to my horror, my cash-
box was missing !

And then the whole affair flashed across me at once.
The cashbox had never been put into the train, and while
other compartments were empty, this passenger's luggage

THKOUtJH THE BUFFER STATE 285

had been mixed up with mine to put me off the scent before
starting. When taking my ticket at Sealdah I found that
I was travelling with an excess of luggage, and on re-
marking that small hand-things like a cashbox were not
generally weighed at stations, one of the European railway
servsgits replied ofl&ciously that they weighed everything at
Sealdah ; and it is only to be hoped that these servants
were as honest as they were officious.

I therefore took the cashbox off the scales, opened it
in their presence, took out the rupee notes I wanted, and
closed it again, never dreaming that it would not be placed
in the compartment with the rest of the luggage. After
missing the box I telegraphed from the next station to the
'station-master at Sealdah, asking him to send the box on
to Darjeeling, and to wire to me to a certain station we
would, be reaching before crossing the Ganges. For I still
hoped that the box had been left behind by mistake, and at
any rate, though we had not gone far from Calcutta, I
could not get a train back there for several hours. And so
I thought that if the cashbox was stolen, it was stolen,
and that nothing I could then do could prevent it. When
the train reached the station where I expected a reply to
my telegram, there was none, and this puzzled me still
more.

There was no help for it but to keep on to Darjeeling,
where I duly arrived with only a few rupees in the world,
and without a soul there that I knew, while even the
papers by which I could prove my identity were in that
unfortunate box. When I realised the situation I tele-
graphed to my agents in Bombay not to cash any cheques
in my name, as the cheque-book was in the box and might
be used for evil purposes by the fraudulent thief. And yet
when I reached Darjeeling, I again telegraphed to send
myself some money, to reheve me from my unpleasant
predicament.

I went to the principal hotel, but it was full till next
day, when some visitor was leaving, and I would get his
room. The manager perhaps might not have so readily
promised if he knew that I was penniless. I therefore
went into a boarding-house, and after I had got my
luggage into my room, I told the landlord what had
happened, as I knew it was different turning a man out of

286 THROUGH THE BUFFER STATE

doors, and keeping him there 'when there already. Bat the
landlord, who was a bluff German, good-naturedly took me
on truRt and made no objection 'whatever.

I telegraphed about my box again and again, till I was
now left with the magnificent sum of two rupees to bring
me to my destination, fifteen hundred miles away. For
three days I waited for a telegram from my agents, but
none came ; and I was aware that mercantile firms are
reluctant to give money on the authority of mere telegrams ;
and rightly so too, as anybody can send a telegram to
anybody elso, in anybody else's name ; and had I not
myself already warned them ?

And so I jingled in my pocket the two rupees still left
me with much appreciation. But as a last resource, I
eventually used one of them in telegraphing in another
direction altogether, in order to get enough cash to bring
me back, as my leave was now nearly over. And so I was
left with one rupee with which I could not jingle, as rupees
prefer to jingle in company with others. * Go now and be
miserable,' I then thought to myself, * for you are really
and truly stranded.'

There are two telegraph offices at Darjeeling, one at the
railway station, near where I was staying, and the other one
in the Post-office, about three quarters of a mile up the
side of the mountain ; and it was from the railway one that
I was communicating. Just after sending away this last
telegram it occurred to me to go up to the other office, and
make further inquiries there. I did so, and found with a
confused mixture of anger and pleasure that my agents had
promptly replied after all, and that the money was lying
there for the previous three days, while I was all the time
fretting away for the want of it. The telegraph people
did not know where I was living, did not think I had yet
arrived, &c. &c, ; and sure enough the telegraph clerk at
the railway station did not make use of my address, as he
said that he knew where I was living. The next day a
similar sum arrived from the other quarter to which I had
wired, and I was my own master once again.

This was the first time I had ever been stranded by
robbery ; and, indeed, I had seldom lost anything of value
by thieves before this journey. But I had been put in a fix
by money matters when travelling on two or three occasicms

THEOUaH THE BUfFEE STATE 287

before. Not because I am not a millionaire, nor ever hope
to be ; but because there is really no safeguarding against
accidents like these when "wandering about, as they may
occur at any unexpected moment.

The reader, sitting cosily in an easy chair, scarcely knows
the value of money, for it is only appreciated when it is
wanted, and not forthcoming. And the traveller,* even
when rich, never knows when he and his precious money
may be parted by accidents on land and sea, for there
is no certain, sure, and safe way for; guarding against
them.

I once met two fair travellers stranded in far-away New
Zealand, and waiting for remittances from home. Later on,
on arrival at San Francisco, I found an old shipmate stranded
there with his money stolen from him. I did what little I
could to help him out of his difficulty ; and some time after-
wards, having exceeded my previous calculations, I was my-
self stranded in New York for want of money, and anxiousJy
waiting a reply by cablegram to a letter I had written to
London from New Orleans, for that purpose. Such are some
of the troubles which the traveller is heir to, and which
really give a certain amount of pleasure — when they are
over.

So, gentle reader, if you are going to travel, please make
up your mind before starting, that you may be stranded —
any day. But by all means take due precautions, and take
good care at any rate (I warn you from experience), to make
yourself sure and certain — that your cashbox is in your
carriage before the train starts !

Fortunately for me, most of the money I had brought
with me had been already expended, though the loss of what
still remained, as well as of my cheque-book, put me to
great inconvenience at the time. But there were several
things in the box besides the money, including a rather
large collection of silver and copper coins, «fec. &c., which I
had gathered in various countries through which I had my-
self personally travelled, and various other nicknacks of
no value to anyone whatever but myself. And I may state
in passing that the box was afterwards found, broken open
and damaged, and thrown into a comer of the Sealdah
Station of Calcutta, with everything of value stolen out of
it, luid thereby proving that : —

'^SWft*^^

288 THEOUaH THE BUFFER STATE

There was a low thief of Calcatta,

Who saw a man open and shut a

Bich cashbox, and said

To himself * 1*11 be dead,

If I don't steal the swag from the gadda.'

And the box is now once more in my possession, as an old
and valued ^companion, that has already travelled many a
weary step with me on land and sea, and perhaps may do
so even yet again.

It would have been a very different and serious matter
with me if the box had been stolen in the wilds of Siam
or Cambodia, with much of my work in front of me, and
no funds to pay. And though one's purse or cashbox is
avowedly * trash,' according to Shakespeare, yet the thief
who would have filched me of it then would have made
me poor indeed. I had scarcely ever lost anything when
travelling before. And this time I had gone through the
wilds of Siam, Ldps, and Kumer, among tribes who had
seldom or never seen a European before, and who could
have easily robbed me of both life and property every time
I laid myself down to sleep. But they never touched any-
thing. Yet I was cruelly robbed twice in the so-called
countries of law and order. Such, O Mrs. Grundy, are
the blessings of thy vaunted civilisation !

It is in a predicament like this, as I said, that one
realises the full value of money, and how much the monarch
Mammon rules the world ; for he is by far the greatest
potentate on earth, to whom kings and lords must cringe
and cower, and, as a matter of fact, if you watch them
caref uUy, you will find that Lord Lucre pinches Lord Love
by the nose, and leadeth him whithersoever he listeth, so
earthly we are indeed, and so difficult it is to withstand
the fascinating sheen of glittering gold.

Why, it spoils one's appreciation of even scenery itself
to be looking at it through empty pockets ; and I would
much better have enjoyed the beauties of this the grandest
portion of the whole Himalayan range, if that thief of
Calcutta had not come across my path.

O Gold, how great is thy power I and O Virtue, how
weak are thy walls to withstand his batteries ! Why, Zeus
himself, though the veritable ^ boss ' of the heathen Greek
gods and armed with thunder, was yet quite unable to

THROUaH THE BUFFEE STATE 289

*

corrapt the virtuous Danae, till at last the shifty old
rascal thought of converting himself into a shower of gold.
And then, alas, alas ! — ^there was no further resistance.

The best si^ht of Mount Everest, the highest mountain
in the world (if Mount Hercules in New Guinea is only
a myth), is obtained at a place some forty or fifty miles
from Darjeeling, but I hadn't the m^ans to go there,
for penury represses the noblest rage, whatever philoso-
phers may be pleased to say to the contrary.

When I got the needful at last, my time was nearly up,
and I could only stay one more day on the bonnie, bonnie
heights of Darjeeling. This I passed in climbing Jella-
pahar, a mountain top four miles away, where a view may
be had of Mount Everest, though not such a good one as
the one forty miles off. Some 'casual' living at the
boarding-house went up with me, and we started in the
very early morning, for on these misty mountain regions
you are more likely to get a good view in the morn-
ings than at any other time, as the atmosphere is likely to
be less cloudy then. But we had only our labour for our
pains, as, we were not lucky enough to see the peak of
Mount Everest after all, although we sat on our elevated
summit for nearly an hour, to see if the clouds would dis-
perse and pass away, but they wouldn't. On the contrary,
it commenced to rain heavily, and we both came back
drenched to the skin. This ended my wanderings, as on
the next morning I was rushing back to duty as fast as the
mountain train could carry me, which was only at the very
modest rate of seven or eight miles an hour after all.

As a pure mountain scenery, lacking the additional
charms of sea, lake, or river, the beauty of Darjeeling is
probably unsurpassed by any other locality in the world,
with such lofty mountains and deep-sinking valleys.
Though our American cousins possess the longest rivers
and the largest lakes, and though they have even higher
railways than the one at Darjeeling, yet their mountains
are beieiten hollow by the Himalayan range. For even
though I was not able to get a view of Mount Everest
itself, yet I got several very good views of Kuchinjunga,
the next highest mountain on the globe, only 1,000 feet
lower than Mount Everest itself, and which I repeatedly

u

§ .

290 THBOUGH THE BUFFER STATE

obBerved from the top of Snow Hill in my days of small
means.

There is scarcely anything on earth more calculated to
stir the divinity within us than the sight of mighty moon-
tains, covered with eternal snow. Tet when watching
them on this occasion, I confess I sometimes found my
mind rummaging among the contents of my lost cashboz,
and breathing anathemas against the vile thief who had
placed me in such an unpleasant position. So earthly in
truth we are, that our own puny sdves are more important
personally to us than all the grandeur and glory of the
whole universe ; for the universe, without us, to us would
be nothing. And with that very wise and philosophical
remark, I may as well bring to a close this random narra-
tive of Thbouoh thb Buffeb Statb.

PBINTXD BT
flPOTTIBWOODB AND CO., KEW-fiTBXR SQUABS

LONDON

OTHER WORK8 BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

TOIL AND TBAVEL.

A PROSE NARRATIVE.
Price 16s.

OPINIONS OF THE PEUSS,

* The book is brimful of good things in their way, and cannot
Ml to amuse.' Daily Telegraph.

* It is impossible not to like so genial, sturdy, and quickwitted
an observer.' Stakdabd.

* Those who glance at Dr. MacGregor*s volume will lack neither
information nor amusement.' Scotsman.

'Full of spirit and energy, rejoicing in his experiences, and
■apparently possessing the ideal temperament of a traveller.'

Bookman.
' Mr. MacGregor is a lively and well-informed companion.'

National Review.
' * He shows great judgment in skimming over the less interesting
parts of his journey, so as to give due prominence to places and
incidents of more than usual interest.* Bombay Gazette.

* The book is an unassuming and honest record of hard travel. . . .
His remarks on Buddhism will scarcely please the admirers of that
fashionable and aesthetic religion. But there is as much sturdy good
sense in them as in his condemnation of the Mexican bull-fight,
which he had an opportunity of witnessing under the most favourable
auspices.' Litebaby Wobld.

< For our own part, at any rate, we can say that we have spent
some pleasant hours in reading his book ; we hope many another
will do the same, and we wish the author good luck in Gharmsala.'

Manchestbb Guabdian.
' The Doctor is a bit of an egoist, and rather relishes a dangerous
adventure than otherwise ; and in his piquant, conversational, albeit
loose fashion, he rattles on about the queer outlandish men and
places he has seen, till they appear to live before our eyes.'

Scottish Lbadeb.

* Writes a very pleasant and chatty account of his trip.' Gbafhic.
' The author needlessly, as the reader may often think, encounters

many dangers and difficulties, but he bears them all pluckily and is
the last to grumble at their drawbacks.' Dundee Adyebtisbb.

' They are by no means wanting in interest, and are related in a
hearty pleasant manner that makes the reading of them very
enjoyable.' Glasgow Hbbald.

*The letterpress is agreeable enough, often entertaining, and
with enough variety of topic to suit all tastes.' Wobld.

* He describes what he saw with directness, simplicity, and clear-
ness, and his impressions have the merit of being honestly formed
and faithfully recorded.' Globe.