TRAVELS
IN THE
CENTRAL PARTS OF INDO-CHINA
(SIAM),
CAMBODIA, AND LAOS.
VOL. II.
[Illustration:
Drawn by M. Bocourt, from a Sketch by M. Mouhot.
BIVOUAC OF M. MOUHOT IN THE FORESTS OF LAOS.]
TRAVELS
IN THE
CENTRAL PARTS OF INDO-CHINA
(SIAM),
CAMBODIA, AND LAOS,
DURING THE YEARS 1858, 1859, AND 1860.
BY THE LATE
M. HENRI MOUHOT,
FRENCH NATURALIST.
IN TWO VOLUMES.--VOL. II.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1864.
LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET,
AND CHARING CROSS.
CONTENTS OF VOL. II.
CHAPTER XIII.
PAGE
ONGCOR THÔM (ONGCOR THE GREAT)--SURROUNDING WALL--TRIUMPHAL ARCH 1
CHAPTER XIV.
REMARKS ON CAMBODIA AND ITS RUINS 20
CHAPTER XV.
KHAO SAMROUM--PROVINCE OF PECHABURI OR PHETXABURI 38
CHAPTER XVI.
RETURN TO BANGKOK--PREPARATIONS FOR A NEW EXPEDITION TO THE
NORTH-EAST OF LAOS--PHRABAT--PAKPRIAU--SAOHAÏE 61
CHAPTER XVII.
TOWN OF CHAIAPUME--JOURNEY TO THE TOWN OF KORAT--THE PROVINCE
OF KORAT--TEMPLE OF PENOM-WAT--RETURN TO CHAIAPUME--
POUKIÉAU--MONANG-MOUNE-WA--NAM-KANE--LOUANG PRABANG,
CAPITAL OF WEST LAOS 105
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE EAST OF LOUANG PRABANG--NOTES OF TRAVELS--OBSERVATIONS
FROM BANGKOK TO LAOS--END OF THE JOURNAL--DEATH OF
THE TRAVELLER 144
APPENDIX.
NEW SPECIES OF MAMMALS, REPTILES, FRESH-WATER FISHES, INSECTS,
AND SHELLS, DISCOVERED BY M. MOUHOT 165
ATMOSPHERICAL OBSERVATIONS 187
TRANSLATIONS OF CHINESE TALES AND FABLES 190
THE DAMIER, OR CAPE PIGEON 200
THE ALBATROSS 204
CAMBODIAN VOCABULARY 207
LETTERS FROM M. MOUHOT 241
LETTERS ADDRESSED TO M. MOUHOT 278
LETTERS ADDRESSED TO THE FAMILY OF M. MOUHOT 290
PAPER READ AT THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY 296
ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. II.
PAGE
VIEW IN THE GULF OF SIAM 42
CEREMONY, ON A YOUNG SIAMESE COMING OF AGE, OF THE REMOVAL
OF THE TUFT _To face_ 44
VIEW OF THE PORT AND DOCKS OF BANGKOK 47
PORTRAIT OF KHROM LUANG, BROTHER OF THE KING OF SIAM 49
HALL OF AUDIENCE, PALACE OF BANGKOK 52
GROTTO AT PECHABURI 55
VIEW OF THE MOUNTAINS OF PECHABURI 59
PAVILION CONTAINING THE ASHES OF THE LATE KING OF SIAM IN
THE GARDENS ATTACHED TO THE PALACE AT BANGKOK _To face_ 61
THE BAR OF THE RIVER MENAM 63
CLOCK TOWER AT BANGKOK 65
SCENE ON THE RIVER MENAM, NEAR BANGKOK 67
A PRIEST IN HIS BOAT 69
THE NEW PALACE OF THE KING OF SIAM, BANGKOK 71
KUN MOTTE, A SIAMESE NOBLE AND SAVANT 74
BUILDING FOR THE INCREMATION OF THE QUEEN OF SIAM 76
SAYA VISAT, HEAD OF CHRISTIANS AT BANGKOK 78
PORTICO OF THE AUDIENCE-HALL AT BANGKOK 81
LAOTIAN HOUSE 92
M. MOUHOT AND HIS SERVANTS SURPRISED BY A LEOPARD 98
CEMETERY AT BANGKOK 103
BUILDING ERECTED AT THE FUNERAL OF THE QUEEN OF SIAM 107
BIVOUAC OF M. MOUHOT IN THE FORESTS OF LAOS _To face_ 112
RUINS AT PAN BRANG, CHAIAPUME 117
ELEPHANTS BATHING 124
CARAVAN OF ELEPHANTS CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS OF LAOS 127
“PARK” OF ELEPHANTS, EXTERNAL VIEW 131
LAOTIAN GIRLS _To face_ 134
RECEPTION OF M. MOUHOT BY THE KINGS OF LAOS _To face_ 143
LAOTIAN WOMAN 145
A CHIEF ATTACKING A RHINOCEROS IN THE FOREST OF LAOS 149
SIAMESE MONEY 161
NEW CARABUS (_Mouhotia gloriosa_) 183
LAND SHELL (_Helix cambojiensis_) 184
UNDESCRIBED LAND SHELLS _To face_ 186
MAP _At the end._
TRAVELS IN INDO-CHINA,
ETC.
CHAPTER XIII.
ONGCOR THÔM (ONGCOR THE GREAT)--SURROUNDING WALL--TRIUMPHAL ARCH.
ONGCOR THÔM.
Half-a-mile beyond Bakhêng are the ruins of Ongcor-Thôm. A
partly-destroyed road, hidden by thick layers of sand and dust, and
crossing a large ditch, half filled with blocks of stone, portions of
columns, and fragments of sculptured lions and elephants, leads to the
gateway of the town, which is built in the style of a triumphal arch.
These remains are in a tolerable state of preservation, and are
composed of a central tower, 18 metres high, surrounded by four
turrets, and flanked by two other towers connected together by
galleries. At the top are four immense heads in the Egyptian style;
and every available space is filled with sculpture. At the foot of the
great tower is a passage for carriages; and on each side of it are
doors and staircases communicating with the walls, the whole building
being constructed of sandstone. The outer wall is composed of blocks
of ferruginous stone, and extends right and left from the entrance. It
is about 24 miles square, 3 met. 80 centimet. thick, and 7 met. high,
and serves as a support to a glacis which rises almost from the top. At
the four cardinal points are doors, there being two on the east side.
Within this vast enclosure, now covered with an almost impenetrable
forest, are a vast number of buildings, more or less in ruin, which
testify to the ancient splendour of the town. In some places, where the
heavy rains have washed away the soil, or where the natives have dug in
search for treasure, may be seen immense quantities of porcelain and
pottery.
PREA SAT LING POUN.
Within the enclosure of Ongcor Thôm, and two miles from the west gate,
are to be seen through the trees the tops of the high towers of a
building called by the Cambodians “Prea sat Ling poun,” that is to
say, “The Pagoda where they play hide and seek.” It is a collection
of 37 towers of unequal size, connected by galleries which cross each
other perpetually, and form a labyrinth through which it is not easy to
find one’s way. A long shallow ditch, crossed by four roads leading to
the principal entrances, surrounds it on all sides. Beyond the ditch
rises the wall of a gallery, of which the exterior colonnades and the
roof are only a mass of ruins, over which you must climb to reach the
interior. This wall is still intact: it is about 120 metres long,
and forms a square round the pagoda. About 1 metre from the ground
are visible, in places where the blocks fallen from the roof have not
hidden everything, various bas-reliefs carved in the thickness of the
wall: they are not surmounted by cornices as at Ongcor-Wat, by which it
would seem as if they had never been finished.
Besides the four principal entrances there were other doors at unequal
distances in this gallery, but singularly enough many of them have been
walled up. The gallery was connected with the main body of the building
by four smaller ones opposite each of the great doors, and forming a
covered way to the interior; but all these galleries are destroyed.
The second enclosure is 65 metres square, and each front is composed of
five towers, connected by galleries. The central and corner towers are
the largest: they are about 13 metres high. High galleries connect the
centre tower with the intermediate ones, which again are connected with
those at the corners by galleries of a less elevation.
On each side are seven staircases, of six steps each, and leading
either to towers or galleries: these galleries are covered by a triple
roof: a central one 7 metres high, resting on an outer wall, and
on columns 2 metres in height; an exterior roof on a double row of
columns; and a third resting on a very low wall, pierced with numerous
large windows looking on to a narrow interior court.
On the exterior of the wall, which on one side sustains the high
roof, are a series of bas-reliefs, surrounding the whole gallery. They
are sculptured in the thickness of the wall, and are curious from the
scenes and costumes they represent. These scenes are drawn more from
the sacred books of the people than from their history; for men with
ten heads and twenty arms, fantastic animals, griffins and dragons, are
favourite subjects. The men all wear the langouti, and often nothing
beside, and have the ears pierced and hanging on their shoulders: many
have long beards.
In the vestibules of the towers, and in the high galleries near them,
are kings and queens seated on a rich dais, with a numerous court, and
surrounded by persons carrying parasols, fans, standards, and caskets:
there are likewise many musicians with drums, flutes, and harps.
In the galleries are represented several boats’ crews fighting; while
underneath are fishes disputing for the bodies of the slain. There are
also in the same galleries persons in attitudes of adoration, with
clasped hands, before a figure of Samonakodom.
In another part is a long procession: the king is in a large open
carriage, divided into three compartments, he being in the centre
one, and his wives in the two others. This carriage has six wheels
and two shafts, which rest on the shoulders of eight men. The chiefs
are mounted on elephants or horses, or seated in carriages drawn by
four led horses, and by their side march a numerous company bearing
standards, parasols, and caskets.
The bas-reliefs at the east and north sides represent similar scenes,
as well as many of the fabulous men and animals which are to be seen in
those at Ongcor-Wat. In numerous places the water, trickling through
holes in the roof, has so obliterated the carving that the subjects
can no longer be recognised. This gallery, with its sixteen towers, is
connected with another only 3 metres distant; and this last has five
towers on each side, of which the three in the middle face the exterior
towers. The interior of the gallery with its three roofs receives no
light but by the doors, and is so dark that torches are necessary when
it is visited. The gallery, sustained by two rows of columns and by an
exterior wall, has no bas-reliefs. The towers, which are built at equal
distances, are thus disposed: the largest at the angles, two smaller
ones next to them, and one of medium size in the centre.
The middle of the terrace is occupied by a large tower connected with
the gallery by two others, only about a metre distant. The central
tower is circular at the base, is 20 metres in diameter, and nearly 40
metres high, and has on each side a turret. A colonnade supporting a
roof, now in ruins, surrounds it: the columns, each of which is hewn
out of a single block of stone more than 40 metres high, are still
standing. Four doors lead to the interior. Outside this tower, between
each two doors, are three chapels, constructed out of the thickness
of the wall, and having no communication with each other, nor with
the exterior. In nearly every one of them is a full-length statue of
Samanokodom seated on a pedestal.
On visiting this place you behold on every side the tops of these
numerous towers, and the roofs of the galleries, intermingled with
large trees, creepers, and thistles, which invade the courts, the
terraces, and other parts; and you have at first some difficulty in
comprehending the arrangements of the different buildings. It is only
after a long examination that you perceive the symmetry of them as a
whole, and that these thirty-seven towers and numerous galleries are
all in regular order. Some parts are in good preservation; others have
been dealt hardly with by time, in spite of the immense size of the
blocks of stone, and the skill with which they are united; and the
condition of this stone, ready to crumble to powder, seems to prove
that this structure was anterior to Ongcor-Wat.
Like it, it is built of sandstone, and the roofs are very similar,
only that, in place of the pointed stones ranged in courses at Ongcor,
these are embellished, at about two-thirds of their height, with four
gigantic sculptured heads.
The roof is terminated by a very elegant embrasure, a feature not
belonging to the other temple. Every door in the building is sunk,
and many of them are admirably carved, displaying scenes full of
expression, skilfully arranged, and exquisitely delicate in detail.
They represent various subjects: worshippers prostrated before their
idols, musicians and comedians performing pantomimes, chariots filled
with warriors standing up, and drawn by horses galloping: in some
instances they appear to be running races.
Not far from this labyrinth are three platforms close together, each
occupied by a colossal idol of stone, and gilt. These idols appear to
be of modern date; but at their feet are assembled a number of others,
some uninjured, some broken, collected from among the ruins. On one of
the platforms are several stones fixed in the ground; on one of which
is a long undecipherable inscription.
PHIMÉNAN ACA. THE PALACE OF THE ANCIENT KINGS.
ANCIENT PALACE.
Three walls at some distance from each other, and each bounded by a
moat, surround what remains of the palace of the ancient kings. Within
the first enclosure are two towers connected by galleries, which form
four sides, like a triumphal arch. The walls are of ferruginous stone,
and the length of each block forms the thickness of the wall. The
towers and galleries are of sandstone.
A hundred metres from the angle of the square formed on the north side
by the wall, is a singular building, consisting of two high terraces,
and communicating with the outer wall by another terrace half in ruins.
In a cavity recently made by excavations, are visible large sculptured
blocks, which seem to have fallen from the top. The walls, still
intact, are covered with bas-reliefs, disposed in four rows, one above
another, each representing a king seated in the Oriental fashion, with
his hands resting on a broken poignard, and by his side a number of
women. All these figures are covered with ornaments, such as very long
earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. Their costume is the langouti, and
all wear high head-dresses terminating in a point, and apparently
composed of precious stones, pearls, and gold and silver ornaments.
On another side the bas-reliefs represent combats; and here are
children with long hair tied up like the savages of the East.
Everything here, however, yields in beauty to the statue of the leprous
king, which is at the end of the terrace. The head, admirable in its
nobility, regularity of feature, and gentle yet proud expression, must
have been the work of the most skilful sculptor of the country, in
an age when many, doubtless, evinced great talent. A small moustache
covers his upper lip, and his hair falls in long curls over his
shoulders; but the whole body is naked, and without ornament. One foot
and one hand are broken.
PREA SAT SOUR PRÔT.
RUINED PAGODAS.
About 1200 metres in front of the building just described is one
called “Prea sat sour prôt,” and said to have been the royal treasury.
It is square, and consists of sixteen towers connected by galleries,
but nearly all in ruins: the doorways and walls are ornamented
with sculpture, as in the other remains. It served, they say, as a
depository for the crown jewels. The Cambodians also believe that ropes
were stretched from one tower to another, on which dancers exercised
their skill in the presence of the king, who, seated on one of the
neighbouring terraces, enjoyed their performances. All traditions being
lost, the natives invent new ones, according to the measure of their
capacity.
The centre of the interior of the third enclosure is occupied by an
immense esplanade, supported by walls formed of magnificent blocks of
stone, sculptured and surrounded by staircases. The ground is level;
but in the excavations that had been made I remarked large masses of
carved stone.
Not far from this esplanade is a square building in tolerable
preservation, the basement composed of great blocks of ferruginous
stone, as are the staircases, of which there are four, one on each
side; but they are so steep, narrow, and worn away that it is difficult
to climb them. The base supports small galleries, very narrow, and
having windows with carved bars. The stones and every doorway are
covered with inscriptions.
In the centre of the gallery rises a ruined tower, approached by four
staircases, as awkward to ascend as the others just mentioned. Near the
doors are some figures of women, standing with flowers in their hands.
This building appears very old: the stone is crumbling away like rotten
wood.
PREA SAT FIAO SAÏE.
On the banks of the river which skirts the eastern side of Ongcor Thôm
are several remains. The first you come to is Fiao Saïe, two or three
hundred metres from the water’s edge. Large and deep ditches surround
it on all sides; and when these have been crossed you arrive in front
of a terrace 45 metres long, and 2 metres 50 centimetres in width. Four
rows of columns 1 metre high are all that is left standing. Those in
the middle rows are square, the others are fluted, with capitals. This
terrace leads to a square formed by four galleries, each 20 metres
long: the one facing the terrace has three porticoes with doors and
staircases, while in the centre, and at each corner of the gallery, are
towers.
Another gallery, 40 metres long, leads from the central tower to
another larger one, where, on a high pedestal, is placed the principal
idol. On each side of this tower are three staircases, with porticoes
projecting four or five metres, and supported by six high columns.
All the windows have been ornamented with twisted bars, many of which
still remain. By the side of each door are carved columns, every block
being cut and polished with infinite patience and art. There are some
bas-reliefs portraying a lion devouring a stag, dances, pantomimes,
worshippers before idols, &c. As at Ongcor-Wat, the building is
entirely composed of great blocks of sandstone.
PREA SAT IHEUR MANONE TIREADA, OR THE TEMPLE OF THE ANGELS.
This little pagoda is only about 150 metres from the preceding, and,
according to tradition, was formerly a celebrated school for Buddhist
theology. At the east is the principal entrance, which consists of a
gallery 18 metres long, with a portico in the centre, and staircases.
A second gallery, 30 metres long, terminated by a tower, extends from
the centre of the other, and at about two-thirds of its length open
out on either side porticoes and staircases. There are two other small
buildings north and south, and a third behind the tower. That on the
south is in good preservation, but receives no light except through a
single door. This pagoda has been built with smaller stones than the
other temples: in its architecture and details it much resembles Fiao
Saïe.
THE BRIDGE.
Near Iheur Manone Tireada is a bridge of very ancient date, in a fair
state of preservation, excepting the parapet and a portion of the
roadway, which are a mass of ruins; but the piers and arches still
remain. The piers are formed of sandstone, some of the blocks being
long, others square, and placed irregularly; a few only are carved.
This bridge, with its fourteen narrow arches, may be about 42 or 43
metres in length, and 45 metres wide.
The river, instead of flowing under its arches, runs now along the
side, its bed having been altered by the shifting of the sand, which
has so accumulated around the piers and fallen stones, that a great
portion of the former is concealed.
This bridge must have served as a communication between Ongcor the
Great and the high road, which, traversing the province from east to
west, took afterwards a southerly direction.
PREA SAT KÉO.
Two hundred metres from the bridge rise, amidst the forest, the
imposing ruins of Prea sat Kéo, to reach which you have to cross a
deep moat. This done, you arrive at the exterior wall, which has four
entrances formed by elegant pavilions, with staircases of eight steps
leading to a terrace raised nearly 2 metres from the ground; from this
you pass into a low narrow gallery with numerous interior windows
ornamented with twisted bars. This gallery surrounds the building, and
you ascend to it by a staircase leading to a second terrace. Three
other terraces, each more than 3 metres 50 centimetres wide, rise one
above another, supported on blocks of well-cut sandstone.
Each terrace forms a perfect square, the sides of the first measuring
each 30 metres in length. A staircase, 15 metres high and 3-1/2 metres
wide, leads to the top; and a wide parapet to the staircase serves as a
pedestal for four statues of lions, more or less injured. In the centre
of the upper terrace is a lofty tower, and there are four smaller
ones at the corners. Each tower has four porticoes with staircases,
which rest on a base 7 metres high, and these towers are reached
by staircases of twenty-two steps. From them a magnificent view is
obtained over the surrounding forest. They, as well as their bases and
staircases, are built of great blocks of granite arranged in regular
tiers, and joined together in the most perfect manner. There is little
sculpture, and the doorways have been left unfinished. The towers are
without roofs, and perhaps never had any. The whole building appears
very ancient, judging by the condition of the stone, which in many
places is falling to pieces.
PONTÉEY TA PROUM.--TOWN OF TA PROUM.
RUINED TOWNS.
On the road before mentioned are two towns containing some remarkable
buildings. These towns, each of which is enclosed by walls forming a
square, almost touch each other, being only about 20 metres apart.
The walls are of ferruginous stone, surmounted by a coping of carved
sandstone resembling a cornice, above which are serrated stones, giving
a very finished appearance to the wall.
The smallest of these towns is called Pontéey Kedey (Town of Kedey);
the other, Pontéey ta Proum.
The town of Ta Proum has seven gateways in the style of triumphal
arches, formed by a central tower at the entrance and by lateral
galleries. As at Ongcor the Great, a deep track is worn in the roadway
beneath by the passage of vehicles. The interior of the town is
completely deserted; no one enters it except the Cambodians from a
hamlet outside the enclosure, who cultivate a few rice-plantations. In
the centre are the ruins of a large and splendid monument, which has
suffered greatly by the hand of time, and perhaps also from barbarous
invasions. The ruins are surrounded by a double wall of ferruginous
stone and by deep moats; and at every entrance are galleries with
porticoes. A long gallery, 120 metres on each side, and with porticoes
at the middle and at each end, goes quite round the building.
Exteriorly, on each side, are two detached towers about 10 or 15
metres from the ruins. This gallery is formed by an interior wall and
colonnades supporting a vaulted roof, which in many places has fallen
in, and most of the columns are overthrown.
On the opposite wall are large bas-reliefs, forming series of subjects,
set in a magnificent framework, which is in so good a state of
preservation that the delicacy of the execution can be appreciated. As
for the bas-reliefs themselves, they are much injured, not so much by
time as by some barbarous hand, for everywhere are marks of the hammer
or pickaxe. Leaving this gallery on the western side, you enter a long
court, in which are three detached towers, and on the opposite side are
similar towers.
Several of these, which are from 8 to 10 metres high, and well
preserved, are real works of art. The mandarins of the provinces of
Ongcor and Battambong are at present occupied in taking two of them to
pieces, in order to transport them to Bangkok, the king having issued
orders to that effect, and appointed one of the mandarins to carry them
out.[1]
[1] In a letter from M. Silvestre, missionary at Battambong, to M.
Mouhot, but which he never received, the murder of this mandarin is
mentioned.
Beyond, extends a second rectangular gallery, connected with the first
by three parallel galleries and two transverse ones. At the points
where they intersect are ten towers, placed, like the galleries, in
an odd and unsymmetrical fashion. The perfect preservation of several
parts of these last, and the ruinous state of others, seem to mark
different ages.
One of the towers and several of the galleries are constructed of
ferruginous stone, the others of sandstone. The architecture of the
galleries is the same as that of Ongcor-Wat, a double roof with
colonnades. All the building is on one floor. This temple, which, after
Ongcor-Wat, is the largest of all, is situated in a desert place, and
lost amidst a forest; an exuberant vegetation has overgrown everything,
galleries and towers, so that it is difficult to force a passage.
RUINS IN THE PROVINCE OF BATTAMBONG.
The principal ruins of this province are those of Bassette, Banone,
and Watêk. I visited Bassette twice, before going to Ongcor and after;
but all I could bring away was the design of a bas-relief in perfect
preservation, carved on a block of sandstone 1 metre 50 centimetres
long, forming the top of a doorway in a brick tower. The whole place is
so ruinous, that one might suppose some enemy had done his utmost to
demolish it, or that one gazed at the results of an earthquake. A thick
vegetation, the haunt of fierce animals, has sprung up, and we found
it quite impossible to discover the plan of the buildings. Galleries
have disappeared under the ground, and the bases of doorways are to be
seen 2 metres above.
The only portion which remains at all perfect is an erection 25 metres
long and 6 metres wide, divided in two parts by an interior wall, the
ends of which are in the form of a tower. It is built entirely of
stone, and the exterior bears traces of fine carving on the tops of the
doors and on the cornices; inside, the walls are bare, and almost all
the stones chipped and injured. The windows have been ornamented with
twisted bars, of which only a few traces remain.
On the ground inside lies a large broken stone, 5 decimetres wide and 2
thick, having on each side inscriptions apparently similar; this, and
two small fractured idols are the sole remains of Buddhism at Bassette.
The subjects, most frequently occurring over the doors, represent men
with long beards, seated, and wearing high conical head-dresses, the
hands either resting on the hilt of a poignard or crossed one over
another, elephants with four heads, and other fanciful creatures.
A little beyond this enclosure is another, bounded by a wall of
sandstone, a single block forming the thickness; it appears to have
been only 75 centimetres high, and to have served as a kind of
terrace. Within this enclosure are some magnificent columns, some
still standing, others overthrown; doorways, the upper portions of
which alone are visible above the ground; here and there fragments of
sculptured stone, towers and walls nearly destroyed, and a beautiful
dry basin, 18 metres square and above 2 metres deep, to which you
descend by flights of steps extending the entire length of each side.
BASSETTE--BANONE.
Bassette is believed to have been the occasional residence of the
ancient sovereigns. Battambong is comparatively modern. It is scarcely
a century since Bassette was the centre of a numerous Cambodian
population, which has entirely disappeared in consequence of the
frequent hostilities between Cambodia and Siam, the inhabitants being
led away captive by the conquerors, who often employed this method of
peopling the desert parts of their country. It is thus that, in Siam
and Laos, entire provinces are to be found, of which the great mass of
the population are of Cambodian origin.
The river which formerly flowed near Bassette has been banked up, and
a new settlement, peopled from Penom-Peuh, Udong, and other places,
formed in the place now called Battambong. Bassette is nine miles from
this place, and about as far from the mountains.
_Banone._--Ascending the river again for about forty miles from
Battambong in a southerly direction, you arrive at a mountain standing
somewhat isolated, but forming part of the ramifications of the great
chain of Pursat. At the foot is a miserable pagoda of recent origin,
and in the environs a few hamlets, while on the summit are the ruins of
Banone.
BANONE--WAT-EK.
Eight towers are connected with galleries, and communicate on two
sides by a wall with a central tower nearly 8 metres in diameter. The
buildings are all on one floor, and built of sandstone, and appear
of the same date as Bassette. Although there is nothing about them
especially remarkable, what remains of the galleries displays fine
workmanship, and great taste and skill in construction.
Banone must have been a temple, for there are still in the central
tower, and in two smaller ones connected by a gallery, a great number
of enormous Buddhist idols, probably as ancient as the building itself,
and surrounded by many divinities of less size. At the foot of the
neighbouring mountains is a deep cavern in the limestone rock, from
the roof of which hang some beautiful stalactites. The water dropping
from these is considered sacred by the Cambodians, who attribute to
it, amongst other virtues, that of imparting a knowledge of the past,
present, and future. Devotees consequently resort hither in pilgrimage,
from time to time, to gain information as to their own fate or that
of their country, and address their prayers to the numerous idols
scattered about on the ground or placed in the cavities of the rocks.
WAT-EK.
_Wat-Ek._--This temple is about six miles on the other side of
Battambong, and is in tolerably good preservation. The architecture of
the galleries is full of beauty, and that of the tower very imposing;
but neither here nor at Banone are you met by the singular grandeur
and magnificence which make so great an impression on you in visiting
Ongcor and most of the other ruins.
Wat-Ek is situated in an immense plain, bounded north and east by the
beautiful mountains of Pursat and ramifications of those of Chantaboun.