PECHABURI OR P'RIPP'REE
On the opposite side of the gulf from Chantaboun, and much nearer to the
mouth of the Meinam, within a few hours' sail of Paknam, is the town of
Pechaburi, which is now famous as the seat of a summer palace built by
the late king, and as a place of increasing resort for foreigners
resident in Siam.
The proper orthography of the name of this town was a matter which gave
the late king a great deal of solicitude and distress. Priding himself
upon his scholarship almost as much as on his sovereignty, his pedantic
soul was vexed by the method in which some of the writers for the press
had given the name. Accordingly, in a long article published in the
Bangkok _Calendar_, he relieved his mind by a protest which is so
characteristic, and in its way so amusing, that it will bear to be
quoted by way of introduction to the present chapter. He has just
finished a long disquisition, philological, historical and antiquarian,
concerning the name of the city of Bangkok, and he continues as follows:
"But as the city P'etch'ara-booree the masses of the people in all parts
call it P'ripp'ree or P'et-p'ree. The name P'etch'ara-booree is
Sanskrit, a royal name given to the place the same as T'on-booree,
Non-boo-ree, Nak'awn K'u'n k'an, Samoota-pra-kan, and Ch'a-chong-sow.
Now, if Mahá nak'awn be called Bangkok, and the other names respectively
called Talatk'wan, Paklat, Paknam, and Paatrew, it is proper that
P'etch'ara-booree should follow suit, and be called by her vulgar name
P'rip-p'ree, or P'et-p'ree.
[Illustration: MOUNTAINS OF PECHABURI.]
"Now that the company of teachers and printers should coin a name
purporting to be after the royal style and yet do not take the true
Sanskrit, seems not at all proper. In trying to Romanize the name
P'etch'ara-booree, they place the mark over the _a_ thus P'etcha-booree,
making foreigners read it P'etcha-booree, following the utterances of
old dunces in the temples, who boast that they know Balam Bali, and not
satisfied with that, they even call the place City P'et, setting forth
both the Bali and the meaning of the word; and thus boasting greatly of
their knowledge and of being a standard of orthography for the name of
that city.
"Now, what is the necessity of coining another name like this? There is
no occasion for it. When the name is thus incorrectly printed, persons
truly acquainted with Sanskrit and Bali (for such there are many other
places) will say that those who write or print the name in the way, must
be pupils of ignorant teachers--blind teachers not following the real
Sanskrit in full, taking only the utterances of woodsmen, and holding
them forth [as the correct way]. In following such sounds they cannot be
in accord with the Sanskrit, and they conclude that the name is Siamese.
Whereas, in truth, it is not Siamese. The true Siamese name is
P'rip-p'ree or P'et-p'ree. It matters not what letters are used to
express it--follow your own mind; but let the sound come out clear and
accurate either P'rip-p'ree or P'et-p'ree, and it will be true Siamese.
But the mode of writing and printing the name P'etcha-booree with the
letter _a_ and mark over it and other marks in two places, resists the
eye and the mouth greatly. Whatever be done in this matter let there be
uniformity. If it be determined to follow the vulgar mode of calling the
name, let that be followed out fully and accurately; but if the royal
mode be preferred let the king be sought unto for the proper way of
writing it, which shall be in full accordance with the Sanskrit. And
should this happen not to be like the utterance of the people in the
temples, the difference cannot be great. And persons unacquainted with
Sanskrit will be constrained to acknowledge that you do really know
Sanskrit; and comparing the corrected with the improper mode of
Romanizing, will praise you for the improvement which you have made.
Such persons there are a few, not ignorant and blind leaders and dunces
like the inmates of the temples and of the jungles and forests, but
learned in the Sanskrit and residents in Siam."
It is to be feared, however, that his majesty's protest came too late,
and that, like many another blunder, the name Pechaburi has obtained
such currency that it cannot be superseded.
Sir John Bowring "received from a gentleman now resident in Siam the
notes of an excursion to this city in July, 1855.
"'We left Bangkok about three in the afternoon, and although we had the
tide in our favor, we only accomplished five miles during the first
three hours. Our way lay through a creek; and so great was the number of
boats that it strongly reminded me of Cheapside during the busiest part
of the day. Although I had been in Bangkok four months, I had not the
least conception that there was such a population spread along the
creeks. More than four miles from the river, there appeared to be little
or no diminution in the number of the inhabitants, and the traffic was
as great as at the mouth of the creek.
"'Having at last got past the crowd of boats, we advanced rapidly for
two hours more, when we stopped at a _wat_, in order to give the men a
rest. This _wat_, as its name "Laos" implies, was built by the
inhabitants of the Laos country, and is remarkable (if we can trust to
tradition) as being the limit of the Birmese invasion. Here, the Siamese
say, a body of Birmans were defeated by the villagers, who had taken
refuge in the _wat_: and they point out two large holes in the wall as
the places where cannon-balls struck. After leaving this, we proceeded
rapidly until about 12 P.M., when we reached the other branch of the
Meinam (Meinam mahachen), and there we halted for the night.
"'Our journey the next day was most delightful: most of it lay through
narrow creeks, their banks covered with atap and bamboo, whilst behind
this screen were plantations of chilis, beans, peas, etc. Alligators and
otters abounded in the creeks; and we shot several, and one of a
peculiar breed of monkey also we killed. The Siamese name of it is
_chang_, and it is accounted a great delicacy: they also eat with
avidity the otter. We crossed during the day the Tha-chin, a river as
broad as the Meinam at Bangkok. Toward evening we entered the Mei-Klong,
which we descended till we reached the sea-coast. Here we waited till
the breeze should sufficiently abate to enable us to cross the bay.
"'11th.--We started about 4 A.M., and reached the opposite side in about
three hours. The bay is remarkably picturesque, and is so shallow that,
although we crossed fully four miles from the head of the bay, we never
had more than six feet of water, and generally much less. Arrived at the
other side we ascended the river on which Pechaburi is built. At the
mouth of the river myriads of monkeys were to be seen. A very amusing
incident occurred here. Mr. Hunter, wishing to get a juvenile specimen,
fired at the mother, but, unfortunately, only wounded her, and she had
strength enough to carry the young one into the jungle. Five men
immediately followed her; but ere they had been out of sight five
minutes we saw them hurrying toward us shouting, "_Ling, ling, ling,
ling!_" (_ling_, monkey). As I could see nothing, I asked Mr. Hunter if
they were after the monkey. "Oh, no," he replied; "the monkeys are after
them!" And so they were--thousands upon thousands of them, coming down
in a most unpleasant manner; and, as the tide was out, there was a great
quantity of soft mud to cross before they could reach the boat, and here
the monkeys gained very rapidly upon the men, and when at length the
boat was reached, their savage pursuers were not twenty yards behind.
The whole scene was ludicrous in the extreme, and I really think if my
life had depended upon it that I could not have fired a shot. To see the
men making the most strenuous exertions to get through the deep mud,
breathless with their run and fright combined, and the army of little
wretches drawn up in line within twenty yards of us, screaming, and
making use of the most diabolical language, if we could only have
understood them! Besides, there was a feeling that they had the right
side of the question. One of the _refugees_, however, did not appear to
take my view of the case. Smarting under the disgrace, and the bamboos
against which he ran in his retreat, he seized my gun, and fired both
barrels on the exulting foe; they immediately retired in great disorder,
leaving four dead upon the field. Many were the quarrels that arose from
this affair among the men.
"'The approach to Pechaburi is very pleasant, the river is absolutely
arched over by tamarind trees, while the most admirable cultivation
prevails all along its course.
"'The first object which attracts the attention is the magnificent
pagoda, within which is a reclining figure of Buddha, one hundred and
forty-five feet in length. Above the pagoda, the priests have, with
great perseverance, terraced the face of the rock to a considerable
height. About half-way up the mountain, there is an extensive cave,
generally known amongst foreigners as the "Cave of Idols;" it certainly
deserves its name, if we are to judge from the number of figures of
Buddha which it contains.
"'The talapoins assert that it is natural. It may be so in part, but
there are portions of it in which the hand of man is visible. It is very
small, not more than thirty yards in length, and about seven feet high;
but anything like a cavern is so uncommon in this country, that this one
is worth notice. We now proceeded to climb the mountain. It is very
steep, but of no great height--probably not more than five hundred feet.
It is covered with huge blocks of a stone resembling granite; these are
exceedingly slippery, and the ascent is thus rendered rather laborious.
But when we reached the top we were well repaid. The country for miles
in each direction lay at our feet--one vast plain, unbroken by any
elevation. It appeared like an immense garden, so carefully was it
cultivated; the young rice and sugar-cane, of the most beautiful green,
relieved by the darker shade of the cocoanut trees, which are used as
boundaries to the fields--those fields traversed by suitable foot-paths.
Then toward the sea the view was more varied: rice and sugar-cane held
undisputed sway for a short distance from the town; then cocoanuts
became more frequent, until the rice finally disappeared; then the
bamboos gradually invaded the cocoanut trees; then the atap palm, with
its magnificent leaf; and lastly came that great invader of Siam, the
mangrove. Beyond were the mountains on the Malay Peninsula, stretching
away in the distance.
"'With great reluctance did we descend from the little pagoda, which is
built upon the very summit; but evening was coming on, and we had
observed in ascending some very suspicious-looking footprints mightily
resembling those of a tiger.
"'Pechaburi is a thriving town, containing about twenty thousand
inhabitants. The houses are, for the most part, neatly built, and no
floating houses are visible. Rice and sugar are two-thirds dearer at
Bangkok than they are here, and the rice is of a particularly fine
description. We called upon the governor during the evening. Next
morning we started for home, and arrived without any accident.'"
It was not until the completion of his prolonged tour of exploration
through Cambodia, and his visit to the savage tribes on the frontier of
Cochin-China, that Mouhot found time for his excursion to Pechaburi from
Bangkok.
"I returned to the capital," he says, "after fifteen months' absence.
During the greater part of this time I had never known the comfort of
sleeping in a bed; and throughout my wanderings my only food had been
rice or dried fish, and I had not once tasted good water. I was
astonished at having preserved my health so well, particularly in the
forests, where often wet to the skin, and without a change of clothes, I
have had to pass whole nights by a fire, at the foot of a tree. Yet I
have not had a single attack of fever, and been always happy and in good
spirits, especially when lucky enough to light upon some novelty. A new
shell or insect filled me with a joy which ardent naturalists alone can
understand; but they know well how little fatigues and privations of all
kinds are cared for when set against the delight experienced in making
one discovery after another, and in feeling that one is of some slight
assistance to the votaries of science. It pleases me to think that my
investigations into the archæology, entomology, and conchology of these
lands may be of use to certain members of the great and generous English
nation, who kindly encouraged the poor naturalist; while France, his own
country, remained deaf to his voice.
"It was another great pleasure to me, after these fifteen months of
travelling, during which very few letters from home had reached me, to
find, on arriving at Bangkok, an enormous packet, telling me all the
news of my distant family and country. It is indeed happiness, after so
long a period of solitude, to read the lines traced by the beloved hands
of an aged father, of a wife, of a brother. These joys are to be
reckoned among the sweetest and purest of life.
"We stopped in the centre of the town, at the entrance of a canal,
whence there is a view over the busiest part of the Meinam. It was
almost night, and silence reigned around us; but when at daybreak I rose
and saw the ships lying at anchor in the middle of the stream, while the
roofs of the palaces and pagodas reflected the first rays of the sun, I
thought that Bangkok had never looked so beautiful. However, life here
would never suit me, and the mode of locomotion is wearisome after an
active existence among the woods and in the chase.
"The river is constantly covered with thousands of boats of different
sizes and forms, and the port of Bangkok is certainly one of the finest
in the world, without excepting even the justly-renowned harbor of New
York. Thousands of vessels can find safe anchorage here.
"The town of Bangkok increases in population and extent every day, and
there is no doubt but that it will become a very important capital. If
France succeeds in taking possession of Annam, the commerce between the
two countries will increase. It is scarcely a century old, and yet
contains nearly half a million of inhabitants, among whom are many
Christians. The flag of France floating in Cochin-China would improve
the position of the missions in all the surrounding countries; and I
have reason to hope that Christianity will increase more rapidly than it
has hitherto done.
"I had intended to visit the northeast of the country of Laos, crossing
Dong Phya Phai (the forest of the King of Fire), and going on to Hieng
Naie, on the frontiers of Cochin-China; thence to the confines of
Tonquin. I had planned to return afterward by the Mékong to Cambodia,
and then to pass through Cochin-China, should the arms of France have
been victorious there. However, the rainy season having commenced the
whole country was inundated, and the forests impassable; so it was
necessary to wait four months before I could put my project in
execution. I therefore packed up and sent off all my collections, and
after remaining a few weeks in Bangkok I departed for Pechaburi,
situated about 13° north latitude, and to the north of the Malayan
peninsula.
"On May 8th, at five o'clock in the evening, I sailed from Bangkok in a
magnificent vessel, ornamented with rich gilding and carved work,
belonging to Khrom Luang, one of the king's brothers, who had kindly
lent it to a valued friend of mine. There is no reason for concealing
the name of this gentleman, who has proved himself a real friend in the
truest meaning of the word; but I rather embrace the opportunity of
testifying my affection and gratitude to M. Malherbes, who is a French
merchant settled at Bangkok. He insisted on accompanying me for some
distance, and the few days he passed with me were most agreeable ones.
"The current was favorable, and, with our fifteen rowers, we proceeded
rapidly down the stream. Our boat, adorned with all sorts of flags, red
streamers, and peacocks' tails, attracted the attention of all the
European residents, whose houses are built along the banks of the
stream, and who, from their verandas, saluted us by cheering and waving
their hands. Three days after leaving Bangkok we arrived at Pechaburi.
"The king was expected there the same day, to visit a palace which he
has had built on the summit of a hill near the town. Khrom Luang,
Kalahom (prime-minister), and a large number of mandarins had already
assembled. Seeing us arrive, the prince called to us from his pretty
little house; and as soon as we had put on more suitable dresses we
waited on him, and he entered into conversation with us till
breakfast-time. He is an excellent man, and, of all the dignitaries of
the country, the one who manifests least reserve and hauteur toward
Europeans. In education both this prince and the king are much
advanced, considering the state of the country, but in their manners
they have little more refinement than the people generally.
"Our first walk was to the hill on which the palace stands. Seen from a
little distance, this building, of European construction, presents a
very striking appearance; and the winding path which leads up to it has
been admirably contrived amid the volcanic rocks, basalt, and scoria
which cover the surface of this ancient crater.
"About twenty-five miles off, stretches from north to south a chain of
mountains called Deng, and inhabited by the independent tribes of the
primitive Kariens. Beyond these rise a number of still higher peaks. On
the low ground are forests, palm-trees, and rice-fields, the whole rich
and varied in color. Lastly, to the south and east, and beyond another
plain, lies the gulf, on whose waters, fading away into the horizon, a
few scattered sails are just distinguishable.
"It was one of those sights not to be soon forgotten, and the king has
evinced his taste in the selection of such a spot for his palace. No
beings can be less poetical or imaginative than the Indo-Chinese; their
hearts never appear to expand to the genial rays of the sun; yet they
must have some appreciation of this beautiful scenery, as they always
fix upon the finest sites for their pagodas and palaces.
"Quitting this hill, we proceeded to another, like it an extinct volcano
or upheaved crater. Here are four or five grottoes, two of which are of
surprising extent and extremely picturesque. A painting which
represented them faithfully would be supposed the offspring of a fertile
imagination; no one would believe it to be natural. The rocks, long in a
state of fusion, have taken, in cooling, those singular forms peculiar
to scoria and basalt. Then, after the sea had retreated--for all these
rocks have risen from the bottom of the water--owing to the moisture
continually dripping through the damp soil, they have taken the richest
and most harmonious colors. These grottoes, moreover, are adorned by
such splendid stalactites, which, like columns, seem to sustain the
walls and roofs, that one might fancy one's self present at one of the
beautiful fairy scenes represented at Christmas in the London theatres.
"If the taste of the architect of the king's palace has failed in the
design of its interior, here, at least, he has made the best of all the
advantages offered to him by nature. A hammer touching the walls would
have disfigured them; he had only to level the ground, and to make
staircases to aid the descent into the grottoes, and enable the visitors
to see them in all their beauty.
"The largest and most picturesque of the caverns has been made into a
temple. All along the sides are rows of idols, one of superior size,
representing Buddha asleep, being gilt.
"We came down from the mountain just at the moment of the king's
arrival. Although his stay was not intended to exceed two days he was
preceded by a hundred slaves, carrying an immense number of coffers,
boxes, baskets, etc. A disorderly troop of soldiers marched both in
front and behind, dressed in the most singular and ridiculous costumes
imaginable. The emperor Soulouque himself would have laughed, for
certainly his old guard must have made a better appearance than that of
his East Indian brother. Nothing could give a better idea of this set of
tatter-demalions than the dressed-up monkeys which dance upon the organs
of the little Savoyards. Their apparel was of coarse red cloth upper
garments, which left a part of the body exposed, in every case either
too large or too small, too long or too short, with white shakos, and
pantaloons of various colors; as for shoes, they were a luxury enjoyed
by few.
"A few chiefs, whose appearance was quite in keeping with that of their
men, were on horseback leading this band of warriors, while the king,
attended by slaves, slowly advanced in a little open carriage drawn by a
pony.
"I visited several hills detached from the great chain Khao Deng, which
is only a few miles off. During my stay here it has rained continually,
and I have had to wage war with savage foes, from whom I never before
suffered so much. Nothing avails against them; they let themselves be
massacred with a courage worthy of nobler beings. I speak of mosquitoes.
Thousands of these cruel insects suck our blood night and day. My body,
face, and hands are covered with wounds and blisters. I would rather
have to deal with the wild beasts of the forest. At times I howl with
pain and exasperation. No one can imagine the frightful plague of these
little demons, to whom Dante has omitted to assign a place in his
infernal regions. I scarcely dare to bathe, for my body is covered
before I can get into the water. The natural philosopher who held up
these little animals as examples of parental love was certainly not
tormented as I have been.
"About ten miles from Pechaburi I found several villages inhabited by
Laotians, who have been settled there for two or three generations.
Their costumes consist of a long shirt and black pantaloons, like those
of the Cochin-Chinese, and they have the Siamese tuft of hair. The women
wear the same head-dress as the Cambodians. Their songs, and their way
of drinking through bamboo pipes, from large jars, a fermented liquor
made from rice and herbs, recalled to my mind what I had seen among the
savage Stiêns. I also found among them the same baskets and instruments
used by those tribes.
"The young girls are fair compared to the Siamese, and their features
are pretty; but they soon grow coarse and lose all their charms.
Isolated in their villages, these Laotians have preserved their language
and customs, and they never mingle with the Siamese."
To any one who has had experience of the Siamese mosquitoes, it is
delightful to find such thorough appreciation of them as Mouhot
exhibits. In number and in ferocity they are unsurpassed. A prolonged
and varied observation of the habits of this insect, in New Jersey and
elsewhere, enables this editor to say that the mosquitoes of Siam are
easily chief among their kind. The memory of one night at Paknam is
still vivid and dreadful. So multitudinous, so irresistible, so
intolerable were the swarms of these sanguinary enemies that not only
comfort, but health and even life itself seemed jeopardized, as the
irritation was fast bringing on a state of fever. There seemed no way
but to flee. Orders were given to get up steam in the little steamer
which had brought us from Bangkok, and we made all possible haste out of
reach of the shore and anchored miles distant in the safe waters of the
gulf till morning.
Mouhot remained for four months among the mountains of Pechaburi, "known
by the names of Makaon Khao, Panam Knot, Khao Tamoune, and Khao Samroun,
the last two of which are 1,700 and 1,900 feet above the level of the
sea." He needed the repose after the fatigue of his long journey, and by
way of preparation for his new and arduous explorations of the Laos
country, from which, as the result proved, he was never to come back. He
returned to Bangkok, and after a brief season of preparation and
farewell, he started for the interior.