NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF SIAM
The varieties of animal and vegetable life with which the tropics
everywhere abound are in Siam almost innumerable. From the gigantic
elephant and rhinoceros in the jungle to the petty mosquitoes that
infest the dwellings and molest the slumbers of the crowded city; from
the gigantic Indian fig-tree to the tiniest garden-blossom, an almost
infinite diversity of life and growth invites attention. The work of
scientific observation and classification has been, as yet, only very
imperfectly accomplished. Much has been done by the missionaries,
especially by Dr. House of the American Presbyterian Mission, who is a
competent and scientific observer. And the lamented Mouhot, gathered
vast and valuable collections in the almost unexplored regions to which
he penetrated. But no doubt there are still undiscovered treasures of
which men of science will presently lay hold.
"Elephants," says Bowring, "are abundant in the forests of Siam, and
grow sometimes to the height of twelve or thirteen feet. The habits of
the elephant are gregarious; but though he does not willingly attack a
man, he is avoided as dangerous; and a troop of elephants will, when
going down to a river to drink, submerge a boat and its passengers. The
destruction even of the wild elephant is prohibited by royal orders, yet
many are surreptitiously destroyed for the sake of their tusks. At a
certain time of the year tame female elephants are let loose in the
forests. They are recalled by the sound of a horn, and return
accompanied by wild males, which they compel, by blows of the proboscis,
to enter the walled prisons which have been prepared for their capture.
The process of taming commences by keeping them for several days without
food. Then a cord is passed round their feet, and they are attached to a
strong column. The delicacies of which they are most fond are then
supplied them, such as sugar-canes, plantains, and fresh herbs, and at
the end of a few days the animal is domesticated and resigned to his
fate.
"Without the aid of the elephant it would scarcely be possible to
traverse the woods and jungles of Siam. He makes his way as he goes,
crushing with his trunk all that resists his progress; over deep
morasses or sloughs he drags himself on his knees and belly. When he has
to cross a stream he ascertains the depth by his proboscis, advances
slowly, and when he is out of his depth he swims, breathing through his
trunk, which is visible when the whole of his body is submerged. He
descends into ravines impassable by man, and by the aid of his trunk
ascends steep mountains. His ordinary pace is about four to five miles
an hour, and he will journey day and night if properly fed. When weary,
he strikes the ground with his trunk, making a sound resembling a horn,
which announces to his driver that he desires repose. In Siam the
howdah is a great roofed basket, in which the traveller, with the aid of
his cushions, comfortably ensconces himself. The motion is disagreeable
at first, but ceases to be so after a little practice.
"Elephants in Siam are much used in warlike expeditions, both as
carriers and combatants. All the nobles are mounted on them, and as many
as a thousand are sometimes collected. They are marched against
palisades and entrenchments. In the late war with Cochin-China the
Siamese general surprised the enemy with some hundreds of elephants, to
whose tails burning torches were attached. They broke into the camp, and
destroyed more than a thousand Cochin-Chinese, the remainder of the army
escaping by flight.
"Of elephants in Siam, M. de Bruguières gives some curious anecdotes. He
says that there was one in Bangkok which was habitually sent by his
keeper to collect a supply of food, which he never failed to do, and
that it was divided regularly between his master and himself on his
return home; and that there was another elephant, which stood at the
door of the king's palace, before whom a large vessel filled with rice
was placed, which he helped out with a spoon to every talapoin (bonze)
who passed.
"His account of the Siamese mode of capturing wild elephants is not
dissimilar to that which has been already given. But he adds that in
taming the captured animals every species of torture is used. He is
lifted by a machine in the air, fire is placed under his belly, he is
compelled to fast, he is goaded with sharp irons, till reduced to
absolute submission. The tame elephants co-operate with their masters,
and, when thoroughly subdued, the victim is marched away with the rest.
"Some curious stories are told by La Loubère of the sagacity of
elephants, as reported by the Siamese. In one case an elephant, upon
whose head his keeper had cracked a cocoanut, kept the fragments of the
nut-shell for several days between his forelegs, and having found an
opportunity of trampling on and killing the keeper, the elephant
deposited the fragments upon the dead body.
"I heard many instances of sagacity which might furnish interesting
anecdotes for the zoölogist. The elephants are undoubtedly proud of
their gorgeous trappings, and of the attentions they receive. I was
assured that the removal of the gold and silver rings from their tusks
was resented by the elephants as an indignity, and that they exhibited
great satisfaction at their restoration. The transfer of an elephant
from a better to a worse stabling is said to be accompanied with marks
of displeasure."
If the elephant is in Siam the king of beasts, the white elephant is the
king of elephants. This famous animal is simply an albino, and owes his
celebrity and sanctity to the accident of disease. He is not really
white (except in spots); his color is a faded pink, or, as Bowring
states of the specimen he saw, a light mahogany. In September, 1870,
however, a very extraordinary elephant arrived in Bangkok, having been
escorted from Paknam with many royal honors. A large part of the body of
this animal was really white, and great excitement and delight was
produced by its arrival at the capital. The elephant which Bowring saw
and described died within a year after his visit. She occupied a large
apartment within the grounds of the first king's palace, and not far
off, in an elevated position, was placed a golden chair for the king to
occupy when he should come to visit her. "She had a number of
attendants, who were feeding her with fresh grass (which I thought she
treated somewhat disdainfully), sugar-cane, and plantains. She was
richly caparisoned in cloth of gold and ornaments, some of which she
tore away and was chastised for the offence by a blow on the proboscis
by one of the keepers. She was fastened to an upright pole by ropes
covered with scarlet cloth, but at night was released, had the liberty
of the room, and slept against a matted and ornamented partition,
sloping from the floor at about an angle of forty-five degrees. In a
corner of the room was a caged monkey, of pure white, but seemingly very
active and mischievous. The prince fed the elephant with sugar-cane,
which appeared her favorite food; the grass she seemed disposed to toss
about rather than to eat. She had been trained to make a salaam by
lifting her proboscis over the neck, and did so more than once at the
prince's bidding. The king sent me the bristles of the tail of the last
white elephant to look at. They were fixed in a gold handle, such as
ladies use for their nosegays at balls."
There seems some reason for believing that the condition of the white
elephant is not at present quite so luxurious as it used to be, and a
correspondent of Miss Cort is quoted as saying--"I think it is time the
popular fallacy about feeding the white elephant from gold dishes, and
keeping him in regal splendor was exploded. Except on state occasions it
has no foundation in fact." Advancing civilization begins to make it
evident, even to the Siamese, that there are other things more admirable
and more worthy of reverence. It was noticed that the late second king,
especially, did not always speak of the noble creature with the
solemnity which ancient usage would have justified, and even seemed to
think that there was something droll in the veneration which was given
to it. But the superstition in regard to it is by no means extinct, and
the presence of one of these animals is still believed to be a pledge of
prosperity to the king and country. "Hence," says Bowring, "the white
elephant is sought with intense ardor, the fortunate finder rewarded
with honors, and he is treated with attention almost reverential. This
prejudice is traditional and dates from the earliest times. When a
tributary king or governor of a province has captured a white elephant
he is directed to open a road through the forest for the comfortable
transit of the sacred animal, and when he reaches the Meinam he is
received on a magnificent raft, with a chintz canopy and garlanded with
flowers. He occupies the centre of the raft and is pampered with cakes
and sugar. A noble of high rank, sometimes a prince of royal blood (and
on the last occasion both the first and second kings), accompanied by a
great concourse of barges, with music and bands of musicians, go forth
to welcome his arrival. Every barge has a rope attached to the raft, and
perpetual shouts of joy attend the progress of the white elephant to the
capital, where on his arrival he is met by the great dignitaries of the
state, and by the monarch himself, who gives the honored visitor some
sonorous name and confers on him the rank of nobility. He is conducted
to a palace which is prepared for him, where a numerous court awaits
him, and a number of officers and slaves are appointed to administer to
his wants in vessels of gold and silver."
It is believed that these albinos are found only in Siam and its
dependencies, and the white elephant (on a red ground) has been made the
flag of the kingdom. It is probable enough that the festival of the
white elephant, which at the present day is celebrated in Japan (the
elephant being an enormous pasteboard structure "marching on the feet of
men enclosed in each one of the four legs"), may be a tradition of the
intercourse between that country and Siam, which was formerly more
intimate than at present.
"The white monkeys enjoy almost the same privileges as the white
elephant; they are called _pája_, have household and other officers, but
must yield precedence to the elephant. The Siamese say that 'the monkey
is a man--not very handsome to be sure; but no matter, he is not less
our brother.' If he does not speak, it is from prudence, dreading lest
the king should compel him to labor for him without pay; nevertheless,
it seems he has spoken, for he was once sent in the quality of
generalissimo to fight, if I mistake not, an army of giants. With one
kick he split a mountain in two, and report goes that he finished the
war with honor.
"The Siamese have more respect for white animals than for those of any
other color. They say that when a talapoin meets a white cock he salutes
him--an honor he will not pay a prince."
Tigers are abundant in the jungle, but are more frequently dangerous to
other animals, both wild and domestic, than to men. The rhinoceros, the
buffalo, bears, wild pigs, deer, gazelles, and other smaller animals
inhabit the forests. Monkeys are abundant. In Cambodia Mouhot found
several new species. And the orang-outang is found on the Malayan
peninsula. Various species of cats, and among them tailless cats like
those of Japan, are also to be found. Bats are abundant, some of them
said to be nearly as large as a cat. They are fond of dwelling among the
trees of the temple-grounds, and Pallegoix says (but it seems that the
good Bishop must have overstated the case, as other travellers have
failed to notice such a phenomenon) that "at night they hang over the
city of Bangkok like a dense black cloud, which appears to be leagues in
length."
Birds are abundant, and often of great size and beauty; some of them
sweet singers, some of them skilful mimics, some of them useful as
scavengers. Peacocks, parrots, parroquets, crows, jays, pigeons, in
great numbers and variety, inhabit the forest trees.
What the elephant is in the forest, the crocodile is in the rivers, the
king of creeping things. The eggs of the crocodile are valued as a
delicacy; but the business of collecting them is attended with so many
risks that it is not regarded as a popular or cheerful avocation. It
will be well for the collector to have a horse at hand on which he can
take immediate flight. The infuriated mother seldom fails, says
Pallegoix, to rush out in defence of her progeny.
"At Bangkok there are professional crocodile-charmers. If a person is
reported to have been seized by a crocodile, the king orders the animal
to be captured. The charmer, accompanied by many boats, and a number of
attendants with spears and ropes, visits the spot where the presence of
the crocodile has been announced, and, after certain ceremonies, writes
to invite the presence of the crocodile. The crocodile-charmer, on his
appearance, springs on his back and gouges his eyes with his fingers;
while the attendants spring into the water, some fastening ropes round
his throat, others round his legs, till the exhausted monster is dragged
to the shore and deposited in the presence of the authorities." Father
Pallegoix affirms that the Annamite Christians of his communion are
eminently adroit in these dangerous adventures, and that he has himself
seen as many as fifty crocodiles in a single village so taken, and bound
to the uprights of the houses. But his account of the Cambodian mode of
capture is still more remarkable. He says that the Cambodian river-boats
carry hooks, which, by being kept in motion, catch hold of the
crocodiles, that during the struggle a knot is thrown over the animal's
tail, that the extremity of the tail is cut off, and a sharp bamboo
passed through the vertebræ of the spine into the brain, when the animal
expires.
There are many species of lizards, the largest is the _takuet_. His name
has passed into a Siamese proverb, as the representative of a crafty,
double-dealing knave, as the takuet has two tongues, or rather one
tongue divided into two." This is perhaps the lizard (about twice as
large as the American bull-frog) which comes into the dwellings
unmolested and makes himself extremely useful by his destruction of
vermin. He is a noisy creature, however, with a prodigious voice. He
begins with a loud and startling whirr-r-r-r, like the drumming of a
partridge or the running down of an alarm-clock, and follows up the
sensation which he thus produces by the distinct utterance of the
syllables, "To-kay," four or five times repeated. He is not only
harmless, but positively useful, but it takes a good while for a
stranger to become so well acquainted with him that the sound of his cry
from the ceiling, over one's bed for instance, and waking one from a
sound sleep, is not somewhat alarming.
There is no lack of serpents, large and small. Pallegoix mentions one
that will follow any light or torch in the darkness, and is only to be
avoided by extinguishing or abandoning the light which has attracted
him. There are serpent-charmers, as in other parts of India. They
extract the poison from certain kinds of vipers, and then train them to
fight with one another, to dance, and perform various tricks.
Pallegoix mentions one or two varieties of fish that are interesting,
and, so far as known, peculiar to Siamese waters. One, "a large fish,
called the mengphu, weighing from thirty to forty pounds, of a bright
greenish-blue color, will spring out of the water to attack and bite
bathers." He says there "is also a tetraodon, called by the Siamese the
moon, without teeth, but with jaws as sharp as scissors. It can inflate
itself so as to become round as a ball. It attacks the toes, the calf,
and the thighs of bathers, and, as it carries away a portion of the
flesh, a wound is left which it is difficult to heal."
Of centipedes, scorpions, ants, mosquitoes, and the various pests and
plagues common to all tropical countries it is not necessary to speak in
detail.
Sir John Bowring considered that sugar was likely to become the
principal export of Siam, but thus far it would seem that rice has taken
the precedence. The gutta-percha tree, all kinds of palms, and of fruits
a vast and wonderful variety (among which are some peculiar to Siam),
are abundant. The durian and mangosteen are the most remarkable, and
have already been described. So far as is known, they grow only in the
regions adjacent to the Gulf of Siam and the Straits of Sunda. And
though there are many fruits common to these and to all tropical
countries which are more useful (such as the banana, of which there are
said to be in Siam not less than fifty varieties, "in size from a little
finger to an elephant's tusk"), there are none more curious than these.
The season of the mangosteen is the same with that of the durian. The
tree grows about fifteen feet high, and the foliage is extremely glossy
and dark. The fruit may be eaten in large quantities with safety, and is
of incomparable delicacy of flavor. No fruit in the world has won such
praises as the mangosteen.
Of the mineral treasures of Siam, enough has been already indicated in
the description of the wealth and magnificence which is everywhere
apparent. We need only add that coal of excellent quality and in great
abundance has been recently discovered, and that the country is also
rich in petroleum, which awaits the wells and refineries by which it may
be profitably used. Gold and silver mines are both known but little is
produced from them. The government is obliged to import Mexican dollars
in order to melt and recoin them in the new mint.