For his eagerness to lengthen the reach of his arm and to extend
the range of his voice, Dr. House found some satisfaction in
occasional tours into the surrounding country. These were at
once a relief from the exacting daily routine of the dispensary,
a physical recreation, and an exploration of the regions seldom
visited by Europeans. The first trip of any distance was made in
company with Rev. Jesse Caswell during February, 1848, when the two
took a ten day trip through the canals eastward to Petrui on the
Bang Pakong River. In the next November, with Rev. Asa Hemmenway,
he toured for a week to the west up the Meklong, with Rapri as the
turning point.
These early journeys were veritable explorations. The boatmen
seldom knew the country more than two days’ distance from the
capital. The doctor, in real explorer fashion, picked up in advance
what little information he could, sketched rude maps and then on
the journey directed or verified the course of the boat with a
pocket compass. His technical knowledge served to great advantage.
For future use, he records the directions by compass reading, the
rate of speed and the distances as shown by the log, and notes
natural objects which serve as landmarks. His skill at map making
having been disclosed, some of the state officials requested him
to draw, for their use, maps of the regions explored; and in
discussing these with them he found that the officials were almost
totally ignorant of the topography of the king’s domain away from
the main water courses.
As these tours were all conducted on the same general plan, the
description of one will suffice for all. A native long-boat was
used, having a low cylindrical canopy of matting at the center
to afford some protection from the sun. A crew of six or eight
men would man the oars, or push with poles in shallow canals
or in the rapids. The travelling ordinarily would begin before
daybreak; during the heat of the day the party would stop for
meals and for rest; then late in the afternoon the voyage would be
resumed, continuing till dark. If out over Sunday the travellers
were scrupulous to observe the day; seeking, if possible, a
desirable location for the day of rest, but sometimes tying up in
disagreeable places rather than push on in the early hours of the
Sabbath.
The watts, or temple grounds, ubiquitous in the country, serve
as caravansaries for travellers; their roofs and trees offering
free shelter for wayfarers. As these watts were also the seats of
learning, the missionaries always found an opportunity to present
their printed page and to engage in conversation on religion.
Books were offered to all met with along the way; to the fishermen
seeking their game in the early morning hours, to the women working
in the rice fields, to the labourers at the sugar presses, to the
farmers in their garden patches, to the villagers in the hamlets
through which they so frequently passed, and to the priests and
novitiates at the watts. Some were too busy to bother with the
proffered gift; some would accept with passive interest; some
would accept with marked interest and open a fire of questions.
Still others, after discovering the nature of the gift received
by their friends would pursue the voyagers, and swim out to the
boat in eagerness for a book. Time did not suffice to enter into
conversation, for the purpose was to scatter the seed as far as
possible, so the boat would keep under way while packages were
cast out on the land or into passing boats. At the noon stop, if
natives did not gather around as usual, the doctor would start off
to the nearest hamlet with a bag of books, sheltering himself under
a large umbrella. Then would ensue the familiar yet ever different
conversation about the Gospel.