DR. MORICE AND THE MEKONG.
We owe some additional information respecting the great river of
Cambodia to Dr. Morice, who travelled in Cochin-China in 1872.
[Illustration: ANNAMITE LADY AND HER SERVANT.]
Of the Annamites, the inhabitants of Cochin-China, he says at the
outset, that his first feeling with respect to them was one of
disgust. Those faces more or less flattened, and often devoid of all
intelligence or animation; those livid eyes; and, especially, that
broad nose, and those thick upturned lips, reddened and discoloured by
the constant use of betel-nut, do not answer to the European ideal of
beauty. But after a long acquaintance with them, he, as is the case
with other Western visitors, began to discern a glimpse of meaning in
most countenances, and even to make distinctions between the ugly ones.
He met with some eyes which were not oblique, some noses which had
an almost Caucasian character, and his repugnance gradually disappeared.
Still, from the most favourable point of view, they are a race of low
stature and unprepossessing appearance; feeble, deficient in stamina,
and never likely to make a noise in the world. Their French rulers grow
into giants when compared with these dwarfs; and their muscular energy
is far inferior to that of Europeans, whether owing to natural causes
or to want of hygienic knowledge. As for their complexion, while some
are deeply tinted, others are quite wan and pale. In two respects only
can the Annamites be said to surpass their masters: in their ability to
row ten hours consecutively, and in the impunity with which they can
encounter the burning rays of a tropical sun.
~CHARACTER OF THE ANNAMITES.~
As for their character, it is that of a people whom slavery, ignorance,
and sloth have rendered poor, timid, and apathetic. Yet they are
capable of being raised to a higher moral and intellectual standard.
They have many serious defects, it is true; they are deficient, for
example, in the artistic sentiment. Even of the latter evidence is
found in some surprising mural paintings, which reproduce, with loving
fidelity, all that is bright and living in nature,--birds, insects,
flowers. But, as a rule, the Annamites are insensible to the arts.
Their shrill monotonous music is terrible to a cultured ear; and it may
be doubted whether ours is agreeable to them. Of sculpture they know
only the rudiments; their poetry is indifferent; they cannot dance.
Their literary research is confined to an acquaintance with a few
Chinese characters; and their scientific acquirements are a blank.
~THEIR DRESS AND HABITATIONS.~
Then as to their attire. They never abandon their clothes until they
fall into rags and tatters, though they are insufficient to protect
them against the variations of their climate, and more particularly
against the keen frosty mornings of December and January. Their huts or
hovels, nearly all built upon piles, half in the water and half in the
earth or mud, are singularly unhealthy. The cultivation of rice, and
their occupation as fishermen, have rendered them almost amphibious.
Water rises frequently to the floor of an Annamite house, particularly
in high tides, but it does not discompose the owner; who, in such an
event, crouches contentedly on the domestic hearth, or rocks to and
fro in his rude hammock, murmuring some monotonous air, or smoking a
cigarette shaped like a blunderbuss.
~THE PLAIN OF THE TOMBS.~
At Saigon (or Sai-gun), the French settlement and seaport, situated
at the mouth of a river of the same name, the traveller finds much
to interest him. The Botanic Garden, for instance, will well repay
inspection, stocked as it is with rare, beautiful, and curious
specimens of tropical vegetation. Close at hand lies the so-called
Plain of the Tombs; the scene, a century agone, of numerous battles
between the inhabitants of Lower Cochin-China and the Annamites; and,
between 1860 and 1864, of several engagements between the Annamites and
the French. The uniformity of its vast expanse is broken by a number
of mounds or tumuli; some on a modest, others on a splendid scale.
Constructed of earth or brick, they are covered with a kind of cement,
on which are depicted in vivid colours the figures of fantastic animals
and impossible plants, while the name and titles of the deceased are
inscribed in conspicuous characters.
* * * * *
Here, one day, Dr. Morice chanced to be the spectator of an Annamite
funeral, which is always celebrated with a certain amount of pomp,
and attended by a numerous train of mourners. The coffin is planted
in the centre of a small portable house, made of paper painted in
brilliant colours, and cut into curious shapes. A score of bearers
carry this miniature temple, resting upon their shoulders the bamboos
which support it. A company of persons with torches scatter along the
road their prayers to Buddha, traced on golden and silver papers, and
set fire to them. In the rear march the friends and relatives of the
departed, some uttering forced lamentations, all smiling “in their
sleeves;” for these singular people are never so moved by their sorrow
that they cannot laugh at a jest, or at any incident of which they
immediately seize, as by intuition, the comic side.
* * * * *
~THE GECKO DESCRIBED.~
Here too he saw some geckos: indeed, they were numerous enough to
be considered the genii of the place. Inhabiting the forests and
waste places, as well as the huts of the Annamites and the houses
of the French, this large lizard, so common in Cochin-China, is one
of the animals which give to the fauna of the country its peculiar
character. Does the reader know what a gecko is like? If not, let him
try to conceive of a gigantic terrestrial salamander; its skin, of
a bluish-gray, covered with a quantity of tiny tubercles rising in
the middle of an orange-tinted patch; its great eyes having a large
gold-yellow iris; while, owing to the sucker-like lamellæ that line the
under surface of its feet, it is able to walk easily on the smoothest
surfaces, and utterly to defy the laws of gravitation. Its cry, to
which it owes the name given to it in every language, is curiously
sonorous; and when first heard, fairly startles the hearer. A shaky
grumble or grunt serves as prelude; then, five, six, or eight times,
lowering its voice regularly half a tone on each occasion, it jerks out
its cadenced notes, which are sometimes written _gecko_, and sometimes
_tacke_; the performance terminating with a grunt of satisfaction.
~ITS FAMILIARITY WITH MAN.~
The gecko grows as familiar with man as the domestic cat or
dog,--entering human habitations freely, and rendering valuable service
by the eagerness with which it devours flies, spiders, and other
insect-plagues. During the day, it lurks generally in some obscure nook
or dark corner; but at dusk sallies forth in search of prey, running
up or down the steepest walls with wonderful swiftness, and giving
utterance to a quick shrill noise by smacking its tongue against its
palate. So flexible is its body, that it can adapt itself readily to
any depression or irregularity in the surface of the ground, forming
apparently a component part of it. This deception is facilitated by its
dulness of colouring. It is a home-keeping animal, and never strays
to any great distance from the lair which it has chosen. Despite its
ugliness and its cry, which at night, when a dozen are heard replying
to one another, becomes insupportably wearisome, it is one of man’s
most useful allies in the animal-world, and merits his respect.
A word as to the formation of its wide feet. All the toes are broadened
considerably at the edges, and their under surface is divided into
numerous transverse laminæ, from which exudes an adhesive fluid. Its
claws are sharp, crooked, and retractile like those of a cat.
~ABOUT THE MARGOUILLA.~
Another animal of the same group, but much smaller, and closely
resembling the tarenta of which the Toulonese are so afraid, is the
_margouilla_, the “con-tan-lan” of the Annamites. It inhabits trees
and houses with equal complacency. Every evening, when the tapers
are lighted, it may be seen promenading along the ceiling, where it
pounces upon the insects, uttering from time to time its short cry
of satisfaction, which may be translated by the syllable _toc_ ten
times repeated. It is partial to sugar; but as it is the inveterate
enemy of the mosquitoes, no one begrudges it a dainty morsel from the
sugar-basin.
* * * * *
~EXCURSION TO KHOLEN.~
From Saigon Dr. Morice made an excursion to Kholen, the second town in
size and population in Cochin-China. It lies about three miles from
Saigon, but is connected with it by a line of villages, of pagodas, and
of the country-houses of the wealthier Chinese merchants. Kholen is the
centre of all the Chinese commerce of the colony. The amount of rice,
stuffs, and products exported from China, which is sold there, almost
passes belief; and the stranger surveys with interest the animation of
its busy streets, and the numerous Chinese junks and Annamite sampans
moored alongside its quays.
[Illustration: CHINESE HOUSE AT KHOLEN.]
Among its peculiarities may be specialized its parks or preserves of
crocodiles. A barrier of long and solid piles surrounds a space of
about twenty square yards on the river-bank; in the mud and slime
thus enclosed, and regularly inundated at high water, sprawl from one
hundred to two hundred crocodiles. When the people wish to sacrifice
one of these monsters, two of the piles are lifted up; a running knot
is flung round the neck of the largest of the herd, which is then
hauled outside; its tail is fastened close to its body lengthwise;
its feet are cut off, and used to garnish its back; the jaws are tied
together with ratan; and these vegetable bonds are so firm that the
huge creature is incapable of movement, and can offer no defence. As
for the flesh, though rather leathery, it appears to have a certain
value, and is not so strongly impregnated with the odour of musk as
some writers pretend. On Annamite tables it figures as a favourite dish.
* * * * *
~HATIAN-OF-THE-ROSES.~
From Saigon Dr. Morice’s next excursion was to Gocong, which lies in
the centre of a district famous for its rice-fields. Thence he made
his way to Hatian (or Cancao), of which he gives a lively description
furnished to him by a French colonist:--
“Hatian-of-the-Roses is a small gem of flowers and verdure; magnificent
pagodas, wooded hills, the limestone mass of Bonnet-à-Poil; everything
which one finds nowhere else.”
But, says Dr. Morice, he forgot the fever.
There can be no doubt that Hatian is a lovely spot. It is situated
on the borders of a lake which opens into the Gulf of Siam; a lake
bordered on the west by ranges of green hills, luxuriantly clothed
with magnificent trees. To the east extends a vast plain, in the
centre of which rises the isolated mass of limestone known as the
Bonnet-à-Poil. The fields are enamelled with flowers and studded with
flowering bushes; and winding paths lead through a succession of scenes
of the most various beauty.
~THE PEPPER-PLANT.~
The plant chiefly cultivated is the pepper-plant. On a soil raised
several feet above the ordinary level are disposed parallel rows of
sticks like those which are used in the Kentish hop-gardens, and round
each of these coils a vigorous plant. It takes five years for a plant
to become productive. Maize is also cultivated, but not to so large an
extent.
~FEAST OF THE TÊT.~
While Dr. Morice was at Hatian, its Annamite inhabitants celebrated
their feast of the _Têt_ or New-Year’s Day, in which are oddly mingled
the religious rites of Buddhism, and the worship of the manes of
their forefathers, the fear of the devil or _Maqui_, and the noisiest
possible manifestations of popular mirth. It lasts at the least seven
days,--with the rich much longer; and the entire settlement gives
itself up for this period to the most unrestrained enjoyment.
Before each house, on a table covered with a mat, is to be seen the
offering of meat and drink, rice-spirit in a small white porcelain
teapot, tea, betel with all its ingredients, fish, various kinds of
Annamite vermicelli, roast duck, a quarter of pork, rice, bananas,
and oranges. All this display is set out with flowers; then a couple
of small tapers are lighted, and the manes, or domestic spirits, are
respectfully invited to come and take their share of the consecrated
love-feast. More: on a plate supported on a moderately high post,
other and more delicate offerings are displayed,--composed generally
of a bouquet of only two species of flowers, the one violet-tinted,
the other yellow. As they are seen everywhere, it is probable that
a symbolical meaning attaches to the union of these two flowers.
Moreover, the rich plant an areca, the poor a large bamboo, in front of
the various oblations, and to the top of each fasten a tiny basket of
ratan, divided into five compartments. Finally, the altar of Buddha,
which forms an indispensable appendage of every hut, is decked out with
special pomp; and strips of yellow, red, and violet papers, inscribed
with Chinese characters, are affixed to every door. These are intended
to avert the presence of the evil spirit during the new year.
~AN ANNAMITE PASTIME.~
Meantime everybody, clothed in their best attire,--men, women, and
children,--that is to say, in a striped tunic and pantaloons blue,
red, yellow, violet, green, often with the two legs of different
colours,--sallied forth to exchange greetings, or amuse themselves as
best they might. Among the pastimes most in favour were the following.
Javelin-throwing; in which a long lance of black wood was made to
pass through a ring suspended from a post about three feet high, and
this at a distance of six to nine yards. This game, which resembles
the old Scotch exercise of tilting at a mark, requires considerable
skill on the part of those who engage in it. Still more popular,
especially among women and children, was the swing, single or double.
And it was not without astonishment that the traveller found here, in
the far East, a kind of “merry-go-round,” such as we see at our fairs
and holiday fêtes, with a score of persons enjoying its revolutions.
There was also the game of shuttle-cock, which was launched either
with hand or foot. In the midst of all this turmoil might be heard the
monotonous tomtom, the isolated sounds of some three-stringed guitars,
and especially the sharp reports of petards, which are indispensable at
every festival, and resemble sometimes the file-firing of infantry.
~THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES.~
For this great yearly revel every Annamite saves up his money
for months, and when it comes he disburses his little store most
conscientiously. Frequently an itinerant troop of actors comes--at
least in the principal towns--to contribute its part to the general
rejoicings. As it is the wealthy citizens who in turn defray the
expense of its representations, we need hardly say that they are very
largely attended. The plays included in their repertory are always
of a noisy character, and plentifully sprinkled with coarse jokes,
at the expense of the military mandarins, husbands, and especially
the Chinese. Actors hideously painted, with the view of giving them a
formidable appearance, perform in desperate combats, diversified by
guttural cries and heroic poses of the most ridiculous character.
* * * * *
~THE FOUNDER OF HATIAN.~
During his sojourn at Hatian, Dr. Morice paid a visit to a singularly
constructed edifice--the ancient Chinese palace of the Maqueuou. This
Chinese worthy, it is said, was a simple fisherman; but as the products
of his avocation did not enrich him with sufficient rapidity, he
began to cultivate a little ground, and started a pepper plantation.
One day, while digging, he turned up a store of money,--a supply so
ample that it enabled him to bring over to Hatian a large number of
his compatriots. He trained them, enrolled them, practised them; and
the result was that, one fine morning, Hatian, enriched and largely
increased in population, declared itself independent of the empire of
Annam, or rather Cambodia, and raised Maqueuou to the throne. He built
for himself a splendid palace, and lived for many years afterwards,
enjoying the rare pleasure of witnessing the realisation of his dreams.
But when he died his organizing genius died with him. Hatian was again
annexed to the empire, and the palace fell into ruin; only its four
walls are now extant.
The European stranger visits the spot with a feeling of respect for the
memory of a bold and energetic man. With some difficulty he clears a
path through the luxuriant vegetation, and arrives in front of walls of
Cyclopean solidity. Two vast halls, almost choked with balsam, daturas,
caster-oil plants, parasites, and refuse, form the entrance. Then come
four smaller apartments, in better condition, and each provided with a
great circular window. Here some geckos have established their abode,
saluting the stranger with astonished glances and piercing cries.
~MAQUEUOU’S TOMB.~
Next comes an immense chamber, almost exactly square; and several tombs
or memorial buildings are here overshadowed by venerable trees. The
highest, raised in honour of Maqueuou himself, consists of successive
courses of masonry, diminishing gradually from base to summit.
Unfortunately, built of bad materials, it has been seriously injured by
the action of the sun and the rains. A swarm of bees was domiciled in
one of the crannies; and a tree, the seed of which had probably dropped
from the bill of some wandering bird, soared upward from the very
apex of the pyramid. Four smaller monuments, all oblong in shape, and
traditionally appropriated to Maqueuou’s family, are scattered around
the former. They still bear traces of the carving with which they were
formerly decorated.
Solitude and silence prevail within the precincts of this vast ruin.
The geckos, the birds, and a squirrel or two, are its only inmates.
Another remarkable object is the so-called pagoda of Maqui, or the
devil. Dr. Morice was greatly surprised to see appended to its walls
a complete series of water-colour sketches, on very stout paper,
representing the tortures of an Inferno which would bear comparison
with Dante’s. The satellites of the Annamite devil are shown in
those pictures as engaged in the variety of occupations which the
old medieval legends attributed to the imps of Beelzebub. They are
roasting, impaling, cutting to pieces, and flaying the guilty; throwing
them into caldrons of boiling water, grilling them over fires, and
flinging them to the hungry jaws of enormous tigers.
~AN UNPLEASANT GUEST.~
~A COBRA CAPELLA.~
That Hatian is not without its unpleasantnesses, Dr. Morice discovered
in an unexpected fashion. Some workmen, in pulling down an old wall,
came on the lair of a large serpent, which lay in “multitudinous coils”
hatching its store of eggs. As everybody knew Dr. Morice’s zoological
tastes, the workmen sent him immediate information of their “find,”
and he quickly arrived on the spot, armed with a stick and a long
and strong pair of nippers. Had it not been for its eggs, the animal
would probably have retreated; but it remained rolled up in its hole,
showing only its spotted and dusky-coloured head. To seize its neck
with his nippers, was Dr. Morice’s instant manœuvre; and then, to the
great terror of the Chinese workmen, he raised it up bodily, and
proceeded to carry it off in triumph. Meanwhile, the irritated creature
discharged at its captor’s forehead a jet of liquid, from which,
at the time, he felt no disagreeable sensation. On reaching home,
Dr. Morice deposited the reptile and its eggs in a chest lined with
straw; which he nailed down carefully, and raised above the ground on
vessels of water, as a protection against the attacks of ants. Then,
and not till then, he washed his forehead, bathing, with due caution,
the part touched by the fluid discharge; but still not believing that
the serpent was one of the venomous kind. He troubled himself no more
about his prisoner until, a few days later, he found in his chamber
four tiny serpents, which he took up in his hand, in spite of their
angry hissing. These he transferred to a glass jar. The next morning,
wishing to examine them, he was unpleasantly surprised to find them
rearing their head erect and expanding their neck laterally; and still
more disagreeably surprised to detect on the neck thus expanded the
characteristic V. They belonged to the genus of the spectacled serpent,
the _naja_ of India, the dreaded _cobra capella_!
~MOTHER AND PROGENY.~
Dr. Morice hastened to bore some large holes in the chest containing
the serpent and the eggs, and by means of these he introduced into the
interior a quantity of burning sulphur. When, after a sufficient time
had elapsed, he opened it, he found the mother and eighteen young ones
suffocated, while four eggs still remained intact. How had the others
been hatched? The circumstance was a novel one, for it was supposed
that only the great serpents--the pythons and boas--hatched their eggs.
At all events, it was an interesting fact that this animal had remained
faithful to its brood. Among the sixteen young serpents, only one was a
female, and most of them had already once changed their skin. They were
about thirteen inches long, and their fangs were clearly discernible.
Dr. Morice felt that he had good reason to be thankful that he had not
been wounded by the _cobra capella_ when he so rashly pounced upon it.
* * * * *
We next find our unwearied travellers undertaking a journey to Chaudoc,
which is situated near the mouth of the Mekong. On both banks of the
river, but more particularly on the right bank, are arranged the
numerous Annamite huts; and above them frown the grim walls of a fort,
which is in itself of the size of a small town. The province, of which
Chaudoc is the capital, includes one hundred and five villages, and has
a population of eighty-nine thousand souls, of whom eight thousand are
Cambodians and sixteen thousand Malays.
[Illustration: VINH-LONG.]
~AT VINH-LONG.~
Five days later Dr. Morice was at Vinh-Long, the fort of which is
equal in magnitude to that of Chaudoc. In the rear of the great muddy
moats and embankments of earth, sustained by huge piles, rise the
officers’ barracks, and the entrenched redoubt containing the soldiers’
quarters and the hospital. Bamboos and tall grasses have overgrown a
portion of the immense enclosure, and in their tangled mass enormous
pythons are frequently killed, while the _najas_ lie asleep in the dank
inextricable vegetation of the trenches. The town itself is not without
a certain agreeableness of aspect; its broad, straight streets are
shaded by gigantic cocoa-nut palms.
* * * * *
~THE “BLACK LADY.”~
Still continuing his explorations in the districts watered by the
mouths of the Mekong, which forms a considerable delta, traversed by
innumerable canals and branches, Dr. Morice arrived at Tayninh, which
lies to the east of Saigon. It lines the river-bank for some distance;
the houses of the Annamite population being built, not of mud and clay,
as in the western districts of Cochin-China, but of good solid
timber, and with much care and good taste. Their roofs are also of
better construction: instead of the leaves of the water-palm, a close
fine thatch is used, to which the action of the atmosphere soon gives
a pleasant tint of age. Flourishing coffee-plantations surround the
town, in the rear of which spread the shadows of a mighty forest, that
spreads far up the sides of a chain of granite mountains of moderate
elevation. The highest of these is the “Black Lady” (_Nui-ba-dinh_).
On the summit, in a picturesque nook, stands a celebrated pagoda, the
cells of its bonzes being excavated out of the neighbouring rock. The
pagoda owes its repute to the neighbourhood of a miraculous spring; and
this spring rejoices in a legend, which may be told as follows:--
~THE PERPETUAL FOUNTAIN.~
A bonze of indescribable holiness, who loved to offer up his prayers
in the high places of earth, climbed the mountain one day in order to
make his devotions on its lofty summit. Despite his sanctity, however,
he was human; and as the mountain was of great elevation and equal
barrenness, he soon grew faint with hunger, but more particularly with
thirst. Disdainful, like all sages, of purely physical needs, he had
not taken the precaution of providing himself with these precious
necessaries of food and drink, which are the first thought of ordinary
mortals. What was he to do? He began to pray; and lo! as he prayed, an
enormous rock, which reared its dark front before him, was suddenly
cleft open, and revealed to his delighted gaze a crystal spring falling
into a basin of stone. From that time the well has never ceased to pour
out abundant waters, which heal all the diseases of humanity;--though,
strange to say, men, women, and children still die in Cochin-China!
Ten minutes’ climbing brought Dr. Morice face to face with this
perpetual marvel. His companions hastened to drink copious draughts of
the fresh cold water; but Dr. Morice, rejecting the legend, and having
less confidence than he ought to have had in temperance principles,
resorted to his pocket flask, poured out a glass of French wine, and
drank to the majesty of the glorious mountain.
[Illustration: SCENE AT TAYNINH.]
* * * * *
On another occasion Dr. Morice took part in an exciting adventure,
which had a painful issue. A tiger, whose depredations had become
intolerable, having carried off the best dog of one of the best
hunters of the country, it was decided that he must undergo immediate
and condign punishment.
The tiger is not often hunted in Cochin-China, where the elephant, that
living fortress, does not place at the disposal of the European its
high shoulders and formidable tusks. The inhabitants generally resort
to snares.
~TIGER-HUNTING.~
~THE SOLDIER AND THE TIGER.~
“An expedition having been resolved upon, we surrounded,” says Dr.
Morice, “the hill which served as a retreat for the monster. More than
one hundred and fifty natives were present, shouting, gesticulating,
and creating the most awful clamour which ever troubled a tiger’s
siesta. As for us, the French inspector, a French soldier, and myself,
we were in the plain, sprinkled with small mounded graves, which
extends behind Tayninh, and waited in patience until it pleased the
tiger to show his precious skin. It seemed to be his opinion that
the boldest policy was the best; for in less than half an hour after
we had drawn our noisy cordon he emerged from the wood, and advanced
towards us. He was received with a rolling fire. Of our four balls
one at least struck him, for he made a movement of pain, and turned
towards the soldier who had accompanied us. That our movements might
be more free, we had separated at some distance from one another. The
soldier immediately leaped upon a mound about three feet high, and
with his loaded gun in his hand bided the wounded animal’s onset. A
second ball from the inspector’s rifle hit him; but disregarding this
new provocation, and yearning for his prey, he dashed towards the
tumulus. With one bound he was at its foot, where he reared himself
erect. Then took place a strange and lamentable scene, which showed
how even the bravest lose their self-possession when face to face
with these terrible beasts. That the soldier was a man of courage,
numerous incidents had proved: it was he who had shown the most ardour
in organizing the expedition; he had in his hand a first-rate rifle,
and only the length of his arm apart was the white chest of the tiger,
which seemed to await his death-dealing bullet. Well, for a few seconds
he contented himself with striking the outstretched paws before him
with the butt-end of his musket. The tiger extended his body, seized
with one of his claws the unfortunate man’s leg, and began to drag him
off.”
“A man touched by a tiger is a dead man,” says a German naturalist;
“and it is useless to risk the life of another in an attempt to snatch
from the cruel beast the mutilated victim whose sufferings will soon be
terminated by death.” Such cold-blooded reasoning never prevails on the
scene of action. Both the doctor and the inspector pursued the tiger
as he still hauled along their comrade’s body; and two bullets, more
fortunate than their predecessors, arrested his course for ever.
On examination, they found that their unfortunate companion had
sustained a severe wound. Dr. Morice amputated his thigh in the hut
to which he was transported; but, whether from loss of blood, which
Europeans can ill afford in tropical latitudes, or from the violence of
the shock to the nervous system, he died that same night.
* * * * *
~VISIT TO THE MARKET-PLACE.~
~ANNAMITE AND CAMBODIAN.~
From this painful scene it is pleasant to turn to the market-place of
Tayninh, with its various specimens of the human race. Cambodians are
tolerably numerous; their comparatively tall stature, their dark skin,
their thick and heavy lower jaw, their hair cut close like the bristles
of a brush, and especially their air of passive savagery, give them
an appearance totally different from that of the Annamites. The two
races detest each other cordially. The Annamite, proud of his lighter
complexion, of his more advanced civilization, to say nothing of the
numerous defeats he has inflicted on his neighbour, looks upon him as
little above the Moïs or wild people of the mountains. The Cambodians
are savages, he says, whose nature is radically bad and vicious; they
think nothing of law or order; they are stupid, and almost devoid
of reason. On the other hand, the Cambodian, with his gloomier and
more silent disposition, his deeper religious sentiment, regards with
compassion the volatile Annamite. A cordial understanding between the
two peoples will hardly ever be possible. The Cambodian, in spite
of his somewhat coarse features, is more Hindu than Indo-Chinese;
and both his language and his writing have affinities with those
of the aboriginal inhabitants of the great Indian peninsula. He is
the morose and untamable denizen of the hills and woods; while his
neighbour is the sociable and light-humoured inhabitant of the plains.
Unhappy is the Cambodian! Hemmed in between the Siamese on the one
hand, and the Annamites on the other, who together have robbed him
of his richest provinces; rendered stationary by the operation of a
feudal law which prevents him from acquiring lands of his own,--a
vigorous hand is needed to support him, and enable him to preserve his
autonomy, while the ameliorating influences of European civilization
are gradually brought to bear upon him.
* * * * *
~THE CHINESE ELEMENT.~
Such are the two races which occupy the provinces watered by the lower
branches of the great Cambodian river. In the large towns and seaports
is found a considerable admixture of the Chinese element. Trade and
commerce are almost entirely in the hands of Chinese merchants, who,
here as elsewhere, exhibit an extraordinary amount of patience,
industry, and thrift; and, here as elsewhere, untiringly amass large
and even enormous fortunes. They preserve their nationality unaffected
by the conditions in which they are placed; always a people apart, and
always as distinct from the races around them as are the Jews from the
nations of Europe.
[Illustration: CHINESE MERCHANTS OF SAIGON.]