Travels in the central parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos : during the years 1858, 1859, and 1860 . ese: they are more slender, have the cheek-bones more prominent, and have also darker wear their hair long, while the Siamese shave halfof the head, leaving the hair to grow only on the deserve praise for their intrepidity as hunters, ifthey have not that of warriors. Armed with a cutlassor bow—with which latter weapon they adroitly launch,to a distance of one hundred feet, balls of clay hardenedin the sun, they wander about their vast forests, undis-mayed b
Travels in the central parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos : during the years 1858, 1859, and 1860 . ese: they are more slender, have the cheek-bones more prominent, and have also darker wear their hair long, while the Siamese shave halfof the head, leaving the hair to grow only on the deserve praise for their intrepidity as hunters, ifthey have not that of warriors. Armed with a cutlassor bow—with which latter weapon they adroitly launch,to a distance of one hundred feet, balls of clay hardenedin the sun, they wander about their vast forests, undis-mayed by the jaguars and tigers infesting them. Thechase is their principal amusement, and, when they canprocure a gun and a little Chinese powder, they trackthe wild boar, or, lying in wait for the tiger or the deer,perch themselves on a tree or in a little hut raised onbamboo stakes. Their poverty borders on misery, but it mainly resultsfrom excessive indolence, for they will only cultivate justsufficient rice for their support; this done, they pass therest of their time in sleep, lounging about the woods, or. LAOTIAN. VOL. I. K Chap. III. ACCOUNT OF KOKAT. • 131 making excursions from one village to another, payingvisits to their friends on the way. At Patawi I heard much of Korat, which is the capitalof the province of the same name, situated five daysjourney north-east of Pakpriau, that is about 120 miles;and I determined, if possible, to visit it by and by. Itappears to be a rich country, producing, especially, silkof good quality. Caoutchouc-trees abound, but are ne-glected by the inhabitants, who are probably ignorantof their value. I brought back a magnificent specimenof the gum, which was much admired by the Englishmerchants at Bangkok. Living, according to report, isfabulously cheap: six fowls may be purchased for a fuang(37 centimes), 100 eggs for the same sum, and all otherthings in proportion. But to get there one has to crossthe famous forest of the King of the Fire
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1864
