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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 58175 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Book Cover]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST
+
+_PART SECOND_
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY
+
+TO
+
+SIAM AND JAVA
+
+WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF COCHIN-CHINA, CAMBODIA, SUMATRA AND THE MALAY
+ARCHIPELAGO
+
+BY
+
+THOMAS W. KNOX
+
+AUTHOR OF "CAMP-FIRE AND COTTON-FIELD" "OVERLAND THROUGH ASIA"
+"UNDERGROUND" "JOHN" ETC.
+
+Illustrated
+
+NEW YORK
+
+HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE
+
+1882
+
+
+
+
+Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, by
+
+HARPER & BROTHERS,
+
+In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The favorable reception accorded to "The Boy Travellers in Japan and
+China" has led to the preparation of the present book.
+
+Frank and Fred have continued their journey under the guidance of Doctor
+Bronson, and the plan of their travels and observation is identical with
+the one they followed through the Celestial Empire and the Land of the
+Mikado. The incidents in the narrative were mainly the experiences of
+the author at a recent date; and the descriptions of countries, cities,
+temples, people, manners, and customs are nearly all from his personal
+observations and notes. He has endeavored to give a faithful account of
+Siam, Java, and the adjacent countries as they appear to-day, and trusts
+that the only fiction of the book is in the names of the individuals who
+tell the story.
+
+In a few instances the narrative has been slightly interrupted, in order
+to introduce matters of general interest to young readers. The details
+of the progress of naval architecture and the accounts of submarine
+operations, together with the wonderful adventures of Marco Polo, may be
+classed as digressions. It is hoped they will meet the same welcome that
+was accorded to the episode of a whaling voyage in the first record of
+the travels of Frank and Fred.
+
+The publishers have kindly allowed the use of some illustrations that
+have already appeared in their publications relative to the Far East, in
+addition to those specially prepared for this volume. The author has
+consulted the works of previous travellers in the East to supplement his
+own information, and to some of them he is under obligations. Especially
+is he indebted to Mr. Frank Vincent, Jr., author of that excellent and
+well-known book, "The Land of the White Elephant," not only for details
+respecting Cambodia and adjacent regions, but for some of the admirable
+engravings that adorn his volume. Other authorities are credited with
+the text of their work or in foot-notes to the pages where quotations
+are made.
+
+The author is not aware that any book describing Siam, Java, Cochin
+China, Cambodia, and the Malay Archipelago, and especially addressed to
+the young, has yet appeared. Consequently he hopes that this volume will
+meet with as warm a welcome as was given to "The Boy Travellers in Japan
+and China," by adult as well as juvenile members of many families
+throughout the United States.
+
+ T. W. K.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ CHAPTER I. PAGE
+
+ DEPARTURE FROM HONG-KONG. 13
+
+ CHAPTER II.
+
+ VOYAGE TO SAIGON.--ARRIVAL IN COCHIN CHINA. 23
+
+ CHAPTER III.
+
+ HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.--FIRST SIGHTS AND SCENES IN ANAM. 34
+
+ CHAPTER IV.
+
+ A WONDERFUL TEMPLE.--RUINS OF NAGKON WAT AND ANGKOR. 47
+
+ CHAPTER V.
+
+ CAMBODIA.--ITS CAPITAL AND KING. 61
+
+ CHAPTER VI.
+
+ DEPARTURE FROM SAIGON.--VISITING A CHINESE JUNK. 73
+
+ CHAPTER VII.
+
+ THE WONDERFUL STORY OF MARCO POLO. 86
+
+ CHAPTER VIII.
+
+ ARRIVAL IN SIAM.--FIRST DAY IN BANGKOK. 106
+
+ CHAPTER IX.
+
+ TEMPLES AT BANGKOK.--THE FOUNDER OF BUDDHISM. 119
+
+ CHAPTER X.
+
+ ASCENDING THE MENAM, FROM BANGKOK TO AYUTHIA. 131
+
+ CHAPTER XI.
+
+ VISITING THE PRINCE OF THE ELEPHANTS.--AYUTHIA.--SOMETHING ABOUT
+ CROCODILES. 143
+
+ CHAPTER XII.
+
+ STORIES OF ELEPHANT-HUNTING.--SCENES OF THE CHASE. 161
+
+ CHAPTER XIII.
+
+ BANG-PA-IN TO BANGKOK.--STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY AND BOTANY. 177
+
+ CHAPTER XIV.
+
+ THE KING IN HIS STATE BARGE.--BETEL AND TOBACCO. 190
+
+ CHAPTER XV.
+
+ WOMEN, HAIR-CUTTING, AND SLAVERY. 202
+
+ CHAPTER XVI.
+
+ CREMATION IN SIAM.--TRADE, TAXES, AND BIRDS. 215
+
+ CHAPTER XVII.
+
+ PRESENTATION TO THE KING.--DINNER AT THE PALACE. 228
+
+ CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+ THE WHITE ELEPHANT.--VISIT TO THE SECOND KING OF SIAM. 237
+
+ CHAPTER XIX.
+
+ LEAVING SIAM.--LIFE UNDER THE OCEAN WAVE. 249
+
+ CHAPTER XX.
+
+ LIGHT UNDER WATER.--PEARL-FISHING AND TURTLE-HUNTING. 262
+
+ CHAPTER XXI.
+
+ INCIDENTS OF A SEA-VOYAGE.--SINGAPORE. 280
+
+ CHAPTER XXII.
+
+ SIGHTS AND SCENES IN SINGAPORE. 294
+
+ CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+ CROSSING THE EQUATOR.--ADVENTURE WITH MALAY PIRATES. 311
+
+ CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+ SUMATRA AND ITS PECULIARITIES.--SNAKES AND ORANG-OUTANGS. 326
+
+ CHAPTER XXV.
+
+ ARRIVAL IN JAVA.--SIGHTS AND SCENES IN BATAVIA. 343
+
+ CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+ BATAVIA TO BUITENZORG.--TROPICAL SCENES.--BIRDS OF PARADISE. 358
+
+ CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+ A CHAPTER ON POLITICAL ECONOMY.--THE DUTCH CULTURE SYSTEM IN JAVA. 374
+
+ CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+ RICE CULTURE IN JAVA.--MILITARY AND SOCIAL MATTERS. 387
+
+ CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+ A POST RIDE IN JAVA.--FROM BUITENZORG TO BANDONG. 400
+
+ CHAPTER XXX.
+
+ VISITING A TEA PLANTATION.--PREPARATION OF TEA. 411
+
+ CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+ EASTERN JAVA, LOMBOCK, TIMOR, AND THE ARU ISLANDS. 422
+
+ CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+ WANDERINGS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO.--GOOD-BYE. 435
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+ Scene on the Headwaters of the Menam River _Frontispiece_
+ Map _To face page_ 13
+ PAGE
+ Hong kong, from Kellet's Island 13
+ Mary and Effie reading Frank's Letter 15
+ Arrival of the French Mail Steamer 18
+ Private Parlor of the "Yuen Fat Hong" 20
+ A Chinese Boatwoman 21
+ Frank's Dream 22
+ Hurricane during the Change of the Monsoon 23
+ A favoring Monsoon 24
+ Running before the Trade-wind 25
+ Rice-fields on the Mekong 28
+ A Native Woman 30
+ Street in the Chinese Quarter 31
+ Plants in the Botanical Garden 32
+ A New Acquaintance 33
+ A Mosquito of Saigon 33
+ Native Gentleman at Saigon 35
+ View of the French Quarter of Saigon 37
+ Native Soldiers at Saigon 39
+ The King of the Beggars 41
+ View of Cholon 43
+ A Chinese Family at Cholon 44
+ A Cab for Two 45
+ Cambodian Female Head-dress. Ancient Sculpture 47
+ Plan of the Temple at Nagkon 49
+ Unfinished Pillars 50
+ Columns in the Temple 51
+ Sculptures on the Walls of Nagkon Wat 52
+ View from the Central Tower of the Temple 54
+ Gallery of Sculptures 56
+ Ancient Tower overgrown with Poh-trees 58
+ Huts of the Priests 59
+ Stone with Ancient Sculptures 60
+ A Cambodian Idol 61
+ Fishing-village on Lake Thalysap 62
+ Panompin, the Capital of Cambodia 64
+ Specimen of Cambodian Gold-work 66
+ The King of Cambodia 67
+ Queen of Cambodia and Royal Children 69
+ The Harbor of Oodong, Cambodia 70
+ A Girl of Oodong 71
+ House in the Suburbs 72
+ A Chinese Junk 74
+ Outline of Modern Ship, showing Compartments 76
+ A Junk Sailor at Breakfast 77
+ Chinese River Boat 78
+ Ship of the Fourteenth Century 79
+ "The Great Harry" 80
+ The "Tennessee" 81
+ The Public Highway of the Future 82
+ The Bomb Ferry 83
+ Moonlight at Sea in the Tropics 84
+ A Story of the Sea 85
+ Marco Polo 87
+ The Great Khan delivering a Tablet to the Elder Polo Brothers.
+ From a Miniature of the Fourteenth Century 88
+ Arms of the Polo Family 88
+ Nicolo Polo. Father of Marco 89
+ Portrait of Kublai-Khan. From a Chinese Engraving 91
+ Marco Polo's Galley in Battle 93
+ Alan shuts up the Caliph of Baudas in his Treasure-tower 96
+ Dog-headed Men of Angamanain 97
+ Mediæval Tartar Huts and Wagons 99
+ The Roc, from a Persian Drawing 100
+ Roc's Egg, now in the British Museum. 100
+ Chinese Bank-note of the Ming Dynasty 101
+ Chinese Conjuring Extraordinary 103
+ Captain Clanchy at Work 104
+ Come to Dinner! 105
+ A Natural Shower-bath 106
+ Flying-fish 107
+ View near Paknam 108
+ Native Hut on the Menam River 110
+ A Village Pathway in Siam 111
+ Chinese Field-laborers 112
+ General View of Bangkok 114
+ House in the Foreign Part of Bangkok 115
+ A Siamese Priest 118
+ Bird's-eye View of Bangkok 120
+ Temple of Wat Chang 121
+ Temple of the Sleeping Idol 123
+ Brass Idol in a Temple 124
+ Priests Playing Chess 126
+ Gate-way of a Temple at Bangkok 128
+ Temple of the Emerald Idol 129
+ Private Garden near Bangkok 133
+ A Siamese Forest Scene 135
+ Parasite and Palm 138
+ The Bamboo-tree 139
+ The Boat they narrowly Missed 140
+ Scene at Bang-pa-in 141
+ A River Scene 142
+ The Young Prince 144
+ Portrait of "Chang" 145
+ Macedonian Coin, with Ancient Goad 146
+ Modern Goad 146
+ A War Elephant 147
+ Near the Palace 149
+ In the Ruined City 150
+ Crocodiles at Home 152
+ Taking a Bite 153
+ The Doctor's Crack Shot 154
+ The Trochilus 155
+ Alligator and Crane 155
+ Trochilus and Crocodile 156
+ The Alligator and the Bear 158
+ Just Hatched 159
+ Coming out to Sun himself 160
+ An Elephant Fence 161
+ Form of a Corral 161
+ Beginning the Drive 162
+ Driving into the Corral 163
+ Securing the Captives 165
+ Siribeddi's Prize 166
+ The Prisoners tied up 168
+ A little Head Work 169
+ In a Heap of Trouble 170
+ Refusing to Move on 171
+ Sliding down hill 173
+ Elephant-hunting on Foot 174
+ The Hunter Hunted 175
+ Taking a Nap 176
+ Cocoa-nuts Full Grown and just Forming 178
+ The Bread-fruit 179
+ Pineapple 180
+ Star-apple 180
+ A New Kind of Fruit 181
+ Tailor-bird and Nest 182
+ A Climbing-fish 183
+ The Snake and the Squirrel 185
+ Monkeys at Home 187
+ Monkeys 188
+ Eagle capturing a Monkey 189
+ State Barge of the King of Siam 191
+ A Body of the Royal Guards 192
+ The King visiting a Temple 194
+ The Front of the Temple 195
+ The Tobacco-plant 197
+ Sir Walter Raleigh and his Pipe 197
+ Pipes of all Nations 199
+ Young America 200
+ The East 201
+ The West 201
+ Siamese Gentleman and Lady 203
+ A Young Prince of the Royal House, with his Attendant 205
+ Female Head-dress and Costume 206
+ Minister of Foreign Affairs 207
+ Lakon Girls 209
+ A Native Band of Music 210
+ A Siamese Theatrical Performance 211
+ Scene on a Small Canal near Bangkok 216
+ Burial-mounds 217
+ Urn containing Ashes 217
+ Jessamine Flowers 218
+ Buddhist Priest 219
+ Characters in the Procession 220
+ Haunts of Sea-birds on the Coast 223
+ Edible Swallows' Nests 224
+ Siamese Water Birds 225
+ Pheasant and Young 227
+ Court-yard of the Royal Palace at Bangkok 229
+ Chulalonkorn I., Supreme King of Siam 231
+ Prime-minister of Siam 233
+ The King of Siam in his State Robes 234
+ A Younger Brother of the King 235
+ The Hour-glass 236
+ A White Elephant worshipping the Sun and Moon. From a Chinese
+ Drawing 237
+ White Monkey in Elephant Stables 240
+ How an Elephant Feeds 241
+ Elephants' Trunks 242
+ Elephants Drinking 243
+ Fred's Tormentor 244
+ The Second King of Siam, in State Robes 247
+ The Doctor getting Ready 249
+ Coast of Siam, near the Mouth of the River 251
+ Water-fowl of Siam 252
+ A Wreck among the Breakers 253
+ Pearl Fisher attacked by a Shark 253
+ Nests of the Water-spider 254
+ Divers in their Armor 255
+ Divers at Work 256
+ Diving over the Side of a Steamer 257
+ Coral-fishing in the Mediterranean 259
+ The Coral-worm 260
+ Cup-coral and Brain-coral 260
+ An Atoll in the Pacific Ocean 261
+ Submarine Observations 263
+ The Bellows-fish, or Angler 264
+ A Curious Home 265
+ Crabs in a Quarrel 266
+ Sea-anemones 267
+ The Sponge at Home 268
+ How Sponges are Speared 269
+ Cleopatra dissolving the Pearl 270
+ Pearl-bearing Shells 271
+ Sizes of Pearls 272
+ Pearl-fishery at Bahrein 273
+ Persian Gulf Diver 274
+ M. Jaquin's Experiment 275
+ The Bleak 276
+ The Doctor's Discovery 276
+ The Turtle at Home 278
+ Turtle-hunting 279
+ On a Frail Raft 282
+ The Rescue 283
+ Gulf-weed 284
+ Haunts of the Sea-birds 285
+ In the Harbor 286
+ Boatmen at Singapore 287
+ A Chinese Contractor 289
+ Chinese Tailors at Singapore 290
+ A Group of Jacoons 291
+ Garri with a Load of Sailors 292
+ Full Dress at the Straits 293
+ Chinese Garden at Singapore 296
+ Maternal Care 297
+ Rural Scene in Singapore 298
+ Fruit-sellers at Singapore 299
+ A Bungalow 300
+ Chinese Gentleman's Garden 301
+ The God of Gamblers 302
+ Malay Boy in the Bird-market 303
+ Head of Black Cockatoo 304
+ Ejecting an Intruder 306
+ A New Type of Mankind 308
+ Klings and Chinese 312
+ Native Nurses and Children 313
+ Coaling at the Dock 314
+ Carrying Coal on Board 315
+ Servants on Duty 316
+ Scene on the Sumatra Coast 317
+ Crossing the Line on a Man-of-war 319
+ Chief's House in a Pirate Village 322
+ Harbor of Pirates 323
+ The Pirates' Victim 324
+ Sinews of War 325
+ A Trading-station on the Coast 327
+ A Bayou on the Palembang River 328
+ Arab Houses at Palembang 329
+ Lounging under a Mango-tree 330
+ Alligators taking Sun and Air 331
+ View in a Sumatran Village 332
+ Chased by a Tiger 333
+ Treed by a Bear 334
+ Shooting a Boa-constrictor 335
+ A Snaky Creek 336
+ Monkey Examining a Tortoise 337
+ Female Orang-outang. From a Photograph 338
+ Natives of Borneo Fighting with an Orang-outang 339
+ A Flying-frog 341
+ A Sumatran Butterfly 342
+ Arrival in Port 344
+ The Carriage at the Custom-house 345
+ The National Taste 346
+ Their Servant 347
+ The Mango 348
+ A Trifle too Peppery 349
+ After Breakfast 349
+ An Early Call 350
+ Native House on the River that Feeds the Canal 352
+ Family Party in Batavia 354
+ Fan-palm in the Botanical Garden 355
+ Chinese Porters 356
+ Goddess of Sailors and her Assistants 357
+ Some of the Third-class Passengers 359
+ View in a Private Garden 360
+ Native Village near the Railway 361
+ Tropical Growths along the Line 362
+ "Mangosteens!" 363
+ Veranda of the Hotel Bellevue 365
+ View from the Veranda at Buitenzorg 366
+ A Bad Road 367
+ The Vanda Lowii 368
+ A Tree Growing in Mid-air 369
+ Group of Birds in the Malay Archipelago 371
+ Magnificent Bird of Paradise 372
+ Superb Bird of Paradise 372
+ Six-shafted Bird of Paradise 373
+ Long-tailed Bird of Paradise 373
+ The Yankee Elephant 375
+ The Chinese Elephant 375
+ The Operatic Elephant 375
+ The Elephant in Love 376
+ Ancient Bas-relief--Java 376
+ A Monster Volcano 377
+ Peasant Farm-houses 379
+ Home of a Prosperous Contractor 380
+ Coffee-plantation in the Mountains 381
+ "Old Government Java" 382
+ A Javanese Chief 383
+ An Improved Sugar Estate 384
+ Retainers of a Javanese Regent 385
+ "Good-night" 386
+ The House at the Spring 388
+ Pounding Coffee 389
+ Dutch Overseers 390
+ Foot-bridge over a Mountain Stream 392
+ Rewards for Good Conduct 394
+ Pirate Prisoners on a Colonial Gun-boat 395
+ Passport Office 396
+ Ordered Out of the Country 398
+ No Admittance 399
+ Starling on the Journey. 401
+ By the Roadside 402
+ Lodgings of the Stable-men 403
+ Just Imported 404
+ The Waiter at Sindinglaya 406
+ Sleeping-room in the Sanitarium 407
+ A Mountain Cascade 409
+ Javanese Boys 410
+ Train of Coffee-carts 412
+ Seed-pods of the Tea-plant 413
+ Gathering Tea-leaves 415
+ Drying Tea in the Sun 416
+ Drying over Charcoal 416
+ Roasting Tea 417
+ Handy with his Feet 418
+ Roasting Green Tea 419
+ Tea Regions of the United States 420
+ Roasting-basket 421
+ Volcano in Eastern Java 423
+ Ruins near Sourabaya 424
+ An Island Port 425
+ Wild Fig-tree 425
+ A Village in Lombock 426
+ View near Mataram 427
+ Where the Great Spirit and the Rajah met 428
+ Gun-boring in Lombock 430
+ Natives of Timor 431
+ Delli, Portuguese Timor 432
+ Natives of Aru Shooting the Great Bird of Paradise 433
+ A Native Anchor 434
+ Great Street of Dobbo in the Trading-season 436
+ Wearing the Cangue 437
+ A Native of Aru 438
+ Sea-cucumber 439
+ A Papuan Pipe 439
+ A Bird of Amboyna 440
+ Sago Club 440
+ Preparing Sago 441
+ Sago Oven 442
+ Sugar-palm of Macassar 442
+ Climbing the Mountain 443
+ Coming Down the Mountain 445
+ "Good-bye!" 446
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _Map to accompany "The Boy Travellers of the far East"_]
+
+
+
+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS
+
+IN
+
+THE FAR EAST.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+DEPARTURE FROM HONG-KONG.
+
+
+"There she comes!" shouted Frank Bassett, as he pointed away to the
+eastward.
+
+Doctor Bronson and his nephew Fred were standing close beside Frank, and
+their eyes eagerly followed the direction of his hand.
+
+"Yes, there she is!" Fred responded; "what a splendid sight!"
+
+They were on the lookout platform on Victoria Peak, 1800 feet above the
+harbor of Hong-kong. The city, the island, the surrounding waters, and
+the neighboring coast of China all lay before them like a map. They had
+been studying the scene, and the Doctor had explained to the boys its
+remarkable resemblance to the view from the summit of the Rock of
+Gibraltar.
+
+[Illustration: HONG-KONG, FROM KELLET'S ISLAND.]
+
+Their geographical observations were interrupted by the announcement of
+the sergeant in charge of the signal-station that the Pacific Mail
+steamer _City of Peking_ was just outside the harbor, and would shortly
+enter through the Ly-ee-moon Pass. Hong-kong harbor has two entrances;
+the one to the eastward is known as the Ly-ee-moon, while that to the
+west is called the Lama Passage. Both are easy of navigation, and admit
+ships of the largest class to one of the finest harbors in the world.
+
+The great steamer ploughed steadily forward; and as she passed Kellet's
+Island, which is a fortified rock near the Ly-ee-moon, she turned
+gracefully, and headed straight for her anchorage. Our friends watched
+her till she came to her resting-place, and her engines had ceased
+working; then they said good-bye to the signal-station, and proceeded to
+the sedan-chairs which were waiting for them. The chair-coolies had also
+seen the steamer, and, as they were anxious to reach the city before the
+passengers could come ashore, they made the best possible time on their
+way down the mountain. They ran rather than walked, and two or three
+times the boys narrowly escaped a fall in the sudden bends of the zigzag
+road.
+
+The adventures of Doctor Bronson, Frank Bassett, and Fred Bronson, and
+their reasons for being in Hong-kong, have been narrated in a previous
+volume.[1]
+
+[1] "The Boy Travellers in the Far East. Adventures of Two Youths in a
+Journey to Japan and China." By Thomas W. Knox. Published by Harper &
+Brothers, New York, 1880.
+
+They expected the _City of Peking_ to bring letters that would determine
+their future movements. Is it any wonder they were in a hurry to have
+her mails landed, and the precious letters delivered?
+
+Their letters were addressed in care of the banking-house on which their
+credits were drawn, and very naturally the boys were eager to go at once
+to that establishment. The Doctor suggested that it would be quite time
+enough to go there after lunch; and, as the appetites of the trio had
+been sharpened by the excursion up the mountain, the proposal met no
+opposition whatever.
+
+The meal was served in the dining-room of the hotel, and as soon as it
+was ended the party walked leisurely to the banking-house. In a little
+while their letters were handed to them, and greatly rejoiced were the
+boys at the arrival of these precious missives from home. The return to
+the hotel was a rapid one on the part of the youths, who left the good
+Doctor far behind, in their eagerness to be once more in their rooms,
+where they could be safe from interruption while they read the messages
+from their friends.
+
+The letters were full of good news.
+
+[Illustration: MARY AND EFFIE READING FRANK'S LETTER.]
+
+The parents of both the boys expressed their delight at the good use
+which Frank and Fred had made of their time, and the interesting
+accounts they had given of their experiences in Japan and China, and
+their voyage over the Pacific Ocean. Mary and Miss Effie had received
+the presents which Frank bought for them in Japan, and Mary confessed in
+her letter that since the arrival of the precious box they had thought
+and talked of nothing else. They had dressed themselves in Japanese
+garments, and Miss Effie was sure that, if their eyes were properly
+sloped at the corners, they could readily pass for residents of Tokio or
+Kioto.
+
+The Doctor reached the hotel while they were in the midst of their
+reading. His package of letters was quite as large as that of either of
+the boys, and among them there was a very portly letter, which had
+required a liberal amount of stamps to pay for its transportation. This
+he opened first, and, after perusing it carefully, he smiled, and laid
+it aside. Evidently the contents were pleasing.
+
+Frank and Fred were through with their letters about the same time, and
+as soon as they were at liberty they began comparing notes. Both were a
+good deal disappointed, as they had received no indication of their
+future course. Would they go directly back across the Pacific Ocean, or
+would they proceed on a journey around the world? Perhaps the Doctor
+could tell them; but just then he was occupied, and they did not wish to
+disturb him.
+
+There was a rap at the door, followed by the entrance of a servant
+bringing a letter, which had been overlooked at the banker's. It was for
+Mr. Frank Bassett; and that young gentleman was not long in breaking the
+seal and possessing himself of its contents.
+
+His air of melancholy changed to one of delight. He threw his arms
+around Fred, and made a start in the direction of the Doctor, as if
+intending to favor him with an embrace, but speedily checked himself,
+and confined his demonstrations to a quiet leap over a chair that stood
+in the middle of the room; then he held out the letter for Fred to read.
+
+Fred's delight at the intelligence conveyed in the document was quite
+equal to Frank's. The question was settled; they were to continue on
+their journey around the world. The necessary letters of credit would be
+sent in care of Doctor Bronson, and should be in the mail brought by the
+_City of Peking_.
+
+Frank saw the large letter on the table in front of the Doctor, and at
+once divined that it was the important missive containing papers similar
+to the one with which he was provided before he left home. There was yet
+a goodly amount remaining on his letter of credit, but not enough to
+carry him to America by way of Europe. Fred was in a similar
+predicament, and therefore a permission to go forward would be of no
+great use if unaccompanied by the necessary cash or its equivalent.
+
+Doctor Bronson relieved their doubt by handing them the letters of
+credit which had come in the bulky parcel in question. They were
+considered too valuable to be intrusted to the ordinary mail, and
+therefore they had been "registered." And from their experience with the
+Post-office in China and other Eastern countries, our three friends were
+unanimously of the opinion that all valuable letters going there should
+be sent by registered post. The Japanese postal service was the most
+perfect one they found in their travels, and the Doctor declared that
+some of our officials at home might learn what would be to their
+advantage if they would visit the post-office at Yokohama and see how
+admirably it was conducted.
+
+"Well, boys," said Dr. Bronson, "it's all settled."
+
+The boys had a moment of standing on tiptoe in their exuberant delight,
+and then Frank asked,
+
+"Where are we to go, Doctor, and when are we to start?"
+
+"That is what we must determine now," was the reply. "We have several
+routes open to us, and each has its advantages."
+
+"I think," answered Frank, "that we could not do better than leave the
+selection of the route to Doctor Bronson. He has proved such an
+excellent guide and friend thus far, that we have the most implicit
+confidence in his judgment, and are quite willing to adopt his
+suggestions without question."
+
+This was said as if Frank had been addressing himself to his cousin
+rather than the Doctor. Fred instantly accepted the proposal, and it was
+promptly agreed that the whole matter should be left in Doctor Bronson's
+hands to arrange. The latter thanked the youths for the expression of
+their confidence in him, and then proceeded to designate on the map the
+routes leading westward from Hong-kong.
+
+"The regular mail steamers," said he, "go from here to Singapore, which
+you see is down close to the equator, and at the entrance of the Straits
+of Malacca. The English steamers go directly there without stopping; but
+the French ones touch at Saigon, in Cochin China, which is a colony of
+the French Government."
+
+"I have thought out a plan," he continued, "while we have been waiting,
+and what I propose is this:
+
+"We will go from here to Saigon by one of the French ships, and then
+make a stay in Cochin China long enough to see what we wish of the
+country. Then we can find a trading-ship of some kind to take us to
+Siam, and once there, we shall have no trouble in getting to Singapore,
+as there is a regular line between that city and Bangkok, the capital of
+Siam. There is much to be seen in Siam, as well as in Cochin China; and
+I think this route will be far preferable to the direct one by the mail
+steamers, though it will not be so comfortable. We must be prepared to
+"rough it" a little both on shore and at sea, but our privations will be
+more than compensated by the abundance of interesting sights on the
+way."
+
+The boys agreed at once to the proposal, and the conversation came to an
+end. The Doctor went to arrange for the proposed journey, and the youths
+brought out their writing materials, and devoted the rest of the
+afternoon to the preparation of letters in answer to those they had just
+received.
+
+[Illustration: ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH MAIL STEAMER.]
+
+The French steamer arrived from Shanghai in the evening, and her great
+hull loomed majestically in the light of the full-moon as she came to
+anchor. It is a condition of the contracts for the transportation of the
+mails, that a steamer is not to lie more than twenty-four hours at any
+of the stopping-places along the route unless detained by unforeseen
+accidents. Consequently, when one of these ships arrives, it is pretty
+certain that her departure will occur within the time above specified;
+and it was shortly announced that the ship in question would leave at
+noon the next day. The mail service between Europe and the Far East is
+performed almost as regularly as that across the Atlantic, and the
+arrivals at the various points can be guessed with tolerable accuracy.
+The English and French steamers perform each a fortnightly service both
+ways, and, as they run alternately, the residents of China and Japan
+have weekly mail-days for sending and receiving their letters.
+
+Doctor Bronson engaged passage for the party by the French steamer as
+far as Saigon, and then went to the office of the "Yuen Fat Hong" to
+ascertain if there was a vessel for Bangkok by way of Cochin China.
+
+In the last few years the Chinese merchants have gone somewhat
+extensively into the business of running steamships. There is a company
+with a capital of two million dollars that owns several lines of
+steamers along the coast and on the great river of China, the
+Yang-tse-kiang, and its officers and stockholders are all of them
+Chinese. There are several smaller companies, and there are Chinese
+commission-houses that act as agents for English and other steamers in
+the Eastern trade. The Yuen Fat Hong was one of these commission-houses,
+and it managed the business of a line of English ships running between
+Hong-kong and Bangkok, with an occasional call at Saigon.
+
+[Illustration: PRIVATE PARLOR OF THE "YUEN FAT HONG."]
+
+Doctor Bronson found the office without any difficulty, and was shown
+into a neatly-arranged parlor, where four well-dressed Chinese were
+sitting. Three of them were holding fans in their hands, while the
+fourth was indulging in the luxury of a pipe. Plants in pots stood near
+the walls, and there was a table in the centre of the room, where the
+oldest and most serious of the Oriental gentlemen was seated. Evidently
+it was a time of relief from labor, and so there was no delay in
+attending to the inquiries of the Doctor.
+
+The information he obtained was entirely satisfactory. The house was to
+send a ship in a week or ten days to Bangkok by way of Saigon; it would
+stop two or three days in the latter port, and if the party would be
+satisfied with the limited accommodations, they could secure passage
+from there to Siam.
+
+It was secured at once, and then the Doctor returned to the hotel.
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE BOATWOMAN.]
+
+The next morning the boys were up early; and long before the hour fixed
+for their departure from the hotel they had all their baggage in
+readiness. The trunks and valises were delivered to the porters and
+carried to the landing-place, whence they were to be transported in a
+small boat to the great steamer that lay smoking in the harbor. The boat
+that the party engaged was a reminder of Canton, as it was occupied by
+an entire family; two or three children were quietly seated in a sort
+of box at the stern, and the crew consisted of two women and a man. One
+of the women was evidently captain; at least Frank thought so, when he
+observed her air of authority in giving directions for the movement of
+the boat. The harbor service of Hong-kong is nearly all performed by
+Chinese from the famous boat-population of Canton; they are not
+forbidden to live on shore as they are at Canton, but from long habit,
+and also from motives of economy, they continue to make their homes on
+the boats.
+
+While on the way to the ship, Fred made a sketch of the younger of the
+two women, and declared his intention was rather light in complexion for
+an inhabitant of Southern China; her hair was covered by a thick
+kerchief, tied in a knot under her chin, and her jacket or blouse was
+buttoned in front, and hung loosely down like a silk wrapper. As soon as
+she discovered that she was the subject of a sketch she put on her
+sweetest smile, and was evidently proud of the honor that Fred was
+showing her.
+
+Less than an hour after they reached the ship they were under way for
+Saigon.
+
+Our friends spent the afternoon on deck, where they had plenty of
+occupation watching the irregular line of the coast, and observing the
+play of light and shade on the water. There were but few passengers, so
+that they had an abundance of room; the weather was delightful, and both
+Frank and Fred declared that none of their travel by sea up to that time
+had been more agreeable. They abandoned all ideas of being sea-sick; and
+when the bell called them to dinner they were promptly in their places
+at table.
+
+Suddenly Fred turned to his cousin and asked if he was aware that China
+was the worst country in the world for wheeled vehicles.
+
+Frank said he knew the Celestial Empire was very badly off for means of
+locomotion, but he was not certain that it was the most unfortunate in
+this respect.
+
+"It is a great country," said Fred, "and has an enormous population: we
+are going to Saigon, which is the capital of Cochin China."
+
+"Well," replied Frank, "what has that to do with the matter of wheeled
+vehicles?"
+
+"Don't you see?" responded Fred, "there is only one coach in China!"
+
+"That is a very good conundrum," remarked the Doctor, who had been
+listening to the dialogue between the boys; "but it is as old as it is
+good. I heard it when I first came to China, years ago."
+
+Fred confessed that he found the conundrum in question in a book on
+China which he had picked up in Hong-kong, and thereupon it was agreed
+that no more jokes should be made until they were again on shore.
+
+At an early hour the boys retired to their rooms, and it did not require
+a long time for them to fall asleep. Fred made no report of any unusual
+occurrence during his sleeping hours, but it was otherwise with Frank.
+In the morning he intimated that the letters from home had set him to
+dreaming, and that all his relatives and friends had congratulated him
+on his pleasant and prosperous journey. Fred asked if any one had been
+more profuse in congratulations than any one else, and the young dreamer
+admitted that such was the case. He mentioned no names, but the Doctor
+and Fred had no difficulty in determining who that one was.
+
+[Illustration: FRANK'S DREAM.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+VOYAGE TO SAIGON.--ARRIVAL IN COCHIN CHINA.
+
+
+The voyage from Hong-kong to Saigon was neither long nor unpleasant. The
+weather was fine, and the wind favored the progress of the steamer. The
+Doctor explained that the north-east monsoon was blowing at that season
+of the year, and it was to be relied on with such certainty that the
+steamship companies arranged their time-tables with reference to it. The
+boys had heard something about the monsoons before this, and Fred
+determined that he would study the subject sufficiently to have a clear
+understanding of it. So he questioned the Doctor, and examined all the
+books he could find that had anything to say about the monsoons, and
+when he thought his information was complete he proceeded to put it on
+paper.
+
+[Illustration: HURRICANE DURING THE CHANGE OF THE MONSOON.]
+
+Here is Fred's essay on the winds of the Eastern seas:
+
+"The word 'monsoon' comes from the Arabic _musim_, which means 'season,'
+and the winds are so called because they blow in alternate seasons,
+first in one direction and then in the other. On the coast of China the
+wind is from the south-west from April to October, and is then called
+the south-west monsoon; for the other half of the year it blows from the
+north-east, and is then called the north-east monsoon. There is
+generally a period of about two weeks when the winds are irregular at
+each change from one monsoon to the other, and at this time the
+ship-masters are very fearful of severe storms, with heavy rain and much
+thunder and lightning.
+
+[Illustration: A FAVORING MONSOON.]
+
+"The monsoon winds are known all over the Eastern seas, from the coast
+of China to the shores of Arabia. Their periods of blowing are so well
+understood that the steamship captains know exactly when they may be
+expected, and their voyages are arranged accordingly. On the printed
+time-tables of all the steamship companies you will find 'monsoon
+allowances;' and on the coast of India there are certain ports where the
+ships cannot touch at all when the monsoon is unfavorable. The
+Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company allows four days for
+its ships between Suez and Shanghai when the monsoon is against them,
+and one day on the voyage between Hong-kong and Yokohama. The French
+mail steamers have the same allowances. In August, when the south-west
+wind is blowing, a steamer goes from Hong-kong to Yokohama in seven
+days; but in April, when the wind is the other way, she is allowed eight
+days for the voyage.
+
+"The monsoons are caused just like all other winds--by the heated air
+rising and cold air rushing in to fill its place. In summer, when the
+sun is over Asia and the ground becomes heated to a high degree, the air
+rises, and the cooler air from the south comes to fill up the space.
+This makes the south-west monsoon; and when the seasons change, and it
+becomes summer in the southern hemisphere and winter in the northern,
+then the air goes the other way, and the wind blows from the north-east.
+This is the north-east monsoon.
+
+[Illustration: RUNNING BEFORE THE TRADE-WIND.]
+
+"The monsoons should not be mistaken for the trade-winds which blow in
+the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and also in the southern part of the
+Indian Ocean. The monsoons change every half year, as I have explained,
+but the trade-winds blow regularly all the year round in the same
+direction. They are caused by the warm air rising from the vicinity of
+the equator, owing to the great heat, and the cool air rushing in from
+the south and from the north. The trade-winds have been so named because
+they have been of great assistance to commerce; sailing-ships can
+calculate their voyages with great accuracy by means of these winds, and
+I have read and heard of ships in the trade-winds that sailed for twenty
+or thirty days without moving a rope or altering the position of a sail.
+They went along ten or twelve miles an hour, and the sailors had nothing
+to do but lie around the deck or in the forecastle, and amuse themselves
+in any way they liked."
+
+Fred read his production to the Doctor and Frank as they sat on deck,
+the second day of the voyage from Hong-kong. Frank wanted a copy, but
+took the precaution to ask the Doctor if it was all correct. The latter
+said it was entirely, so far as he knew, but it did not tell the whole
+story. Thereupon Frank set at work to find something additional, and in
+the course of an hour or so he offered the following post-script to the
+essay of his cousin:
+
+"In studying about the trade-winds and the monsoons, I find that they do
+not blow directly north or directly south, as we might suppose they
+would if they came in to fill up the vacancy caused by the rising of the
+heated air. North of the equator the trade-winds blow from the
+north-east, and south of it they are from the south-east. The
+inclination to the east is caused by the rotary motion of the earth from
+east to west. The earth slips from under the wind while turning on its
+axis, and it is really the earth that makes the slope of the wind, and
+not the wind itself. Something like it may be seen when a boat crosses a
+river. The boatman may try to pull straight across, but if he does so
+the current carries him down, and he is unable to land opposite his
+starting-point. The only way he can do so is by going obliquely against
+the stream.
+
+"The monsoons get their direction in the same way as the trade-winds get
+theirs; with this difference, that the south-west monsoon starts near
+the equator, and not in the southern hemisphere, like the south-east
+trade-wind. The rotary motion of the earth is greater at the equator
+than it is in the northern latitudes, and so the wind gets a westerly
+inclination instead of an easterly one, as in the case of the
+trade-wind. Some of the scientific men say that the north-east monsoon
+is not a monsoon at all, but only the north-east trade-wind taking its
+regular course, which has been disturbed by the more powerful wind from
+the south-west."
+
+"Very good," remarked the Doctor, when Frank read what he had written.
+"I am a little fearful, however, that it will not be understood by
+everybody, and so we will drop the dry subject and think of something
+easier."
+
+The boys admitted that the topic was a dry one, but nevertheless it was
+interesting; and they thought they would not be doing their duty in
+their journey if they failed to comprehend the great winds that so
+materially help or hinder the movements of ships in Asiatic waters.
+
+On their third day from Hong-kong the boys heard with delight that land
+was visible. At first it was like a dark cloud on the horizon; but, as
+they approached it, the scene changed, and the cloud was resolved into a
+tropical shore, backed by a line of hills in the distance. The steamer
+headed for a little promontory, and by-and-by a light-house was revealed
+that marked the entrance of the river which they were to ascend.
+
+A boat came out from the mouth of the river, and a pilot boarded the
+steamer. He was a weather-beaten Frenchman, who had lived more than
+twenty years in Cochin China, and was thoroughly familiar with the
+channel of the river, or rather of its various channels. The Mekong
+empties into the China Sea, very much as the Mississippi discharges into
+the Gulf of Mexico; it has several mouths, and the whole lower part of
+its course is divided into canals and bayous, that are very convenient
+for the natives in the matter of local navigation.
+
+Saigon, the destination of the steamer and of our friends, is on one of
+these lower branches of the Mekong, about thirty miles from the sea. The
+river is not more than five or six hundred feet wide, and the channel is
+very crooked. The boys were reminded of their trip up the Peiho, from
+Taku to Tien-Tsin, when they were on their way to Peking, but they voted
+that the present voyage was the more agreeable of the two, inasmuch as
+the steamer did not follow the example of their ship on the Peiho, by
+occasionally running her nose into the bank. Their progress was steady
+but slow, and they had plenty of time to study the scenery of the new
+country they were entering.
+
+[Illustration: RICE-FIELDS ON THE MEKONG.]
+
+On both banks of the river the land is quite flat, and they were told
+that, in times of unusual freshets, it was overflowed for long
+distances. For this reason, it is not very thickly populated, although
+the soil is rich, and could be made to produce abundantly. All along the
+banks there was a thick fringe of mangrove-trees, and sometimes they
+appeared to extend over many square miles of land. Here and there were
+rice-fields that appeared to have the most careful cultivation; and
+sometimes a village, with its temple rising above the modest dwellings
+of the inhabitants, was revealed to the eyes of the young wanderers.
+
+The number of the villages increased; and by-and-by a larger collection
+of houses than they had yet seen was visible. This was the last village
+before Saigon, and finally the city itself came into view. The steamer
+stopped in front of it, and hardly was her anchor down before she was
+surrounded by a crowd of native boats. Some of them were exactly of the
+model of those at Hong-kong and Canton, and others were new to the eyes
+of our friends. A great many Chinese have come here from Canton, and
+brought their manners and customs with them; and they have also brought
+their boats, or caused the construction of some exactly similar to those
+they left behind.
+
+As soon as convenient the Doctor engaged a boat for the party, and the
+three travellers went on shore. There are several hotels at Saigon not
+far from the landing-place, and it was not long before the strangers
+were comfortably quartered--at least comfortably for Cochin China. After
+their experiences at Peking and other places, they were not inclined to
+be fastidious about their lodgings.
+
+[Illustration: A NATIVE WOMAN.]
+
+As soon as they had arranged matters at the hotel, the party went out
+for a stroll. They found Saigon was well laid out, with broad streets
+that ran straight as sunbeams for long distances. Most of them were
+macadamized, and shaded with double rows of trees, and they had deep
+gutters to carry off the heavy rains that fall in this latitude. The
+boys were greatly interested in observing the hats worn by the natives;
+those of the men were conical in shape, and came down over the shoulders
+like an extinguisher over a candle. The women wore hats that resembled
+baskets, about six inches deep by not less than two feet across. The
+hats for both men and women are made of leaves, closely plaited
+together, and serve to keep off the rain as well as the sun. The hat of
+the man is particularly useful as an umbrella, as the wearer need only
+bring it down over his head to make his shelter very nearly complete.
+When walking on the road, he must keep it well tilted up in front in
+order to enable him to see his way.
+
+As they walked along, the Doctor explained that the most of the people
+they met were not the original inhabitants of the country. Saigon was a
+small fishing-village in 1861, when it was captured by the French and
+occupied as a military post. The captors determined to make it a city of
+consequence, and the French government has expended a great deal of
+money in this endeavor. They have constructed roads and streets on the
+same scale that the English have adopted at Shanghai, and they have
+built dock-yards where ships can be repaired. They have maintained a
+large garrison of soldiers, and several times have been called on to
+suppress insurrections that cost a great deal of money and blood.
+
+"Now," said the Doctor, "when the French established themselves here,
+they opened the port for anybody to come and live in Saigon, as they
+wanted to build up its trade as fast as possible. A great many Chinese
+came here from Canton and Singapore, and the result was that the place
+grew very rapidly. The Chinese came much faster than the emigrants from
+France and other European countries, and also faster than the natives of
+Cochin China from other parts of the conquered provinces. Consequently,
+here is a French city with a foreign population greater than the native
+one, and greater than that from France itself.
+
+"Nearly all the business of Saigon is in the hands of the Chinese," the
+Doctor continued, "and they have managed to drive out most of the
+foreigners who were established here. They can live so much more
+cheaply, and transact business for a smaller profit, that the foreigner
+cannot compete with them. The number of foreign houses in Saigon is
+diminishing every year, and it looks as though the Chinese would have it
+pretty nearly all to themselves by the end of another ten years."
+
+[Illustration: STREET IN THE CHINESE QUARTER.]
+
+They found some parts of Saigon so much Chinese in character that they
+seemed to be carried back to Canton or Shanghai. Chinese signs abounded;
+Chinese shops were open, and the men doing business both behind and
+before the counters were Chinese. Chinese eyes were upon them, and
+frequently Chinese peddlers approached them with articles for sale.
+Chinese were at worship in the temples, walking, talking, trading, and
+pursuing their ordinary avocations, and for every foreigner the boys
+encountered they met a hundred inhabitants of the Flowery Kingdom.
+
+The roads were dry and dusty, and after a walk of a couple of hours our
+friends returned to the hotel. Late in the afternoon they went out again
+to hear one of the military bands play, and to see the people on their
+daily promenade. The band plays at a stand on the street parallel to
+the river, and everybody who can come out to see and be seen is sure to
+be there.
+
+Frank found the crowd so variegated that he suggested to Fred that it
+was like looking through a kaleidoscope. There were Frenchmen, Germans,
+Englishmen, Spaniards, and Portuguese among the foreigners; while the
+Asiatics included Chinese, Anamese, Cambodians, Malays, Siamese, and a
+variety of other nationalities the boys were unable to determine. In
+fact, they would not have been able to recognize all the people
+mentioned above if it had not been for the assistance of the Doctor, who
+was skilled in the study of faces and the sound of languages. Fred
+thought that the confusion of tongues was enough to give one a faint
+idea of what the Tower of Babel must have been at the time the builders
+suspended work.
+
+[Illustration: PLANTS IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN.]
+
+They finished their explorations of the day with a visit to the
+botanical garden, just as the sun was sinking in the west. The garden
+contains a good variety of the tropical plants peculiar to the country,
+and also some that the French have imported, with a view to distributing
+them through the province in case the cultivation should prove
+advantageous. There are also some wild animals carefully kept in cages,
+with the exception of the elephants, which have no greater restriction
+than being fastened with chains. The most interesting of these animals,
+in the eyes of the boys, were some tigers which came from the upper
+regions of the Mekong River, and were larger than any they had ever seen
+in America.
+
+[Illustration: A NEW ACQUAINTANCE.]
+
+The evening was devoted to a study of the geography and history of the
+country they were in, and before the boys went to bed they had a pretty
+clear idea of Cochin China and the regions that surround it. In the
+morning they complained of numerous visits from the mosquitoes that
+abound in Saigon the entire year, and are as attentive as the mosquitoes
+of the United States or any other country.
+
+[Illustration: A MOSQUITO OF SAIGON.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.--FIRST SIGHTS AND SCENES IN ANAM.
+
+
+The boys made a division of labor in looking up information about the
+country. Frank was to find what he could concerning its natural features
+and extent, while Fred undertook to learn something about the French
+occupation, and the reasons that led to it. When they were ready, the
+essays were read to the Doctor for his approval or rejection; and there
+was a brief discussion to determine who should be first to read, or
+rather last, as each preferred not to be the beginner. The Doctor
+settled the question by deciding that the natural features of the
+country existed before the French came there, and, therefore, it was the
+duty of Frank to open the subject.
+
+Thus assured, Frank produced his note-book, and read:
+
+"The countries of Birmah, Siam, and Anam are known to geographers as
+'Indo-China,' for the reason that they lie between India and China, and
+have some of the characteristics of both. The empire of Anam is the one
+we are now considering, and we will leave the others until we get to
+them in the course of our travels. It is erroneously called Cochin
+China, from a province of that name which is included in the empire. The
+proper divisions of Anam are Cambodia, Tonquin, Tsiampa, and Cochin
+China, and more than three-fourths of its boundaries are washed by the
+sea. It is about nine hundred miles long, and its width varies a great
+deal, owing to the indentations of the coast. Cochin China proper is
+only some ninety miles long by twenty broad, and it is really the
+smallest of the provinces. Cambodia is the largest and most populous,
+and the soil is said to be more productive than that of the other parts
+of the empire. The number of inhabitants is not known, but it is
+generally thought to be from twelve to fifteen millions.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE GENTLEMAN AT SAIGON.]
+
+"The people resemble the Malays and Chinese, and are sometimes called
+the connecting link between the two. They are smaller than the Chinese,
+but not so dark as the Malays; their dress resembles the Chinese, but
+they do not shave their heads as the latter do. They are not very
+ingenious, and have comparatively few manufactures; their chief
+employments are in agriculture, and they raise a great deal of rice,
+which is exported to China and other countries. They also export sugar,
+raw silk, cinnamon, dye-stuff, elephants' hides and bones, together with
+a good many gums and spices. The dye known as gamboge comes from
+Cambodia, and the name of the country is said to be derived from this
+article. On the coast the people engage in fishing, and all through the
+country the food of the people consists of fish and rice. The natives
+will eat a great deal when they have the opportunity, but they are able
+to live on a very small allowance of food when necessity compels them.
+Buddhism is the prevailing religion, but they are not very earnest in
+it; they have great respect for the dead, and resemble the Chinese in
+their veneration for their ancestors.
+
+"The country near the coast is generally flat, but farther inland it
+becomes mountainous. There are tribes in the interior that are more than
+half savage in their character; they live mostly on wild fruits, and are
+widely scattered. Some sleep in the trees, and some build small huts,
+but they rarely have permanent villages, and never get together in great
+numbers. Sometimes the Cambodians make war on these hill-tribes, and
+those that they capture are sold as slaves.
+
+"The principal river is the Mekong, and it is one of the largest streams
+in South-eastern Asia. It rises in China, and has a general course of
+about one thousand seven hundred miles to the south, and it falls into
+the sea by several mouths between the ninth and tenth degrees of north
+latitude. There are many villages and towns along its banks, and in its
+lower course the river is navigable for the largest ships."
+
+Frank paused, and said that was all he had been able to obtain about
+Anam, but he hoped to have more by-and-by. The Doctor pronounced his
+essay an excellent one, as it gave a good general description of the
+country, and contained the information that every traveller and reader
+ought to have.
+
+Now it was Fred's turn to read. He had been uneasily twisting his
+note-book between his fingers, evidently dreading the ordeal of
+delivery; but as soon as he was through with the first line, his
+embarrassment vanished, and his voice was as firm as ever.
+
+"Nearly a hundred years ago," said Fred, "France opened relations with
+Anam, and arranged to give the latter country certain assistance against
+its enemies in return for commercial and missionary privileges. It was
+about the time of the famous French Revolution. Only a small part of the
+promised assistance was given by France, and she was too busy with
+affairs at home to demand all that had been agreed upon on the part of
+Anam. The French missionaries were protected in the exercise of their
+religious duties, and a small trade was carried on until about the year
+1831. The old king died, and a new one went on the throne; he was
+opposed to the French and Spanish missionaries, and endeavored to drive
+them out of the country. Many of them were killed, and the native
+Christians were persecuted, so that Christianity threatened to
+disappear.
+
+"Things went on in this way for twenty years. In 1851 the French
+determined to interfere, both for the protection of the missionaries and
+to demand the concessions that were promised when relations were first
+opened with Anam. Shortly before they came, an order had been issued
+that all missionaries should be drowned in the river, and any native who
+concealed, or in any way assisted a missionary, was to be cut in two.
+The war was a slow one, and the invaders were several times held back by
+fortifications that had been built by the French engineers who came here
+in 1795. The persecutions were partially stopped, and in 1857 the French
+went away.
+
+"New orders against the missionaries were then issued, and more of them
+were killed. In August, 1858, there was a combined French and Spanish
+expedition against Anam, which captured the chief seaport and several
+important places. The war was kept up till 1862, when there was a treaty
+of peace. This treaty compelled Anam to pay five million dollars to
+France as compensation for the war, and to promise that every native
+should be free to adopt any religion that he liked. The missionaries
+were not to be disturbed, and the principal cities were to be open to
+French merchants to trade in whatever they chose to buy and sell. A
+French Protectorate was established over the province of Cochin China,
+and afterwards over other provinces, and--"
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF THE FRENCH QUARTER OF SAIGON.]
+
+"Stop a moment," said the Doctor; "you had better explain what a
+protectorate is."
+
+Fred was evidently prepared for the question, as he answered promptly,
+
+"A protector is one who defends or shields from injury. In government
+matters a protector is a person who has the care of a kingdom during the
+minority or illness of the king; or it may mean a cardinal or other high
+official who looks after the interests of a religious body. A
+protectorate is a government by a protector, or it may be the authority
+assumed by a superior power over a weaker or a dependent one.
+
+"The case of France and Anam is that the treaty provided that the French
+should take the management of the affairs of the conquered country, and
+that the governor-general they sent here should be really the highest
+officer in the land. The Anamese can do nothing in the way of making and
+enforcing laws without the consent of the French; in fact, they are
+exactly in the condition of a colony, and the country where we now are
+is called the French Colony of Eastern Asia."
+
+"Quite right," said the Doctor, when Fred had concluded. "Now we will
+hear what the French have done in the way of colonization."
+
+"They have followed their old policy of making no interference with the
+local laws, except with such as had a character of oppression or
+cruelty. They required the native authorities to swear to be loyal to
+France, and when they did so they sustained them until there were
+complaints that they did not manage affairs properly. In such cases they
+have investigated the complaints, and done what they thought right in
+the matter, either by removing or sustaining the official. They have
+lowered the taxes and established regulations regarding civil marriages,
+and, on the whole, their presence has been a benefit to the people of
+Anam. In the matter of marriages they have followed the rule that they
+long ago adopted in Algeria; a native may be married under the native
+laws if he likes, and can divorce his wife at a moment's notice, and
+without giving any reason; but if he marries her in a French court, he
+is under French laws, and must abide by them. A great many of the
+natives of the better class insist upon having their daughters married
+in the French courts, as they know they will be better treated than
+under the old system.
+
+"Several times there have been insurrections against the French, and
+some of them have cost a great deal of money and fighting. But they have
+always resulted in victories for the French, and in the addition of new
+provinces to the territory under their control. At present they have a
+protectorate over more than half of the peninsula; some of the smaller
+provinces in the North are nominally independent, while in some portions
+of the country held by the French the natives do very little more for
+the foreign government than pay a small tax to it every year.
+
+"The population of the country under the French protectorate is said to
+be not far from four millions. There is an army of ten or twelve
+thousand men, of whom nearly if not quite half are natives. The natives
+are said to make good soldiers, particularly in the artillery. A great
+part of the garrison duty in the forts on the coast and in the interior
+is performed by the native troops, and they are said to get along very
+well with the French. In Cambodia many of the soldiers are from Manilla,
+as they are considered more warlike, and besides the king says it is
+cheaper to hire them from other countries than to use his own people.
+The army of Cambodia is smaller in proportion than that of the other
+parts of the country, and the French allow the king to do pretty much as
+he likes."
+
+Fred had reached the end of his chapter, and consequently came to a
+pause. The Doctor complimented him on his excellent account of the
+invasion and occupation of Anam, and after a little general talk on the
+subject, the party broke up.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE SOLDIERS AT SAIGON.]
+
+As they were naturally interested in the subject of native troops in the
+French service, Frank took the first opportunity to make a sketch of a
+couple of them that he saw on duty. He found that they wore a blue
+blouse with white trousers--or, rather, that the trousers had been white
+at some former date--and their heads were protected from the heat of
+the sun by flat hats made of pith or cork, while their feet were bare.
+The men that he saw were armed with breech-loading rifles of French
+manufacture, and they carried their cartridges at the waist-belt, after
+the European fashion.
+
+Strolling by the river-bank, the boys saw three or four light gun-boats
+at anchor in the stream. They learned that the government had about
+twenty of these boats, which were used for transporting troops wherever
+they were needed, and also for the purpose of protecting the natives
+against pirates, and to enforce the laws generally.
+
+They observed that the police were not of the same nationality as the
+soldiers, and found, on inquiry, that the policemen were all Malays from
+Singapore, under the supervision of French chiefs. They are said to be
+very efficient, and one great advantage of employing them is that they
+are not likely to be involved in any of the native conspiracies.
+
+By the end of their second day in Saigon, it occurred to the boys that
+it was about time to begin a letter to friends at home.
+
+"We will write it as we did the letters from Kioto and Hong kong," said
+Frank; "that is, provided you are willing."
+
+Fred assented to the proposal, and so it was agreed that they would make
+up a single letter, in which each should describe some of the things
+they had seen, and they would so arrange it that nothing should be
+described twice. They devoted all the time they could spare from
+sight-seeing to the production of this letter, and here is the result:
+
+"We have been walking and riding around Saigon, and have seen a great
+many things that are new to us. This morning we started early for a walk
+to Cholon, about three miles away, and had a very pleasant time on the
+road. We met crowds of people coming to town with basketsful of fresh
+vegetables for the market; they were nearly all women, and their dress
+was much like that of the women we saw in Canton, except that they had
+great hats like circular trays. Part of the way the road follows the
+bank of a ditch, which the French call 'The Grand Canal;' but there is
+not much grandeur about it, as it is half-choked with weeds, and when
+the tide is out there is not water enough to float a boat of any size.
+There has been no rain for weeks, and the dust was so thick that
+sometimes we could hardly see across the road, and were in danger of
+being run over.
+
+[Illustration: THE KING OF THE BEGGARS.]
+
+"Near the door of a house, in the edge of the city, we saw three beggars
+standing, while a man with his finger raised was talking to them. Doctor
+Bronson says the man who talked was their chief; and he was telling them
+what to do and where to go for the day. Begging is a regular business
+in China, and the beggars have their associations, like other trades.
+
+"We met a long line of carts just after we got outside the city; each
+cart was drawn by a pair of bullocks, and they had ropes through their
+noses, just as we put them through the noses of bulls at home. The
+foremost pair was led by a boy, and all the other bullocks were fastened
+to the carts immediately in front of them. How they get on without
+pulling some of their noses out, when a cart in the middle of the line
+breaks down, we cannot imagine. Perhaps the cord gives way before the
+nose does.
+
+"There were lots of half-wild dogs that seemed to belong to nobody; they
+barked at us, and some of them threatened to bite; but we showed tight,
+and they concluded to leave us. These brutes are known as 'pariah' dogs
+all through the East: 'pariah,' as applied to a man, means an outcast;
+and a pariah dog is a dog that has no master and no home. They are not
+so abundant here as at Constantinople or Damascus, but Doctor Bronson
+says there are quite enough of them to go around, and they go around all
+night and all day.
+
+"Such a noise as the cart-wheels made you never heard in all your lives.
+Grease must be scarce in Cochin China, or the people must be fond of
+music; at all events, they do not try to stop the squeaking, and a
+native will go to sleep in one of these carts when it is moving along
+the road, just as calmly as he would in a Pullman car. Doctor Bronson
+says that these carts are loaded with gamboge and other dye-stuffs, and
+also with hides and horns of cattle, and perhaps with the tusks of
+elephants that have been killed for the sake of their ivory.
+
+"About half-way along the road, we came to what the French call '_La
+Plaine des Tombeaux_,' which is nothing more nor less than an enormous
+cemetery. It is said to cover several square miles of ground; whether it
+does so or not we cannot say, but certainly it is very large, and, as
+the Doctor remarked, very densely inhabited. There is nothing very
+remarkable about the tombs, as they are nothing but square enclosures,
+with little spires like those of the temples. In one part of the
+cemetery some priests were at work laying out a place for a grave;
+Doctor Bronson says that they perform a lot of ceremonies to determine
+where a grave shall be made, and are very particular to bring it under
+good influences, and shield it from bad ones. The same superstitions
+that prevail in China are to be found here; and even the most
+intelligent of the native or Chinese merchants in Saigon would not think
+of undertaking any important enterprise without first consulting the
+gods, and ascertaining that the 'Fung Shuey' was in their favor.
+
+"It was an odd sight to see the telegraph-poles along the road, and
+skirting the edge of this ancient cemetery. It was bringing the past and
+the present close together, and from all we can see the present is
+having the best of it.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF CHOLON.]
+
+"Well, we reached Cholon after a leisurely walk, and went down to the
+bank of the river, where great numbers of boats were moored. There were
+hundreds, and perhaps thousands of these boats, and at the place where
+they are moored they are tied very close together. They are rather long
+and narrow, and the best of them have a roof over the centre to protect
+the occupants from the sun and rain. Some of them are hewn out of single
+logs, and others are built of planks, as in other countries. Many are
+permanently fastened to the bank and are occupied as houses, like some
+of the boats in Canton; and altogether there is a pretty large water
+population. Near the water's edge there are huts built on platforms, and
+so arranged that the refuse of the kitchen falls into the river. The
+owner is under no expense for drainage, and the whole cost of his
+building does not exceed five dollars. Living is cheap in Cholon, if
+you are willing to occupy a grass-roofed hut, six feet square, on the
+bank of the river, and eat nothing more costly than boiled rice and
+fish. We saw two or three huts of the kind we describe, occupied by half
+a dozen persons each. They must have found the quarters rather close at
+times, but probably did not mind a trifle like that. A single plank
+served as the roadway to the shore, and in some instances it was so
+shaky that it required a steady head and careful stepping to avoid being
+thrown into the water.
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE FAMILY AT CHOLON.]
+
+"More than half the people we saw were Chinese, and not the natives of
+the country, and nearly all the business in the shops appeared to be
+done by the former. We peeped into some of the houses where the Chinese
+live, and they did not seem to care how much we looked at them. We saw
+one group that was quite interesting, in spite of the poverty of the
+habitation and the scarcity of furniture; there were five persons in
+all, or perhaps we should say eight, as there were three cats under the
+table that acted as though they were as good as anybody else. Two men
+and two children were at a table, and a woman was standing up behind
+them to see that everything was all right. On the table there was a
+small tub that contained stewed fish and some kind of vegetables, and
+there was a bowl for each one to eat from. They were better off than
+some other parties we saw at breakfast, who had only one bowl for the
+whole lot, and everybody helped himself with his chop-sticks.
+
+[Illustration: A CAB FOR TWO.]
+
+"We saw something that reminded us of Shanghai; it was nothing more nor
+less than a wheelbarrow, but, unlike the Shanghai one, it had no
+passengers. Wouldn't it be funny to see a wheelbarrow in America for
+carrying passengers, just as we have cabs and coaches? You must come to
+China for a sight like that, and also for a regular ride in a
+wheelbarrow, and you can have the consolation of knowing that it is very
+cheap and also very uncomfortable. The wheelbarrow has no springs, and
+so you get the benefit of every jolt, however small; and as the vehicle
+is somewhat weak in the joints, and the man who pushes it is far from
+powerful, you feel all the time as though you were liable to be spilled
+out. The wheel is large and clumsy, and the frame has a sort of rest in
+the centre, where you can put your arms. Two men can occupy one of these
+coaches, and they are very popular among the natives, but less so among
+the foreigners.
+
+"On our way back we wandered off into the forest of tropical plants that
+stood on each side of the road in many places, and suddenly came on a
+little village which was entirely concealed until we were within twenty
+yards of it. The natives like to hide their residences as much as they
+can, on account of the shade they get from the surrounding trees, and
+also to be undisturbed by too many visitors. The dogs barked at us, and
+if it had not been for some of the natives that called them off it is
+quite possible we should have been bitten. There were half a dozen
+children lying around in the dust, and as they were entirely naked, they
+did not seem to be afraid of soiling their clothes. The men and women
+were not heavily clothed, as the weather is hot, and they want to be as
+comfortable as possible. In one house a man was lying on a bench just
+inside the wide door-way, and a little girl was fanning him; the Doctor
+says the girl was undoubtedly a slave, and that she cost her owner not
+far from thirty dollars.
+
+"Children are bought and sold here the same as in China, and a good many
+of the foreigners are said to own slaves while they live in the country,
+but they do not try to carry them away. Slaves prefer foreign masters to
+native ones, as they are more likely to be kindly treated, and to
+receive their freedom in a few years.
+
+"Some of the houses in the village were well built, and raised a yard or
+so from the ground upon pillars of brick. The interior consists of three
+or four rooms, and the general appearance of the house is like a Chinese
+one. There is an ornamental framework carved in wood to support the
+roof, which is covered with thick tiles, and there is generally a
+veranda on each side of the door, where the master sleeps in the
+afternoon and lounges away a great deal of his time. We should call the
+people lazy if they were in America; but it is the custom of the country
+to be indolent, and perhaps they are not to blame. Very little will
+support a man, as he can gather fruit from the trees, and an acre of
+ground is all that he needs for maintaining a large family. The heat
+that prevails all the year round does not encourage activity, and a good
+many foreigners, who are very enterprising when they first come here,
+become as idle as the natives by the end of their second year in the
+country."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+A WONDERFUL TEMPLE.--RUINS OF NAGKON WAT AND ANGKOR.
+
+
+What with sight-seeing, writing letters to friends at home, and filling
+their note-books with information for future use, the boys had enough to
+occupy their time during their stay in Saigon. In the course of their
+studies of the country and its characteristics, they became interested
+in its ancient history, and were desirous of seeing some of the ruins
+that remain from the early days of Anam and Cambodia. But as the time at
+their disposal was too short, and the expense and difficulties of a
+journey to the interior would be very great, they were obliged to forego
+the pleasure they would derive from an actual visit to some of the most
+stupendous ruins in the world.
+
+[Illustration: CAMBODIAN FEMALE HEAD-DRESS. ANCIENT SCULPTURE.]
+
+But the Doctor came to their relief in a great measure by giving them a
+full account of the wonders they were unable to contemplate.
+
+"It is not generally known," said he, "that Cambodia contains the ruins
+of a temple that was greater in its time than the very famous one of
+Thebes in Egypt."
+
+Frank and Fred opened their eyes in astonishment, as they had always
+believed there was nothing in the world that could surpass the Egyptian
+temples of old.
+
+"I will describe them to you," he continued, "and make comparison
+between the work of the Egyptian builders and those of Cambodia. When I
+have finished, you will be able to judge which is the more magnificent.
+
+"The great temple I refer to in Cambodia is known as the Nagkon Wat.
+Wat, in the Malay language, means temple, and the place in question is
+designated by the name 'Nagkon.' The province where it is situated is
+really in the territory of Siam--as it was taken from Cambodia near the
+end of the last century and annexed to the rival kingdom. If you want to
+find the ruins on the map, you must look in about latitude 13° 30'
+north, and longitude 104° east. It is not known who built the temple, as
+the inscriptions on the stones are in a language that is not understood
+at the present day. The general belief is that it was erected twelve or
+fifteen hundred years ago, but the estimates of its age vary all the way
+from five hundred to two thousand years.
+
+"It is far more modern than the temples of ancient Egypt, and probably
+not nearly as ancient as some of the famous edifices of Syria. In course
+of time some one will be able to read the inscriptions, and then we will
+learn all about its age and the reasons for its erection."
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 1. Plan of Inner Temple at Nagkon.
+
+Fig. 2. Plan of area enclosed by outer wall of Nagkon Wat.]
+
+"Here is a map of the ruins as they exist to-day," said the Doctor. "You
+perceive that the general shape of the work is a square, and that there
+are altogether three squares, the smaller inside the greater."
+
+The boys looked at the map, and indicated that they observed the outline
+of the temple.
+
+"Well," continued Doctor Bronson, "the outer wall, which is not shown in
+the plan, is more than half a mile square; if you should undertake to
+walk around it you would have a promenade of nearly three miles.
+
+"Outside the wall there is a wide ditch that was evidently of
+considerable depth when first made, but it is filled in many places with
+weeds and trees, and there is a forest of palm-trees between the outer
+wall and the body of the temple.
+
+"The main entrance is by a causeway, which you see extending upward from
+the foot of the map. The whole length of this causeway, from its
+beginning beyond the outer wall to the entrance of the temple, is nearly
+two thousand feet, and more than half this distance is within the wall.
+The building itself, as you see it on the map, is oblong in shape, being
+eight hundred feet long by five hundred and ninety wide; it rises in
+three terraces to a central tower two hundred and fifty feet high, and
+there are four other towers at the corners of the inner temple that are
+each one hundred and fifty feet from the ground.
+
+[Illustration: UNFINISHED PILLARS.]
+
+"The causeway was paved with blocks of sandstone, and the edifice
+throughout is of the same material. All the stone for the work was
+brought from a quarry thirty miles away, and the transportation alone
+was an enormous affair. The blocks were brought in a rough state, and
+were not finished until they had been put in the positions where they
+were to remain. The temple was never completely finished, as there are
+several columns that remain just as they came from the quarry, and a
+careful observer can indicate the exact spot where the workman turned
+away from his labor. It is supposed that the stone was brought on boats
+in a canal, as there is no road that could have served for purposes of
+transit.
+
+[Illustration: COLUMNS IN THE TEMPLE.]
+
+"It is impossible to describe in detail all the halls, and corridors,
+and sculptured walls of this wonderful temple. There are several halls
+composed of rows of solid columns, like the great hall of the temple at
+Thebes. I remember standing astonished at Thebes as I looked at the
+great hall, with its one hundred and thirty-four columns, and learned
+that, originally, the temple contained nearly three hundred columns of
+different sizes. In the Cambodian temple of Nagkon Wat, one thousand
+five hundred and thirty two solid columns have been counted; and it is
+estimated that there are not less than six thousand columns in the
+entire mass of ruins in and around the temple. Most of these columns are
+made from single blocks of stone, and all of them are beautifully
+carved, just as the Egyptian ones are beautifully painted.
+
+[Illustration: SCULPTURES ON THE WALLS OF WAGKON WAT.]
+
+"It would not be at all difficult for a stranger to lose his way in
+Nagkon Wat, and wander for hours, unable to find an exit. He might
+spend days and days in the study of the beautiful sculptures that adorn
+the place; and when I tell you that the walls are covered with
+sculptures from one end of the temple to the other, and you remember the
+enormous size of the building, you can understand what a gigantic
+picture-gallery it is. The scenes represented are mostly from the Hindoo
+mythology; they illustrate battles and triumphal processions, sacrifices
+and festivals, and also the contests of some of the Hindoo deities with
+each other, and with mortals. There is one gallery alone that has half a
+mile of pictures cut in stone, and it is estimated that at least one
+hundred thousand human figures are engraved there. Here is a picture of
+some of them, and you may judge by it of the general excellence of the
+work throughout."
+
+The boys devoted several minutes to the contemplation of the photograph
+which the Doctor showed them. Frank remarked that the lightness of the
+wheels of the chariot would seem to indicate that it was made of metal,
+and consequently the ancient Cambodians must have been familiar with the
+use of iron or brass, perhaps both. The soldiers at the bottom of the
+picture were marching in a manner that denoted military discipline, but
+he could not make out the nature of their weapons. Certainly they were
+not rifles, as fire-arms were unknown in those days, and they did not
+seem to be spears or bows and arrows. The men were provided with
+shields, and in this respect their customs resembled those of many
+people of the present day.
+
+The Doctor explained that the ancient Cambodians made use of spears; but
+the principal weapons they employed were clubs, not altogether unlike
+those of the South Sea Islanders. Sometimes the club was made straight,
+and at others it was curved at the end farthest from the hand of its
+owner. It was wielded with the right hand, and the shield was carried in
+the left.
+
+Fred called attention to the fact that there was an elephant in the
+picture, and the man on his back was in the act of discharging an arrow
+from a bow. Therefore they must have employed bowmen, and evidently they
+were an important part of the service, as they were mounted on
+elephants.
+
+"You are quite right in your conclusions," Doctor Bronson responded;
+"the bowmen were considered of the highest importance, and their arrows
+often did great execution. The elephant had a prominent place in all the
+armies of the East, as you know from history, and the Cambodians were no
+exception to the rule. No Eastern king would consider his retinue
+complete without a large number of war-elephants in his stables."
+
+"There is a tradition," he continued, "that the king of ancient
+Cambodia had an army of half a million of men, with a hundred thousand
+elephants, which he could lead to war at a few days' notice. This is
+undoubtedly an exaggeration; but he probably had a good supply of these
+very useful animals, and his army presented a fine appearance when it
+was called to the field."
+
+Frank observed that the men did not wear armor, and, in fact, had very
+little clothing anyway. He wondered that this was the case, as the king
+was evidently very rich and powerful, and ought to have had his army
+equipped and dressed in the best possible style.
+
+Fred replied that armor, in a hot country like Cambodia, would be a very
+inconvenient thing for a soldier, and render him practically useless.
+Frank had not thought of that, and as soon as his attention was called
+to it he quite agreed with Fred.
+
+"A gentleman who visited the temple of Nagkon Wat," the Doctor remarked,
+"has given a very good account of the general character of the
+sculptures on the walls. I refer to Mr. Thomson, and cannot do better
+than quote a few lines from him.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW FROM THE CENTRAL TOWER OF THE TEMPLE.]
+
+"The bass-reliefs," says Mr. Thomson, "which are sculptured on the walls
+of the galleries of Nagkon Wat are extremely interesting. They are
+contained in eight compartments, measuring each from two hundred and
+fifty to three hundred feet in length, with a height of six and a half
+feet, and in a square space of six and a half feet the average number of
+men and animals depicted is sixty. The majority of these representations
+are executed with such care and skill, and are so well drawn, as to
+indicate that art was fostered, and reached a high state of perfection
+among the 'Khamen-te-Buran,' or ancient Cambodians.
+
+"The chief subjects represented are battle scenes, taken from the epic
+poems, Ramayana and Mahabarata--which the Siamese are said to have
+received from India about the fourth or fifth century. Disciplined
+forces are depicted marching to the field, and possessing distinct
+characteristics soon lost in the confusion of battle. In the eager faces
+and attitudes of the warriors, as they press forward past bands of
+musicians, we see that music then, as now, had its spirit-stirring
+influence. We also find humane actions represented--a group bending over
+a wounded comrade to extract an arrow, or remove him from the field.
+There are also the most animated scenes of bravery--soldiers saving the
+lives of their chiefs; chiefs bending over their plunging steeds, and
+measuring their prowess in single combat; and, finally, the victorious
+army quitting the field laden with spoil, and guarding the numerous
+captives with cavalry in front and rear.
+
+"Perhaps the most wonderful subject of all the bass reliefs is what the
+Siamese call the battle of 'Ramakean.' This is one of the leading
+incidents of the Ramayama, of which Coleman says, 'The Grecians had
+their Homer, to render imperishable the fame acquired by their glorious
+combats in the Trojan war; the Latins had Virgil, to sing the prowess of
+Æneas; and the Hindoos have their Valmac, to immortalize the deeds of
+Rama and his army of monkeys.' The Ramayama--one of the finest poems
+extant--describes the scenes of Rama's life, and the exploits of the
+contending foes.
+
+[Illustration: GALLERY OF SCULPTURES.]
+
+"In the sculptures of Nagkon Wat, many of the incidents of the life of
+Rama are depicted; such as his final triumph over the god Ravana, and
+the recovery of his wife Sita. The chief illustration of the poem,
+however, is the battle scene which ensues after the ape-god Hanuman had
+performed several of the feats which formed the every-day incidents of
+his life, such as the construction of what is now known as Adam's
+Bridge, between Ceylon and India. This he accomplished by a judicious
+selection of ten mountains, each measuring sixty-four miles in
+circumference; and being short of arms, but never of expedients, when
+conveying them to Ceylon, he poised one of them on the tip of his tail,
+another on his head, and with these formed his celebrated bridge, over
+which his army of apes passed to Lanka.
+
+"In another compartment the subject appears to be the second Avatar of
+Vishnu, where that god is represented as a tortoise supporting the
+earth, which is submerged in the waters. The four-armed Brama is seated
+above. A seven-headed snake is shown above the water, coiled around the
+earth, and extending over the entire length of the bass-relief. The gods
+on the right and the _dinytas_ on the left are seen contending for the
+serpent. Hanuman is pulling at the tail, while above a flight of angels
+are bearing a cable to bind the reptile after the conflict is over.
+
+"In another compartment we find various mechanical appliances that are
+in use to-day. There are double-handled saws; and there are knives,
+levers, wedges, pestles and mortars, and a number of other contrivances
+that are more or less familiar to us."
+
+The boys listened with much interest to the reading of the preceding
+account. When the Doctor concluded, Frank ventured to ask if the temple
+was in a good state of preservation, and whether it was in use at the
+present time.
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT TOWER OVERGROWN WITH POH-TREES.]
+
+"It has greatly decayed," replied Doctor Bronson; "but there are so many
+of its walls and galleries standing, that the most careless visitor
+cannot fail to be impressed with its grandeur, and be able to trace out
+every part of the original plan. In many places the weeds and grass and
+other vegetation are so luxuriant that the work of the architects is
+concealed, and can only be found by searching. There is one tree, called
+the 'poh,' that is a great destroyer of walls and stone floorings. The
+whole temple was constructed without the use of cement, and in many
+instances the junction of the stones is so perfect that only a slender
+line can be perceived. The roots of the poh-tree insinuate themselves
+into the smallest crevice; then they grow and expand, and by so doing
+they gradually force the stones apart. This tree has been of great
+injury to the temple we have been considering, and to many other
+edifices in these tropical countries of the East.
+
+[Illustration: HUTS OF THE PRIESTS.]
+
+"In reply to your second question, I can say that the temple is still
+used, though not to the extent it was in its early days. A few priests
+live there, and perform services at regular periods; they are supported
+by the contributions of the followers of Buddha, who visit the place,
+and by donations from the inhabitants of the country round there. They
+do not live in the temple itself, but in small huts erected inside the
+enclosure that surrounds the great building. These huts are of thatched
+grass, and stand on posts as a security against the snakes that abound
+in the neighborhood. They are shaded by the palm-trees that have grown
+up in what was once a clear space around the temple, and in hot
+afternoons their protection is very grateful."
+
+Fred inquired about the other ruins in Cambodia, and wished to know how
+extensive they were.
+
+"As to that," the Doctor explained, "I cannot speak positively, and I
+doubt if there is any one who can. About three miles from Nagkon Wat
+there are the ruins of a city which was known as Angkor, which was
+evidently a very important city in its day. It was the capital of
+Cambodia, and, according to the description of a Chinese official, who
+visited it in the year 1295, it was something remarkable. It was then in
+the height of its glory; but three hundred years later, when it was
+visited by a Portuguese missionary, it was almost in ruins, and had
+ceased to be of any consequence. Then there was another period of nearly
+three hundred years in which nothing was heard of or from Angkor; it was
+not till the year 1855 that any writer seems to have gone there, and as
+for the Cambodians themselves, they are sublimely ignorant of the
+history of this once great city.
+
+"In the year I last mentioned, M. Mouhot, a French explorer, passed
+through Cambodia and made a careful survey and description of the ruins.
+He subsequently died in the northern part of Siam, and it was feared
+that the result of his labors would be lost, but fortunately his journal
+was saved and has since been published. Since Mouhot's time several
+persons have written about the ruins, so that a fair amount of knowledge
+concerning them is accessible. But every year new remains are discovered
+among the trees of the thick forest, and it is difficult to say when
+all of the ancient walls and statues and temples will be brought to
+light."
+
+At the conclusion of the Doctor's remarks, a servant entered with the
+announcement that dinner was on the table. Thereupon the mental feast on
+the antiquities of Eastern Asia was abandoned for the more practical
+feast on the edible productions of the country. Frank thought that the
+dinner would receive a high compliment if it proved as enjoyable as
+their talk about Nagkon Wat and the ruins of Angkor--an opinion which
+Fred lost no time in sharing.
+
+[Illustration: STONE WITH ANCIENT SCULPTURES.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+CAMBODIA.--ITS CAPITAL AND KING.
+
+
+Having studied ancient Cambodia, Frank and Fred were desirous of
+learning something of the modern country of that name. At the hotel
+where they were stopping they found a gentleman who had recently been at
+Panompin, the Cambodian capital, and had spent sufficient time there to
+be able to give a good account of it. As soon as he found that his young
+acquaintances were anxious to hear about Cambodia, he promptly consented
+to enlighten them.
+
+He was at leisure one evening after dinner, and, by mutual consent, the
+party gathered on the veranda in front of the hotel, and an hour was
+pleasantly passed in conversation regarding the little-known country.
+
+[Illustration: A CAMBODIAN IDOL.]
+
+"If you think," said the gentleman, "that Panompin is a large city, as
+one naturally thinks of the capital of a country, you would be greatly
+disappointed if you went there.
+
+"Its population is not more than twenty or twenty-five thousand, and is
+made up of several nationalities. There are Siamese, Chinese, Anamese,
+and Manilla men among the inhabitants, as well as the native Cambodians,
+and there are no long streets of fine buildings, such as you would
+expect a capital to contain. It is situated on the banks of the Mesap, a
+small river of Cambodia that empties into the Mekong: the greater part
+of Panompin is on the right bank of the stream, but there is a small
+portion of it on the opposite shore, and another on an island near the
+junction of the Mesap with the Mekong. To locate it on the map, you
+must put your finger at about latitude 11° 30' north, and longitude 105°
+east, and if your map is a good one, you will find a large lake not far
+off.
+
+[Illustration: FISHING-VILLAGE ON LAKE THALYSAP.]
+
+"This is Lake Thalysap, and it is a body of water of no small
+importance. It is about ninety miles long, and varies from eight to
+twenty-five miles in width. It is very shallow except in a few places,
+and in the wet season the country around it is so flooded with water
+that the lake is then a hundred miles and more in length. There are many
+villages along the shores of the lake, and at all seasons of the year
+you can see whole fleets of boats going to and fro over the water. Great
+quantities of fish are caught in the lake, and those not intended to be
+eaten in the vicinity are dried or salted for export to other parts of
+Asia. There are also many fish caught for their oil; the villages along
+the lake make a considerable business by preparing this oil, and the
+stench is often so great that your nose will tell you the location of a
+village before your eyes do.
+
+"In the lower part the lake narrows steadily until it forms a river, and
+this river is the Mesap, which I have mentioned to you; consequently you
+have only to follow the current to come to Panompin. It has only been
+the capital within the last ten years; until that time the seat of
+government was at Oodong, and the change was made on account of the
+supposed unhealthiness of the latter place. The real fact is that
+Panompin is better situated for commercial and political purposes, as it
+is at the end of the great lake, and close by the River Mekong. If you
+could see the two places you would understand it at once.
+
+"You can have little idea of the quantity of fish caught in the lake and
+river till you see them. Lots of towns and villages are entirely
+occupied with the fish business, and some of these towns contain as many
+as four hundred houses, though the most of them are smaller. Some of the
+fish are eight or ten feet long and three feet thick, and their bodies
+are so full of oil that one of them is a good prize to his captor. It is
+very funny to see a native struggling with one of these large fish; and
+sometimes it requires a hard fight to bring him in. I have seen a man
+dragged into the water and nearly drowned; and though I enjoyed the
+performance, I presume it was no fun at all to the man.
+
+[Illustration: PANOMPIN, THE CAPITAL OF CAMBODIA.]
+
+"Panompin consists, for the most part, of bamboo huts, without much
+pretence of architecture, and the streets are so bad that though the
+king has several carriages he rarely rides out. The principal street is
+about three miles in length, and somewhat irregular in its course, as
+though the instruments of the surveyor who laid it out were not in the
+best order. There are a few stores and shops of brick, and there are
+some temples whose spires rise above the buildings that surround them.
+The palace of the king is the finest edifice in the place; it was
+designed by a French architect, and the construction was supervised by
+him, but all the actual work was performed by natives. It is like a fine
+dwelling-house in the neighborhood of New York or London, and the
+internal arrangement of the rooms is entirely European in character. The
+palace has some large halls for receptions, and it has dining-rooms,
+sleeping-rooms, and all the usual apartments that a dwelling should
+contain. The king lives there; and, as he rarely goes out, he determined
+to have a residence as comfortable as could be made. He is very proud of
+it; and if you should visit him he would consider it a great politeness
+if you admired it all you possibly could--and a little more.
+
+"Not far from the king's palace is the barrack, where the French troops
+are quartered for the preservation of order, and to see that the king
+does nothing that would be against the interest of his protectors. There
+is generally a French gun-boat or two lying in the river opposite the
+barracks, and in the river farther down there are two or three small
+gun-boats and steamers that belong to the king, and are kept near his
+palace.
+
+"As the city has so much dependence on the river for its support, there
+is a tendency on the part of the inhabitants to crowd near the stream;
+consequently Panompin stretches about three miles along the bank, and
+less than half a mile away from it. This is where you find the street I
+have mentioned; it is not more than thirty feet wide, and paved with a
+concrete mass of broken brick mixed with sand. You find a straggling
+line of low huts of bamboo or other light material along the whole
+length of this street, and in the busy hours of the day the assemblage
+of people is pretty dense. The Chinese are great gamblers, and a goodly
+portion of these huts are gambling-shops, whose proprietors pay a
+license for the privilege of running the business. In several of these
+Eastern countries the money received from gambling forms an important
+item in the public revenue; and if it should be stopped, the treasury
+would suffer in consequence."
+
+"What an outrageous piece of business!" said Frank. "To think that a
+government would derive any part of its revenue from gambling!"
+
+"But remember we are in Asia," Fred remarked; "and we can't expect these
+people to be civilized."
+
+The Doctor smiled at this outburst of indignation, and when it was ended
+he reminded the boys that several governments of Europe did exactly what
+they thought so reprehensible when done by Asiatics.
+
+"Not governments of any consequence," said Frank.
+
+"Well," answered the Doctor, "I hardly think we could say that. Italy,
+Spain, and Austria are certainly of some consequence, and in all of them
+the lottery, which is a form of gambling, is a government institution.
+It is only a few years ago that the gambling-tables at Baden-Baden, in
+Germany, were stopped, and there was serious talk, at the time, of
+allowing the gamblers that were suppressed in Germany to open their
+business at Geneva, in Switzerland.
+
+"And furthermore," Doctor Bronson continued, "we cannot throw many
+stones at the Chinese and other Eastern people for gambling when we have
+so much of it in America. In all our large cities the vice exists in
+defiance of the law; and in some of the States, particularly in Kentucky
+and Louisiana, the lottery is a recognized institution, and the drawings
+are supervised by officers appointed by the governor."
+
+Frank and Fred both declared that this information was new to them, and
+hereafter they would not be too hasty to condemn other countries, lest
+they might find that the thing they objected to prevailed in their own.
+
+The description of Panompin was resumed:
+
+"There are some manufactures in the Cambodian capital," their informant
+continued, "but they are not numerous. The people are famous for their
+manufactures of silk, which is an important article of export, both in
+its raw and in its finished state. They are skilful workers of gold and
+silver, and I could show you some exquisite specimens of their
+production. Wait a moment and I will bring one."
+
+[Illustration: SPECIMEN OF CAMBODIAN GOLD-WORK.]
+
+He went to his room, which was situated just off the veranda, and
+returned in a few moments with a small box resembling a flattened
+orange, or, more properly, a melon. The boys took it to the light, and
+examined it with care.
+
+The gold, as well as the workmanship, was Cambodian; some of it was the
+natural color of the metal, and other parts were stained to various
+degrees of redness. On the top there was a cluster of leaves, and the
+end of the stem contained a topaz, which had been purposely left
+unfinished.
+
+The leaves were in fine filigree, and some of the wires were so delicate
+that they resembled golden hairs. The whole surface of the box was
+covered with flowers and leaves in the most tasteful designs; and both
+the boys were of opinion that the jewellers of New York would not find
+it easy to imitate this production of the Asiatic barbarians.
+
+"The king has a fine collection of these things," the gentleman
+continued, "and he generally gives one of them to any stranger of
+importance who visits him. It is lucky for his treasury that it is not
+easy to go to Panompin, as otherwise he might find these presents a
+serious expense.
+
+[Illustration: THE KING OF CAMBODIA.]
+
+"And if you wish to know about the king, here is his photograph. You
+perceive that it is taken in European dress, which he wears on grand
+occasions, and has adopted since the French Protectorate was established
+in Cambodia. He is an amiable gentleman of pleasing manners, and makes
+an agreeable impression on those who come in contact with him. He has
+quite a collection of English and French books, maps, and albums, and is
+fond of showing them; and he has a fine lot of Japanese and Chinese
+vases--enough to stock a fair-sized museum. Then he has European clocks,
+music-boxes, and the like; and he has a billiard-table, on which he
+plays very well. He also has a piano, but those who have heard him
+perform on it say that he is better at billiards than at music.
+
+"The carpets, furniture, and other adornments of his palace are mostly
+from Europe, but he has some fine specimens of native embroidery that
+are fully equal to any of his foreign importations. He sleeps in a bed
+of European manufacture, and the netting that protects him from
+mosquitoes is from an English or French loom. He has travelled to
+Hong-kong and Shanghai, where he spent much time in learning all he
+could about the productions of the western part of the world, and, on
+his return, he endeavored to give his people the benefit of his
+knowledge. He is much liked by his people; and, on the whole, they could
+hardly hope for a better ruler.
+
+[Illustration: QUEEN OF CAMBODIA AND ROYAL CHILDREN.]
+
+"The Queen of Cambodia, like most of the Asiatic queens, is rarely seen
+in public. She has not adopted the foreign dress, but adheres to the
+_panoung_, a sort of loose wrapper falling a little below the knees, and
+gathered at the centre. Here is her portrait, with two of the royal
+children; and you will observe that she wears heavy anklets of gold, and
+does not think it necessary to cover her feet with shoes. Her hair is
+cut in the national way, and sticks up in the centre like a shoe-brush.
+Great importance is attached to the ceremony of hair-cutting when a
+royal child reaches the age of seven years, and it is generally
+performed by the king himself in the presence of all the dignitaries of
+the land."
+
+"What a funny idea!" said Fred, "that the king shall act as a barber,
+and handle the shears over the head of one of his children. I wonder if
+he is as skilful as a regular professional?"
+
+"As to that," was the reply, "I presume it does not make much
+difference. He only takes off a lock or two, and the hair-dresser of the
+palace does the rest. You will hear more of this curious ceremony when
+you get to Siam, as the custom prevails there no less than in Cambodia.
+
+"In Panompin there is an artificial mound, which is called for
+politeness' sake a mountain, where the hair-cutting ceremony is
+performed. It stands near the palace, and is as high as the building
+itself. It is built partly of earth and partly of bamboo, and the sides
+are colored so as to represent stone, silver, and gold, the last color
+being near the top. A winding path leads up to a platform on the summit,
+and here the king stands while he goes through the solemnities of the
+occasion. The path goes through tunnels and arches, and occasional
+grottoes and valleys, and the whole structure is intended to represent a
+mountain in miniature. The platform is a favorite resort of the king in
+the evening, as the air is generally cooler there than on the ground
+below, and not infrequently he meets his ministers on the top of the
+mountain to discuss matters of public importance.
+
+"But it is getting late, and I think I have told you as much about
+Panompin and the King of Cambodia as you will be likely to remember. So
+I will say good-night."
+
+The boys thanked the gentleman for his kindness, and the Doctor added
+his acknowledgments to theirs. Then the party separated.
+
+Frank and Fred sat up till their eyelids were heavy to take down in
+writing a summary of what they had heard. They realized the necessity of
+making their notes at once, through fear that if they waited till the
+next day something would be forgotten. Frank wrote the description of
+Panompin and the country generally; and Fred devoted himself to the
+royal family, the scenes in the palace, and the curious story of cutting
+the youthful hair. Thus the labor was divided to the satisfaction of
+both.
+
+In the morning the Doctor informed them that they were to depart that
+day for Siam. The steamer _Danube_ had arrived, and her captain had been
+early on shore to arrange for the delivery of what cargo was to be
+landed, and to receive what he should take away. He did not expect to be
+long in port, and they must be prepared to leave at a few hours' notice.
+
+Their baggage was put in readiness, and the rest of the time on shore
+was devoted to the preparation of letters for America. The French mail
+steamer from Singapore was due that day on her way to Hong-kong and
+Shanghai, and when she left she carried a goodly budget from the boys.
+In due time the letters were safely delivered; and for a fortnight there
+was little else talked of in the Bassett and Bronson households than the
+adventures of Frank and Fred, in Cochin China.
+
+[Illustration: THE HARBOR OF OODONG, CAMBODIA.]
+
+The boys made good use of their time up to the last moment. Fred found a
+copy of the book of M. Mouhot, who has been mentioned heretofore, and
+the last hour of his stay in Saigon was devoted to writing out the
+description which that gentleman gives of Oodong, the former capital of
+Cambodia. The visit of M. Mouhot was made in 1860, and is thus
+described:
+
+"On approaching the capital the prospect becomes more diversified; we
+passed fields of rice, cottages encircled by fruit-gardens, and
+country-houses belonging to the Cambodian aristocracy, who come here in
+the evening for the sake of breathing a purer air than they can find in
+the city. As we drew closer to the gates, I found the place to be
+protected by a palisade three metres high--about ten feet. The houses
+are built of bamboo or planks, and the market-place occupied by the
+Chinese is as dirty as all the others of which I have made mention. The
+largest street, or, rather, the only one, is about a mile in length; and
+in the environs reside the agriculturists, as well as the mandarins and
+other government officers. The entire population numbers about twelve
+thousand.
+
+[Illustration: A GIRL OF OODONG.]
+
+"The many Cambodians living in the immediate vicinity, and still more
+the number of chiefs who resort to Oodong for business or pleasure, or
+are passing through it on their way from one province to another,
+contribute to give animation to the capital. Every moment I met
+mandarins, either borne in litters or on foot, followed by a crowd of
+slaves carrying various articles; some yellow or scarlet parasols, more
+or less according to the rank of the person; others, boxes with betel. I
+also encountered horsemen mounted on pretty, spirited animals, richly
+caparisoned and covered with bells, ambling along, while a troop of
+attendants, covered with dust and sweltering with heat, ran after them.
+Light carts, drawn by a couple of small oxen, trotting along rapidly and
+noiselessly, were here and there to be seen. Occasionally a large
+elephant passed majestically by. On this side were numerous processions
+to the pagoda, marching to the sound of music; there, again, was a band
+of ecclesiastics in single file, seeking alms, draped in their yellow
+cloaks, and with the holy vessels on their backs."
+
+[Illustration: HOUSE IN THE SUBURBS.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+DEPARTURE FROM SAIGON.--VISITING A CHINESE JUNK.
+
+
+When the party went on board the _Danube_, the boys found that they were
+not to have the comforts of the great steamers that had brought them
+from Shanghai and Hong-kong. The _Danube_ was a small ship, and her
+builders did not design her for carrying passengers; she was constructed
+in England, and, after she arrived in China, a little cabin was built on
+her deck, so that a couple of passengers might have a room to share
+between them. The dining-saloon was about six feet long, and as many
+wide, and its cushioned sofas could be used as beds. Consequently, she
+could carry four passengers with comparative comfort, and, in
+emergencies, another could sleep on the table when the sea was smooth,
+or under it in rough weather. The captain was a jolly Englishman, who
+gave a hearty greeting to the American strangers, and before they had
+been ten minutes on board they felt quite at home. Their heavy baggage
+was sent below, and there was plenty of room under the bunks in the
+cabin for stowing all the articles they needed on the voyage.
+
+The _Danube_ moved from her anchorage and turned her prow down the
+river.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Frank, "now we are off for Siam."
+
+Fred joined his cousin in raising a cheer.
+
+"Don't be in too great a hurry," said Captain Clanchy, "we are not off
+yet. We are to go along-side that Chinese junk you see just at the bend
+of the river, and will take some cargo from her. We shall probably be
+two or three hours about it, and then we will be off for Siam."
+
+Frank's face fell at this intelligence, but only for a moment.
+
+"We shall have an opportunity of seeing a junk and going on board of
+it," he remarked, "and that will repay us a dozen times over for the
+delay."
+
+Fred was equally happy at the prospect, and both the boys were impatient
+to be on the deck of the strange craft.
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE JUNK.]
+
+In a little while their wishes were gratified, and they were able to
+step from the _Danube_ to the great junk. Before they did so Fred
+suggested that he had just thought why these Chinese ships were called
+junks.
+
+"Why is it?" Frank asked.
+
+"Because," was the reply, "you can see from the shape of them how they
+are built. The Chinese make a ship a mile or two long, and when they
+want one they cut off a junk, or chunk, just as you like to spell it.
+Then they stick masts into it, and it is ready to sail away. It is
+square at both ends, and resembles a chunk out of a log more than
+anything else."
+
+There was a laugh all around at Fred's humorous description of the
+Chinese process of shipbuilding, and by the time the joke had ceased to
+amuse they were ready to go over the side. Captain Clanchy accompanied
+them, and pointed out several objects of interest that otherwise might
+have escaped their attention.
+
+"You observe," said the captain, "that the deck of the junk is lumbered
+up with all sorts of stuff. How the men manage to get around is a
+mystery, and it is a wonder that they can keep the craft on her course
+with everything in such confusion."
+
+The boys were equally puzzled, and thought there must be a good many
+junks lost every year. The captain said such was the case; but, on the
+other hand, there was such a great number of these craft that a few more
+or less made no perceptible difference.
+
+"Except to the owners and the men that are lost with the junks,"
+remarked the Doctor. "It must be a very serious affair to them."
+
+"Sometimes these junks last to a great age," the captain continued.
+"There are junks now navigating the China seas that are more than a
+hundred years old; at least so I am informed."
+
+"How long have the Chinese had this model for their ships?" Frank asked
+of the captain.
+
+"Nobody knows how long," was the reply. "We are ignorant of the early
+history of China, and can only guess at many things. But we have reason
+to believe that the Chinese were the first people that ever built ships
+to be propelled by the force of the wind alone. They began with the
+model they now have, and have stuck to it ever since."
+
+"Where is the captain of this junk?" Fred asked. "I would like to see
+him."
+
+"She has probably half a dozen captains," Clanchy replied; "perhaps a
+dozen."
+
+"A dozen captains! how can that be?"
+
+"They build these junks in compartments," said the Doctor, in response
+to Fred's inquiry, "and each compartment has a captain."
+
+[Illustration: OUTLINE OF MODERN SHIP, SHOWING COMPARTMENTS.]
+
+"I thought the plan of building ships in compartments was of modern
+invention, and had only been applied to ocean steamers in the last
+thirty years. Seems to me I heard so," Frank remarked.
+
+"In one sense you are right," the Doctor answered; "it is only about
+thirty years ago that the English and American ship-builders began the
+adoption of this principle. Nearly all the great steamers now navigating
+the Atlantic Ocean are divided into compartments--generally five or six;
+and even should two of these spaces become filled with water from any
+accident, the ship will continue to float. Several steamers have been
+saved after collision with icebergs, or with other ships, by reason of
+being thus constructed. Had they been of the old model, they would have
+infallibly gone to the bottom.
+
+"But the Chinese are ahead of us, as they have built their ships in this
+way for centuries. Six hundred years ago Marco Polo visited the East,
+and on his return wrote a book about the country and people. He
+describes the compartment ships that the Chinese built at that time, and
+explains their advantages. The wonder is that it took the European
+builders so long to copy the idea. Not till well into this century was
+it adopted."
+
+"But how about the half-dozen captains?" Fred asked. "Why should a ship
+like this have so many, when the _Great Eastern_ or the _City of
+Chester_ can get along with one?"
+
+"The way of it is," said Captain Clanchy, "that the junk has a lot of
+compartments--anyway from six to a dozen--and each compartment is let
+out to a merchant. He is captain of that compartment and all it
+contains; and if there are ten compartments, he is one-tenth captain of
+the whole. The crew is under a chief who gets his orders from the
+merchants, and they have a great deal to say as to how the junk shall
+sail. Sometimes they want her to go to half a dozen places at once, and
+in as many directions, and not infrequently they get into frightful rows
+about it. Don't understand me to say that this is always the case, or
+anything like it, as a good many of their junks are managed pretty much
+as an English ship would be. We will see how the matter stands on this
+one."
+
+A little inquiry revealed the fact that there were two men on board
+equally interested in the cargo, and with equal authority over the
+movements of the junk. But they were evidently working in perfect
+harmony, and so there was no chance that the strangers would be
+compelled to witness a row among the commanders.
+
+[Illustration: A JUNK SAILOR AT BREAKFAST.]
+
+The boys found the deck of the junk covered with a very complex
+arrangement of ropes, windlasses, tubs, and baskets. Some of the crew
+were sitting around waiting for orders, and others were at breakfast. As
+soon as the _Danube_ was made fast along-side, they were set at work to
+remove the cargo from one of the compartments and transfer it to the
+steamer. The steamer's crew assisted in the work, and in a little while
+it was accomplished. During this time the great sail of matting was
+flapping against the mast, and the ropes were swinging as though they
+would become hopelessly entangled. But no accident happened; and when
+the _Danube_ had moved away, the sails were run up and the junk began to
+push slowly through the water. This gave the boys an opportunity to see
+her general shape and mode of construction.
+
+They found that she was built of heavy planking, and that many of the
+planks retained the shape of the tree from which they were taken. These
+planks, as they were told, were fastened together by wooden tree-nails;
+in fact, there was very little metal about the fastenings; and, as a
+further security, there were a good many lashings of ropes to hold the
+outside timbers to the frame. The stern rose high out of water, and was
+cut off square, and the same was the case with the bow. The funniest
+thing was a pair of great staring eyes, to enable the ship to see her
+way, and to frighten off the demons that infest the waters and have a
+particular hostility to sailors. Every boat and ship of Chinese
+construction is provided with eyes, and the larger the eye the better
+the craft can take care of herself.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE RIVER BOAT.]
+
+The junk in question had three masts, and there was a gay assortment of
+flags and streamers flying from them. The mat sails were held up by a
+great many ropes--there being a rope to each section where the bamboo
+poles ran across. There was a great advantage in this arrangement, as it
+enabled the sailors to shorten sail in case of an increasing wind by
+simply lowering it till one of the sections could be taken in. And when
+they wish to furl the sail altogether, they have only to let go and the
+whole thing comes "down with a run." The construction of the sails can
+be better understood by reference to the picture here presented of a
+boat such as the Chinese use for river navigation.
+
+As the _Danube_ steamed on down the river and out to sea the
+conversation between the boys and Doctor Bronson turned very naturally
+upon ships and their peculiarities.
+
+[Illustration: SHIP OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.]
+
+"The difference between us and the Chinese in the matter of ships is
+that we have progressed, while they have remained stationary. Their
+junks are of the same pattern as they were a thousand years ago, while
+we are making changes every year. Look at a picture of a European ship
+of the fourteenth century, and see how closely it resembles a Chinese
+junk. Both the bow and stern are very far out of water, and the
+arrangement of the sails is quite Chinese in its character. About the
+year 1520 the English built a war ship which they called the _The Great
+Harry_, and it was considered a wonderful specimen of naval
+architecture. Who would venture to sail in her now, and how long would
+it take a war steamer of 1880 to send her to the bottom? Compare _The
+Great Harry_ with the _Tennessee_, which is one of the recent American
+ships, and observe the progress that has been made in three centuries
+and a half. The bow and stern have been brought to a level, and the
+shape of the hull is such that the ship glides through the water
+instead of ploughing over it. Navigators have found that the ship that
+makes the least 'fuss' while in motion is the best, and they have
+devoted a great deal of study to finding the proper shape for the least
+resistance."
+
+[Illustration: "THE GREAT HARRY."]
+
+"Yes," remarked Captain Clanchy, who was standing near, "and it took
+them a long time to find that the shape of the stern of a ship was
+almost as important as that of her bow, in regulating her speed. A
+square stern makes a great boiling and depression in the water, while a
+long tapering stern allows the water to close silently and with the
+least possible resistance. You can easily illustrate what I mean by
+taking a stick of wood that is square at both ends, and tying a string
+to it so as to drag it endwise in the water. You find that it moves
+easier when the forward end is sharpened than when both ends are blunt,
+and then if you sharpen both of them you find it moves still more
+easily. This is what the naval architects were a long time discovering,
+and the most of them are wondering why they did not think of it before."
+
+[Illustration: THE "TENNESSEE."]
+
+"Then, too," said Doctor Bronson, "it was found that by lengthening a
+ship of the old model a great deal was gained. This has been done in the
+last ten or fifteen years, and many of the steamers now running between
+New York and England have been lengthened in this way. They have not
+been built on at either end, but have been cut in two in the centre, and
+had a new section built in. A ship to be lengthened would be placed on
+the ways, and then cut open in the middle. If she was to be extended a
+hundred feet, the two ends would be drawn apart for that distance, and
+then the space would be filled up. She might be two hundred feet long
+when taken on the ways, and without any change of bow or stern her
+length would be increased to three hundred feet. With this addition to
+her tonnage she is much more valuable than before, and her original
+speed can be maintained with only a small addition to her power. Then
+there have recently been great improvements in the construction of
+engines; and I think it safe to say that what with changes in length,
+engines, and some other things, a ship of a given number of tons can be
+run for half the expense that was required twenty years ago. Steam
+navigation is now so economical that it is rapidly driving sailing
+vessels from the ocean. The number of sailing ships on long voyages is
+diminishing every year, and that of steamers is increasing."
+
+"What is the greatest speed that steamers can make nowadays, with all
+these improvements?" Frank asked.
+
+"There is much dispute," Doctor Bronson replied, "over the performances
+of ships at sea, and it is not at all easy to get at the actual facts.
+Take the great steam lines between New York and Liverpool, and there are
+two or three of them that claim to have done better than any of their
+rivals. The managers of the White Star Line can show that their ships
+have made the voyage quicker than the Inman steamers, and the Inman
+managers can as readily prove that their ships have surpassed all
+others. There are several steamers afloat that have made more than four
+hundred miles in twenty-four hours, but they can only do it when all the
+circumstances are favorable. There are many men who believe that
+steamers will be built before the end of this century that will make
+five hundred miles in a day, and if we judge of the future by the past,
+I see no reason to doubt that the feat will be accomplished. We may yet
+come to the speed of a railway train on the water, and more than one
+inventor believes that he can do so. The prediction that we will yet
+cross the Atlantic in three days is no wilder than would have been the
+prediction, at the beginning of this century, that we could travel on
+land or sea at our present rate, and that intelligence could be flashed
+along a wire in a few seconds of time from one end of the world to the
+other. The railway, the ocean steamer, the telegraph, the telephone,
+and many other things that seem almost commonplace to us, would have
+been regarded as the emanations of a crazy brain a hundred years ago."
+
+"Perhaps," said Fred, "the year 3000 may find us travelling in the air
+as freely as we now travel on land."
+
+[Illustration: THE PUBLIC HIGHWAY OF THE FUTURE.]
+
+"Not at all impossible," the Doctor answered. "We, or our descendants,
+may be able to go through the air at will, and show the birds that we
+can do as much as they can. Not long ago I was reading a sketch which
+was supposed to be written a thousand years hence. The writer describes
+his travels, and gives a picture of the public highway. An omnibus
+supported by balloons, and drawn by a pair of them--harnessed as we
+would harness horses--is represented on its way through the air. The
+driver is on his box and the conductor at the door, while the passengers
+are looking out of the windows. A bird, who has doubtless become
+thoroughly familiar with the aërial craft, has seized the hat of a
+passenger and flies away with it, and the victim of the theft is vainly
+stretching his hands towards his property. Balloons are sailing through
+the air, and in one a man is seated, who is evidently out for a day's
+sport. He has a rod and line, and is industriously occupied in birding,
+just as one might engage in fishing from the side of a boat. A string of
+birds hangs from the seat of his conveyance, and he is in the act of
+taking a fresh prize at the end of his line.
+
+[Illustration: THE BOMB FERRY.]
+
+"There is another picture representing the ferry of the future. It
+consists of an enormous mortar, from which a couple of bombs have been
+fired; they are connected by a chain, and each bomb is large enough to
+contain several persons. The passengers are supposed to be quite
+comfortable, and to be whizzed through the air at the speed of a
+cannon-shot."
+
+"But, of course, such a thing is impossible," said Fred; "nobody could
+stand it to be shot through a tube at that rate."
+
+"But something very much like it has been proposed in all seriousness; a
+few years ago an inventor in New York had a scheme for a line of tube
+four or five feet in diameter, and extending to the principal cities of
+the land. His cars were to consist of hollow globes or spheres, and they
+were to be propelled at a very rapid rate by exhausting the air in front
+of them. His plan was regarded as quite visionary, but it is not at all
+impossible that it may yet come into use. Small pneumatic tubes are in
+successful operation for the transmission of letters and little parcels;
+and in London there is a tube four feet in diameter from the General
+Post-office to a railway station more than two miles away. The mail-bags
+are transported through this tube, and on several occasions men have
+taken their places in the carriages and enjoyed the sensation of this
+novel mode of travel."
+
+[Illustration: MOONLIGHT AT SEA IN THE TROPICS.]
+
+The steamer held her tortuous way down the Mekong, and at length she
+passed the light-house and went out to sea. The weather was delightful,
+though a trifle warm, and the three passengers found the cabin
+oppressive at times on account of the closeness of the atmosphere. A
+good deal of their time was passed on deck both by day and by night,
+and, as the moon was then at the full, the night on deck was thoroughly
+enjoyable. Occasionally they were joined by the captain, and, as he
+possessed a good fund of marine stories, the boys picked up a great deal
+of information of a varied character. As they were bound for Siam, they
+overhauled their trunks for all the books they possessed on that
+country, and happily they found several volumes in the captain's library
+that were of use to them. Among them was the account of Marco Polo and
+his travels in the East. What our friends found in the work in question
+we will reserve for the next chapter.
+
+[Illustration: A STORY OF THE SEA.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE WONDERFUL STORY OF MARCO POLO.
+
+
+[Illustration: MARCO POLO.]
+
+"What do you make out of Marco Polo's book?" said the Doctor to the
+boys, after they had devoted a sufficient time to its perusal.
+
+"We find it very interesting," Frank replied. "The style is quaint, and
+the information it contains is curious. Evidently it is a true story,
+and the man must have actually gone over the ground he describes, or it
+would never be so accurate."
+
+"It is some time since I read it," responded Doctor Bronson, "and
+perhaps you had best tell me about it. By so doing you will refresh my
+memory, and at the same time fix the information in your own minds."
+
+Thus encouraged, the boys proceeded to tell the story of Marco Polo to
+Doctor Bronson, just as though he had never heard it. The Doctor was a
+patient listener, and both Frank and Fred showed, by the completeness of
+their account, that they had thoroughly read the book.
+
+"To begin with," said Frank, "Marco Polo was a Venetian adventurer. His
+father was named Nicolo Polo, and he--Marco--had an uncle named Maffeo.
+Marco was born in the year 1254, and six years later his father and
+uncle started on a journey to Constantinople and the southern part of
+Russia. They were merchants, and their business carried them into
+Central Asia, and then to Cathay, where they spent some time with the
+khan, or emperor, of that country."
+
+"And what is Cathay?" said Dr. Bronson, with a smile.
+
+"Cathay is the ancient name for China," Fred answered, "and even to-day
+it is sometimes called so. Do you remember how Tennyson, in one of his
+poems, says,
+
+ "'Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay;'
+
+"and I am sure you once told me that the Russian name of China is
+'Kitie,' with the accent on the last syllable. That is pretty near the
+sound of Cathay, and undoubtedly came from it."
+
+"Quite correct," the Doctor responded; "you have a good memory both for
+facts and poetry."
+
+"Kublai-Khan, the Emperor of Cathay," Frank continued, "had never before
+seen a gentleman from Europe. He was delighted with the Venetians, and
+greatly interested in the stories they told him about Europe and its
+countries and customs. How long they remained there we do not know, but
+it is certain that the emperor, Kublai-Khan, determined to send them as
+ambassadors to the Pope, who was then the greatest monarch of Europe.
+Accordingly, he wrote letters to the Pope asking him to send a large
+number of educated missionaries to Cathay to convert the people to
+Christianity. These he intrusted to the two Polos, and sent with them an
+officer of his own court.
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT KHAN DELIVERING A TABLET TO THE ELDER POLO
+BROTHERS.
+
+(From a Miniature of the Fourteenth Century.)]
+
+"Before they started on their mission he gave them a golden tablet, upon
+which there was inscribed an order for them to receive everything they
+might desire for their comfort and convenience in the countries through
+which they might pass; and his last order to them was 'to bring back to
+him some oil of the lamp which burns on the sepulchre of our Lord at
+Jerusalem.' On the road the Tartar prince who accompanied them fell
+sick, and they were obliged to leave him behind. If the truth were
+known, it is quite probable he did not wish to make the journey, and was
+glad of an excuse for avoiding it.
+
+[Illustration: ARMS OF THE POLO FAMILY.]
+
+"In 1269 the brothel's arrived at Acre, in Palestine, and found that the
+Pope, Clement IV., had died the year before, and no new one had been
+chosen. So they went to Venice to see how matters stood in that city,
+and to get some news of their families. Nicolo found that his wife had
+died during his absence, and his son Marco was a fine youth of fifteen
+years.
+
+"They waited at Venice for two years; but the College of Cardinals could
+not agree on a new Pope, and consequently the Church was without any
+head to whom they could deliver their letters. Fearing that the Great
+Khan would be displeased at their long absence, and believe them
+faithless to their trust, they determined to return to him and explain
+the state of affairs. Accordingly, they started in 1271, taking young
+Marco with them, and in due time were once more at Acre. Before they
+left the coast for the interior, they learned that a new Pope had been
+chosen. The man on whom the choice fell was then in Syria, and so they
+were able to carry out the khan's commission, and get a reply. But he
+was only able to give them two priests to accompany them to Cathay, and
+these soon found a reason for declining to go to the strange land. So
+the three Polos set out alone for the dominions of the Great Khan.
+
+[Illustration: NICOLO POLO, FATHER OF MARCO.]
+
+"With the letters, presents from the Pope to the khan, and the holy oil
+from Jerusalem, they took the route by Sivas, Mosul, and Bagdad to
+Hormuz, where they turned north and went through Bokhara, Persia, and
+by way of Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khoten. Then they went to the desert of
+Gobi, and, after crossing it, reached the territories of the khan near
+the great wall of China. They had been three years and a half on the
+journey, and the date of their arrival at the khan's court is supposed
+to be 1275.
+
+"The khan was greatly pleased to see them, and he was especially
+delighted with young Marco, to whom he seemed to take very kindly.
+Marco, in his turn, sought to win the favor of the emperor by making
+himself as useful as possible; he studied the Oriental languages, and in
+a little while he could speak and write no less than four of them.
+
+"The emperor soon began to employ him in the public service, and he
+acquitted himself so well that he was sent in charge of missions to
+distant countries. His first mission was to the province of Yunnan, and
+in going there he was obliged to pass through several other provinces.
+He had noticed, during his stay at court, that the emperor was very fond
+of hearing about strange countries and their manners and customs, and so
+he took good care to bring back as much information as possible. The
+khan complimented him for his learning, and found him a great contrast
+to the commissioners, who could never tell anything except the business
+on which they had gone.
+
+"We don't know much about the details of his employment while he was at
+the court of the emperor," said Frank, "but we are told that he was for
+three years governor of the great city of Yangtchoo; and we also learn
+that he was in Tangut for a year or more, and that he went on missions
+to Mongolia, to Cochin China, and other regions, and commanded
+expeditions to the Indian seas. What his father and uncle were doing all
+this time we do not know, except that the evidence shows they were
+making themselves rich. Perhaps they were able to obtain good contracts
+through the influence of Marco; and if they could get a monopoly of
+government contracts for a few years, they would have no difficulty in
+piling up a large fortune.
+
+"Thus they remained at the court of the khan for eleven years, and
+by-and-by they wanted to go home and enjoy their wealth. But the khan
+would not listen to it, and perhaps they would never have been heard of
+again if it had not been for an accident.
+
+"Arghun-Khan of Persia, a great-nephew of Kublai-Khan, had lost his
+wife, and her dying injunction was that her place should be filled by a
+lady of her own kin--the Mongol tribe of Bayaut. An embassy came to
+Kublai's court with the request, and the choice fell on Lady Kukachin,
+who is described as a most beautiful woman. The overland road to Persia
+was considered dangerous, and it was determined to send her by sea.
+Accordingly, the khan fitted out an expedition in fine style, and, as
+the Venetians were well acquainted with navigation, while the Tartars
+were ignorant of it, the khan concluded to send the Polos with the
+fleet. He was reluctant to let them go; but having once determined to do
+so, he gave them a great many fine presents, and intrusted them with
+messages to the various sovereigns of Europe, including the King of
+England. They appear to have sailed from the Port of Zayton in the early
+part of 1292. The voyage was long and unfortunate, and the greater part
+of the embassy and suite perished on the way. The lady and the three
+Venetians arrived safely in Persia, where it was found that her intended
+husband had died, and so she was compelled to marry his son.
+
+[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF KUBLAI-KHAN.
+
+(From a Chinese engraving.)]
+
+"As soon as their mission had ended, the Polos proceeded to Venice,
+which they reached in the year 1295. Their long absence had caused them
+to be well-nigh forgotten, and very few people could be found who
+remembered anything about the Polos. They had changed much in their
+complexions, had almost forgotten their own language; all their
+utterances had a decidedly Tartar accent; and they were so
+travel-stained and shabby that they had difficulty in being received in
+their own house, which was now occupied by relatives.
+
+"In order to establish their identity, the wanderers invited their
+relatives to a grand banquet. When the time came for sitting down at
+table, the three appeared in robes of crimson satin; a little later they
+exchanged these for robes of crimson damask, and these again for the
+richest velvet of the same color. Afterwards they dressed in clothing
+like that of the rest of the company, and each of the crimson robes, as
+soon as it was laid aside, was cut up and given to the servants.
+
+"Just as the dinner was breaking up, Marco rose from the table and
+retired for a moment. When he returned, he brought the shabby dresses
+they had worn on their arrival, and the three Polos then went to work
+with knives to rip open these apparently worthless garments. As they cut
+away the seams, showers of great diamonds of the purest water, and also
+emeralds, pearls, rubies, sapphires, and carbuncles, fell on the table.
+
+"There could be no further doubt about the relationship; everybody at
+table was ready to swear that he was father, son, and brother all at
+once to any of the trio. Relatives poured in on them in great numbers,
+and all Venice rushed to do them honor. They were appointed to offices
+of high trust, and the young men of Venice came to hear Marco tell of
+the wonders he had seen in his long absence. They were the most popular
+men in the city, and received more invitations to dinner than they could
+accept.
+
+"There is a tradition that the wife of one of the Polos one day gave a
+beggar an old coat belonging to her husband, as she considered it too
+shabby for him to wear any longer. When he asked for it the next day, in
+order to put away the jewels it contained, she told him she had given it
+to a poor man whom she did not know. The tradition says, 'He went to the
+Bridge of Rialto, and stood there turning a wheel, to no apparent
+purpose, but as if he were a madman; and to all who crowded around to
+see what prank was this, and asked him why he did it, he answered,
+"He'll come, if God pleases." So, after two or three days, he recognized
+his old coat on the back of one of those who came to stare at his mad
+proceeding, and got it back again.
+
+[Illustration: MARCO POLO'S GALLEY IN BATTLE.]
+
+"Soon after his return, an expedition was sent from Venice against
+Genoa, and Marco was placed in command of one of the ships or galleys. A
+great battle was fought; the Venetians were defeated; Marco was
+captured, placed in irons, and lodged in a prison at Genoa. While in
+captivity, he told the story of his travels to a fellow-prisoner named
+Rusticiano or Rustichello, of Pisa, and the latter committed it to
+writing. It was fortunate for us, though not so for him, that Marco Polo
+was in prison, as otherwise we might never have had an account of his
+travels. After his release, he led a quiet life at Venice, and seems to
+have died not far from the year 1325. He was buried in the Church of San
+Lorenzo; but all trace of his tomb was lost when that edifice was
+rebuilt.
+
+"Now it is Fred's turn," said Frank; "I have told the history of Marco
+Polo, and shown why and how he went to the East; Fred will give you an
+account of what the great traveller saw in his absence from Europe of
+nearly twenty years."
+
+Fred drew his note-book from his pocket and proceeded to his share of
+the entertainment.
+
+"Marco Polo's work," said Fred, "consists of four divisions or books and
+a prologue. The prologue opens as follows:
+
+"'Great princes, emperors, and kings, dukes and marquises, counts,
+knights, and burgesses, and people of all degrees, who desire to get
+knowledge of the various races of mankind, and of the diversities of the
+sundry regions of the world, take this book and cause it to be read to
+you. For ye shall find therein all kinds of wonderful things, and the
+divers histories of the great Hermenia, and of Persia, and of the land
+of the Tartars, and of India, and of many another country of which our
+book doth speak particularly, and in regular succession, according to
+the description of Messer Marco Polo, a wise and noble citizen of
+Venice, as he saw them with his own eyes. Some things, indeed, there be
+therein which he beheld not; but these he heard from men of credit and
+veracity. And we shall set down things seen as seen, and things heard as
+heard only, so that no jot of falsehood may mar the truth of our book;
+and that all who read it or hear it read may put full faith in the truth
+of all its contents.'
+
+"It is hardly worth while to read the whole prologue to you," Fred
+remarked, "as it is long, and we can only give a general glance at the
+contents of the whole work. A great many editions of the travels of
+Marco Polo have been published; the most valuable of all is the latest,
+which is by Colonel Yule, an English officer who spent a long time in
+India. He has made a careful study of the subject, and his work, with
+explanatory notes, is as complete as years of labor could make it.
+Indeed, there are more pages taken up with the explanatory notes than
+with the original text of Marco Polo.
+
+"The four divisions or books give an account of the various countries he
+visited in his years of wandering, and of the wonderful sights he
+beheld. The route he followed can be traced by geographers without
+difficulty, and the cities he visited have most of them been identified.
+Many have had their names changed, and some have disappeared altogether,
+so that in a few instances the localities are in dispute. But, taken as
+a whole, the story is a truthful one, and shows Marco Polo to have been
+the greatest traveller of his time.
+
+"Some of the stories that seem at first to be the wildest fiction are
+known to be founded in fact, if not literally correct. In speaking of
+Syria, he says: 'There is a great lake at the foot of a mountain, and in
+this lake are found no fish, great or small, throughout the whole year
+till Lent comes. On the first day of Lent they find in it the finest
+fish in the world, and great store, too, thereof; and these continue to
+be found till Easter-eve. After that they are found no more till Lent
+comes round again; and so 'tis every year.'
+
+"Colonel Yule is unable to locate the particular lake mentioned, but
+says there are several lakes in different parts of the East that are
+deserted by the fish for certain periods of the year. It would not be at
+all strange if such were the case, and a very little exaggeration of the
+story would make the fish appear in Lent, and go away at other times.
+
+[Illustration: ALAU SHUTS UP THE CALIPH OF BAUDAS IN HIS
+TREASURE-TOWER.]
+
+"While describing Baudas--the modern Bagdad--he tells how an army, under
+Prince Alau, captured the city, and found the greatest accumulation of
+treasure that ever was known. The prince was enraged at seeing so much
+wealth, and asked the caliph why he did not take the money to hire
+soldiers to defend the city. 'The caliph,' says Marco, 'wist not what to
+answer, and said never a word. So the prince continued, "Now then,
+caliph, since I see what a love thou hast borne thy treasure, I will
+e'en give it thee to eat." So he shut the caliph up in the
+treasure-tower, and bade that neither meat nor drink should be given
+him, saying, "Now, caliph, eat of thy treasure as much as thou wilt,
+since thou art so fond of it, for never shalt thou have aught else to
+eat!"'
+
+"So the caliph lingered four days in the tower, and then died. The story
+has been used by several poets both in England and America, and it has
+been made the basis of an Eastern romance.
+
+"Some of the more fanciful stories he tells are about the men of Lambri,
+and of Angamanain. Here is what he says of the former:
+
+"'Now you must know that in this kingdom of Lambri there are men with
+tails; these tails are of a palm in length, and have no hair on them.
+These people live in the mountains, and are a kind of wild men. Their
+tails are about the thickness of a dog's. There are also plenty of
+unicorns in the country, and abundance of game in birds and beasts.'
+
+"The story is not very definite," Frank suggested, "as there is a great
+difference in the size of dogs' tails. The range from a terrier or pug
+to a mastiff or a Siberian blood-hound is pretty wide. It reminds me of
+the stone thrown at a man, that was described by a witness as about the
+size of a piece of chalk."
+
+"By the island of Angamanain," Fred continued, "Polo probably meant the
+Andaman Islands. Here is what he says of them:
+
+[Illustration: DOG-HEADED MEN OF ANGAMANAIN.]
+
+"'The people are without a king, and are idolaters, and no better than
+wild beasts. And I assure you that all the men of this island of
+Angamanain have heads like dogs, and teeth and eyes likewise! In fact,
+in the face they are just like big mastiff dogs! They have a quantity of
+spices; but they are a most cruel generation, and eat everybody they can
+catch, if not of their own race. They live on flesh and rice and milk,
+and have fruits different from ours.'
+
+"Now, the fact is," Fred explained, "that the natives of the Andaman
+Islands have a bad reputation. Down to the present time they have been
+repeatedly charged with murdering the crews of ships that were wrecked
+there; and it is only recently that their cannibalism has been denied.
+They are very black, and not at all handsome in face or figure; and out
+of these facts I suppose the story came that they had heads like dogs.
+
+"He describes a fountain in the kingdom of Mosul, 'from which oil
+springs in great abundance, insomuch that a hundred ship loads might be
+taken from it at one time. This oil is not good to use with food, but
+'tis good to burn, and is also used to anoint camels that have the
+mange.' Evidently they had petroleum in Asia six hundred years ago, as
+we have it in America to-day, and thought we had made a new discovery.
+
+"He speaks of oxen 'that are all over white as snow, and very large and
+handsome. When they are to be loaded they kneel like the camel; once the
+load is adjusted, they rise. Then there are sheep as big as asses; and
+their tails are so large and fat that one tail shall weigh more than
+thirty pounds. They are fine fat beasts, and afford capital mutton.'
+These fat-tailed sheep are known in Asia and Africa, and the weight he
+gives is said not to be excessive.
+
+"In one place there is an account of the posting system of the Great
+Khan of Tartary, which seems to have been more perfect than the posting
+system of Europe at the same date. From Kambaluc, the capital--now known
+as Peking--the roads branched in all directions, and 'each road,' says
+Marco, 'is known by the name of the province to which it leads. And the
+messengers of the emperor, in travelling from Kambaluc, be the road
+whichsoever they will, find at every twenty-five miles of the journey a
+station which they call _Yamb_, or, as we would say, the
+Post-horse-house. And at each of those stations used by the messengers
+there is a large and handsome building for them to put up at, in which
+they find all the rooms furnished with fine beds, and all other
+necessary articles in rich silk, and where they are provided with
+everything they can want. If even a king were to arrive at one of these,
+he would find himself well lodged. At some of these stations there shall
+be posted more than 400 horses, standing ready for the use of
+messengers; and at some 200, according to the requirements.... There are
+more than 300,000 kept at all these posts, and more than 10,000 great
+buildings for the use of messengers.'"
+
+"How much China has declined since the days of Marco Polo," Frank
+remarked. "The great buildings and the silk beds do not exist; and as
+for the horses, we were unable to find them at the posting-stations, or
+even to find any stations where they might be kept."
+
+Fred took breath during this interruption, and then went on with the
+story of what Marco Polo claimed to have seen.
+
+[Illustration: MEDIÆVAL TARTAR HUTS AND WAGONS.]
+
+"'The houses of the Tartars,' says Marco, 'are made of wands covered
+with felt. These are carried along with them whithersoever they go. They
+also have wagons covered with black felt so efficaciously that no rain
+can get in. These are drawn by oxen and camels, and the women and
+children travel in them. They eat all kinds of flesh, including horses
+and dogs and Pharaoh's rats. Their drink is mares' milk.' This account
+is confirmed by other writers; and the houses of the Tartars are made
+to-day as Polo describes, though they are not drawn about on wheels. One
+ancient writer says that he measured one of the Tartar wagons, and found
+that the wheels were twenty feet apart, and it was drawn by twenty-two
+oxen, eleven abreast.
+
+[Illustration: THE ROC, FROM A PERSIAN DRAWING.]
+
+"He has a good deal to say," Fred continued, "about the famous bird
+known as the roc, or rukh. He does not claim to have seen one of these
+birds, but was informed by persons who had done so. According to his
+account, 'It was for all the world like an eagle, but one, indeed, of
+enormous size; so big, in fact, that its wings covered an extent of
+thirty paces, and its quills were twelve paces long, and thick in
+proportion; and it is so strong that it will seize an elephant in its
+talons and carry him up in the air and drop him, so that he is smashed
+to pieces; having so killed him, the bird swoops down on him and eats
+him at leisure.'
+
+[Illustration: ROC'S EGG, NOW IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.]
+
+"In a note explaining this story, Colonel Yule says there was once a
+bird in Madagascar, where Polo places the roc, that was much larger than
+any known bird of the present day. Its eggs have been found in a fossil
+state, and one of them is preserved in the British Museum. It measures
+thirteen and a quarter by six and a half inches (length and width), and
+the capacity of the shell is nearly three and a half gallons. It was
+undoubtedly from this bird that the fable of the roc arose."
+
+Frank ventured to ask Fred if he had found from Marco Polo's book what
+kind of money was used in China at the time he visited that country.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE BANK-NOTE OF THE MING DYNASTY.]
+
+"I am just coming to that," Fred answered. "Polo says that the great
+emperor, Kublai-Khan, was a wonderful man. 'He transformed the bark of
+the mulberry-tree into something resembling sheets of paper, and these
+into money, which cost him nothing at all, so that you might say he had
+the secret of alchemy to perfection. And these pieces of paper he made
+to pass current universally, over all his kingdoms and provinces and
+territories, and whithersoever his sovereignty extended; and nobody,
+however important he thought himself, dared to refuse them on pain of
+death."
+
+"History repeats itself," said Doctor Bronson; "for many a modern
+government has made the same laws in order to compel the circulation of
+its promises to pay."
+
+"And with the same result," Fred responded; "for we learn farther on
+from Marco Polo that, in spite of the death penalty, the legal-tender
+issue of the Great Khan was only worth half its nominal value in silver;
+and the more money he issued, the greater was the depreciation. But the
+khan was not the inventor of paper-money, for it was known at least four
+centuries before his time. Its origin is disputed, but the probabilities
+are that it came from the East.
+
+"Some of the stories that are told about supernatural appearances are
+very interesting," continued Fred. "In the desert of Gobi, Polo says
+that the traveller who lags behind his party at night will hear spirits
+talking, and will suppose them to be his comrades. Sometimes the spirits
+will call him by name, and thus shall a traveller oft-times be led
+astray, so that he never finds his party; and in this way many have
+perished. And sometimes you shall hear the sound of a variety of musical
+instruments, and still more commonly the sound of drums.
+
+"He says, in another place, 'When the Great Khan, seated on a platform
+some eight cubits above the pavement, desires to drink, cups filled with
+wine are moved from a buffet in the centre of the hall, a distance of
+ten paces, and present themselves to the emperor without being touched
+by anybody.'
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE CONJURING EXTRAORDINARY.]
+
+"Polo describes other magical performances, some of which are partially
+explained by Colonel Yule. Another traveller relates that a juggler
+performed some remarkable tricks in his presence; and among them is the
+following: 'He took a wooden ball with several holes in it, through
+which loose thongs were passed, and, laying hold of one of these, slung
+it into the air. It went so high that we lost sight of it altogether.
+There now remained only a little of the end of a thong in the conjurer's
+hand, and he desired one of the boys who assisted him to lay hold of it
+and mount. He did so, climbing by the thong, and we lost sight of him!
+The conjurer then called to him three times; but getting no answer, he
+snatched up a knife as if in a great rage, laid hold of the thong, and
+disappeared also. By-and-by he threw down one of the boy's hands; then a
+foot; then the other hand, and then the other foot; then the trunk; and,
+last of all, the head. Then he came down himself, all puffing and
+panting, and, with his clothes all bloody, kissed the ground, and said
+something in Chinese. Then he took the lad's limbs, laid them together,
+gave a kick, when, presto! there was the boy, who got up and stood
+before us.'"
+
+"The Indian jugglers are said to do the same trick, or one very much
+like it," said Doctor Bronson. "I have read a description of one of
+their performances, in which they took a long chain and threw one end of
+it in the air, where it remained as if fastened to something. A dog was
+then brought forward, and ran up the chain and disappeared in the air.
+In the same way a hog, a panther, a lion, and a tiger were sent up the
+chain one after the other, and all disappeared at its upper end. Finally
+they took down the chain, rolled it up and put it in a bag, no one being
+able to discover how the trick was performed."
+
+"We must come to a stop now," said Fred, "though we haven't heard a
+tenth part of the strange things in Marco Polo's story of his travels.
+His account of the Court of Kublai-Khan would take a long time to tell,
+and perhaps you would get tired of it before I came to the end. So, if
+you want to know more, you must do as I have done--read for yourself."
+
+The interesting session of the party over the travels of the famous
+Venetian were brought to a close. The Doctor complimented the boys on
+the excellent work they had done in making a condensed account of the
+book, and said he was so pleased with them that he would give them a
+similar piece of employment whenever the opportunity occurred.
+
+"It is a capital way," said Fred, "to fix in mind what we have read. I
+find that I read with greater care when I know I must make a summary of
+a book than if I am to throw it down when through and think no more of
+it. I'm very glad we had to go through Marco Polo's history in this
+way."
+
+"And I too," Frank added. "But it is what we used to dislike so much at
+school."
+
+"What was that?" Fred asked.
+
+"Why, writing compositions, to be sure," Frank responded. "Don't you
+remember how we used to detest it?"
+
+"Of course I do," was the answer; "but we always did it without an
+object. The teacher told us to write something about 'spring,' or 'the
+beauties of nature,' or some other subject that was not at all definite.
+Now if he had given us an interesting book to read, and said he wanted
+us to do with it as we have done with this, we should have 'written a
+composition' with some relish."
+
+"It will be eight bells soon," the captain interrupted, "and if you want
+to see me take the sun you had better come forward."
+
+[Illustration: CAPTAIN CLANCHY AT WORK.]
+
+The boys had familiarized themselves with the process of finding a
+ship's position; but anything at sea that varies the monotony is always
+welcome. So they went forward with Captain Clanchy, and stood by the
+rail till that brief performance was ended. Then they retired to the
+cabin, and watched the operation of working up the steamer's position;
+and by the time this was over, the steward announced that dinner was
+ready.
+
+[Illustration: COME TO DINNER!]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+ARRIVAL IN SIAM.--FIRST DAY IN BANGKOK.
+
+
+The boys found a novel way of taking fresh-water baths during their
+voyage from Saigon to Bangkok. Nearly every day there was a heavy shower
+of rain, and sometimes two or three showers in the course of twenty-four
+hours. The rain came literally in torrents; it poured as though great
+gates had been suddenly opened in the sky, to allow the passage of the
+water by dozens of barrels at a time. Neither Frank nor Fred had ever
+seen the rain fall so fast; the Doctor assured them that showers of this
+kind were very common in the tropics, especially during the change of
+the monsoons.
+
+[Illustration: A NATURAL SHOWER-BATH.]
+
+Whenever the clouds indicated a coming shower, the boys generally went
+to the cabin and soon appeared in their bathing-suits. Covering their
+heads with straw hats, to protect them from the pelting of the great
+drops, they would sit in the rain and enjoy the luxury of the earliest
+form of shower-bath ever known. One night, when they were sleeping on
+deck, they were suddenly awakened by the pouring of the rain in their
+faces, and, before they could gather their clothing and escape to
+shelter, they were treated to a bath they had not bargained for. It is
+one of the inconveniences of sleeping on deck in the tropics that you
+are liable to have your slumbers disturbed in this way, just as you are
+dreaming of pleasant things, and in no mood for waking.
+
+Though they were not in sight of land, our friends realized that they
+were in a comparatively small body of water, and not in the open ocean.
+The swell and heaving of the Atlantic and Pacific waves were altogether
+absent; though the steamer was a diminutive one in comparison with the
+great ships on which they had travelled hitherto, she rolled and pitched
+very little, and sometimes her motion was as steady as though she was
+navigating a river. The Gulf of Siam does not occupy a large place on
+the map, and for a great part of the year it is as peaceful as a lake.
+The captain told them that it was rarely disturbed by typhoons or severe
+gales, and was about five hundred miles long by two hundred and fifty in
+width.
+
+[Illustration: FLYING-FISH.]
+
+Porpoises and flying-fish appeared occasionally, and their lively leaps
+from the water were a source of much amusement to the youths.
+
+The first indication of their approach to the coast of Siam was the
+appearance of a dark line on the northern horizon. As they steamed on,
+this line developed into a fringe of tropical trees; but before they
+could make anything more of it than the merest fringe, the steamer came
+to anchor. As they were still a long way from land, the boys could not
+understand the reason for stopping, and Fred ventured to ask the captain
+why they did not go on.
+
+"The principal reason," the captain answered, "is because we can't. The
+approach to the river is very shallow, and our steamer cannot cross the
+bar till high-tide. We must wait here till the tide serves, and we have
+a pilot to take us in."
+
+The pilot came to the ship soon after they anchored, and in a few hours
+he announced that it was time to move on. The anchor was lifted, and the
+_Danube_ steamed slowly onward towards the shore.
+
+Very soon it was apparent to the boys that the waters along this part of
+the coast were very shallow, as the steamer stirred the mud from the
+bottom and left a dirty streak behind her. The bar at the mouth of the
+Menam prevents the passage of large ships, and there was a fleet of half
+a dozen or more lying outside and receiving their cargo from lighters.
+Vessels drawing less than fifteen feet can go up without difficulty; and
+once they have passed the bar, there is no trouble in proceeding on to
+Bangkok.
+
+"I wonder if that is Bangkok?" said Fred, as he pointed to a conical
+tower that rose just ahead of them, and apparently a short distance
+above the mouth of the river.
+
+"Oh no," the captain replied, "that is not Bangkok at all. The city is
+thirty miles up the river, and what you see now is Paknam. We shall stop
+in front of it to get the permit from the custom-house to allow us to
+proceed up the river.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW NEAR PAKNAM.]
+
+"The tower that you see is a temple on a small island opposite Paknam.
+It is used on festival days, and once in awhile the king comes down here
+to worship. On such occasions they have boat-races, and a good time
+generally; some of the boats are rowed entirely by girls, and the sport
+is very exciting."
+
+A boat came from the custom-house, and an officer mounted to the deck of
+the steamer. His visit was a brief one, as the _Danube_ was a regular
+visitor at the port, and did not require any unusual formalities. After
+a short delay, the steamer moved on under charge of the pilot, though
+the captain remained on the bridge and kept a sharp watch over the
+movements of his vessel. It is a curious feature of maritime law that
+when a ship is in charge of a pilot her captain's authority ceases; but
+in case of accident he comes in for a liberal share of censure.
+
+The boys found that the Menam was as crooked as the Mekong, and not
+unlike the latter in its general features. The channel appeared to be
+free of sand-bars or other impediments to navigation, though some of the
+bends of the stream were rather short for a large ship to turn in with
+ease. At one place there was a channel or canal that saved a great
+distance for small boats; but it was impracticable for the _Danube_,
+which was obliged to follow the winding of the river. A little tow-boat
+entered this canal just as they passed the entrance; she steamed
+leisurely through, and as the _Danube_ rounded the bend Frank discovered
+that the tow-boat was several miles ahead of them.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE HUT ON THE MENAM RIVER.]
+
+The river was full of native boats, some going in one direction and some
+in another. Now and then a house was visible in the dense foliage, and
+there was an occasional cluster of dwellings large enough to be called a
+village. Many of the houses were built so that a platform in front
+overhung the water; and the whole structure was on piles, in order to
+form a refuge against snakes and wild beasts, and also to secure the
+inhabitants against being suddenly driven out by an inundation.
+
+But what impressed the young travellers more than anything else was the
+richness of the tropical vegetation along the banks of the river. Here
+were palms in great variety, and many huge trees whose names were
+unknown to them; and there was a dense growth of underbrush, through
+which it would be very difficult for a man to penetrate unless armed
+with a hatchet, and not at all easy even then. Many of the trees were
+covered with creeping and climbing plants, so that not a particle of the
+surface or foliage of the original tree could be seen, and very often
+the burden of parasites was so great that the trees had fallen beneath
+it.
+
+"I have read," said Frank, "about the vines that destroyed a tree, but
+have never fairly seen an instance of it till now."
+
+"Nor I either," Fred responded. "Look at that fine tree that has been
+quite broken down by the weight of the plants that cling to it. And
+observe, too, the bright blossoms that the vine has spread out, as if it
+was exulting over the destruction it had caused."
+
+Some of the creeping vines had a scarlet flower of a very gaudy pattern,
+and it seemed as if it was their season for blooming, as the vines in
+several instances were completely covered with blossoms.
+
+[Illustration: A VILLAGE PATHWAY IN SIAM.]
+
+Now and then there were little openings in the forest that looked like
+pathways. The Doctor told his young companions that these paths
+undoubtedly led to villages or single houses that were hid away in the
+dense foliage. The Doctor's belief was confirmed by the glimpse of an
+occasional figure among the trees, and by dusky faces that
+contemplated the steadily moving steamer.
+
+But it was not all a tropical forest with occasional villages. There
+were sugar plantations, some of them of considerable extent; and there
+were rice-fields where dozens and dozens of men were at work. Frank
+contemplated a lot of these laborers with the captain's glass, and
+remarked that the Siamese resembled the Chinese so much that it was
+impossible to distinguish between them. The Doctor laughed, and then
+gave this explanation:
+
+"The men that you see are Chinese, and not the people of Siam. Nearly
+all these rice and sugar plantations employ Chinese laborers; and of the
+five millions of people in Siam not less than two millions are Chinese.
+They come here, just as they go to America or to Australia, in search of
+employment; and, though the wages are low, they are quite content. If
+you could go to every part of Siam you would hardly ever be out of sight
+of the Chinese, as they are scattered everywhere through the kingdom.
+There, now, we will have a good view of some of these laborers."
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE FIELD-LABORERS.]
+
+As he spoke, the steamer swung quite close to the bank, where there was
+a group of laborers evidently just ready to depart for the rice-field.
+Some were squatted, and some were standing; some were fully and some
+only partially clothed; and all appeared as though they had the good
+digestion that comes from hard work. It did not need a long study of the
+assemblage to convince our friends that the men were exactly like those
+they had seen in Canton and Hong-kong, and the captain told them that
+probably every one of the crowd was from the Quang-Tung Province of
+China.
+
+[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF BANGKOK.]
+
+They were still in the midst of cocoa and other tropical trees, when the
+captain told them they were at Bangkok. There was a saw-mill and a
+dock-yard among the trees on one side of the river, and farther on was a
+large house, with an open space of an acre or more between it and the
+river. They had reached what may be called the foreign portion of the
+city; the native part is nearly three miles farther on, and quite
+concealed by a bend in the stream.
+
+We will see what the boys had to say of Bangkok in their letters to
+friends at home. Here is what Frank wrote:
+
+"MY DEAR MOTHER,--We had a charming voyage from Saigon to this port. The
+weather was fine, and we amused ourselves in various ways; one thing we
+did was to read up the story of Marco Polo's travels six hundred years
+ago, and then tell it over to the Doctor. Sometimes it was so hot that
+we slept on deck, and when it was raining hard we used to go out in our
+bathing-suits and have a shower-bath that was simply perfect. We had a
+picturesque ride up the Menam to this city; and we have seen lots of
+curious things since we landed.
+
+"We came ashore with the captain, and he took us at once to the only
+hotel in the place. It is a funny sort of a hotel, as you have to go
+out-of-doors to pass from the dining-room to the sleeping-rooms and the
+parlor, where we sit when we want to rest. The rooms are not more than
+ten feet square, and I don't think Fred's will measure as much as that.
+I made the remark that you couldn't swing a cat around there; and the
+landlord said he had no cat, and even if he had one he didn't want to
+swing her anyway. You ought to see the landlord; he is a German, and as
+jolly as you could wish. He was formerly a sea-captain, and everybody
+calls him 'Captain Salje.' He must weigh pretty nearly three hundred
+pounds, and when he laughs he shakes all over. He speaks English as well
+as German, and he also speaks the language of the country and that of
+Java, where he lived a long time. When things don't get along well in
+the kitchen, he goes in among his servants, and you hear his voice
+ringing out all over the house. He is a capital landlord, and we like
+his table better than that of any hotel we have seen since we left San
+Francisco.
+
+[Illustration: IN THE FOREIGN PART OF BANGKOK.]
+
+"The hotel stands on the bank of the river, and you can step from a boat
+directly to the veranda of the house. The river is the Broadway of
+Bangkok, and all the travelling to and fro, or the greater part of it,
+is done on the water. In this part of Bangkok is where the foreigners
+live, and their houses are scattered along the banks for at least a
+mile. Nobody wants to live where he would be without a front on the
+river, as it would be just like living off from the street in an
+American city. The merchants have their warehouses so that goods can be
+rolled from boats directly inside the doors; but the houses where people
+live are set back a little, and have a good large yard in front and all
+around them. They have plenty of trees in the yards, and the houses look
+very pretty; and as the verandas are wide, there is an abundance of
+shade. Most of the houses are of two stories, and built of stuccoed
+brick; and a good many of the floors are of brick or stone. Wood is not
+very durable in this climate, as the air is moist and rots it; and,
+besides, they have certain kinds of insects that eat it full of holes,
+and make it turn to powder. Some woods decay much faster than others,
+and they have one kind called teak, that the insects never attack.
+
+"As I look from the veranda where I am writing I can see half a dozen
+ships anchored in the river below here, and as many more up above. Most
+of them belong to Siam, as we can see by the flag; and there are two or
+three German ships, one English, and one American. The Siamese flag is
+red, and has a white elephant on it; we are in the country of the White
+Elephant, and don't intend leaving until we have seen the sacred beast.
+I am told that the white elephants at the king's palace have fine
+stables and lots of attendants, and that they are worshipped and petted
+till they are quite spoiled in their dispositions.
+
+"We have hired a boat by the day, and it is to be kept for our use as
+long as we stay here; just as we might keep a carriage in another
+country. There is a little cabin where you have to stoop as you go in;
+and there are cushioned seats for four persons, and windows with sliding
+lattices all around. It takes four men to row it--two on the bow, and
+two on the stern--and they all row with their faces the way the boat is
+going. The boat is quite comfortable, and we enjoy it very much.
+
+"The people make use of the river for all sorts of business. It is the
+great highway for transporting merchandise, and for promenading on the
+water; and it is the place where people go on shopping excursions. A
+great many of the houses are built on rafts of bamboo-poles, and they
+rise and fall with the tide. The raft is somewhat larger than the house,
+and forms a platform all around it; and when you want to go in at the
+front of a house, you have only to bring your boat along-side the raft
+and step off. The bamboo seems almost to have been designed by nature
+for the purpose of making these rafts. You know it is hollow, and very
+light, and that it has joints at regular intervals. Now each joint forms
+a water-tight compartment, and the wood will resist the water for a very
+long time, so that a bamboo raft has no chance of sinking. Perhaps it
+was the bamboo that gave the Chinese the idea of building ships in
+water-tight compartments, as Marco Polo says they did six hundred years
+ago. Who knows?
+
+"As you go along the river you see the fronts of the houses open towards
+the water, and if they have anything to sell it is put where it can be
+seen, exactly as it would be in a shop on Broadway. The houses are
+divided generally into only two rooms--the men occupying one, and the
+women the other; and the Siamese rarely make houses of more than one
+story. The reason is that they wish to avoid having anybody walking over
+their heads, which is considered an indignity. It is said that when the
+city was first built along the banks of the river there was a great deal
+of cholera, on account of the bad drainage, and many people died. The
+king then gave orders for the people to build on the river itself, which
+would make the drainage perfect, and thus improve the public health. The
+order was obeyed, and from it we find the floating houses that seem so
+curious to us. There are not far from fifteen thousand of these houses
+and shops, and they are strung along on both sides of the river for
+several miles, altogether. Then there are many houses built on piles, to
+overhang the water, just like those we described at Saigon.
+
+"One of the books we have with us tells us that Bangkok is called 'The
+Venice of the East,' and I can easily understand why. Venice is full of
+canals, as you know, and so is Bangkok. They run off from the river in
+all directions, and you can go almost anywhere by them when the tide is
+up. This is why nearly everybody has a boat, as it would be difficult to
+go about without one. You see boats of all sizes, from a little dug-out,
+just large enough for one person--and a small one at that--up to the
+great house-boat, or barge, that will hold twenty or more. The people
+spend a good deal of their time on the water, and very often in it; for
+they swim like otters, and are not at all disturbed when one of their
+boats overturns with them. This afternoon, when we were out on the
+river, a steamboat passed us. It did us no harm, though we tossed around
+for a moment; but there was a small skiff close by that was filled with
+water by the swell from the steamer. Two boys were in it, and as the
+skiff went down under them, they took hold of it with their hands and
+swam to the shore. They soon had the water out of it, and paddled off as
+merrily as ever.
+
+"Where the largest of the canals branches off there is a pretty dense
+collection of houses, and this continues for quite a distance. The
+streets are irregular, and not very wide or clean; perhaps the most of
+the people living in this quarter are Chinese, and they are not very
+particular about dirt. Most of the shops are kept by Chinese, and they
+have a great number of gambling-houses, for which they pay a fixed sum
+to the government. Gambling is a monopoly, and so is the sale of
+intoxicating spirits; the licenses are sold by the government, just as
+an American city gives a man a license to sell liquor when he pays the
+sum agreed on. The Chinese that come here are just as great gamblers as
+they are at home, and they are just as fond of smoking opium.
+
+"The city is said to contain half a million inhabitants, and it is
+little more than a hundred years old. It was founded in 1769, when the
+Siamese capital (Ayuthia) was captured and plundered by the Burmese. The
+king lives here, and the royal palace is well worth seeing. We are going
+there to-morrow, or perhaps next day, and we are going to see some
+curious temples. There are lots of temples in Bangkok, and the city
+contains not less than twenty thousand priests of the Buddhist religion.
+We will tell you more about the priests and the temples in another
+letter."
+
+[Illustration: A SIAMESE PRIEST.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+TEMPLES AT BANGKOK.--THE FOUNDER OF BUDDHISM.
+
+
+A letter from Fred was in the same mail with Frank's. The dutiful boy
+remembered his mother, and wrote as follows:
+
+"Frank has told all about our arrival in Bangkok, and what we saw on our
+first day in the city. I know you will hand our letters around for both
+families to read, and so I will try to avoid repeating what he has said.
+
+"One of the first things we wanted to see was the temples, for which
+Bangkok is famous. You must know that Siam is a country where the
+Buddhist religion has a very strong hold; and the king is supposed to be
+the defender of the ancient faith. A large part of the annual revenue of
+the country is expended in the repair of the temples now in existence,
+or the construction of new ones; and also in processions and other
+religious ceremonies. We are fortunate in coming here at the season of
+the year when the king goes to make his visits to all the temples; and,
+as there are many of them in the city, he has enough to do for two or
+three weeks. We have seen one of these processions, and expect to see
+more: as the one we have seen is not the grandest of them, I will keep
+the description of this part of our sights in Bangkok for another
+letter.
+
+[Illustration: BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF BANGKOK.]
+
+"The first temple we went to was the one known as _Wat Seh Kate_. It has
+the general appearance of a pyramid, and is about two hundred and fifty
+feet high, with a winding pathway that leads to the top. From the
+platform, on the summit, there is a fine view of Bangkok, or rather the
+form of the city can be seen, though the most of the houses are
+concealed by the trees. It is a curious sight, as the trees are nearly
+all tropical ones, and wherever you look you see palms in some form or
+other, with their long leaves bending in the wind, and their stems
+rising, often as straight as arrows, for fifty or a hundred feet. Off in
+the distance there are rice-fields, some of them of great extent; and
+close below you is a bewildering mass of temples, and palaces, and
+pagodas, with the river shining here and there, and forming a sharp
+contrast to the dark green of the foliage. Some of the spires of the
+temples look as pointed as needles; and though you might think they
+would fall down with the first high wind, I am told they have stood for
+a long time, and are apparently as firm as ever.
+
+"I enclose a picture representing a view from one of the temples, so
+that you can see what Bangkok is like.
+
+"Some foreigners have been talking of proposing to the government to
+convert this temple into a reservoir for water, which would be brought
+into the city by an aqueduct, just as water is supplied to New York and
+other American cities. Wouldn't that be a novel idea? The city has no
+aqueduct whatever, but all the water that the people use must be taken
+from the river or caught in cisterns during the rainy season.
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE OF WAT CHANG.]
+
+"The temple is not yet finished, and therefore the view from the top is
+the most interesting thing about it. On the other side of the river is
+another remarkable temple known as _Wat Chang_; it stands in a large
+enclosure, perhaps fifteen or twenty acres in extent, and this enclosure
+contains small gardens, the houses of the priests, and a great quantity
+of stone statues, some of them very grotesque in character. There are
+some nice fish-ponds full of fish; and in two or three places we saw
+grottoes of stone and brick that were very pretty. I should think that
+the priests had considerable taste, and were not the lazy fellows one
+often finds around these temples. Perhaps they did not do the work
+themselves, but only laid it out for others; even if that is the case,
+they deserve some credit for their good taste.
+
+"The general shape of _Wat Chang_ is that of a bell; and there is a
+spire at the top that would make a very good handle, if some one could
+be found large and strong enough to take it up and ring it. Doctor
+Bronson guessed that the building was two hundred and fifty feet high,
+and about the same in diameter; it is built of brick, and the outside is
+covered with plaster, which was stuck full, while it was moist, with all
+sorts of curious things. These include plates, and cups and saucers, and
+all manner of dishes with as many colors as the rainbow, and arranged
+into a mosaic that forms figures of animals, fruits, flowers, and other
+things, some of them hideous and unnatural. As you might suppose would
+be the case in the Land of the White Elephant, the largest animal that
+we know of is frequently represented. Sometimes he has only one head, as
+he has in actual life; but occasionally they give him three heads, which
+the Doctor says is to symbolize the Buddhistic Trinity. Besides these
+mosaics, there are other elephants in the form of statues, which are set
+in niches half-way to the summit. The sun was shining brightly when we
+visited this temple, and at every step the rays were flashed into our
+eyes till they almost ached with pain.
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE OF THE SLEEPING IDOL.]
+
+"We went to the 'Temple of the Sleeping Idol,' which is one of the
+wonders of Bangkok. It is not a great ways from the royal palace, and
+gets its name from the fact that there is a statue of Buddha in a
+horizontal position that fills the most of the interior of the building.
+The figure is one hundred and sixty feet long, and lies on its side; the
+soles of the feet are sixteen feet long, and each of them is inlaid with
+mother-of-pearl as delicately as though it was a finger-ring. The
+figures represented by this inlaid work are entirely fruits and flowers;
+Doctor Bronson says the fable is that fruits and flowers sprung from the
+earth wherever Buddha planted his footsteps. The figure of Buddha is
+built of brick, and then heavily gilded, so that you might easily
+suppose it was of gold. When I tell you that the arm at the elbow is six
+feet in diameter, you will get an idea of the greatness of the work.
+
+"The Sleeping Idol is not the only wonder of this temple. There are
+nearly a thousand other idols there, most of them of life size, and they
+are so thickly packed as to make you think they would be liable to get
+in each other's way. The temple itself is about two hundred feet long,
+and has a high roof with sharp peaks at the ends, and three stages
+rising one above another. The eaves are supported by tall columns, and
+thus quite a veranda is formed between them and the doors of the
+building; and there is a high wall around the temple, so that it would
+not be easy to get in without permission. The enclosure contains the
+houses of the priests, and some small pagodas and temples; and the
+priests evidently have an eye to business, as they would not open the
+doors till we had paid a tical for each person of our party. The tical
+is the Siamese coin in which everything is reckoned; it is worth about
+sixty cents of our money, and consequently the price of admission to
+the temple seemed rather dear to us.
+
+[Illustration: BRASS IDOL IN A TEMPLE.]
+
+"There is another temple that has a statue of brass nearly fifty feet
+high, and, like most of the statues, it is intended to represent the
+divine Buddha. It is in a sitting posture, with the legs crossed, and
+the pedestal on which it sits is of the same material, and delicately
+ornamented. In front of the altar there are cups and flower-vases in
+great variety--some of brass, others of copper, and others again of
+bronze thickly covered with gold. Offerings of fruit and flowers were
+lying on the altar, and on each side of the figure of Buddha there was
+the statue of a priest, standing erect, and with his hands folded in the
+attitude of prayer. We could not help admiring the beauty of the work,
+and regretting that so much money and labor had been devoted to the
+worship of a heathen god. The temple of the Sleeping Idol is said to
+have cost not less than a million of dollars, and probably ten millions
+would not cover the expense of the temples within half a mile of the
+royal palace, to say nothing of the others in the city.
+
+"The Chinese that live in Bangkok have a great many temples of their
+own, but none of them are as fine as the Siamese ones. The temples that
+the Chinese build must be paid for out of their own contributions; while
+those of the Siamese are erected by the government, and the priests that
+take care of them have an official character. There were formerly thirty
+or forty thousand priests in Bangkok: they were so numerous that the
+father of the present king determined to compel them to work for a
+living, and so he took away the government support and turned them out.
+For a few years after he did so they were not very numerous; but they
+have gradually increased, until their number is now reckoned at twenty
+thousand. They can be recognized by their yellow robes, and they have
+their heads shaved as smooth as door-knobs. They live about the temples,
+and every morning they go around begging.
+
+"This morning we started out early, in order to see the priests on their
+begging missions; and it was a curious sight, you may believe.
+
+"Each begging priest has a boat, and generally a boy to paddle it. In
+front of the priest there is a basket with a cover, and as the boat is
+rowed up to a house the priest says not a word, but raises the cover of
+the basket. On the platform in front of the door there is a kettle of
+freshly boiled rice, and somebody, generally a woman, lifts out a quart
+or so of the rice with a ladle and pours it into the basket. When the
+operation is completed, the priest moves on; he never says 'Thank you,'
+and the giver never speaks. If another priest comes a moment after, he
+gets the same quantity, and the same silence is preserved. Charity is
+enjoined by the Buddhist religion, and what is given is given from a
+sense of religious duty. Captain Salje says that nobody need starve in
+Bangkok, as it is the privilege of every one to go to the temples and be
+fed. The priests receive from the people, and are expected in turn to
+give to those that need. But if you went to the temples you would get
+nothing more than boiled rice, with an occasional fish; and, as I should
+tire of those things in a short time, I don't think either Frank or
+myself will become a mendicant in the capital of Siam.
+
+[Illustration: PRIESTS PLAYING CHESS.]
+
+"The priests have a very lazy life of it. They lie around the temples
+and spend much of their time in sleep; some of them study the sacred
+books of their religion, and for those who are inclined to read there is
+a library attached to each of the principal temples. They are fond of
+games like chess, and several times we have found groups of them seated
+around tables and completely absorbed in their sport. Their chessmen are
+like buttons, and they hold them in little baskets, which are kept under
+the hands of the players. Many of them are great smokers, and when a
+party is at chess they usually have their pipes where they can be ready
+for use at a moment's notice.
+
+"Talking about the priests naturally leads up to the religion of the
+country. Doctor Bronson says it is Buddhism of the purest character, and
+was brought to Siam from Ceylon hundreds of years ago. There is
+considerable difference in the authorities about the origin of the
+religion, but the statement most generally received is that it began
+about two thousand three hundred years ago in India. Prince Gautama, who
+afterward became Buddha, was famous for the goodness of his disposition
+and his care for the happiness of his fellow-men. The religion of his
+time was mixed up with a great deal of cruelty, and he determined to
+reform it. With his title of prince, he belonged to a very rich family
+near Benares, which was then considered one of the most sacred cities in
+India; and it remains so to this day in the eyes of the native people.
+He became a wanderer, and for five years he travelled over the country,
+living on charity, and doing all the good that he could.
+
+"At the end of five years he came back to Benares to establish a new
+religion, and dispute with the teachers of the old. The people were
+ready to listen to him, and in a short time, under his new name of
+Buddha, he had many converts. Among them were his father and brothers,
+and other members of his family; and in a few years he was able to send
+out apostles to all parts of India and to Ceylon, and other countries.
+Conversions were made very fast, and the histories say that in less than
+two hundred years from the time Buddha began his work five hundred
+millions of people in Asia had embraced the new doctrines. Temples were
+erected everywhere, and priests became numerous; but the new religion
+led to a bitter war with the old, which lasted for centuries. Buddhism
+was finally driven out of the most of India, and the only places where
+it now exists are the countries to which it was carried by the
+missionaries.
+
+"An English author and journalist, Edwin Arnold, who lived some time in
+India, has written a poem, entitled 'The Light of Asia,' in which he
+endeavors to portray the life and character of Prince Gautama of India,
+the founder of Buddhism. In the preface to his interesting and highly
+instructive production, Mr. Arnold says:
+
+ "'A generation ago little or nothing was known in Europe of this
+ great faith of Asia, which had nevertheless existed during
+ twenty-four centuries, and at this day surpasses, in the number of
+ its followers and the area of its prevalence, any other form of
+ creed. Four hundred and seventy millions of our race live and die
+ in the tenets of Gautama; and the spiritual dominions of this
+ ancient teacher extend, at the present time, from Nepaul and Ceylon
+ over the whole Eastern Peninsula to China, Japan, Thibet, Central
+ Asia, Siberia, and even Swedish Lapland. India itself might fairly
+ be included in this magnificent empire of belief; for, though the
+ profession of Buddhism has for the most part passed away from the
+ land of its birth, the mark of Gautama's sublime teaching is
+ stamped ineffaceably upon modern Brahminism, and the most
+ characteristic habits and convictions of the Hindoos are clearly
+ due to the benign influence of Buddha's precepts. More than a third
+ of mankind, therefore, owe their moral and religions ideas to this
+ illustrious prince, whose personality, though imperfectly revealed
+ in the existing sources of information, cannot but appear the
+ highest, gentlest, holiest, and most beneficent, with one
+ exception, in the history of Thought.'
+
+"Another authority says that the real name of Buddha was Sakya Muni, and
+he was the son of the Rajah of Kapila, a small territory north of
+Benares. According to some of the accounts, he acquired his divine
+character by silent meditation; and it is one of the principles of his
+creed that any one can, by meditation and good works, become equal to
+divinity. He was said to be thirty-five years old when he attained these
+powers, and it required seven years of meditation to reach this
+condition. He lived to be nearly eighty years old, and was actively
+engaged in pushing his new doctrines until the time of his death.
+
+[Illustration: GATE-WAY OF A TEMPLE AT BANGKOK.]
+
+"There are two reasons why I shall not write much about the religion of
+this wonderful man. One is that I am afraid you would not be greatly
+interested in what we call Paganism, and the other is that I don't feel
+able to describe it so that you would understand it. People who have
+lived here for years say it is full of mysteries, and they are not able
+to comprehend it. If that is the case, you could hardly expect a
+traveller who is only a few months in the East to tell you all about the
+beliefs of the natives, and their modes of worship. I am told that the
+creed of Buddha is a very simple one, and is founded on kindness and
+benevolence. It is enjoined on all believers to be charitable, and never
+to inflict pain on anything that lives. This part of the doctrine is not
+closely observed by the ordinary followers, and its strict observation
+is specially appropriate for the priests. They are not allowed to kill
+any animal for the sake of food, but they may eat what others have
+killed, though they are not expected to do so if vegetable food is to be
+obtained. They are expected to remain poor, like the monks of the
+Catholic Church, and whatever is given to them belongs to the temple
+they are attached to. The temples are sometimes very rich, but the
+priests have nothing they can call their own property.
+
+"Children are instructed in the temples, and one of the duties of the
+priests is to give instruction when it is required. Some of the temples
+have schools attached to them; and there are Buddhist colleges that have
+acquired considerable reputation for the learning of the men attached to
+them.
+
+"Attempts have been made to convert the Siamese from their present
+religion to Christianity, and a good many missions have been established
+here. The Roman Catholics came to Siam three hundred years ago, and
+began to preach their religion; and in the early part of this century
+the Protestant missions were established. The government allows the
+missionaries full liberty to preach and teach among the people, and
+makes them gifts of land when any is wanted for the erection of a church
+or school-house. Some of the missionaries have exercised considerable
+influence over the high authorities, and it is largely due to their
+efforts that many reforms have been adopted.
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE OF THE EMERALD IDOL.]
+
+"I will close this letter by telling you something about the last of the
+temples we visited. It is the _Wat P'hza Keau_, or the Temple of the
+Emerald Idol, and is so called on account of an idol of emerald a foot
+high and eight inches wide. It stands on an altar about fifty feet high,
+and all over the surface of the altar there are images representing
+idols, human figures, and animals, the latter including some forms that
+are very grotesque. The emerald idol stands in a niche which is
+beautifully ornamented, and the altar terminates in a long spire above
+the idol's head. There are paintings on the walls superior to anything
+we saw in the other temples, and we found that the bricks on the floor
+were of polished brass instead of baked clay. The hair and collar of the
+idol are of pure gold, and from the way the light fell upon them it
+looked as though they were thickly set with precious stones. Some one
+who has seen it more closely than we did, says that while the gold was
+in a melted state a handful of diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and other
+precious stones were stirred into it; perhaps this was so, but I should
+think it would be injurious to the diamonds to be thrown into melted
+gold, which must be of a very great heat.
+
+"This is the temple where the king comes most frequently to say his
+prayers. We had hoped to see him there, but were disappointed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+ASCENDING THE MENAM, FROM BANGKOK TO AYUTHIA.
+
+
+Doctor Bronson had a letter of introduction to the American Consul at
+Bangkok, which a friend in New York had given him before his departure.
+A few mornings after his arrival in Siam, he called at the consulate to
+deliver the letter and make the acquaintance of his country's
+representative.
+
+He found the consul seated in a large arm-chair on the veranda of a
+spacious building on the east bank of the river, in the foreign portion
+of the city. A yard with shade-trees and gravelled walks surrounded the
+building, and near the landing-place there was a tall staff from which
+the flag of the United States waved in the breeze. The consul was a man
+of pleasing manners, and he was heartily glad to meet a compatriot, as
+the visits of Americans to Bangkok are not at all numerous. "Until you
+arrived," said he to the Doctor, "there had not been an American tourist
+here for nearly eight months. I wish more would come, as we lead rather
+a lonely life in Siam, and are very glad of anything to break the
+monotony."
+
+In a frank, open-hearted way, the consul offered his services to Doctor
+Bronson and his young friends, in case there was anything he could do
+for them.
+
+The Doctor thanked him for the proffered courtesy, and said they hoped
+to be able to see his majesty, the King of Siam, before their departure.
+
+"I think that can be arranged without much difficulty," the consul
+answered. "The king likes to see strangers who are enough interested in
+Siam to come here out of the beaten track. He is a polite, intelligent,
+and most agreeable gentleman, and I feel confident that I can promise to
+present you to him.
+
+"Just now he is absent from the city, and will not be back here for
+three or four days. On his return, I will endeavor to arrange what you
+wish. Meantime there is an excursion going up the river to Ayuthia, the
+ancient capital of Siam, and I advise you to join it. A party is going
+to see some elephants driven in from the forest, and the sight will be
+interesting to you. It can easily be arranged for you to join the
+excursion, which will start to-morrow morning."
+
+Doctor Bronson assented at once to the proposal, and, after exchanging a
+few general observations, he departed, promising to come again in the
+afternoon to learn more fully about the excursion, and to bring the boys
+with him to introduce to the consul. He had left them at the hotel, busy
+with their first letters to friends at home.
+
+Frank and Fred were delighted at the plan for going to Ayuthia,
+especially as they would have an opportunity to see with their own eyes
+the way the Siamese catch elephants. They were impatient to be off, and
+could hardly keep their minds on their letters, as they were filled with
+thoughts of the novelties in store for them.
+
+When they called at the consulate in the afternoon, they found that the
+whole business had been settled. They were to have a house-boat or
+barge, large enough for half a dozen persons, and it was to be towed by
+a steam-launch which had been procured from one of the foreign merchants
+at Bangkok. To economize time, it had been determined to start an hour
+or two before sunset, and travel during the night; by this means they
+would reach Ayuthia early the next forenoon, and thus have the greater
+part of the day for sight-seeing. The consul decided to accompany them,
+as the cares of the consulate were not very heavy at that particular
+time, and, besides, the vice-consul was there to see that nothing went
+wrong.
+
+A sufficient supply of cooked and canned provisions was procured, and
+the necessary amount of blankets, overcoats, and other comforts was made
+ready. The barge came to the front of the hotel at the appointed time,
+and in a few moments they were steaming up the river.
+
+[Illustration: PRIVATE GARDEN NEAR BANGKOK.]
+
+Frank and Fred thought the sight was one of the strangest they had ever
+seen. Here was a broad river, its surface covered with small boats of a
+character new to them, and its banks lined with floating houses, such as
+have been described. Junks, and ships, and sloops, and steamers were
+anchored in the stream; and occasionally a great barge, rowed by twenty
+or thirty men, and belonging to some member of a noble family, shot past
+them, or turned into some of the many canals that open out from the
+Menam. Houses were just visible through the dense mass of palms and
+other tropical trees that lined the banks, and the spires of the pagodas
+rose above like great watch-towers, whose line of vision extended many
+miles. At a bend in the river the white walls of the royal palace came
+into view, and as they passed beyond the palace and proceeded up the
+river their eyes rested upon extensive fields and gardens, and on
+another fringe of floating houses along the bank. Suddenly a practical
+question occurred to Frank, and he asked the consul--
+
+"Does the river ever freeze over?"
+
+"Not by any means," was the reply. "The average temperature here is
+about 82°. April is the hottest month, and the thermometer then goes to
+97°, and sometimes above 100°. It rarely falls below 65°, and the lowest
+ever known is 54°. There are only two seasons--the hot, or wet; and the
+dry, or cool. The south-west monsoon blows from April till October, and
+brings heat and rain with it; while from October till April we have the
+north-east monsoon, which is cool and comfortable. Most of the time
+during the north-east monsoon we have fine weather; there is now and
+then a shower, but it rarely lasts long.
+
+"There is a very good story about the absence of cold in this part of
+Siam. Forty or fifty years ago, when the Protestant missionaries first
+came here, some of them were taken before the king, who wanted to see
+what manner of men they were. Up to that time Siam had had very little
+intercourse with foreign countries, and the old king was not very well
+versed in the geography of other lands, and their climate and
+productions. So he asked the missionaries, who were from Boston, what
+their country was, and what it produced.
+
+"They told him many things about America, described the Falls of
+Niagara, the Rocky Mountains, the Mississippi, the fields of cotton and
+wheat, and other things that the soil produced, the great steamboats on
+the rivers, and talked of many other matters that they thought would
+interest him. Finally, one of them told him that where they came from
+the rivers were frozen over two or three months in the year.
+
+"'What do you mean by that?' the king asked, through his interpreter.
+
+"'Why, I mean,' said the missionary, 'that if this palace and the river
+Menam were at Boston, your majesty could walk across the water during
+three months of the year as he could walk on this floor. The water
+becomes solid, and men cut holes in it with axes and saws.'
+
+"'Now I _know_ you are lying,' the king replied, as he rose from his
+seat in great anger. 'I have thought so for some minutes, and now I am
+certain of it.' And he ordered the reception to end at once, as he
+wished no further communication with men who talked about a river
+getting hard enough for a king to walk on."
+
+The scenery along the river was much like that below the city. There
+was the same luxuriance of vegetation that had astonished the boys when
+they entered the Menam, the same trees, and the same creeping and
+climbing plants. Here and there were great fields of rice; and our
+friends were not surprised to learn that rice was the chief product of
+the country, and its only export of consequence. There were also fields
+of sugar, which was extensively cultivated and exported; and the consul
+told them that there were exports of hemp, pepper, and cotton that
+sometimes reached a respectable figure. There was little manufacturing
+industry in Siam, and what the people wanted in the way of manufactured
+goods was brought from Europe or America.
+
+[Illustration: A SIAMESE FOREST SCENE.]
+
+The consul pointed out various objects of interest as the boat moved
+along the river, and explained many things that otherwise might have
+been misunderstood by the boys, or not comprehended at all. Frank had a
+commercial turn of mind, and asked many questions about the trade of
+Siam; and he was much pleased to find that the consul had the whole
+subject at his command, and was able to give all the desired
+information. When their dialogue ended, Frank had the following facts
+recorded in his note-book:
+
+"In 1876 the exports of Siam amounted to $8,350,000, and the imports to
+$7,070,000--an increase in the volume of trade over the previous year of
+$686,000. The chief export is rice, and in the year mentioned 4,101,000
+piculs of rice were exported. The picul is a Chinese weight of 133
+pounds. The direct exportation to the United States was 8800 piculs; but
+there is a large amount that is reshipped from Hong-kong, and does not
+appear on the records of the Siamese custom-house as going to America.
+
+"In 1857 six foreign ships visited Bangkok; twenty years later, the
+number of foreign ships coming there in a single twelvemonth was more
+than two hundred. In 1840 there was only one trading-ship flying the
+Siamese flag; while in 1874 there were one hundred and twenty-nine
+native ships entered at the custom-house of Bangkok, and one hundred and
+seventy seven cleared from the port. These ships are nearly all native
+built and manned, and they go to Singapore, Hong-kong, and the ports of
+Java. They have not yet ventured on voyages to Europe and America, and
+are not likely to do so for a long time to come."
+
+Fred wished to know what American articles were used in Siam, and Frank
+said he was coming to that as soon as he had written down the notes
+about the shipping.
+
+The consul told them it would take a long time to name over all the
+foreign articles that could be sold in the country; but he would
+certainly not advise anybody to bring a cargo of heavy woollen blankets
+and overcoats, as they would not be in demand.
+
+"I should say so," answered Fred. "With the thermometer as we have seen
+it since we came here, a heavy blanket or anything of the kind is quite
+superfluous. We rather want something for keeping cool, and if somebody
+will invent an ice-machine that you can carry in your pocket or even in
+your trunk he will make a fortune."
+
+"Yes," the consul answered, "a thing much needed in the East is a cheap,
+easily handled, and light ice-machine. Ice is worth from three to six
+cents a pound here, and sometimes it can't be had at any price. There is
+a machine made by a French company that is somewhat used here, but it
+gets out of order easily, and has to be sent to Paris to be repaired.
+Where is the Yankee that will make something to go ahead of it?
+
+"But to return to the subject of the things that are made in America and
+sent here to sell. We have cotton cloths of various kinds; canvas, iron,
+steel, and lead; glassware in several varieties; lamps, kitchen
+machinery and utensils; canned fruits and vegetables, together with
+canned fish and preserves. By-the-way," he continued, "we had a dinner
+at the consulate last year at Christmas-time, when everything edible on
+the table was of American origin, and brought to Siam in cans. The
+dinner-party was also made up of Americans, and you may be sure we had a
+good time, and could easily imagine we were at home.
+
+"Some American machinery is used here, but not much, for the very simple
+reason that there is very little machinery of any kind used in Siam. All
+the weighing apparatus in the custom-house and other government offices
+is from America, as you will find on going through them."
+
+"We passed the custom-house the other day," said Frank, "and I remember
+seeing some scales there which seemed like American ones. I looked for
+the maker's name, and saw the word which everybody knows at home,
+'Fairbanks.' I was told that the king had some of these scales in his
+royal museum, and the only weighing-machines used in Siam, at least by
+the government, were made by Fairbanks."
+
+"The native merchants are learning the advantages of the American system
+of weighing, in preference to their primitive one, as they can get along
+so much faster with the new than with the old," the consul answered.
+"But the East is conservative, and cannot be expected to adopt anything
+new very hastily.
+
+"There is a good deal of American petroleum burnt here," he continued,
+"but it comes to Siam from Singapore, and not directly from America. In
+fact, about seventy per cent. of all the import and export trade of Siam
+is through Singapore, and so the merchants of Siam pay more for their
+goods than if they were brought here direct from the countries where
+they are produced. The king is desirous of having direct trade with the
+United States, and so are many private individuals, and it is to be
+hoped that some of the merchants will yet bring it about. It is a pity
+that the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, or the Occidental and Oriental,
+does not see its way clear to a branch line between Hong-kong and
+Bangkok, to connect with the regular steamers between Hong-kong and San
+Francisco. Two small steamers would perform the service, and I am
+confident it would pay."
+
+There were occasional interruptions to this conversation. Now and then
+the boys saw a curious tree or something else that they wished to study,
+and they were never tired of looking at the native boats that paddled,
+or sailed, or floated down the river.
+
+[Illustration: PARASITE AND PALM.]
+
+One of the trees that attracted their attention as they went along near
+the shore belonged to the family of parasites, and was not unlike some
+they had seen as they ascended the river from Paknam to Bangkok. The
+Doctor explained that in this case the parasite was not a vine, but a
+distinct tree that grew from a seed deposited by the wind or by the
+birds on the trunk or among the leaves of a palm. It grows much faster
+than the palm, and in a few years the palm dies and the parasite lives.
+It is held in the air by the decaying stem of the parent tree until the
+latter altogether rots away and falls. When once the parasite has
+obtained a hold, the destruction of the palm is only a question of time.
+Frank made a sketch of one of these trees while the boat was stopped a
+few moments to enable the engineer of the steam-launch to arrange
+something that had got out of order.
+
+[Illustration: THE BAMBOO-TREE.]
+
+The bamboo-tree seemed to abound along the Menam, as it does everywhere
+in the East. In some places the stalks stood singly, and shot up
+straight as arrows; while in others they were in clusters so dense that
+the stems could not be distinguished one from another. While Frank was
+busy over his sketch of the parasite, Fred managed to secure a good
+picture of one of the most useful trees in the world. It is said that
+there are more than a hundred uses for the bamboo among the Chinese, and
+it is possible that a few others might be added in Siam and Java.
+
+[Illustration: THE BOAT THEY NARROWLY MISSED.]
+
+Several times they had narrow escapes from collisions with the native
+boats, as the men who managed the latter were not very skilful in
+handling the rudder. One that passed so close to them as almost to
+scrape her sides against the boat of our friends, was a Chinese craft
+not unlike what they had seen between Hong-kong and Canton. It was
+running before the wind, and had a great sail of matting that was kept
+in place by a dozen or more cords gathered in a single line at the
+stern. She had a high cabin, that seemed rather top-heavy with the wind
+on the beam, but was all right before it; and there was a little deck
+forward of the mast, where a couple of men were seated. The narrowness
+of the escape did not appear to disturb these natives in the least, and
+they kept their places as though nothing had happened.
+
+[Illustration: SCENE AT BANG-PA-IN.]
+
+Night came upon them, but there was a good moon, and they kept steadily
+on their way. They were going against the current, and as the boat was
+considerably larger than the steam-launch, the progress was not rapid.
+At nine o'clock in the morning they passed Bang-pa-in, where the king
+has a summer palace on a very pretty island in the most picturesque part
+of the river. The palace is built in European style, and was completed
+only a few years ago; the grounds are handsomely laid out, and there is
+an abundance of shade-trees, in irregular groves, from one end of the
+island to the other.
+
+Ayuthia is ten miles above Bang-pa-in; and soon after passing the
+picturesque island Frank discovered some ruins of a temple close to the
+river's bank. The consul told him they would soon see an abundance of
+ruins, and sure enough at the next turn of the river they came in
+sight of what seemed to be a deserted village. Then they saw a number of
+floating houses tied to the shore, and farther on the towers and domes
+of Ayuthia were visible. The boat was stopped in front of a rude wharf,
+and the party stepped ashore in the ancient capital of Siam.
+
+[Illustration: A RIVER SCENE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+VISITING THE PRINCE OF THE ELEPHANTS.--AYUTHIA.--SOMETHING ABOUT
+CROCODILES.
+
+
+The party went ashore as soon as the boat was made fast. Frank was first
+to scramble up the bank, closely followed by Fred; then came the Doctor
+and the consul together, and behind them the interpreter of the
+consulate. At the consulates generally throughout the East it is the
+custom to have an interpreter, to facilitate dealings with the native
+officials and others; he is usually a native who has been taught English
+in some of the mission-schools, or he may be of American or European
+parentage, and familiar from his youth with the language of the country
+where he lives. In the present instance the interpreter was an
+intelligent young Siamese, who was educated by the missionaries, and
+spoke English with great fluency. He was of much service to the Doctor
+and his young companions, as he could tell them many things of interest
+concerning Siam and what it contained.
+
+"We will first go," said the consul, "to call on the Prince of the
+Elephants. He lives in that house you see up there," he continued, as he
+pointed to a light structure of poles and matting, a hundred yards or so
+from the bank.
+
+The interpreter was sent on ahead to herald the arrival of the
+strangers, and returned in a few minutes with the announcement that the
+prince was ready to receive them.
+
+The consul and Doctor Bronson went forward, while Frank and Fred brought
+up the rear. Frank thought the house was not a very sumptuous palace for
+a prince, especially one who had the title of the Prince of the
+Elephants. Fred was of the same opinion, but said they might as well
+reserve their judgment until they had seen what was within. Externally,
+the house was like a rough shed of poles for a framework, with its sides
+covered with matting, to allow a free circulation of air. Some of the
+mats were rolled up, while others were closed; and it was certainly a
+very convenient house for a climate as hot as that of Siam. They were
+received in the upper story, to which they ascended by a rough stairway,
+which could be removed as readily as a ladder. What the lower floor
+contained they did not know, as all the mats around it were closed.
+
+They found the prince just inside the door-way, and seated, or rather
+squatted, on a bench about two feet high. Chairs had been placed for the
+strangers, and they were invited to be seated. The interpreter remained
+standing, and, after a moment's pause, the prince asked who the visitors
+were. The interpreter explained; and while he did so, Frank made good
+use of his eyes to see what the prince was like and how he lived.
+
+[Illustration: THE YOUNG PRINCE.]
+
+His royal highness appeared to be about fifty years old, or perhaps
+fifty-five. He was dressed in the native costume, without any gold-lace
+or other ornament to designate his high rank; the boys were somewhat
+disappointed at this, as they had expected to see a great personage
+covered with fine clothes, and ornamented with an abundance of diamonds
+and other precious stones. A youth, whom they supposed to be his son,
+stood near him, and occasionally leaned against the bench in a familiar
+way. Servants were creeping about the floor, and it made a strange
+impression on the youths to see the humble attitudes of half a dozen or
+more of the attendants as they waited for orders in a corner of the
+room. This is the position of respect in Siam, and, until the present
+king was crowned, it would have been as much as one's life was worth to
+venture into the presence of any member of the royal family in the
+European manner.
+
+When he ascended the throne, he commanded that the old custom of
+creeping, and bowing the head to the floor in the presence of the king,
+should cease; it was a great innovation, but, as it was by royal
+command, it could not be opposed. The rule is enforced at the king's
+palace, but not at the palaces of the subordinate princes; and thus it
+happened that Frank and Fred were witnesses of what to them was a
+curious custom, and by no means an agreeable one.
+
+The prince in whose presence they were was the uncle of the king. His
+name was Chow Phan Alah, and the boys learned from the consul that he
+was a man of marked ability, who had been prominent in public affairs
+for a long time. Socially, he adhered to the old customs of the country,
+as was evident in the creeping and crouching of those around him; but in
+politics he was progressive, and a good deal of the advancement that
+Siam had made in the past twenty years was due to his energy and
+shrewdness.
+
+The interview lasted about a quarter of an hour. While the party was in
+the reception-hall, the prince ordered cigars and fruit to be served,
+and when they retired he sent a basket of fruit after them as a present.
+The consul had suggested that Doctor Bronson and the youths would like
+to see the stables of the elephants, and also wished to attend the
+elephant-hunt that was to come off about that time. The first request
+was granted at once; and the prince sent one of his officers to show the
+stables and their occupants, and also the corral close by, where the
+wild elephants were caught. He regretted to say that the hunt had been
+postponed a few days on account of the swollen condition of some of the
+rivers, which made it difficult to drive the animals through the
+forest. The boys were disappointed to hear this, but they were consoled
+with the reflection that they could see the spot where the hunt would
+take place, and the Doctor promised to explain to them how it was
+conducted.
+
+[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF "CHANG."]
+
+The elephant-stable was only a huge shed, with the earth for a floor. It
+contained three or four elephants, all the others being out in the
+forest with the hunting-party. The largest of the elephants was brought
+out for their inspection; he was named "Chang," and was thought to be
+not far from seventy years old. As the elephant lives to the age of one
+hundred and fifty years and upwards, old Chang was just in the prime of
+life when the boys saw him, and his step was as elastic as that of a
+youth of twenty. He was not overjoyed to meet the strangers, and
+flourished his trunk in a menacing way; but at a sign from his keeper he
+ceased his demonstrations, and became thoroughly obedient.
+
+[Illustration: MACEDONIAN COIN, WITH ANCIENT GOAD.]
+
+Chang had been at work hauling timber during the cool hours of the
+morning, and his harness was still on his back. It consisted of a stout
+breastplate of ropes and leather, which was held in place by a pad on
+his back. Just below his shoulder a stout ring was inserted in the
+breastplate, and to this the ropes by which the timber was drawn were
+attached. The driver sat on his neck, and directed him by means of an
+iron goad that had a hook near the end. Frank could not at first
+understand the use of this iron, but he soon found out. The officer
+asked the boys if they would like to take a ride on the beast, and we
+may be sure they assented at once. Chang was directed to a place at the
+side of a high wall, to which a sloping path led. The boys mounted to
+the top of the wall, and were thus enabled to take their places on the
+elephant's back.
+
+[Illustration: MODERN GOAD.]
+
+The driver said something in Siamese, and the elephant at once moved
+off. He did not go fast enough to suit the driver, and then the goad
+came into play. His neck was prodded with it, and the hook was inserted
+into his ear in a way that made him understand and obey. The goad has
+been in use without any modification of shape for two thousand years or
+more, as is shown by ancient coins of a date prior to the Christian era.
+
+As soon as Chang found that the driver was determined to use the goad he
+made no further opposition, and went along as peaceably as an obedient
+horse. The elephant generally obeys through affection for his driver;
+and instances have been known where one of these huge beasts has shown
+great grief at the loss of his favorite keeper, and refused all food
+until he literally starved to death. Very often the driver talks to the
+elephant, and the beast seems to understand perfectly what is said to
+him. Chang's driver did so, and hardly had he begun speaking before the
+elephant swung his trunk from side to side, and gave little grunts of
+satisfaction. The boys could not understand the language; but the
+interpreter told them that the driver was praising Chang for his good
+conduct, and asking him why he behaved so badly when the strangers came
+so far to see him. And with an eye to his own pocket, he said, "They are
+very nice gentlemen, and will certainly give some ticals to buy bananas
+for good old Chang." Of course the interpreter told what had been said,
+and the boys, when the ride was over, fulfilled the promise that had
+been made on their behalf.
+
+[Illustration: A WAR ELEPHANT.]
+
+One of Chang's companions was led out from the stable, and assigned to
+Doctor Bronson and the consul. The interpreter had mounted with the
+boys, and so the officer who came by the command of the prince took a
+place with the others. He told the consul that the animal they were
+riding was trained for war purposes; and though he was occasionally put
+at work, like Chang, whenever timber was to be hauled, he ordinarily had
+nothing to do. Each of his tusks had three rings of silver encircling
+it, and he was evidently proud of his ornaments. The famous white
+elephants in the royal stables at Bangkok have rings of pure gold on
+their tusks; they are not always sensible of the honor that is shown
+them, and when the rings are being put in place they manifest their
+displeasure in the most emphatic ways. On one occasion two of the court
+jewellers were killed by an elephant that objected to be ornamented
+after the customary manner of the country, and it was only after a long
+time that he submitted to the operation.
+
+When used for war, these elephants are equipped with a howdah, or
+basket, on their backs, and two or three soldiers are seated in it. They
+have a plentiful supply of weapons, and frequently so many as to
+encumber them greatly when they come to close quarters with the enemy.
+Elephants are not used in battle as much as in ancient times; the great
+body of the beast makes a magnificent mark for a rifle, and when wounded
+an elephant is more dangerous to his friends than to the enemy. Formerly
+a great number of elephants was kept for fighting purposes, but since
+the introduction of fire-arms the value of this huge beast for anything
+in war beyond the transportation of supplies has ceased to be apparent.
+Consequently, they are not at all numerous; and probably, if the Siamese
+were to indulge in war at the present time, they would not bring a
+single elephant into the battle-field.
+
+Thus mounted, our friends went through the ruins of the ancient capital
+of Siam. It was a novel promenade, and one that the boys were not likely
+to forget in a hurry.
+
+"The funniest thing yet," said Frank. "We went through Tokio and Kioto
+in jinrikishas; we rode on a wheelbarrow in Shanghai; we were carried in
+sedan-chairs in Canton and Hong-kong; and here we are seeing the ruins
+of Ayuthia from the back of an elephant. Wonder what we shall do next in
+the way of novel travelling!"
+
+But though greatly enjoying their ride, they did not forget that they
+were out for an excursion through a city, or rather through what was
+once a city. And the magnitude and extent of the ruins impressed them
+greatly, and showed what a magnificent place Ayuthia must have been in
+the days of its glory.
+
+[Illustration: NEAR THE PALACE.]
+
+The streets and yards, and even the houses, were overgrown with tropical
+trees that had been undisturbed for a hundred years and more; that they
+had made good use of their time, was everywhere apparent in the
+crumbling walls and the fallen towers that rose before the eyes of the
+visitors wherever they were turned. In several instances the bushes and
+climbing plants had completely covered the towers of the temples, and
+made them appear more like a great mass of verdure than a structure of
+brick and mortar.
+
+[Illustration: IN THE RUINED CITY.]
+
+At one place the party descended from their elephants and went to the
+top of a wing of the former palace of Ayuthia. From the summit the view
+was extensive, and of a character not easy to describe. Frank thought it
+was not greatly unlike the view from the tower of Wat Seh Kate at
+Bangkok, as the abundance of trees made it difficult to see much more
+than the spires of the pagodas; and this was the most that could be seen
+in Ayuthia. But as he looked directly below him, he saw that the streets
+and court-yards were desolate, and he missed the throng of people that
+made the streets of Bangkok alive. Many parts of the palace were in a
+good state of preservation, and it seemed a pity that the city could not
+be repaired and peopled as it was of old.
+
+It is said that when the Burmese overran Siam and captured her capital
+in 1769, the walls were so massive, and the buildings so excellent in
+construction, that the destruction of Ayuthia occupied nearly two
+months. Many parts of the walls are still in existence, and it is not at
+all difficult to trace the boundaries of the city. The distance it is
+necessary to travel to pass around the city by following its walls, is
+variously stated at from five to ten miles; and as our friends did not
+make the journey, they have left the question undecided.
+
+A ruined city is a melancholy spectacle in any land and under any sky,
+and the boys were not at all sorry when the excursion through Ayuthia
+was over. They had more reasons than sentimental ones, as they found the
+motion of the elephant was not particularly agreeable when continued for
+a long time, and it required a good deal of attention to keep from
+falling off the back of their new-fashioned steed. When they dismounted
+at the stables, they were obliged to stretch themselves two or three
+times to make sure that their backbones were in the proper place, and
+both were positive that they had all the elephant-riding they cared
+for--for that day at least.
+
+"It is nothing when you get used to it," said the consul. "If you had a
+journey of several days or weeks to make on an elephant, you would
+become accustomed to the motion in a short time, and could then endure
+it indefinitely."
+
+The Doctor confirmed this view of the matter, and said the motion of the
+elephant was not nearly as hard as that of the camel for a beginner, and
+much easier to endure. "A camel," said he, "shakes you violently forward
+and back without cessation, while the motion of the elephant is not
+unlike that of a horse at a walk. If you have not mounted a horse for a
+long time, you will find yourself very sore and stiff after your first
+day's travel on the gentlest steed that was ever used, and this feeling
+will continue for two or three days. By degrees you get accustomed to
+it, and then you pay no farther attention to aches or pains, for the
+reason that you do not have them. It is just the same with an elephant
+or a camel, only the camel is much the worse.
+
+"In some respects the elephant is a most remarkable animal. He possesses
+great intelligence, and can be taught to do many things that border upon
+reason. Books of natural history are full of incidents of the elephant's
+high order of intellect; the stories may sometimes be exaggerated, but
+there is no question that the majority of them are correct. In nothing
+is this more apparent than in the capture of his wild kindred; and it is
+a curious fact that the elephant, after being thoroughly domesticated,
+manifests no desire to return to his forest-life, and seems to take
+pleasure in assisting at the capture of others. We will talk about this
+business by-and-by, and meantime will complete our study of Ayuthia."
+
+So far as the actual inspection of the ruined city was concerned, the
+study to which the Doctor referred was already completed, and the party
+returned to the boat.
+
+Frank asked if it was not possible to go farther up the river, and make
+a general exploration of Siam. Fred seconded him in the question, which
+was anxiously propounded to the consul and Doctor Bronson.
+
+"There are several reasons why we cannot do it," the former answered.
+"In the first place, we are limited for time of using the steam-launch
+and barge; secondly, I cannot spare the time to go farther; thirdly, we
+have not the necessary provisions and equipments for a wild journey;
+and, fourthly--"
+
+"Never mind the other reasons," said the Doctor; "those you have given
+are quite sufficient. We will go back, and be thankful that we have seen
+so much. Only a few visitors to Siam ever have the opportunity of coming
+to Ayuthia and seeing its wonderful ruins."
+
+As the boat moved off, on her return to Bangkok, the consul explained to
+the boys that the Menam was about nine hundred miles in length, and had
+a general course from north to south. It flows through an exceedingly
+fertile country, and the Siamese are very proud of it. Its name in
+Siamese means "Mother of Waters;" and though it is not to the country
+what the Nile is to Egypt, it is certainly of great importance. From the
+source of the river to its mouth, the forest is dense and luxurious,
+except where clearings have been made for purposes of agriculture. Teak,
+sapan, and other tropical trees grow to a great size, and the underbrush
+is so thick that it is next to impossible to walk about until a path has
+been opened.
+
+Fred thought it would be nice to have a bath in the Menam; and proposed
+that they should try a swim in its waters the first time they had an
+opportunity.
+
+[Illustration: CROCODILES AT HOME.]
+
+"I would advise you not to try it," the consul answered. "It is safe
+enough at Bangkok, where there is so much movement of boats, and you
+might bathe there without danger. But in this part of the river there
+are plenty of crocodiles, and the higher up you go the more of them do
+you find. M. Mouhot, who explored the Upper Menam in 1861, and died at
+the village of Louang Prebang in that year, says that in some instances
+he found the banks covered with crocodiles basking in the sun, and they
+were so unused to attacks that they were not at all disturbed by the
+presence of his boat. They frequently swallow incautious swimmers who
+venture into the parts of the river where they abound; and sometimes
+cattle going to the river to drink are seized by them. In such fights
+the crocodile is generally the victor, as he is thoroughly at home in
+the water, and his jaws have an enormous amount of strength."
+
+[Illustration: TAKING A BITE.]
+
+"What is the difference between the alligator and the crocodile?" one of
+the boys asked.
+
+"There is no material difference," the Doctor answered, "between the
+two. The alligator is American, and the crocodile Asiatic; and there is
+a slight difference in the formation of the head, and in the number and
+arrangement of the scales. The habits of the two are similar; they live
+in the water for the greater part of the time, but do not suffer any
+inconvenience when removed from it. They live mainly on fish, but have
+no prejudice against swallowing other game. Hence their fondness for
+men, and also for pigs, sheep, dogs, cattle, and anything else that
+comes in their way. The tastes of both are identical; and I presume that
+if you brought a crocodile and an alligator together, and put them to
+live in the same tank, they would acknowledge their relationship, and
+dwell in peace and quietness. On the other hand, they might indulge in a
+deadly combat; and in this, again, their similarity would be shown, as
+they are not always of an amiable disposition, and often indulge in
+fierce battles."
+
+Fred asked if it was possible for them to stop on the way down the river
+and have a hunt for crocodiles.
+
+Frank retorted that they had no fire-arms for shooting this kind of game
+or any other; and it was his opinion that their captures would not be
+numerous under the present circumstances.
+
+[Illustration: THE DOCTOR'S CRACK SHOT.]
+
+"To shoot a crocodile," said the Doctor, "you must first have him where
+you can shoot, and then you must have the weapon ready. It must be a
+powerful rifle, carrying a large ball; and there are very few places on
+the reptile's body where your shot will have any effect. If you are an
+expert with the rifle, you may hit him in the eye when he is swimming
+across a stream; the bullet penetrates the brain, and causes speedy
+death; but if you strike him an inch away from the eye, your shot is
+wasted. I once killed a large alligator in this way; it was the first I
+had ever shot, and I was very proud of my achievement. The next day and
+the next I tried to repeat the performance, and I kept it up for a week
+without result. I was unable to get a similar chance, as not one of the
+reptiles made his appearance, though the bayou was full of them.
+
+[Illustration: ALLIGATOR AND CRANE.]
+
+"The alligator makes great use of his tail in fighting, and in sweeping
+his game into his mouth. A blow of the tail from even a small alligator
+will break a man's leg, and I have known it to cut off a tree two inches
+in diameter. When the fellow wishes to capture anything, he tries to
+creep along-side, and when within reach he opens his mouth and sweeps
+his great tail around at the same instant, and the prize disappears down
+his capacious throat. Once I saw an alligator lying on a bank where some
+cranes were feeding not far away. He was motionless as a log--which he
+much resembled--but I could see that he had his eye open, and was on the
+lookout for a breakfast. By-and-by one of the cranes wandered near him,
+and like a flash his tail swept the bird into his mouth. Then he
+stretched out and 'set himself again,' as my guide said, for another
+crane.
+
+[Illustration: THE TROCHILUS.]
+
+"It is a curious circumstance, mentioned by Herodotus, and greatly
+discussed since his time, that there is a small bird called the
+_trochilus_ that fearlessly enters the mouth of the crocodile, and
+relieves it of the leeches and flies that disturb it. The bird and the
+crocodile seem to be on the most friendly terms; and it is thought by
+some writers that the bird performs the additional service of sentinel
+to its huge friend, and warns him of the approach of danger."
+
+[Illustration: TROCHILUS AND CROCODILE.]
+
+Fred suggested that it was just possible that the bird was only an
+inquisitive fellow, and finding the crocodile's mouth open, he looked in
+to see what sort of a house it would make. And the crocodile, on his
+part, did not think the little bird was large enough to pay him for
+shutting his jaws on it; and so the intruder escaped solely on account
+of his diminutive size.
+
+"When you see a crocodile or an alligator asleep on a bank," the Doctor
+continued, "you can, perhaps, get a good shot by creeping near enough to
+send a bullet under his fore-leg. The skin there is not protected by
+scales, and a bullet will penetrate it. Especially if you have explosive
+balls that burst on the moment of concussion, you can tear a great hole
+inside your game, and seriously interfere with his digestion. I shot one
+once in this way on a sand-bar in the Nile, a few miles above the first
+cataract; he was nearly twenty feet long, and it took my men a whole day
+to remove his skin. I was within thirty paces of him when I fired, and,
+as I had good aim, I sent the bullet exactly where I wished, he gave a
+few convulsive movements with his tail, and then stretched out stiff and
+dead."
+
+The Doctor paused; and the consul took up the conversation with an
+account a friend had given him of a fight between a bear and an
+alligator in Western Louisiana.
+
+"My friend was out hunting one day," said the consul, "and was suddenly
+startled by a loud roaring in the bushes not far off. He cautiously
+crept near, expecting to see a couple of bulls preparing for combat;
+what was his astonishment to see a large bear and a full-grown alligator
+eying each other, and poising themselves for an encounter.
+
+"Bruin was on his hind legs, his mouth was covered with foam, and there
+were several streams of blood on his black coat. The alligator was on
+the tiptoes of all his legs, and he lashed his tail furiously, and kept
+his great jaws moving as if trying their ability to close on the bear at
+the proper moment.
+
+[Illustration: THE ALLIGATOR AND THE BEAR.]
+
+"The bear growled, and the alligator roared like a bull; and it was his
+roaring that had attracted my friend's attention. They had evidently
+indulged in a clinch before he saw them, and were making ready for a
+second round. For fully a minute they remained in the attitudes in which
+he first beheld them, and neither could make up his mind how to take the
+best hold. Finally Bruin dropped on all fours, and ran at the alligator;
+the latter met him by throwing his head and body to one side, and
+delivering a blow with his tail that knocked the bear over on the
+ground, and rolled him several yards away. The blow sounded as though it
+had been given with a club with the force of half a dozen men, and it is
+safe to say that the strongest man would have been killed by it.
+
+"The bear was not discouraged, for he picked himself up and ran once
+more at the alligator. He did it three times in succession, and with the
+same result; the alligator knocking him over each time.
+
+"Bruin now saw that he must change his tactics. He made his next run in
+such a way as to avoid the tail, and he was fairly on the alligator's
+body before the blow could be given. The great tail was lashed furiously
+from side to side, but to no purpose, as it could not hit the bear
+either way. The force of the charge upset the alligator, and turned him
+completely over; the bear's jaws closed on one of his fore-legs, while
+the shaggy paws were clasped around the scaly body. The reptile was in a
+bad way, as his great weapon of warfare, the tail, was useless; and his
+neck was not flexible enough to enable him to bite. He roared in
+despair, and then bethought himself of a new trick.
+
+"His tail, as he lashed it around, happened to hit a small tree; he
+pushed against this tree as with a lever, and by using it as a fulcrum
+he managed to wriggle along to the bank. Then another convulsive
+movement threw him and his antagonist into the water.
+
+"The bank from which they fell was about four feet high, and they
+tumbled in with a loud splash. They disappeared below the surface, and
+were out of sight for nearly two minutes. The bear came up, and, after
+scrambling to the shore, he gave a brief glance at the stream, to make
+sure that there was no chance of renewing the combat; then, shaking the
+water from his skin, he hurried off into the forest. My friend could
+have shot the bear with the utmost ease, but in consideration for the
+courage and determination he had shown he did not do so."
+
+"He was right," said Frank; "such bravery should command respect."
+
+"But how about the alligator's part of the fight?" the Doctor asked.
+
+"As to that," responded the youth, "the alligator deserves no credit.
+When he found he could not conquer the bear on equal terms, he sneaked
+into the river. He could live in the air or in the water, while the bear
+could not fight below the surface of the stream, and could not even live
+there. All the alligator had to do was to sink in the water, and the
+bear must drown or let go his hold. I like the bear's bravery, but don't
+think much of the other fellow."
+
+"No more do I," Fred chimed in; "and it is a pity that the alligator
+could not have been shot before he rolled from the bank. All the race of
+crocodiles is a cruel one, and ought to be exterminated."
+
+"They are fast being driven from existence," said the Doctor.
+"Twenty-five years ago they were numerous in the Nile below Luxor; while
+to-day they are rarely seen below the first cataract, which is more than
+a hundred miles above Luxor. They are also becoming scarce in the rivers
+of India; and the alligators in the southern parts of the United States
+are not nearly as numerous as they were. Still, there are enough for all
+the demand that is likely to be made for them, and anybody who will
+invent a way of killing them rapidly will confer a benefit upon the
+human race."
+
+[Illustration: JUST HATCHED.]
+
+"In regions where these reptiles abound, the natives have adopted the
+sensible plan of destroying the eggs whenever they find a nest. The
+nests are made in the sand or on a bank of earth, and the female
+alligator usually lays from twenty to forty--rarely more than the latter
+number. They are hatched by the heat of the sun: the mother does not sit
+on the nest like a hen, but she stays in the neighborhood and fights for
+their protection. When the chicks emerge from the shell they hurry off
+to the water, or to a hiding-place in the mud; and they seem to
+understand that they will be subject to many dangers until they get
+large enough to defend themselves. Cranes and fish are fond of them in
+their tender youth, and even the fathers of the alligator family seem to
+mistake them for frogs, and eat them with apparent delight.
+
+"In some parts of India the natives dig a circular pit, and cover it with
+sticks and leaves. The pit surrounds a little island or mound of earth,
+and is close to a stream where crocodiles abound. On the mound they
+fasten a young goat, and his bleatings during the night attract the
+crocodiles, who break the slight floor of sticks with their heavy
+bodies, and fall into the pit prepared for them. Heavy stakes are set in
+the bottom of the pit, and as the reptile falls he is generally impaled
+on one or more of them.
+
+"I have read of a famous old crocodile who defied all the ordinary
+modes of capture, in one of the rivers of India. Finally an English
+officer hit upon a trick that was successful. He put a pound of powder
+in a can, and attached it to an electric wire, so that he could explode
+it at pleasure; then he placed this can inside the carcass of a sheep,
+and by means of a rope floated it over where the crocodile lay. The
+crocodile rose and swallowed the bait; the officer, who was standing
+ready with his electric battery on the shore, completed the connection
+of the wires, and an instant afterwards the reptile that had been a
+terror to the neighborhood had ceased to exist. The can of powder
+exploded in his stomach, and his body, when it came to the surface, was
+so torn and distorted that it could hardly be recognized as the remains
+of a crocodile."
+
+[Illustration: COMING OUT TO SUN HIMSELF.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+STORIES OF ELEPHANT-HUNTING.--SCENES OF THE CHASE.
+
+
+When the topic of crocodiles and their relatives had been exhausted,
+Fred reminded the Doctor of his promise to tell them something of the
+ways of hunting elephants.
+
+"I was just coming to that," said Doctor Bronson, "and have been trying
+to refresh my memory on the subject. I do not know how they hunt
+elephants in Siam, but from the appearance of the corral near the
+elephants' stables, I infer that the process is pretty nearly the same
+in all countries where the elephant is found in a wild state.
+
+[Illustration: AN ELEPHANT FENCE.]
+
+"You observed that the corral, or yard, at Ayuthia was constructed of
+upright logs set into the earth in the form of a palisade. In Ceylon it
+is made of heavy posts, with strong timbers placed horizontally, the
+whole interlaced and bound with withes, and braced with slanting posts
+on the outside. The fence is generally about fifteen feet high, and the
+openings in it will easily allow a man to pass through. At Ayuthia you
+saw that the posts of the corral permit the same thing; the fence is
+like a sieve, that strains men through without difficulty, but catches
+the elephants.
+
+[Illustration: FORM OF A CORRAL.]
+
+"Here is the general appearance of the fence," said the Doctor, as he
+took his pencil and drew on a sheet of paper, "and here is the shape of
+the corral. The corral is a pen, and the word is derived from the
+Spanish, and means a ring or enclosure. The space enclosed is generally
+about five hundred feet long by half that width, and at one end there is
+a gate that can be opened and shut very quickly, and is large enough to
+permit the passage of but one elephant at a time. There is an avenue,
+shaped like the letter V, which leads up to the corral, and converges on
+the side where the gate is placed. It is concealed as much as possible
+by brushwood, and where it begins it is so slight as to be hardly
+perceptible. It extends a long distance into the forest, and a great
+deal of skill is required to construct it successfully.
+
+[Illustration: BEGINNING THE DRIVE.]
+
+"When the corral has been arranged, and is ready for occupation, the
+herd is supposed to be in its vicinity. Eight or ten weeks have been
+spent in driving in the elephants; the forest where they roam has been
+surrounded very cautiously, and several herds have been driven together
+so slowly and quietly, that none of the sagacious beasts has any
+suspicion that he is being entrapped. Sometimes hundreds of men are
+employed in driving in the herds, and an area is surrounded equal to
+several counties of an American state. Day by day the circle grows
+narrower, and finally the men composing it are able to build fires ten
+or twelve feet from each other. Not till then do they consider the game
+fairly bagged, and now they throw off all deception and adopt new
+tactics. Where before all was still, is now a scene of wild confusion;
+the men make a loud noise, with musical and unmusical instruments, and
+each of them carries a torch, which he waves wildly in the air. They do
+this on three sides of the herd, while the fourth side, in the direction
+of the corral, is left conveniently open.
+
+[Illustration: DRIVING INTO THE CORRAL.]
+
+"The elephants are frightened, and rush in the desired direction; they
+now begin to suspect a snare, and frequently try to break through the
+line of men and rush back to their forest home. The men pelt them with
+the torches, and strike them with the burning sticks, till they turn
+around again and go where they are wanted; gradually they near the end
+of the corral, and finally a few of them make their way through the gate
+and are securely trapped. The natives rush forward and close the bars of
+the gate, and the rest of the herd is permitted to stray a little way
+back into the woods, but it is carefully kept from going too far.
+
+"When they find they are caught, the elephants rush wildly round the
+corral, trying first one part of the fence and then another, in the hope
+of escaping. Wherever they go, they are met at the fence by men with
+flaming torches; and they are further terrified by discharges of
+musketry, and the sound of horns and trumpets. This performance is kept
+up for several hours of the day, and generally through the night; and at
+daybreak they make ready to secure the captives, and prepare the corral
+for a second lot of elephants.
+
+"It is in this work that the elephant shows the peculiarity of his
+nature, in using all his sagacity to assist in the capture of his
+kindred. He seems to know what is wanted of him, and invariably appears
+to take great delight in doing it."
+
+"Elephant nature is not altogether unlike human nature," remarked the
+consul, with a smile. "Not a few of our fellow-men, whenever they fall
+upon misfortune, are desirous of having others to share it with them."
+
+"It is an old adage that misery loves company," said Fred.
+
+"But I hope it is not a true one," Frank responded. "Perhaps we had
+better give the human race the benefit of any doubt on the subject, and
+say that the quality we have been talking about is elephant nature, and
+does not belong to us."
+
+His proposal was accepted, and the account of elephant-hunting was
+resumed.
+
+"The removal of the captives requires a good deal of skill and caution,
+both on the part of the tame elephants and on that of the attendants.
+Here is an excellent account of this operation:
+
+"The bars which secured the entrance to the corral were cautiously
+withdrawn, and two trained elephants passed stealthily in, each ridden
+by his _mahout_--or _ponnekella_, as he is called in Ceylon--and one
+attendant, and carrying a strong collar, formed by coils of rope made
+from cocoa-nut fibre, from which hung on each side cords of elk's hide,
+prepared with a ready noose. Along with them, and concealed behind them,
+the head-men of the _cooroowe_, or noosers, crept in, eager to secure
+the honor of taking the first elephant--a distinction which this class
+jealously contests with the mahouts of the chiefs and the temples. He
+was a wiry little man, nearly seventy years old, who had served in the
+same capacity under the Kandyan king, and wore two silver bangles, which
+had been conferred on him in testimony of his prowess. He was
+accompanied by his son, named Ranghanie, equally renowned for his
+courage and dexterity.
+
+"On this occasion ten tame elephants were in attendance; one of which
+had been caught only the year before, but was now ready to assist in
+capturing others. One was of prodigious age, having been in the service
+of the Dutch and English governments in succession, for upwards of a
+century. The other, called by her keeper 'Siribeddi,' was about fifty
+years old, and distinguished for her gentleness and docility. She was a
+most accomplished decoy, and evinced the utmost relish for the sport.
+Having entered the corral noiselessly, she moved slowly along with a sly
+composure and an assumed air of easy indifference; sauntering leisurely
+in the direction of the captives, and halting now and then to pluck a
+bunch of grass or a few leaves, as she passed. As she approached the
+herd, they put themselves in motion to meet her, and the leader, having
+advanced in front and passed his trunk gently over her head, turned and
+paced slowly back to his dejected companions. Siribeddi followed with
+the same listless step, and drew herself up close behind him, thus
+affording the nooser an opportunity to stoop under her and slip the
+noose over the hind foot of the wild one. The elephant instantly
+perceived his danger, shook off the rope, and turned to attack the man.
+The latter would have suffered for his temerity, had not Siribeddi
+protected him by raising her trunk and driving the assailant into the
+middle of the herd, when the old man, being slightly wounded, was helped
+out of the corral, and his son, Ranghanie, took his place.
+
+"The herd again collected in a circle, with their heads towards the
+centre. The largest male was singled out, and two tame ones pushed
+boldly in, one on each side of him, till the three stood nearly abreast.
+He made no resistance, but betrayed his uneasiness by shifting
+restlessly from foot to foot. Ranghanie now crept up; holding the rope
+open with both hands, its other extremity being made fast to Siribeddi's
+collar, and watching the instant when the wild elephant lifted its hind
+foot, he succeeded in passing the noose over its leg, drew it close, and
+fled to the rear. The two tame elephants now fell back; Siribeddi
+stretched the rope to its full length, and while she dragged out the
+captive, her companion placed himself between her and the herd to
+prevent any interference.
+
+[Illustration: SECURING THE CAPTIVES.]
+
+"In order to secure him to a tree, he had to be dragged back some
+twenty or thirty yards, making furious resistance, bellowing in terror,
+plunging on all sides, and crushing the smaller timber, which bent like
+reeds beneath his clumsy struggles. Siribeddi drew him steadily after
+her, and wound the rope round the proper tree, holding it all the time
+at its fullest tension, and stepping cautiously across it when, in order
+to give it a second turn, it was necessary to pass between the tree and
+the elephant.
+
+[Illustration: SIRIBEDDI'S PRIZE.]
+
+"One after the other the herd was secured, in spite of their resistance;
+and the whole time consumed in disposing of an elephant, from the moment
+the decoys approached him till he was secured to a tree, was about
+three-quarters of an hour. The captives tried all possible ways to
+escape, but it was of no use; they were fastened to the trees, and the
+cords were so strong and so well tied that the greatest exertions of the
+prisoners were of no effect whatever. Some of the tricks they practised
+in endeavoring to escape were very ingenious, and showed that the
+elephant in his wild state has the full development of the sagacity
+which he displays in captivity. Their strength is enormous, and
+sometimes they pull down trees in their struggles.
+
+[Illustration: THE PRISONERS TIED UP.]
+
+"It is a curious circumstance," the Doctor continued, "that the tame
+elephant who is assisting at the capture of his kindred never displays
+the least sympathy for them; while they, on the other hand, show a great
+deal of it for each other. When a captive, who is being dragged to a
+tree, passes one that is already tied up, he will stop and twine his
+trunk around the other's legs and neck, and manifest in all the ways
+that he can a deep sorrow for what has happened.
+
+[Illustration: A LITTLE HEAD WORK.]
+
+"When the animals are secured the corral presents a curious spectacle.
+The great beasts are stretched out in various attitudes, their feet
+fastened to the trees, and sometimes spread far apart. They moan and
+bellow for hours together; they seize hold of the trees with their
+trunks, and exhaust all their ingenuity in endeavoring to get free. When
+all other means have failed, they will often try to escape by turning
+somersaults; and it is interesting to see an elephant balancing himself
+on his head, and endeavoring to throw his heels in the air. For awhile
+they refuse to eat or drink, and sometimes they literally starve
+themselves to death. I have heard of several instances where they have
+refused to move or eat, and remain motionless for days, till they die.
+It is generally the finest elephant of a herd that kills himself in this
+way; the natives say he dies of a broken heart, and I am quite inclined
+to believe that such is the case. And it sometimes happens that after an
+elephant has been tamed, and is thoroughly obedient to his keeper, he
+will lie down and die on the very first attempt to harness him.
+
+[Illustration: IN A HEAP OF TROUBLE.]
+
+"There is a story of an elephant in Ceylon, which was one of the finest
+that had been taken in a long while. He resisted a good deal when first
+captured; and when they were removing him from the corral to the
+stables, a distance of about six miles, he was so obstinate that the
+journey occupied several hours. He escaped once, but was afterwards
+recaptured and became very docile; but when he was taken to Colombo, he
+stopped in front of the gate of the fort, and would not enter. While
+they were trying to persuade him to go inside, he lay down on the ground
+and died, without the least struggle."
+
+Frank asked in what way the elephants are tamed, after they have been
+captured and tied up as the Doctor described.
+
+"They are subdued," said the Doctor, "partly by starvation, and partly
+by kind treatment. Hunger is the great force used, as the elephant is
+not allowed to have any food until he shows signs of becoming tractable.
+Sometimes he is starved for a week or more; but he is allowed to satisfy
+his thirst to a limited extent. When he indicates that he has become
+docile, and is accustomed to the presence of his keeper, he is released
+and taken to the stables, where he is well fed. No attempt is made to
+harness him for some time, but he is exercised with the other elephants,
+and gradually reconciles himself to a captive state. In nine cases out
+of ten he never shows the least inclination to rebel, but accepts his
+new condition of life with perfect resignation; and, as I have before
+told you, he is quite ready and willing to assist in the capture of his
+former comrades.
+
+"In some parts of Asia the natives capture elephants by digging deep
+pits, and covering them with bushes and leaves, so that the trap is
+quite concealed. The herd is then driven in the direction of the pit,
+and some of the animals fall into it. A guard is placed over them, and
+they are kept without food for seven or eight days, and even for a
+longer period if they do not submit. When they are conquered, the sides
+of the pit are dug down, and they are led out of the place of their
+imprisonment. There is a very good story connected with this mode of
+capture; it is an old one, and evidently the Eastern version of the
+fable of the mouse and the lion, which is in all the story-books."
+
+"Tell it, please," said Fred; and the request was echoed by his cousin.
+
+"I will tell it," said the Doctor, "though I fear you may consider it
+too juvenile for you.
+
+"Hundreds of years ago an elephant was taken in a pit in a forest in
+India. He bemoaned his fate, and wept aloud. The guard that had been
+left over him was asleep under a tree, and a priest who was passing
+heard his lamentations and tried to console him.
+
+"'Alas!' said the elephant, 'there can be no consolation for me. I must
+stay in this pit till I am subdued, and then I shall be the slave of
+man. No one can save me.'
+
+"'Don't be so sure of that,' replied the priest. 'If you have ever done
+a good action to anybody, you can call him to your aid, and he will
+assist you. Think of some service you have given, and perhaps it will
+now be of use to you.'
+
+"'I have done services on several occasions,' the elephant answered;
+'but those who were favored were so small that they can now do nothing
+for a great body like me.'
+
+"'Tell me one of them,' said the priest.
+
+"'Last year,' said the elephant, 'the prince of this province had
+captured the king of the rats, and a great many of his subjects. He had
+them in earthen jars, and was about to drown them; but I came along in
+the night and broke all the jars, so that the rats ran away and were
+free.
+
+[Illustration: REFUSING TO MOVE ON.]
+
+"'And another time a man had the queen of the tribe of the parrots in a
+cage, and hung it on a tree where nobody could reach it. I pulled the
+tree down and broke the cage, so that the queen flew away to her
+companions.'
+
+"Just then the scream of a parrot was heard from a neighboring tree, and
+the priest said to the elephant,
+
+"'Call that parrot, and ask him to go and tell his queen to come and see
+her benefactor, who is now in trouble?
+
+"The elephant protested that it would be of no use, as the parrot could
+not help him in any way, no matter how willing she was to do so. But the
+priest insisted, and the elephant obeyed.
+
+"In a little while the queen came, and then the priest told the elephant
+to send her with a message to the king of the rats. Away she flew, and
+told the rat king how their old benefactor had fallen into a pit.
+
+"The king sent out his messengers to all parts of his dominions, and by
+the next morning they were assembled to the number of several millions.
+The king ordered them to follow him, and they went to where the elephant
+was entrapped. The parrot queen was there ahead of them, and she had
+brought millions of her subjects. The guards were now awake, but the
+parrot queen talked to them and amused them, and she kept flying off a
+little way at a time, till she drew them out of sight of the pit. Then
+the rats began scratching at the edge of the pit; and though each of
+them only threw down a very little earth at a time, there was soon a
+large path sloping to where the elephant stood. At the same time the
+millions of parrots began breaking little twigs from the trees, and
+dropping them into the pit; the elephant piled these twigs and the earth
+beneath him, and in a few hours he walked out of the pit, and away into
+the forest, where he joined his companions and told them what had
+happened.
+
+"'Who would have thought,' he said to his fellow-elephants, 'that the
+largest animal in the world could be saved by such insignificant
+creatures as the parrot and the rat. Hereafter I will never despise
+small things, or despair of being brought out of trouble. Good actions
+will be rewarded, no matter how insignificant may be their recipient.'"
+
+"A very pretty story!" exclaimed both the boys in a breath.
+
+"It is a story with a moral," Doctor Bronson answered; "and I leave you
+to apply it while we have a little more talk about the elephant."
+
+"A baby elephant is about the most amusing beast in the world; he is
+affectionate and playful to a high degree, and there is little
+difficulty in taming him. Very often the young elephants are taken in
+the corrals with their mothers, whom they follow to the tying-down
+place, and thence to the stables when the captives are released from
+their bonds. A gentleman at Colombo had one that was sent down to his
+house from the corral where he was taken, and he very soon became a
+favorite with everybody about the place. He stayed generally near the
+kitchen, where he picked up a good many things of which he was fond; and
+sometimes, when the gentleman was walking in the grounds, the young
+giant would come to him and twine his trunk around his arm, to indicate
+that he wanted to be taken to the fruit-trees. He used to be admitted to
+the dining-room, and helped to fruit at dessert, and he finally got to
+coming in at odd times when not invited. On two or three occasions he
+managed to break all the glasses on a sideboard, while reaching for some
+oranges in a basket, and finally he became so mischievous that he had to
+be sent away. While he was at the house the grass-cutters occasionally
+placed their loads of grass on his back, and whenever this was done he
+strutted off with an air of the greatest pride at the confidence that
+was shown in him. After he was sent to the government stables he became
+very docile; and when his turn came for work, he performed it to the
+satisfaction of everybody.
+
+[Illustration: SLIDING DOWN HILL.]
+
+"It is said that elephants amuse themselves by sliding downhill; but
+they do not use sleds, like boys in America. Natives who claim to have
+witnessed these performances say that the huge beasts enter into the
+sport with great enthusiasm, and keep it up for hours.
+
+[Illustration: ELEPHANT-HUNTING ON FOOT.]
+
+"Elephants are hunted with the rifle by English and other sportsmen; and
+thousands of them have been killed in this way for the sake of their
+tusks, or for mere amusement. Their number has been so much diminished
+by this means, that in India and Ceylon the government has taken the
+elephant under its protection, and it can only be pursued and
+slaughtered by the express permission of the officials. At present the
+paradise of elephant-hunters is in Africa. The African elephant is much
+like his Asiatic brother; but his ear is nearly three times as large as
+that of the latter, and his skin has fewer hairs upon it.
+
+"He is a vicious brute, and often turns on his hunter and puts him to a
+rapid flight. I have read of an Englishman who was one day chasing an
+African elephant, and, after a great deal of manoeuvring, got near
+enough to give him a shot. It was fortunate for the hunter that he was
+well-mounted and had a firm seat in his saddle, as the wounded elephant
+turned after the shot was fired and crashed through the bushes in the
+direction of his assailant. Horse and rider had a narrow escape, and the
+two dogs that accompanied the sportsman came in for a share of the
+fright. The hunter concluded that he would let the elephant go his way
+unmolested; and when the enraged animal turned back into the forest he
+was not followed."
+
+"It reminds me," said the consul, "of the story of the army officer in
+India who was asked if he found tiger-hunting a pleasant amusement.
+'Hunting the tiger,' said he, 'is very pleasant as long as the tiger is
+hunted; but when he turns and hunts you, the pleasure ceases
+altogether.'"
+
+[Illustration: THE HUNTER HUNTED.]
+
+"It is about the same with the chase of the wild elephant," the Doctor
+remarked. As he said it, the servant announced the readiness of
+something to eat in the cabin, and the conversation was suspended until
+the party was seated at table.
+
+"In some parts of the East," Doctor Bronson continued, "it is the custom
+for princes and kings to give grand entertainments in the shape of
+elephant fights. Sometimes two elephants are matched together; but quite
+as often they are pitted against some other beast. Formerly these fights
+were carried on till one of the combatants was dead or severely hurt;
+but at present an effort is made to keep them from injuring each other,
+and the fight is little more than a series of rather violent pushes from
+one side of the ring to the other.
+
+"Mr. Crawfurd, who was sent at the head of an embassy from the
+Governor-general of India to Siam and Cochin China in 1821, was present
+at a tiger and elephant fight in Saigon. His account is interesting in
+two ways; it shows the manner of conducting one of these fights, and
+gives us a glimpse at the manners of the Far East sixty years ago. After
+detailing his reception by the governor, he says:
+
+ "We were invited to be present at an elephant and tiger fight, and
+ for this purpose we mounted our elephants and repaired to the
+ glacis of the fort, where the combat was to take place. A great
+ concourse of people had assembled to witness the exhibition. The
+ tiger was secured to a stake by a rope tied round his loins, and
+ about thirty yards long. The mouth of the unfortunate animal was
+ sewn up, and his nails drawn out; he was of large size, and
+ extremely active. No less than forty-six elephants, all males and
+ of great size, were seen drawn out in line. One at a time was
+ brought to attack the tiger.
+
+ "The first elephant advanced, to all appearance, with a great show
+ of courage, and we thought, from his determined look, that he would
+ certainly have despatched his antagonist in an instant. At the
+ first effort he raised the tiger on his tusks to a considerable
+ height, and threw him to the distance of at least twenty feet.
+ Notwithstanding this, the tiger rallied and sprung upon the
+ elephant's trunk and head, up to the very keeper, who was upon his
+ neck. The elephant took alarm, wheeled about, and ran off, pursued
+ by the tiger as far as the rope would allow him. The fugitive,
+ although not hurt, roared most piteously, and no effort could bring
+ him back to the charge. A little after this, we saw a man brought
+ up to the governor, bound with cords, and dragged into his presence
+ by two officers.
+
+ "'This was the conductor of the recreant elephant. A hundred
+ strokes of the bamboo were ordered to be inflicted upon him on the
+ spot. For this purpose he was thrown on his face on the ground, and
+ secured by one man sitting astride upon his neck and shoulders, and
+ by another sitting upon his feet, a succession of executioners
+ inflicting the punishment. When it was over, two men carried off
+ the sufferer by the head and heels, apparently quite insensible.
+
+ "'While this outrage was perpetrating, the governor coolly viewed
+ the combat of the tiger and elephant, as if nothing else particular
+ had been going forward. Ten or twelve elephants were brought up in
+ succession to attack the tiger, which was killed at last, merely by
+ the astonishing falls he received when tossed off the tusks of the
+ elephants. The prodigious strength of these animals was far beyond
+ anything I could have supposed. Some of them tossed the tiger to a
+ distance of at least thirty feet, after he was nearly lifeless, and
+ could offer no resistance. We could not reflect without horror that
+ these very individual animals were the same that have for years
+ executed the sentence of the law upon the many malefactors
+ condemned to death. Upon these occasions, a single toss, such as I
+ have described, is always, I am told, sufficient to destroy life.'"
+
+[Illustration: TAKING A NAP.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+BANG-PA-IN TO BANGKOK.--STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY AND BOTANY.
+
+
+As they returned down the river the boat stopped at Bang-pa-in, to
+enable the young tourists to have a view of the place. The name means,
+"City on an Island," and is a literal description of the situation. The
+island is not very wide in proportion to its length, and the boys found
+that the beauties of the spot were quite up to the expectation they had
+formed during their journey up the river. They walked through the
+gardens, which were laid out with exquisite taste, and sat beneath the
+trees, whose dense foliage afforded a grateful shade; they were shown
+through the palace, found it furnished in European style, and their
+sharp eyes caught sight of a piano, which gave a hint of the musical
+taste of the king. The officer in charge of the place showed an album of
+monograms which his majesty had arranged, and some pencil sketches that
+were the work of the royal hands. The boys were consoled for the absence
+of the king by the reflection that if he had been present the palace
+would not have been open to visitors, and some of the interesting sights
+of Bang-pa-in would have escaped them.
+
+When they reached the landing to continue their journey, they found a
+native boat along-side their own with fruits and other things to sell.
+By direction of Doctor Bronson, the interpreter bought a selection of
+what was in the market; and, as soon as they were again in motion, the
+boys employed their eyes and palates in a scientific investigation of
+the good things before them.
+
+The first article that they discussed was a green cocoa-nut. Frank
+wondered what use they could make of it, and Fred suggested that they
+might keep it till it was ripe.
+
+One of the servants speedily put an end to their suspense. With a
+dexterity that was evidently the result of long practice, he cut away
+the husk, and then made a hole in the shell of the nut large enough for
+the easy insertion of one's thumb. The opening revealed the interior of
+the nut, with a slight accumulation of white pulp close to the shell,
+while all the rest of the enclosed space was filled with milk. When it
+was thus prepared he handed the nut to Frank, and immediately opened
+another, which he gave to Fred.
+
+Frank laughed, and said, "What shall we do with it?"
+
+"Drink the milk, and throw away the shell," replied the Doctor, as he
+took one from the hands of the servant, and suited his action to his
+words.
+
+The boys did as they were directed, and the drink was followed by an
+exclamation of delight.
+
+[Illustration: COCOA-NUTS FULL GROWN AND JUST FORMING.]
+
+They found the milk of the cocoa-nut a cool and refreshing beverage;
+and, on the assurance of the consul that they might take all they wished
+without fear of injury to their digestion, they proceeded with the
+demolition of more and more nuts, until the basket was emptied. The
+consul told them that the juice of the green cocoa-nut was a favorite
+beverage throughout Siam, and was considered by some people as far safer
+to drink than the water of the river.
+
+"There is a good deal of vegetable matter in the river water," said he,
+"and it is undoubtedly the cause of derangements of the stomach when
+freely used. But the juice of the nut is pure and healthy, and its
+slightly acid taste makes it welcome to the palate. It is cool, as you
+have seen, and the acidity doubtless causes it to seem to be of a lower
+temperature than the surrounding atmosphere."
+
+[Illustration: THE BREAD-FRUIT.]
+
+Fred asked if the famous bread-fruit was in the lot they had bought, and
+was rather disappointed at its absence. But a bread-fruit tree was
+pointed out to him as they floated down the river, and he made note of
+the fact that it was about forty feet high, and had a leaf nearly two
+feet long. The fruit resembled a large, very large apple, or perhaps a
+small melon; and the Doctor told him that the outer husk furnished a
+fibre like that of the cocoa-nut, which could be made into a sort of
+coarse cloth.
+
+The Doctor further explained that the bread-fruit was baked in the
+shell, the same as an oyster is roasted, and that the inner pulp, when
+thus cooked, resembled a sweet-potato in taste, and was very nutritious.
+To the touch it was not unlike the soft part of a loaf of bread, and its
+name was due to this latter quality rather than to its taste. "It
+forms," said he, "the chief sustenance of the inhabitants of many of the
+islands of the South Pacific Ocean, and is to be found nearly everywhere
+in the tropics. It was introduced into the West Indies about a century
+ago, and its cultivation has been very successful in that region; later
+it was planted in Central America, and has become so well known and used
+that the natives rely largely upon it for their food. The product of
+three trees in some of the Pacific Islands will support a man for a
+year; and it is no wonder that he becomes lazy when he has nothing to do
+but pluck his food from a tree."
+
+[Illustration: PINEAPPLE.]
+
+When they had finished with the cocoa-nuts, they had a fine pineapple;
+and they remarked that its freshness made it sweeter and better than any
+pineapple they had ever eaten at home. Frank made a sketch of this
+fruit, with its long and sharp-pointed leaves, and then he drew the
+inside of a fruit which, for want of a better name, he called a
+star-apple. It had a purple skin, and resembled an orange in shape and
+size; the pulp was white, and, when it was cut across, the cells for the
+seeds showed the exact form of a star. Fruit after fruit was cut, in the
+hope that one would be found without the star; but the effort was a
+complete failure.
+
+[Illustration: STAR-APPLE.]
+
+Of course they had oranges in abundance; and they had half a dozen
+fruits whose names were quite unknown to them, but which were all
+delicious. Fred lamented that the attempt to tell about the flavor of a
+strange fruit was like trying to describe the song of a bird, or the
+perfume of a flower. So they concluded that the best thing for them to
+do was to eat the fruit and admire it; and if anybody wanted to know
+what it was like, he would refer him to the article itself, and let him
+judge of the quality.
+
+[Illustration: A NEW KIND OF FRUIT.]
+
+While seated on the deck of the boat, and engaged in testing the
+peculiarities of an orange, Frank espied something on a tree that grew
+close to the water. Thinking it might be a new kind of fruit, he called
+the Doctor's attention to his discovery; the latter said the strange
+thing was nothing more nor less than the nest of a bird, and would
+hardly prove edible. Frank's illusion was broken, as the Doctor spoke,
+by a small bird that hopped on a limb in front of the supposed fruit,
+and at the same instant the head of another bird appeared from a hole in
+the nest. Evidently the nest was constructed of cotton, or something of
+the sort, as it was nearly snow-white in color; it hung from the limb,
+so that it swayed in the wind, and it was not at all surprising that
+Frank had mistaken it for a variety of fruit hitherto unknown to him.
+
+[Illustration: TAILOR-BIRD AND NEST.]
+
+"That nest is not so remarkable," said the Doctor, "as the one made by
+the tailor-bird, an inhabitant of Siam and the tropical parts of India
+and Malacca. It chooses a leaf on a small twig, and then proceeds to
+puncture a row of holes along the edge with its beak, just as a
+shoemaker uses an awl for making holes in a piece of leather. When it
+has thus perforated the leaf, it takes a long fibre from a plant, and
+passes it through the holes. The operation of sewing is imitated with
+great exactness, and the fibre is pulled, like a thread, until the edges
+of the leaf are drawn towards each other and form a hollow cone. If the
+bird cannot find a single leaf large enough for its purpose, it sews
+two leaves together; and instances have been known where three leaves
+were used. When the framework of the nest is completed, the bird fills
+the interior with the softest down it can gather from plants, and it
+thus has a home which it is next to impossible to discover among the
+leaves. There is another bird that lives near watercourses and marshes,
+and constructs a nest by sewing the reeds and rushes together; but its
+work is not so perfect as that of the tailor-bird, and does not entitle
+him to equal credit."
+
+Frank was anxious to obtain one of these nests as a curiosity, and was
+gratified, on his return to Bangkok, to find one for sale in the hands
+of a native. He bought it, and had it carefully packed, so that he could
+send it home without fear of injury in the next box of curiosities they
+should despatch to America.
+
+From birds the conversation wandered to fishes, and the boys learned
+something that caused their eyes to open with astonishment. Lest it
+should be forgotten, it was entered in both their note-books, and read
+as follows:
+
+"There is a fish in Siam, and other parts of the East, that has the
+remarkable peculiarity of going overland from one pond to another. When
+the water where they are dries up, the fishes start for the nearest
+pond, though it may be several miles away; and they propel themselves by
+means of their fins, very much as a turtle drags himself with his feet.
+Their instinct is unerring, and they have never been known to make a
+mistake about heading for the water that is nearest. It is said that you
+may take one of them up and turn him around half a dozen times, till he
+is dizzy, but he will not lose his points of compass. When he is put
+down again he takes the proper direction, and though you put him off the
+track ever so many times, he always returns to it."
+
+"We shall next hear, I suppose, that there are fishes that climb trees,"
+Fred remarked, as he finished his note on the fishes that go overland.
+
+"Quite possibly," Frank replied; "let us ask the Doctor."
+
+They asked the question, and were taken somewhat aback when Doctor
+Bronson answered in the affirmative.
+
+[Illustration: A CLIMBING-FISH.]
+
+"I don't know," said he, "if there are any fish in Siam that climb
+trees, but there is one in Brazil that can perform this feat. He does
+not ascend a perpendicular tree, but when he finds one that slopes at an
+angle of about forty-five degrees, and has its roots in the water, he
+will venture on an excursion in the air. His scales are very large, and
+he works himself forward by a motion of the lower ones as they press
+against the bark of the tree. He hugs the tree with his fins in order to
+maintain his balance; his movements in climbing are very slow, and he
+certainly appears to better advantage in the water, where he is a rapid
+and graceful swimmer. You see that a fish out of water is not always
+the unhappy creature he has been supposed to be by most persons."
+
+"I heard somebody say one day," said Fred, "that oysters grow on trees
+in some parts of the world. Is that really so?"
+
+"Certainly," was the Doctor's answer; "they do grow on trees, but not in
+the way you are naturally led to suppose."
+
+"How is it, then, Doctor?" queried Frank.
+
+"It is quite simple when you understand it," was the response. "The
+spawn of the oyster floats in the water, and attaches itself to the
+first thing with which it comes in contact. It frequently happens that,
+at high-tide, the water comes up a little way on the trunk of a tree, or
+it may be that a limb of a tree hangs in the water. The oyster-spawn is
+attached to the trunk or limb, as the case may be, and when the tide
+goes away it remains there. It has enough vitality to live until the
+tide comes again; it retains its hold, and in course of time becomes an
+oyster growing on a tree. He could not live altogether without water,
+but he can easily get along during the intervals of the tides. He does
+not grow on a tree like an apple or an orange, but he certainly makes
+the tree his home."
+
+"Do they have oysters in Siam?" one of the boys asked.
+
+"Oysters grow in the Gulf of Siam," was the reply; "but they are not
+equal to those of the Atlantic coast of the United States. As for that
+matter, no oysters in any part of the world can or do equal ours; at
+least in the opinion of residents of the United States. Here in the East
+Indies they have some very large oysters; there is one variety that
+often attains a weight of three hundred pounds; it is not good for
+anything, however, and you never hear a man in a restaurant calling for
+a dozen of this variety on the half-shell.
+
+"Naturalists have described about sixty varieties of oysters in
+different parts of the world, and it is said that more than two hundred
+species of fossil oysters have been found by geologists. Most of these
+forms are now extinct, and, therefore, we have no way of determining
+whether all of them have been good to eat or otherwise. It is often
+remarked that the first man who ate an oyster must have been very brave,
+and it is a pity that his name has not come down to us. One version of
+the story is that he thrust his fingers into an open shell which he saw
+lying on the sea-shore; the oyster was angry at this intrusion, and
+immediately closed on the fingers, very much to the man's astonishment.
+It required a great deal of wrenching to liberate them from the shell,
+and they were somewhat injured in the operation; the man naturally put
+his fingers in his mouth to relieve the pain, and in so doing he learned
+the taste of the oyster. Having learned it, he immediately smashed the
+shell with a stone and devoured the contents, and he continued to eat
+oysters till he had made a hearty meal. Always after that, when he was
+hungry, he went to the oyster-bank and satisfied his appetite, and from
+being thin as a skeleton he grew fat and rosy. His neighbors noted the
+change, and one day when he was proceeding stealthily to his favorite
+retreat they watched him and found his secret. When it was once out, the
+news spread with great rapidity, and thus was inaugurated the habit of
+eating the oyster. When this occurred no one knows; but the fact is that
+the ancient Romans and Greeks were fond of the oyster, and esteemed it
+greatly as an article of food.
+
+"Another remarkable fact is--"
+
+Before the Doctor could finish the sentence, Frank sprung to his feet in
+an excited manner, and pointed to a tree that stood not twenty feet from
+the bank of the river.
+
+"See that great snake!" he shouted; "and see that squirrel in front of
+him!"
+
+[Illustration: THE SNAKE AND THE SQUIRREL.]
+
+A snake was coiled around the limb of the tree with his neck bent, and
+his head slowly waving in the air. His body glistened in the sunlight as
+it played on his scales, and Frank fancied he could see the fire darting
+from his eyes. A foot or so in front of him was a squirrel, sitting on
+his haunches, and with his tail erect; his eyes were fixed on the
+serpent, and he was chattering wildly, and as if greatly alarmed.
+
+While they looked at the strange spectacle, the head of the snake was
+darted forward, and in an instant the poor little squirrel was
+transfixed by the deadly fangs. Frank wished they had been able to save
+the squirrel by killing the snake, but his wishing was of no avail, as
+they were moving down the stream; and, besides, they had no fire-arms
+with which the serpent could have been disturbed in his retreat up the
+tree.
+
+"I suppose the squirrel was charmed by the snake," said Fred, as soon as
+they had passed out of sight of the tree.
+
+"As to that," replied Doctor Bronson, "there is much dispute. Many
+persons who have studied the subject are positive that snakes have the
+power of charming or fascinating small birds and animals; and others,
+who have studied it quite as much, deny that any such power exists. I
+have heard so much on both sides, that I am not able to form a positive
+opinion. I am inclined, however, to believe that the power is possessed
+by certain snakes, as I have seen manifestations of it, or something
+very like it. When I was a boy in the country, I one day saw a large
+black snake in an apple-tree on my uncle's farm. A bird was hopping
+around on the limbs in great alarm, as I judged by his twitterings; he
+seemed to be terribly afraid of the snake, and at the same time unable
+to get away from him. I watched his movements for nearly half an hour,
+and observed that each time the bird moved he came nearer to the snake;
+and the performance ended by his lighting on a branch within a foot of
+where the latter was coiled. Then the snake darted his head forward and
+seized the bird, precisely as you saw that scaly fellow, a few moments
+ago, seize the squirrel.
+
+"Exactly what the process of charming is, if it really exists, it is
+difficult to say. Probably the victim is paralyzed, to some extent, by
+the horrible appearance of the serpent, and deprived of the use of his
+limbs. If you suddenly come in contact with a ferocious wild beast, or
+some terrible danger is presented to you, it is not at all improbable
+that you will be unable to move from sheer fright. I am inclined to
+believe that the fascination of birds and small mammals by serpents is
+something of this sort, but I confess my inability to explain why the
+victim, in moving around, comes every moment nearer to his destroyer, as
+though he could not remove his eyes, however much he might wish to do
+so."
+
+"If you travel around much in Siam," the consul remarked, "you will find
+all the snakes you care to see. It is not unusual to see them swimming
+in the river; and in the rainy season they frequently get into the
+houses, particularly those that float on the water. Most of them are
+harmless, but there are some poisonous ones, including the famous _cobra
+di capella_."
+
+Frank thought he would prefer not to live in a floating house, for the
+present at least; and his opinion was shared by Fred. They were not at
+all enamored of the idea of having an intimate association with the
+wandering snakes of Siam.
+
+[Illustration: MONKEYS AT HOME.]
+
+"I think," said the Doctor, "that if you were compelled to select some
+of the inhabitants of the Siamese forests as your companions, you would
+prefer monkeys to snakes. In the region north of here you could find an
+abundance of them, and of all sizes; they run wild in the forests, and
+sometimes are found in large droves. They are sociable beings, and very
+fond of each other's society; and if one of them gets into trouble, his
+companions are quite likely to come to his relief. A friend of mine was
+out hunting one day, and saw a monkey on a tree where a fair chance for
+a shot was presented. He fired and wounded the monkey, who immediately
+set up a piteous howl; in a few minutes dozens of monkeys were around
+him, and they seemed to understand that my friend was the cause of the
+trouble. He fled, and they pursued him; he fired his gun to frighten
+them, and, after knocking several of them over, he reached an open space
+of country, and was allowed to go on undisturbed. If he had been without
+his gun he would not have escaped so easily.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Monkeys have a good many enemies besides man. Wild beasts devour them,
+and occasionally snakes manage to take them in; the fellows are so
+active that they can only be captured by strategy, or their own
+carelessness and curiosity; and they often fall victims to the
+last-named quality. A tiger will lie down and pretend to be dead; the
+monkeys see him, and draw near to investigate. They approach cautiously,
+stop frequently, and do a deal of chattering. If the tiger stirs a
+muscle, they take the alarm at once and are off; but if he lies
+perfectly still, they are sure, in a little while, to come so close that
+one of the boldest will venture to pluck at his hide. As he does so he
+jumps several feet to one side, and if the tiger should rouse himself he
+would be baffled of his prey. He continues to lie as if dead; and
+finally the monkeys, believing he is really nothing but a carcass,
+proceed to sit on him and hold a coroner's inquest. Now is the tiger's
+chance; and with a sudden spring he has one of the fattest in his jaws,
+while the rest scamper away to the forest.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Another enemy of the monkey is the eagle. When the monkeys are playing
+in the branches of a tree the eagle swoops down with great rapidity, and
+carries one of the party off in his powerful claws. Often there is a
+fearful struggle in the air, as the monkey is not inclined to die
+without a protest; and as he has a great deal of strength, and is full
+of activity, he occasionally comes off victorious and escapes, though he
+may be killed by the fall from the height where the eagle drops him. A
+gentleman of my acquaintance once witnessed the capture of a monkey by
+an eagle; the eagle fastened his claws in the back of the monkey, and,
+though the latter struggled violently, his hold was not once broken. The
+eagle flew to the top of a distant tree, where he undoubtedly devoured
+his victim at his leisure.
+
+[Illustration: EAGLE CAPTURING A MONKEY.]
+
+"In seizing a monkey, the eagle always endeavors to grasp him by the
+back and neck, one claw being in the neck, and the other farther down.
+The reason of this is that, unless the monkey is firmly held by the
+neck, he will turn his head and inflict a terrible bite on his
+assailant; but as long as the neck is thus held he is powerless. It is
+said that the first thing the eagle does, after taking a monkey, is to
+put out his eyes with his powerful beak; but in so doing he is in danger
+of having his head seized by the monkey's paws."
+
+"On the whole," said Frank, "I don't think I care about forming an
+intimate acquaintance with the monkey."
+
+Fred was of the same opinion, and the subject of conversation was
+changed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE KING IN HIS STATE BARGE.--BETEL AND TOBACCO.
+
+
+On their arrival at Bangkok, our friends found that the king had
+returned, and was to begin on the following day his annual visits to the
+temples of the city. Once a year he goes in state to the temples, and
+about two weeks are consumed in making the rounds of all of them. The
+Siamese attach much importance to this ceremony, as their country is
+considered the principal seat of the Buddhist religion, and the king is
+its first defender. Therefore it is considered necessary that he should
+worship officially at the shrines of the leading temples of the capital,
+in addition to his daily worship in the temples attached to the grand
+palace.
+
+The consul arranged to accompany Doctor Bronson and the youths to one of
+the temples the king was to visit, so that they might see the
+procession, and have a glimpse of the ruler of Siam. About ten o'clock
+in the forenoon they left the hotel in their boat, and a half-hour's
+pull up and across the river brought them to the spot. They spent a
+little while in the inspection of the temple and its surroundings: they
+had visited the same temple in the first days of their stay in Bangkok,
+and therefore many things were familiar to their eyes. But where it had
+been quiet before all was now activity, and there was a considerable
+assemblage of people, who had come, like themselves, to witness the
+ceremony.
+
+After a time there was a stir, and the announcement was made that the
+king was coming. The boys looked up the river in the direction of the
+palace, and, sure enough, there was the royal procession; and it was a
+sight that almost took away the breath of both Frank and Fred.
+
+[Illustration: STATE BARGE OF THE KING OF SIAM.]
+
+There was a flotilla of a dozen or more boats and barges of the most
+gorgeous description our friends had ever seen. The largest of them was
+occupied by the king, and had a hundred and twenty men to row, or rather
+to paddle it. The boat was said to be fifty yards in length, but nobody
+was able to say positively what were its exact dimensions; at any rate,
+it was long enough and handsome enough to satisfy the most fastidious
+spectator. The rowers were in a double line, and in scarlet uniforms;
+at each stroke they raised their paddles high in air, and their
+movements were so timed that the paddles on both sides were dipped at
+exactly the same moment. The boat sat quite low in the water, and its
+stern had a sharp and high curve to it that doubtless made the middle of
+the craft appear lower than it really was. The bow was bent upwards as
+high as the stern, and Frank thought it could not be less than ten or
+twelve feet out of the water. It appeared to be much heavier than the
+stern, and was fantastically carved; the Doctor told the boys that the
+carving was intended to represent the _Nagha Mustakha Sapta_, or
+seven-headed serpent, which is one of the mythological deities of Siam.
+
+Considerably nearer to the stern than the bow there was a sort of throne
+elevated on four pillars, and having a gorgeous canopy above it. On this
+throne the king was seated; the canopy had a spire like that of some of
+the temples, and consequently the seat in the barge possessed a certain
+religious character. Near him were attendants holding canopies not
+altogether unlike umbrellas, and at a distance these canopies suggested
+the appearance of golden cones. The boat was driven rapidly through the
+water by the powerful arms of its rowers, and their movements were timed
+by a man waving a huge baton, after the manner of the drum-major of a
+brass band. The other boats moved at the same speed; they were smaller
+than that of the king, some of them having no more than thirty or forty
+rowers; and they belonged to the Siamese nobles and ministers of state,
+who were required to accompany the king on his official visits to the
+temples.
+
+The gilding and bright colors on the boats were fairly dazzling to the
+eyes of the young travellers. In all their travels hitherto, they had
+seen nothing half as gorgeous as this spectacle, and Frank was inclined
+to pinch himself to make sure he was not dreaming. He was destined to be
+still more astonished when told that the king's boat was inlaid with
+mother-of-pearl and crystal, and with sparkling shells and bright
+stones, so that it resembled a piece of jewellery for the use of a giant
+such as the world never saw. He wondered what must have been the cost of
+such a boat, but there was no one who could tell him.
+
+[Illustration: A BODY OF THE ROYAL GUARDS.]
+
+Soon the boat was at the little platform which served as a landing-place
+in front of the temple. A file of soldiers, uniformed somewhat after the
+European manner, and carrying rifles of foreign manufacture, was drawn
+up near the path where his majesty would pass on his way to the temple
+door; they were commanded by an officer whose complexion was of the
+Siamese tint, and who spoke English so fluently that the boys thought he
+must have had a most excellent teacher, and been a very apt pupil. They
+were undeceived when they learned that he was a native of Philadelphia,
+and formerly served in the army of the United States. Doctor Bronson
+observed that the soldiers were well drilled, as they went through the
+manual of arms with the precision of a regiment of English or American
+infantry.
+
+The Siamese army is drilled after the European manner, and has had
+drill-masters from the United States and half the countries of Europe in
+the last thirty years. The navy is also under foreign management, and
+the harbor-master of the port of Bangkok is an Englishman, who has lived
+there a long time. Several foreigners are in the custom-house and other
+official service, and the steamers of the navy have European engineers.
+The foreigners in the Siamese service are well paid, and generally get
+along easily with the natives. Some of them are greatly trusted by the
+king, and have shown themselves fully worthy of the royal confidence.
+
+In time of war the entire male population of the country capable of
+bearing arms is liable to be called out, and every man is bound to serve
+as a defender of his nation. Whenever soldiers are wanted, the king
+sends a command to the governors of the various provinces, and tells
+them what their quota will be, and they are expected to comply
+immediately with the demand. The troops thus levied are fed and clothed
+and armed at the expense of the government, but they do not receive any
+pay in money; and when the emergency for which they were wanted is
+passed they are dismissed and sent home. The standing army in time of
+peace is quite small, and the soldiers are fed and clothed, and their
+pay in money is about six dollars a month. The Siamese navy contained,
+at the time our friends were at Bangkok, about a dozen steam gun-boats,
+carrying from two to ten guns each, and several new vessels were on the
+stocks in the royal dock-yards. A large naval force is not needed in
+Siam, and the king wisely refrains from expending a great deal of money
+on useless ships of war.
+
+[Illustration: THE KING VISITING A TEMPLE.]
+
+The king stepped ashore on the little platform previously mentioned, and
+mounted a sedan-chair, on which he was to be carried to the temple. His
+head was protected from the sun by a canopy like a large umbrella; and
+both the seat and canopy were gayly decorated, and shone with gilding.
+As the bearers proceeded with their royal burden, the people knelt in
+homage to their ruler, and the strictest silence was observed. One after
+another the nobles and high officials landed from their boats, and
+proceeded to the temple, surrounded or followed by their attendants. It
+was a novel spectacle to the boys, this procession of dignitaries, and
+they watched it with great interest. Each of the officials had a man to
+carry his pipe and tobacco, another for his betel-box, another for his
+tray, holding a teacup and a pot of tea; and some of them had two or
+three others for the transportation of various things. The betel-boxes
+were of gold, and most exquisitely wrought, and they must have cost a
+great deal of money to make. The prime-minister was the last to arrive,
+and the boys were told that the ceremony would not begin till he had
+entered the temple.
+
+[Illustration: THE FRONT OF THE TEMPLE.]
+
+The strangers were not invited to see the services inside the building,
+and therefore they remained where they were till the king came out and
+returned to his boat. The ceremony lasted about half an hour, and
+consisted of the repetition of prayers by the priests, and responses by
+the king; it was said to be not unlike the celebration of mass in a
+Catholic church, and it has been remarked by many visitors to the Far
+East that the forms of Buddhist worship have a considerable resemblance
+to those of Rome.
+
+The king went to his boat, which was drawn up to the platform as before;
+and as soon as he was seated, the signal was given to the rowers to move
+on. Away they paddled to another temple, situated up one of the canals;
+and the other boats followed the royal one as rapidly as possible. By
+taking a path through some gardens near the temple, our friends reached
+a point on the bank of the canal where they could see all the boats as
+they went along.
+
+After the procession had gone the boys wanted to ramble through the tall
+grass, but changed their minds when told that possibly they might
+encounter a cobra or some other deadly snake. Cobras are not
+unfrequently found around the Siamese temples; and though accidents are
+not of common occurrence, there are enough of them to make a stranger
+careful about his promenades.
+
+It was past noon, and the heat of the sun was not of the lightest. The
+Doctor suggested a return to the hotel, and the boys were quite willing
+to accept it, as they wanted to think over the strange spectacle they
+had witnessed. They thought they had done quite enough for one day, and
+considered that they had been very fortunate in seeing the king, and
+witnessing one of the pageants for which Siam is celebrated.
+
+On their way back in the boat, Frank asked the Doctor to tell him
+something about the use of the betel-nut. They had observed that the
+king was vigorously chewing the substance, which is to the Siamese what
+tobacco is to many Americans, and the ministers of state were following
+his example. All classes of people indulged in the amusement, and their
+mouths had a reddish appearance in consequence.
+
+"The leaf of the betel-pepper," said the Doctor, "and the nut of the
+areca-palm are prepared as follows: the nut is sliced quite thin, and a
+little quicklime is sprinkled on it, so as to give it a pungent flavor,
+and the two substances are then wrapped in the leaf. In this form it is
+taken into the mouth and chewed, and the operation is generally
+performed with a very vigorous action of the jaws. The saliva has a
+reddish tint, and it is so bright that many strangers are deluded into
+the belief that the natives are spitting blood. The practice of chewing
+this substance began originally in the Malay peninsula, but it has
+gradually spread all over India, the countries of Indo-China, and the
+Malay Archipelago. Would you like to try it?"
+
+The boys had the curiosity to make an experiment with the betel-nut;
+and, as soon as they reached the hotel, the Doctor made their wants
+known to the landlord. In a little while some of the substance was
+brought, and the youths ventured to chew it.
+
+A very short trial was quite sufficient. They found the taste anything
+but agreeable; and Frank thought the same sensation could be had by
+dissolving in the mouth a piece of alum as large as a small pea, or a
+more extensive piece of lime. The delusion might be kept up by adding
+any common leaf and a few grains of pepper, and Fred was confident that
+it would require a long time for him to be accustomed to it. "Of
+course," said he, "one might learn in time to like betel, just as men in
+America learn to like tobacco; but, as far as I can judge, the taste of
+tobacco is the less disagreeable of the two."
+
+The astringency of the betel-nut was removed from the tongues of the
+experimenters by a free use of the milk of green cocoa-nuts; and each of
+the boys made a quiet promise to himself that he would not learn to chew
+betel for anything in the world.
+
+"And we may as well include tobacco," said Frank, "and leave it to rest
+at the side of betel. I certainly don't like the process of chewing
+betel, and it is no worse than that of chewing the favorite weed of
+America."
+
+Fred agreed with his cousin, and the two concluded that they would not
+adopt the habit of many of their countrymen. Just then it occurred to
+them that they had not seen any other people than their own using
+tobacco in this form, and so they asked the Doctor if the habit was
+exclusively an American one.
+
+[Illustration: THE TOBACCO-PLANT.]
+
+"Practically so," was the Doctor's answer. "In no other country than
+ours is the habit of chewing tobacco at all prevalent; a few sailors and
+others who have lived or been in the United States have adopted and
+carried it home, and these are virtually the only people not Americans
+who indulge in it. Other nations are far greater smokers than ourselves,
+but we have very nearly a monopoly of chewing the leaf of the famous
+plant of Virginia."
+
+[Illustration: SIR WALTER RALEIGH AND HIS PIPE.]
+
+One of the boys asked if tobacco was not first found in America; he
+thought he had read that it was used by the Indians at the time of the
+discovery of the Western Continent by Columbus, and was introduced to
+Europe by Sir Walter Raleigh.
+
+"I am unable to answer your question with exactness," said the Doctor,
+"for the simple reason that the matter is involved in obscurity. It is
+said by some historians that the sailors accompanying Columbus were one
+day greatly astonished at seeing smoke issuing from the mouths and
+nostrils of some of the natives, and they found, on investigation, that
+it was produced by the combustion of a fragrant herb or plant. On their
+return they introduced it into Spain and Portugal. In 1560 Jean Nicot
+was ambassador of France at the Court of Lisbon, and learned the use of
+tobacco from a merchant who had been in America. When he next went to
+France, he presented the weed to the queen, and it soon became known
+throughout Europe. From him it was called _L'herbe Nicotienne_, or "the
+Nicotian weed," and the name has come down to our times. Near the same
+period Sir Francis Drake introduced it into England, and Sir Walter
+Raleigh made it fashionable; so rapidly did the use of it spread that in
+less than twenty years nearly every class of society was addicted to it.
+
+"Some writers contend that tobacco, or some similar plant, was smoked in
+Asia long before the discovery of America; in proof of this they assert
+that the pipe in nearly its present form is to be seen on many ancient
+sculptures; and it is certainly singular that a people so conservative
+as the Chinese and other Asiatics should have made the use of tobacco
+universal in the comparatively short period that has elapsed since its
+discovery in America. On the other hand, we can infer that it was not
+known in Asia as early as the eighth century, because the tales of the
+Arabian Nights, which are supposed to be a perfect picture of the
+customs of that time, make no mention of smoking."
+
+"Does Marco Polo make any mention of it in his travels in Asia?" Fred
+asked. "If it had been known in his time, I think he would have been
+pretty certain to say something about it."
+
+"I believe he makes no allusion to it," the Doctor responded; "and this
+fact is quoted by those who contend that the practice was of American
+origin. But, whatever the origin of smoking tobacco, the custom has
+spread over the whole globe, and prevails among savages no less than
+among the most civilized and enlightened nations. All classes of people,
+from highest to lowest, are smokers; and, though the practice has been
+the subject of severe penalties, it has continued to spread. Laws were
+passed against it by several governments. In Russia, smokers were
+punished by having a pipe-stem passed through the cartilage of the nose
+for their first offence; and for a second, they were ordered to be
+flogged to death. Sultan Amurath IV. ordered that all smokers should be
+strangled; and in Switzerland it was officially announced that the use
+of tobacco was one of the sins forbidden by the Ten Commandments. The
+Popes of Rome issued edicts against it; and one of them, Urban VII.,
+decreed the excommunication of all who should use tobacco. King James
+wrote the famous 'Counterblast against Tobacco,' and other publications
+were made condemning the importation of Sir Walter Raleigh; but all to
+no purpose. The practice could not be put down; and to-day there is no
+article of luxury or dissipation that is so universally known as
+tobacco.
+
+"There are about forty different varieties of tobacco described by
+botanists which are smoked, or chewed, or snuffed, in various parts of
+the world. By far the greater part of the tobacco used annually is
+smoked, and in some countries snuff-taking, like chewing the weed, is
+practically unknown. In nine cases out of ten in America the use of
+tobacco begins by smoking, and in other countries the proportion is
+probably a hundred times as great. The tobacco used in Asia and in some
+parts of Europe is much milder than that of America. England is the
+largest consumer of strong tobacco outside of the United States, and the
+revenue derived from it by the British custom-house goes far towards
+paying the expenses of the government.
+
+[Illustration: PIPES OF ALL NATIONS.]
+
+"Tobacco was first smoked in pipes, and all the early representations of
+smokers contain no picture of the cigar. Sir Walter Raleigh used a pipe
+which was much like the one most popular in England at the present day,
+and it was not till long after his time that the leaf, rolled into a
+cigar, became fashionable. Different nations have adopted different
+forms for the pipe; and it is noticeable that the more indolent the
+people the longer is its pipe-stem. With the English and American pipe
+the smoker can enjoy himself while employed, but with the Eastern pipe
+he can do nothing else while smoking. With a cigar, or a short pipe, a
+man may write or work; but when he takes the hookah of Turkey, or the
+nargileh of Syria and Egypt, his occupation, other than smoking, must be
+limited to conversation and reading. Each country has adopted the form
+best suited to its tastes; and it would be the height of absurdity to
+give the ragged newsboys of New York an Oriental pipe-stem two yards in
+length, and expect them to enjoy it as they do the short stumps of
+cigars they gather in the street. On the other hand, the Turkish lady
+reclining on her divan would consider the short dhudeen of the Irish
+apple-woman a wretched substitute for the hookah, with its flexible stem
+and its bowl of water through which the smoke bubbles on its way to her
+mouth.
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG AMERICA.]
+
+"Whether tobacco is injurious or otherwise has been a subject of much
+discussion, and the advocates on each side have said a great deal that
+their opponents will not admit. It would require more time than I have
+at my command to tell you even a tenth part of the arguments for and
+against tobacco, and therefore I will not enter upon the discussion of
+the subject. Volumes have been written upon it, and doubtless other
+volumes will find their way into print as the years roll on."
+
+[Illustration: THE EAST.]
+
+[Illustration: THE WEST.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+WOMEN, HAIR-CUTTING, AND SLAVERY.
+
+
+The boys occupied themselves very industriously in writing for their
+friends at home the accounts of what they had seen and heard in Siam.
+They told of the trip to Ayuthia, and the visit to the elephant corral;
+of their stay at Bang-pa-in; of the journey down the river; and,
+finally, of the flotilla of boats and barges, and the state procession
+of the king to the temples. When they had brought the story down to the
+hour of writing, there was a day to spare before the closing of the
+weekly mail to Singapore, and thence to America.
+
+Frank thought it was time for him to say something specially intended
+for Mary and Effie; he remembered his letter from Japan about the women
+of that country, and concluded that a similar missive from Siam would be
+quite in order. Then he recollected that he had seen fewer women in his
+walks and rides about Bangkok than when he strolled through the streets
+of Tokio and Kioto, and that in all probability he could not tell as
+much of the Siamese as of the Japanese women, for the simple reason that
+he had not learned so much about them. But he was determined to make the
+effort, and, after talking with the Doctor on the subject, he wrote as
+follows:
+
+[Illustration: SIAMESE GENTLEMAN AND LADY.]
+
+"The dress of the Siamese men is so much like that of the women that a
+stranger cannot tell at first whether he is looking at the one or the
+other. I will send you a picture, so that you may understand how they
+look much easier than if I took half a dozen pages in writing to tell
+it. You see that a gentleman and lady have the same garments, except
+that the lady wears a scarf over her shoulders, or rather over her left
+shoulder, and passing under her right arm. The gentleman has a tiny bit
+of a linen collar on his jacket, while the lady has none, and he also
+has wristbands, something after the European model. The trousers are
+like a piece of cloth four or five feet square, and one corner is tucked
+under a belt in the centre of the waist; the ladies generally wear
+brighter colors than their husbands, but the cut of the garment is
+practically the same.
+
+"Nearly everybody goes barefoot; and when they do put anything on their
+feet, it is rarely more than a light sandal. The custom of wearing shoes
+and boots such as we have is never likely to become popular in a country
+so hot as this is, and where there is no snow or ice. Children, up to
+five or six years of age, have no garments of any consequence; and even
+when they are older, their clothing would not shield them from the cold
+if they were compelled to face a New York winter. A tailor would not
+make a fortune by coming to Siam and trying to get the people to wear
+clothes like American ones; and as for a corn doctor, he would have no
+chance at all where tight boots, or boots of any kind, are practically
+unknown.
+
+"Then, too, they dress their hair in pretty much the same way, so that
+you cannot tell a man from a woman by looking at their heads, as you can
+in most other countries of the world. They shave all the lower part of
+the head, and leave the crown covered with a tuft, or bunch, that
+reminds you of a shoe-brush. The men have very light beards, like all
+Oriental people; and whenever one of them finds that he can raise a
+mustache or a beard, he is pretty sure to do so, as he wants to look
+unlike his neighbors. But as a general thing beards do not become the
+Oriental features, though mustaches do; and when I see a Chinese or a
+Japanese or a Siamese with a beard, which is not often, I feel like
+asking him to go home and shave it off.
+
+[Illustration: A YOUNG PRINCE OF THE ROYAL HOUSE, WITH HIS ATTENDANT.]
+
+"The first hair-cutting, at the time a child is twelve or fourteen years
+old, is a very important ceremony. No matter how poor the parents of a
+child may be, they manage to have some kind of an entertainment, be it
+ever so humble, while with the rich a great deal of money is spent on
+the affair. In the case of a royal child the festivities are on a grand
+scale, and the whole population is expected to rejoice. We heard
+something about the ceremony when we were in Cochin-China, and we have
+heard a great deal more about it since we came here. We wish one was to
+come off now, but unfortunately there is nothing of the kind in
+prospect.
+
+"A few months ago the eldest of the king's children reached the proper
+age for the So-Kan, as the hair-cutting ceremony is called, and for
+weeks before the event the preparations for it were going on. I cannot
+do better than copy the account that was published at the time in the
+Siam _Daily Advertiser_, a newspaper that is printed here by some
+Americans who have lived a long time in Bangkok. Here it is:
+
+"'Princess Sri Wililaxan is the eldest daughter of his majesty the King
+of Siam; her mother is one of the daughters of his excellency Chow
+P'raya Kralahome, the Prime-minister of Siam. This princess is
+consequently the great-granddaughter of his grace the ex-regent, and the
+granddaughter of the prime-minister.
+
+"'It is said that his majesty has fifteen children. Four of these are
+Somdetch Chowfas. Only one of these Somdetch Chowfas is a son.
+
+"'The Somdetch Chowfas are the children of the king, and their mothers
+are princesses. The son, consequently, who is the eldest Chow-fa of the
+present king is by law and the customs of the country the heir-apparent
+to the throne.
+
+"'When the So-Kan ceremonies take place they must be of the most
+imposing kind. In the present instance they were continued six days, and
+on each day there was an imposing procession.
+
+"'The sound of music announced the approach of the procession.
+
+[Illustration: FEMALE HEAD-DRESS AND COSTUME.]
+
+"'Soon a company of seemingly masked men, representing Japanese
+warriors, made their appearance. Then came companies of Siamese military
+and their band. Then followed companies of Siamese women dressed after
+the manner of the country, with the right arm and the shoulder bare; and
+then companies of men and boys and women dressed to represent the
+contiguous nationalities--Malays, Peguans, Burmans, Laos, Karens, etc.
+The groups as they passed were quite grotesque.
+
+"'His majesty the king ascended to a prominent hall near the Maha
+Prasaht,[2] which was handsomely furnished. In front of him, to his
+right, were a group of pretty and richly-dressed ladies, holding in
+their hands a small silver tree. They went through the slow motions of a
+Siamese dance. Groups of Siamese ladies were seated in a line, with the
+new palace forming one side of a parallelogram. These were spectators,
+and evidently persons of rank. On the left of his majesty, forming the
+second long side of the parallelogram, were crowds of Europeans and
+other foreigners who had been invited to the performance.
+
+[2] An immense temple or chapel in the palace enclosure, where the kings
+are crowned, and where they lie in state for twelve months after their
+deaths, awaiting the ceremony of cremation.
+
+"'The side wall enclosing the Maha Prasaht, on an elevated part of which
+was the hall in which his majesty sat, formed the west side of the
+parallelogram. Directly in front of the king was the artificial
+Trailaht, seemingly a mountain of gold, and forming the east side of the
+parallelogram.
+
+[Illustration: MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.]
+
+"'At the summit of the Trailaht was a beautiful gilt edifice dazzling in
+the sunshine. As soon as his majesty was seated, a group of
+gayly-dressed lakon girls descended from the gold mountain from the gilt
+house, and at the base of the mountain, in full view of the king,
+performed their dance to the sound of native music, of which there was
+an abundance. On the lawn to the left of his majesty, and in a temporary
+and beautiful hall, sat his grace the venerable Ex-Regent; his
+excellency the Prime-minister; his excellency the Foreign Minister, and
+the principal nobles of the country.
+
+"'On the lawn were men who danced and made amusement for the masses.
+
+"'When the Princess Sri Wililaxan advanced, seated in a grand sedan,
+heavily weighted with her crown and gold chains of jewellery, followed
+by a group of ladies bearing her gold salvers and insignia of rank, she
+was received by her royal father and placed at his side.
+
+"'The mountain Trailaht cannot be easily described. Here and there at
+its base there were representations of the popular plays and acts of the
+country. The images were moved by machinery, and went through their
+performances to the merriment of the crowds, who clamored for a
+repetition of them.
+
+"'One represented a court of justice, where two persons were ordered to
+dive; the one who could remain longest under water rendered his
+testimony valid. It was amusing to see the artifice of the one who came
+up first and found his antagonist still under water.
+
+"'There were artificial pools containing representations of fish, whose
+movements amused the spectators.
+
+"'There were artificial trees, with representations of animals--such as
+squirrels, monkeys, birds, and snakes--and their movements were quite
+life-like.
+
+"'Each day the princess receives presents from the noble families. The
+ceremonies of each day were in some respects similar, but varied enough
+to interest the vast crowds that visit the palace. Abundant refreshments
+were provided by the government for the active participants and the
+leading spectators. The noble families from all parts of Siam were
+represented in the assemblage, and the display was the finest that the
+country has known for years.'
+
+"This is what I find in the newspaper, and it seems to be a very good
+account. There are some things that it will be necessary for me to
+explain, so that you will get a good understanding of them. In the first
+place, I am told that the royal top-knot is taken off in a temple close
+to the artificial mountain on the first day of the ceremony. Doubtless
+they would cut it every day; but even in so fertile a country as Siam
+the hair does not grow fast enough to make a daily cutting feasible.
+
+"After this ceremony the hair is allowed to grow in the shoe-brush style
+that I have described. Before that time it is in the shape of a twisted
+knot, about as large as a silver dollar, but when it takes its new form
+it covers the greater part of the top of the head.
+
+"The Trailaht, or golden mountain, where the ceremony takes place, is
+not really constructed of gold, though it appears to be. It is made of
+wood and iron for a framework, and is then covered with sheets of lead
+that have been gilded. The machinery that moves the figures is concealed
+in the interior of the mountain, and the pathway that runs up the
+outside is made to look as much like nature as possible. There are
+valleys, and forests, and grottoes, and miniature rocks on the mountain,
+and the path is usually arranged so that it goes three times around
+between the bottom and the top. The Siamese pay great attention to the
+numbers '3' and '9;' they have pagodas and canopies of three stories,
+and others of nine; and in nearly all their religious ceremonies their
+movements are in threes and nines. The same is true of all countries
+where Buddhism is the religion; and, if you go as far off as Peking, you
+will find that the temples have triple terraces and triple roofs, while
+threes, or the multiples of three, may be found in the arrangement of
+the stones of the steps and pavements, and in the walls of the
+buildings.
+
+[Illustration: LAKON GIRLS.]
+
+"Perhaps you did not understand what was meant by the lakon girls that
+danced before the king as soon as he was seated. In this country there
+are girls who are trained to dance, like _geishas_ in Japan, and just
+as the girls of the ballet are trained in a theatre in Europe and
+America. Dancing is their profession, and they combine singing and
+acting with it; and some of the princes and great men have troops of
+these lakon girls to dance and sing for them. It is very common for them
+to invite their friends to an entertainment, and it generally consists
+of singing and dancing by these young ladies. Those around the palace
+are the prettiest that can be found in the kingdom, and they have
+wardrobes that cost a great deal of money, and are as grand as the
+wardrobes of any actress in America. Very often in their acting they
+wear the most hideous masks that can be imagined, and when they are
+dressed up to resemble men or demons you can hardly believe that they
+are really pretty girls. I send you a picture of two of them, so that
+you may know what they look like.
+
+[Illustration: A NATIVE BAND OF MUSIC.]
+
+"The native band of music is a curiosity, as it is quite unlike anything
+you ever saw. The king has a band after the European style, with a
+French leader, and with instruments imported from London or Paris. It
+plays very well, and can render some of the popular pieces that we are
+familiar with just as well as any ordinary band in New York or London.
+When we were passing the palace the other day we heard them playing a
+selection from Faust, and another from the 'Grande Duchesse;' and one
+evening we heard the Siamese national hymn, which is a very pretty
+composition, and worthy of a place among the national airs of Europe.
+But the native music is quite another thing.
+
+"The performers sit down to their work instead of standing up, and they
+do not sit on chairs, but on the floor. The only band of the kind I have
+yet seen consisted of five performers, all women--one of them having a
+sort of guitar, another a violin, another a drum played with the fingers
+of one hand, another with a row of bamboo sticks that were struck with a
+small hammer, and the last of the five had a row of metal cups that were
+played like the bamboo sticks. There is a good deal of variety to the
+music in some ways, and very little in others; it seemed to be capable
+of considerable modulation in time and tune; and while at times it was
+loud and harsh, at others it became low and plaintive. Whether they have
+any regular tunes or not I am unable to say; they seemed to start off on
+a measure, and then repeat it over and over again for twenty or thirty
+minutes. Perhaps they would keep it up for a week or two if the weather
+was not too warm for continuing one's exertions for that length of time.
+They didn't seem to keep very closely together, and probably there was
+no occasion for them to do so, as the tune is of such a nature that each
+player can do pretty much what he likes.
+
+[Illustration: A SIAMESE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE.]
+
+"These lakon girls are the performers in the theatres of Bangkok, or
+rather at the private theatricals that are given at the houses of the
+nobles and high officials. These affairs are generally given in a garden
+or court-yard, where carpets are spread under the trees that grow there.
+The dialogue is accompanied by music of the kind I have described, and
+sometimes they have drums like small barrels suspended on triangles or
+propped up on little frames. The performances are usually historical,
+but not always so, as the Siamese drama abounds in love-plays, which are
+taken from their literature. In the historic plays the costumes are
+frequently very hideous, though richly gilded and decorated; they have
+very little scenery or stage settings, and I think that a first-class
+theatre of New York or Paris would astonish them greatly. When not
+occupied on the stage, the performers stand or sit around the wings, and
+the audience is supposed not to see them.
+
+"The voices of the singers are very sweet; and Doctor Bronson says that
+some of them only need careful training to make excellent performers.
+They are said to be much more musical than the Chinese or the Japanese,
+and much quicker to catch foreign music when it is taught to them.
+
+"If you expect that women occupy in Siam the same position that they do
+in America, you will be disappointed. Their condition has been greatly
+improved by the king since he ascended the throne, and he is evidently
+determined to overcome the prejudices of his people as rapidly as he can
+do so. He is the first ruler of Siam who has ever given his arm to
+escort a lady to the dinner-table after the European manner, and the
+first lady to receive this honor was the wife of an American admiral.
+
+"The country has never been ruled by a woman, and women have never held
+a high place in the royal councils. Polygamy is customary in Siam; and
+the king has a harem, just as the Sultan of Turkey has one. He has one
+chief wife, or queen-consort, and is said to have about two hundred
+other wives; but nobody knows exactly how many there are--at least
+nobody outside the palace. Like all other monarchs with a harem, he has
+his favorites; and when one of his wives manages to attract his
+attention and secure his preference, she is very speedily the envy of
+the others. Probably human nature is the same the world over, and the
+history of royal and imperial harems everywhere is not greatly varied.
+
+"Among the common people a man may have several wives if he chooses, and
+can afford the expense, but ordinarily he has only one. Where he has
+more than one, the first wife is the head of the household, and her
+authority is generally undisputed, though they sometimes have domestic
+quarrels, like people in other countries. Marriages are commonly
+arranged between youths of eighteen and girls of fourteen, and not
+infrequently at earlier ages. The ceremony consists of a feast such as
+the parties can afford; and though priests are not considered necessary,
+they are generally present to offer prayers. Among the poorer classes
+there is more approach to equality between husband and wife than with
+the rich; fashionable society does not permit the wife to eat with the
+husband, and she is regarded more as a servant than a companion; but the
+Siamese husbands are said to be much more kind to their wives than the
+Chinese, and to treat them with more respect.
+
+"A great many wives, both among the nobles and the common people, are
+bought as slaves, and I am told that probably a quarter of the
+population is held in slavery. Men sell their wives, children, sisters,
+brothers, and even themselves; and in times past great numbers of slaves
+were held that had been captured in wars with neighboring countries.
+Slaves are not dear in Siam, compared with the prices that were paid in
+America before the emancipation of the negroes; a child may be bought
+for a small sum; and when a man wants to purchase a wife, he expects to
+get her for not more than eighty or a hundred dollars. Much of the
+slavery in Siam is the result of gambling; and it is not unusual for a
+man to gamble away his family, his clothes, and then himself, in a
+single day or evening.
+
+"While we are considering this subject of slavery, I will make an
+extract or two from the laws of Siam concerning the treatment of persons
+in bondage:
+
+"'If the inhabitants in embarrassed circumstances sell temporarily their
+children, wives, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, relatives, and
+slaves, males or females, to serve the purchaser, and the slaves be
+overtaken with a calamity, let the money-master inform the seller that
+he may come and take care of him at the money-master's house. If the
+money-master take no care of him, and the slave dies, said money-master
+cannot claim any refund from the seller, because he abandoned the sick
+slave. His death must be the loss of the money-master, because he
+neglected a subject of the State.
+
+"'If persons pecuniarily or otherwise embarrassed sell temporarily their
+children, nephews, nieces, or grandchildren to a purchaser, to be used
+by him in lieu of interest, and the purchaser or master has business or
+trouble, and takes his slave to accompany him, and thieves or murderers
+cut, stab, and kill, or tigers, crocodiles, or other animals kill and
+devour the slave, the law declares, being the slave of the purchaser who
+took him with him, the purchaser is entitled to no refund from the
+seller, because the slave accompanied his master.'
+
+"I have copied this from an English translation of the Siamese laws, and
+suppose it is correct. I am told that the slavery of Siam is not like
+what we had in the United States, as the slaves are of the same class
+and color as their owners, and there is not much difference between a
+poor free man and a slave. Both of them must work for their living; and
+I am told it sometimes happens that a man will deliberately sell
+himself, so as to have a master who will give him steady employment and
+feed him properly. The king has done a good deal towards improving the
+condition of slaves, and on every festival occasion those who have been
+a certain number of years in bondage are declared free. It is a common
+thing for men to pledge themselves and their families or relatives as
+security for money loaned or to pay interest, and when the debt is
+discharged they are free. The two sentences I have quoted from the
+Siamese laws relate to this kind of temporary slavery. It very often
+happens, when a man has thus pledged himself and family for a short
+time, and is confident that he will soon be free, his hopes are not
+realized, and he remains a slave for years and years--perhaps for his
+whole life. His relatives remain in bondage with him, and their
+happiness or misery depends very much upon whether they have a kind
+master or a cruel one.
+
+"For persons who are not held as slaves, divorce is very easy in Siam.
+The laws are not very strict; and if they simply desert each other,
+there is generally an end of their marriage. I have been told of a funny
+sort of divorce among the lower classes, but cannot say if it be true.
+When a couple have determined to separate, they sit down on the floor in
+the middle of their house, and each lights a candle. They sit there in
+silence while the candles burn slowly down, and the property that they
+owned in common will all belong to the one whose candle lasts the
+longest. The one whose light goes out first is only entitled to the
+clothes he or she may have on at the time--which is not much anyway.
+
+"What a lot of patent candles we should have if the same custom
+prevailed in America! Ingenious men would puzzle their brains to invent
+candles that would burn longer than any others; and we might expect to
+see any morning the advertisement of 'The Patent Inexhaustible Candle
+that will neither burn nor be blown out!' And somebody would devise a
+system of making a secret connection between the candle and a gas-pipe,
+so that the supply of combustible material would never be exhausted. The
+lawyers would not like this mode of settling matrimonial difficulties,
+and there is no probability that such a law will ever be made.
+
+"To go into mourning, the people shave their heads; and when the king
+dies, the top-knots are removed from the heads of all his male subjects
+from one end of Siam to the other. The only exception to the rule is in
+the case of princes who are older than the king; and sometimes this
+exception gives rise to lively disputes concerning the princely age."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+CREMATION IN SIAM.--TRADE, TAXES, AND BIRDS.
+
+
+[Illustration: SCENE ON A SMALL CANAL NEAR BANGKOK.]
+
+One morning, while they were taking a row on the river for the purpose
+of visiting one of the canals, our friends observed a dense smoke rising
+from the vicinity of one of the temples. Fred was the first to see it,
+and wondered what it was for. As they neared the temple, they saw that
+the smoke proceeded from a burning pile, where several persons were
+standing around.
+
+"It is a cremation," said Doctor Bronson; "we will stop and see it."
+
+He directed the boatmen to land in front of the temple, and the three
+strangers walked to the spot where the fire was burning.
+
+On a low mound of earth there was a fire of logs and smaller sticks of
+wood, and in the midst of the fire lay a body half consumed. It was
+evidently that of a small person, as the fire was not more than five
+feet long, and the body was completely wrapped in the flames. A dozen or
+more Buddhist priests were standing near the fire, and about as many
+other persons who did not appear to belong to the holy order. No
+ceremony was observed; and the Doctor remarked that they had probably
+arrived too late to witness the funeral-service. Not far off were the
+ashes that remained from similar cremations; and on one heap the fire
+was still smouldering.
+
+They returned to the boat, and continued their journey; and as they did
+so the Doctor explained to the boys the peculiarities of the spectacle
+they had just witnessed.
+
+"Cremation, or the destruction of a human body by fire," said he, "is
+customary in several countries of the Eastern World, and there has
+recently been an effort to make it popular in Europe and America. It
+prevails in Siam, but not altogether to the exclusion of the ordinary
+mode of burial in the earth. Cremation is considered the most honorable
+funeral, and it has a religious significance; it is a ceremony necessary
+to assist the soul in its passage to a higher state of transmigration,
+and to its final condition of perfect rest. Criminals who are executed
+by law are not allowed to be burnt; and the same is the case with those
+dying of small-pox and certain other diseases.
+
+[Illustration: BURIAL-MOUNDS.]
+
+"The ceremony of cremation is considered so important that, where it
+cannot be performed immediately after the death of the individual--from
+poverty or for other reasons--the body is first buried, and subsequently
+exhumed and burnt. When the person has any prominence or wealth, a few
+of the bones are preserved in the houses of the relatives, or they may
+be buried in the grounds near the temples. You saw some little
+monuments, like miniature pyramids, near the temple we just visited; did
+you not?"
+
+"Yes," said Fred, "we saw them, and wondered what they were."
+
+[Illustration: URN CONTAINING ASHES.]
+
+"Those were monuments where the ashes of the dead are preserved," was
+the reply. "You will find them near many of the temples."
+
+Soon they came in sight of another temple, where a ceremony of some sort
+was just beginning. The Doctor told the boatmen to land there; and as
+soon as they were on shore they found that they had come upon another
+funeral-party, and evidently that of a person of distinction.
+
+[Illustration: JESSAMINE FLOWERS.]
+
+The body was in a coffin, which rested on a bier; and the coffin and
+bier together were not less than six feet high. The bier was covered
+with white cloth--white is the symbol of mourning in Siam--and the
+coffin itself was of a red color, and with a great deal of gold tinsel
+laid over it. Above the coffin was a canopy of white cloth, and it was
+thickly ornamented with bunches of jessamine flowers, freshly gathered.
+
+Just as our friends approached the spot, a band, consisting of a gong,
+two drums, and a sort of flageolet, played a very discordant air as a
+prelude to the ceremony. Then a young priest read a service of prayers
+from slips of palm-leaf, and, while reading, he occupied a pulpit under
+a small shed in the court yard of the temple. In front of the pulpit
+there was a platform occupied by several persons--the majority of them
+women. They were not at all attentive; and as the prayers were read in
+the Bali language, they were not likely to understand a word of them.
+The prayers occupied about thirty minutes.
+
+[Illustration: A BUDDHIST PRIEST.]
+
+There was quite a crowd of priests in the yard of the service until near
+its close. When the reading ended, they came forward and took hold of a
+strip of white cloth, six or seven yards long, that was attached to the
+head of the coffin. In this position they repeated some short prayers;
+and as they finished them the coffin was stripped of its coverings, and
+the cloth that came from it was distributed among the priests.
+
+The body was then taken from the coffin and washed; then it was
+replaced, and carried three times around the bier, which proved to be a
+pile of fuel ready prepared for the burning. The sons and daughters, and
+other relatives of the dead man, were standing near the bier; and though
+they were quiet and respectful, they did not display the least emotion,
+with the exception of one young woman, who was said to be a favorite
+daughter. She wept loudly, and resisted the efforts of the others to
+comfort her.
+
+When the third circuit around the pile was completed, the coffin was
+placed upon it. The fire was lighted by one of the priests, who uttered
+a short prayer as he touched the taper to the fuel. Meantime small
+wax-tapers had been distributed to all present, including our friends;
+and after the priest had kindled the flame, these tapers were placed
+upon the pile by the persons who held them. Doctor Bronson and the boys
+did like the others; and the Doctor told his young companions that they
+would give offence if they refused to comply with the custom. The body
+was speedily consumed, and the ceremony was over.
+
+Our friends again returned to their boat, and the conversation about
+cremation was resumed.
+
+"The man whose funeral you have just attended," the Doctor continued,
+"was in good circumstances, and the ceremony was made to conform to his
+rank and importance. This is the rule in Siam, as it is with funerals in
+pretty nearly all parts of the world; and while the cremation of a poor
+man will be over in a few hours after his death, that of a king does not
+take place for a year."
+
+"Why do they wait so long?" Frank asked.
+
+"The real reason is," was the reply, "to enable the surviving relatives
+to make the proper preparations for the funeral, and it has been so long
+the custom that it is now fixed as a social and religious observance.
+
+"Immediately after the death of a king, his body is embalmed and laid in
+state, with a great deal of ceremony, in the Maha Prasaht. It is the
+duty of his successor to arrange the funeral ceremonies; and he
+immediately notifies the governors of four of the northern provinces,
+where the finest timber of Siam is found, that each of them may send a
+stick to form one of the four corners of the P'hra Mane, or funeral
+pile. The sticks must be perfectly straight, and not less than two
+hundred feet long; at the same time twelve smaller sticks are called for
+from as many of the other provinces; and there is also a demand for
+timber for the construction of halls and other buildings needed for the
+ceremony.
+
+"All the timber must be new, as it would not be proper for royalty to
+have any wood about its funeral pile that had been used before in any
+way. Several months are required to procure the timber and erect the
+pile and its various annexes, as they cover at least half an acre of
+ground. The whole of the work, outside and in, is painted in green and
+yellow, and a good deal of gold and silver leaf is spread on in various
+places, so that it appears to be of great richness. A large open dome is
+in the centre of the edifice, and it contains a small temple, with a
+platform on which the body is to be placed. Around the great building
+there are sheds and houses to accommodate the priests, who come from all
+parts of the kingdom to participate in the ceremonies; and outside of
+these sheds there are twelve small pagodas, that are decorated to
+represent the large temple. The whole mass of edifices for the funeral
+costs a great deal of money, and it is evidently an expensive thing in
+Siam for a king to die.
+
+[Illustration: CHARACTERS IN THE PROCESSION.]
+
+"On the appointed day there is a grand procession of soldiers and others
+dressed to represent various nationalities--not much unlike the
+procession at the ceremony of the royal hair-cutting. The entire royal
+family is out, and usually the procession takes not less than three
+hours to pass a given point. The festivals last ten days; various
+amusements are provided during the daytime in the shape of theatricals
+and other exhibitions, and in the evening they have fireworks, tumbling,
+rope-dancing, and the like. At certain intervals handfuls of money are
+thrown among the people, and a very lively scrambling is the result.
+Finally the body is burnt with a great deal of ceremony, the king being
+the first to apply the torch to the funeral pile of his predecessor.
+
+"When the burning is completed, the ashes are thrown into the river, and
+the bones are placed in an urn and carried to one of the temples in the
+palace enclosure. Then the princes and governors who have come from the
+various parts of the kingdom, are at liberty to return home; and the
+same is the case with the priests who have visited the capital on the
+same mission. There is probably no royal display in any part of Europe
+that can surpass the cremation of a king in Siam."
+
+"Do the widows of the king go on the funeral pile to be burnt?" Frank
+asked. "Is the custom in Siam the same that it used to be in India?"
+
+"Not at all," was the reply. "Siam has never had that horrid custom of
+the _suttee_, or widow-burning, that so long disgraced India. It is not
+allowed there now, and probably there has not been a single case of it
+in the last ten or twenty years. None of the religious rites of the
+Siamese have ever been accompanied by physical torture."
+
+"Who pays for all the expense of these ceremonies?" said Fred.
+
+"Nominally the king pays for them," the Doctor responded; "but in
+reality the money comes, as all government expenses come in every part
+of the world, from the people. The princes and governors, and other high
+dignitaries who attend a funeral or a hair-cutting, make presents that
+go in part for defraying the cost of the performances, and, of course,
+the money for these presents comes from their subjects."
+
+"Then it is no more than right," Frank remarked, "that the people should
+be amused when they go to these affairs, whether they are funerals or
+anything else."
+
+"But where does the king get all his money?" queried Fred. "That is, how
+does he raise his taxes, and how are they collected?"
+
+"Taxes in Siam," the Doctor explained, "are of various kinds. They are
+direct and indirect, just as they are in other countries; and the object
+is the same--the production of a revenue.
+
+"There is a tax on the sale of spirits, as I have already told you, and
+there is a tax on gambling. Both these taxes are farmed out, and the
+purchaser generally makes a good thing out of his venture. The
+purchasers are usually Chinese speculators, and they sub-let their
+privileges to smaller contractors for a round profit on their
+investments.
+
+"There is a tax on fishing in the Menam River, and also in the other
+streams in which fish abound; the Buddhist religion forbids the
+destruction of animal life, but the requirement is rather considered as
+applying only to the priesthood, and the common people give little
+attention to it. But no one is allowed to fish within a certain distance
+of the palace, as all fish in that limit are held to be sacred, and
+under the protection of the king. On the canal that encloses the palace
+in the direction farthest from the river there are marks to indicate the
+limits; inside the line it would be dangerous to the neck of a native
+to be caught fishing, while outside of it he may do so with impunity.
+
+"Then there are taxes on shops and on various branches of trade, just as
+there are in the countries of Europe; and there are taxes on fruit-trees
+and land, and there are customs-duties, and other things. There is a
+poll-tax on the Chinese inhabitants of Siam, which is collected by the
+authorities with the utmost care; and any Chinese who neglects to pay it
+is liable to be compelled to work it out under the eye of a public
+overseer. Every boat that is used as a shop pays a tax, and so do all
+the shops through the country. Then there are certain articles of export
+that are considered the monopoly of the king, and as he has no
+competition in buying, and no opposition in selling, he has a good thing
+of it. The rules about trade are changing every year; and so, if you
+make a note of what I have told you, it is well to remember that what
+you have written for the day may not be good for all time."
+
+"The consul told us about the imports of Siam," said one of the boys,
+"when we were going up the river to Ayuthia. Please tell us about the
+exports. He mentioned rice and sugar as articles that the Siamese send
+to other countries, but did not say what other things they had to sell."
+
+"The exports of Siam," said the Doctor, in answer to the above remark,
+"comprise a good many things. Besides the articles mentioned, the
+country produces and sends to foreign ports a considerable amount of
+tin, which is dug from its mines; and it also exports small quantities
+of other metals. Then it produces pepper, tobacco, cardamons, ivory, and
+various dye-stuffs. It also exports the skins of the rhinoceros,
+buffalo, ox, elephant, tiger, leopard, bear, snake, and deer; and some
+of these articles go out in the form of leather. How great are the
+quantities of these things I am unable to say, as I have not studied the
+tables of imports and exports very closely."
+
+Frank was curious to know how the people caught the snakes whose skins
+they exported. He thought a snake was a disagreeable thing to associate
+with, and not at all easy to capture.
+
+The Doctor explained that the matter was by no means as difficult as he
+imagined. The snakes are fond of chickens, and they come around the
+houses of the people, particularly those that are built on rafts, in
+search of their favorite prey. When a native discovers any indications
+that a snake has been around his premises, he arranges a coop made of
+strong sticks of bamboo, and, after putting a chicken inside, he leaves
+an opening in one end large enough for the snake to enter. He goes into
+the coop and kills the chicken, which he swallows whole, after the
+manner of snakes in general. He is so gorged that he cannot escape, and
+is found in his prison in the morning. Under these circumstances he is
+easily killed, and his skin is an ample compensation for the slaughtered
+fowl.
+
+Fred had observed little cages on poles rising from the roofs of many of
+the houses, and naturally inquired their use.
+
+"Those cages," said Doctor Bronson, "are intended as traps for birds. If
+you examine them closely you will perceive that they are double; one
+half is intended as a trap, and is left open for the wild bird to enter,
+while the other contains a captive bird who serves as a decoy."
+
+Naturally the conversation turned upon the birds of Siam and their
+peculiarities.
+
+[Illustration: HAUNTS OF SEA-BIRDS ON THE COAST.]
+
+"I cannot give you a very good account of the birds of Siam," said the
+genial Doctor, "for the reason that the ornithology of the country has
+not, as far as I am aware, been carefully and exhaustively studied. The
+birds of prey include the white eagle and also the common brown eagle;
+and they have, as you have observed, the vulture, which is the same
+species that is found in India. The kite is very common; and there are
+two or three varieties of the hawk. As for crows, they have enough in
+Siam to destroy all the corn in the States east of the Hudson River;
+and if the Siamese attempted to raise that article, they would doubtless
+have a hard time of it."
+
+Frank thought they had seen crows enough around Bangkok to supply the
+wants of the whole of Massachusetts. Evidently the inhabitants did not
+molest them, or they would not be as bold as he had found them.
+
+"Then, too," the Doctor continued, "they have the sparrow, the same as
+in Europe and America, and the ornithologists say that Siam is the most
+southerly limit of this bird. As you go south in Asia, you will not find
+the sparrow anywhere else except where he has been introduced by the
+European inhabitants.
+
+[Illustration: EDIBLE SWALLOWS NESTS.]
+
+"Some of the trade of Siam consists in shipping to China the edible
+portion of a bird's-nest, and this is the material from which the
+Chinese make their famous 'birds'-nest soup.' In Canton and Hong-kong it
+sells for its weight in silver, and sometimes is even dearer than that.
+It is found on the western coast of the Gulf of Siam, and also on the
+east coast of the Bay of Bengal; the bird makes his nest in caves among
+the rocks, and the work of collecting the nests is both difficult and
+dangerous."
+
+"What kind of a bird is it?" Fred asked.
+
+"It is a species of swallow," was the reply; "it is about as large as
+the common swallow with which you are familiar, and its movements
+through the air are much like those of the American bird; and in the
+same way that our swallows like to build in barns and chimneys, and
+other dark places, the Siamese one constructs his dwelling among the
+rocky caves along the coast."
+
+"What is the peculiarity of the bird's-nest that the Chinese like so
+much?" one of the boys inquired.
+
+"The peculiarity is in the material of which it is constructed," the
+Doctor answered. "The bird gathers a glutinous weed from the coral
+rocks, and carries it in its mouth and stomach to the cave where it
+lives. There the plastic substance is shaped into a nest about the size
+of a common teacup. There are three qualities, and they are prized
+accordingly: the first is when the nest is freshly made, and the
+material is snowy white; the second, when the bird has laid her eggs;
+and the third, when she has hatched her brood and gone. The bird is
+known as the _lawit_ in Java, and the _salangane_ in the Philippine
+Islands, while its scientific name is _Hirundo esculenta_.
+
+[Illustration: SIAMESE WATER BIRDS.]
+
+"Among the birds inhabiting the Siamese forests there is the common
+peacock, which is shot for the sake of its feathers; and there are
+several kinds of pigeons. Then they have the quail and the pheasant, the
+latter in several varieties; and they have the common cock, or barn-yard
+fowl, running wild in great numbers. The chickens that are sold in the
+markets of Siam are these same wild birds domesticated, and those that
+we have in America are descended from Asiatic ancestors that went to
+Europe centuries and centuries ago. They have wild chickens in Siam,
+just as we have wild turkeys in our own country.
+
+[Illustration: PHEASANT AND YOUNG.]
+
+"They have in Siam a goodly number of evading birds, and not many
+swimmers. Ducks are bred by the Chinese residents, but not generally by
+the Siamese, and I am told that they do not exist in a wild state. The
+goose is rarely seen; but there are plenty of pelicans and kingfishers,
+and several birds of the crane and stork families."
+
+"What was the bird we saw at the consul's house the day we called
+there?" queried Frank.
+
+"You mean the one that kept up such an incessant talking?"
+
+"Yes," Frank answered; "he rattled away in Siamese, and he called out
+'Boy!' two or three times; and it sounded so much like a human voice
+that I thought, at first, it was some one calling a servant."
+
+"That was a mineur, or minor," the Doctor explained; "and it is said to
+surpass the parrot in its ability to talk. He learns very easily, and is
+as great an imitator as the American mocking-bird. The one at the
+consulate can say a great many things in Siamese, but he does not yet
+know much English. A friend of mine had one of these birds that was the
+source of great amusement; he would whistle, in exact imitation of his
+master, and he could sing certain bits of music without making a
+mistake. When my friend first obtained him, the bird could only speak
+the native language; but in a little while he picked up several phrases
+in English, and pronounced them perfectly.
+
+"One thing he did was to call the servant, as he had heard his owner. As
+you have seen, the way of summoning servants is by shouting 'Boy!' and
+on hearing this word the servant comes. My friend's bird had caught up
+the word, and every little while he would shout it so as to deceive the
+servant, and bring him to his master. Naturally the servant was annoyed
+at being disturbed, and so my friend told him that when he wanted him he
+would call 'Boy! boy!' and he need not come when he heard the word only
+once. In three days the bird was doing the same thing, and deceiving the
+servant. Then it was arranged that my friend would strike on the table
+or clap his hands, as they do in Turkey and Syria. This was too much for
+the mineur; he found that he could not amuse himself as before. The one
+at the consulate is learning the same trick, and amusing himself by
+imitating what he hears spoken around him."
+
+Frank wished he could take one of these birds home with him; but the
+Doctor said it would be too much trouble to do so. The mineur is of
+tropical origin, and the climate of the Northern States of America is
+not suited to him. "The chances are," said he, "that if you took a dozen
+mineurs to carry to America, you would lose three-fourths of them on the
+way, and the others would not live more than a few months after getting
+there."
+
+As the Doctor closed his remark about the mineur, the boat touched the
+landing in front of the hotel, and their morning's excursion came to an
+end.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+PRESENTATION TO THE KING.--DINNER AT THE PALACE.
+
+
+While they were at lunch, and discussing the sights and scenes of the
+morning, a messenger arrived with a note from the consul. It was to the
+effect that the king would receive him, accompanied by Doctor Bronson,
+at three o'clock that afternoon. The consul added that he would call at
+the hotel with his boat about half-past two, and they would proceed
+thence together. The Doctor had no time to lose in making his toilet for
+the ceremony; he finished it, and was seated on the veranda of the hotel
+not more than two minutes before the consul arrived. At the latter's
+suggestion, the boys joined the party; and it was arranged that, while
+the two gentlemen were having their audience with the king, the youths
+could amuse themselves in the palace-grounds under the guidance of the
+consular secretary.
+
+[Illustration: COURT-YARD OF THE ROYAL PALACE AT BANGKOK.]
+
+They had a slow journey up the river to the palace, as the tide was
+against them, and compelled the boat to hug close to the shore; but they
+were there a little before three o'clock, and had a short walk from the
+landing-place to the front of the palace. They were shown to a platform
+in the court-yard, and were received there by the interpreter and
+secretary of the king, who announced that his majesty would be ready for
+the audience in a few moments. The platform was under a wide-spreading
+tree, that furnished a most grateful shade; and there were many small
+trees and bushes growing in large pots that stood in irregular rows. Two
+or three groups of servants were crouched in the yard, which was paved
+with large blocks of stone, and a little way off a royal elephant was
+undergoing his daily exercise in charge of his keepers. Coffee was
+brought, and with it cigars and cigarettes; and a quarter of an hour
+passed away quite agreeably to all concerned. At the end of that time, a
+messenger came and said something to the secretary in Siamese; the
+secretary then turned to the gentlemen, and told them the king was
+waiting for them. He led the way towards a low gate-way, and the boys
+remained with the consular secretary.
+
+They had a pleasant ramble in the palace-grounds, and saw the stables
+where the white elephants were kept, as well as the elephants
+themselves. The secretary told them the audience would occupy about half
+an hour, and they would have that time at their disposal before
+returning to the platform in the court-yard. In half an hour they came
+back, and waited for the Doctor and the consul. They were not there
+three minutes before the gentlemen returned, and were ready to go back
+to the hotel.
+
+On their way homeward, the Doctor told the boys what he had seen and
+done, and the consul added here and there little bits of information to
+the Doctor's story. The Doctor was so pleased with the visit, that he
+spent the evening writing an account of the affair; and it was not till
+a late hour that he finished it. He readily consented to allow the boys
+to copy it, so that it could form part of the narrative of their journey
+in Siam. Here it is:
+
+"After leaving the platform, where we had rested to await the pleasure
+of the king, we soon came to a gate-way that was guarded by a double
+file of soldiers, who presented arms as we approached. The gate-way led
+us close to the apartments of the women, and I managed to have glimpses
+of the dusky occupants of the place as we walked along. Some of them
+were pretty; but their mouths were so disfigured by betel-chewing that
+the effect was not agreeable. Our glance was only a hurried one, as we
+were speedily at the door of the palace.
+
+"We mounted a stairway to the king's apartments; then we passed through
+a hall ornamented with busts and portraits of European sovereigns,
+living or dead, and then we entered a large saloon, where we found
+ourselves in the presence of the king.
+
+"His majesty approached as we entered--exactly as a private gentleman
+might do in his own house when a visitor calls--and, after shaking hands
+with the consul, he paused for the latter to introduce me. As soon as I
+was introduced, he shook hands with me after the Occidental fashion, and
+invited us to seats near a table in the centre of the room. The sofa
+where he sat was at right angles to the position of our chairs, so that,
+by partially turning, he faced us both. At his left stood the
+interpreter, who translated the king's Siamese words into English, but
+rarely translated our own words into Siamese, as the king understands
+our language perfectly, and speaks it with very few mistakes.
+Ceremonious presentations are always conducted with the aid of an
+interpreter, and the king appears to understand only his own language;
+but when he wishes to have a free and confidential conversation with a
+foreign consul or other personage, he dismisses his interpreter, and
+talks away in English with perfect ease.
+
+[Illustration: CHULALONKORN I., SUPREME KING OF SIAM.]
+
+"His majesty's voice is full, clear, and resonant, and he pronounces
+every word with the utmost care. As he talks, his face brightens; he
+gesticulates gracefully, and to a sufficient extent to make his
+conversation quite un-Oriental in character. His complexion is the true
+Siamese bronze; his cheek-bones are high, and the outlines of his face
+are decidedly handsome. His thick black hair is parted gracefully in the
+middle, and not cropped after the Siamese style; he has a slender
+mustache, which evinces careful training, and gives promise of future
+greatness. He wore at the ceremonial the Siamese trousers, with white
+stockings, and he had on his feet shoes of patent-leather, if I observed
+them correctly. His upper garment was a sack of military cut, and made
+of white linen; it terminated with a sort of upright collar, and was
+closely buttoned. The only ornament I noticed upon it was a row of three
+stars on each side of the throat.
+
+"Like all other kings, his majesty is well provided with uniforms, and
+every ceremonial has a dress peculiarly adapted to it. His military
+uniform, when he appears at the head of his troops, is quite European in
+style, but his court-dress for state ceremonials adheres strictly to
+the Siamese model. It is richly embroidered and studded with jewels;
+the crown rises in the form of an elongated pyramid, with an aigrette of
+jewels, and the sandals are so thickly set with precious stones that
+there is very little of the foundation-work to be seen.
+
+"His majesty asked how long I had been in Siam, and how I liked the
+country; wished to know if I had visited the temples of Bangkok, and
+what I thought of them; and made other inquiries touching my movements.
+When these questions had been answered, he spoke of the visit of the
+United States ships of war several months before, and expressed the wish
+to see more of our ships and more of our countrymen in Siam. He asked
+when we would have American steamers running between Bangkok and
+Hong-kong to connect with the Pacific Mail and Occidental and Oriental
+lines, and said he hoped for a rapid increase of commerce between Siam
+and the United States. Evidently he is sincerely desirous of intimate
+commercial relations with us, as he said there were many articles of
+American manufacture which they wished to be supplied with; while we, on
+the other hand, would doubtless be willing to purchase rice at a lower
+price than we were now paying.
+
+"Tea and cigars were served while we were engaged on these topics, which
+occupied a period of ten or fifteen minutes. Then the conversation took
+a miscellaneous turn; and he dwelt upon the peculiarities of the
+different languages that are spoken in his dominions: it seems that his
+majesty is well versed in the various dialects and distinct languages,
+and he is like the Emperor of Austria, as he can converse with all his
+subjects in their own tongue. Then he talked with the consul about some
+matter that the latter had brought before him at a previous interview;
+and after that there was a convenient pause, in which we rose and made
+our adieux. The king followed us to the door of the room, and, before
+shaking hands in farewell, he invited the consul and myself to dine with
+him the following evening. Of course we accepted without a moment's
+hesitation, and then made our way out as we had entered. The whole
+affair from beginning to end was quite free from stiffness or severity,
+and proved the king to be, as he is represented, a most accomplished
+gentleman."
+
+Sixty years ago a presentation to the King of Siam was a much more
+ceremonious affair than the one here recorded, and it required a great
+deal of study and rehearsal on the part of all concerned. Mr. Crawfurd,
+who came to Siam in 1822 at the head of an embassy from the
+Governor-general of India, gives the following account of his
+presentation:
+
+ "We left our dwelling at half-past eight in the morning for the
+ palace. A twelve-oared barge, with the rowers dressed in scarlet
+ uniforms, was furnished by the court for the conveyance of the
+ gentlemen of the mission; another for our Indian attendants, about
+ twenty in number; while the sepoys of the escort were conveyed in
+ the ship's launch. It was made a particular request that our
+ servants, especially the sepoys of the escort, should form part of
+ the procession. About nine o'clock we landed under the walls of the
+ palace, where we found an immense concourse of people waiting to
+ view the spectacle. The accommodation for conveying us to the
+ palace consisted of net hammocks suspended from poles, furnished
+ with an embroidered carpet, and, according to the custom of the
+ country, borne by two men only. The management of these vehicles
+ was a matter of some difficulty, and our awkwardness became a
+ subject of some amusement to the crowd. We passed through a street
+ of Siamese military arranged in single file, and then came to a
+ gate-way where we were compelled to leave our side-arms, as no
+ person was permitted to come into the palace enclosure with arms
+ about him. We were also compelled to dismount from our litters and
+ leave our escort behind us.
+
+ [Illustration: PRIME-MINISTER OF SIAM.]
+
+ "We passed through another street of soldiers, and finally came to
+ a large hall, eighty or ninety feet long by forty broad. We were
+ conducted inside, and carpets were spread for us to sit on while
+ waiting to be summoned to the royal presence. We waited about
+ twenty minutes, and were then taken to the hall of audience, where
+ we were requested to take off our shoes and leave behind us our
+ Indian attendants. As soon as we entered the gate we found a band
+ of music of about one hundred persons drawn up to form a street for
+ our reception. The instruments consisted of drums, gongs, brass
+ flutes, and flageolets.
+
+ "Opposite the door of the hall there was an immense screen, which
+ concealed the interior from view. We passed the screen to the right
+ side, and, as had been agreed upon, taking off our hats, made a
+ respectful bow in the European manner. Every foot of the great hall
+ was so crowded with prostrate courtiers that it was difficult to
+ move without treading upon some officer of state. Precedence is
+ decided upon such occasions by relative vicinity to the throne; the
+ princes being near the foot of it, the principal officers of
+ government next to them, and thus in succession down to the lowest
+ officer who is admitted. We seated ourselves a little in front of
+ the screen, and made three obeisances to the throne in unison with
+ the courtiers. This obeisance consisted in raising the joined hands
+ three times to the head, and each time touching the forehead. To
+ have completed the Siamese obeisance it would have been necessary
+ to bend the body to the ground, and touch the earth with the
+ forehead at each prostration.
+
+ "The hall of audience was a well proportioned and spacious saloon,
+ about eighty feet long, perhaps half this in breadth, and about
+ thirty feet high. Two rows, each of ten handsome wooden pillars,
+ formed an avenue from the door to the throne, which was situated at
+ the upper end of the hall. The walls and ceiling were painted a
+ bright vermilion, the cornices of the former being gilded, and the
+ latter thickly spangled with stars in rich gilding. The throne and
+ its appendages occupied the whole of the upper end of the hall. The
+ throne was gilded all over, and about fifteen feet high, and it had
+ much the appearance of a handsome pulpit. A pair of curtains of
+ gold tissue upon a yellow ground concealed the whole of the upper
+ part of the room except the throne, and they were intended to be
+ drawn over this also except when used. The king, when seated on his
+ throne, had more the appearance of a statue than of a living being.
+ The general appearance of the hall of audience, the prostrate
+ attitude of the courtiers, the situation of the king, and the
+ silence which prevailed, presented a very imposing spectacle, and
+ reminded us much more of a temple crowded with votaries engaged in
+ the performance of some solemn rite of religion than the
+ audience-chamber of a temporal monarch.
+
+ [Illustration: THE KING OF SIAM IN HIS STATE ROBES.]
+
+ "The words which his Siamese majesty condescended to address to us
+ were delivered in a grave, measured, and oratorical manner. One of
+ the first officers of state delivered them to a person of inferior
+ rank, and this person to the interpreter who was behind us, and
+ explained them in the Malay language, which we understood. After a
+ few questions and answers relative to our mission, the king said,
+
+ "'I am glad to see an envoy here from the Governor-general of
+ India. Whatever you have to say, communicate with the minister of
+ foreign affairs. What we chiefly want from you are fire-arms.'
+
+ "His majesty had no sooner pronounced these words than we heard a
+ loud stroke, as if given by a wand against a piece of wainscoting,
+ and then the curtains on each side of the throne, moved by some
+ invisible agency, closed upon it. This was followed by the same
+ flourish of wind instruments as on our entrance, and the courtiers,
+ falling on their faces to the ground, made six successive
+ prostrations. We made three obeisances, sitting upright as agreed
+ upon. The ceremony was over.
+
+ "During the audience a heavy shower had fallen, and it was still
+ raining. His majesty took this opportunity of presenting each of us
+ with a small umbrella, and sent a message to desire that we would
+ view the curiosities of the palace at our leisure. When we reached
+ the threshold of the audience-hall we perceived the court yard and
+ the roads extremely wet and dirty from the rain, and naturally
+ demanded our shoes, which we had left at the last gate. This was a
+ favor which could not be yielded; and we were told that the princes
+ of the blood could not wear shoes within the sacred enclosure where
+ we now were. It would have been impolitic to evince ill-humor or
+ remonstrance, and therefore we feigned a cheerful compliance with
+ this inconvenient usage, and proceeded to gratify our curiosity."
+
+[Illustration: A YOUNGER BROTHER OF THE KING.]
+
+Doctor Bronson had no such ceremony to pass through as did Mr. Crawfurd
+in 1822; he was not required to remove his shoes at the gate-way, and he
+did not pass along a hall full of kneeling courtiers. The present king
+has ordained that persons of all ranks shall come before him erect, just
+as they would enter the presence of a king in Europe, and as far as
+possible he has made the usages of his court correspond to the European
+model.
+
+Of the dinner to which the consul and Doctor Bronson were invited, the
+latter wrote as follows:
+
+"The dinner was quite in the European style, and was prepared by a
+French cook who has been in his majesty's employ for several years. The
+party consisted of his majesty, six of his younger brothers, the king's
+private secretary, the consul, and myself. The conversation was general,
+and touched many topics; the king had many questions to ask about the
+United States, and particularly wished to know the difference between
+Siamese slavery of the present day and American slavery of the past.
+After dinner we sat on the balcony, listening to the music of the band,
+and breathing the soft evening air. During part of the dinner and all
+the rest of the evening the king threw off his reserve, dismissed his
+interpreter, and conversed freely in English, which he spoke easily, and
+with great correctness. It was half-past nine o'clock when we left the
+palace, and were escorted to our boat to return to the hotel."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE WHITE ELEPHANT.--VISIT TO THE SECOND KING OF SIAM.
+
+
+The time that Doctor Bronson passed in the presence of the king was
+utilized by the boys in a visit to the stables of the famous white
+elephants of the royal palace of Bangkok.
+
+When the Doctor was busy in the evening with his account of the
+presentation to the king, Frank occupied himself in putting on paper his
+experiences among the animals that are held in such reverence by the
+Siamese. Fred sat by his side and gave occasional hints about the story,
+and made sure that nothing they had seen was omitted.
+
+[Illustration: A WHITE ELEPHANT WORSHIPPING THE SUN AND MOON.
+
+(From a Chinese Drawing.)]
+
+"Our friends," said he, "will want to know everything we can tell them
+about the white elephants."
+
+"Of course they will," Frank replied; "they don't have white elephants
+in America--at any rate, our white elephants are not of the Siamese
+kind."
+
+"I don't think I ever heard of one in our country," said Fred; "and if
+there ever was one there, it is news to me."
+
+"Don't you remember," Frank responded, smiling, "that your uncle Charles
+was said to have bought a white elephant a year or two ago?"
+
+"Yes, I remember it perfectly," was the reply. "It was not a white
+elephant that he bought, but only a large house. It was three times as
+big as he needed; and after losing a great deal of money in repairing
+it, and hiring a crowd of servants to keep it in order, he sold it for
+much less than he gave. Of course, I understand that when a man has
+bought something he does not need, and which involves him in a ruinous
+expense, he is said to have bought a white elephant. I wonder where the
+expression came from."
+
+Just then Doctor Bronson entered the room to look for something he
+needed, and the boys appealed the question to him. Both of them had
+heard the allusion to "buying a white elephant," and knew its meaning.
+What they now wished to find was where it originated.
+
+The Doctor explained that it was said to be the custom in certain
+Eastern countries for the king to give a white elephant to any nobleman
+whom he wished to ruin. As the present came from the king, it could not
+be sold or given away: the expense of keeping the animal was enormous,
+as he required a great number of attendants, and consumed vast
+quantities of food. In a little while the nobleman would be a beggar, as
+his estate would be entirely consumed in maintaining the elephant; and
+so it came to be understood that when a man received such a present, it
+was a polite way of driving him into bankruptcy. "There is also a
+story," said the Doctor, "of a man who drew a white elephant in a
+lottery; he could not give his prize away, as nobody would accept it,
+and he could not kill him, as such an act was a crime of the highest
+character. It would not do to turn him loose, as he would then be
+responsible for all the damage caused by the elephant; and if he kept
+the beast it would soon eat him into poverty. Consequently, when a man
+has something in his possession difficult to get rid of and costly to
+keep, he is said to have drawn a white elephant."
+
+The Doctor found what he wanted and retired, and the boys proceeded with
+their story. With Fred's assistance, Frank wrote as follows:
+
+"The white elephant is not white by any means. He is only a sort of
+cream or flesh color; and anybody who expects him to rival the snow in
+the purity of his complexion will be disappointed. But, after all, he is
+not so dark as a good many men whom we call white, and so I suppose his
+name is quite proper. He is very scarce, and this is one reason why he
+is prized so highly.
+
+"Siam is not the only country where the white elephant is regarded with
+special honor; the animal receives great attention, and is very much
+prized in Burmah and other Buddhist lands; and it is said that some of
+the wars between Burmah and Siam have arisen from disputes about the
+possession of white elephants. Money cannot buy them, and no king who
+possessed one would dare to sell it for any price, as his people would
+think he had defied the powers of Heaven, and would be sure to bring the
+severest calamities upon them. Sir John Bowring says that when he came
+to Siam at the head of an embassy from the Queen of England in 1855, the
+king sent some presents for Her Majesty, and among them was a golden box
+locked with a golden key. It was said to be more precious than all the
+other presents; but it contained nothing beyond a few hairs from the
+tail of the white elephant.
+
+"The Buddhists have great reverence for anything that is white; and when
+whiteness is combined with great rarity, and also with magnificence, it
+is easy to see why the white elephant is above all other animals. 'It is
+believed,' Sir John Bowring says, 'that Buddha, the divine emanation
+from the Deity, must necessarily, in his multitudinous metamorphoses or
+transmissions through all existences and through millions of æons,
+delight to abide for some time in that grand incarnation of purity which
+is represented by the white elephant. While the priests teach that there
+is no spot in the heavens above, nor in the earth below, or the waters
+under the earth, which is not visited in the peregrinations of the
+divinity, they hold that his tarrying may be longer in the white
+elephant than in any other abode, and that in the possession of the
+sacred creature they may possess the presence of Buddha himself.'
+
+"The white elephant is considered of equal rank with the king, and is
+treated with all possible dignity; he has a stable to himself, and ten
+or twelve keepers to look after his wants. The first one we saw was
+standing on a platform which was being swept by a priest; and we were
+told that none but priests were allowed to serve the sacred animal. He
+was chained to a couple of posts, so that he could not step away from
+the platform; and the interpreter told us not to go near him, as he was
+not of a pleasant temper, and might hurt us. The keeper gave him a few
+bananas, which he appeared quite willing to take; the fact is, the
+elephant is very fond of bananas, and the wild ones in the forest will
+often run considerable risk to get them. After he had swallowed the
+bananas he reached for a truss of hay, but for some reason the keeper
+did not think proper to let him have it. He showed some temper, and the
+keeper brought him to a sense of his duty by pricking his foot with a
+sharp iron till drops of blood came from it. This seemed to us a funny
+way to treat a king, and we wondered how his majesty liked it.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE MONKEY IN ELEPHANT STABLES.]
+
+"We saw two white elephants, and each had a stable to himself, or rather
+a palace. Their tusks were encircled with hoops or rings of pure gold,
+and there were golden or gilded canopies above them, and ornaments of
+great value in other parts of the stable. In one of the stables there
+was a white monkey, and the interpreter told us that the white monkey is
+an object of great veneration among the Siamese, and is kept in the
+elephant stables to prevent the presence of evil spirits. The one we saw
+was a very quiet and dignified monkey of a perfectly pure white; he was
+above the ordinary size, and had a long tail, and they told us that he
+was caught in the forests on the upper waters of the Menam River.
+
+"When a white elephant is caught, there is great rejoicing throughout
+Siam. The king and court go out to meet him as he is brought towards the
+capital, and there is a grand procession with banners and music.
+Meantime a house has been prepared for him, and some of the members of
+the noble families of Siam are appointed to wait on him. He has
+everything he can possibly want except his liberty; and when he goes to
+the river to bathe he is escorted by other elephants, who are supposed
+to be highly honored by admission to his presence. But, in spite of all
+attentions, he sometimes takes sick and dies, and then the rejoicing is
+changed to mourning. The whole nation is wrapped in deep grief, and the
+funeral ceremonies are of an elaborate character. Fortunately for the
+Siamese, the elephant is an animal of long life, and so they are not
+often called upon to mourn the loss of one of these sacred beasts.
+
+"After we had seen the white elephants, we went to the stables of the
+common ones. There were a dozen or more of them in a shed that was quite
+open to the weather on all its sides, and they had only the ground to
+lie upon. They were chained up by the forefeet, and when we went to the
+stable they had just been fed. Each of them had a bundle of freshly-cut
+grass; and we were told that a healthy elephant consumes every day not
+less than seven or eight hundred pounds of this food. These elephants
+are kept for working about the palace-grounds; and their occupation at
+present is in hauling timber from the bank of the river to the places
+where it is wanted in the construction of a new wing to the king's
+residence.
+
+[Illustration: HOW AN ELEPHANT FEEDS.]
+
+"We were much interested in seeing the way the elephant eats.
+
+"Everybody has seen the trunk of an elephant, either on the animal
+himself or in pictures. Did you ever know that there are more than forty
+thousand muscles in this wonderful structure, and that it is powerful
+enough to pull down a large tree, and at the same time sufficiently
+delicate to pick up a pin? That is what Cuvier says about it, and he is
+the best authority that we know of. Rennie, in his 'Natural History of
+the Elephant,' says the same thing; and when we consider the uses of the
+animal's trunk, and the many operations it will perform, the statement
+is not at all surprising. And when we saw the elephants at the royal
+palace taking their food, we could not help admiring the skill with
+which they twisted the wisps of grass and thrust them into their
+capacious mouths.
+
+"One of the beasts was very good-natured, and allowed us to examine the
+termination of his proboscis, as long as we did not touch it. As the
+elephant's existence depends upon his trunk he is very sensitive about
+it, and is constantly afraid of injuring it. They say that this is the
+reason why he always elevates it in the air when there is any danger,
+and that his great fear of the tiger arises from the fact that the tiger
+always attempts to disable the elephant by springing on his trunk.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"The trunk that we looked at had a projection that might be called a
+finger, and directly opposite there was a sort of thumb. The finger was
+exceedingly flexible, while the thumb was not; but they fitted to each
+other so well that they could hold on to any thing even if it was very
+small. Here is a picture of it.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"And here are some more pictures, showing how the elephant pulls up the
+grass when he is feeding in the open air, and also how he grasps it
+before he thrusts it into his mouth. Then you can see how he takes hold
+of a carrot, or any other root, and how he seizes a branch of a tree
+that requires him to exercise a part of his great strength. In the
+latter case he twines his trunk around the branch, and if he is pulling
+it down from the tree he raises himself on his hind legs, and lets his
+weight hang by his trunk. In this way he can bring down a good-sized
+branch without much trouble; and as he feeds on the leaves and small
+limbs in the forest where he lives, his power is very useful to him.
+
+[Illustration: ELEPHANTS DRINKING.]
+
+"When he has seized anything with his proboscis, his next effort is to
+carry it to his mouth. This he does by bending his trunk, just as a man
+bends his finger; and when he has it properly bent he thrusts the
+article between his jaws, and has it all safe and secure. He drinks by
+drawing the trunk full of water, and then thrusting it to his mouth; it
+is sometimes thought that he draws water through the trunk directly into
+his stomach, but such is not the case. He breathes through the trunk,
+but he cannot take food or drink through it, as it only communicates
+with his lungs. Here is the way he supplies himself.
+
+"There used to be a question among the boys at school, 'Why do white
+sheep eat more hay than black ones?' The answer was, 'Because there are
+more of them.' That may be all right for sheep; but if you apply the
+question to elephants, you are obliged to reverse it, as there are very
+few white elephants, and any number of black ones."
+
+By the time the above account was finished it was after eleven o'clock.
+Labor was suspended, and the boys went to bed. In the morning they had a
+short time to spare before breakfast, and Fred thought he would write a
+description of his sleeping-room and its peculiarities, and send it
+along with the story of the visit to the palace. So he took pen and
+paper, and wrote as follows:
+
+[Illustration: FRED'S TORMENTOR.]
+
+"The weather is so warm here that we don't need any bed-clothing, and
+consequently they don't give us any; we have hard beds with harder
+pillows, and they are much better than any soft beds and pillows could
+possibly be. A sheet to lie on is spread over the bed, and all the
+covering we need is the pajamas, or sleeping suits that everybody wears
+here. Mosquitoes are abundant, and of all sizes; and so they cover the
+beds with a netting of very fine mesh to keep out the smallest of these
+troublesome pests. The nets not only keep out the mosquitoes but they
+keep in the heat, and for this reason we suffer a great deal from the
+high temperature. I get up several times in the night, and go and sit on
+the balcony, just to get a little cool; every time I wake I am in a
+profuse perspiration, and it is largely caused by the closeness of the
+air under the mosquito netting.
+
+"When we first came here we were disturbed frequently by the _gecko_, a
+lizard that climbs around the walls and partitions of the houses, and
+goes wherever he pleases. He is five or six inches long, and not pretty
+to look at, and he makes a noise like some one calling out 'Gecko!' It
+is from his call that he gets his name, and until we got used to it we
+were waked by it. It isn't pleasant to see these lizards climbing around
+your room; but everybody says they are perfectly harmless, and they eat
+up a great many insects. There is a smaller lizard that eats mosquitoes,
+or anything else he can manage, and it is very funny to see him at work.
+Frank and I watched one the other evening for half an hour, and saw him
+do a great deal of good. He is just the color of the boards where he
+clings, or very nearly so, and therefore he is not easily seen. When a
+mosquito passed within half an inch of his nose he darted out his long
+flexible tongue with the rapidity of lightning, and caught his prize on
+the end of it. The mosquito disappeared like a flash, and then the
+lizard watched for another, and took him in the same way.
+
+"When a mosquito or a fly lighted two or three inches away, the lizard
+would creep along like a cat, and hug close to the boards. He did it
+very slowly till he got within reach, and then out came the tongue as
+before, and he rarely missed his aim. One large fly was too much for
+him, and after getting him on the end of his tongue he had a sharp
+struggle to swallow him. The fly escaped, and after that the lizard was
+more cautious about the size of his game."
+
+Breakfast was announced, and the story of the Siamese lizard was dropped
+for the present.
+
+While they were at breakfast a messenger came from the consul to Doctor
+Bronson. He announced that the second king of Siam would receive them
+that afternoon, as they had been received the day before by the supreme
+king.
+
+The boys had heard that Siam was ruled by two kings, and the Doctor took
+the opportunity to explain the relations between these rulers.
+
+"The king at the grand palace, where we went yesterday," said Doctor
+Bronson, "is the first or supreme king of the country. The second king
+occupies a position that is difficult to understand clearly when we
+compare it with our own form of government. He is not like our
+Vice-president of the United States, as he does not inherit the throne
+on the death of the supreme king; nor does he resemble the ancient
+Mikado of Japan in being a spiritual ruler, while the first king is a
+temporal one. According to Sir John Bowring, his opinion and sanction
+are sought by the king in important matters, and his name is associated
+in treaties. He is supposed to have control of one-third of the
+revenues, and has a portion of the army under his command; in time of
+war he is expected to have direct control of the armies in the field,
+and to go with them in person, but this is not always the case.
+Occasionally the office of second king is abolished, and it seems to be
+largely in the power of the first king to do what he pleases concerning
+the rank and authority of his subordinate.
+
+"The second king has a palace nearly as large as that of the first, and
+he has ministers corresponding to those that form the highest cabinet.
+The same respect is shown to him when he goes abroad as to the first
+king, and the latter is the only personage in the country to whom the
+second king must pay visits of ceremony. Siam is the only country in the
+world that has this arrangement for dividing the royal power, and when
+we come to examine it closely it will be found that there is not a very
+large division, after all. Not long ago, as I am told, there was a
+quarrel between the first and second kings of Siam, which resulted in
+the second king seeking the protection of the English consul. Since that
+time the power of the second king has been less than it was before, and
+the breach between the two great heads of the kingdom of Siam has not
+been entirely healed."
+
+At the appointed time the consul called for the Doctor, and the two
+gentlemen proceeded on their excursion, leaving the boys at the hotel.
+The journey to the palace was not made in a boat, as on the day before,
+but in a carriage, for the reason that going in a boat would necessitate
+a long walk from the landing to the gates of the royal residence. On his
+return the Doctor gave the following account of his visit:
+
+"We drove through a narrow gate-way where some soldiers were on guard,
+and soon found ourselves in an open court-yard of the palace. Here we
+left the carriage, and entered a large anteroom at the head of a flight
+of stairs, where we waited while a messenger went to inform the king of
+our arrival. He came back shortly, accompanied by a gentleman who spoke
+English and Siamese with equal fluency, as he is the son of an American
+missionary, and was born in Siam. Under his guidance we went to the
+reception-hall, which was in a large building just off the court-yard.
+It was entered directly from the open air, and not by passing through a
+series of halls, as in the palace of the first king. His majesty rose as
+we entered, and came forward a few steps to meet us; he first shook
+hands with the consul, and then with me after the consul had introduced
+me, and the interpreter had translated his remarks.
+
+"The king asked us to be seated, and gave us the example by taking a
+chair for himself, and indicating the ones we were to occupy. He is a
+man of about fifty-five or sixty years old, and has a pleasant and
+intelligent face; he speaks English with considerable fluency, and has
+read a great deal about England and America. He is a great admirer of
+America, and is proud of the name of George Washington, which he bears."
+
+"Are we to understand," Frank asked, "that the second king of Siam is
+named George Washington?"
+
+"Hardly as much as that," was the Doctor's reply; "he was known among
+the foreign residents of Bangkok by the name of Prince George before he
+was proclaimed second king. He has at least half a dozen Siamese titles,
+and places the name of 'George Washington' before them. He assumed it
+himself, as I am informed, with the consent of the old King of Siam,
+because he admired the character of the man whom we hold in such great
+reverence in America. He has been, and continues to be, a pretty close
+student of science, politics, and other matters, and is a man of more
+than ordinary intelligence.
+
+"Soon after we were seated, coffee and cigars were brought, and the king
+offered us some of the latter from his own box of massive gold.
+Conversation began immediately; the questions and answers being rather
+slow, as they were made through the interpreter. The king asked when I
+left America, and what I thought of Siam; and when I spoke in praise of
+his country he appeared greatly pleased. Then we talked about the
+scenery of the tropics in comparison with that of the temperate zone;
+and the king said he was sorry America was so far off, as it would give
+him great pleasure to visit it. Then we talked about the fruits and
+flowers of Siam, the many varieties of the palm-tree, and the great uses
+of the palm and bamboo to mankind. Then the king asked about some of the
+productions of America; and after that there came a pause, which gave us
+an opportunity to rise and make our adieux. The king shook hands with us
+at parting, and hoped I would like my stay in Siam so well that I would
+come here again. We found our carriage, and drove home again; but,
+before leaving the palace, we went to see an elephant which belongs to
+the second king, and is said to be over a hundred years old. It has been
+a long time in captivity, and is very large and powerful, and its temper
+is anything but amiable."
+
+[Illustration: THE SECOND KING OF SIAM, IN STATE ROBES.]
+
+Fred asked if the king wore his state-dress as it was represented in the
+pictures he had seen of his majesty.
+
+The Doctor answered that the king was plainly dressed, and the only
+indications of rank about his garments were some stars embroidered on
+the collar of his coat. The coat was short, and rather in form like a
+jacket; it hung loosely, and by no means concealed a vest of white linen
+that joined with trousers of Siamese pattern, to complete the clothing
+of royalty. On his feet he wore a pair of embroidered shoes that were
+cut low enough for slippers, and could be easily thrown off without the
+aid of a boot-jack. His attendants were in Siamese garb, and the general
+surroundings of the place were more Oriental in their character than
+those of the palace of the supreme king.
+
+Frank and Fred listened with great interest to what the Doctor had to
+say of his visit to the second king of Siam. Through fear of forgetting
+some portion of it, they proceeded to put it upon paper at once; and, as
+the afternoon was far gone when they began, they had sufficient
+occupation for the rest of the day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+LEAVING SIAM.--LIFE UNDER THE OCEAN WAVE.
+
+
+The time came for leaving Siam. Our friends had enjoyed their visit to
+the Land of the White Elephant, and had seen many things that were full
+of interest; they wished to remain longer, but they remembered there
+were other countries to be seen, and other people whose manners and
+customs they wished to learn from personal observation. So they prepared
+to continue their journey.
+
+Their next place of destination was Singapore. Between that city and
+Bangkok there is a service of steamers each way about once a week; it is
+somewhat irregular, as the movements of the ships depend more or less
+upon the amount of freight offering and the facility of obtaining
+cargoes. The steamers are under the Siamese flag; some of them belong to
+the government, while the others are the property of Chinese or Siamese
+merchants established at Bangkok. All of them are small, to make sure of
+passing the bar at the mouth of the Menam, and their passenger
+accommodations are rather limited.
+
+[Illustration: THE DOCTOR GETTING READY.]
+
+The distance from Bangkok to Singapore is about eight hundred miles;
+and, as the ships are not built for speed, the voyage usually takes from
+four to five days. Our friends engaged passage on the _Bang Yong Seng_,
+and were told to be on board by seven o'clock in the morning of the day
+fixed for departure. The steamer was at her dock about a mile above the
+hotel, and consequently Doctor Bronson and the boys proposed to leave
+the hotel soon after six o'clock, in order to be in season. When they
+suggested their plan to Captain Salje, the proprietor of the
+establishment, the latter laughed, and said he would have breakfast
+ready for them at half-past six, and then they would have an abundance
+of time.
+
+"How can that be?" the Doctor asked.
+
+"Very easy to explain," the captain responded. "The river is so narrow
+that the steamer cannot turn around where she is. She backs down below
+here, and does it very slowly, and you need not go to the dock at all.
+You can have your baggage ready, and when we see her coming you can pull
+out with the boat and drop along-side. The gangway-ladder will be down,
+and you can get on board and have your baggage handed up without the
+least trouble."
+
+This plan was quite to the taste of the party of travellers, and they
+adopted it at once. It was carried out to perfection; and the boys
+pronounced it much better than being obliged to breakfast at a
+disagreeably early hour, and then pulling up the stream. The consul came
+to see them off; and as the steamer passed the consulate, the flag of
+their country was dipped in farewell honor to Doctor Bronson and his
+young companions. The steamer turned a little below the consulate, and
+headed her prow for the sea; and she steamed steadily onward, till at
+length she left the Menam behind her and entered the waters of the Gulf
+of Siam.
+
+The boys sat on the deck of the steamer, and watched the low coast as it
+slowly receded from view. Flocks of birds filled the air, or settled on
+the marshy shores, where the scattered palm-trees waved their tufted
+heads. There was a faint ripple of surf breaking on the beach, or
+forming in long lines where the waters were shallow. The sky was clear,
+and the sun filled the atmosphere with a flood of light; while it made
+the shelter of the awning indispensable to the comfort of the young
+travellers.
+
+[Illustration: COAST OF SIAM, NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER.]
+
+Although the steamer was of light draught, she stirred the mud from the
+bottom as she crossed the bar at the mouth of the Menam; she left a long
+trail of discolored water behind her, but it disappeared as she steamed
+onward and left the shores of Siam fading in the distance. While the
+boys were busy with their contemplation of the scene, the Chinese
+steward of the steamer came to tell them dinner was ready. They went
+below, and were soon seated at the cabin table.
+
+[Illustration: WATER-FOWL OF SIAM.]
+
+The passengers were not numerous. Besides the Doctor and his young
+friends, there were only two others in the cabin, and it did not take
+long for them to form an acquaintance. One of the twain was a German
+merchant living at Bangkok, and the other was a personage who reminded
+the boys a little of their old friend, "the Mystery." He was affable,
+and inclined to free conversation; and though they could not at first
+make him out, they found themselves attracted towards him.
+
+When they went on deck after dinner, the stranger followed; and by
+invitation of Doctor Bronson, he drew his chair near them.
+
+In the course of the rambling talk that ensued, Fred wondered if there
+were any pearls in the Gulf of Siam. Frank quickly responded that it was
+Ceylon, and not Siam, where the most of the pearls of commerce were to
+be found.
+
+The remark about pearls led to a discussion of the mode of gathering
+them. Very naturally something was said about the methods of going
+beneath the waves of the sea.
+
+The stranger joined in the conversation, and it was not long before he
+developed much more than a casual knowledge of the business under
+consideration.
+
+"I may as well introduce myself," he remarked, "and then we will be able
+to talk freely. I am known as Captain Johnson, and have been around the
+Eastern seas for the past twenty years. I am an Englishman by birth, and
+have been captain of a ship trading between London and Singapore; but at
+present I am a wrecker."
+
+Doctor Bronson replied to this introduction by handing his own card to
+Captain Johnson, and introducing the two youths by name.
+
+The boys showed by the expression of their faces that they were not
+altogether familiar with the peculiarities of the stranger's occupation;
+evidently he perceived it, for he proceeded to explain what a wrecker
+was.
+
+"Properly speaking," said he, "a wrecker is a man who lives on a
+dangerous coast, and makes a living by assisting wrecked vessels, and
+saving what can be saved from their cargoes. My occupation is something
+like his, but not exactly; he works above the waters, while I go below
+them."
+
+"Go below the water to save a ship!" said Fred, in astonishment. "How
+can you save a ship in that way?"
+
+The question led to an explanation that lasted through the entire
+afternoon and evening. We will endeavor to give the substance of it, as
+nearly as possible, in the words of Captain Johnson.
+
+"Life beneath the ocean wave," said he, after he was comfortably
+balanced in his chair, "has many features of interest. In my profession
+of wrecking I have seen much that does not ordinarily happen to a man; I
+am sorry I cannot remember all that has come under my observation, but
+perhaps it is just as well, as I might remember too much, and so weary
+you."
+
+Frank assured him it would take a longer period than they were likely to
+pass together on the ship for him to become weary of stories of the sea.
+Fred echoed the remark, and thus the captain was encouraged to proceed.
+
+"Thanks to men of science and ingenuity," the captain continued, "we
+have made great progress in going beneath the water in the last
+twenty-five years. Formerly a man could only stay below as long as he
+could hold his breath, and of course this prevented his descending to
+any great depth. With the diving apparatus now in use he can go far
+below the surface, and remain there for hours."
+
+[Illustration: A WRECK AMONG THE BREAKERS.]
+
+The boys opened their eyes very wide at this assertion, but they did not
+interrupt the story by saying what they thought.
+
+[Illustration: PEARL-FISHER ATTACKED BY A SHARK.]
+
+"The fisher for pearls in the primitive way has no apparatus beyond a
+stone attached to a cord, a basket slung around his neck to hold the
+pearl-oysters, and a knife to detach them from the bottom, and also to
+defend himself from sharks. At the moment of diving he fills his lungs
+with air and grasps the cord, and as he does so the stone is thrown from
+the side of the boat by his assistant. The weight of the stone carries
+him down; he gathers as many oysters as he can while the air in his
+lungs holds out, and then he shakes the cord as a signal to be drawn up.
+Sharks abound in the regions where the pearl is found, and not
+infrequently they seize the poor diver as he rises to the surface. His
+only mode of escape is by rapid movement; and you can readily see that
+he is at a great disadvantage, as he is out of his proper element, and
+in that of the shark.
+
+"The diving-bell was the first invention to improve on the old process;
+it consisted of a wide-mouthed bell large enough to contain one or two
+men, who stood or were seated inside. If you put a tumbler into the
+water with the mouth downwards, you will perceive, as you press below
+the surface, that the air within keeps the water from rising."
+
+The boys nodded assent to the captain's remark.
+
+"In this way the air remains in the bell, and until it becomes foul the
+divers suffer no particular inconvenience. But as soon as it has been
+breathed so as to cause a sense of suffocation they must be drawn up, or
+they will die.
+
+"Then somebody arranged an air-pump so as to connect with the bell, and
+by constantly working this pump the foul air was expelled, and new air
+came in to supply its place. By this process the men could remain some
+time below; but they could not leave the bell, and their operations were
+confined to the space covered by its mouth. It is a curious fact that
+the first diving-bell was invented by a spider, and not by a man."
+
+"Invented by a spider!" the two boys exclaimed in a breath.
+
+"Yes, invented by a spider," the captain continued.
+
+"Why, how can that be?" Frank asked.
+
+[Illustration; NESTS OF THE WATER-SPIDER.]
+
+"The water-spider builds a house of silk in the shape of a bell, and
+anchors it to the roots of the grasses that grow several feet under the
+water. Having finished his dwelling, he proceeds to stock it with air.
+For this purpose he comes to the surface, takes a bubble of air under
+his abdomen and carries it to the house, where he releases it, and
+allows it to rise into the cavity where he wants it. He repeats the
+operation till he has filled it with air, and then he has a satisfactory
+home for his family.
+
+[Illustration; DIVERS IN THEIR ARMOR.]
+
+"Now the diving-bell is on this principle, with the advantage of not
+being stationary, and also with the greater advantage that the air can
+be renewed when it becomes foul. But the modern armor dispenses with the
+bell; the head of the diver is covered with an air-tight helmet with a
+plate of glass in front, so that the man can see what is about him, and
+the air is kept fresh by means of an air-pump and a flexible tube of
+india-rubber. There are several forms of this apparatus, some of them
+having a metallic knapsack, where the air is received before it goes to
+the helmet, while others dispense with the knapsack, and carry the air
+directly to the head of the man who is to breathe it. Sometimes, where
+the depth is slight, and he is not to remain long below, the diver does
+not use the helmet at all, but simply holds a tube in his mouth, through
+which a stream of air is driven to him."
+
+Frank asked how the man wearing this armor managed to sink in the water,
+and retain his perpendicular position. According to his experience,
+there was a tendency of the feet to fly upwards as soon as the body was
+in the water, especially where it was salt instead of fresh.
+
+"That is provided for," said Captain Johnson, "by giving the diver a
+pair of shoes with soles of lead. They are so heavy that when he is out
+of water he can lift his feet with difficulty; but when he goes below,
+the specific gravity of the water makes them much lighter. He can then
+step around, and at the same time his equilibrium is maintained."
+
+"How long can a man stay under water with the apparatus you have
+described?" Fred asked.
+
+[Illustration: DIVERS AT WORK.]
+
+"From one to two hours," was the reply; "according to the depth and
+condition of the water. If it is very cold, he will be chilled in a
+little while, and must come up to get warm again; and if he has to hold
+himself against a strong current he will find his strength leaving him,
+and must make a signal to be drawn to the surface. I have been two hours
+under, at a depth of eighty feet, and felt no inconvenience; but when I
+came up I was not able to go down again for several hours."
+
+"Can you go down in the open sea in this way," said Fred, "or must you
+always be where the water is quiet?"
+
+[Illustration: DIVING OVER THE SIDE OF A STEAMER.]
+
+"As to that," the captain responded, "it is impossible to answer in a
+single word. The most of our operations are in rivers and harbors, or in
+bays more or less shallow. Sometimes at sea it is necessary to examine
+the bottom of a ship, in order to stop a leak or repair some other
+damage. In such a case the ship is stopped, and a ladder is lowered near
+the place to be examined; a man goes down in his submarine armor without
+difficulty, and, though the water must be reasonably smooth to allow him
+to do so safely, I have known it to be done when there was quite a heavy
+sea on. The general rule is, that, unless the sea is smooth enough to
+allow a boat to lie along side for the purpose of assisting the diver,
+it is not wise to send him below. Divers are their own judges of such
+matters, and will naturally refuse to descend if the risk is too great.
+
+"Once in awhile we have cases of diving in the open ocean. Do you
+remember the loss of the steamship _Japan_, on the coast of China, in
+December, 1874?"
+
+The boys said they had heard about it while they were in China, but
+could not remember anything particular about the affair.
+
+"Well," continued the captain, "the _Japan_ was burnt at sea, one
+hundred and thirty-five miles north-east of Hong-kong, and fifty miles
+from Swatow. The nearest land was Breaker Point, twenty miles away, and
+the water where the wreck sunk was twenty-three fathoms, or one hundred
+and thirty-eight feet deep. The _Japan_ had about three hundred and
+fifty thousand dollars in silver on board, and the underwriters at
+Hong-kong who had insured it determined to make an effort for its
+recovery. For this purpose they engaged Captain Roberts, who was a
+well-known wrecker on the coast of China, and set him at work.
+
+"A schooner and a small steamer were bought, and in January, 1875,
+Captain Roberts began looking for the wreck. He dragged the bed of the
+ocean for four or five weeks before he found anything; but at last he
+was successful, and discovered one of the paddle-wheels of the ship. It
+was some time later before he found the wreck of the ship, as it proved
+to have drifted eleven miles south-west of the spot where the wheel had
+dropped off."
+
+"How could that be?" Frank exclaimed.
+
+"It was because the wind was blowing very strong at the time from the
+north-east, and after the wheel fell off the ship was driven on before
+the gale till it had burnt low enough to sink. It took from March to
+July to find the wreck after the wheel was discovered, and then they
+immediately began operations for getting at the sunken treasure.
+
+"The south-west monsoon blows from March till September, and it was only
+during this monsoon that the divers could work. On the 12th of that
+month the monsoon ceased, and Captain Roberts had not been able to get
+at the treasure, which was contained in an iron tank in the hold of the
+ship. He thought the whole enterprise would end there, and the _Japan_
+and her three hundred and fifty thousand dollars would remain
+undisturbed at the bottom of the sea. It was not likely that the
+underwriters would incur the expense of another expedition the following
+year, when the chances of recovering anything were so doubtful.
+
+"The diver went down for the last time; and while he was below the crew
+were making preparations to hoist anchor, and be off for Hong-kong as
+soon as he rose.
+
+"Suddenly he signalled to be pulled up, and they hoisted away. As he
+rose he held a lump of something in his hand, and passed it to Captain
+Roberts, who was standing on the deck of the schooner.
+
+"It was a lump that looked like coal; but it was heavier than coal by a
+great deal. Examination showed that it was a mass of twenty-four silver
+dollars, all melted and charred together, but still distinguishable as
+dollars.
+
+"The question was settled. The wreckers retired to Hong-kong during the
+six months that the north-east monsoon blows, and in the following March
+they returned to their work. In 1876 they recovered about twenty-five
+thousand dollars; and in the two following years the whole of the
+treasure was secured. It was one of the finest wrecking operations ever
+known. And here is one of the dollars that lay for three years at the
+bottom of the Pacific Ocean."
+
+As he spoke, Captain Johnson drew from his pocket an American
+trade-dollar bearing the date 1874. It was quite black from the effect
+of its long immersion in the ocean, but otherwise was as perfect as when
+it came from the mint at San Francisco. The boys were greatly interested
+in this curious coin, and so was Doctor Bronson. It was passed from one
+to the other of the trio, and the boys were for some minutes so
+thoroughly engrossed in examining it that they had no attention to
+bestow on anything else.
+
+[Illustration: CORAL-FISHING IN THE MEDITERRANEAN.]
+
+Frank wished to know whether there was any coral or other curious
+products of the sea where the wreck of the _Japan_ was lying at the
+bottom of the ocean.
+
+[Illustration: THE CORAL-WORM.]
+
+Captain Johnson told him there was nothing of the kind in that
+particular spot, but that a great deal of coral was to be found in the
+tropical waters of the Far East. "The best coral," said he, "comes from
+the Mediterranean; other parts of the world produce it in much larger
+quantities, but it is not generally fine enough to be wrought into
+jewellery, like that from the northern coast of Africa. Can you tell me
+what coral is?"
+
+[Illustration: CUP-CORAL AND BRAIN-CORAL.]
+
+Frank answered that coral was a substance produced by a small insect
+which works under the water, and produces a substance somewhat
+resembling stone. There are many varieties of it, and the work of the
+coral insect is usually in the form of branches--like a small tree
+without leaves. There are also formations known as cup-coral and
+brain-coral, on account of their shape and general appearance.
+
+Fred said he had read somewhere that in the Pacific Ocean there were
+islands of solid coral; and there were also reefs surrounding islands
+like great walls. Some of these walls were hundreds of miles in extent,
+and kept ships from approaching the land.
+
+"Can you tell me what an atoll is?" said the captain, with a smile.
+
+The boys had both heard of an atoll, but at the moment they were unable
+to describe it. So the captain came to their relief, and explained it to
+them.
+
+"An atoll," said he, "is a circular island or reef, with an opening on
+one side, with water that is usually deep enough for the largest ships
+to enter. The strip of land or coral is a few hundred yards wide, and
+often covered with palm and other trees; and there are sometimes
+hundreds of atolls in a single group. They vary in size from half a mile
+to forty or fifty miles in diameter, and the lake or lagoon inside is
+from one to four hundred feet in depth. Ships may sail around in these
+lagoons, and they often abound in fish of many varieties. The contrast
+between the rough ocean outside and the calm lake within is very
+impressive, and will never be forgotten by one who has observed it."
+
+[Illustration: AN ATOLL IN THIS PACIFIC OCEAN.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+LIGHT UNDER WATER.--PEARL-FISHING AND TURTLE-HUNTING.
+
+
+Frank was curious to know how it was possible to see under water. He
+thought it would be dark at great depths, and, if so, it would be
+impossible to do anything there on account of the darkness. Lamps could
+not be made to burn under water, and until this was done the explorers
+of the sea could not make much progress.
+
+Captain Johnson replied that Frank's theory was correct. As the diver
+goes down the light becomes more and more dim, but the dimness or the
+absence of it depends upon the clearness of the water where he is at
+work. If the water is clear and the sunlight good, there is no trouble
+about seeing at any depth to which a diver may safely descend. In a
+stream like the Mississippi or the Missouri river it will be darker at
+ten feet deep than in the Mediterranean at a hundred.
+
+"But science has come to our aid," he continued, "by giving us the
+electric light. There is one form of it that can burn in a vacuum--in
+fact, it needs a vacuum for its proper working. Now all you have to do
+is to insulate the wires leading to the glass globe that holds the
+light, and you can carry it under the water without the least trouble.
+
+"For ordinary purposes there is a very simple arrangement, which
+consists of a box with a plate of glass in the bottom. You put this in
+the water, so that the glass is a few inches below the surface, and then
+you can see very clearly, where the depth is not too great. Fishermen in
+some parts of the world have something of the same nature, which they
+call a telescope; it is nothing but a tube of wood four or five feet
+long, and six inches in diameter, and with the top so arranged that when
+the eye is put against it there can be no entrance of light at that end
+of the tube. When a man wishes to examine the bottom of the sea where he
+is fishing, he sinks this tube and looks through it. He can make out
+many objects that are altogether invisible under ordinary circumstances,
+and can frequently discover the whereabouts of a school of fish that
+might otherwise escape him.
+
+[Illustration: SUBMARINE OBSERVATIONS.]
+
+"Sometimes a man who is using one of these aids to marine observation
+finds himself the object of attentions he would gladly avoid. A friend
+of mine was once looking through a box from the side of a boat, when a
+large sawfish came from below and thrust his snout through the glass. A
+shark followed the sawfish, and was evidently anxious for a fight, and
+the two swum off together, to the satisfaction of my friend. What made
+the matter more exciting was that an expert swimmer had just dived from
+the boat, and gone down to take a survey of the coral-trees that grew on
+the bottom. He came up safe and undisturbed, and the probabilities are
+that the sawfish and shark had been too busy over each other and the
+glass-bottomed box to pay any attention to such an insignificant object
+as a man swimming near them.
+
+[Illustration: THE BELLOWS-FISH, OR ANGLER.]
+
+"The bottom of the sea abounds in many curious things that we never see
+at the surface, unless they are brought there. There is a fish known as
+the _Lophius_, or bellows-fish; he is also called 'the angler,' from his
+artistic way of supplying himself with food. He seems to be nearly all
+mouth, and reminds you of the dog that could walk down his own throat
+without touching the sides. He has a long rod projecting from the middle
+of his forehead, and at the end of it there is a lump of flesh, like a
+morsel of beef. This rod is movable; and, as he lies flat on the mud, he
+spreads his great mouth open like a trap. Then he angles, or fishes,
+with his rod, moving it up and down and on both sides, so as to attract
+fish or crabs, or anything else that is edible. When they come within
+reach of his capacious jaws he closes on his prey, and goes on with his
+fishing as unconcerned as a man who has caught a small trout, and stowed
+it away in his basket."
+
+The boys laughed at the idea of an angling fish, and wondered how he
+managed to get along when he had lost his bait by any accident. The
+captain was unable to tell them, as he had never seen a bellows-fish
+that had suffered such a misfortune.
+
+[Illustration: A CURIOUS HOME.]
+
+"You see thousands of crabs and lobsters and other creeping things at
+the bottom of the sea," the captain continued; "there is one kind of
+crab that loves to live in a shell which is not his own, at any rate not
+the one he was born to. They crawl around with these shells, never
+daring to leave them for fear some other crab will happen along and take
+possession. Sometimes two of them will fight for a shell, and they tear
+away each other's claws and commit other havoc before the battle is
+over. Generally the one in the shell has the best of it, as he is on the
+defensive, and the house in which he is lodged is a good protection. One
+day I found one of these crabs in the bowl of a tobacco-pipe that had
+the stem broken short off, and it was very funny to see him move around
+with this awkward covering. It was not as convenient as the sea-shells
+in which his brethren were quartered, and he seemed to understand it, as
+he changed to an empty shell as soon as one was placed near him, and he
+was left undisturbed.
+
+[Illustration: CRABS IN A QUARREL.]
+
+"These crabs are amphibious, and seem equally at home above or under the
+water. They are very quarrelsome, and when put together in a box proceed
+to eat each other up without the least hesitation. I once put a dozen of
+them together, and in two days there was only one left; he was large,
+and had a good appetite, as he left nothing but shells and crushed claws
+to tell what had become of his comrades.
+
+"But we have been so long beneath the surface that we must go above to
+breathe. As we come up we must be careful not to touch one of those long
+filaments hanging down from the _Physalia_ that has spread its sail to
+the wind. If we do, we shall feel a sharp sting that will last us for
+some time."
+
+Frank inquired what the _Physalia_ was.
+
+"You have seen it very often at sea," said Captain Johnson, "and
+probably you knew it as a Portuguese man-of-war."
+
+"Oh, certainly," Frank answered. "We saw thousands and thousands of them
+on the Pacific Ocean when we were coming from San Francisco, and
+sometimes the water was covered with them for hours at a time. And they
+looked very pretty, with their little sails spread to catch the wind."
+
+"What you saw above the surface was not really a sail," the captain
+replied, "but a little sack containing air. The _Physalia_ has the power
+of contracting this sack, so that it can sink beneath the waves for
+protection against a storm or to avoid other dangers. The use of the
+long filaments is not well understood; but they are evidently for
+purposes of defence, as each of them contains a sting that has anything
+but an agreeable effect on the swimmer who comes in contact with it."
+
+Fred asked if the _Physalia_ was anything like the sea-anemone which he
+had seen in Aquarius, and had admired greatly on account of its
+beautiful colors.
+
+"How many colors of it do you think you have seen?" the captain asked,
+in reply.
+
+[Illustration: SEA-ANEMONES.]
+
+Fred could not say positively, but he thought he had seen not less than
+three or four.
+
+"They are of every color imaginable," responded Captain Johnson; "we
+find them white, with a delicate shading of pearl, and we have them in
+gray, pink, purple, yellow, orange, lilac, green, and blue. Sometimes a
+single specimen will have half a dozen colors in his composition, and
+you could easily imagine he had borrowed all the hues of the rainbow in
+getting himself up to a satisfactory complexion. They have the
+properties of both animal and vegetable, and in this particular they
+resemble the sponge and other marine productions. If a part of the
+sea-anemone is destroyed, it is reproduced; and if one of them is torn
+or cut into several pieces, each piece converts itself into a perfect
+anemone."
+
+"Is the sponge an animal?" Frank asked of the captain. "You said
+something about the sea-anemone having animal and vegetable properties
+like the sponge. I always supposed the sponge was a vegetable growing at
+the bottom of the sea, and had nothing of the animal about it."
+
+"Scientific men have long been in dispute on this subject," was the
+reply; "and while some assign the sponge to the vegetable kingdom,
+others class it with the animal. The latest authorities favor the theory
+that the sponge is an animal, and all agree that it occupies a middle
+ground between the two forms of life.
+
+[Illustration: THE SPONGE AT HOME.]
+
+"It is fastened to a rock, or to the hard bottom of the part of the sea
+where it grows, and it has no power of moving from one place to another.
+Water is continually absorbed into the sponge, just as we absorb air by
+breathing; and when the food and air contained in the water have served
+their purpose, the residue is thrown off.
+
+"The sponge has a skeleton that must be dissolved and washed away before
+the article is of use. Various processes are used to remove the
+skeleton--according to the character of the sponge and the purposes for
+which it is designed. The finest are washed repeatedly in water, and in
+a weak solution of acid, and are then bleached in a bath of diluted
+soda. These fine sponges come from Syria, and from the Greek islands of
+the Mediterranean; the coarse sponges, used for washing carriages and
+similar purposes, come from the West Indies, and also from the East; and
+when first taken from the sea they have a sickening odor, like flesh
+that is just beginning to decay. This odor becomes stronger and
+stronger, and finally resembles exactly that which arises from a
+putrefying body. During this process of decomposition they are buried in
+the sand, and are afterwards submitted to the action of the waves to
+wash away the impurities that the decay has left."
+
+One of the boys asked how sponges were obtained, and at what depths of
+water they were to be found.
+
+[Illustration: HOW SPONGES ARE SPEARED.]
+
+The captain explained that they were found at all depths, from a few
+feet to two or three hundred. The most of them were taken from shoals
+and reefs, where they were ten or twenty feet below the surface, as they
+could not get a good supply of light in deeper water. In the East they
+are generally taken by diving, after the primitive fashion; while in the
+West Indies they are speared from boats.
+
+"But we started out to talk about pearls," said Captain Johnson, "and we
+have wandered off to several other things. Suppose we go back to pearls,
+and see what we can ascertain about them."
+
+The boys promptly agreed to this; and Frank was evidently determined to
+begin at the beginning, as he referred to the pearl which Cleopatra was
+said to have dissolved in vinegar, so that she might swallow a more
+costly drink than had ever been known to anybody else.
+
+"That was more than eighteen hundred years ago," said Fred, "and perhaps
+the incident never happened."
+
+[Illustration: CLEOPATRA DISSOLVING THE PEARL.]
+
+Captain Johnson was uncertain about it, as he said he had no documentary
+proof sufficient to convince an ordinary court of law that dissolved
+pearls were a fashionable beverage in the days of Antony and Cleopatra.
+"However," he said, "the pearl can be dissolved in strong vinegar; and
+this fact is sufficient to establish the possibility of the beautiful
+Queen of Egypt indulging in the freak that is attributed to her.
+
+"Pearls have been known and valued for a great many hundred years. They
+are mentioned in the Bible, and in the time of Job they were great
+price. The Greeks and Romans had great numbers of pearls, and some of
+the wealthy citizens were in the habit of wearing them on their shoes.
+In all ages they have been associated with wealth, and probably they
+will continue to be for ages to come.
+
+[Illustration: PEARL-BEARING SHELLS.]
+
+"The oyster that produces them is not good to eat; probably he thinks he
+has quite enough to do to make pearls, without being devoured after he
+has performed that noble duty. They are found in various parts of the
+world; but the best pearls have always come from the East: they are
+valuable in proportion as they possess that peculiar lustre known as
+'water,' which it is impossible to describe in words. There are several
+varieties of the pearl-oyster, but the best of them is of a nearly
+circular form, and from four to eight inches in diameter. Here is a
+picture of one of these shells, with a single pearl adhering to it. The
+outside of the shell is rough, and has a series of ridges that extend
+from the valve to the edge. The young oysters rarely contain pearls; and
+the divers understand this so well that, when they find smooth-shelled
+and small oysters in their baskets, they throw them back into the sea.
+In the haste of gathering them from the rocky bottom, they have no time
+to select with care.
+
+"The pearl is nothing more nor less than carbonate of lime, secreted by
+the oyster, and hardened after a process which he carefully keeps to
+himself. It was for a long time supposed that the pearl was formed by
+the attempt of the oyster to cover a grain of sand with a smooth
+substance, so that it would not be inconvenient to him. It was believed
+that the sand was rolled in by the action of the waves while the oyster
+had his mouth open; and, as he could not expel it, he proceeded to cover
+it up. Many persons adhere to this theory still; but the fact that many
+pearls have been sawed open and found not to contain the least particle
+of sand or other impurity, is calculated to throw doubt upon it. The
+latter belief is, that the pearl is the result of a disease in the
+oyster, just as a tumor is the result of disease in man.
+
+"In China and Japan the natives have long followed the practice of
+putting small beads of porcelain inside the oyster, and then returning
+him to the water, where he is left undisturbed for three or four years.
+At the end of that time he is taken up and opened, and the beads are
+found to be coated with the pearly substance. They also have the trick
+of putting little images or idols into the oyster, and in course of time
+these become coated over in the manner I have described. You can see
+some of the results of these processes by looking at the two open shells
+on the right of the picture."
+
+Frank wished to know the different sizes of pearls and their values.
+
+[Illustration: SIZES OF PEARLS.]
+
+"As to that," said the captain, "your question is not an easy one to
+answer. Some pearls are so small as to be hardly visible to the eye; and
+of course they are of no value when you cannot see them. They are only
+useful when large enough to be strung on a necklace, or otherwise set as
+jewellery. The largest pearls are apocryphal; by this I mean that no
+person of modern times has seen some that are famous in history, and
+there are doubts that they ever existed. It is said that the pearl which
+Cleopatra drank to the health of Mark Antony was worth $375,000 of our
+money; and, if so, it must have been of great size. Pearls have been
+reported to exist that were nearly two inches long by one and a quarter
+in diameter, and weighed fifty-five carats, or two hundred and twenty
+grains.
+
+"The largest that we know of at the present time do not exceed thirty
+carats, or one hundred and twenty grains. There is one among the
+crown-jewels of Portugal weighing twenty-five carats; and there is said
+to be one of twenty-seven carats in the hands of a Russian merchant in
+Moscow. It is safe to say that there are not two dozen pearls known to
+exist now that weigh over twenty carats, or eighty grains.
+
+"The value of a pearl is generally estimated like that of a diamond--by
+the multiplication of the square of its weight. A pearl of one carat is
+held to be worth about $16; and to get the value of a pearl of two
+carats we multiply two by two, and the product by $16, and we get $64.
+In the same way the value of a pearl of three carats would be $144, and
+so on for any weight we happen to have.
+
+[Illustration: PEARL-FISHERY AT BAHREIN.]
+
+"One of the favorite fishing-grounds for pearls is at Bahrein, on the
+Persian Gulf. The divers bring in the oysters from the fishing-banks in
+the gulf, and pile them on the shore in great heaps. Here they lie till
+they are rotted; and the stench that arises is enough to turn any
+inexperienced stomach. When the substance of the oyster is quite
+decomposed, the shells are opened, and the mass of matter they contain
+is thrown into tubs and washed with water. It is necessary to pass the
+pulp very carefully through the fingers for fear that some of the pearls
+will be lost, and consequently the washing is very slow. When a pearl
+beyond a certain size is found, the washer receives a handsome present;
+but below the regulation figure he gets nothing but his daily wages.
+Large pearls are very rare, and consequently the chances that a
+pearl-washer will make a fortune by a lucky find are exceedingly small.
+
+[Illustration: PERSIAN GULF DIVER.]
+
+"There is a belief quite current through the East that the pearl is a
+drop of rain-water which has fallen into the shell of the oyster when he
+was at the surface, and been afterwards hardened. This is a pretty bit
+of sentiment; but as the oyster never goes to the surface unless he is
+carried there, the story does not have much foundation to rest upon."
+
+"If the pearl is so valuable, and so difficult to get, I should think
+there would be men who would try to imitate it," Frank remarked.
+
+"You are quite right," was the reply; "and men have tried a great many
+times to make false pearls."
+
+"Have they succeeded?"
+
+"Partially; but not altogether. No counterfeit pearl has yet been made
+that could pass all the tests of the genuine; but their lustre is quite
+equal, sometimes, to the best pearls of Ceylon, and they can be made to
+deceive anybody but an expert."
+
+"How do they make them?"
+
+"The best of the false pearls," said the captain, "are made by what is
+known as Jaquin's process.
+
+"M. Jaquin was a manufacturer of beads in France, and he spent a great
+deal of time and money in trying to make his beads better than any other
+man's. One day he was walking in his garden, and observed a remarkable
+silvery lustre on some water in a basin. It instantly occurred to him
+that if he could put that lustre on his beads, he would have something
+decidedly new.
+
+"So he called his old servant, and asked what had been in the water. She
+answered that it was nothing but some little fish called _ablettes_,
+that had been crushed in the basin, and she had neglected to throw the
+water out.
+
+[Illustration: M. JAQUIN'S EXPERIMENT.]
+
+"M. Jaquin was very glad, for once, that she had neglected her duty. He
+began experimenting with the scales of the ablette, or bleak, a little
+fish about the size of a sardine, and very abundant in certain parts of
+Europe. After several trials he adopted the plan of washing the scales
+several times in water, and saving the sediment that gathered at the
+bottom of the basin. This was about the consistency of oil, and had the
+lustre he desired. Next, he blew some beads of very thin glass, and
+after coating the inside of a bead with this substance, he filled it up
+with wax, so as to give it solidity. Thus the fish-scales gave the
+lustre, the glass gave the polish and brilliancy that we find on the
+genuine pearl, and the wax furnished a solid backing to the thin glass.
+This is the process of making false pearls; and it is fortunate that the
+bleak is very abundant, or he would run the risk of extermination.
+
+[Illustration: THE BLEAK.]
+
+"Is the manufacture of false pearls so great as that?" Fred inquired.
+
+"It is pretty extensive," was the captain's response, "but not
+enormously so. The fact is, it requires more than a thousand of these
+little fish to make an ounce of the 'essence d'orient,' as the French
+call it, or essence of pearl. Other substances have been tried, in the
+hope of obtaining the same result for a smaller outlay, but none of them
+have been entirely successful. There is--"
+
+The conversation was interrupted at this moment by a call from the
+Doctor, who was sitting near the rail, and happened to be looking at the
+sea. The rest of the party rushed to his side, and their eyes followed
+the direction indicated by his finger.
+
+[Illustration: THE DOCTOR'S DISCOVERY.]
+
+The object that attracted his attention was an enormous turtle not more
+than ten yards away. He appeared to be asleep, as he was lying
+perfectly still, and did not seem aware that a ship was near him.
+Suddenly he roused himself, and raised his head an instant above the
+surface to take a survey of the situation. Evidently he scented danger,
+as he lost no time in diving below, where the ship was not likely to
+follow him.
+
+Pearls were dropped from the conversation, and turtles took their place.
+As the turtle is a product of the sea, the subject was not likely to be
+an unknown one to Captain Johnson.
+
+"There are several varieties of the marine turtle," said the captain,
+"and more of the land-turtle, or tortoise; as we are at sea, and engaged
+on matters connected with salt-water, we will leave the occupant of the
+land quite out of consideration. His marine brother has fins instead of
+feet, and he rarely goes on shore except in the breeding-season. Some of
+the sea-turtles live entirely on vegetable food, while others devour
+shell-fish and other living things; the flesh of the vegetable-feeders
+is delicious, while that of the animal-feeders is not. They grow to a
+great size when compared with the land-turtle: the green turtle that
+makes such excellent soup is frequently five feet long, and weighs five
+or six hundred pounds; and the loggerhead-turtle sometimes reaches a
+weight of one thousand five hundred pounds and more."
+
+"Enough to feed a great many people," Frank remarked.
+
+"Unfortunately," the captain continued, "a great many people would not
+eat his flesh. The green-turtle feeds on sea-weed, and is very choice
+about what he eats, and therefore his flesh is highly esteemed. The
+loggerhead-turtle is much more common than the green one, but he eats
+shell-fish of all the sorts he can crush in his powerful jaws. The flesh
+of the young turtles of this variety is sometimes eaten, but the old
+ones are so tough and musky that a man must needs be very hungry to be
+able to eat them. Even their eggs are too strong of musk to be edible,
+and the shell is of little value; about the only use that can be made of
+the loggerhead-turtle is to try out the large quantities of oil that he
+contains.
+
+"The flesh of the turtle you just saw is not of much consequence, for
+the same reason. He is more valuable for his shell, which forms the
+turtle, or tortoise, shell of commerce."
+
+"I remember," said Fred, "that we saw a great deal of shell at Nagasaki,
+in Japan, that had been wrought into many beautiful forms. The Japanese
+are very skilful in this kind of work, and so are the Chinese."
+
+"You will see more tortoise-shell," was the reply, "when you get to
+Singapore. A great deal of the shell comes there for a market from all
+parts of the Eastern Archipelago."
+
+Frank asked how the turtle was caught, when he spent so much time in the
+water, and was so far away from land.
+
+"He is caught," said the captain, "in two or three ways. He sleeps on
+the surface of the water, and, when thus off his guard, he can be easily
+approached. A boat steals quietly up to him, and, before he is aware
+what is happening, he is a prisoner.
+
+[Illustration: THE TURTLE AT HOME.]
+
+"Turtles are captured at night, when they go on shore to lay their eggs.
+They generally select a moonlight night for this purpose, and a smooth
+sandy beach; they dig holes in the sand, where they deposit their eggs,
+and leave them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. When they are on
+shore for this purpose, the hunters come upon them; the turtle cannot
+move rapidly on the sand, and is easily overtaken. The hunters turn the
+poor turtles on their backs, and then leave them till the next day, when
+they come and remove them."
+
+"I have heard," said one of the boys, "that when a turtle is placed on
+his back he cannot turn over and put himself right side up."
+
+"That is quite correct, and a knowledge of this peculiarity is of great
+assistance to the turtle-hunters. But there is another way of catching
+the turtle that will strike you as the most curious of all."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"It is by fishing with the _Remora_."
+
+"And what is the remora?"
+
+"It is a fish found in tropical waters, both in the East and West
+Indies. Its popular name is 'the sucking-fish,' and it is so called on
+account of a disk on its head, by which it can attach itself to a smooth
+surface, like the side of a shark, a ship, or the shell of a turtle. The
+disk is very much like the soft leather 'suckers' made by school boys,
+and when the fish has attached himself, you can pull him to pieces
+rather than induce him to release his hold.
+
+"The turtle-hunters go out in a boat and carry several of these fishes
+in a tub. When they see a turtle they get as near to him as they can,
+and send a sucker after him. The fish is held by a ring on his tail,
+attached to a stout cord; he swims towards the turtle and fastens on his
+shell, and then the fish and turtle are hauled in together. In the air
+the remora loosens his hold, and is dropped back into the tub, to wait
+till he is wanted again."
+
+The boys laughed at this comical way of fishing. Fred wondered if the
+remora was able to understand the joke, and comprehend the value of his
+services to mankind. Frank said he would like to know what the turtles
+thought of the business, and whether they had any respect for a parasite
+that came uninvited and caused them to be captured.
+
+[Illustration: TURTLE-HUNTING.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+INCIDENTS OF A SEA-VOYAGE.--SINGAPORE.
+
+
+The voyage from Bangkok to Singapore was without any features of special
+interest. The Gulf of Siam presented its accustomed calmness, and at
+times the air was so still that there was not wind enough for proper
+ventilation of the ship. Our friends slept on deck, as the cabin was
+altogether too hot for comfort; they only went below to dress and take
+their meals and baths, and to escape from the showers that were of daily
+occurrence. In the daytime, when the heavy sprinklings came on, the boys
+indulged in baths of the kind they enjoyed on the _Danube_, and they
+were generally pleased at the announcement of an approaching shower. But
+at night, when they were comfortably sleeping, they did not relish a
+rude awakening, accompanied with the suggestion that they had better go
+below till the rain was over. The change from the cool deck to the
+stifling cabin was the reverse of enjoyable; Fred remarked that the only
+good thing about it was that it made them appreciate the deck all the
+more when the rain was over, and they could come again to the open air.
+
+About thirty miles from Singapore they saw an overturned boat, and as
+they neared it two natives were perceived clinging to the wreck. A boat
+was lowered and sent to rescue them, and in a short time the poor
+fellows were safe on the steamer's deck. They said their craft was upset
+by a squall on the previous evening, and for twenty hours they had been
+holding on, with nothing to eat or drink, under the broiling heat of a
+tropical sun. They were nearly exhausted with hunger and thirst, and
+would have fallen off and died in a few hours if they had not been
+rescued. Frank was the first to discover the overturned boat, and was
+naturally proud of having been in some way the means of saving these
+unhappy Malays from death. He wanted to talk with the men, and hear
+their story; but as their knowledge of English was no better than his of
+Malay, he was compelled to abandon the idea.
+
+The occurrence called to the Doctor's recollection an incident of his
+first experience of the sea, when he was spending the summer at a small
+seaport town. He was fond of fishing, and hardly a day passed that he
+did not go out on the Atlantic in pursuit of his favorite sport.
+
+"One afternoon," said he, "there were a dozen or more boats outside,
+when a sudden squall came up that caused us to seek the harbor as fast
+as possible. Every one steered for home, and most of us reached the
+entrance of the port before the fury of the squall broke upon us. The
+rain was so thick that we could not see a quarter of a mile off; we
+could not tell whether any of the boats were capsized or not; and if it
+had not been that a great rock just by the entrance loomed up, and made
+a fine landmark, we could not have found our way inside. One after
+another the boats came in, with the exception of one that had ventured
+farther than the rest, and was a good distance off the coast when the
+squall came up.
+
+"It was no use going to look for her that afternoon, as the squall
+continued till after dark, and raised quite a sea outside. There were
+only two persons on board the boat; they were a gentleman and his wife,
+who had come from the city to spend the summer, and had hired the boat
+for their own use and pleasure. The gentleman understood the management
+of his craft in fine weather, but nobody could say if he knew how to
+control it in a squall. So we passed the night very anxiously, and, as
+soon as the morning light permitted, several of us went out to search
+for the missing ones.
+
+"Nothing could be seen. We sailed up and down along the coast, and out
+on the water for several miles, but all to no purpose. With heavy hearts
+we returned to port, and concluded that it was idle to hope that the
+missing persons whom we sought would ever be heard of again.
+
+"In the afternoon I went with a young boatman in a skiff to try for fish
+a little way outside the rock that formed the headland I mentioned.
+While I was fishing, the boatman was looking around, and suddenly
+discovered a mass of something on the beach.
+
+"'Perhaps it may be the wreck of the missing boat,' I remarked. 'Let us
+go and see.'
+
+[Illustration: THE RESCUE.]
+
+"We started on the instant. As we approached the beach I could see
+something like a human form, and told the man to pull with all his
+might. He did so; and the instant the boat grounded on the sand, he
+sprung ashore and drew a flask from his pocket. In half a minute he was
+supporting the lifeless form of a woman, and holding the flask to her
+lips.
+
+"We could hardly tell at first whether she was alive or not. In a
+little while the draught from the flask revived her, but it was some
+time before she was able to speak. We wrapped her in our spare clothing,
+and carried her to the boat; and then we rowed home as fast as we could,
+so as to call in the aid of the doctor.
+
+[Illustration: ON A FRAIL RAFT.]
+
+"Nothing could be seen to show what had become of the man. When the lady
+recovered, she told us that when the squall struck the boat it was
+instantly capsized; they managed to make a sort of raft out of the sail
+and mast, but it was only sufficient to support her alone. Her husband
+remained in the water, clinging to the raft and swimming, while she was
+in a half-fainting condition all through the night. She remembered how
+the waves rolled around them, how the moon rose up out of the waters,
+and how the birds flew near them, as if wondering what they were. Then
+she thought she could see the great rock at the entrance of the harbor,
+and then--she remembered nothing more till we rescued her on the beach
+where the waves had washed her.
+
+"What became of her husband we never ascertained; but undoubtedly he
+was weak from exhaustion, and was unable to cling to the raft till it
+reached the shore. He probably loosened his hold, and sunk in the sea
+about the time his wife thought she discovered the rock.
+
+"The lady remained in the village till she was able to return to her
+friends in the city. She never came back to that place; and the accident
+cast a gloom over the visitors, from which they did not recover for the
+rest of the season."
+
+[Illustration: GULF-WEED.]
+
+As they neared the Straits of Malacca, the steamer passed great masses
+of a yellowish plant floating on the water. It bore an abundance of
+berries of the same general color as the plant, and they glistened
+brightly in sunshine as they lay close to the surface. The Doctor told
+the boys that this plant was identical with one that grows in the
+Caribbean Sea, and is borne northward in great quantities by the current
+of the Gulf Stream. On the Atlantic it is known as "gulf-weed;" it grows
+only in tropical regions, and the berries upon the plant are hollow,
+and serve as so many air-bladders to keep the plant afloat.
+
+[Illustration: HAUNTS OF THE SEA-BIRDS.]
+
+As they neared Singapore, they came in sight of some rocky islands,
+round which the sea-birds were flying in dense masses. Then other and
+larger islands, covered with verdure, rose above the horizon to the
+southward; and, finally, the coast of Malacca and the shores of the
+Island of Singapore filled the background of the picture before them.
+Palm-trees waved in the breeze, and, if there had been nothing else to
+indicate it, these trees alone would have told the travellers they were
+well down in the tropics.
+
+The activity of commerce through the Straits of Malacca, and thence
+onwards to the Farther East, was indicated as our friends approached
+Singapore. Within a few miles of that port, they met a steamer bound for
+China; while ahead of them was the smoke of another that had just come
+from that distant land. As they entered the harbor they met a steamer
+heading southward for Java; and as they dropped anchor they saw another
+coming in just behind them. It was the French Mail Packet from Europe,
+which would halt a day at Singapore, and then continue her voyage to
+Hong-kong and Shanghai.
+
+The Doctor had made a close calculation concerning their movements, as
+the French steamer that arrived almost simultaneously with them was the
+bearer of a dozen letters for the wandering trio. So regular is the
+mail-service to the Far East, that a traveller who takes the trouble to
+study the time-tables and arrange his route beforehand, can have his
+letters reach him at any designated point.
+
+[Illustration: IN THE HARBOR.]
+
+The harbor presented a picture of animation as they came to anchor.
+Ships and boats were sailing in and out; steam-tugs were puffing
+noisily around; and, as they swung to their moorings, the official boat
+of the quarantine-officer passed them on its way to the French packet.
+Very soon the steamer was surrounded by a group of native boats, and a
+lively bargaining began for the transportation of the party to the
+shore. In the Far East the steamers have no concern with the passenger
+beyond carrying him from port to port; he must land and embark at his
+own expense, and very often the boatmen have things pretty much in their
+own way. In Japan and China they are regulated and restrained by law;
+but in Singapore and some other Eastern ports they do pretty much as
+they please.
+
+[Illustration: BOATMEN AT SINGAPORE.]
+
+Frank said that the rapacity of the boatmen of Singapore reminded him of
+the hackmen of New York; and he began to feel that he was not so far
+from home after all. It required half an hour of negotiation to make an
+arrangement that was at all reasonable, as the boatmen had evidently
+formed an association for mutual advantage; and all efforts that the
+Doctor made to rouse them to competition were of no use. It was finally
+settled that for a dollar each our friends were to be carried to the
+shore, and their baggage taken to the hotel, which was not more than a
+hundred yards from the landing-place.
+
+The hotel was a large structure of one story in height, with broad
+verandas, where one could sit and enjoy the breeze that generally blows
+in the afternoon. Singapore is only one degree and twenty minutes north
+of the equator--eighty miles--and consequently any one who goes there
+must expect to find a climate of a most tropical character.
+Longitudinally it is almost exactly on the opposite side of the earth
+from New York; and this fact gave rise to some interesting comments by
+Fred and Frank.
+
+"It is sunset now," said Frank, as they went on shore, "and it is
+sunrise in New York."
+
+"Yes," answered Fred; "and about the time we are going to bed our
+friends will be finishing breakfast."
+
+"While we are taking our noonday rest to-morrow they will be sleeping
+soundly, as it will be midnight with them."
+
+"One question occurs to me," said Frank; "it is sunset in Singapore, and
+it is morning with our friends at home. Now I want to know if it is this
+morning, or to-morrow morning with them?"
+
+Fred could not tell, and so the matter was referred to the Doctor as
+soon as he was at leisure.
+
+"The scientific explanation of the subject," said Doctor Bronson as he
+dropped into a chair, "is too long for us to take up in detail. The
+earth moves on its axis, so that the sun rises, or appears to rise, in
+the east, and to set in the west. An easterly place gets the sun
+earlier than a westerly one, and consequently its day begins earlier.
+For instance, the sun rises in New York an hour and five minutes earlier
+than it rises in St. Louis; and, therefore, when it is noon in New York,
+it is only five minutes of eleven in the forenoon at St. Louis by New
+York time. For nautical purposes most nations take the time of
+Greenwich, near London, as the basis of calculation; and consequently
+the time of any given place is said to be earlier or later than that of
+Greenwich, according as the place is east or west of that city. The hour
+of Singapore is seven hours earlier than that of Greenwich, as it gets
+the sun in the east seven hours before Greenwich; New York gets it five
+hours later than Greenwich--four hours and fifty-six minutes is the
+exact difference; and when it is noon in New York, it is five o'clock in
+the afternoon at Greenwich.
+
+"We had sunrise in Singapore twelve hours before our friends had it at
+home; so that, when our day is ending, theirs is just beginning. I will
+show you, in a practical way, the difference in time between New York
+and Singapore. I am about to send a cablegram announcing our arrival,
+and it may possibly get to New York ahead of the time of its departure
+from here."
+
+The Doctor and the boys went to the telegraph-office, and sent a
+despatch to let their friends know of their safe arrival from Siam. As
+the tolls were at the rate of two dollars and forty cents a word, they
+confined the message to a single word in addition to the address.
+Previous to leaving home the Doctor had arranged a code or cipher, by
+which one word could convey a great deal of information. Persons who
+have occasion to use the Atlantic or other telegraph cables to any
+extent make use of private codes, and thereby save a great deal of
+expense. They subsequently learned that their message went from
+Singapore to New York in nine hours, and therefore reached its
+destination three hours before they sent it.
+
+The wind, which had been blowing hard during the afternoon, fell off
+soon after sunset, and the boys found that the nights of Singapore were
+as warm as those of Bangkok. The arrangement of the rooms indicated that
+Singapore was anything but a cool place; but, on the whole, it was not
+disagreeable, as the cool breeze in the afternoon was quite refreshing,
+and made the atmosphere clear and pure.
+
+Our friends slept well on their first night in Singapore, and were up in
+good season in the morning to begin their round of sight-seeing. The
+Doctor had some business to transact at a banking-house in the city, and
+so it was arranged that they would devote the time between breakfast
+and business hours in a stroll along the esplanade and through the
+native part of the place.
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE CONTRACTOR.]
+
+The boys were somewhat surprised at the many races and tribes of men
+they encountered in their morning walk. They met scores on scores of
+Chinese; and they were not ten yards from the door of the hotel before
+they were accosted by a Chinese contractor, who was ready to undertake
+to show them the place, furnish them with a carriage, buy or sell
+whatever they wanted, from a needle up to a steamship, or provide them
+with servants, tailors, or any other kind of assistance they might need
+during their stay. He was lightly clad, in consequence of the heat of
+Singapore, and he carried a fan which he kept in constant motion while
+proposing his services. Singapore is said to contain from eighty to one
+hundred thousand Chinese, and they are found in all classes of business.
+There are Chinese tailors and shoemakers, Chinese peddlers and
+merchants, Chinese book-keepers and managers for the large
+establishments where trade is conducted by wholesale, Chinese servants
+of both sexes and all ages, and Chinese of all kinds in addition to the
+foregoing. The industry of the race is as marked at Singapore as in
+Canton or San Francisco; and though always desirous of large profits, if
+they can be obtained, they will put up with very small compensation when
+a large one is not to be had.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE TAILORS AT SINGAPORE.]
+
+The door of a tailor's shop stood open, and our friends gave a glance at
+its interior. The arrangements were very simple. There was a long table
+covered with a straw mat, on which the material was placed to be cut,
+and behind this table several men were at work. Frank made a note of the
+fact that a Chinese tailor makes his stitches by pushing the needle from
+instead of towards him, and that in Singapore, at least, they do not
+cover their own bodies to any extent while making clothing for other
+people. The heads of these tailoring establishments are very industrious
+in looking for customers, and there was hardly an hour in the day that
+our friends were not accosted with proposals to make clothing for them
+at astonishingly low rates. Singapore is a free port, and the great
+competition in trade has brought the prices down to the lowest figure.
+For eight dollars each they were accommodated with entire suits of blue
+serge of good quality; and when the Doctor expressed some hesitation at
+giving the order, through fear that the cutting and fit might be at
+fault, the tailor promptly said, "No fitee, no payee." The measures were
+taken, and on the following morning the clothes were delivered, and
+found entirely satisfactory.
+
+The Chinese are more numerous at Singapore than any other race. Next to
+them come the Malays, of whom there are several varieties: they are as
+devoid of clothing as the Chinese workmen, the entire garments of many
+of them consisting of a cloth around the loins. Some of them wear
+turbans, and occasionally the turban seems larger than the man, as it
+consists of several yards of muslin wound loosely around the head, till
+it forms a great ball. The body of the wearer will be small, and without
+an ounce of extra flesh; and Fred remarked that it seemed as though the
+turban would tip the man over, and compel him to walk on his head.
+
+In their walk the boys saw a group of wild-looking men with woolly hair,
+and with skins as dark as those of the African negroes, but without the
+thick lips which are supposed to indicate the negro race. The Doctor was
+unable to tell the name of this people, and the question was referred to
+an Englishman whom they happened to meet.
+
+"You mean those people over there?" said the Englishman, as he pointed
+with his finger to the group our friends had been observing.
+
+The Doctor assented.
+
+"Oh! they are Jacoons," was the reply. "They come from the province of
+Johore."
+
+[Illustration: A GROUP OF JACOONS.]
+
+Further questioning elicited the information that the Jacoons were a
+primitive race of men who lived in the forests of Johore, and are
+popularly supposed to dwell in trees, and to subsist on fruits and nuts.
+Johore is a province on the main-land of the Malay peninsula, and
+separated from the island of Singapore by a narrow strait of water. The
+chief of this province is a man of superior intelligence, and lives on
+friendly terms with his English neighbors. Since the English settled at
+Singapore, he has established saw-mills, and made a handsome revenue
+from the sale of lumber; and he has opened up his territory to
+settlement by Chinese and other agriculturists. The Jacoons are supposed
+to be the original inhabitants; they have as little as possible to do
+with the Malays, and are quite distinct from them in language and
+features. They are a peaceful people with few wants, and, as the country
+produces abundantly, they have little occasion to wear themselves out
+with hard work.
+
+Walking about the streets, or sitting in the shade of the numerous
+trees, were a few Parsees with their rimless hats, and wearing garments
+that were more than half European in pattern. They are called sometimes
+the Jews of the East, from their remarkable shrewdness in business, and
+their steady progress in the direction of wealth; they are said to be
+able to accumulate money under very discouraging circumstances, and it
+has been remarked that a Parsee will grow rich where any other man in
+the world would starve. Some branches of trade in the East are almost
+monopolized by the Parsees. A single Parsee house has more than half of
+the Chinese opium trade in its hands, and has grown enormously rich,
+while its competitors have lost money. Like the Jews, to whom they are
+sometimes compared, the Parsees have no country they can call their own.
+They came originally from Persia, and settled in the North of India,
+where the most of them are to be found to-day.
+
+[Illustration: GARRI WITH A LOAD OF SAILORS.]
+
+There were Klings, or men from the South of India, waiting for work on
+the corners, or offering their _garris_, or carriages, for the use of
+our friends. Most of the carriages for hire in Singapore are driven by
+these Klings, who are a lithe race, with great powers of endurance, and
+equally great powers of rascality. A garri is a four-wheeled vehicle
+drawn by a single horse: some of the garris have seats for the driver,
+while others have no place for him, but leave him to walk or run by the
+side of his beast. The horse is as small in proportion as the man, and
+the boys were greatly amused to see one of these vehicles with a party
+of sailors who had just come on shore from an English ship. Three of
+them were inside, while one was stretched along the roof of the garri,
+which he more than covered. They were evidently enjoying themselves, and
+the driver had his nose in the air, and was doubtless counting up the
+profits of his day's work, and feeling happy over the result.
+
+The boys were surprised to learn that, while there was a population of
+more than a hundred thousand Chinese, Malays, Klings, and other
+Orientals at Singapore, there were not more than a thousand Europeans
+living there, exclusive of the English garrison. Of these Europeans the
+English were the most numerous; the rest were Germans, French,
+Portuguese, Dutch, and Italians, in the order named, and it was said
+that the Germans were increasing more rapidly than the English, and
+threatened to have all the business of the place in their hands in
+course of time.
+
+While our friends were discussing the peculiarities of the population of
+Singapore, their walk brought them to "The Square," as the commercial
+centre is called; and, as the hours of business had arrived, the Doctor
+proceeded to attend to his financial affairs, and learn, in a practical
+way, the mysteries of banking at the capital city of the Straits of
+Malacca.
+
+[Illustration: FULL DRESS AT THE STRAITS.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+SIGHTS AND SCENES IN SINGAPORE.
+
+
+The incidents of the first day in Singapore were well described by Frank
+and Fred in the letter they wrote in the evening, to make sure that
+nothing would be forgotten. The labor of writing was divided between
+them; Frank describing one part of what they saw, and leaving the rest
+for Fred. As their time was pressing, the Doctor "gave them a lift," as
+Fred expressed it, and added something relative to the commerce of the
+straits, and the importance of Singapore as a place of trade.
+
+Here is the joint letter. Frank said that if two heads were better than
+one, three heads must be better than two. Fred added that when one of
+the three was the Doctor's head, he thought it would be difficult for
+any letter to go ahead of theirs.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+"We have had a busy day at Singapore. Singapore means 'place of lions;'
+and probably it is so called because there are no lions here. It stands
+on an island about twenty miles long and six or eight wide, and is
+separated from the main-land by a narrow strait. On the main-land there
+are plenty of tigers, and they sometimes swim over to the island in
+search of food. Formerly they killed an average of one man a day; but of
+late years they have not done so well. They are becoming more and more
+scarce every year, as they have been hunted down till there are not many
+of them left.
+
+"We had a stroll through the town this morning, and then we went to a
+banking-house to draw some money. The banker gave us a check on one of
+the large establishments, and we went there expecting to find an
+Englishman in charge. We looked around as we entered the door, and not
+an Englishman or other European was to be seen!
+
+"All the employés of the bank were Chinese--at least as far as we could
+ascertain. A Chinese paying-teller took the check, and passed it to a
+Chinese book-keeper, who sat in a little box at the end of the counter.
+He examined the check, and stamped it after making an entry in a book;
+and then he returned it to the teller, who counted out the money and
+gave it to us without saying a word. There were piles of silver and bank
+notes in sight, and all in charge of Chinese. We looked into another
+bank, where the same arrangement existed; and we went into a
+business-house where there were at least a dozen Chinese clerks to one
+European.
+
+"The business of Singapore is centred around what is called The Square,
+and in a walk of ten minutes you can pass by the most of the large
+houses for banking and commerce. Here they have also the consulates and
+the telegraph and steamship offices; and all these establishments
+imitate the example of the banks in employing Chinese clerks and
+_compradors_. On the whole, it seems to us that there is very little
+business of any kind at Singapore that the Chinese have not something to
+do with.
+
+"The Chinese seem to be crowding the Europeans out of everything; and
+there is no branch of business that they are not perfectly familiar
+with. They might send all the English and other foreigners away some
+pleasant morning, take Singapore into their own hands, and run it just
+as well as it is run now.
+
+"After we had finished our business with the bank, we took a garri for a
+drive to the outside of the city.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE GARDEN AT SINGAPORE.]
+
+"There is a famous garden here, belonging to a wealthy Chinese merchant:
+it is said to be one of the finest gardens in the world, and must have
+cost a great deal of money. No visitor to Singapore should omit it, even
+if he has not more than a few hours on land.
+
+"In the first place, Singapore is so near the equator that every kind of
+tropical tree and plant can grow here in the open air. The mercury shows
+an average, all the year round, of eighty-five to ninety-five degrees in
+the shade; and there is hardly any difference between summer and winter.
+Consequently it is one of the best places, perhaps _the_ best place, for
+making a handsome garden, and the enterprising proprietor has kept this
+fact in mind. Where he is sure the thermometer will never fall below
+seventy-one degrees, he can grow anything he pleases.
+
+"Such a lot of tropical things you never saw, and hardly ever dreamed
+of. There were rows on rows of beautiful palms and bamboos, and other
+things that only grow in the hot regions; and there was a pond with an
+enormous _Victoria regia_--the great water-lily that makes ours seem
+almost like a microscopic object.
+
+"There are said to be more than eighty varieties of the palm; and if
+there is not a sample of each of these varieties in this garden, I am
+greatly mistaken. The garden covers a great deal of ground, and has
+been made with much care and taste. The owner is very proud of it, and
+always pleased to have strangers go there and admire it. The keeper, and
+the men under his orders, are very civil; and evidently the owner has
+told them that if they are not polite to strangers they will be sent
+away, and people of better manners put in their places.
+
+"The garden contains a collection of tropical animals, but it is not
+very large. There was an orang-outang, or gorilla, there, and it was
+wonderfully like a man in its shape and appearance. It was said to have
+come from Borneo; and, if so, it was not a gorilla, but an orang-outang,
+as the gorilla is a native of Africa, and not of the Eastern
+Archipelago.
+
+[Illustration: MATERNAL CARE.]
+
+"We were much amused at the comical appearance of a couple of
+chimpanzees. They were mother and child, and the mother was gravely
+occupied in arranging the hair of the youngster. He stared at us with
+his great round eyes; but she did not look up at all, as she was too
+much engaged with making the young fellow look well. We had a fine
+opportunity to see the formation of the feet of this variety of monkey;
+they have thumbs on the hind feet as well as on the forward ones, and as
+you look at them you can easily understand the readiness with which
+these animals can climb trees and swing from the limbs.
+
+"The chimpanzees are said to show a great deal of fondness for each
+other. There is a story that two of them were once kept in the same
+cage, and one happened to take sick and die. The other was so affected
+by grief at the loss of its companion, that it refused all food for more
+than a week, and was finally forced to take something down its throat
+when so weak that it could hardly stand. It recovered very slowly, and
+never seemed to forget the absence of its old friend.
+
+"There is another garden at Singapore which is the property of the city;
+it contains more animals than the private one, and fewer trees. We went
+to it, and had a pleasant half-hour among the curiosities it contains.
+The garden is an excellent thing to show strangers what the tropics can
+produce in the way of animals and birds, and for this reason we were
+much interested in it, and sorry when the time came to leave.
+
+[Illustration: RURAL SCENE IN SINGAPORE.]
+
+"The drive that we took led us among the forests of cocoa and other
+palm-trees that extend all over the island, except where clearings have
+been made. A large part of the land has been put under cultivation by
+the Chinese settlers, and they have some very pretty farms and gardens,
+in which they produce all the vegetables that are consumed at
+Singapore.
+
+"Several kinds of spices grow on the island, and there are some
+plantations where pepper is cultivated. They raise considerable
+sugar-cane, but most of it is used for preserves, and is not converted
+into the sugar of commerce. Then there are lots of cocoa-nuts grown on
+the island, and there are many varieties of fruits.
+
+[Illustration: FRUIT-SELLERS AT SINGAPORE.]
+
+"When we walked through the town in the morning we saw groups of natives
+selling fruit, and we afterwards saw some of these fruits growing on the
+trees. They comprised durians, pomegranates, pineapples, custard-apples,
+mangoes, bananas, and plantains; and we were told that there are more
+than twenty varieties of the plantain alone.
+
+"The pineapple needs no description, as you have it at home; the
+custard-apple is about the size of an ordinary apple, and has a soft
+pulp surrounding the seeds. The best way to eat it is to scoop out the
+contents with a spoon, and it is this way of eating more than the taste
+that has given it its name. But the durian is the largest and funniest
+of all these tropical fruits.
+
+"The durian is like a small pumpkin, with a rough skin so hard and thick
+that the birds cannot make much impression on it. The seeds are nearly
+as large as chestnuts, and each seed is surrounded by a soft pulp, just
+as the stone of a peach is embedded in the body of the fruit. People who
+live here grow very fond of it, but travellers do not learn to like it
+until they have made a good many attempts. It is not the taste that
+repels them, but the smell, and this is something atrocious.
+
+"We have tried to eat it, but could not do so even by holding our noses,
+for the disagreeable odor would rise in spite of all precautions we
+could take. We are told that the best way is to have the servants cut it
+up and put the pieces in milk, and by taking them out of the milk and
+swallowing quickly the smell is avoided. Perhaps this might work; but a
+better plan would be to have the servants eat the stuff up when it was
+properly prepared, and let you hear nothing more about it.
+
+[Illustration: A BUNGALOW.]
+
+"All the merchants who can afford the expense of a bungalow, or private
+residence outside the city limits, are sure to indulge in it. The
+consequence is that there are many of these residences; and as they
+always have plenty of ground around them, and an abundance of shade
+trees, the bungalows make a very pretty picture, or a succession of
+pictures. The bungalow has wide verandas and overhanging eaves, and as
+nobody wants to climb stairways where the heat is as great as in
+Singapore, you rarely find a dwelling of more than one story. Then these
+merchants have carriages of their own, and do not depend on the garries;
+and in the evening their carriages driving along the esplanade road make
+a fine appearance. The rich Chinese endeavor to live after the manner of
+the Europeans; they have their bungalows and their carriages, and some
+of the finest of the latter that we have seen were the property of
+Chinese merchants. Their passion for fine gardens is greater than that
+of the Europeans, and several of the bungalows have a very costly
+surrounding of grounds. The fine garden we have described is not by any
+means the only one belonging to a Chinese resident of Singapore.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE GENTLEMAN'S GARDEN.]
+
+"The horses they use here are from Australia, and whenever a lot arrives
+by a ship they have an auction in the square. They say that some of the
+horses turn out well, and increase rapidly in value; while others seem
+to be much affected by the climate, and do not last more than a year
+or two. The horses fetch good prices, and the trade of bringing them
+from Australia is said to be quite profitable.
+
+"Everywhere we go we see Chinese. They are of all classes, from highest
+to lowest, and from honest to dishonest. They are in every kind of
+business, and they have their guilds or trade associations just as they
+have them in China. They occupy official positions under the government,
+and on several occasions there have been Chinese members of the
+Legislative Council of Singapore. Once in awhile there is trouble
+between them and the Europeans, arising out of questions of commerce:
+but for the most part everything runs along smoothly, and the Chinese
+show a perfect readiness to obey the laws, and live as they ought to
+live. And speaking of their trades-unions calls to mind an amusing
+story.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOD OF GAMBLERS.]
+
+"They carry the principle of trade association into everything; and the
+thieves and gamblers have their guilds and gods like the others. The
+guilds have rules and regulations that are very strict; and if a man
+violates them he is liable to be expelled, and driven to seek a living
+by honest means. When thieves wish to commit a robbery, they must
+consult the officers of the guild and get their permission, and they
+must pay a certain amount of the profits for the support of the
+association.
+
+"Sometimes they go in parties of a hundred or more; they surround a
+house and plunder it by force, and they usually manage it so that the
+occupants cannot make any resistance. It is said that when a house is to
+be robbed, the thieves will scatter a narcotic drug about the rooms that
+has no effect upon themselves, but will put a European to sleep. He
+sleeps till long after the robbery is finished, and does not suffer the
+least injury by inhaling it.
+
+"When a thief enters a house to practise his profession, he removes his
+clothes and oils his body all over. He winds his pig-tail around his
+head--having previously stuck it full of needles. If anybody attempts to
+grasp his arm or leg, he slips off like an eel; and, if he is seized by
+the pig-tail, the person who takes hold of it is sure to let go in a
+hurry. Who shall say that the Chinese thief is not a shrewd operator?
+
+[Illustration: MALAY BOY IN THE BIRD-MARKET.]
+
+"One of the curious things that we saw was the poultry-market. Poultry
+includes a great deal more here than at home: as we found not only
+chickens, ducks, geese, and other familiar things, but a great variety
+of pigeons, quails, pheasants, and other edible birds from the forest.
+Then there was an abundance of parrots, lories, cockatoos, and
+paroquets, besides other birds whose names we did not know. Such a
+screaming and cackling you never heard in your life. The heat is so
+great at Singapore that everything to be eaten must be sold alive, as it
+would begin to decay in a very short time after being slaughtered. Most
+of the chickens were in coops, or tied together by the legs; and the
+same was the case with the geese and ducks.
+
+"The parrots, and members of their family, were generally secured by
+strings to little perches, and they kept up an incessant chattering in
+the Malay and other Oriental tongues. One was offered to us that spoke
+English; but, as his vocabulary consisted only of a half-dozen words of
+profanity, that had been taught to him by a sailor, we declined to
+purchase. A crowd of men and boys surrounded us with birds in their
+hands, and on their heads and shoulders; all talked at once, and offered
+their birds at very low prices. We could have bought paroquets for
+twenty-five cents; and a talking-parrot, very large, and white as snow,
+was offered for six dollars, and could have been had for three. How they
+manage to find a market for all the birds they bring to Singapore it is
+difficult to imagine.
+
+"You may be interested to know how these birds are brought here, and
+where they come from. They are from the many islands south of Singapore
+that form the Malay Archipelago, and they are brought by the natives on
+speculation. When the south-west monsoon begins, a family starts in its
+little boat for a voyage of from one to three thousand miles; and the
+boat is one in which an American would be unwilling to risk a voyage
+from New York to Boston. They run along from port to port, trading a
+little wherever they can, and ultimately reach Singapore. The boat has a
+deck, with a slight awning of woven grass, and is covered with the
+family and birds--the latter being numbered sometimes by the hundred. In
+the hold they have shells, feathers, spices, and other products, and
+they are constantly making exchanges at the places they visit. They sell
+their cargoes at Singapore, and buy a lot of cotton-cloth, hardware, and
+other things that are in demand where they live, and then go back as
+they came. This accounts for the large number of birds exposed for sale
+in the poultry-market, and the low prices they are held at.
+
+[Illustration: HEAD OF BLACK COCKATOO.]
+
+"Among the birds offered to us there was a black cockatoo, with a
+splendid head and crest. His bill had a point like a needle, and was
+very large and strong. We wondered how he could eat, and what he lived
+on, as the shape of his bill and his lower jaw seemed the most awkward
+that one could imagine. We asked his owner to feed the bird, and gave
+him a few cents to show us how the operation of eating was performed.
+
+"The man brought a triangular nut which had a smooth surface, and was so
+hard that we could not crack it without a hammer. The bird took the nut
+endwise in his bill; he held it in place by pressing his tongue against
+it, and then began sawing across it with his lower jaw.
+
+"When he had cut a deep notch in this way, he turned the nut a little,
+and used the underjaw as a wedge to break off the end. Then he held the
+nut in one claw, and with the sharp point of his bill he picked out the
+kernel; and as fast as he brought a bit of it to the light, he seized it
+with his long tongue. Whether the bird was created for the nut, or the
+nut for the bird, is a question for the naturalists; at all events, each
+seems to be perfectly adapted to the other. The fitness of the
+cockatoo's beak to the process of opening this hard product of the
+forest is as exact as it could be made.
+
+"While we were in the market a man kept endeavoring to attract our
+attention to something he had in a large basket; we supposed it was a
+new kind of bird, and went to see it. It proved to be a large snake, and
+the man urged us to buy with all the eloquence of which he was capable.
+We are not buying snakes just now, and so we left him to find another
+customer.
+
+"Snakes are abundant in this part of the world, and there are all the
+varieties a man could want. Over on the main-land of Malacca they have
+some very large ones, and you are liable at any time, when walking in
+the forest, to come across a huge python swinging across your path. They
+come into the houses and make themselves at home, and they never wait
+for an invitation.
+
+"A gentleman who has spent a good deal of time in this region tells an
+interesting story of a visit that a snake made to him.
+
+"One evening, just as he was going to bed, he heard a noise on the roof
+overhead, but thought nothing of it. The next day he was lying down with
+a book in his hand, just after dinner, and, happening to cast his eye
+upwards, he saw something on the thatch that resembled a large
+tortoise-shell. It was spotted with yellow and black marks; and while he
+was wondering who could have put the shell there to dry, he discovered
+that it was a snake coiled up, and lying asleep.
+
+"The gentleman got up very quickly, and called his servants. As soon as
+they learned there was a snake on the roof they were greatly frightened,
+and ran out of the house to call some laborers from the plantation.
+Several men came, and one of them, who was familiar with the habits of
+the snake, proceeded to make a noose of bamboo and slip it over the
+reptile's head. He succeeded in this, and dragged the snake from the
+roof; then he took the creature by the tail, and tried to run out of the
+house with him.
+
+[Illustration: EJECTING AN INTRUDER.]
+
+"The snake coiled around the chairs and posts, and gave the man
+considerable trouble in ejecting him from the premises. As soon as he
+had his prize outside he had a clear field, and soon made an end of the
+serpent by dashing his head against a tree. The snake was more than
+twelve feet long, and was capable of doing serious damage if he had
+given his attention to it. The gentleman was not in a pleasant frame of
+mind when he found that he had slept all night with the snake over his
+head, and had taken his afternoon nap in the same position.
+
+"We haven't seen any tigers for sale, but there is no doubt we could
+find plenty if we wanted them. What with tigers and snakes and other
+things, not to mention the heat and the danger of fever, Singapore and
+the surrounding country do not appear desirable as a permanent
+residence. Yet there are people who say they like it out here, and are
+quite willing to stay. We are not of that mind; and nobody who cares to
+live near the Straits of Malacca need have any fear that we will ever
+try to get his place away from him.
+
+"We would like to go over to Johore and see what the main-land is like,
+but we haven't time for the journey. There is a fine road across the
+island, to where you can take a boat and cross the strait. It is a drive
+of about fifteen miles, and is said to be very interesting, as it takes
+you through forests of palms, and past plantations of pepper and
+gambier. Perhaps you don't know what gambier is? We didn't till we came
+to the East.
+
+"It is the dried and refined juice of a plant that grows in Malacca, and
+is much used in dyeing and tanning, and also for stiffening silks. Great
+quantities of it are shipped from Singapore to Europe, and it forms an
+important item in the commerce of the place.
+
+"The Maharajah of Johore is the son of the one from whom, in 1819, the
+English bought the island of Singapore. They gave sixty thousand dollars
+cash, and pay an annual subsidy of twenty thousand dollars; and they
+have kept on paying it without complaint. As the place is an excellent
+market for everything that the region produces, the Maharajah has become
+rich, and is on the best of terms with the English; he frequently visits
+the governor and is visited by him in return, and when any person of
+distinction comes here he is invited to stop as long as he likes at
+Johore. The Maharajah is a strict Mohammedan, but he has adopted many
+of the features of European life in his household. He has a French cook,
+and his dinners are served _à la European_. When entertaining visitors
+from England or America, he generally wears a dress-suit after the
+European manner; and he has so far overcome the prejudices of his
+religion as to invite ladies to his table.
+
+"The currency of Singapore is the dollar, or, to be more explicit, the
+Spanish dollar. It is divided into one hundred cents, like our dollar,
+and all transactions are reckoned in this currency. But you find all
+kinds of money in circulation--English, French, American, Dutch, and
+Spanish; and if you want rupees, or any other Eastern currency, you will
+have no difficulty in getting it. The cosmopolitan character of
+Singapore is very well illustrated in the many varieties of coin in
+circulation.
+
+"We have found a new type of mankind here--the Eurasian.
+
+"You will possibly ask, 'What is the Eurasian?'
+
+[Illustration: A NEW TYPE OF MANKIND.]
+
+"The word is compounded of 'Europe' and 'Asia,' as you can easily
+perceive, and the man who bears that name is of mixed European and
+Asiatic blood. The most of them have adopted the European dress and
+manners, and refuse to associate with the natives, while, on the other
+hand, they are not admitted to European society. Consequently they are
+in an unhappy position, as they are neither the one nor the other, and
+there does not appear to be any recognized place for them. They have
+been said to combine the vices of both their parent races, with the good
+qualities of neither; there are some men of ability among them, but, on
+the whole, the remark has a great deal of truth in it.
+
+"In Singapore there are many descendants of the early Portuguese
+settlers of the East; they still preserve the Portuguese language, and
+adhere to their religion, though sometimes they are rather weak in both.
+It is a curious fact that, though they preserve the features of Europe,
+their skins are frequently darker than those of the natives; and the
+spectacle is not an infrequent one of a man with Caucasian features, and
+a complexion black as a piece of anthracite coal.
+
+"If you wish to realize the importance of Singapore as a place of trade,
+you have only to look at a map of the Eastern hemisphere and observe the
+position of the city. It is a convenient commercial point for China and
+Japan, for Java and the Malay Archipelago, for Siam, and even for
+Australia. Ships going between Europe and the far East rarely pass
+Singapore without stopping, and the great lines of steamships have a
+large business here. The commerce has steadily increased every year, and
+there is no sign that it will decline. Some of the old merchants
+complain that competition has ruined trade; they sigh for the return of
+the days when they had only one mail a month, and there was no telegraph
+to give hourly quotations of the prices of goods in all parts of the
+world. In those days business was confined to a few houses, and the
+chances of an outsider were slight indeed. Fortunes were sometimes made
+by a single venture, and not unfrequently a merchant had exclusive
+information of advances or declines that he could have a whole month to
+operate upon, without the least fear that anybody would be able to
+interfere with him.
+
+"Profits are smaller to-day, and capital must be turned very often; the
+volume of business is far greater than it used to be, and the men who
+regret the good old times are forced to accept things as they are."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+CROSSING THE EQUATOR.--ADVENTURE WITH MALAY PIRATES.
+
+
+There were several things held in reserve to be seen on the second day
+in Singapore. Our friends went to the museum and library, which are in a
+large building near the esplanade or park where people stroll in the
+afternoon, and not far from the road which forms the fashionable drive.
+The library is an excellent one, and contains a great number of works on
+the East; the Doctor spent an hour or more among the books, and, while
+examining their titles and contents, he came upon a volume which was
+written by one of his intimate friends in America. It was entitled
+"Overland through Asia," and described a journey that the author once
+made across the northern part of the Eastern hemisphere.
+
+There was a fair collection of minerals and other things in the museum,
+and the boys were interested in a huge python that lay coiled around
+some rocks in the centre of one of the rooms. The director of the museum
+told them that the serpent was kept in a cage in the museum for some
+time, but it was finally determined to kill and stuff him, so that his
+appearance could be more readily studied by visitors. The work of
+killing was more serious than had been anticipated; it was done by means
+of chloroform, as they did not wish to injure the reptile's skin by
+lacerating it.
+
+A sponge saturated with chloroform was introduced between the bars of
+the cage, and held over the head of the python as he lay asleep. Instead
+of being stupefied, he was awakened by it; and he indicated most
+emphatically, by moving his head away, that he did not like that kind of
+treatment. He refused to breathe the narcotic, and it became apparent
+that some means of compelling him to take it must be adopted.
+
+A noose was passed over his head, and he was drawn forward so that his
+nose was at the bars of the cage. Then the sponge was again applied, and
+he was forced to inhale the chloroform, whether he wanted to or not. He
+lashed about from side to side, and sometimes it seemed as though he
+would tear the cage to pieces with the violence of his demonstrations.
+All this time he was breathing the narcotic; but it was nearly an hour
+before he was fairly under its influence, and another hour was required
+to reduce him to a state of quiet. Even when he had ceased to lash
+around so as to threaten injury to the cage, his body was constantly
+giving convulsive twitches, and these did not end for several hours. The
+gentleman who superintended the operation said that the snake was the
+worst patient he ever saw under the influence of chloroform, and the
+hardest to manage.
+
+They took another drive into the country, over a road that had been
+newly opened. Their way led them near a native village, where the houses
+were thickly thatched with grass and strips of palm-leaf, so as to keep
+out the heavy rains that frequently occur. It is said that at Singapore
+more than half the days of the year are favored with showers, and the
+records show that in some years they have had two hundred and odd rainy
+days. The rain cools the air, and it is probably owing to the rain and
+wind that there are so few cases of fever among the Europeans. Sometimes
+the wind develops into a lively squall that sets all light things in
+motion and fills the air with clouds of dust. It frequently happens that
+the papers on the desk of a merchant will be sent flying about the room,
+and possibly out of the window; and there are stories of valuable
+documents and notes of the Bank of England being whisked away, so that
+their owners never saw them again.
+
+[Illustration: KLINGS AND CHINESE.]
+
+They saw groups of Klings and Chinese along the road; and in one
+instance four of the former were holding a discussion over a basket of
+fruit, and making things so lively that the boys thought there would be
+a fight. The Klings do not bear a good reputation among the Europeans,
+and are not on friendly terms with the Chinese. They are first-class
+rascals in all their dealings where they can take advantage; and, if
+there is no danger of receiving punishment, they are almost certain to
+be insolent. On the other hand, they are cringing to their superiors,
+and make the utmost professions of friendship, while ready at any moment
+to indulge in the meanest treachery. The Chinese, with whatever
+disagreeable qualities they possess, are much to be preferred to the
+Klings.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE NURSES AND CHILDREN.]
+
+Frank and Fred were amused at the costumes of the native nurses, whom
+they occasionally saw in charge of European children. They were more
+noticeable for their comfort in the hot climate of the tropics than for
+elegance of design; and it was evident that the expense of keeping one
+of these nurses in clothing was not great. The native children go quite
+naked until five or six years of age, and even later; and it was not an
+uncommon sight to see a woman bearing a water-jar, and followed by a
+little urchin entirely destitute of clothing, in marked contrast to the
+European children, who were dressed after the custom of the country
+whence their parents came.
+
+The native women are fond of ornaments in their ears, like the women of
+other countries, and a good many of them have their noses pierced and
+decorated. Anklets and armlets of silver and gold are also worn, and it
+is not unusual to see a woman, whose entire clothing has cost less than
+a dollar, almost weighted down with jewellery worth a goodly sum.
+
+[Illustration: COALING AT THE DOCK.]
+
+They visited the new harbor of Singapore to see the ship on which they
+intended leaving the following morning for Java. The new harbor is known
+as Tangong Pagar, and has the advantage over the old one of allowing
+ships to lie at a dock instead of anchoring a considerable distance from
+shore. The docks are well built, and there are mountains of coal piled
+up there to meet the wants of ships. Singapore is an important
+coaling-station for ships in the Eastern trade, and sometimes a dozen of
+them may be seen taking coal at Tangong Pagar at the same time.
+
+[Illustration: CARRYING COAL ON BOARD.]
+
+Our friends were satisfied with the appearance of the steamer; and when
+they had completed their inspection they returned to the hotel, and from
+there went to the office of the Dutch Steamship Company to engage
+passage. Every week there is a steamer leaving Singapore for Batavia.
+One week it is a French ship, and the next a Dutch one; the latter runs
+in connection with the Peninsular and Oriental line; while the former
+belongs to the great company which carries the French mail from Europe
+to the East. It happened to be the week of the Dutch ship when Doctor
+Bronson and his young companions were at Singapore, and they
+congratulated themselves that they would have the opportunity of going
+on a vessel of a nationality new to them.
+
+Frank and Fred opened their eyes in astonishment when they learned the
+price they were to pay for passage to Java.
+
+"Forty-six dollars!" exclaimed Frank; "and for a voyage of forty-eight
+hours!"
+
+"And it is only five hundred miles from Singapore to Batavia," Fred
+responded. "How much does it cost to go from New York to England, and
+what is the distance?"
+
+The Doctor informed him that it was about three thousand miles from New
+York to Liverpool, and the passage was usually a hundred dollars for the
+best places on the best steamers.
+
+"At the rate from here to Batavia," said Fred, "we should have to pay
+two hundred and seventy-five dollars for the transatlantic voyage where
+we now pay one hundred dollars. Why does it cost so much more here than
+on the Atlantic?"
+
+"In the first place," the Doctor explained, "there are comparatively few
+people travelling here, and the companies are compelled to ask high
+prices in order to keep up their ships. Where a steamer between New York
+and Liverpool would have a hundred passengers and more, and consider it
+only an ordinary business, you will rarely find more than twenty or
+thirty passengers on a steamer in the Far East. Coal is much more
+expensive here than in the North Atlantic ports, and so is nearly
+everything else that is used on a ship. In these hot regions the
+passengers need more room than on a transatlantic steamer, and more
+personal comforts generally."
+
+"But don't they ever crowd the passengers rather uncomfortably?" Frank
+asked. "It seems to me that I have heard you speak of a very
+disagreeable voyage you once had on account of the unusual number of
+people on the steamer you travelled on."
+
+"You are quite right," the Doctor replied; "and it was on this very
+route, from Singapore to Batavia. I was on the French steamer; and the
+agents told me there would be plenty of room, as only a few passengers
+were engaged. She had eight rooms, with two berths to a room, so that
+her complement of passengers was sixteen. But when we came to start we
+found that we numbered fifty-two; and you can easily understand that we
+had a hard time of it. We were packed something like sardines in a can,
+and all were heartily glad when the voyage was over. If we could have
+laid hold of the Singapore agent of the company we should have treated
+him as roughly as the laws of the ocean permit; but he had the advantage
+of being on shore, and quite out of our reach."
+
+[Illustration: SERVANTS ON DUTY.]
+
+The trio of travellers rose early the next morning, as the steamer was
+advertised to leave at seven o'clock, and the dock was a long distance
+from the hotel. Their baggage was piled in a small cart drawn by a
+bullock, and started off some time ahead of them, so as to be at the
+steamer before they reached there in the more expeditious garri. When
+they had swallowed their morning coffee and came out of the hotel, they
+found a group of servants waiting near the door to ask for money, as a
+reward for their services. Frank said the only energy the fellows
+displayed during his acquaintance with them was in this final act of
+begging; it was far from an easy matter to get any service out of them,
+as their chief occupation was gambling, and they were too much engrossed
+in it to pay any attention to common things.
+
+The steamer sailed promptly on her advertised time. During the last
+half-hour of their stay at the dock, the passengers were amused by the
+antics of a lot of men and boys who dived for money. They were in small
+boats close to the steamer, and whenever a coin, silver or copper, was
+thrown into the water, a dozen of the fellows plunged over in search of
+it. Generally they caught it before it had gone far below the surface,
+and sometimes there would be a struggle between two of the divers for
+the possession of a coin. The loser would appeal to the passengers to
+throw over a piece which could be his special property, and he very
+often succeeded in inducing them to do so.
+
+The Doctor told the boys that the quarrel over the money was a clever
+bit of acting, as the fellows were associated, and the result of the
+day's work was divided equally among them. Sometimes they refuse to dive
+for copper coins, and will only go over for silver. If any coppers are
+thrown they decline to move, and say it is impossible to see copper at
+the bottom of the water. Consequently their harvest is in silver; and if
+any copper has been dropped, they dive for it after the ship has gone.
+
+[Illustration: SCENE ON THE SUMATRA COAST.]
+
+The route of the steamer proved to be very picturesque. The numerous
+islands that lie at this part of the Straits of Malacca were visible in
+whatever direction our friends turned their eyes, and away to the right
+was the coast of Sumatra, thickly clothed in tropical verdure. The
+islands were so many, and lay so irregularly, that the steamer was
+obliged to change her course every few hours, and Fred thought before
+noon that they must have steered to every point of the compass since
+they left Singapore.
+
+The sky was clear, and the heat of the sun poured fiercely down on the
+triple awning that covered the stern of the ship's deck. But it was less
+severe than the boys had expected to find it; and they both agreed that
+the Gulf of Siam was quite as uncomfortable as the Java Sea near the
+equator.
+
+Our young friends were full of excitement at the prospect of going into
+southern latitude. They were frequently studying their maps and looking
+at their watches, so as to be on the lookout for the equator at the
+moment of crossing it.
+
+"We left Singapore at seven in the morning," said Frank, "and we had
+eighty miles to go to reach the equator. The steamer is running ten
+miles an hour, and according to my calculation we should be on the
+equator about three o'clock."
+
+Fred was of the same opinion; and it was determined that they would
+watch closely from two till four o'clock, and see if the southern
+hemisphere was in any way unlike the Northern one; and so they watched
+while the steamer moved on and on towards the south. A little past three
+in the afternoon the Doctor told them they were probably in the region
+of no latitude, and that the equator was under their feet.
+
+"I tell you what, Frank," said Fred, "it may be all my imagination, but
+it seems to me that the sea has a different appearance here from
+anything I have yet seen."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"Why, you know that everywhere else when we are at sea we appear to be
+in a hollow or basin, and the horizon line of the water is higher than
+we are. Now, as I look off from the steamer, it seems to me that the
+world rounds away from us, and if my eyesight was strong enough I could
+see the North and the South Poles. Instead of being in a hollow, as we
+have always appeared to be heretofore, I seem to be on a great globe, or
+the summit of a rounded hill."
+
+Frank thought he had the same sensation, but not so strongly as Fred.
+They appealed to the Doctor, who said that the feeling was mostly
+imaginary, and grew out of the knowledge that they were crossing the
+equator. "But there is sometimes a condition of the atmosphere," he
+added, "which produces the appearance you describe. In all the time I
+have passed at sea I have seen it only on a few occasions--perhaps three
+or four in all. There is a suggestion of it at this moment, I observe,
+and your imagination has done the rest.
+
+"And you may consider yourself fortunate," he continued, "that you are
+not making an old-fashioned voyage of twenty or thirty years ago."
+
+"Why so?" Frank asked.
+
+"Because," was the reply, "you would run the risk of an introduction to
+Father Neptune."
+
+"I remember," said Fred, "that is the ceremony they talk about in
+crossing the line for the first time."
+
+"Yes," Frank responded, "they play all kinds of pranks on the
+greenhorns, or those who have never been beyond the equator."
+
+"My first crossing of the line was on an English ship," said the Doctor,
+"and the custom was allowed in its full force. They fastened below all of
+the crew who were not old sailors, and also all of the passengers. The
+latter were let off by paying half a sovereign each, to be expended in
+drink for the crew; three-fourths of them complied at once, and were let
+up to see the fun. But the greenhorns of the crew were not excused, and
+we had a chance to see how the ceremony was performed."
+
+"And how was it?"
+
+[Illustration: CROSSING THE LINE ON A MAN-OF-WAR.]
+
+"Just about daybreak the ship was hailed by a hoarse voice that seemed
+to come from under the bows. The voice was followed by Neptune in
+person, and he was accompanied by several attendants blowing conch
+shells. Neptune was one of the old sailors in disguise; he had a long
+beard made of rope-yarn, and a tin crown, and he carried a trident in
+his right hand as he marched along the deck. His attendants were
+equipped with beards almost as long as those of Neptune, and, like their
+master, they were naked to the waist.
+
+"He ordered the sailors to bring him a throne, and he was speedily
+mounted on the top of a cask. Then, one after another, the greenhorns
+were brought before him to be questioned and shaved.
+
+"'Do you intend to serve me always, and be a good sailor?' was the first
+question that Neptune addressed to the subject before him.
+
+"As the man opened his mouth to answer, the shaving-brush was thrust
+into it. The brush was a swab made of yarn, and the lather consisted of
+coarse soap mixed with water from the tub where the grindstone stood.
+The shaving was performed with a rusty iron hoop, and without any
+tenderness or delicacy. The victims were made to go through the
+performance in spite of their struggles, and when it was over the
+majority of them found their faces covered with scratches that lasted
+for several days.
+
+"The ceremony very rarely takes place nowadays on merchant-ships, and
+only occasionally on men-of-war. No rudeness is now allowed on the part
+of Neptune and his assistants, and the sport is confined to drenching
+the greenhorns by getting them under a sail filled with water, or
+playing some other harmless prank. Generally all the officers come on
+deck to meet Neptune on his arrival, and there is a partial relaxation
+of discipline for half an hour or so."
+
+The subject was dropped, and the boys devoted themselves to studying the
+appearance of the water, and the varying light and shadow on the
+Sumatran coast, which was constantly in sight. Suddenly Frank said he
+had thought of something he wished to ask the Doctor.
+
+His question had reference to the Malay pirates, of which he had often
+read, and he wished to know if he was not in the vicinity of those
+disagreeable men.
+
+"We are in their neighborhood," said the Doctor; "but I don't think we
+need fear anything from them."
+
+"Of course not," cried Fred; "they would never disturb a steamer like
+this."
+
+"Not unless she was disabled, and in their power," responded Frank; "and
+then, I suppose, they would not show much mercy."
+
+"As to that," remarked the Doctor, "it is difficult to lay down an
+invariable rule. The pirates pursue their trade for love of gain, and
+are not likely to rush to destruction. If they should get in the way of
+this vessel she would be likely to run their boats down, and that would
+be an end of them. They have a wholesome fear of a steamer, and are
+careful to keep out of her way.
+
+"Twenty or thirty years ago there were a great many pirates all through
+the Malay Archipelago. They carried on their business as an American
+would deal in wheat or conduct a hotel, and there were whole towns and
+villages entirely supported by piracy. They attacked Chinese or other
+native boats, and they also overpowered European ships that were
+becalmed in the straits between the numerous islands. The crews were
+murdered, or sold into slavery in many instances, while in others they
+were released after much suffering. The evil became so great that some
+of the civilized nations sent ships of war to destroy the villages where
+the pirates had their resorts, and also to capture the pirate craft.
+
+"Against a sailing ship the pirates have a great advantage. Their proas,
+or boats, have a large number of men to row them, and when a ship is
+becalmed they can come out to her in strong force and rush upon her.
+They board the ship on both bows simultaneously by dozens and dozens,
+and in a few moments the crew is overpowered, and the vessel in their
+hands.
+
+"One of the war-ships that came here was disguised as a merchant
+vessel, and she made so many captures that for some time the pirates
+were afraid to go near a vessel of her rig. An American ship was
+captured by some pirates from Qualla Battu, a town on the west coast of
+Sumatra, and the government of the United States sent a ship to teach
+the fellows a lesson. Qualla Battu was burnt, and the inhabitants that
+were not killed by the shells from the ship were scattered in the
+forest. The result was that for a long time afterwards no American ship
+was troubled by them.
+
+"Singapore was formerly a business centre for the pirates, even after it
+went into the hands of the English. They swarmed among the channels of
+the islands in the vicinity, and they had spies in the fort to tell them
+of the movements of every craft that sailed from it. Their principal
+victims were the native traders, who could offer little resistance, and
+they used to conduct the business in the most systematic manner."
+
+"How was that?"
+
+[Illustration: CHIEF'S HOUSE IN A PIRATE VILLAGE.]
+
+"A chief of one of the small provinces or districts of the Malay States
+would make up his mind to embark in piracy as a regular business. He
+would gather as many men under his banner as he could get together, and
+go to one of the islands near Singapore. There he built a village, which
+could serve as a depot for slaves and merchandise, and a convenient
+resting-place for his men, when they had had a hard weeks' work. Then he
+stationed himself in one of the channels, where native traders pass on
+their way to and from Singapore; and very often he would know exactly
+when one of them was expected. Where he was successful, the chief would
+soon have a large fleet, sometimes hundreds of proas; and he gathered
+around him a great number of adventurers, who were proud to range
+themselves under his banners. His forces would become so large that he
+could divide them, and watch several channels; and sometimes it happened
+that serious troubles arose between rival pirates for the possession of
+some place that was particularly valuable for purposes of plunder.
+
+[Illustration: HARBOR OF PIRATES.]
+
+"The ships they captured were taken to their settlements by the pirates;
+and after all the goods in them had been removed, the craft and its
+cordage would be burnt, to prevent identification. The plunder would be
+sent to Singapore in the chief's trading-vessels, and sold in the open
+market; and it often happened that a merchant who had sold goods to a
+native trader living far to the south was able to buy them back again,
+in a week or two, at a greatly reduced rate.
+
+"The native crews of the captured ships were taken to some of the
+interior towns of Sumatra or Borneo, where they were sold as slaves to
+work on the pepper plantations belonging to the Malays. The pirates
+generally sailed in fleets of from four up to thirty proas, according to
+the class of ships they were looking for. Each proa carried from twenty
+to forty men, and had one or more small guns, in addition to muskets and
+pistols. Their favorite weapons were the Malay kriss or knife; and they
+had a supply of darts and other missiles, to be thrown on board their
+intended prizes.
+
+"They always boarded over the bows, and they rushed on in such numbers
+that the small crew of a merchant-ship could offer no resistance. Once
+they met their match at the hands of a woman, and the fame of her
+stratagem lasts to this day."
+
+"Oh! please tell us about it," said both the boys.
+
+"She was a Quakeress," the Doctor replied; "and you know the Quakers do
+not believe in fighting.
+
+"She and her husband were passengers on a brig that was becalmed in one
+of the straits of the Malay Archipelago. A dozen proas came out from a
+little harbor where there was a pirate settlement, and paddled straight
+towards the brig. The crew began preparations for defence, and the
+captain called on the husband of this woman to perform his share of the
+work. He refused, on the ground that fighting was contrary to his
+religious principles; and his wife sustained the refusal.
+
+"'But, if he cannot fight,' said she, 'he and I will do something for
+the general good of all on the ship.'
+
+"She told her husband to bring on deck some dozens of beer bottles that
+had been emptied of their contents during the voyage. Then, with a
+hammer, she set to work to break these bottles into small pieces, which
+were scattered all over the deck. Her husband assisted her, and so did
+the crew, and, before the proas were along-side, the whole deck, from
+bow to stern, was covered with the bits of glass.
+
+"The proas came up, and the pirates swarmed in over the bows, after
+their usual custom. These fellows are half-naked, and always
+barefooted--the rest of the story will almost tell itself."
+
+"I think so," Frank responded. "The pirates trod on the fragments of
+glass, and cut their feet so that they could not stand. The crew and
+passengers were at the stern of the brig with their shoes on, and had
+nothing to do, as the glass did all the fighting for them."
+
+[Illustration: THE PIRATES' VICTIM.]
+
+"That was about the way of it," said the Doctor. "The pirates nearly all
+came on board, but not one of them was able to get aft to where the crew
+stood. The deck was covered with Malays with lacerated feet, and they
+were so helpless that the captain directed his men to pay no attention
+to them, but to shoot the men in the proas. They were shot down
+accordingly, and only a few of the rascals escaped. Those who were left
+saw that something was wrong, and so they pulled away to the shore for
+aid.
+
+"They had not gone far before a breeze sprung up, the sails filled, and
+the brig began to move through the water. The breeze increased; and,
+before re-enforcements could come from the shore to aid the pirates, the
+brig was out of all danger."
+
+"And what became of the pirates that were left on the deck of the brig?"
+Fred inquired.
+
+"The captain had no use for them," the Doctor answered, "and so he
+dropped them overboard after sailing a few miles. The occurrence was a
+discouraging one to the pirates in that region, and for a long time
+afterwards they were very cautious about setting their bare feet on the
+deck of a foreign ship.
+
+"There is very little piracy nowadays," the Doctor continued, "compared
+to what there was a quarter of a century ago. It is very rarely the case
+that a foreign ship is captured by the freebooters, or even molested by
+them. They confine their operations to native traders; but they are
+compelled to occupy the most secluded retreats, and therefore have
+little chance to do anything. The construction of steam gun-boats was
+the practical end of piracy, so far as its bearing upon foreign commerce
+was concerned; the pirates were pursued to their haunts and destroyed,
+and the native chiefs were made to understand that they would be held
+responsible for every unlawful act committed within their jurisdiction.
+Since the business became not only unprofitable but hazardous to the
+necks of those in authority, very little has been heard of it."
+
+[Illustration; SINEWS OF WAR.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+SUMATRA AND ITS PECULIARITIES.--SNAKES AND ORANG-OUTANGS.
+
+
+The boys had observed, as they journeyed to the southward, that the
+North Star declined lower and lower in the heavens in proportion as they
+receded from the Pole. At Singapore it was only a little way above the
+horizon, and after they passed the equator it disappeared altogether.
+From Singapore they had seen the Southern Cross, which is to the South
+what the Great Bear is to the North.
+
+Frank made a note of this fact, and the first night they were beyond the
+equator they sat till a late hour on deck to study the appearance of the
+heavens. When they first began their observations they could not see The
+Cross, and Fred went to ask the Doctor the reason of its disappearance.
+
+"It is not yet above the horizon," said the Doctor, "and will not be
+there till after midnight."
+
+"How is that?"
+
+"The Southern Cross is not over the South Pole, but about ten degrees
+from it. Therefore, when we are so near the equator as we are now, the
+Cross goes at times below the horizon. You must wait till late at night
+before you can see it."
+
+They concluded to go to bed, and let the new constellation remain
+undisturbed where it was. As they were going still farther south, they
+would have abundant opportunity to see it before their return to
+Singapore.
+
+The second day of their voyage they had the coast of Sumatra still in
+sight for a large part of the time, and the boys wished they could make
+a landing there and see something of the country. Among the passengers
+there was a gentleman who had been in Sumatra, and he kindly undertook
+to tell the boys something about the island and its people.
+
+He began by asking if either of the youths could tell him what the
+geographies said about the island, and its extent and characteristics.
+
+"Certainly," Frank replied. "We know that it is about one thousand
+miles long by two hundred and fifty wide, and has about five million
+inhabitants. The Dutch have a part of it in their possession, and the
+rest is independent; but perhaps the Dutch will have the whole of it one
+of these days."
+
+"Why do you say that?"
+
+"Because the Dutch have been at war for some time with the native
+government of the province called Acheen. At any rate I have read so;
+and I have also read that when they succeed in capturing it they will
+have more than three-fourths of the island under their control."
+
+"You are quite correct, I believe," said the gentleman; "but the Acheen
+war may yet last a long time. The natives are brave, and the country is
+very unhealthy for the Dutch. Fevers have killed more than the enemy's
+weapons since the Dutch went there, and the conquest will be a very
+costly one. But we will not trouble ourselves at present about the
+Acheen war, as it is rarely heard of in America, or, for that matter, in
+Europe.
+
+[Illustration: A TRADING-STATION ON THE COAST.]
+
+"The Dutch possessions include Padang and Bencoolen, on the west coast
+of Sumatra; Lampong, on the southern end of the island; and Palembang,
+on the east coast. Banca and some other islands of lesser size lie near
+the coast of Sumatra; but they form separate governments, and are not to
+be considered as belonging to the great island we are discussing. Banca
+is famous for its mines of tin, which have been worked for a long time,
+and are the source of a large revenue. There are many good harbors on
+the coast, and there are two or three of them that can hardly be
+surpassed anywhere. On most of these harbors there are cities, and a
+considerable business is done in products of the tropics, such as rice,
+pepper, ginger, turmeric, spices, and camphor and other gums.
+
+[Illustration: A BAYOU ON THE PALEMBANG RIVER.]
+
+"The only place in Sumatra I have visited," said the gentleman, "is
+Palembang. The city is quite large, and is on a river of the same name;
+to go to it you must ascend this river about a hundred miles, through a
+country that is low and rather swampy. The foliage is luxuriant, and
+there are numerous little bayous leading off from the river; so that you
+must have a good guide, or run the risk at times of losing your way.
+
+"I went there in the rainy season, when much of the country was flooded.
+The city is built on the river, and extends three or four miles along a
+bend in the stream; so many of the houses are on floating rafts, that
+rise and fall with the tide, that it makes little difference to the
+inhabitants whether the river is high or low. If you have been in Siam
+you can form a very good picture of Palembang, as it is much like
+Bangkok in the number and arrangement of its floating houses. When you
+go to market, you go in a small boat, just as you do in Bangkok, and
+nearly everything is transported by water.
+
+[Illustration: ARAB HOUSES AT PALEMBANG.]
+
+"It is a peculiarity of the Malays never to build a house on solid
+ground if they can find a place to stand it on piles in the water, and
+they prefer a boat to any other kind of a conveyance. At Palembang the
+most of the Malay inhabitants are thus located; but there are many Arab
+and Chinese residents who have their houses on the solid ground. Most of
+the trading is in the hands of these foreigners, and there are very few
+European inhabitants besides the officials who represent the Dutch
+government. They are very glad to have strangers come there, as it is a
+change from the monotony of their every-day life; and if you should
+happen to visit Palembang you may be sure of a kindly reception.
+
+"The country is quite low and swampy all around Palembang, though the
+town itself is on a slight elevation that preserves it from overflowing.
+You must go twenty or thirty miles farther up the river to the firm
+country, and there you find the commencement of the tropical forests for
+which Sumatra is famous."
+
+Fred asked what kind of trees are to be found in these forests.
+
+[Illustration: LOUNGING UNDER A MANGO-TREE.]
+
+"As to that," was the reply, "the trees are not much unlike what you
+have seen in Malacca and Siam. They have several varieties of the palm,
+and they have rubber-trees from which they derive a good revenue. The
+mango-tree, with its broad branches and dark foliage, is frequently
+seen, and it is a favorite in the neighborhood of the villages. The
+natives like to swing their hammocks beneath it; and, for my own part, I
+do not know a better place to lounge in, in a hot afternoon, than the
+shade of a mango-tree.
+
+[Illustration: ALLIGATORS TAKING SUN AND AIR.]
+
+"Being under the equator, Sumatra is a hot country, and one must be
+cautious about exposure to the sun. During the middle of the day you
+should remain at rest, and you will find great refreshment in bathing
+frequently; but take care how you plunge in the rivers, as many of them
+are full of alligators, and sometimes these brutes are hungry.
+Occasionally you may see dozens of them lying on the banks to enjoy the
+sun, and they are hunted so little that you may come quite near without
+disturbing them. At a little distance they look like logs, and you might
+easily mistake their black bodies for sticks of timber that have been
+partially burnt. There is one island just above Palembang where they
+swarm in large numbers, and are of all sizes, from very small to very
+large. The island also abounds in cranes; and sometimes they approach
+near enough to the alligators to come within reach of the powerful tails
+of those reptiles. In such a case there is a single sweep of the great
+lever, and the whole business is over.
+
+"Since the Dutch went to Sumatra they have constructed roads, and done a
+great deal for the improvement of the condition of the people. The roads
+are divided into regular stages of ten or twelve miles, and if you send
+on in advance you will find everything ready on your arrival, so that
+you will not be delayed; but if you do not give notice beforehand, you
+can only go the distance of one stage in a day, which makes your
+progress very slow. At nearly every station there is a village; and if
+you want to study the habits of the people, you can do so very well by
+walking from one station to the next in the morning, and then strolling
+about the village and neighboring regions in the afternoon. There is
+always a house for strangers, and you have nothing to do but walk in and
+take possession: you pay for what you have at a fixed rate. The Dutch
+have been careful to adjust the prices of everything, so that there can
+be no dispute.
+
+"Away from the rivers the houses of the natives are on poles or posts,
+just as they are when built in the water. The best of them are of boards
+or planks, and the more common ones of bamboo, and the floors are
+covered with mats, on which you may sit or lie. They have no beds,
+benches, or chairs; even in the houses of the chiefs you will see hardly
+a single article of furniture.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW IN A SUMATRAN VILLAGE.]
+
+"There is a great similarity among the Sumatran villages. A village
+covers several acres, and is almost always surrounded by a high fence,
+to keep out the wild animals that abound in the island. The houses are
+dropped down higgledy-piggledy without the least attempt at regularity,
+and there is generally quite a grove of palm, banana, and other trees
+around them. The best of the dwellings have their ends ornamented with
+some elaborate carving in wood, and the ends of the roof rise in a
+graceful curve that terminates in a point.
+
+"There is a curious combination of neatness and the reverse in the
+habits of the people of these interior villages. The ground is hard and
+clean, and the houses are frequently swept with the greatest care; but
+they have no system of drainage, and the only way of disposing of refuse
+of any kind is to throw it into a sink-hole under the house. The people
+seem to have adhered to the custom that prevails where their houses are
+built over the water, and the result is that your nose will often inform
+you, before your eyes do, that you are approaching a village."
+
+Frank asked what birds or beasts were to be found in Sumatra.
+
+"You find pretty much the same as you do in Malacca or Siam," was the
+reply. "There are plenty of elephants of the same species as on the
+main-land, and there is any number of tigers. They are very large, and
+proportionally fierce, and a great many of the natives are eaten by them
+every year. They do not often attack white men, but I had a close escape
+one evening from being eaten by one of them."
+
+"How did that happen?"
+
+"I had been visiting a planter of my acquaintance, and we did not
+separate till about dark. I had a ride of six or eight miles before me
+to reach the house where I was to stay for the night, but did not mind
+it in the least, as I had been over the ground before, and had no fear
+of losing my way. My friend cautioned me to look out for tigers, but I
+only laughed when he said so, as I had no idea that a tiger would attack
+a man on horseback.
+
+"I was cantering gently along, when all at once my pony began to prick
+his ears and sniff the air, as though all was not right. Every moment he
+was more and more uneasy, and he exerted himself to the utmost to make
+good time over the road. Never in my life was I carried faster by a
+horse than on that occasion.
+
+[Illustration: CHASED BY A TIGER.]
+
+"In a few minutes I heard the growl of a tiger, who was in full pursuit,
+and gaining at every stride. The road led to a creek, and it occurred
+to me that my whole safety consisted in reaching that creek before the
+tiger reached me. I threw my hat off to amuse the beast for a moment,
+and it gave my horse just the time he needed without a second to spare.
+The tiger did not try to follow through the water, and when I got to the
+house where I was to stay, I resolved not to venture again on that road
+after dark.
+
+"Some of my friends were unkind enough to say that perhaps I was
+mistaken in the whole matter, and that the horse took fright at a thorn
+catching under the saddle-girth as we went through the jungle; so the
+next morning I invited one of them to go with me to the creek, and to
+the spot where I threw away my hat. The fragments of the hat were there,
+where the tiger had torn it in his rage, and the tracks of the beast
+were visible in the soft earth. From the extent of his foot-prints he
+was evidently of the largest size, and would have made short work of a
+man when once he had settled his teeth into his throat. It was the
+narrowest escape I ever had in my life. I have been treed by a bear, but
+the sensation was nothing compared to that of being chased by a tiger."
+
+"Please tell us," said Fred, "how you happened to be treed by a bear."
+
+"Certainly," said the gentleman; "but the story has nothing to do with
+Sumatra or any other island of the Malay Archipelago. It was in America
+that the incident happened.
+
+"I was out hunting one afternoon, and had only a small fowling-piece
+loaded with bird-shot. Suddenly I came across a black bear, and very
+foolishly fired at him. The shot enraged him, and he ran for me.
+
+[Illustration: TREED BY A BEAR.]
+
+"I ran a few yards, and knew that every moment he was gaining on me. I
+dropped my gun, and sprung for the nearest tree; I was young and active,
+and went up several feet at the first bound. It was a smooth sapling,
+with the lower part quite free from limbs, and I soon found that it was
+no easy matter to climb after the first spurt was over. The bear
+followed me, and had the advantage of claws; and he came on faster than
+was agreeable. I knew that a friend of mine was not far off, and I
+shouted with all the power of my lungs. He heard me, and came to my
+relief; and, just as the bear had taken me by the coat-tail, I heard a
+shot, and the beast tumbled to the ground. I don't like bear-hunting in
+that shape."
+
+Fred inquired if there were any snakes in Sumatra.
+
+"Yes, snakes in abundance," was the response; "and they sometimes grow
+to an enormous size. In some respects, Sumatra is the paradise of
+snakes, as they have a hot climate, and can always find plenty to eat."
+
+"What kind of snakes do they have there?" queried Fred.
+
+"The largest is the boa-constrictor," said the gentleman; "and I do not
+believe he grows to a greater size in any other part of the world."
+
+"What is the greatest length you have ever known for one of these
+snakes?" Frank asked.
+
+"The longest I ever saw was one that I killed myself. I was out hunting,
+and had three or four natives to carry my gun and other things, when
+suddenly one of them shouted, and pointed to a tree.
+
+"I looked, and saw an enormous snake coiled up there, with his head over
+a limb, and evidently watching us as we approached.
+
+"Du Chaillu and other hunters of experience say that the best thing for
+shooting a snake is not a bullet, but a charge of small shot, such as we
+use in duck-hunting. So I gave my rifle to one of the natives, and
+called for my fowling-piece.
+
+[Illustration: SHOOTING A BOA-CONSTRICTOR.]
+
+"I managed to get around in order to have a good aim, and ventured so
+close to the snake that the natives warned me to be careful. I watched
+my chance, and just as the fellow darted his head forward I fired.
+
+"My aim was accurate, and the snake's head was blown into a shapeless
+mass. He threw himself from the tree, and writhed on the ground, while I
+retired with my party to a safe distance. We watched him twisting his
+body into many shapes, and tearing up the small trees and bushes as he
+wound around them. In about an hour I continued my hunt, leaving one of
+the natives to watch the snake, so that we could skin him when he was
+done writhing.
+
+[Illustration: A SNAKY CREEK.]
+
+"Wishing to explore a small creek, I sent another of the men to bring a
+boat; and he soon returned with it. It must have been a great day for
+snakes, as we had not gone far before the water seemed to be alive with
+them. They were of all the colors of the rainbow; and some of them had
+shades that the rainbow never possessed. The largest I should judge to
+have been eight or ten feet in length, but I had no opportunity to
+measure him.
+
+"One tried to get into the boat, and I shot him just as he raised his
+head over the bow; others swum close to the boat, and seemed in no hurry
+to get out of our way. There was a large boa, or python, coiled around a
+tree that overhung a bank; he darted his head rather defiantly, but made
+no other demonstration. I was quite willing to let him alone, provided
+he would be equally polite to me; and, as he manifested no intention of
+attacking us, I did not fire on him.
+
+"We went back late in the afternoon, and found that our great boa had
+ceased his twistings, and was sufficiently quiet to be skinned. He
+measured thirty feet and a few inches in length, and was certainly one
+of the largest of his kind. He could kill and eat an ordinary-sized cow
+or bullock; and, as for a dog or monkey, he would dispose of one without
+the slightest trouble. The favorite food of this snake is the monkey;
+and he captures him by lying concealed among the trees, and waiting
+patiently till the monkey comes within his reach."
+
+[Illustration: MONKEY EXAMINING A TORTOISE.]
+
+"Then there are monkeys in Sumatra?" said one of the boys.
+
+"Certainly," was the reply, "there are monkeys in abundance. The
+naturalists have found no less than eleven distinct species of the
+monkey family, and it is thought there are several yet undiscovered in
+the forests. There is one monkey called the _simiang_, that has
+tremendously long arms; Mr. Wallace measured one that was only three
+feet high, but his arms were five and a half feet when stretched out.
+This monkey will swing himself from one tree to another with the utmost
+ease, over distances that most of the other monkeys would hardly venture
+to go."
+
+"Do they find the variety of monkey known as the orang-outang in
+Sumatra?" one of the boys asked.
+
+"Yes," said their informer, "the animal is found only in Sumatra and
+Borneo, but he is rarely seen on the first-named island. In parts of
+Borneo he is quite abundant; and the most of the specimens in the
+museums all over the world came from that wild region."
+
+Frank asked how large was the largest of these beasts that had been
+captured and measured.
+
+[Illustration: FEMALE ORANG-OUTANG.
+
+(From a Photograph.)]
+
+"As to that," said the gentleman, "there is a considerable conflict of
+testimony. Mr. Wallace says that the largest killed by him during his
+stay in Borneo was four feet two inches from head to heel; and his
+outstretched arms were seven feet nine inches from tip to tip of his
+fingers. The face was thirteen inches wide, and the body measured
+forty-three inches around. Mr. Wallace further says that he measured
+seventeen freshly-killed orangs, and the skeletons of two others;
+sixteen were full-grown adults--nine males and seven females. The males
+varied from four feet one inch to four feet two inches in height; and
+the outstretched arms from seven feet two inches to seven feet eight
+inches. The measurements of other naturalists closely agree with his,
+and he therefore concludes that the stories of orangs exceeding five
+feet in height are extremely doubtful.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVES OF BORNEO FIGHTING WITH AN ORANG-OUTANG.]
+
+"The natives say the orang is king of the forest, and the only animals
+that venture to attack it are the crocodile and the python. They only
+do so on rare occasions, and are apt to get the worst of the battle
+whenever they provoke it. One of the native chiefs says that when food
+is scarce in the forest, the orang goes to the banks of the streams to
+feed on the lilies, and in such cases he is sometimes attacked by the
+crocodile. His arms are so strong that he has been known to pull the
+crocodile's jaws open, and rip up his throat; the chief claims to have
+witnessed such a fight, which occurred on the bank of a stream, and was
+won in a short time by the orang.
+
+"The same chief said that the python found his match in the orang--the
+latter biting the python's throat, and tearing him with his powerful
+claws. The natives have a great dread of the orang, unless they have the
+advantage of fire-arms; they sometimes attack him with their spears and
+hatchets, but they do so with reluctance, as some of them are apt to be
+severely wounded, if not killed outright in the encounter."
+
+Fred wanted to know if the animal they were discussing was in the habit
+of walking erect like a man, as he had seen represented in pictures.
+
+"The best authorities say he does not," was the reply; "and I think that
+such pictures as you mention are far more imaginary than real. He spends
+nearly all his time in the trees, and when he goes through the forest he
+moves from one tree to another by following the limbs that interlace. He
+feeds in the trees in the daytime, and sleeps there at night; his bed is
+composed of leaves gathered together in the fork of a tree, and he never
+remains long in one spot. The natives say he finds a new resting-place
+and makes a new bed every night; but there is some doubt as to the
+correctness of this theory. When he has been wounded, and feels faint
+from loss of blood, he will gather a quantity of leaves and form a bed,
+where he lies down and dies. In such a case the tree must be cut down to
+get his body, as no amount of shaking will dislodge it; or the natives
+must be hired to climb up and remove it. This they will not do readily,
+as the animal has great vitality, and has been known to spring up
+suddenly and do a great deal of damage after he was supposed to be
+dead."
+
+"There are some other curious products of this tropical region," said
+the narrator, "which I will endeavor to describe briefly. There is a
+frog that flies through the air, and--"
+
+"How funny!" Fred exclaimed. "A flying-frog! He ought to be a relative
+of the fish that climbs a tree, and travels on dry land."
+
+[Illustration: A FLYING-FROG.]
+
+"Whether he is a relative or not of that fish, I am unable to say," was
+the reply, "but that he exists there is no doubt. He comes down from the
+top of a high tree to the ground in a slanting direction, just as you
+have seen a flying-squirrel go from one tree to another. His toes are
+very long, and webbed to their extremities. The body of the frog is
+about four inches long, and when spread out the webs of his feet have a
+square surface of at least twelve inches. This is much more than he
+needs for swimming, and we must, therefore, conclude that Nature has
+thus equipped him so that he can fly through the air.
+
+"There are many varieties of butterflies in Sumatra, and some of them
+are very beautiful. All the tropical islands abound in butterflies, that
+arouse the enthusiasm of the naturalist by the brilliancy of their
+colors and the great size they attain. There are numerous birds,
+especially of the parrot family, and sometimes you will see hundreds of
+them in a walk of an hour or more through the forests where they live.
+The parrot is inclined to be sociable, and likes his fellow-parrots; you
+will rarely see one of these birds quite alone, and when you do, you may
+conclude that the occurrence is an accidental one.
+
+"Among the habits of birds there is none more singular than that of the
+Sumatran hornbill."
+
+"What is that?" Frank inquired.
+
+"The hornbill, whose scientific name is _Buceros bicornis_, makes its
+nest in a hole in a tree. When the female has laid an egg, the male
+plasters up the entrance of the hole with mud, and keeps his mate there
+until the young bird has been reared to the proper age for coming out in
+the world."
+
+"How does she manage to live all that time?" said one of the boys.
+
+"The hole is not entirely closed," was the reply. "A small opening is
+left, and through it the male bird feeds her, and he is constantly on
+duty around the outside of the nest to protect her from harm. When the
+young bird begins to eat, the mother takes in her beak the food which
+her mate has brought, and gives the youth his proper allowance. He is a
+funny-looking fellow when about half grown; his body is plump and soft,
+without a single feather, and his skin is half transparent, so that you
+almost expect to see through it."
+
+"A remarkable bird," said Fred.
+
+"And a remarkable country he lives in," Frank replied.
+
+And with this comment the conversation about Sumatra and its products
+came to an end, with a vote of thanks on the part of the boys to their
+amiable informant.
+
+[Illustration: A SUMATRAN BUTTERFLY.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+ARRIVAL IN JAVA.--SIGHTS AND SCENES IN BATAVIA.
+
+
+At daylight the next morning the boys were on deck for their first sight
+of Java. They could see nothing but a low coast, like that of Siam, with
+a fringe of tropical trees, and a backing of mountains in the distance.
+They had expected to go into a snug harbor, but found that the harbor of
+Batavia is more imaginary than real, as it is little better than a
+shallow roadstead, where ships of deep draught must anchor far from
+shore.
+
+The steamer came to her resting-place, and the anchor went plunging down
+to its muddy bed. A noisy little steam-launch came to carry the mails
+ashore, but our friends were not allowed to take passage in her; they
+were told there would be a steamer for the passengers in an hour or two,
+or, if they preferred, they could go ashore on a native boat.
+
+They chose the latter conveyance, as the time of waiting for the
+steamboat was a trifle uncertain; and, besides, they desired to get to
+land as speedily as possible. There were a dozen boats hovering around
+the steamer, and it did not take long to make a bargain; for three
+florins--a Dutch florin is equal to forty cents of our money--they were
+to be carried to the "Boom," or custom-house, where their baggage would
+be examined, and they could find conveyance to the hotel. As soon as the
+bargain was made their baggage was lowered into the boat, and they were
+off.
+
+It was a long pull, and the sun was hot. Our friends reclined under
+their umbrellas, and tried to be comfortable; and the boys wondered how
+the boatmen could pull away so cheerily and not be fatigued. The Doctor
+reminded them that the men had been accustomed all their lives to the
+climate of Java; and what seemed very severe to strangers from the North
+was nothing to those who were used to it. The men evidently understood
+the subject of conversation, as they offered to pull twice as fast for
+another florin; their proposal was declined, as none of the newcomers
+wished to be the cause, however indirectly, of a sunstroke among the
+natives.
+
+[Illustration: ARRIVAL IN PORT.]
+
+It was a journey of three miles from the steamer to the custom-house,
+partly in the harbor and partly in a canal. The canal is pushed out a
+considerable distance into the harbor by means of stone dikes; and the
+space between these dikes is dredged to a depth of twelve or fourteen
+feet. Nothing but small craft can come up to the docks; heavy sea-going
+ships, whether steam or sail, must anchor in the harbor, and their
+cargoes are transferred by lighters.
+
+As soon as they reached the end of the wall that forms the canal the
+boatmen drew up against it, and for the rest of the way the boat was
+towed, or "trecked." This mode of propulsion was easier and faster than
+rowing, and partly accounted for the proposal of the boatmen to double
+their speed, as they were near the end of their rowing when they
+suggested it. At the custom-house the trunks and valises were subjected
+to a slight examination; there was a polite official who spoke English;
+and on learning that our friends had only come for a brief visit to
+Java, and had no business to transact, he assured them that all was
+right. He asked for their passports, and said it would be necessary to
+get a permit to remain on the island, especially if they wished to
+travel in the interior. This they could easily do, he said, through
+their consul; and then he informed them that the formalities of the
+custom-house were ended.
+
+[Illustration: THE CARRIAGE AT THE CUSTOM-HOUSE.]
+
+A runner was there from the hotel they intended to patronize, and so
+they gave their property into his hands. It was piled on a cart and sent
+off, and then the runner led the way to a carriage that was standing
+near. It was a sort of Victoria, that could accommodate two persons
+comfortably; and there was an extra seat just behind the driver, which
+could be turned down and made to hold a third passenger in an emergency.
+The horses were diminutive beasts, with harnesses in the European style;
+and the driver was a withered specimen of a Javanese, wearing an ancient
+hat decorated with a cockade, and having the brim turned so that it
+would not impede the view in any direction. Fred thought the hat had
+come from Holland about the middle of the century, after doing duty in a
+respectable family of Amsterdam for at least a dozen years. Frank
+remarked that the hat was hardly less antique than the head it covered;
+and the skin of the one seemed as much glazed as the other.
+
+[Illustration: THE NATIONAL TASTE.]
+
+It was nearly, if not quite, three miles from the custom-house to the
+hotel, and the little horses went over the ground at a surprising rate,
+when their size and appearance were considered. For much of the way the
+drive followed the bank of a canal, where they saw groups of men and
+women engaged in washing clothes or taking a morning bath. Batavia is on
+level ground, the same as Amsterdam; and the Dutch have tried to make it
+seem as much like home as possible by supplying it with canals. They
+have carried many of their customs with them in emigrating to the East,
+and sometimes to their disadvantage. For instance, they adhere with
+unflinching firmness to the old practice of taking a glass of _schnapps_
+before every meal, forgetting that what may be allowable in a cold
+country is the reverse of beneficial in a hot one. Our friends reached
+the hotel a little while before the mid-day meal was served, and they
+were hardly inside the door of their rooms before a servant came with
+glasses of a fiery liquid to enable them to get up an appetite. He was
+somewhat surprised when they declined what was considered so necessary
+to the health.
+
+The hotel covered an immense area, as it consisted of a series of
+bungalows of one story, with a central building, where the dining-room
+and the offices of the manager were located. Between the rows of
+bungalows there were shade-trees and paved walks, and along the front of
+each house there was a wide veranda, where the occupants could sit or
+recline in the open air whenever they chose to do so. The central
+building was two stories high; all the lower part was taken up for the
+dining-room and parlors, while the upper floor was occupied by patrons.
+Our friends were assigned to rooms in one of the bungalows, and a
+barefooted servant came to assist them in arranging their effects, and
+bring whatever they desired.
+
+[Illustration: THEIR SERVANT.]
+
+The servant was of a type new to our friends, and Frank proceeded to
+make a sketch of him at the first opportunity. He was a Javanese Malay,
+with features not unlike those of the Malays of Singapore, but his dress
+was different. He wore trousers of striped cotton, rather narrow in the
+legs, and without any nicety of fit; above the trousers he had a gaudy
+shirt, with an embroidered front, and a short jacket of material similar
+to that of the trousers. Wrapped around his waist, and falling to the
+knee, he had a skirt that appeared to have been cut from the gayest
+piece of calico that ever came from the looms of Manchester or Lowell;
+and it was held in place by a belt. This part of the Malay wardrobe is
+called a _sarong_, and is worn by both sexes; it is usually fastened by
+tying a knot in one corner, and then drawing the sarong tightly around
+the waist. The knot is passed under the straightened edge of the
+garment, and is not likely to slip out of place.
+
+Accompanying this servant there was a small boy whose business it was to
+bring cigars, and fire for lighting them. It seemed to Frank and Fred
+that the Dutchmen of Batavia were smoking all the time; and Fred
+suggested that, if the days were as long, there would be exactly as much
+smoking.
+
+Breakfast was served in the room we have mentioned, and Doctor Bronson
+and the boys were shown to the seats assigned to them. Frank made a
+discovery that amused him greatly, and was equally entertaining to his
+cousin when he learned of it. It was so unlike the custom of any hotel
+he had ever seen, that he made a note of it to include in his next
+letter. Here it is:
+
+"The three of us have one servant; and, as far as I can see, he waits on
+no one else. In each of our rooms there is a little closet, and in this
+closet there are knives, forks, spoons, plates, etc., for one person.
+Before breakfast or dinner our servant takes these things to the general
+table, and when the meal is over he brings them back again, and returns
+them to their places in the closets. He is responsible for breakage, and
+is required to keep the articles clean. The only dishes that go to the
+kitchen of the hotel are the platters, tureens, and similar things, on
+which the food is brought from the place of cooking."
+
+Fred was busy with his eyes and ears during breakfast, and contributed
+to the general fund of information as follows:
+
+"The first solid meal of the day in Batavia is called the _rys-taffel_,
+or rice-table. It is served about eleven o'clock; and its name goes far
+to describe its character, as it consists largely of rice. This is the
+way they serve it:
+
+"The rice is boiled in such a way that each grain is separate from every
+other. It is served hot in a large dish, and you help yourself into a
+soup-plate of goodly size.
+
+[Illustration: THE MANGO.]
+
+"One servant hands you the rice, and when you have filled your plate
+with it another servant offers you a round platter or tray, eighteen or
+twenty inches across, and divided into a dozen compartments. These
+compartments contain various seasonings, and you may take any or all, or
+none of them, at your pleasure, and in quantities to suit you. You have
+chutney, which is a sharp sauce from India; you have red or green
+peppers, cut into a fine hash, red pepper mixed with water to form a
+paste, cocoa-nut grated fine, preserved ginger-root, sliced mangoes,
+English pickles, salt fish dried to a crisp, capers, and other hot and
+spicy things peculiar to the East.
+
+"When you have taken what you want from the tray, the servant moves on,
+and another takes his place. He offers you soft eggs, either boiled or
+poached, and you are expected to take one or two of the eggs to mix with
+your rice. Then comes a servant with a plate of some kind of meat, cut
+into small pieces, and stewed with curry-powder; and behind him is
+another servant with a plate of some kind of vegetable, which has been
+stewed in curry. Then they offer you cold chicken or ham, or some other
+meat, to put on a small plate at your side, and your supply of food is
+completed, with the addition of all the bread you want. You mix all the
+things you have in your large soup-plate into a thick mass, like yellow
+paste, and eat with a spoon.
+
+[Illustration: A LITTLE TOO PEPPERY.]
+
+"This is the famous Java curry; and if you have taken plenty of the
+pepper and chutney, and other hot things, your mouth will burn for half
+an hour as though you had drunk from a kettle of boiling water. And when
+you have eaten freely of curry, you don't want any other breakfast.
+Everybody eats curry here daily, because it is said to be good for the
+health by keeping the liver active, and preventing fevers."
+
+After breakfast our friends went to their rooms, and soon afterwards met
+on the veranda to arrange plans for seeing Batavia. Somewhat to their
+surprise, they learned that it was not fashionable to be seen out till
+three o'clock in the afternoon, and they must not call on any one during
+the middle of the day. The Doctor said that the Dutch and other foreign
+inhabitants of the city were supposed to sleep two or three hours while
+the sun was high in the heavens; but as they were strangers, and had
+little time at their disposal, they would get a carriage and take a
+drive.
+
+[Illustration: AFTER BREAKFAST.]
+
+Neither ladies nor gentlemen are visible in Batavia between breakfast
+and three P.M.; or if they show themselves they are not acting according
+to custom. They lounge in bed or hammock, or in their bamboo arm-chairs,
+and try to get as much rest as possible to fit them for the fatigues of
+the evening. It is this habit of sleeping in the daytime that enables
+the fashionable Batavians to keep very late hours. They are accustomed
+to rise early; and by five o'clock in the morning half the people in the
+hotel were out of bed, and the rest of them before six.
+
+[Illustration: AN EARLY CALL.]
+
+Frank and Fred were awakened on their first morning in Batavia before
+they thought the hour of rising had arrived. The Doctor told them they
+had best conform to the custom, and so they crept from their beds and
+prepared to dress.
+
+"That is unnecessary," said the Doctor; "it is perfectly proper for you
+to come out in your sleeping-suits, and sit in front of your rooms, or
+go to your baths. You will find that is what everybody else is doing."
+
+Accordingly they made their appearance in their pajamas, and found that
+the servant was ready to attend upon them. All around they could hear
+men calling _"api!_" "_api!_" and they naturally asked what "api" meant.
+
+"It is the Malay word for 'light' or 'fire,'" said the Doctor; "and the
+call you hear is for a light for a cigar or cigarette."
+
+When they went to the row of bath-rooms fronting their apartments, the
+boys looked for bathing-tubs, but found none. Each bath-room had a
+faucet whence water could be drawn, or it contained a barrel and a
+dipper, but no other furniture.
+
+The bathing custom in Java is to pour water over the body, and not to
+plunge into a tub. A tub can be had by any one who asks for it; but he
+runs the risk of being considered a barbarian, who cannot be weaned from
+the absurd customs of his native land.
+
+After the bath came the "little breakfast," as it is called by the
+residents, consisting of tea or coffee, with eggs or cold meat, and a
+few biscuits. When this was ended Doctor Bronson ordered a carriage, and
+the morning hours were devoted to a drive.
+
+"We have not quite time," said the Doctor, "to exhaust a single course
+with the carriage between this and the hour for the rys taffel."
+
+The boys could not understand his meaning, until he explained that the
+rules governing the hire of carriages in Batavia are somewhat curious.
+"The tariff for a Victoria," said he, "is four florins or
+guilders--about one dollar and sixty cents of our money, and if you only
+ride a few blocks you must pay that price. But you can, if you choose,
+keep it for six hours without any extra charge, except that the driver
+will expect an allowance of an hour or so to rest his horses, and a
+little money for himself by way of remembrance."
+
+"What an odd arrangement!" said Frank.
+
+Fred agreed with him fully, and probably every traveller who visits
+Batavia will not be long in coming to the same conclusion.
+
+"When I was here before," continued the Doctor, "I took a carriage one
+morning for the customary six hours, and went out for a drive. At the
+end of three hours I returned to the hotel for breakfast, and told the
+driver he could have an hour to himself and then return. He did not come
+again, and when I asked at the office of the hotel the manager said he
+would investigate the affair. In the evening he told me he had seen the
+driver, and paid him, and his reason for not returning was that his
+horses were tired.
+
+"I thought no more of the matter till I settled my bill the next day,
+preparatory to going into the country, and found that the full tariff of
+four guilders had been charged for the carriage. I protested that the
+man was not entitled to that amount, because he had not given me the
+stipulated service. The manager said he had paid the bill because that
+was the law; and he added that the driver would have served me the full
+time if his horses had not been tired.
+
+"In vain did I protest that I had been unjustly treated; the only answer
+I could get from the manager was, 'The driver's horses were tired--his
+horses were tired.' I vowed that the next time I employed a carriage in
+Batavia I would adhere rigidly to the law, and keep it in my sight for
+the full six hours, whether I wanted it or not. If the driver serves us
+well to-day, perhaps he will get an allowance; but if he is obstinate,
+as these Malay drivers sometimes are, I shall feel like enforcing the
+law to the letter."
+
+They were fortunate in finding a very amiable driver, who did his best
+to make the strangers enjoy their ride. He spoke only the Malay
+language; but, in spite of the absence of a common tongue, he managed to
+make them understand his explanations, and to show them a good deal of
+Batavia. The result was that they gave him an hour to spare, and an
+extra florin for the trouble he had taken.
+
+Here is what Frank wrote in his note-book concerning their first
+morning's ride in Batavia:
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE HOUSE ON THE RIVER THAT FEEDS THE CANAL.]
+
+"Batavia covers a great extent of ground, and is fairly entitled to be
+called a city of magnificent distances. The old city near the sea is
+rather closely built, but it is not inhabited by Europeans to any
+extent. The Dutch, English, and other foreign merchants transact
+business there during the day; but they live in the new part of Batavia,
+which spreads over the flat ground for several square miles. The houses
+are rarely of more than one story, as the country is subject to
+earthquakes, and nobody wants to have a flight of stairs between him
+and the ground when these shakings begin. Nearly every house has a
+_campong_, or yard, around it, and this yard is filled with tropical
+trees in considerable variety. The great streets and roads are liberally
+provided with shade-trees, so that Batavia can hardly be seen, owing to
+the impossibility of peering through the dense foliage that is before
+you at every step.
+
+"A canal with several branches runs through all this level area that
+they call Batavia, and for miles and miles it is built up with solid
+stone walls. It is fed by a small river coming down from the mountains,
+and serves a triple purpose: boats may navigate it; people may bathe
+there, or wash clothes in it; and the sewage of the city is said to be
+drained into it. Whether the water for household use is taken from it or
+not, I am unable to say; but we repeatedly saw Malay servants filling
+buckets with it, and then walking off in the direction of the houses.
+Circumstantial evidence was against them; but the clerk of the hotel
+says the water they were carrying was to be used for washing the floors
+of the houses and sprinkling the gravel-walks in the court-yards.
+Perhaps it is the suspicion that the water may be used for drinking
+purposes that leads so many of the inhabitants to shun it, and take
+seltzer, gin, claret, and other imported liquids to quench their thirst.
+
+"They have a street railway here, but it is patronized only by the
+natives, the Chinese, and the low class of foreigners. The track is good
+enough, but the cars are the wildest contrivances you ever saw; they are
+common freight-cars fitted with rush seats, and their great weight makes
+them difficult to move along the way. Perhaps, if they had the proper
+kind of cars, the Europeans would ride in them, but they could hardly
+expect to patronize those now in use.
+
+"It was a funny sight, when we were driving along the streets, to see
+the ladies out for their morning promenade, with their hair streaming
+down their shoulders, their bodies enclosed only in light wrappers, with
+loose sacks buttoned to the throat, and with slippers, but no stockings,
+on their feet. Most of them wore the sarong, or native petticoat, and
+they generally carried parasols to keep off the sun. This is the
+forenoon costume of the ladies before they go to breakfast, and it
+strikes a foreigner as very odd.
+
+[Illustration: FAMILY PARTY IN BATAVIA.]
+
+"Sometimes we saw a whole family sitting on the veranda of a house, in
+full view of everybody passing along the street, looking as if they had
+just got out of bed and were only half dressed. The men would be in
+dressing-gowns or pajamas, and the ladies with their hair down, as I
+have described, or twisted up into tight little lumps, so that the
+owners might appear in the afternoon with a fine stock of curls.
+Occasionally we saw some fat, jolly old women with their hair cut close
+to the head, in order to keep off as much of the heat as possible.
+
+[Illustration: FAN-PALM IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN.]
+
+"We visited the museum and the botanical garden, and found them quite
+interesting. The museum contains the products of Java, arranged so that
+you can readily see what the resources of the island are; and there are
+relics of ancient times that throw light upon the history of the country
+and its people. The botanical garden abounds in tropical plants, and
+reminded us of the garden at Singapore; but we had not time to make a
+list of its contents. We saw some fine specimens of a tree that had
+already attracted our attention at Singapore--the 'fan-palm,' or
+traveller's fountain, as it is called. It spreads out like a huge fan,
+with the lower part of the stalks quite bare, while the ends are formed
+exactly like feathers. A small tree of this species would make a very
+good fan for a giant, such as we read of in Gulliver's travels.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE PORTERS.]
+
+"In the old part of Batavia we saw so many Chinese that it would not
+have required a great stretch of the imagination to believe that we
+were once more in the Flowery Kingdom. In one of the narrowest streets
+we met a couple of Chinese porters carrying a burden suspended from a
+pole, the same as we had seen them in Canton and Shanghai, and if it had
+not been that our driver was very careful we might have run over them.
+The Chinese are very numerous in Batavia, and all through Java, and a
+great deal of the commercial business of the country is in their hands.
+They are engaged in all kinds of trade where money is to be made, and
+they have the same guilds and commercial associations that they have in
+Singapore, Hong-kong, and elsewhere. They have their temples and idols
+just as at home; and though many of them were born in Java, and will
+probably never see the soil of China, they are as thoroughly Chinese as
+though they were reared within the walls of Canton.
+
+[Illustration: GODDESS OF SAILORS AND HER ASSISTANTS.]
+
+"One of the most common of the Chinese temples is that of the goddess
+'Ma-Chu,' who is worshipped by sailors and those having business on the
+water. She is represented with her two assistants; one of them is called
+'Favorable-Wind-Ear,' and the other 'Thousand-Mile-Eye.' The first is
+supposed to have an ear that can catch the least indication of a wind to
+favor the sailor; and the latter possesses a clearness of vision that
+enables him to see a rock or other danger at the distance of a thousand
+miles. One listens, while the other looks; and between them they are
+believed able to insure a safe and speedy voyage to all their
+worshippers."
+
+As our friends were somewhat wearied with their morning's work, they
+remained in-doors from the time of the "rys-taffel" till three o'clock.
+Then they followed the custom of the country by taking a bath, and
+dressing for dinner; and after dinner they continued to be in fashion by
+taking another drive. We will let Fred tell the story of what they saw
+in the afternoon and evening.
+
+"The fashionable hour for a promenade is after dinner, and all the
+ladies and gentlemen consider it their duty to come out and be seen.
+There are plenty of carriages on the streets, and also a goodly number
+of gentlemen on horseback; and it is rather a pretty sight to see the
+gentlemen riding along by the carriages and chatting with the ladies
+inside. Then there are many pedestrians--the ladies being in light
+walking-dresses, and the gentlemen in full evening costume. The odd
+thing about the promenades is that both sexes are bareheaded. This is
+all well enough for the ladies; but it is rather strange to see a
+gentleman in full dress, and carrying a cane along the street, with his
+head as bare as though he was in a parlor. I am told that the ladies
+never wear hats or bonnets, and that the only thing of that sort ever
+seen in Batavia is when foreigners first arrive here from other parts of
+the world. A ladies' hat-store in Batavia would not be a paying
+speculation.
+
+"On certain evenings there is music on the King's Square; and at such
+times everybody goes there to hear it. The crowd is large but very
+fashionable, as it is the proper thing to go there; and no one who can
+get out will venture to miss the performance. The band stops playing a
+little after dark, and then the drive may be said to be at its
+prettiest. The footman of each carriage carries a torch made of some
+resinous plant tied into a bundle, like a wisp of straw, and, as the
+carriages move around and pass and repass each other, the scene is a
+curious one. All the houses are a blaze of light, as the wide verandas
+are hung with lamps, and the whole family is gathered there when not out
+for the drive. The veranda is the general sitting-room, as everybody
+prefers it to the parlor on account of its being so much cooler.
+
+"Perhaps you are wondering when the men find time for business. Well,
+they transact most of it in the forenoon, but their offices are open in
+the afternoon in charge of the clerks. For the clerks there is no such
+resting-time as I have described, or at best, only a short one, in the
+middle of the day. When a young man comes out here to seek his fortune,
+he must do pretty much as he would at home for the first year or two;
+when he is fairly established, he can have his time in the middle of the
+day, and live like other people."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+BATAVIA TO BUITENZORG.--TROPICAL SCENES.--BIRDS OF PARADISE.
+
+
+As their time in Java was limited, our friends determined to cut short
+their stay in Batavia, and go at once to the interior. Accordingly, the
+morning following the day whose history was narrated in the last chapter
+saw them leaving the city by railway for Buitenzorg.
+
+Buitenzorg is about forty miles from Batavia, and the summer residence
+of the Governor-general of Java; as it is summer all the year round in
+Java, he spends most of his time at this country-seat, and rarely visits
+Batavia except when business calls him there. The name is of Dutch
+origin, and signifies "without care," in imitation of the French _Sans
+Souci_. It is about one thousand feet above the level of the sea, and
+much cooler than Batavia; and the surrounding region is one of great
+natural beauty.
+
+[Illustration: SOME OF THE THIRD-CLASS PASSENGERS.]
+
+Doctor Bronson and his young companions were early at the
+railway-station, and purchased their tickets for the journey. They found
+three classes of carriages on the road; the first and second being
+patronized by foreigners, and the third class exclusively by natives and
+Chinese. For their first-class tickets they paid six florins and thirty
+cents--equal to two dollars and a half of our money. The second-class
+ticket costs half as much as the first, and the third half as much as
+the second, so that the natives are able to ride for about a cent and a
+half per mile. The third-class carriages were crowded to such an extent
+that Frank and Fred both remarked that the Javanese were as prompt as
+the Japanese to recognize the value of the railway. Men and women were
+closely packed on the rough seats of the carriages of the third class,
+while those in the first and second, especially the former, had plenty
+of room.
+
+"I suppose this is so the world over," said Fred, as he contemplated the
+difference between the accommodations of the various classes on the
+train.
+
+"Everywhere we have been, at any rate," responded Frank.
+
+"Whatever accommodations you wish and can pay for," said the Doctor,
+"you can have. If you want a special train at the price they demand, you
+can have it by paying in advance."
+
+"It is the same in Java as in Europe, and, to a certain extent, we have
+similar arrangements in America. We are more democratic in our ways than
+any other country of importance, and consequently have been slower to
+make the distinctions in railway travel that exist in other parts of the
+world. But we are steadily moving in that direction, and in time we will
+have all the distinctions of classes--special trains and all. In fact,
+we have them already."
+
+"Aren't you mistaken, Doctor?" said Fred. "Surely we do not have three
+classes on our railways at home."
+
+"Stop and think a moment," answered the Doctor, while there was a
+suggestion of a smile about his face. "We have the ordinary railway
+carriage and the Pullman car, have we not?"
+
+"Certainly," was the reply; "and they are virtually two classes."
+
+"Quite right. Then, on the principal lines of railway there are the
+emigrant trains, are there not?"
+
+Fred acknowledged that the Doctor had the best of the argument, and the
+conversation came to an abrupt termination, as it was time for them to
+take their places in the carriage.
+
+Away they started for their first ride on a railway-train south of the
+equator. The suburbs of the city were speedily passed, and then the
+train plunged into a tropical forest. The grade became steep as the
+hilly ground was reached, and two locomotives were necessary for a part
+of the way to pull the train up the heavy incline. Frank observed that
+the carriages were quite narrow, and he found by measuring, at the first
+station where they stopped, that the rails were only three and a half
+feet apart. The present terminus of the line is at Buitenzorg; but
+surveys have been made, and it is the intention to push the line forward
+and form a connection with the system of railway in the eastern part of
+the island. When this is done, a stranger will be able to travel the
+whole length of Java by rail, as he can now travel by wagon road.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW IN A PRIVATE GARDEN.]
+
+Since the railway from Batavia to Buitenzorg was opened several villages
+have sprung into existence along the line, and some of them are quite
+pretty. They contain the residences of gentlemen whose business is at
+Batavia, and are generally arranged with excellent taste. The gardens
+are luxuriant, like nearly all gardens in the tropics; and some of the
+owners delight in adding wild animals to their collections of trees and
+plants.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE VILLAGE NEAR THE RAILWAY.]
+
+Then there are native villages in considerable number, some of them
+concealed in the forest, and others standing in little clearings, where
+the trees form an agreeable background. The train stopped frequently,
+and did not seem to be in a hurry, although it was called an express,
+and was the fastest on the line. Frank said that probably the heat of
+the tropics had the same influence on a locomotive as on a man, and
+prevented its going rapidly. Fred said that Frank's reasoning reminded
+him of the boy at school, who was asked to give an illustration of the
+expanding power of heat, and the contracting power of cold.
+
+"What did he do?" Frank inquired.
+
+"Why," responded Fred, "he thought for some minutes over the matter, and
+finally answered that the days in winter were not nearly as long as
+those in summer, and it must be the cold that contracted them."
+
+[Illustration: TROPICAL GROWTHS ALONG THE LINE.]
+
+The boys observed that the trees in some instances grew quite close to
+the track. Doctor Bronson explained to them that in the tropics it was
+no small matter to keep a railway-line clear of trees and vines, and
+sometimes the vines would grow over the track in a single night. It was
+necessary to keep men at work along the track, to cut away the
+vegetation where it threatened to interfere with the trains, and in the
+rainy season the force of men was sometimes doubled. "There is one good
+effect," said he, "of this luxuriant growth. The roots of the vines and
+trees become interlaced in the embankment on which the road is built,
+and prevent its being washed away by heavy rains. So you see there is,
+after all, a saving in keeping the railway in repair."
+
+Frank noticed that some of the telegraph-poles had little branches
+growing from them; and at one place he saw a man near the top of a pole
+engaged in cutting the limbs away. He called the attention of his
+companions to the novel sight.
+
+"You will see more of those trees as you go into the interior," said the
+Doctor. "They grow with great rapidity; and unless the wood is
+thoroughly seasoned before the poles are set in the ground, they
+speedily take root and become trees again. They are more pertinacious
+than our American water-willows, as they will grow in any soil, wet or
+dry. Wherever a clearing is made in the forest these trees spring up as
+if by magic; and they run up so tall and straight as to be just what is
+wanted for telegraph uses."
+
+[Illustration: "MANGOSTEENS!"]
+
+At several of the stations the natives offered fruit of different kinds,
+and nearly all new to our young friends. They had been told that they
+would probably find the mangosteen for sale along the road; they had
+inquired for it in Singapore, but it was not in season there, and now
+their thoughts were bent upon discovering it between Batavia and
+Buitenzorg. Two or three times they were disappointed when they asked
+for it; but finally, at one of the stations, when Fred pronounced the
+word "mangosteen," a native held up a bunch of fruit and nodded. The
+Doctor looked at the bunch, and nodded likewise, and Fred speedily paid
+for the prize.
+
+Perhaps we had best let Fred tell the story of the mangosteen, which he
+did in his first letter from Buitenzorg:
+
+"We have found the prince of fruits, and its name is mangosteen. It is
+about the size of a pippin apple, and of a purple color--a very dark
+purple, too. The husk, or rind, is about half an inch thick, and
+contains a bitter juice, which is used in the preparation of dye; it
+stains the fingers like aniline ink, and is not easy to wash off. Nature
+has wisely provided this protection for the fruit; if it had no more
+covering than the ordinary skin of an apple, the birds would eat it all
+up as soon as it was ripe. If I were a bird, and had a bill that would
+open the mangosteen, I would eat nothing else as long as I could get at
+it.
+
+"You cut this husk with a sharp knife right across the centre, and then
+you open it in two parts. Out comes a lump of pulp as white as snow, and
+about the size of a small peach. It is divided into sections like the
+interior of an orange, and there is a sort of star on the outside that
+tells you, before you cut the husk, exactly how many of these sections
+there are. Having got at the pulp, you proceed to take the lump into
+your mouth and eat it; and you will be too busy for the next quarter of
+a minute to say anything.
+
+"Hip! hip! hurrah! It melts away in your mouth like an over-ripe peach
+or strawberry; it has a taste that is slightly acid--very slightly,
+too--but you can no more describe all the flavor of it than you can
+describe how a canary sings, or a violet smells. There is no other fruit
+I ever tasted that begins to compare with it, though I hesitate to admit
+that there is anything to surpass our American strawberry in its
+perfection, or the American peach. If you could get all the flavors of
+our best fruits in one, and then give that one the 'meltingness' of the
+mangosteen, perhaps you might equal it; but till you can do so, there is
+no use denying that the tropics have the prince of fruits.
+
+"Everybody tells us we can eat all the mangosteens we wish to, without
+the slightest fear of ill results. Perhaps one might get weary of them
+in time, but at present we are unable to find enough of them. If
+anything would reconcile me to a permanent residence in the tropics, it
+would be the hope of always having plenty of mangosteens at my command.
+
+"You may think," Fred added, "that I have taken a good deal of space for
+describing this fruit, but I assure you I have not occupied half what it
+deserves. And if you were here you would agree with me, and be willing
+to give it all the space at your command--in and beyond your mouth. But
+be careful and have it fully ripe; green mangosteens are apt to produce
+colic, as Frank can tell you of his own knowledge."
+
+[Illustration: VERANDA OF THE HOTEL BELLEVUE.]
+
+The train reached Buitenzorg, and deposited our three travellers at the
+station. They had been recommended to the Hotel Bellevue, and were soon
+whirling along the road to that establishment. It proved a sort of
+pocket edition of the hotel at Batavia, as it was scattered over a
+considerable area; and they had to go out-of-doors to pass from their
+rooms to the dining-hall, but they found it had a delightful situation,
+as it was on the slope of a hill overlooking a thickly-wooded valley.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW FROM THE VERANDA AT BUITENZORG.]
+
+In describing the scene from the veranda in front of his rooms, Frank
+wrote as follows:
+
+"Our vision sweeps an area of several miles, beginning with a valley,
+and ending with a high mountain that was once an active volcano. There
+are all the tropical trees imaginable in the valley before me. Without
+changing my position in my chair, I can see cocoa-palms with their
+clusters of fruit, betel-palms with tufts of green at the ends of tall
+trunks like flag-staffs, banana, bread-fruit, plantain, mangosteen,
+durian, and many other kinds of trees whose names I have not yet
+learned. It is the richest tropical scene that has yet come under my
+eyes.
+
+[Illustration: A BAD ROAD.]
+
+"And, as if they were not rich enough in leafy decorations, the trees
+are adorned with numerous parasites, some in the form of creeping vines,
+and others in clusters and tufts springing from the crevices in the
+bark, where the winds and birds have deposited the seeds. Nourishment
+for these parasites come from the air, or from the trees to which they
+cling; sometimes the vines send down long threads which reach the
+ground, where they attach themselves and throw out roots. At a little
+distance they look like ropes, and you gaze at them in wonder. I have
+seen some of them more than fifty feet long, and about the size of my
+wrist; sometimes they are very thick and closely interlaced, so that it
+is no easy matter to ride or walk in a forest where they abound.
+
+"As in Siam and Cochin China, the parasites frequently cause the death
+of the trees to which they cling; but the growth of trees is so rapid,
+and there is such an abundance of them, that nobody seems to have any
+sympathy for the victims in this matter of vegetable murder.
+
+[Illustration: THE VANDA LOWII.]
+
+"Orchids are in great variety, and some of them are exceedingly
+beautiful. There is one known as the Vanda Lowii, which is described by
+Mr. Wallace in his account of the Malay Archipelago. It grows on the
+lower branches of trees, and its threads are often six or eight feet
+long, and strung with flowers that vary in color from orange to red.
+These flowers are often three inches across, and their brilliancy is
+increased by the gloominess of the forests where they are found.
+Sometimes twenty or thirty flowers may be found on a single thread, and
+they form a regular spiral, as though strung there by hand.
+
+"In other places you will see orchids like bright tufts of green
+clinging to the bark of the trees, and apparently forming a part of it.
+The botanists have found more than twenty varieties of this strange
+production of nature in Java alone, and probably a more careful
+examination will reveal many more.
+
+"Some of the trees throw out shoots from their limbs, which ultimately
+take root and form separate trunks. The most notable example of this is
+the verengen: there is one of these trees in the governor's park, which
+has thrown out so many roots that it forms of itself quite a grove. It
+belongs, I presume, to the same family of tree as the famous banian of
+India, and to trees of other name but similar characteristics in other
+parts of the world.
+
+"One of the most remarkable trees in the Malay Archipelago is said to
+begin its growth in mid-air. Can you guess how it does so?
+
+[Illustration: A TREE GROWING IN MID-AIR.]
+
+"Originally the birds carry the seed of a certain parasite and drop it
+in the fork of a tall tree. The parasite throws out its branches into
+the air like other trees, and sends its roots downwards till they reach
+the ground. They spread as they descend, and form a sort of pyramid
+fifty or sixty feet high, and so shaped that you can often stand inside
+and have the body of the tree directly over your head. As the parasite
+grows it wraps itself around the parent tree, and ultimately kills it;
+and in this moist climate the dead trunk decays so rapidly that in a few
+years there is hardly a trace of it left. The branches of the new tree
+throw out roots of their own that go down to the ground and fasten
+themselves, and every year sees several new ones. We have no tree like
+this in the United States, at least none that I know of.
+
+"There is a small river flowing through the valley in front of where I
+am writing; it comes from the mountains several miles away, and we can
+trace its course by the little openings it makes in the forest. For a
+few hundred yards we have it in full view, and then it makes a bend
+right at the foot of the hill where the hotel stands, and disappears
+among the tropical trees. Where it first comes into our range of vision
+there is a bridge thrown across it, and every little while, we can see
+the natives passing and repassing to and from a village that is
+concealed under the trees. Very often we see them bathing in the stream,
+or washing clothes there; when the bathers are a group of boys there is
+a great deal of fun and laughter, and the scene is quite as jolly when
+there is a lot of girls in the water. They can swim like ducks, and are
+constantly playing harmless little tricks on each other, and sometimes
+in the afternoon their laughter is steadily ringing in our ears. The
+Javanese Malays are a happy people, if I may judge by the inhabitants of
+this little village, and they are as fond of the water as so many
+beavers.
+
+"Before we left Batavia we were told that we should have rain here every
+afternoon at three o'clock. Fred and I laughed at the suggestion, but
+the Doctor did not; and we found, on arriving, that we had laughed too
+soon. Really it rains every afternoon, and it does not vary twenty
+minutes either way from three o'clock. The clouds form over the mountain
+in the distance, and then they come sweeping on and on till they reach
+this spot. The rain comes down first in a sprinkle, then in a shower,
+and then in a pour, as though some great flood-gates in the sky had been
+opened as wide as possible, to give the water a chance. The rain lasts
+from one to three hours, and then the clouds go away and the sky is
+clear. Sometimes there is a chance for a promenade just about sunset,
+and sometimes not; in any event, the grass is so wet that we can only
+follow the roads if we would avoid coming home with our feet soaked.
+
+"We have arranged our plans in such a way as to do our sight-seeing in
+the forenoon, and devote the afternoon to writing and sleeping.
+
+[Illustration: GROUP OF BIRDS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO.]
+
+"We have visited the remarkable garden attached to the governor's
+residence, and seen the rare collection of specimens of the animal and
+vegetable life of the Malay Archipelago; and the more we see of it, the
+more do we wish to see. There are tigers and other animals, that it is
+better to see in cages than to meet at home in the forest; there are
+snakes in good variety; there are tanks containing a great number of
+fresh-water fishes; and last, but not least, there is a splendid
+collection of birds. I never knew what a variety of birds and what
+curious ones there are in the islands of the Java Sea, till I saw this
+collection here.
+
+"You have heard of the birds of paradise, haven't you? They have some of
+them here, but not all the different kinds, as they are difficult to
+capture, and very difficult to keep alive after they have been taken.
+
+"These birds are not natives of Java, but come from the Moluccas and
+other islands farther to the east. They were first called paradise birds
+by the writers of three hundred years ago, and some of the Portuguese
+and Dutch travellers told a good many fables about them. John Van
+Linschoten, who wrote in 1598, says that 'no one has seen these birds
+alive, for they live in the air, always turning towards the sun, and
+never lighting on the earth till they die; for they have neither feet
+nor wings, as may be seen by the birds carried to India, and sometimes
+to Holland.' More than a hundred years later, an English writer, who saw
+some specimens at Amboyna, was told that they came to Banda to eat
+nutmegs, by which they became intoxicated and fell down senseless.
+
+"We were disappointed in the size of the birds in the governor's garden,
+as we had supposed that the bird of paradise was very large. But we
+found they were only moderate-sized, and resembled crows and ravens in
+their general appearance and habits, but not at all in their plumage.
+Instead of being of a solemn black, like their cousins I have mentioned,
+they have the most extraordinary arrangement of feathers that any bird
+can boast. Mr. Wallace says that several species have large tufts of
+delicate, bright-colored feathers springing from each side of the body
+beneath the wings, forming trains, or fans, or shields; and the middle
+feathers of the tail are often elongated into wires, twisted into
+fantastic shapes, or adorned with the most brilliant metallic tints. In
+another set of species these plumes spring from the head, the back, or
+the shoulders; while the intensity of color and of metallic lustre
+displayed by their plumage is not to be equalled by any other birds
+except, perhaps, the humming-birds, and is not surpassed by these.
+
+"The largest of these birds is known as the Great Bird of Paradise, and
+is seventeen or eighteen inches from the point of the beak to the end of
+his tail. There is nothing remarkable about his body, wings, and tail,
+which are of a deep brown color, varying somewhat in shade, while the
+head and neck are of a pale yellow. The wonderful things are the plumes
+that spring from each side beneath the wings; they are sometimes two
+feet long, and of a bright orange-color tinged with gold; and they can
+be raised and spread out at the pleasure of the owner like the tail of a
+peacock. When they are thus extended you can hardly see the body of the
+bird, as they seem to envelop it completely; and if you are hunting him,
+and ready for a shot, you must guess how much of what you see is bird
+and how much feathers. It is only the male bird that gets himself up so
+gorgeously; the female is a plain-looking creature, of a uniform brown
+color, without a bit of ornament anywhere. She might be mistaken for a
+crow that had been left overnight in a coffee-pot.
+
+[Illustration: MAGNIFICENT BIRD OF PARADISE.]
+
+[Illustration: SUPERB BIRD OF PARADISE.]
+
+"Then there is the Red Bird of Paradise, which is somewhat smaller than
+the one I have just described, and comes from a small island off the
+coast of New Guinea. There is the Magnificent Bird of Paradise, from the
+main-land of New Guinea, which has a tuft or fan of yellow feathers
+springing from the back of his neck, and shading his shoulders; and his
+tail contains two long feathers, each curving outwards, so that it forms
+a circle. Fred said that these tail-feathers looked like the handles of
+a pair of scissors, and he wondered if the bird could be taken up by
+them. The Superb Bird of Paradise has a plumage of glossy black, and is
+not unlike a crow, so far as his body is concerned; but he has a
+remarkable shield on his breast of stiff, narrow feathers, very glossy,
+and of a bright tinge of bluish green. On his head he has another and
+larger shield, of a velvety black color, and tinged with purple and
+bronze. This shield is longer than the wings, and gives the bird a most
+extraordinary appearance.
+
+[Illustration: SIX-SHAFTED BIRD OF PARADISE.]
+
+[Illustration: LONG-TAILED BIRD OF PARADISE.]
+
+"Mr. Wallace mentions no less than eighteen varieties of the birds of
+paradise. I have not time to describe all of them, and believe I have
+told you of those that are the most remarkable. All of them are very
+pretty, and would be a fine addition to a public or private museum.
+There is one known as the Six-shafted Bird of Paradise that has six
+little wires springing from the forehead, and extending over the body to
+the tip of the tail. These wires have little tufts at the ends, but for
+the rest of the way they are as bare as knitting-needles. There is
+another, called the Long-tailed Bird of Paradise, and it is partially
+described by its name, as its tail is very long, and of the most
+brilliant colors. Then it has a tuft of blue and green plumes springing
+from each side of the breast in such a way that when the bird is
+standing on a tree the position of the wings is entirely concealed.
+
+"Perhaps you have heard enough about the birds of the Malay Archipelago
+for the present. The rain promises to be over in a little while, and we
+may be able to take a sunset walk. Of one thing we are certain: there
+will be no dust on the road, and the grass will be beautifully green."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+A CHAPTER ON POLITICAL ECONOMY.--THE DUTCH CULTURE SYSTEM IN JAVA.
+
+
+For several days Frank and Fred, accompanied by the genial Doctor, made
+excursions in the neighborhood of Buitenzorg in the forenoon, and
+remained in-doors, during the rainy period, in the afternoon. A good
+many things came under their observation; they studied the agriculture
+in the region around the summer capital, and learned all they could
+about the manners and customs of the people. They investigated the
+peculiarities of the Dutch dominion over Java, and were much interested
+in the problem of governing seventeen millions of Asiatics with thirty
+thousand Europeans in such a way as to keep the millions perfectly
+content with the new rule, and enable a handsome amount of money to go
+every year from Java to the treasury of Holland.
+
+The rainy afternoons were spent in reading, drawing, writing, and
+conversation; and the boys soon learned that the time in-doors was by no
+means without value. They formed an acquaintance with several gentlemen
+who were stopping at the hotel for the sake of the breezes, that were
+cooler than those of the sea-coast. Many of the foreign residents of
+Batavia are in the habit of going frequently to Buitenzorg, as a New
+Yorker goes to Saratoga; and this recreation is so much the fashion that
+several hotels do a very good business in providing for their wants. The
+Bellevue was one of the popular resorts, and it happened that there was
+quite a party of Batavians there at the same time as our friends.
+
+While making notes of their visit to the governor's garden, the boys
+began drawing pictures of the elephant as he would appear when developed
+according to the theories of Doctor Darwin. Frank made the Yankee
+elephant with the traditional garments and jack-knife, and Fred followed
+it with a Chinese elephant peddling cigars from a small box. Frank
+designed the operatic elephant entertaining an audience with a song, and
+was immediately followed by Fred with the elephant in love, engaged in
+a serenade. Of course there was no allusion to Frank's frequent thoughts
+of somebody at home, and if any one entertained the idea he kept it to
+himself. The series was brought to a close by a delineation of the
+original elephant in two acts; but the designers neglected to state
+where this particular performance of the animal could be witnessed.
+
+[Illustration: THE YANKEE ELEPHANT.]
+
+[Illustration: THE CHINESE ELEPHANT.]
+
+[Illustration: THE OPERATIC ELEPHANT.]
+
+[Illustration: THE ELEPHANT IN LOVE.]
+
+One of the first practical results of their afternoon work was the
+preparation of a brief description of Java, which was duly forwarded by
+mail to their friends. Both the boys contributed to its preparation, and
+each made a copy for his own use. Here is the story:
+
+"Java is not of great extent. It is only six hundred miles long, and
+varies from sixty to one hundred and twenty in width: its area added to
+that of the island of Madura, which lies near it, is estimated at
+thirty-eight thousand geographical square miles. Its population is not
+far from seventeen millions; and when this is considered with relation
+to its extent, it will be seen that Java is one of the most
+densely-peopled countries in the world. That the country has prospered
+under the rule of the Dutch, is evident from the growth of the
+population, which was little more than five millions in 1826, nine
+millions in 1850, and is now at the figure just mentioned. If it goes on
+at this rate, doubling about every twenty-six years, there will come a
+time when it will be obliged to put out a placard announcing 'standing
+room only!'
+
+"It is said that formerly the religion of the people of Java was
+Brahminical, and when Buddhism became the fashion of the East the new
+form was adopted. This continued till about four hundred years ago, when
+Mohammedanism was introduced, and it has remained to this day; so that
+the greater part of the population at present are Moslems. There are
+many traces of the former character of the people in the shape of
+monuments and ruins, some of them of great extent. In the eastern part
+of the island these remains are very abundant, and show that the ancient
+Javanese had great artistic skill.
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT BAS-RELIEF--JAVA.]
+
+"Few persons have any idea of the extent of these ruins, and their
+corresponding splendor. They are far more extensive than those of
+Central America, and some travellers think they surpass the temple ruins
+of India. In the centre of Java there is a mass of ruins where there
+were formerly twenty separate temples, and the largest of them is
+thought to have been ninety feet high. In another place there is a
+collection of no less than two hundred and ninety-six temples, all
+greatly ruined, but bearing evidence of a high class of art in their
+construction. Sculptured figures are abundant, and the walls of forts,
+temples, houses, baths, and aqueducts can be distinctly traced. It is a
+pity that the government does not pay some attention to these ruins, and
+save them from decay. At present they are left to the action of the
+elements, which is very rapid in this tropical land.
+
+[Illustration: A MONSTER VOLCANO.]
+
+"Java is by no means a level island. There is a good deal of country
+sufficiently level for agricultural purposes, but the island has its
+full share of mountains, and no less than forty-six of them are
+volcanic. Twenty of the volcanoes are active, and one of them is the
+second largest in the world--that of Kilauea, in the Sandwich Islands,
+being the chief. It is known as the Tenger Mountain, and its crater is
+three miles in diameter, with a level bottom of sand, containing a dozen
+or more cones that are constantly smoking. The whole island is supposed
+to be of volcanic origin, and is subject to frequent earthquakes; so
+that the practice of building houses only one story high is a very
+sensible precaution. The island has a backbone of mountains, as the
+principal chain extends from one end of Java to the other. There is
+another small chain near the south coast; and all over the island there
+are hot springs maintained by the fires far down in the ground.
+
+"We have already told of the trees and animals of Java, as well as some
+other things. We will come as soon as we can to the topic that interests
+us more than any other--the relations between the natives and the Dutch
+rulers. To do this intelligently, we must go back and see what the
+history of the island has been.
+
+"Early in the seventeenth century the Dutch began to trade with the
+native chiefs and people of Java, and obtained permission to build a
+fort and trading post near the present site of Batavia. In a little
+while they went to war with the natives; and by the end of the century
+had obtained considerable territory. From that time on they have had
+occasional difficulties, and each time when the war was ended the result
+has been that the position of the Dutch was strengthened.
+
+"They had possession of the island till 1811, when England took it from
+them, and held it four years. Then it was given back to Holland by
+treaty, and has remained her peaceful possession ever since.
+
+"The principal exports are coffee, sugar, rice, indigo, spices, tin,
+pepper, India-rubber, cinnamon, tea, camphor, rattans, and various other
+things; and the aggregate amount of the trade is very great. Down to the
+time of the restoration by the English, the expense of maintaining Java
+had been quite as great as the revenue from it; and it was this fact
+that made the English willing to give it up. If they had known that it
+would be made to yield a net revenue of five million dollars a year,
+over and above the expense of maintaining the local government, they
+would have thought twice before surrendering it.
+
+"The genius of one man--General Johannes Van den Bosch, Governor-general
+and Commissary-general of the Dutch East Indies, from 1830 to
+1834--brought about this result, and made Java the most profitable
+colony that any country has ever known.
+
+"And he not only made it profitable to Holland, but prosperous for its
+inhabitants; while they enriched the rulers, they were themselves
+enriched. Anybody who has money may benefit the poor at his own expense,
+but it takes a man of genius to confer an equal benefit on the poor, and
+make something for himself or his employers out of the transaction. Such
+a man was General Van den Bosch.
+
+[Illustration: PEASANT FARM-HOUSES.]
+
+"Down to 1830, the expenditure to maintain the Dutch government in Java
+was a steady burden on the treasury of Holland, as it was greater than
+the revenue from the island. General Van den Bosch was sent out in that
+year with plans of his own for making Java profitable; but there were
+many who considered him a visionary schemer, whose experiments were sure
+to result in disastrous failure. He proposed to offer liberal terms to
+the respectable Europeans in Java for cultivating the soil, and
+producing such things as were needed in Europe. He further proposed to
+make the peasants who lived on the government lands plant a certain
+portion of those lands with crops needed in Europe, and which the
+government would buy of them at a certain fixed rate. His scheme was
+shaped to cover the following principles:
+
+"1. Profit to the peasant, to make the new system acceptable.
+
+"2. Profit to the contractor, to induce its extension by private
+enterprise.
+
+"3. A percentage to the officials, to secure their active support.
+
+"4. Personal interest of the village community in its success, so as to
+secure careful cultivation.
+
+"5. Improvement in the tax-payer's means, in order to increase the
+revenue and facilitate its payment.[3]
+
+[3] For much of the information concerning the culture-system of General
+Van den Bosch and its results, the author is indebted to the excellent
+and exhaustive work of Mr. J. W. B. Money, entitled "Java; or, How to
+Manage a Colony."
+
+"The plan for making advances to the contractors was carried out by
+crediting each one with the money estimated necessary to start his
+manufactory; and he was expected to apply it under government
+supervision to the construction of his mill, and placing it in working
+order. It was loaned to him for twelve years, without interest; but he
+was expected to repay a tenth of it the third year, and a similar amount
+in each succeeding year till the whole amount was repaid. Many persons
+refused the proposal, but there were others who gladly accepted it, and
+went to work at once.
+
+[Illustration: HOME OF A PROSPEROUS CONTRACTOR.]
+
+"It was further provided that the government would advance to the
+contractor, at the beginning of every season, the money necessary to
+produce his crop; and this advance was to be repaid out of the crop when
+it was gathered. There were many details of the plan which would require
+too much space to describe, and they were varied from time to time in
+order to make them as practicable as possible. Besides--"
+
+"Stop a moment," said Frank, when they had reached this point. "Don't
+you think we are making this part of our story a little too heavy? I am
+afraid Mary and Miss Effie, and the rest of the young folks in our
+families, may not enjoy it."
+
+"Perhaps not," replied Fred; "but then, you know, the whole family is to
+read our letters, and I am sure the subject will be very interesting to
+my father, and to yours too. And I think you will find the younger folks
+will like it, because it will teach them something of what is called
+political economy. Every intelligent boy and girl in America wants to
+know about the science of government; the history of the colonial
+government of Java is very interesting to both of us, and I believe we
+had better assume that it will be equally so to persons of our age at
+home. So go ahead, if you please, and if anybody doesn't want to read
+what we have written, he may skip it."
+
+Work was resumed without further discussion.
+
+[Illustration: COFFEE-PLANTATION IN THE MOUNTAINS.]
+
+"Down to the time we are considering the chief product of the soil
+tilled by the Javanese peasants was rice. General Van den Bosch proposed
+to have them cultivate coffee, sugar, and other articles that commanded
+a ready sale in Europe; and, as the government would buy the crop at a
+certain fixed price on the spot, the peasant would have a market at his
+door, and feel certain that he would not be robbed by middle-men and
+commission merchants, as is too often the case in other countries
+besides Java. The price paid by government was sufficient to make a fair
+return for the labor employed in making the crop, and at the same time
+low enough to allow a handsome profit when it was sold in Holland."
+
+"That explains something I have never before understood," said Fred, as
+he laid aside his pen for a moment.
+
+"What is that?" Frank inquired.
+
+[Illustration: "OLD GOVERNMENT JAVA."]
+
+"Why, we often read in the papers at home about the price of 'Old
+Government Java Coffee.' It is the coffee the government buys of the
+producer, and then sells in the market."
+
+"Exactly so," Frank responded. "That bit of information will interest a
+good many boys in America."
+
+"And men too," chimed in the Doctor, who was sitting in an arm-chair
+close at hand, and watching the clouds as they rolled over the mountain
+in the background of the view from the veranda.
+
+"I want to know," said Frank, "how the enterprising general proposed to
+compel the people to work in the fields and cultivate the crops, when
+they might spend their time under the trees, and pluck the fruit when
+they needed it to supply their wants."
+
+[Illustration: A JAVANESE CHIEF.]
+
+"Mr. Money says," answered Fred, "that the general made a careful study
+of the relations between the people and their native rulers. He found a
+patriarchal form of government, the villages being ruled by their chosen
+chiefs; several villages forming a sort of district, and several
+districts united into a province or principality. It was the policy of
+General Van den Bosch to take this organization as he found it; and,
+instead of over-throwing the native rulers, he would strengthen them,
+and make it for their interest, and that of their subjects, to be on
+friendly terms with the Dutch. This policy was adopted, and it is
+carried out to this day.
+
+"Now, under the old system of government, before the Dutch came to Java,
+the peasant was required to give one-fifth of his labor gratuitously in
+return for the rent of the land, which was considered to be the property
+of the prince. When the Dutch captured a region, they claimed that they
+had captured the prince, and not the people, and that the revenues
+belonged to them as the conquerors. In some of the provinces the Dutch
+hold possession by treaty, and not by conquest; and the revenues
+continue to go to the prince as before. To develop the producing
+capacities of the country, they made an estimate of the quantity of any
+given article that each district ought to raise under proper management,
+and then they required the native ruler of the district to see that
+there was the proper production. Allowance was made for bad seasons, or
+other calamities; and if the production fell short, without any
+assignable cause, the ruler found his revenues cut off. The government
+bought the product, as we have already seen, and made its profit. The
+prince had his revenue and was happy, and the same was the case with the
+subordinate chiefs. The peasant was rewarded for his labor; and, as he
+had no more tax to pay than under the old system, he had nothing to
+complain of.
+
+"The crown-lands, or those obtained by conquest, were the ones let out
+to contractors. They were generally on long leases, so that the
+contractor was encouraged to make improvements; and the result is that
+cultivation by private management has been greatly increased, and large
+fortunes have been made in many instances. The government takes its
+rental by receiving a share of the crops; and it watches over the
+relations between the lessee and his laborers, to see that neither
+practices any imposition on the other. Each must keep his agreement,
+under severe penalties, and the whole system is said to work very
+smoothly.
+
+"The Dutch officials all over the island have no dealings with the
+natives except through their own rulers. The native princes have the
+title of regents, and the authority of each is supreme in his district
+as long as he carries out the policy of the government. A Dutch resident
+or assistant-resident lives near each regent, and is considered to be
+his 'elder brother,' who advises the younger what to do. He frequently
+makes recommendations to the regent, though he never gives orders; but
+it is pretty clearly understood that he expects the recommendation to be
+adopted. The resident has a few subordinate Europeans, who go through
+the district at regular intervals, and visit every village it contains.
+They talk with the lower native rulers, examine the proceedings of the
+native courts, investigate the condition of the government plantations,
+hear the complaints of the people against their head men, or petty
+chiefs, and listen to any suggestions that are offered. Disputes are
+settled in the local courts without the intervention of a Dutch
+official; but in case of dissatisfaction they may be appealed to the
+district court, and, if not settled there, they may be carried to the
+highest courts of the island.
+
+[Illustration: AN IMPROVED SUGAR ESTATE.]
+
+"There is a very efficient police system all through Java, and by means
+of it, added to the employment of the people in honest industry, the
+amount of crime has been enormously reduced in the past fifty years.
+Every man, woman, and child in Java is registered, and each village
+chief is made responsible to a certain extent for the conduct of his
+subjects. An offence against the law can be readily traced, and if the
+village or its chief are at fault, a fine is assessed upon them.
+Consequently everybody in a village is directly interested in seeing
+that everybody else behaves properly.
+
+"Well, to sum up the results of the Dutch system of culture in Java, we
+can say as follows:
+
+"From being an expense to Holland, the island now yields an annual
+revenue of more than five millions of dollars to the royal treasury,
+after paying all the costs of the colonial rule. The expenses of the
+latter are by no means small, as the salaries of the officials are on a
+liberal scale. The Governor-general receives $100,000 a year, besides
+$60,000 additional for entertainments. It is said that the latter figure
+pays nearly all his expenses, so that he can, if he chooses, lay aside
+$100,000 a year for a rainy day. A Resident in a province receives
+$10,000, in addition to free rent of house and all surrounding
+buildings, and an allowance for extras. The subordinate officials are
+paid in proportion; so that nobody is obliged to rob the government or
+the people in order to make an honest living.
+
+[Illustration: RETAINERS OF A JAVANESE REGENT.]
+
+"Crime and litigation have been so reduced that the sittings of the
+local courts do not average thirty days a year.
+
+"Formerly there was much poverty and suffering in Java; now nearly every
+man, woman, and child appears to be well fed and clothed, and a beggar
+is a very rare sight.
+
+"The import and export trade have been increased fourfold, in spite of
+the protective policy, which is the necessary attendant of the Java
+culture system.
+
+"The population has more than trebled in sixty years, and promises to
+increase in the same ratio, unless interrupted by some great calamity.
+
+"Those who have travelled in both Java and India say that the contrast
+in the conditions of the two countries is something enormous. In Java
+there is hardly any indication of poverty, and the public works are all
+in excellent shape; while in India the reverse is the case. Want and
+degradation are visible everywhere, and the traveller has daily and
+hourly appeals for charity. Famines are frequent in India, and in the
+year 1877 more than a million people died of starvation in Bengal and
+Madras. Famines are virtually unknown in Java, and in case of a general
+drought to cut off the crops, relief could be carried promptly to all
+parts of the island by means of the excellent roads that the Dutch have
+constructed.
+
+"There is a great deal more that we might say, but it is getting near
+bed-time, and we will stop for the present. The wind sets our candle in
+a flicker, and it is 'guttering' in a way that threatens to extinguish
+it altogether. Good-night!"
+
+[Illustration: "GOOD-NIGHT."]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+RICE CULTURE IN JAVA.--MILITARY AND SOCIAL MATTERS.
+
+
+Bright and early the next morning the boys were out for a visit to a
+place where there was a spring of remarkably cold water. It was about
+two miles from Buitenzorg, and the road leading to it ran through a palm
+forest and among rice-fields. They had an opportunity to see the care
+with which the Javanese till their land. The hilly ground is laid out in
+terraces, one above another, and when the water has performed its work
+in one place, it goes to the terrace next below; thus it is made to do
+duty over and over again. There are large reservoirs where water can be
+stored in the wet season, and kept for the period when the rain-fall
+ceases. By close attention to the needs of the soil and the
+peculiarities of the climate, the Javanese are able to make their land
+extremely productive, and a failure of crops is a very rare occurrence.
+On much of the rice-land they grow two crops a year.
+
+[Illustration: THE HOUSE AT THE SPRING.]
+
+The spring was of goodly size, and flowed into a pool fifty or sixty
+feet across. A house had been erected at one side of this pool, and was
+overshadowed by banana and cocoa trees; it had a lot of dressing-rooms,
+where the boys were not long in donning the proper costume for a bath.
+They shivered somewhat when they first entered the water; but the shock
+did not last long, and then they found the sensation was most delicious.
+The place was in charge of a Chinese, who demanded a most exorbitant
+price for the use of the bath and a few bananas and mangosteens that
+were ordered. When they offered a low sum, he bowed, and seemed to say
+that, if he could not have what he wanted, he would take what they
+offered, which was a good deal more than he deserved.
+
+On their return they had a different view of the rice-fields, and Fred
+made note of the fact that when you look upwards on a lot of rice-fields
+you see nothing but a series of terraces, while, looking downwards, you
+seem to be gazing on a lake. While the water is on the flats, the ground
+is stirred with a harrow drawn by a pair of buffaloes; the rice is sown,
+and as soon as the plants are of the requisite height the surplus ones
+are taken out and transplanted. The crop is then started, and the
+farmer has little to do till the time of harvest, beyond taking care
+that his fields have plenty of water. When the harvest is made, the
+paddy--as the uncleaned rice is called--is cut and taken to the mill.
+
+Rice-mills are abundant in Java; some are run by steam, many by water,
+and many small ones by horses and buffaloes. The rice-mill is quite
+simple, and consists of a shaft like a ship's capstan and four
+projecting arms. Each arm has a wheel at the end, and as the shaft goes
+round the wheels revolve in a circular groove containing the rice to be
+cleaned. The wheel removes the husk, and when this is done a
+winnowing-mill separates the rice from the chaff or trash. This is the
+whole operation. The rice-mill of to-day is practically what it was a
+hundred years ago.
+
+The Dutch have introduced farming implements of the European pattern on
+some of the estates, but the natives do not generally take kindly to the
+innovation. They prefer the old form of ploughs which have been in use
+from ancient days, and think that what was good for their fathers is
+good for them. Frank made a sketch of a primitive plough; it had a
+single handle, and its point could only scratch a furrow in the soil
+without turning it over.
+
+[Illustration: POUNDING COFFEE.]
+
+At one place they saw a native engaged in pounding coffee in a large
+mortar, to separate the berry from the hull. He had a heavy pestle which
+he held in both hands, and the perspiration standing on his face showed
+that the labor was not one of pure pleasure.
+
+On all the large coffee estates improved machinery is in use for the
+preparation of the product. The berry as it comes from the tree is
+about the size of an English walnut; the bean is enclosed in a thick
+husk, and the great point in the preparation is to remove the husk
+without injuring the bean. Pounding by hand is likely to damage the bean
+by breaking it, and when this is done the market value of the coffee is
+considerably reduced. Inventors have studied the problem, and a good
+many machines have been devised to accomplish the desired separation.
+The most successful one thus far is the invention of an Englishman in
+Ceylon, and his machines are in use all over the coffee-producing world.
+
+[Illustration: DUTCH OVERSEERS.]
+
+He has called the principle of specific gravity to his aid, and made it
+very useful. The coffee-berry floats on water, as the husk is very
+light, but the bean by itself sinks to the bottom. A stream of water
+floats the berries along a narrow channel, and feeds them automatically
+into a groove where two plates of copper revolve in opposite directions
+about half an inch apart. These plates crush the berry, but do not
+injure the bean; the husk and bean together are carried to a trough,
+where the bean sinks and is caught in a tub, while the useless husk
+floats away to whatever distance the water is made to carry it. The
+coffee is then spread out on a platform and dried in the sun, and it is
+afterwards sorted, winnowed, and made ready for market. The work is
+supervised by Dutch overseers, but all the manual labor is performed by
+natives.
+
+On returning from their ride, and while at breakfast, the boys had a
+conversation with one of the gentlemen whose acquaintance they had made
+during the rainy afternoons on the veranda. Fred was curious to know why
+he did not hear a single native speaking Dutch or English, but confining
+himself strictly to Malay.
+
+"That is easily explained," said the gentleman. "It is the policy of the
+Dutch not to teach their language to the natives, but they require all
+their own officials to learn Malay. They have a school or college in
+Holland, at the old town of Delft, which was established in 1842, for
+the express purpose of fitting young men for the East Indian service.
+Before they can graduate, the students must pass an examination in the
+usual college studies, and also in the Malay language, Mohammedan
+justice and laws, and in a knowledge of the country and nations of
+Netherlands India. Of course they are not expected to speak the Malay
+language fluently on leaving college, but they know a good deal of it
+when they land here, and are expected to know more before they have been
+long in Java. If they are not able to converse easily in Malay by the
+end of a couple of years, they are liable to be sent home. This makes
+them study hard, and renders them far more useful than if they could
+talk only in Dutch.
+
+"You see how it works," he continued. "The Dutch officials can talk and
+write in their own language with very little fear that the natives can
+understand a word; but no native can write or say anything that every
+Dutch official cannot comprehend at once. On several occasions they have
+been able to nip conspiracies in the bud by this advantage, particularly
+at the time of the great mutiny in India. Then they do not encourage
+missionaries to labor among the natives; they argue that the natives are
+quite content with the religion they have, and it would interfere with
+their labor in the field to become interested in Christianity. And if a
+missionary should open a school to teach any other language than Malay,
+and endeavored to tell the principles of any European or American
+religion to the natives, he would be very liable to receive a notice to
+leave the island at an early date."
+
+A company of soldiers marched past the hotel while the party was at
+breakfast. After looking at them, Fred inquired, "How large an army do
+they keep here, and how is it composed?"
+
+"The number of troops in the field, or on duty in garrisons, varies from
+time to time," was the reply, "and therefore an account of the army at
+one date is not altogether good for another. The army is composed, like
+that of India, partly of native and partly of European soldiers. The
+native force is exclusively Mohammedan, and is filled up by voluntary
+enlistments, never by conscriptions. The European portion is also
+voluntary, and the conscript troops in the army in Holland are never
+sent to Java. The infantry is divided into field battalions and garrison
+battalions, and the soldiers in each battalion are one-third European
+and two-thirds native. Each battalion contains six companies, the two
+flank companies consisting of European soldiers, and the four centre
+companies of natives. The native companies are composed of the different
+Mohammedan tribes and sects from all parts of Netherlands India, all
+mixed together, so that there shall never be a large majority of one
+kind of people in the same battalion."
+
+"That is a very shrewd arrangement," said Frank, "as it prevents a
+mutiny by making it impossible for a whole battalion to have a common
+grievance."
+
+[Illustration: FOOT-BRIDGE OVER A MOUNTAIN STREAM.]
+
+"Not only that," the gentleman replied, "but it facilitates the movement
+of the troops; and the Dutch say that their principal object in making
+the battalions in this way was in consequence of the character of the
+service. The Dutch East Indies are of great extent, and it is often
+necessary to make marches where there are no roads, and the few bridges
+that exist are only intended for persons on foot. Consequently, they can
+never move their troops in large bodies, owing to the difficulty of
+carrying provisions. Each battalion under the present system has the
+means of transporting its own provisions, ammunition, and light mountain
+guns where there are no roads, as the native soldiers can act as
+porters, while the Europeans compose the fighting force in case an enemy
+is encountered.
+
+"All the commissioned officers are Europeans, and in each native company
+two of the four sergeants and four of the eight corporals must be
+Europeans; and some of them live in the barrack-rooms with the native
+soldiers. The European companies in each battalion have barracks
+separate from the natives, but close at hand; and whenever any of the
+soldiers of the native companies are sent on duty, they are accompanied
+by a proportionate number of Europeans. There is a difference in the pay
+and food of the European and native soldiers; but in all other respects
+they are treated as nearly alike as possible.
+
+"There is a free school attached to each battalion for the education of
+both adults and children; the soldiers are urged to attend it, and their
+children are required to do so. Every officer of the battalion, whether
+commissioned or non-commissioned, who has any peculiar knowledge, is
+required to give it to the school; and any soldier of the battalion who
+has a talent for instructing can be appointed an assistant-teacher in
+the school, and be relieved from duties that are purely military--except
+in time of war. All soldiers, whether native or European, can have their
+wives and children with them, except when on active service in the
+field."
+
+Fred thought the Java soldier had an easy time of it. Frank thought so
+too; and asked if he had any more privileges than those that had been
+named.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "there is the privilege of a house and garden."
+
+"What!" said one of the boys, "a house and garden for soldiers in the
+army!"
+
+[Illustration: REWARDS FOR GOOD CONDUCT.]
+
+"Certainly," responded their informant; "when a regiment is not
+quartered in the city, the soldiers are rewarded for good conduct by
+receiving a plot of ground near the barracks, with the privilege of
+building a hut. European and native are treated alike in this respect;
+and it has been found the greatest incentive to good conduct. The man
+spends his time with his family in the cultivation of his garden when he
+is not on duty--which is by far the larger part of the day. He returns
+to the barracks at night, and his family may remain in the hut or go
+with him to the military quarters.
+
+[Illustration: PIRATE PRISONERS ON A COLONIAL GUN-BOAT.]
+
+"But I haven't told you how large the army of Java is. Ordinarily,
+there are about twenty-five thousand men of all arms; but at present the
+number is greater, owing to the war in Sumatra, which requires an extra
+force. The infantry is the most important branch of the service, and is
+composed as I have told you. The engineers consist of Europeans and
+natives mixed together in the same companies; the artillery has European
+gunners and native riders, and the cavalry are nearly all Europeans.
+There is a colonial navy with several gun-boats, which are generally
+occupied in seeing that the pirates throughout the Archipelago are kept
+in proper subjection. And there is also a militia force, which is only
+to be called on in emergencies: it consists of a cavalry and an infantry
+corps; and every European living in Java, whether Dutchman or other
+foreigner, must belong to the militia or the fire-brigade."
+
+The boys thought this was a severe regulation; but they changed their
+minds when told that the militia-service was very slight, and a man
+might be a member of the fire-brigade for years without any call being
+made for his assistance. The Europeans in the interior are exempt from
+service, except in cases of special emergency; and those living in the
+cities are not often called upon. Englishmen and others have complained
+of the requirement to do militia and fire-brigade service, but are met
+with the reply which cannot be easily answered: "If you don't like the
+laws and customs of Java, you had better emigrate."
+
+"The Dutch rulers of Java do not pretend they are occupying the country
+for any other purpose than to make money out of it. They never talk
+about their great mission of civilizing and enlightening the benighted
+people of the East, as the English do in India; and whenever anybody is
+disposed to find fault with them, they say to him without hesitation,
+'If you don't like things as you find them here, you would do well to
+leave. The steamer will start for Singapore in a few days, and you are
+at liberty to take passage at once.'
+
+[Illustration: PASSPORT OFFICE.]
+
+"You must have a passport on landing in Java, or, if you have none, the
+consul of your country must vouch for you. You must get a permission to
+travel in the interior; it is very rarely refused, and only when the
+authorities are satisfied that you have the intention of doing harm."
+
+Frank asked what it would be necessary to do in case he desired to
+remain permanently, and become an inhabitant of Java.
+
+"You can stay here six weeks," was the reply, "without any formalities
+beyond the ordinary permission of the police, which costs nothing. But
+if you want to live here you must apply for permission on a printed
+form, and have two householders of the place where you are to endorse
+your application. If there is no objection to your staying, the desired
+document will be granted by the Governor-general, and the fees and
+stamps connected with it will cost you about forty dollars of American
+money."
+
+"Does every foreigner who comes here to live have to pay forty dollars?"
+Fred inquired.
+
+"That is the law," answered his informant; "but the permission is never
+refused, unless the authorities suspect that the applicant intends to
+disturb the public peace, or when he is unable to obtain the necessary
+securities. The result is, that the foreign population of Java is of a
+better class than you find in most other parts of the East; the
+adventurers who have not a dollar in their pockets, and expect to make a
+living by means more or less questionable, do not come here. The
+Chinese are very numerous in Java; more than a quarter of a million are
+settled here; but they are of a better class than the majority of those
+who go to San Francisco, and they give very little trouble to the
+authorities. The security is required to protect the government against
+the applicant becoming a pauper, and to vouch for his good behavior; but
+it has no reference to private debts, which are treated just like
+private debts everywhere else.
+
+[Illustration: ORDERED OUT OF THE COUNTRY.]
+
+"The government also reserves the right to send anybody out of the
+country in case he becomes troublesome, even after he has received
+permission to reside here. The rule applies to a citizen of Holland the
+same as to any other foreigner, but it is very rarely exercised, and
+only when all other means of adjusting the difficulty have failed. The
+local governors have the power of ordering anybody to leave their
+districts, if he has been found guilty of treating the natives
+improperly, and the Governor-general may restrict the movements of any
+individual whenever he thinks the good of the colony requires it."
+
+Fred wished to know if a foreigner could hold land in Java like any
+subject of the King of Holland, and was answered in the negative.
+
+"What a monstrous injustice!" he replied.
+
+Doctor Bronson laughed at his nephew's remark, and the latter turned
+towards him with an inquiring look on his face.
+
+"You may not be aware," said the Doctor, "that an alien in the United
+States is unable to hold real estate, and I believe that the same is the
+case in Great Britain."
+
+"In that view of the matter," said Fred, "Java is not so bad as I
+thought it was. But can a foreigner be naturalized here, as in England
+and America, and then hold property?"
+
+"Certainly," responded the gentleman; "and the time of residence in Java
+before naturalization is the same as in your own country--six years.
+When he becomes a citizen, he has the same rights as a Dutchman, but
+until that time he labors under various disadvantages. The Dutch theory
+is that all the good things in Java belong to themselves, and if a
+foreigner chooses to live here and not become a citizen, he must be
+satisfied with any crumbs that happen to be lying around."
+
+"I have before told you," he continued, "that the Dutch discourage all
+attempts of the natives to learn the languages of Holland and the rest
+of Europe, and are not inclined to teach them anything that is
+distinctively European. I know a native of high rank who went to Europe
+and spent several years there; when he returned he could speak Dutch,
+English, and French quite fluently, and was proud of his
+accomplishments. But he has told me that whenever he spoke to a Dutch
+official or to a private citizen in any European language, he was always
+answered in Malay, and if he tried to continue the conversation in any
+other than the latter tongue it was soon brought to an end. While the
+Dutch treat the natives kindly, and will not allow any imposition upon
+them, they are very particular about anything that would bring a
+European below a native. For instance, they will not permit a native to
+have a European servant, no matter how high the rank of the former, and
+how low the latter.
+
+"No native would dare to drive out with a European coachman on any of
+the public streets, nor with a European on the front seat of his
+carriage, while he occupied the back one. If a European soldier or
+sailor becomes drunk in public, he is instantly arrested by the police,
+in order that his conduct may not degrade the white race in the eyes of
+the natives. Several years ago a native regent obtained the consent of a
+Dutch girl to marry him; her family was poor, and her social rank was
+low, but when he asked the permission of government for his marriage it
+was promptly refused, and he was dismissed from his office.
+
+"The Dutch idea in this whole matter is that the Oriental never respects
+his equals, but only his superiors. Consequently they hold that in all
+social relations they can best serve their own interests and those of
+the natives by holding themselves to be the superiors, as they are by
+right of conquest. At the same time, they endeavor to give the native no
+cause of complaint against them. If a Dutch master maltreats a servant,
+the latter can have his wrongs redressed in the nearest police court;
+and if the master is found guilty, he is subject to a heavy fine. A
+merchant who endeavors to defraud a native is in hot water very
+speedily; and if he becomes notorious for attempts to enrich himself by
+this kind of dishonesty, his troubles will increase at a very rapid
+rate."
+
+"But if one foreigner attempts to cheat another," said Frank, "does the
+government feel called on to interfere?"
+
+"That is quite another affair," was the reply; "commercial matters
+between foreigners are exactly like the same transactions in other
+countries, and the courts exist for the administration of justice, the
+enforcement of contracts, and other contingencies of trade, in Java as
+in England and America."
+
+[Illustration: NO ADMITTANCE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+A POST RIDE IN JAVA.--FROM BUITENZORG TO BANDONG.
+
+
+As soon as they had exhausted Buitenzorg and the sights of the
+neighborhood, the Doctor suggested to Frank and Fred that they should
+make a journey into the interior. They had not time to undertake the
+tour of the whole island, but they wished to go beyond the line of the
+railway, and learn by practical experience about the system of posting
+for which Java was famous.
+
+Before the introduction of railways Java was supplied with excellent
+roads from one end of the island to the other, which were begun by
+Marshal Daendels in the early part of this century, and continued by the
+Dutch rulers since 1816. Then there are numerous cross-roads, so that
+nearly all parts of the country are accessible by wagon or carriage. On
+the principal routes the lines are double, one being intended for
+carriages and horses, and the other for cattle. The cattle roads are
+like the ordinary country road in America; but the carriage-way is
+macadamized, and admits of rapid travelling. On the whole, the system is
+quite as good as that which prevailed in Europe before the establishment
+of the railway; and when it is remembered that the interior of Java is
+very hilly, and cut up with numerous streams, the magnitude of the work
+which has been accomplished under the equator will be more readily
+understood.
+
+The arrangements for posting were made with the assistance of the
+landlord of the hotel, who told them that it might take a day or two to
+find a carriage that could be hired. The Dutch and other foreign
+inhabitants generally own the carriages in which they travel; and when a
+stranger wishes to traverse the island, it is customary for him to buy a
+carriage, and sell it on reaching the end of his journey. When you want
+to buy a carriage, you find the vehicles are scarce and dear; and when
+you want to sell, the market is glutted with them. A good carriage for
+posting will cost between three and four hundred dollars; and if it can
+be sold at a loss of one hundred dollars when the traveller is done with
+it, he may consider himself lucky.
+
+The journey that our friends intended to make was to last less than a
+week, and they hired a carriage for which they were to pay twenty-five
+dollars for that time, and be responsible for any damages that might
+happen to it. Frank thought the owner would make a good business if he
+could find steady occupation for his vehicle at that rate; but the
+landlord informed him that the carriages were idle more than half the
+time, and sometimes there were weeks together when no customer appeared.
+
+[Illustration: STARTING ON THE JOURNEY.]
+
+Early one morning the conveyance drew up in front of the hotel, and the
+three travellers entered and took their seats. The carriage was a very
+comfortable one, with seats for four persons inside, a dickey or
+servant's seat behind, and a box under the coachman where baggage could
+be stowed. There were four horses, harnessed in European style, with a
+coachman dressed in white, and wearing a hat that reminded the boys of
+Japan and China. There were three footmen or grooms, who ran along-side
+the carriage to whip the horses, and make themselves generally useful;
+and when everything was going well they rode on a standing place
+intended for them on the rear of the vehicle. Frank observed, as the
+journey continued, that these fellows were the most accomplished
+whip-crackers in the world; and Fred remarked that the best ring-master
+in an American circus would hide his head in shame, if he should listen
+to them for a few minutes. He understood the trick of the business when
+told that the footmen practise whip-snapping from boyhood, and at one
+station where they changed horses there was a man engaged in teaching a
+group of boys the principles of the art. He had a practical way of
+instructing them, as he followed each failure with a crack of the whip
+on the boy's shoulders.
+
+[Illustration: BY THE ROADSIDE.]
+
+There was some trouble at starting, as the horses were fresh and
+inclined to be "balky," and one of them indulged in a private
+kicking-match that did not promise well for rapid progress on the
+journey. However, the performance did not last long; and when they were
+under way they rattled along in fine style.
+
+[Illustration: LODGINGS OF THE STABLE-MEN.]
+
+Posting in Java is expensive, as the hire of teams and drivers is nearly
+a dollar a mile. Then the drivers and footmen expect gratuities at the
+end of their journey, and there are other fees to be paid at several
+places. In return for this high price, the service is excellent. Notice
+must be given beforehand, and the time of starting must be fixed. A
+courier is sent along to all the stations, and when the carriage arrives
+where the relay is to be taken, the new horses are found ready harnessed
+and waiting, so that the delay does not occupy more than two or three
+minutes. The stations are from five to seven or eight miles apart, and
+the teams go at the greatest speed. At each station there is a native
+official, and sometimes a European one; and there are plenty of drivers,
+runners, and attendants, who sleep and wait in open sheds in the rear of
+the stable.
+
+At each station there is a large shed extending over the road, and
+connecting the stables on each side. The carriage halts under this shed,
+so that the traveller is protected from the heat of the sun in dry
+weather, or the moisture when it rains. There are the facilities for
+making a lunch at nearly all the stations, as the keeper can supply hot
+water for tea and coffee, and a liberal quantity of milk and fresh eggs.
+With these things, and some cold chicken or other meat from the
+stopping-place of the previous night, a slice or two of bread, and the
+fruit that abounds everywhere, the traveller must be very fastidious if
+he cannot satisfy the hunger which the ride through the pure air of Java
+is sure to give him.
+
+The journal of the expedition was kept by the boys, with occasional
+suggestions from the Doctor. Every moment that they could spare from
+sight-seeing was devoted to the history of their journey in Java; and
+during their halts at the stations, some of the keepers thought the two
+youths were inspectors sent out by the government to report on the
+condition of the postal-service, as they made such vigorous use of their
+pens. One station-keeper was extra polite, and brought out a bottle of
+schnapps in their honor; their prompt refusal of the proffered courtesy
+confirmed his belief in their inquisitorial character, though it raised
+doubts as to their genuineness as Dutch officials. "But they are yet
+very young," he remarked, with a shake of the head, as the carriage
+drove away; "they will not refuse schnapps when they grow older."
+
+We will make a few extracts from the journal, which subsequently gave
+much delight to the Bassett and Bronson families:
+
+[Illustration: JUST IMPORTED.]
+
+"We are having a jolly ride through Java, and shall be very sorry when
+it comes to an end. It is hot in the middle of the day, but delicious at
+other times; and anybody who could not enjoy this sort of travel must be
+very hard to please. Some of the way we have made ten miles an hour, and
+the little horses come in smoking and panting when we get to a station,
+and are ready for a change. The horses are mostly Java ponies, but there
+are many from the island of Celebes, and other parts of the Dutch East
+Indies. They are tough little animals, about twelve or thirteen hands
+high, and capable of great endurance; and the consumption of horse-flesh
+is so great, that enough of them are not raised in Java to supply the
+demand.
+
+"When we left the hotel at Buitenzorg this morning, we took with us the
+materials for our breakfast, so as to save the delay of having it
+prepared at one of the inns. We stopped at the second station on the
+road, and were as hungry as one could wish; and when we pointed to our
+basket and motioned that we wanted to eat, we were referred to a shop
+kept by a Chinese, close by the post-station. We went there, as the
+shop had better facilities for our meal than the station; John was all
+smiles, and showed us to a table in the middle of his front room. He was
+married and settled in the country, as he had a Javanese wife; and there
+were two or three children, with Javanese complexions and Chinese eyes,
+playing around the door. And what do you think we found in his shop to
+remind us of home?
+
+"We wanted something to piece out the provisions we had brought from
+Buitenzorg, and so we examined the shelves of the establishment. The
+first thing we fell upon was a can of American oysters, with the
+familiar name of the firm that packed them. Then we found a can of
+peaches and another of pigs' feet, and we kept on with our inventory of
+things from our side of the world till we had a dozen or more of them on
+our list. With the oysters and the peaches to add to the stock from the
+hotel, we made a capital breakfast, and went away happy. We had some
+difficulty in paying our bill, as we could speak no common language.
+John finally set the matter right by counting out from his box the money
+we should pay, and spreading it on the table before us; we put down a
+similar amount, and he was satisfied. He ought to have been, as I am
+sure he cheated us; but then those who travel in a country where they do
+not speak the language must expect to pay for their ignorance.
+
+"We have met people on horseback and in common wagons; and in several
+instances the men on horseback were followed by coolies carrying
+baggage. We are told that is the way the young men who wish to avoid
+expense travel in Java--as the cost of horse and coolies is less than a
+twelfth of the expense of posting. They also have palanquins for the
+cross-roads, though not on the great highways; but they are not suited
+to people who wish to get over the ground rapidly. Posting is by all
+odds the most rapid way of travelling, but at the same time it is
+terribly dear.
+
+"We find that many of the roadside shops, near the stopping-places, are
+kept by Chinese; and the Chinese really seem to have a great deal to do
+with the business of Java. A gentleman at Buitenzorg said that the
+Chinese had a large amount of property in Java, and they could hold real
+estate like anybody else as soon as they became citizens. He said there
+were half a million Chinese in Java, and, as the government compelled
+everybody to pay nearly forty dollars on coming here to live, they had a
+better class of Chinese than we have in America. The Chinese have
+established several branches of manufacture in Java like those they have
+at home; and the gentleman showed us some enamel-work which he said was
+made in Batavia by Chinese workmen. We have certainly never seen
+anything finer than this, and I doubt if they produce anything in Canton
+or Peking that can surpass it.
+
+"In spite of the high price of posting in Java, it is said that the
+business does not pay. The government is at a heavy expense to maintain
+the roads and stations, and to keep the service in proper order. The
+argument of the government is that it is of the greatest importance to
+keep the means of transportation and travel in the best possible
+condition; and though it may not pay of itself, it is of great advantage
+indirectly. They have certainly spent enormous amounts of money on their
+roads and posting system; and they are too shrewd to continue to throw
+away their cash on an unprofitable enterprise.
+
+"The road rises steadily from Buitenzorg, though there are several
+places where we were able to gallop our horses, and go along at the best
+possible pace. After the second station we found ourselves in the
+mountains; and the way was so steep that we had seven horses instead of
+four for some miles. Then we came to a place where it was necessary to
+put oxen ahead of the horses to help them up the hills, which were so
+steep that we could only go at a slow walk. We perceived that the air
+was colder; and on some of the mountains we thought we could see snow,
+but were not sure. In the highest parts of the country ice forms in the
+coldest nights, but never to more than a slight thickness, and only a
+few times in the course of the year.
+
+[Illustration: THE WAITER AT SINDINGLAYA.]
+
+"We reached a point which was said to be two thousand five hundred feet
+above the sea, and then had a descent of a few miles to Sindinglaya,
+where we found a very comfortable hotel. We had a good dinner here--at
+least good for Java. The cooks of Java are not the best in the world, if
+we are to judge by what we have seen on the road. The government has
+established inns every forty or fifty miles along its principal roads;
+they are in charge of Europeans, who receive a salary for keeping the
+place in proper condition, at a scale of prices which is posted in every
+room, and is not at all unreasonable. Our waiter was a little Malay boy,
+who moved around as gracefully as a queen, and twice as dignified.
+
+[Illustration: SLEEPNG-ROOM IN THE SANITARIUM.]
+
+"There is a sanitarium or health resort at Sindinglaya, where the
+government sends its officers when they suffer from fever, and need to
+be restored by the cool air of the mountains. In addition to the
+official one, there are several unofficial hotels; and a good many
+Europeans living in Batavia endeavor to spend a few weeks there every
+year for the sake of their health. The situation is charming, as it is
+quite surrounded by mountains, and anybody who is fond of climbing can
+have abundant enjoyment and exercise during his residence in this spot.
+
+"We rattled on over the same excellent road, and passed a goodly number
+of villages that presented a very pretty appearance. They are laid out
+in regular streets in most cases, and the houses are generally
+surrounded with trees that almost conceal them from view. The dwellings
+in these villages are always of a single story in height, and their
+roofs are covered with thatch or red tiles. Each house stands in a yard,
+or 'campong,' by itself, and is enclosed by a hedge sufficiently thick
+and high to keep out all intruding cows or other animals. The hedge is
+neatly clipped, and frequently covered with bright flowers; besides the
+dwelling of the owner, the enclosure generally contains several
+store-houses for grain, and a stable with a brick floor. In some places
+these villages seem to extend for miles, and tell more plainly than
+words that the country is thickly peopled and prosperous. When the Dutch
+first came here, the villages were dirty, and it was difficult to teach
+the natives any habits of cleanliness. Finally, the new rulers made a
+law requiring every native to keep his grounds clean, and his house
+properly swept and in order, under penalty of a fine; and they also
+announced that the character of a chief or regent would be rated
+according to the condition of his villages. It did not take long for the
+natives to learn the advantages of cleanliness; and now it is said that
+there is no occasion for the law, as they voluntarily give much time and
+attention to the improvement of their houses and gardens.
+
+"We reached Bandong, about a hundred miles from Buitenzorg, without the
+slightest accident or delay. The road is level for a good part of the
+way as Bandong is approached; there is a wide plain here, about two
+thousand four hundred feet above the sea, and surrounded by high
+mountains. Java contains three of these plains--Bandong, Solo, and
+Kediri--and they are wonderfully fertile. There is an immense quantity
+of rice raised here, and some say that Bandong is the best rice-growing
+district in Java; at all events, we have seen nothing like it.
+
+[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN CASCADE.]
+
+"We were constantly attracted by the beauty of the scenery, which cannot
+be described in words. At one place there was a cascade tumbling down
+from the mountains, and it was so pretty that we stopped the carriage to
+admire it, and make a sketch that would preserve its outlines. The foot
+of it was lost in the spray that rose like a cloud, and at one point
+where we stood the water seemed to be pouring from the sky. In the dry
+season this fall disappears altogether, but when the rains are abundant
+it has a full supply of water--a very necessary adjunct for a cascade.
+
+[Illustration: JAVANESE BOYS.]
+
+"As we passed through the villages, groups of children stared at us, and
+occasionally an urchin turned a somersault, in the hope of securing a
+few coppers in recognition of his activity. Sometimes these children
+were very scantily clothed, and occasionally there was one carrying a
+baby, nearly as large as himself, in the fold of a shawl wound round the
+shoulders. Several times we threw them some money, and it was
+interesting to see them scramble for it. They are very active, sprightly
+little fellows, and when they jumped into the dusty road they made a
+cloud that almost hid them from view.
+
+"Bandong, the town, is a pretty place, with wide streets finely
+gravelled, and kept in the best order. There are cocoa-palms and other
+tropical trees along each side of nearly every street, and they are so
+numerous, and their foliage is so thick, that when you look down a
+street you can hardly see a single house. The houses are like those
+already described; and as they spread over a large area, they give you
+an impression that the inhabitants of Java are unwilling to be
+restricted in elbow-room.
+
+"The Regent of the district resides here, and so does the Resident, as
+the principal Dutch official is called. As before explained, the
+Resident holds a higher rank than the Regent; but he is the only person
+who does, and all the orders for the government of the natives come from
+the Regent and his officers. The Regent is appointed by the Dutch, but
+he always belongs to the most powerful noble family in the region where
+he is to serve, and he holds office for life, unless removed for
+improper conduct. The Regent of Bandong is the son of the prince who
+ruled here before the Dutch conquest, and who accepted the appointment
+of Regent, which he held till his death. He is very rich, as he has a
+share of the revenue from the rice grown in Bandong, and he lives in
+splendid style. He has a European house, where he entertains foreign
+guests; and close by it is his Malay residence, intended only for
+himself and family, and for Javanese visitors. Foreigners are admitted
+very rarely to the native palace, but those who have been there say it
+is luxuriously furnished in truly Javanese style. The Regent is on the
+best of terms with the Resident, and they often go out together to the
+races and on hunting excursions; the Regent frequently gives parties in
+his European house, and on such occasions all the foreigners in the town
+and vicinity are invited, and are treated with the greatest civility."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+VISITING A TEA PLANTATION.--PREPARATION OF TEA.
+
+
+We will continue to make extracts from the journal kept by Frank and
+Fred concerning their journey in Java.
+
+"We have already told about the coffee that is grown in Java, and how it
+is sold on government account. Some of the finest coffee estates on the
+island are in the Bandong district, and nearly all of them are at an
+elevation of two thousand feet and more above the sea. Coffee will not
+grow to any advantage in the lowlands near the coast, and very little of
+it is cultivated there. It needs a high altitude, and some of the
+plantations are four thousand feet up in the air. Above the last-named
+elevation tea takes the place of coffee; and it has been found in the
+last few years that tea will grow in Java on the tops of the highest
+mountains, provided there is sufficient soil for the roots of the plant
+to find a holding-place.
+
+"We have been to a coffee estate about ten miles from Bandong, and spent
+a day there very pleasantly. As before stated, the coffee-trees are
+cultivated, and the berries gathered, by native laborers under foreign
+supervision; the process of separating the bean from its husk has been
+described, and so has the system by which the government buys the coffee
+from the native producer, and makes a handsome profit on the investment.
+
+[Illustration: TRAIN OF COFFEE-CARTS.]
+
+"Our ride to the plantation was a slow one, as we had an uphill road
+most of the way, and our horses were assisted by oxen. We met several
+trains of coffee-carts coming down to the plain on their way to the
+railway terminus; it is fortunate that the coffee is carried down rather
+than up hill, as its cost in the latter case would be enormously
+increased. A cart carrying from one thousand to one thousand five
+hundred pounds of coffee can be easily drawn by a pair of oxen coming
+down the road, while the same beasts have all they can do to take the
+empty cart home again. As the carts wound through the tropical forest,
+they presented a very picturesque appearance with their barefooted
+drivers, and occasionally we could see the black eyes of a Javanese
+woman peering out from under the matting that sheltered the bags from
+sun and rain.
+
+"The gentleman who had charge of the plantation we visited wished us to
+stay a few days and indulge in a deer-hunt, but we could not spare the
+time. Deer are numerous in this part of the island, and those who are
+fond of sport can have an abundance of it if they are in Java in the
+right time of the year. If you want larger game than deer, you can hunt
+the rhinoceros and wild bull; and if you want savage brutes, that die
+hard and fight to the last breath, you can chase the wild-boar. They
+have tigers in Java, but not so many as in Malacca, and they do not do
+so much damage to the people, for the reason that they have plenty of
+game to live upon.
+
+"We had an opportunity to visit a tea plantation, and gladly embraced
+it, as we wished to see something of the process of raising tea and
+preparing it for market.
+
+"Most of the tea plantations in Java are on government lands, which are
+leased to contractors for terms of years--rarely less than ten, and not
+over twenty. At the beginning of the enterprise the government made cash
+advances to the contractors, so that they could have the necessary
+capital for clearing the land and starting their crops; these advances
+were to be repaid in tea at prices that would give large profits to the
+contractors, and on this plan a good many plantations were started about
+forty years ago.
+
+"The government imported skilled workmen from the tea districts of China
+to instruct the natives in the business, and it also imported a large
+supply of tea-plants and tea-seed. For the first few years the
+enterprise was a doubtful one, but after a time it began to pay
+handsomely. The cost of making the tea was about fifty cents a pound;
+and as the processes improved, and the character of the tea grew better,
+the selling price rose till it reached eighty or ninety cents. At these
+rates it does not take a great deal of study to show that money can be
+made by raising tea in Java, and the applications for leases of land
+have increased every year.
+
+[Illustration: SEED-PODS OF THE TEA-PLANT.]
+
+"The first thing the tea-planter has to do after getting possession of
+his lease is to clear the land and get ready for planting. This is no
+small matter, as the forest must be removed, and the soil thoroughly
+broken up. The outlay for this is considerable, and not much unlike
+clearing up a farm in New England, or in the backwoods of Canada. Then
+the young plants are set out; after this has been done, the ground must
+be kept clear of weeds, just as in raising corn or potatoes. It must be
+frequently stirred, so that the plant can get as much nourishment as
+possible from the earth, and when this is done the planter has the
+satisfaction of seeing the bushes grow with considerable rapidity.
+
+"We walked through the fields where the plants were growing, and found
+them of different ages and sizes. If we had not known where we were, we
+might have thought we were in a field of English myrtle-bushes, as the
+tea-plant is much like the myrtle in general appearance. It grows from
+two to six feet high, and has white blossoms that resemble small
+dog-roses.
+
+"One of us asked which were the plants that produced green tea, and
+which the black. The owner of the plantation smiled, and said there was
+no difference.
+
+"We laughed at our ignorance, as he explained that the difference of the
+teas was entirely owing to the manipulation. We asked why it was that
+some districts in China produced only green teas, while others were
+reputed to make none but black; and he told us it was because the
+workmen in those districts had been accustomed to follow only one form
+of manipulation.
+
+"It takes three years, he said, to get a plantation in condition to
+produce tea. The seeds are sown in a nursery-bed, and the young plants
+are not ready to be set out till they are a year old. They are then
+about nine inches high, and covered with leaves; and the first crop is
+taken when they have been growing two years in the field. The leaves are
+the lungs of the plant, and it would die if all of them were stripped
+off. Consequently only a part of them are removed at a picking; and if a
+plant is sickly, it is not disturbed at all. The plants will last from
+ten to twelve years, and are then renewed; and on all the large
+plantations it is the custom to make nursery-beds every year, so that
+there will be a constant succession of new plants for setting out in
+place of the old ones.
+
+"At the first gathering the half-opened buds are taken, and from them
+the finest teas are made. Then they have another gathering when the
+leaves are fully opened, and then another and another, till they have
+five or six gatherings in the course of the year. Each time the leaves
+are coarser than those of the previous gathering, and consequently the
+tea is not of so fine a quality. A well-managed plantation produces all
+kinds of tea; and it was a wise requirement of the Dutch government,
+when they started the tea-culture in Java, that the planters should
+produce proportionate quantities of both black and green, and not less
+than four qualities of each.
+
+[Illustration: GATHERING TEA-LEAVES.]
+
+"The gathering takes place only in clear weather; and for the best teas
+the picking is confined to the afternoon, when the leaves are thoroughly
+dry, and have been warmed by the sun. Only the thumb and forefinger are
+used in plucking the leaves from the bush; the pickers are generally
+women and children, who can gather on the average about forty pounds of
+leaves in a day. It takes nearly four pounds of leaves to make one pound
+of dry tea; and the usual estimate is that a plantation of one hundred
+thousand plants can send ten thousand pounds of tea to market in the
+course of a year.
+
+[Illustration: DRYING TEA IN THE SUN.]
+
+"Different kinds of tea require different treatment, as we have already
+seen. For green tea the leaves are roasted as soon as they have been
+gathered, and are then rolled and dried; but the leaves intended for
+black teas are spread on bamboo trays five or six inches deep, and
+placed on frames where they can have plenty of sun and air. They remain
+here from noon till sunset; and if the weather is damp they are further
+dried by artificial heat. For this purpose they are placed on frames
+over shallow pans containing burning charcoal, and are tossed and
+stirred with the hand until they emit a certain fragrance. The heat
+should be very slight; and the frames are made so high that it is
+necessary for a man to mount a small ladder in order to reach the trays.
+
+"The sense of smell in the skilful workers of tea is very acute, and
+they can tell, to almost a minute, the exact time when the drying should
+cease, and the next process begin. The Chinese workmen are better than
+any others for this branch of the business, and on many plantations the
+most of the manipulation is performed by Chinese, though their labor is
+more expensive than that of the Malays. Our host showed us through his
+factory, where the men were busy in the various processes; and as he
+told us about each step of the business, he took us to the department
+where that particular work was going on.
+
+[Illustration: DRYING OVER CHARCOAL.]
+
+"After showing the leaves spread out on the frames, he led the way to a
+sort of stove, where a man was manipulating some tea in a pan over a
+charcoal fire.
+
+[Illustration: ROASTING TEA.]
+
+"'This is what we call roasting,' he said, 'and the great object of the
+roaster is to dry the leaves without burning them. You see he does not
+allow them to be quiet a single instant, but tosses and turns them in
+all directions, so that none may stick to the bottom of the pan, which
+they might easily do, owing to the moisture they contain.'
+
+"We watched the roasting till we thought we understood it well, and as
+the place was hot we did not care to stay there a great while. The
+leaves lose their fragrance when first thrown into the roasting-pan, and
+give out a rank smell, but they gradually recover their perfume, and are
+ready for the next process, which is called rolling.
+
+"The tea from the roasting pan was given to a couple of men, who stood
+in front of a table or bench, with bamboo mats before them. One had a
+large mustache, the largest we had ever seen on a Chinese face, and the
+other consoled himself for the absence of that hairy ornament by smoking
+a pipe.
+
+"The roller takes as much tea as he can cover with both his hands, and
+places it on the mat in a sort of ball. He keeps them closely together,
+and rolls them from right to left; this motion gives each leaf a twist
+on itself, and rolls it so firmly that it retains the shape when dry.
+This part of the work requires peculiar dexterity, and can only be
+performed successfully after long practice. When a man becomes skilful
+in it, he can roll the tea with wonderful rapidity; and when his work is
+done, every leaf will be found separate from all the others, and twisted
+as though it had been passed through a machine.
+
+[Illustration: HANDY WITH HIS FEET.]
+
+"The work of rolling the tea is very tiresome, and so the men sometimes
+perform it with their feet when they wish to give their hands a rest. We
+saw one man at his occupation in this way, and he certainly seemed to
+enjoy it. His bamboo mat was on the floor, and he had his trousers
+raised so that his legs were bare from the knee down. He rested his arms
+on a pole, and kept his feet moving over the handful, or rather
+footful, of leaves he was endeavoring to roll out. Our host picked up
+some of the tea, and showed us that it was perfectly prepared, and quite
+acceptable in every way. The man's toes were much more slender than toes
+usually are, and it is doubtless due to the fact that he has used them a
+great deal, and never cramped them into tight-fitting boots.
+
+"After they have been properly rolled, the leaves are spread on trays,
+and exposed to the sun and air for several hours, and then they are once
+more roasted. The second roasting is milder than the first, and is done
+over a slower fire; and afterwards the leaves are rolled again, to make
+sure that none of them have become spread out. For the black tea the
+roasting is done in a shallow pan, the same as the first; but the green
+teas are put in a deep pan, and subjected to a very high heat.
+
+[Illustration: ROASTING GREEN TEA.]
+
+"While the green tea is being roasted, there must be a great deal of
+care on the part of everybody concerned. The pan is nearly red-hot when
+the tea is put into it, about a pound at a time, and the operator in
+charge keeps it in rapid motion. One boy tends the fire, while another
+stands by with a fan, to prevent the burning of the tea.
+
+"After their final roasting, the teas are put in a long basket, shaped
+like an hour-glass, and having a sieve in the centre. This basket is
+placed over a charcoal fire and submitted to the heat for several
+minutes, when the tea is poured out and receives another rolling. This
+operation is repeated several times, till the tea is thoroughly tired of
+it, and also thoroughly dry. Then it is passed through sieves, to
+separate the different qualities from each other; and finally it is
+winnowed, to remove all the dust and dirt. Then it is 'fired,' or dried
+once more, to drive away the last particle of moisture; and in this
+condition it is ready to go into the chests in which it is carried to
+the lands where it is to be used.
+
+"There, we have told you all about the preparation of tea, which we
+could not do in China for the reason that we did not go into the part of
+the country where they produce the tea. China is not the only country
+where tea is made, though it once had the monopoly of the business. A
+great deal is grown in Japan, as you know, and now you have learned
+about the tea-growing in Java. They say that ten million pounds are
+grown in Java every year, and the product will increase to double that
+amount in less than twenty years. About the time the culture of tea was
+introduced into Java, the East India Company tried it in India; and now
+the production of tea in that country is so large that the English hope,
+before the end of the century, to supply the whole of their home market
+with Indian teas. We shall see.
+
+"The Java teas have a sharp, acrid taste, and are not suited at all to
+the American palate. None of them go to America, or, at least, only a
+few chests every year, and for some time Holland was the only market for
+them. Gradually their sale extended to Germany, and now it is said there
+is a demand for them in London.
+
+"We tasted some of the tea, and found that it resembled what is called
+'English breakfast,' only it had a stronger flavor. It is said that it
+is worth much more than Chinese tea, for the reason that a pound of it
+will give nearly double the amount of the infusion ready for drinking.
+Whether this is true or not we are unable to say, as we have seen no
+experiments to prove or disprove it.
+
+"We asked about the reputed adulterations and dyeing of tea by the
+Chinese and others. Our host told us that no teas in Java were
+adulterated or dyed, but he said it was quite possible they would be as
+soon as there was a demand for them. He said the Chinese did not begin
+to color their tea till they were urged to do so by English and American
+merchants, who told them the dyed teas sold better than others by reason
+of presenting a finer appearance.
+
+"'The coloring-matter,' said he, 'consists of gypsum and Prussian blue
+or indigo, and is used in about equal proportions. This is for green
+tea, and the quantity to be used for a given amount varies according to
+the market for which it is intended. American merchants wish their teas
+dyed more heavily than do the English, and there is usually about half a
+pound of dye to every hundred pounds of tea.'
+
+"'Can't we raise tea in America?' Fred asked.
+
+[Illustration: TEA REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.]
+
+"'Certainly,' replied the planter, who had been in the United States,
+and spent several years there. 'There is a large area of the United
+States where tea could be raised, and the government some years ago
+spent considerable money on an experiment in tea-culture. It was found
+that there was no difficulty in raising the plants; but when it came to
+manipulating the product the high price of labor made it unprofitable.
+When we can furnish labor for the same price that it can be had in
+China, Japan, Java, and India, we can compete with those countries in
+growing tea, but until that time we had better let the business alone.'"
+
+[Illustration: ROASTING-BASKET.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+EASTERN JAVA, LOMBOCK, TIMOR, AND THE ARU ISLANDS.
+
+
+Greatly pleased with their visit to the tea and coffee plantations, our
+friends returned to Bandong. On the way back they had an accident that
+for a few moments was quite exciting, and threatened serious results.
+While descending a long hill the brake of the carriage gave way, and the
+horses started on a full gallop; they were quite out of the control of
+the driver, and the two footmen were left a long way behind. The driver
+managed to turn his team into a side road at the risk of an overturn,
+and gave them a little practice in running up hill instead of down.
+Gradually they reduced their pace, and some workmen in a field close at
+hand came to his assistance, and held the horses till the grooms could
+come up. One of the springs of the carriage was broken, in the severe
+shaking they had received, but otherwise the vehicle was not much
+injured.
+
+It was necessary to stop a day at Bandong to have the carriage repaired,
+and the delay enabled the boys to learn something more about the
+country.
+
+[Illustration: VOLCANO IN EASTERN JAVA.]
+
+They ascertained that, if they had the time to spare, they could go to
+the eastern capitals of Java along good roads, and through a succession
+of mountains and plains. They would see volcanoes, both active and
+silent, and might possibly have a practical acquaintance with an
+earthquake, or an eruption of one of the burning mountains. Frank was a
+little doubtful of the safety of such a journey when he learned that one
+volcano had thrown out, in a single night, ashes and scoriæ to the depth
+of fifty feet over an area of several miles, destroying forty villages
+and three thousand people; and another volcano had overwhelmed
+everything within twenty miles of it, and caused the deaths of twenty
+thousand persons. But the Doctor assured him that the eruption of a
+volcano was not so sudden that those who wished to get away could not do
+so, and the majority of the burning mountains of the world were
+accustomed to give warning weeks and sometimes months ahead.
+
+[Illustration: RUINS NEAR SOURABAYA.]
+
+The eastern capitals of Java are Samarang and Sourabaya, but they are
+capitals only of the provinces of the same names. Both of them are
+important commercial points; and there is a railway from Samarang which
+is intended in course of time to unite with the one from Batavia.
+Samarang is about two hundred and fifty miles from Batavia, or nearly
+half-way from one end of the island to the other; while Sourabaya is
+close to the eastern extremity, and not far from the island of Madura.
+The country around Sourabaya is quite flat, and very fertile; and the
+roads sometimes run for miles in perfectly straight lines. Back towards
+the interior, when the hilly region is reached, there is a magnificent
+forest, where tigers abound; and the hunter is rewarded by frequent
+shots at the beautiful Java peacock. The country is full of ruins of
+temples and palaces; and there are many evidences that it was once
+occupied by a people greatly advanced in architecture and the fine arts.
+
+"But what should we find if we went beyond Java?" Fred asked.
+
+Just as he spoke the door opened, and a gentleman entered. He proved to
+be their host of the coffee plantation, who had heard of their accident,
+and called to congratulate them on their escape from injury. After an
+exchange of civilities, he seated himself, and asked if he could be of
+any service; and, turning to Fred, he said,
+
+"I heard your question as I entered the room, and think I can answer it.
+I have made the journey around the Dutch possessions in the East, and
+will try to tell you about them."
+
+Both the boys expressed their delight at the chance of learning
+something of the islands of the Oriental Seas. The gentleman said he had
+an hour to spare, and would endeavor to enable them to pass it
+agreeably; and if they wanted to take any notes of what he said, they
+were welcome to do so.
+
+They were desirous and ready, and he began at once.
+
+"I have twice made the journey," said he; "once by steamer, and once by
+native boats."
+
+"Do the steamers run there regularly?" one of the boys inquired.
+
+"Certainly," was the reply; "the company whose ship brought you from
+Singapore to Batavia sends a steamer every month to make the tour of the
+Dutch East Indies. It leaves Batavia on the 15th of the month, and
+Sourabaya on the 22d; and goes to Macassar, Menado, Ternate, Boeroe,
+Amboina, Banda, and Timor, and then returns to Sourabaya and Batavia.
+The voyage takes about a month, and the steamer remains in each port
+from twenty-four to forty-eight hours."
+
+"What a delightful voyage it must be," said Frank; "and how much does it
+cost?"
+
+[Illustration: AN ISLAND PORT.]
+
+"A ticket for the round trip," the gentleman replied, "costs three
+hundred dollars, and sometimes more. You have already found that
+steamship fares in the East are dear; and this line forms no exception
+to the rule. In return for your money you have all the comforts the ship
+can give; and you may live on board all the time she remains in port at
+the different stopping-places.
+
+"If you go by a native boat you will be much longer on the way; but you
+can visit more places than the steamer stops at, and can see more of the
+life of the East. We will drop that part of the subject, and consider
+what you might see in some of the islands of the Malay Archipelago,
+supposing you should go there; we haven't time for all of them.
+
+"The colonial possessions of the Dutch in the Archipelago comprise about
+six hundred thousand square miles, with a population of twenty-five
+millions. They include the whole of Java and Madura, the Moluccas, or
+Spice Islands, and large portions of Borneo and Sumatra. Consequently,
+you can make a long journey without once going out of the Dutch
+territory."
+
+[Illustration: WILD FIG-TREE.]
+
+"The first place I visited, after leaving Sourabaya, was the island of
+Lombock. There is not much of interest in the principal port, which is
+called Ampanam, as the place is small, and the inhabitants are not
+particularly enterprising. There are some groves of wild fig-trees close
+to the town; and one of my amusements was to shoot the green pigeons and
+orioles that abounded there. Some of the trees are almost covered with
+the hanging-nests of the orioles; and, as they are rarely disturbed by
+the natives, I found them so tame that it required no skill at all to
+get near enough to shoot them.
+
+[Illustration: A VILLAGE IN LOMBOCK.]
+
+"Several miles out in the country from Ampanam is the village where the
+Rajah of the island lives; it is called Mataram, and no native of the
+lower classes is allowed to ride on horseback through it. If you should
+happen to be travelling there, and had your Javanese servant mounted on
+a horse, he would be obliged to walk from one end of the town to the
+other, and lead his animal.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW NEAR MATARAM.]
+
+"There is a fine volcano in Lombock, about eight thousand feet high. Mr.
+Wallace tells a good story in connection with this volcano, and the plan
+by which the Rajah took the census of the population of the island.
+
+"You must know that the principal product of Lombock is rice, and the
+taxes are paid in this article. Each man, woman, and child contributed a
+small measure of rice once a year; but it passed through many hands
+before it reached the treasury, and a little of it clung to each hand
+that it touched. The result was that the Rajah did not get half of what
+was due him, and all his officers conspired to tell him that the crops
+were short in some districts, and many people had died in others; and no
+matter what he did to find out the truth, they managed to prevent his
+learning it. He determined to take a census of his people, but did not
+know how to go at it, as his officers would suspect what it was for,
+and would make out the population according to the rice that he received
+the previous year. He thought a long time over the matter, and finally
+hit on a plan so shrewd that nobody suspected there was any census at
+all.
+
+"For several days he appeared to be very sick at heart; and finally he
+called his officers together, and told them he had been summoned to go
+to the top of the great fire-mountain to hear a revelation from the
+spirit who ruled the island. The spirit had come to him in a vision, and
+said he must go there at once, or the island would be destroyed.
+
+[Illustration: WHERE THE GREAT SPIRIT AND THE RAJAH MET.]
+
+"Of course they made arrangements immediately, and a grand procession
+accompanied the Rajah to the designated spot. From the foot of the
+mountain to the summit he was escorted by a few priests and attendants;
+and as he neared the crater he ordered them to remain behind, under the
+shadow of a great rock, while he went alone to meet the spirit. He
+remained away for a long time; the fact is, he lay down and took a
+comfortable nap, and it was naturally thought that the spirit had a
+great deal to say to him.
+
+"When he returned he was silent and sorrowful, and did not speak a word
+for three days. Then he summoned his officers, and told them what the
+spirit had said. He described the spirit as having a face of burnished
+gold, and a voice that sounded like distant thunder.
+
+"'Oh, Rajah!' the spirit said, 'much plague, and sickness, and fever are
+coming on the earth--on men, and horses, and cattle; but as you and your
+people have obeyed me and come to the mountain, and have been good and
+faithful, I will tell you how you can avoid the pestilence.
+
+"'You must make twelve sacred krisses; and to make them, every village
+and every district must send a bundle of needles--a needle for every
+head in the village. And when any disease appears in a village, one of
+the krisses shall be sent there; if every house in that village has sent
+the right number of needles, the disease shall cease immediately; but if
+the number of needles has not been exact, then all shall die!'
+
+"So the princes and chiefs made haste to collect the needles; and they
+were very exact about it, for they feared that, if a single needle
+should be wanting in any case, the whole village would perish. When the
+needles were collected, the Rajah received them; then he had a workman
+come and make twelve krisses from those needles; but the papers that
+were around the needles, and told the name of each village, and the
+number of men, women, and children in it, he carefully preserved, and
+put away in his private chest.
+
+"When the rice-tax came in that year, and the quantity fell short, the
+Rajah said to the officers that there was some mistake about it. He then
+told them the exact number of inhabitants in that village, according to
+the packages of needles, and it did not take long to set the matter
+right. The result was that the Rajah grew very rich, and his fame went
+out through all the islands and countries of the East."
+
+"A capital story," said Frank; and the opinion was emphatically endorsed
+by Fred.
+
+"It is evident," the latter remarked, "that the kriss, or dagger, is
+held in great respect in Lombock."
+
+"Certainly," said the gentleman, in reply; "there is no part of the
+Archipelago where it is more honored, and where the wealthy natives have
+so much money invested in this weapon. Very often they have them with
+golden handles set with jewels; and I have seen some that cost thousands
+of dollars. Every man carries one of these knives, and frequently it is
+the only property he can boast of possessing. The blade is twisted; and
+when it is used it makes a frightful wound."
+
+"That is what the Malays 'run a-muck' with, is it not?" Frank asked.
+
+"Yes; and Lombock is one of the most famous places in the East for that
+amusement. The island, though close to Java, is independent, and the
+Rajah does pretty much what he pleases as long as he remains on good
+terms with his Dutch neighbors. The taxes are not heavy, but the laws
+are very severe. Small thefts are punished with death; and it is a rule
+of the country that a person found in a house after dark, without the
+owner's consent, may be killed, and his body thrown into the street,
+without fear that anybody will ask a question about the matter.
+
+"The word 'amok' means 'kill;' and the Malays kill others in the
+expectation that others will kill them. Running amok is the fashionable
+way of committing suicide; a man grows desperate from any cause, and
+determines to put an end to his life, and to kill as many others as he
+can before he is killed himself. He grasps his kriss handle, and stabs
+somebody to the heart; then he rushes down the street, shouting 'amok!
+amok!' and stabbing everybody he can reach. People rush on him with
+knives, spears, daggers, guns, or other weapons, and despatch him as
+soon as possible--as they would a mad dog. Sometimes five or ten persons
+are killed by the man before he is brought down; and I know one instance
+where sixteen were killed or wounded by a native running amok.
+
+"The Malays are excellent workers of steel, and the weapons they make
+are difficult to surpass in fineness and beauty. The marvellous thing is
+that they will accomplish so much with the rudest implements; a smith
+has a small forge, a hammer or two, and a few files, and with these and
+one or two other things he will turn out work that astonishes the
+skilled artificers of Sheffield. A Malay gunsmith produces weapons that
+shoot with precision, and are bored with perfect accuracy; but the
+boring is done without any machinery whatever. This is the apparatus:
+
+[Illustration: GUN-BORING IN LOMBOCK.]
+
+"There is an upright pole which is thrust through a bamboo basket; its
+top is fastened to a cross-bar, and the bottom is equipped with an iron
+ring in which boring-irons can be fitted. The barrel to be bored is set
+in the ground, the basket is filled with stones to give it weight, and
+two boys turn the cross-bar to make the boring-iron revolve. The barrel
+is bored in sections about eighteen inches long; and these are welded
+together, and afterwards bored to the required size.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVES OF TIMOR.]
+
+"Considerably to the eastward of Lombock is the island of Timor, which
+is interesting because it is one of the few places where the Portuguese
+have a local habitation and a name in the Malay Archipelago. Timor is
+about three hundred miles long by sixty wide, and is partly occupied by
+the Dutch and partly by the Portuguese. The Dutch settlements are at the
+western end, and their principal town is Coupang; it has a mixed
+population of Malays, Chinese, and Dutch, in addition to the natives,
+who are closely allied to the natives of Papua, or New Guinea, and have
+very little affinity with the Malay race. They are of a dirty brown
+color, and have large noses and frizzled hair, so that they strongly
+resemble the negro.
+
+[Illustration: DELLI, PORTUGUESE TIMOR.]
+
+"The seat of the Portuguese part of Timor is at Delli, a miserable
+village of thatched huts, with a mud fort, and very little appearance of
+civilization. The governor's house is a trifle better than the rest,
+but not much; and the place has a reputation for fever that is not at
+all agreeable for a stranger. I don't think much of Delli, and never
+heard of any one who did.
+
+"The Portuguese government in Timor is a very shadowy affair, and the
+sooner it comes to an end the better. It has been there three hundred
+years, and yet there is not a mile of road in the interior of the
+country, and the agricultural resources of the island have received no
+development. The example of the Dutch in Java seems to be quite lost on
+the Portuguese, who oppress the inhabitants in every possible way, and
+plunder them without fear of punishment."
+
+Frank asked if Timor was one of the islands where the bird of paradise
+is found.
+
+"No," replied the gentleman; "but it is not far from there to the Aru
+Islands, where the Great Bird of Paradise lives. I went from Timor to
+Aru in a native boat, and narrowly escaped drowning on the way. We were
+caught in a storm, and anchored near a small island off the coast of
+Aru; the Malay anchor is a stick of wood from the fork of a tree, with a
+stone to give it weight, and, as it has only one fluke, you can never be
+sure that it goes down so as to seize the bottom. Ours bothered us so
+that we had to throw it several times, and when we finally got it to
+hold we were not twenty yards from the rocks where the wind was driving
+us.
+
+"But a miss is as good as a mile, and we were safe on shore the next
+morning, very thankful at our escape.
+
+"I had an opportunity to go to the forest to see the process of shooting
+the Great Bird of Paradise, and went at once. Quite a trade is carried
+on in these birds, and the skill of the natives is devoted to capturing
+them without staining their plumage with blood, or allowing the birds to
+injure it during their struggles.
+
+"The birds have a curious habit of getting up dancing-parties in the
+month of May, when their plumage is finest. They assemble before sunrise
+in a tree that has plenty of room among its branches for them to move
+about, and as soon as the sun is fairly up they begin their dancing.
+They elevate their plumes as peacocks display their tails, stretch their
+necks, raise their wings, and hop from branch to branch in a state of
+great excitement.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVES OF ARU SHOOTING THE GREAT BIRD OF PARADISE.]
+
+"The natives hunt through the forest till they find a tree where the
+birds assemble. They go there in the evening and build a screen of
+leaves over the fork of the tree, and just before daylight they climb up
+there ready for business. They keep perfectly still till the birds are
+busily engaged in their dance, and then they shoot with blunt-pointed
+arrows. The bird is stunned and falls to the ground, and before he
+recovers he is seized by a boy who is waiting for him; the bird's neck
+is broken without injuring the skin, and thus the prize is secured
+without staining the feathers with blood."
+
+Fred asked if, when one bird was shot, the rest did not fly away.
+
+"Not by any means," was the answer. "They are so busy with displaying
+their feathers to each other, that they do not take notice of the
+disappearance of one of their number until they are greatly reduced. The
+morning I went out to see the business, I was stationed in a little
+bower about a hundred yards from the tree where the birds were, so that
+I could see all that went on. There were twenty-one birds there, all
+beautiful males, and they made the prettiest sight of the kind that ever
+came before my eyes. The natives shot fifteen of them, and finally one
+of the birds was not hit hard enough to prevent his screaming as he
+fell. The others then took the alarm, and in two minutes they were all
+out of sight."
+
+[Illustration: A NATIVE ANCHOR.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+WANDERINGS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO.--GOOD-BYE.
+
+
+"There is an interesting point in the Aru Islands," the gentleman
+remarked, after a short pause, "known as Dobbo."
+
+[Illustration: GREAT STREET OF DOBBO IN THE TRADING SEASON.]
+
+"It is not regularly visited by steamers, as it is out of the routes of
+travel, and for a part of the year it is almost deserted. In May and
+June it is filled to overflowing with a mixed lot of people from all
+parts of the East. There are Chinese in considerable number, who come to
+buy the articles brought to market by the inhabitants of the islands for
+a long distance; and there are men from Macassar, Timor, Ceram, and
+other parts of the Archipelago, as well as the natives of Aru, who
+belong to the Papuans I have already described. The town consists of a
+single street of mat-covered huts and sheds, with a lot of straggling
+buildings in the rear that are set down without any regard to order or
+regularity.
+
+"I went to Dobbo in a native boat from Macassar. It was very much like a
+Chinese junk in general appearance, and about seventy tons burden, with
+a native crew of thirty men and a Javanese captain. Four or five of the
+men were slave-debtors of the captain, and the rest were hired, like the
+crew of a ship in Europe or America."
+
+"Excuse me for interrupting," said Fred, "but let me ask what these
+slave-debtors are."
+
+"Slave indebtedness," replied the gentleman, "is a system introduced by
+the Dutch, who borrowed it from the Chinese, for the protection of
+traders in these thinly-peopled regions. Goods must be intrusted to
+agents and small dealers, who frequently gamble them away, and leave the
+merchant unpaid. He trusts them again and again, with the same result;
+and finally, when he can stand it no longer, he brings them before a
+police court, where he establishes his claim. The magistrate then binds
+the debtor over to the creditor, and requires him to work out the
+account. The plan seems to answer very well, as the creditor is secure
+so long as the debtor lives and has his health; while the debtor does
+not consider himself disgraced, but rather enjoys his relief from
+responsibility."
+
+"But it is a system of slavery," Fred answered; "though, after all, it
+is more sensible than the European practice of locking a debtor up in
+jail, where he can earn nothing, but is a constant expense to himself
+and all others concerned."
+
+"A good deal depends on the character of the master," was the reply.
+"Some masters get along very pleasantly with their debtors--allow them
+to trade a little on their own account--and associate with them on equal
+terms.
+
+[Illustration: WEARING THE CANGUE.]
+
+"Others treat them harshly--perhaps not without cause--sometimes, and
+punish them severely for disobedience. While I was at Dobbo, a Chinese
+merchant fastened one of his slave-debtors in a cangue, and kept him
+there an entire day, chained to the wall of his shop. The man had been
+caught stealing from his master, and the latter made himself judge,
+jury, and police-officer without delay. The cangue is a wooden collar
+around the neck; it is about three feet square, and made of planks from
+one to two inches thick. It is a heavy article of wearing apparel, and
+not at all ornamental."
+
+Frank asked if the native captains understood navigation after the
+European form, and could take the positions of the sun and moon with
+instruments like those used on American or European ships.
+
+"They are not good navigators," responded their informant, "as we
+understand navigation, but they manage to get along wonderfully well
+with very rude appliances. They take the altitude of the sun with a
+stick, to which is attached a string with a peculiar arrangement of
+knots; and they understand the use of the compass. They have a
+water-clock, which is very simple, and much more accurate than you would
+suppose.
+
+"It consists of a bucket of water, and the half of a cocoa-nut shell.
+There is a tiny hole like the prick of a needle in the bottom of the
+shell, and when you put it on the water you can just see a stream like a
+thread spurting up. It takes an hour to fill the shell, and when it is
+full it goes plump to the bottom of the bucket, making a bubbling noise
+that attracts the attention of the man on duty, who immediately puts
+the shell in place again. I used to try it with my watch, and found that
+it never varied more than a minute from the hour, which is quite
+accurate enough for an Oriental. The motion of the boat had no effect on
+it, as the water in the bucket was always on a level.
+
+"The voyages of these boats are made with the monsoons, so that the
+course is largely guided by studying the direction of the wind. Only one
+voyage can be made in a year from Macassar--the boats starting in
+December or January with the west monsoon, and returning in July or
+August with the east monsoon. The distance is about a thousand miles,
+and is made in from twenty to thirty days each way.
+
+[Illustration: A NATIVE OF ARU.]
+
+"The trade at Dobbo amounts to something near a hundred thousand dollars
+a year, and is carried on in the most primitive way. It is almost
+entirely a barter trade; there is no money in use except copper coins
+from Java and China, and many of the natives do not even know their
+value. It requires a great deal of talk to make a bargain, and sometimes
+they will haggle for hours over a transaction that amounts to only a few
+cents.
+
+[Illustration: SEA-CUCUMBER.]
+
+"The things brought from the islands, and bought by the traders, are
+pearl-shells, tortoise-shell, edible birds'-nests, pearls, timber, and
+birds of paradise. There is also a large supply of _tripang_, or
+'beche-de-mer,' of which the Chinese make many soups. It is known in
+English as the sea-cucumber, and is taken on the reefs and among the
+rocks all through the Eastern seas, and in some parts of the Pacific
+Ocean. After being boiled in its own liquid, and dried on racks over a
+fire, it is ready for market.
+
+[Illustration: A PAPUAN PIPE.]
+
+"The goods used in purchasing these articles are as varied as the
+purchasers. The most important item is that of arrack--a spirit
+distilled from rice, and resembling rum; about twenty thousand gallons
+of it are sold at Dobbo every year, and sometimes as many as twenty-five
+thousand. English and American cottons are sold; and also tobacco,
+crockery, knives, muskets, gunpowder, Chinese gongs, small cannons, and
+elephants' tusks. The last three articles are the luxuries with which
+the natives of Aru buy their wives, and display in their houses or
+conceal as valuable property. They use tobacco both for chewing and
+smoking, and will not accept it unless it is very strong. The native
+pipe is similar to that used in Papua, or New Guinea, and is made of
+wood, with a long upright handle, which is set in the ground while the
+owner is using it. He squats before the pipe, and when in this position
+his mouth is just on a level with the end of the stem.
+
+"I went from Dobbo to Amboyna and Banda, which are small islands not far
+from the much greater one of Ceram. They formerly belonged to the
+Portuguese, but are now in possession of the Dutch, and known to the
+commercial world for their products of cloves and nutmegs."
+
+"I have read somewhere," said Frank, "that the Dutch destroyed the
+spice-trees on all the other islands, so as to have a monopoly in Banda
+and Amboyna. Was it not very unjust to the natives to do that?"
+
+"All the facts in the case are not generally known," was the reply. "The
+Portuguese traders maintained high prices for these luxuries, and used
+to oppress the natives to obtain them. Sometimes the competition led to
+their paying such figures to the native princes that the latter became
+very wealthy, but their subjects were not benefited by them. When the
+Dutch came into possession, they determined to concentrate the culture
+in a few places, so that they could control it, and to this end they
+offered an annual subsidy to the native princes to destroy the
+spice-trees in their dominions. The latter were thus made sure of their
+revenue, while the people were able to devote more time to the
+cultivation of articles of food, and were relieved from taxes.
+
+"The cultivation of the clove was restricted to the island of Amboyna,
+while Banda was made the seat of the nutmeg culture. There was so much
+complaint on the part of the English that the monopoly was finally
+removed in part; the trade is still surrounded with restrictions, as the
+Dutch are in possession of the islands where the culture can be
+conducted to the best advantage. It is a curious circumstance that the
+birds had much to do with the suppression of the monopoly."
+
+"The birds?"
+
+[Illustration: A BIRD OF AMBOYNA.]
+
+"Yes, a bird known as the nutmeg-pigeon. He lives on the mace which
+envelops the nutmeg; the latter is undigested and uninjured in his
+stomach, and he carries it to islands of whose existence the Dutch were
+not aware. The nutmeg is the seed of the tree, and as fast as the Dutch
+suppressed the cultivation in an island the birds restored it. Banda is
+still the centre of the nutmeg trade, as the article is produced more
+cheaply there than in any other spot, and it sends about two million
+pounds of this spice to market every year. The climate of Amboyna was
+found not altogether suited to the production of the clove; and as the
+clove-tree flourishes in other parts of the world, the monopoly could
+not be kept up. The clove is not the fruit of the tree, as many persons
+suppose, but the blossom; it is gathered before it is unfolded, and if
+you look at a clove you will see how much it resembles a bud just ready
+for opening.
+
+"From Banda I went to Ceram, to see the process of obtaining sago.
+Perhaps you are fond of sago-pudding, and may be interested to know
+where sago comes from, and how it is prepared."
+
+The boys nodded their assent, and Frank remarked that he had many times
+wished he knew more about the delicious article.
+
+"The sago-tree belongs to the palm family; it is thicker and larger than
+the cocoa-palm, but not so tall, and its leaves are very large and long.
+The stem of the leaf is twelve or fifteen feet long, and six inches in
+diameter at the butt, and is used for a great many purposes. Whole
+houses are built of these stems, from the framework to the thatch-poles
+and flooring, and they never shrink or bend, or require any paint or
+varnish. The leaf forms an admirable thatch, and the trunk of the tree
+is the food of many thousands of people.
+
+[Illustration: SAGO CLUB.]
+
+"When it is about fifteen years old the tree blossoms, and then dies.
+Just as it is about to blossom, it is cut down close to the ground, and
+stripped of its leaves. The upper part of the trunk is then taken off,
+so as to expose the pith of the tree, which is broken into a coarse
+powder by means of a club of heavy wood, having a piece of iron or sharp
+stone in one end. The whole inside of the tree is broken up till the
+trunk forms a trough not more than half an inch thick.
+
+[Illustration: PREPARING SAGO.]
+
+[Illustration: SAGO OVEN.]
+
+"The dry powder is then washed, and strained through a coarse sieve;
+the water flows into a deep trough with a depression in the centre,
+where the sago sinks to the bottom and is secured. It is then pressed
+into cylinders weighing about thirty pounds each, or it is baked into
+cakes in a clay oven, with a series of compartments an inch wide, and
+six inches long and deep. The cakes will keep a long while if they are
+dried in the sun after baking. I have eaten sago that was said to be ten
+years old, and found it perfectly good."
+
+Fred wished to know how much sago there was in a tree, and how much it
+costs for a man to live in the sago country.
+
+"A single tree will produce from eight hundred to one thousand pounds of
+sago," was the reply, "which will support a man for a year. Two men can
+reduce a tree to dry powder in five days, and therefore we may say that
+ten days' labor will support a man for a year. The result is that in
+the sago country the people are indolent, and not at all prosperous;
+they have no incentive to work, and therefore make no effort to do
+anything. They wear very little clothing; and as for their houses, they
+have no occasion for anything more than rude huts, which can be built by
+a couple of men in a few hours. It has been observed by all who have
+visited Ceram that the inhabitants are not as well off as the people of
+the islands that produce rice, as the latter must work a great deal
+harder to support themselves, and will lose their whole crop unless they
+pay attention to their fields.
+
+[Illustration: SUGAR-PALM OF MACASSAR.]
+
+"From Ceram I went to Macassar, where they have a palm-tree producing a
+sweet juice that may be made into beer, or boiled down into sugar, like
+the sap of a maple-tree. It is not unlike the sago-palm in general
+appearance, and will grow wherever it can find sufficient soil for its
+roots. The island is very rough and mountainous, and the variety of soil
+enables it to produce a great many things. I was invited to stay on the
+plantation of a friend who lived among the hills, and promised me a
+pleasant time.
+
+[Illustration: CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN.]
+
+"The road to the plantation was very steep in several places, and the
+mules that we rode had all they could do to carry us. The path wound in
+and out among the rocks, and under the trees peculiar to the tropics;
+and one of the trees came near being the cause of my falling over a high
+cliff."
+
+"How was that?"
+
+"Fruit was so abundant that the natives did not gather all of it as fast
+as it ripened; every little while I saw mangoes or bananas lying in the
+path, and the incident I mention was caused by my mule stepping on a
+banana and slipping to the ground. He left me sprawling just on the edge
+of the cliff; if he had pitched me a foot farther, I should have gone
+over and been dashed to death on the rocks below.
+
+"I stayed with my friend a week, and found that he had a most delightful
+residence. He was fond of hunting, and was able to supply his table with
+meat by means of his gun and dogs. There were many wild pigs in the
+neighborhood, and he shot two of them while I was there, so that we had
+pork in abundance. Then there were several kinds of birds that were
+excellent eating. He had all the milk he wanted from his buffaloes, and
+made his own butter, raised his own rice and coffee, and smoked cigars
+from his own tobacco. He had ducks and chickens, and eggs in any desired
+quantity; his palm-trees supplied him with palm-wine and sugar, and he
+had nearly every tropical fruit that can be named. You see, by this
+account of his plantation, how well a man may live in one of the islands
+of the Archipelago, provided he can reconcile himself to the absence of
+society, and be contented with the sport that the hilly country affords.
+
+[Illustration: COMING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN.]
+
+"When I came away my friend accompanied me down the mountain, and I
+found the journey much easier than going up; in fact, it was too easy,
+and the mules were inclined to go faster than we liked to have them. A
+part of the way I hired a boy to hang on to the tail of my beast, which
+he did, somewhat to the annoyance of the latter. This kind of check was
+evidently new to him, and he tried to elevate his heels sufficiently to
+shake off the encumbrance. But he could not do so without danger of
+turning a somersault; and consequently his kicking was confined to a few
+slight movements. When the path became less steep I dismissed the boy,
+and the animal went along as demurely as ever.
+
+"But my time is up," said the gentleman, looking at his watch, "and your
+note-books are full. I am sorry I have not another hour or two in which
+to tell you of Celebes, where the Dutch have established the same system
+of culture that has made Java so prosperous; of Borneo, where the people
+and the products form a study of unusual interest; of New Guinea, a
+country rarely visited by Europeans; and of many other parts of the
+Eastern Archipelago. Perhaps we will meet again one of these days, and
+then I will try to give you more information similar to what I have been
+narrating, and trust you will not find it without interest."
+
+Frank and Fred were earnest in their thanks to their kind informant; and
+the Doctor added his words of indebtedness to theirs. Expressions of
+regret at their separation were made on both sides, and the final
+hand-shaking was the cause of little lumps in youthful and manly throats
+that choked the voices, and made the "good-byes" a trifle husky in their
+utterance.
+
+At the stipulated time the repairs to the carriage were completed, and
+our friends made all haste back to Buitenzorg, and thence to Batavia. At
+their banker's they found a large parcel of letters, which had just
+arrived by the last mail from Singapore; and the evening of their return
+from the interior was devoted to the perusal of the precious missives
+from home. The next day found them busy with plans for their future
+movements, and you may be sure that the map of the eastern hemisphere
+was thoroughly studied, and the routes of travel and commerce carefully
+examined. In this occupation we will leave the Doctor and his young
+companions, with the assurance that in due time the Bassett and Bronson
+families, and all their friends, Miss Effie included, will be fully
+informed of the adventures that befell
+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST.
+
+[Illustration: "GOOD-BYE!"]
+
+
+
+
+INTERESTING BOOKS FOR BOYS.
+
+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST. Part I. Adventures of Two Youths in
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+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST. Part II. Adventures of Two Youths in
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+THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST. Part III. Adventures of Two Youths
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+
+THE HISTORY OF A MOUNTAIN. By ÉLISÉE RECLUS. Illustrated by L. Bennett.
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+
+THE BOYS OF '76. A History of the Battles of the Revolution. By CHARLES
+CARLETON COFFIN. Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $3.00.
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG NATURALIST. By LUCIEN BIART. With 117
+Illustrations. 12mo, Cloth, $1.75.
+
+AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. By LUCIEN BIART. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1.25.
+
+ROUND THE WORLD; including a Residence in Victoria, and a Journey by
+Rail across North America. By a Boy. Edited by SAMUEL SMILES.
+Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1.50.
+
+THE SELF-HELP SERIES. By SAMUEL SMILES.
+
+ SELF-HELP. 12mo, Cloth, $1.00.--CHARACTER. 12mo, Cloth,
+ $1.00.--THRIFT. 12mo, Cloth, $1.00.--DUTY, 12mo, Cloth, $1.00.
+
+THE BOYHOOD OF MARTIN LUTHER; or, The Sufferings of the Little
+Beggar-Boy who afterward became the Great German Reformer. By HENRY
+MAYHEW. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth, $1.25.
+
+THE STORY OF THE PEASANT-BOY PHILOSOPHER. (Founded on the Early Life of
+Ferguson, the Shepherd-Boy Astronomer, and intended to show how a Poor
+Lad became acquainted with the Principles of Natural Science.) By HENRY
+MAYHEW. 16mo, Cloth, $1.25.
+
+YOUNG BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. A Story to show how Young Benjamin learned the
+Principles which raised him from a Printer's Boy to the First Ambassador
+of the American Republic. By HENRY MAYHEW. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth,
+$1.25.
+
+THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE; or, Young Humphry Davy (the Cornish Apothecary's
+Boy who taught himself Natural Philosophy, and eventually became
+President of the Royal Society). The Life of a Wonderful Boy. By HENRY
+MAYHEW. 16mo, Cloth, $1.25.
+
+THE BOYHOOD OF GREAT MEN. By JOHN G. EDGAR. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth,
+$1.00.
+
+THE FOOTPRINTS OF FAMOUS MEN. By JOHN G. EDGAR. Illustrated. 16mo,
+Cloth, $1.00.
+
+HISTORY FOR BOYS; or, Annals of the Nations of Modern Europe. By JOHN G.
+EDGAR. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth, $1.00.
+
+SEA-KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. A Book for Boys. By JOHN G. EDGAR.
+Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth, $1.00.
+
+THE WARS OF THE ROSES. By JOHN G. EDGAR. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth,
+$1.00.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Travellers in the Far East
+Part Second, by Thomas W. Knox
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 58175 ***
generated by cgit v1.2.3 (git 2.25.1) at 2026-01-05 03:03:36 +0000