File:Travels in the central parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos - during the years 1858, 1859, and 1860 (1864) (14596304988).jpg

Identifier: travelsincentral01mouh (find matches)
Title: Travels in the central parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos : during the years 1858, 1859, and 1860
Year: 1864 (1860s)
Authors: Mouhot, Henri, 1826-1861 Mouhot, Charles
Subjects: Mouhot, Henri, 1826-1861
Publisher: London : John Murray
Contributing Library: University of Connecticut Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

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ll my chests, reservinga narrow space for myself, and another for the bipedsand quadrupeds forming my adopted family—viz., tworowers, one of whom also officiated as cook, a parroquet,an ape, and a dog. One of the boatmen was a Cam-bodian, and the other an Annamite, both Christians, andknowing a few words of Latin* and English, so that,as I had abeady picked up a little Siamese, I couldmake myself pretty well understood. On the 19th October I quitted Bangkok, and com-menced my voyage up the Menam. The current runsvery strongly at this season, and it took us five days togo about seventy miles. At night we suffered terriblyfrom the mosquitoes, and even during the day had to keepup an incessant fanning to drive off these pestilent littlevampires. They were so numerous that you could catch * Latin is much esteemed among the native Christians, thanks tothe ritual of the Cathohc mission. I i , I ii I Ill 11,I ■ III/! III, II i I -^i VjiiimlM l;i j, ;i 11IIii 11f ;/*f 11 mhmi £\ * *f ^ t
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Chap. III. VOYAGE UP THE MBNAM. 109 them by handfuls, and their humming resembled that ofa hive of bees. These insects are the curse of all tropicalcountries, but here they peculiarly abound in the marshesand lands covered with slime and mud left by the retiringwaters, where the heat of the sun and the moisture com-bined, favour their rapid increase. My legs sufferedespecially from their attacks. As the country was entirely inundated, we could notland anywhere, and even after killing a bird I frequentlycould not get at it. All this was very tantalising, for thebanks of the stream are very gay and attractive, naturewearing here her richest dress. At this time of the year the rains have entirelyceased, and do not return for several months. For somedays the north-eastern monsoon had been blowing, theweather was constantly fine, and the heat tempered bythe wind. The waters, also, were beginning to subside.It was the period of the religious fetes of the Siamese,and the river was almost inc

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