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                               NOTES OF
                 A JOURNEY ON THE UPPER MEKONG, SIAM.


                                  BY
                          H. WARINGTON SMYTH,
        OF THE ROYAL DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, BANGKOK.


                     WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.


                             PUBLISHED FOR
                    THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY
                                  BY
              JOHN MURRAY, 50, ALBEMARLE STREET, LONDON.
                                 1895.




[Illustration: THE RAPIDS AT THE GATES OF CHIENG KONG, MEKONG RIVER.]




PREFACE.


I have put together the following account of a recent journey made for
the Siamese Government to the Mekong valley, chiefly for the reason
that at the present moment, when the French have "rectified" their
boundaries on the north and east of Siam to the extent of some 85,000
square miles, more interest than usual will probably be felt in the
character of the country and the people, of whom there are not too
many reliable accounts to be found. At the same time, I feel very
strongly that there are others whose descriptions will be far more
valuable than my own, owing to their longer residence in the country,
and the greater extent of their explorations. I refer especially to
Messrs. McCarthy, Archer, and Beckett, who have done difficult and
extensive work in all parts of Siam and the Laos states; and there is
certainly no European, and probably no Siamese, that knows so much of
the configuration of the north-east as does Mr. McCarthy, who, carried
on by an apparently deep love of jungle-life, has aroused the
admiration of the Siamese and Laos at Luang Prabang by his hardihood
and energy, and the results of whose work were a constant source of
admiration to me, as I went on and saw the wildness and difficulty of
the country.

The object of my journey was primarily the examination, for the
Siamese Government, of a supposed very rich deposit of gems (rubies
and sapphires), lately discovered on the left bank of the Mekong,
opposite Chieng Kong. My orders were to return by Luang Prabang,
Nongkhai, and Khorat, and to visit and report on all mineral deposits
of which I could get information, gathering all geological data which
were possible. The time allowed was six months, and I was not to leave
the general line of march prescribed by more than 60 miles. I need
hardly say--and every one who knows what jungle-travelling is will
understand--that my programme, to be thoroughly carried through over
the large extent of country marked out, might well occupy six years
instead of months; and that such a hurried exploration in a country
covered densely with forest--which, next perhaps to snow, is the
greatest enemy to the science of geology--could not but be
unsatisfactory to one's self.

                                    H. Warington Smyth.




GLOSSARY.

    Pak = mouth of a river; _e.g._ Pak Oo, mouth of river Oo.
    Nam = river; _e.g._ Nam Oo, river Oo (_a_ always long, as in
_barn_).
    Hoay = mountain torrent.
    Keng = rapid; _e.g._ Keng Fapa, Fapa rapid.
    Luang = great or chief; _e.g._ Keng Luang, the great rapid.
    Doi _or_ puh = Siam word Kao = hill.
    Ban _or_ Bang = house or village (used indiscriminately).
    Sala = rest-house.
    Muang = town or township, often district or province.
    Chow Muang = literally, chief of the township = governor.
    Klong = stream or canal.




CONTENTS.

  PART I.
  Bangkok to Muang Nan

  PART II.
  Muang Nan to Muang Chieng Kong

  PART III.
  Muang Chieng Kong to Muang Luang Prabang

  PART IV.
  Luang Prabang (March, 1893)

  PART V.
  Nongkhai to Khor