Whilst writing I was interrupted by the unexpected visit of the governor, who was on his way to a pagoda to make an offering of dried fruits, and passed an hour in my cabin. He was in a large and elegant pirogue more than 30 metres long, for which I would have given his house and all its appurtenances. He sent for the owner of the boat which was to take me to Khao-Khoc, and gave him some instructions for the chief of that place, adding, “I have sent no letter, because I know that M. Mouhot made himself respected when here two years ago, and will doubtless do the same there.” I could not but offer him some small presents in acknowledgment of this slight service, which might or might not be of use to me. I therefore gave him a pair of spectacles mounted in tortoiseshell, a bottle of scent, and one of brandy; and I prepared for him a sedative mixture, as he begged for some medicine for his rheumatism. Happy Raspail! who, with his “system,” can assuage suffering even in these distant lands.
In return, he promised to give me a pony when I wanted to go to Korat, besides other useless things; but he will probably forget these promises, for here it is the custom of the rich to accept everything even from the poorest, but very rarely to give away. However, were it not for peculation and presents, how could these mandarins live? Their salary—when they have one—would condemn them to a state of leanness which would not only drive them to despair, but cause them to be looked upon as unsuitable for their places.
Voyage to Khao-Khoc.—Dong Phya Phai (Forest of the King of Fire).
VOYAGE TO KHAO-KHOC.
I am now en route for Khao-Khoc, in the boat of a Chinese merchant, a worthy person, who, luckily for me, does not intoxicate himself with opium or arrack. He intends going as far as Boatioume, but the current is so strong that I doubt if he will be able to proceed higher up the river than Khao-Khoc; for, in spite of his four rowers, and the aid of my two men—(I sent away my Laotian, who found it too great fatigue to row, and preferred sleeping and smoking)—we have been nearly carried away at every bend of the river and at the frequent rapids.
The weather, which I trusted was settled, has changed during the last three days, and every afternoon, about four or five o’clock, we have a violent shower. Last evening I was seized with a more severe headache than any I have had since I entered the country, and my first impression was that I had been attacked by fever, which, in the rainy season, there is so much cause to dread in the neighbourhood of Dong Phya Phai. It proceeded, however, only from the heat of the sun, to which I had been all day exposed, and was dissipated by the freshness of the night air at the prow of the boat. In the morning I felt as well as usual.
They tell me that to-morrow I shall see Khao-Khoc, and I shall not be at all sorry. The little boat is so encumbered with our united baggage, that the fraction of space left for me forces me to all sorts of constrained and uncomfortable positions; and these twelve days of tedious navigation have fatigued me much. And what a place this is! The air is damp, unwholesome, and dreadfully heavy; one’s head burns, while one’s body is at one time covered with perspiration, and at another a cold shivering comes on.
After four days of excessive toil we entered a gorge through which the river passes, which, even at this season, is here not more than 90 metres wide. Torrents of rain, bursting suddenly upon us, forced us to stop rowing, and take refuge under our roof of leaves. The rain lasted all night, and a wretched night it was for the poor men, who, having yielded to me the front of the boat, were all crammed together in the cabin, and, after all their fatigues under a burning sun, were unable to obtain a moment’s sleep, but lay groaning under the suffocating atmosphere and the attacks of legions of mosquitoes.
KHAO-KHOC.