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.
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.