The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-02-01

Siam and siNmeSe.
There is one peculiar feature in Siam
which isolatrs it from every other empire
of the earth: Siam has no cites No
strong built, well fortified, elegantly-con-
e :4:..s. {: Z ssH::es "SS,1 Giticsr'ifh sDiidrtlS
and suburban villas. The pagan in Hin
doStan rivaled in the architecture of his
temple the most splendid efforts Of Greece
in her sunnieSt days.
The Tai Mahl was something exquisite
in the conception of the brain that first
conceived its existence in embryo. China
and Japan have noble specimens also of
architectural beauty, and all ChriStcndom
and the Ottoman Empire have something
to show in the shape o! what constitutes
a city.
The tent of the Arab Of the desert and
the floating house of the Siamese are very
much assimiated. Now they are swal-
lowed up i'll the vortex Of some town or
city constituting an item either central or
suburban. Now they are isolated and
lonesome In fact, the Siamese may be
called the Bedouins Of the river.
While the Arabs faith clings tightly to
his mare, on whose back he may tleetly
traverse the sandy wastes, pursuing or.
pursued, the Siamese relics upon the ex-
cclltucc and swiftncsS of his canoe, which
constitutes his all in all, whether for pleas
uic or for flight, or for the remunerativc
services it renders him in fishing, or in the
conveyance and vending of the produce of
the soil.
As in the desert we may encounter the
solitary tent Of an Arab, his specr stuck
into the ground and his well beloved mare
fastened thereto, so, in deSolate portions
of the Mcnam are to be encountered single
oating-houses, with the indispensable
canoe chained to. the. front, and here, in
fishing or some other occupation, the in
habitants pass the time in undisturbed
tranquility.
The capital of Siam, Bangkok, is moth
ing more nor less than congregation of
wooden huts or cabins floating upon
strongly cOnstruSted bamboo RATS, any
score or two of which may at any given
moment he loosed from their moOringS
and shift the scene of their future homes
either farther upOr lower down the river,
thus weakening the city in the number Of
its houses and inhabitants. Or else, as is
not un0lten the case, some thouSand-ton
ship or junk of huge proportions swings
suddenly to the tide, carrying away
small colony of houses, which drift away
rapidly, to the establishment and terror
of the yelling inmates. With the excep.
tion of few palaces and watts, few
monumental pillars and European resi-
denceS, Bangkok has nothing substantial
about it, aud some unusual flood tides
might any night sweep away the greater
mass Of houses and population, and leave
the aStonished inmates Of the more solid
fabrics on terrU frma positively alone in
their glory. That people so lodged
should be almost amphibious in their ma.
lures cannot be matter ef surprise. The
first duty of man, and of woman also in
Siam, is to learn to swim, and infants
barely able to toddle about take to the
water as kindly as young ducklings.
They may be said to be n Scrupulously
ceanly people if often lavations arc proof
thereof, for one half Of the day, excepting
during the monSoons, they are padding
and swimming about, men, women and
children, hetcrogeneou>lv mixed up. and
destitute of any sense of deicacy or shame
as they almost are ot clothing.
Yet with all this it cannot be said that
the Siamese are an immoral people,; in
deed, in this respect, they are lar superior
to the natives of the continent of India,
and there is much more of simplicity ana
gentleness about their dispositions, and
none of that crafty trcachcrv and revenge
which is the prominant feature Of the
Malays, to whom in every other respect
they bear close resemblance.
AS a rule, admitting Of very few cX-
ccptons indeed, the Siapess,% both men
and women, are short ots,tature, but re-
markahly Sinewv and strong about the
legs and arms Their complexion varies,
according to their exposure to the sun,
from light fawn color to deep copper,
vcrging sometimes upon bronze. They
have all fiat faces with high cheek bones.
small sharp eyes, flat spreading noses
with large nostrilS, but. generally speak
ing, very fair mouths with beautiful white
teeth, which the women disguStingly dis
figure, according to their notions Of beau
ty, by dyeing into jet black with the aid
of hetel-nut. -
Both men and women shave the head,
leaHllS OIliy All upright tuIL Oh nilT SLICK
ing up just in the centre Of their low
beetle browed fnTeheads.
Their costumes consist. from the King
. downward, of loose pu4junnah, or skirt,
which faStens round the waist and hangs
to Just below the knees
f Unmarried girls wear in addition to
this loose white scarf flung over the
shoulders so aS to conceal the bust.
Indeed, the costume of the Siamese
women is precisely the same, excepting
only the headdress, as the Magyar women
in the Travancore districts the great
: difference in their personal beauty, how
ever, is immense. ..-