Sugar planter. [volume] (West Baton Rouge [i.e. Port Allen, West Baton Rouge Parish, La.]) 1856-1925, 1867-03-23
WONDERFUL DISCOVERY.
r,r pra.pr,prF P1rNs OF ANCaR Wat, n
THE KINGDOM or SLAM.

THE KINGDOM or SLAM.
From the Revue Generate d'ArcLitecture des
Travaux Publics,
There comes to us from Siam an ae-
count of ruins so immense that they seem
like tales from the Arabian Nights
Learned men and the mere lovers of wiiai
is curious will read with a lively interest
the letters ia which General Perrin, our
fellow countryman and commander OF the
armies Of the king Of Siam, narfates
what he saw with his W eyes.
LETTER OF c. PERRIN, MANDARIN OF THE THIRD
CLASS, COMMANDING Il LAND FORCES OF
THE KING OF SLAM.
There are sacred stones here. Some
are rocks which we're evidently soft en-
ough once, as they bear distinct impress
ions of the feet of men and animals
The most venerated is that of the Bud
dhist monastery at Phratbrat. Immense
numbers of pilgrims go there annually
| will speak Of it in another place.
The Others are enormous monollths, set
up on rougbly-hewn natural plinths. AT
every step Inscriptions abound. There
are also gateways or %triumphal arches,
built Of huge stones.
Who were the giants, and what were
the machines nsed, that erected these I'M
mense stones? The surroundings of tue
locality show nc vestige of them. The.
q~uarries are generally at a distance. |
found two of those monuments In the
country of the Stiengs. when on a militia
~ expedition against that people. They
were located in swampy and almost hi
passable forests. Certain it is that no
European had seen them before.
The Laonese had told me of the exis-
: tence of these monuments. | could not
approach close to them on account of al
most i~nsuperable obstacles, and because
| did not believe them of such impor-
lance. | conteuted myself with examin-
ing them through a 6eld.glass. These
did not appear to bear any Inscriptions.
The Invading vegetation OF the tropics
had not eneroached upon them. What
roots could disjoint these stones, fitted
without mortar, and raise their immense
weight :! thought the Two main supports
were about as high as the cross piece al
top was long. The soil has evidently the
accumulation of vegetation as rank and
l%uXuriaht as that of the forests. The
monuments rest without doubt either on
monolithic plinthsJ on the rock itself. Or
on gigantic foundations, for the soil
around them is SO soft and humid that
one may easily thrust a cane into it up
to the handle.
who set these mp ?"I asked of the
escort, and ten voices instantly gave an
swer. The Gal"
Woo were the Gal"
White barbarians from the land of.
SHOWS, as large as three ordinary men.
and whose fingers and toes, though artic.
ulated, were joined. They had great hor-
ses, twice as large as ours. they bones of
which may still be found. They were an
impioas race aud hunted elephants, the
flesh Of which they used for food. The
great Maha Verma Ca renowned warrior}
collected The elephants, gave battle to the
Cal, and drove them back into Tibet
The Gal offered to their gods the sacrifice
of blood"
The above is in substance what I heard
but it is not enough. l shall call all the
savants of the country to aid me if pos
sible to clear up this mystery.
Several Chinese merchants assure me-
that these monuments exist in China, the
northern and western parts of that en-
pire.
~, ~,
The Chinese call them "The Stones Of
the Giants The Siamese gave them
the name Of dia gai, stones of the gal ::
the Laonese hon dia gai, and the Anna.
mese do gai, which have a similar mean.
ing.
But is the word Gai the name of the
people to whom these monuments are
erected ?
The word Cal, in the Indo-Chinese
languages, is literally he or they who
may excite war. It must be, then, the
surname OF these people. That is the
question.
But of the ruins of Ancor-Viat. A,none
the tribute in kind, which the king Of
o klo pays to his sovereign the king of
Siam, saitpeter bears a considerable part
Of this, a large amount is used in Indo.
China for fireworks, and the ruins of An
cor-Yiat are an almost inexbaustihle
mine OF materials for it's manufacture. in
which criminals are employed by the gov
eminent. On my first voyage thither. T
saw nothing this time, however, I did
not follow the same road hnf mont