The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1872-02-03
A Floating City,

One Of the most wonderful cities in
the world is Bankok. 1t is the capital
Of Siam, aud is situated on--or rather
in-the great river Meinna The fol.
lowing graphic account is from ,olume
Of travels:
"Thc capital of Siam Did you ever
witness such sight in your lifey On
either side of the vide, majestic stream,
moorad in regular streets, aud alleys,
and extending as far us the eye can reach,
are upwards of seventy thousand neat
lit;lo wooden houses; each house floating
on compact raft Of bamboos, aud the
whole intermediate space Of the river
presents to our astouished gaze one
dense mass of ships, junks aud boats Of
every conceivable shape, color aud size.
AS we glide along among those, we oc-
caslOna!ly encounter stray house bro.
ken loose from its mooriDgs, and hurry.
ing down the stream with the tide, amid
the uproay aud shouts ofthe inhabitants
aud all the spectators, We also noticed
that all the front row Of houses are
neatly painted shops, in which various
tempting commodities are exposed for
sale; behind these again, ut equal dis.
tanees rise the lofty and elegant porce.
lain towers Of the various watts and
temples. On our right hand side, far
away as we can see, are three stately
pillars, erected to the memory of three
detunct kings, celebrated for some act
Of vaIor aud justice; aud little beyond
these, looming like line fbattle ship
amongst lot Of cookie shells rise the
stragglers and not very elegant palace
OF the king, where his Siamese majesty
with ever SO many wives aud children
resides.
Fright ahead, where the city termi.
mates, aud the river, making curve,
flows behind the palace. is neat look.
ing little fort, surmouuted with top OF
mango trees, over which peep the roofs
Of one or two houses aud a flagstaff,
from which floats the royal penuant and
jack of Siam-a flag of red ground work
with a white elephant worked 10 the
centre. This is the fort aud palace OF
the Prince Chou Eau, King of Siam,
aud one Of the most extraordinary aud
intellectual men in the East. or him,
however, we shall see and hear more,
after we have bundled cur traps on
shore, and taken little rest. Now, be
careful how you step out of the boat
into the balcony Of the floating house,
for it will recede to the force of your
effort to mount, and if not aware of this,
you lose your balance aud fall into the
river. Now We are safely transhipped,
for We cannot as yet say landed; but we
now form an item, though very small
one, of the population of the city OF
Bankok.
ave take brief survey Of our pres
ent apartments, and fnd every thing,
inconveuieutly small, cleanly aud IN
other respects comfortable. First, we
have little balcony that oveThangs the
river, and is about twenty yards long
by one and half broad, Then we have
an excellent sitting room, which serves
as parlor, dining room, for books and
writing; aud behind these, extending
the length of the other two, are bed.
rooms OF course we must bring or
make our own furniture; for though
these houses are pretty well off on the
score, the Siamese have seldom anything
besides their bedding materials, few
pots and pans to cook with, few jars
Of stores, and fishing net or two
Every house has a canoe attached to it,,
aud no nation detests walking SO much
as the Siamese; at the same time they
are all expert swimmers, and both men
women begin to acquire this very ne.
eessary art at very early age Without
II man runs momentary risks OF being
drowned, as, when canoe upsets, none
of the pusscrs by ever think il necessa.
ry to lend any aid, supposing them fully
adequate to the task of saving their
own lives. Canoes are hourly being
upset, owing to the vast concodrse Of
vessels aud boats plying to aud fro; aud