Wichita eagle., 1889-07-28
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J;;ai1u eagle
THE CAPITAL OF SIAM.
BANGKOK AND ITS FIFTEEN MILES
OF FLOATING HOUSES.

A City as Large as Chicago, of Which Nine
Out of Ten of the People Live on the
Understanding of the Country Itself.
The King Owns the People.
Siam is one of the out of the way coun-
tries of the world. None of the great
steamship lines of the Pacific or of the
Indian ocean stop at it. Few globe trot-
ters visit it, and it is about 1,500 miles
out of the regular line of travel around
the world. The great Siamese peninsula
juts down from the east coast Of China.
1t contains half a dozen different coun-
tries, the chief of which are Burmah,
Siam and the French states of China.
Siam itself is at the lower end of the pc
ninsula and it bounds the greater part OF
the mighty body Of water known as the
Gulf Of Siam: 1t is 1 300 miles long, and
at its widest part it is 450 miles wide. 1t
is almost as fiat as your hand, though it
has here and there few mountain chains.
1t has many big rivers, and the country
is as much cut up with canals as is Hol
land. During the rainy season it becomes
a mighty lake, and the people move here
and there from one city to another in
boats,
ON THE RIVER MENAM.
The greatest river is the Menam, which
the Siamese know by the Same name as
the Indians knew the Mississippi 1t Is
''the father Of waters" and it forms the
great highway of the kingdom. This
river flows into the Gulf of Siam at its
head, and it is about forty miles from its
mouth that 1 sit here on its banks and
write this letter in this floating city of
Bangkok. Imagine city as large as
Chicago, of which ninety-nine hun
dredths of the people live on the water.
There are fifteen miles Of floating houses
On the two sides of this river, and these,
with the kings palaces and few foreign
buildings on the land, make up the capi-
tai of the Siamese people.
There are six millions and more Of
these Siamese and their country covers
territory of about twice the size Of
Colorado, four times the size of New
York. and it is about five times as big as
Ohio. The oocoanut and the palm tree
line the banks of this Menam river and
the boats fit in and out of jungles which
remind one Of the swamps Of Florida.
l wish could give you a picture Of
our ride up the Menam TO Bangkok.
The sides of tho river are lined with
these small floating houses. They are
anchored to piles and they lie half hid
den by the great palm trees on the banks.
0Ylh n mt If lTl~
the jungle and the houses on it makes
this a floating street. These houses are
made of bamboo, with their sides and their
roofs thatched with palm leaves. They
are sometimes on piles high above the
water, but more often they rest on its
surface. They are tied to poles driven
into the bed of the river, and they rise
and fall with the tide. Their average
height is not more than ten feet, and
eack looks like two large dog kennels
fastened together and covered with palm
leaves.
The river is winding. 1t is perhaps
quarter of a mile wide and every turn
brings new surprises. AS we near Bang
kok the waters are alive with craft of all
kinds. Little, naked, brown, shock
headed youngsters paddle long canoes
not over two feet wide and so sharp that
the least balance would unseat the
rover. There are half naked women
with great hats Of straw, which look like
inverted work baskets, sitting bare
legged and bare breasted in boats which
they paddle along, and boats of all sizes
are worked by all ages and sexes from
babies of 6 to wrinkied old men and
short, gray haired women of 60. As you
enter Bangkok the crowd increases. In
stead of one line of floating houses along
the banks there are three and sometimes
four. The whole river is alive, and you
turn your eyes this way and that, meet
ing maze of new objects at every turn.
LIFE LONG SLAVERY.
I The king of Siam is supposed to own
the people, and each man in the realm
has to serve for three, six or nine months
rs a servant of the government. At
pertain time of the year the entire popu-
lation is marked off TO particular noble
men or government masters. These
masters, whenever the government de-
mands anything of them, can compel the
men marked off to them to serve. Ali
kinds of work are demanded, and the
various marks put upon the men indi-
cate their trades or profession. Some
men are required to give al their time
10 the government, and in this case they
get nominal salaries. Those who give
half their time work for the king fifteen
days, and then have fifteen days of.
The three months subjects get no pay,
and during the time they are in Bangkok
they have to find themselves in food and
lodging. This work practically enslaves
the whole population of males, and
slavery is common In Siam. Criminals
convicted often become slaves. and they
are sometimes marked or branded on
the forehead. have seen many men in
chains during my stay here. and just
outside the walls of the palace there are
at least two score of men, bright eved.