The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-04-11
BANGKOK.

behind them, and the lightning-rod man has
this city yet TO discover. Bangkok has no ash-
heaps nor brush-heaps. The sweepings of each
house are pushed down through trap-door in
thefiOor and the sewerage of the city is thrown
into the river. There are no carpets, little fur
niture and no cooking-stoves. The average
house contains only three rooms, aud ii issbuilt
upon a floating raft of bamboo sticks about Is
etsquare. 1t has two little ridge roofs. which
poke their heads up above low, square wall,
and these are neither garrets nor second stories.
The people huddle together on the floor and
squat on their launches When they sleep
they lie down on the boards or on thin straw
mats, and rest their heads on small blocks of
wood or on square pillows not bigger than
cigar-box and as hard as a stone. They do not
wear night-clothes, and the day costume of the
whole Siamese people could be furnished from
the stock of one large city dry-goods store.
The chief garment of both men and women is
a piece of cotton or silk yard wide, and about
three yards long. This is wound tightly around
the waist, and the end is pulled through be-
tween the legs aud tucked into the belt at the
back. The more fastidious of the madens add
to this short waist Of white, which comes
down just below the breasts, but the majority
of women have only a second scarf wound
around the bosom and under the pits, leav-
ing the shoulders, legs arms and neck perfect
'ly bare, and showing strip of bare, brown
SKIN as WIDE as your nand between the waist
cloth and that binding in the breasts.
What curious-looking people they are! Men
and women alike compare with no people |
have yet seen. They are not negroes they are
not Chinese; they are not whites, and yet
they have some of the features of all. Their
eyes are Sits, and half almond. They look like
button holes spread wide apart and out Of the
holes shine the blackest of lustrous large eyes
Their skins are rich olive brown, which turn,
under the hot sun, almost black, and their high
cheek bones mark them as tinged with the
blood of the Mongolians. They have lips
much thicker than ours, and their noses are al
most fat in some persons. Their hair is as
black as the wings of the crows which fly by
the thousands over their city of water, and both
men and women wear it cut short all over the
head.
Siamege woman is not, in most cases. a
thing of great beauty and a joy forever. She
is rather pretty while still in her teens, and
admire the plump girls l sec every day rowing
or sculiing their boats on the water. They
have short, well-rounded forms, as straight as
the oars which they use. They have wonder
fully supple frames, and by bending their
joints back and forth from childhood they have
acquired grace aud ease of movement which
you will not find in the girls of America.
Their short black hair above their rogush dark
eyes gives them a rakish, boyish look, and they
smile as your boat passes by them. If you
smile in return they will laugh, and this laugh
spoilS your delusion. The teeth of the Siamese
are as black as ebony oiled, and the nation, old
and young, foul their mouth with the Juice OF
the betelnut, which they chew mixed with