The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1922-11-10
LONE TRAyEtOGIST
FORLONGJOURNEY
Britisher Takes Trip From
Singapore To Calais
TELLS ABOUT THE HIKE
Malays and Burmans Most
Friendly People he Has Thus
Far Encountered
Associated Press pisnatoh. l


Rangoon, October S.-ICorrespon-
dence Of The Associated Pressl-
Charles W Blythe, an Englishman
who is journeying on foot from
Singapore to Calais, France, and
and London. recently arrived in
Ean3oon and is now on his way to
Calcutta. He intends 70 pursue his
way through northern India, Bal
uchistan and Persia to Shat ell
Arab, whence he will follow the
Euphrates to it's source and make
his way through Asia Minor and
Europe. He hopes to arrive in Eng
land BY the end Of 1893,
covered S,IO0 miles Of his trip,
thinks that his last 200 miles in
Siam constituted as difficult coun
try as he shall ever encounter. He
carries no firearms or weapons of
any kind, and has not yet had need
OF ny His pack weighs from
twenty to forty pounds and consists
of clothes, food, maps, notebooks
and simple camp utensils.
Maiays and B1rmans, the traveller
says, are the most friendly people he
his encountered so far. The Siamese
he ranks last although none OF
them have been definitely I'M
friendly.
Some Adventures Described
Describing some OF the adven-
lures he has had since leaving Sing
apore last Nay. Mr.. Blythe says, in
part:
i wished>to traverse Siam with
all possible speed. From Kuen
Erng my troubles commenced. RoaGs
in the interior OF Siam are nonex-
istent Even cartroads are termed
by courtesy. For two days l travel
ed by earth paths. sleeping in far
mecs' houseG, until l reached Pata-
lung, which is q railway town not
ing infested with MOSQUITOES, ! re-
duested the station master to allow
lne TO sleep in the waiting room
which request he granted.
Leaving Patalung l entered the
Jungle again, although farms and
villages were frequent. All til
time / was guiding myself north
ward by the sun, every day or two
lacking across to the railway in or
der to keep the direction. There
was but little fear Of losing my way
as the mountains ran parallel to the
sea, leaving between strip OF plan.
width. The large villages are To-
Gated between the coast and the
railway
IN was remarkable that en-
countered no wild animals and very
few snakes, which sometimes I
killed and sometimes avoided. The
natives were generally friendly
enough, although our intercourse
was limited owing to my defective
Siamese vocabulary.
Grazing On HiIIsides
Some forty miles north Of Chum-
phon, / was very puzzled to account
for the fact that large expenses Of
the hiIlsides were cleared and used
as grazing ground for cattle, as
had not credited the Siamcse vii
sufficient energy to clear large
areas of hill jungle. was told that
some sixty years ago a terrific tenn
pest swept across the isthmus Of
Kra and destroyed all the Vegeta-
ton.
Prom Prechuap KiTikan the
country became Siam of the picture
books--pagodas perched on seem.
ipgiy inaccessible crags, natives
clad in brilliant colored clothing;
quaint OK carts; priests and monks
AVID monasteries; herds of vicious
looking water buffaloes, and rice
fields everywhere.
81 entered Bangkok July %. ex-
actly two months after leaving
Singapore. Bangkok, like most large
towns of the East, is a curious
mixture OF West and East, the old
and the new Palatial reinforced
concrete buildings are jostled by
wretched novels; foul smelling,
winding lanes lead from spacious
beulevards. Pagodas stand a stones
throw from churches.
THE old walls OF Bangkok are a
fine example Of the Notifications as
understood by the Oriental nations.
Miles in length, averaging thirty
feet in height by some twenty in
thickness and built of massive
blocks of granite, they present a
fine spectacle. The government
houses are buift Of stone and are
imposing structures. About half a
dozen OF the far-famed white ell
cphants are housed there. The
tramway service in Bangkok is the
most comfortable Of all / have test
AT Ban Dara, my northernmost
limit in Siam, turned southwest
and arrived in relatively large
town named Sawankalole. While
talking with the schoolmaster he
jokingiy remarked that was a spy.
The local chief of police immediate
ly became enamored with the idea,
and I spent an uncomfortable thirty
minutes relieving his doubts"
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