The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1928-08-03

prepared by the National Geographic
Society. Washington. d. CO.
@AMBODIA, one Of the impor-
tant units among Frances pos
~. sessions in southwest Asia, is
a hodge podge of the unexpect-
ed 1t is a land of forests, damp and
leech-infested; of open savannahs, of
wide rice fields and plodding water
buffalo; of tigers and wild elephants |;
of humble cottagers, all liteHte,
whose chief pleasure is writing
poetry; of gilded modern pagodas, and
temples, hoary with age, swallowed
by the jungle; of automobiles, trolley
cars, and electric lights.
The forms of an oriental kingdom
are faithfully followed; but behind
the king, his five ministers, and his
court formalities, stands the French
resident-superior, and at his elbow a
few French soldiers; for Cambodia is
part of French Indo-China and a
protectOrate of France. The country
is slightly smaller than the state of
about two and a half millions.
The MekOng, one of the worlds
greatest rivers, is the life artery of
Cambodia. SeagOing steamers ascend
the stream to PnOmpenh, the capital,
200 miles from the sea; and smaller
steamers and junks traverse the net
work of streams and lakes hundreds
of miles farther inland. But it is not
only as waterway that the stream is
useful. On its overfiowed lands the
country's chief crop, rice, is raised in
abundance.
Most of the civilized people are con-
centrated along the river and between
its lower reaches and the SiameSe
border. The country houses in all
parts of Cambodia are set on posts
which raise them from six to ten feet
off the ground. This is necessary
along the river banks because of the
high floods, and elsewhere to protect
the householders from tigers.
Love Their Mekong.
During the flood season a great lake
forms in western Cambodia, into
which the waters of the Mekong flow
until it becomes a body of water 11S
miles long, Is miles wide, and more
than 30 feet deep. When the floods
recede, the waters flow from this
natural reservoir back into the Me-
kong and keep its lower reaches well
filled. The great Importance of the
river and its floods is recognized by
an annual festival on the stream con-
Meeting the Great Lake and the Me-
kong. A cord is stretched across the
stream and at the time of reversal of
the flow this is cut with great cere-
mony by the king from the royal
houseboat.
The natives display genuine affec-
ton for the Mekong. When floods
come they put away their OK carts,
travel the old roads in boats and wait
for the water to recede. They cele-
brate with boat races that attract
every Cambodian in the vicinity from
the king to the lowliest native. Con-
dolalike racing boats, ranging from
twenty-five to forty-five feet long, are
rOwed by score or more men, seated
two by two. If the thrOngs massed on
the river bank are not thrilled by the
competition, they are amused by a
clown who has his place in each craft.
The highlands to the north are oc-
cupied by wild tribes of hunters who
must fight for existence against rank
vegetation, wild animals, snakes and
insects. Slave raids from neighbor-
ing countries have made them wary
and suspicious and they look upon all
outlanders as enemies. Some of them
protect their villages by poisoned
darts stuck up in the ground.
Practically all of the civilized Cam
bodians are literate. The country
abounds in old temples, built during
the Cambodian Golden age, some 700
years ago. In these the Buddhist
priests conduct schools which are at
tended by all children, from those of
humble farmers to those of the royal
family. The princes, like all other
boys of Cambodia, must live during a
N-Gf
certain period as novitiates in a
temple, subsisting by means of the
begging bowl, as the Buddha did. and
as the priests do today.
Pnompenh is a colorful capital set
upon hills on the banks of the Me-
kong, its ornate temple spires and
magenta tiled roofs half hidden by
giant palms and Towering tropical
trees. In parklike Enclosure on a
hill top is the palace of the kings, sur
rounded by houses for their multi
tudinous feminine retainers. The kings
of Cambodia of the past might be de-
scribed as monarchs entirely sur
rounded by women. Some were wives,
some servants, and hundreds dancing
girls, trained from childhood to per-