Page:Notes of a journey across the Isthmus of Krà.pdf/41

 we were enabled to proceed a little more comfortably than we had anticipated.

7.—We commenced, on the 2nd April, a route survey across a country which we believe is quite unknown to, and has never been traversed by, Europeans. There is a good level cleared road for the first two miles, and to the third mile it rises and passes along the right bank of the Kraw river. The forest on each side contained bamboos and trees, as mentioned in the plan. Up to a little short of the eight miles, the road follows the course of the Kraw river, and is difficult; we had to wade for a mile through the stream, which was not, however, more than ankle deep, but falling every now and then over rocks, with banks about twenty or thirty feet high, and forty feet apart. At this time the rain commenced and fell with little intermission till we returned to Kraw.

8.—At the eighth mile we arrived at the water shed of the country, a small grassy plain. The Kraw river runs hence west to join the Pakchan at Kraw; and a quarter of a mile further on, a river, called the Bankren, joining the Tsoompeon at Tasan (one and a half miles) flows to the Gulf of Siam on the east.

9.—At Tasan is another zayat, similar to that at Kraw, with a few houses and dry cultivation. We continued to cross and re-cross the Tsoompeon river to the tenth mile.

At fifteen and a half miles after crossing tributaries of small breadth, but with steep banks, we got again to the Tsoompeon, where it was some 200 feet wide, but of little depth. The jungle remained of the same character, and the nature of the country, as the path descended to plains passing through low but steep hills, was very similar to that in the ascent from Kraw to Tasan.

10.—At seventeen and a half miles we got to Apay, another zayat, and were glad to rest for the night, for, in addition to the walking over very rough ground and for miles through the rivers, wet through, the rain had brought out the leeches, which attacked us most unmercifully. The first indication of their attacks was finding our trowsers covered with blood; our last resource was to tie the trowsers round the ankles so as to