Page:Notes of a journey across the Isthmus of Krà.pdf/43

 13.—Started at 1 a.m, of the 4th April, and proceeded down a very winding stream to the mouth of the river opening in the Gulf of Siam, where we arrived at 5.30 a.m., or in about three and a half hours, having the tide with us. Here we landed, and found a fine villa, in some disrepair; this was said to be the King's residence when he came to this part of his dominions. His steamers were said to come in two days from Bangkok, and fuel (billets of wood) in quantities (about 20,000 pieces) was collected. There was a schooner of about 150 tons lying off the shore, about fifty yards distance, in five fathoms of water, but there is a bar, above where the schooner lay, across the mouth of the river Tsoompeon, with only one and a half fathoms over it at low water. There would be no difficulty in making roads from Tsoompeon to this place. We found storehouses here with a couple of 32-pr. carronades belonging, we supposed, to the King's steamers, though we asked no questions about them. From the general appearance of the buildings, &c., we think it is a place not open to severe storms or heavy sea. This is confirmed by an extract from Commander Richard'sRichards' [sic] "Gulf of Siam," taken from the Bangkok Calendar, stating that "heavy gales are unknown in the gulf." With a view of establishing a communication across the Isthmus of Kraw, it would be necessary accurately to determine several points which would render such communication practicable with reference to the Gulf of Siam, as we had ascertained in regard to our own side; this, the time and commissariat at our disposal, prevented as doing satisfactorily, and we did not wish to exhibit a curiosity by asking too many questions which might have proved offensive to a friendly power. We made the distance from Tsoompeon to the sea shore twenty-one miles, making the total distance from Kraw to the shore of the gulf about fifty miles.

14.—At 7.30 a.m., 4th April, we returned to Tsoompeon, surveying the river roughly. We passed Tayoung, about four miles from the mouth, a short distance up a creek, which here falls into the Tsoompeon; we were told that two vessels of some son tons were loading there. Tayoung is large, said to consist