Page:Siam and Laos, as seen by our American missionaries (1884).pdf/167

 of Chinamen floating up and down at the mercy of the ebbing and flowing tides, until finally they reach the sea and disappear for ever

There is a superstition that if you rescue any one from drowning the water-spirits will resent the interference and claim at some future time the rescuer as a substitute; hence the stolidity and indifference in Siam about rescuing the drowning. New missionaries are always startled to see a boatload of people upset in the river, and shocked that none of the people in the other boats attempt to offer any assistance.

As gardeners the Chinese are very successful, and when we consider the few rude implements they have to work with it is wonderful that they succeed so well. Their spade is not much larger than a man's hand, with a short straight handle—no head to hold by nor rest for the foot; consequently, all the force used in digging must come from the shoulders and arms. The sickle is similar to that used in many parts of Europe at the present day; the plough, drawn by oxen, does not differ perhaps in any respect from the one the prophet Elisha left to follow Elijah.

The Chinese do not cultivate the paddy-fields to any great extent, but buy the rice from the producers and bring it to the Bangkok market. The seri-leaf, which is used so extensively in Siam, is cultivated in the betel-gardens. It is a vine trained on poles, and the leaf, which is a