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Reaching M.
Phimai in the Khorat district
On the 9th
of January we marched from the hill, a high wind from the south
was blowing, and the dreaded haze which retards all work began to
show itself. There yet remained one peak, Haw Chawi (which
Nai Heng had cleared), to ascend in order to complete the work before
the regular haze set in. Our route takes us to the deserted site
of Chieng Di, on the Nam Sen, a tributary of the Nam
Niap or Nia. Chieng Di is supposed to be in the
possession of malignant spirits, the souls of the Governor and his
followers who are murdered by men from Wieng Chan in the
days of its prosperity. Though the place is fertile, even many years
ago, when Puann was well-populated, it was difficult to get
any man to take up his residence there as Governor.
Marching along
the bare slopes of the hill, we pass through Ban Na Wan and
ascend the "divide" of the Nam Nia and Nam Ngum,
which here is a couple of hundred feet above the Nam Sen; a lesser
descent takes one to a magnificent plain destitute of ay trees,
Kunng Lat Sen, about four thousand feet above sea-level.
Numbers of partridges were flushed by the dogs, but though I could
manage very well walking barefooted along the path, it was not good
enough to allow of following after the partridges. For three marches
we went over beautiful country and across another magnificent, well-watered
plain, Kunng Ma Len (horses' playground), which joins the
plain above-mentioned. Over this plain at one time the famous Puann
ponies roamed in hundreds; now all is still, without a sign of life.
Arrived at
Ban Sawt, I met the transport sent by Prince Phrachak,
but as the bullocks were slow and expensive I managed to do without
most of them. We had now to part with our Luang Phrabang
friends. The Kamuks were all in excellent health and quite
stout, never having had so much to eat in their lives, and each
was carrying with him a littte money to his home.
On the 28th
of January we completed the work on Haw Chawi, but the haze
had now regularly set in and it was hopeless to expect to see our
long rays until rain had fallen. There was nothing to be done but
to set about fixing the positions of important places by short rays,
until rainfall, when we could proceed with the work.
At the foot
of Haw Chawi, on the side of the road to M. Yiw, are
a number of large stone jars peculiar to Puann, which puzzle
every one; but with regard to these in particular, the mystery seems
to have been satisfactorily solved, as it is discovered that they
are made of cement. They are neither so large nor so well-finished
as other groups. In a hollow there are some large ones, and those
that are fractured show large nodules of quartz buried in them,
but what is still more important is the number of smooth boulders
on the slope of the hill. These are irregular masses, and seem to
be the material from which the jars were made.
We dug out
the earth beneath one of the jars, a proceeding whcih seems to have
been gone through with all of them, and may account for their being
in a learning position. We found a jar of every inferior baked clay
full of clay and beads of amber; another containedan urn of superior
workmanship, ans almost white. It was cracked and showed traces
of having been searched before; there was a piece of iron which
was possibly used by a former depredator, it looked as though it
had been brought from the lamp-stand of the ruined wat near Ban
Sawt. The natives call the jars, Lao Chieng, and say
they were made by angels for drinking-vessels.
We leave Ban
Sawt with eight elephants and twenty men, who carried all the
things and instruments. On the crest of a hill and by the side of
the path are large blocks of stone hewn into no particular shape.
One is about fifteen feet long, two feet deep, two feet broad at
one end, and tapering at the other to one foot. There are three
or four others not so large. The popular explanation is that they
are the bed and pillows of the original inhabitants, who were the
Kamuks, when the country was called Muang Ka Patum. I could
not find any inscription, but on the "pillow" the faint
traces of lines were discernible. We encamp on the side of a beautiful
lake, Nawng Tang, at an elevation of four thousand feet ablve
sea-level. It is over a mile long and half a mile broad, on the
east side is a lime-cliff about a hundred feet high. The lake is
never dry, and on the north-west and south the country slopes away.
The medlar-trees are in blossom, the cedars and pines are shooting
forth new leaves, and the slopes are clothed with fresh green grass,
springing up in the ashes of last year's growth. The origin of the
lake is said to be this: formerly there was a village where it now
stands, and a huntsman of that village shot a white-faced deer.
That night there was a great storm and earthquake, and the whole
village with its people was swallowed up by the water whch formed
the lake. A walk on the banks is most enjoyable; the deep blue sky
reflected in tis clear waters, the ducks swimming about, the intense
stillness amidst such loveliness, deepened the plesurable sensations
which the beauty of the surrounding landscape excited.
The "Temple
lands" of India exist here. The east of the lake is under the
jurisdiction of Wat Ma No Chieng Kang of Luang Phrabang.
There are several palces in Puann belonging to wats in Luang
Phrabang and Nawng Kai , called Tai Okat.
If one had
the time for it, there would be a tolerable amount of sport in the
beautiful country. Partridges are plentiful, as also are pea-fowl,
deer, and tigers. We pass over the sites of many battlefields, and
at Kunng Koi we remark the traces of an old stockade. The
country was well worth fighting for. Presently we emerge on the
plain Kunng Ma Len, and encamp at Wat Bang Ang on the Nam
Tang, a small stream, but running in a channel cut through the
palin, with banks over a hundred feet deep, and about eight hundred
yards across. The valley is well suited for rice cultivation.
That the wats
and pagodas have been pillaged since I last saw them in April, 1884,
I find, by referring to my notes. I wrote: "On ascending the
bank of the stream (Nam Tang) we met with more surprises
in regard to the beauty of the country. A wast plain called Kunng
Ma Len, about six miles broad and ten ;long, and about 3,500
feet above sea-level, stretches before oue vview as flat as a table,
It was covered with fine cattle, which in better days fed there
in great numbers. We rested under the shade of a pine-tree, and
easily distinguished the snake-like course of the pathway as it
ascended the gentle slope of a hill.
"On the
right rose a particularly beautiful pagoda, whose glittering whiteness
was intensified by contrast with the beautiful blue sky. It looked
like some fair spirit brooding over the stillness in midst of the
loveliness which surrounded it."
The pagoda
now lies on its side, having been turned over bodily. We passed
over to the great cluster of stone jars, and fixed the position
of the highest bare knoll near them, called Tumm Nawng Summ,
3,800 feet abovesea-level. If the jars have anything to do with
burial ceremonies, then it was here that the remains of the chiefs
were disposed of.
There is a
limestone hill about one hundred feet high, which has a small cave.
The entrance shows some traces of the rock having been chiselled.
In the roof are two openings, the roof having evidently fallen in.
The limestone peak is surrounded with low, undulating hills, and
but for the chasms near the cave a small reservoir could be formed
to catch the rain-water. Round the circumference of a semicircle
about six hundred yards in diameter are numbers of jars, but those
on the northern bare knoll are gigantic. It is impossible to conceive
them as having been lifted to their positions, they must have been
made in situ. Again some of the broken jars have nodules of quartz
embedded in them.
Some are on
their sides, some are broken, nore are erect, all show evidence
of the ground beneath having been excavated. We dug under one, and
found traces of chacoal, and what appeared to be an anklet of rusty
iron. The tallest one has straight sides, and leaving the height
on one side 7 feet 6 inches; on the other is 6 feet 4 inches girth,
and about the middle 19 feet 5 inches, and one foot thick, is very
much tilted over; the broadest girth was 25 feet, the diameter of
the mouth being 4 1/2 feet, and it was nearly 6 feet high.
With the jars
are some large flat stones. One was 7 feet longest diameter and
6 inches thick, but much thicker towards the centre. Another not
so large when over-turned, had three prominences about an inch above
the surface, and from two to three inches long.
There is another
collection of these jars near another bare slope, Hua Chang,
4,095 feet above sea-level, which overlooks Kunng Lat Sen
plain. From Hua Chang another collection of jars is visible
in the valley of the Nam Sen .
These three
groups, and that near Ban Sawt, form the greatest numbers;
others are found in different places, but nothing is known of their
origin or use. The secret of the cement is lost. Is it not possible
that in the marvellous temples of Ankor Wat, as also all
the temples in the Khorat district, the great blocks of stone
are made of a cement, the secret of which is the same as that from
which the jars were made?
When at M.
Pimai in the Khorat district, I visited the temple, and,
referring to my note, find the name of the temple is Wat Phra
Prang. The outside enclosure is about two hundred yards square,
formed of gigantic smooth blocks like that near Khorat. This
is, however, on a grander scale in every particular. Besides the
circular hole a couple of inches deep, I notice that these have
a deep incision in the form of a T at the edge of the block.
It is difficult to arrive at a conclusion as to what use the holes
and T incisions were put. They may have been used for some
lighting apparatus, or they may have been for the catches of the
cases, in which, as some think, the blocks were moulded.
The temple
proper stands in the centre surrounded by four tall isolated towers,
forming the corners of a square as it were. I went into one of these;
the floor has been dug up probably in search of treasure. The idols
of stone are overturnedand mutilated. The large one is a sitting
figure of Brama; the head has been knocked off and the idols
overturned. The figure is itself perfectly smooth, but the portion
below by which it evidently had to be fixed bears the marks of a
chisel, which look as fresh as though they had been made yesterday.
The hair of the head is drawn back and tied in a knot. There were
other statues, the most remarkable being that of a woman in a kneeling
posture.
We next turn
our attention to the temple itself, and are brought to a standstill
at the door-way. Some of the stones are nine feet high and nearly
four feet square. The ornamental figures were carried to the floor,
where the little figures are carved very beautifully. The carvings
over the doorways are exactly-similar to those found in the ruins
of Boruboodur. The whole thing is very gand, but one feels
very stupid while gazing at a structure that nobody seems to know
anything about.
The Governor
afterwards told me that there was a block of stone with the impression
of a man's foot and a dog's foot. I had to leave at 3 a.m., but
I regret not having gone back, late as it was, to verify such an
interesting statement. The Governor is an old warrior, and fought
against the rebel Cambodians in 1840.
In the early
days of February the weather was very hazy; on the 10th I strolled
over the plain which drains into the Nam Ngum, and at one
end slopes down to the Nam Sen, a tributary of the Nia. This place
was called Nawng Tang , and I thought we were to see just
such another beautiful lake as at M. Sui. It turned out to
be a wretched duck-pond, and seemed to be due to an excavation caused
by the removal of a stiff blue clay much used for pottery. I was,
however, consoled with the stroll over the beautiful country. Standing
on the bare hill, Hua Chang, which I observed from, on the
one side was the vast plain of Kunng Lat Sen, to the east
of which is the wooded hill, Dawi Turrng, where the Nam
Ko, which traces its sluggish and twisting course over the plain,
takes its rise. Here may be seen a wat in ruins, there a deserted
village; now a hedge of aloes with the flower-stem towering some
twelve to fifteen feet above the prickly leaves; again the yellow-leaf
bamboo clump, and occassionally a grass hut built in a secluded
spot as though afraid to show itself. In the background are hundreds
of acres of rice-fields, which have lain fallow for many yaers.
When the country was covered with a busy population, there must
have been a difficulty in securing fuel, but with the droves of
cattle it is not impossible the deficiency was overcome, as in Bengal,
by utilizing the offal.
The short grass
that grows luxuriantly was burnt a month or so ago, but the hazy
dews and morning fogs have helped to make the country green again.
Some way or other one expects to see something else, and it is with
a vague feeling of dissatisfaction for which one cannot account
to oneself, that one moves over the mouse-leaved pines. Pu Huatt
of Ban Ton, a sharp, bare peak, was also made a point of
observation, and in this way points were established all over the
finest portions of this beautiful country.
On the 16th
of February, with fourteen coolies and six men carrying the instruments,
I ascended Pu Ke. The haze was still heavy, but I succeeded
in connecting the signals that had been erected on two peaks over
Chieng Kawng for the purpose of fixing its position. On the
19th of February I marched unto Chieng Kawng, and we took up our
quarters at Wat Kabaw , so that we might be as much as possible
out of the way of the sub-Commissioner, who has shown every disposition
to give annoyance. I make a station on the small hill, and fix the
position of Chieng Kawng at its best, within the memory of
the oldest inhabitant, was a collection of wooden houses on this
hill, Pu Keo. Across the Nam Nia, extending along a spur
overlooking the plain, are the remains of extensive earthworks,
even now almost perfect. The earthworks were constructed at the
time Chao Anu was captured by the Siamese and taken to Bangkok.
Referring to
my old notes again, I find the Haw of course plundered and
destroyed all the pagodas and wats. The chief pagoda did not escape.
From the distance it looks perfect, but on a closer approach incisions
are found on three sides almost from the pinnacle to the foundation.
It is wonderful that the sprie, which is almost sixty feet high,
does not fall in. The Haw are said to have obtained as much
as 7,000 rupees weight in gold from this pagoda. Fragments of some
of the urns in which the offerings had been contained lay strewn
about; they were very elegant.
The Muang
Puann people seem to have had a refined taste in everything
they did; they were aesthetics, and could not withstand the rule
barbarian. It would appear the country was once ravaged by the Burmese
under a king whose name was Phra Chao Ratcha, "the rat."
and he ruled at Hongsawadi. His authority is asaid to have
extended over the whole of Indo-China, including Annam Cambodia
and Cochin-China.
Nothing very
much is known of the history of Chieng Kawng; they say it
was formerly inhabited by powerful races; at any rate, they must
have been an industrious race of people. At the present the inhabitants
are the ordinary Lao of Luang Phrabang, with precisely
the same written and oral language.
The Siamese
and Lao are of one race, with a common language and the same
cast of countenance. It would be impossible in a mixed crowd to
say which are Lao and which Siamese.
Chao Nunn
was the Governor of Wieng Chan and related to the Chief
of Luang Phrabang, whom he attacked with the permission and
probably the help of Bangkok. In the conflict that ensued
he was successful, and claimed Puann as part of his province.
A story is
told that at the time Chao Chom Pu was Governor of Chieng
Kawng, he was taken as a prisoner to Wieng Chan. His captors were
about to put him to death by spearing, but the executioners were
struck by lightning before they could accomplish thier task. The
Governor's life was spared, and he was sent back to Chieng Kawng.
Chao Nunn was succeeded inthe government of Wieng Chan by his brother,
Chao Anu, and he in his turn rebelled against Bangkok. The
story has it that when Chao Anu was Governor of Wieng Chan about
A.D I823, His son was called down to Bangkok in charge of the men
who were summoned to assist in digging the canal that was the connect
Tachin with bangkok. It would appear that the Phrayah in charge
of the under taking, after kicking the young man, added a flogging.
When he returned home, his father, Chao Anu, rebelled against Bangkok
. The army from Bangkok totally destroyed Wieng Chan, while Chao
Anu escaped to Annam. The King of Annam advised him to go Chieng
Kawng. The Governor of that place acquainted the Bangkok general,
who was then at Nawng Kai, with the fact of his presence, and he
marched up with an army, seized his person, and sent him to Bangkok.
There he was exposed over the river in an iron cage till he died.
Some say one of his followers succeeded in conveying to him poison,
which he gladly swallowed. At this time Chao Nawi was the Governor
of M. Puann. The King of Annam, hearing of the end of Chao Anu,
sent up an army and seized Chao Nawi, to be Governor of Chieng Kawng,
together with 3,000 men to support his authority. Chao San secretly
wrote to the Siamese general at Nawng Kai, Phra-Pi-Ran-O-Trip,
to bring up a force and drive out the Annamites. This was done.
At midnight the Annamites were attacked, and slaughtened almost
to a man. Chao San then went to Bangkok, and Puann
was left pretty much to its own devices.
When Te
Duc ascended the throne of Annam, he liberated the five
sons of Chao Nawi, Chao Po, Chao Top , Chao
Po Ma, Chao Ung, and Chao Kumm. When Chao Po returned,
Bangkok gave instructions to Luang Phrabang to invest him
with the powers of Governor of Puann.
Chao Po
was succeeded by his brother, Chao Ung, during whose governorship
bands of Haw poured into Puann. He was killed by them, but his death
was amply revenged by the Siamese general, Phya Mahamat,
at Wieng Chan, and Phya Rat of Tung Chieng Kumm, where they had
made their principal stockade. Pha Pinom Sararin, a nephew
of Chao Nawi, was appointed by Phrayah Mahamat as temporary
Governor, and the Chao Kunnti, the son of the unfortunate Chao
Ung, was made Governor.
Around Chieng
Kawng there are wide tracts of paddy land. This is rather uncomfortable
in some places for the elephants, as the ground is bog, and the
poor creatures constantly keep sinking into it, and struggling violently.
The Siamese are ready with a means of assistance. In a very short
time bamboos are slit and interwoven as a mat. This is stretched
over bog and pegged down, and it is wonderful with what ease the
ponderous animals pass over the apparently frail bridge. They seem
grateful for having been delivered from their dangerous position
and their desperate struggles to get out of the treacherous bog.
After having
fixed the position of Chieng Kawng by ascending Pu Huatt
and Pu Kabaw, hills overlooking it, we move off to other
peaks, which have been cleared and selected by Nai Heng,
and which overlook M. Ngan.
While we were
on Kabaw on the 27th of February rain fell, and immediately
the whole scene changed for the better. The haze cleared, and the
distant mountains were again visible. Thus there was no time to
be lost in resuming the work. We passed on to M. Pang, which,
deserted when I last saw it, has now been re-settled, and is certainly
more cheerful-looking. From M. Pang we went to the hills overlooking
Ngan. The western slopes are covered with virgin forest that
stretches away for miles, but the eastern slopes are completely
denuded of trees. There are a number of villages established there
now, and the whole treeless valley has a very fine appearnace. Traces
of extensive fortifications are in every direction visible along
the bare spaces of the mountains, among which herds of buffaloes
are peacefully browsing.
Other parts
of the journey:
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