140 JOURNAL, NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY OF STAM Vol. I. 
man was apparently his own head priest, and on moolight nights 
entered his temple and slowly beat a smalldrum. My coolies were 
atraid to trespass near the temple, and when my assistant asked per- 
mission to worship there, the old man said he must first anoint him, 
The household was unusually large, the parents and eleven 
children, all alive and sturdy, owing their health presumably to the 
high elevation, and having been settled there for many years past, the 
primeval forest had been felled each year in small patches for some 
distaice around. Karang families asa rule are very small, one man this 
year telling me that his wife had had twenty children, of whom three 
survived, and they are, too, very improvident, seldom having sufficient 
rice to last for the whole year. In 1912, the Karangs at the head 
waters of the Petchaburi, were living on a species of a big potato in 
July, and would have to subsist on roots and tubers until the rice crop 
matured in December. Being laid up here for a week with a poisoned 
foot, I was able to study the “angel” previously referred to. He 
appeared to be a youtn more weakly and therefore more indulged than 
the others, and could speak neither Siamese nor Burmese, though he 
was an excellent shot with a cross bow. 
Travelling North and crossing the head waters of the Bang 
Kloi, we crossed the watershed at 1000 metres elevation and followed 
down the Meh Pachee river, and on the second day arrived at the 
Karang hamlet nearest to “ Chai Paan Din,” arriving at Sooan Peung 
on the 3rd day. Here mules were obtained, and when nearing Ratburi 
on the 6th May a heavy storm burst, lightning striking the parched 
fields and raising huge clouds of dust. Hail falling in large Jumps 
whitened the ground, and within half an hour the paddy fields were 
flooded. 
I was laid up in Bangkok some three weeks, but left again at 
the end of May with 74 Lao coolies and 10 Chinese. Of these latter, 
four succumbed to malaria and privation—the Chinese appearing to be 
useless for any kind of pioneer work. Arriving at headquarters camp, 
1 found a number of men down with malaria, so on 9th June started oft 
to complete the Topo. detail survey on the boundary. The water had 
risen considerably but the dug outs all reached the rice depot at the 
Elephant’s Tusk rapid without mishap on the 12th June. 
Ou the way up we met the Kariang head man from Tah Ling 
Lom with five others, returning from a fruitless search for Ban Chai 
' 
: 
; 
: 
