MISCELLANIES. 



587 



low lands have been entirely 

 cut off. 



The animals of Cochin China 

 are bullocksj goats, swine, and 

 buffaloes, elephants, camels, and 

 horses. In the woods are found 

 the wild boar, tiger, and rhino- 

 ceros, with plenty of deer. The 

 poultry is excellent, and the fish 

 caught on the coast abundant and 

 delicious. The flesh of the ele- 

 phant, which I never heard that 

 any other nation thought eatable, 

 is accounted a great dainty by the 

 Cochin Chinese 5 and when the 

 king or the viceroy of a province 

 kills one, pieces aie sent about to 

 the principal mandarines as a most 

 acceptable present. The breeding 

 of bullocks is little attended to, 

 their flesh is not esteemed as food, 

 and they are made no use of in 

 tilling the land, which is per- 

 formed by buffaloes. As for milk- 

 ing their cattle, they ai'e totally un- 

 actjuainted with the art ; strange 

 as this may appear to us, wlio 

 have been accustomed to find the 

 most savage nations we have dis- 

 covered, depending for a consi- 

 derable part of their food on the 

 milk of their cattle and flocks, yet 

 I am inclined to think that the 

 use of it was formerly imknown 

 amongst the nations from the 

 Straits of Malacca eastward ; the 

 Malays make no \ise of milk, the 

 Chinese very little ; amongst the 

 latter it was probably introduced 

 by the Tartars. 



The Aborigines of Cochin China 

 are called Moyes, and are the 

 people who inhabit the chain of 

 mountains wiiich sepaiiites it fiom 

 Camljodia. To these strong holds 

 they were diivcn wlien the piesent 

 possessors invaded the country. 

 They formerly paid an annual 



tribute for the liberty of bringing 

 down the produce of their hills, 

 and bartering it for such commo- 

 dities as they stood in need of. 

 They are a savage race of people, 

 very black, and resemble in their 

 features, the Caffrees. 



Monsieur Le Gae, a Frenchman 

 who Avas in Cochin China in the 

 year one thousand seven hundred 

 and twenty, mentions anotlier race 

 of people, distinct fiom the Cocliin 

 Chinese, who inhabit the province 

 of Cliampa, called Loys. He also 

 says tlie Muhammadan is one of 

 the prevailing religions. But from 

 the most particular inquiries 1 

 made, I did not find that there are 

 now any people distinguished by 

 that name, and I never met with 

 a Musulman in the country. 



It was about the year one 

 thousand two hundred and eighty 

 of the Christian era, that the first 

 Tartar prince became possessed of 

 the throne of China. This revo- 

 lution afforded an opportunity to 

 tiie western provinces bordering 

 on the sea, to throw off their de- 

 pen dance, and they were formed 

 into a kingdom under a prince, 

 whose descendant now reigns in 

 Tonquin, and is called Knah- 

 AVhang. About the beginning of 

 the fifteenth century, a large body 

 of people from these provinces 

 being disaffected to the Govern- 

 ment, joined under a leader of 

 abilities, and marched to the south- 

 ward. Meeting with little op- 

 position, they soon became masters 

 of Cochin China as far as Cape 

 Avrilla. The Moys, the original 

 inhabitants, retired to the hills 

 t)ordering their country to the 

 westward, where they have ever 

 since remained. The emigraiits, 

 under their conductor, founded 



the 



