TEN 



199 



TEN 



it is chiefly found in the northern districts, on the isolatei 

 limestone rocks. The Malay bear occurs in the mori 

 mountainous parts as far north as 13 N. lat. The roya 

 tiger is found in great numbers, and is very strong ant 

 large ; but it is said that it rarely attacks men. The blacl 

 tiger is common. There are also leopards and wild-cats 

 Elephants are numerous, and they have a wide extent o 

 forests to range in. They are killed and eaten by the 

 natives, who bring their teeth to Maulmain. The rhino 

 ceros is very common, and all the known Asiatic species 

 are found. The Malay tapir, called by the natives the 

 ' great pig,' is found in the most southern districts. The 

 wild hog is common, and also the Sus Babiroussa. The 

 Cervidae are numerous : Rtisa Hippelaphus, Elaphus 

 Wallichii, Cervus Aristotelis, C. Axis, and C. Mont- 

 lac, with two other species, are known to exist. The 

 Bubulus Arni and Domesticus are both in a wild state 

 and of the Bisons, the great Gaurus is rather rare, bul 

 Bison gayal is very common. A variety of Cinnyris, 

 and Nectarinia, in its splendid plumage and diminu- 

 tire size, resembles the humming-birds. Four specie-! ol 

 Merops rival in colours the species of Java and Australia. 

 The Indian peacock is abundant in the interior near moun- 

 tain-torrents. There are five species of parrots. The Pha- 

 sianus gallus, the origin of our domestic fowl, is very 

 common in the jungle, and the native breed is kept up by 

 supplies of eggs from the forests. The Hirundo esculenta 

 inhabits the cliffs along the southern coast and the islands 

 of the Mergui Archipelago, and a considerable number of 

 the nests are annually collected and exported by the 

 Chinese. There are several species of hawks, falcons, and 

 herons, and five kinds of pigeons, some of which are very 

 beautiful. Fish is abundant between the islands of the 

 Mergui Archipelago., where an extensive fishery is carried 

 on by the Seelongs, Malays, and Chinese, who prepare fish 

 for market, which is done by spreading it over a framework 

 of mangrove-trees, and drying it in the sun : it is also daily 

 trodden with the feet twice. No salt is ever employed in 

 curing the fish : some kinds of fish are smoked. In these 

 parts there are also shrimps, prawns, &c., of which bala- 

 chong, or pressed tish, is made, which is an article of com- 

 merce. Whales are frequently seen among the islands of 

 the archipelago, and a little oil is got. There are also 

 some pearl-banks, which were formerly fished, but an at- 

 tempt made for that purpose some years ago was not suc- 

 cessful. Trepang is one of the principal objects of fishery. 

 Tortoise-shells, mother-of-pearl, and ambergris are col- 

 lected in small quantities by the Seelongs. Wax and 

 honey constitute an important article of internal commerce, 

 and are partly also exported. There are said to be five dif- 

 ferent species of wild bees, two of which are without stings. 

 Snakes are numerous, but only a few kinds are poisonous. 

 Inhabitants. Heifer estimates the population of Te- 

 nasserim at about 100,000 individuals, and consequently 

 there are about three to a square mile. Though this po- 

 pulation is very small, it consists of very different races, 

 or rather we find different races mixed. This is chiefly 

 to be ascribed to the frequent conquests to which the 

 country has been subjected since the time when it was 

 first visited by Europeans. In the last two centuries the 

 Siamese, Thalians, and Burmese have alternately and more 

 than once po^o-cd Tenasserim. These nations appear 

 to have adopted a policy which we find mentioned in the 

 most antient historical records of Western Asia, namely, 

 the transplanting of the inhabitants of one country to an- 

 other at a great distance from it. 



The bulk of the population consists of liirmans, Thalians 

 or Thalains, Siamese, and Karians or Karens. Though 

 all these nations have some physical features which belong 

 t'j the Mongol race, yet there arc others which indicate 

 that, a mixture with other races has taken place. The 

 Siamese approach nearest to the Chinese : they have a 

 flat forehead, a small nose, prominent cheek-bones, black 

 hair, very tliin beards, thin lips, and a colour more or less 

 '.v. The Hirmans and Thalians arc half Malays anil 

 half Chinese, and the Karians half Malays and halt' Cau- 

 '1 the features of the Karians approach so 

 much to the Caucasian form, that many of them have aqui- 

 line noses, a high forehead, and the European facial angle. 

 This resemblance to the Caucasian race seems one of the 

 reasons which has led some American Baptist missin 

 t > consider the, Karians as the lost tribes of Israel. 

 The Binnans, who were the lords of the country up to 



the peace of Yandabo, are still the most numerous. They 



are settled in the plains on the rivers Atta-yen and Gyeng, 



in the vicinity of Mergui, Tavoy, and Yee, either near the 

 sea-coast or on the banks of navigable rivers or creeks, 



and never far inland. They are healthy, strong, and mus- 

 cular. Their principal occupation is agriculture. They 

 are indolent and self-conceited ; but honest, polite in 

 their manners, and neither passionate nor revengeful, by 

 which they are distinguished from the Malays. They are 

 Buddhists, and consider the sovereign of Ava as the head 

 of their religion : they are quiet subjects. The children 

 are placed at an early age in monasteries, established in 

 almost every village, and endowed by the voluntary con- 

 tributions of the inhabitants : the children remain here 

 for a certain time, during which they are fed by the monks, 

 and instructed in reading, writing, and religion ; and thus 

 elementary knowledge is more generally diffused among 

 the lower classes than in most countries of Europe ; but 

 the knowledge of the higher classes is not much greater. 

 The knowledge of their priests is limited to the ex- 

 planation of theological and metaphysical doctrines. 

 The missionaries have hitherto failed in their attempts to 

 convert them to Christianity, with the exception of a few 

 isolated instances, where Birmans have nominally become 

 I 'In istians for the sake of worldly gain. This want of suc- 

 cess is not to be ascribed to fanaticism or obstinacy on 

 the side of the Birmans, but to their religious dogmatical 

 indifference. They admit the beauty of the Christian 

 morals, but contend that theirs are equally good ; and 

 with reference to the dogmas, they say that the Christian 

 are as unintelligible as the Buddhist. 



The Thalians or Pegnans do not differ in physical con- 

 stitution from the Birmans, and their separation into two 

 lations might be considered merely a political one, as they 

 lad formerly two different governments, if it were not 

 hat the Thalians speak a different, language, which is said 

 o have scarcely any resemblance to that of the Binnans. 

 !3ut this language is fast declining, as the greater number 

 of the Thalians speak the Birman language, which has 

 >een adopted as the language of the courts, of public 

 transactions, and of general conversation. The Thalians 

 are likewise Buddhists, and participate in the education 

 >rovided by that religious establishment. Their chief and 

 ilmost sole occupation is agriculture, and rice is almost 

 he only object of cultivation. A small number of Tha- 

 ians were settled on the Atta-yen previous to the oceupa- 

 ion of Tenasserim by the British, but a much greater num- 

 )er have emigrated since that event. Having shown 

 luring the war a great partiality for the British, they 

 eared the vengeance of the Birmans when their country 

 1'eiru was restored to that nation, and took refuge in Te- 

 nasserim, where they settled in the vicinity of the new 

 ettlement of Maulmain, where there are at present twenty 

 Thalians for one Birman. 



When Tenasserim was subject to the king of Siam, the 

 liamese were very numerous, but alter their conquest by 

 Alompra they retired from these provinces almost entirely, 

 xcept the districts south of Mergui, where a number of 

 hem remained on the banks of the rivers Lenya and Bok- 

 >yn, that part of the country having always remained a 

 isputed district. The security and equitable administra- 

 ion introduced by the British have attracted a consider- 

 ble number of emigrant s from Siam, who have formed 

 ettlements in several purls of the country, especially on 

 lie banks of the Greater and Lesser Tenasserim rivers, 

 'hey are, according to Heifer, an industrious, hard} 1 Mire, 

 nd more enterprising than the Hirmans, besides being 

 4 uiet, obedient, and orderly. He thinks that their immigra- 

 ion in greater numbers would be a desirable accession in 

 tie wilds of Tenasserim. They have introduced the cul- 

 ivation of the sugar-cane for the purpose of making su^rar, 

 \hicli art they have learned from the (.'hinese ulm are 

 eltled in their country, though this cultivation has not 

 et become important. Many of the Siamese are hiints- 

 rien by profession, living for months in the wildest forests, 

 fhere they shoot elephants for the i\ory ; they are also 

 he trappers, tamers, and managers of elephants in general. 

 Under the. Birman rule few elephants were 1.:i:;-,"d, but at 

 iresent the practice is becoming more general through thu 

 e, in whose country elephants are the most import- 

 ant of domestic animals. 



The Karians occupy exclusively the country adjacent to 

 he mountain-range which divides Tenasserim from Siam, 



