CHAPTER II 

 THROUGH THE KLAWNGS OF SIAM 



WATERMEN more expert than the Siamese 

 do not live in the Orient, nor in the world 

 indeed, unless it be among the Esquimaux, or the 

 South Sea Islanders ; and Saw Swee Ann was one 

 of the most skilful I met during my wanderings in 

 the Far East. Saw, for so I at once abbreviated 

 his tuneful name, was a " saked " man and bore 

 the indelible mark which all those wear who serve 

 royalty without pay. Not that it is a service of 

 especial honor, but a species of traditional slavery. 

 Nor does every saked man serve the king. In the 

 intricate and far-reaching systems, which cross-sec- 

 tion the social fabric of Oriental peoples and per- 

 plex the western mind, are provided separate and 

 distinct places for every class of native mankind 

 from royalty to the lowliest subject. Siam has 

 perhaps more than its share of such subdivisions, 

 and so it happened that Saw also had his servant, 

 for that man is indeed low in Siam's social scale 

 who is without a servitor. Saked men, however, 

 are those in the service of the king or those at- 

 tached to the person of a noble or a tribal head. 

 Those who serve about the royal palace, and those 



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