38 THROUGH THE KLAWNGS 



in any of the companies connected more or less 

 directly with the king, are marked on the left side, 

 a little below the armpit ; all others are marked on 

 the fore-arm. And the mark (" sak "), always 

 the insignia of him in whose service the man is 

 enrolled, is pricked into the skin, and then made 

 permanent by applying a mixture of India ink and 

 peacock bile. None but a native, I believe, may 

 be a saked man, and as I travelled and studied the 

 country, it seemed to me that in the course of 

 another quarter century pure Siamese blood will 

 flow in the veins only of royalty and of the poor- 

 est of Siam's inhabitants. The average native is 

 an indolent, improvident, good-natured creature, 

 happy so long as he has enough to keep his stomach 

 from protesting, and a few ticals to gamble with. 

 Great Britain, fortunately for the commercial 

 world, controls the export trade of Siam, and the 

 Chinaman is its industrial backbone. More than 

 that, John Chinaman is becoming Siam's small 

 trader as well, and father of the only dependable 

 laborer growing up on its soil; for the Siamese 

 woman marries him in preference to her own coun- 

 trymen, because he makes a better husband. The 

 result of this union is called a Simo-Chinese, but 

 really is a Chinaman in looks, in habits— so 

 strongly does the son of Confucius put his stamp 

 upon his progeny. Thus the native Siamese is 



