FROM TONKIN TO INDIA 



ourselves on the borders of the river. This was the Nam-Kiou, 

 or Meli-remai of the Kioutses, the western branch of the Irawadi. 

 It was about i6o yards in width and 12 feet deep ; water clear and 

 sluggish. We crossed without delay in five or six pirogues, and 

 saw grounds for the arrogance of the natives in the ease with 

 which they could have prevented our passage. A series of streams 

 succeeded at close intervals : the rejrion seemed a veritable 



On the Xam-Kio 



cullender for Indo-China. Some we forded, others we passed 

 in dug-outs. Their gliding currents mingled or diverged 

 without visible cause in this flat delta-like country ; in marked 

 contrast to the riotous torrents we had so lately left. They 

 cannot come from far, as the chain of the Dzayul Mountains 

 running south-west bounds them to the north of the plain of 



Moam. 



.^10 



