3862.] the Isthmus of Krau. 351 



to come in two days from Bankok, and fuel (billets of wood) in 

 quantities (about 20,000 pieces) was collected. There was a 

 schooner of about 1 50 tons lying off the shore at about 50 yards 

 distance in 5 fathoms of water, but there is a bar, above where 

 the schooner lay, across the mouth of the river Tsoompeon, with 

 only 1^ fathoms over it at low water. There would be no diffi- 

 culty in making wharves for large ships, and, so far as we could 

 observe, there would be no difficulty in making roads from Tsoom- 

 peon to this place. We found store-houses here with a couple of 

 32 Pr. Carronades belonging, we supposed, to the King's steamers, 

 though we asked no questions about them. From the general 

 appearance of the buildings, &c, we think it is a place not open to 

 severe storms or heavy sea. This is confirmed by an extract from 

 Commander Richards' " Gulf of Siam," taken from the Bankok 

 Calendar, stating that " Heavy gales are unknown in the gulf." 

 With a view of establishing a communication across the Isthmus 

 of Krau, it would be necessary, accurately to determine several points 

 which would render such communication practicable with reference 

 to the gulf of Siam, as we had ascertained in regard to our own 

 •side ; this the time and commissariat at our disposal prevented us 

 doing satisfactorily and we did not wish to exhibit a curiosity by 

 asking too many questions which might have proved offensive to 

 a friendly power. We made the distance from Tsoompeon to the 

 sea shore 21 miles, making the total distance from Krau to the 

 shore of the gulf about 50 miles. 



14. At 1\ p. m. 4th April we returned to Tsoompeon, surveying 

 the river roughly ; we passed Tayoung about 4 miles from the 

 mouth a short distance up a creek which here falls into the Tsoom- 

 peon, we were told that two vessels of some 200 tons were loading 

 there. Tayoung is large, said to consist of some 200 houses, we had 

 not time to land, as we wished to get back to Apay this night. 



15. We arrived at Tsoompeon at 10 \ A. M. and after much civi- 

 lity, which we hereby acknowledge, from Payar Teet the Governor, 

 who provided us with two more elephants, we started on our return 

 through heavy rain. Slept at Apay this night (4th April). Got 

 to Krau the next day, 5th at 4 P. M., passing through the streams 

 which had swollen a little from the heavy rain, the commencement 

 of the monsoon. Went straight on board our boat, tested the cor- 



