856 Note on the Animal pr oductions [Oct. 



primitive forests, that they hate their own industry, are disgusted 

 with cleared land, pity men who are surrounded by smiling and well 

 dressed cultivation, can seldom be induced to visit towns on the sea coast, 

 and return invariably from thence, as soon as possible, to their secluded 

 mountain valleys, leading the life of hermits, content with the almost 

 spontaneously growing productions of nature, despising the possession 

 of money, because not desirous to exchange their own productions, and, 

 in consequence, not desirous to add to what we call comforts. 



The Kareans seem to be the aborigines of the country, or the remains 

 of a once numerous people, which has been again reduced to slavery 

 by subsequent conquerors. They are scattered over a great extent of 

 the country, from the 23rd degree of latitude to the 11th, and though 

 conquered many centuries ago, have preserved their language and 

 their peculiarities; for they never have mixed with foreigners, but 

 avoid as much as possible all contact with them, prohibiting even 

 connexions with distant tribes of their own, but intermarrying in their 

 own families, so much so, that matrimonial alliances between brother 

 and sister, or father and daughter, are not uncommon to this day. And 

 this may be the reason that they are a subdued, timid, effeminate, 

 diminishing race ; so low in the scale of nations, that they have no 

 written language, no historical, but only religious and poetical tradi- 

 tions, not even the presentiment of a future state ; but live, without 

 erecting their head to their Creator, without aspiring to a continuation 

 of their existence. 



The second race is the Siamese. 



This nation were the former conquerors of the Tenasserim Provinces, 

 but were driven out of the country by Alompra in the middle of last 

 century. They are the deadly enemies of the Burmese, formerly 

 living with them in constant feuds, but, since the British occupation, 

 the constantly nourished animosities have ceased, and they have 

 begun to settle in the British territories, and to live peaceably with the 

 Burmese. They are an enterprising industrious race, and possess a 

 great deal of the ingenuity and shrewdness, so peculiar to the Chinese 

 and their descendants. 



Their physical development is not stinted, but they are muscu- 

 lar, hardy, and persevering, and are therefore the huntsmen, and 

 the only people who have a knowledge of the vast wilds between Zim- 

 may and Mergui, going after elephants, rhinoceros, gold-dust and 

 precious stones. They have much of the enterprising spirit of the 

 undaunted adventurer, and are the most capable of improvement. 



They are darker than the Burmese, and approach more than the 



