322 Geography of Cochinchina. [April, 



At present a large country is designated by the name of the kingdom 

 of Laos, or more properly Lao, because a number of towns or small 

 states bear that name. For instance in the Cochinchinese map there 

 is a great kingdom called Lao long ; its capital town is near the river, 

 called Mecon when it approaches Camboge ; but near the capital itself 

 this river bears the name of Ciu long giang, which signifies, the river 

 of the nine dragons. I think that from the word Lao long, the extent 

 of country situated between two chains of mountains and watered by 

 this great river has been called Lao. I was unable to place in my map 

 this town of Lao long as it appears to be between the first and second 

 degrees of longitude east and about the 22nd of latitude north. I was 

 surprised at not finding this capital in Mr. Macreod's map. Mal- 

 tebrun and many others have placed the source of this river in the 

 province of Yun-nam in China. But I am persuaded that this river 

 flows from the mountains of Thibet. In a short time I have no doubt 

 tbat we shall obtain proof of what I have advanced. It is indicated in 

 the map of Cochinchina and the extraordinary inundation of this river 

 about the month of September proves also, that the melting of the ice of 

 Thibet, is the cause of its overflowing its banks and spreading its waters 

 over Camboge and lower Cochinchina, and causing the same fertility as 

 the Nile does in Egypt. What Maltebrun speaks of a traveller 

 having arrived at Laos from China by descending one of the rivers &nd 

 crossing a lake, does not prove that the Camboge river has its source in 

 China ; this on the contrary accords exactly with the Cochinchinese 

 map ; about the 23rd or 24th degree of latitude one of the rivers, which 

 flows from the mountains of Ligam-nam, enters the great river of 

 Camboge. This Portuguese traveller must have taken the junction of 

 these two rivers for a lake. 



The Dutch ambassador, Gerard Van Wuthof visited Laos in 

 1641, and if we exclude Le Marini whose works I was unable to 

 procure, it is to the Dutch we are indebted for what little we know of 

 Laos. They embarked on board small boats at Camboge, and were 

 eleven weeks reaching Vienchau, the capital of one of the states of Laos I 

 In the Cochinchinese map this town is called Ban chuu, but the 

 Siamese call it Vien chau and I think this its real name. I do not 

 know why some geographers call it Lanchaing or Luntchung, others 

 Langyone which is not a bit better. Others have at a short distance 

 from Vien chau added the town of Sandepara ; I have not mentioned 

 this place because I could find no trace of it in any of my maps. The 

 greater number of the small kingdoms composing the country of Laos 

 I have included in the Cochinchinese empire, because I think them all 



