22 Social Customs &c. of the Karens. [No. 1, 



too bony for his table. Dogs are not eaten by the Southern Karens, 

 but they are as great delicacies in the Bghai country as they are in 

 China. 



To this great mass of animated nature, the whole vegetable king- 

 dom is made to serve as greens. Nearly every weed is a vegetable, 

 and the young shoots of the largest trees serve as spinage. They are 

 so careless about what they gather for greens, that one of our young 

 teachers poisoned himself, not long ago, by the vegetable curry he 

 made by the way, while travelling. 



Besides game, the Karens raise hog's and fowls for home consump- 

 tion as well as for sale, and on festive occasions, those who are able, 

 purchase and kill a buffalo or ox ; so they do not seem to lack for 

 animal food. Still, they may be often seen sitting down to rice and 

 vegetable curry, with perhaps a taste of dried fish, and they certainly 

 do not eat as much animal food as Europeans. They live much like 

 the wild beasts of the forest. When chance, or something very like 

 it, sends them a whole beast, they eat meat to surfeit ; and then they 

 live on vegetables and rice, till the wheel of fortune turns round 

 again. 



The meat is often cut into small pieces and boiled in curry ; but it 

 is also frequently roasted or grilled. Fish is often dried, as is also the 

 flesh of game sometimes ; but dried so imperfectly, that it usually has 

 a very bad odour. 



The Karens distil from rice or millet a kind of whiskey, of which 

 men, women, and children often drink to intoxication. But, like their 

 meat, this too they have not on hand constantly ; and they are sober 

 a great part of the year, because they cannot get anything to drink to 

 be intoxicated. 



In the matter of quantity, they take more food at a meal than 

 Europeans ; and yet, if labouring hard, require to eat more frequently 

 I have often walked with them, up hill and down ; and though I 

 could walk all day, from sunrise to sunset, after an early breakfast 

 with a couple of crackers, and water from the brook by the way ; the 

 Karens were always knocked up by noon ; and had to stop and eat a 

 hearty meal, before they were able to proceed. This is true of all the 

 natives in the country ; but is not quite understood by some of our 

 medical men. Natives are sometimes taken into the hospitals, and 



