124 VOYAGE FROM TO INDIA SIAM AND MALACCA. 



scum was frequently floating- on the water. The ground seemed 

 to be formed of some greenish mud, which when dry changed 

 into a fine clay. At midday the anchors were cast for a short 

 time, and two sea-snakes, Anguis i^latura. were caught with the 

 angle. As they were only of the common kind, I put them back 

 into the water. I only cut off the head of one of them, the rest 

 of the body went down to the bottom of the sea, like the other 

 snake, which still had its head 



November 1. — The unfavourable north east wind continued, 

 and was very strong. We had neared the land up to two German 

 miles, but the mouth of the big river which we wanted to enter 

 lay in the very direction from where the wind blew. A Muscicapa 

 Faradisi^^ with brown feathers and black head, came several times 

 to the ship, but as it was one of the commonest kind I did not 

 mind much that soon after it returned to the land. 



3. — We passed the day yesterday lying at anchor ; a boat 

 was sent to the shore, which brought us the information that we 

 were lying in a small arm of Ihe river on which the capital of 

 Siam, called Bangkok, is situated, and that the village not far from 

 us was Tadschin. From this village we got some refreshments 

 and two pilots. According to what they said, we had to make two 

 and a half miles more to the north east, in order to come to the right 

 mouth of the river. Before daybreak, the anchors were hoisted, 

 and with slightly more favourable wind we sailed along the 

 coast. The shores seemed to be very low, and were closely 

 overgrown with trees, which like those on the Malay coast were 

 growing in the water. A beautiful kind of Night Moth (Phcdeena 

 Noctua) came flying from the land. I described it as very similar 

 to the kinds which live on different wild fig trees on the coast 

 of Coromandel, but they are different in so far that their wmgs 

 have strong veins, which are of a yellowish-grey colour, and have 

 black spots, and while the body of the other kind is generally 

 ochre yellow, this one was beautifully carmine-red and white 

 underneath. 



4. — We canie to-day to the so-called bar or mouth of the 

 river, and the water was so shallow that at low-tide our ship 

 was fast in the muddy ground, and as the wind as well as the 

 current were against us, the ship was pulled up by means of a 

 small anchor, and we proceeded very slowly The king of Siam 

 * Paradi^'e Flvcatcher 



