VOYAGE FKOM IXDIA TO SIAM AXD MALACCA. 135 



grew climbing' upon the trees and had big pinnate lancet-shaped 

 leaves. I frequently found here a peculiar kind of Phaseolus 

 with three rhombic leaves, and Panicum dimidiatum grew here to 

 half a man's height. This moreover is the grass most frequently 

 growing here in all damp woods. Jlimosa tamarindifoJia climbed 

 upon some other high trees, specially upon the Pterocarpi, which 

 however had no blossoms yet. There were some durians 

 mangostans, rangostans, and Jacques, growing in the narrow 

 strips of wood, flanked by swampy ditches. There was a kind 

 of Cassia here which had no blossoms, but only some unripe pods. 

 Hedysarum pukhellum was here a common shrub and grew 

 amongst the Triumfetta, and Ureiia. Ccdamus was here thick and 

 very high, but it must be different species, because then* leaves 

 have big' prickles and large nerves. 



I met a boat the people of which offered the flesh of a big- 

 crocodile for sale ; the meat looked very red and had a disgust- 

 ing smell. The people told me that the tail was best and had no 

 smell at all. The king of Siam pays for every crocodile a sum 

 of — Tikais, in order to extirpate these auimals. Therefore the 

 crocodiles are afraid of any boat here, but higher up in the coun- 

 try they atta<-k people and eat them. 



Since the 19th of this month, with the appearance of the 

 new moon, all the ramparts on the both sides are illuminated with 

 lanterns, those formerly built by the French and now inhabited by 

 the Chinese as well as those built by the Portuguese, behind which 

 the king himself resides in a small fortress. The town in which 

 the Siamese live, which is surrounded by a wall and rampart, and 

 all the houses, were illummated in the same manner. 



The reason for this illumination lies in a superstition of these 

 peoples who believe in the fable that Ordamans. or the subterranean 

 giants sleep almost all the year round, except in this one month, 

 when they awake and rise in order to kill all the inhabitants of 

 Siam, but when they find them to be on their guard and see 

 their lanterns lighted, these giants cannot do them any harm. 



29. — Our flrst rower began to recover ; the inflammation and 

 swell'mg had subsided, but he was not yet able to get up on 

 account of pain m the groin. 



I went again deeper inland, rowing with my boat up a 

 small river and found various new plants, specially two kinds of 

 palms, which were in bloom and liad fruits, I also saw a 



