~~ 
106 JOURNEY THROUGH LAOS FROM BANGKOK To UBON. 
Saturday, 23rd.—A short stage. Busy preparing an altar. 
Sunday, 24th.—Mass. We camped in the evening on the 
banks of a torrent, which is nearly dry in this season. 
Monday, 25th—We found in the evenmg on the surface 
of the ground a kind of iron ore which the most intelligent 
of our followers called “‘ stone of Bien-hoa.” ‘This substance 
seems to me to be somewhat curious; it looks as ifit were 
formed of little globules of iron, or lke the slag which is 
taken froma furnace after smelting. Blocks of this stone 
are found at distant intervals, quite isolated one from the 
other. We camped near a little torrent. 
Tuesday, 26th.—We started again, crossing the stream 
Huai Khai, and met four bullock-carts accompanied by some 
Siamese. This is the first time for five days that we have 
come across any human being. 
Wednesday, 27th.—We had to cross the river Sakéo, which 
never dries up, and the bed of which is at the bottom of a 
deep ravine and is disfigured with stakes and snags. 
The descent was negotiated, and we crossed over and halted 
for breakfast. Four or five Burmese caravans were encamp- 
ed not far from us, and im another direction a party of 
Cambodians. These people had come from the provinces of 
Sourin and Sisaket to buy gambier, which they eat with the 
betel-leaf and areca-nut. They had been here for more than 
a week and had not yet been able to make their purchases, 
owing to their not having complied with some formality or other 
insisted on by the local authorities. While we took our 
meal, we received several visits. The first to come was a 
judge from the town of Amnet, twelve leagues from Ubon, 
who was on his way to Bangkok, and was good enough to 
take charge of a short note to Monseigneur VEY giving him 
news of us. By degrees all these folks disappeared on their 
way south, in the direction by which we had come. About 2 
o’clock we too started. We had been on the march for about 
three quarters of an hour when we reached the custom-house 
of Sakéo, which is situated on the side of a road as large and 
straight as ours in Europe.. It goes from the province of. 
