KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. »AND 56. N:0 2. 9 



On tho 18th of August everything was ready and I left Chieng Hai for Chieng Maj 

 Avith a caravan of 48 carries. Tliis journey turned out to be one of fche mosl diffioull I 

 ever met with in Siarn. Heavy rains worc falling every day and the »roads» uck- most 

 miserable. After two days march we crossed a fairly high mountain ohain covered w it h 

 damp evergreen jungles and mixed pine- and oak-forests. Then we had to cross the Meh 

 Soué, which sometimes may be rather difficult. I had, however, good luek and the river 

 was not too deep, nar the current too strong. Anotlier two days march saw me in Vieng 

 Pa Pao, a small town situated on a large fertile plain which is surrounded on all sides by 

 mountains. At Vieng Pa Pao I had to change carriers which is always a nuisance in a 

 country where »time is not money». As soon as I had got the new men I at once started 

 again and a few miles south of Vieng Pa Pao we had to cross the Meh Lao. The river 

 was fairly deep, and it was impossible to cross at the usual place. We therefore had to 

 make a circuit, but at least we came to a place where a fallen tree made a tolerable bridge. 

 The roads were quite miserable, and we generally had to walk in mud half up the knees. 

 The further we went the more mountainous the country became, and the path on which 

 we marched followed the courses of several creeks which we often had to cross. In two 

 days march we thus crossed two creeks 76 times. Sometimes the current was so swift 

 that we hardly could walk and I had to let my men form a chain, and pass the burdens 

 from man to man. 



Late in the evening on the 26th of August I arrived at last to Chieng Mai after a 

 long and tiring days march. At Chieng Mai I rested for some days, but on the 2nd of 

 September I again left for Koon Tan where I wanted to spend anotlier month this time 

 of the year. 



I then once more returned to Chieng Mai where I previously had made arrangements 

 to get a Laos boat for the intended journey down the Meh Ping river to Paknam Po. 



On the 2nd of October the boat was loaded and I made everything ready 

 for a start. 



This same night we stopped at a fishing village called Nan Dou. This days journey 

 had taken us through a very uninteresting country. The banks of the river were mostly 

 covered with bamboos or high elephant grass and inside there either swamps or paddy- 

 fields. Animal life was very scarce and nothing of special interest was met with. 



When I woke up the next morning I met with the unpleasant news that the boat 

 was leaking and the luggage room half filled with water. This was very disagreable in- 

 deed, and I had to unload the whole boat. Everything was wet, clothes, natural history 

 specimens, provisions a. s. o. and we had to stop the whole day at Nan Dou to dry every- 

 thing. Fortunately enough nothing was spoiled and early the next morning we continued 

 our journey with anotlier boat. After still three days we at last were approaching the 

 mountains, and the scenery grew more and more beautiful and interesting. The vege- 

 tation chiefly consisted of mixed forests, but here and there evergreen jungles occured. 

 The river is winding through the mountains which often showed perpendicular preci- 

 pices of great dimensions. The bare rock was often visible and appeared in curious 

 shapes. Caves were rather common but no real big ones were passed along this part of 

 the river. 



K. Sv. Vet. Akad. Handl. Band 56. N:o 2. 2 



