10 NILS GYLDENSTOLPE, ZOOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE SWEDISH ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITIONS TO SIAM. 



Between Pa Tao and Keng Soi the scenery was most beautiful. The valley was 

 sometimes quite narrow and bordered 011 both sides by high mountains the slopes of 

 which here and there had given away thus prodncing steep precipices. Down here we 

 often passed large caves in which beautiful stalactites were observed. We had to pass 

 several rapids, and it sometimes looked rather dangerous when the boat with great speed 

 was hurrying down the swift current. But all turned out satisfactorily thanks to the skill 

 of the steersman. At Keng Soi which is one of the largest of the Meh Ping rapids I stopped 

 for one day. The slopes of the mountains were covered by very high grass which made 

 progress almost impossible. 



About one days journey below Keng Soi we again arrived to low-lying country, 

 and had left the mountains behind us. In the evening on the 12th of October we arrived 

 to Paknam Po where I took the railway down to Bangkok. 



In Bangkok I was laid down with fever for some weeks, but in the middle of No- 

 vember I left the capital again this time for a journey down to Peninsular Siarn. I pro- 

 ceeded by rail as far south as to Koh Lak, a nice village situated on about Lat N. 12°. 

 Koh Lak is famous for its fine harbour, which is secure from all winds but the north-east. 

 It is the residence of the Governor of the Pranburi Province. The Governor Mom 

 Chao Prani was very kind to me and I am greatly indebted to him. 



The immediate neighbourhood of Koh Lak turned out to be an excellent collecting 

 ground and the Fauna had of course a different character, the Malayan forms predomi- 

 nating, from that one of the northern parts of the country. The landscape was also very 

 variable. The shores of the Gulf of Siarn are flat and low-lying, but here and there iso- 

 lated limestone crags occur. These crags, sometimes forming cliffs and islands, are as 

 a rule almost inaccessible and covered with dense evergreen jungles or deciduous forests. 

 A species of cactus is one of the most characteristic features to these coastal mountains 

 which are the hamits of the »Liang Paa» (Capricornis sp.). The coast line is, however, 

 in several places covered with mangrove swamps. Inside the mangrove vegetation there 

 was often a narrow plain which gradually passed över into a thorny bamboo-jungle. 



From Koh Lak as a centre I made several trips up amongst the mountains which 

 form the boundary to Tenasserim and which constitute the backbone of the Malay Pe- 

 ninsula. Near Koh Lak these mountains are fairly low but a few miles southwards a 

 great mountain known as Khao Luang arises to a height of about 4800 feet. 



The Tenasserim mountains are covered with dense forests, mostly evergreen, and 

 formed a real »Dorado» for the sportsman. Big game such as Elephants, Rhinoceroses, 

 Gaurs, Tapirs, Tigers and Leopards abound. Bird life was, however, rather scarce, 

 though several interesting forms were obtained and incorporated with the collections. 



I visited several different places among these mountains the most conspicuous of 

 these being Hue Sai and Hat Sanuk. Both these places have got their names from small 

 creeks which are running down from the mountains to the coast. 



On the 25th of February 1915 I left my camp at Hat Sanuk for the last time and 

 the next morning I left Koh Lak by rail for Bangkok. 



At the end of April 1915 I safely arrived at Stockholm after a successful and in- 

 teresting year in the wUderness of Northern Siarn and the Siamese Malaya. 



