INHO-CHINA. 



03 



Sea. With a coast-line of over 1500 miles sweeping round from 

 Cape I-'akUing on (lie flulf of Tonkin In tin- Si:irn>-N' frontier an the 

 <5 u If or Sium, it i* so contnwfol in the central purn* of Cochin-China 

 that tin* Uital ana cannot be eHtiinuted at iinich more than 230,000 

 fcqimre mih*, with a population of prolwibly lews than 20,000,000. 

 The grvul 1-nlk of the inhabitants, «»v livi— sxths altogether, hetong 

 to the Annamci-e ntnck, the re,st being chiefly Camhojan* ami Malays 

 in tin? lower Mekhonj; basin, <liiiuK' uuiueroijH in nil the trading 

 places and wild tribes, here collectively known em BCqi and Muoftg, 

 thinly ■i^Ui-ri-ti i r all the hilly districts of tin- interior. 



Physical Features,— Tin- carefully cultivated nnd abundantly 

 Watered cilhtvinl plains nf Tt-ttkiitj studded witli large towns ami 

 populous, village*, jiinl everywhere intersected by natural or uriitleiat 

 eunab, present a striking rcseinblun.-e to |!n- mure pn ^peroiis pro- 

 viuce.-. of da- t.'hine*' empire about i lu- hiwer courses of lln- Huang* 

 ho and Viiil-jIm- Kiung. Hence this region, mainly com prists I in tin 1 

 Song-hoi and That-biuh basin*, has often been regarded as little more 

 than a southern extension of Cliinji pmjier, nf which it low fur ago) 

 formed un outlying tributary or protected Wtate, and to which it, lias 

 been indebted for it* sirt-", letter*, religion, nnd general culture, 

 Nevertheless?, Tonkin is completely severed from the Middle King- 

 dom by an ;ilmot! unknown highland n'gi'in. which ap]M-ari> h» merge 

 gradually in the Kwang-si ami Van nan tablelands liiit whicli t in 

 jiecofulatjee with the jenloiiH policy of it* northern neighbour, has long 

 constituted a sort of neutral xotie between the two States, Tliin is 

 the home of several seiui-eiviliFcd Muong tribes, who ant ram* 

 unboiled by the imperial gov eminent to guard the two chief frontier 

 passe* .<f iSmu-lvWimg ami Nam-Kwain ami otherwise prevent all 

 regular intercourse between the juipiilntionH on either side. Thin 

 rugged tract, through which rim head-stream* of the Song-koi |]ow in 

 deep tw-ky down C" tin- plain-, is also tin- Tefuge of the unruly 

 elements of Southern Chitm, ami notably of the famous "Black 



Kings' 7 wImi tig 1 1 iv. 1 m uspieuotmh- during 1 1 tt • p-'vut mililury 



operations Of the French in Annum, 



The irregular range of hi 11a skirl ing the Tonkin plains on the 

 west at n height of about 6000 feet, branches off from the Yunnan 

 tableland between the Mekhung and Song-hot basins, and under the 

 general name of the Gochin-CItin&e Court Itangc is continued parallel 

 with the coast southwards between Annum and Siuun It throws off 

 several advanced spurs terminating in bold headlands on the const, 

 which thus becomes disposed in a number of bays and deep inlet*, 



