INDOCHINA, 



of the Mekhong takes the native name of S/uh&i AfuiU-, that Is, lias 

 "Four Arms* 11 or Quatrc-BraA of the French. 



Ruvond the lowdyiiig area of periodical inundations, Caiuboja presents 

 several elevated lands, chains of hilts and isolated mo taenia frmrunlrated 

 especially in the region enclosed between the Great Lake and its emissary 

 on tha north -eiiat nud the Gulf of Siain on the bcmtk-weHt. The* nj4»n4f| 

 wIh.'Il have not yet buei* systematically explored, seem to form theKuutheru 

 limit of thb- oro^mphicsyitlfiu) stretching from the Yunnan tableland south- 

 wards between the Monam and Mekhong basins* Tliey develop an irregular 

 ■ttfetcf thro*? somewhat parallel ridj^s, rumnnj,' from' the Xnng hill* nbovo 

 Shnnlal'U" al'iiii the Guff uf Slant south* eastward* to lite Mekhong delta. 

 Within thu Siamese frontier they are known ok thn Pmlmt ht]]s T uad iti 

 Camboja lake thu nJBM of Pur.sat or Krevatit, that in, the 1'n.rdumum 

 M.i-.mi i.i i-. npjijicftitly culminating in Kl-y\i ni; Mumi .in iri<i<iu l.v*), 

 the I'jiom I'upuk Vil of the nutivm, one uf t he In^hi-st [u ;ik-. in t '.mi! mil. 



Climate. — Ah in other parts of the peninsula, the your is divided 

 into n wvl and dry reason, which, especially in Tonkin, succeed each 

 other very abruptly. Here the monsoon, which arrive* in April, is 

 accriminanind by tremendous thunderstorms, and followed by terrific 

 cyclones, which nratfp the Gulf of Tonkin , and often cause wide- 

 spread ruiu on the surrounding pining In the Son.g-K.oi del la the 

 moist KijmitHT hente aro most oppw at i vB even to thu native*, while 

 the marshy fever-stricken districts arc almost uninhabitable by 

 European* at this season. 



Along the Cochin-Chinese seaboard the north-east monsoon cots 

 in about the end of October, and the south-west in lho middle of 

 May. Thb heavy rains which sometime* cause the coast streams to 

 overlUw their bunks. I.i-l usually Ji- -in Si-]»j.'inl-r l-» December* The 

 gloss, which in Tnnkin falls as low as 45" F, T seldom records less than 

 <53* F. at Hue, capital of Cochin-Cliirm, doing in the dry season to 

 102" ami lD4* F. Yet although it never freezes nr *m.»ws 1 ^]\>• oild 

 is acutely felt on the elevated lands in the northern provinces above 

 the 15° N. Int. 



In the Lower Mekhong basin (Cambojaund Lower Cochin-China), 

 the wet season lasts from June to November, the dry from December 

 to May. Here the moist sultry atmosphere* especially in the Donna, 

 district about 3«gon, is most enervating for European*, who after a 

 protruded residence become easy victims to ague, nnrcuiin, and other 

 local ailments, 



Natural Resources, — The advanced ppnrs of the Tonkin moun- 

 tains* which have alone been explored, contain rich deposits of iron, 

 tin* copper, coal, and thu precious metals, and the whole of these 

 highlands probably abound in mineral wealth* Guld and silver 



