52 DETAILS RESPECTING COCHIN CHINA* 
as the tiger, the wild buffalo, the elephant, the rhinoceros, etc. etc,. 
It would be most dangerous to travel alone in this country. 
Lower Cochin China, or Dong Nai, comprises seven prefectures. 
The first, beginning at the north, is Bien Hoa ; the second, Gia 
Dinh, where is the town of Sai Gon, formerly frequented by French 
vessels, and laid down on charts *, the third, Dinh Tuong; the fourth, 
Vinh Long; the fifth, An Giang; the sixth, Ha Tin ; and the se ¬ 
venth, called formerly Nam Vang, and now Tran. It is in this 
dast province that the town of Colompe, the former capital of Cam¬ 
bodia, is situated. It has been lately taken again by the Cambodians, 
and, it is said, that it will be difficult for Cochin China to keep 
this place, owing to the want of sufficient troops. 
All this meridional part of Cochin China is the more fertile on 
account of the many rivers which intersect it in all directions, 
it produces rice in great quantity, and it also yields cotton, mul¬ 
berries for silk worms, and fruits of all kinds. It is justly called 
the u Garden and Granary of Cochin China.” Unfortunately luxury 
produces many vices. Hence gamblers, drunkards, opium-smokers, 
and, as a consequence, robbers, are found there in greater num- - 
bers than in any other part. Journeys are generally effected by ^ 
boats, but rivers afford every facility for navigation, and a large 
vessel might go up very far. 
Tongking and Cochin China are traversed throughout by a royal 
road or highway. It is the only one that exists in the country. 
In many places it is badly constructed, and not well kept. I have 
been along it from Sai Gon to the royal city. It is intersected 
by a great many rivers or rivulets, without bridges, which you 
must either wade through, or cross in a boat. 
There are some very high mountains, chiefly between the pro¬ 
vinces of Nhia Trang and Phu yeu, and those of Quang Nam and 
Thua Thieu, the passes of which are very difficult. It would be 
t * A 
impossible to travel in a carnage, and one cannot ride on horse¬ 
back far, for the horses being unshod, are unable to carry a man 
farther than half a day's journey: the Mandarins generally travel 
in a litter. You meet here and there trained bearers, who, how¬ 
ever heavy the burden may be, can go far in a short time. Those 
who carry the royal despatches go fifty leagues in a day. 
