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National Geographic : 1904 Nov
Contents
458 THE NATIONAL GE supply is generally thought to be lim ited. The fur trade is no longer of serious account, and there remains only the petroleum springs, whose true value has not yet transpired. Having regard to its present population of criminals and ex-convicts, the island can not be said to exercise any great allurement. South American Republics. Part 2: Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Vene zuela, Colombia, Panama. By Thos. C. Dawson. With maps and illus trations. Pp. 513. 52 by 8 inches. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1904. Since the first volume was published, describing Brazil and Argentine, and re viewed in this Magazine several months ago, Mr Dawson has been transferred from Rio Janeiro, where he had been the American Consul General for a number of years, to the post of United States Minister to Santo Domingo. This second volume, like the first, contains much more history than geography, very little descriptive of the peoples or of the actual resources of the coun tries being included. Speaking of the new era which has begun in Colombia since the inauguration of General Reyes, Mr Dawson says: "It will be under his able guidance that Colombia will start on the tedious road leading to in ternal peace and regeneration, to finan cial rehabilitation, and to the recon cilement of those fierce factions whose wars have drenched their country's soil with blood for so many decades." With the completion of the Panama Canal, a new era will begin for the entire west coast of South America. The Kingdom of Siam. Edited by A. Cecil Carter. With 50 full-page illus trations. Pp. 272. 5 by 72 inches. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1904. All the chapters in this exceedingly interesting and handsomely illustrated little volume were written by high offi- OGRAPHIC MAGAZINE cials in different departments of the gov ernment service of Siam, and we may therefore accept them as authentic. Siam equals in size the States of Cal fornia and Oregon combined and has a population of about 5,000,000. The Siamese are addicted to chewing, but they chew tea, not tobacco. The tea is not used as a beverage, but made into balls of a suitable size to fit into the hollow of the cheek comfortably. The Siamese are of smaller stature than the Chinese or Indians, but taller than the Japanese and Malays. They have straight black hair, which is worn cut short by both sexes; beards are little developed and complexion a light brown, like the races of southern Europe. The people are polite, courteous to strangers, and have a high sense of self-respect. " Slavery has never existed in Siam, though bond-serfdom, ending with the restitution of the debt, was formerly common, and although abolished as a legal institution still exists in outlying provinces, though only as a bona fide agreement between master and man." The position of women is high in Siam. They enjoy, both in business matters and social life, a great independence. Nearly every male can read and write. Rice " constitutes not merely the principal, but almost the sole food of every one, from the highest noble to the lowliest plebeian; horses, cattle, dogs, cats, and all other domestic ani mals live on it; it is used for making beer and spirits; it enters largely into all ceremonials, and the superstitious observances in connection with it pro vide the people with their most frequent occasions for holiday-making." It is rice which forms the cargoes of the thousands of boats ever passing up and down the River Menam. Skill in plant ing rice seedlings vastly enhances a girl's chances in the marriage market, while a youth who ties the bundles clumsily stands small chance of getting a bride in his own village. In 1885 Siam exported 217,000 tons of rice; in
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