by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXIV
TONQUIN AND SIGHTS IN CHOLON
There was so little sight-seeing to be done in Saigon that the tiredtourists did not hurry themselves in the morning; for breakfast was notserved till nine o'clock, and they went to the tables at their ownpleasure. The Nimrods had risen at an early hour, and had taken a longwalk before any others came from their rooms. They were the first totake the morning meal, and they had earned an appetite before theregular hour for it. At half-past ten a number of vehicles had beengathered by the landlord for the use of his guests.
Mr. Froler was in attendance as soon as breakfast was _ready_, and theyoung _men_ took their meal with him. He seemed to have taken a fancy toLouis when he learned that the Guardian-Mother was his college, and hetook pains to inform him in regard to the affairs of the city and thecountry.
"How did the French happen to settle here in the beginning?" asked Louiswhen they were seated at the table.
"England, Holland, Spain, and especially France, began to take aninterest in the countries of the East at a very early date; and Franceentered the race for Oriental territory as early as 1787, and agreed toassist Annam in its troubles. Two years later the French Revolutionbroke out in the destruction of the Bastille, on the fourteenth of July,which is still celebrated. It is our 'Fourth of July,' Mr. Belgrave."
"I was in Paris on that day a few years ago, when I was a smaller boythan I am now, and I wondered that no fire-crackers were let off,"replied Louis.
"They are not permitted in Paris. France had her hands full after theRevolution began, and was unable to keep her agreement in full withAnnam; but missionaries were sent there, and some commercial relationsin a very small way were continued until 1831. Then the king died, andwas succeeded by one who did not believe in the missionaries, French andSpanish, settled in Annam, as the whole country east of Siam was thencalled. The new king wanted to drive away the bearers of the gospel tothe natives, and killed or persecuted them.
"Twenty years later, France found it necessary to interfere, which shedid by sending a small army to subdue the country. The fortificationswhich had been built by French engineers held the soldiers back to someextent. When the persecutions of the Christians were believed to beended, the French soldiers returned home. They were again renewed; andFrance and Spain sent out a fleet and army, which captured the principalseaport, and continued the war for about four years, when a treaty ofpeace was concluded. Annam was compelled to pay 25,000,000 francs forthe expense of the war, and permit every person to enjoy his ownreligious belief. The missionaries were to be protected, commercialrelations were established, and in 1886 a treaty was ratified at Hue, bywhich the country was placed under the protection of France, though thenative princes were nominally continued in power. This was the beginningof the French dominion in this region."
"If it is not one now, it will eventually become a French colony,"suggested Louis.
"Probably it will, for it is largely so now," replied Mr. Froler.
Captain Ringgold, who had waited for Mrs. Belgrave, finished breakfastabout the same time; for they had not listened to a historical talkwhile they were eating, and they left the room together. At the timeappointed for the ride, all the party were in the parlor, and they wereloaded into the vehicles. They rode through the principal streets, andto the botanical garden, where all the party walked through the grounds.Then they rode along the banks of the river.
"Those small vessels look like men-of-war," said Louis, who was seatedin the first carriage, with Mr. Froler, the commander, and Mrs.Belgrave.
"They are little gunboats, and the government has about twenty of them,"replied the Frenchman. "But I think we had better alight here, and takea general view of the river and the surroundings."
At a given signal the whole party got out of the vehicles.
"But what are those gunboats for, Mr. Froler?" asked Louis, as thecompany were looking at them.
"If there should happen to be a riot, or a disturbance of any kind, upthe river, which the police could not handle, they would be used fortransporting troops; for we have the telegraph here, and could benotified at once. They are also used to beat off pirates, and to seethat the laws are obeyed."
"Pirates!" exclaimed Louis. "Are there any about _this_ country?"
"They are not such pirates as we read about in olden times," replied Mr.Froler with a smile. "But some of these natives may rig up a boat, andgo on a predatory excursion among their neighbors, especially in thefishing regions on the Great Lake, over two hundred miles up the river.Their principal plunder is fish, though they take anything they can laytheir hands upon."
"I should hardly call them pirates," added Louis.
"But Chinese pirates have been known to capture vessels in the ChinaSea, off the coast of Tonquin."
"I have heard of such within a few years."
"You can see the citadel, as it is called here, though it would besimply a fort in most places. There are 1,830 French soldiers here, and2,800 native troops. Only 3,000 of the population are French. The lastcensus gave the country a population of 2,034,453," continued Mr.Froler, consulting a memorandum book he carried in his pocket. "Theyare mainly Annamites; but Cambodians, Chinese, savages from the north,and Malays contribute to make up the number. But I don't mean to lectureyou, as I am told you are addressed on board your ship by some of yourown number."
"But we are an educational institution in part, and we are very glad tohear you," said the commander. "We are supposed to be greedy forinformation about the countries we visit. I suppose we are about as nearTongking as we shall be, and I am sure my company would like to learnsomething more about it. We have a nice place here in the shade of thistree to hear a short lecture."
"You use the English name for the region, which is all right; and I haveseen it spelled Tonkin, which I think is better yet for your people. TheFrench name is Tonquin," (and he gave the French pronunciation). "It islarger than Cochin China; and we apply this name to what you designateas French Cochin China, for it has an area of 34,740 square miles, and apopulation supposed to be about 9,000,000. Its chief town is Hanoi,consisting of a number of villages, with 150,000 inhabitants; and itschief seaport is Hai-Phong. There has been war going on against thepeople of this country for many years."
"We read something about these operations in American papers, and knowvery little about Tonquin, which is the reason I asked for moreknowledge of the region," added the commander.
"The principal productions of Tonquin," Mr. Froler, bowing to thecaptain, proceeded, "are rice, silk, sugar, pepper, oil, cotton,tobacco, and fruits, with copper and iron in small quantities. Theexports are now 13,325,000 francs, which you reduce to dollars bydividing by five. The imports are nearly 28,000,000 francs, onlyone-fourth from France, with but a small portion of the exports to thatcountry. An expedition was sent out from home, at the instance of JulesFerry, to open the way by the Songkoi River for the trade of Yun-Nan, asouth-western province of China. The experiment was an expensive one,and the difficulty of navigation in the upper waters of the river madeit a failure. The troops met with a disaster; and the colonial policy ofthe statesman here and in Madagascar caused his ruin, and he has sincedied. Jules Ferry was nicknamed 'le Tonquinais.' But I have talked toolong."
"Not at all!" protested several of the company; for they had read in thepapers at home something in short paragraphs about the war and othermatters in Tonquin, which they did not understand; and they are likelyto read much more in the future, which they will comprehend better ifthey remember the brief account of Mr. Froler.
The party got into the vehicles again, but stopped soon after at themarket, where they alighted. Natives in boats and on foot were bringingin fruits and vegetables in great quantities. All the fruits of thetropics were included, though bananas were the most plentiful. Somecame with clumsy carts, loaded with the produce of the surroundingcountry. The vehicles were very trying to the nerves of the ladies andsome of the gentlemen; for they creaked and groaned, and
seemed to bescreeching for grease, reminding them of the carts of Lisbon, where someof the party had had a similar experience.
"The men here wear tunnels on their heads, after the fashion of the kingof Siam," said Morris as they walked through the market, which consistedmainly of an open square, filled with carts, barrows, and baskets.
"The head-covering of the women is more curious," added Scott. "It isabout two feet across, and they use them as umbrellas, both sexes."
"I see that you have the yellow dog here, Mr. Froler, as inConstantinople," said Louis, as the Frenchman came near with the captainand Mrs. Belgrave.
"They are outcast dogs, like those in Constantinople," replied theguide. "Nobody owns them, and they have to pick up their living in thestreets. They are no more honest than some of the natives; for some ofthem will steal a piece of meat, and then comes a fight with all theothers in the vicinity."
"Where does the meat used here come from?" asked Louis.
"From Cambodia," replied the Frenchman. "But it is about time for yourlunch at the hotel, and I think we had better return. I see that yoursteam-launch is at the landing-place; and we might go up to Cholon inher, and visit the citadel."
The suggestion was adopted; and on his arrival at the hotel, thecommander found a note from the governor, inviting the party to dinewith him that day at seven. It was promptly accepted; and after thelunch the party embarked in the Blanchita, and sailed up the river toCholon, which is the native portion of the city.
"It does not cost much here to build a house," said Mr. Froler, as theyacht, under the pilotage of the old Frenchman who had brought theGuardian-Mother up the river, worked her way through the multitude ofboats that thronged the shore.
But the young men were busy observing the various craft; for they wereof all sorts and kinds, from the simple Chinese sampan to the craftfifty feet long, provided with a cabin, and parts of her covered withthe leaf awning, something like what they had seen in Borneo.
"Where does this boat come from, Achang?" asked Felix.
The Bornean spoke to a man who seemed to be the captain and a Malay.
"She come from Great Lake," reported Achang. "She bring down dry fish tosell to the poor people of Cholon."
"How much does it cost to build one of these houses, Mr. Froler?" askedCaptain Ringgold, after they had looked over some of them.
"About twenty-five francs."
"It ought not to cost more than that, for they are nothing butshanties," replied the commander. "Some of them are built on floats, asin Bangkok."
"Let us look into one of them; they will not object. This is aChinaman's abode, and he belongs to the better class here," said theFrenchman as he led the way into the house, followed by the commander,with Mrs. Belgrave on his arm.
Seated at a table was what a sailor would call a kid, or small tub,containing a stew of fish and vegetables; and there was a dish for eachindividual, which did duty as a plate. There were a man, a woman, andthree children at the table.
"These people belong to the aristocracy," said the Frenchman, as theyretired, and the family were visited by others of the party. "We willlook into another house of a lower grade of people;" and they went intoa hut about six feet square, in which were eight men, women, andchildren, huddled together around a tub on the floor containing fish andrice. The odor was not agreeable, and they hurried away.
"You noticed the two girls there. If you want them, Captain, you can buythem for thirty dollars apiece of your money."
"I don't want them; and I don't care about staying any longer in thispart of the town," replied the commander.
They walked rather hurriedly to the yacht. On the way they met acarriage something like a wheelbarrow, with a single large wheel, and aseat on each side of it, one occupied by a fat Chinaman and the other bya Malay. It was propelled by a native just like an ordinary wheelbarrow.
"That's a big team," said Scott.
"You will see plenty of them in some of the cities of China."
The Blanchita left Mr. Froler at the landing-place, and then conveyedthe passengers to the two ships; for the ladies insisted that they mustdress for the dinner at the governor's palace.