Though separated only by the Mekong, that mighty3 waterway which, rising in the mountains of Tibet, bisects the whole peninsula, Cochin-China is as dissimilar from Cambodia as the ordered farmlands of Ohio are from the Florida Everglades. In Cambodia, stretches of sand covered with low, scraggy, discouraged-looking scrub alternate with tangled4 and impenetrable jungles. It is a savage5, untamed land. Cochin-China, on the other hand, is one great sweep of plain, green with growing rice and dotted with the bamboo poles of well-sweeps, for water can be found everywhere at thirty [271]to forty feet. These striking contrasts in contiguous states are due in some measure, no doubt, to differences in their soils and climates and to the industry of their inhabitants, but more largely, I imagine, to the fact that while the Frenchman has been at work in Cochin-China for upwards6 of sixty years, Cambodia is still on the frontier of civilization.
The roads which the French have built in Indo-China deserve a paragraph of mention, for, barring the rivers and the three short unconnected sections of railway on the East coast of the peninsula, they form the country's only means of communication. The national highways consist of two great systems. The Route Coloniale, which was the one I followed, has its beginning at Kep, on the Gulf8 of Siam, runs north-eastward through the jungles of Cambodia to Pnom-Penh, and, recommencing at Banam, swings southward across the Cochin-China plain to Saigon. The Route Mandarine, beginning at Saigon, hugs the shores of the China Sea and, after traversing twelve hundred miles of jungle, forest and mountain land in Annam and Tongking, comes to an end at Hanoi, the capital of Indo-China. The entire length of the Route Mandarine may now be traversed by auto-bus—an excellent way to see the country provided you are inured9 to fatigue10, do not mind the heat, and are not over-particular as to your fellow passengers. A motor car is, of course, more comfortable and more expensive; a small one can be rented for ninety dollars a day.
Nowhere has the colonizing11 white man encountered [272]greater obstacles than those which have confronted the French road-builders in Indo-China; nowhere has Nature turned toward him a sterner and more forbidding face. But, though their coolies have died by the thousands from cholera12 and fever, though their laboriously13 constructed bridges have been swept away in a night by rivers swollen14 from the torrential rains, though the fast-growing jungle persistently15 encroaches on the hard-won right-of-way, though they have had to combat savage beasts and still more savage men, they have prosecuted16 with indomitable courage and tenacity17 the task of building a road "to Tomorrow from the Land of Yesterday."
Saigon, the capital of Cochin-China and the most important place in France's Asiatic possessions, is a European city set down on the edge of Asia. So far as its appearance goes, it might be on the Seine instead of the Saigon. The original town was burned by the French during the fighting by which they obtained possession of the place and they rebuilt it on European lines, with boulevards, shops, cafés, a H?tel de Ville, a Théatre Municipal, a Musée, a Jardin Botanique, all complete. The general plan of the city, with its regular streets and intersecting boulevards, has evidently been modeled on that of the French capital and the Saigonnese proudly speak of it as "the Paris of the East." In certain respects this is taking a considerable liberty with the truth, but they are very lonely and homesick and one does not blame them. Most of the streets, which are [273]paved after a fashion, are lined with tamarinds, thus providing the shade so imperatively18 necessary where the mercury hovers19 between 90 and 110, winter and summer, day and night. At almost every street intersection20 stands a statue of some one who bore a hand in the conquest of the country, from the cassocked figure of Pigneau de Behaine, Bishop21 of Adran, the first French missionary22 to Indo-China, to the effigy23 of the dashing Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, flanked by charging marines, who took Saigon for France.
The most characteristic feature of Saigon is its café life. During the heat of the day the Europeans keep within doors, but toward nightfall they all come out and, gathering24 about the little tables which crowd the sidewalks before the cafés in the Boulevard Bonnard and the Rue25 Catinat, they gossip and sip26 their absinthes and smoke numberless cigarettes and mop their florid faces and argue noisily and with much gesticulation over the news in the Courrier de Saigon or the six-weeks-old Figaro and Le Temps which arrive fortnightly by the mail-boat from France. They wear stiffly starched27 white linen28—though the jackets are all too often left unfastened at the neck—and enormous mushroom-shaped topées which come down almost to their shoulders and are many sizes too large for them, and they consume vast quantities of drink, the evening usually ending in a series of violent altercations29. When the disputants take to backing up their arguments with blows from canes30 and bottles, the café proprietor31 unceremoniously bundles them into [274]pousse-pousses, as rickshaws are called in Saigon, and sends them home.
Along the Rue Catinat in the evenings saunters a picturesque32 and colorful procession—haggard, slovenly33 officers of the troupes34 coloniales and of the Foreign Legion, the rows of parti-colored ribbons on their breasts telling of service in little wars in the world's forgotten corners; dreary35, white-faced Government employees, their cheeks gaunt from fever, their eyes bloodshot from heavy drinking; sun-bronzed, swaggering, loud-voiced rubber planters in riding breeches and double Terais, down from their plantations36 in the far interior for a periodic spree; women gowned in the height of Paris fashion, but with too pink cheeks and too red lips and too ready smiles for strangers, equally at home on the Bund of Shanghai or the boulevards of Paris; shaven-headed Hindu money-lenders from British India, the lengths of cotton sheeting which form their only garments revealing bodies as hairy and repulsive37 as those of apes; barefooted Annamite tirailleurs in uniforms of faded khaki, their great round hats of woven straw tipped with brass38 spikes39 like those on German helmets; slender Chinese women, tripping by on tiny, thick-soled shoes in pajama-like coats and trousers of clinging, sleazy silk; naked pousse-pousse coolies, streaming with sweat, graceful40 as the bronzes in a museum; friars of the religious orders in shovel-hats and linen robes; sailors of the fleet and of the merchant vessels41 in the harbor, swaggering along with the roll of the sea in their gait; Armenian peddlers with [275]piles of rugs and embroideries42 slung43 across their shoulders; Arabs, Indians, Malays, Cambodians, Laos, Siamese, Burmese, Chinese, world without end, Amen.
But, beneath it all, a paralysis44 is on everything—the paralysis of the excessive administration with which the French have ruined Indo-China. There are too many people in front of the cafés and too few in the offices and shops. There is too much drinking and too little work. The officials are alternately melancholy45 and overbearing; the natives cringing46 and sullen47. It is not a wholesome48 atmosphere. Corruption49, if not universal, is appallingly50 common. Foreigners engaged in business in Saigon told me that it is necessary to "grease the palms" of everyone who holds a Government position. As a result of this practise, officials who are poor men when they arrive in the colony retire after four or five years' service with comfortable fortunes—and France does not pay her public servants highly either. And there are other vices51. The manager of a great American corporation doing business in Saigon told me that ninety per cent of the city's European population are confirmed users of opium52. And, judging from their unhealthy pallor and lacklustre eyes, I can well believe it. But what else could you expect in a country where the drug is sold to anyone who has money to pay for it; where it is one of the Government's chief sources of revenue?
On the native population the hand of the French lies heavily. In 1916 there was an attempted jail delivery of political prisoners in Saigon, but the plot was [276]discovered before it could be put into execution, the ring-leaders arrested, and thirty-eight of them condemned53 to death. They were executed in batches54 of four, kneeling, blind-folded, lashed55 to stakes. The firing party consisted of a platoon of Annamite tirailleurs. Behind them, with machine guns trained, was drawn56 up a battalion57 of French infantry58. The occasion was celebrated59 in Saigon as a public holiday, hundreds of Frenchmen, accompanied by their wives and children, driving out to see the sight. The next day picture postcards of the execution were hawked60 about the streets. But the authorities in Paris evidently disapproved61 of the proceeding62, for the governor of the colony and the commander of the military forces were promptly63 recalled in disgrace. The terrible object-lesson doubtless had the desired effect, for the natives cringe like whipped dogs when a Frenchman speaks to them. But there is that in their manner which bodes64 ill for their masters if a crisis ever arises in Indo-China. I should not like to see our own brown wards7, the Filipinos, look at Americans with the murderous hate with which the Annamites regard the French. In Africa, by moderation and tolerance65 and justice, France has built up a mighty colonial empire whose inhabitants are as loyal and contented66 as though they had been born under the Tricolor. But in far-off Indo-China French administration seems, even to as staunch a friend of France as myself, to be very far from an unqualified success.
During the ten days that I spent in Saigon I stayed [277]at the H?tel Continental67. I shall remember it as the place where they charged a dollar and a half for a highball and fifty cents for a lemonade. It was insufferably hot. I can sympathize now with the recalcitrant68 convict who is punished by being sent to the sweat-box. Battalions69 of ferocious70 mosquitoes launched their assaults against my unprotected person with the persistence71 that the Germans displayed at Verdun. In the next room the tenor72 of the itinerant73 grand opera company that was giving a series of performances at the Théatre Municipal squabbled unceasingly with his woman companion. Both were generally much the worse for drink. One particularly sultry afternoon, when the whole world seemed like the steam room of a Turkish bath, their voices rose to an unprecedented74 pitch of violence. Through the thin panels of the door came the sound of scuffling feet. Some heavy article of furniture went over with a crash. Then came the thud of a falling body.
"Thou accurst one!" I heard the tenor groan75. Then "Help me!... I'm dying!"
"She's done it now!" I exclaimed, springing from my bed.
"Are you stifling76 with blood?" the woman hissed77, fierce exultation78 in her tone.
"Help me!... I'm dying!" moaned the man. "And done to death by a woman!"
It was murder—no doubt about that. Clad only in my pajamas79 though I was, I prepared to throw myself against the door.
[278]"Die, thou accurst one! Perish!" shrieked80 the woman.
I was on the point of bursting into the room when I was arrested by the sound of the tenor's voice speaking in normal tones. There followed a woman's laugh. I paused to listen. It was well that I did so. They were rehearsing for the evening's performance the murder scene from La Tosca!
On another occasion, long after midnight, I was aroused from sleep by a terrific racket which suddenly burst forth81 in the streets below. I heard the crash of splintering bottles followed by the steps of the native gendarmes82 beating a hasty retreat. Then, from throats that spoke83 my own tongue, rose the rollicking words of a long-familiar chorus:
"I was drunk last night, I was drunk the night before, I'll get drunk tomorrow night If I never get drunk any more; For when I'm drunk I'm as happy as can be, For I am a member of the Souse Fam-i-lee!"
Leaning from my casement84, I hailed a passing Frenchman.
"Who are they?" I asked him.
"Les touristes Americains sont arrivés, M'sieu," he answered dryly.
By the light of the street-lamps as he turned away I could see him shrug85 his shoulders.
Thinking it over, it struck me that I had been overharsh in my judgment86 of the homesick exiles who in [279]this far corner of the earth are clinching87 the rivets88 of France's colonial empire.
The next morning I set sail from Saigon for China. Leaving the mouth of the river in our wake, we rounded the mighty promontory89 of Cap St. Jacques and headed for the open sea. The palm-fringed shore line of Cochin-China dropped away; the blue mountains of Annam turned pale and ghostly in the evening mists. A sun-scorched, pestilential land.... I was glad to leave it. But already I am longing90 to return. I want once more to sit at a café table beneath the awnings91 of the Rue Catinat, before me a tall glass with ice tinkling92 in it. I want to hear the pousse-pousse coolies padding softly by in the gathering twilight93. I want to see the little Annamite women in their sleazy silken garments and the boisterous94, swaggering legionnaires in their white helmets. I want to stroll once more beneath the tamarinds beside the Mekong, to smell the odors of the hot lands, to hear again the throbbing95 of the tom-toms and the soft music of the wind-blown temple bells. For
"When you've 'eard the East a-callin' You won't never 'eed naught96 else."
The End
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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wards
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| 区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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inured
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| adj.坚强的，习惯的 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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colonizing
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| v.开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的现在分词 ) | |
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cholera
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| n.霍乱 | |
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laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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prosecuted
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| a.被起诉的 | |
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tenacity
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imperatively
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| adv.命令式地 | |
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hovers
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| 鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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intersection
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| n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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effigy
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| n.肖像 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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starched
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| adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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altercations
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| n.争辩，争吵( altercation的名词复数 ) | |
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canes
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| n.（某些植物，如竹或甘蔗的）茎( cane的名词复数 )；（用于制作家具等的）竹竿；竹杖 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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slovenly
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| adj.懒散的，不整齐的，邋遢的 | |
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troupes
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| n. （演出的）一团, 一班 vi. 巡回演出 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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embroideries
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slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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paralysis
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| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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cringing
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| adj.谄媚，奉承 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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appallingly
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| 毛骨悚然地 | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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opium
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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batches
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| 一批( batch的名词复数 )； 一炉； （食物、药物等的）一批生产的量； 成批作业 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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hawked
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| 通过叫卖主动兜售（hawk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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disapproved
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| v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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bodes
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| v.预示，预告，预言( bode的第三人称单数 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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tolerance
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| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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recalcitrant
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| adj.倔强的 | |
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battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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itinerant
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| adj.巡回的；流动的 | |
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unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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76
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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77
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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78
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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79
pajamas
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| n.睡衣裤 | |
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80
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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82
gendarmes
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| n.宪兵，警官( gendarme的名词复数 ) | |
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83
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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84
casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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85
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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86
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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87
clinching
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的现在分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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88
rivets
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| 铆钉( rivet的名词复数 ) | |
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89
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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90
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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91
awnings
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| 篷帐布 | |
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92
tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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93
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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94
boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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95
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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96
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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