Zbe Xaos of IPlortb SlamCHAPTER Ithe shans"It was in the one thousandth year of Buddha, a. d. 457, that the great and fearful King Ruang lived. His advent and the glories of his reign had been previously announced by Gotama himself. His father was King of Haripunxai. One day he retired to a quiet mountain for meditation and there met the Queen of the Nakhae*, whose beauty and charm won his heart. She became his wife and brought forth a son whom she placed upon the spot where she had first met the king, then disappeared, after having placed upon the child's finger a ring given her by the king. Now a certain huntsman accidentally discovered the child with the royal ring, and brought him up. The youth having one day entered the court the whole palace trembled; the king recognized his son, and acknowledged him. In time he became king under the name Pra-Ruang. He threw off the yoke of the King of Cambodia, and reduced to his authority all the sovereigns in his vicinity. In the yeaTable of Contents fln&ex; PAGE; Introduction by Mr Robert E Speer v; Author's Introduction ix; CHAPTER I; THE SHANS; Reign of Pra-Ruang; early Shan history; principal branches of Shans; original home; pushed southward; gunpowder; Ayuthia founded; the term "Laos"; under four flags; Laos provinces; tributary to Siam; cruel treatment of king; government of Laos provinces; Laos Shans superior i; CHAPTER II; SIAM AND ITS CAPITAL; Kingdom recently delimited; territory governed by Siam; King Chulalongkorn I; effect of union of church and state; palace life; visit to palace; Wat Pra Kian; royal white elephants; things that bind to the past; location of Bangkok; the Me Nam; river scene; trolley line; floating houses; shopping in Bangkok; owes existence to trade; yet not traders g; CHAPTER III; SIX WEEKS IN A SIX-BY-SEVEN; How to reach Laos-land; Laos boats; distance; poling of boats; boat life and crew; journal;