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Besides Manip and and myself there is a [[strikethrough]] Captaine Varley [[/strikethrough]] Mr. [[underline]] Francis Varney, Inspecteur de la Garde Indigene de l'Indochine, Commandant de Brigade du Haut Mekong Laos. Indochine. [[/underline]] He is a man about 40 has been [[underline]] in the war [[/underline]] (Artillery) and this has [[underline]] made him loose some of his hearing [[/underline]] I believe it has also affected somewhat his wits. He looks as if he were [[underline]] English or Breton [[/underline]] origin; but speaks no English Knows [[underline]] all the languages of Laos and Cambodge Amman and Tonkin. [[/underline]] His post is on the upper Mekong near the Siam border. He returns from a visit to France. Tells me that it would take [[strikethrough]] hom [[/strikethrough]] him [[underline]] months to get up the Mekong. [[/underline]] First steamers, then smaller steamers then pirogues and [[underline]] sail boats [[/underline]] always the [[underline]] current against [[/underline]]
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him. In some cases only advancing [[underline]] two or 3 kilometers a day sometimes [[/underline]] losing as much under endless troubles He is taken a longer but much [[underline]] quicker road by taking the Siam R.R. [[/underline]] to the boarder of [[underline]] Laos, [[/underline]] whence he can be driven to [[underline]] an American Mission post [[/underline]] where he finds a [[underline]] couple of white people; [[/underline]] thence he reaches the river, and it is [[underline]] easy to go down stream. [[/underline]] He says going down stream [[underline]] is a joy The Laos people are friendly cheerful fellows, who do not want to work but are always good humored [[/underline]] and ready to play [[underline]] music [[/underline]] on their [[underline]] instruments and sing [[/underline]] [[strikethrough]] and take [[/strikethrough]] They [[underline]] resemble Cambodgians but are more cheerful and still less inclined to work for money [[/underline]] Religion similar to that of Siam and Cambodge. Going