WITH CHRIST IN INDOCHINA - IndoChina1911

CHAPTER II
THE LAND
TNDOCHINA is a term applied to the great pen-
1 insula on the southeast corner of Asia, south of
China and east of India. It has sometimes been
called Farther India, but it is not a part of either
India or China, and is subject to neither of those
great countries.
Its surface is largely a plateau with mountain
ranges running from north to south. There are fertile
plains in the deep valleys between the mountains,
and these are watered by several great rivers and
many smaller streams. The most important of these
rivers are the Red River in Tonkin, the Mekong
which flows through Laos, Cambodia and Cochin-
China, the Menam in Siam, and the Irrawaddy in
Burmah. Located on the plains, and on the vast
deltas that have been formed at the mouths of the
different rivers, are rice fields and other plantations
so rich that famine is unknown in that part of the
world.
The entire peninsula includes Burmah, the Malay
States, Siam, and French Indo-China. Burmah and
the Malay States are British. Siam is independent,
a buffer kingdom between the British possessions
and those of France. French Indo-China is made up
of a group of French protectorates and colonies. It