to those of danger. It has been reported that more than 2,000 varieties of orchid grow wild in the jungles of Vietnam. Beautiful flowers can be found in gardens year-round in the cooler areas of the country such as Dalat and other mountain areas.
The Botanical Gardens in Saigon has one of the best collections of orchids and equatorial plants in the world.
There are also dangerous plants such as several species of poisonous nettles growing in the southern part of the country. They grow to a height of 10 to 15 feet and have pointed, heart-shaped leaves with serrated edges which contain poisonous hairs. Contact with these plants causes a painful skin eruption.
Another item of special interest is the sack tree (Antiarus Toxicaria) which has a poisonous sap. Natives and Viet-Cong use the sap for arrow poison. The tree grows to a height of 100 feet and its leaves are similar to those of an elm.
Fauna
There are up to 500 species of fauna in Vietnam. Except for urban and built-up areas, the country is one big hunting ground. Indeed, in times of peace, it could be the hunting paradise of Asia.
The favorites of big-game hunters include tigers, panthers, elephants, wild oxen and buffalo, boars, bears, deer, capi-corns, Cambodian roe, koupreys, and others. Small game include birds ranging from the peacock to the partridge.
A popular small animal caught by the use of a snare is the mouse-deer.
There are also many monkeys in the Vietnamese forests, and each year thousands are exported for medical research.
Two of the most outstanding zoo's in the country are located in Saigon and Dalat. The zoo at Dalat is small but impressive. It is located inside a forest reserve and the animals can be observed in their natural habitat.
Snakes
There are more than 60 known species of snakes, 20 of them poisonous. They include cobras, kraits, vipers, and water snakes.
Caimans
Pythons and caimans are hunted for their skins which have great value. Alligators are often a threat to villagers, especially in the south.
Turtles
There are various species of turtles in the country, but the caret, common around islands, is popular because its shell can be used for handicrafts.
Rodents
Rodents are a problem for farmers and housewives. There are great numbers of rats, mice. moles, squirrels, etc., and some rats are as big as house cats.
Fish
In addition to the species described in Chapter 9, there are several kinds of fish that can inject venom through their spines, causing painful stings and sometimes death. Sharks are also prevalent along the coast.
Leeches
One of the worst pests of the jungle is the land leech which inhabits the grass and underbrush. Its bite is not venomous or painful, but causes bleeding, and infection can develop ulcers at the wound. They are usually removed by burning, as one removes a tick from a dog.
Mollusks
Snails are found in great abundance, especially along the paddy fields and waterways. Serious diseases can be contacted from them as they act as a carrier of blood parasites. In the southern coastal waters, there are also a few species of marine mollusks which can inflict painful and sometimes fatal stings.
Mosquitoes
Numerous species of mosquitoes reside in Vietnam, many of which transmit diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and hemmorraghic fever. A tremendous program aimed at eliminating malaria was working well until the Vietnamese personnel carrying out the spraying became the object of Viet-Cong terrorism.
Insects
Many people are infested with lice and it is a common sight to see the Vietnamese picking them from each other's hair. Fleas, ticks, mites, spiders, scorpions, ants, termites, bedbugs, and cockroaches are all present in the country.
HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL
The earliest history of Vietnam is shrouded in legend, all of which has been violent and politically turbulent.
According to one account, Vietnam was begun when a dragon mated with a goddess who "laid one hundred eggs" from which were born an equal number of sons.
By another version, Chen Nong, one of the founders of the Chinese civilization, had a grandson named King De Minh. This grandson made an inspection tour in the "South" and while there married a "mortal." Their eldest children were given the northern empire (or China) and the youngest, King Duong Vuong, was made "King of the South" and formed the first Vietnamese dynasty. The land is believed to have been absorbed in what is China today.
One of King Duong Vuong's sons, Lac Long Quan, was supposed to have married the daughter of a neighboring prince, and she "laid a hundred eggs" from which were born the same number of sons.
According to legend, Lac Long Quan gave 50 sons to their mother and kept 50 for himself. The eldest of these 50 sons came to the throne as the first in a line of 18 princes. All of them had the same name or title, Hung Vuong, and were distinguished by numbers.
Because of this legendary beginning, many Vietnamese consider themselves related to each other.
The oldest inhabitants of what is Vietnam today were most likely the Chams, a few thousand of whom still remain among the mountain people.
These mountain tribes reflect migrations from all directions having some relationship in language and handicrafts to Lao, Cambodian, Thai, Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, Philippine, and other Pacific island races. The southern areas of Vietnam reflect migrations from China. The Chams, who had a rather high development of culture, were later completely defeated by the Vietnamese after years of warfare which was originally initiated by the Chinese governors of Vietnam.
Vietnam has been ruled off and on by China throughout the centuries and this partly accounts for their resistance to China today.
Beginning before the birth of Christ, the Chinese began a series of invasions intent on controlling the rich rice-producing lands of the south. Among the first people in Vietnam that they conquered were the "Giao-Chi," a group of scattered nomadic tribes which had migrated from eastern Tibet. Because of these invasions by the Chinese and the resulting occupations and migrations, culture in Vietnam has been greatly influenced by the Chinese.
Despite this influence, the Vietnamese people have shown a desire to hang on to what is theirs and theirs alone. Their language and determination to remain a separate entity and wholly Vietnamese has survived.
The last attempt by the Chinese to invade Vietnam was in 1788. By this time, Portuguese and French missionaries and European explorers had begun to leave an imprint of Western civilization upon the people of Vietnam. The Portuguese traders who set up a trading station near Da-Nang (Tourane) in the 16th century, were the earliest known Western contacts with the Vietnamese. They were swiftly followed by the Spanish, Dutch, English, and French, all of whom have left a little of their culture behind. Their ventures in the country, however, may take up only a page in the history of Vietnam.
For simplification,
