IN'IRODUCIION. 



over the mouth of the cave, and crowd the banks of the brook. 

 Above, the precipice has a slight declination, and a rough, 

 uneven surface, so that naked feet and hands with care may 

 ascend it to a narrow ledge, .and this ledge, though in 

 some places less than the width of a man's foot, serves as a 

 path to a natural parapet, in which one armed man might con- 

 ceal himself and defend the ascent against an army. By a 

 path with like various alternations the margin of the summit 

 is reached, where a full view of the region below is spread out 

 before the eye of the spectator. At the base of the western 

 mountains the Salwen is seen plunging down its micrhty waters 

 to iVIartaban and Maul main, where they are joined by the 

 Gyaing, that bounds the prospect on the south and east ; while 

 little islands of forest trees, each concealing beneath its shade 

 a quiet hamlet, dimple the whole plain ; and babbling brooks 

 thread their wandering ways like veins of silver, or mark 

 the courses of their hidden waters by the emerald hue of 

 their banks. 



Turning from the prospect below, and climbing upward on 

 men's shoulders, a gap in the rocks above is reached ; then 

 descending a few yards, the spectator is astonished to find him- 

 self on the edge of a large basin, like the crater of an extinct 

 volcano. Around, and beyond, on the opposite side of the 

 gulph, for miles in extent, dark precipitous crags, of every ima- 

 ginable and unimaginable form, fling down their tall shadows 

 a thousand feet about the place of entrance, enclosing an area 

 of several square miles. 



" It was a tranquil spot, that seemed to smil^ 

 Even in the lap of horror ; ficus clasped 

 The fissured stones with its entwining feet, 

 And did embower with leaves for ever green, 

 And berries dark the smooth and cup-like spac« 

 Of its inviolated floor — 'tis the haunt 

 Of every gentle wind whose breath can teach 

 The wilds to love tranquility." 



Down a steep descent of one or two hundred feet, an un- 

 •ev^n plain is reached, covered with a luxuriant forest. This 

 impregnable natural fortress has been a place of refuge for 

 the Karens during many generations. While the Burmans, 

 the Siamese, and Talaings, were contending in the plains 

 below, the Karens, in this eyrie home, peeped out on the belli- 

 gerents from behind their battlements in perfect security ; 



