40 Naturalist at Large 



gay and attractive to look at. I am sure the universal land 

 clearing has greatly changed those gloriously forested 

 banks. 



The variety of native craft both rowed and propelled 

 by sail was a constant source of interest. Some of the boats 

 were beautifully decorated and wonderfully carved. Enor- 

 mous rafts of teak would come down the river, each with 

 a whole encampment of rivermen housed on their artificial 

 island. Every log of teak was made to float by having 

 bundles of giant dry bamboos lashed fast to its length. 

 These rafts made running at night difficult and dangerous. 



Today Rangoon is a ruined city, as is also Mandalay. 

 It must have been impossible to bombard and to bomb 

 these towns without destroying their superb examples of 

 old Burmese architecture, with the gorgeous teakwork 

 carvings and the strangely ornate roofs. Gone too must be 

 the myriad pagodas, ranging in size from lovely little ala- 

 baster structures, which were to be found literally by 

 hundreds around Mandalay, to the great Shwe-Dagon 

 at Rangoon. This temple, plated with gold from top to 

 bottom, looked as high as the Washington Monument, 

 though I suppose it was not. Forty years ago Burma was a 

 land of romance and charm. It is a pity that war had to 

 come to it. 



