486 BURMA, ITS PEOPLE AXD PRODUCTIOXS. 



KAT-MEE, OR THE SriRIT-FIRE (Pago 6). 



In connexion with the discharge of marsh gas which takes place in so many- 

 spots in Pegu, the followLng account of the 'Spirit-Eire' is ahridged from a deseriptiou 

 of that phenomenon by Lieut. A. Duff, Deputy Commissioner of Thayet-myo, in the 

 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Uengal, No. 3, of 1861, page 309. 



I had (writes Lieut. Djiff) fre([uently heard vague rumours of a burning hill in 

 the Kama township, but believed that if such a thing had really any existence, it was 

 situated in the Ai'akan hills, and was probably a volcano, similar to that near 

 Kyouk-hpyu. In a recent tour with a friend down the valley of the Punni stream, 

 at the village of Pun, where we bivouacked, a number of cultivators from neighbouring 

 villages dropped in for a chat, and I overheard some villagers from Nat-mee say, iu 

 reply to a question, "Yes, it is still burning." I asked what was referred to, and 

 was informed that it was the Spirit-Fire, whence the village derives its name, and the 

 fire issued from a heap of stones ; it was also stated that it was not always ^-isible, 

 but that the pilgi'im had only to d(!posit some light inflammable substance, and make 

 a genuflexion towards the spot, saying at the same time, ' Oh great Lord ! manifest 

 thyself to me thy slave,' when the spirit would instantly send fire out of the stones 

 and bum up the substance deposited. 



Naturally some little scepticism is felt regarding so remarkable a manifestation, 

 but a visit is arranged, and on arriving at a belt of jungle, the party has to dismount 

 and walk to a little hillock up which they are led. 



"On the top of this hillock is a large heap of stones, and going round to the 

 opposite side of it from that we had approached by, we see the Spirit-Eire. Yes, 

 there it is. Out of the stones iu two or three places comes a bright flame, flickering 

 and burning ; at a little distance from the heap of stones, where there arc some 

 cracks in the grounci, more flame. In this instance the marvel has proved true. 

 There is nothing in the appearance of the hillock itseK, or the lieap of stones, 

 differing from any other hillock, or any other heap of stones in this part of the 

 countiy ; no appearance of boiling lava, violent upheavals, or any of those con- 

 vidsions with which one is accustomed to associate the idea of subterranean fire. The 

 ground and the stones were not even hot, except in the places where the fire was 

 actually burning ; the soil was gravelly, and at one place where the flame was 

 issuing from a crack, I stirred up the gravel with a sttck. The efl'ect produced I 

 can only compare to that produced by stirring up a plum pudding in which brandy 

 is burning. The flame spread itself and flickered about the gravel just as the burning 

 brandy does about the pudding, but just as in that case the pudding is not burnt, so 

 in this, the gravel did not become extremely hot, and could be lumdled, though some 

 of the stones in places where the fire came steadily were all but red hot. Query, 

 What was the substitute for brandy in this case ? There was at times a slight sim- 

 mering noise, but not so loud as that of a boiling kettle." After this the writer adds 

 what is the actual truth of the matter. "The concltision we came to regarding 

 the phenomenon was that it was some inflammable gas issuing from the earth." 



The following translation is also given of the Burmese legend connected with 

 the manifestation. " Long, long ago, there lived in the village now called Nat-Mee, 

 a man who gained his living as a blacksmith. When his time was come, he 

 died, and became a Nat ; but still he loved his old home and hankered after his old 

 occupation ; so he established the Spirit-Fire on a hill near the village, and there con- 

 tinued his old trade ; hence the village came to be called Nat-Moc. Whenever a 

 villager wanted a dim, or an axe, or a spade, he took the iron to the fire, and depositing 

 it there, said, ' Oh, my Lord, make this iron into a rf/w/,' or an axe, etc., as the case 

 might be, and returning for it next day, he would find his iron fashioned into the 

 article he wanted, whether dha, axe or spade, but no man ever saw the spirit at his 

 labour. 



"At last, one day, a man of the Khyen race brought a dha, and depositing it by 

 the fire with a piece of iron, said, ' Oh, my Loi-d ! weld me on an edge to this dlia,'' 

 and went his way. Now the Khyen was a man of a eui'ious disposition ; so next 

 morning ho got up veiy early, and climbing the hill, liid himself in the jungle near 



