348 Mr. R. W. Ramsay^s Onutholoyical Notes 



XXIX. — Onutholoyical Notes from the District of Karen-nee, 

 Biirmah. By Robert Wardlaw Ramsay'^. 



Bounded oh the west by the Tonghoo mountains (a long 

 range of granite hills on the east side of the Sittang) , on the 

 east by the Sal ween river (the boundary of the Siamese ter- 

 ritory) ^ and on the north-east and north-west by Burmah proper 

 and the Zimme Shan States, lies the country known as Karen- 

 nee, or, being interpreted, the Country of the Red Karens. 



This country, rugged and mountainous throughout, is inha- 

 bited by numerous independent tribes of Karens, who are 

 continually warring among themselves or with their common 

 enemies the Burmese from .Burmah proper and the Shan 

 States. The people, as a rule, are strong, powerful-looking, and 

 well built ; their dress varies considerably, according to the 

 tribe; but the ordinary clothing of the majority of the tribes 

 consists of a coarse cottoji blouse or loose tunic reaching to 

 the knee ; some few, however, wear short trousers or panta- 

 loons made of the same material. This country has but 

 seldom been visited by white people, and, I believe, never by a 

 naturalist ; so that it was with no ordinary feelings of plea- 

 sure that I received an invitation from Major Lloyd, the 

 Deputy Commissioner of the Tonghoo district, to accompany 

 him to Kyai-pho-gyee, the capital of the Karen-nee country, 

 whither he was proceeding on a political mission from the 

 Indian Government. 



In the year 1854 Mr. O'Reilly, then Assistant Com- 

 missioner at Tonghoo, went on duty to Karen-nee; and 

 later, in 1861, Major Lloyd travelled through the country. 

 During that expedition he formed a considerable collection of 

 specimens of natural history, chiefly of birds ; unfortunately 

 the majority of the best specimens most mysteriously disap- 

 peared, but eventually, I believe, found their way into the 

 East-India Company^s Museum in Calcutta. Since this visit 

 of Major Lloyd^s nobody, one or two of the American Bap- 

 tist Missionaries excepted, has, as far as 1 know, penetrated 

 into this country. 



* [The foot-notes to this paper have been added by Lord Waldeu, who 

 has examined Mr. Ramsay's collection. — Ed.] 



