( 71 ) 



133. With the exception of a few water-hens (Plotus vailkntii) and 



.. ... , fish hawks, the pass seemed devoid of 



Scarcity of birds. i • i m. • j. ■ -\ i i ■, 



birds; it is not improbable, however, 

 that they were scared by the noise of the steam whistle which was 

 constantly sounded as a warning to downward vessels. 



134. The following trees and shurbs were observable : — Tectona 



hamiltonii, Conocarpus acuminatas, dille- 

 nia, Sterculia colorata, bombax malabari- 

 cum, dipterocarpus, Teak (stunted), Nux vomica, Campamdacece, plan- 

 tains wild, and cultivated near houses, bamboos and climbing plants 

 in great variety including Bauhinia, Clerodendron, and Thunbergia. 



135. Immediately on clearing the defile, the hills to the east 

 „ . .,. PrT , , gradually recede imtil quite lost in the 



Brief history of Tsenkan. V vj.j.1 j i_ _n o l 



J far distant haze ; and shortly after- 



wards but a faint blue out-line marks the far-off mountains to the 

 west. Tsenkan is now reached, situated on the banks of a stream 

 from which it takes its name. Here I noticed a large number 

 of bamboo and teak rafts said to have been brought from five 

 miles inland. The timber was of large girth and straight ; but 

 in very short lengths, not averaging over fifteen feet. Between 

 Tsenkan and Koungtoung, the permanent banks of the river con- 

 tinue well defined, rising in places forty to fifty feet above the level 

 of the water ; at this season (December), they are for the most 

 part alluvial, displaying in places an excess of black or white sand. 

 Just above Partha the navigation is somewhat complicated owing to 

 a reef of rocks jutting out from the left bank, at an oblique angle 

 with the stream, leaving but a small passage for steamers to pass. 



136. North of Koungtoung the river widens out considerably, and 



presents a net-work of channels up to 

 Vegetation. Bhanio. Both banks, since leaving the 



defile, have been fairly wooded, but I had only an opportunity of 

 noting the vegetation in odd places. It for the most part consisted 

 of Sali.v, Rosa, Bombax, Marantacem arundo, and bamboo cultivated 

 Vtiex trifoUa, Funica granatum, Jatropa multijida, plantains, cocoa- 

 nuts, and Borassus flabeUiformis, on the sand-banks, Cyperace, 

 Campanula, Crotalaria, and Graminoe. 



137. From Mandalay to Bhamo the wind has steadily blown from 



the north-east, dense fogs up to 10 a. m. 



Indications of thermometer on d thermometer from 6 A.M. till 6 P.M. 



the Yraylrorn Mandalay to Bhanio. , __ „_, ,„, , . ., -. 



averaged 76- oF. Throughout the day 

 a great coat was acceptable, and hot grog at night looked forward to. 

 The voyage occupied from 9-30 p.m. of 19th December to 5 p.m. of 

 23rd. 



