( 92 ) 



169. The country surrounding Bhamo presents one vast plain, 

 with cart-tracks radiating from the stockade in different directions ; 

 some of these are exceedingly pretty, reminding one of English lanes, 

 in their windings through the copse-wood, that has replaced the 

 timber trees which have long since been felled, to secure a corn- 

 Country surrounding the town, sanding view of the surrounding 



country ; low, swampy ravines mtersect 

 the country to the east, and here, also, is an extensive marsh and 

 jheel, where water-fowl of sorts abound, and aquatic plants, in- 

 cluding Trapa bicomis,* Nymphcea pitbescens, and Nelumbium speciosum 

 grow in luxurious abundance, their tubers and water-beans are sold 

 as food, and the gorgeous flowers serve as sacred offerings at the 

 pagodas. 



Here and there patches of jungle are partially cleared for 

 cotton crops, but no care is bestowed on the culture, and the result 

 is a short and coarse staple. The seeds are dibbled in with inter- 

 mediate sowings of Hibiscus sabdariffa, and the crop left to stand 

 its chance with the surrounding weeds and copse-wood, by which it 

 is soon over-topped. The cotton that is exported to China comes 

 from Mandalay and southward ; but there is no reason why Bhamo 

 should not meet the demand were only a little care and trouble 

 bestowed on its culture. Both the soil and climate are well-suited 

 to the plant, and I believe it was not far north of this that the 

 nankeen cotton was once produced with great success and largely 

 exported. Here, as elsewhere throughout the whole province of 

 Burma, paddy is the staple crop ; it is the most easily cultivated 

 and the principal food of the people. 



170. To-day (28th December), a Chinese official, a Mandarin of 

 A^n,^ nf +i 1Q n,.o r, f t- i the red button — now on a private visit 



Account oi the Dragon-festival. -r,-, ,, , . ., L ., . 



to Bnamo, — called to mvite the Assist- 

 ant Eesident and myself, to the Dragon-festival. In this man, 

 Mr. Cooper recognized the party who had treated him so badly 

 when travelling in China ; evidently the Mandarin did not remem- 

 ber his victim, or it is hardly likely he would have attempted so 

 unblushingly to " beard the lion in his den" after the attempt he 

 had once made on his life. I am inclined to think, my friend mis- 

 took his man, — not at all a difficult matter considering the awk- 

 ward circumstances under which they met, and the great sameness 

 of features, expression, deportment, and general appearance that 

 prevails among the Chinese. We accepted the invitation; but 

 owing to some blunder on the part of the Chinese interpreter, we 



* The Trapa bicomis bears a remarkable fruit, resembling a buffalo's head, and is 

 called chuaij-gong in Burmese, and ling by Chinese. 



