( 176 ) 



hpoongyee at Mogoung, who was a pupil of his, and a man of 

 greater influence even than the Governor ; in proof of which 

 he stated that the royal postal boat cannot be despatched from 

 Mogoung without his consent. As a parting gift he presented 

 me with a musk-sack, which is greatly prized by all Orientals ; the 

 pouch is obtained from the male musk-deer, and is found near 

 the navel of the animal. Beached Ah-chay, a Kakhyen hamlet 

 of half-a-dozen houses embedded in a dense forest situated on a 

 high bank of yellow clay, by 7 p.m. where we made fast for the 

 night. I did not like the appearance of the place at all in the pre- 

 sent disturbed state of the country, for nothing could have been 

 easier than for the people to have potted us from above without 

 endangering themselves. Here we found a party of Shan-Burnians 

 bivouacing on the river-bank ; they had come down by raft from a 

 village seventy miles north, where they had been robbed of every- 

 thing, and their village burnt down by the Kakhyens. They were 

 on their way to British territory, but had been stopped here by order 

 of the Amat, their raft cut adrift, and themselves directed to return 

 at once by land to Zeeghoon. The poor people presented a most 

 miserable appearance, and asked me to intercede, on their behalf, 

 but I told them that that would be of no use, for I had no authority, 

 here. This is no solitary instance in which emigration from Burma 

 Proper has been prohibited. The Amat arrived long after dark, 

 without any coolies or guard for me. I was most vexed, but he 

 faithfully promised all the men would be forthcoming early to- 

 morrow morning. 



298. Mondaij, 9th February 1874.— Thermometer, 52° at 6 a.m. 

 Sent off for the Amat, who, after a couple of hours' delay, appeared 

 with eight armed men as an escort carrying guns, swords, and spears, 

 and four women to carry my things. I had everything in readiness 

 for a start, and bade adieu to Ah-chay at 9 a.m., having first des- 

 patched my boats for Mogoung, with instructions to delay nowhere 

 on the road. We were now bound for Tapaw, and followed a very 

 zig-zag course ; the country we passed through may be described as 

 hilly, though the greatest altitude reached did not exceed 900 feet ; 

 the formation is lime-stone, resting on dark clay. The vegetation is 

 prolific in growth, and made up of Fici, Magnolia, Acacia catechu, 

 Cedrela toona, Quercus, Bombax malabaricum, Begonia, Lagerstrcemia 

 grandiflora (few and stunted), Gordonia arbor ea, Gmelia arbor ea, Carey a 

 arborea, Phijllanthus, Melanorhcea usitatissima (a few of the trees 

 were tapped for the black varnish it yields), Pentaptera glabera, Dillenia 

 pentagijna, Nauclea, cordi folia diver si folia, teak (sparse and poor 

 spcimens), Dodonwa burmanniana calami, plantains, bamboos (of two 

 varieties), Aracece (wild), suparee and plants of the Zingiber aceai 



