116 



BURMAH. 



Irrawaddy, before the expiration of the ulti- 

 matum. A flotilla of steamers and floating 

 batteries was organized by Mr. Bernard, the 

 Chief Commissioner of British Burmah. Gen. 

 Prendergast's force consisted of six British and 

 eleven native infantry battalions, about 14,000 

 bayonets, one native mountain battery, and 

 four garrison batteries of royal artillery, of 

 which one was an elephant battery. The a Ir- 

 rawaddy," a light-draught steamer, was heav- 

 ily armed with two 25-pounder rifled breech- 

 loaders, two Nordenfeldts, two machine-guns, 

 and torpedoes. A steam-launch, the u Kath- 

 leen," had been armed and protected with 

 f-inch plates. The " Thambya-dine," a small 

 steamer, was arranged for carrying the general 

 and his staff. Four large barges had been fit- 

 ted up as floating batteries, each with two 

 howitzers throwing 60-pound shells. Another 

 barge carried a broadside-battery of six how- 

 itzers, and, in her bow, two 40-pounders. Six 

 iron steamers of the Irrawaddy Navigation 

 Company were engaged as transports, and the 

 flat-boats which, in ordinary times, are towed 

 up and down the river freighted with mer- 

 chandise, were prepared for the transportation 

 of troops, with compressed cotton- bales at the 

 sides as a protection against rifle-balls. The 

 steamers were also crowded with soldiers. A 

 naval brigade, five hundred strong, accompa- 

 nied the expedition. 



The Burmese Government had garrisoned 

 the forts near the frontier with about 2,000 

 men. Italian engineers, who had been some 

 time in the King's employ, had constructed 

 a strong masonry fortress, called the Kuligon 

 fort, opposite the town of Minhla. It com- 

 manded the river for about two miles, and 

 mounted ten guns, none of them of heavy cali- 

 ber. The fort within the town of Minhla, 

 which had been much damaged by floods, was 

 repaired for the emergency as well as it could 

 be. Besides these fortifications, which were 

 sixty miles from the frontier, there were none 

 of consequence on the river excepting the 

 Singon or Ava group, consisting of three 

 masonry forts, a short distance below Manda- 

 lay. The Singon or Ava fort was to the west 

 of Ava. On the opposite bank was the Sa- 

 gaing fort; and above Ava, commanding the 

 river for two miles, the Thalayidan fort. 



The Italian engineers attempted, with much 

 skill, to sink stone-laden barges with pointed 

 posts in their bottoms and other obstructions 

 in the Irrawaddy ; but, owing to the shortness 

 of time for preparation and to the great swift- 

 ness and depth of the current, it was impos- 

 sible to effectually block navigation. River- 

 torpedoes, bombs, and fulminate of mercury 

 were manufactured by Italian workmen, under 

 the direction of an engineer named Molinari. 



King Thebaw issued a bombastic proclama- 

 tion declaring that if the English barbarians, 

 who were making war with the object of de- 

 stroying the Buddhist religion and lowering 

 the national honor, should attack any part of 



his dominions, he would march against them 

 in person, exterminate them, and capture their 

 country. Still, the Burmese Government did 

 not expect that the British would resort to an 

 invasion, notwithstanding their warlike prepa- 

 rations. A steamer that had been detained by 

 the authorities at Mandalay was sent down the 

 river with a letter to the Chief Commissioner, 

 urging that the steamers of the Irrawady Flo- 

 tilla Company should resume their voyages, as 

 their absence caused distress in Mandalay. The 

 English expedition, the second day after start- 

 ing, met this steamer, which had run the gant- 

 let of the Burmese river-batteries. 



On crossing the frontier, Gen. Prendergast 

 issued a proclamation, stating that in conse- 

 quence of the violation of treaties, acts of ag- 

 gression on the frontier, outrages on British 

 subjects, injustice to British trade, and a for- 

 eign policy opposed to British interests, culmi- 

 nating in the imposition of a fine of ruinous 

 amount on a British trading company, followed 

 by an evasive answer to the British ultimatum, 

 the Government of India had decided to send 

 an armed force against Mandalay, and to de- 

 pose King Thebaw. He promised that the pri- 

 vate rights, religions, and national customs of 

 the people, would be respected, and that the 

 services of any who showed zeal in assisting 

 the British, would be recognized. 



The expedition started from Thayetmayo on 

 Nov. 15, 1885. The same day the Burmese 

 steamer " Irrawaddy " was captured from un- 

 der the guns of a newly erected shore-battery, 

 which was silenced by the guns of the British 

 gunboat "Irrawaddy" and an armed launch. 

 The Burmese vessel was engaged in placing 

 obstructions in the river, and had on board 

 the Italian engineers Molinari and Camotto, 

 who swam ashore with the crew. The bat- 

 tery at this place, which is called Inlat, was 

 reached by the expedition on the morning of 

 Nov. 16. A force was landed below with the 

 intention of capturing the Burmese troops by 

 a rear attack, but, before the column came up, 

 shells from the "Irrawaddy" that were too 

 well aimed had put them to flight. A strong 

 stockade at Sinbungway, on the opposite bank, 

 was deserted at the approach of a detachment 

 of infantry and artillery. 



On nearing the Minhla forts on the morning 

 of the 17th, Gen. Prendergast landed with a 

 large body of troops to take the formidable 

 Kuligon fort in reverse. The ramparts were 

 crowded with soldiers. The gunboats opened 

 a heavy fire, but only one gun responded. 

 Many shells burst over the fort, and still the 

 garrison remained ; yet, when the British 

 troops entered at the northern gate, which 

 was not even barred, they marched out at the 

 opposite portal in regular order. The force 

 that landed to attack Minhla was composed 

 exclusively of sepoys. As Kuligon offered no 

 resistance, none was expected from the weaker 

 fort on the western bank. But the Burmese 

 were there strongly stockaded, and showed, as 



