PAGAN MYO, UMRAPOORA, WHITE ELEPHANT 217 



for carrying betel-nut and ingredients for chewing and other 

 purposes. They are woven from very fine strips of bamboo 

 and then lacquered, an art in which they, the Chinese, and 

 Japanese excel all other people. Some ten miles to the east 

 of Pagan there are hills rising to an altitude of some 2000 to 

 3000 feet, where it is said game is abundant. I saw boars 

 feeding in the open where, had we had steeds and spears, we 

 could have ridden them easily. Hares, jungle fowl, and fran- 

 colins were fairly plentiful, and I killed enough to last us for a 

 couple of days. To see Pagan and its vast ruins properly one 

 should spend a month there. 



Although paddy is a scarce commodity, wheat, grain of all 

 kinds, and cereals thrive well. We also landed at Saigon and 

 Ava ; the former capital is a mass of ruins and overgrown with 

 jungle, with the ramparts tumbling down. The pagodas 

 remain, and a portion of the old town is still inhabited, but 

 it is a sad ruin to contemplate. Umrapoora, the then capital, 

 was a thriving, well-built, handsome city. We called upon Mr. 

 Spears, an English merchant who had long been resident 

 there, and who showed us much hospitality and kindness. He 

 hired for us a house and acted as our cicerone. The king 

 was notified of our arrival, and placed four ponies at our dis- 

 posal, and promised to see us when the stars should be propi- 

 tious. We went about freely; there was not the slightest 

 hindrance, and we met with the greatest civility everywhere. 

 We visited the White Elephant, who ranked after the king 

 and had a palace all to himself. When dressed for state 

 occasions his trappings are worth several lacs of rupees. His 

 head -piece alone contained rubies and emeralds worth, Mr. 

 Spears told us, over ^"20,000. I wonder what became of 

 them when we finally occupied Mandalay in 1880, or there- 

 abouts looted by the soldiers and officers when Mandalay 

 was taken, most probably. One Tommy, who was placed 

 under arrest for looting, said : " Devil-a-bit do I care I have 

 enough loot for three generations." Very foolishly, the maids- 

 of-honour were allowed to leave the palace unsearched : they 

 took a vast quantity of jewellery and precious stones with 

 them, but the soldiers were on the look-out, and deprived 

 them of everything. The elephant was certainly a very fine 



