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Photo by Alfred Joseph Smith 



BURME:SE: country FOI.K 



The Burmese are possessed of a gay and lively disposition, and have often been called 

 "the Irish of the Orient." They are more independent, but less practical than the Hindu, 

 while they have not the keen business instincts of the Chinaman ; and as both these people 

 have entered Burma in considerable numbers, the native has now to fight for his economic 

 supremacy. 



who are very courteous to any properly 

 accredited travelers. 



THD GRKAT RIVKR HIGHWAY OF BURMA 



On the other hand, though on land one 

 must travel in the saddle or by bullock 

 cart, the Irrawaddy River and its estu- 

 aries offer a superb highway, with an 

 adequate steamboat service. If the cargo 

 boats be chosen, many small villages will 

 be visited, and often there will be time 

 enough to stroll through these villages ; 

 or, when tied up at night, to attend a 

 pwc, which, in the form of a dance or 

 other entertainment, is of frequent occur- 

 rence, when the moon is full. These are 

 always free, and all the world is welcome 

 to the ''treat" some villager is giving. 



Especially is the river journey inter- 

 esting above Mandalay, and one may go 



as far as Bhamo, some 1,500 miles from? 

 the mouth of the Irrawaddy. 



The commercial activity of the coun- 

 try follows the Irrawaddy, and there are 

 yet hundreds of small native craft which 

 carry much of the rice to market, return- 

 ing with supplies for the people dwelling 

 on the small tributaries of the great river 

 where the steamboat does not go. These 

 craft have hulls of great logs "dug out" 

 as our southern Indians built their canoes. 

 The whole is roofed over with arched 

 bamboo rods, covered by matting. At 

 the stern a high poop deck gives the craft 

 its characteristic appearance and forms 

 a sort of throne for the captain steering. 

 These boats are propelled by poles and 

 paddles up the narrow creeks, or spread 

 great square sails of palm fronds on the 

 open river when the wind is fair. The 



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