126 Journal of a Tour [March, 



present season, is very slow, certainly not much more than a mile 

 an hour. 



1st February. — Kneesung, which I reached in five hours. A short 

 distance below Mulphoo a small range of hills crosses the river, compos- 

 ed of a reddish sand, with layers of pebbles running across it : in the 

 rains the river saps the bottom, and carries away portions of the whole 

 face annually ; the greater the portion of the hill thus carried off, the 

 more abundant is the gold found at Chanda-sneek (ghat), a short dis- 

 tance below it. A number of Kubos were busily employed in washing 

 for gold, when I passed the latter place. Gold is only found in the sand, 

 where mixed with pebbles and gravel. For the number and names of vil- 

 lages passed this day, see the sketch. 



2nd — Halted. Received a visit from the Burmese command- 

 ant of the stockade on the opposite side of the river ; his object was 

 to see the English Bo-meng, never having seen such a monster before ! 

 He was very inquisitive as to the object of Captains Jenkins and Pem- 

 berton's trip. I made him a few presents, with which, particularly a 

 couple of bottles of brandy, he was delighted and took his leave. Ano- 

 ther chief passed down during the day with two boats and about thirty 

 followers ; he had been called up to Sumjok in consequence of my visit 

 to this quarter : there were piled in the boats a number of what I at 

 first took to be muskets, but which I, with the assistance of my tele- 

 scope, discovered to be nothing more than branches of trees and bam- 

 boos made to resemble them ; the actual number of muskets being only 

 three. My coming it appears has created considerable alarm, and given 

 rise to the most exaggerated reports ; amongst others that I intended to 

 place Manipur thanas at the Noajeri hills : on my trip up to 

 Mulphoo, I could hardly discover a soul on the opposite side of the 

 river ; they appear now however to have got over their alarm, and I am 

 visited by persons from all the villages as I pass down. A dozen large 

 boats, which were detained above Mulphoo for some days, until my in- 

 tentions were ascertained, also passed down in full sail. A considera- 

 ble traffic is carried on between the capital of Ava and the villages on 

 the Ningthee up as far as the Sing-Phos ; the latter giving grain in 

 return for bunats, coral beads, &c. &c. 



Whilst some of my people were in the village on the opposite side of 

 the river, a woman was carried off from the centre of it by a tiger : 

 the inhabitants say it is the fourth occurrence of the kind which has 

 taken place within the last two months. The Kubos do not appear at 

 all alarmed at the vicinity of these animals, as they say the instances 

 are very rare of their attacking or destroying human beings ; if however 

 such once happens, it is almost certain to be continued, and the only al- 



