2J8 Account of a visit to Puppu doung. [No. 3, 



From Tay wan doung, I could also see distinctly that all the upper 

 portion of the peak was free from jungle and covered with grass, a 

 circumstance which suggested sufficient elevation to produce an al- 

 teration of the climate at the top. 



The road led along the E. side of the Taywan hills, for several 

 miles, to a place called Kama, where I found some wooden charpoys 

 arranged under a shed for our accommodation. The village, like all 

 others which I saw on the road, was a very poor one of ahout twenty 

 houses, which are built differently from any that I have before met 

 with in Burma, there being no flooring of bamboos or planks raised 

 above the ground. The earth here, as in India, forms the floor, the 

 skeleton of the house is built as usual of wood and the sides and 

 roof closed in with palmyra leaves. Toungwen and Kwebyo were 

 rather larger than Kama. All these villages obtain their water 

 from tanks, which are of small size, and must frequently dry up in 

 the hot weather. Wells, in this sandy region, would probably re- 

 quire to be dug to a depth far exceeding Burmese capabilities, and 

 the broad torrent beds, which abound, never contain water except 

 immediately after very heavy rain. 



October 27th, — The road from Kama led for some distance nearly 

 due East to a village called Kwe-byo. The country between this 

 and the Taywan hills is only cultivated in patches, the greater por- 

 tion being covered with a thin jungle,* composed almost entirely 

 of the cutch tree, {acacia catecJm,) the jujube plum, (zizypkus,) and 

 the zhi phyu or amra, (Phyllanihus, I believe,) the acid fruits of 

 which are as much relished by the Burmese as by the natives of 

 India. The Euphorbia, which abounds near the river's bank, is com- 

 paratively scarce a short distance inland. 



After passing Kwe-byo, the jungle became thicker and more vari- 

 ed, resembling the thinner jungles of Bengal and Orissa, the soil also 

 became more gravelly and ferruginous. Wild animals are said to be 

 very scarce, the only kinds which are found being the barking deer 

 and the tha-meng {Panolia) and leopards. Hares (Lejnis Peguensis) 

 abound however. I here first saw some of the furnaces in which the 



* There is a great resemblance between this country and some parts of South- 

 ern India. The scenery between Pagan and Kwe-byo recalled to me that 

 between Trichinopoly and the Nilgiris, especially from Caroor to the base of the 

 hills. The resemblance is increased by the thorn fences round all the fields and 

 patches of cultivation. 



