1836.] lying north of the Tenasserim Provinces. 691 



vinces. He readily agreed to the free sale of buffaloes, paying an export duty of 

 half a tical of coarse silver, and reducing that on bullocks to the old rate of one 

 quarter. I brought to his notice the complaints of the Bengalee cattle-dealers, of 

 the refusal of the court-officers to interfere in their complaints against each 

 other, and called his attention to the 10th paragraph of Colonel Burney's 

 treaty of Bankok in 1826 on the subject. He complained of the total want of 

 principle in these people, with one or two exceptions, (which all I have heard 

 from themselves tends to confirm ;) said he was glad the subject had been men- 

 tioned ; as, though they had copies of the treaty, they were afraid to punish our 

 people, and had, besides, another difficulty to contend with, in the offenders 

 escaping from one territory to another ; and that though they had the power, 

 there was an indelicacy felt in apprehending them in the Zimmay district. They 

 had now my opinion that they should act according to the treaty, and would do 

 so in future, and hoped there would be no further cause of complaint. He said 

 he had no objections to the Zimmay officers following offenders into this district, 

 and that they would do the same from this ; but begged me to impress the 

 necessity of it on the Zimmay chief on my visit there, to prevent misunderstand- 

 ing between relations ; as Chow-tche-Weet is now a very old man. I found 

 by this, that the visit I had intimated T intended to make to Zimmay was taken 

 as a settled matter, though they had strenuously opposed it on my asking to do 

 so in my last visit. 



u On the 10th I received an invitation, or rather a request, from Chow- 

 tche-Weet to attend his son's funeral. He begged I would come early, and 

 see the whole ceremony. T accordingly went at 11 o'clock, and remained till 2. 

 On my arrival, a Pounghee was seated in the centre of the shed reciting, in a 

 monotonous sort of chaunt, a blessing on all present. He ceased soon after 

 my arrival, and a daughter of Chow Raja Woong of Lagon, a very pretty girl 

 of 18 or 20 years of age, played for some time on the ke wine, (brazen circle,) 

 an instrument composed of small graduated gongs hung horizontally in a circle, 

 in the centre of which the musician sits and beats with small sticks. She 

 played evidently as a proficient. This was followed by a boxing-match, in which 

 the boys, when once come to blows, hammered away at each other's faces much 

 like two little English fellows of the same age. There was a good deal of 

 shuffling before the first blow was struck. They were followed by two men who 

 flourished their arms about within a few inches of each other's faces under a 

 most overpowering sun, for half an hour, without, however, hurting each other 

 much, though they were exceeding serious and intent. Chow Raja Boot then, 

 dressed in a white robe, ascended a small platform about seven feet from the 

 ground, and showered, or rather pelted, a largess amongst the people. On the 

 platform was an artificial bamboo-tree, with perhaps two hundred limes, in each 

 of which was a small Siamese coin of two or three annas hanging from the 

 branches, which he pulled off, and with them pelted the people below ; — though 

 there was, of course, great struggling for the limes, there was little noise, and 

 not the least quarrelling. Chow-Houa's wife then begged I would allow the 

 Burmese to exhibit their dance, and as there were two professed dancers of the 

 party and one or two musicians anxious to acquire merit by assisting in the 

 amusement, she was gratified; after which they commenced to drag out the car 

 with coffin. It was burned with rockets in the same manner as a Pounghee, 



