1864,] 



Extract from Journal of a Trip to Bhamo. 



189 



Extract from Journal of a Trip to Bhamo.—By Dr. C. Williams. 



February 3rd. — At about midday reached the neighbourhood of 

 Xagoung. The river here runs between a portion of the Mingwoon 

 range of hills, which, covered with forest, slope to the water's edge of 

 the right bank, — and a steep bank of sandstone with a fringe of sand- 

 banks on the left. Its course is from N. to S. About a mile below 

 Tagoung I went on shore with a Burman who professed to know all 

 about the old city. Along the bank on which we walked and which was 

 formed of debris from the sandstone of the steep true bank, we proceeded 

 about half a mile, when we entered a lane to the right, having on our 

 left the old city wall of Tagoung, and on our right a stony and brick 

 strewn rise that appeared to be also a ruined wall : we continued thus 

 due east for about a quarter of a mile, when the wall on our left turned 

 towards the N. E. and the rise on the right continued its easterly 

 direction. On the north side of this latter the ground was on a level 

 with the top of the rise. My guide declared it to be the north wall 

 of Pagan;, I rather thought it the run of an ancient counterscarp to* 

 the south wall of Tagoung. 



I ascended the Tagoung wall with great difficulty, for the jungle,, 

 which is thicker and higher on the wall than elsewhere, contained 

 many of the tearing and scratching species of plants that so frequently 

 defy intrusion on a Burman jungle. Its brick structure was every- 

 where plain, and I should guess its outside height at the south and 

 south-east sides, to be twenty feet. I tried to keep along the low ground 

 close to the wall, but was obliged to submit to be guided round by a 

 path, that after a circuit to the east, brought us to an eastern gateway. 

 The brick work was here very hard and the backing of earth equally 

 so< Just within the gateway were two decayed gate posts smaller than 

 the gate posts of a good-sized Burman compound, but of the same kind, 

 evidently a relic only of the latest period at which the modern village 

 needed or was worth the protection of a gate. The wall here appeared 

 to run due N. and S. Passing into the old city, a jungle path to the 

 North West brought us to the present village of Tagoung, containing 

 by the Thoogyee's account about one hundred houses, which is apparent- 

 ly correct. I called on this official, and found him civil and willing to 

 give me all the information he could,, which was. not -much. At my 



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