1026 Mission to the Court of Siam. [Dec. 



advance of two months' pay, and ten rupees for the purchase of rice ; 

 he says, he supposed (I know not on what grounds) we were at the 

 three Pagodahs, and was on his way thither, when he saw the party 

 looking after the lost elephant. The supply of rice was a most season- 

 able relief to the people ; five or six Madras men who are not accus- 

 tomed to jungle food, had yesterday considerable derangement in the 

 bowels from living on the green fern leaves and roots, it has nearly 

 gone off again with the improved diet. 



January *Jth. — Halt at Thaung-kala. The party sent after the 

 elephant returned at 8 o'clock this morning, and as I had feared, 

 without him ; the wild elephants are so exceedingly numerous in this 

 part of the forest, that from the first I had little hopes of recovering 

 him; a short way in advance of the place I had followed him to, 

 he had rushed down a ravine so steep and rocky that the other ele- 

 phants could not follow him ; they went round, and coming on his 

 track on the further side, followed it till they came on a herd of forty 

 or fifty elephants, and our smaller one would not approach them ; the 

 head mahout on the only one that would, broke the herd in hopes 

 of seeing our lost one, as the wild ones will not admit one escaped to 

 mix with them; he however was not seen, and in hopes that they 

 might come on him making his way back the road he came, and in 

 that direction, they went back as far as Jung-Jung-Khay near which 

 they fell in with two other large herds, but had no better success in 

 the search, and from the time they fell in with the first herd, they of 

 course, in the numerous paths made by the wild ones, lost all trace of 

 his foot prints. The interpreter has just told me he saw a Tsokay of 

 Pra-Soowan, who has charge of this district, to whom he gave an 

 account of the number of people, elephants, &c. I had with me, and 

 told him I was sent on a mission with a friendly letter to the 

 Court. 



January Stk. — Neauny-hen, stream near a Kareen village of the 

 same name, 5h. 10m., fifty miles. Left the Thaung-kala at 8h. 30m. 

 our course a little more to the southward than the general direction 

 of our march hitherto ; path nearly level, but apparently between 

 two ranges of hills, and crossing four small runs of water, feeders 

 of the Thaung-kala, llh. 15m., the path lay near the foot of a high 

 (5 or 600 feet) precipitous rocky hill, bearing N. 40° W., with its 

 steepest side towards the south eastward ; 12h. 20m. came to an old 

 clearing and cotton field, with a small run of water ; we halted, seeking 

 the road, half an hour, from this in five minutes we reach Alanday 

 Kyung, running S. 6°, 5°, W. nearly as large as the Thaung-kala which 



