1839.] Mission to the Court of Siam. 1031 



on a stream of water ancle deep, which after running along the 

 road and overflowing the jungle for a short way on both sides of it, 

 disappears most unexpectedly through the apparently solid earth ; 

 near this we are obliged to encamp, muddy as the water is, there 

 being no other within three or four miles ; elephants come up at 6 p. m. ; 

 the path to-day has been a succession of hills of more or less elevation, 

 generally near the river, which often runs in a ravine with an occa- 

 sional platform on which paddy or cotton have within the last few 

 years been cultivated by the Kareens, who say that till after our late 

 war with the Birmans, this part of the country, as being too near the 

 frontier, was not inhabited, and consequently this road never used ; we 

 are now only five or six days from Tavoy, as the Kareens travel. 



January 15M. — Soo-gua, 8h. 40m., two miles. Were again detained 

 till half past 4 p. m. by the straying of one of the elephants which had 

 crossed the river in the night, and was found about two or three 

 miles on the eastern side of it ; started immediately, and came to this 

 village, it being impossible to proceed, as it was very dark, and the 

 path through a high forest not being distinguishable ; we had a high 

 range of hills to pass on leaving the last halting place. 



January 16th. — Ke-dean, 3h. 50m., twelve miles. Started at 

 9 a. m. and marching through a continuation of the bamboo jungle in 

 which more or less it is intermixed with jungle trees, we have 

 marched with little interruption all the way from Nat Kyeaning ; we 

 have seen no teak on this side of the hills, nor have I found the 

 Gamboge, Tola, or Sapan tree, all of which I had expected to meet 

 with here, the former are said to abound near the sea-coast, and the 

 last is found in abundance on the See-sa-wet river (two days east of 

 this) which falls into this river near Camboorie ; the Taline refugees 

 and captives are employed in cutting it annually two months in the 

 year, but in transporting, collecting, and carrying it to Bankok, they 

 are always occupied six months, and are obliged to furnish to the 

 king fifty pieces, four cubits long, and a span and a half thick; for any 

 above the proper quantity they have an allowance of 1 tickel, for 50 

 viss, and any deficiency they must make good; the selling price 

 in the market is 1 tickel a piece ; they may compound for this service 

 by paying 20 tickels. I heard to-day of some tyrannical restrictions on 

 the internal traffic of the country, which I shall hear more about at 

 May-nam-noi, where some of the exactions are made. A story is told 

 as a good joke of two officers who were sent up to Taline lately to 

 inquire into and punish those engaged in stealing elephants, which 

 are sold at Maulmain ; on the night of their arrival the two elephants 

 they brought with them from Bankok were stolen, and have not since 



