1030 Mission to the Court of Siam. [Dec. 



guide was the best of the two, but water was scarce by that route ; the 

 guide told us he did not know the other road, and so brought us by 

 this one, it however turns out that he does not know this one either, 

 and has to trust to a boy who came to accompany him back to his 

 village. Had a visit from a tiger last night, strange to say the first 

 since leaving Maulmain. 



January 2\sL — Ta-ta-kan, 4h. 30m., thirteen and half miles. Start- 

 ed at 9h. and ascend gently along a pretty good path for half an hour, 

 where an equal descent brought us to the bottom of the low hill, where 

 crossing a small stream springing from the rocks close to the road side 

 we enter a small level, covered by prickly bamboos; the eastern 

 hills recede here, and our route lay near the foot of those to the 

 south-west till 12h., when ascending the debritus (nearly all the hills 

 to this have been limestone) at the bottom of the hills which are 

 composed of red sandstone, very steep, and perhaps 700 feet in height, 

 march along a rocky path, and through a short ravine, crossing one 

 small run of water, till lh., where we again came to the level, reach- 

 ing to the river, across which our route lay till lh. 45m., where we 

 halt on the western bank of the river opposite Ta-ta-kan ; the Myotsa, 

 for it is still dignified by the title of city, having once I suppose been 

 entitled to it, came over immediately and invited me to a Tay he had 

 erected for me close to, or rather over the water on the other side ; 

 as however an unnecessary loss of time would have been caused by 

 crossing the river, the best road being on this side, I thanked him 

 for his attention, but declined crossing the river ; he was satisfied and 

 very civil ; he brought some eggs, cocoanuts, and a basket of rice, for 

 which he refused payment; he was born here, but his father was 

 Myotsa of Maulmain, in which he had about forty houses in the time 

 of Tsen-bue-shen, son of the great Alom-pra who ascended the throne 

 of Ava about 1744 ; he receives sixty tickels a year from the king, 

 and is one of nine Myotsas under the Camboorie May- won, six on this 

 and two on the See-sa-wet, and one between the rivers, all Talines, 

 except Pra-sa-one of Kienk Khaung, who is a Kareen. The Kareens 

 are said to amount to 1,000 under Camboorie, who pay each fifty 

 viss of cotton ; the village of Ta-ta-kan contains only seven houses, 

 and the stockade, which was of bamboos, is quite in ruins ; the river is 

 here about a stone's throw and a half across, about five feet deep, and 

 very sluggish, with high banks on both sides. The path to-day has 

 been good, and generally level ; from this there is a path west of 

 Tavoy ; our boat and also the six thugs have passed down ; of the latter 

 I am told there are eleven more at Camboorie. 

 (To be continued. J 



