1844.] On the History of Arakan. 45 



struggled for the possession of Arakan, and the latter were finally 

 expelled in the year 788, by the united efforts of the Arakanese and 

 Takings. 



During this period, the dethroned king was residing at the court of 

 the king of Thu-ra-tan^ who being engaged in wars, could not afford 

 him any assistance ; while there, the Delhi king came to attack Thu- 

 ra-tan* with a large army, consisting of elephants, horses, chariots, and 

 foot soldiers, also "dogs as large as bullocks,"] - trained to war. By 

 the advice of Meng-tsau-mwun, the dogs were disabled by means of 

 iron hooks baited with raw flesh, seizing which, they were caught by 

 the mouth and easily overpowered. The elephants and horses fell into 

 pits dug for them, and covered over with straw and earth, at the bot- 

 tom of which were iron spikes ; thus the Thu-ra-tan king obtained a 

 complete victory. The Arakanese exiled king taught the king's sub- 

 jects the art of entrapping a herd of wild elephants by driving them 

 into a space enclosed by a stockade and ditch ; he also instructed them 

 in the art of training elephants. 



Out of gratitude for these services, the king determined to assist the 

 exiled prince in the recovery of his kingdom. He appointed a general 

 called in the Arakanese annals U-lu-kheng, (Wali Khan,) to command 

 the army of restoration. This person, however, betrayed his trust, and 

 joining with a Ra-khaing chief, named Tse-u-ka, they established a 

 government, and imprisoned Meng-tsau-mwun. He escaped and fled 

 to Bengal. 



The king of Thu-ra-tan now appointed two nobles, named Dan-ha- 

 tsu and Ba-ba-tsu, to carry out his intentions, together with a large 

 army under the command of Tshat-ya-hhat. They arrived with orders 

 to place Meng-tsau-mwun on the throne, and bring back the head and 

 skin of U-lu-kheng. The expedition was successful. U-lu-kheng suf- 

 fered the fate his crime deserved, and the historian records in glow„ 



* As the Arakanese make sad confusion of all cities and countries in India, this 

 may mean any king between Bengal and Dehli, probably the king ot'Juanpur. The 

 fugitive must have reached Thu-ra-tan about the year a. d. 1407, when, and for some 

 years after, in consequence of Timur's invasion, the Dehli sovereign was not in a con- 

 dition to attack Bengal. 



f This reminds one of the dogs of Tibet of the size of asses, mentioned by Marco 

 Paolo, Book 11, Ch. 37. I have known Burmans speak of a rather large English grey- 

 hound as being of the size of a pony, i. e. 12 or 13 hands. 



