1020 Journal of an expedition from Moulmien to Ava. [Die. 



and incredible nature, a messenger from his daughter, one of the 

 queens, reached the Tso-boa. He stated that the prince of Sarawattie 

 had taken Ava without resistance, and put to death three or four of 

 those most inimical to him ; put all the ministers of the old government 

 in irons, and degraded the queen and turned her out of the palace. 

 The Tso-boa is ordered to return to Monay and wait for orders to ap- 

 proach the capital, and as all the Tso-boas will probably be called on 

 to bring their congratulations and presents to the new government, 

 he expects to be at this halting-place again in a month. The whole 

 country between this and Ava is in the possession of bands of robbers 

 from 100 to 150 in number, and all communication even between one 

 village and another is stopped. The Tsoboa's messengers though 

 wearing the prince's badge, were stripped of every article even to their 

 patsos or cloths. I called on the Tso-boa late in the evening, he was 

 very anxious that I should return with him to Monay, where the ac- 

 quaintance we had formed on the march would give him a plea for 

 paying me more attention than he had ventured to do whilst at Monay 

 before. As I was now so near the end of a long and toilsome march I 

 objected to return ; begged him either to send a party strong enough 

 for my protection with me, according to the orders of the late govern- 

 ment, or leave me with the Tso-boa of Neaung Eue who is one march 

 in advance of us with 500 men, and is to retreat on this place to-day, 

 and return to Neaung Eue about 15 miles from this to-morrow. As 

 the government had been changed he reasonably enough objected to 

 sending a party, but agreed J should remain with the Neaung Eue Tso- 

 boa, to whom he would introduce me ; either till I received an answer 

 to a letter I had just delivered him for Col. Burney, or till he should 

 repass this way for Ava, when he would send to Neaung Eue, and we 

 could again proceed together. About midnight an officer came to 

 the tent and told me he had been desired by the Neaung Eue Tso-boa 

 to wait on me to know at what time I would start, as he was appointed 

 to shew me the way to Neaung Eue to-morrow, and that the Tso-boa 

 had desired him to say, at the request of his elder brother of Monay, 

 he should be happy to shew me every attention. At day-light 

 on the 17th the Monay troops commenced their retreat by a road ly- 

 ing a little north of the one we had come by, and soon afterwards my 

 guide having made his appearance, I started for Neaung Eue, where I 

 arrived the same night. 



I called on all the influential people; viz. the Tso-boa, his two 

 brothers and his son. The brothers returned my visit and sent me 

 several civil messages. They and the Tso-boa also were civil when- 



