430 Itinerary in tlie district of Amherst, Tenasserim. No. 5. 



emanated, conspicuously placed in front of bis raiment, like the 

 most noble order of tbe Tower and Sword. 



It would encroacb too much ou my limits to give more than an 

 introductory sketch of these people, whose history moreover bas 

 been already presented to tbe world by abler writers tban myself. 

 I will only remark that the Karens we have now to travel with 

 locate themselves along tbe Zummee river in clearings, which they 

 quit after every two or three years. They are less civilized than 

 tbe Karens of tbe neighbouring Houngthrau river, and although 

 the latter stream is not more tban twenty miles distant, they seldom 

 visit it. The Karens on the Houngthrau possess buffaloes and poultry. 

 Those of the Zuuimee nothing of the kind, subsisting solely upon a 

 vegetable diet which consists not only of rice and tbe usual orchard 

 produce, but of jungle fruits, roots, leaves, and even bark, sub- 

 stances which one would suppose nothing but a famished monkey 

 or squirrel would turn to for aliment. To this may sometimes be 

 added a scrap of dry salt fish or barbecued meat obtained by barter 

 from some Moulmein trading boat. Tbe animals, birds, and fishes 

 with which their forests and streams are stocked, they seem neither 

 to make use of, nor notice. They have neither fire-arms nor bows 

 and arrows, nor fishing implements. 



In singular contradistinction to such traits of destitution is the 

 fact of their wealth in elephants. Every householder appears to 

 possess one if not two of these animals. They are brought chiefly 

 from the Shan territories: but bow these people procure the money 

 to purchase them I never could clearly discover. Many are stolen 

 no doubt. The animals are generally small, valuing at from two 

 to four hundred rupees. They carry little more than what would 

 load a good up-country bullock in India, and from want of proper 

 training are wretchedly slow. 



From Thalaya Zyk, a path extends in a north-east direction to 

 Meetan, a large Karen village on the Houngthrau distant two days' 

 journey. There is no direct access to that river from any point 

 further south on the Zummee, owing to intervening ranges and 

 masses of limestone rocks, which are utterly impassable. These 

 extend as far south as Thoon zoo (Lat. 15° 19') where they can be, in 

 military parlance, turned. Our course then lies along their western 

 border to that phice, and thence north-eastward. 



