182 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 4, 1888. 



RELIEVED GUARD. 



Editor Forexl and Stream : 



Seeing in your i.s-uc. of Sepi.-mhcr 13, the humorous story "Arkansas 

 Snipe." by my uncle, Henry I 1 . LelutuI, 1 send vou the followingpoem. 

 written several years ago by the same author. H, P. T. 



There at his post by cozy marsh that hinds 



The borders of the bay, 

 Where moaned Hi rough ruBtliug sedge tlie winter winds, 



Tlte silent soldier toy, 



Through the cold WUe of heaven the evening star 



Set the first wateb of night, 

 While 'thwart the west one lingering crimson tar 



Crowned the dead day with light. 



Slyly the gray fox peering, swiftly ran 



Along the dusky shore; 

 Stopping, perchance, with pricked np ears toaeau 



The wildfowl wincing o'er. 



The pulsing whirr of wings that beat the air 



With a deep trembling hum, 

 Unheeded pass tlie soldier there, 



Unseen the wildfowl come. 



Mow o'er the line of marsh the new born day 



Lifts up its rosy wings, 

 And through the frosty air, far down the bay, 



The "honk" of wild geese rings. 



Unharmed the wild duck preens its plumage bright, 



Swimming the soldier near, 

 Gazing the while with eyes of liquid light. 



It sees no sign of fear. 



VII, 



Calmly at peace he lay, while the bright sun 

 Tingei his pale cheek with red. 



Shot through the heart— ids duty done- 

 There lay the soldier, dead, 

 vnl. 



Whether 'neath sheltering roof or open sky 

 We render the last breath, 



God give us strength to calmly die, 

 With hope for after death. 



A CANOE RACE IN BURMAH. 



IT is 4 o'clock in the af ternooi: 

 down fiercely on the mile a 

 water which extends far above a 

 the whole population of the tow 

 ties from a score of villages round about 

 banks of tlie TOrawo,ddy, and bustle about 



heat. Girls with flowe 

 dainty. silk handkerchiefs fl. 

 jackets, their costly skirts t; 

 dusty grass, and the long lo. 

 swinging about on their bo 

 ward with unwonted act 

 riment to the fragrant yc 

 and necks, aud heedlef 

 stiances of the guardian 

 than themselves. Young 

 to the jaunty set of their 13 

 fully arranged foldi 

 waist cloihs, now i 

 aimlessly, their goi 

 anyhow, or kangrr. 

 ished pasoli 

 reckless of c: 

 even a gl; 



and the sun is still beating 

 d a half broad stretch of 

 id below Myan-oung. But 

 and excited family par- 

 fathered on the 

 gardless of th 



their hair, and the brightest of 



■heir dazzling white 

 ig on the half muddy, half 



ling < 



(if the 



/iab-leez-an neeklai 



s, hurry backward and for 



v. regardless of the det- 



■ cosmetic on their cheeks 



of tlie occasional remon- 



ennas hardly less excited 



i, ordinarily scrupulous as 



1'ied turbans, and the care- 



udrcd, or two hundred rupee 



rd and forward, apparently 



„ (head wrappers) twisted oil 



iooss around their necks, aud the elier- 



t cloth) girded up tightly round their loins, 



es; while they have not a word to say, or 



:t of the country's daugh- 



f thre 

 h back* 

 g boung 



ters. Staid old nan arc gal lined together in knots, all talk- 

 ing together at the pitch of their voices and jingling bags of 

 rupees in one another's faces, every now and then one group 

 rushing off to another, aud swelling loud talk iuto shouting 

 iu a fashion of which you would not have believed the phleg- 

 matic old gentlemen "capable, if you had seen them three 

 days ago. Everj where is bustle and excitement, and an- 

 ticipation. Even the township policemen have lost their or- 

 dinary official swagger, and are engaged iu eager converse 

 with individuals who, in ordinary times, command their at- 

 tention in quite a different way. 



There is very good reason for it. The full moon of 

 Thadin-gyool is" past; it is well on in October, and it is the 

 time of the boat races. For weeks past the Myan-oung boat 

 has been spurting up and down the long, straight reach, or 

 having a heavy training paddle to Akouk-toung and back 

 again, and now tit last the great day has come. Myaug- 

 oung has challenged Thohn-kwa, hitherto the unconq'ucretl 

 champions of all the low country, and the race, in best-and- 

 best boats, is to come off this afternoon. The down-river 

 men with their boat, and pretty nearly the entire body of their 

 fellow-villagers, arrived last" night, aud none except the 

 privileged have seen anything of them yet to enable them to 

 judge whether they arc in as fine form as they were last year 

 'wbeai they rowed the Basseiu boat to a standstill. No won- 

 der there is excitement, for Myau-oung is but a young sub- 

 division, sprung up since the English occupation, witb no 

 specialty^ for paddlers, and Thohn-kwa cherishes a name 

 for prowess ou the river from far back in the old Burmese 

 days. 



But .suddenly there is a lull hi the buzz of talk and every 

 eye is directed u 

 preliminary row 

 ale Ma- guardian 

 are therefore to 

 a man holdiug 

 tains, some cool- 



tatives, they simply refrain from staking all they possess, 

 But in all the vast crowd (here is not a man who hits not a 

 money interest of some land in the race. There is Oo Ohn, 

 (lie district magistrate, in (he grand stand, a primitive 

 eieciinn run up in half an hour with some sticks 

 and bamboo matting! he is a Thohn-kwa man oy 

 birth himself, but nothing will persuade him to back the 

 fishing village against the subdivision over which he now 

 rules, Why, he has practically built mid furnished all the 

 money for the Doung-sat-pyan himself. The water-craft 

 which he learnt in his native place has only prompted him 

 to hang with greater loving care over the lines of the boat 

 where it was buildiug, and"Bah Too. his eldest son, wields 

 the steering paddle iu the Peacock, the pride of Mvan-oung. 

 .Now. th,- old gentleman— he pulled a good oar himself 20 

 years ago for the very town he now longs to beat — moves 

 about uneasily, gets up and sits down, winds and unwinds 

 his white paw-lohen, and can hardly refrain from shouting 

 out, for the Peacock is just passing, aud Bah Too gives a 

 yell and flourishes his paddle, and there is a great shout of 

 "Gouk-kyal" from the Myang-oung partisans. "Gouk-kya," 

 or "Gouk-kya bah-ihah?' means srmply "man," or "man, 

 the son of itis father," but it is a defiant challenge or an in- 

 spiriting cheer to the Burmese, They are a fine, strong-look- 

 ing lot, the Myau-oung crew, perhaps a little too fleshy, and 

 therefore possibly deficient in staying power, but all young, 

 and worked up to a nearly frantic enthusiasm by the pres- 

 ence of their sweethearts and the momentous duty that rests 

 upon them. Their weather-beaten old trainer paddles along- 

 side of them in a little canoe, and begs them to be calm at 

 the beginning, and not rush themselves "out at the start. The 

 boat, is a beauty, and does credit to the old magistrate in 

 tin- sweeping curves of its hues. Low and light as skilled 

 hands can make ii, it draws only a few inches of water, and 

 docs not rise much more than a foot above the surface. So 

 thin are the sides that the boat is tourniquetted together 

 with twisted wire and bamboo, aud the seats themselves 

 serve more to stiffen it, aud prevent a wrench from doing 

 any harm, than as conveniences for I he paddlers. There 

 arc 24 of a crew, all told, and the boat is 5(1 feet loug. 



It is paiuted all black, save at the bow, where there is a 

 brilliant representation of the peacock, from which it takes 

 its name. At the end they come with a great spurt, shout- 

 ing iind bending to each stroke, and another great yell rises 

 from the bank to assure themof the approval^' their towns- 

 men. 



A length or two behind them comes the Thohn-kwa boat, 

 paddling along composedly (o the time of their celebrated 

 rowing song, a mysterious gusty air that has suggestions of 

 the swirl of'the river eddies, and the whistle of "the wind in 

 the tall kaing-grass that lines their native creeks, in its vary- 

 ing measure. It comes over the water gently enough now. 

 but many is the time it has swelled like a hurricane blast 

 and loft ihe opposing boat foolishly as if it were at anchor 

 The Thohn-kwa crew are as different as possible in appear 

 ancs from their robust young rivals. There is probably not 

 a man under thirty among them, but t'icre is not a superflu- 

 ous ounce in all the wiry twenty-four. Every thew is 

 tough as whip-cord, with long struggles against the rush of 

 the current in the flooded creeks; every face, and arm, and 

 shoulder is deep brown with exposure to the wind and the 

 sun, for not a man among them but is a fisherman, and 

 thinks nothing of the wild squalls that sweep over the delta 

 and ruffle the swift current into a dangerous surge. No 

 wonder they have an unbeaten record, and Oo Ohn fidgets 

 about uneasily when I he famous pe nin of the Thohn-kwa 

 boat salutes him obsequiously as the boat sweeps up 



IN o one knows how old Ivoh-kyak-gyee is. His withered 

 face and shrunken body suggest that it is time he wasgiving 

 up fishing, and endeavoring by assiduous piety to get his bal- 

 ance of kau somewhat more on the right side toward another 

 existence, but he is hard as nails still, and no man in all 

 Burmah has a greater name than the ever victorious Thohn- 

 kwa steersman. .None like him to keep a boat straight in 

 the conflicting eddies that have thrown out many au appar- 

 ently conquering boat; none like him to gauge the strength 

 of his crew and spurt just at Ihe right moment! From start 

 to finish he has all his wits about him, and the stem of the 

 boat is full on the winning post all the time. Four years 

 ago, when the Illaiug men seemed to be carrying all before 

 them, it was Eyah-gyee's generalship that won the day. 

 Therefore, the Myan-oung magistrate is a little disconcerted 

 at the homage paid him by his old rowing mentor, but none 

 (lie less he puts on another hundred rupees with a Thohn-kwa 

 loo-gyec, who lias come up at the moment. The Thohn-kwa 

 men come with a bit of pace at the finish, too, and with a 

 hell la, toola, youk-kya, bah-thah, hi! dash past the winning 

 post. 



This winning post is not such as is used iu English boat 

 racing. A boat is moored right out in the current with its 

 head to the stream. At right angles to its length a long 

 hollow bamboo stretches across the bows, and through this 

 is passed a rattan, the end projecting an inch or two beyond 

 ' jf the tube at both sides. The contesting boati 



river. The boats have started for the 

 i' the course. It is necessary to propiti- 



spirits of the r 

 ic made. At 11 

 with outstretc 

 ■d rice, flowe 

 This 



and the votive offerings 

 rn of each boat crouches 

 inns a bunch of plan- 

 id betel for the behoof 

 of the water kelpie. This precaution must ou no ac- 

 count be omitted. Who knows what disaster might not 

 otherwise happen! The flouted nat might upset the craft 

 with a flip of his finger, or cling to the keelson of the boat 

 aud tire to nothing the sinews of the brawniest arms. There- 

 fore goodly alms are given so that all mav rest with the 

 prowess of "the rival crews. This practice serves also another 

 purpose, ft enables the spectators to have a final view of 

 the antagonists, and to lay their la 5 t rupee or not on their 

 champions a, cording as their judgment or loyalty bids them. 

 Not a man of them will back the enemy's boat. If they have 

 not supreme confidence in the superiority of their represen- 



have each their own side and keep their own water, and the 

 bow paddler rises and snatches at this pan as the boat whisks 

 past. It thus becomes a sign and proof of victory, Not a 

 little skill is wanted on the part of both the man at the bow 

 and the man at the stern. The former has to be sure in the 

 eye aud quick of hand, and the latter must take especial 

 care to bring the boat past at the proper distance. It is not 

 80 very simple a matter to pull out the long cane at the ter- 

 rific pace with which Ihe boats come up, and the pan must 

 lie. carried off to insure the verdict. Sometimes both men 

 seize it at once, and then they are almost certainly swept 

 out of the boat, and as a rule both lose the rattan. But if 

 one has the pluck and presence of mind to stick to it, theu 

 his boat litis won. 



Now the offerings have been made and the boats turned 

 round; no very easy matter iu the swift current with their 

 great length, bid ft is effected dexterously enough. The 

 Myau-oung boat paddles up to the winning post, and young 

 OiingZahn tries the pa 



bamboo, and Koh-kyah-gvc' 

 Thohn-pan-hla— the Three Fl 

 boat is called — lo make sun 

 proper amount of cane to g 

 under the hank to avoid tin: f 

 leisurely up lo Ihe starting po 

 up the river. 



The: din and bustle on the I] 

 ever. Every one is talking ai 

 result of the race, and noboe 

 goes on freely, and the clunk 

 .1 is announced that the spi 



; that it runs smoothly in tli 



swings in the stern of the 



'r Flowers, as the Thohn-kwa 



that his 

 lap at. The: 

 rce of the eu: 

 it, a mile or i 



will have his 



both boats get 

 rent, aud paddle 

 mile aud a half 



dition and cooler-headed than their opponents, and will win 

 at the finish. There is a minute's dejeetioti at this, and 

 then it is all effaced by the discovery that the Chinese store- 

 keepers have put their "bottom dollars" on the home boat. 

 That is good news, for the Talohk is a good judge of any- 

 thing that can be betted about, and if is "very seldom that he 

 drops money. So the talk goes ou tili "the last coin is 

 staked. Welshers have not yet been introduced into Burmah, 

 and there is now nothing to be done but relieve one's feelings 

 in talk, and puff furiously at big cheroots, with an occa- 

 sional rush iuto the water to see how far the boats have got 

 up. Old Oo Ohn tries to talk to the young Englishman, but 

 it is no use; he can't keep either his mind or his eyes off the 

 boat, and ihe Ay-ay-baing improves the occasion by attempt- 

 ing a flirtation with the "daughter of the house." But 'he 

 might as well talk to the winds. She is far more excited 

 than her father, and would be dancing about if it were not 

 for the restraint of her old nurse, who is too blear-eyed and 

 rheumatic to be anything but ill-natured. 

 _ But at last there is a hush ; and every eye is 1 urued up the 

 river. The boats are turning and come drifting down (o 

 (he starting place. There is a minute or two of backing and 

 fussing about, so as to gel the boats straight and the bows 

 level, and then with a loud shout they are off to a start by 

 mutual consent. A roar of pent-up excitement comes from 

 the crowd all the way down the banks to the grand stand, 

 and then swings back again like a wave ou the flat sea sand. 

 Served by their magnificent boat and their younger strength, 

 the Myan-oung crew jump off with tlie lead and continue to 

 draw away until half way down the course, where they are 

 clear and have a bit of daylight to spare. The backers o'f the 

 Peacock are wild with triumph and already see victory be- 

 fore them, but the Thohn-kwa party are perfectly composed 

 and declare that things could not tie going better. Quarter 

 of a mile from home old Koh-kyak-gyee lets out a yell, and 

 though there is no apparent ciiiickeuing of the stroke, the 

 gap, which for the last few Ik ndred yards has remained un- 

 altered, suddenly disappears, and the Thohn-pan-hla creeps 

 steadily up the Peacock's thwart, aud at last Oung Zahn. the 

 Myan-oung bow, sees the enemy's boat for the first time 

 siuce the start, and a few seconds later the rival bow is level 

 with him, and the nose of the Three Fmr Flowers shows in 

 front to the length of its figurehead. The noise on the bank 

 is simply deafening. Incoherent shouts of despair and en- 

 couragement and delight burst from every throat ; old women 

 tear down their scanly hair and work with their anus a, if 

 they themselves were in the race; girls rush to the water's 

 edge, heedless of the mud and splashing that will ruin their 

 silken skirts forever: young men and boys rush up to their 

 necks in the water and yell with frenzied eager- 

 ness, for it is only a boat's length lo flic winning 

 post, and Thohn-kwa leads by a fool. Old Oo Ohn can 

 stand it no longer, for the last minute he litis been shaking 

 all over as if he were in a palsy, and his tongue and throat 

 are as parched as if they were'ehoked with slack lime. He 

 rushes forward with his hands in the air and shrieks "Youk- 

 kya" in a key that cuts through the din like a steam whistle. 

 ik-kya, bah-thah — every 

 the FlOWer, sway, lay, 

 • unvanquished name?" 

 from them and rise for 

 o soon and he will miss 

 tnd there will be nothing 



st crowd as if lliey were 

 disappear iu the water, 



at the rattan. An ago 

 niziug five seconds and then Oung 'Zahn comes to the sur- 

 face blandishing on high the pan; the Thohn-kwa bow felt 

 the scratch of it on his palm as it disappeaied through the 

 tube. The scene that follows is beyond description. The vic- 

 torious crew spring up to dance, but the relief is 

 inadequate. Tiny can only escape frenzy by pluug- 

 in" into the river. Oo Ohn tucks up his waist 

 cloth aud dances round in mad delight until his stiff old legs 

 will hear him no longer. Pompous old loo-gyees (leading 

 men) caper and plunge and shout; younger men can only 

 relieve their feelings by flinging themselves in the pools ou 

 the bank aud rolling about wildly in the mud; girls who at 

 ordinary times would hardly dare to raise their eyes to look 

 about them, dance and shout in ccstacy, and their married 

 guardians join in the rout. Bands from a dozen villages 

 round about strike up, but the professional dancers who 



Youk-kya, the cry is taken up; "Yr 

 mother's son of you — the Doniig, 

 lay; row for your lives; row for you 

 arid the two bows fling their paddles 

 the struggle. The wink of an eye t< 

 his grasp, the flick of a finger too'late 

 to seize. A great hush falls on the v; 

 all stricken dead, and then both me 

 clutching apparently simultaneously 



jW tl 





e ever 



it bo 





The 



i hhn 



' -pviitit 



g loo- 



r to ( 





boats. 



<at-p\ 



an ai 



d the 



But 



to all i 



ntent 



.1 tb 



borne 



rcpre- 



tuk now becomes greater than 



d stating his views as to Ihe 

 v is listening to him. Betting 

 if rupees is heard perpetually, 

 rtiug English extra assistant 



commissioner from the divisional town has given as his 

 opinion that the fishermen will win; they are in better con- 



came to perform iu honor of the victors are fain to look ou. 

 while their intended audience go through uupremcditatei 

 ures. Note.— It always seems marvelous' 

 gel gravity of demeanor again after a g 



pyoung, that is to say, the crews huve p 

 The Thohn-kwa men take the Doun 

 home crew man the Three Fair Flowers 

 and purposes the victory has been won, 

 scntatives are the conquerors. The (wo boat- paddle up 

 again, and the fishermen go right away and win with the 

 most consummate ease. This sets money matters on a. more 

 comfortable footing, but the Myau-oung people are not a 

 whit disconcerted. "They won the real race, that in which 

 each crew rowed in its own boat, and they receive the argu- 

 ments of the Thohn-kwa contingent with the most self-satis- 

 fied composure. The record of the champions has been 

 broken, and the veteran Koh-kyah-gyee has at last sat iu a 

 losing boat. 



A general adjournment is made back to the town. The 

 country people have all come in their country wagons, and 

 these are draw it up in comfortable places under Ul< 

 The victorious crew go in procession up and down the main 

 street, preceded bv bands and every one 111 the place who 

 can dance. Feasting is general, and then all move off to the 

 plays, of which there are three or four, which some un- 

 wearied spirits can only find relief for their exultant triumph 

 in yehn dances and" irresponsible performances of their 

 own". Till dawn of day the revelry goes on, bill there is nolh 

 ing like drunkenness. It is exceedingly seldom that you see 

 a drunken Burman out of Rangoon. Where they claim to be 

 Europeanized. For a couple of days the excitement lasts, 

 and then the strangers wend their way homeward, aud the 

 township calms down to its usual qnicl. But for years the 

 great eventwill be talked of at the local feasts, and the yehn 

 choruses of three or four generations will tell of the gallant 

 struggle when the Doung-sat-pyan beat the Thohn-pan-hla 

 and broke the long supremacy of the Thohn-kwa rowers. 



Note.— The Burmese canoes ar 

 ful and beautifully modeled; they 

 and "camber," in fact the whole 

 stead of being deeper at stem and 

 paddles used are the ordinary ; 

 they paddle with an extraordinar 

 easionally oars are employed. 



dugouts, but very grace- 

 have a great deal of spur 

 ioat rises fore and aft, iu- 

 ;(ern like our boats. The 

 ngle-bladed paddles, and 

 ly short, quick stroke; oc- 



