34 AN ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY ACROSS THE MALAY PENINSULA. 



There is a steep ascent for the last two or three hundred 

 yards before gaining the top of the pass, which is about 750 

 feet above the sea level, and where there is a mound covered 

 with all sorts of idols, but the prevailing type was a small, very 

 fat clay elephant set upon exceedingly stunted limbs. This w T as 

 an altar to the spirit of the hills, and Nuan and MOUNG See 

 coming up, stooped down and made their obeisance, and 

 NUAN in a prayer informed the spirit of my state and station, 

 and begged he would not think hardly of me for having but 

 two followers, and told him of the more numerous retinue I had 

 brought away with me, and finally concluded his prayer with 

 this promise "and now if you will give us a safe conduct to 

 Muang Meerit (Mergui), and keep us from robbers, tigers and 

 11 all the other ills that beset travellers, we will make a great 

 " deal of merit when we safely reach our journey's end." 



On the Burmese side everything was wet with the constant 

 drizzle. The rain clouds must hang very low, for the range 

 of hills here are very little over one thousand feet in height, 

 yet they are high enough to determine the rainy season on 

 either side. From a glimpse through the trees, which we got 

 descending from the pass, we could see that the country in 

 front of us was entirely covered with forest jungle, with hills in 

 the distance. The foot-path leads down a gentle descent, and 

 at the foot of the hills we found the country uneven, cut up by 

 ravines, with a deep alluvial soil covered by a lofty evergreen 

 forest. We reached a stream about seven miles from the pass, 

 and, beneath a large tree with very thick foliage, upon its 

 bank we spent the night. 



About ten o'clock a downpour of rain commenced. I drew 

 my water-proof coat over my blanket, while NUAN and MOUNG 

 See crouched over the fire ; but the wet began to steal in all 

 round and the rain drowned the fire, so that we waited anxiously 

 for morning to break. As soon as we could see, we packed up 

 our things and set out, the rain coming heavier than ever. 

 For five miles we went through a luxuriant bamboo jungle, 

 where we started a herd of wild buffaloes, and jungle fowl 

 were abundant, but as we had only a Colt's repeating rifle 

 with us we w T ere unable to procure any for our pot. By the 



