94 "MANY ISLES AND STRANGE PLACES" 



our boat-party would frighten all the turtles away : it 

 is also said to be a peculiarly favourite resort for 

 cobras. 



From Diamond Island we went to Rangoon for 

 coal, stopping on the way to dredge in the Gulf of 

 Martaban. The fauna of this muddy gulf has distinct 

 affinities with that of northern temperate seas, 

 especially those of Japan, as will be realised when I 

 mention that among fishes, Monocentris japonicus and 

 a true Ray are met with, and that among crabs we 

 find such forms as Homola and Latreillia, and such 

 characteristic Japanese species as Carcinoplax longi- 

 manus and Chary bdis miles. 



At Rangoon, the chief object of attraction is the 

 great Shwedagon Pagoda of Buddhist fame. As you 

 ascend the river, you see its golden pinnacle flaming 

 on the horizon long before any signs of a town are 

 visible. It stands on a high, terraced mound at the 

 northern end of the city, and is approached by a 

 long flight of stone steps, all worn and polished by 

 the bare feet of many generations of pilgrims. The 

 steps are guarded at foot by a pair of huge stone 

 griffins, and are flanked on either side by a long tier 

 of little pagodas and booths, where worshippers can 

 buy flowers and tapers for offerings ; so that they 

 form a sort of terraced arcade, made very dear to 

 fancy by the rich carving of the wooden roofs of 

 the pagodas. As you linger here you see before you 



