by a Slave qf'tlie King^s Eldest Son. fl67 
that pay him tribute. There can be little* doubt tnat this is 
the same country with that in the Universal History, p. 153. 
called Ko^sang-pyi, the R in Koshanpri being sounded exactly 
like Y. According to the Universal History, Kosangpyi lies 
west from the northern Laos, and has on its west again the great 
forest of Pahimapan, which is no doubt the mountainous ridge, 
that, rising on the banks of tlie Erawadi, half way between 
Ava and Bhanmo, on the frontier of China, runs south, a little 
inclining to east, until it approaches the sea at Moutama or Mar- 
taban, and separates the Country of the Mranmas from that of 
the Shanwa. Where I saw this ridge, near Amarapura, it ap- 
pears to be of a considerable height, probably 4000 or 5000 feet 
perpendicular ; but several rivers pass through it, and there are 
many passages for troops, so that it does not seem to form a 
boundary of strength. In this country of Kosangpyi, the au- 
thors of the Universal History, p. 136. justly place the Tay-yay 
or Great Siammese of Loubere, and probably the Kalaminham of 
Mendez Pinto, who went to the court of its king in 1545, when 
the whole of the Shanwa cities were probably united under one 
native prince ; but they have now been long subject to Ava^ 
and governed by petty princes called Zabuas. 
In the south-west corner of the territory occupied by the Shan- 
wa, is a large hilly tract occupied by Karsen, who, in 1795, re- 
jected the authority of the King of Ava, and bordered on the 
country of the Talain. These retain the primitive rudeness, 
and were more protected by the forests and fastnesses which 
they held, than by their skill or energy in the use of arms. 
South from the east end of the Talain country, is that 
by the Mranmas named Breit or Byeit, which in the map 
occupies a small space, but in reality is of considerable dimeii- 
sions, extending along the sea-coast from about the 10th to 
the 16th degree of north latitude. The Breit of the Mranmas, 
as appears from their language, are of the same race with these 
conquerors, but were long subject to Siam, although they now 
belong to Ava, and are separated from the kingdom of Siam by 
a considerable ridge of hills, which extend far to the north, in- 
terposed between the dominions of Ava and Siam, as these pow- 
ers stood in the year 1795. Breit, the capital city of this terri- 
tory, is the Mergui of Europeans. 
