TO THE COU11T OF AVA. 101 
of the Irawadi to Aracan, and that by which 
Major Ross, with a battalion of Sepoys, and a 
large portion of the elephants and cattle of the 
army, proceeded in the month of March last. 
The route within the plains was no more than 
six days’ moderate march; so that the direct 
distance to the foot of the hills does not pro¬ 
bably exceed forty miles. The late King con¬ 
structed the excellent road which leads to the 
Aracan mountains. The principal town of this 
district, called Salen, or Chalen, is about twelve 
miles from the Irawadi. An interesting ac¬ 
count of this town and its district, which con¬ 
stitutes at present the estate of the King’s 
brother-in-law and favourite, has been given 
by an officer of Major Ross’s detachment. 
Round the town are the remains of a fortifica¬ 
tion, the brick walls of which are still, in some 
situations, fifty feet high. This is said to have 
been constructed when Pugan was the capital 
of the empire, not less than fifteen hundred 
years back, which would correspond with the 
reign of a prince named Pok-san-lan, who as¬ 
cended the throne in the year of Christ 324 . 
The district of Salen proved to be by far the 
most populous and cultivated which had been 
seen by the English since entering the Burman 
