128 JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
his weight thus giving more effect to the ope¬ 
ration. The objects intended to be cultivated 
in these fields were cucumbers, pumpkins, and 
sesamum. 
Sept, 26.—The country before us, and on each 
side, appeared now nearly an open champaign, 
with a few insulated hills, or short hilly ranges, 
scattered over it here and there, at a long inter¬ 
val from each other. Among these by far the 
most remarkable was Paopa, which, in some 
aspects, had much the look of a volcanic cone, 
but this disappeared when we came abreast of 
it. I should conjecture that this mountain can¬ 
not be less than five thousand feet high. The 
Aracan range of hills was daily in sight, and 
diminished greatly in height as we advanced 
northwards. At twelve o’clock we were abreast 
of Pa-k’hok-ko, on the western side of the ri¬ 
ver, a place of considerable extent and popula¬ 
tion. The inhabitants poured out to the bank 
to see the steam-vessel, and formed such a con¬ 
course as we had nowhere seen unless at Prome. 
Pa-k’hok-ko is a place of great trade, and a kind 
of emporium for the commerce between Ava 
and the lower country ; many large boats, which 
cannot proceed to the former in the dry season, 
taking in their cargoes at this place. We count¬ 
ed one hundred and fifty trading vessels, of 
