248 
JOUHNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
is said to have exclaimed more with the en¬ 
thusiasm of an amateur, than the consideration 
of a patriot king, 44 What signifies the destruc¬ 
tion of ten thousand baskets of rice, in compa¬ 
rison with the possession of a white elephant ?” 
and the order was given for the hunt. 
The lower orders however, it must be observ¬ 
ed, perform the shiko, or obeisance of submission 
to the white elephant; but the chiefs view this 
as a vulgar superstition, and do not follow it. 
When the present elephant was taken, the event 
was considered a joyous one ; and the late King, 
who was fond of money, taking advantage of 
the circumstance, issued an order to the tribu¬ 
taries and chiefs, to ask pardon of the white ele¬ 
phant (Ka-dau), accompanied of course by the 
usual presents which his Majesty deposited in 
his coffers. 
The establishment of the white elephant is 
very large : he has his Wun, or Minister; his 
Wun-dauk, or deputy to that officer; his Sare- 
gyi, or Secretary, &c. with a considerable en¬ 
dowment of land for his maintenance. In the 
late reign, Sa-len, one of the finest districts in 
the kingdom, was the estate of the white ele¬ 
phant. 
Having seen two Albino monkeys in Siam, 
we asked if his Burman Majesty was possessed 
