12 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
three quarters of a mile. In the evening we 
anchored off Tarop Myo, or Chinese Town. A 
little way above Kyaok-ta-long the vessel struck 
against a reef of rocks, and close to the village 
of Ngamyagyi she took the ground on a sand¬ 
bank, where she remained for several hours. 
Dec. 21 .>=—Early on the morning of the 17th, 
we began to kedge down with much caution, but 
the vessel, notwithstanding, grounded on a sand¬ 
bank, and was not got off until the morning 
of the 20th, and with great difficulty. In order 
to lighten her, we landed almost every thing, 
cut off one-third of the poop, and went ashore 
ourselves, with our servants, taking up our resi¬ 
dence on a sand-bank, under temporary tents. 
This morning every thing was again ready, and 
we dropped down ; the gentlemen of the Mission 
and servants, however, proceeding in the baggage 
boats. The fall of the river since we went up 
in the end of September, was certainly not less 
than twenty feet. 
I landed at Ngamvagyi and Tarop Myo. The 
rice had just been cut v and the winter crops of 
various pulses were in considerable progress. 
Dec. 22 .—We stopped last night at Raba-kyaok- 
tan, which takes its name from a reef of rocks 
which at this place runs across the Irawadi. We 
pitched our temporary tents on a sand-bank in the 
middle of the river for the night. The reef of 
rocks alluded to, on examination, proved to be 
