30 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
both sides of the river, we found the rock to be 
calcareous sandstone. At Meaday the fossil wood 
was still to be seen in small quantities. We 
anchored for the night at Tong-taong, or “ lime¬ 
stone hill,” mentioned in our voyage up. Yester¬ 
day the navigation of the river had greatly im¬ 
proved ; we consequently made a longer journey 
than usual, and by six in the evening reached 
Prome. At this place we received some details 
of the Talain insurrection, which appeared more 
formidable than we had expected. Maong-zat, 
the Peguan chief, we were informed, had attacked 
the Burmans twice near Rangoon, and in a good 
measure blockaded that place. The people of 
Dalla, including the Karians of that district, had 
joined him, and he had established a post as far up 
the eastern branch of the Irawadi as Panlang, thus 
intercepting the communication between Ran¬ 
goon and the upper provinces. 
Dr. Wallich and I this morning made an ex¬ 
cursion to the hills opposite to Prome. The great 
fall of the river now exposed rocks, the existence 
of which we did not suspect in the examination 
we made going up : they consisted of sandstone, 
pudding-stone, and slate clay ; in short, this seem¬ 
ed a continuation of the same formation which we 
had traced nearly all the way from Ava. In the 
sandstone we found abundance of fossil shells, dif¬ 
fering entirely, as far as we could determine, from 
those hitherto found, and to all appearance marine 
