34 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
to ten thousand buffaloes. In the evening we 
reached Myan-aong, or Loonzay. 
Jan. 11.—I walked through Myan-aong this 
morning, which is a village of considerable extent, 
but without any thing remarkable to distinguish 
it. We found the alarm here, on account of the 
progress of the Talain insurrection, very consider¬ 
able. The inhabitants were already collecting 
their grain, and preparing for flight. 
Jan. 13.-—We left Myan-aong after breakfast, 
on the 11th. Between Kanaong and Shwe-gain, 
when we had hardly gone ten miles, the difficul¬ 
ties of the river were found even greater than in 
any part of the navigation from Ava downwards. 
We were obliged to come-to for the day, in order 
to sound for a passage, which was at length disco¬ 
vered on the morning of the 12th, when we pur¬ 
sued our journey. At night we anchored off the 
little river, which about five miles above Sarwa 
goes to Bassein, being the first branch which the 
Irawadi sends off in its progress to the sea. A 
petty stream at all times, it was now choked up 
with sand at its mouth, and impassable for the 
smallest canoe. In the month of June, 1825, 
in the height of the rains, a fleet of gun-boats, 
of the smallest class, came by the route of this 
branch to join Sir A. Campbell, then at Prome; 
but even in that season the voyage was attended 
with much difficulty. At two o’clock we passed 
Sarwa, and in half an hour thereafter reached 
