40 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
stockade, and came unawares upon their enemy 9 
on the eastern or Tacklay side of the stockade. 
The Talains, who were cooking or sleeping, fled 
precipitately, and without offering any resistance, 
to their boats, which were soon seen crossing the 
river in numbers and in great haste, although not 
pursued. A few Talains were killed, and a few 
taken prisoners. The Burman attack in the direc¬ 
tion of the Pagoda was not so fortunate : here 
they were repulsed, and sustained some loss. The 
total killed, wounded, and prisoners, was, after all, 
very trifling on either side. We received various 
and different accounts of the casualties; but so 
discordant, that none could be relied on. The Bur- 
mans admitted their own loss in wounded to be 
fourteen. We had the misfortune to be eye-wit¬ 
nesses to the capture of one petty Talain chief, and 
an act of more savage ferocity cannot well be ima¬ 
gined. He had attempted to escape by swim¬ 
ming across the river, and was pursued by two 
armed Barmans in a small canoe. He attempted 
to avoid capture by repeated diving, but was at 
last wounded by a spear and taken. He was tied 
to the canoe, and dragged down the river for a 
quarter of a mile, to the spot where we were an¬ 
chored, and within five yards of us. He was 
landed by dragging him by the hair of the head, 
and one of the victors drew a sword, as if to de¬ 
capitate him. We remonstrated against this act 
of brutality, as an insult to ourselves, and thus 
