50 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
whom I had the account. Shortly after the corn- 
mencement of the insurrection, some Talains were 
seized in the town, under suspicion of attempting 
to set fire to it. They and their families, includ¬ 
ing women and children, were buried alive, by 
being thrown into a well and covered over with 
earth. The person to whom the immediate exe¬ 
cution of this atrocity was consigned, was the 
Sad’hauwun, or steward of the household. 
In passing down the river we met a small vessel 
from Chittagong, with a crew of Aracanese and 
a cargo of areca-nut. She had a pass in the 
Persian language, from the English collector of 
customs, which, for all the Burmans or Talains 
could understand of its contents, might as well 
have been in Hebrew. The Aracanese stated 
that they had been stopped by the Talains, who 
endeavoured to dissuade them from proceeding 
to Rangoon, telling them that the Burmans would 
cut their heads off, and recommended to them to 
go to the British settlements at Martaban. We 
furnished them at their request with a pass in the 
Burman language. It was for native vessels alone 
that such passes were required, for British vessels 
of every size were permitted to pass up and down 
the river without the least molestation. 
When we came opposite to a large creek lead¬ 
ing to Bassein, we found a fleet of Talain boats 
within it. Indeed, the insurgents were in com¬ 
plete possession of all the river below Rangoon, 
