82 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
were called Amherst, in compliment to the Go¬ 
vernor-General. 
“ April 7 .—A party of workmen commenced 
yesterday to clear the ground for a small military 
cantonment, and a road having been opened all 
round the spot intended for it, we had an oppor¬ 
tunity of deciding upon its eligibility . The whole 
country indeed up to the hills, and to within a 
few hundred yards of the Kalyen, was a dry, 
level, table-land, rising gently in the centre, than 
which nothing can be conceived more commo¬ 
dious or suitable to the purposes of an European 
settlement. I ought here to mention that the pe¬ 
ninsula, from the south-west and north-east winds 
blowing without interruption over it, is well ven¬ 
tilated ; that the climate, and we experienced it 
in one of the hottest months in the year, was con¬ 
sequently cool and agreeable; while the soil was 
so dry, that during our whole stay we did not see 
or feel a single musquito, or other troublesome 
insect. The testimony of the natives, let it farther 
be added, is decided in favour of the salubrity both 
of this spot and of the neighbouring country, in¬ 
cluding the town of Martaban itself. In passing 
along the sandy beach on the western shore yes¬ 
terday and to-day, we saw the fresh tracks of 
three leopards, many fresh tracks of wild cats, 
large deer, and buffaloes. The latter, we were 
told, were the cattle left behind by the emigrated 
Talains already mentioned, which they had not 
