TO THE COURT OF AVA. 
83 
time to take along with them, and which there¬ 
fore had taken to the forests and become wild. In 
the mountains close at hand, however, there exist 
real wild buffaloes and many elephants. In the 
forest, when examining the ground for canton¬ 
ments, we saw one large deer and several monkeys, 
and the woods abound with the common wild-fowl 
and peacock. 
“ In walking along the sandy beach this morn¬ 
ing, we unexpectedly met two priests, who rea¬ 
dily entered into conversation with us, and were 
very communicative. They had heard of our 
projected settlement, and took advantage of the 
circumstance to cheer us in our undertaking, by 
paying us a compliment, I fear, at the expense of 
their veracity. They said, that the place was for¬ 
tunate ; that the Temple of Kyaikami was dedi¬ 
cated to the God of Fortune, which the term im¬ 
ported in their language. They added, that they 
had that morning perused their sacred books, and 
in these found it written that a colony of white 
men would one day settle in the neighbouring 
country. 
“ Captain Hammond having measured the 
ground with the perambulator, a matter which 
was easily effected along the smooth sandy beach, 
drew out a plan of the whole ground, and in the 
course of the day we were busy in allotting the 
ground for the various wants and necessities of 
a new town. The north-western promontory was 
Cr 2 
