TO THE COURT OF AVA. 
227 
Yunan ; and to the East by the independent and 
the Siamese portion of Lao. 
The aspect of the country from the sea, up 
to the latitude of 17^°, is low and champaign. 
From thence, to near the 22°, it is entitled to the 
denomination of hilly and elevated; and beyond 
this it is, from all accounts, decidedly moun¬ 
tainous. To the West and North-west, chains 
of mountains divide it from Arracan, Cassay, and 
Assam, often of great elevation. The Bur man 
territory is watered by four considerable rivers; 
viz. the Saluen, the Setang, the Irawadi, and the 
Kyen-dwen, all of which have a southerly course, 
marking the character of the country as a plain, 
inclined from north to south. The first of these 
will afterwards be referred to. The Setang, where 
it is of great breadth, is rather a considerable arm 
of the sea than a river. Beyond the reach of the 
tides, it is, from all accounts, an inconsiderable 
stream ; and even as low down as the town of 
Tongo, it is only navigable for boats. Its mouth 
is not only choked up with sand-banks, but is 
liable to a dangerous bore, so as to make its na¬ 
vigation impracticable for large, and difficult and 
precarious for any description of vessels. 
The Irawadi, the largest river of Ava, is said 
to be navigable only for canoes at the town of 
B’hamd ; which, according to the Burmese, is the 
same travelling distance from the city of Ava that 
Prome is, or about three hundred miles. Its 
Q 2 
