and three weeks can pass without any break in the
barrier of waters. So I come to the Pani with some
qualms.
There is a monastery in . a tamarind grove overlooking.
the river, and monks and scholars come out
to the carved railings to see us ride by. The Pani,
red and heavy with silt, is flowing swiftly on its way.
Although not in full flood, it is too deep to be forded,
and there is no. passage for carts, which would merely
be swept away.
So we cross over
in a small flat-
bottomed boat ,
with the saddles,
rifles, and trappings,
while the
horses are led a
little way higher
up th e river. IN TH E V IL L A G E r
Man and horse
plunge in and are instantly carried off their feet. The
stream bears them rapidly down, till they succeed in
landing on the farther shore, some distance from where
they started. Immediately the horses are ashore they
fall to cropping the soft grass, having apparently enjoyed
the plunge into the water.
As we go on the road grows worse, and so grows
admiration for; the little beasts that carry us. They
plunge bravely through the heaviest slush, often to
their knees in its grip, and my feet dip in the thick
liquor and become coated with it. In the dark they
pick their way with equal skill and resolution. It is
here amidst the difficulties of his own country that one
comes to love and appreciate the Burmese pony. Little
more than twelve hands in height, he will carry a strong
man fifty miles in a d a y; put into a four-wheeled cab,
he will dash off with it, regardless of its burden of half
a dozen occupants ; turned out to grass after a long
day’s march, he will cheerfully find himself his food, and
accept with lively
a p p r o v a l the
handful of bamboo
leaves you may
g i v e him; of
grooming he takes
little ; and f o r
sheer pluck, intelligence,
vivacity,
and an iron mouth
he beats creation.
Presently we come upon the cart containing the
advance baggage stuck deep in the mire and unable to
proceed. It is not for any lack of spirit in the little
beasts that are harnessed to it, for small though they
are, scarcely bigger than big dogs, the cattle in this
district are extremely well-bred, very handsome, and
full of pluck and endurance. One of the little
cattle is half buried in the slush, and his legs are entirely
hidden. The yoke presses heavily upon his neck, and
he is in sore straits. The cart is slowly unladen of
291
ON TH E ROAD