instinct of his people to better things. He is giving up
the pomps and vanities of colour, of rich raiment, of
secular pride. Trade is less and less with him ; the lust
of possession is passing away from his heart. Yet, as I
look at him, I see clearly that he is a man of the world,
with the strong air of one who has fought for his place,
and such, manners as come only to one who is conscious
of power and success.
Beyond Salé lies Singu, a village very successfully
concealed f rom
view by a low
curtain of hills.
Some white pagodas
alone mark its
presence, but the
village is growing
in prosperity, and
the oil company at
Yenan-Gyaungwill
s h o r t l y begin
PADDY-RAFT — .
operations here.
Passing on, we meet low cliffs in the west, growing into
blue mountainous spurs, and on the east there are the
broken Tharrawaddy hills and Popa, showing four
points. Between, there is a low country slowly sloping
up, ancT conveying what is not uncommon here, an
impression of a long hollow, into which it would seem
the river might easily tumble over. There is scarcely
an island here to break the vast mirror of the river,
spread from shore to shore. While we wait to repair
some damage to the engines, the lesser life on its surface
deploys before us. Rafts of glazed Ali Baba jars bear
down upon us, and barely escape disaster. The largest
pots sustain the raft, which is laden with the rest, their
backs a-glisten, and their small mouths gaping at the
sky. Four idle men make the crew of each raft, and
seeing disaster imminent, they suddenly develop a furious
energy and pull the raft out of the main current in
which we are detained ; but for the most part they lie on
their backs and dream, trusting to the bounty of the
great stream. Rafts also bring large quantities of paddy
and stone grinding-slabs for sharpening daks.
COTTON-RAFT
Boats bring cattle, and one passes us full of buffaloes.
These comeTrom the dry country about Mingyan, and
are sold in the prosperous Delta. In seasons of drought
in the upper country, the river is laden with such cattle