the poles fall with a splash into thè water, and so
da capo.
The process fills many an hour of travel with its
fascination. For there is judgment in the selection
of each vantage-point, swift dexterity in the slipping
of the pole, fine balancing, precision ; and as the day
grows, proof of the arduous training which enables
these slight men—they are Muslim Chittagonians—
to labour up the river for twelve hours every day.
The chief feature of the river between Sbwegun
and Kawkarit is the big island of Kawlon. Up the
western arm, just above Shwegun, there spreads a vista
of blue water and rich grasses ending in a peak three
thousand feet in height. As we turn up the eastern
branch, this is lost to sight, and we steer a peaceful
way under overhanging willows and the shelter of
forest-clad banks. Again and again the river is! bisected
by numerous islands in its course, and the way we
follow narrows, gaining in homely beauty.. Anon it
widens out, and so till we enter once more the full
river. At Kamamau, white rocks rise up in the river’s
bed and along its banks, narrowing and dividing its
course; the murmur of rushing water fills .our ears ;
where the river is narrowest, cables of twisted cane are
strung across it to catch the derelict timber of distant
forests ; the huts of the salvors lie amphibious under
the banks, and the logs gather in thousands in the bays
and curves of the river. Up-stream a wooded island
is mirrored in its calm ; blue mountains rise up beyond,
and in the east, gigantic cliffs and precipices of shadowy
6 3 8
DEFILES OF THE SALWIN