ling ap and down the banks, as curiosity led- them., uï^ear rivèr side
weü-'Söfiid fields planted with indigb^ -whiohïthroVedn fuit luxuriance; and
was nearly ripe ; llie^ natives -prepare it yithóqt- any-skiitf a Iai-ge quantity'
of the , weed was steeping in an old boat sunk in the riveiv which was
Substituted in the room of a vat. They do not take the trouble, or perhaps
do not know how, to purify and reduce it to aftard tqfinid consistence, but
aye satisfied With it in a'liquid State ; they use it to Colour a coarse kind
of cotton doth, which is manufactured here in great quantities. Thé indigd
is w ay cheap, and doubtless might, by proper management, be cultivated
in this country to the highest advantage.
The town of Kioumzeik is Well built, and-seems to be in a state of improvement
: there ape several interruptions in it, causedibyrwaterscotuses,.
over which good wooden bridges are built. The manufacture-of gottpn
cloth is the source of its prosperity. A town called Henzadah, neapltq
Kioumzeik, is of much greater antiquity. Numerous cart-roads«%d pathways
evince that therejs an extensive communication-maintained with' the
interior country,- b ut we saw little cultivation of grain, and only a few
gardens. Buffaloes andother cattle were grazing in large herds on theiieigh-
bouring plain. , . - ,
On the next d ay ,Ju n e 5th, we put off at the first dawn, and passed inth©
course of our journey several small villages, none of which presented any
thing worth notice ;. Sekayebeeim, on the east, was the most considerable.
The bank on one side was high, and the sands extensive on the other. The
course of the river runs deep beneath an overhanging bank, at a sluggish
rate, not exceeding a mile in thé hour. The southerly wind was not so
strong as usual, and the temperature of the air bad become much hotter;
the thermometer, which on the preceding day stood at 78°, on this
rose -tb heat Wksj nét,oppressive.'1 iW.e hronght torin the affefe
'ïfoi&ïï/fsDUt^Sai town ^a;Hefd>A.ckeo,;«theZ&vening-.-was: cloudy1 and' threatened
aîhunder stofrm:; a|tóhg£aqd’lowï,strand laÿ-fbetween thé boats and
the town.; I diet nbtegotbhp'lhoiei: Dr.'fiüahamafo; -howeveau-ewéntured,, and
met with1 nothing -for pepay'ltle troubled^ 'toofedfa'tra versing ,ta plain; ôf
hpâV)fc*sand.
3 „Wfè-'ketóff the following .mbfmng; ai tbteusual hour, ahdtsa'wi a ’few.
lages, but-hoqe'’,yemarkable;')i©neihöd^!eadt bank Was'fjtq^tediin.a large
‘garden*of plantain treêV-f Af'hmtimcmpboatmen tracked'tjj^^^Js-.;along-
I hd'sand^;' and made; greater progress ithâin they5# q h lq ^ |^ |iy ^ row ih g
or 'tóttihg' with poles'. 'Notwithstanding thê£!,gifneral>,name< o ^ th e river
iSi Irrawaddy, Idearned. that -dilferen-ripar|s\ef ritr<are*"djitifrguisted -by'deferent
appellation's;tdakèn from .pfetcjösjof note oni;ifsib^k§j:|atSjthQugh we
.should calotte'Thames,’ 'at;' appropriate ; places; thfe>^aYe5^n'dkrivef, t-li9
febndon riyèr^tô. At tw&^o-elock the sky.ddwiefed> 'and black clouds ;in
the north-west quarter threatened one ofihcrie Violent gusts-- whibhtaretfoj
ijiïeht at ’thï^séas&n'; £th"e Ëedéègèèï öfeHis^ owni:adeprdç/b'MUght, to on; thé
west sidei-mndeh the -'shelter, of an'high bank. !As'!S0oh: as fchejboat was
made fast, thé Doctor-mid I clambered up thelsteepid thë’counteÿ/raun'd
Was covered with reeds as; - talla-s ■ a' man’s head ; there were many pathways
leading'through them, but we were efissuadeiivhy.' the Biftnans from-
, é h l ë f ^ fo ip a rsh f tigéts, which are numerous; tere, and particularly-fee-
;v que'ht ■ that' " kiri3i,fóf'éó'vër.' The stortn br-oke'rtefdpq^itfreached1 us,i*>and,
after a delay óf two hours, we set sail with, a southerly wind 5. pasSing^a;
large village on thé wést, the SóVefe tóldme it was named Shwaye-Gahrqand
that the inhabitants sometimes, during the raiîny seas'onv found goidrdust
in the sand of the river, which is washed down by the periôdifcâl- *rains.