sd ^S j'# r-rnot}iing'tJEt)a be dips fortoifeble :tban:sûdïÆEte'®Ms:as.Êla'e7 possess;
8 r havetthe means of procuring.
lhe Gouâtry-afe -the~spear, thojavelin, which jsjthrown from-, the hand,, the
hrossdbow, -tKidithe .sabre; :the latter is used bysthe;&irmans üotionly as
an- implement of ,wa r,butds likewise appliedotb various pûrposesfàs.an
instrument of manual labour ; ' with this the peasant fells trees, shapes timbers,'
cuts bamboos, or defends: himself against an enemy, and wild beasts ;
he never travels without it, and generally, when on a journey, carries a
shield on his left ami : they encumber themselves with less baggage-than
perhaps any -other people; and aTC satisfied with a scanty i portion :©f tube
hardest fe e .
In their food the ‘Birmans, compared with the Indians, are;gross and
uncleanly. Although/ their religion forbids the ..slaughter of animals in
general, yet they apply the interdiction only to those that are. domes*
ticated; -all game is eagerly sought after, and in many- places it is
publicly sold ; reptiles alsop such' As lizards, iguanas, and snakes, .constitute
ap art of the subsistence of the-loweriolasses: .During our voyage
up the river, the boatmen, -after we had-' brought -to;Tused :frequently to
hunt for caïnelions and lizards among the thickets.- They, are extremely
fond of vegetables ; at those places where garden greens were not to be
procured, they gathered wild sorrel, and sometimes-substituted the tender
leaves o f trees ; these, boiled with rice, and moistened with a little oil, or seasoned
with gnapee, :or pickled sprat, compose a meal with which a Birman
peasant o r:boatman is -satisfied ; the higher-ranks, however, live with
more delicacy, although their fare is never very sumptuous. !
The climate of every part of the (Birman empire, which I have v-isited,
bore testimony to its 'salubrity, by the best possible criterion,, -the
appearance and vigour of the nariyieS. The seasons are regular, and the
extremes of heat arid cold are seldom experienced; at least .the duration of
that intense heat, which immediately precedes the commencem|^||oI the
rainy..season, is so short, that, it incommodeii'but for a very little time,
Thinn^1 om iisiderui^ imih<3^)untr\w\i^|wu^[dj'dti M§ftu.l.,u'iv^.y disease.;
anothei met m accidental death-; in w indenting through tl]e»4*n1£idsjj!lfc*bb5l
; The soil- of lhe'Sigiutfeniip^^vau'ges.ohthe Birman ®$pifg; is remarkably
fertile, and produG^’-asi^xurra©t'Sc^ps;^(r^gg'^^'^t,%b(e-vfep|t^inAh8
finest parts of Bengal. Farther regular
and mdpmtahyrttai h u t,tlh plains >and vaJljes, partieida|ijy n^ir Uhp.iriyef;
an* e\j eedibgji'tfjhulihd’■ t h y y-u.14 good vrheij.,*nnd flie^-jnjojis.kindsi«^
snwll gi un whiih grow m 1 Iindost m , is IjL wjsfsdsfcjwmos and mosj^ufothg
chculenj. y^eiahler, <d India. Sugar cam>i c^oL a static.yp,r 'IM'lbVS
indigo, cotton, and the;diffierenfetnapicah#t9.jfeiji^p^^f?p't%f
genous products of this da-R.®usfevh land.
?; Besides the teak treb^iwlidhy^ows in many partsiof ibeBirm^iempi®!
as. well.to>the north ofiUmmarapoora, ay ha the southern hduntry, ih&ie as
almost every description of timber-that is known in 1 ml4$|jjfl khBi'uhari* m?
in one of his afternoon excursions, perceived a large log. of fir, which, his
attendant informed him, had behmyvashed down by the torrents Jumna-
mountainous part o f the coustry, four daysyourney north w;ard ©fjthe'maSjiu
tafp whhre- it ;g»ws' in abundance, a>nd Sefi'icMhideratelei magrcitVftJ,^^ the
natives call it Tteny.o; ithey extract the turpentine, which they turn to use,
but consider .the >wood of little value, .on accountvof its softness. If 'they
could beprevailed upon to transport itttohahgnon,it.mightprov,e a beneficial
* . *' 'This'unfoituirate draft 8&on|prio * tHf'>SeS-H’brse.