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180 BIBMAH.
a good harbour, situate upon the river Caypumo, or
rather an arm of the sea, where the tides run strongly
towards Pegu; for, whereas ordinarily it flows by
degrees, with an easy motion, here it fills that arm of
the sea or river on a sudden, and flows with such
fury and impetuosity, as it were mountains rolled up
in water; and the most rapid torrent in the world
doth not parallel this in swiftness : by three passages,
it fills the harbour with a most fearful force and
rapidity. Martaban joins to the territories of Dougon"
(probably, Dag-un, on the Syriam or eastern branch
of the "
Rangoon river), the remotest town of Pegu.
At Martaban, some years before we made our travels
there, a rich and potent king, named Chaubaina, was
besieged by Bramaa of Pegu. That inhuman tyrant
of Pegu put him to a cruel death, and sacked that
flourishing town : it had twenty-four gates. We
went from Martaban to Pegu, four small days' journey
distant by land."*
In October, 1824, an expedition, composed of Eu-
ropean and native troops, was sent by General Campbell
to take possession of this port. The place is
described in the despatches as having a strong and
commanding appearance. It is situated at the bottom
of a very high hill, washed by an extensive sheet of
water. On its right is a rocky mound, surmounted
with a two-gun battery, with a deep nullah beneath.
The battery communicated with a stockade of timber ;
and behind this was a deep wall of masonry, varying
from twelve to twenty feet in thickness, with small
embrasures for cannon and musketry. The stockade
ran along the margin of the water for three quarters
of a mile, where it joined a large pagoda, which pro-
* Asiat. Journal, vol. xix. p. 65 1.