The Reason Of Thus Anchoring
So Far From The Mid-Stream Or Channel Is, That When The First Of The
Flood, Macareo Or Bore, Comes In, Any Ship Or Vessel Riding In The Fair
Way Or Mid-Channel Would Surely Be Overthrown And Destroyed.
And even
with this precaution of anchoring so far above the channel, so that the
bore has lost much
Of its force before rising so high as to float them,
yet they always moor with their bows to the stream, which still is often
so powerful as to put them in great fear; for if the anchor did not hold
good, they would be in the utmost danger of being lost. When the water
begins to increase, it comes on with a prodigious noise as if it were an
earthquake. In its first great approach it makes three great waves. The
first wave washes over the bark from stem to stem: The second is not so
strong; at the third they raise the anchor and resume their voyage up
the river, rowing with such swiftness that they seem to fly for the
space of six hours, while the flood lasts. In these tides there must be
no time lost, for if you arrive not at the proper station before the
flood is spent, you must turn back from whence you came, as there is no
staying at any place except at these stations, some of which are more
dangerous than others, according as they happen to be higher or lower.
On returning from Pegu to Martaban they never continue more than half
ebb, that they may have it in their power to lay their barks high upon
the bank, for the reason already given. I could never learn any reason
for the prodigious noise made by the water in this extraordinary rise of
the tide. There is another Macareo in the gulf of Cambay, as formerly
mentioned, but it is nothing in comparison of this in the river of Pegu.
With the blessing of God we arrived safe at Pegu, which consists of two
cities, the old and the new, all the merchants of the country and
stranger merchants residing in the old city, in which is far the
greatest trade. The city itself is not very large, but it has very great
suburbs. The houses are all built of canes, and covered with leaves or
straw; but every merchant has one house or magazine, called _Godown_,
built of bricks, in which they secure their most valuable commodities,
to save them from fire, which frequently happens to houses built of such
combustible materials.
In the new city is the royal palace, in which the king dwells, with all
his nobles and officers of state, and attendants. While I was there the
building of the new city was completed. It is of considerable size,
built perfectly square upon an uniform level, and walled round, having a
wet ditch on the outside, filled with crocodiles, but there are no
draw-bridges.
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