Recon has already been supposed to be Aracan, which is
now quite obvious; but in what manner Mogen may refer to Ava, the next
country to the south, does not appear.
- E.]
From the bar of Negrais to the city of Pegu, is ten days journey by the
rivers. We went from _Cosmin_ to Pegu in paraos or boats, and passing up
the river we came to _Medon_, a very pretty town, having a wonderful
number of paraos, for they dwell in them, and hold markets on the water.
In rowing up and down with their commodities in these boats, they have a
great _sombrero_ or umbrella over their heads, to defend them from the
sun, as broad and round as a great cart wheel, made of the leaves of the
coco or the fig tree, which are very light. From Medon we went to Dela,
where there are 18 or 20 great long houses, where they tame and keep
many elephants belonging to the king, as elephants are caught in the
wilderness near this place. From Dela we went to _Cirian_, [Siriam] a
good town having an excellent sea-port, to which come many ships from
Mecca, Malacca, Sumatra, and other places; and there the ships discharge
their cargoes, and send up their goods in paraos to Pegu. From Siriam we
went to _Macao_, a pretty town, where we left the boats, and in the
morning taking _delingeges_, which are a kind of couches made of cords
and quilted cloth, carried on a _stang_, or long pole, by three or four
men, we came to Pegu the same day.
Pegu is a great strong and fair city, having walls of stone and great
ditches all round about. It consists of two towns, the old and the new.
In the old town dwell all the stranger merchants, and very many native
merchants, and all the goods are sold in the old town, which is very
large, and hath many extensive suburbs all round about it, all the
houses being of bamboo canes and covered with straw. In your house,
however, you have a warehouse, which they call a _godown_, built of
bricks, in which to keep your goods, as often the city takes fire, and
four or five hundred houses are burnt down, so that these _godowns_ are
very useful to save your goods. The king with all his nobility and
gentry dwell in the new town, which is a great and populous city,
entirely square with fair walls, and a great ditch all round about full
of water, in which are many crocodiles. It has twenty gates, five on
each side of the square, all built of stone. There are also many turrets
for centinels, made of wood and splendidly gilded. The streets are the
handsomest I ever saw, all as straight as a line from one gate to the
other, and so broad that ten or twelve men may ride abreast through
them. On both sides, at every door, there are palmer trees planted,
which bear coco-nuts, and which make a fine shew as well as a commodious
shade, so that the people may walk all day in the shade.
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