ble matter with aqua
vitae, gunpowder, &c. having a good quantity of tar in a little pot:
next night we came up to the idol about eleven o'clock, the moon being
up. We found none guarding it; but we perceived a light in the house,
where we had seen the priests before. One of our men was for firing the
hut, another for killing the people, and a third for making them
prisoners, while the idol was destroyed. We agreed to the latter; so
knocking at the door, we seized the first that opened it, and stopping
his mouth and tying his feet, we left him. We served the other two in
the like manner; and then the Scots merchant set fire to the
composition, which frightened them so much, that we brought them all
away prisoners to their wooden god. There we fell to work with him,
daubing him all over with tar mixed with tallow and brimstone stopping
his eyes, ears, and mouth full of gunpowder, with a great piece of
wild-fire in his bonnet, and environed it with dry forage. All this
being done, we unloosed and ungagged the prisoners, and set the idol on
fire, which the gunpowder blowing up, the shape of it was deformed, rent
and split, which the forage utterly consumed; for we staid to see its
destruction, lest the ignorant idolatrous people should have thrown
themselves into the flames, And thus we came away undiscovered, in the
morning appearing as busy among our fellow travellers, as no body could
have suspected any other, but that we had been in our beds all night.

Next morning we let out, and had gone but a small distance from the
city, when there came a multitude of people of the country to the gates
of the city, demanding satisfaction of the Ruffian governor for
insulting their priests, and burning their great Cham Cai-Thaungu, who
dwelt in the sun, and no mortal would violate this image but some
Christian miscreants; and being already no less than thirty thousand
strong, they announced war against him and all his Christians.

The governor assured them he was ignorant of the matter, and that none
of his garrison had been abroad; that indeed there was a caravan that
went away that morning, and that he would send after them to inquire
into it; and whoever was the offender, should be delivered into their
hands. This satisfied them for the present, but the governor sent to
inform us, that if any of us had done it, we should make all the haste
away possible, while he kept them in play as long as he could. Upon this
we marched two d