sed; the women white, round faced, and having small
eyes. The houses are high built, set upon great high posts, and they go
up to them by means of ladders for fear of the tigers, which are very
numerous. The country is very fertile, abounding in great figs, oranges,
coconuts, and other fruits. The land is very high on the sea coast, but
after getting within the bar, it is very low and much intersected with
rivers, so that they go everywhere in boats, which they call _paraos_,
in which many of them dwell with their wives and children.

[Footnote 424: 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
br