Chapter 8: The Pagoda.
Two days later a prisoner was captured, when endeavouring to crawlup the pagoda hill--having slipped past the outposts--and was sentinto headquarters. Stanley questioned him closely; but could obtainno information, whatever, from him. Telling him to sit down by thehouse, he placed a British sentry over him.
"Keep your eye," he said, "on the door of the next house. You willsee a Burman come out. You are to let him talk with the prisoner,but let no one else speak to him. Don't look as if you had anyorders about him, but stand carelessly by. The fellow will tell usnothing, but it is likely enough that he will speak to one of hisown countrymen."
"I understand, sir."
Stanley went into his house and told Meinik what he was wanted todo.
"I will find out," Meinik said confidently and, a minute or twolater, went out and strolled along past the prisoner. As he did sohe gave him a little nod and, returning again shortly, saluted himin Burmese. The third time he passed he looked inquiringly at thesentry, as if to ask whether he might speak to the prisoner. Thesoldier, however, appeared to pay no attention to him; but stoodwith grounded musket, leaning against the wall, and Meinik went upto the man.
"You are in bad luck," he said. "How did you manage to fall intothe hands of these people?"
"It matters not to you," the Burman said indignantly, "since youhave gone over to them."
"Not at all, not at all," Meinik replied. "Do you not know thatthere are many here who, like myself, have come in as fugitives,with instructions what to do when our people attack? I am expectingnews as to when the soothsayers declare the day to be a fortunateone. Then we shall all be in readiness to do our share, as soon asthe firing begins."
"It will be on the fourth day from this," the Burman said. "We donot know whether it will be the night before, or the night after.The soothsayers say both will be fortunate nights; and theInvulnerables will then assault the pagoda, and sweep thebarbarians away. The princes and woongees will celebrate the greatannual festival there, two days later."
"That is good!" Meinik said. "We shall be on the lookout, neverfear."
"What are they going to do to me. Will they cut off my head?"
"No, you need not be afraid of that. These white men never killprisoners. After they are once taken, they are safe. You will bekept for a time and, when our countrymen have destroyed thebarbarians and taken the town, they will free you from prison.
"There are some of the white officers coming. I must get away, orthey will be asking questions."
As he walked away, the sentry put his musket to his shoulder andbegan to march briskly up and down. A moment later the generalstepped up to him.
"What are you doing, my man? Who put you on guard over thatprisoner?"
"I don't know his name, sir," the sentry said, standing atattention. "He was a young staff officer. He came to the guard tentand called for a sentry and, as I was next on duty, the sergeantsent me with him. He put me to watch this man."
"All right; keep a sharp lookout over him.
"I wonder what Brooke left the fellow here for, instead of sendinghim to prison," the general said to Colonel Adair. "We examinedhim, but could get nothing out of him, even when I threatened tohang him."
"I will just run up to his quarters and ask him, sir."
Just as he entered the house, Stanley was coming down the stairs.
"The general wants to know, Mr. Brooke, why you placed a prisonerunder a guard by his house; instead of sending him to the prison,as usual?"
"I was just coming to tell him, sir."
"Ah, well, he is outside; so you can tell us both together."
"Well, Mr. Brooke, what made you put a sentry over the man, andleave him here? The men are hard enough worked, without havingunnecessary sentry duty."
"Yes, sir; I only left him for a few minutes. I was convinced theman knew something, by his demeanour when I questioned him; and Ithought I might as well try if my man could not get more out of himthan I could. So I put a sentry over him, and gave him instructionsthat he was to let a Burman, who would come out of this house,speak to the prisoner; but that no one else was to approach him.
"Then I instructed my man as to the part that he was to play. Hepassed two or three times, making a sign of friendship to theprisoner. Then, as the sentry had apparently no objection to hisspeaking to him, he came up. At first the man would say nothing tohim, but Meinik told him that he was one of those who had been sentto Rangoon to aid, when the assault took place; and that he wasanxiously waiting for news when the favourable day would bedeclared by the astrologers, so that he and those with him would beready to begin their work, as soon as the attack commenced. Theprisoner fell into the snare, and told him that it would be madeeither on the night before or on the night of the fourth day fromthis; when the Invulnerables had undertaken to storm the pagoda. Itseems that the date was fixed partly because it was a fortunateone, and also in order that the princes and head officials mightproperly celebrate the great annual festival of the pagoda; whichfalls, it seems, on the sixth day from now."
"Excellent indeed, Mr. Brooke. It is a great relief to me to knowwhen the assault is going to take place, and from what point itwill be delivered. But what made you think of the story that theBurman was one of a party that had come in to do something?"
"It was what Colonel Adair mentioned at dinner, last evening, sir.He was saying how awkward it would be if some of these natives whohave come in were to fire the town, just as a strong attack wasgoing on, and most of the troops engaged with the enemy. It was notunlikely that, if such a plan had been formed, the prisoner wouldknow of it; and that he might very well believe what my man said,that some men had been sent into the town, with that or somesimilar intention."
"True enough. The idea was a capital one, Mr. Brooke; and we shallbe ready for them, whichever night they come.
"Will you please go across to the guard tent, and tell the sergeantto send a corporal across to the man on sentry, with orders to takethe prisoner to the jail, and hand him over to the officer incommand there? When you have done that, will you ride out to thepagoda and inform your colonel what you have discovered? It will bea relief to him, and to the men for, as the date of the attack hasbeen uncertain, he has been obliged to largely increase hispatrols, and to keep a portion of his force, all night, under arms.He will be able to decrease the number, and let the men have asmuch sleep as they can, for the next two nights.
"The clouds are banking up, and I am very much afraid that the rainis going to set in again. They say that we shall have another twomonths of it."
After seeing the prisoner marched away, Stanley rode to the pagodaand, saying that he had come with a message from the general, wasat once shown into the colonel's quarters.
"Any news, Mr. Brooke?"
"Yes, Colonel; the general has requested me to inform you, at once,of the news that I have obtained from a prisoner; namely that,either on the night of the 30th or 31st, your position will beattacked, by the men who are called the Invulnerables."
"We will give them a chance of proving whether their title isjustified," the colonel said, cheerfully. "That is very good news.The men are getting thoroughly worn out with the extra night dutycaused by this uncertainty. You think that there is no doubt thatthe news is correct?"
"None whatever, sir. I could do nothing with the prisoner; but myBurman pretended to have a mission here, to kick up a row in thetown when the attack began; and the man, believing his story, atonce told him that the attack will be made on the pagoda, by theInvulnerables, on the early morning of the fourth day from this--oron the next night--the astrologers having declared that the timewould be propitious, and also because they were very anxious tohave the pagoda in their hands, in order that the princes mightcelebrate the great annual festival that is held, it seems, twodays after."
The colonel laughed.
"I am afraid that they will have to put it off for another year.The general gave no special orders, I suppose?"
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"No, sir; he had only just received the news, and ordered me toride over at once to you, as he was sure that you would be glad toknow that it would not be necessary to keep so many men on nightduty, for the next two days."
"Thank you, Mr. Brooke. Will you kindly tell the general that I amvery pleased at the news? No doubt he will be up here, himself,this afternoon or tomorrow."
Stanley rode back fast, and was just in time to escape a tremendousdownpour of rain, which began a few minutes after he returned. Hewent in at once to the general's, but was told that he was engagedwith the quartermaster and adjutant generals. He therefore wentinto the anteroom where Tollemache, his fellow aide-de-camp, wasstanding at the window, looking out at the rain.
"This is a beastly climate," he grumbled. "It is awful to thinkthat we are likely to get another two months of it; and shall thenhave to wait at least another, before the country is dry enough tomake a move. You were lucky in getting in, just now, before itbegan."
"I was indeed," Stanley agreed, "for I had ridden off without mycloak, and should have been drenched, had it begun two minutesearlier."
"I saw you gallop past, and wondered what you were in such a hurryabout. Was it like this when you were out in the woods?"
"Not in the least. There is very little rain near Ava; though thecountry is a good deal flooded, where it is flat, from the riversbeing swollen by the rains in the hills. We had lovely weather, allthe time."
"I should like to see a little lovely weather here. The last weekhas been almost worse than the rain--the steamy heat is like beingin a vapour bath. If it were not that I am on duty, I should liketo strip, and go out and enjoy a shower bath for half an hour."
Stanley laughed.
"It really would be pleasant," he said. "I don't think that Igained much by hurrying back, for the gallop has thrown me intosuch a perspiration that I might almost as well be drenched by therain, except that my clothes won't suffer so much."
"Ah, it is all very well for you," the other grumbled. "Of course,after once having wandered about in the forest, painted up like anigger, you feel cheerful under almost any circumstances; but forus who have been cooped up, doing nothing, in this beastly place,it is impossible to look at things cheerfully."
"Have you heard that the enemy are going to attack, on Tuesday orWednesday night?"
"No!" the other exclaimed, with a sudden animation. "The generalonly came in a quarter of an hour ago and, as he had the twobigwigs with him, of course I did not speak to him. Is it certain?How did you hear it?"
"It is quite certain--that is, unless the Burmese change theirmind, which is not likely. The princes want to celebrate the greatannual festival at the pagoda, on Friday; and so the Invulnerablesare going, as they think, to capture it either on Tuesday orWednesday night. I have just been up there to tell the colonel.
"As to your other question--how did I learn it--I got it, or rathermy Burman did, from that prisoner we were questioning this morning.He would not say anything then; but my man got round him and,believing that he was a spy, or something of that kind, theprisoner told him all about it."
"Are they only going to attack at the pagoda?"
"That I cannot say; that is the only point that the man mentioned.I should say that it would only be there."
"Why should it only be there?"
"Because I should imagine that even the Burmese must be beginningto doubt whether they could defeat our whole force and, as theyparticularly wish to occupy the pagoda on Friday, they would hardlyrisk an attack on other points, which might end in disaster while,what with the propitious nature of the day, and the fact that theInvulnerables have undertaken to capture the pagoda, no doubt theylook upon that as certain."
"I suppose that you are right, Brooke. Well, I do hope that thegeneral will let us go up to see the fun."
"What, even if it is raining?"
"Of course," the other said, indignantly. "What does one care forrain, when there is something to do? Why, I believe that, if it wascoming down in a sheet, and the men had to wade through the swampswaist deep, they would all march in the highest spirits, if therewas the chance of a fight with the Burmans at the end of the day.
"However, I am afraid that there is no chance of our getting off,unless the chief goes, himself. There may be attacks in otherplaces. As you say, it is not likely; but it is possible.Therefore, of course, we should have to be at hand, to carryorders. Of course, if he takes his post at the pagoda it will beall right; though the betting is that we shall have to gallop off,just at the most interesting moment."
Presently the two officers left the general. The latter's bellrang, and Stanley went in.
"You saw the colonel, Mr. Brooke?"
"Yes, sir; and he begged me to say that he was extremely glad toget the news, and much obliged to you for sending it so promptly."
"There is no occasion for you and Mr. Tollemache to stay here anylonger, now; but at five o'clock I shall ride out to the pagoda. Atany rate, should I want you before then, I shall know where to sendfor you."
This was the general order, for in the afternoon there was, whenthings were quiet, a hush for two or three hours. The work of theaides-de-camp was, indeed, generally very light for, as there wereno movements of troops, no useless parades, and very few militaryorders to be carried, they had a great deal of time on their hands;and usually took it by turns to be on duty for the day, the one offduty being free to pay visits to acquaintances in the variouscamps, or on board ship. During the rainy season, however, very fewofficers or men went beyond shelter, unless obliged to do so and,from two till four or five, no small proportion passed the time insleep.
Stanley had intended to pay a visit to the Larne; as CaptainMarryat, who had dined at the staff mess on the previous evening,had invited him to go on board, whenever it might be convenient tohim. The Larne had performed good service, in the operationsagainst the stockades; and her boats had been particularly activeand successful. Her captain was one of the most popular, as well asone of the most energetic officers in the service; and was tobecome as popular, with future generations, as the brightest of allwriters of sea stories.
However, the day was not favourable for an excursion on the water.Stanley therefore went back to his room where, divesting himself ofhis jacket, he sat down at the open window, and read up a batch ofthe last newspapers, from England, that had been lent him byColonel Adair.
At five o'clock Meinik came in, to say that his horse was at thegeneral's door. Stanley hastily put on his jacket and cloak, andsallied out. The general came down in a few minutes, followed byTollemache and, mounting, they rode to the pagoda.
Here Sir Archibald had a talk with the colonel of the 89th, and theofficer commanding the battery of the Madras Artillery. Both wereof opinion that their force was amply sufficient to resist anyattack. The only approach to it from the forest was a long roadbetween two swamps which, a short distance away, had become lakessince the wet weather set in.
"Had they taken us by surprise," the colonel said, "some of themmight have got across, before we were quite ready for them, andmight have given us some trouble but, as we shall be prepared, Idon't think that any of them will reach the foot of this hill and,if they did, none of them would reach this terrace. If an attackwere made from the other side, it would of course be a good dealmore serious, as the ground is firm and they could attack all alongthe foot of the hill; but as they cannot get there, until they havedefeated the rest of the army, I consider that, even without theassistance of the guns, we could hold the hill with musket andbayonet against any force that they are likely to bring againstus."
"Very well, then; I shall not reinforce you, Colonel. Of course, weshall keep a considerable number of troops under arms, in case theyshould attack all along the line, at the same time that they maketheir principal effort here.
"I rather hope that the rain will keep on, until this affair isover."
The colonel looked surprised.
"I am much more afraid," the gene
ral went on, "of fire in the town,than I am of an attack without. The number of natives there isconstantly increasing. No doubt the greater number of those whocome in are natives of the place, who have managed, since wecleared out their war galleys from some of the creeks and channels,to escape from the authorities and to make their way in, either onfoot or in fishermen's boats; but some of them may be sent in asspies, or to do us harm. I have been having a long talk over itwith Colonel Adair, this afternoon, and he quite agrees with methat we must reckon on the probability of an attempt to fire thetown. It would be a terrible blow to us if they succeeded, for theloss of our stores would completely cripple us. They wouldnaturally choose the occasion of an attack upon our lines for theattempt for, in the first place, most of the troops will be underarms and drawn up outside the town; and in the second place thesight of the place on fire would cause much confusion, wouldinspirit our assailants, and necessitate a considerable force beingwithdrawn from the field, to fight the fire.
"If the rains continue we need feel no uneasiness, whatever, forthere would be no getting anything to burn; whereas in dry weather,a man with a torch might light the thatch as fast as he could runalong, and a whole street would be in a blaze in two or threeminutes and, if a wind happened to be blowing, it might make asweep of the whole place, in spite of all our efforts."
"I see that, sir. I own that I had never given it a thought,before."
"I shall come up here, Colonel, unless we obtain sure news, beforethe time arrives, that the attack is going to be a general one;indeed, it is in any case the best place to post myself, for I cansee over the whole country, and send orders to any point where theenemy may be making progress, or where our men can advance withadvantage. The line of fire flashes will be as good a guide, atnight, as the smoke by day."
"I will get a cot rigged up for you, General, as we don't knowwhich night it is to be."
"Thank you. Yes, I may just as well turn in, all standing, as thesailors say, and get a few hours' sleep; for in this climate onecannot keep at it, night and day, as we had to do in Spain."
The two aides-de-camp were kept in suspense as to what thegeneral's intentions were, and it was not until the morning ofTuesday that he said to them:
"I am going up to the pagoda this evening, Mr. Tollemache; and youhad better, therefore, put some provisions and a bottle of brandyinto your holsters."
At nine in the evening they rode off. The rain had ceased; the moonwas shining through the clouds.
"It will be down by twelve o'clock," Tollemache said. "I shouldthink, most likely, they will wait for that. They will think thatwe shall not be able to take aim at them, in the darkness; and thatthey will manage to get to the foot of the hill, without loss."
When they reached the platform in front of the pagoda, their sycestook their horses. Meinik had begged Stanley to let him take hisgroom's place on this occasion and, laying aside the dress heordinarily wore, assumed the light attire of an Indian syce, andhad run behind the horses with the others. He had a strong desireto see the fighting, but his principal motive in asking to beallowed to accompany Stanley was that, although greatly impressedwith what he had seen of the drill and discipline of the white andnative regiments, he could not shake off his faith in theInvulnerables; and had a conviction that the pagoda would becaptured, and therefore wished to be at hand, to bring up Stanley'shorse at the critical moment, and to aid him to escape from theassailants.
Fires were burning, as usual, at several points on the terrace. Twocompanies were under arms, and were standing well back from theedge of the platform, so as to be out of sight of those in theforest. The rest of the men were sitting round the fires. Theirmuskets were piled in lines hard by.
When he alighted, the general proceeded to the battery.
"Have you everything in readiness, Major?" he asked the officer incommand.
"Yes, sir. The guns are all loaded with grape and, as it will bevery dark when the moon has set, I have pegged a white tape along,just under each gun; so that they can be trained upon the causeway,however dark it may be."
"That is a very good idea," the general said. "There is nothingmore difficult than laying guns accurately in the dark."
The colonel now arrived, a soldier having brought the news to him,as soon as the general reached the platform.
"I see that you are well prepared to give them a hot reception,Colonel."
"I hope so, sir. I have a strong patrol out beyond the causeway. Myorders are that they are to resist strongly, for a minute or two,so as to give us time to have the whole of our force in readinesshere. Then they are to retreat at the double to the foot of thehill; and then to open fire again, so that we may know that theyare out of the way, and that we can begin when we like. We havebeen making some port fires this afternoon, and I have a dozen menhalfway down the hill and, directly the outposts are safely across,they are to light the port fires, which will enable us to take aim.These white tapes will be guide enough for the artillery; but mymen would make very poor shooting, if they could not make out themuzzles of their guns. Anyhow, I don't think that it is likely thatthe enemy will get across the causeway, however numerous they maybe."
"I don't think they will, Colonel. Certainly, so far, they haveshown themselves contemptible in attack; and have never made asuccessful stand, even for a minute, when we once entered theirstockades, though they defend them pluckily enough until we haveonce got a footing inside.
"Still, these fellows ought to fight well tonight for, if they arebeaten, it will be a death blow to their reputation among theircountrymen. Besides, many of them do believe in the power theyclaim and, as we have found before now, in India, fanatics arealways formidable."
After taking a look round with the colonel, the general accompaniedhim to his quarters; while the two aides-de-camp remained on theterrace, chatting with the officers; and then, after a time, wentwith some of them to the mess tent, where they sat smoking andtalking until midnight, when all went out.
The troops were formed up under arms, and all listened impatientlyfor something that would show that the long-delayed assault wouldtake place that night. At half-past twelve there was the sound of ashot, which sent an electrical thrill through the troops. It wasfollowed almost immediately by others. The troops were at oncemarched forward to the edge of the platform. A babel of wild shoutswent up at the sound of the first shots, followed by a burst offiring.
The two aides-de-camp had taken their places close to the general,who was standing in the gap between the infantry and the guns; andwas looking intently, through his night glasses, at the forest.
"They are in a dense mass," he said. "I cannot see whether they arein any regular order, but they are certainly packed a great dealcloser than I have ever before seen them. Those in front have gotlanterns. They are coming along fast."
As yet the enemy were half a mile away, but the lanterns and theflash of their guns showed their exact position, while the fire ofthe outposts was kept up steadily. As the latter fell back alongthe causeway, the interval between the two forces decreased; andthen the fire of the outposts ceased as, in accordance with theirorders, they broke into the double.
Illustration: The Burmese make a great effort to capture PagodaHill.
The uproar of the advancing crowd was prodigious. Every man wasyelling, at the top of his voice, imprecations upon the defendersof the pagoda; who were standing in absolute silence, waitingeagerly for the word of command. Suddenly the firing broke outagain at the foot of the hill and, immediately, a bright light shotup from its face.
The edge of the dense mass of Burmese was now but some fifty yardsfrom the wall that surrounded the foot of the hill, and thecauseway behind was occupied by a solid mass of men. Then came thesharp order to the artillerymen, and gun after gun poured itscharge of grape into the crowd while, at the same moment, theinfantry began to fire, by companies, in steady volleys. For aninstant the din of the assailants was silenced, then their shoutsrose again and, after a moment's hesitation, they c
ontinued theiradvance.
But not for long. None but the most disciplined soldiers could haveadvanced under that storm of grape and bullets and, in ten minutes,they fled in wild confusion, leaving the causeway thickly coveredwith the dead. Again and again the British cheers rose, loud andtriumphant; then the infantry were told to fall out, but the gunscontinued their fire, until the fugitives were well in the forest.
Between the shots the general listened attentively, and examinedthe country towards the town through his glasses.
"Everything is quiet," he said. "It is probable that, if thosefellows had carried the hill, they would have made a signal, andthere might have been a general attack. As it is, the affair isover for the night; and the Invulnerables will have some difficultyin accounting for their failure, and loss.
"Now, gentlemen, we may as well have up the horses, and ride back.We hardly expected to get away as soon as this."
"Well, Meinik, what do you think of your Invulnerables, now?"Stanley said, as the Burman, after picketing his horse, came up tohis room to see if he wanted anything, before lying down on his bedin the passage.
"I don't know," the Burman replied, gravely. "They may be holy men;and proof, perhaps, against native weapons; but they are no goodagainst your cannon and muskets. I understand, now, how it is thatyou beat us so easily. Your men all stood quiet, and in order; oneonly heard the voices of the officers, and the crash as they firedtogether.
"Then, your guns are terrible. I have seen ours firing but, thoughour pieces are smaller than yours, your men fire five shots to ourone. I stood by while they were loading. It was wonderful. Nobodytalked, and nobody gave orders. Each man knew what he had todo--one did something and, directly, another did something and,almost before the smoke of the last shot was out of the gun, it wasready to be fired again.
"It is clear to me that we have not learnt how to fight, and thatyour way of having only a few men, well taught and knowing exactlywhat they have to do, is better than ours of having great numbers,and letting everyone fight as he pleases. It is bad, every way. Thebrave men get to the front, and are killed; and then the others runaway.
"You were right. We shall never turn you out of Rangoon, tillBandoola comes. He has all our best troops with him, and he hasnever been beaten. All the troops know him, and will fight for himas they will not fight for these princes--who know nothing of war,and are chosen only because they are the king's brothers. When hecomes, you will see."
"No doubt we shall, Meinik; and you will see that, although theymay make a better fight of it than they have done tonight, it willbe just the same, in the end."
For the next two months the time passed slowly. No attacks weremade by the enemy, after the defeat of the assault upon the pagoda.Peasants and deserters who came in reported that there was profounddepression among the Burmese troops. Great numbers had left thecolours, and there was no talk of another attack.
The troops being, therefore, relieved of much of their arduousnight duty, the English took the offensive. The stockades on theDalla river, and those upon the Panlang branch--the principalpassage into the main stream of the Irrawaddy--were attacked andcarried, the enemy suffering heavily, and many pieces of artillerybeing captured.
The rains continued almost unceasingly, and the troops sufferedterribly in health. Scarce three thousand remained fit for duty,and the greater portion of these were so emaciated and exhausted,by the effects of the climate, that they were altogether unfit foractive operations.
Three weeks after the fight at the pagoda a vessel came up theriver, with a letter from the officer in command of the troopsassembled to bar the advance of Bandoola against Chittagong, sayingthat the Burmese army had mysteriously disappeared. It had gone offat night, so quietly and silently that our outposts, which were buta short distance from it, heard no sign or movement, whatever. TheBurmese had taken with them their sick, tents, and stores; andnothing but a large quantity of grain had been found in theirdeserted stockades.
The news was received with satisfaction by the troops. There waslittle doubt that the court of Ava--finding that their generals hadall failed in making the slightest impression upon our lines, andhad lost vast numbers of men--had at last turned to the leader whohad conquered province after province for it, and had sent himorders to march, with his whole army, to bring the struggle to aclose. The soldiers rejoiced at the thought that they were at lastto meet a real Burmese army. Hitherto they had generally stood onthe defensive, and had to fight the climate rather than the foe;and it seemed to them that the campaign was likely to beinterminable.
The march of the Burmese from Ramoo to Sembeughewn, the nearestpoint of the river to the former town, must have been a terribleone. The distance was over two hundred miles, the rains wereceaseless, and the country covered with jungles and marshes, andintersected by rivers. No other army could have accomplished such afeat. The Burmans, however, accustomed to the unhealthy climate,lightly clad, and carrying no weight save their arms and sixteendays' supply of rice, passed rapidly over it.
Every man was accustomed to the use of an axe and to the formationof rafts and, in an incredibly short time, rivers were crossed,deep swamps traversed on roads made by closely-packed faggots and,but a few days after hearing that Bandoola had started, the generallearned, from peasants, that the news had come down that he and aportion of his army had arrived at Sembeughewn.
Almost at the same time, other parties who travelled down along thecoast reached Donabew, a town on the Irrawaddy, some forty miles indirect line from Rangoon. This had been named as the rendezvous ofthe new army, and to this a considerable proportion of Bandoola'sforce made their way direct from Ramoo; it being the custom of theBurmese to move, when on a march through a country where noopposition was to be looked for, in separate detachments, eachunder its own leader, choosing its own way, and making for ageneral rendezvous. Travelling in this manner, they performed thejourney far more rapidly than they could have done moving in onebody, and could better find shelter and food.
Other forces from Prome, Tannoo, and other quarters were known tobe marching towards Donabew. It was soon reported that the dejectedforces around Rangoon had gained courage and confidence, at thenews that Bandoola and his army were coming to their aid, and thatthe deserters were returning in large numbers from their villages.The British sick were sent away in the shipping to Mergy and Tavoy,two coast towns of which we had taken possession, and both of whichwere healthily situated.
The change had a marvellous effect, and men who would have speedilysuccumbed to the poisonous exhalations of the swamps round Rangoonrapidly regained their strength, in their new quarters.