Otherwise, separated by its mountain chains and forests from the rest of the world, Burma has for centuries remained untouched and unspoiled, and it is only since the deposition of King Thebaw, in 1885, and the assumption of its government by England that the gradual extension of the railway system is slowly bringing the interior into easier communication with the outside world, and beginning to effect a change in the character of the people.
CHAPTER II
RANGOON
Anyone wishing to visit Burma must land at Rangoon, for it is not only the largest and most important of its seaports, but the only one that has direct steamer communication with England, or by river traffic and railways affords access to the interior. The harbour is formed by the tidal estuary of one of the many mouths of the Irrawaddy. Here it is very wide, and a large number of steamers and sailing ships ride at anchor, loading or discharging their cargoes into lighters and quaintly-shaped native boats.
Huge rafts of teak wood drift slowly downstream to the saw-mills below the town, where trained elephants stack the logs with almost human intelligence, and queer uptilted rowing boats, called "sampans," ferry passengers across the river, or to the various vessels in the stream. Long stretches of timber-built quays and iron-roofed "godowns" (or warehouses) form the wharfs, upon which coolies of all nationalities toil under the tropical sun. European officers in white drill and sun-helmets superintend the loading of their vessels, longing to be finished and away from a spot where everything vibrates and dithers in the white glare.
On shore the smoke from the rice-mills adds to the already overpowering sense of heat, while from across the water the noise of hammered iron from the repairing yards completes a picture of bustle, heat, and toil.
Yet Rangoon is a very pleasant place to live in, and as many of my readers will, no doubt, have fathers or brothers in the East, they will like to hear something about the place, and how people live there.
Behind the quay and warehouses the city lies, well laid out in broad streets and squares, and having many fine shops and buildings. The houses are mostly of that curious half-Italian, half-Oriental style which we find in almost all Southern and Eastern seaports. They are usually painted white, with green shutters to the windows, and are often surrounded by broad verandas. The roofs are generally of red tiles, which look pretty among the dark foliage of the trees which often line the streets, and in spite of "topee"[1] and umbrella, pedestrians are thankful to avail themselves of their shade, for the air is hot and the white glare of the streets is most trying to the eyes.