Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1853-06-17


Where the birds warble sweety
Their songs in praise,
There lay poor Lilly Dale!
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Remarkable Caves in Burmah.
[F'uM Rsr Dr.. Nlicoa's Tdrelsl
The whole region Immediately above
Maulmain is alluvial, the rocks chiefly blue
Limestone of excellent quality. The country
is fiat, fertile, and beautiful, but though
once populous, is now thinly inhabited
The scenery is rendered romantic and Pc
culiar by small mountains, rising abruptly
from the level fields to the height Of four,
FIVE, and six hundred feet; the base scarce.
ly exceeding the size Of the summit. In
most parts, trees and shrubs cling to the
sides; but here and there the castellated
and perpendicular rocks project above the
foliage, like the turrcts Of some huge ruined
tower. On the submits Of many Of them
apparently inaccessible to humane feet,
Boodhist zeal has erected pagodas, whose
white forms, conspicuous far and near,
remind the traveller every moment that he
surveys region, covered with the shadows
of spiritual death. Some of the smaller
Of these hills ascended. My heart sick.
encd as l stood beside the dumb gods Of
this deluded people, looking down and a.
round on 6ne country, half peopled by
half civilized tribes, enjoying but half the
blessings of their delicious climate, borne
by whole generations to the chambers Of
death. They eat, and drink, and die. No
inventions, no discoveries, no attainments,
no enjoyments, are theirs, but such as have
descended to she'. 60 ~ -s-..-d nothing q
is left to prove they have been, but their
decayed pagodas, misshapen gods, and un-
blessed graves.
Most Of these mountains contains caves,
some Of them very large, which appear to
have been, from time immcmorial, spe-
cially devoted to religious purposes. The
wealth and labor bestowed on these are Of
themselves sufficient to prove how great
the population has been in former sges.
I visited, in these excursions, three Of the
most remarkablc-one on the Dab Gyieng,
and two on the Salwen. They differed
only in extent, and in the apparent anti
quity of the idols they contained. Huge
stalactites descended almost to the aaor in
many places, while, in others, stalagmitcs
Of various maguitudcs and fantastic shapes
were formed upon the floor. In each, the
bats occupied the lofty recesses Of the cell
ing, dwelling in deep and everlasting
twilight. In one they seemed innumcrable'
Their ordurc covered the bottom, in some
places, to the depth Of many feet. Throw
ing up some fragments Of idols, we dis
turbed their noon-tide slumbers, and the
effect was prodigious. The futter Of their
wings created trembling or pulsation in
the air, like that produced by the deepest
bass Of great organ. In the dusk Of the
evening, they issue from the cave in
thick column, which extends unbroken for
miles. The natives all affirmed this to
be the case every evening; and Mr.. Jud-
son himself, when here with Major Craw-
furd and others, saw the almost incredible
fact.
This cave has evidently been long dcser-
ted, except that single large image at
the entrance is kept in repair, before which
were some recent offerings. nigh. there
fore, have easily obtained images for my
friends; but Mr.. J. being afraid Of an
influence on the native Christians
who we're with US, abstained, and after
ward obtaineda a supply by regular purchase.
The last one We visited is on the Salwen,
about fifteen or twenty miles above Maui
main. The entrance is at the bottom Of .
but uneven face Of the noun
tain, enclosed in strong brick wall which
forms large vestibulc. The entrance to
this enclosure is by path, winding along
The foot Of the mountain; and nothing re-
markable strikes the eye till one passes
The gate, where the attention is at once
powerfully arrested. Not only is the space
within the wall filed with images of Gau-
DANA Of every size, but the whole face Of
The mountain, to the height Of eighty or
ninety feet, is covered with them. On
every jutting crag stands some marble i'm
age, covered with gold, and spreading its
upeouth proportions to the setting sun.