The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-04-01
CAPTURE OF MANDALAY.
King Theebaw, of Burmah, His Palace and
His Jewels-The Sacred White
ElephantS.

We are permitted to publish the fol-
lowing very interesting extracts from
letter written to his father, the Hon
Judge Badgley, of Montreal, by Cap
tain Badgley, of the Royal Engineers,
who was with the British expedition to
Burmah:
when last wrote we had just got
to Ava and the Burmese had given in.
Unconditional surrender. Pluck, lead
ers or love of Theebaw and of indie
pendence must be wanting. Enterprise
there was none. We occupied the gates
of the palace end next day deported
Theebaw. He was hard to move, try
ing to make delays The fact was he
thought he would be allowed to reign
as a tributary, and he was very much
disguised and surprised at being de-
posed. The Burmans came down in
crowds to see the steamers. 1t must
have been sight worth looking at.
Some twenty-odd steamers, each with
two flats lashed alongside. They made
a fine procession up the river, 100 yards
apart.
''Theebaw is short, mild-looking
Burman. He was simply dressed. The
queen, who is supposed to be the insti-
gator. of the murders, was quite plainly
dressed in yellow, but had 100000
diamond necklace round her neck, and
the royal family carried of most of the
valuables in the palace. We found very
little-about $4,000 in cash and a few
Jewels. The most valuable of these, a
very pretty tiara of diamonds and ru-
bies, was found literally on dust heap
1t has the royal peacock in front in dia-
monds and rubies, and is worth prob
ably $4,000.
The place consists of the royal pal
ace in the center, pile of handsome
teak buildings gilded all over, raised on
a terrace about ten feet high, surround
ed by courtyard with guard-houses
and gardens to the north and south. On
the west side it abuts on the palisade
and wall, which run all round, but on
the east, which was the usual entrance,
was road running north and south to
two gates, and beyond this to the east
were the arsenal, mint, council cham
ber, magazine, etc. All round the pal
ace is fine palisade made of upright
logs of teak, one foot ia diameter and
fourteen feet high; inside this, about
seventy feet, is fourteen-foot high
brick wall. The palisade is about 700
yards square, and the city which sur
rounds the palace is one and a quarter
miles square. The last is surrounded
by a fine brick wall about thirty feet
high, with moat outside 100 yards
wide. The gateways and bastion-like
projections are capped by roofs in pyra-
midal style, and the wall is crenelated.
The whole looks rather well. Outside
again are the suburbs, stretching on the
west to the river bank. The roads are
mostly execrable, and the buildings
mostly bamboo huts. The monasteries
are exceptions, being very handsome,
made of teak, carved profusely, and
in some places gilded all over. The in
side of the palace is a strange mixture
of gliding, mirrors and dirt; dust of
ages in every corner; sanitary arrange
ments apparently nil; the gardens mis-
cradle wildernesses; the tanks covered
with scum. l don't really believe Thee
baw ever went into these gardens, but
he may have, as the palace was so dirty.
He never stirred out of the palace in
closure, anyhow.
1.-The white elephant was starved to
utdUll, IL iIlOSI lul1g. anu We
had to cart him away and bury him-a
hard job. He and the other two white
elephants ate and drank from silver;
great big silver tubs over three feet high
for their water. There is an observa-
tory in the palace, from which a fine
view is to be had, but the finest view is
from the top of Mandalay Hill, some
500 feet high, about mile off, with the
Shan Hill, 5000 feet high, and the river
and the city; the view is very fine. The
trouble is to get up. There is covered
way up, and what once was steps, but
now are calculated to bring forth all
the worst feelings of human nature. We
are very comfortably housed in the pal
ace, part of which we have been pull
ing down; and we are now fortifying
the place in case of an attack. The
country is very unsettled, partly owing
to our not declaring what we are going
to do, in our usual dilatory way. Da-
colts are about, and our flying columns
cut up few now and then. Our postal
arrangements have been shameful, and
still continue bad.-MontreaL (CdnadG}
Gazette.