The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-09-26


and embarked for Ceylon at nightfan.
But unseen hands were fighting on
the side of the sovereign of Ceylon
and sacred tooth. The ship sped
swiftly on through the night. Yet
when the travellers awoke it was to
find themselves anchored a little be.
low Pagan!
Baffled but not defeated, Anawrata
sent an envoy to Sangabodhi, the
king, an envoy who bore many costly
presents and who was instructed to
demand the tooth of Guatama in re-
turn.
Gautama Supplied Teeth.
Sangabodhi, unwilling to surrender
his most precious possession, yet fear
full of arousing the ire of so dreadful
a monarch as the king of Pagan, was
in sore straits. In his distress he ex-
pressed the wish that he might have
two such teeth. No sooner had he
given utterance to this desire than the
tooth produced a fellow exactly re-
sembling itself! In fact, the two were
fndistinguishable until the original
declared itself by rising into the air
and performing miracles.
The duplicate was placed in a casket
of gold and delivered to the envoy,
who carried it back with great pomp
to Pagan.
To solve the difficulty of choosing
a site for the enshrinement Of the
prize, the casket was placed on the
back of white elephant, and 1t was
announced that wherever the animal
halted there should be the resting
place of the tooth.
Much to the disappointment of all,
the elephant bearing his precious bur-
den crossed the river and knelr down
near the Tangyi hills. This was very
far from the palace, and the king ex-
pressed his regret that he also had not
two sacred teeth. Here again the wish
was father to the miracle Immediately
The duplicate was placed on the ele-
plants back and the beast was hidden
to move on.
Five times the elephant halted be-
fore reaching the neighborhood of
the palace, and at each place the tooth
was miraculously multiplied, until at
last the site of the LOkananda was
reached and the king professed him.
self satisfied. AT each stop a shrine
was built, and at the last was reared
the pile which still remains as one
of the monuments to Anawrata's great
ness.
Anawrata's further exploits woulc
make a long tale. In the records Of
his reign indisputable facts have been
strangely intermingled with wild fam
cies and grotesque imaginings. He Is
said to have built 43 cities and to have
dug canals and reservoirs for the bene-
fit of his people. Under his efficient
and energetic administration the petty
kingdom Of Pagan became an empire
stretching from the Malacca islands
and Siam to Bengal and the frontiers
Of China. Thus was inaugurated the
most glorious period in Burmese his:
tory.
Anawrata's end was tragic. One day,
as he was riding through the forest on
an elephant, he struck his head against
the branch of a tree In which dwelt
two nats-Teinbin and his wife, Lem
bin. In a fit of rage the monarch
dragged Leinbin down from the tree
and beat her mercilessly.
Teinbin, in his turn, enraged at the
kings cruelty, lay in wait for Anaw-
rata in the depths of the jungle TAX
ing the form Of a huge white buffalo,
he furiously charged the unhappy mon
arch and succeeded in impaling him
upon one of his horns The body was
never found.
Conquered by the Chinese.
For more than two centuries the
successors of Anawrata more or less
worthily maintained the dignity and
prestige of Pagan. But in the north
was developing power that was soon
to engulf not Pagan only, but almost
the entire continent of Asia. Kublai
Khan in 1854 conquered what is now
Yunnan, and the Chinese were thus
brought into contact with Burma. To
the resulting confiicr there could be
but one issue. In 1856 Pagan fell be-
fore invaders from the north, never
again to attain historical significance.
Of the great battle between the two
armies on the plain of vociam, Marco
Polo gives a graphic and spirited ac-
count.
Though, under the circumstances,
the fall Of Pagan was inevitable, the
last king of that unfortunate capital
stands in pitiful contrast to the great
Anawrata. Known to history as
Tayokpyemin, the King Who Ran
Away From the Chinese, he was utter
ly unworthy of his noble office. In the
Mingalazedi is an inscription which
commentaries his achievements at the
table. Here it is recorded that he
never dined off fewer than three hun
dred dishesl
While the Chinese host was yet q
long way from the city, the cowardly
king fed down the river to Bassein.
When the cooks whom he had taken
with him were able to produce only
15O dishes, the full horror of his posi-
ton dawned upon the unhappy mon
arch. He burst into childish tears and
exclaimed. "Now am poor indeedl"
When the invaders had taken their
toll OF Pagan and retired, he thought
OF returning. AT Prone, however, he
was met by one Of his sons, who Of
fered him poisoned food. For a time
the weakling hesitated. At last, con-
WINGED that 1t was better to die so than
by the sword. he yielded and met a
tate that, as few writer's have avoided