|
Aleister Crowley Diary Entry Saturday, 1 February 1902
8.15 Started.
2.30 Mindon.[1]
Bathed and interviewed Headman re and Shikari. Last seven miles fearful jolting. Shot pigeon and woodpecker.
Arrange to ?
1—Mindon is the capital of Mindon Township of Thayet District in the Magway Region of Burma (now Myanmar).
The following day we went off again and arrived at Mindon at 2:30 p.m. The road had become very bad, and in the springless bullock-cart travelling was by no means pleasant. In fact, after two or three big jolts we agreed to take turns to look out, and to give warning if a particularly frightful jolt seemed imminent, but for all our precautions, I was badly let in on one occasion. The road had become level and appeared to be the same for the next 200 yards, so I turned back to light a pipe. Without a word of warning, the driver swung his oxen off the road into an adjoining paddy field, at least three feet below, and we got the nastiest shaking of our lives. The last seven miles were particularly irritating, however, as there was little or no shade, and it was out of the question to relieve oneself by walking for more than a short distance.
On arrival at Mindon, we summoned the headman and told him to get men for the cross-country journey to Kyaukpyu. He seemed to think it would be rather difficult, and was evidently not at all pleased with his orders, but he went off to obey them, and in the meanwhile sent round the village shikari so that I might go out after buffalo the next day.
|