Enriquez book "Pagan" and the ponnies

Major C. M. Enriquez Major Colin Metcalfe Enriquez was a British author born in India (then part of the British Empire) in 1884. As well as being an army officer and writer he was also something of a naturalist and explorer. He wrote a number of books (mainly non-fiction) based in the continent, two of these forming a short pony-point-of-view horse series. The books are both beautifully illustrated by K. F. Barker.

I have found this reference in the internet. Captain Enriquez wrote a book on Pagan in 1914. We are talking about a British Empire army officer exactly when the 1st WW broke.

This book is quite amazing, probably useless for a historian of Pagan but amusing for the historian of the discipline. It was done with the help of Duroiselle. There are many highlights about this book. One is that it is dedicated to no other than Shin Arahan (!!!), a person who we don't even know if ever existed. But anyway, Enriquez believed so. There is also a very rudimentary but cute poem at the beginning of this work, with this ending:

Crumbling and frail are the things of this Earth,

The wheel in revolving brings ruin and rust.

The power of princes and men has no worth,

alone in the Law should humanity trust.

Earth, no worth. Rust, trust. Original rhymes indeed! Its a Buddhist poem, very sincere.

Now the funniest thing about Enriquez's Pagan is that it is designed like a Tourist Guide, openly! At the beginning there is a suggested itinerary, and he always points out whether ponies are needed or not. Now this is quite funny because in the page I have linked before, we discover that Enriquez wrote a couple of novels which have a ponny as the main character. I don't really know what all this is about, it simply makes me laugh.

But one thing, only one thing perhaps, but nevertheless very important, must be saved from this book: the pictures. Here we have a drawing of the Sapada (Chapada) Pagoda before the restoration that took place later on, and that is why today we can't see the real ruin. There is also a funny story about Chapada, playing with the etymology of the name, that I didn't know.